Spirit and Truth Fellowship International

Understanding the dispensations, or administrations, in the Bible is essential to understanding the Bible itself. God has always related to the world as His household, and just as in any household, from time to time the rules change. That is why, for example, God’s commands concerning the food we eat have changed in Scripture. If we understand the administrations, we can better understand God’s changing of the rules, which ones to obey and which have been made obsolete by newer rules.

Despite the benefits that we all can receive from godly confrontation, most people hate the very idea of being confronted, and either avoid it altogether or fail miserably when they finally do it. Conflict is an ever-present relational reality, and godly confrontation is the mechanism we all can learn to employ to resolve it. When done properly, confrontation is a very effective tool for promoting peace and helping us grow in pure-heartedness. In this teaching Dan Gallagher provides the biblical basis for godly confrontation as well as providing valuable insights on how to be more effective in developing this necessary relational tool. This teaching is a must for all who seek to grow in godliness and to help others do the same.

Many people do not take their time on earth very seriously. Although we have many opportunities to serve God, we sometimes fail to plan to serve God, and end up not serving Him. In this teaching, John Schoenheit lays out the Biblical Warfare and the Wisdom models of belief, and shows how they are particularly important if we are to think correctly about the important roles we play in serving God. John builds on these and discusses three things that are important for success: having a vision for our life, working with good teachers/pastors/leaders, and getting rid of those things that drag us down.

In comparison to Biblical times, nowadays many people do not realize the spiritual impact of their actions or words. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher takes us through the Bible and shows how curses are a mechanism that often times opens the door for demons to gain influence into a person’s life, the lives of their family, their children, and even future generations. Dan provides the listener with a basic understanding on three types of curses: curses resulting from a person’s actions, curses from words, and curses from the sins of their ancestors. Curses are one of the weapons that Satan relies on to interfere with the blessings God has for His people. The information in this teaching is an essential understanding for anyone who desires to wage a successful defense in the spiritual battle.

In this teaching, John Schoenheit expounds the Parable of the Sower, in which Jesus describes four different kinds of soil and what happens when the seed of the Word of God is sown upon them. We know that this parable contains a very important lesson because both at the beginning and the end of the parable, Jesus tells us to listen to what he is saying. The major key to understanding the parable is to realize that we are in control of what kind of soil we are. Some people are like the hard soil of the path; they do not understand the Word when they hear it. But a person knows when he does not understand something, and each of us has a moral obligation to put forth the time and energy to understand the things of God. Some people are like shallow soil in rocky ground, and the seed grows into plants that do not develop deep roots. No one is born with deep roots in the Word; growing deep roots is a matter of time and commitment, and God deserves that commitment from us. And so it is with the rest of the soils— each of us, by our thoughts and deeds, determines the kind of soil we are, and each of us has the opportunity to be the good soil that produces much fruit.

Jesus made it clear that the only way to have a relationship with the Father was through him. In order to really know God, we must develop a true and intimate relationship with the His son, Jesus. Many recognize this truth but lack a clear understanding of how they can really “know” Jesus Christ. For centuries Christians have attempted to know him in variety of ways and through a myriad of practices. In this teaching Dan Gallagher solidly demonstrates how we can “know Christ” through three unmistakable ways; the Word of God, the Body of Christ, and through personal spiritual practices. Knowing Jesus is the key to growing in devotion to him and to the Father. We believe this teaching will greatly enhance your spiritual growth by helping you on your journey of growing closer to Christ.

The Word of God tells us that when Moses was born “he was no ordinary child.” While this is certainly true of Moses, from God’s perspective it is also true that no one ever born is considered ordinary. Sadly, despite such potential for being “extraordinary,” far too many people die as “ordinary.” What happens to cause people to be turned from the “extraordinary” into the plain, the mundane, and the ordinary? In this teaching Dan Gallagher exposes the diabolical methods Satan uses to attack men and women through the seven basic desires of the heart. This teaching has the potential to provide you with personal insights and encouragement in your walk with Christ.

Water baptism has been a subject of debate ever since the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when Jesus first poured out the gift of holy spirit upon those people who had faith in him. For the Jews, washing and baptism ceremonies started when the Law was given to Moses, and in many cases, such as in the cleansing of a leper, the full cleansing ceremony involved animal sacrifice. When Nebuchadnezzar burned the Temple down in 586 BC and carried the Jews away from Israel, baptismal ceremonies took on a new importance, and continued to grow in importance even after the Temple was rebuilt. John and Jesus both baptized people in water (although Jesus’ disciples did the actual baptism). However, like animal sacrifice, water baptism was symbolic, and pointed to a greater reality. Animal sacrifice pointed to the greater reality of Jesus’ sacrifice of himself, and water baptism pointed to the greater reality of the baptism in holy spirit, which the Old Testament prophets as well as John and Jesus foretold. When the reality of the baptism of the holy spirit came on Pentecost, water baptism was no longer needed as a symbol, and could have stopped. This is why Ephesians 4:5 says there is only “one baptism” for the Church. However, it was such a well established tradition that it has continued to this day. In this teaching, John Schoenheit covers the history and tradition of water baptism, and shows why the “one baptism” for the Christian Church is in holy spirit, not water.

The book of Proverbs tells us that its purpose is for “attaining wisdom and discipline,” which it does by showing people what is “right, just, and fair.” One of the principle ways it does this is by showing us the ways of the wise and comparing them to the fool and the wicked. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher shows some of the richness of Proverbs by teaching about the five Hebrew words used to describe fools and their behaviors. This teaching will help the listener clarify foolish behavior in themselves and others, and also provide the corresponding antidote God instructs us to take in order to get back on the path of the wise.

The Bible says God is holy, righteous, and loving. However, there are Scriptures that make God seem unloving and unlovable, and Romans chapter 9 is one such section of Scripture. For example, Romans 9:11-13 seems to say that God loved Jacob and hated Esau before the two boys were even born. Then verse 18 says God hardens those people whom He wants to harden, and verses 21 and 22 seem to say God is a potter who makes people like He wants them, but then pours His wrath out on those who are “prepared for destruction.” Some Christians have no problem with this, believing that it is God’s right as Creator to do whatever He wants. To many others, however, Romans 9 has been confusing at best and has even turned some people away from God. In this 90 minute teaching, John Schoenheit employs his more than forty years of researching the Bible to interpret Romans 9. He shows that if we properly understand the Old Testament examples and quotations, and the use of Semitic idioms, and we translate the Greek text correctly, Romans 9 really teaches that God is loving, merciful, and patient in accomplishing His purposes. We can also see that God works with people according to the freewill choices they make, responding and adjusting as people choose to obey or disobey Him.

Not only God has informed us that there is a spiritual battle raging between Him and His archenemy, He has also given us many insights into the nature of this enemy. In this teaching Dan Gallagher demonstrates how we can glean a great amount of information on the nature of our enemy from seven fundamental titles God applies to this spiritual enemy; the god of this Age, the Adversary, the Tempter, the Deceiver, the Accuser, the Slanderer, and the Destroyer. This teaching helps provide many practical insights in an effort to help God’s people so we are not “ignorant of Satan and his devices.” We consider this teaching to be a necessary lesson for those desiring to be effective in their stand in the spiritual battle.

God is love. However, there are things God is said to do in the Bible that seem to be clearly unloving. For example, even though God wanted the Israelites to go free from Egypt, the Bible says God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he would not let Israel go (Exod. 9:12). The answer to many difficult verses in the Bible in which God is said to do something that seems against His nature is that the Semitic languages, such as the Hebrew of the Old Testament, often use an active verb (like “hardened”) idiomatically. When God does something that elicits a response from people, God is often idiomatically said to actually produce the response. In the case of Pharaoh, God righteously asked Pharaoh to let Israel go, and in response Pharaoh hardened his heart, but idiomatically in the Semitic languages God is said to be the one to do the hardening. In this teaching, John Schoenheit explains the “Idiom of Permission” simply but thoroughly, revealing that God is the righteous and loving God we know Him to be.

Most Christians know they should pray, and many even pray frequently. Despite our knowing the importance of prayer, most of us have, at times, questioned the effectiveness of our prayers. Many times we are frustrated because we don’t seem to get answers to our prayers. Although it is easy to put the blame on God for not answering our prayers, in this teaching Dan Gallagher demonstrates three clear possibilities, all of which are our responsibility, for why our prayers go unanswered. After reviewing six common “prayer blockers,” Dan identifies five keys that you can practice to make your prayers more effective. We believe you will both enjoy and be inspired by this practical and encouraging teaching.

The Bible is the source of Christian doctrine and practice, and because of that it is vital that Christians are able to read it and understand what it is saying. Yet the Bible uses language that can be confusing to Christians. The language was not confusing to the Greeks, who spoke the language of the New Testament and knew its idioms. One of the idioms of the Greek New Testament that confuses Christians is the use of the word "in" (sometimes translated "into" in our English Bibles) to describe relationships. For example, 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." We might expand that for clarity in English to say, "In connection with Adam we all die, and in connection with Christ we will all be made alive." Some contexts are easier for us to grasp than others, for example, for us to be "baptized into (in) Christ" or "baptized into (in) his death" (Rom. 6:3) are more difficult to understand than "in Adam," but we need to know what those verses are saying. Since the relationship described by the word "in" can vary from a loose relation to a very tight one, even a union, we must discover the exact nature of the relationship by reading the context. In this teaching, John Schoenheit covers the meaning of New Testament phrases that use "in" (or "into"), and gives very helpful explanations and translations of what some of the important verses that use these phrases mean.

It has never been really too difficult to put a teaching together from the Bible that confronts a variety of sinful actions and attitudes. In this teaching, rather than confront sin, Dan Gallagher goes directly to the root of the sin problem and examines what it means to “commit our way to the Lord” (Psalm 37:4). Dan demonstrates that being committed to God is, in the Hebraic mindset, being “rolled up” with the Father, which is well illustrated by the way that the red and white parts of the candy cane are twisted together to become one. We become committed to God when our words and actions demonstrate obedience to Him. We must be honest about our sin, calling it truthfully what it is, then confessing it, repenting of it, and once again moving forward. In this teaching you will also see how increasing in our commitment to God happens when we obey the leadings of the gift of holy spirit in each of us as it nudges us to do His will. We believe you will enjoy the fresh perspectives that this teaching gives as you learn to “roll yourself up in God.”