Spirit and Truth Fellowship International

In John 3, Jesus talks with Nicodemus, the Pharisee. Unfortunately, many of the things that can be learned from their conversation, which primarily concerned the resurrection from the dead, are buried in mistranslation and tradition. Similarly, although the many red letter Bibles differ as to exactly what verses were spoken by Jesus, they almost all have him speaking too much. In this teaching, John Schoenheit gives many valuable insights on how to read and understand the Bible as he unpacks John Chapter 3. He clarifies some of the mistranslation that has led to erroneous tradition and confusing doctrines that have arisen in the Church regarding this section of Scripture.

Life is filled with uncertainty, risk, and the ever-present need to make choices, most of which are insignificant but others can become critical points of decision. God tells us that prudence is the thing that will keep us on the right, fair, and just path. In this teaching Dan Gallagher helps develop the concept of prudence, what it is and what it is not, as well as what we can do to have more of it in our lives. When we discipline ourselves to have more prudence we learn the art of doing the next right thing.

The record in John 11 of the death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus has been a problem record for many students of the Bible. Why would Jesus wait where he was for two days before going to help Lazarus? In this expository teaching, John Schoenheit shows why Jesus waited in Bethany before traveling to raise Lazarus from the dead. The record also shows a wonderful side of Martha, who often is thought of as being unspiritual due to the record in Luke 10 when she tried to get her sister Mary to help her with the work. John 11 also showcases the emotional spectrum of Jesus himself, who at one point was angry at the situation, but at another point was overcome by sorrow and sadness and burst into tears. This teaching adds more to our understanding of the words and actions of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Far too many people are out of touch with the sense of entitlement they have and the problems it produces for them. In this teaching Dan Gallagher demonstrates biblical examples of how the entitlement mentality causes people to live in a false reality with unrealistic, unmerited or inappropriate expectations. By getting in touch with pharisaical thinking in ourselves, we can accept that because of sin we are all actually entitled to death. The only thing that really matters is what we are entitled to through the redemptive work of Christ. When we realize this, we can then begin to live in the joy of God’s amazing grace.

While Jesus Christ was full of both grace and truth, most people, due to character and inclinations, tend to lean toward one or the other. While some see the greatest value in the truth and find a lot of meaning in life by knowing and acting on what is true, others find great enjoyment in relationships and in letting people be themselves even if those people do not obey God. To walk like Jesus did, we have to know when to call people back to the truth and when to extend grace, and in the meantime we must use what God uses: tolerance, often called “forbearance.” In this teaching, which further develops the subject of grace and truth, John Schoenheit examines the balance of truth, grace, and tolerance in our daily lives.

When we consider all the qualities that Jesus demonstrated, it is amazing that in John 1:14 God reduces them down to just two: grace and truth. Traditionally people put the majority of their focus on one or the other, but doing both at the same time can be quite challenging. Author Randy Alcorn states, “Truth without grace crushes people and ceases to be truth. Grace without truth deceives people and ceases to be grace. Truth without grace degenerates into judgmental legalism. Grace without truth degenerates into deceitful tolerance…We who are truth-oriented need to go out of our way to affirm grace. We who are grace-oriented need to go out of our way to affirm truth.” In this teaching Dan Gallagher shows specific examples of how Jesus modeled both grace and truth, and how walking in his footsteps, we can do the same.

The more we know about Jesus Christ, the more we can fully appreciate what he went through personally, the more deeply we can love him, and the more personal inspiration we can draw from his example. There are many prophecies of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament, many of which are well known. A series of prophecies that are not as commonly known are the four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah; four sections that refer to the Messiah as the “servant.” These songs encapsulate much of the attitude and mission of the Messiah, and reveal how he would be hated by people; that he would be a sacrifice for our sin; and how God intended through Jesus’ death to ratify the New Covenant and bring salvation not only to Israel, but to all the people on earth. We hope this teaching will inspire you as John Schoenheit opens the Servant Songs of Isaiah and provides insights into the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our ability to find and experience joy affects almost every area of our lives. Not only does it impact our relationships with our spouses, family, co-workers and friends, it also has much to do with our ability to endure. It is joy that allows the children of God to endure great suffering, persecution, public insult and even the confiscation of their property. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher helps us to understand what joy is and what it is not, what we all can do to develop more joy, and some of the things that block us from the joy the Lord wants us to have. We believe you will find this teaching both enlightening and helpful in increasing joy in your life.

Almost two thousand years ago Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” This is the most important question that any person could ever answer and, in many ways, it still echoes through the world to this very day. In part one of this teaching, “Who Do You Say I Am?” Dan Gallagher explains why there was so much confusion about the Messianic identity of Jesus among those he interacted with. Then, in part two of this teaching, Dan discusses how despite many Christians’ deep devotion to him as their Lord and Savior, their daily actions seem to indicate that they really do not know “who he is,” at least not in a practical way. We believe you will enjoy this teaching as you gain a new perspective for Jesus’ question and look more deeply at how you answer it.

God had an interesting problem to solve before He ever created the universe. How could He allow people (and angels) to have genuine free will, and yet have a way to righteously exclude them from His everlasting Kingdom if they decided to be evil? He did it by setting up a decree long before He ever created mankind. In this teaching titled “The Wages of Sin is Death,” John Schoenheit explains why God established this decree and how it provided for humble and loving people to have a wonderful everlasting future. John also takes time to show from the Word that “death” means “death,” and those who are not saved will be annihilated in the Lake of Fire, not tormented forever. We pray that this teaching will help you to see God’s love and justice very clearly, and will strengthen you in your walk with the Lord.

Every indication is that as Christians we are in for some difficult times ahead. But this is nothing new. Historically there have been various times and places where things were very difficult for believers. One of the books that can help us navigate through tough times is 2 Timothy. Paul was in jail and about to lose his life, the Church was being heavily persecuted, and believers were abandoning the faith. In the midst of that, Paul wrote to Timothy the small letter we know as 2 Timothy, giving very sage advice on what to do personally and how to move the Church forward. That advice is as valuable today as it was 2000 years ago.

Any worthy goal is only achieved through endurance, and the key to endurance is how much we are inspired by the goal. For Christians there is no greater goal than the rewards that we will receive from the Lord when we all appear before his throne. In this month’s teaching, Dan Gallagher refers to the seven letters to the seven congregations in the Book of Revelation and shows how Jesus seeks to inspire the believers in their faithfulness, overcoming, and endurance by some wonderful promises. Although we believe the Book of Revelation is written to a future people, we are promised that all who read, hear, and take to heart the words of that book will be “blessed.”

This month we are blessed to provide you with a two part teaching on obedience presented by John Schoenheit and Dan Gallagher. Knowing the truth is important, but God wants us to couple our knowledge with obedience. In Part One, The Obedience Model of Pleasing God, John Schoenheit demonstrates how it is more important to know a little and obey what we know, than it is to know a lot and obey only a little. Jesus consistently spoke of “pleasing God,” not in terms of knowing Him, but of obeying Him. In Part Two, Doers—Not Hearers Only, Dan Gallagher makes the point that God desires an obedience-based relationship with mankind. He also shows through personal example and various sections from the Word of God that obeying, or doing, is more important than “knowing.” We believe this teaching will inspire you in your discipleship journey to do what Jesus said to do.

This month’s teaching, “The Lord Cometh!” is by John Schoenheit. Life is difficult, and in order to live day by day in a godly manner it is important to have a clear vision of the Hope. In this information-packed teaching, John starts in Genesis 3:15 with the promise of a Deliverer who would make things right in the world, and goes through the Old Testament, pointing out different aspects of the Hope of Israel as it is portrayed in the Old Testament and Gospels. John points out how, as the time got closer to Christ’s coming, information about him and the deliverance he would bring became clearer and more specific. Then he explains chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew, picking out highlights and connecting them back to the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Anyone who oversees others is taking care of God’s most valuable possession, His people. As such we must recognize that there are four major responsibilities that every godly leader has – to be a provider, protector, prophet, and priest. In this teaching, Dan explores various aspects of each of these four roles and how they relate to everyone, both those who lead and those who are being led by others. This teaching includes various biblical references and examples, as well as, examples from Dan’s personal life. This teaching closes with Dan showing how Jesus Christ gave us a clear example of each of these roles in his personal life and ministry as he epitomized the role of a servant-leader.