"Called to Witness"

In today's episode we jump into John chapter 1, and go through and discuss the call to witness.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Mind of Christ podcast with myself, Stefan and Uriah. Today we're gonna be jumping into the book of John, chapter one. Um I had sat down at breakfast with our pastor recently, and we were talking, he was just asking me what mind Uriah's vision is for his podcast. And all I could just think is we want to be in the perfect will of God, and we want to find ourselves in in the mind of Christ. We want ourselves to be as perfectly there as possible, and that's why it is titled the way it is. And with that, my pastor mentioned literally just exploring the life of Jesus. Yeah. And I brought it up to you, Raya, and we I think we both prayed about it and we both just felt peace with it, and it just felt like the right thing to do if we want to explore the mind of Christ.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

See what that looks like, and it's most perfect. You know, it's the you know, we want to know what the mind of Christ looks like. We look at the life of Christ and we see well how we are supposed to live, and you know, we we want to see that, and we do see that in scripture and just looking at that, and you know, we we probably won't be, you know, just reading exclusively from the gospel of John, but I'm sure, you know, as the gu as God gives either of us something to say, we'll you know, we'll go there and whatever. We're just gonna we're just gonna flow, but we at least know where we're starting, praise God. You know. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

So we're just gonna start John chapter one, verse one, and as the Lord leads us to speak, we're gonna speak on it. I know we've already talked about this a little bit beforehand, and uh what has really been sticking out with us. Obviously, we'll see throughout this. We're not seeing really his lived life on earth at this point. We're seeing the prophetic um word of his coming, right? Right, and of who he is, and that's really what we get in the beginning here, but even then we can still see his nature within what is being prophesied. So that's really what we're trying to seek out and find him within as we're reading this word. So I'll just start here um with John one, and we'll just go. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

And like something that um you'll notice a lot, especially with John's ministry, and you'll see it um uh uh f on fully on display, and and um you'll see it in my in Matthew chapter three, in um, I believe Mark chapter one, John chapter three, is um John understood his place in the kingdom. Right. John understood, and he's now he again, he's not the Christ, he's not the Messiah, but he is the one that is to prepare the way for the Messiah. He's the one that is to prepare the way for the Lamb of God. So his attitude about himself is I'm reminded of um a quote by JT Pugh, and he said, Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's not true, true humility is not thinking of yourself at all. It's not thinking about your wants, it's not thinking about your expectations, and if you read through if you read through Luke 1, John John came from a very prestigious family. Zacharias was a priest, and we can, you know, I'm sure we can get into that at some other time in the book of Luke, but John had his whole life ahead of him, so to speak. But the angel that spoke to Zachariah told him he's gonna fulfill this prophecy that Isaiah spoke hundreds of years ago. God had a plan for John, and that John and that plan did not include John telling God what that plan was.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

John did not, you know, he didn't bring his expectations to God and tell God what he had to do. John, as uh in Luke chapter 1, verse 80, it says, The child was in the wilderness till the day of his showing unto Israel. So even just even from the very first few verses of the gospel of John the disciple, even in in verse verse 8 was really what got me here, he was not that light, but he came to testify about the light. And that is every single one of the the purpose of every single believer.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

Not obviously not the the the main purpose, but that is the foundation of being a witness. That is the foundation of being a vessel, that is the foundation of reaching people and and winning souls, as we would call it. It's understanding who God is, who we are, and that we're not God. So from the very beginning, John tells us he wasn't that light, but he was sent to be a witness. And that's what the Holy Ghost has given us power to do, according to Acts chapter 1, verse 8. He's given us power to be witnesses. So if I'm not being a witness, if I'm not allowing that concept, that principle of testifying of the light, of testifying about that light, then I'm not fully letting the Holy Ghost operate in my life. Now that's not to say, oh man, I've just got to find every opportunity to witness to somebody. It's okay, there's a problem here. God, you know how to fix this problem. I give this problem to you. I understand I'm not completely fulfilling my purpose. What is hindering me from that?

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

But anyways.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

And that's where we find ourselves trying to be within that perfect mind of Christ. When when you see you're not in that purpose, right? Yeah. When you see that there's an issue that's not being m met with uh the answer, right? Are the way out of that is if I can say it like that, is for us to be prayerful in it. Absolutely constant of prayer following peace, and that piece is gonna guide us in that. And I got more to add to the witness stuff and just stuff that I've noticed in this chapter, but I'm gonna wait. This that way we don't get ahead of what is already written in here, but we'll we'll talk about that shortly. Yeah um, but continuing on uh in verse nine, I believe it was, that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Yeah. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

SPEAKER_03 8:24

But listen, listen to these, oh my gosh. These these words are underlined. These next two verses are underlined in my Bible right now, because this is the story of Gentile redemption, Gentile salvation, which anybody who is not, you know, a Jew, which I guarantee you 99% of our listeners are not. You may be, I don't, I don't know. I I I don't know. But most people that have the opportunity to be saved today did not have the opportunity to be saved before Jesus was crucified and the baptism of the Holy Ghost was given. They didn't have that opportunity. So these these next two verses are just absolutely powerful to me. There he's taught John is John is highlighting the this lay that came into the world, his own his own people, the people that had the prophecies. Uh Paul said, To whom pertain the adoption, to whom pertain the prophecies, and all of these different things. Those people did not receive him. They didn't want him. Why? And I could, you know, I could spend a while talking about this, but Mark chapter 7 says, You teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The reason why is because they were looking at the the word that they had been given through their perspective, through the perspective of the fathers, and they weren't looking at it the way God would have them to look at it. And it says that um oh, what is it? Actually, never mind. I'm not gonna go I'm not gonna say that, but regardless, these next two verses are just absolutely powerful. I love it, I love it so much, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

But as many as received him, yeah, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, yeah, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

SPEAKER_03 10:28

But of God. Oh my gosh. And that shows us that our our birth, we can't even we can't even take credit. We cannot take credit for a single thing that God has accomplished in our lives. We cannot take we can't we can't even take credit for being born again, much less everything that God desires to do through us. And there are many people today, even in the apostolic church, Stefan and I were talking about this a little bit before um we started recording, but the reason why so many people don't uh they're not disciples. They're really not they're in they're in the church, but they are not disciples of Jesus Christ is because they're trying to do it through their own strength, not realizing according uh Philippians chapter 2, verse 13, it says, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Right. So everything that God wants to accomplish, has accomplished, and is accomplishing through me. Everything that he's doing, it's all it's all it all came from him. It's all for his glory. And we under we understand it's all for the glory of God, but we can't, you know, we try to do it through our own efforts so much and try to still give God glory for it. But that's not how it works, you know. But anyways, I don't know if you've got something to say about that, Stefan, but that the these verses are just they're powerful. Man, I love I love it so much. I mean it's the word of God, but I love it still.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. I'm so grateful for that. Yeah, oh my gosh, there's so much, there's so much just right there, but and continuing on, uh this in the Bible app that I'm reading out of it goes to John the Baptist's testimony, is uh what it labels it as. It says, John bear witness of him and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

It's it's so powerful that the revelation that we see John already had. Yeah, right. Like it it's clear this did not just come from the prophecy that was spoken over his life, but it came from that time in the wilderness. Yeah, from experience. Exactly. He he had this knowledge, this revelation because of that. Yeah, and of his fullness, have all we received and grace for grace. And I was talking to your eye about this because this verse just messed with me. And of his fullness, that full that word fullness there in the Greek can also be translated to abundance. There there's so much of his grace that it just out of his abundance we've received this grace.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Yep.

unknown 13:48

Man.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

And and um the I I love how the the I have the new American Standard Bible here. And starting with actually verse 15, it says, John testified about him and called out, saying, This was he of whom I said, and this this this wording popped out to me. He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior. Because he existed before me. For of his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

unknown 14:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Again, we can do nothing but by the grace of God. Nothing that we do is of any eternal value unless God is the one accomplishing it through us, unless we are the ones saying, Here am I. You want to do something? I yield myself to you as your vessel, no more, no less, but your vessel. It's grace upon grace. It's the work, it's the work of the spirit upon the work of the spirit. It's just it it never it he doesn't want it to stop. This grace doesn't stop. He's all he's always got more to give. He's always got he always wants to do more, you know. But that that's just that's what popped out to me in in those two verses. John understood this grace. He he experienced it because he was in the wilderness. We don't we don't really know how long, but he he knew that God was his provider. He knew that this this one that was about to be manifested as a man was his provider. And is his provide, you know, he understood that. But anyways.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

And just if you hear any background noise, we are recording in my house. So that is what that is. Um but continuing on. Uh for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Yeah. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I'm not the Christ.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

Again, again, he's just John is just pounding on this forerunner, this guy that was supposed to prepare the way, and he did prepare the way for the bodily manifestation of the I am God. He understood, I am not the Christ. I am not this Messiah. Do not worship me, do not put your focus on me. And in the in in our culture today, in our and our not it's not just, you know, it's not just I I was um actually talking with um a man of God in my life, a great voice in my life. Um, we actually had him on a the episode before this, Jerry Zimmerman, he said, you know, if we're gonna talk about any denomination, let's talk about ours. You know, uh if if we're gonna if we're going to point out problems in any, you know, Christian denomination, let's talk about ours. Yeah. You know, instead of looking at others and pointing out, you're wrong and you're wrong. And but anyways, we have we have made a culture of where our focus is on the man, our focus is on the woman, and we and they didn't, they didn't, it did not, it did not originate from them. It did not origin here's the thing. It did not originate from the man, it did not originate from from the woman, whoever is behind the pulpit, whoever we're we're lifting up and saying, Oh, they did such a great job. That did not originate from them. We put that on them. And there, and and there are some that succumb to that pressure and say, Oh, yeah, look at me. Look at you know what? Yeah, man, I actually did do a pretty good job. Or there's others that just say, like, John, I'm that wasn't me. I'm not the Christ. Don't look at me as the source. Do not, you know, and we can go in so many different directions with this, but I just I love, I love it so much. John's attitude about himself. Again, humility is just not, you're not even, your thoughts are not on yourself. You don't care about you. You care your your affections are set on him, your desires are set on God. And and your mind is not constantly filled with, oh, what about this? What am I gonna do about this? What you know, what about my family? How am I gonna provide for them? How am I gonna how is this situation at work gonna, you know, pan out? It's just God, whatever your will is, you're gonna provide for me. And when you accomplish things through me, it's all it's all you. I got my you know, by your grace, I got myself out of the way, you know, a long time ago. So that whatever you want to do can be manifested through me.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

But yeah, the when speaking of like him, no, this wasn't me. This this is not my credit. I don't deserve that. I I'm not the Christ. Right. When speaking of credit, when that preacher is preaching or that singer is singing that solo, I remember when I first started coming to church and I learned this from men of God in my life. When somebody says good job, all I say is praise God. Yeah, yeah. And I don't just say it to say it, but I say it and I mean it. Right. Praise God because he did that. Yeah. I don't without him, we are utterly nothing. Yeah. We are but dust.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

What was it? David says he remembers our frame for we are but dust.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

Yep. He remembers my frame. He remembers our frame that we are but dust. Yeah. I want to remember that that's my frame. Right. I want to always have that in mind. But, anyways, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Yeah. And vice versa, as Pastor would say, remember others' frames. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. But they are but yeah, that's so good. Pastor, man, uh we'll we'll have to have Pastor Robin. We will have to have a pastor on.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

He is an amazing man of God. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

He's any anyway. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

That whole not putting glory on other people, but anyways. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

But the Lord works mightily through him. Absolutely. And absolutely. Yeah. I believe he has stuff that he we'll we'll have him on sometime. Eventually. Eventually. Anyway, continuing in verse 21. And they asked him, What then art thou Elias? Elias and uh is translated over, and that's Elijah. And he said, I'm not. Art thou that prophet? It's it's like they just doubled down here. Yeah. Are are you that prophet? You you're not a lot, but are you are you that prophet? Which is so interesting to me. He already answered this question, but they still continue to double down.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

I never I never thought of it like that.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Art thou that prophet?

SPEAKER_03 21:04

Yeah. I never thought that maybe they were they were, again, referencing back to Elijah. But and it's I don't really have an answer for this, but it's just something that you know Steph and I have talked about before. It's like, why in the world did the Jewish people think that Jesus and John the Baptist were both reincarnations of some other and I don't I there's probably some men of God out there that uh have the ant that God has revealed this to, but I mean he hasn't revealed it to me yet. But I mean, even Herod thought that Jesus was the was John the Baptist, was the you know, the incarnate the the reincarnation, the um the the basically John the Baptist two point oh you know two point oh so I I don't know, that's just something really interesting to me, but anyways.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

Yeah, it's definitely an intriguing thing to look at. And this next oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

I could I could go on. For a while. But go ahead. Go ahead, Stephanie.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

In the next part it says, Then said they unto him, Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us, which, if I'm not mistaken, speaking of the Pharisees.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

What sayest thou of thyself? Who do you say you are? Right, right. Oh my gosh. He said, I am the voice of the one, crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. As said the prophet Isaiah.

SPEAKER_03 22:31

He pointed back to the word. He pointed back to the word. He pointed back to the source. He did not that we may give an answer to them in that sentence. This is what the Pharisees were saying. This is what the religious people of the day were saying. What do you say about yourself? Because that's what they're so used to. They have they have indoctrinated with this. And it all began. It all began with Moses. No, Moses, you go up onto the mountain for us. And God told Moses, I desire to make them a nation of priests. But what was demonstrated when Moses was up on the mountain? The people came to Aaron and they said, Moses, Moses isn't back yet. What do we do? Yeah. You know, and their their focus, and again, Moses did not put this on them. This did not originate from Moses. This originated from a people that believed the lie that they could not have a relationship with God for themselves. This this this came from a people who did not understand the work of the grace of God. Wow. That if you want, if you want this, I heard um Chester Wright explain. Um he's a a bishop of a church in Maryland, and he's he he explained it like this. He said, Ministry is, you know, to to to just in general, ministry is just me walking around with the bread of life and saying, here, taste this. You want some? Here, go ahead. It tastes good, doesn't it? You know, it it satisfies you, doesn't it? And it's just like this tastes, you know, you want some? Here. Here, go ahead. You can have it too. And this is what this is, you know, by the time John wrote this gospel, many, many um scholars believe, and many, you know, you don't necessarily have to be a scholar to figure this out, but John wrote this far after these events took place. Right. And the and the Holy Ghost was already poured out on the Gentiles, and he was just laying this out all over again, that this is not just for the Jews. The grace of God is for everyone at any time, any place. It does not matter your circumstance, it does not matter who you are, the grace of God, the work of God, God is available to you. And if you have not been filled with the Holy Ghost yet, uh Romans chapter 8 says, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. He is not he's not his. So if I'm not his, I can't receive what the Father desires to give to me as his child, as his son. So if you know, I don't I don't I don't know who else is going to be listening to this, but if if if you have a man of God, a spiritual authority in your life, somebody you know is learned in the scriptures, even if you're just like, even if this just reminds you of some you know crazy person that you met on the, you know, you met on the job site and you're just like, man, there's something different about them. Go to them. Go to somebody that you know is is different, that they know, they know the scripture, and go to them and don't just go to them. You pray for yourself. Yeah, you go to God for yourself because just because you haven't been filled with the Holy Ghost does not mean God does not hear you, does not mean that God will not answer your request because he's not willing that any should perish. Very good. This grace is available to you. And if you've even if you've been in this since you were a kid, been in this, I mean, been in the church, you know, understood the you know, the apostolic, the truth of the Bible, if you have understood it, you're you know, and you're still trying to do it through your own human efforts, grace is available to you. The work of the Spirit is available to you. You don't have to do it by yourself, by your own strength. God wants to lead you. God wants to, He wants to fill you, He wants to satisfy you with Him. With Him, not with But anyways, grace is available to you. You can have it if you want it, you can reject it if you want it. If you want to reject it.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

And we already seen like in the scripture prior, he's pouring He's poured it out of His abundance already. Right, it's of His fullness. We've received grace for grace, and don't never let anybody tell you that grace is not for you. Yeah. Because it is Right, right. I don't know who needs to hear that, but that's just what I felt to say. Yeah. Maybe not as much as he Ray has poured out of his mouth, but Praise God, man. But that that's what I got to say. Um don't let anybody tell you that grace is not for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:43

And and a lot of you you hear that word thrown around a lot, especially in a lot of Christian denominations, especially in you know, non-denominational, what what some would call charismatic grace. What well what is grace? Grace is everything that God wants to give us. That is grace. Grace is we you know, you you see it um trans uh not translated, but a lot of people call it undeserved favor. And yes, it that but that only highlights a part of grace. It's more than just undeserved favor, because favor according to who? What is what is favor? Favor is God giving me everything that I need to make it to heaven, yeah. To fulfill the purpose that He has given me. That is grace. Thank you, Jesus. Doesn't matter, you know, it doesn't matter where you are, the grace of God looks different for everybody. The grace of God for for Stefan and I, during even just during this recording, is God giving us what to say, God giving us his words, you know. That's God's grace, is is his words, his rhema, his his activated word to speak, his living word to speak. And for you, it might just be being filled with the spirit. That's the greatest gift of all. Right. The greatest gift of all, the greatest grace of all, so to speak, is God filling us with his spirit, so we can participate in all of these things, so we have access to everything that you know God wants to give us through his word. But uh and and again, John understood this. Right. John understood the grace of God. He understood I can't do this without him. John the Baptist, and I'm sure John the Disciple too, but we're talking about John the Baptist here, and he and he he points back to what gave him his purpose in the first place. He points back to what gave him life in the first place, literally gave him life. Right. You look at Luke chapter one, Zacharias, it says that Zacharias and um Elizabeth were old and well stricken in years. They were not able to have children physically. But they conceived. How? The grace of God. John John understood literally, not even just in a spiritual sense, but literally, I would not be here if not for the grace of God. Yeah. I would not exist as a human being today if not for the grace of God, if not for the plan of God, all of these different things, but uh anyways, I'm getting a little passionate here.

SPEAKER_00 30:27

Praise God. Continuing on. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees, and they asked him and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not. Yep. He it is who coming after me is preferred before me. He's like interrupting in the middle of the scripture. He's repeating what he's already said.

SPEAKER_03 31:08

Right, right. Yeah, and what in what John laid out in his in his prelude, his prologue, so to speak, before this story. Just hammer again, hammering at home, but sorry, I cut you off. No, you're good.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Go ahead. There you can never repeat the word of God too much. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_03 31:32

Right, right. That's good.

SPEAKER_00 31:34

And that's what John understands here is the same thing needs to be repeated. Yeah. Which is it I I'm just like learning myself here. You can say the same thing over again and it's okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

If it's truth, if it's truth, you're doing right. Yeah. If it's what thus saith the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 32:01

Yeah, it's not, it's not just if it's truth, it's if it's the truth that God would have you to say. Right. But again, you cannot re you the word of God doesn't get old. It shouldn't. But any, I I think if I understand correctly what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

But sound like you had something to add to that? No, no. Okay. And then it goes on to say, whose shoes latch it, I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabor Bathabara. I don't even know how to pronounce that. My goodness. Bethabara. Yeah. Thank goodness I have a scholar right next to me.

SPEAKER_03 32:42

I honestly, no, you know what's you know what's funny about that? Um, my um last year of quizzing uh was John uh uh introducing Jesus. It basically just went through like the first part of Jesus' ministry chronologically, and I was like, how do you pronounce that? So I just looked it up and you know, blue letter Bible, and it was like bethabara or something like that. So I'm just like, I'm just gonna say Bethabara.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

But anyways. Anyway, Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Yep. This is he of whom I said after me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:44

Oh my gosh. That's that's the reason why. That's the reason why. So he would be made manifest. Wow. That's the reason why he came baptizing with water. Wow. That's the reason why he did everything that he did. That's again, that's the reason, that's the whole purpose of us being a witness is to testify about the light, to manifest the light. I love something that um um our pastor he was he was praying with me one um we do our church does corporate prayer the first Thursday of of uh the first Thursday night of every month. And he was praying with me and he said, A light does not have to be announced.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

A light does not have to, you know, it just has to be there wherever it's needed. It has to be all that's all it just has to be there. And then when that when that, you know, um Jesus said something very interesting. He said, No man lighteth a light or a candle or a lamp or whatever he says and putteth it under a bushel. He said, Nobody does that. He he's you know, it's something that those people understood in that day. It's like, oh yeah, that's stupid. Why would you do that? You know, no God, God doesn't want to do that with us. When we have the proper connection to the light, when we are just that vessel for that light to shine through, and we can just be there, God's gonna give us what we need to be that witness. God's he that's the that is the purpose of being a witness is to just testify about the light.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

Yeah, you know so good.

SPEAKER_03 35:26

That that's that's all it is.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

It's so simple.

SPEAKER_03 35:29

That's the thing, and again, we try we try to we make it so much comp so much more complicated than it needs to be, so much harder than it needs to be, because we try to do it ourselves. We try to do it through our strength, and we wonder why we're exhausted, and we wonder why so many, not just pastors, but so many, you know, ministers are just burnt out and exhausted and weary. It's not because, you know, i I mean, I haven't listened to a whole lot of things about that, but I don't know what other reasons people may be giving, but it's simply because they're trying to do it through their own strength. Am I saying that God doesn't allow certain things to happen to us? No, but it's all gonna be while we have his peace. Right. You know, God's not gonna allow us to, you know, get a flat tire on our way to, you know, to preach a conference or something like that. I don't know. I I've never been in a situation. That's just what came to my mind. But God's not gonna allow us to get a flat tire or something like that, but to either correct us or just slow us down. Right. Because we've been going at our own pace for far too long, you know. God and or maybe, or maybe we're submitted to him, and he just gave us a flat tire so we could witness to the person that you know decides to come and help us. Whatever it is. I don't I don't care what what God what God does, yeah, what he allows into my life. He's in control, he knows what he's doing. But I we uh again we can go on that that forever. But that that on John understood his purpose. It was so Jesus, the the just the the perfect manifestation of the I am God, the infinite God, the creator God could be made manifest, could be made known. It wasn't about him, it wasn't about, you know, the the baptism was not the point.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Right.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

It was the manifestation that was the point. Anyways.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

It goes on to say in John Bear Record, saying I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him, and I knew him not. That that phrase is just keep getting repeated, and I knew him not.

SPEAKER_03 37:50

I knew him not, yeah. That is that is interesting to me. The the NASB says I did not recognize him.

SPEAKER_00 37:58

Interesting.

SPEAKER_03 37:59

Yeah, I I don't have anything cool to say.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

I I don't have any like divine revelation about that, but it's not interesting. It's something that's just sticking out to me that I'm gonna go and study for myself. Um, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as which baptizeth baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.

SPEAKER_03 38:32

Yeah, oh my gosh. That again, this is why I love we we were kind of Stefan, just before we hit record, he had um you know, one translation in his in his Bible app, and I was thinking maybe, you know, it'd probably be cool to have two different translations. But anyways, I love how um Danny SB puts verse 34, and I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. Look at the sequential order. I have seen and I have testified. Yeah. It's not just I've seen, it's not just I've testified, but in order for us to be able to testify, in order for us to be able to be a witness, we have to see and experience God for ourselves. Oh, taste. Period. Oh my gosh. Oh, taste and see. Again, you you like this tastes good, doesn't it? Right. Taste and see that the Lord is good. All you have to all you have to do is just is just taste. Right. All you have to do is just experience it for yourself. That's it. You know, and and that's what God wants for his people. Yeah. That is what God wants for his people. He wants his people to experience him. He wants those who aren't yet his people. Yeah. He wants them to experience him. So they can be some, they can they can become a part of his people. That, you know, I cannot testify of something that I have not seen. That is literally, you know, the word that um is used in Acts chapter one, verse eight. Um, ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses. That word for witness is literally somebody who testifies in a court of law. And what is what is somebody what is in and just even in just in the judicial system, somebody a a um a witness is just somebody who says and proclaims what they have seen. What they have experienced, you know, what they what they perceived, what they know to be true because they've seen it. Something that you've said before, Stefan, that I really enjoy and and that it really interested me is you cannot deny experience. Right. You can't you can't tell somebody, no, you didn't experience that. Uh-uh. No, you no, you didn't. You know, when they you yeah, sure they could be lying, but I don't care. If they're telling, you know. Um anyways. But what if they are telling the truth? That's the thing. What if what if what if they really what if they really did? You know, what if God really did say something to them?

SPEAKER_00 41:12

And I you know, I'm gonna get ahead of myself anymore. Do it. I was I was gonna wait a little bit until we got to the point. Um but but we're so close to it. You know what? Let's read ahead real quick. And then and then we'll get to it. Verse 35. Yep. Again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? What seek ye listen to that question.

SPEAKER_03 41:53

What are you seeking? What what what seek ye? And it's the question that God wants to that that God asks each and every one of us What are you seeking? What is that thing that you're so enamored with that you're following after? What are you why are you seeking me? Right. What are what are you seeking?

SPEAKER_00 42:11

But anyways. And they say said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted master, where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. Yeah. Come and see.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

Come and see.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

They came and saw where he dwell, and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, and first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah. He told his brother what he had seen.

SPEAKER_03 42:50

He told his brother what he had found. That's anyways. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

And we'll see this repeated here again in a moment. Yes, we will. Which is being interpreted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus, and when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah, thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee and findeth Philip, saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathaniel and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there anything good come out of Nazareth? And what do we see? Philip said unto him, Oh my God, Come and see. Yep, yep. This is a repeated theme. Come and see. Come and see. Come and experience it for yourself because once you see it, you Will not be able to deny this truth. You won't.

SPEAKER_03 44:03

And that and that's why why why do you think perjury is such a big deal in the in in in the court of law? Why do you think perjury is such a big deal? Because you're not saying what you really saw. And that's not truth. Right. They want they want truth. God wants truth. People, the people today, they want tr they're so hungry for truth. They're so hungry for something. But that's the reason why it's such a big deal. That's why you swear the a swear and oath. I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That's what, that's what, again, that's what witnessing is. Right. It's once you have experienced God for yourself in whatever way you, in whatever way you have, yeah. Tell people about it.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

Let people know. Because people, you know, you don't you don't know what people are going through. You don't, but you know that they're hungry. Yeah. They're hungry. People are hungry, you know. And I can I can, you know, testify of this, even just being on the being on the on the job. And people are just like, man, I don't have any hope. Literally. I have heard them say that out loud. I I don't have any hope. There's nothing left for me. I might as well just kill myself. These are real things that people are going through. But here's the thing. Don't allow that to pressure you into saying something and speaking about something that you haven't yet experienced. Right. Just tell them what you, you know. I I know I know that you don't really you don't really know, you know, where the next, you know, where the next provision's gonna come from. Right. But let me tell you something. One day, you know, my family I I don't know, you know, just just what whatever it is, whatever, you know, small thing in our eyes, I I can I can remember that there's there's been plenty of times where my family has been provided for. Right. That God has provided for my family, that God has protected my family. And just just tell people what you've experienced. You don't have it's it's not hard. It's just follow the peace of God and just it's not complicated.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:16

Just tell them what you know. Tell them what you've seen in the word for yourself. Tell them what you've seen, what you have experienced in prayer. That you can back. Here's the thing, that you can back up with the word for yourself. It's all about the word. It's all about you know, our our experiences do not confirm the word. Yeah. The word affirms our experiences. You know, but anyways, it's being a witness is so much simpler than in in soul winning and teaching Bible studies and all these different things, it's so much simpler than we make it out to be. Right. And we see that with the very first disciples of Jesus Christ. It's just come and see. Right. I saw this. You want to see it for yourself? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:59

Come on, come with me. It's a concept of providing hope. It that's what witnessing is. This this cominging, this I almost said this coming and seeing. This coming, just come and see. Yeah. It it's once they see for themselves, there's a level of hope that's witnessed. And even even beforehand. I I remember I one of my old jobs that I worked in. I'm talking with my coworker, and she goes, I was just I was just asking her, how do you believe we're saved? Because she had gone to church growing up and stuff and all this stuff, and she goes, I don't know, but I'm probably the furthest thing from it.

SPEAKER_03 47:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 47:50

And all I said in this that broke my heart, dude. Yeah. I'm be honest, that broke my heart to hear that come from somebody's mouth. And all I did as I looked at it and I said, You're closer than you think. Yeah. That's all people need sometimes is that little bit of hope. You're closer than you think you are. And that's what witnessing is. It's that that that light in the darkness. That just let however small you think it is.

SPEAKER_03 48:19

And the darkness comprehends. What is this?

SPEAKER_02 48:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

What? It didn't, it didn't grasp it. It could it couldn't, you know, explain it away. Right. The hopelessness that is in people. That the a and that's what we're dealing with. In this lost world, it's the reason why it's not sin's not the problem. They're in sin because they're hopeless. Right. They're it they they're they're looking for all these different things to fill this void that only God can fill. You know? And and and that's again, uh I don't this is apparently this is where God's taking us is just being a witness. How do I be a witness? How do you know I'm sure there's people out there that I'm sure there's kids out there that you know you want to start a P7 club. You want to start a CMI, you want to start a Bible study with somebody, but you don't know how. It's not, you know, take these five steps and then you're gonna have the most success. No. Right. You're gonna have the most successful, whatever. No. It's just, hey, you know, this is what I've ex- I heard I I heard you say the other day, you were talking about this one situation, and you just didn't know what you were gonna do about it. I don't know if I don't know if you figured it out yet, but you know, here's something that God did for me in a situation similar to that.

SPEAKER_00 49:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:38

And whatever it is, trust God. He's gonna lead you, he's gonna guide you, he knows what you need, he knows what you need, he knows what other people need, he knows what you need to show other people what they need. Right. And to give other people what they need. And that's that's being that's being a witness, is just telling people the truth of what you've experienced, and we have something, we have something greater than what somebody in a court of law has. They just have what they've seen. We have the blueprint of truth. We have the word of a more sure word of truth.

SPEAKER_00 50:19

Yeah. I dude, I seen this sign on a Baptist church right down, right down South Lansing, and I'm driving past it, and it says, The Bible is not a menu, it's a manual. It's a blueprint. Yeah. It's not a menu, something you can just pick and choose what you like out of it.

SPEAKER_03 50:45

Wow, that's good. I honestly didn't really understand. It was like, okay, let's see. I I read that sign. And that's good.

SPEAKER_00 50:52

What you just said right there is that just sparked it back in my mind. I actually meant to talk to you about that because I was like, this isn't an apostolic church. This is, I believe, a Baptist, whatever denomination church you would have it, and they have this sign. And one thing that I would encourage, I'm not saying go listen to preachers outside of the apostolic church or anything, but do not discount anybody just because they do not preach the fullness of the doctrine that we preach. Yeah, they may say something and they don't even realize what they're saying. And it is so profound.

SPEAKER_03 51:33

Yeah. Yep. Yep. But that's, you know, I like that. Truth is not something that you can just pick and choose. Oh, you know, I like this part of the Bible, but that one part, you know that whole that one part about like, you know, all liars shall be cast into the lake of fire. I don't really like that part. So I'm just gonna keep living the way I want and and telling other people, you know, what I think, and you know, lying to other people. So, you know. But I'll I'll I'll I'll follow the rest of that. But even then, you're not even gonna be, you know, you're not even gonna be able to follow the rest. Um Paul said he's he's talking about um the law in Romans chapter, I think it's Romans chapter 6. He says, if you offend in one part of the law, you're guilty of the whole law. You're not just it's not just one part, you're guilty of the entirety of the law. Wow. And that punishment is upon you. If I if I stumble in one part of the word, I can't just follow the rest, and then that sin go unrepented of and I be okay. That's that's that's that's truth. It's it's not just, you know, I like this, I like this passage, and I like this. I cannot follow 99% of truth and be okay.

SPEAKER_00 52:46

Right.

SPEAKER_03 52:48

It's a hundred percent. It's I give everything to this, I give my mind to this truth, I give my will, I yield it to this truth, I yield it to God, who is the truth, you know, and I seek after him.

SPEAKER_00 53:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:04

Because if he if if if Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, if he is the word made flesh, I can't know the word I can't know Jesus any more than I know the word. And I know that statement, that statement's not original with me, and neither is this one, but I cannot love Jesus any more than I love the word. Wow. Period. Period. So it's it's all back, it's all back to the tr it's all back to truth. And what is truth? It's the word of God. Not the trans, not a translation of the word of God. I know Stefan and I have talked about this before, but you know, the Bible is not divinely inspired in the King James Version, it's not divinely inspired in the New American Standard Bible, it's not it's not divinely inspired in the English Standard Version, it's the original manuscripts, the ones that God has allowed to survive through the centuries. That's truth. But anyways, off on that.

SPEAKER_00 54:07

Yeah, continuing on, Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and saith unto him, or saith of him, sorry, Behold an Israelite Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. Yeah. Nathanael saith unto him, Whenst thou whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

SPEAKER_03 54:34

I saw thee. I saw thee. I saw thee. When when you I don't know what you know, mental or spiritual condition, you know, what state Nathaniel was in at this time, but I saw you were you were before you came to me, before before you responded, before Philip even came to you. Before Philip called you, before Philip testified to you, I saw you. Yeah. I was with you. You didn't see me, you didn't recognize me, you weren't able to, but I saw you. I was there.

SPEAKER_00 55:06

That ought to give somebody some peace right now.

SPEAKER_03 55:09

That's that's the that's the thing. Thank God. Yeah thank God we don't we don't we serve a God that doesn't just live in a church building. Right. Thank God we don't serve a God that just lives in our homes. He exists everywhere. I can find him and seek him, I can seek him and find him everywhere. And I was I was uh I feel led to go to Acts chapter 17, and this passage has been on my mind uh for the past few days. And we're gonna start with verse 16. Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, waiting for Silas and Timothy, because he he previously had to he had to leave because of persecution. But Silas and Timothy were left there in Berea, I believe it was. And um it says, now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols. This was not a God-fearing city. This was not a city, you know, this wasn't even a rel, it was religious, but it wasn't even Jewish. It was it wasn't this wasn't a Judais city. Forget, yeah, forget being, you know, apostolic. It wasn't even, you know, under the old covenant. But anyways, so he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles. The city wasn't. The city was full of idols, but there were people there.

SPEAKER_00 56:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 56:44

That were hungry.

SPEAKER_00 56:45

Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 56:46

There were people there that wanted God. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, What could this I the uh I think the King James describes it as um peddler of words or something like that. But the um the NESB says, What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say? Others, he seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to Area Pagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is which you are preaching, which you are proclaiming, for you are bringing some strange things to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean. Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new. And that's and that's that is a perfect picture of this world. Always looking for something, always looking for something new, something to fill that void. Verse 22, so Paul stood in the midst of Ariopagus and said, Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. He wasn't denying that they recognized something greater than themselves as being out there. They recognized other gods, but they were false gods. It wasn't truth.

SPEAKER_00 58:14

Right.

SPEAKER_03 58:16

For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription to an unknown God. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you, the God who made the world and everything that is in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands. Again, he doesn't dwell in he thank God that he's not just in a building. Thank God that he that I can I can find him wherever I'm at. Right. Again, grace, the grace of God, the Spirit of God, God is available to you wherever you are. I lost my place. Okay. Uh yeah, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. Why? Why did he do all of this? Why? The next word that connects the statement that got that Paul is about to make with everything that he just said, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, for we also are his descendants. Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to all mankind that all people everywhere are to repent. This is available to you. This is available to everyone to repent, because he has set a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, talking speaking of Jesus, speaking of that manifestation of himself, having furnished proof to all people by raising him from the dead. But I said all that just really, really just to focus on verses 27 to 28, that they would seek God. Again, like like you were talking about earlier. You're closer than you think, you're closer to salvation than you think. Right. You you it's it's not it's not this list of you know, you know, rules or or rituals that you have to go through. It's just do you do you believe do you believe that you're a sinner? Do you believe that without God you are going to exist forever without God? Your soul has an eternal destination. And that's not to fear. God gives you, God gives you the exact amount of time you need to repent. He gives you everything you need.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:07

You know, it's not something you need to, oh man, am I what if what if I what if I die, you know, when I leave wherever I'm at? What if what if I you know die in my sleep tonight?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:16

God has given you this word for a reason. God is speaking to you right now to repent. That's what the and he wants he wants to be with you and to dwell in you so bad. He gives you everything that you need to do just that and to participate with him, to repent, to turn from your ways, your thoughts, and your ideas. Because here's the thing everything in this world is passing away. It's it's all passing away, and it's all gonna be gone at some point. But I know where I'm going. Right. I know that by the grace of God, but I did I I'm not gonna get myself there. Right. You know. So that's that's just did we finish? Did we finish John 1? No, we did not.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:06

Alright, and anyway, we'll finish out John 1 here real quickly, and then we'll close everything up here. Nathaniel answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. And that's what we see later on, but Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:53

That that again, it's just this is what you're gonna see.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:57

And later on, I'm gonna give you my spirit, which is gonna help you to testify about these things that you are that I am going to show you. Yeah. That's that's what Jesus was saying. It's just it's it's you're gonna experience some things with me as I walk this earth that you you're gonna be able to testify to others when I leave here, and I send you the comforter or the spirit, the Holy Spirit that we that we have been given as a gift today.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:27

But, you know, again, the grace of God is available to everyone. Whether you are so far from God you don't even know, you you have you this wasn't even a forethought before you hit play on this podcast. God was not even a forethought. Or you've been in this thing for years and you're just wondering, what do I do? God, you've given me a ministry. What do I do with it? Nothing. That's the thing. You allow God to work through you.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:01

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:02

You know, and and just testify what you've seen. It's not that complicated. But anyways, that's thank God that he gives us his grace. Thank God that he gives us everything that we need to fulfill our purpose here on this this this temporal place. This place called this this this world, this earth. It's I can't wait to get to heaven.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:26

Where I don't, you know, I don't need the grace of God anymore. Because I'm out of this flesh. And I'm out of this, you know, these things that these things that try me, these things that test me, that you know that make me make me question, is there even a God? They're all gonna be gone. Right. So anyways, just just to end just to end on a good note.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:49

If I could encourage somebody, I would say, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Yeah. See it for yourself, taste it for yourself. That's what I would leave with encouragement in this episode. I want to thank everybody for listening to this and our prayer. I know I can speak on behalf of both of us here, is that this is edifying for each and every single person who is listening to this. And I pray that the Lord had his way. And I believe he did. I believe he did, yeah. And I pray that you would take this and grow from it.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:32

Yeah, you're not that that's the thing, grow from it. It's not gonna be an instantaneous thing. You're not gonna completely understand everything that you uh everything that you just heard or that you will hear. Yeah. It's a process. Be patient.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:44

Yeah. I mean, even I don't understand everything. Yeah, me neither. I really don't understand it either if I'm gonna be honest. And so praise God. We're all learning, yeah, and I'm so grateful. for it but I wanna thank everybody for listening and God bless everybody and hope everybody has a blessed week in Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.