Episode 130: Building the Church in Faith

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.

In our last episode, we left off where the disciples, that is

Saint Paul and Barnabas, returned to the cities that is

Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch.

It's about 105 miles distance between them.

So they'd returned to these cities in which they were

persecuted simply to continue preaching, but more so to

encourage the disciples. Now the disciples doesn't

necessarily only mean the 12, but each time they were

preaching, we read in the Scriptures, in the Acts of the

Apostles that they were making disciples.

That means they were disciplining those students.

Let's, let's call them students. Sometimes we refer to students

as our disciples as well. Now they were persecuted.

Paul played dead. They were stoning him to dead.

So obviously he must have played dead because they thought he's

dead, but he wasn't because his disciples came and took him away

and they were persecuted by the Jews who rejected the gospel.

Now the gospel doesn't mean the book always keep in mind,

doesn't mean the Bible. There was a physical Bible.

In the end, the gospel means Jesus Christ, the good news of

the Lord Jesus Christ. So they rejected it.

Why did they reject it? Because obviously they didn't

believe. They were hard.

The hearts were hearts were probably hardened.

They were stubborn and they couldn't see the truth and they

rejected it. Now they persecuted the Jew.

They persecuted Paul and Barnabas, not so much because

they rejected the gospel, but because the Gentiles, on the

other hand, who accepted it, would not attend the synagogues

anymore. They would follow Paul and

Barnabas. So that means they would not go

and pay money into the synagogues.

So you know, it was it was a double whammy.

Their finances were were affected as well.

So because of that, they wanted to get rid of Paul and Barnabas

so that these people then would have to return back to their to

the synagogues and and do their duties as far as paying to the

synagogue. Let's pick it up verse 21 and 22

and when this is Acts chapter 14, verses 21 and 22.

Acts 14:21

And when they had preached the gospel to the people of the city

and had converted many now converted many in the Aramaic

language is Tulmid. They made disciples of many,

converted many. Then they returned to the city

of Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls

of the converts and exhorting them to continue in the faith

and telling them that only through much tribulations can

can we enter into the Kingdom of God.

So they were, you know, these new at, you know, the new

Christians, the new converts, when they saw the persecution,

they must have been afraid, they must have been discouraged.

So they go back and say, listen, it's OK, just role-playing it.

It's OK. This is what it's all about.

Through afflictions. Through afflictions we can enter

the Kingdom. Only through much tribulations

can we enter into the Kingdom of God.

Why? Because they remembered Psalm

Psalms 34:19

chapter 34, verse 19. The afflictions of the righteous

are many, but the Lord rescues him from them all.

It doesn't mean that the Lord will take him away so that he is

not afflicted. No, no, no, the rescuing of our

Lord at times is perseverance. The Lord will continue to

strengthen us in faith, in trust, in hope to persevere in

that affliction, continue to be afflicted, but persevere and

glorify God with the affliction not necessarily taken away, that

there's no more pain, no more suffering.

And we're going to talk about that.

And they were learning from the very outset, from the very get

go, both the power of the preaching.

Now the power of preaching in both ways.

The Jews were being convicted. They were being convicted.

And because the preaching was so right and so holy that they went

totally opposite and wanted to persecute.

Now today we see our brothers and sisters who are out there

preaching the gospel, trying to steer people and, and, and bring

people to repentance from, from immorality, from homosexuality,

from bi gender realism, whatever it is out there.

So they're preaching. Now some of the power of the

preaching is some people they, you know, they, they think

twice. I saw this video.

There's a girl that was arguing abortion and the brother who was

preaching and, you know, not only scriptural but also

scientifically got her thinking. And then a few days, I believe,

I presume afterwards, he saw the girl again.

And I was, I was, you know, we were discussing.

She was, you know what? You made me think about it and

I'm now having second thoughts. There's the power of the

preaching. Amen.

But there's the other power where you convict someone to

such a point where Satan takes over, they start swearing,

they'll throw water at you, they'll take your placards.

They may even be very physical and abrupt and and quite, you

know, rude and disrespect. And this is the power of the

preaching. So from that very first go, both

they knew and learned the power of the preaching and at the same

time that they must also suffer for these things, right?

They didn't wait like, you know, gapping and yawning, waiting for

some miracles. Only let's see, you know, the

Lord said that you will do greater things than I Let me,

let's see if we can do some miracles.

No, yes, they wrote a lot of miracles by the power of Christ,

praise between his name, right? But they were more so ready for

the trials that they were going to go through because they had

believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They didn't need, they didn't need miracles.

Miracles were only being wrought so that those who were pagans,

non believers would see and come and be a little bit inquisitive

to come and be drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as Saint Paul writes in Philippians chapter one verse

30, having the same conflict which you saw in me and heard

about it. I see that you also are going

through the same conflicts, same afflictions.

I went through it. Soldier on continue, continue

because your reward is waiting in the Kingdom of heaven.

And this they were also taught taught by Jesus Christ.

Remember the 72 some of the 7070 or 72 because you know in the

Greek text there was no numbers even in the in the Aramaic, the

Assyrian language, there is no actual numerics their letters,

for example, ALAP is 1 youth is 1011 is youth ALAP not 112.

You know, so there was no numbers.

So some say 70 and some say 70. Well, we believe there was 72

because they that also including Adai and Thaddeus and what have

you. But 72 disciples, they came

back. What if they tell Jesus Christ

in Luke 10, jumping for joy. They were so glad, so, so

encouraged and said, Lord, oh Lord, even the demons are

subject to us in your name. Jesus didn't say, wow, I knew

you guys could do it. Corona, let's keep going.

Go, go and get another 30-40, fifty demons.

No, no, no, he didn't do that. You know, you still have a

quota. No, he said rejoice, not that

the devils, the devils obey you or the demons obey you.

No, no, no, don't rejoice in that because there's going to be

suffering. There's going to be times when

the devil will have the best of you, the demons will truly

affect you and afflict you with wounds, with atrocities.

But be strong, be of faith. I am with you.

I will not leave you nor forsake you.

You see, the pure and beneficial joy is not when you do something

good. You feel good, right?

Yeah, it's great. It's encouraging.

But the pure and beneficial joy of a Christian's Christian is to

suffer anything for Christ's sake.

If you're not suffering for Christ's sake, I would say

examine your walk with Christ, your life with Christ.

Now, suffering doesn't mean people to come and bash you and

beat you and swear at you and cuss at you.

No, no, no. You know those personal,

personal weaknesses we have if we're not suffering for Christ's

sake, we must examine our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Paul writes to the Timothy, his 2nd letter to Timothy, chapter

3, verse 12. All those who choose to live in

the worship of God, listen to this.

Listen, listen. All right, stop your vacuuming

again, here we go. Listen, listen, listen to this

very carefully to Timothy 312, all those who choose to live in

the worship of God. You want to worship God.

You believe. You believe in a God, you

worship God. I like what I do.

Yes, yes. Oh, Nirvana.

Yes, Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All right, wait, no, there's a

catch to it. All those who choose to live in

the worship of God in Jesus Christ.

So you cannot worship the true God unless it be through Jesus

Christ. Praise and glory be to his name.

Amen. Scream it out, you know, roll

down your window in the car and say Amen one more time, Steven.

Yes, Amen. Yes, only through Jesus Christ.

So if we're worshipping God through Jesus Christ, we must

also await and be prepared for persecutions.

Persecutions because they persecuted my Lord, who am I not

to be persecuted? The most despicable, shameful,

ridiculed death. He was crucified naked in in

some of the Shamasha Colin I'm I'm sure you've come across it

in the the book of the cycle Hodra where they are talking

about his crucifixion the most a shameful crucifixion they used

to crucify them naked. He took that for me Who am I who

am I not to be cussed at no glory be to Christ.

Psalm 34 verse 19 we read again, many are the afflictions of the

Psalms 34:19

righteous one and the Lord God delivers him from all gives us

the strength. So these people from the get go

knew that the blessings of what they were doing were actually

more so the suffering and their afflictions than the conversion

of the Gentiles. Verse 22, strengthening the

souls of the converts and exhorting them to continue in

faith and telling them that only through listen to this, let's go

off, Let's go off on a tangent a little bit and I like doing

that. I have a habit of doing that.

People have told me and I know and I'm going to do it now.

So this is not a valid one. This is a confessed one right in

the faith and telling them that only through much tribulation

can we enter into the Kingdom of God.

So much for rapture, right? God's going to take away all

those who believe so that they don't go through the trials and

tribulations. He's going to rapture them.

You know, you see these ridiculous, ridiculous video

clips that you know there are people walking the street.

All of a sudden from 100 people walking, fifty are gone.

Oh, oh, these are the Norton these people they're going to go

through the the tribulations. Those that were taken away.

God wanted them not to see tribulations.

Well, either Saint Paul has got it wrong or our Protestant

brothers and sisters, I think it's the latter.

I am sure it's the latter that only through much tribulation

can we enter into the Kingdom of God.

Verse 23. And when they had ordained, oh,

ordained them elders or presbyters?

The the word priest comes from presbyters.

You know what was happening. Let me tell you, the apostles,

at first it was the apostles who would baptize.

They were the ones that would administer all the the

sacraments, the Holy Mysteries. Then the Church began to grow

and grow, and then they had churches in different places.

Then that overseer, that Bishop, that apostle of today could not

be in three places at once. So they ordained presbyters and

they gave them the authority to go and minister the Eucharist or

the go and minister the sacraments of the holy

Sacraments, so that the the Bishop would remain in the

cathedral. OK, so they ordained, let's go

back again. And when they had ordained them

elders or priests in every church and had prayed with them

with fasting, they commanded them to our Lord on whom they

believed ordained. Afraid not so much fasting,

refuted and opposed by some of our Protestant brothers and

sisters. You don't need to fast.

How many times do we read in the Acts of the Apostles that they

were fasting? Or fasting is for a period of

sorrow and mourning. So Christmas time, we don't need

to fast because we're joyous. That's ridiculous.

Find me in the Scriptures or in the Church fathers or in the

church the the the framework of the church or the church canons.

No, no beloved fasting, we must fast.

Why? Because Jesus fasted.

Period. Thank you, God bless you gain,

set and match. Jesus did it.

I will do it. Be imitators of me, says Saint

Paul. Because I imitate Jesus Christ,

Saint Paul fasted. So I am to imitate Paul

according to the biblical instruction.

That means I need to fast as well.

Who ordained, beloved? Who ordained?

Why weren't they just brought in front of the assembly?

And everyone lift up, up their hands and praise Jesus and yes,

Jesus and Amen Jesus and take this brother Jesus.

And we want this brother Jesus. No, no, they didn't.

Who ordained them? The apostles ordained them.

Paul and Barnabas ordained them. Let's talk a little bit about

ordination. Siamida Matotitida, the laying

on off hands in the Aramaic language, Siam ETA, matotid ETA,

because during an ordination the hand is laid.

Let's go back in the Old Testament because these things

are not just something new. These were practiced in the Old

Testament according to the flesh.

Now Jesus didn't abolish, remember, but remember that.

Don't get me going about. Jesus abolished the Old

Testament. Don't get me going there.

No, He didn't abolish. He came to fulfill and then He

superseded with the spiritual, not the physical anymore.

Numbers chapter 27 verses 18 to 20 listen carefully, listen

Numbers 27:18–20

intently. We say in the in the the divine

literature of a holy Qurbana, the Eucharist.

So whatever you're doing, stop, listen Numbers 2718 to 20, grab

your Bible. If not, jot down the verse and

then you can go and read it. It says, and the Lord God said

to Moses, and this is God speaking, praise and glory,

glory be to his name. When God says, when the

scriptures say and the Lord God said, that's it.

We stand alert, attentive. What did, what did God say?

And the Lord God said to Moses, take to yourself Joshua son of

Nun, a man who has the spirit, stop, stop.

What spirit? Evil spirit?

No, no, no, that's not what the Scripture's about.

No, no, he had to spill it. The Spirit of God, the Holy

Spirit. So this man has the Holy Spirit

in him, right? A man who has the spirit in him.

So God's chosen him, the spirits in him, and lay your hand upon

him. Why God, Why?

Why do you need Moses? He's only a mere men.

I don't need anyone between me and God and Christ.

I have direct connection. Well, answer me, you know, give

me, give me some feedback on this, these verses.

Let's keep going and lay your hand upon him.

Stand him before Eliazar the priest.

Nothing about standing at the in front of the assembly where

everyone can raise their hands and pray and invoke the Holy

Spirit. It doesn't.

Holy Spirit doesn't even descend confidently, comfortably.

I will say that. No, just because there are

faithful standing around and they will, they will invoke the

Holy Spirit. No, no, no, no.

God is talking to Moses. He could have done it himself,

standing before Eliazza, the priest.

That's why during all the nations, there's always the

Archdeacon. That's not going to that.

And before all of the assembly, yeah, the the congregation must

see him and command him in their sight.

So give him his instructions in their sight.

Nothing about the assembly accepting him yet and praying

upon him yet. Nothing.

No. And put some of your glory upon

him. Lord God, praise be to your

name. The Spirit is on this person.

What's Moses going to give him? Not the glory of Moses, but the

glorious gift that Moses had had accepted and received when God

called him. Put some of it on him.

That's why when the Bishop lays his hand on a priest, on a

Deacon, he puts the glory that God has given him, the position

that God is giving him, the authority that God is giving

him. Lay it on the person that is

being ordained. Put some of your glory upon him,

that all of the assembly of the children of Israel shall obey

him. That's all that says about the

assembly. They just shall a boy obey him.

That's it. He's been ordained.

That's how they were ordaining. Ephesians chapter 4 verse

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

nineteen, 9:00 to 11:00. But that he ascended, he's

talking about Jesus. What is it?

But that also He first descended, so he came down.

That's why he went up to the lower regions of the earth, not

hell. If anyone tells you I had a

dream and Jesus took me to hell, that's that's false.

Christ did not go to hell. Hell is for Satan and his

demons. He went to Shoal, to the regions

of the lower regions of the earth where there was death.

He who descended is the same who also ascended higher than all

heavens. Praise be to his name, Jesus

Christ, to restore all things, to bring back all things, to

justify all things, to make right all things.

And he gave who Jesus gave some who are apostles, some who are

prophets, and some who are evangelists, and some who are

pastors and some who are teachers.

Not the credential of a APHD or a Masters degree.

No, no, no, Jesus gave them to be what they are.

So Christ gives that. And today, where does Christ

impart these spiritual gifts? Through his Church and through

the laying on of the apostles. Which church?

Let me make it very, very clear. Very clear.

The one holy and Apostolic and Catholic, meaning universal,

complete Church. That Church.

That Church. The one holy and Apostolic and

Catholic with a small C Not Roman.

When we say Catholics, we're not always talking about the Roman

Catholic Church. No, no, no, no.

Catholic means universal and complete through that church.

Jesus is still choosing his. Those who call.

He calls for His ministry. Romans chapter 10 verse 14.

Romans 10:14

Therefore, how would they call this one unless they believe in

him? How are they going to call on

Jesus Christ if they haven't believed in Him?

Someone who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ, they're not going

to say, oh Lord Jesus Christ, come and help me.

No, they'll actually be, you know, mocking Jesus Christ has

to say, how are they going to call unless they believe in him?

OK, great. That's a good question.

But let me let's keep going. How are they going to believe in

him unless they hear him or they hear about him?

How are they going to hear about how are they going to believe in

someone they haven't heard of? Great.

But wait, there's more. Or how would they hear without a

preacher? Oh, there it is.

So we must all go and preach. No, not everyone's being called

to preach. Beloved, just because you've

read the Bible cover to cover, it doesn't mean anything.

Reading the Bible cover to cover doesn't give you the authority

to go and preach and teach. No.

Well, you know, let let me correct that.

Preach. Yeah, maybe preach.

But what do you preach? Your own understanding, your own

understanding of the Gospels, your own interpretation of the

gospels. No, you preach the interpreted

scriptures within the framework of the church and the Holy

Fathers. Beloved, you know, next episode

we're going to talk about Sola Scriptura in Acts chapter 15,

Acts 15 · chapter mention

and that's going to be so refuted because we're going to

see that the apostles themselves did not adhere to solar

scriptura, only the Scripture. If it's only the Scripture, why

are there so many interpreters? Why are there so many Talkback

shows where you call, oh, hey, Tom, I don't understand this

verse. Well, I'm sorry, Tom shouldn't

even be there. Tom should say, I'm sorry, what

are you calling me? No, the Bible interprets the

Bible. You can just just read it.

It will tell you why there's so many books written Quran

Bookstore, why there's so many books written on, on

expositions, on the holy scriptures.

You know why? Because they knew that it's

ridiculous. It was ridiculous at first, and

then knowing that the church never adhered to solar scriptura

because the fathers would teach and the church lived and

continued by the direction and the leadership of the Holy

Spirit. Not so much the Scriptures

alone, right? So how would they hear without a

preacher? Or how will they preach unless

they will be sent? Who sends them?

The church sends them. Let's not forget how Paul and

Barnabas were sent. By whom?

Who sent Paul and Barnabas? Acts chapter 13, verses 2 and

Acts 13:2

three. While the church was gathered

and they were ministering, they were ministering to the Lord.

And there it is again and fasted the Holy Spirit said, so

sometimes the Holy Spirit is audible, you can hear it.

The Holy Spirit said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul for the

work we're on to. I have called them the Church,

the one holy and Apostolic and Catholic Church.

And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on

them, they sent them away. Who laid their hands on them?

Acts 13. One, the prophets and the

teachers, you know, at that time they weren't any presbyteries.

There were these prophets, they were teaching, they were, they

were moved by God and they, you know, they believed in the Lord

Jesus Christ. But then, when there was a need

for presbyters, we see that Paul and Barnabas start ordaining

priests so that they can continue the work of the Lord,

verse 24 till the end. And after they had travelled

through the country of Presidia, they came to Pamphylia.

And when they had preached the word of the Lord in the city of

Perga, they went down to Italia talk about this.

And then they sailed and came to Antioch, because from there they

had been recommended to the grace of the Lord for the work

which they fulfilled. And as the whole congregation

was gathered together, they related everything that God had

done to them and how He had opened the door of the faith to

the Gentiles. And there they remained a long

time with the disciples. 105 miles.

These people worked on Lystra and the Iconium and Antioch and

all these other cities. 105 miles.

Italia is the ancient name for the city now known as Antalya.

It's a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of the

southwestern Turkey. This is the region they were

walking beloved. But look at verse 27.

They rehearsed or they the the whole came gathered and they

related everything that God had done not how they were

persecuted and Paul wasn't there with sour grapes.

And you know what Oh, they, they persecuted me.

They stirred me. I was almost dead.

It was so bad. It was so you know, it was an

atrocity and it was bad. It was bad.

No, they didn't even talk about that, but that what God had done

and everything that God does is good.

How he opened the door of faith on to Gentiles.

You know, we should share the good news, the the positive news

of our Christian life to one another, right?

Not so much be, you know, always, you know, what is it,

you know, upset and depressed and all, you know, I'm suffering

so much. It's OK.

Suffering is for all, especially the Christians, right?

The pure and the beneficial joy of a Christian is when he

suffers for Jesus sake, right? They didn't talk about that near

death experience, only what God had done.

And when God does, beloved, it is a testimony to tell the world

what God has done. Just like when Jesus healed that

God, that that boy that was in the cemetery who was demon

possessed, he said, I want to come follow you.

He says, no, go and tell your family what God has done for

you. Praise and glory be to his name.

Next episode is Acts chapter 15. This is very interesting, a very

Acts 15 · chapter mention

interesting chapter where we see that the disciples and the

apostles in Jerusalem are confronted with a dilemma.

Do we circumcise and baptize or we don't?

And some of the some of the Pharisees who had believed

referred to Scripture in the Old Testament where God said that

this you need to uphold these generations to come.

And they said, listen, we have to this is the Scripture.

This is what God had said through the Scriptures.

I won't reveal too much. We'll see how that solar

Scripture actually is not upheld by the holy Apostles, but what

is upheld is the work and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Praise and glory be to His name now and not all times and

forever. Amen.

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double edged sword. Until next time, God bless you

all.