Episodes
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Jesus says: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
From the Gospel of Luke (12:49-56): “Jesus the Divider”
Introduction: While Jesus does bring us “Peace”, Jesus tells us that His ways are not always our ways; and Jesus does not always bring us “Peace”. In the world, we have tabulation; but Jesus has overcome the world. However, Jesus tells us, in Luke 12:49-56, that He, also, brings “division”. Today, like in the time period of Luke’s Gospel, we need to pay attention to God’s signs in the world.
Today’s Message: If we are serious about being a follower of Jesus today, we need to listen to Jesus in Luke 12:49-56. Jesus begins His Simon, to many thousands starting in Luke 12:49, with His “fire of persecution”: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! In this passage, “fire” does not mean the Holy Spirit; “fire” means the “fire of persecution” – which is “when the Gospel is preached without compromise”. This “fire” is the hostility that occurs when the world hears the Gospel preached without compromise.
Jesus continues, in Luke 12:50, with: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”. Jesus uses “baptism” to refer to His immersion in death and His separation from the Father on the cross, but death would not hold Him. Continuing with Luke 12:51, Jesus tells us: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”. How does this statement of “division” rather than “Peace” reconcile to Jesus’ other statements regarding His bringing “Peace” into the world?
This apparent contradiction, regarding Jesus and His “Peace”, can be addressed by considering the five ways the word “Peace” is used in the Bible [as presented in the audio teaching]: 1) an attribute of God; 2) fruit of the Holy Spirit: 3) a state of mind; 4) absence of conflict; and 5) being in right relationship with God through Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus, in Luke 12:51, says that: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”, Jesus is referring to the Bible’s use of “Peace” regarding an “absence of conflict”. Jesus is telling His followers that He, the Gospel, and His followers have come to disrupt and confront. However, Jesus wants to have “Peace” in the other four contexts of “Peace”.
In Jesus, we do have “Peace”; but when we do stand with and for Jesus, “division” and conflict are created. In this passage from Luke, Jesus wants His followers to know that following Him will have a cost in terms of conflict and worldly tribulation. Many in and of the world will not tolerate our communication of the Gospel. Jesus is not saying that “division” is good. Rather, Jesus, in John 17:22-23, expresses His desire, to the Father, for His followers to all be one with Him and the Father. However, Jesus is warning us that “division” is inevitable because we are human and sinners.
Jesus ends His message to those assembled, in Luke 12:54-56, with: “He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’". In this passage, Jesus was pointing toward His purpose on earth and the cross; but no one understood His message at the time period of His teaching in Luke – they could not read God’s signs. Do we see and follow God’s signs, or do we miss them and become party to creating “divisions”?
TODAY’S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:49-56; Luke 3:21; John 14:27; Judges 6:24; Romans 15:33; Philippians 4:9; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 2:13; John 16:36; John 17:22-23; Psalms 28:1-9.
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – God, the Father, Is Spirit; Jesus Followers Must Worship the Father in Spirit and Truth with Reality and Honesty and Not a Façade: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Saturday Sep 10, 2022
Saturday Sep 10, 2022
Jesus says: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
From the Gospel of Luke (12:49-56): “Jesus the Divider”
Introduction: While Jesus does bring us “Peace”, Jesus tells us that His ways are not always our ways; and Jesus does not always bring us “Peace”. In the world, we have tabulation; but Jesus has overcome the world. However, Jesus tells us, in Luke 12:49-56, that He, also, brings “division”. Today, like in the time period of Luke’s Gospel, we need to pay attention to God’s signs in the world.
Today’s Message: If we are serious about being a follower of Jesus today, we need to listen to Jesus in Luke 12:49-56. Jesus begins His Simon, to many thousands starting in Luke 12:49, with His “fire of persecution”: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! In this passage, “fire” does not mean the Holy Spirit; “fire” means the “fire of persecution” – which is “when the Gospel is preached without compromise”. This “fire” is the hostility that occurs when the world hears the Gospel preached without compromise.
Jesus continues, in Luke 12:50, with: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”. Jesus uses “baptism” to refer to His immersion in death and His separation from the Father on the cross, but death would not hold Him. Continuing with Luke 12:51, Jesus tells us: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”. How does this statement of “division” rather than “Peace” reconcile to Jesus’ other statements regarding His bringing “Peace” into the world?
This apparent contradiction, regarding Jesus and His “Peace”, can be addressed by considering the five ways the word “Peace” is used in the Bible [as presented in the audio teaching]: 1) an attribute of God; 2) fruit of the Holy Spirit: 3) a state of mind; 4) absence of conflict; and 5) being in right relationship with God through Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus, in Luke 12:51, says that: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”, Jesus is referring to the Bible’s use of “Peace” regarding an “absence of conflict”. Jesus is telling His followers that He, the Gospel, and His followers have come to disrupt and confront. However, Jesus wants to have “Peace” in the other four contexts of “Peace”.
In Jesus, we do have “Peace”; but when we do stand with and for Jesus, “division” and conflict are created. In this passage from Luke, Jesus wants His followers to know that following Him will have a cost in terms of conflict and worldly tribulation. Many in and of the world will not tolerate our communication of the Gospel. Jesus is not saying that “division” is good. Rather, Jesus, in John 17:22-23, expresses His desire, to the Father, for His followers to all be one with Him and the Father. However, Jesus is warning us that “division” is inevitable because we are human and sinners.
Jesus ends His message to those assembled, in Luke 12:54-56, with: “He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’". In this passage, Jesus was pointing toward His purpose on earth and the cross; but no one understood His message at the time period of His teaching in Luke – they could not read God’s signs. Do we see and follow God’s signs, or do we miss them and become party to creating “divisions”?
TODAY’S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:49-56; Luke 3:21; John 14:27; Judges 6:24; Romans 15:33; Philippians 4:9; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 2:13; John 16:36; John 17:22-23; Psalms 28:1-9.
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – Letting God Be Lord Over Your Finances, which Are His but He Entrusted to You, Will Liberate Your Life!: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Friday Nov 27, 2020
Friday Nov 27, 2020
On Thanksgiving Day this Week, We Gave Thanks for Our Many Blessings, and Yet We Nullify Our Thanks with Diminishing Ten Commandment Respect
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
We must have a Spiritual Awakening to return America to God, and what better time to begin America’s Spiritual Awakening than this Day of Thanksgiving during this period of fear and uncertainty?
Today, we are in a period of fear and uncertainty along with the diminishment of the Ten Commandments and America’s founding principles. To this end, will you "Stand in the Gap”, on behalf of God and your country, to participate in and lead a Great Awakening and Spiritual Renewal in America?
On July 4, 1776, the signers of the Declaration of Independence began a revolution which led to the formation of the United States of America. This American Revolution was rooted in the belief that all people are subject to the rule of God, even the King; and leaders are NOT above the law. Also, everyone is endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Many people have tried to deny that America's founders created a country which wove together the concept of self-governance with Christian principles. Now, it appears the focus, of many political and church leaders, is to eliminate ideas, laws, policies, and objects that relate America to Christianity, the Bible, or anything that smacks of God. Today, unfortunately, this focus away from God and our founding principles is succeeding.
Today, through our actions, laws, and cultural revisions of our founding Christian principles, we have told God, whom we no longer fear, that we do not want Him around. Therefore, we must consider what God said He would do and what He has done in the past when people have turned away from Him, as told in Psalms 2:1-2,5,10-12: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed . . . Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying . . . Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.". In the past, as indicated in Psalms 2, God has withdrawn His presence, including His protection and divine wisdom, when people have turned away from Him. God’s presence has guided America for so many years, and the withdrawal of God’s presence in America would leave us to reap the consequences of our focus away from Him.
Also, consider what the Lord said, in Ezekiel 22:30-31: "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore, I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”.
However, in Zechariah 1:3 and in many other promises throughout the Bible, God says to his people in the past and to us today: “Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: ‘Return to me’, says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will return to you’, says the LORD of hosts.". Will you "Stand in the Gap”, on behalf of your country, to participate in and lead a Great Awakening and Spiritual Renewal in America by returning America to God?
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Past Failures. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Grace. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ezekiel 22:30-31; Psalms 2:1-12; Zechariah 1:3; Daniel 4:31b-32; Matthew 22:19-21; Isaiah 29:8-24; Psalms 127:1-5.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “We Need to Create a Culture of Grace and Kindness in Our Country Today Which Gives Others the Benefit of the Doubt and Visibly Values Other People", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “We All Need “Hope” in Today’s World of Fear, Doubt in Our Faith, and Feelings of “Hopelessness”; and God Is this “Hope””: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Watch the World Today Through the Lens of Jesus’ Teachings; “I came to cast fire on the earth . . . {and} division”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Introduction: Jesus does always bring His Followers a personal “Peace” through our Salvation, by God’s Grace, as God’s “Peace that passes all understanding”. However, Jesus tells us that His ways are not always our ways; and Jesus does not always bring “Peace” to and in the world. The world has tribulation; but Jesus has overcome the world. However, Jesus tells us, in Luke 12:49-56, that He, also, brings “division”. Today, like in the time period of Luke’s Gospel, we need to pay attention to God’s signs in the world.
Today’s Message: If we are serious about being a Follower of Jesus today, we need to listen to Jesus in Luke 12:49-56. Jesus begins His Simon, to many thousands starting in Luke 12:49, with His “fire of persecution”: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! In this passage, “fire” does not mean the Holy Spirit; “fire” means the “fire of persecution” – which is “when the Gospel is preached without compromise”. This “fire” is the hostility that occurs when the world hears the Gospel preached without compromise and rejects Jesus and His Gospel.
Jesus continues, in Luke 12:50, with: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”. Jesus uses “baptism” to refer to His immersion in death and His separation from the Father on the cross, but death would not hold Him. Continuing with Luke 12:51, Jesus tells us: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”. How does this statement of “division” rather than “Peace” reconcile to Jesus’ other statements regarding His bringing “Peace” into the world? This apparent contradiction, regarding Jesus and His “Peace”, can be addressed by considering the five ways the word “Peace” is used in the Bible [as presented in the audio teaching]: 1) an attribute of God; 2) fruit of the Holy Spirit: 3) a state of mind; 4) absence of conflict; and 5) being in right relationship with God through Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus, in Luke 12:51, says that: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”, Jesus is referring to the Bible’s use of “Peace” regarding an “absence of conflict”. Jesus is telling His followers that He, the Gospel, and they [His Disciples} have come to disrupt and confront the world. However, Jesus wants to have “Peace” in the other four contexts of “Peace”.
In Jesus, we do have “Peace”; but when we do stand with and for Jesus, “division” and conflict are created. In this passage from Luke, Jesus wants His followers to know that following Him will have a cost in terms of conflict and worldly tribulation. Many in and of the world will not tolerate our communication of the Gospel. Jesus is not saying that “division” is good or bad. Rather, Jesus, in John 17:22-23, expresses His desire, to the Father, for His followers to all be one with Him and the Father. However, Jesus is warning us that “division” is inevitable because we are human and sinners.
Jesus ends His message to those assembled, in Luke 12:54-56, with: “He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’". In this passage, Jesus was pointing toward His purpose on earth and the cross; but no one understood His message at the time period of His teaching in Luke – they could not read God’s signs. Do we see and follow God’s signs, or do we miss them and become party to creating “divisions”? Are we listening for God’s Word in our lives and in the life of the world – are we watching the world today in the context of Jesus and His teachings?
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:49-56; Luke 3:21; John 14:27; Judges 6:24; Romans 15:33; Philippians 4:9; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 2:13; John 16:36; John 17:22-23.
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “As a Christian, You Are Equipped for God’s Purpose; Be Courageous and Let Others See Jesus In You for God Is With You”: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB