Episode 135: Parish unity in the early Church

In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

Spirit, forever Amen. Glory be to the.

Everlasting mercies which? Sent you to us, O Christ, the

light of the world and the life of all.

Give us wisdom by your law, and enlighten our.

Impulses by your knowledge. Sanctify our souls by Your

truth, and grant that we may be obedient to Your words and may

fulfil Your commandments at every hour, O You who enlightens

the rational with the knowledge of Your greatness.

Do enlight O my. Lord, our thoughts that we may

meditate upon Your holy and divine Scriptures at all times,

O Lord of all, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, forever Amen.

Don't fret, I know the background is different, the

scene is different. All thanks to my brother, the

producer of the Double Edged Sword episodes of the Double

Edged Sword podcast, Stephen. Stephen, I hope we meet your

expectation. You've been sending texts to my

brother Danny and Beniel, and you don't want this type of a

microphone. You don't want that type of it

is what it is. OK.

Just glorify God. And here we are.

We're at the Saint Andrews St. Yes, Saint Andrews Church in

Glenview, the Saint Andrews Church of the Assyrian Church of

the East in Glenview. I I thank my brother Archdeacon

George or Givargis Tuma, who very gladly opened the the not

not literally, but permitted us to come and present our programs

at the altar of Saint Andrews. They made the blessings of this

altar. May the blessings and the care

and the love of the altar come out to you and vivify everyone

that is listening to this program where we're at Acts

Acts 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15 and we left at verse 29.

So we saw there was an issue in Antioch and the issue was the

problem was that very briefly that those who are being

baptized from the Gentiles, the Pagan Gentiles and the Gentiles

who are almost crossing over to Judaism and they were being

baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit had faith in Jesus

Christ. But then there was something

that was or being enforced or, or was trying to be enforced on

was that they needed to be also circumcised.

Some people came from Judea and said you need to be circumcised

because this is what God has commanded in the in the Old

Testament. And that's in Genesis Chapter 7.

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

Then a few representatives, St. Paul, Barnabas, and a few of the

church members went to Jerusalem to try to sort this out.

Then the, the apostles were there, obviously Saint James,

St. Peter was there, Saint John was

there. We don't hear Saint John

speaking much, but Saint Peter and Saint James were there.

And again, they met with the church and they not only applied

to the the Scriptures, to the Old Testament, but they also

appealed. I'm sorry they didn't only

appeal to the to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, they more

so appealed to the Holy Spirit and the experience Saint Peter

had with the the conversion and baptism of Cornelius in Acts

Acts 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. I believe so the the decision

was made that no, we will not put any burdens on these people.

Again, this is very important, very important.

They didn't adhere to solar scriptura because if they did,

then they would have had to come back and say, no, God has said

it in Genesis Chapter 7, or is it chapter 10?

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

And it must be. We must adhere to that.

It's in the Scripture. They appealed to the work of the

Holy Spirit and the experience of Saint Peter with the Holy

Spirit. And then they made the decisions

that no, we will not put this burden on them.

They don't need to be circumcised.

That was of the old covenant which Jesus fulfilled.

Field didn't abolish. Christ didn't abolish the Old

Testament. Let's not blaspheme because he

himself says I did not come to abolish, but fulfill and set us

on the right path and a new path, which is new life in Jesus

Christ. So then they sent Peter and

Barnabas with a few people from the church and some profits to

go out there with a letter to explain to the church.

Now this is amazing because this is how the church basically

works today. If not must work.

This is how the church must operate when it comes to making

decisions that pertain to the salvation of the faithful.

I'm not talking about the financial, you know, issues and

the, and the building and the properties.

No, no, no, I'm talking about the salvation, the crease and

decisions that will be made which will affect and have have

a binding to the salvation of the faithful who have already

believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So let's read what happens when these people go back to Antioch

with the letter and to give them the good news or the great news.

Acts chapter 15, verse 30. And you know the Bible they've

Acts 15:30

given me is I think -5 font, but bear with me please.

It's very small font. Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

And that's already being used as an excuse now, right?

Acts chapter 15, verse 30. So when they were sent off, they

Acts 15:30

came to Antioch. And when they had gathered the

multitude together, they delivered the letter.

What did we learn? What?

And this happened, let's say 2023 years ago, 2022 years ago.

What what, what do we learn from this and how is it related to

today? Well, first and foremost we read

the that the parishes there, the cities, that the churches were

already established, were in unison because Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem the decree was given and the church received.

Then Saint Paul and Barnabas went back to Antioch and they

gave the decree with the letter will see that that was received.

And then Saint Paul and Barnabas go and visit every other city

where they have already gone and preached and established the

church to give them the decree. So the churches were all in

unison. They were in one mind and one

order, Pasa liturgy. So we're not going to, you know,

come across where the church in Antioch said, well, no, you know

what? We're not going to do this.

We don't accept this because our demographics is different.

Our people are different than Jerusalem.

You know, Christ was in Jerusalem and he was crucified

in Jerusalem. It's a little bit different.

No, no, they did not say that, beloved.

And a lot of a lot of the faithful and the members of the

church, in particular the Church of the East, always have these

questions at times. Why is it different from one

parish to the other parish? Well, it shouldn't be different.

We've dropped the ball. Let's admit again, let's call a

spade a spade a spade. Say that how it is.

We've dropped the ball. You know, here's an example in

the Assyrian section. And I said a member of the choir

of one parish would visit another parish.

But the choir group of that parish do not accept anyone

else. Not because of any spite.

No, because, you know, we practice and we have our own way

of singing. Well, that's not how it should

be. There should be 1 melody, one

rhythm, right? And one conducting.

That's it. We shouldn't be singing

different melodies and different rhythms.

For example, Howard Noorane. Oh, the fiery ones has always

been Howard Noorane. And if I go to a Paris and say,

well, we don't sing it because we sing it in a different way,

well, that shouldn't be like that unless, unless there is a a

new melody that has been accepted by the church, has been

accepted by the hierarchies of the church.

And that new melody is then imposed and implemented in every

parish. Now this is a minute example,

but there are other things. The deacons sometimes the

deacons deacons visit another parish and when they're in the

altar, they begin to sing one Deacon, one parish will say

Salishla, Mama, let us pray. Peace be with us.

And the Deacon from another parish Will Salish and then

you'll stop. Why should it be that way?

And again, these are these are minute.

Whether we say it one way or the other way, the Holy Eucharist,

the bread and wine are sanctified and become the body

and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

But there are other significant and I don't want to give too

many examples, other significant differences that we see,

especially in particular when it comes to faith and doctrine.

If my brother Dan would come and ask me about a specific doctrine

in the church and I I don't rely and appeal to my philosophy

because it's not about what I think, how I feel, how I

preserve, how I understand. No, when I explain to my brother

Dan that according to the church, the framework of the

church, the life of the church, the understanding of the church

fathers, the apostles, the liturgy and the faith, the dogma

and the doctrine, This is why or this is the meaning or this is

the interpretation. Now, when Dan then goes to

another priest and the other priest says, well, you know

what? Yeah, that's right.

But I don't believe I feel it's that way.

There's contention there. Dan's going to be confused.

Dan's not going to leave the church.

I know that because he's got to get married soon.

So he has to stay in the church. But someone coming from outside

of Christendom will say, well, listen, you guys have you guys

do not agree with one another and you claim that the Holy

Spirit is revealed to you and you claim that the Holy Spirit

has revealed to you. So is the Holy Holy Spirit

deceiving or parted in understanding on will See this

is what happens outside of Christendom When, when when the

Apostolic churches would teach and accept that baptism, baptism

is required for salvation from the Scriptures.

It's even in the Scriptures. St.

Peter says now baptism that saves you.

I don't want to go too much into that.

It's for salvation. And then our brothers and

sisters from the Protestant church will say, no, no, it's

just a symbol has nothing to do with your salvation.

Than the agnostics who are trying to who's interested in in

Christianity or the atheist will say, well, listen, can you guys

go and agree to something? Because what do I do now?

Now do I get baptized or do I choose not to because it's only

a symbol? OK, That's why we have the

45,000 different denominations of Christianity or

denominations. I'm sorry, but when we go back

to the essence, it's very important the book of I

encourage you to read the book of Acts.

I encourage my brother priest to preach the book of Acts.

That is the essence of the church.

Jesus didn't come while he was ascending into heaven.

Praise and glory be to his name. Distribute books of Bibles and

say don't read this and work out your own salvation when saying,

oh, now when Saint Paul says that it's not that, go and work

out your own say how to be saved.

No, no, no, your salvation is already the way of the salvation

has been said. You don't work it out.

How are you going to now adhere to that, to that way of

salvation? I've always mentioned Christ

didn't leave a vicar. Christ didn't leave the Bible,

He left the Holy Spirit. Hence the disciples appealed to

the Holy Spirit. But we've got to be careful

because the Holy Spirit is not split in its understanding and

will and mind. No, because if that's the case,

we're talking about God. Well then our God has cleanse

me. Our Lord is a weak God because

he has double standards. No, he does not.

And we see that from the get go. The churches were in unison one

Corinthians 1440. But let everything be done with

decorum, secular beauty, and with order.

There's one order. Christ set one order when He

established His church and then He taught His disciples for 40

days. He was on the on earth.

Beloved, what was Christ doing for 40 days?

He continued to teach his disciples.

Now most of those conversations during the 40 days that Christ

was on earth are not recorded, but doesn't mean that they're

not important. Maybe we see like just for

example, that accepting baptism as a sacrament or is a sacrament

and we need it for our salvation, that that may have

been what Christ had taught him when he was with them for 40

days. And then they came and started

establishing these set rules and order.

They set an order, Paksa liturgy order, because our God is a God

of order, beloved. So they came out and they read

the letter to the Church, one Corinthians 110 before I go

there, but I request of you, my brethren, in the name of the

Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you would have one speech.

So when again, going back to the Gnostic or the atheist or the

Muslim or the Buddhist or the Vishnu or the Bhagwan, whoever

are interested in Christianity, when that person approaches me

and I say to him, you need to have faith in the Lord Jesus

Christ, Accept Him as your Lord and your Lord Savior and

denounce every evil faith, denounce Satan, denounce every

other faith that is outside of Christendom.

And then you must be baptized and your baptism must be

performed or officiated by a presbyter or a priest.

And you, you go on and on. And then that person says, OK,

you know what, let me shop around.

I want to still see what, what, what this other building says.

And this person walks into that building and he hears the same

thing. He must hear the same thing

because that's how the Church was built, upon the appeal of

the Holy Spirit, upon the direction of the Holy Spirit,

and upon the foundation of the apostles.

O Saint Paul, you blaspheme custody.

How dare you tell me that we've been built upon the foundation

of the apostles? Well, it's in the Bible.

Solar scriptura. It's in the Bible.

OK, You don't agree with it. close the Bible and put it

aside. Don't read it because there is

an error in there. No, but Saint Paul knew exactly

what to say. Now I know these, these, these

new philosophies coming out now within the prison.

Well, you know what? Saint Paul made it so difficult.

No, he didn't. No, he didn't.

He made it right because Christ appeared to Saint Paul.

St. Paul received the same Holy

Spirit, and in Galatians 29HE29 he received the right hand of

the fellowship, giving him authority to go and set these

boundaries, one speech, and that there would be no divisions

among you, that you would be perfected in one mind and one

conscience, one mind. But unfortunately, Satan the

enemy, Satan the deceiver, crept into the church through people

who were boastful, through people who were ignorant,

arrogant haters. Look at the history of the

church haters. He crept in there and he started

causing all these divisions. I believe if we had stuck to the

book of Acts, which wasn't written by then, Oh no, yes, he

was. Because the councils happened,

that's where the divisions happened.

We wouldn't have had these splits.

Verse 31, when they had read it, they rejoiced over its

encouragement. So the church has heard it.

They rejoiced. That must be ringing bells

again, bell ringing, bell ringing.

What is when you rejoice? What must you have to rejoice

over something that is true and encouraging and that is love.

One of the attributes of love is this one Corinthians, 1

Corinthians 13. Love rejoices not in not in

evil, but rejoices in truth. Why does Saint Paul write?

Love rejoices not in evil, but rejoices in truth.

Why not but rejoices in good truth?

This was truth. It was handed down from the

apostles by the authority vested in them.

They handed down the the decree. It was truth and it felt

encouraging. Now when we read, we continue to

read. The church in Antioch didn't

respond. Say, well, you know what?

No, this is different. We can't.

As some people say, what worked in Jerusalem may not work in

Antioch. No, Christ of yesterday, today,

forever Christ of Glenview is the same Christ of Turlock.

Praise and glory be to his name. Christ is forever and ever

unchangeable, unfathomable, unspeakable truth.

So when they received it, it was truth.

Where did it come from? It came from Jerusalem, OK,

Saint Paul and St. Barnabas, they couldn't have

complained and say, no, no, no, you guys, you guys were

enforcing this on us. It's it's, it's I'm sorry you

guys were against it. Well, how do we know that this

is this is the truth, that it really came from Jerusalem and

it was all in unison. Well, they had the letter and

then they had those people. They, they were sent with some

of the prophets. And we're going to talk about

what the prophets were. Some of the prophets came

testimonies that this is the truth and they all rejoice and

accepted it. And this is what happens.

A very quick example, and I gave it a few episodes ago.

When we have an issue within our community, within the church

community, when a priest has an issue with some, some, you know,

issues pertaining to, you know, baptism, marriage, whatever it

may be, and the faithful who are the church, the faithful have

recommendations. You know, it's very hard for us

to why don't, why doesn't the church decree that we can do

such and such in this manner, what have you?

So the parish priest, my beloved Archdeacon George, will take

that concern to the diocese and Bishop St.

Marpolis, Benjamin, and then all the parish priests will bring

their suggestions and then they will sift through them.

You know, this is this doesn't need to go to the Sinner, this

is internal. This is, we will fix that.

This is diocesan level. And whatever is Synod level,

then the Bishop will go and present it in the Synod and then

they will make a decree, OK, listening to all the arguments

and all the concerns. And then the Synod who have

been, who have prayed and fastened and referred to the

Scriptures and the canons of the Lord and, and the history and

the life of the Church will come to a decree.

And when the Bishop comes and says this is the decree, no one

has the right to say, well, I don't agree with that.

That's not how the church works. That's why we have 45,000

denominations. Because I left the Church of the

East, I went to a Reformed Church, and then I didn't agree

with this. And then I left that Reformed

Church and did another reformation and a reformation of

the Reformation of the Reformation 45,000 reformations

because it doesn't sit right with me.

That's not what these people did in the early church.

And you can't write the early church off because they were

there. This is this is the fourth year

after Christ had ascended into heaven.

So they had it right. But again, the enemy crept in

and devoured. And here we are today.

And we should pray for the unity of the Church, the unity of the

church, not to just accept. For you, no, you can't just

accept to unite because you have principles you have you have the

truth. You can't compromise truth.

What is the truth? Go back and read the scriptures.

Go back and see what the church has been practicing for 2025

years. We have to go back and adhere to

the truth. Yeah, I'll be, you know, wishful

thinking in your dreams. Well, when the Lord returns, I

think it's in the book of Revelations where he's the

candlesticks or the candle Arbor as he's shaking.

These are the churches. He's going to just shake those

who are in authority and leadership and say you

compromised and you just had no respect for the truth and you

just get you sold the truth. Sometimes we're selling that

truth, but we should verse 32 actually so small.

Where are we 1532? There we go now Judas and Selas

themselves being prophets also exhorted and strengthened the

brethren with many words. Notice what the prophets did.

The prophets didn't only prophecy.

Prophecy is not only telling people or prophesying what's

going to happen in two years time and again.

Today's the 23rd. The rapture was supposed to

happen today. Here I am.

I don't know. Did you guys witness anyone

being taken away? No, you know, these are, these

are the, the heretics that 'cause these divisions, one of

the 45,000 of the denominations claiming that today the 3020

third rapture is going to happen because the equation minus plus

divide times bracket, square, square root shows that September

23rd. And you know, all but they're

quoting scripture. They're they're looking at

scripture and they're quoting Scripture.

Well, they misquoted the scripture because I'm still

here. Now, if it's going to happen

within the next, you know, before the day is over, well,

glory to God, but I don't think so.

I don't believe so I don't, I truly don't believe.

When I hear these, these these predictions, I totally ignore

and please don't send them to me.

Robbie, what do you think of this?

Honestly, I'll admit, I don't even open it.

I don't even reply to you because I don't want to waste my

time. I don't want to waste my time.

When the Lord returns and it's not going to be any rapture, but

when the Lord returns, we will know it's the Lord.

Truly, we will know it's the Lord because what did what does

Jesus say? You will see in the sign of the

Son of Man in the sky, that is the cross.

So if the cross appears in Bethlehem or in the Middle East,

we will see it from here. We'll know when the Lord

returns, beloved, we'll know. We'll know.

The trumpets that are blowing are the Lords, not tankers.

Tankers are blowing in the in the in the shipping dock.

Oh, it's, do you hear that sound?

Trumpets are blowing. Jesus is coming.

No, no, no. My sheep know my voice, they

strengthen them. They prophesied, meaning they

continue to talk to them in the faith.

And This is why Paul says in one Corinthians 14, five, I wish

that all of you might speak in languages, not tongues,

languages, but all the more that you may prophecy.

That means strengthen and establish people in the faith,

encourage one another in the faith.

For he who prophesizes is greater than he who speaks in

languages. Not bubble jubbling, No, no, no,

no, no, no in languages unless he translate.

But if he translate, he edifies the church.

But more so I want you to establish one another in the

faith and to conclude verses 33 to 35 and after they had stayed

there for a for a time, they were sent back with greetings

from the brethren to the apostles back to Jerusalem.

However, it seemed good to seal us to remain there.

Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch teaching and

preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.

So they remained there, encouraged them.

They continued to treat to teach the word of the Lord, not the

Bible. The Bible wasn't written there.

Jesus Christ, the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

So you see there was an issue in the church.

The church was, was persecuted. We see how they, how they

handled that. Now there was an internal issue

and how they solve that issue all by the guidance and

appealing to the Holy Spirit. Praise and glory be to His name,

now and at all times and forever.

We hope you enjoyed this week's message.

Please don't forget to rate and review this podcast and share

with your friends and family. For any future topic suggestions

or to give us detailed feedback, please visit our link in the

show notes. Linktr dot EE forward slash

double edged sword. Until next time, God bless you

all.