Jeremiah 42:1-44:23, 2 Timothy 2:1-21, Psalms 92:1-93:5, Proverbs 26:3-5
Today is the 23rd day of October welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we continue the journey, the journey through the year, a journey through the month, a journey through life together in God’s word. And this week we been reading from the Christian Standard Bible, which is what we’ll continue to do until the end of the week, which we be tomorrow. But we’re here, we’re here now and we’re the book of Jeremiah and we’ll read today chapter 42 verse 1 through 44 verse 23.
Commentary:
Okay. I want to read a little piece of Scripture, little poem, or saying or maybe even lyrics from a very, very ancient worship song embedded into this letter that we’re reading right now called second Timothy. So, these are the words, “for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny himself.” Okay, so that little…that little saying, that little kind of creed that we just read, that’s really interesting actually. It’s one of the things that scholars would look at and say, “okay. when did this develop? When was that understanding solidified? Where…where does this go?” And, so, there’s debate like over this because why is…whoever wrote this…let’s just say, why did Paul in his final letter on earth put the piece of creed or song lyrics in here? So, it’s in his letter to remind the recipient of this letter, Timothy, what the core doctrine, like what the core beliefs are in the context that they’re being used, endurance. Paul’s telling Timothy to endure. And we’ve seen this come up. And I’ve mentioned that we won’t be able to get to the end of the Bible without…like…endurance becomes a central major…like major theme of the New Testament. And it’s so funny because it’s like the last thing we want to do or participate in or be involved in. And usually when we have to endure something, we’re not happy about it. We don’t see it as a positive thing in any sort of way and we just…all of our prayers and all of our energy is to make it go away when what we see in the New Testament in the early church is that they had to learn how to live with it because it wasn’t going to go away. So, Timothy this pastor at Ephesus, he is a trustworthy follower, he is a son in the faith to Paul, Paul had passed the faith onto Timothy, and he had passed the faith on the many others and that passing on of the faith is…was gonna cost him his life. And, so, for Paul to tell Timothy he’s going to have to endure is…is essentially Paul seeing the writing on the wall. The Empire had begun to truly actively systematically persecute Christians and marginalize them completely. And Paul was a ringleader of dispensing the faith, right? So, he’s in prison. He’s probably not getting out of prison. He didn’t. But at the time you would think that he’s probably gonna die. And, so, when he’s sitting in a dungeon and it’s dank and it’s cold and he’s thinking about all of his children in the faith and all of the churches, all of the places he will never go again, all of the people he will never see again, he can notice what’s happening, that the Empire is coming against this faith and it’s all gonna be…like they’re gonna be victorious, they’re gonna stamp it out. They will destroy it from the face of the earth unless God’s people endure it no matter what, to the last person. So, Paul knows even though his journey is coming to a close, endurance is going to have to live on in the church in order for it to survive. And, so, this little piece of a creed, this little piece of maybe a worship song that was song as a declaration of faith among the early churches is inserted here in the letter as a reminder to Timothy. And what gets really really interesting here is something that we’ve mentioned before, but it becomes really poignant here. When this letter was written, even if this was written later after Paul's…like, even if this is a really late first century writing or something like that, a decade or more after Paul’s death, it’s still really really early. It’s early church material here. And, so, we have to remember that when this letter’s written, when any of these letters that we’re reading in the New Testament were written they weren’t known as the New Testament. There was no such thing as the New Testament. So, Timothy as a pastor in Ephesus couldn’t refer to any of the passages that we now continually refer to in the New Testament. It didn’t exist. So, Timothy could’ve taught out of the Torah. He could’ve referred to any of the communications that Paul had with Ephesus, any of the copies of the letters that had been passed around and collected that they had. And…and they did do that. And then, of course, the, you know, the personal letters that…that might have existed in the churches. So, finding this…this statement in this letter gives us a glimpse into what our earliest brothers and sisters were holding on to, holding onto and singing, as a song, as a memorable thing and that they could continually sing or something that they could declare and state before there was a New Testament, right? So, this is…this is the kind of stuff that was being said in the churches before a cohesive New Testament was pulled together from all of the various, various wide library of things that were being written down before the New Testament was all cohesively collected together. So, kind of having that backdrop, it’s like really interesting then to know, okay, we have done plenty of exploration about the trials of the early church. We’ve pretty much demystified the fact that there was not ultimate harmony in the early church. There was all kinds of stuff going on, which gives us kind of a sense of hope that we haven’t digressed. We’re just continuing in the tradition of wrestling through what we believe. But our earliest brothers and sisters were trying…were sorting these things out, wrestling through these things trying to find practical ways to live into these things under pressure. And we see that pressure a lot in the church but now we’re like seeing that the Empire’s got a vendetta and Christians really are, at least in certain areas and in certain circumstances, really being pressed hard unto death. Christians are being killed. So, to look at what they were holding on to when there wasn’t a New Testament to hold on to, when all of the theology of the New Testament hadn’t been formed because the New Testament wasn’t a closed cannon at this point. So, we’re looking at things in formation, what these brothers and sisters who were holding on to Jesus were holding onto. “For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful for He cannot deny himself.” That’s looking back to a time, although this is in the New Testament, this is looking back to a time before the New Testament and seeing what our brothers and sisters were clinging to. And we need to cling to the same thing.
Prayer:
Father we thank You for Your word. As always, as always, something clicks, something is…is illuminated, something leads us forward, something takes us the next step. You are always there guiding and directing us. Your Holy Spirit is always present leading us the next step forward. And, so, we’re grateful for that. We appreciate it more than our words…like the vocabulary fails at some point because it's…it’s a changer…it’s a life changer. You have changed our lives and You continue to transform our lives as…as…as we are diligent at hearing the Scriptures, as we are diligent in pondering and meditating upon them, as we are diligent to quieting ourselves and following the leading of Your Holy Spirit. So, we are so grateful, and we are grateful that we are continuing an unbroken tradition leading all the way back to our earliest brothers and sisters. And, so, to have a glimpse back into what they were holding onto is a beautiful thing and we are grateful for it. And may we hold on and endure as well. We Pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
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And, of course, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement that's…that’s one thing we do well, is to love on each other and pray for each other and…and lock arms and hearts together and shoulder each other’s burdens. As far spread out as we are all over the world this is still happening and God’s Spirit hovers us and is in it all. No matter where we are the Spirit of the living God connects us. And, so, that is a beautiful thing. So, yeah, if you’re carrying some things you shouldn’t be carrying you can reach out. There’s a…there’s a hotline. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Hotline button. It’s the little red button at the top and just start to share from there no matter where you are in the world, or if you’d rather use the phone, you can dial 877-942-4253.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey everybody this is Pelham in Alabama or addicted to Christ calling. I’m calling for T-Ray from Texas. You called. Your call played today on the 17th of October. And you called for your children and you called for Ray Cross, your son who apparently is copying what I did. I wasn’t selling anything but boy I’ve got some stuff I’ve gotta take care of with the government as far as I messed up and I got a DUI and I’ve got all kind of hoops to jump through and I’ve got another case pending or something down in a different county that got put on the side because of coronavirus. And the Lord is in control. He’s on the throne, He is the King of Kings and the Lord of lords and He loves His children. Your daughter who claims she is a pagan, I just wanted you to know that my thoughts and prayers are with you, that this is the cost of freedom, this is the cost of free will. We have to find our own way with fear and trembling. We have to discover who we are in His kingdom and He is so cool, He’s such an incredible Father that He allows us to choose that. He allows us to explore this world, to have our anger, to have our doubt, to choose plots of the enemy, to choose paths that aren’t His path. But He has a way of taking the broken things and He has a way of taking those that are lost and bring them home and He does it poetically. He does it like the ultimate storyteller, which He doesn’t like a boring story. He likes a comeback story. He likes the underdog. He is the ultimate underdog. And I just wanted you to know that your call was the call for me today to…to reach out and pray for you. I love you guys.
Today I remember the warmth of your smile
your incredible love for me from the time I was just a child
the sound of your voices I can still hear in the wind
telling me Tony God’s love doesn’t end
I just want to thank you for your prayers and your tears
and for not giving up on me after so many fruitless years
there were times when I was stupid and selfish at best
but your love was consistent through many a test
in fact it was my anchor and the only thing sure
whenever there was trouble would help me endure
I’m sorry I failed you
my life was a mess
and I prayed every day for your forgiveness
you and dad were the best
and though everybody says their parents are the best
for me I know it’s true because I know I put you through the test
and the prayers that you prayed and the tears that you cried
condemned me in spirit deep down inside
four truly you were two of the best things that God ever placed in my life
and I hurt you so bad that it still cuts like a knife
but still you forgave me and I prayed every day
that God would allow me to show you someday
the love that I felt and to be the son I always wanted to be
for the two of you then as well as for all eternity
for you two were consistent in standing by me
and your love brought me closer every day to becoming free
thanks mom and dad
blindtony1016@gmail.com. Like to give a shout out to Candace and His little Cherry. Know you’re both loved and prayed for daily and once again Brian and the Hardin family than you for this wonderful podcast…
Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Crowned in His Glory and this is the first time I’ve ever posted a message before. I did ask for prayer and you guys did pray for me on the Prayer Wall for my continued battle with cancer and I thank you. Bless all of you for that. First, I want to thank the Hardin family for this ministry. It has changed my life in the past…past few years. It’s just unbelievable. And I want to pray for Carmen in Orlando I believe. She is faced with the situation that she has to put her father in a care facility, and she is struggling with that. Father we…heavenly Father we pray for Carmen in Orlando and for her earthly father. Take care of them give them comfort and peace. Let this gentleman know that Carmen is only acting in his best interest, that if possible, if she had the ability, she would care for him herself for the rest of his life. Father heal this man, touch him, comfort him and give Carmen the strength to do what she has to do Lord. Give her comfort, give her the…the means and cut through the red tape to get her earthly father put into a care facility that will give this gentleman the proper, most professional care possible. And Lord we…we ask these things in the precious name of your son Jesus Christ.
Hi, my name is Rebecca from Michigan, we’re first-time callers. My husband Skye and I started listening in January. Just need prayer requests for my neck and my jaw. Took a fall when we went on a little mission trip to deliver a bike that we raised for a paraplegic named Eric. We just pray for Eric that he will be touched by the Holy Spirit to want to receive the free gift of salvation and the same for Scarlett, Dave, and John we also met on witness to that trip. And we also pray for this van that we’ve been traveling in to continue to be anointed by God, for open doors to witness to others. And others that we met this last week when we camped, TJ, CJ and Lorrie, that they will come to know the grace and love of Jesus in their hurting lives. And we just pray a blessing over Skye and I to protect our marriage. We need your prayers for…against the enemy for any backlash for doing kingdom work and we pray that over Brian, we pray that over others doing the kingdom work and we just need new means of income since Covid. And, so, just prayers for that and to be led where at where he wants us to be. And this winter as our landlord is selling our house. So, probably some more van evangelism because we’re just tent dwellers in the world anyway. And we believe that Jesus is coming soon, and he is good and I’m expecting good things to come and hope that for all of you. We love you guys and we want you to be encouraged to do the good work of the King of Kings. For He is our treasure and in him our inheritance is going to be amazing in heaven. So, we look forward to that and I just hope for a blessed day for all of you.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. I’m Xavier calling in from Cameron and I want to thank each and every one that takes time to pray for our various brothers and sisters __ most especially those having problems in their marriage with their children trying to overcome some drug addiction and where listening to your beautiful voices, where listening to your prayers that you pray for one another gives me hope as well in my own little corner trying also to cope with my own addiction. I just want to thank Brian most especially for everything he says. I love you. It gives me a whole lot of comfort. It gives me a whole lot of peace inside and __ Daily Audio Bible family. It’s like it’s not even virtual. It’s like I have people talking to me right in my ears. So, it…it’s so comforting. I must say. In all of the years this is been my number one spot for comfort and peace and giving the job that I do which drains out all your energy listening to people __ in our country it just gives me a whole lot of peace to come here and know what people are going through and what people also are doing to make sure that they receive comfort in their various destinations. I’m thankful again Brian for your beautiful platform which gives out peace to people all around the world. And I also want to reach out to __ tough time in the family in their personal lives for you __ we’re there life there is hope. Tune into the Daily Audio Bible family every single day and you’ll find comfort like I have found comfort…
Hello DAB family this is Dimitri from Massachusetts. I’m a first-time caller but have been listening since the beginning of the year. Just stumbled over this podcast and been listening ever since and I would like to pray for Dimitri from Oregon or Washington not sure which state, but he called asking for his marriage…asking for prayer for his marriage. And I pray for God’s intervention. I pray for God’s restoration because for God nothing is impossible. And I pray for Christian as she asked for restoration for her parents and relationship with her parents. And I pray so God will restore that relationship because God is an Almighty God. And I pray for every needy heart in the community. I pray for freedom and deliverance from all addictions. I pray for their restoration to the family so God will turn…turn sons back to their fathers and fathers back to their sons and just restore the…the relationship with families and God’s pray…I pray for God’s intervention for every soul. __ and the type of the enemy in the name of Jesus. And I also love to ask prayer if somebody can just pray for me so I can reflect Christ in everything that I do. I have a ministry in church but it’s hard for me to reflect Christ in everything that I do. It’s just hard to work to with people but all things are possible with God. Thank you. DAB family thank you for everything you do Brian and the whole team. God bless you.