Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference: 0:00 - Introduction 1. 0:19 {Church Leader Living in Sin? Letter vs. Spirit} I am a young adult, still living in my parents' home. My father is the pastor of our small church. One of my siblings has leadership roles, but is living in sin (cohabitation). My father has talked with him, but hasn't taken any biblical action to remove him from leadership or from church. The elders don't see a need to do anything either. What should I do? (I'm the youngest and a daughter.) I was told I was taking the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. 2. 10:33 {About John the Baptist being Jesus’ Cousin} Is it a big deal that John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin? I haven't heard this talked about much; wouldn't that mean that they knew each other when they were kids/before their ministries? 3. 16:30 {About the Early Church & Socialism} Should Christians be living like the early Church in a sort of voluntary Socialism as found in Acts 2: 42-47 and Acts 4: 32-37? 4. 27:03 {MW’s Personal Experience Witnessing} Could you share your most memorable experience in leading someone to the Lord? 5. 30:08 {About Recent “Deconstruction” Stories} I find myself sympathizing with some who have deconstructed and walked away from the faith (though I don't agree with their decision). How can I keep from deconstructing myself? 6. 41:08 {Is Yahweh Only the Father’s Name?} Some people I know say Yahweh is the name of the whole Trinity combined. I thought Yahweh was only the name of the Father (like how Jesus is the name of the Son). What are your thoughts? 7. 47:13 {About Artaxerxes in Ezra} Are there two Artaxerxes in Ezra, or could it be that there is an interlude in Ezra 4:5-23? Artaxerxes stopped the building, but later seems to endorse it. 8. 48:10 {Are the Church and Israel the Same?} Are the church and Israel the same or different? Is the church the continuation of Israel and heirs of the promises of God to OT Israel? 9. 50:53 {Can Christians Attend JW Weddings?} Is it ok to attend a wedding of a Jehovah’s Witness? My colleague is a JW and she is getting married in 3 weeks. I was wondering if it’s ok for me to attend because of the belief system. 10. 52:35 {How to Have Godly Sorrow Over Sin} How do you have a godly sorrow over sin (2 Corinthians 7: 10)? When I sin, I repent, feel really bad, and ask for forgiveness, but eventually fall for the same sin again. Do you just pray for God to give godly sorrow? 11. 59:44 {About Approving of/Watching Inappropriate Shows} How do you respond to another Christian who thinks that watching movies or shows with nudity/sexual content is a liberty they have in Christ because they do not struggle with lust? 12. 1:06:35 {Interpreting a Difficult Verse} I’ve read two different views on 1 John 3: 20. 1: If our heart condemns us, how much more will God since He is greater than our heart? 2: Even though we feel guilty, God knows our heart. Thoughts? 13. 1:11:04 {What does Ecumenical Mean?} I'd rather not identify myself with any particular denomination. What does it mean to be an ecumenical Christian? 14. 1:13:46 {Some Great Wisdom for Us} What’s the greatest lesson of wisdom you’ve learned as you’ve matured in your faith? 15. 1:16:06 {About Believer/Non-Believer Relationships} What should a new Christian do if he or she has been in a relationship for 7+ years with a non-Christian (not married), and the non-Christian doesn't slow down the spiritual growth of the Christian? 16. 1:19:36 {Is it Fair that Some People are Born in Unbelieving Areas?} How is it just that because a person is born in a specific region in the world, that they are more likely to follow the traditions and religion they are raised in and end up going to hell? 17. 1:24:17 {Is the Fire Mentioned in 2 Peter Literal?} In 2 Peter 3: 10 it says that on the "Day of the Lord" God will destroy the world and "its elements" with fire. Is this a literal or figurative fire, and why? 18. 1:27:06 {Did Jesus’ Family Believe?} Did Jesus' family not believe in Him as Messiah? 19. 1:32:02 {About “Rhema” (Sword of the Spirit)} Can you explain the Greek word Rhema in Ephesians 6 when it talks about the “sword of the Spirit is the Word of God?” Is it Scripture, or like a word of wisdom, knowledge, or prophecy? 20. 1:35:34 {Who was the 4th Person in the Furnace in Daniel 3?} Referring to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel, who was the fourth person in the furnace? Is this OT evidence of Christ?
Mike, I am so blessed to hear you say that you couldn’t put a date on salvation. All my life, my dad has known and stated the date of his salvation, which is beautiful that he had that life changing experience in a single day where all was new. But, for me, it has been a long progression. It had been so discouraging that I don’t have a date. But, I do have faith. I’m not who I was, and that’s all because of Jesus. Thank you, Mike
I also have no date or special experience, which has often made me doubt. I know we don’t all have a Damascus Road experience. A help to me was a little book called “Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart.”
For me too it was a process that happened over months. There were many events that shaped me, moments I realized something had softened my heart towards God.
Same here. I don’t have a specific date. I do know I decided to go to church in January of 2021 at 35 years old. But it was months before I became a true believer. I don’t know exactly when my salvation started. I was slowly getting new convictions to stop sinful behaviors. One day I looked back and noticed how much my life has changed. That’s when I realized the Holy Spirit was in me and I have no clue when he got there lol. 🤷♂️
Me too I’m 68 best guess when I was 25 but prosperity gospel took it toll on me I found a good church in the inner city that straightened me up Mike is a rare type of pastor we need more guys like him consider ing What type of family he came from the Lord can save anybody
Care to discuss that? I deconstructed my Catholic faith too and became an atheist but i picked up the bible later and saw that Catholicism is based on scripture.
@@padraickelly9148 I deconstructed atheism and found that atheism is a low IQ, contradictory, intolerant failed ideology with no standard for courage, character or truth. Would you like to discuss that?
@@padraickelly9148 I couldn't deny that we are not saved by faith + works. It's so clear in scripture that we are saved by faith and that produces works. I couldn't deny that truth.
@@lkae4 i'd have to disagree with your sentiments, atheists are no less intelligent than any other people, some of the most intelligent people in the world were atheists but anyway i am not an atheist so why would i want to discuss it???
Thanks pastor Mike. No pressure when you need to look up something in scriptures. It makes me feel better if I’m not the only one who needs to look something up. Glad you are human like the rest of us! I may not know each verse but can tell people about the Bible and everything . I’m not good at memorizing verses but I know how the Old Testament teaches us of Jesus in the old and the new testaments. I’m 70 now so don’t anticipate a great memory bu I can tell people the importance of verses from beginning to end. Praise God! 🇨🇦❤️🇺🇸🙏🏻🙏🏾👏🏻🕎✝️☺️🥰
Q 10: I’m from South Africa and we have a great Afrikaans saying: “skaam kwaad” (pronounced sort of like: skarm quaat) which means you are actually ashamed about your actions, but instead of feeling shame you express anger (usually directed at the person pointing out)
@@IngsHaupt ahh yes! Hello there! 😄👋🏻… I wonder how many more of us there are on here 🤔☺️ … I discovered Pastor Mike’s channel a few months ago, and it has been the biggest blessing to my life ☺️🙏🏻🙏🏻
It's absolutely refreshing to see you using Scripture in all of Christ's Purity. Love to see your Love and how seriously you take every single question.💛💛💛
It's amazing. Sometimes I have questions over the week and totally forget about them, and then I see them requested by other people in here... It's like God is answering me without even submitting them in (I don't watch the live stream, because it's too late in my country.)
Q#10- there was sin that I struggled with, I learned that repentance and sorrow over that sin taught me that Sorrow has its place learn from it and sin less as you go. God‘s grace and mercy is everlasting. Today this sin doesn’t have the same grip it use to
This was great discussing on a Q + A. The analogy of the compasses was brilliant. It‘s totally true. “People have done horrible things in the name of Jesus Christ”… …”People have done horrible things in the name of everything!”
Magnetic north vs true north on a map - that’s a powerful analogy. As always, I love your thoughtful careful answers to potentially complicated or challenging questions.
You are absolutely right, our church got rid of an assistant pastor because he was addicted to viewing porn and wouldn't give up this sin, it was really sad to see him go as he was a great speaker but because he was in a leadership position he was fired for that sin.
As far as question 5 goes; I came out of the new age and asked the Lord Jesus Christ into my life. I unfortunately went to churches that held to the same new age beliefs and taught a false Jesus. I had to deconstruct my faith so I could have the purity of scripture alone. Sometimes deconstruction is a good thing as long as it leads a person to how the Lord Jesus Christ really is.
I came out of that too. I grew up in very “charismatic” churches. People rolling on the ground, and babbling, and they would tell me I wasn’t saved if I didn’t speak in tongues. I started getting anxious about that and it lead to anxiety (among other things I didn’t have a good home life either) anxiety lead to despair and depression. When I was depressed my father told me I was possessed by demons. He took me to the backyard and shook me by the shoulders to get the demons out. When it didn’t work, he told me it’s because I didn’t believe enough and God was punishing me somehow. I was freshly 15 at the time and severely depressed. I lost all hope and after that attempted to take my own life and ran away several times. I was hospitalized and given anti depressants. I left that cult mindset behind. I know now that the way I was taught was NEVER Christianity. I read the Bible and realized I had never met this God in my life despite being raised in a “church”. Be careful where you settle into fellowship. These people are everywhere who believe this stuff.
@@deadchannel89 I’ve been thinking about this lately too. If we allow ourselves to be entertained by sin, we are not honouring God with all of our mind.( Matthew 22:37). We live in an unprecedented time in history where entertainment is available on demand and accessible from pretty much everywhere. This was not always the case. Generations before us could not casually watch people get undressed, commit adultery, lie steal and cheat for “fun”. Our culture and Hollywood has greatly desensitized peoples intolerance and disdain for sinful behaviour. Sin is normalized now. That being said if I watch movies or TV, I try to stick to movies based on real life with a rating of PG-13 or faith based movies and TV shows. Documentaries etc. If there is too much cursing I will turn it off or if there is too much lewdness I will also turn it off. Eventually you will be disgusted with how much smut comes out of the entertainment industry. I’m at the point now where I either just read my bible or watch Christian content on RUclips.
1:15:00 I’m chronically I’ll with one confirmed autoimmune disease and two suspected. I didn’t even know I needed to hear this. Thank you brother for your work putting out this content. Due to my health right now I was unable to attend church with my husband and kids so I’ve spent the morning in the word and watching your videos while resting. Anyway, just had to thank you. I needed this right now in this moment ❤
I have not to my knowledge lived a sinless day in my life, I sin every day, the thing's that go through my head... I don't even know if it's possible to not sin, we are so bad beings...
Thank you so much, Pastor Mike! Your ministry has been such a great help and blessing to me! I appreciate your careful handling of the Word and your humbleness in your answers. Blessing to you!
I liked your answer about your favorite salvation story. I also ways felt guilt bc I never led anyone in salvation. But it's not about that. Bible says go and make disciples... leading someone in salvation and walking a long side someone in truth is different. I love discipleship!!
Walking in truth doesn't save anyone. They have to hear the Gospel in order to believe it. Without hearing the Gospel, they have no idea why you live the way you do. They can only make assumptions. You'd be surprised how many people never actually heard the Gospel. Most people have a distorted understanding of the Gospel, and some do because they really never heard it.
What an amazing group of questions today. I believe this set was blessed to be a special blessing to me. Really needed this, and thank you, pastor Mike. Really wish I hadn't failed so hard before and after salvation. Having been raised in the church and with a bunch of family pastors, I think guilt of sin hurts extra maybe? Idk. I hate it and can't wait to be made knew fully
My most memorable time witnessing was when I was having a discussion with some people at the university. I was trying to get this one guy to understand that he was a sinner. He said he had never told a lie. I thought he was joking. He legitimately thought he was a perfect human being.
@@jesusisawesome2913 he's a uni student, so intellectually speaking, most likely he's a smart person but spiritually he's blinded by pride for not seeing his sin.
Of course not, however living in blatant rebellion is different from missing the mark. And if someone is living in habitual sin it taunts their witness and they can’t remove a speck from anyone’s eye because they have a log in their own, hope that clears things up
Ah, I love these casts usually, but gotta say it hurt my heart on the first question to say you wouldn’t leave the church over it - why such a gentle response? Sin is a slave master, it is not fun to be in slavery long term, the brother in sin is going to be hurting badly out of this fruit- in my experience, sin is a slow death, love speaks the truth rather than watch them rot. I had a woman rebuke my boyfriend and her words saved me... he continued, but hearing her rebuke gave me the courage to find a way out. In love, I would keep speaking the truth, it seems continuing in silence, or letting them silence her, or not supporting/rebuking the girlfriend rightly would not be honoring to them long term. Killing Kryptonite?
Hi Heidi. I just wanted to clarify real quick. I don’t mean to say I would not leave that church but that I wouldn’t necessarily leave it. Life is complicated and I didn’t want to comment on whether my advice would cause someone to leave the church or not. I’d rather just stay out of it with such little info from a questioner. I’m glad someone had the courage to speak truth to you and that it helped you. We need more people with that same courage.
@@MikeWinger thanks, I did consider that too after I posted it - not knowing all the facts it’s hard to know how to counsel. I just heard it and felt so grieved at the thought... I’m struggling with this issue in the church as a whole. It’s a hard and painful situation. And yes, I’m incredibly grateful for the truth that was spoken to me. Blessings to you!
Yeah that question for me would be a red flag to start looking if they were compromising on anything else. It's sad because either churches are too infiltrated by the culture to be biblical, or they get REALLY good at hiding stuff to appear biblical.
True, The glory of God is a consuming fire and His Fire will consume the lost sinners at His coming, and no hell is needed for ever afterwards, they are turned to ashes, nothing to burn after that.
Thanks for your continued service to GODS PEOPLE. Blessings from a longtime follower of several Calvary Chapel Pastors. I currently reside in Northeast TN, but only since December 2022. Prior to that, I lived and worked in Mainland China. You are correct…and THE WORD OF GOD is ALWAYS TRUTH. Living in an un-equally-yoked relationship, even a marriage, is a challenge. But, GOD blesses that marriage, if you dwell with your spouse in a loving manner. Without any doubt…sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong and only lead to suffering. If you love them, marry them before GOD and dwell with them until death do you part. Blessings y’all.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, rather in humility value others above yourselves." Philippians 2:3 Follow the perfect example of Jesus and live humbly. Though He was God He humbly served others and humbled Himself to die a sinner's death in our place. As CS Lewis said, "true humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." Those who humble themselves will be exalted but those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Hopefully this positively impacted you today. God bless you.
Hey Mike and all, I happen to find your videos a month or so ago in 2021 in the summertime, and I just wanted to let you know that I think you are fantastic and if I didn’t already have the best pastor in the world, I would be really interested in finding your church. You have a simple, easy, and logical way of teaching the ‘biblical’ stuff that we all can get tripped up on. I’ll be watching and learning! Thanks!
@@merrittascott3323 No sorry that is not true. We must look in the word to see what is true.1 Corinthians 3 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The planter and the waterer are nothing. We know the Holy Spirit is great. He is not nothing. Those jobs are left to those that handle His Word carefully and guide and point to Jesus and share instructions from the Word.
These things ought not to happen in the churches Reminds me of the book of Revelation where Christ mentions the actions of these churches. John lived the forest allot but the Spirit Of Holiness did its work.
Help for the question at 57:21. A big help in not returning to the same sin over and over is to truly repent. Repent means to "change your mind" about what you did. If you do not change your minds about the sin, you are most likely to return to that same sin. Repent is not simply asking for forgiveness it is changing your mind about your behavior.
That's what I keep saying. People are always saying, "You have to ask for forgiveness." Nobody ever got saved by asking for forgiveness. Believers don't change by asking for forgiveness. Repentance is NOT asking for forgiveness. Anyone can ASK! Even as a believer we are supposed to CONFESS our sins to God, which means we agree with God about our sin rather than ignore it or try to hide it from Him or from ourselves. Asking for forgiveness seems natural to me, but I know that it is a repentant heart that matters behind those words. You KNOW when you ask for forgiveness but aren't really repentant. The asking will do nothing for you.
@@graftme3168 this is true, but it is not a fix all. You can fully repent and still fall to temptation later on. It’s when you purposely leave doors open while “asking for forgiveness” that you are not truly repenting. I have been guilty of this for sure
Question #1 about letter vs. spirit When my boys would try to wiggle out of rules to justify defeating the spirit with the letter, my go-to for shutting this down was "Loopholes don't count!"
Voluntary generosity is always to be encouraged, but let's not forget wisdom. Even in Acts they had problems. In Acts 5 two people died because they tried to use gifts to appear more generous than they really were. In Acts 6 there was an argument about how the food was being distributed unfairly. Then there is this passage: "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. - 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 It's one thing for a person who cannot work, but we see a lot of people today using unemployment instead of returning to work. We as the church should not be naive. The pilgrims ran into this problem as well. They tried living like the Acts church but some people refused to work.
Mike: so I don’t really remember having an exact date, I just remember hearing the gospel, and I believed. You know, for some of us that went through life was so much trouble in pain and suffering trying to do things our way. I’m envious and I wish that story could’ve been my story sometimes. Would have saved me so much suffering, and difficult lessons to learn and be humbled by.
Blessings Pastor winger and thanks 🙏 again for allowing God to use you in such a wonderful Ministry. I agree whole heartedly (concerning sin in our lives). We need to always strive to overcome sin, but understand that we will often fail. Don’t despair…but don’t excuse. Blessings y’all.
A thought to throw in with the question of whether John the Baptist knew Jesus beforehand: In Matthew 3:14 when Jesus comes to John to be baptized John says to him, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" It wasn't until Jesus was baptized that God revealed to John that he was the one John was sent before. This means that John's assertion that he needed to be baptized by Jesus couldn't have been based on his knowing that Jesus is the Messiah. So I take this instead to be that John knew Jesus well enough to know that Jesus was more righteous than he himself was. John is there preaching a baptism of repentance for sin, and when his exceedingly righteous cousin shows up, John says, "You want me to baptize you? Seriously, between the two of us, you're the more righteous one. You should be baptizing me, not the other way around." And Jesus doesn't deny his logic but instead tells him to let it be for now in order to fulfill all righteousness because it is in this baptism that God is going to reveal the first glimpse into who Jesus truly is. So I read this interaction as evidencing that they knew each other well at least enough for John to know the character and righteousness of Jesus.
I think that the passage in question 12 (John 3:20) has something to do with our conscience. If our heart condemns us, then it's probably because we did something bad. But if our heart is quiet and does not condemn us, then we have nothing to worry about. Of course, the "conscience" is simply the Holy Spirit working in us. That is how I always understood these verses.
Mike ... Your metaphor using the cell phone/iPad example is spot on and explains the issue to where anyone, especially teenagers, can understand. Going forward, I will use this example every time the subject is discussed. Many thanks.
52:35 Mike, I wish you would mention more when bringing up the Galatians passage that Paul ends up in 5:24 with "those that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts". There is hope. We are free. We CAN walk in holiness. The flesh is dead.
With question number 12, I've always thought of it like this: we may try to pass off the Holy Spirit's convictions in how we treat others, like saying "Well it's not my responsibility to show them love...", and though we may try to reassure ourselves that we are right, God is bigger than our hearts and can convict us no matter what we try to do, or deny. Open to being wrong here but in context, that's how it always sounded to me.
In regards to question four, I never actively went out and tried to bring people to Christ. I am actually, in a way, a bit adverse to that. I speak openly of my experiences and share my limited knowledge of the Bible with anyone who asks or if it comes up, but I am not one who goes around asking if an individual is saved. In my opinion, God calls to all of us. How he reaches us, or in what circumstance we find our way to Him, we all find our way to Him. Some will ignore His call, and others will accept it. All I know I can do is share my life and love those whom God brings me to. I can guide them a small bit but it is ultimately up to the individual to accept the call from God. I find that pushing too hard will turn them away, all I can do is share my life whether that be over a cup of coffee or a game of Smash Bros.
Our weaknesses give God a “stage” to present His grace and sufficiency, AND HIS GLORY. This is what we are here for….bottom line. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..” Geography has nothing to do with God’s desire to save someone. A baby is not judged, like someone who has been given Biblical understanding, and even more responsibility when we have His Spirit, and His Word to help us. “Babes in Christ” are learning and growing, and the Lord is “righteous” in His judgements, meaning that He knows everything, and considers everything in one’s understanding.
1:32:02 If you would look up every time the word Rhema is used in the Scripture the BIble itself will show you how God defines it. You will see how God placed it in His Word.
Re #10 and #12: Sin -> sorrow based on failure (condemnation) -> trying harder (in the flesh) -> sin. This is the cycle we all have experienced, and is described in Romans 7. When we realize that condemnation is not productive, and that we are not under condemnation because we are in Jesus, then we can change our mind and our understanding of that sin and break the cycle. This is true repentance. It still takes effort on our part, but we can't break the cycle merely by trying harder in our own flesh. Condemnation is not productive in breaking the cycle. So sorrow can lead to repentance, but sorrow and self condemnation is not the same as repentance.
The excuses people make to allow themselves license to sin... one thing is when you sin, you repent, you get convicted, you want to do right in the eyes of God. So this "Letter of the law/Spirit of the law" thing is for lack of better terms BS.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.
One factor could be how old Jesus was when the family came out of Egypt. John's parents were old when Joseph took his family to Egypt It is possible that they did not meet John seems to be saying that they did not.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, just because we are saved by the blood of Christ does not mean we can remain in our sin.And if we notice one of us is in sin, we CAN NOT remain bystanders doing nothing about it. It is required of us to intervene and call the sin out and help in restoring our brother or sister to repent of it. Otherwise we too will have to give an account of the sin of Omission. Doing nothing is Condoning and condoning is sin.
Mike: so I don’t have real moment or date of salvation. I just remember hearing the Gospel and I believed. Sometimes those of us with harder roads, and very difficult lessons to be learned and humbled by. I wish that was my story sometimes. I just heard when I was young and I believed. Because honestly, I think that’s what happened to me just much older. And everyone else I think
I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. Jesus established the Church to foster our relationship with him. The Bible never has this disdain for religion itself that 21st century Christians do. We need to stop stigmatizing the word "religion" and accept that it's part of a relationship with Christ.
God has promised that He WILL keep us. Titus 2:3 says don’t forget how we were influenced by or flesh, the world system, or the Devil. Walking with Christ is a journey and not a “generalization” for each believer, to walk according to someone else’s convictions. Some commands ARE definite, and some things are not. What really matters is “conscience”. Romans 14:19,21
I read my Bible daily and even though god lay's out marriage However I have also noticed that the bible doesn't discuss cobitation either I feel like the reason like cohabitation is because it's a new thing what I mean new as it became a thing around the 80's however it is much more common now then what it was when it started I also think that elders pastor's, bishops should be held to a higher standard then just your everyday christian that attends church because they are leading people. But also we have to understand they are people and they are prone to sin like everyone else so we should remember to worship god and not pastor's elders and minsters
25:00 - interesting to see that Barnabas and John Mark heading to Cyprus, even though Barnabas seems to have sold the land he owned there while in Jerusalem. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mike!
Appreciated your perspective on ecumenicalism. As a Catholic I obviously disagree with some of "your takes" but I trust your motivation so I continue to watch and learn from your channel. You remind me of G.Ortlund in someways which is a complement btw.
My two cents since there's a comment section....I think your answer and approach about not pressuring and "closing" like a used car salesman is the perfect approach. Paul talks about sone plant, some water, some harvest. Do your part in the path of that person, at that time, and let the Holy Spirit work with that person's will. This flavors your teaching and makes it incredibly on point.
Holy question on the day of judgment? Were you sent or did you volunteer? To what extent do you you understand? Why do you want to go to heaven? Jeremiah 17:9-10. Jeremiah 29:11. Hebrews 4:12. Three question one answers. For liar proud or greedy. The divine question pertains to behavioral habit and to right or wrong. Jeremiah 23:19-25.
I’m curious about Christian’s who struggle with alcoholism/drug use. My cousin professed to be a Christian but drank and die drugs regularly. My way of defending him is by remembering the childhood he was burdened with. His parents failed him deeply. His only times around church, Bible, and morals was when he was with my family and I in the summers. Occasionally he would go to church in his own state, but no one helped him stay consistent. He was found dead a week ago. I just can’t see him being in hell. It breaks my heart. Wondered what you thought about it.
We know that Jesus was born some time in the Fall, probably around the Feast of Tabernacles, but we know for sure exactly when Jesus was crucified and rose again. This is easily figured out by the historical accounts surrounding his entry into Jerusalem and when Passover was that year.
Can easily do a breakdown of how Carl Lentz, Hillsong, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen and TD Jakes are all living in sin. Greed is a sin but Western Christianity loves to turn a blind eye to it.
@@pkangata why? You want to pretend that prosperity gospel is a good thing for this world? Jesus doesn’t approve of it and mature Christianity taught by Paul doesn’t either. Yeah, why not, if you actually take ownership of your sins, you will end up not having a plank…
@@danpilgrim1785 giving over our lives to Christ is the prosperity gospel. Our souls, spirits and everything about us begin to prosper immediately. Having the Holy Spirit, the word of God ruling our lives, the intercession of Jesus Christ is more prosperity than any wealth can bring. Maybe consider that before you speak on behalf of heaven.
@@pkangata sorry, I thought I was clear about the term “prosperity” gospel was. I take it you misinterpreted what I wrote? I don’t disagree with you there, but there are a lot of Christians in America and Western Europe that think you can only prove how much God loves you by your ‘success’. “Prosperity gospel” refers to the false teachings of Copeland that giving him money will ‘seed riches’ or Osteen telling his congregation that if they pray hard enough they’ll become super rich. That doesn’t match up to missionaries or people who’ve given up everything to serve refugees like those in Doctors without Borders. Last time I checked the only person who profited from Jesus financially was Judas. And Barabas who escaped with his life. If they believe the Bible, sola fide declares what Jesus said to the rich man, the money given by the poor lady at the temple, or Amos and Malachi helping the poor. That’s what I was meaning to say by pointing out these super rich preachers. I must demonic then because since being baptised I’ve work for free for homeless people and currently live off minimum wage being kicked in the head by kids with behavioural problems and sen needs. Even though by Calvinist theology I’m where I am supposed to be in life 😂 Sorry if I come across rude. But I’m pretty sick of these scam preachers and Western seeker-friendly Steve Furtick style Christianity. Surely the gospel is deeper than that? And might as well see a funny side to it…
Acts 10:35 God accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. I believe God sends the light of the gospel to those who hunger and thrist after righteousness. Like the centurion that Peter went to preach to. An angel appeared to him because he prayed and was just with his money. Peter was the one who had the problem!
About question 3, it seems to indicate that those who sold property had multiple properties. So i don't know if it means they sold all of their property.
It doesn't seem that they would have. The apostle Paul even said we weren't expected to give so that others were eased in their suffering but we were burdened. And he said it was about equality. Someone giving up everything for another would mean there was not equality for the one giving up everything. I believe they gave up their extra property that wasn't needed. I don't think it's necessarily wise to give away to someone when you will go without. Especially if you are taking from your own families needs. I see people giving luxuries to others while their own family goes without food sometimes. That is not being a good steward of your money. Your family should come before others.
Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference:
0:00 - Introduction
1. 0:19 {Church Leader Living in Sin? Letter vs. Spirit} I am a young adult, still living in my parents' home. My father is the pastor of our small church. One of my siblings has leadership roles, but is living in sin (cohabitation). My father has talked with him, but hasn't taken any biblical action to remove him from leadership or from church. The elders don't see a need to do anything either. What should I do? (I'm the youngest and a daughter.) I was told I was taking the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law.
2. 10:33 {About John the Baptist being Jesus’ Cousin} Is it a big deal that John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin? I haven't heard this talked about much; wouldn't that mean that they knew each other when they were kids/before their ministries?
3. 16:30 {About the Early Church & Socialism} Should Christians be living like the early Church in a sort of voluntary Socialism as found in Acts 2: 42-47 and Acts 4: 32-37?
4. 27:03 {MW’s Personal Experience Witnessing} Could you share your most memorable experience in leading someone to the Lord?
5. 30:08 {About Recent “Deconstruction” Stories} I find myself sympathizing with some who have deconstructed and walked away from the faith (though I don't agree with their decision). How can I keep from deconstructing myself?
6. 41:08 {Is Yahweh Only the Father’s Name?} Some people I know say Yahweh is the name of the whole Trinity combined. I thought Yahweh was only the name of the Father (like how Jesus is the name of the Son). What are your thoughts?
7. 47:13 {About Artaxerxes in Ezra} Are there two Artaxerxes in Ezra, or could it be that there is an interlude in Ezra 4:5-23? Artaxerxes stopped the building, but later seems to endorse it.
8. 48:10 {Are the Church and Israel the Same?} Are the church and Israel the same or different? Is the church the continuation of Israel and heirs of the promises of God to OT Israel?
9. 50:53 {Can Christians Attend JW Weddings?} Is it ok to attend a wedding of a Jehovah’s Witness? My colleague is a JW and she is getting married in 3 weeks. I was wondering if it’s ok for me to attend because of the belief system.
10. 52:35 {How to Have Godly Sorrow Over Sin} How do you have a godly sorrow over sin (2 Corinthians 7: 10)? When I sin, I repent, feel really bad, and ask for forgiveness, but eventually fall for the same sin again. Do you just pray for God to give godly sorrow?
11. 59:44 {About Approving of/Watching Inappropriate Shows} How do you respond to another Christian who thinks that watching movies or shows with nudity/sexual content is a liberty they have in Christ because they do not struggle with lust?
12. 1:06:35 {Interpreting a Difficult Verse} I’ve read two different views on 1 John 3: 20. 1: If our heart condemns us, how much more will God since He is greater than our heart? 2: Even though we feel guilty, God knows our heart. Thoughts?
13. 1:11:04 {What does Ecumenical Mean?} I'd rather not identify myself with any particular denomination. What does it mean to be an ecumenical Christian?
14. 1:13:46 {Some Great Wisdom for Us} What’s the greatest lesson of wisdom you’ve learned as you’ve matured in your faith?
15. 1:16:06 {About Believer/Non-Believer Relationships} What should a new Christian do if he or she has been in a relationship for 7+ years with a non-Christian (not married), and the non-Christian doesn't slow down the spiritual growth of the Christian?
16. 1:19:36 {Is it Fair that Some People are Born in Unbelieving Areas?} How is it just that because a person is born in a specific region in the world, that they are more likely to follow the traditions and religion they are raised in and end up going to hell?
17. 1:24:17 {Is the Fire Mentioned in 2 Peter Literal?} In 2 Peter 3: 10 it says that on the "Day of the Lord" God will destroy the world and "its elements" with fire. Is this a literal or figurative fire, and why?
18. 1:27:06 {Did Jesus’ Family Believe?} Did Jesus' family not believe in Him as Messiah?
19. 1:32:02 {About “Rhema” (Sword of the Spirit)} Can you explain the Greek word Rhema in Ephesians 6 when it talks about the “sword of the Spirit is the Word of God?” Is it Scripture, or like a word of wisdom, knowledge, or prophecy?
20. 1:35:34 {Who was the 4th Person in the Furnace in Daniel 3?} Referring to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel, who was the fourth person in the furnace? Is this OT evidence of Christ?
What is walking away from the faith? I can't unbelieve the truth.
Sarah, you do a wonderful job. Bless your faithfulness 😊🙏
@@lionoffireministries Thank you so much!! That means a lot to me. God bless you!
@@sarahfaith316 bless you guys.
From Australia.
P
Mike, I am so blessed to hear you say that you couldn’t put a date on salvation. All my life, my dad has known and stated the date of his salvation, which is beautiful that he had that life changing experience in a single day where all was new. But, for me, it has been a long progression. It had been so discouraging that I don’t have a date. But, I do have faith. I’m not who I was, and that’s all because of Jesus. Thank you, Mike
I also have no date or special experience, which has often made me doubt. I know we don’t all have a Damascus Road experience. A help to me was a little book called “Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart.”
For me too it was a process that happened over months. There were many events that shaped me, moments I realized something had softened my heart towards God.
Same here. I don’t have a specific date. I do know I decided to go to church in January of 2021 at 35 years old. But it was months before I became a true believer. I don’t know exactly when my salvation started. I was slowly getting new convictions to stop sinful behaviors. One day I looked back and noticed how much my life has changed. That’s when I realized the Holy Spirit was in me and I have no clue when he got there lol. 🤷♂️
Me too I’m 68 best guess when I was 25 but prosperity gospel took it toll on me I found a good church in the inner city that straightened me up Mike is a rare type of pastor we need more guys like him consider ing What type of family he came from the Lord can save anybody
Amen! Same for me 🙌🏼
I must add that deconstruction can be good. I deconstructed my catholic faith and became a Bible thinker Christian ✝️💜💚
Care to discuss that? I deconstructed my Catholic faith too and became an atheist but i picked up the bible later and saw that Catholicism is based on scripture.
@@padraickelly9148 I deconstructed atheism and found that atheism is a low IQ, contradictory, intolerant failed ideology with no standard for courage, character or truth. Would you like to discuss that?
Praise the Lord!
@@padraickelly9148 I couldn't deny that we are not saved by faith + works. It's so clear in scripture that we are saved by faith and that produces works. I couldn't deny that truth.
@@lkae4 i'd have to disagree with your sentiments, atheists are no less intelligent than any other people, some of the most intelligent people in the world were atheists but anyway i am not an atheist so why would i want to discuss it???
Thanks pastor Mike. No pressure when you need to look up something in scriptures. It makes me feel better if I’m not the only one who needs to look something up. Glad you are human like the rest of us! I may not know each verse but can tell people about the Bible and everything . I’m not good at memorizing verses but I know how the Old Testament teaches us of Jesus in the old and the new testaments. I’m 70 now so don’t anticipate a great memory bu I can tell people the importance of verses from beginning to end. Praise God! 🇨🇦❤️🇺🇸🙏🏻🙏🏾👏🏻🕎✝️☺️🥰
These are some really great questions yet again.
This Q&A “series” is GOLD!!
Q 10: I’m from South Africa and we have a great Afrikaans saying: “skaam kwaad” (pronounced sort of like: skarm quaat) which means you are actually ashamed about your actions, but instead of feeling shame you express anger (usually directed at the person pointing out)
Great to see a fellow South African on here :)
@@IngsHaupt ahh yes! Hello there! 😄👋🏻… I wonder how many more of us there are on here 🤔☺️ … I discovered Pastor Mike’s channel a few months ago, and it has been the biggest blessing to my life ☺️🙏🏻🙏🏻
@@luamizondagh3620 Am from Kenya, it's always good to see the body of Christ from all over the world.
@@mwflossy indeed! It gives me much hope 🙏🏻 how wonderful that Christ unites us all, from far and wide! 😍🙏🏻❤️❤️
Hey guys, also from SA. Just love Paster Mike.
We need a holiness revival in the church.
That’s for sure. We need a return to sound teaching of the Bible, to worship of God rather than self.
Wow, Mike, excellent analogy on the topic of de-conversion, "cultural magnetic north vs the Biblical map of true north." Borrowing that! Thank you!🌿
It's absolutely refreshing to see you using Scripture in all of Christ's Purity. Love to see your Love and how seriously you take every single question.💛💛💛
You have a real talent teaching the Bible. Thank you for your ministry. I watch quite often. May God continue to bless you and your family.
YHWH IS GOD. TRIUNE GOD. JESUS CHRIST TOO. HE IS GOD.
Yeah, credit it to God!
I call him my pastor
I didn't realise I lived by the letter of the law and how wrong it was until now. Thank you for this livestream ❤️
Praise and thanks to The Lord. 🙂
Mike Winger is the beardyist most cat loving most bible knowing man I know 😉😂
@@DeeZeeKiddyou up o
Don’t forget cat lover and Lord of the Rings nerd. 🤣❤️
He totally has the dreaded and hated hipster-church-style down which is more proof that you can't always judge a book by its cover.
ikr!
Beardyist 🤔
It's amazing. Sometimes I have questions over the week and totally forget about them, and then I see them requested by other people in here... It's like God is answering me without even submitting them in (I don't watch the live stream, because it's too late in my country.)
That's our God for ya
Q#10- there was sin that I struggled with, I learned that repentance and sorrow over that sin taught me that Sorrow has its place learn from it and sin less as you go. God‘s grace and mercy is everlasting. Today this sin doesn’t have the same grip it use to
This was great discussing on a Q + A.
The analogy of the compasses was brilliant. It‘s totally true.
“People have done horrible things in the name of Jesus Christ”…
…”People have done horrible things in the name of everything!”
Literally in the name of everything.
Magnetic north vs true north on a map - that’s a powerful analogy. As always, I love your thoughtful careful answers to potentially complicated or challenging questions.
You are absolutely right, our church got rid of an assistant pastor because he was addicted to viewing porn and wouldn't give up this sin, it was really sad to see him go as he was a great speaker but because he was in a leadership position he was fired for that sin.
Your ministry is a huge blessing to me. I've been watching for months now and it's been helping me so much. Thank you for fighting the good fight.
As far as question 5 goes; I came out of the new age and asked the Lord Jesus Christ into my life. I unfortunately went to churches that held to the same new age beliefs and taught a false Jesus. I had to deconstruct my faith so I could have the purity of scripture alone. Sometimes deconstruction is a good thing as long as it leads a person to how the Lord Jesus Christ really is.
I came out of that too. I grew up in very “charismatic” churches. People rolling on the ground, and babbling, and they would tell me I wasn’t saved if I didn’t speak in tongues. I started getting anxious about that and it lead to anxiety (among other things I didn’t have a good home life either) anxiety lead to despair and depression. When I was depressed my father told me I was possessed by demons. He took me to the backyard and shook me by the shoulders to get the demons out. When it didn’t work, he told me it’s because I didn’t believe enough and God was punishing me somehow. I was freshly 15 at the time and severely depressed. I lost all hope and after that attempted to take my own life and ran away several times. I was hospitalized and given anti depressants. I left that cult mindset behind. I know now that the way I was taught was NEVER Christianity. I read the Bible and realized I had never met this God in my life despite being raised in a “church”. Be careful where you settle into fellowship. These people are everywhere who believe this stuff.
I love the long form content on this channel!
God, help us[ we get to be saved by faith is the finish work of Jesus[ but we must live a lift of obeying Him because he lives in us and changes us.
out of 20...usually 2-3 that teaches me, mr winger has a good heart and easy to listen to .
thank you mr winger for your service for the LORD..
For question 11 Psalm 101:3 “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the [a]work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.”
Amen, Nick.
Taught that one to my 5 and 8 year old, it was nice to see someone quote it here!
What kind of things can we watch just curious
@@deadchannel89 I’ve been thinking about this lately too. If we allow ourselves to be entertained by sin, we are not honouring God with all of our mind.( Matthew 22:37). We live in an unprecedented time in history where entertainment is available on demand and accessible from pretty much everywhere. This was not always the case. Generations before us could not casually watch people get undressed, commit adultery, lie steal and cheat for “fun”. Our culture and Hollywood has greatly desensitized peoples intolerance and disdain for sinful behaviour. Sin is normalized now.
That being said if I watch movies or TV, I try to stick to movies based on real life with a rating of PG-13 or faith based movies and TV shows. Documentaries etc. If there is too much cursing I will turn it off or if there is too much lewdness I will also turn it off. Eventually you will be disgusted with how much smut comes out of the entertainment industry. I’m at the point now where I either just read my bible or watch Christian content on RUclips.
@@nicklandry8019 I really enjoy stuff like Cartoons and anime the most
1:15:00 I’m chronically I’ll with one confirmed autoimmune disease and two suspected. I didn’t even know I needed to hear this. Thank you brother for your work putting out this content. Due to my health right now I was unable to attend church with my husband and kids so I’ve spent the morning in the word and watching your videos while resting. Anyway, just had to thank you. I needed this right now in this moment ❤
I have not to my knowledge lived a sinless day in my life, I sin every day, the thing's that go through my head... I don't even know if it's possible to not sin, we are so bad beings...
Is a difference between sinning & living in sin as a pattern.
Thank you so much, Pastor Mike! Your ministry has been such a great help and blessing to me! I appreciate your careful handling of the Word and your humbleness in your answers. Blessing to you!
59:44 If someone loves Jesus; how can they be entertained by the sin that He took our punishment for?
Yes, that's true! I'm another horrible sinner. But I see your point so much.
Because we have two natures, our old man loves to sin and pulls us towards it and our new man hates it and let's us see how vain it is.
I liked your answer about your favorite salvation story.
I also ways felt guilt bc I never led anyone in salvation. But it's not about that. Bible says go and make disciples... leading someone in salvation and walking a long side someone in truth is different. I love discipleship!!
Walking in truth doesn't save anyone. They have to hear the Gospel in order to believe it. Without hearing the Gospel, they have no idea why you live the way you do. They can only make assumptions. You'd be surprised how many people never actually heard the Gospel. Most people have a distorted understanding of the Gospel, and some do because they really never heard it.
Thank you for enlightening us with the biblical truth!
What an amazing group of questions today. I believe this set was blessed to be a special blessing to me. Really needed this, and thank you, pastor Mike. Really wish I hadn't failed so hard before and after salvation. Having been raised in the church and with a bunch of family pastors, I think guilt of sin hurts extra maybe? Idk. I hate it and can't wait to be made knew fully
My most memorable time witnessing was when I was having a discussion with some people at the university. I was trying to get this one guy to understand that he was a sinner. He said he had never told a lie.
I thought he was joking. He legitimately thought he was a perfect human being.
He's slow.
@@jesusisawesome2913 not slow, that's called pride
@@davidshosho1173 but I find them to be incredibly stupid.
@@davidshosho1173 they're slow .
@@jesusisawesome2913 he's a uni student, so intellectually speaking, most likely he's a smart person but spiritually he's blinded by pride for not seeing his sin.
would have been hilarious if Mike said "if you want your question to be anonymous " just put Q and anon" 😆
Hahaha!!
He would probably avoid that person 😆
@@Marlaina 😆
Haha!! I'm changing the rule. 😁😉
@@sarahfaith316 hahahaa
We all live in sin constantly. Nobody is perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect.
Of course not, however living in blatant rebellion is different from missing the mark. And if someone is living in habitual sin it taunts their witness and they can’t remove a speck from anyone’s eye because they have a log in their own, hope that clears things up
@@angryrabidfoxes7380 It’s all sin there isn’t a bucket of permissible sins and another bucket of forbidden sins.
Mike by watching you I am heaps thankyou and God bless you
Ah, I love these casts usually, but gotta say it hurt my heart on the first question to say you wouldn’t leave the church over it - why such a gentle response? Sin is a slave master, it is not fun to be in slavery long term, the brother in sin is going to be hurting badly out of this fruit- in my experience, sin is a slow death, love speaks the truth rather than watch them rot. I had a woman rebuke my boyfriend and her words saved me... he continued, but hearing her rebuke gave me the courage to find a way out. In love, I would keep speaking the truth, it seems continuing in silence, or letting them silence her, or not supporting/rebuking the girlfriend rightly would not be honoring to them long term. Killing Kryptonite?
Hi Heidi. I just wanted to clarify real quick. I don’t mean to say I would not leave that church but that I wouldn’t necessarily leave it. Life is complicated and I didn’t want to comment on whether my advice would cause someone to leave the church or not. I’d rather just stay out of it with such little info from a questioner.
I’m glad someone had the courage to speak truth to you and that it helped you. We need more people with that same courage.
@@MikeWinger thanks, I did consider that too after I posted it - not knowing all the facts it’s hard to know how to counsel. I just heard it and felt so grieved at the thought... I’m struggling with this issue in the church as a whole. It’s a hard and painful situation. And yes, I’m incredibly grateful for the truth that was spoken to me. Blessings to you!
Its both party's fault not just the guy. Two way street
"Be perfect as your father in Heaven is perfect." That's what Jesus said.
CHRIST first, before you, before father, before elders. That is the Spirit AND the LAW.
My pastor said "keep them busy and keep them coming". He put a cohabitating couple on the worship team. I was really sad about this.
That would be a time to start church discipline and possibly leave.
Totally ridiculous.
Yeah that question for me would be a red flag to start looking if they were compromising on anything else. It's sad because either churches are too infiltrated by the culture to be biblical, or they get REALLY good at hiding stuff to appear biblical.
Islam keeps them busy and keeps them coming.
For question 17 - note that “God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12 and many more).
True, The glory of God is a consuming fire and His Fire will consume the lost sinners at His coming, and no hell is needed for ever afterwards, they are turned to ashes, nothing to burn after that.
Thanks for your continued service to GODS PEOPLE. Blessings from a longtime follower of several Calvary Chapel Pastors. I currently reside in Northeast TN, but only since December 2022. Prior to that, I lived and worked in Mainland China.
You are correct…and THE WORD OF GOD is ALWAYS TRUTH. Living in an un-equally-yoked relationship, even a marriage, is a challenge. But, GOD blesses that marriage, if you dwell with your spouse in a loving manner.
Without any doubt…sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong and only lead to suffering.
If you love them, marry them before GOD and dwell with them until death do you part. Blessings y’all.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, rather in humility value others above yourselves." Philippians 2:3
Follow the perfect example of Jesus and live humbly. Though He was God He humbly served others and humbled Himself to die a sinner's death in our place. As CS Lewis said, "true humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." Those who humble themselves will be exalted but those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Hopefully this positively impacted you today. God bless you.
❤ thank you Mike. Your answer to question 14 was beautiful and full of wisdom. May you bless God, and may he bless you further. 🙏
Everyone's experience with Jesus is unique in some way!
Hey Mike and all, I happen to find your videos a month or so ago in 2021 in the summertime, and I just wanted to let you know that I think you are fantastic and if I didn’t already have the best pastor in the world, I would be really interested in finding your church. You have a simple, easy, and logical way of teaching the ‘biblical’ stuff that we all can get tripped up on.
I’ll be watching and learning!
Thanks!
Thank you Brother Mike for teaching the truth in the right Spirit!!
We plant and water and Only God grants repentance and gives increase.
We plant. The Holy Spirit waters .
@@merrittascott3323 No sorry that is not true. We must look in the word to see what is true.1 Corinthians 3
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
The planter and the waterer are nothing. We know the Holy Spirit is great. He is not nothing. Those jobs are left to those that handle His Word carefully and guide and point to Jesus and share instructions from the Word.
Mike i love the way you teach us. I always learn so much from your videos. Keep up the good work. I hunger for these great lessons. Ryan
Two questions I’ve struggled with so much have been answered. Thank you so much for these videos!
Thank you so much for this Q&A. It helped me when you explained the difference between good and bad ecumenicalism. God bless 🙌
Wow. I see multiple stand alone short topics or spinoffs on number 5 that are gold. Excellent answer.
These things ought not to happen in the churches
Reminds me of the book of Revelation where Christ mentions the actions of these churches.
John lived the forest allot but the Spirit Of Holiness did its work.
Awww, pretty kitty! So sweet, lol. God bless you Pastor Mike, and all your loved ones. 😌🌹🙏🏽
Help for the question at 57:21. A big help in not returning to the same sin over and over is to truly repent. Repent means to "change your mind" about what you did. If you do not change your minds about the sin, you are most likely to return to that same sin. Repent is not simply asking for forgiveness it is changing your mind about your behavior.
That's what I keep saying. People are always saying, "You have to ask for forgiveness." Nobody ever got saved by asking for forgiveness. Believers don't change by asking for forgiveness. Repentance is NOT asking for forgiveness. Anyone can ASK! Even as a believer we are supposed to CONFESS our sins to God, which means we agree with God about our sin rather than ignore it or try to hide it from Him or from ourselves. Asking for forgiveness seems natural to me, but I know that it is a repentant heart that matters behind those words. You KNOW when you ask for forgiveness but aren't really repentant. The asking will do nothing for you.
@@graftme3168 this is true, but it is not a fix all. You can fully repent and still fall to temptation later on. It’s when you purposely leave doors open while “asking for forgiveness” that you are not truly repenting. I have been guilty of this for sure
very handsome young man, thank you for teaching about Jesus!
Question #1 about letter vs. spirit
When my boys would try to wiggle out of rules to justify defeating the spirit with the letter, my go-to for shutting this down was "Loopholes don't count!"
Very sad that Shepards aren't looking out for there sheep😞
Voluntary generosity is always to be encouraged, but let's not forget wisdom. Even in Acts they had problems. In Acts 5 two people died because they tried to use gifts to appear more generous than they really were. In Acts 6 there was an argument about how the food was being distributed unfairly. Then there is this passage:
"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. - 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
It's one thing for a person who cannot work, but we see a lot of people today using unemployment instead of returning to work. We as the church should not be naive. The pilgrims ran into this problem as well. They tried living like the Acts church but some people refused to work.
Thanks for these!
Mike: so I don’t really remember having an exact date, I just remember hearing the gospel, and I believed.
You know, for some of us that went through life was so much trouble in pain and suffering trying to do things our way. I’m envious and I wish that story could’ve been my story sometimes. Would have saved me so much suffering, and difficult lessons to learn and be humbled by.
Blessings Pastor winger and thanks 🙏 again for allowing God to use you in such a wonderful Ministry. I agree whole heartedly (concerning sin in our lives). We need to always strive to overcome sin, but understand that we will often fail. Don’t despair…but don’t excuse. Blessings y’all.
A thought to throw in with the question of whether John the Baptist knew Jesus beforehand:
In Matthew 3:14 when Jesus comes to John to be baptized John says to him, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
It wasn't until Jesus was baptized that God revealed to John that he was the one John was sent before. This means that John's assertion that he needed to be baptized by Jesus couldn't have been based on his knowing that Jesus is the Messiah. So I take this instead to be that John knew Jesus well enough to know that Jesus was more righteous than he himself was. John is there preaching a baptism of repentance for sin, and when his exceedingly righteous cousin shows up, John says, "You want me to baptize you? Seriously, between the two of us, you're the more righteous one. You should be baptizing me, not the other way around." And Jesus doesn't deny his logic but instead tells him to let it be for now in order to fulfill all righteousness because it is in this baptism that God is going to reveal the first glimpse into who Jesus truly is.
So I read this interaction as evidencing that they knew each other well at least enough for John to know the character and righteousness of Jesus.
Joe ~ You may be right Joe. We wont know for 100% until we meet them in Heaven! .....As The Lord wills! :)
I think that the passage in question 12 (John 3:20) has something to do with our conscience. If our heart condemns us, then it's probably because we did something bad. But if our heart is quiet and does not condemn us, then we have nothing to worry about. Of course, the "conscience" is simply the Holy Spirit working in us. That is how I always understood these verses.
Mike ... Your metaphor using the cell phone/iPad example is spot on and explains the issue to where anyone, especially teenagers, can understand. Going forward, I will use this example every time the subject is discussed. Many thanks.
That analogy of the compass is spot on to me
This has been the most helpful commentary Ive heard in regards to the communal living in Acts. Thanks brother!
1:30.00
Definition: Rhema of GOD
Thank GOD 🙏 🙌
I have just started watching, plus glanced through the Question Time Stamps, and wow-these are some fantastic questions 🤩♥️
Thank you for all your hatd work.
52:35 Mike, I wish you would mention more when bringing up the Galatians passage that Paul ends up in 5:24 with "those that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts". There is hope. We are free. We CAN walk in holiness. The flesh is dead.
Q & A episodes are always so helpful to me. Answers questions I have wondered about and all the ones I didnt even know I needed answered.
Totally agree on the salvation prayer thing… when I got saved at 19 (for real, for real) the person in went and found made me pray myself. 💁🏼♀️
With question number 12, I've always thought of it like this: we may try to pass off the Holy Spirit's convictions in how we treat others, like saying "Well it's not my responsibility to show them love...", and though we may try to reassure ourselves that we are right, God is bigger than our hearts and can convict us no matter what we try to do, or deny.
Open to being wrong here but in context, that's how it always sounded to me.
In regards to question four, I never actively went out and tried to bring people to Christ. I am actually, in a way, a bit adverse to that. I speak openly of my experiences and share my limited knowledge of the Bible with anyone who asks or if it comes up, but I am not one who goes around asking if an individual is saved.
In my opinion, God calls to all of us. How he reaches us, or in what circumstance we find our way to Him, we all find our way to Him. Some will ignore His call, and others will accept it. All I know I can do is share my life and love those whom God brings me to. I can guide them a small bit but it is ultimately up to the individual to accept the call from God. I find that pushing too hard will turn them away, all I can do is share my life whether that be over a cup of coffee or a game of Smash Bros.
Our weaknesses give God a “stage” to present His grace and sufficiency, AND HIS GLORY. This is what we are here for….bottom line. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..” Geography has nothing to do with God’s desire to save someone. A baby is not judged, like someone who has been given Biblical understanding, and even more responsibility when we have His Spirit, and His Word to help us. “Babes in Christ” are learning and growing, and the Lord is “righteous” in His judgements, meaning that He knows everything, and considers everything in one’s understanding.
1:32:02 If you would look up every time the word Rhema is used in the Scripture the BIble itself will show you how God defines it. You will see how God placed it in His Word.
Re #10 and #12: Sin -> sorrow based on failure (condemnation) -> trying harder (in the flesh) -> sin. This is the cycle we all have experienced, and is described in Romans 7. When we realize that condemnation is not productive, and that we are not under condemnation because we are in Jesus, then we can change our mind and our understanding of that sin and break the cycle. This is true repentance.
It still takes effort on our part, but we can't break the cycle merely by trying harder in our own flesh. Condemnation is not productive in breaking the cycle.
So sorrow can lead to repentance, but sorrow and self condemnation is not the same as repentance.
The excuses people make to allow themselves license to sin... one thing is when you sin, you repent, you get convicted, you want to do right in the eyes of God. So this "Letter of the law/Spirit of the law" thing is for lack of better terms BS.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.
One factor could be how old Jesus was when the family came out of Egypt.
John's parents were old when Joseph took his family to Egypt
It is possible that they did not meet John seems to be saying that they did not.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, just because we are saved by the blood of Christ does not mean we can remain in our sin.And if we notice one of us is in sin, we CAN NOT remain bystanders doing nothing about it. It is required of us to intervene and call the sin out and help in restoring our brother or sister to repent of it. Otherwise we too will have to give an account of the sin of Omission. Doing nothing is Condoning and condoning is sin.
Mike: so I don’t have real moment or date of salvation. I just remember hearing the Gospel and I believed. Sometimes those of us with harder roads, and very difficult lessons to be learned and humbled by. I wish that was my story sometimes. I just heard when I was young and I believed. Because honestly, I think that’s what happened to me just much older. And everyone else I think
I love this!! I keep learning new things everyday listening to your videos. I'm so glad I found your RUclips page 💖
5:40-5:53 THANK YOU!
Its not about religion its about a relationship with Jesus'
Amen
I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. Jesus established the Church to foster our relationship with him. The Bible never has this disdain for religion itself that 21st century Christians do. We need to stop stigmatizing the word "religion" and accept that it's part of a relationship with Christ.
My kitty passed a month ago. Thank you for sharing your kitty 🐱
I’m so sorry
We miss them so much! Keeping you in prayer.
I'm sorry. Animals are one of God's greatest gifts to us.
God has promised that He WILL keep us. Titus 2:3 says don’t forget how we were influenced by or flesh, the world system, or the Devil. Walking with Christ is a journey and not a “generalization” for each believer, to walk according to someone else’s convictions. Some commands ARE definite, and some things are not. What really matters is “conscience”. Romans 14:19,21
I read my Bible daily and even though god lay's out marriage
However I have also noticed that the bible doesn't discuss cobitation either
I feel like the reason like cohabitation is because it's a new thing what I mean new as it became a thing around the 80's however it is much more common now then what it was when it started
I also think that elders pastor's, bishops should be held to a higher standard then just your everyday christian that attends church because they are leading people.
But also we have to understand they are people and they are prone to sin like everyone else so we should remember to worship god and not pastor's elders and minsters
That was so interesting! Thank you!
25:00 - interesting to see that Barnabas and John Mark heading to Cyprus, even though Barnabas seems to have sold the land he owned there while in Jerusalem. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mike!
Appreciated your perspective on ecumenicalism. As a Catholic I obviously disagree with some of "your takes" but I trust your motivation so I continue to watch and learn from your channel. You remind me of G.Ortlund in someways which is a complement btw.
My two cents since there's a comment section....I think your answer and approach about not pressuring and "closing" like a used car salesman is the perfect approach.
Paul talks about sone plant, some water, some harvest.
Do your part in the path of that person, at that time, and let the Holy Spirit work with that person's will.
This flavors your teaching and makes it incredibly on point.
Holy question on the day of judgment? Were you sent or did you volunteer? To what extent do you you understand? Why do you want to go to heaven? Jeremiah 17:9-10. Jeremiah 29:11. Hebrews 4:12. Three question one answers. For liar proud or greedy. The divine question pertains to behavioral habit and to right or wrong. Jeremiah 23:19-25.
I’m curious about Christian’s who struggle with alcoholism/drug use. My cousin professed to be a Christian but drank and die drugs regularly. My way of defending him is by remembering the childhood he was burdened with. His parents failed him deeply. His only times around church, Bible, and morals was when he was with my family and I in the summers. Occasionally he would go to church in his own state, but no one helped him stay consistent. He was found dead a week ago. I just can’t see him being in hell. It breaks my heart. Wondered what you thought about it.
Just wanted to say ....much LOVE to all of my brothers, and sisters in The Lord! :D
We know that Jesus was born some time in the Fall, probably around the Feast of Tabernacles, but we know for sure exactly when Jesus was crucified and rose again. This is easily figured out by the historical accounts surrounding his entry into Jerusalem and when Passover was that year.
Can easily do a breakdown of how Carl Lentz, Hillsong, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen and TD Jakes are all living in sin. Greed is a sin but Western Christianity loves to turn a blind eye to it.
I hope you are checking your eye too just in case there's a plank there.
@@pkangata why? You want to pretend that prosperity gospel is a good thing for this world? Jesus doesn’t approve of it and mature Christianity taught by Paul doesn’t either.
Yeah, why not, if you actually take ownership of your sins, you will end up not having a plank…
@@danpilgrim1785 giving over our lives to Christ is the prosperity gospel. Our souls, spirits and everything about us begin to prosper immediately. Having the Holy Spirit, the word of God ruling our lives, the intercession of Jesus Christ is more prosperity than any wealth can bring. Maybe consider that before you speak on behalf of heaven.
@@pkangata sorry, I thought I was clear about the term “prosperity” gospel was. I take it you misinterpreted what I wrote?
I don’t disagree with you there, but there are a lot of Christians in America and Western Europe that think you can only prove how much God loves you by your ‘success’.
“Prosperity gospel” refers to the false teachings of Copeland that giving him money will ‘seed riches’ or Osteen telling his congregation that if they pray hard enough they’ll become super rich.
That doesn’t match up to missionaries or people who’ve given up everything to serve refugees like those in Doctors without Borders.
Last time I checked the only person who profited from Jesus financially was Judas. And Barabas who escaped with his life.
If they believe the Bible, sola fide declares what Jesus said to the rich man, the money given by the poor lady at the temple, or Amos and Malachi helping the poor.
That’s what I was meaning to say by pointing out these super rich preachers.
I must demonic then because since being baptised I’ve work for free for homeless people and currently live off minimum wage being kicked in the head by kids with behavioural problems and sen needs. Even though by Calvinist theology I’m where I am supposed to be in life 😂
Sorry if I come across rude. But I’m pretty sick of these scam preachers and Western seeker-friendly Steve Furtick style Christianity. Surely the gospel is deeper than that?
And might as well see a funny side to it…
Acts 10:35 God accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. I believe God sends the light of the gospel to those who hunger and thrist after righteousness. Like the centurion that Peter went to preach to. An angel appeared to him because he prayed and was just with his money. Peter was the one who had the problem!
Please Pray For me I need the Intercession of Gods Children
About question 3, it seems to indicate that those who sold property had multiple properties. So i don't know if it means they sold all of their property.
It doesn't seem that they would have. The apostle Paul even said we weren't expected to give so that others were eased in their suffering but we were burdened. And he said it was about equality. Someone giving up everything for another would mean there was not equality for the one giving up everything. I believe they gave up their extra property that wasn't needed. I don't think it's necessarily wise to give away to someone when you will go without. Especially if you are taking from your own families needs. I see people giving luxuries to others while their own family goes without food sometimes. That is not being a good steward of your money. Your family should come before others.
Wow the answer for #14 was super insightful for me.
For some reason, hearing Mike’s teaching is soothing and puts me at ease.