Dear Virtual Study Tour Travelers-- As we get ready for launching the Journey through Paul's Epistles this fall, I am working my way through all the clips we took while teaching in Greece & Rome last year. These clips will be used to illustrate the survey of each book in those 52 weeks we spend with Paul's Epistles, BUT I have so many that I can't wait to share, so here's another. Praying for your heart to be STIRRED! As we turn to the book of Titus we see that God’s plans are the same. The way Paul was told to reach the world was to lead the church to see our great God, to allow His Spirit to point out a sin that needs to be repented of; and then receive the complete new beginning each moment we rest in Christ’s blood that cleanses us from all sin. Titus 1 reminds us of the very clear plans God has laid down to make us useful in our very ungodly generation. Before any of us try to excuse ourselves, saying that it is too hard to change—Paul reminds us how tough a group this letter of Titus was sent to. Paul’s letter to Pastor Titus, the missionary church planter to Crete—gives quite a description of the cultural background of the congregation Titus served two thousand years ago. It sounds strangely familiar to what the news reports say about the culture we face right now. Titus 1:12-13 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith (NKJV) That’s why we have these 2,000-year-old words Paul gave to Titus before us this morning. For this young, missionary pastor/church-planter serving on the Roman provincial island of Crete, the challenge to train men and women in godliness was foremost. Cretans, who descended from the Old Testament era pagans we know as the Philistines, were the raw materials from which God was going to make godly men and women. What a miracle that an entire generation of believers was saved, out of such a godless society. That is why I call this passage the plan God has given all of us to: Grace-energized Living in a Sin-energized World God says I have the power to make you able to be a godly man even when the whole world around you is ungodly! We need to underline again in our Bibles, those descriptive words of what Cretans were like culturally. Paul reminds us that they came from centuries of a culture dominated by three deeply set habits. These Cretans were in God’s perspective, people of total untrustworthiness (‘always liars’), total out-of-control living (‘evil beasts’), and the total undisciplined pursuit of personal lust-filled appetites (‘lazy gluttons’). But even in that type of atmosphere, permeated by sin, God’s grace allows us to say no to sin and yes to walking in His Spirit. Just like the pioneer missionaries found in modern times, God can change lives even in cultures dominated for centuries by immense evil. Again we see from these two verses that when the Gospel of Jesus Christ entered the Roman world of the New Testament the landscape was very bleak. Christ’s church was born into a sin-warped, sin-darkened world of mixed-up marriages, sin-scarred lives, and confused families. I really believe that this insight into the Cretan culture can stir our hearts to glorify the amazing grace and saving power of God. If the Gospel of Christ can reach into a culture of people who were the descendants of the wicked, pagan Old Testament Philistines and build them into grace-energized servants of Christ’s church—He can work with any man, no matter what his past. If God can make saints out of people who had so descended in their personal character until Paul describes them with this trio of disparaging words—He can change any man no matter how weak, how wicked, how undisciplined. (Crete-01; 220615) Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to get access to weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS that feature weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND STUDY RESOURCES, and John's two most loved books--David's Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbmonline.org/all-video-courses/ Purchase John's Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages-- https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://discoverthebook.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett's Bible teaching messages go to: https://discoverthebook.org/ https://youtu.be/w1q0SBISNks ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1q0SBISNks

Everyone in Hell Believes… BUT IT IS—TOO LATE. James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! James 2:19 (NKJV) You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! As time passes, he begins to do what the rich man did—he again starts to think. His first thoughts are of hope. You see, he still thinks as he did on earth, where he kept himself alive with hope. When things got bad, he always found a way out. If he felt pain, he took medicine. If hungry, he ate food. If he lost love, there was more love to be found. So he casts about in his mind for a plan to apply to the hope building in his chest. Of course, he thinks, Jesus, the God of love, can get me out of this. He cries out with a surge, “Jesus, Jesus! You were right! Help me! Get me out of this!” He waits, breathing hard with desperation. The sound of his voice slips into the darkness and is lost. He tries again, “I believe, Jesus! I believe now! Save me from this!” Again the darkness smothers his words. Our sinner is not unique. Everyone in hell believes. When he wearies of appeals, he does next what anyone would do—assesses his situation and attempts to adapt. But then it hits him—this is forever. Jesus had made it very clear. He had used the same words for “forever” to describe both heaven and hell. Forever, he thinks, and his mind labors through the blackness until he aches. “Forever!” he whispers in wonder. The idea deepens, widens, and towers over him. The awful truth spreads before him like endless, overlapping slats. When I put in ten thousand centuries of time here, I will not have accomplished one thing. I will not have one second less to spend here. No Rest: Night or Day Revelation 14:11 From REV2023FL-19e - When Will Earth Finally Get Fixed (230428M) - https://youtu.be/tWark7uU8O8 Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to get access to weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS that feature weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul's Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul's Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John's two most loved books--David's Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx Purchase John's Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages-- https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett's Bible teaching messages go to: https://dtbm.org/ https://youtu.be/crphzjjhcbo ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crphzjjhcbo