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Episode 76: Dogs and Swine

Double Edged Sword ♱ Assyrian Church Podcast

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

  2. Spirit forever. Amen.

  3. Glory be to the everlasting mercies which sent you to us, O

  4. Christ, the light of the world and the life of all.

  5. Give us wisdom by your law and enlighten our impulses by your

  6. knowledge. Sanctify our souls by your

  7. truth, and grant that we may be obedient to your words and may

  8. fulfil your commandments at every hour.

  9. O you who enlightens the rationale with the knowledge of

  10. your greatness, do enlight, O my Lord, our thoughts that we may

  11. meditate upon your holy and divine scriptures at all times,

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

  13. Amen. When you have something that is

  14. valuable, precious, sentimental, or even priceless, you avoid

  15. having many hands touch it or go through many hands.

  16. It's like children and cell phones or other expensive

  17. electronics, et cetera. You totally avoid having

  18. children go need them so that they do not basically destroy

  19. them as Christians. That is, made in the image and

  20. likeness of God, adopted as children of God in Holy Baptism,

  21. and having been made brothers and sisters of Christ, born with

  22. a new and spiritual birth, and drawn near to God the Father of

  23. Truth. Having received the Holy

  24. Baptism, we too have been warned by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 7,

    Matthew 7:6

  25. verse 6, not to give a holy thing to dogs, and not to cast

  26. our pearls before swine, lest they tread them under their feet

  27. and turn and lacerate. There is tear or make deep cuts

  28. within us. Now the blessed Theophilac

  29. comments on this verse stating that the dogs are the

  30. unbelievers and the swine are the believers who lead a filthy,

  31. immoral, abominable, and shameful way of life.

  32. However, this does not withhold the ACT and application of the

  33. verse to the mysteries and theology alone, but rather about

  34. dealings with others with what we have been graciously gifted

  35. with. You may have missed what I

  36. stated a little while ago, cuz I breezed through it, and

  37. intentionally, but let me precisely and diligently remind

  38. you one more time. Now take heed.

  39. We have been as Christians made in the image and likeness of

  40. God. Genesis chapter one, verse 26.

  41. God said, Let us make men in our image after our likeness.

  42. We according to Romans chapter 6 verses three and four, who were

    Romans 6 chapter mention

  43. baptized into Jesus the Christ. We were baptized into his death

  44. with a part of his death. We were buried with him in

  45. baptism into death. For as Jesus the Christ arose

  46. from among the dead in the glory of his Father, in this way we

  47. also shall walk in a new life. For if we have been planted as

  48. one with him in the likeness of his death, in this way also we

  49. shall be in his resurrection through our faith and baptism in

  50. Jesus Christ Christians. And by this we have been adopted

  51. also as children of God. How?

  52. Let's state it sequentially. Firstly, St.

  53. John states in his proclamation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

  54. John chapter one, verse 12, Those that have received him to

  55. them he Jesus Christ, he gave authority to become the sons of

  56. God. Now listen very carefully to

  57. become not have been to become. So there is a process that have

  58. been given the authority to become the sons of God or the

  59. children of children of God even through them that believe in his

  60. name. Where and when did we become his

  61. children? Saint Paul states it in

  62. Galatians chapter one, verses 26 and 27.

  63. For you are all children of God, sons of God, sons and daughters

  64. of God by the faith of Jesus the Christ, not the faith in Jesus

  65. Christ. Hey Manuta de Ishomshiq, By the

  66. faith of Jesus the Christ, for those who have been baptized

  67. into the Christ have put on the Christ.

  68. And if we are sons and daughters of God, we became, we become and

  69. we are brothers and sisters of Christ.

  70. Hence we refer to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ

  71. through Christ, because we become the children of God.

  72. And Galatians Chapter 4, verse 6 concludes and seals it as he

    Galatians 4:6

  73. writes. But because you are children,

  74. God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your heart.

  75. Who cries Father, our Father, This is the Holy Spirit.

  76. And this all in baptism. Let me read to you from the

  77. liturgy of the sacrament of Baptism what we what we recite,

  78. what the priests recite for the adults when they are baptized.

  79. Lo, we come near today towards a token of his passion, which he

  80. has verily endured, and from the womb of baptism, which is

  81. prepared for us, that from that that is Baptism, we may be born

  82. anew. Lo, we are counted His brethren,

  83. Jesus Christ. Through him we are nearing

  84. towards Thee, O God the Father of Truth, and by His teachings

  85. we confess that He is one with His Father and Holy Spirit.

  86. For the sake of all these knowledge, Thou hast granted us

  87. to know Thee, and on behalf of the salvation towards us, we

  88. will erase, praise and honor, and confession, and worship, now

  89. and at all times and forever. I mean, and for infants we

  90. recite that from the holy vessel of absolving baptism they are

  91. born with a new and spiritual birth to the increase of their

  92. faith, and their bodies being unspotted with the pollution of

  93. sin because they have not sinned yet.

  94. Children are ignorant, but they carry the original sin.

  95. They may receive a cleansing that changes not and be members

  96. of Christ. Listen to this.

  97. This is what you know when you go back and visit your baptismal

  98. videos and and and pictures. This is what happened to you.

  99. This is what you received. You received the cleansing that

  100. changes not, and you are or have been made a member of Christ and

  101. nurtured at the table of His Mysteries.

  102. And that bodily stature and spiritual increase may together

  103. grow up in you, and it has been growing in you.

  104. And that your is grace may instruct you the power of the

  105. world to come. These are words from the liturgy

  106. of the Order of Holy Baptism. These aren't just simple words.

  107. What gifts are these, beloved? All through our faith and our

  108. baptism in Jesus Christ, and that Spirit that you have

  109. received through the waters of the Baptism through the

  110. anointing of the oil of an unction or anointment?

  111. That spirit, Saint John writes in his first Epistle, chapter 4,

  112. verse four. That spirit that is in you is

  113. greater than the immoral, abominable, evil, destructive

  114. spirit that is in the world. So there's no excuse, is there?

  115. We have the power. I've got the power.

  116. Yes, we do. We have the power.

  117. Now, having all these unspeakable spiritual gifts of

  118. God through Jesus Christ, let us not give them away so easily to

  119. dogs and swine. Be careful with who you share

  120. your love. And I'm speaking about Yeros,

  121. the romantic, passionate love. Be careful who you share, your

  122. friendship, your heart, your body, your life, your gifts that

  123. you have received. There are dogs, beloved.

  124. There are unbelievers out there who will turn on you and tear

  125. you limb by limb because they have no association with you, no

  126. share in being the children of God.

  127. Remember, the dogs are the unbelievers.

  128. Those who has not have not received Jesus Christ, have not

  129. been baptized, have not received all the provisions in from the

  130. holy waters of the sacrament of Baptism.

  131. They are not your brothers and sisters in Christ.

  132. They don't care. Let me pose you a question.

  133. Will you as a brother turn on your sister or vice versa?

  134. No, of course not. Why?

  135. Because she is my sister. We've shared the same womb,

  136. we've shared the same breast and vice versa.

  137. Of course not so. Therefore, because they, the

  138. dogs referred to in the Holy Scriptures that Jesus came for

  139. them too. By the way, because they are not

  140. our brothers or sisters in Christ, they can turn on us

  141. beloved. And we must be careful that we

  142. don't share what is holy, what we have received as children of

  143. God through Jesus Christ and the holy baptism that we don't share

  144. because there is a possibility they will turn and destroy. 2

    2 Corinthians 6:14–15

  145. Corinthians chapter 6, verses 14 to 15.

  146. Now some people don't like to hear these words.

  147. Well, let me tell you point blank.

  148. It doesn't concern me whether this is going to hurt your

  149. feelings. It doesn't concern me.

  150. If this does not agree with your philosophy and your

  151. understanding and your emotion and your feelings, that does not

  152. concern me. What concerns me is your

  153. salvation. What concerns me is you living a

  154. life that is holy and pleasing according to the gospel, as

  155. Saint Paul instructs. So Second Corinthians chapter 6,

    2 Corinthians 6:14–15

  156. verses 14 to 15, do not be associated with those who are

  157. unbelievers. Now, Paul doesn't tell us not to

  158. speak to them, not to love them, not to pray for them, not to

  159. show the love of Christ. But Paul is telling us that you

  160. should not have any association with the unbelievers.

  161. For what partnership has righteousness with evil, or what

  162. intimacy has light with darkness?

  163. What harmony has the Messiah with Satan?

  164. What Lot has a believer with an unbeliever?

  165. He may be talking about the marital status of believers and

  166. unbelievers, but no, we can. We can extend it to our everyday

  167. association with our fellow men, be it a dog or a swine.

  168. And not just dogs, but also Swine's beloved, the fake

  169. believers who have their own philosophy and understanding on

  170. Christian life and Christianity, their own understanding and

  171. feeling and emotions on Christian morals and ethics.

  172. You know, when I was young, I was told by a very close family

  173. member. I was told that it's OK to steal

  174. from big companies and the rich. It's OK, but not the middle

  175. class and the poor. So much for Exodus chapter 20,

    Exodus 20:15

  176. verse 15. Thy shall not steal, right?

  177. See, there's a philosophy there. It's OK.

  178. You can steal from the rich. You can steal from your company.

  179. You know, take out the fridge in your pocket if you can, you

  180. know, steal as much funds as you want from the company.

  181. They have plenty of money, but don't don't touch and don't, you

  182. know, steal from the middle class or the poor.

  183. No, thy shall not steal. When we were young at school and

  184. some of my friends who were hearing from St.

  185. John's Park High School and in particular the Assyrian friends,

  186. we would approve and tolerate swearing to each other's

  187. fathers. Masa SAR Kababa.

  188. But not to the sisters and mothers.

  189. No, no, no, no. Let's not mention the mother and

  190. the sister. But it's OK.

  191. Jara Baba, you know the whipping the the the father becomes the

  192. whipping boy. It's OK.

  193. You can swear to your father. I can swear to your father at

  194. your father. When I want to vent my anger,

  195. I'll swear at your father. But do not mention mother and

  196. sister. No.

  197. See, that's foolish. It goes totally against what

  198. Saint Paul teaches us in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 4.

    Ephesians 5:4

  199. You read it Ephesians 5, four. Or have you heard the old time

  200. favorite? And I think it's still the all

  201. time and forever favorite a boyfriend telling a girlfriend

  202. or a fiance? Listen to this beloved fiance

  203. telling a fiance. You're still brothers and

  204. sisters in Christ. Kleebel, Klopta, Leyton, Goro,

  205. Bachta, Fiance and fiance. You're not husband and wife.

  206. You have no marital rights whatsoever.

  207. None of you have that authority on each other's body.

  208. If you love me, you will give me all that I desire.

  209. Because I love you and because I love you, I want you to fulfill,

  210. oh you know, show your love by fulfilling my desire.

  211. These are the fake, immoral, filthy believers.

  212. These are the swine Jesus is talking to about or referring

  213. to. Don't throw your pearls.

  214. You are a child of God. You are a daughter of God.

  215. You are a son of God. You are precious.

  216. You have been given something that is so precious that is

  217. reserved for that right person that will not have to ask but

  218. has the permission to receive. You know what I'm talking about.

  219. 1 Corinthians 13. Five.

  220. Love does not commit what is shameful.

  221. You love someone. You don't expect that something

  222. that is shameful to be performed by them.

  223. Husbands and wives as well beloved husbands and wives.

  224. You know, we have been given that gift of intimacy, but

  225. everything in moderation, not in shameful acts.

  226. And I think some husbands and wives who are listening know

  227. what I'm talking about. Love does not commit what is

  228. shameful, what is evil, Disgusting.

  229. Neither does it seek its own. It's not provoked.

  230. Neither does it entertain evil thoughts.

  231. So those who in the name of love want something that is so

  232. precious and is not right. Jesus is commanding us.

  233. Do not throw those pearls before these swines, let alone the dogs

  234. who are the unbelievers. Yes, you know, last I read

  235. Hebrews chapter 13, verse four, it was quite clear that marriage

    Hebrews 13 chapter mention

  236. is honorable withal, and their bed is pure.

  237. But fornicators and adulterers God judges, you have been given

  238. those precious gifts of being pure, and the only person that

  239. has the right to claim that gift I mentioned before and I repeat,

  240. is that person that God has blessed to become one flesh with

  241. you. So those again in Christianity

  242. claiming that in the name of love you must give what I

  243. request and what I desire, these are swines.

  244. Walk away from them, be it the male or the female partner.

  245. You see we are a children of light, beloved.

  246. In one Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 5.

  247. Saint Paul beautifully puts it and you know it's a wake up

  248. call, for you are all children of light.

  249. We've been illumined in the waters of baptism through the

  250. water and the Holy Spirit. And you are the children of the

  251. day, and you are not children of night, neither children of

  252. darkness. What you have that God has given

  253. you, what you have been blessed and graciously blessed with your

  254. title, your faith, the Holy Spirit.

  255. You being a child of God, meaning being the apple of God's

  256. eye for whom God took on flesh, came down and was ridiculed and

  257. was spat at and took the the crown of thorns and the nails in

  258. the hands and the feet and took the ridicule, took the spittle,

  259. took the the the spear on the side.

  260. Just for you so that you one more time can rightly as Saint

  261. Paul says through God's grace, we claim Father to be your

  262. father. We have all these gifts.

  263. Let's preserve them, Let's treasure them.

  264. Beloved, let's not be ready to just share with any person.

  265. Light has no association with darkness.

  266. Evil has no association with good.

  267. Morality has no association with immorality.

  268. Be careful, be on the alert. Satan is like a roaring lion

  269. wanting to devour but again, he that is in you.

  270. The Holy Spirit. God, the Holy Spirit that is in

  271. you is greater than he that is in the world.

  272. All we need to do is to turn to and be attentive.

  273. To that Spirit, praise and glory be to his holy Name now and at

  274. all times and forever. Amen.

  275. We hope you enjoyed this week's message.

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

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  279. our link in the show notes linktr dot EE forward slash

  280. double edged sword. Until next time, God bless you

  281. all.