Recommended Bible Study Topics For Our Group To Consider

“But what does the Bible really say ...?”

• MUST CHRISTIANS OBEY THE TEN COMMANDMENTS? 
• MUST CHRISTIANS GIVE TEN PERCENT OF THEIR INCOME TO THE CHURCH? 
• CAN CHRISTIANS LOSE THEIR SALVATION? 
• SHOULD CHRISTIANS BE INVOLVED IN POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT? 
• IS BEING HEALTHY AND WEALTHY A MARK OF DIVINE FAVOUR? 
• HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR CHRISTIANS TO HAVE A VISION?
• DOES GOD WANT YOU TO IMPROVE YOUR SELF-IMAGE? 
• SHOULD CHRISTIANS ACTIVELY OPPOSE IMMORALITY IN SOCIETY
• IS FAITH MARKED BY A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE? 
• WHO ARE REAL PRIESTS, REAL SAINTS? 
• SHOULD CHRISTIANS OPERATE PUBLIC WELFARE SOCIETIES?
• WHAT MARKS PROGRESS IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF FAITH?

Consequences of bad doctrine - “Know where you stand with God ...” - Part 2 of 2 - Session 18 of 18 - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

 

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Consequences of bad doctrine

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Meet the condition ... receive the promise

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Transcript 

• 0:03 Scripture says, "Watch your life and your 
• 0:07 doctrine closely. Persevere in them
• 0:10 because, by doing so, you will save both 
• 0:12 yourself and your hearers." This is a word 
• 0:16 for pastors and Bible teachers. It's also 
• 0:20 a word of caution for all believers in 
• 0:22 Jesus. The exhortation is to be careful 
• 0:27 how you live, and what you believe and 
• 0:29 teach. Obviously, it's an ongoing struggle, 
• 0:33 because it's necessary to "persevere". It 
• 0:37 says the consequences of not getting 
• 0:40 this right may affect your own salvation 
• 0:42 and that of others. The context of this 
• 0:46 verse is the warning, "... the Holy Spirit 
• 0:49 explicitly says that in later times some 
• 0:53 will fall away from the faith." The Greek 
• 0:57 word for "fall away" in the original text 
• 1:00 is from the root word "apostasia" (in 
• 1:03 English we would say "apostasy"). In a New 
• 1:07 Testament sense, it means, "to turn away 
• 1:10 from Jesus", to give up on Him.
• 1:13 The imperative in salvation is to stay 
• 1:17 in faith in Jesus. In faith in Jesus, we 
• 1:21 are safe and secure. Without faith in 
• 1:25 Jesus, there is no salvation. The New 
• 1:29 Testament shows the danger of not going 
• 1:31 on in Jesus. In the Book of 2 
• 1:35 Thessalonians, we are told, "Let no one in 
• 1:38 any way deceive you. The Day of the Lord 
• 1:41 won't come, unless the apostasy comes 
• 1:44 first." There will be a falling away from 
• 1:48 faith in the last days. When Jesus
• 1:52 spoke of the "signs of the end of the age", 
• 1:54 He said, "Many will stumble, and the love 
• 1:58 of most will grow cold." But, He said, "The 
• 2:02 one who endures to the end will be saved." 
• 2:06 Endurance in faith in Jesus is vital. The 
• 2:11 spiritual battle is over the truth of
• 2:14 the simple Gospel of Jesus' death, burial 
• 2:16 and resurrection. Jesus asked, "Who do YOU 
• 2:21 say I am?" Is your hope fixed on Him. 
• 2:25 Why is doctrine important? Sound Bible 
• 2:29 teaching gives you deep roots in the 
• 2:32 faith. It may be challenging. It will
• 2:34 certainly be the opposite of the values 
• 2:36 of a fallen world. But it will always
• 2:40 point you to Jesus. Bad doctrine will 
• 2:44 tickle your ears. It will appeal to the 
• 2:46 flesh. To the desire in the fallen nature 
• 2:49 to magnify self. The inner voice that 
• 2:53 says "it's all about me". Focus on Jesus, 
• 2:57 and you take your eyes off yourself. Does 
• 3:02 the truth of the need to persevere to 
• 3:04 the end in faith in Jesus unsettle you? 
• 3:08 It doesn't need to. We aren't called to a 
• 3:12 loose life. We are in a spiritual battle. 
• 3:15 We do have to deal with an enemy who 
• 3:18 "prowls around like a roaring lion,
• 3:19 seeking whom he may devour". But we have a 
• 3:24 Savior who is greater than all. We are 
• 3:27 indwelt by the Holy Spirit. "The same 
• 3:30 power that raised Jesus from the dead 
• 3:32 lives in us." And we have proof in the 
• 3:37 Word of God that He is faithful. In this 
• 3:41 video series, we've talked a lot about 
• 3:43 God's purposes for Israel. This should be 
• 3:46 a comfort. God is faithful. He can be 
• 3:50 trusted to do what He says. God's
• 3:53 promises to the Jews were corporate, for 
• 3:56 "the house of Israel". God's promises 
• 3:59 haven't failed. He has always had a
• 4:01 remnant among the Jews who trust Him. 
• 4:04 Most didn't take Him seriously.
• 4:07 Most thought that it was sufficient to say 
• 4:10 that they would obey Him, and then simply 
• 4:12 put on an appearance of doing so. God 
• 4:16 called Israel, chose Israel. When they 
• 4:20 turned away, He called it spiritual
• 4:22 adultery. There were consequences for the 
• 4:26 individuals who acted that way. But 
• 4:29 God hasn't given up on Israel. God is 
• 4:33 faithful. God is going to complete what 
• 4:36 He began. There will be salvation for the 
• 4:39 whole house of Israel. Trust in the Lord. 
• 4:43 Keep your heart soft. Seek more of the 
• 4:47 Holy Spirit. Keep your eyes on Jesus and 
• 4:50 He will complete what He began in you.

God’s choice ... man’s choice - “Know where you stand with God ...” - Session 17 of 18 - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

 

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God’s choice ... man’s choice

Salvation for all who will ...

Genesis, Exodus and the New Testament - “Bringing sons to glory” - Session 24 of 24 - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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Genesis, Exodus and the New Testament

The first two books of the Bible, Genesis and Exodus, are foundational. They teach vital lessons for everyone who wants to take God seriously. The New Testament shows that righteousness is by faith ... faith in Jesus Christ. There is a powerful connection between Genesis, Exodus and the New Testament. The books are linked ... supernaturally. And there are important lessons for the modern-day church highlighted in the words and divisions of these books.

Transcript

• 0:08 There is a clear division 
• 0:09 in the book of Genesis. There are 50 
• 0:12 chapters in Genesis the first 11 
• 0:16 chapters cover creation, the fall,
• 0:18 the flood and the tower of Babel.
• 0:20 The last 39 chapters are the story of 
• 0:23 Abraham 
• 0:24 and his family. Abraham was declared 
• 0:28 righteous in the eyes of God 
• 0:29 because of his faith. "He believed in the 
• 0:33 LORD 
• 0:33 and the LORD reckoned it to him as 
• 0:35 righteousness." 
• 0:37 The last 39 chapters of Genesis are
• 0:40 foundational, 
• 0:41 because they show the vital importance 
• 0:44 of faith, 
• 0:45 and what faith looks like. 
• 0:48 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not perfect 
• 0:51 people. 
• 0:52 The Bible shows their very human flaws 
• 0:55 and failings. 
• 0:57 Furthermore, they did not follow a
• 0:59 religion. 
• 1:01 There was no priesthood to conduct
• 1:02 religious rituals, 
• 1:04 and there was no set of written laws to 
• 1:06 be obeyed. 
• 1:07 But they had promises from the LORD and 
• 1:10 they believed Him. 
• 1:13 They lived simple lives in relationship 
• 1:16 with God. 
• 1:18 Their faith wasn't triumphal. They
• 1:20 erected no monuments or symbols,
• 1:22 no buildings for worship. 
• 1:24 Their faith wasn't something they
• 1:26 paraded before 
• 1:28 others. They simply believed the LORD 
• 1:32 and, when they knew He was speaking, 
• 1:34 they obeyed. 
• 1:36 Their obedience demonstrated their 
• 1:38 belief in Him. 
• 1:40 It is impossible to overstate the
• 1:43 importance of this, 
• 1:44 if we are to understand what it takes to 
• 1:46 be right with God. 
• 1:49 The story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is 
• 1:52 related in the last 
• 1:53 39 chapters of Genesis. 
• 1:56 39 expressed by its prime factors
• 2:00 is 3 x 13. 
• 2:04 We should also note that 
• 2:06 13 chapters 
• 2:07 (from Genesis 12 to Genesis 24) cover 
• 2:10 the patriarch 
• 2:11 Abraham. Another 13 chapters 
• 2:15 (from Genesis chapters 25 to 36 plus 
• 2:18 chapter 38) 
• 2:19 are the account of Isaac and Jacob and 
• 2:21 his sons. 
• 2:23 And 13 chapters (genesis 37 and chapters 
• 2:26 39 to 
• 2:27 50 are the account of one of Jacob's
• 2:30 sons, 
• 2:31 Joseph. So the 50 chapters of Genesis may 
• 2:35 be summarized 
• 2:36 as follows: 11 chapters plus 39 chapters, 
• 2:40 or 
• 2:42 11 plus 
• 2:45 (3 x 13). The book of 
• 2:48 Exodus follows the book of Genesis. There 
• 2:51 are 40 
• 2:52 chapters in Exodus. So we have
• 2:55 11 + (3 x 13) + 40 
• 2:59 chapters in Genesis and Exodus.
• 3:02 We know that what is hinted at in the 
• 3:04 Old Testament finds fulfillment
• 3:07 in the New Testament. There are
• 3:11 137,720 Greek words in the original text of 
• 3:15 the New Testament. 
• 3:17 137,720 is 
• 3:21 11 x 313 
• 3:24 x 40. 
• 3:27 If this is a coincidence, then it is
• 3:30 a big coincidence. 
• 3:31 11 313 40 
• 3:34 chapters. 11 313 40 
• 3:38 words. Old Testament. 
• 3:42 New Testament. It looks like 
• 3:45 design. It looks like a mathematical 3:48 feature that was built into the 
• 3:50 original text of the Bible. 
• 3:53 Why? Well, first, it sends a message 
• 3:57 that the supernatural hand of God 
• 3:59 directed those who recorded the words of 
• 4:02 scripture. 
• 4:04 Second, it verifies that the division of 
• 4:06 chapters in the Bible are there by the 
• 4:08 intent of God, 
• 4:10 and it verifies that the 137,720 
• 4:14 words are the correct count for the
• 4:16 original 
• 4:17 Greek text of the New Testament.
• 4:21 But third, it raises a question. 
• 4:24 Do these divisions (11 313 
• 4:28 and 40) symbolize 
• 4:31 lessons that send a message to the
• 4:34 church today? 
• 4:36 And the answer, we believe, is "yes". 
• 4:40 This number (313) seems to symbolize 
• 4:44 faith. The simple faith of Abraham. Faith 
• 4:48 not expressed as a religion of outward 
• 4:51 show, 
• 4:51 and not marked by rules and regulations 
• 4:54 and rituals, but 
• 4:56 lived in relationship with God.
• 5:00 This number (40) shows up frequently in 
• 5:03 the plain text of Scripture in 
• 5:05 connection with a period 
• 5:06 of testing. In the time of Noah 
• 5:10 and the flood, it rained for 40 days
• 5:12 and 40 nights. 
• 5:14 Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the 
• 5:16 Law for 40 days and 40 nights. 
• 5:19 Jesus fasted in the wilderness for
• 5:21 40 days and 40 nights. 
• 5:25 The book of Exodus has 40 chapters. 
• 5:29 A test is on view for the tribes of 5:32 Israel. 
• 5:33 They saw miracles when God brought them 
• 5:36 out of Egypt, but 
• 5:37 they complained. They did not believe in 
• 5:41 God, 
• 5:41 and they did not trust in His salvation, 
• 5:44 it says in Psalm 78:22. 
• 5:48 They failed the test. So God placed
• 5:52 them under the Law. The Law is not 
• 5:55 10 commandments. The Law has 613 
• 5:58 commandments. 
• 6:00 Israel said they would obey the Law. 
• 6:03 "All the people 
• 6:04 answered together and said, 'all
• 6:07 that the LORD has spoken we will do.'" 
• 6:12 But they didn't. And they haven't.
• 6:16 Do Christians face a test of faith in
• 6:19 Jesus Christ? 
• 6:20 Yes. The New Testament says that we are 
• 6:23 in a spiritual battle. We are 
• 6:25 running a race. We must stay in faith 
• 6:29 in Jesus to the end. 
• 6:33 What about this number (11)? 
• 6:36 The 11th chapter of Genesis is the
• 6:39 conclusion of the first of the divisions 
• 6:41 in that book. 
• 6:43 It is the story of the tower of Babel.
• 6:46 At Babel God humbled man. 
• 6:50 God demonstrated that He is not
• 6:52 interested in what can be achieved in 
• 6:54 human strength, 
• 6:54 even though man's ability is 
• 6:57 considerable. 
• 6:59 At the fall, man acted in pride. He wanted 
• 7:02 to be 
• 7:02 like God, and he disobeyed God.
• 7:06 Since then, God has been in a process of 
• 7:09 reversing 
• 7:10 that pride by humbling man. 
• 7:13 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob built nothing 
• 7:16 lasting. They lived as pilgrims 
• 7:18 and wanderers. They waited. 
• 7:22 That's humbling. When God placed Israel 
• 7:25 under the Law 
• 7:26 He did it to show that men cannot 7:28 achieve righteousness 
• 7:30 by their own efforts. We need a Savior. 
• 7:34 That is a rebuke to human pride.
• 7:37 When God sent pagans to destroy the 
• 7:39 temple in Jerusalem, He did it to show 
• 7:41 that the enduring temple 
• 7:43 will not be man-made. It will be
• 7:46 a spiritual work 
• 7:47 of living stones. A work of God. 
• 7:51 And when Jesus came, He declared that 
• 7:54 "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the
• 7:56 ground 
• 7:57 and dies, it remains a single seed. But 
• 8:00 if it dies, it bears much fruit." 
• 8:05 Death to self. Death to pride and human 
• 8:08 ambition 
• 8:09 is God's way. And Jesus, 
• 8:13 although He is God and the Creator, 
• 8:16 humbled Himself unto death on a cross, 
• 8:21 and out of that humility and sacrifice 
• 8:23 and obedience 
• 8:25 comes resurrection life. There is
• 8:28 no more stark rebuke to the pride of man 
• 8:32 than the cross of Jesus Christ. 
• 8:36 Back to the beginning ... to Babel. We read 
• 8:39 in Genesis chapter 11 
• 8:40 man said, "Let us 
• 8:44 build for ourselves a city and a tower 
• 8:47 to reach into heaven, and let us
• 8:51 make a name for ourselves." 
• 8:54 And God noted that, when they were of one 
• 8:57 heart and mind, 
• 8:58 men would be able to accomplish anything 
• 9:01 they desired. 
• 9:03 But God won't have that. He won't have 
• 9:05 man exalt himself. 
• 9:08 God has a purpose. To humble man. 
• 9:12 So God scattered man over the face of 
• 9:15 the earth. 
• 9:17 And that's a lesson too easily forgotten. 
• 9:20 Yes, 
• 9:21 man has abilities. Together with other 
• 9:24 men 
• 9:24 in unity, he has almost unlimited 9:27 potential. 
• 9:28 But the lesson of chapter 11 
• 9:32 is that God wants us to be dependent on 
• 9:35 Him. 
• 9:36 In God alone is life. 
• 9:41 Jesus didn't establish an organization 
• 9:44 of men. 
• 9:44 Jesus didn't set a priesthood between 
• 9:47 believers and God. Jesus 
• 9:50 sent the Holy Spirit to lead men
• 9:54 into the purposes that He has 
• 9:57 for eternity. The LORD is building
• 10:00 His house. Only what He builds will 
• 10:04 endure. What He is building is evident 
• 10:07 only in the spirit. It is not physical. 
• 10:10 It is 
• 10:10 spiritual. It exalts the LORD,
• 10:14 not man. It is by faith, and 
• 10:17 faith will be tested. 
• 10:20 It was this way for Israel, and it is
• 10:22 this way for the church. 
• 10:25 God had 2,000 years of dealings with the 
• 10:27 Jews from Abraham to Jesus.
• 10:30 God has had 2,000 years of 
• 10:32 dealings with the church 
• 10:34 from Jesus to today. And Jesus said 
• 10:38 that the times of the gentiles will come 
• 10:41 to an 
• 10:42 end. It is a good time to assess
• 10:46 what we are doing, and how we are doing 
• 10:57 it.

What went wrong? - “Know where you stand with God ...” Part 2 of 2 - Session 16 of 18 - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

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Transcript

• 0:03 Jesus was a Jew. The apostles were Jews. 
• 0:07 The writers of the New Testament were 
• 0:09 Jews. The early church was made up 
• 0:12 entirely of Jewish believers in Jesus. 
• 0:16 They were a minority of all Jews. Most 
• 0:19 Jews refused to accept that Jesus was 
• 0:22 the Messiah. 
• 0:23 Most of the sons of Israel were looking 
• 0:26 for a conquering King, to deliver them 
• 0:29 from the rule of the Romans. A suffering 
• 0:32 servant who came to die on a cross 
• 0:34 wasn't acceptable. They couldn't get past 
• 0:38 the thinking that He was cursed, to die 
• 0:41 on a cross. Their minds couldn't make the 
• 0:44 leap to where they saw that He was 
• 0:46 bearing the curse that was on them for 
• 0:49 failing to obey all the Law, the Law that 
• 0:53 they had obligated themselves to obey in 
• 0:57 full. The Hebrew Scriptures foretold a 
• 1:01 suffering servant, but the Hebrew 
• 1:04 Scriptures also speak of a conquering 
• 1:06 king. When Jesus returns, He's coming as a 
• 1:11 king to reign. First the cross, then the 
• 1:15 crown. First the thorns, then the throne. 
• 1:20 This thinking is not appealing to fallen 
• 1:23 man. Man, without the help of the Spirit, 
• 1:27 wants the reward before the work, the 
• 1:30 victory without the sacrifice. Most Jews 
• 1:35 missed seeing Jesus as the promised 
• 1:37 Messiah. The Jews who first came to faith 
• 1:41 in Jesus faced hostility from the 
• 1:43 majority of Israel. They also faced 
• 1:46 persecution from the pagan world. They 
• 1:49 were outcasts from society. 60 years 
• 1:54 after Jesus death and resurrection, the 
• 1:57 last of the Jewish apostles who had been 
• 1:59 with Jesus had died. Now the church had 
• 2:03 become a predominantly Gentile affair. 
• 2:05 Non-Jews took charge. 
• 2:08 The first mistake they made was to get 
• 2:11 organized. They didn't want the wind of 
• 2:14 the Holy Spirit to blow them 
• 2:15 wherever He chose. They wanted man, men, to 
• 2:20 take charge. When Israel had demanded a 
• 2:23 king back in the days of Saul and David, 
• 2:26 God said "they are rejecting Me". Give them 
• 2:31 a king, but it will hurt them. And it did 
• 2:34 hurt Israel. There's a lesson in that. The 
• 2:39 second mistake was to point a finger, to 
• 2:41 blame others, to see themselves as more 
• 2:45 worthy. Among the so-called "church 
• 2:48 fathers" in the first few hundred years 
• 2:50 of church history, men blamed the Jews 
• 2:53 for killing Jesus. Around three hundred 
• 2:57 years after Jesus, church councils at 
• 2:59 Nicaea and Antioch decided to reject 
• 3:03 Jewish influences, even the Jewish roots 
• 3:06 of the faith. Augustine, writing about 
• 3:10 four hundred years after Jesus, 
• 3:12 formalized the thinking that the 
• 3:14 church was now triumphant. "Jews deserved 
• 3:19 death", he wrote, but they were destined to 
• 3:22 wander the earth as a testimony of the 
• 3:25 victory of the church over the synagogue." 
• 3:28 About five hundred years ago, 
• 3:31 Martin Luther became one of the most 
• 3:33 bitter anti-Semites in history. He 
• 3:36 described Jews as "worse than devils, 
• 3:38 poisoners, ritual murderers, parasites." 
• 3:42 He said that Jews should be expelled 
• 3:44 from Germany, and synagogues should be 
• 3:46 burned to the ground. During World War 
• 3:50 Two, Adolf Hitler told the German people 
• 3:52 that, in his final solution and the 
• 3:55 slaughter of six million Jews in the 
• 3:57 concentration camps, he was simply 
• 3:59 completing the work that Martin Luther 
• 4:02 began. Did Jews bring all this on their 
• 4:06 own heads? Did the Jews kill Jesus? Well, 
• 4:11 if you read the Bible and you pick out 
• 4:14 certain passages and you don't get the 
• 4:17 whole story, then yes, you can say that 
• 4:21 the Jews killed Jesus. The Apostle Peter, 
• 4:24 a Jew, accused his own people of 
• 4:27 condemning Jesus to death. 
• 4:30 However, it's a mistake to draw attention 
• 4:33 to Jewish responsibility for the death 
• 4:35 of Jesus, without also noting that it was 
• 4:39 Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of 
• 4:41 Israel, who passed sentence of death on 
• 4:44 Jesus. And it was Roman soldiers who 
• 4:48 carried out the execution. However, we 
• 4:52 must now go beyond what the Bible says 
• 4:54 about who did the deed, and look at the 
• 4:58 theology of the cross. The Bible says 
• 5:01 that it was the will of God the Father 
• 5:03 that Jesus pay the price for the sin of 
• 5:06 the world. Also, the Bible makes it clear, 
• 5:10 Jesus was not a helpless victim. He 
• 5:14 willingly laid down His life. Jesus paid 
• 5:18 the price for the sin of the whole world. 
• 5:21 Everyone has sinned. Everyone is guilty. 
• 5:25 Jesus' death on the cross provides 
• 5:27 atonement for sin for anyone and 
• 5:30 everyone who believes in Him. However, 
• 5:34 each of us has to learn to go beyond the 
• 5:39 observation of who did the deed, and 
• 5:41 beyond the theology, and take personal 
• 5:45 responsibility for their sin. The truth 
• 5:49 of the matter is that I crucified Jesus. 
• 5:53 It was my sin that put Jesus on the 
• 5:57 cross. I am guilty. Jesus was paying for 
• 6:02 my sin. The Lord has to bring each of us 
• 6:05 to the place where we accept full moral 
• 6:08 responsibility for our behavior, and 
• 6:11 confess our need for the mercy of God. 
• 6:15 When we do so, we gain a full 
• 6:18 appreciation of what Jesus accomplished 
• 6:21 for us, and a revelation of His love. This 
• 6:26 brings us to the matter of man's free 
• 6:29 will. 
• 6:30 Remarkably, many Christians have been 
• 6:33 influenced by a theology that denies 
• 6:36 free will and eliminates moral 
• 6:40 responsibility. 
• 6:42 This is something we have to understand 
• 6:44 properly. Go now to the next session: 
• 6:47 "God's choice, man's choice"

Jesus says, beware! Does anybody care? - “Bringing sons to glory” - Session 23 of 24 - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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Jesus says, beware! Does anybody care

In Matthew 16 Jesus tells His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were religious zealots. (The Sadducees are called Herodians in the account in Mark 8. In other words, the Sadducees were Jews who allied themselves to King Herod and to secular power.) It is clear from the context that Jesus is not talking about hypocrisy and legalism. There is a larger question.

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Dear Subscribers and Readers,

I have decided to provide the transcript below because so many Christians are under the control of the organized church religion also known as the religious church system.  Jesus does not need a religions system.

Transcript

• 0:07 Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves. 
• 0:11 Then He walked on water. Then He healed 
• 0:15 everyone who came to Him. 
• 0:18 Miracles. Impressive? 
• 0:21 Not to everyone it seems. The Pharisees 
• 0:24 said "Your disciples don't wash their 
• 0:27 hands before they eat". 
• 0:30 That's religion for you. 
• 0:32 Faith says, "My God is a miracle-working 
• 0:36 God". Faith says, "My God will supply all my 0:40 needs in Christ Jesus." 
• 0:44 Religion says, "the show is the thing". 
• 0:48 Religion says "Do what we tell you to do". 
• 0:53 Religion says, "Don't break our traditions". 
• 0:59 "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees 
• 1:02 and Sadducees" Jesus said. 
• 1:05 The leaven is the teaching of these 
• 1:08 religious types, we are told. 
• 1:11 And that's what their teaching does. It 
• 1:13 makes the managers of the religious 
• 1:16 system powerful. It gives them control. 
• 1:20 It gives them authority. And religious 
• 1:23 groups fight to protect their status. 
• 1:27 But Jesus tells His disciples "God works 
• 1:32 supernaturally". You don't have bread? 
• 1:35 Don't fret. 
• 1:37 You've seen ... God multiplies. God doesn't
• 1:41 respond to religious rituals and rule 
• 1:44 keeping. God is looking at your heart. 
• 1:48 Do you believe? 
• 1:50 Don't set up a religious system. 
• 1:54 Teach people to know Me and trust Me, 
• 1:57 Jesus is saying. 
• 2:01 There was a tax levied to pay for the 
• 2:04 running of the temple. 
• 2:06 The collectors came to Peter. "Does your 
• 2:08 Teacher pay the tax?" they asked. And Jesus
• 2:12 said to Peter, "We are sons. Sons are 
• 2:17 exempt. But, so we don't offend them, go to 
• 2:20 the sea, throw in a hook, take the first 
• 2:22 fish and in its mouth you'll find the 
• 2:24 money to pay the tax." 
• 2:28 Religion collects a church tax. 
• 2:32 Faith trusts God to provide. 
• 2:35 And for God it is ridiculously easy to 
• 2:38 provide, if we will trust Him. 
• 2:41 The only reason to set up organization, 
• 2:45 resources, money-raising, 
• 2:47 is to establish something man can 
• 2:50 control. 
• 2:53 In Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple, 
• 2:57 once at the start of His ministry, and 
• 2:59 again before His death. 
• 3:02 Jesus drove out the people trading in 
• 3:04 the temple, doing business in His house. 
• 3:08 "My house is a house of prayer", He said. 
• 3:11 "You have made it a den of robbers". 
• 3:18 The first teaching on the Kingdom of 
• 3:21 heaven says, 
• 3:22 "A man sleeps, 
• 3:24 and while he sleeps, the seed sprouts and 
• 3:26 grows. He has no idea how!" The soil 
• 3:31 produces the crop by itself. That's the 
• 3:35 life force of God working in hearts ... 
• 3:38 hidden. Man can't do that. That's God's 
• 3:43 work. 
• 3:47 Jesus' first parable is the parable of 
• 3:50 the sower. It's found in the Gospels of 
• 3:53 Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 
• 3:56 Seed is the Word of God. 
• 4:00 The seed is cast wide. Some 
• 4:03 listen. Some don't. Some grow. Some don't. 
• 4:09 Is the message forced on some, and 
• 4:11 withheld from others? No. Seed falls on 
• 4:15 soil. 
• 4:17 Soil is the heart. 
• 4:20 Fruitful soil has vital characteristics. 
• 4:27 Number 1: Good soil is an understanding heart. 
• 4:32 And the understanding is about Jesus, and 
• 4:35 forgiveness and grace, in the cross. Not 
• 4:40 self-serving, but knowing Him. The word 
• 4:45 for "understanding" is the 7,396th word in 
• 4:49 the original Greek text of the New 
• 4:53 Testament. 
• 4:55 The word order is not accidental. God has 
• 4:59 arranged it this way. 
• 5:01 7,396 
• 5:03 is 86 times 86. 
• 5:09 And 86 is the numeric value of the first 
• 5:12 word in the Bible for "God" (Elohim). 
• 5:20 Number 2: Good soil is someone who 
• 5:23 accepts the Word. 
• 5:26 Mind is engaged ... understanding. Will is 
• 5:30 engaged ... free-will. The fruitful person 
• 5:34 believes and responds. Christianity isn't 
• 5:37 something that is done to us. It's a life 
• 5:41 we participate in. 
• 5:45 Number 3: Good soil stands for the 
• 5:48 person with a good and noble heart. Mind 
• 5:53 is engaged, will is engaged, and heart is 
• 5:56 engaged. 
• 5:58 This word translated "good" or "noble" is 
• 6:01 the 35,828th 
• 6:04 word in the original 
• 6:06 Greek text of the New Testament. 
• 6:09 And that number works out at 26 times 26 
• 6:13 times 53. And that is not an accident. 
• 6:19 26 is the value of the Old Testament 
• 6:22 word that represents the name of the 
• 6:25 LORD. 
• 6:26 Jesus is the LORD. 
• 6:31 The first heart condition ... understanding 
• 6:34 (86 times 86). The ultimate condition ... 
• 6:39 a good heart (26 times 26 times 53). 
• 6:47 What is the context of the parable of 
• 6:49 the sower? 
• 6:52 Context tells us something. 
• 6:55 Immediately before the parable, Jesus 
• 6:58 says "These are My brothers ... those who do
• 7:01 the will of God". 
• 7:06 Israel, as a nation, was chosen by God. But
• 7:11 people had to respond individually, in 
• 7:14 faith. Did they believe? 
• 7:18 If they didn't believe God, then they 
• 7:20 excluded themselves from His promises. 
• 7:24 The parable of the sower shows this. Some
• 7:28 seed grows, but doesn't develop deep 
• 7:30 roots, and those fall away in time of 
• 7:34 trouble. 
• 7:37 Some seed gets choked by thorns. The 
• 7:40 cares of the world, the deceitfulness of 
• 7:42 wealth, and the desire for other things, 
• 7:44 kills the life of the Spirit. 
• 7:48 But God's people endure. Mind, heart and 
• 7:52 free-will respond in faith. And out of 
• 7:56 the life of the Spirit, fruit comes. 
• 8:01 Immediately after the parable of the 
• 8:04 sower in Luke, we read "Light your lamp ...
• 8:08 put it on a stand ... let everyone see." 
• 8:12 Jesus is the light. And that's our 
• 8:15 response. We lift up Jesus. We confess Him.
• 8:18 It's His life ... His light in us. And then 
• 8:24 Jesus builds His Kingdom. And He doesn't 
• 8:29 need a religious system to do it.

The New Covenant - “Know where you stand with God ...” - Part 2 of 2 - Session 15 of 18 - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

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God is One ... so why more than One? - “Bringing sons to glory” - Session 22 of 24 - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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God is One ... so why more than One?

Christianity affirms the existence of One God. However, the nature of God ... as Father, Son and Holy Spirit ... three in One, has been debated for nearly 2000 years. Why does the Bible present such a complex view of the Godhead? What does this mean for those who believe in Jesus Christ?

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The Law of Moses - “Know where you stand with God ...” - Part 2 of 2 - Session 14 of 18 - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

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What is meant by “prosperity”? - Session 21 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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What is meant by “prosperity”?

What is meant by 'prosperity'? Today, in the church, there is quite an emphasis on prosperity. Christians should prosper, we are told. How are we to understand this? Is prosperity part of the gospel?

Is the church Israel? - (Replacement Theology) Part 2 of 2 - “Know where you stand with God ...” - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

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New Testament references to Israel

What is meant by “the church”? - Session 20 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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What is meant by “the church”? 

When people talk about 'church' it's easy to form an incorrect idea of what is meant by the word. Both believers and unbelievers are influenced by the outward appearance and workings of the church today. The Bible corrects this impression, but it takes looking past the system and structure and traditions of multitudes of denominations and streams of theological thought. Yet it is vital to do so. A proper grasp of what is meant by church has important implications for Christians in their life of faith.

Why Israel matters - Part 2 of 2 - Session 12 of 18 - “Know where you stand with God ...” - The Living Word - 4Salvation.org

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• Bible references to the Promised Land
• Boundaries of the Promised Land
• Warnings of scattering and promises of regathering 

666 and the coming of Messiah - Session 19 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - livinggreelNT.org

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666 and the coming of Messiah

Jesus, the Messiah, will return. Old and New Testament prophecies predict this. Before the coming of Jesus there will be a great apostasy (1 Thess 2:3). There has never been a more important time to have full confidence in the integrity and accuracy of the Word of God. Study this. And don’t be deceived.

Key to revival - Session 11 of 18 - “Know where you stand with God ...” - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

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What is meant by “666” and “antichrist”? - Session 18 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” Series - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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What is meant by “666” and “antichrist”?

What is the meaning of 666 in the Bible? We are told to work it out. Who is the antichrist? The Bible tells us how to recognize him. The answers to these questions have implications for the life of faith in Christ Jesus.

What is meant by "wood, hay and stubble"? - Session 17 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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The expression 'wood, hay and stubble' is found in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 12. What does it mean? The text doesn't spell it out. We have to work it out. The answer has implications for the life of faith.

Read the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 3:

Sectarianism Is Carnal

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and [a]behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Watering, Working, Warning

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone [b]defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Avoid Worldly Wisdom

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Overcoming churchianity - Part 2 of 2 - Session 10 of 18 - “Know where you stand with God ...” - 4Salvation.org - The Living Word

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Below you will find the transcript of this video. I think this transcript is important because it allows you to go back and read what is being said. We need to understand that the modern-day church religions system is not the model that Christ planned for His Church. 

Transcript:

• 0:03 The New Testament never uses the word 
• 0:06 "church" to describe a building. The word 
• 0:09 that we translate as "church" in the 
• 0:11 original text of the New Testament is 
• 0:13 the Greek word "ecclesia". It means, "the 
• 0:18 called out ones". In other words, the Bible 
• 0:21 identifies people who are trusting in 
• 0:23 Jesus Christ for salvation, as a 
• 0:26 community, as all believers everywhere, 
• 0:29 people called out of the world and into 
• 0:32 a Kingdom, where the Spirit of Jesus 
• 0:35 reigns in their hearts. The Bible knows 
• 0:38 nothing of denominations. The Apostle 
• 0:41 Paul rebuked believers for saying that 
• 0:43 there were followers of particular men. 
• 0:45 "Has Christ been divided?", he asked. Of 
• 0:49 course, millions of Christians love their 
• 0:51 local church. They assemble each week and 0:54 are strengthened in their faith in 
• 0:56 Christ. They contribute to the life of 
• 0:58 the fellowship, and extend the love of 
• 1:00 the Lord into the neighborhood in the 
• 1:01 marketplace. No doubt God is pleased. 
• 1:05 Jesus loves His church. We are His people. 1:08 Jesus died for us. He is fitting us 
• 1:12 together as He builds a temple "of living 
• 1:14 stones". The Bible calls us "His body". He is
• 1:19 the Head, we are members of His body, each
• 1:22 with different functions. Of course 
• 1:25 there's diversity. Diversity of tasks and 
• 1:27 diversity of thought. That Christians are 
• 1:31 sometimes suspicious of one another, that 
• 1:33 there are squabbles and gossip and 
• 1:35 backbiting, tells us that in the minds of 
• 1:38 too many Christians, they don't see the 
• 1:40 unity in Jesus alone. They want 
• 1:43 conformity to the way they think. Jesus 
• 1:47 Himself, and the simple truth of the 
• 1:49 Gospel of His death and resurrection, is 
• 1:52 not enough for them. Surely that's not 
• 1:55 right? Surely we can see a need for a 
• 1:58 move of the Holy Spirit, to bond all 
• 2:00 believers together in love, and with no 
• 2:03 agenda other than His glory? The church 
• 2:08 has changed over time. 
• 2:09 How does the church of today differ from 
• 2:12 the church of New Testament writings? The
• 2:15 New Testament shows believers 
• 2:16 in Jesus meeting in small groups in 
• 2:19 homes. Believers in the groups were 
• 2:21 either learning or teaching or helping. 
• 2:24 There were no spectators. All believers 
• 2:28 were considered to be priests. Under the 
• 2:31 Old Covenant, a priest was a man from the 2:34 tribe of Levi who served the LORD and 
• 2:36 blessed others in the name of the LORD. 
• 2:38 Under the New Covenant, all believers in 
• 2:42 Jesus are considered to be priests, 
• 2:44 ministering reconciliation with God to a 
• 2:47 lost world. All believers are priests, not 
• 2:51 some believers who earn a credential 
• 2:53 from a denomination. Of course, there were 2:56 leaders in the New Testament church. God 
• 2:59 appoints certain people to be apostles 
• 3:01 (meaning those who are sent out to pioneer 3:03 new areas). God appoints others to be 
• 3:07 prophets (meaning those who bring the 
• 3:09 word of the LORD into situations). God 
• 3:11 appoints others to be evangelists, with 
• 3:13 gifts to lead people to Christ. And 
• 3:15 others to be pastors and teachers, to 
• 3:18 guide Christians spiritually, 
• 3:20 particularly in the Word of God. Those 
• 3:23 with such responsibilities are exhorted 
• 3:25 "not to lord it over others, but to lead 
• 3:29 by example." Jesus said that leaders in 
• 3:32 the church shouldn't dominate others, but 
• 3:35 should be servants to everyone. Jesus 
• 3:38 also said that leaders in the church 
• 3:40 shouldn't take titles. Apostle or prophet 
• 3:44 or pastor wasn't intended to be a title. 
• 3:47 They are job descriptions. Paul said that 
• 3:51 when he went to Jerusalem to get certain 
• 3:53 questions settled, there was no 
• 3:55 particular regard for anyone who had a 
• 3:58 reputation. Even James, Peter and John 
• 4:02 were leaders who were "reputed to be 
• 4:04 pillars in the church". In other words, 
• 4:07 Paul identified them because they "seemed
• 4:10 to lead". Obviously, they never had titles, 
• 4:13 and they must have been more in the 
• 4:15 background than upfront. There was no 
• 4:19 formal organizational structure in the 
• 4:21 early church. About 70 years after Jesus, 
• 4:25 Ignatius (a leader in the church in 
• 4:27 Antioch) instituted a hierarchy 
• 4:30 of leadership. He based the idea on 
• 4:33 the Roman system of city government. 
• 4:35 Suddenly, leaders had status. And when 
• 4:40 there was position and status to be had, 
• 4:42 then inevitably people started to 
• 4:46 compete. When there is competition, you 
• 4:49 get ambition and envy. Surely anyone 
• 4:53 reading Scripture can see that the Bible 
• 4:55 knows nothing of competition. The 
• 4:58 opposite. We are told to "regard others as 
• 5:02 more important than ourselves". The 
• 5:06 biggest change to Christian thinking 
• 5:07 came 300 years after Jesus, when the 
• 5:11 Emperor Constantine made Christianity 
• 5:13 the official religion of the Roman 
• 5:14 Empire. Instead of being a persecuted 
• 5:17 minority, humbly serving the outcasts of 
• 5:21 society, Christians became influential. 
• 5:24 Impressive buildings came next. In the 
• 5:28 minds of church leaders, Christianity was 
• 5:30 now triumphant, and it was administered 
• 5:34 by a new class clergymen ... paid 
• 5:37 professionals, centrally controlled 
• 5:39 through the issue of credentials and 
• 5:41 titles. It continues to this day. 
• 5:45 It's so much a part of the "churchianity" 
• 5:48 that people accept as normal, that almost 
• 5:51 no one stops to consider that it's not 
• 5:53 the model that's on view in the New 
• 5:55 Testament. The changes come about with 
• 5:58 what are now hundreds of years of 
• 6:00 traditions. The institutionalized, 
• 6:03 corporatized church, has acquired power 
• 6:05 and influence, and access to an endless 
• 6:09 stream of untaxed income and trillions 
• 6:12 of dollars of property. There are a few who 6:15 have a vested interest in keeping things 
• 6:17 the way they are. What's needed is not 
• 6:21 reformation. It's not a reforming of 
• 6:24 what's there. Not shifting a few things 
• 6:27 around. What's needed is transformation. 
• 6:30 The creation of a body that looks 
• 6:33 completely different, in the image of 
• 6:36 Jesus, with love reigning and without 
• 6:39 competition and envy. What is needed is a 
• 6:43 move of the Holy 
• 6:43 Spirit. God has given a condition for that 
• 6:47 renewal. In the next session, we'll 
• 6:50 examine what's coming. Go now to "Key to
• 6:54 Revival".