Archives: Episode

August 10, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-08-09)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-08-09)

00:00 / 2:12

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

“There are many place on the earth where being a Christian is the most dangerous thing you can be.” That’s the finding of a recent study on persecution which found that Christians are now the most persecuted minority in the world. According to the most recent figures, 90,000 Christians were killed for their beliefs in the past year, nearly a third of them by Islamic Jihadis. The study further found that 600 million Christians are prevented from practicing their faith by either local or national governments.

World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association brought together delegates from 130 countries recently. One of the most dramatic stories that emerged from that conference was that of one of the 21 men beheaded by ISIS in Lybia in 2015. 20 of those men where Egyptian Coptic Christians, but one was a worker from Chad and was not a Christian. Before they were behead each man was asked to deny Christ and each refused. But when they came to the man from Chad, he was asked, “Are you a Christian?” and he responded, “Their God is now my God.” Sealing his own fate.

In spite the genocide of Christians around the globe, many who see the faith and courage of the martyrs come to trust Christ for themselves. It is not a trite saying that, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” St. John the Revelator says it like this, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” KJV

Closing – This is Kile Smith. You have been listening to Bible Teacher and author, Dr. Bill Shade, Director of Advanced Studies for Source of Light Ministries International. Our college-recognized, three-year, Bible Institute curriculum is now available online. We invite you to visit us on the Web at advancedbiblicalstudies.net – that’s advancedbiblicalstudies.net and begin a systematic study of God’s Word today.

August 2, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-08-02)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-08-02)

00:00 / 2:14

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

You’ve heard those questions which ask, “Do you remember back when if you had a quarter, you could go see a movie and have enough left over for a hot dog and a Coke?” Probably, there are only a few of us left who could truthfully answer that we do – I confess, I would be one of them.

We’re all living in a world that is changing so rapidly we cannot take it all in. Allen Toffler explored that in his best selling book, Future Shock. He defined the condition as, “That sense of dizzy disorientation that occurs due to the sudden and premature arrival of the future.” Perhaps that explains why we are feeling the way we do.

The Prophet Isaiah describes it in these words, found in chapter 24:19, 20; The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

What can we hold onto in times like these? Isaiah answers again with these words, The grass withers, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8). The book of Hebrews calls it “an anchor to the soul.”

But in these rapidly changing times, if you are going to be able to let the Word of the Lord anchor your soul, you will have to know it. Why not consider starting today by enrolling in our Advanced Biblical Studies program – you can do it – just click on any of the drop-down menus on the heading on this page, and contact us. Do it today.

July 26, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-07-26)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-07-26)

00:00 / 2:10

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

Robert Webber’s writings have had a marked influence on many, especially millennials, and not long before his death he wrote,

“A new feature of evangelicals in the postmodern world is the growing awareness that the Bible, belongs to the church. The church preceded Scripture in time.”

Then Webber castigates the Reformers by saying, “The Reformers separated Scripture from tradition, and set it over against popes and councils, and made it stand on its own.” “The postmodern challenge to authority is best met, (says Webber) not by returning to sola Scriptura, and not by the modern evangelical defense of the Bible, but by returning to the origins of authority in the Christian faith. The church possesses, interprets, guards, and hands down the truth.”

Most of us can recognize in all this the old Roman Catholic claim that the Church is the final authority rather than Scripture, because the Church established the canon and declared what writings where Scripture and which were not.

I am reminded how a friend of mine once met that argument. Standing on the steps of a Cathedral he asked the Priest if he knew what kind of car that was parked at the curb. Of course, said the Priest, it’s a Chrysler. You are correct, said my friend, but your naming it didn’t make it a Chrysler, It was that long before you named it and I knew it was a Chrysler before you told me. The early Church knew and recognized the Inspired Scriptures long before any council or church body ratified them.

No – not the Church but the Scripture itself Must be our final authority.

July 19, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-07-19)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-07-19)

00:00 / 1:58

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

Last week I was talking about the book Silence & Beauty by Makoto Fujimura. You may recall it is a book that tells of the beginnings of Christianity in Japan and the terrible persecution which followed.

We talked about the 26 men and three young boys who were first crucified on what is now called, Martyr’s Hill on the coastal shores of Nagasaki. After marching them beaten and bloody from Kyoto, the young boys, upon arriving at the hill and seeing the crosses laid out waiting for them asked, “where is my cross?” and then willing laid down upon it.

Perhaps we have forgotten that Jesus said, “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” To “carry your cross” means to expect persecution, betrayals and exile from the world – yes and possibly even death. That is not just difficult, it is impossible and it makes it clear that the Christian life cannot be lived by self effort.

C. S. Lewis said that being a Christian is not an effort-based journey. “It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and higher but like turning a horse into a winged creature that can fly.” That is miraculous, and that is what the Christian life is – it is nothing less than Christ Himself living in me – anything else is not Christianity – it just theatre.

July 12, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-07-12)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-07-12)

00:00 / 2:09

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

I recently read a review of the book Silence & Beauty by Makoto Fujimura about the little-known time when Christianity first came to Japan. Portuguese missionaries first entered Japan in 1549. At least initially, they met with great success. Revival reportedly broke out in Kyoto (the imperial capital at that time) with over 130,000 converts; later the number grew to nearly 300,000.

But such success was deemed a threat to dictator Hideyoshi and so he ordered that Christians be persecuted, beginning in 1597 with the martyrdom of twenty-nine Christians. He eventually all but eradicated the church in Japan.
Twenty-six men and three young boys were paraded some 480 miles from Kyoto to what is now known as Martyr’s Hill on the shores of Nagasaki to be crucified. Many bled as they walked; their ears or noses had been cut off in Kyoto. Today there is a Christian Missionary Hospital that marks the place where the march began.

The story of their arrival at their destination is one of a remarkable display of faith and courage. When they arrived at the hill in Nagasaki, crosses were already lined up laying on the ground and one of the young boys said, “Show me my cross.” Then another echoed, “Show me mine.”

How many of us have said, “show me my cross – I have already died with Christ, I will now willingly die for Him?

July 6, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-07-05)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-07-05)

00:00 / 1:52

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

The Muslim Brotherhood has been identified as the bitter root from which the various branches of radical jihadi Islam have sprung. Since its founding in 1928 with the declared purpose of reviving the caliphate following the abolition of the Ottoman Empire, the philosophy which undergirds the movement has spawned death and destruction all over the globe.

It is well known for its motto “Islam is the Solution”, “Allah is our objective; the Qur’an is our law; the Prophet is our leader; jihad is our way; and dying in the way of Allah is our highest wish.”

In sharp contrast, we who are followers of Jesus Christ also rejoice in a brotherhood – it is that invisible and mystical union of life that binds all true born again believers together as one family in Christ. The Scriptures also give us some clear marching orders that might be summarized in this way:

Sin is the problem, Jesus Christ is the solution, His Gospel is our message, The Holy Spirit is our Enabler, His love is our motivation, and Turning men from death to eternal life is our goal.

Two mottos – one espouses death, the other, life!

June 28, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-06-28)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-06-28)

00:00 / 2:00

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

David Wells in his book, “The Courage to Be Protestant” sums up some of the current theological fads (the Bible word is heresies), by observing that, (and I’m quoting)

“Howard Marshall thinks the Spirit has liberated us from some of what is in Scripture. (we don’t have to believe or be loyal to that anymore)
N. T. Wright thinks the Scriptures were never given to function as absolute truth in our world in the first place;
Rob Bell thinks the Scriptures simply send us on our way to do our own thing;
Brian McLaren thinks historic faith needs to be de-constructed for post-moderns so that the baggage of enduring truth can be dropped.”

If those statements by Wells seems too strong or unfair, let me quote Rob Bell directly:

“[Jesus] is giving his followers the authority to make new interpretations of the Bible” “It is our turn to step up and take responsibility for who the church is going to be for a new generation. It is our turn to redefine and reshape and dream it all up again.” –REALLY!

I said it before, and I’ll say it again, the New Perspective is nothing more than a Nefarious Pretense and it carries upon it the unmistakable mark of the Anti-Christ. St. Paul says it well, Yea, let God be true and every man a liar. Amen!

June 21, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-06-21)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-06-21)

00:00 / 2:04

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

In His book A New Kind of Christianity, Brian McLaren writes that, “The second coming of Christ is without biblical warrant for it leads us to believe that in the end, even God finds it impossible to fix the world apart from violence and coercion.” (That McLaren’s view of Armageddon). A new heaven and earth are unnecessary he says, because “good will eventually prevail by peace, love, truth, faithfulness, and courageous endurance of suffering.”

What the Bible called the Parousia or full manifestation of Jesus Christ, McLaren calls the “Incarnational Return” which according to him will, “signal the full arrival, presence, and manifestation of a new age in human history. It would mean the presence or appearance on earth of a new generation of humanity, Christ again present, embodied in a community of people who truly possess and express his Spirit, continuing his work.”

Of course, never mind that there is no Scripture to support any of what McLaren so dogmatically asserts. It is just old Post-Millennialism re-imagined, and it just seems so appealing because it promises that man will finally fix everything that has gone wrong.

Personally, I’m betting on Jesus Christ who declared in Revelation 21:5, “Behold I make all things new, and he said unto me write, for these words are truth and faithful.”

June 14, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-06-14)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-06-14)

00:00 / 2:09

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

I ran across an interesting comparison of the Gospel we used to preach (and hear preached), and something called “The New Perspective Gospel” we often hear today. The writer remarks:I ran across an interesting comparison of the Gospel we used to preach (and hear preached), and something called “The New Perspective Gospel” we often hear today. The writer remarks:

The old gospel was about an offended God; the new gospel is about a wounded us.
The old gospel was about our sin, the new gospel is about our satisfaction.
The old gospel was about our need for righteousness, the new gospel is about our need for fulfillment.
The old gospel is offensive to those who are perishing; the new gospel is overwhelming to those with itching ears.

Retired Anglican Bishop, N.T. Wright who propounds the “New Perspective Gospel” says, “In ‘older theology’, ‘the gospel’ is supposed to be a description of how people get saved, or how ‘Christ takes our sin and give us his righteousness. But in the New Perspective Gospel “Jesus is Lord – Lord of the world, Lord of the cosmos, Lord of the earth, of the ozone layer, of whales and waterfalls, of trees and tortoises.”

Well, we would all agree that Jesus is Lord of all those things, but the Gospel is not a message about saving the planet, but about reconciling a guilty sinner to a Holy God through the atonement provided by Christ’s sacrificial death. Anything other than that is not a New Perspective – it is a Noxious Parody and a Nefarious Pretense of the truth and it rests under the anathema of God.

June 7, 2017

A Moment From God’s Word (2017-06-07)

A Moment From God's Word

A Moment From God's Word (2017-06-07)

00:00 / 2:03

Transcript:

Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.

Message

A while back a friend sent me a short video by email. It had so fascinated him that he wanted me to see it. When I viewed it, I understood why– perhaps you have seen it by now:

A student assembly program in a high school Gymnasium is suddenly interrupted by a tremendous roar as a Beluga whale comes bursting up through an ocean that a moment before had been a solid floor. The whale does his catapult into the center of the what had been a gym court, and thunderously crashes back into the now liquid floor creating a huge wave of displaced water – all to the squeals and delights of the amazed students. Then suddenly all is tranquil again and the Gym looks just as it did.

The man who sent it to me assured me that there was neither whale nor water in the Gym, but that the entire illusion was a hologram created by laser cameras, and he was totally amazed by the technology. I was amazed as well but I saw something that my friend had not seen.

While I am as fascinated as the next person with the technology, I am reminded that the Bible promises that in the last days a powerful Deceiver will come with “lying wonders”, and that there will be “strong delusion” so that the world will follow the anti-Christ. When we have reached the point that illusion looks more real than reality, perhaps we are now prepared for his appearance.