Archives for September 2018

Good morning,

The book of Titus tells how Paul encourages Titus to plant the church in Crete.

Chapter one tells us of Paul’s mission for Titus, the problem and problem makers at Crete, the witness against the Cretians, and the solution to the problem.

This week we will focus on each of these items.

Paul’s greeting (1:1-4)

“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; ² In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;³ But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;⁴ To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Paul, a servant of God, is writing to his son in the faith, Titus.

Paul’s mission for Titus (1:5)

“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:”

This letter was written to Titus, but it was also written to the Christians on the island of Crete. Paul knew this letter would be publicly read among the churches on the island.

From Titus 1:5 we learn that Paul and Titus worked together in Crete, spreading the gospel and establishing churches  but Paul had to leave. Titus stayed and worked among the congregations there. Since Titus was left behind to do a difficult work, Paul wanted to instruct and encourage him  and he did so with this letter.

Tomorrow we will look at the problems and problem makers Titus had to deal with. You will see not much has changed in the last 2000 years.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

Religious services on Rosh Hashanah focus on the concept of God’s sovereignty. That will be our study for this week.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God.

GOD REIGNS OVER DEATH (JOHN 5:21)

“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”

GOD‘S COUNSEL (EPHESIANS 1:11)

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

This week we have seen that God reigns over everything. There is nothing exempt from God’s rule.

Knowing this, does it change the way we look at our lives? Will we allow God to be in charge of all areas of our lives? Will we read, obey, and base our lives on God’s word, the Bible? Will we be sharing these truths with others?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Religious services on Rosh Hashanah focus on the concept of God’s sovereignty. That will be our study for this week.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God.

CAN NOT FLEE FROM GOD (PSM 139:7-10)

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;¹⁰ Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”

GOD’S WORD WILL NOT RETURN VOID (IS 55:11)

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

The Bible says we can not flee from God. This may be a blessing or a curse. If one is living in sin, knowing that you can not flee God, might be considered a curse. On the other hand, if you are obeying God, then knowing that we can not flee God is a blessing.

In either case, God is merciful and is seeking the lost, and backslidden Christian, to reconcile them to Himself. He loves us and wants our fellowship.

God’s word is eternal. It is available to all. God uses His word to guide, encourage, and challenge us. It is His vehicle to inform the lost about what Jesus did on the cross for them.

God surrounds us with Himself and His word. What else could we want or desire in life?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

Religious services on Rosh Hashanah focus on the concept of God’s sovereignty. That will be our study for this week.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God.

GOD CONTROLS RULERS (PSM 75:6-7)

“For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.⁷ But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”

GOD DOES HIS PLEASURE (IS 46:9-10)

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

Representative government is a hallmark of our republic. Each citizen of the United States has the opportunity, right, and responsibility to elect men and women to serve.

However, although we vote, God has the final say in who is elected. Sometimes we do not agree the person elected. When we realize that God oversees and allows ungodly individuals to hold office, we must understand that God knows and has a plan. His plan is not our plan.

“…I will do all my pleasure…”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

Good morning,

Religious services on Rosh Hashanah focus on the concept of God’s sovereignty. That will be our study for this week.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God.

GOD CHOOSES ISRAEL, DOES WHAT HE PLEASES (PSM 135:4-6)

“For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.⁵ For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.⁶ Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”

GOD IN CONTROL (1 SAM 2:6-9)

“The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.⁷ The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.⁸ He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.⁹ He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.”

God chose Israel to be His “…peculiar treasure…” He is above all gods and does whatever pleases Him.

He is control of life and death, riches or poverty, high or low estate, beggars and princes, and saints and sinners.

God governs in the affairs of all men, at all times, eternally.

Do we as believers in Christ believe this? Do we demonstrate this to the world we live in?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

 

Good morning,

Religious services on Rosh Hashanah focus on the concept of God’s sovereignty. That will be our study for this week.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God.

GOD REIGNEST OVERALL (1 CHRON 29:11-12)

“Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. ¹² Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.”

THE WORLD IS GOD’S (PSM 50:10-12)

“For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.¹¹ I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”

GOD CREATED (GEN 1:1)

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

God created and reigns over His world. We are temporary residents. We only exist at the behest of God.

We need to remember who is in control. SPOILER ALERT: It is not us!

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

 

Good morning,

This week we will explore the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering. One gathering with several different meanings.

What will the Messiah Yeshua be doing during the Millennial reign over the Earth?

Micah 4:2 “And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and HE (the Mashiach) will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law (Torah) shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 2:3 says the exact same thing. HE, the Messiah, will teach us His ways. I doubt Yeshua will be teaching replacement theology or modern church doctrine that speaks against the Torah and the feasts of the LORD. There will still be Gentiles or nations outside of the New Jerusalem that will be required to go up and keep the feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot or they will face famines and plagues as punishment. Does this sound like modern Christian doctrine? This is not a matter of liberty or grace but a righteous requirement. This isn’t the “well I don’t fully understand this feast stuff so God understands my heart and will be ok with it.” Read for yourself! The scriptures speak it clearly and overwhelmingly, leaving no shadow of doubt or question.

Zechariah 14:11,16-18 “And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited… And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles… And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain… the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles… and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

This week we will explore the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering. One gathering with several different meanings.

The Feast of Ingathering

Another name given in scripture for the feast of Sukkot is the feast of Ingathering and also the feast of harvest. This is the end of the year in the fall when the fruit harvest was being collected. Three times a year males are to go up and pilgrimage to Jerusalem to keep the three “harvest feasts.” They are not to be empty handed because they are to produce the first fruits of their harvest as tithes to the LORD. The first harvest feast is Passover which is the barley harvest. The second harvest feast is Shavuot (Pentecost) which is the wheat harvest and the third harvest feast is Sukkot for the fruit harvest. Notice that there are three harvest feasts to report to Jerusalem and there are three resurrections recorded in scripture.

1. When Yeshua raised from the dead and those that raised with him called the first fruits of the resurrection (Matt. 27:53, 1 Cor. 15:20,23).
2. The “first resurrection” or the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14) before the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev. 20:4-6).
3. The “second resurrection” after the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev. 20:12) which has been titled the Great White Throne Judgment by many teachers.

It is interesting to note that these were pilgrimage feasts symbolizing the resurrections into the Kingdom of Heaven or the New Jerusalem. It is also symbolized in scripture in various places as being the reaping of the harvest.

Exodus 23:16 “And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.”

Mark 4:29 “But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

Revelation 14:15 “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

Remember that the “first resurrection” is called up at the feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) and those that are Atoned for under the blood of Yeshua (Yom Kippur) will be gathered together and made priests and judges in the Millennial kingdom, while tabernacling with the Messiah for 1,000 years.

Isaiah 27:12-13 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day (the millennium of the Lord) shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

This week we will explore the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering. One gathering with several different meanings.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Download (The-Feast-of-Tabernacles-Sukkot.docx, DOCX, 17KB)

Good morning,

This week we will explore the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering. One gathering with several different meanings.

Spiritual and Prophetic Significance of Sukkot

Sukkot is significant of many things:
1. The Israelites were led through the wilderness, being delivered from the bondage of Egypt and dwelt in booths and tents. YHVH provided everything they needed and protected them throughout their wanderings.
2. Yeshua is believed to have been born on the first day of Sukkot (not on December 25th) and was the Word made flesh and dwelt (tabernacle/sukkoted) among us and was circumcised according to the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day (Hoshana Rabbah).
3. Sukkot could also speak of a future exodus out of Babylon as scattered Israel and those nations that are grafted in journey through the Great Wilderness of the Tribulation and ultimately tabernacle with the Messiah in the New Jerusalem for 1,000 years.

The Messiah in Sukkot
Bible scholars believe that it was during the feast of Sukkot that Yeshua the Messiah was born upon this earth. Specifically, the first day of Sukkot the Son of God put on temporary flesh and dwelt among men. John the disciple alluded to this fact when he wrote where the Messiah came from. Matthew starts out showing the lineage of Joseph, while Luke eludes to the lineage of Miriam (Mary) through the family connection of Zechariah and Elizabeth but John spoke of the Heavenly DNA, linking Yeshua of Nazareth with the Word of God.

John 1:1-2,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” The word used for dwelt in this passage literally means “tabernacled.” The feast of Sukkot is a 7 day feast with a special 8th day observance called Hoshana Rabba (the last great day or the last great praise) and Yeshua was circumcised on this 8th day (of the feast) and it is recorded in Luke 2:21.

Later on in the life of Yeshua we see another mention of Sukkot and it is a powerful demonstrative teaching that causes much stir in the temple ceremonies. It is during the Feast of Sukkot that a temple ritual would take place called the water libation ceremony. A priest was dispatched from the temple mount out through the southern steps down to the pool of Shiloach (which means sent) and the priest fills a vessel with water and returns up the steps into the temple. This is the only time that water (mixed with a little wine) is placed upon the altar. As water is poured out down one side of a trough that led down to the altar, wine was poured down another trough leading to the altar and together they would meet together on the altar that was red hot at this point. As the mixture of wine and water splashed upon the altar it hissed and steamed as everyone huddled around praying for rain in the coming season, praying for the Messiah to come and the indwelling of the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit). It is at this moment that Yeshua stood up and proclaimed, “If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!’” (John 7:37-38). It is at this moment that everyone started putting together the pieces of the puzzle. The waters carried up from the pool of Shiloach were called the “waters of salvation” or quite literally the waters of Yeshua. Here they have the Messiah who was named Yeshua which meant salvation and he stands at this moment and makes this claim as the mixture of wine and water, which symbolized the blood and water that flowed from his side was spilled upon the altar. Some argued with him and some believed while others pondered these things further. On Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of the feast four 75 foot tall Menorahs were lit in the temple courts and Yeshua continued his teaching by using the symbolism of the bright lights around him:

John 8:12 “I am the light of the world: whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001