Tag: Apostolic Preaching

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Bible Preaching

Determined to Meet the Challenge

Text: Hebrews 11:32-12:2

(32)  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: (33)  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, (34)  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (35)  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: (36)  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: (37)  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (38)  (Of whom the world was not worthy🙂 they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (39)  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: (40)  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. (12:1)  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I got called out, to a street fight when I was 15 years old.

Two brothers and their cousin took offense at my breaking up their three way fight and they turned on me and challenged me to take on all three – at the same time.

Being less cautious than I should have been, I accepted, because I knew my best friend, Tony Huff, would stand with me.

On that fateful day, Tony and I met the trio of trouble at a road construction site about two blocks from my home.

We were Determined to Meet the Challenge.

We were not necessarily equipped to meet the challenge, but we were determined.

I don’t think I’ll forget the moment when we were through talking and about to square off, 2 against 3, my fists raised, my adrenaline pumping and my best friend beside me…

When all the sudden I heard running feet coming down the alley.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wave of brown hair and a flash of blue denim skirt and a voice saying, “Stephen Eugene Kuntzman, Anthony Douglas Huff, you come here right now.”

Too our everlasting embarrassment, Momma had heard about the rumble and she was there to stop it.

But we were determined.

That youthful rumble ended in embarrassment, but it taught me a lesson about determination.

Life eventually brings real battles where “Momma” cannot step in to save you and in those challenging moments, you can look to a much greater cloud of witnesses who stood their ground.

Determined to Meet the Challenge

Life is full of challenges, struggles, trials, tough decisions, unpleasant conversations, disappointments, losses,

And even when you have done everything correctly to meet those challenges head-on there is no promise that you’ll succeed in the moment.

In faith you come to the battle, but you are not guaranteed the outcome you believed for, hoped in, dreamed about, and prayed over will come to pass.

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.[1]

And we know we can do all things through Christ because He is the source of our strength.[2]

And we understand that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.[3]

But what do you do when ALL YOU HAVE BELIEVED FOR CRUMBLES BEFORE YOUR EYES?

Are you determined to meet the challenge?

It’s 1968, the Olympics are being hosted in Mexico City, and John Stephen Akhwari, a runner from Tanzania, cements his Olympic legacy not by winning, but by finishing last. Despite falling, injuring his knee and shoulder, and suffering from altitude cramps, he kept meeting the challenge. By the time he entered the stadium, the sun had set, the medal ceremony was over, and a small crowd remained. 75 started the race, but only 57 finished, and that final competitor to cross the line was Akhwari. Battered, bruised, injured and bandaged he was asked why he didn’t just quit. He replied, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.”[4]

He was Determined to Meet the Challenge.

The Apostle Paul wrote to Pastor Timothy, his son in the Gospel: “(2)  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  (4)  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (5)  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.  (6)  For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  (7)  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  (8)  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”[5]

The challenges of life and leadership are not easy,

But after 43 years, Bishop Moore and First Lady Moore have proven their determination, their grit, strength of character, and faith in God.

You are surrounded by their witness of faith.

God chose this man and woman to represent Him to you and to this city.

Moreover, God has been using them to teach, train, mold, edify, and love you so that you can do the work of the ministry.

And at the same time, He has filled their lives with challenges that reveal His hand and purpose in their life.

But, as Søren Kierkegaard wrote: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

When God Wants to Drill a Man[6]

By: Angela Morgan[7]

When God wants to drill a manWatch His methods, watch His ways!And he lifts beseeching hands!
And thrill a manHow He ruthlessly perfectsHow He bends but never breaks
And skill a man,  Whom He royally elects!When his good He undertakes;
When God wants to mold a manHow He hammers him and hurts him,How He uses whom He chooses
To play the noblest part;  And with mighty blows converts himAnd with every purpose fuses him;
When He yearns with all His heartInto trial shapes of clay whichBy every act induces him  
To create so great and bold a manOnly God understands;  To try His splendour out–  
That all the world shall be amazed,While his tortured heart is cryingGod knows what He’s about!

We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

We have all experienced God ruthlessly perfecting, hammering, and chiseling, and smoothing our rough edges as He molds us for a noble purpose.

We have all asked Jesus, “Why?”

And He is often silent, but you can count on this – God knows what He’s about!

“..weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”[8]

When your faith is challenged, questioned, ATTACKED, or injured, you will face a moment of choice between meeting the challenge or stepping aside.

And if you have determined to meet the challenge, you will often face the same choice again and again and again.

The challenge is bigger than you are, it is more important than you can sometimes grasp. It is eternal in scope:

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”[9]

That’s faith! The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.[10]

And without it, without FAITH, it’s impossible to please God.[11]

Do you know how I know that this Man of God and His wife have pleased God?

They are still here. They haven’t quit. They’ve kept the faith.

They decided a long time ago that they were determined to meet the challenge.

It no longer matters what the challenge is, after 43 years they have dealt with all kinds of challenges from the pew, from the pulpit, from the world, and from the enemy:

  • Moral Bankruptcy
  • Spiritual Apathy
  • Physical Sickness
  • Social Injustice
  • Financial Challenges
  • Demonic Influence
  • Mental Instability
  • Gender Dysphoria
  • Death

Life has thrown every obstacle in their pastoral path, but they are still standing, still determined, still standing in the gap for you.

Most of you have taken their example and followed suit, but some ran when challenges arrived.

The trying of your faith revealed a weakness, a brokenness that you can’t seem to get over.

You have been beating yourself up for so long that you don’t even know how you made it here today.

You are not as lost as you think.

Jesus is searching for you even in your cloudy and dark day:  (11)  For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. (12)  As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. (16)  I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.[12]

The Lord God is not resisting, rejecting or denying you…He is searching for even one lost, broken, scattered sheep.

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.”[13]

Paul and James wrote about enduring the persecutions, hardness and afflictions that challenge all believers and ministers of the Gospel.

They could only write about such things because they had experienced them.

Is it possible that they were determined to meet the challenge, but sometimes, like Peter on the night of our Lord’s crucifixion found themselves not as strong as they professed?

Did mercy come to them and now their voices of grace and experience encourages us to stand tall, firm, resolute?

Now, to our text: Hebrews 12:1-2, “(1) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The cloud of witnesses – our heroes of Hebrews, our elders, your Bishop and First Lady are looking towards you today.

They surround you, they compass you, watching to see if you can lay aside that which has hindered you.

Can you receive the baton of determination, faith, and endurance?

Will you run with patience the race set before you?

Are you Determined to Meet the Challenge?

Look to Jesus: “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

Jesus demonstrated determination by deliberately marching toward Jerusalem. He knew that betrayal, torture, and crucifixion were waiting for Him.

He was determined to face the agony of the cross and to bear your sins on it.

He refused fear, even when facing intense physical and spiritual pain. Jesus looked past the temporal and focused on the ultimate eternal victory.

He disregarded the humiliation and pushed through the suffering for the sake of the final goal:

“…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”[14]

That joy was you.

Conclusion:

We are surrounded by a massive cloud of witnesses—from the heroes of Hebrews to 43 years of pastoral grit.

Jesus did not stop at Gethsemane,

Akhwari did not stop on the marathon track,

Bishop Moore and Lady Moore have not stopped through 43 years of challenges.

Lay aside the weights that hold you down and turn away from your sins.

Stop beating yourself up over past falls and failures.

Jesus is here binding your wounds today.

Stand up, square your shoulders, and be

Determined to Meet the Challenge.

[1] Good News Bible.

[2] Philippians 4:13

[3] Romans 8:28

[4] Source: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/marathon-man-akhwari-demonstrates-superhuman-spirit

[5] 2 Timothy 4:1-8 

[6] https://marbaniang.wordpress.com/2017/09/07/origin-of-the-poem-when-god-wants-to-drill-a-man/

[7] Believed to be an anonymously “Christianized” form of her 1918 poem When Nature Wants a Man.

[8] Ps. 30:5

[9] 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

[10] Hebrews 11:1

[11] Hebrews 11:6

[12] Ezekiel 34:11-12, 16

[13] Proverbs 24:16

[14] Hebrews 12:2

Categories
Bible Preaching

A Thing Called “Hope”

Text: Matthew 9:20-22 

(20) And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:  (21)  For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.  (22)  But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.[1]

Hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. A feeling of trust”[2]

Albert Barnes defines Hope as:

…a desire for an object, and an expectation of obtaining it.

If there is no desire for it; or if the object is not pleasant and agreeable, there is no hope, though there may be expectation – as in the expectation of the pestilence, of famine, or sickness, or death.

If there is no expectation of it, but a strong desire, there is no hope, as in cases where there is a strong desire of wealth, or fame, or pleasure; or where a man is condemned for murder, and has a strong desire but no prospect of pardon; or where a man is shipwrecked, and has a strong desire, but no expectation of again seeing his family and friends.

In such cases, despondency or despair are the results.

It is the union of the two feelings in proper proportions which constitutes hope.[3]

Hope is the place where desire and expectation unite:

A Thing Called Hope

She had been sick for 12 long years, but somehow she had not lost her hope. “She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.”[4]

She was ritually unclean and should not have even been out in the crowd, but there she was.

This was such a personal and private issue – an issue of blood – but fueled by desire and expectation – HOPE – and she quietly approached Jesus from behind.

She had no desire to make a scene. She simply had a hope kindled by an Old Testament messianic prophecy, and when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, she was expressing her faith in Him as the Christ:

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings…”[5]

You have been holding onto your own quiet, personal, private issue of blood for some time now.

You may even think that nobody really cares about your situation. What you really want to do it quietly come to Jesus, just brush the hem of His garment because still resident inside you, despite how long, weary, disappointed and tired you have become in this struggle – you still have HOPE (desire and expectancy).

Don’t give up! The miracle is just a brush away.

The moment she touched the border of his garment, immediately her issue of blood stopped.  

Jesus said, Who touched me? …Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.  

And when the woman saw that she was not hid [she had tried to be as inconspicuous as possible], she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.[6]

A Thing Called Hope

Is something you cannot afford to let go.

It is in the waiting where Hope is tested. The sometimes-insurmountable fear that this delay is just foreshadowing the disappointment to follow, but I hear Lord say…

Habakkuk 2:2-3, “(2) And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.  (3)  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

There is a future Hope beyond this world, but there is a present Hope as well: Romans 8:24-28:

(24) For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?  

(25)  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.  

(26)  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  (27)  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  

(28)  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

A Thing Called Hope will hold you together when nothing else will:

  • Psalm 38:15, “For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.”
  • Psalm 42:5, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”
    • His face is turned towards you with favor and salvations.
  • Psalm 42:11, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” (See: Psalm 43:5)
    • If you hold onto hope, one day your face will display the joy within because you hoped in God.
  • Job 14:7, 14, “(7) For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again…(14) If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.”

[1] Emily Dickinson. (1861). “Hope” is the thing with feathers.

[2] Oxford Languages.

[3] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. 2 Corinthians 3:12.

[4] Mark 5:26, CEV

[5] Malachi 4:2

[6] Luke 8:43-48

(Preached on 11/16/2025 to the saints of Tornado Apostolic Church, Pastor Wilson Hudson)

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Rock & The Name

Stephen Kuntzman | Oct. 5, 2025 | 6:30 pm

Text: Matthew 16:13-20 

(13) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  (14)  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  (15)  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  (16)  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  (17)  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  (18)  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  (19)  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  (20)  Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4, “(1)  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  (2)  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;  (3)  And did all eat the same spiritual meat;  (4)  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

The Rock & The Name

Bishop James A. Johnson: “Men often fail in their religious pursuits because they are not convinced of the extraordinariness of Jesus.”

“Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?”

Apparently, there were many opinions in Jesus’ day regarding His identity: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

The world today has no need for men and women who have already ran their race, finished their courses and received their reward.

John, Elijah, Jeremiah, and the prophets – healed the sick, raised the dead, stopped the heavens from raining, brought the rain again

They preached great sermons, performed notable miracles, baptized many.

BUT, they could not make men, women, boys and girls inwardly whole. They were unable to save humanity from their sins.

Only Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God can do that.

I love, honor and respect our Apostolic / Oneness Pentecostal heritage.

I have great esteem for men like Urshan, Ewart, Goss, Haywood, Pugh, Kilgore, Kitchen, Simison, Kuntzman, Jenkins, McFarland, Tenney, etc.

They all served their generation well, but their time has come and gone.

It is now your time to do for this generation what God requires of you.

God has called you to this time and this hour and this day.

Esther 4:14, “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

This is your time! This is your place! What will you do with it?

The disciples gave Jesus a list of who people believed others Him to be, but Jesus cut through all that and simply asked them, “But whom say ye that I am?”

Who is Jesus to you?

Who is Jesus to you? Is He simply a good man, a healer, a worker of miracles, a teacher of great truths…

Do you see Him as some far off ethereal deity cloud robed and mystery hidden, or can you say like Peter did:

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

He is the one the prophets spoke about, wrote about, prayed for, looked to, and rejoiced at His coming.

He is the Messiah, the anointed one, the savior.

He is God manifest in the flesh.

Jesus is The Rock, and properly identifying Jesus through the power of divine revelation brings a blessing into your life:

“Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

1 Corinthians 12:3, “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”

Revelation comes by the Spirit of God and always agrees with the written Word of God.

1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy [undeniable, certain, without dispute] great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;  (6)  Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

Matthew 1:20-25

(20) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  (21)  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  (22)  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,  (23)  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  (24)  Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:  (25)  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Jesus then tells Peter who He is: “Thou art Peter [a piece of rock], and upon this rock [a mass of rock] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” <<Peter = “a piece of rock”[1]  | Upon this rock = “a mass of rock”[2]>>

Peter, I’m not going to build my Church on you, you’re just a little piece of rock, but upon This ROCK, this massive rock of stone – the revelation of who I am – I am going to build My Church.

Jesus – The Rock – The Name, is who this Church is built on:

(10) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.  (11)  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.  (12)  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.[3]

Jesus Christ is The Rock

  • Deuteronomy 32:31, “For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.”
  • Deuteronomy 32:3-4, “(3) Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.  (4)  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
  • Psalm 18:2, 31, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower….For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?”
  • Psalm 95:1, “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
  • Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
  • Ephesians 2:19-22, “(19) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  (20)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  (21)  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  (22)  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

Like Paul, when you receive the revelation of The Rock & The Name and realize His power you will be driven by a singular devotion and determination:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2).

PERGAMOS[4]

Revelation 2:12-17 

(12)  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 

  • Pergamos literally means “married with the world.”
  • It refers to a condition and time when satan changed tactics to attack the Church.
  • We all want to be accepted.
  • So, satan stopped persecuting the church and began popularizing it.
  • The church became the “in thing” to join.  And so it became fashionable.
  • But while fashionable it had become impure. Those joining didn’t leave their sinful practices and those already in it became influenced by the world.
  • This led to a condition where the Church would become unfaithful to Christ and married to the world.
  • Jesus is stating here that He is coming with a two-edged to divide the true Church from the false church that is full of compromise and polluted works.

(13)  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 

  • Even as popular culture tried to pervert, popularize, and convolute the name of Jesus, the Church held on to the truth of the mighty God in Christ.
  • They still understood:
    • Neither is there salvation in any other…
    • In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily…
    • Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name…
  • God has always had a True Church that has held onto His name.
  • Somewhere and somehow Truth has always been preserved.
  • Even when satan changes tactics, God is always steps ahead preserving and protecting the Church.
  • You see, Truth doesn’t need protecting. Truth is true whether all believe it, or none do.
  • It was Adrian Rodgers who said, “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. Let me tell you something, friend, it is not love and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth, than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It’s better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie. There is only one Gospel and Paul said, “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed”.” -Adrian Rodgers, National Religious Broadcasters Convention in 1996
  • The Church in Pergamos had martyrs who had died for Truth – Antipas (thought to be the pastor).

(14)  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 

  • It was Balaam who couldn’t curse the Hebrews. So, he encouraged Balac to have his pagan people intermarry with the Hebrews.
  • Thus, the Hebrews brought a curse on themselves when their gentile wives brought false gods, heathen practices, and compromise into their homes.
  • The devil wants you to bring a curse on yourself by allowing a marriage of the holy with the profane in your life.

(15)  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 

  • The doctrine (deeds) of the Nicolaitans: Corrupts Paul’s teaching concerning grace, and made it a license to sin.
  • They were sensual and unrepentant.
  • They turned the grace of God into lasciviousness.
  • Paul wrote in reponse to them: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2).
  • 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
  • According the Joseph Benson, “They allowed the practice of the most abominable lewdness and adulteries, as well as sacrificing to idols; all which they placed among things indifferent, and pleaded for as branches of Christian liberty.”[5]

(16)  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

  • REPENT – Jesus here gives to John the very first word of the Gospel that He shared in the beginning – REPENT.
  • It is the only solution for your sin.
  • It is better to fall in humble repentance now than to be broken by God’s judgment.
  • Psalms 103:8-11, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”

(17)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

  • Hidden manna = Divine provision both natural and spiritual.
    • The Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our sustenance.
  • White stone = a sign of purity and innocence.
    • Even in this wicked age of compromise God can keep you pure and declare you innocent.
  • Name recorded in stone = worthy of eternal life.
    • God would not condemn the True Church to Hell because of the failures of their generation.
    • Is your name recorded in the Stone?

If not, you need to enter into The Rock

Isaiah 2:10, “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.”

How do you “Enter into the Rock?” How do you get in Jesus? Peter told us on the Day of Pentecost how to do that:

…God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.[6]

Get into Jesus?

Obey the plan of salvation and be born again of water and Spirit.

That is how to enter into the Rock.

Death, Burial & Resurrection = New Birth:

Colossians 2:8-12, “(8) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  (9)  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  (10)  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  (11)  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh [repentance] by the circumcision of Christ:  (12)  Buried with him in baptism [water baptism] wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead [Holy Ghost].

When you properly identify The Rock you will operate with the same delegated authority Peter was granted:

“…whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

So, Preach Jesus – Teach Jesus – Live Jesus – Share Jesus – Love Jesus – Praise Jesus

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

No secret council of hell will ever prevail against God’s Church – the gates of hell

Who is Jesus to you?  

You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Matthew 16:17-18, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

“Thou art Peter” = Petros – “a (piece of) rock.”[7]

You are a small pebble, Peter, I’m not going to build My church on you…

“And upon this Rock” = Petra – “a (mass of) rock.”[8]

But I’m going to build My church on this massive boulder, this Stone hewn out of the mountain, OUR ROCK that’s going to grow and cover the whole earth.

…and establish an eternal Spiritual kingdom that cannot be destroyed.”

[1] Strong’s & John Gill

[2] Ibid.

[3] Acts 4:10-12

[4] Dustin L. Abbott. 2007. Revelation Unveiled. Pages 44-48.

[5] Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments.

[6] Acts 2:36-39

[7] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. G4074.

[8] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. G4073.

Categories
Bible Preaching

NO!

Stephen Kuntzman | 11/16/2025 | 6:30 pm

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Magnetic Power of Praise

Stephen Kuntzman | 9/28/2025 | 6:30 pm

Text: Genesis 49:10

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The Magnetic Power of Praise[1]

Reuben = firstborn of Jacob and Leah

  • He sinned against his father by sleeping with his concubine.
  • Unstable as water

Simeon & Levi = sons 2 & 3

Judah = Praised[2]

  • Fourth son of Jacob and Leah: “…and she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah…”[3]
  • Judah always signifies the act of praise.

“Praise” appears 248 times in 216 verses in the KJV:

  • Deuteronomy 10:20-22, “(20) Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.  (21)  He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.  (22)  Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.”
  • Judges 5:3, “Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.”
  • 1 Chr. 16:4, 35, “And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel:….And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.”
  • David appointed worshippers and praisers: “Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.”[4]
  • Ps. 7:17, “I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.”
  • Ps. 9:1-2, 14, “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High….That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.”

Some try to silence praise.

They will try to silence praise through spiritual death, unthankfulness, sin, shame, fear.

Others are too prideful to praise God. They call it “dignity,” but it’s really pride. Too fearful of what others may think.

You can make a choice to either entertain God’s presence, or pursue man’s acceptance.

God is captivated by Praise!

  • Psalm 22:3, “For thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”
  • Psalm 147:1, “Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.”
    • He is attracted to your praise
    • Ps. 3:1, “Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.”
    • Comely = “beautiful, seemly”
      • “It becomes them; it is their duty; they are bound unto it by the mercies and favours they have received; should they not give praise to God, the stones of the wall would cry out, and rebuke them for their ingratitude: it is beautiful, and looks lovely in them…”[5]
  • Psa 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
    • True praise is righteous.
    • Woman at the well: “(19) The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.  (20)  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.  (21)  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.  (22)  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.  (23)  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  (24)  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  (25)  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.  (26)  Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

Hebrews 13:12-15, “(12) Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.  (13)  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.  (14)  For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.  (15)  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

Judah – praise – scepter not depart – gal pet – to him shall all the people come – magnetic pull of praise – praise draws people to JC –

Gen. 49:10

Ps. 33:1

Gal 3:13-14

[1] SOURCE: Conversation over breakfast with Bishop Jerry W. Dillon (Parkway Church, Madison, MS) at the 2025 UPCI GC in St. Louis, MO.

[2] Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions. H3063.

[3] Gen. 29

[4] 1 Chr. 23:5

[5] John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

<<THROWBACK SERMON: April 22, 2007 – borrowed and inspired by a sermon preached by Royce Cornelius>>

John 5:2-9, “2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.”

Notice:

  1. Impotent = to be weak, feeble, to be without strength, powerless, to be weak in means, needy, poor, sick.[1]
  2. The impotent folk waited for another to help them.  They were looking for a Savior
  3. A certain man = we don’t know his name, whether he was married, what his infirmity was, or his age, only that he was in that infirm condition for 38 years.
  4. vs. 6, “Wilt thou be made whole?” = Other translations read:
    1. NASB, “Do you wish to get well?” – removes the importance of the word “whole”
    2. RSV/ESV, “Do you want to be healed?”
    3. NEB, “Do you want to recover?”
  5. The man’s restoration back to wholeness relied on his obedience to the command of the Lord.
  6. Whole = sound, of a man who is sound in body to make one whole (i.e. restore him to health), metaphorically: teaching which does not deviate from the truth.[2]

Consider the reality that many in our churches are:

  • Religious, but not saved
  • Churchy-fied, but not sanctified
  • They holler, but are not holy
  • Speak in tongues, but don’t allow the Holy Ghost to direct their lives
  • Come to the altar, but don’t give their whole self to God
  • Satisfied with less than purity, holiness, morality, complete transformation

Wilt thou be made whole? 

Do you really want to be saved?

Are you really seeking God in every aspect of you life?

Have you truly tried to clean up all the deficits of your personality, nature, urges?

Have you really tried to present yourself to God as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Ro. 12:1)?

Are you really striving not to be “conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Ro. 12:2)?

Do you really want to stop doing what’s ungodly?

Do you really want to please God and obey His Word?

Do you want to be made whole?

In the Apostolic church we tend to close our eyes to what’s obvious in our churches – – that there are those among us who really don’t want to be made whole.

We choose to ignore the deficits among us, and even in our own lives, ignoring the fact that some of us are not whole, and are still crippled by:

JealousyEnvyHatred
GossipingBack-bitingStrife
Digging up the pastTale-bearingLying
Playing the busybodyArrogancePride
LustSelf-righteousnessLooking down on others
Spiritual superiorityBad attitudesAnger

Denying the truth that there are still cripples among us – – that there are still those among us not living up to the Bible standard of salvation and holiness.   This denial stymies the free flow of Holy Ghost and hinders a true sovereign move of God in our midst.

Do you really want to be made whole?

Are you saved?

  • What are you saved from?  Hell?
  • Are you saved from Lust? Pride? Arrogance? Ditch Digging?
  • These examples of unrighteousness are indicators that some of us still need to be made whole.
  • Signs that some of us like being weak in some area, or another.

Do you really want to be saved?

Can you really and truly sing, with a clear conscience, “I Am a Friend of God?”

Can you really do that when you’re backbiting, gossiping, holding grudges, and full of lust?

Kenneth V. Reeves wrote: “Whoever digs up another person’s forgiven sin, and remembers in his conversation what God under forgiveness (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Jn. 1:7-10) cannot remember (Heb. 8:12), probably makes the sin of the other person his own property.”[3]

Do you want to be whole?

Are you striving deep down in your heart to live right and holy, or do you hide behind lying on the altar when in the church house and living ungodly away from it?

Anyone can be moved to the altar through the emotional impact of an anointed and convicting sermon, but it is what you do on your own that defines who you truly are.

Lionel B. Fletcher wrote:

“To be hidden from observation is a severe test of character.”[4]

“The thoughts that are welcomed in our minds…are a reflection of our true selves as we appear in the sight of God.”[5]

Wilt thou be made whole?

Jesus saves completely and wholly, not partially or half-way.

You’re either saved, or you’re not – holy, or not – right, or not.

Do you want to be saved?

God won’t heal your body and leave you spirit and soul unsaved.

He doesn’t do a half-way job and leave you mean, bitter, arrogant, contemptuous, hateful, and full of lust.

He doesn’t save you and leave your nature, personality, and urges messed up.

Jesus saves all the way.  He saves to the uttermost.  He saves completely.

Colossians 2:10-12, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

True salvation delivers you from the state of being a cripple.  Bible salvation delivers you from the need to strut your stuff, show-off, to play the peacock.

Hebrews 2:1-4, “1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

When you’re saved you’re delivered, rescued, set free, and brought out of all the unrighteousness you’ve ever been guilty of sinning. 

1 John 5:17, “All Unrighteousness is sin.”

You can’t be saved with sin tucked away somewhere in your life, like some hidden guilty pleasure.

Romans 1:32, “…they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Do you really want to be made whole, to recover, to be healed? 

To be saved?

Do you want to live outside of sin?  Do you want to live free and clear of a crippled life?

Max Lucado wrote:

“I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.”[6]

Jesus is coming back for a church that is whole: “…a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

If you want to be made whole then there’s something you and only you have got to do.  A decision, drive, and desire that stems from your own hunger to be made whole and righteous: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6).

Your spouse, parents, pastor, friends, and children can’t do it for you.

You must obey the Word of God and decide to be led by the Spirit of God and not your urges, personality, or lust.

You must fully obey the Bible Standard for salvation: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

Paul asked the question:

Ro. 7:14-25, “24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Who can make you whole?  Only Jesus!!

Peter & John’s faith in the name of Jesus Christ wholly heals the lame man:

Acts 3:16, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”

Do you want to be saved?  Come to Jesus.

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

[1] Thayer and Smith. “Greek Lexicon entry for Astheneo”. “The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon”.  Retrieved: 4-22-2007. <http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=770&version=kjv&gt;.

[2] Thayer and Smith. “Greek Lexicon entry for Hugies”. “The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon”.  Retrieved: 4-22-2007. <http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=5199&version=kjv&gt;.

[3] Reeves, Kenneth V. (1990). The Lost Sons of God. Inspirational Tapes & Books: Granite City, IL.

[4] Fletcher, Lionel B. (1933). The Pathway to the Stars. Hunt, Barnard & Co., Ltd: London, England. p.23.

[5] Ibid. p.25.

[6] Lucado, Max. (1999). When God Whispers Your Name. W Publishing Group.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Go In Power

Stephen Kuntzman | July 27, 2025 | 7:00 PM

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “(1) And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.  (2)  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.  (3)  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.  (4)  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:  (5)  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

The Lord is seeking people who will press into Him: (12)  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (13)  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (14)  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.[1]

Daniel 11:32, “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

Albert Barnes says, “The word exploits…is supplied by the translators, but not improperly. The meaning is, that they would show great prowess, and perform illustrious deeds in battle.”

<you have held back and been held back long enough>

When you visit Jerusalem they will take you to:

  • The site of the Last Supper in the Upper Room
  • The Mount of Olives
  • Gethsemane
  • You’ll see the Eastern Gate
  • They’ll take you to Caiaphas’ Palace ans you’ll see the prison and pit they Jesus in there.
  • You’ll pass by Pilate’s Hall
  • You’ll see Golgotha and the probable area where our Lord was crucified
  • Just a little over a 100 yards you’ll see the empty tomb
  • They’ll take you to the Pool of Siloam
  • You’ll walk up the pilgrimage road from Siloam in the City of David up to the Temple walls
  • They’ll take you through a tunnel and when you exit you’ll be at the western wall of the temple
  • Just around the corner of the temple you’ll walk along the southern wall of the temple, you’ll see mikvah pools in front of the steps southern wall.
  • As you walk up the steps to the southern gate – the gate beautiful – you find an elevated area many call “the upper room,” and this is where the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
  • It’s where they waited…

Acts 1:8 – they had to wait, we don’t. We have the power, it’s already been poured out: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”[2]

Hab 1:5, “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.”

So easy to look outside yourself, but the power or God is in you.

[1] Philippians 3:12-14

[2] Acts 1:8

Categories
Bible Preaching church history

A Threshold Decision at Pergamos

Ruins of the temple of Trajan at Pergamos. Roman citizens had to offer incense to the emperor once each year, for which they were given a certificate showing they had complied with their civic duty. This temple was one place where this could be accomplished (photo by Joel Meeker). Source: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/revelation/seven-churches-of-revelation/pergamos/

Here’s a throwback sermon from January 3, 2016 I preached to the congregation of Bible Apostolic Church.

Text: “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

The book of Revelation is probably one of the most misunderstood and discussed books in the Bible.

Many, including myself, often read its pages attempting to figure out answers to questions we describe as the end times, or eschatology (the study of the end times).

In those pages, written by the apostle John – John the beloved – students of the Word of God try to figure out future events coming to this world.

My interest today is not about when, where or how the catching away of the Church will take place.

Nor am I going to discuss seals, vials, elders, or the four beasts sitting around the throne.

I’m not even interested in who the beast, false prophet, or antichrist are, and if they are alive right now.

I know that rockets are dropping all over Jerusalem and Israel even while I am in this podium, and that many are discussing the coming of the Lord for that very reason, but that is not why I have lifted this text to our attention today.

You see the Book of Revelation is primarily written to reveal Jesus to us. It is a disclosure of the everlasting Truth of who Jesus Christ is yesterday, today, and forever. And along with that is the unveiling of the Church in its relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:” (Rev. 1:1).

It is a “Jesus” book, and in its pages we see Jesus Christ as:

  • The Alpha and Omega – the Almighty.
  • The One in the midst of the candlesticks.
  • The One holding the seven stars of the churches.
  • The One sitting on the throne.
  • The Lion of the tribe of Judah.
  • The Lamb slain.
  • The reigning King on a white horse.
  • The Judge of the living and dead.

It is also a book written to the church about the past, present, and future.

It is specifically addressed to seven churches: “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”

Seven Churches of Asia:

  1. Ephesus              
  2. Smyrna               
  3. Pergamos 
  4. Thyatira               
  5. Sardis                           
  6. Philadelphia
  7. Laodicea

Some believe that these seven churches are symbolic of various ages that the Church will have gone through from Acts until today:

Church~Name Defined~Time Period

Ephesus ~ Desirable ~ 100-200 A.D.

Smyrna ~ Myrrh ~ 200-300 A.D.

Pergamos ~ Marriage/Elevation ~ 300-500 A.D.

Thyatira ~ Continual Sacrifice ~ 500-1500 A.D.

Sardis ~ Remnant ~ 1500-1900 A.D.

Philadelphia ~ Brotherly Love ~ 1900-Rapture

Laodicea ~ People Rule ~ Present-Rapture[1]

I think it is referring to conditions evident in churches right now, spiritual conditions that exist in local assemblies and even in the lives of its individual members.

Today, as we enter a new year and a fresh start, you are at a threshold moment.

This moment can be your last step in a life of mediocrity, defeat, condemnation, insecurity, enslavement, abuse, addiction, hypocrisy, and self-hate as you step over the threshold of Divine mercy and grace into the life of righteousness, peace and joy Jesus has always had prepared for you.

TAKE THAT STEP.

There is conflict at the threshold. Your flesh has been in control and doesn’t want to take that step. 

Satan does not want you to be victorious. He’ll appeal to you in anyway he can to keep you from crossing the threshold.

Three Tactics of the Devil at the Threshold (Bishop Norman L. Wagner):

1. Compromise

2. Change

3. Quit

With that in mind, it is this third church mentioned in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that I am bringing to your attention today: Pergamos.

PERGAMOS[2]

Revelation 2:12-17

(12)  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;  

  • Pergamos literally means “married with the world.”
  • It refers to a condition and time when satan changed tactics to attack the Church.
  • We all want to be accepted.
  • So, satan stopped persecuting the church and began popularizing it.
  • The church became the “in thing” to join.  And so it became fashionable.
  • But while fashionable it was impure. Those joining didn’t leave their sinful practices and those already in it became influenced by the world.
  • This led to a condition where the Church would become unfaithful to Christ and married to the world.
  • Jesus is stating here that He is coming with a two-edged sword  to divide the true Church from the false church that is full of compromise and polluted works.

(13)  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 

  • Even as popular culture tried to pervert, popularize, and convolute the name of Jesus, the Church held on to the truth of the mighty God in Christ.
  • They still understood:
    • Neither is there salvation in any other…
    • In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily…
    • Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name…
  • God has always had a True Church that has held onto His name.
  • Somewhere and somehow Truth has always been preserved.
  • Even when satan changes tactics, God is always steps ahead preserving and protecting the Church.
  • You see, Truth doesn’t need protecting. Truth is true whether all believe it, or none do.
  • It was Adrian Rodgers who said:
    • It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. Let me tell you something, friend, it is not love and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth, than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It’s better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie. There is only one Gospel and Paul said, “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” -Adrian Rodgers, National Religious Broadcasters Convention in 1996
  • Pergamos had martyrs who died for Truth by holding fast to the name of Jesus – Antipas (thought to be the pastor).
  • Unfortunately, there are some who have not taken hold of that lovely name and cherished it like they should. Instead, they’ve taken the name of the Lord in vain by living compromised lives in partnership, relationship, union, agreement, fellowship, and marriage with the world.
  • I plead with you today, as John did in his epistle:
    • “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
  • All of these fleshly appetites gone out of control married to the world are temporal. They won’t last. Only what you do for Christ will last. They won’t satisfy. Only Jesus can satisfy your soul.
  • You would never consider cheating on your spouse. Why then do you so easily and nonchalantly cheat on your Maker who is your husband?

(14)  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 

  • It was Balaam who couldn’t curse the Hebrews. So, he encouraged Balac to have his pagan people intermarry with the Hebrews.
  • Thus, the Hebrews brought a curse on themselves when their gentile wives brought false gods, heathen practices, and compromise into their homes.
  • The devil wants you to bring a curse on yourself by allowing a marriage of the holy with the profane in your life.

(15)  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.  

  • The doctrine (deeds) of the Nicolaitans: Corrupted Paul’s teaching concerning grace, and made it a license to sin.
  • They were sensual and unrepentant.
  • They turned the grace of God into lasciviousness.
  • Paul wrote in reponsse to them: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2).
  • 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

(16)  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

  • REPENT – Jesus here gives to John the very first word of the Gospel that He shared in the beginning – REPENT.
  • It is the only solution for your sin.
  • It is better to fall in humble repentance now than to be broken by God’s judgment.
  • Psalms 103:8-11, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”

(17)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

  • Hidden manna = Divine provision both natural and spiritual.
    • The Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our sustenance.
  • White stone = a sign of purity and innocence.
    • Even in this wicked age of compromise God can keep you pure and declare you innocent.
  • Name recorded in stone = worthy of eternal life.
    • God would not condemn the True Church to Hell because of the failures of their generation.

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12).

I ask you today:

Are you ready to be an overcomer, or are you content to live a compromised life married to this world and bound by your lust and pride?

Will you step through the threshold?

Your last step of defeat, pain, sorrow, heartache, and compromise can be today as your next step over the threshold becomes an entrance to a life of victory, righteousness, peace, joy, Divine Provision, Divine Favor, purity, innocence, and the Lord’s promise of eternal life.

Come on, leave that worldly compromise. Settle it once and for all.

Take advantage of this threshold moment offered by Jesus Christ to  you today.

This Threshold Decision at Pergamos is a decision to once and for all divorce yourself from this wicked and perverse world and be truly espoused (married) to Christ.

[1] Purpose Institute. #5206 – The Book of Revelation. Lesson 1: The Church. 2014.

[2] Dustin L. Abbott. 2007. Revelation Unveiled. Pages 44-48.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Choose Your Garden – Melvin E. Kuntzman

Today, March 19, 2025, is my father’s 75th birthday. So, here is a sermon he preached on September 29, 2024, to the congregation of Apostolic Life Cathedral.

Happy Birthday, Pops!

Melvin & LouAnne Kuntzman | 50th Wedding Anniversary | July 24, 2021
Melvin Eugene Kuntzman

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Fruitful Bough

Apostolic Life Cathedral | April 14, 2024 | 6:30 PM

Genesis 49:22-26

(22)  Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

(23)  The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

(24)  But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

(25)  Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

(26)  The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Truly, we are living in the last days.

No doubt, the attack of Iran – biblical Persia – against Israel these last 2 days signals to us that the while the end of the world is not yet…it is edging closer.

Gog & Magog are on a prophetic collision course to that final showdown known as Armageddon when all the nations of the earth come to a little hill in Israel and to fight Israel, that’s when Jesus comes with His saints and fights for Israel delivering a final victory for His people.

The Church need not worry about that event because we will be the ones arriving with Jesus when He collects us in what many call The Rapture, and what a mysterious day that is for:

“…We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Paul wrote about it to the Thessalonians:

“…The Lord himself [that’s Jesus] shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

That moment is nearer now than ever before.

After the church goes up to be with the Lord: seven years of tribulation begin, the Temple is rebuilt, the sacrificial system begins again, the antichrist comes to power, the Jews see that they were tricked by this antichrist, the last half of those seven years become a time of Great Tribulation, and the culminating event is Armageddon.

The Lord is coming for His Bride. A fruitful Bride. Daughters that are bearing fruit and spreading out across the world.

A glorious church, a holy bride:

“Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:24-30).

Colossians 2:16-17, “(16)  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17)  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Jesus Christ is in the Old Testament concealed and in the New Testament Revealed.

Joseph is an Old Testament type and shadow of Jesus Christ. In fact, there are at least 75 instances where Joseph’s life parallels that of Jesus Christ:[1]

  • Miraculous birth: Jacob was 90 years old, Rachel was barren – Mary was a virgin
  • Both spoke truth in exposing sinful behavior of others knowing he would be hated and ostracized
  • Both were shepherds
  • Both were beloved sons of their fathers
  • Both were hated by their brothers without a cause
  • Both prophesied and foretold the future
  • Both were betrayed for silver and stripped of their clothes
  • Both became servants
  • Both were tempted but did not sin – no sin of Joseph is recorded, and Jesus was truly sinless
  • Both were falsely accused
  • They both suffered for others’ sins and false accusations
  • Both sentenced with 2 criminals: 1 saved and 1 lost
  • Both wept for the wicked
  • Both forgave those who wronged them
  • Both became saviors: Joseph to his family, and Jesus to the whole world
  • Substitutionary atonement: Innocent Joseph/Christ suffered for guilty brethren
  • Evil turned into blessing
  • Comforted those who betrayed him. Disciples were comforted after abandoning Jesus at the cross
  • Both married a Gentile bride
  • …and the lost goes one…[2]

Back to our text: Genesis 49:22-26

(22)  Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

  • Bough (bau) = “a son (as a builder of the family name)”[3]
    • “…I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…” (Eph. 3:14-15).
  • Branches = “a daughter”[4]
    • The branches are the Jewish and Gentile bride that make up the Church.
    • Ephesians 2:11-17, “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;  (12)  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:  (13)  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.  (14)  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;  (15)  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;  (16)  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:  (17)  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
  • Branches run over the wall:
    • The wall is the world
    • The Church will cover the whole world

(23)  The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

(24)  But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

  • Jesus Christ was persecuted, hated, and killed, but the Hand of God raised Him from the dead and He is our:
    • Shepherd
      • 1 Peter 2:25, “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
    • Stone
      • Ephesians 2:19-22, “(19) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  (20)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  (21)  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  (22)  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

(25)  Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

  • Our God is an all sufficient God
    • JEHOVAH ROHI – THE LORD MY SHEPHERD
    • JEHOVAH JIREH – THE LORD MY PROVIDER (He sees and provides)
    • JEHOVAH RAPHA – THE LORD MY HEALER
    • JEHOVAH SHALOM – THE LORD MY PEACE
    • JEHOVAH NISSI – THE LORD MY BANNER
    • JEHOVAH TSIDKENU – THE LORD MY RIGHTEOUSNESS
    • JEHOVAH SHAMMAH – THE LORD IS THERE FOR ME (He is present)[5]

(26)  The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

  • The Blessing of God, the promise of God is on you, your children, your children’s children…
  • The kingdom of God is an ever growing and enlarging body that will one day fill the whole earth
  • 40 million apostolics world-wide, according to Dr. Talmadge French.

You have no need to fear.

You are part of The Fruitful Bough

Jesus Christ is The Fruitful Bough

He is the root and the offspring of David

He is the bright and morning star

The Fruitful Bough is by a well…a water source

Psalm 1 – “Blessed is the man…like a tree planted by the rivers of water…”

You can draw joy out of the well salvation – the Lord Jesus Christ

[1] SOURCE: https://www.bible.ca/d-bible-archeology-maps-timeline-chronology-Joseph-types-Christ-Shadows-Antitypes-similarities-comparisons-2166-1876BC.htm#full

[2] Ibid.

[3] Strong’s. H1121.

[4] Strong’s. H1323.

[5] SOIURCE: https://glennarekion.org/article/7-redemptive-names-god