Sermon Notes & Videos
2024-04-26 | Romans 9:19-33 | Pavlov’s Humans
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You came prepackaged with an ensemble of built-in character traits. These personal attributes seem to be part of your inborn nature. Many of them are good and can be used for good; some are not so good, and those can tend to hurt you and others. Then add life-experiences to your natural tendencies, and your unique personality becomes cemented. Yet, life is not all sunshine and rainbows; difficult moments arise when the not so pretty aspects of your unique personality take over and rule the day. This oftentimes can inflame circumstances. In those moments you might recognize from a feeling of inner turmoil and conviction, or because it was pointed out, that you are not only harming yourself and others, but that your behavior is offensive to God. A great controversy ensues and you put God on trial for how He made you. “Why have you made me this way?” The inner voice gets louder. “This is the way I am; I was born this way. If it’s wrong, then why did God make me like this? If God gave me certain natural instincts and tendencies and those involuntarily intersected with life and formed who I am, and some of those ways offend God, then it must be God’s fault.” What would God say about your reasoning? “Who are you to talk back to God, to question Him?”
In the famous experiments that Ivan Pavlov conducted with his dogs, he believed that events could trigger a conditioned response. In 1902, Pavlov started with the premise that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see food. This instinctive behavior is a reflex and is hard-wired into the dog. However, Pavlov showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time that they were given food. This conditioned response or triggered behavior demonstrated the formation of a new association between the unconditioned stimulus (inborn nature) and the neutral stimulus (life experiences). Pavlov’s research shed light on the underlying mechanisms of learning and provided a framework to understand how environmental stimuli and repetitive experiences can shape our behaviors and responses.
If God made a dog to act like a dog, then He certainly can’t punish the dog for being a dog. And aren’t humans just like animals, with animal instincts hard-wired into us? It seems plausible that the same reasoning should apply to humans. How can God fault you for displaying the very nature that He willfully placed in you? No man can reject what was inserted in him before his birth. Therefore, we must conclude that Yahweh is responsible when you “act like a dog.”
To a certain degree, it’s true, but this faulty argument quickly fades as it runs into its limitations. Humans can opt out of their inherent nature, their conditioned responses and triggered behaviors, because we were created in the image of God. The dog was not! Man is the only member of God’s creation that carries His DNA. As such, no matter how deeply hidden, you have the option to express the DNA of your Creator. But, the full expression of God’s genetics can only manifest when, by grace, you personally encounter God, and you become aware of who He is and who you are in Him. However, this encounter will not change your personality or your triggered behaviors. Your new creature will still look like the old you and will tend to act like the old you, unless you purposely change. Those built-in character traits and the conditioning from your life experiences can only be effectively altered with God’s help—with further access to His grace.
When you come naked and vulnerable before the Lord a whole pantheon of personal gods and idols are uncovered. And when the god of self is exposed, the one who sits on the throne as your supreme leader, you must make a choice. Serve Yahweh—or all the gods on the other side of the River and in Egypt that are lurking in your heart. We are all on the same journey from slavery to freedom, from the bondage to sin to becoming a prisoner of righteousness. And that is not without a tsunami of emotions, rising to destroy the old man and receding to reveal the catastrophic damage to the carnal nature left behind.
2024-04-22 | Passover 2024
2024 Passover Haggadah: The Telling | From Anointing to Resurrection | Video Part 1 | Video Part 2
Welcome to the Passover with Kingdom Embassy Ministries
When your children ask, what will you tell them? What happens when an entire generation separates from its roots, forgets their heritage, and has no recollection from where they came?
Yahweh built reminders into the culture of His people to deter that from happening, but unfortunately it has. God’s people have disconnected from the roots of their faith, surrendered to common culture, and adopted the traditions of the world around them. “Do not love the world or the things of the world,” John warned. Are you guilty of committing the same atrocities, of which Y’shua accused the religious hypocrites in His day, “making the word of God of no effect through their traditions which they have handed down?” I fear, if asked, like those religious hypocrites, too many Christians could offer no defense!
“How so?” you might be thinking. Look around, especially during the holiday seasons, and you will see the majority of Christians flocking to celebrate manmade holidays, steeped in pagan traditions. But when their children ask, “What do you mean by this service?” or, “What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded us?” They will have no legitimate answer. Instead, they “make the word of God of no effect through their traditions,” which they are now handing down to their children. If Y’shua walked the earth today, He’d ask the same question of religious leaders that He asked two thousand years ago. “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your traditions?”
John warned us about loving the things of the world, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…” May the Body of Christ run from such things. And the next time your children ask, “What do you mean by this service?” you will say, “It’s the Passover; we were slaves and now we are free; may your children tell their children, and their children the next generation. It is a memorial forever.” Or, you can say, “ These are our pagan roots; go find your painted eggs and chocolate Easter bunnies. Fill your baskets; this is now how we remember the death, burial and resurrection of our blessed Savior.” Oh, how far we have fallen from the truth! I don’t know about you, but when my children ask, I will say “As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh!”
2024-04-19 | John 13-17 | Preparation Day
Sermon Notes | From Anointing to Resurrection | Sermon Video
Asking questions is one of the most effective ways to engage the mind on a deeper level. Paul and Y’shua used this rabbinic style often and it has continued to stir the imagination of Christians for two thousand years. A quick review of Romans, Paul’s Magnum Opus, and you will discover that ninety-two times he asked a question—each used to stitch together the fabric of the greatest theological treatise ever written—the canvas on which was painted the masterpiece of Christian doctrine. Y’shua was a skillful artist when asking provocative questions. “Who do men say that I am?” challenged Peter to confess, ”You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And, what might be His most alluring question of all, is one that Y’shua left blank—the conclusion for you to discover.
“Who is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his estate, to feed the people at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom, upon his return, the master finds so doing.” And there is one other variation of this teaching style to consider. At times, Y’shua used incendiary statements to inspire critical prophetic inquiries from His disciples, or from anyone else with ears to hear. “Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” This disturbing image of the crumbling temple later induced His disciples to ask privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” One such directive prompted a question from His disciples that you too might ask yourself. And coming from a modern-day Christian makes it even more flammable than His disciples’ urgent appeal 2000 years ago! “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” Their expected reaction, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” Now ask yourself the same question… “How will I prepare for the Passover that we may eat?”
2024-04-12 | Romans 9:1-18 | Lets Get Historical
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The entirety of the contradiction and denial can be summed up with this one ridiculous statement, indicative of the disease of historical blindness. “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.” Can you imagine the depth of their deception? The Nile River has a wide expanse in some places, but the River of Denial is too wide to cross everywhere, impossible to survive without a floatation device. Paul seems to be addressing a people hysterical over historical truth—a wave of deception that prevents them from latching onto the buoyancy of Christ. As such, Paul seems intent on revising revisionist history. Facts matter, although if you watch the news today you’d conclude otherwise. They suffered historical amnesia. Those who forget their history are bound to repeat its mistakes! “We have never been in bondage to anyone although we emerged from bondage to Egypt and landed in bondage to Rome.” They inherited historical misinterpretations. Those who incorrectly interpret the meaning of history are bound to repeat its mistakes! Israel may not mean what you think—you must expand your mind or you will miss something eternal. They invited historical misconceptions. Those who misunderstand the lessons of history are bound to repeat its mistakes! The children of the promise, in what seems to be a reference to the physical line of Isaac, was not so at all. Isaac was conceived to bring forth the Messiah, not just a nation.
And maybe the most egregious error you might make is to indict God’s character, as if God’s sovereignty is on trial. Rather we ought to defend God’s character. How gracious is He who guides us with historical precedent; judges us with historical justice; comforts us with historical predictability; and reasons with us with historical rationale. But, if you forget your history, or incorrectly interpret its meaning, or misunderstand its lessons—you are bound to repeat its mistakes! The Nile River has a wide expanse in some places, but the River of Denial is too wide to cross everywhere, impossible to survive without a floatation device, and the only thing offering you buoyancy is Christ.
2024-04-05 | Romans 8:33-39 | No Weapon Shall Prosper
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It won’t always seem true, but feelings can be fickle. It’s not that they are bad, or that you shouldn’t have them, but feelings oftentimes can’t be trusted. And there is no inspiration more effective or deceptive, than trouble, when we consider its effect on emotions. A good o’fashioned trial, complete with attacks from every direction, pressing in on every side, is all the fuel you need to lose confidence in God, to let your feelings run amuck, and to allow your emotions to rule the day.
Weeping and sorrow may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning. That is precisely why God’s heart is for you to hold tight to His promises. It looks bad; don’t worry. You’re in danger; don’t fear. There is no way out; don’t panic. It’s too much to bear; don’t lose hope. The burden is too heavy; don’t cave. The doors keep slamming in your face; don’t give up. The temptation is too great; don’t surrender. The answer is nowhere to be found; don’t stop asking. The solution is too confusing; God is your mathematician. What to do is a complete mystery; God is your spiritual detective. And now, make it really personal!
I’m too sick to be well; God is my healer. The price is too high and I can’t cover the cost; God will reconcile my accounts. I’m too dirty to ever be clean; the Lord of all will exchange my garments for His. My sins are too many, too often, too big, and too ugly; God says to me, “Do over!” The circumstances of my life are beyond complicated; I am at the end of myself, the limit of my understanding. It all feels like an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. Excellent, that is precisely where God wants me!
Nothing that exists in the entirety of creation can be, if the God over all of creation had not allowed it to be. He is sovereign over your suffering and your solution! No weapon formed against you shall prosper; every enemy that rises against you God will defeat. But there is one “not so subtle nuance” that might be your greatest victory in times of trouble. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. God does not just defeat your enemies—He obliterates them, as if to spray a firehose at a matchstick!
2024-03-22 | Romans 8:28-32 | The Winning Hand
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At times, ideas you’ve never before considered breeze across your mind and suddenly the mundane becomes utterly profound. You fall deep inside the thought and realize you’ve been unwittingly slow playing your cards all along. Do you know what that means? That is when in a card game you are conscious of holding the winning hand and yet you represent yourself in all ways as if your cards are merely pedestrian. You are keenly aware you’ve won, but you want your opponents to believe otherwise so you can draw them in further, tempting them to commit a larger stake, all so you can win more of their chips. This play does not work well in matters of the Spirit. And that is because no one would slow play things of God intentionally; there is no upside in knowing you hold the winning hand and acting as if you’ve lost. If you did, you are guaranteed to lose, and so does everyone around you who needs to witness what winning with the Lord looks like!
One such matter of prominence in which you might have unintentionally slow played your hand is divulged when you unexpectedly realize that your cards hold the secrets of the universe, the words of the living God who created all things. For so long you’ve treated the Bible casually like any other app on your mobile device, or any other book in your collection of stories. Then your eyes suddenly open and you reconsider the nature of the “cards” you hold in your hands, and just how life-altering it would be if you actually played them. You couldn’t lose! No one would slow play these cards deliberately, if they truly comprehended the strength of their hand.
Another such region of darkness is exposed to the light when you live life, plodding along as if you are infected with some type of deficiency or lack—a losing hand. And then you abruptly experience the revelation that God would not leave you with any insufficiency—proven by one undeniable fact. The price He paid to make sure you had everything you need was the life of His only begotten Son. If He was willing to pay that much to ensure you have the winning hand, how on earth can you imagine under any condition that you don’t?