The 1624 Podcast Show Notes - Episode 1: The 1624 Podcast Mission

Intro

WELCOME to the 1624 Podcast, I am your host, Nathan Clark. On this Podcast, we are NOT ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. We will be working to expand the Gospel by encouraging believers to not only be hearers of the Word, but doers also, to make disciples, and to be built up in their faith through the Word and through prayer.

We have gotten our name from the verse Matthew 16:24 Which reads -

Matthew 16:24 ESV

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

I am a firm believer that every person that claims to follow Jesus has a responsibility of discipleship, to follow as Jesus led and to do what He commands. I am praying that you are blessed by this content, and that the glory would be given to God alone, while any blame would rest upon me.

*pray*

TODAY’S TOPIC!!! The 1624 Podcast Mission.

1. To Glorify God by Proclaiming Christ

There are over 200 verses in Scripture that teach people to either give glory to God, or show humans giving God glory appropriately. The Word for Glory is used over 600 times in Scripture, and the topic of giving God glory is ALL OVER Scripture. That isn’t even including verses that say to “magnify God”, or to “praise God” or to “exalt God.” It’s a lot, okay?

How do we glorify God then?

a. We repent of our sins and call on the Lord, receive His Spirit, and grow in maturity in our faith til the day we die. SIMPLE!

b. We live our faith out loud. *WITNESS*

c. “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words” = some crap. Your fruits should display that you are of the Spirit, YES, but Romans 10:14 says -

Romans 10:14 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

They have to hear the name Jesus, they have to know about the cross and their own sin, and heaven and hell to be saved. The Gospel is inclusive in that all people can be saved, but exclusive in that there is only ONE NAME under heaven by which men might be saved.

How often should we glorify Him?

a. How often do you breathe? (talk about depravity, and God’s worthiness).

b. The expectation isn’t achievable in the flesh, but God has empowered us by His Grace, and written the law on our hearts.

Why should we? Is He insecure or something?

a. HA, no. Shut your mouth. God is asking for what He is due. The angels in Isaiah 6 testify that the whole earth is full of the Lord’s glory. If you see a beautiful sunset, He did it, glorify Him. If you are grateful for any person in your life, received any encouragement that lightened your soul, glorify Him. The Word says that EVERY good and perfect gift comes from above. EVERY good and perfect gift.

b. To glorify God is to lower ourselves. The Word also says that God opposes the proud but He gives Grace to the Humble. Layman’s terms, he puts obstacles in the way of the proud to break them down, but the humble are given the necessary help to overcome those obstacles. It’s hard to be proud and give a foothold to the devil if we are constantly throwing our flowers, our achievements, and our successes at His feet. Also, every good and perfect gift remember? Anything good you have done you could not have done without Him.

What does the Gospel look like in every day life?

a. Fruits of the Spirit.

b. Boldness.

John 12:27 ESV

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Creation, the Law, the Cross, salvation, it is ALL FOR HIS GLORY. Jesus knew this.

2. To tell the Truth

What is the Truth?

a. God’s Word. Period.

b. God’s Word applied.

What is deception? Is deception bondage?

a. Deception isn’t obvious. Not very many people believe blatant lies, they are lulled into complacency by half-truths and flattery, then force-fed lies when they are already bound. Charles Spurgeon says this: "Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong, it is knowing the difference between right and almost right."

b. Why is deception bondage?

Why does the Word say that the Truth will set us free?

a.

John 8:32 ESV

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Just after this, Jesus says this John 8:34-36

John 8:34–36 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

If anyone practices something that is not a part of God’s design, they will be enslaved. You become a slave to your money, to your political party, to your lie of choice. the deception that you are enslaved to may not have been your design, it may have been fed to you, which may not seem fair. But this is why Jesus said what is written in Matthew 18:7.

Matthew 18:7 ESV

“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

Those who lie will get their recompense, vengeance is the Lord’s, He will repay them and avenge. But as for you, cry out to God, the God of Truth, and He will set you free.

b. Truth is the only thing that can bring rest. Truth is the only thing that will lead you to Jesus. Truth is the only thing that will comfort you, that will scratch that itch that you have felt your whole life. Truth is God’s way of sustaining you, which is why over and over again He tells us in His Word to PAY ATTENTION, TO MEDITATE on His Word!!! Man must not live on bread alone, but by every WORD THAT PROCEEDS from the MOUTH OF GOD. God’s Word, TRUTH, is food for our Spirit.

Some of us have been lied to for so long, you feel this restlessness, this deep desire, this hunger for something real. You have been starved. The world, social media, the principalities and rulers have you surrounded, they have cut off your food supply and fed you tainted foods and trash just enough to keep you alive and cooperative. You are being drugged, poisoned through your eyes and ears by those who would keep you down. But the Word of God sets free, and makes a man or woman who is uncontrollable by anything in this world, for you serve the only Master who bought you with His Own Blood.

3. To go to War

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 ESV

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

We are at war, whether you see it, like it, or want to admit it. Your perception does not define reality. (see deception portion).

Who are not and who are my enemies?

(read Ephesians 6:12)

a. Flesh and Blood - that is, natural human beings. We do not wrestle against physical bodies, but against spiritual ones. We wrestle against ideologies and agendas, against lies and violence, all of which are perpetrated by people, but the correct response is not physical violence but the use of the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

b. Rulers - Again, not necessarily humans who are in ruling positions, but spirits that may rule over a ruler. This is tricky because the Bible is clear to respect and obey leadership until they ask you or try to force you to go against the Word of God. We see that John the Baptist went to Herod the Tetrarch to tell him his relationship with his brother’s wife was immoral, but he didn’t go and start a coup to depose Herod over it. In the same way, Jesus tells the crowds to do everything the pharisees tell them to in Matthew 23, but He tells them not to imitate what they do because they did not practice what they preached. So we see that respecting and obeying leadership is not the same as rolling over for them. There is a time and a place to go to war, and that time and place is found when a ruler is pushing agendas that originate with Satan.

c. Authorities - The same goes for authorities. Authorities are to be obeyed until they start to go against the Word of God in a way that personally effects you. If and when the time comes, there will be a time when Christianity is outlawed, and the authorities will tell you to renounce your faith or you will die. I am no longer obligated to obey this leadership because they are going against the Will of God for me. You can see examples of Jesus rebuking and going against the pharisees, but He was ready to have discussions with Nicodemus, He did not lift a finger when He was arrested, or tried unfairly. This is because He knew the Will of God for His life was to be hated and eventually crucified. When authorities are pushing you outside of the Will of God, that is when you must resist.

d. Cosmic Powers over this present darkness - Hierarchies of evil and perversion in the world. The people that run this world are in turn run by evil and satanic powers. This is the birth place of wars, greed, and all perversion that we see spreading from the top down around this world. Human trafficking rings, secret societies, whole governments being overrun with evil and it spreads to the people like a disease. This is why believers are called to be SALT in this fallen world, and light. We are to preserve all that is good, and shine light in the darkness even as the world continues to break down. There is a reason Christianity is hated by the world, because the rulers of this world hate Christ, and hate His followers. This will be reflected by the sons of the devil in the world who run evil corporations and avenues for sin to be trafficked into the world.

e. Spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places - These are demons, the servants of satan. Demons have their hands in sin, but not complete responsibility. For a believer, you are never under the COMPLETE control of any temptation or demonic force, but you can be tempted. They will try to get in any way you let them, through trauma, through sexual immorality, through generational problems such as divorce or alcoholism, they will try to get in through unforgiveness. This is why we are told to not give the Devil a foothold in Ephesians 4.

Who are my allies?

a. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit Who is the Spirit of God on the inside of you.

b. Your Christian brothers and sisters.

How do I fight?

a. You spend time with the Lord. You study His word, and you commune with Him in prayer. You are serious about your life, and live a repentant and consecrated life before the Lord, doing faithfully whatever He puts on your plate to do.

b. You don’t fight alone. Community is not an added bonus, it is a command.

Why should I fight?

a. Jesus instructed His followers to sell their cloaks and to buy a sword if they did not have them. This is metaphorical, as Jesus did not endorse physical violence (unless you count Him purging the temple, which is a fair point). The Word repeatedly describes The Word of God as the “sword of the Spirit”, with which we fight our battles. And we see in the world today that wars, conflicts, and battles are truly never for the sake of fighting, or even proving superiority. Every war is fought over ideas, and belief systems, money (which is tied to agendas and ideologies). So we see that the most important part of any war, is the ideas that start them, the ideas born from them, and the ideas that end them. Jesus is telling His followers to be armed with the Sword of the Spirit, and to be ON GUARD. TO be READY for any danger, to be READY for perilous times that lay ahead.

b. Also if you don’t you will really just suffer consequences either way. You’ll die. No one gets out of this world alive, everyone dies. The Word says that is appointed for a man to live one time and THEN THE JUDGEMENT (Hebrews 9:27). So you will be judged by how you lived on this earth. The fact is that Jesus called His followers to deny themselves, to pick up their crosses, and to follow Him, even into war. Even into the hatred of your family and your friends. Even into uncomfortable conversations, and hostile environments. You are called to go where Jesus went, and sometimes He went into the temple in Jerusalem which was the main gathering of His enemies. Maybe you should look into Psalm 23 more, and ask God where He is setting a table for you, where is the presence of my enemies. Matthew 11:12 tells us this-

Matthew 11:12 ESV

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

Maybe it is time to be violent in our faith, to be zealous in our minds, to wage war with the world by being a radical follower of Jesus. TO love and not expect to be loved, to tell the Truth in the face of all evil, and to lay our lives down as a pleasing sacrifice to God.

Conscientious Objectors = defectors.

a. Matthew 10:33 reads -

Matthew 10:33 ESV

but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Do you remember how Obi-Wan tells Anakin that only a sith deals in absolutes? Yeah well Jesus might be a sith then, because if you are not living for Jesus, you are living for the world, let’s be clear on that. You do not EVER have a license to disagree with Christ, to do your own thing apart form Christ. You are a FOLLOWER, a SERVANT, a SLAVE of Jesus. If He tells you to open your mouth and to say something that you don’t want to say, you have a decision to make: either disobey Jesus (which is sin), or to obey Him, to trust that He knows what He’s doing, and to do what you’re told.

Also, if you have a conscientious objection to Jesus, that means that your heart is still in need of work from the Holy Spirit, because it is the Spirit that lives in us both to will, and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Our Spirit should be averse to evil, but should AT LEAST RECOGNIZE when a Word is from God. You don’t have to like it, and you can be afraid of it, but you have to recognize that it is from God and just do it afraid. If you have even the slightest bit of discernment from the Spirit, you should be able to tell, i’ll just say that.

Conclusion and Call

We are a holy people, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Let us deny ourselves and glorify God.

We must bear our cross and tell The Truth, regardless of circumstance. Fear God, not man.

We follow Jesus, our commander who enlisted us (2 Timothy 2:4), to the frontlines.