Tag: Stephen Kuntzman

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Bible Preaching

When God Remembers

Stephen Kuntzman | June 29, 2025 | 6:30 pm

Text: 1 Samuel 1:1-20

(1) Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:  (2)  And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.  (3)  And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.  (4)  And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:  (5)  But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.  (6)  And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.  (7)  And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.  (8)  Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?  (9)  So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.  (10)  And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.  (11)  And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.  (12)  And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.  (13)  Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.  (14)  And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.  (15)  And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.  (16)  Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.  (17)  Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.  (18)  And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.  (19)  And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.  (20)  Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

Shiloh = Tranquil.[1] A description for the Messiah, but also a description of the Church.

A safe place. A habitation of peace.

She came to the Tabernacle, to safety, to pray and to pour out her sorrow.

Samuel = heard of God.[2]

God heard her prayer and he remembered her.

She left Shiloh to go home with a promise from the man of God.

Make sure that when you say, “the Lord said,” that the LORD truly said it.

So many of our people are already broken-hearted and don’t deserve the added burden of a false word.

The reason they leave isn’t that they are disappointed in God, but they are hurt from the false word of propheliars (those who speak a false prophetic word).

Elkanah was a Levite, as was his son Samuel and Samuel’s grandson Heman:

(33) And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel [Samuel],  (34)  The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,  (35)  The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,  (36)  The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,  (37)  The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,  (38)  The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.[3]

Heman = Faithful[4]

He was “the chief of the singers…composed psalms and hymns, which are in the book of Psalms.”[5]

Heman wrote Psalm 88. The most sorrowful and despairing psalm of the 150, it ends without any resolution.

Still, Heman keeps his focus on God, despite questioning God. “Why” is ok.

Like his great-grandmother Hannah, even though he feels forgotten he continues faithfully praying, seeking and worshipping God.

The psalm ends with no answer, but Heman never gives up His belief that God is the only source of deliverance and salvation.

Psalms 88:1-18  (A song and a psalm by the people of Korah for the music leader. To the tune “Mahalath Leannoth.” A special psalm by Heman the Ezrahite.)

(1) You keep me safe, LORD God. So when I pray at night,  (2)  please listen carefully to each of my concerns.  (3)  I am deeply troubled and close to death;  (4)  I am as good as dead and completely helpless.  (5)  I am no better off than those in the grave, those you have forgotten and no longer help.  (6)  You have put me in the deepest and darkest grave;  (7)  your anger rolls over me like ocean waves.  (8)  You have made my friends turn in horror from me. I am a prisoner who cannot escape,  (9)  and I am almost blind because of my sorrow. Each day I lift my hands in prayer to you, LORD.  (10)  Do you work miracles for the dead? Do they stand up and praise you?  (11)  Are your love and loyalty announced in the world of the dead?  (12)  Do they know of your miracles or your saving power in the dark world below where all is forgotten?  (13)  Each morning I pray to you, LORD.  (14)  Why do you reject me? Why do you turn from me?  (15)  Ever since I was a child, I have been sick and close to death. You have terrified me and made me helpless.  (16)  Your anger is like a flood! And I am shattered by your furious attacks  (17)  that strike each day and from every side.  (18)  My friends and neighbors have turned against me because of you, and now darkness is my only companion.

God hears your prayer, even when you don’t think He does.

God hears Your whispers.

Samuel then heard God: Samuel! Samuel! — Speak for thy servant heareth.

[1] Strong’s. H7886.

[2] Strong’s. H8050.

[3] 1 Chronicles 6:33-38 

[4] Strong’s. H1968.

[5] John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible. 1 Chr. 6:33-38.

Categories
Bible Teaching

Equipped & Empowered

Apostolic Life Cathedral | June 1, 2025 | 10:00 AM

Equipped and Empowered[1]

Jesus ministers through each of us by equipping and empowering us, just as He did the Twelve.

Text: Mark 6:1-13 

(1) And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.  (2)  And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?  (3)  Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.  (4)  But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.  (5)  And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.  (6)  And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.  (7)  And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;  (8)  And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:  (9)  But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.  (10)  And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.  (11)  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  (12)  And they went out, and preached that men should repent.  (13)  And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

And they were offended in him – That is, they took offence at his humble birth, and at the indigent circumstances of his family. They were too proud to be taught by one who, in family connections, they took to be their equal or inferior. People always look with envy on those of their own rank who advance pretensions to uncommon wisdom or superior power.[2]

It is somewhat telling that just as His familiars were offended in Jesus, you will also find those who are offended in you when you begin to flow in the Equipping and Empowerment Jesus has given you.

But just as the LORD told Jeremiah of old: “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”[3]

John 14:12-14, “(12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.  (13)  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

  • “…because I go unto my Father…”
    • Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
  • “…that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
    • The Father has chosen to reveal Himself to this world by the name of Jesus, which literally means “Jehovah Savior” or “Jehovah Is Salvation.” The Father glorified the man Jesus by investing His name (character, power, authority, presence) in Him, by leading Him to the cross to die for the sins of the world, and by raising Him from the dead. Far from manifesting to us a second person of the Godhead unknown to Old Testament saints, the Son manifested [revealed] to us the one, indivisible God for the purpose of our salvation.”[4]

COMING HOME

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, and the majority of survivors in Jerusalem had been marched to Babylon to live out their lives in captivity.

Israel could no longer celebrate feast days at the Temple. Sabbath observances were not the same. Possessions were few and the Jews relied on memory to recite Scripture and pass on their traditions to their families.

We do not have an exact date of when synagogues began to be part of the Jewish identity, but the centrality of the synagogue as a community-meeting place where prayers were prayed and the Torah read aloud developed sometime around the third century BC.

After years of captivity in Babylon, the exiles returned to Israel with a longing to rebuild their community and their disrupted traditions. Seventy years after the first deportation, the exiles began returning under Persian King Cyrus. Without a Temple for their traditional feasts and sacrificial worship, the people started meeting in their communities for Sabbath where the practice of reading from the scrolls started.

The word “synagogues” simply means “meeting or gathering together,” and they became an important part of the religious, social, communal and educational life of the Jewish community as they gathered for prayer, Scripture reading, and instruction in the Law.

When I was on an educational trip to Krakow, Poland (sponsored by Christians United for Israel – CUFI.org), we visited the beautifully restored Tempel Synagogue there in the Jewish Quarter. Our guide, Eli Tur-paz, told us that because of the decimation of the Jewish population in Krakow by the Nazis during World War II, There were not enough people to hold a quorum for meeting, and he said something that I do not think will ever leave my mind: “There are no prayers prayed here anymore.”

Jesus Taught in the Synagogue in Nazareth

In the synagogues, Jesus interacted with the people and began His teaching ministry and performing numerous miracles, often on the Sabbath Day.

Not only did Jesus demonstrate He was Lord of the Sabbath, but in a practical sense, this would be the day most people gathered together in the community, giving Jesus the greatest opportunity to teach them and heal those who needed healing.

The stories circulated about the miracles and teaching of Jesus, so when He returned home after spending time in surrounding communities, He attended the synagogue in Nazareth as somewhat of a local hero—or at least a curiosity.

During that homecoming Sabbath, Jesus volunteered to read, and the scroll of Isaiah was brought to Him and began reading from the already scheduled Scripture reading for that week from Isaiah:

“And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:17–19).

He then stopped reading, closed the scroll, and boldly announced: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). He had everyone’s attention. The room grew quiet. What was Jesus saying? He was identifying Himself to them as the Messiah.

Jesus’ Family and Hometown Friends Rejected Him as Messiah

The crowd in the synagogue in Nazareth was in awe of Jesus’ words, but they were stuck on His lineage: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22). They could not regard Him as a prophet or anything more because they had seen Him grow up as the carpenter’s son. When they said that Jesus was “Joseph’s son,” they were reminding one another that Mary had been pregnant before they were married. How many believed Mary’s story that Jesus was born of a virgin? Would you believe your teenage daughter if she came to you with such a story?

Other questions were asked: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3).

The connection to family was made to humanize Jesus. They were making the point: He was just one of them. They knew His family. They knew His siblings from their birth, and they knew Jesus was conceived before marriage.

It was all there boiling beneath the surface of their questions. Mark’s last statement sums up their questioning: “And they were offended at him” (Mark 6:3).

Jesus’ own family members may have been embarrassed by His bold claim to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, because if it were not true then He had just committed blasphemy.

Have you ever had people close to you who underestimated you, or who did not see you for who you are? How did that make you feel?

Most of the members of Jesus’ own family did not believe He was the Christ until after His death, burial and resurrection.

What did Jesus do on that day in Nazareth? He modestly responded: “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4). He may have looked at some of His brothers when He said that last line. Then He referenced two examples from the Scripture where the outsiders (Gentiles), not the people of Israel, received miracles and the favor of God. Those gathered in the synagogue understood Jesus’ implication that they would be passed over and replaced by the Gentiles. This instantly turned their astonishment into anger.

They all rose up, forced Him out of the city and to the edge of the hill, intending to throw Him over the cliff. They had to put the blasphemer to death because they understood Jesus was claiming to be their Messiah. Luke recorded how Jesus escaped the angry crowd: “Passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:30).

What? How? Did He freeze time? Did He make Himself invisible? Did He just blend in with the crowd? How did He just “pass through their midst?” Luke did not record it so we do not know, but it must have been a miracle. Like the Hebrews of old inexplicably crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, Jesus slipped through the angry crowd, intent on killing Him, and got away.

Nazareth Missed Out on Miracles because of Their Unbelief

Unbelief always stops the miraculous. Mark wrote that in Nazareth Jesus could “do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:5–6). His lack of miracles was laid at the feet of their lack of faith.

Everywhere else He had been He taught the people and then He healed the sick.

You know there were people in Nazareth who had the same afflictions and maladies as their neighboring communities. If only they could have embraced the Gospel of the Savior and believed that the same wonders could happen for them as well, but Unbelief left them with just a few miracles occurred there. What would happen today if you responded by accepting and believing that Jesus will heal you right now?

Believe Jesus Is Who He Said He Is

Do you believe that Jesus is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him?[5] There are many skeptics in the world today who have trouble believing the miraculous healings and deliverance from addictions that come by prayer and faith in the name of Jesus. Many people only have enough faith to believe that Jesus was just a man who lived a long time ago, but is no longer relevant to their lives.

BUT – there are some here today who believe in Jesus and have confidence that He lives and He is ever present in our lives. Jesus is more than an ancient teacher, a wise prophet, or a spiritual leader; He is the Lord of Glory, the one holy God who came in flesh and lived among us.

JESUS SENT HIS TWELVE DISCIPLES

Nazareth’s rejection did not stop Jesus. He just continued on His purpose, went to another town and continued His ministry.

The angry mob’s intent to push Jesus over the cliff to the rocks below was just the first attempt on His life. There would be other attempts, but Jesus understood His mission and His purpose would not be thwarted.

Without missing a beat, Mark 6:6 transitions from “he marvelled because of their unbelief” to “he went round about the villages, teaching.”

Although Rejected in Nazareth, Jesus Sent His Disciples to Minister

Many believe that Jesus can heal, but they are not convinced that He can heal through them. In just a few short verses, Jesus calls His closest disciples, the Twelve, and empowers them to spread the message of the Kingdom. He sent six teams of two into the surrounding communites, villages and hamlets and increased the spread of His influence

Because He equipped and empowered the Twelve, many more learned of Jesus and became His followers as His fame spread through the disciples’ travels and the powerful results of their ministry. They preached that people must repent and through them, Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons. (See Mark 6:12–13.)

Jesus Ministered THROUGH the Twelve

Jesus taught the disciples to go out in faith. He instructed them to travel light, to leave behind extra clothing, money, and food provisions. They would learn to depend on God to provide for them, relying on the kind hospitality of those to whom they ministered. The teams of disciples went out in obedience to Jesus and began to see miraculous results of their obedience and faith. They anointed the sick and saw miracles of healing. When demons manifested themselves, the disciples spoke with authority and God delivered the oppressed. They learned Jesus could also work through them to accomplish great signs and miracles they saw Jesus work.

If You Will Surrender to Jesus, He Will Minister through You

Learn what the disciples learned: Jesus can work through any obedient follower and He is still calling and commissioning disciples (you and I) to go in the power of His Spirit. He has empowered and equipped you to fulfill the commission and continue the purpose for which He came.

While Jesus was still with His disciples, He declared: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

After giving the commission, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,”[6] Jesus assured His followers, “these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”[7] Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth.”[8] As much as the promise of the gift of the Spirit is to “you, and to your children,” so also is the calling of God to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ.[9]

Jesus is working in you to fulfill His purpose by equipping and empowering you.

[1] SOURCE: God’s Word for Life Adult Lesson Guide Summer 2025. Pentecostal Publishing House. Lesson 1.1 – Equipped and Empowered.

[2] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Matthew 13:57.

[3] Jeremiah 1:8-10 

[4] David K. Bernard. The Oneness View of Jesus Christ. p. 118.

[5] Hebrews 11:6

[6] Mark 16:15

[7] Mark 16:17–18

[8] Acts 1:8

[9] Acts 2:39

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Great Mountain

Categories
Bible Preaching

More Vile

Stephen Kuntzman | March 9, 2025 | 6:30 PM

Text: 2 Samuel 6:16-23, “(16)  And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. (17)  And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. (18)  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. (19)  And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. (20)  Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! (21)  And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. (22)  And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. (23)  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

Picture the moment:

  • The ark of the covenant is being returned to Jerusalem to the city of David (on a hill south of Mt. Moriah, the Temple Mount, where Solomon’s Temple will one day stand to permanently house it).
  • It was been away from Israel for 20 year.
    • 7 months with the Philistines
    • Then the Ark was taken to Abinadab’s house in Kiriath-Jearim, where his son Eleazar, watched over it for 20 years.
    • Then the house of Obededom cared for it for 3 months.
    • “And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:12-15).
      • “With gladness” = with joyful music, jubilant dancing and passionate singing.

Peering from their home, Michal watched David and despised him for his worship to God.

She so reviled him that the moment he came into the courtyard shemet him and with words dripping with sarcasm, irony, disrespect and even hate, she mocked him for his act of worship –

for making himself small in humble worship to His Lord.

True worshippers forget their surroundings.

They forget what their positions, titles, and roles

They got lost in adoration of the One who fills all space and time.

True worshippers don’t take into account others may think or say, they simply want to offer their praise and worship to their God.

Michal was bitter and like her father, Saul, she was more concerned about the people’s opinion than she was that her husband worshipped his God.

So, in a move of manipulation, she tried to shame David with words that she thought would reduce his joy and gladness, but David had already faced this attack before.

Years before, Saul dangled his daughter as a prize. It was witchcraft anf manipulation.

One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab [Michal], as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the LORD’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”[1]

Not an offer out of friendship or good will, but a trap.

Saul’s main struggle was his overwhelming concern with what the people would think of him, which is why he said, “Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.”

In other words, let them do my dirt work for me so that the people won’t think badly of me.

Manipulation and control – witchcraft.

The struggle every leader faces is “their faces” (Jer. 1:4-10), and Saul failed miserably in this area.

You will remember what the LORD said to Jeremiah:

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.[2]

Saul’s attempt in trying to persuade David to wear his armor in his fight with Goliath was for the same reason he wanted Samuel to worship with him after God rejected him.

He was more interested in what the people thought. He was terrified of public opinion.

Saul thought that David wearing his armor would be good for Saul.

Saul was two years into his kingship when he showed his fear of public opinion and it was here that he lost the dynasty:

“And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”[3]

In 1 Samuel 15 it looks as if God was willing to give Saul a second chance of sorts, but his disobedience led to his ruin and it was partly due to fear of public opinion:

“And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”[4]

Later Saul lies to Samuel, but still asked for special favor before the people:

“Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.”

Saul’s worship wasn’t from his heart to God, but from his mind to manipulate the peoples’ perception.

This was what Saul taught Michal.

If David had never laid down his kingly robes, but instead marched stoically before the Ark, Michal would have been thrilled with this display of Royal pomp and circumstance.

The key difference between Saul and David is here:

“And Samuel said, When thou [Saul] wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” (1 Samuel 15:17)

Humility – the willingness to make himself “MORE VILE” – is what separated David from Saul and distinguished him in God’s eyes as “a man after his own heart.”

David laid down his kingly robes and returned to his humble origins where he first met God as a shepherd boy.

In the Ancient Hebrew, vile also means “gathering to the staff.”

When the shepherd called the sheep they swiftly came to him.

The staff of the shepherd was his tool of authority. With it he would direct, discipline and protect the flock.[5]

David heard the voice of the Shepherd and gathered himself to His Staff in an offering both of animal sacrifices or worship and in a spirited display of  a Living Sacrifice.

David learned worship shepherding in the fields long before he became a king, it was east to lay aside his kingly robe to worship his King.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not 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” (Romans 12:1-2).

You must make yourself More Vile.

It’s easy in our multigenerational Pentecostal culture to think that worship is in the dance, the shout, the jump, the tongues,

BUT real worship is when you become vile and base to yourself.

You submit your self in an act or personal requirement to lay down your pride, personal rights, what you consider “justice” — lay down your gift and be reconciled.

Why? Because someone has ought against you, not you against them.

We wear robes of dignity, pride, position (that’s beneath me), entitlement, religion, but Jesus is looking for His robe on you: garments of praise, robes of righteousness.

More Vile:

  • But it doesn’t make any sense
  • What will people think
  • Costs you something – a sacrifice
  • Requires a demonstration of true leadership – a true shepherd (Jesus at Calvary became “more vile”)

Michal, if she ever had it, lost it that day when she reviled and mocked a true worshipper because of her fear of what others might say,

But David, that shepherd-king gave it all in worship.

Jesus is here and He knows what it is like to humble Himself and be seen as vile:

Philippians 2:5-11, “(5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  (6)  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  (7)  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  (8)  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  (9)  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  (10)  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  (11)  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

[1] 1 Samuel 18:17, NLT.

[2] Jeremiah 1:4-10

[3] 1 Samuel 13:11-14

[4] 1 Samuel 15:24

[5] H7043. Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible.

Categories
Bible Teaching

Just a Little Stone

Stephen Kuntzman | Feb. 23, 2025 | 10:00 AM

Text: Acts 4:8-12

(8)  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

(9)  If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

(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.

Just a Little Stone

verse 11, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.”

Have you ever set something aside thinking that it was not useful for your purpose, only to comeback to it later in the project because it was exactly what you needed all along?

OR – have you rejected a person, thing or opportunity only to regret that decision later on.

In life, there are moments you can retrace in your mind that take you to a decision made that changed your life.

Something you “set a nought,” or what the psalmist wrote as being “refused,” and the apostle Matthew said it was “rejected.”

Whether despised, refused, or rejected, you relegated it in you mind to being Just a Little Stone.

This passage from our text quotes Psalms 118:22-23, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.  (23)  This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”

A small stone from the Valley of Elah.

It is considered a messianic prophecy, but it is also addressing David’s years of obscurity before he was anointed, accepted and crowned:

  • His own father discounted him, but the Lord of Heaven and Earth saw in him something of great value.
  • David’s time in the hills and valley caring for sheep prepared him for leadership
  • His time of solitude brought him close to God as he poured his heart to Him in prayer, praise, song and music.
  • The time spent looking for stray sheep offered discoveries that would later serve to hide him in safety from a king who wanted to destroy him.
  • He learned, in his obscurity, how to defend and protect the flock.
  • Nobody thought much of David before Samuel anointed him, but in those years of solitude, he was being prepared for his purpose.
  • While rejected, despised and even snubbed, these years with the sheep were the exact thing he needed to shape him into the kind of person that the Lord said was “a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”[1]

Our text also points to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was also set at nought, He was refused, rebuffed, despised and rejected of men.

For the most part, the religious leaders of His day did not want, recognize and desire what He was offering.

It did not fit within their understanding, framework, and teaching of how the messiah was to appear to them.

So, they rejected Him.

Instead of a headstone he was set aside and became a stone of stumbling.

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.”

Romans 9:30-33, “(30) What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.  (31)  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.  (32)  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;  (33)  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

In the 1800s, Edward Irving, a Scottish preacher came on the scene in London, England, and his preaching turned London upside down.

He preached to politicians, lords, ladies, the wealthy, the elite, and to the common man.

His effect was so widespread that people would come and sit for hours just to hear him preach God’s Holy Word,

But nobody in England knew about the years he spent in obscurity in Scotland preaching with little success and minor results.

In his biography it was told that he changed nothing about his preaching, style, delivery, and ministry to the people.

It was just that God had finally pulled him out of the corner he was set in and he became a cornerstone for a supernatural move of the work of the Holy Ghost.

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.”

God has come to pull you out of obscurity…out of the shadows…where He has been:

  • Refining you
  • Training you
  • Preparing you
  • Arranging the place He wants to put you.

1 Peter 2:5-12, “(5)  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.  (6)  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.  (7)  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,  (8)  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.  (9)  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  (10)  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.  (11)  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;  (12)  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.”

Romans 11:11, “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”

Just a Little Stone

[1] Acts 13:22

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Ever Present Ark

Stephen Kuntzman | April 20, 2025 | 6:30 PM

Jeremiah 3:15-16, “(15) And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.  (16)  And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5, “(1) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  (2)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  (4)  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  (5)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Zechariah 8:3-8, “(3) Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.  (4)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.  (5)  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.  (6)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.  (7)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;  (8)  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.”

Exo 25:10-22, “And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

Categories
Bible Teaching

Grace that Saves

Stephen Kuntzman | March 2, 2025 | 10:00 AM

Text: Ephesians 2:4-9

(4)  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5)  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6)  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7)  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (8)  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9)  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Luke 19:5-6, “(5)  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. (6)  And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”

Grace that Saves[1]

Series Overview – Letters from Prison:

Paul penned Ephesians and Philippians from prison to minister to the church. These two short books contain principles that give you power to live godly, in an ungodly world. 

Grace, Simple Grace[2]

James Wilhoit shared the story of the birth of his second daughter and her battle with jaundice during her early days. For treatment, the doctor prescribed sunlight.

Thinking there was most likely a complex and difficult treatment to cure his newborn, he asked the doctor what could be done.

The doctor patiently explained that jaundice is caused by too much bilirubin [billy-rubin] in a newborn’s red blood cells, and light helps break down the excess bilirubin into waste products the kidneys can eliminate.

The cure really was as simple as sunlight, and all that the parents had to do was just sit their newborn in the sun.

And that’s exactly what they did: they placed her their daughter on a pallet of blankets in her diaper in front of the living room windows that welcomed large amounts of sunlight.

As the day would progress, her attentive and loving parents adjusted her position to keep her in full view of the sun.

As James Wihoit later wrote, “The cure did not depend on her but on her being kept in the light.”

Simple Grace – Grace that Saves

A year and a half earlier, James and his wife were walking through their neighborhood and crossed paths with another couple strolling with their firstborn baby girl.

On the sunny but cool March day, their neighbor’s child lay in a stroller covered by a canopy while snugly wrapped head to toe with only a small portion of her face showing. The other couple explained she had jaundice and according to her doctors should be out in the sun. Yet here she was outdoors, but not in the sunlight.

James now watching his newborn lay on their living room floor in full view of the sun realized:

“So often I come to God only revealing the tiniest patch of skin for his healing light. For me, the clothing that blocks the healing light of Jesus most often is my pride, seen in the form of denial—I deny that I need cleansing.”[3]

The cure does not depend on you, but on you keeping yourself in the light of God’s grace.

Rather than deny and refuse—or worse, try to manufacture—our healing, we can simply receive it.

God’s Grace is Offered to You

God has made His grace available to you even though you “had your conversation [conduct] in times past in the lusts of your flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”[4]

Paul was clear, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” but all who come to Jesus in faith and obedience are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”[5]

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”[6]

Free – Undeserved – Unmerited Grace will save you from living a life governed by sin and a servant to satan.

God Grace is Extended to You Because of His Love

Paul told the Ephesians that Jesus has authority over “all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,”[7]

There is power in this world that exerts itself over you and draws you into an corrupt state, and while you have no natural power to defeat the devil and sin,

God does.

Because of “his great love wherewith he loved you,” He gives you the undeserved, unearned blessing (simple definition of grace) of His authority and power over the dominion of sin and the devil.

Grace that Saves is Free – Undeserved – Unmerited

God’s Grace Saves You

Because He loves you, He offers to rescue you and redeem you:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).”[8]

You may be hopeless and bound, but He offers you hope and freedom.

By yourself you are outmatched and incapable of conquering sin, the kingdom of darkness, and death.

Your religious activities can’t save you, and you don’t earn salvation by your good deeds.

Salvation is not extended to you because of how many hours you have prayed, meals you have fasted, money you have contributed.

Salvation is not achieved because of how many times you’ve read the Bible through, or how often you attend the church services.

These spiritual disciplines are indicators of a transforming disciple, but only God’s grace saves you.

Perhaps you have the mistaken notion that “I must do this particular spiritual activity to get God to love me.”

This type of mentality can turn God’s grace into something to be earned, yet this is entirely opposite of what grace means.

Grace is undeserved, unmerited and unearned.

Grace that Saves is a gift you receive.

It is simple grace, like setting a jaundiced baby in the sunlight so that she can receive the light.

Receive God’s Grace

The way to receive by faith the Grace that Saves is through the principle of humility.

1 Peter 5:5-7, “(5) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  (6)  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  (7)  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

There is a link between grace and humility:

  • Humility acknowledges, “I am not perfect.”
  • Humility understands your need for growth and improvement.
  • Humility allows you to accept grace because humility allows you to truly repent.

Zacchaeus Received God’s Grace (Luke 19:1-10)

Luke alone of the Gospel writers records God’s grace extended to “a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich . . . and . . . little of stature” (Luke 19:2–3).

We quickly see how others around him knew him:

  • Zacchaeus most likely “presided over other tax-gatherers, received their collections and transmitted them to the Roman government.”[9]
  • Zacchaeus, a Jew, was not liked by other Jews because he chose to for the Romans.
  • As a publican he was treated as a traitor to his people.
  • Not only that, but it seems he had charged his fellow Jewish citizens extra on their taxes to profit from the surplus. He was getting rich off them.
  • Zacchaeus was not well liked in Jericho.
  • When the people saw that Jesus was going into Zacchaeus’s home, “they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner” (Luke 19:7).
  • Zacchaeus fit the description of an individual walking “according to the course of this world…fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”[10]
  • Zacchaeus had risen to the top of the ranks of swindling tax collectors, and he abused his authority by getting rich off the hard-earned money of others.
  • They labeled him, scorned him and rejected him.[11]

Jesus Spent Time with Zacchaeus

The crowd was not wrong in their assessment of Zacchaeus; the earthly labels were certainly true of him, but they were not the truest thing about him.

From a purely physical and tangible perspective, he was indeed a sinner.

Thankfully, God’s view of you is not from an earthly perspective; He sees your truest identity—God created you in His image, for His purpose, by His design.[12]

God’s actions toward you are not motivated by label you or others apply, but by His love.

The crowd responded to Zacchaeus through the lens of earthly labels, leading them to hatred and rejection.

Their view of Zacchaeus kept them from associating with him, accepting him, loving him, and acting in grace toward him.

Jesus chose a different way. He chose to view Zacchaeus from a heavenly perspective.

Jesus graciously invited Zacchaeus into a loving relationship.

Jesus chose to accept him, not reject him.

He chose Grace that Saves motivated by His great love.

When you receive God’s Grace you will cherish your time with Him:

  • Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully into his home.
  • Here was someone who looked beyond his faults and earthly labels to truly see him and he certainly cherished this life altering moment.
  • Put yourself in Zacchaeus’s shoes for a moment:
    • You know what your life is like.
    • Your selfish ambition has produced misguided efforts.
    • You have made decisions you wish you could remake.
    • You long for a change, for healing, for reconciliation, for a chance to make things right.
    • You feel ashamed because you are guilty.
    • And now, walking into your living room, Jesus willingly chooses to look beyond all of that.
    • He accepts you, treats you with kindness, respect, and dignity, and offers you an invitation to repent so He can forgive you.
    • His grace is undeserved, you don’t deserve this, but here He is spending time with you anyway.[13]

Jesus offers you that same grace-filled invitation he offered to Zacchaeus.

He is inviting each of you into a deeper relationship with Him.

Daily He presents you with an invitation to spend time with Him.

He sees you through the lens of love and grace.

He sees your wholeness, despite your brokenness.

Such actions from Him are undeserved and unearned, but here He is inviting us anyway.

That’s Grace that Saves!

How do you respond to Grace? REPENT.

Zacchaeus climbed a tree in order to see Jesus, which was an outward demonstration of his willingness to do whatever it took to see Jesus.

Although he was living a life he may not have been proud of, he was willing to lay aside his pride, and humble himself, in a beautiful step toward repentance.[14]

“And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8).

Zacchaeus’s statement was evidence of deep sorrow and a desire for change in his life and he was choosing to live life with a different attitude and mindset.

This deep inner change led to generosity instead of selfishness and restitution to the people he had wronged. For Zacchaeus, and often for us, true repentance requires restitution. The actions and behaviors that follow our repentance indicate we are now living differently.[15]

After Zach repented Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham”[16]

Jesus knew he was the chief among the publicans and his exploitation of the poor had made him rich, but he repented and then Jesus identified Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham.

Zacchaeus, and the people watching, were reminded that God sees past your earthly defining labels. They do not define you.

Only God defines you, and He sees you through the lens of His grace.

Grace that Saves

[1]Source: God’s Word for Life. (Lesson 1.1) Series 1: Letters from Prison – By Grace Ye Are Saved.  PPH. 3/2/2025.

[2] Ibid. (James Wilhoit. Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Eph. 2:3. Personalized.

[5] Rom. 3:22-23.

[6] Titus 2:11-14.

[7] Ephesians 1:21.

[8] Ephesians 2:4–5.

[9] Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible. Luke 19:2.

[10] Eph. 2:2-3.

[11] Source: God’s Word for Life. (Lesson 1.1) Series 1: Letters from Prison – By Grace Ye Are Saved.  PPH. 3/2/2025.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Luke 19:9.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Where the Glory Dwells

Stephen Kuntzman | March 16, 2025 | 6:30 PM

Text: Acts 7:44-8:3

(44)  Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. (45)  Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; (46)  Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. (47)  But Solomon built him an house. (48)  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, (49)  Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? (50)  Hath not my hand made all these things? (51)  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (52)  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: (53)  Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. (54)  When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. (55)  But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, (56)  And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (57)  Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, (58)  And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. (59)  And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. (60)  And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (8:1)  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. (2) And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. (3) As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

Where the Glory Dwells

God’s greatest desire from the Creation, throughout time and even tonight is to have fellowship with you.

It is for this reason Jehovah told Moses, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”

  • God’s desire was to dwell with His people, so He commanded Moses to build a tabernacle—a mobile dwelling place.
  • This was a shadow of something greater. It was a temporary structure representing a permanent truth.
  • God’s plan for man was that He could be with them, but just as in the Garden of Eden, a certain design was followed with no deviation.
    • You have to do it God’s way. This idea of “me and Jesus, we got our own thing going” is false.
    • Jesus has His own pattern going on and you must press into it, or you will never be in true fellowship with Him:
      • Luke 16:15-16, “…Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”
      • Everyone who presses, enters, into the Kingdom of God is born again of water and Spirit.
      • No other way to enter but according to pattern.
      • Press into the kingdom of God!

Jehovah explained this New Birth to Ezekiel,  – “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”[1]

  • God’s presence would no longer dwell in a temple made with hands—He would dwell in the hearts of His people!

Jesus explained how this was going to happen to Nicodemus, “(3)…Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4)  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (5)  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6)  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7)  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (8)  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”[2]

All that Stephen was preaching in his defense to the Jewish religious leaders of his day was simply confirming the fulfillment of millennia of divine prophetic to dwell in his people:

“Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands”

As prophetically necessary as the tabernacle of witness was,

as exceeding magnifical as Solomon’s Temple stood,

as hopeful as Zerubbabel’s Temple in drawing people back to national worship,

and as audacious as Herod’s Temple tried to be,

they were not where our Lord ultimately desired to dwell.

He wants to dwell in you.

Isaiah 6:1-4, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”

  • Isaiah saw that God’s true temple was not an earthly structure.
  • Yes, the realm of His glory would fill the earth, but that is because the presence of God filled the temple, and the whole earth was to be filled with His glory.
  • How? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
  • You carry God’s glory.
  • You are a Glory-Carrier filled with the smoke of God’s glory and filling the whole earth with the weight of God’s presence, power, and authority.

John 7:38-39 – “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

  • This living water represents the Holy Spirit, bringing life wherever it flows.
  • Ezekiel’s vision of the waters that flowed out from under the threshold of the sanctuary teach us the levels of the anointing of God.
  • It is one Spirit, but many depths with a process of maturing that you will go through as a Glory-Carrier.
    • 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
    • One degree of glory – anointing – to another.
  • The trees in Ezekiel’s vision represent God’s people, bearing fruit by the Spirit’s living waters.

Revelation 21:3, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”

  • The goal of redemption was not just salvation, but union with God—to become His habitation.
  • In a world where people seek their own glory, we carry the glory of God. We are Glory-Bearers, His habitation:
    • (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.[3]

Where the Glory Dwells

And there stands Saul, watching with approval the stoning of Stephen.

He heard Stephen’s defense, and how that God’s desire throughout time was to dwell among His people.

Yes, on that day, Saul could resist the argument of Stephen, but was the Holy Spirit in Stephen that Paul couldn’t resist.

It was the Glory Stephen carried that shown out of him with His last words pleading for Divine clemency on his persecutors that pricked the heart of Saul.

When you truly meet as bonafide glory-carrier, Spirit let, Holy Ghost driven man or woman, you will be changed.

We know it changed Paul, because he refers back to the words of Stephen when he is also making his argument for Christ on Mars’ Hill:

Acts 17:22-28, “(22) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  (23)  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.  (24)  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;  (25)  Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;  (26)  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;  (27)  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  (28)  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

It was the Christ in Stephen that Paul couldn’t resist and to whom he eventually surrendered to and received into his earthen vessel.

Stephen’s body was dead, but the river of life in him began when he received the Spirit of Christ into his temple, then it flowed into Saul…now Paul, and from Paul to us today.

That same Jesus Christ is here tonight to dwell with you.

You are the glory-carrier of God…His vessel, and out of your belly flows a tributary of living water filling the while earth with the Gory of God.

Where the Glory Dwells

[1] Ezekiel 36:26-27

[2] John 3:3-8

[3] Ephesians 2:13-22

Categories
Bible Teaching

Your Choice

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 2/16/2025 | 10:00 AM

Text: John 18:40, “Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.”

John 18:28-40

(28)  Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

(29)  Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?

(30)  They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. <<they were defensive>>

(31)  Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:

(32)  That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.

(33)  Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?

(34)  Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

(35)  Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

(36)  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

(37)  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

(38)  Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

(39)  But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

(40)  Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.

Charles Jackson French was a twenty-three-year-old African American from Arkansas who just before World War II enlisted in the Navy.

During the war, French served as a cook on the USS Gregory, a high-speed transport that patrolled the South Pacific.

On patrol, near the Solomon Islands, on the night of September 4, 1942, Japanese submarines surprised the Gregory and opened fire. Before the night was over, the Gregory was sunk.

Fifteen survivors, including Charles French, floated helplessly on the dark waters in an inflatable raft, and things got even worse.

Enemy ships opened fire on the life raft. So, Seaman French made a choice and tied the raft’s rope around his waist and jumped into the dark waters as his feet brushed up against the fins of teeming sharks.

French swam for eight hours in the deep, towing the raft alone against the tide to make sure it never came within range of the distant gunfire.

Charles Jackson French made a choice that saved fourteen souls at the risk of his own life.

At Gethsemane Jesus chose to follow the will of the Father .

It was on the cross where Jesus took our place.

It is your decision to choose Jesus, or someone…something else.

You can decide to choose Jesus, no matter the choice.

It is Your Choice[1]

Jesus’ sacrificial choice was made for everyone.

Barabbas = “Son of Abba.”[2]

Barabbas is the New Testament equivalent of a “John Doe.”

The name literally means “son of a father,” which is not really a name. It essentially means “any man.”

Jesus’ death was a substitution, a sacrifice, for “any man.”

  • If any man thirst, let him come unto me…[3]
  • …If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.[4]
  • I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.[5]
  • Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.[6]
    • Any man, or woman, who determines to choose and come to Jesus
      • Deny = “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.”[7]
      • Take up your cross = “Embrace the will of God, however painful, daily, hourly, continually.”[8]
      • Follow me = become Jesus’ disciple
        • Sacrifice is the common denominator for all men who will come after Jesus.

What Does It Mean to Sacrifice?

Sacrifice is the choice you make to willingly lose or give up something personal what that cannot be regained.

The loss of something irreplaceable will not come back for the purpose of reconciliation, understanding or appeasement = Sacrifice

Jesus chose sacrifice by blood: “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Matthew 27:42; Mark 15:31). He chose not to save Himself.

Sacrifice frees the recipient but binds the one who is sacrificing.

“Sacrifice is the language of Heaven.”[9]

Jesus’ Body Was Prepared for Sacrifice

A man who had lost his right arm rolled up his sleeve to reveal the gnarled remnant of his arm. Only four inches of mangled skin and cartilage remained below the shoulder. He held up the stub of his arm and said,

“A lot of people feel sorry for me. They try to look away and make sure I don’t see them looking at me funny. But you should not feel sorry for me. You know why God gave me the arm I lost? Because God knew I’d be in a car accident one day and my son would be sitting next to me. And just as a shaft of metal was headed for his face, I would have that right arm to shield his face and take the blow. I lost my arm; shards of metal went straight through the bone. But that arm saved my son. That’s why God gave me a right arm. That was its main purpose. He gave it to me so I could give it away to save the boy. No, don’t feel sorry for me. No man’s right arm has ever served a better purpose. A son for a right arm. I would do the same thing every time. And when I wake up in the morning and feel the arm I’ve lost, I give glory to God for the son it gained.”

Look at Hebrews 10:4-7,

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he [Jesus] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

  • “…a body hast thou prepared me” = David’s messianic prophecy in Psalm 40.
  • These words are attributed to Christ, the Son of David “when he cometh into the world, he saith.”
  • God in flesh, the incarnation, Jesus Christ came for one purpose – to redeem us through His sacrifice and bring reconciliation between God and Man:

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”[10]

Only Jesus’ Sacrifice Would Work

The sacrifice of animals in the Old Testament was insufficient. They could not solve the problem of sin; they could not save Man from the ravages of sin.

So a body was made—a body for God Himself, but to what end?

The Spirit of God is omnipotent; He can do anything by mere decree.

That is why He chose the limitations of flesh, a body, because for a sacrifice to be a true sacrifice it must free the recipient while binding the one who sacrifices.

Jesus, God in flesh, limited Himself to a body for the purpose of sacrifice:

Philippians 2:5-8, “(5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  (6)  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  (7)  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  (8)  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

He humbled Himself.

His body had to depend upon a human mother. His body was susceptible to microbes, sweated through fever, was nourished by mere water, and required a blanket for warmth.

His body could misjudge a step and fall, forget the name of someone He met last week, and be crippled by grief.

His body would lose its freedoms to the men He made and be fastened with nails to a tree He grew.

His body would bleed, His lungs suffocate, His body would die – a choice He made for you…for me…a willing sacrifice.

When Jesus, God in flesh, met the blind, His touch healed them and gave them sight.

With one word, Jesus raised a child from the dead: “Little girl, get up.”[11]

Lazarus lay in a tomb for four days, Jesus called him by name, and he came out the tomb.

He spoke to the lepers and they were healed and cleansed.

But to heal you of your sins, Jesus could not just speak your sins away.

He could not wish your sins away, touch your sins away, or command your sins away.

No, your sins required a body:

“A body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5).

His Body!

Like the father who sacrificed his arm to save his son, Jesus chose to sacrifice His body for you: “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19).

Because we do not like pain, if it were up to us we would have been tempted to prepare a body that would have withstood the pain of sacrifice before it was formed in Mary’s womb:

  • A body with a forehead that would not feel thorns and a back that would not feel the soldiers’ whip.
  • Hands and wrists without nerves that would not feel the pain of the iron nails penetrating them.
  • A tongue made that would not swell, be parched, or need to beg for water.

But this was not the will of God. God Incarnate assumed a body just like ours:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Hebrews 2:18, “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

Succour = aid, relieve

You Should Rejoice in Jesus’ Sacrifice for You

How should we respond to Jesus’ sacrifice? We should rejoice.

Without the cross, we have no hope, but thanks to the cross and the empty tomb, we have hope of salvation.

Our sins can be forgiven, and we can be made right with God.

Jesus was not caught or trapped by scheming Roman soldiers or jealous chief priests—He willingly laid down His life for us.

He lived His own words: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for his friends” (John 15:13).

On Jesus’ Last Day He Ministered to Others

What would you do it were your last day to live?

  • Would you go to a place you have always dreamed of going?
  • Would you see something you have always wanted to see?
  • Would you eat your favorite meal?
  • Would you talk you your favorite people?
  • What would you do if you knew you only had one day left?

What did Jesus do? He chose to serve, minister, and love others:

He washed His disciples’ feet; prayed all night for them; healed the ear of the man who came to arrest Him; carried your cross to Calvary; pardoned a thief while nailed to your cross and took him to Paradise; had compassion on His mother and the disciple who was with her; forgave all His murderers.[12]

On the day of His sacrifice at Calvary, Jesus chose to give Himself, to sacrifice Himself, all day long.

Billy Cole said, “God’s reward for sacrifice is more sacrifice.”

Before Jesus chose the ultimate sacrifice of Calvary He had to choose other little sacrifices beforehand.

Those ongoing sacrificial choices led Him to choose to sacrifice His life for YOU.

Sacrifice is Your Choice, It is Trading Your Will for God’s Will

You, like Jesus and His apostles, have been called to a life of sacrifice:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Just as a body was prepared for Christ, your body has been prepared for you to make a choice to sacrifice yourself, or to choose convenience, complacency, mediocrity.

Some problems cannot be solved by wishing them solved, or praying them away.

Some problems require you to lay down your comfort, convenience, security, safety, health and wealth.

Some problems require your body.

“A body hast thou prepared me.”

On that dark Passover weekend, Jesus died so Barabbas could live.

History has no record of Barabbas after that fateful day, but your story is still being written.

Today, as on Jesus’ last day, you have a choice: Jesus or anything else in this world.

You must get this choice right – – Your Choice

Choose abundant life.

Choose eternal life.

Choose to live for the one who died for us.

Choose Jesus.

[1] Source: God’s Word for Life. Lesson 3.3 – Jesus, or Barabbas? PPH. 2/16/2025.

[2] Strong’s Hebrews and Greek Dictionaries. G912.

[3] John 7:37.

[4] Luke 9:23.

[5] John 10:9.

[6] Mathew 8:34.

[7] Thayer’s Greek Definitions. G533

[8] Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. Matthew 8:34.

[9] Ken Gurley

[10] Galatians 4:4-5.

[11] Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56.

[12] John 13; 17; 18; Matthew 27; Luke 22; John 19, Luke 22

Categories
Bible Preaching

What’s In Your Hand?

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 2/9/2025 | 6:30 PM

Exodus 4:1-2, “(1) And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.  (2)  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.”