by Michael (Miguel) Caballero
Many people have a great desire to worship GOD in a way that is pleasing in HIS sight. Well, the Scriptures clearly tell us that GOD is a Spirit and those who worship HIM must worship HIM Spirit and in truth. So, In order for us to worship HIM in a way that is acceptable and pleasing in HIS sight, we need to be in the Spirit also, because the carnal man cannot please GOD.
But how can I be in the Spirit, you might ask? I’m glad you asked that question. To be in the Spirit, you need to be born again. But how can do that? Well, you can’t, but GOD can do it for you if you just let HIM. In John I : 12-13, it says, “As many as received Him (JESUS), to them gave THE power to become the sons of GOD even to them which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of GOD.
First, you need to receive JESUS. HE is the One who has the power to make you born again by the Spirit of GOD. In Acts 2:38, the WORD of GOD reads; “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of JESUS CHRIST for the remission of sins, and ye Shall receive the gift-of the HOLY GHOST. ‘
So, we need to repent, which means to change our minds, change our ways of living, tum from sin, and completely turn our lives toward GOD.
Believe in JESUS, receive HIM as your LORD and SAVIOR. get baptized, and HE promises in HIS WORD that HE will give you the HOLY SPIRIT. Then, and only then, will you be able to worship HIM in the Spirit.
What about the Truth, you may be thinking? I thought that Scripture says we must worship in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24). Well, that’s a good question.
The truth is the WORD of God.
In Psalm 119: 160, it says “Thy WORD is true from the beginning. ” In John 17:17, JESUS prayed for HIS Apostles and the believers after them in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Sanctify them through THY Truth: THY WORD is Truth.”
Other Scripture says, “when HE, the Spirit of Truth is come, HE will guide you into all Truth. For HE shall not speak of HIMSELF, but whatsoever HE shall hear, that shall HE speak; and HE will show you things TO come” (John 16:13).
So, when you are a new creation (creature), born again believer, a child of the living GOD, the SPIRIT of GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT, will teach you how to live your new life through the living, written WORD of GOD, and HE will also teach you and guide you in how to worship GOD in Spirit and in truth through the same WORD.

by Victor Davis

At this moment in my life, the season I am in is one directed by the HOLY SPIRIT. By breaking bread with believers, not being selfish or conceited but by being like-minded, I humbly allow others to supply and share their gifts with me so that we may all grow in the love of CHRIST.

I’m not fully mature yet, but through chastening and obedience I’m learning how to apply my motives, feelings, affections, desires, aims, principles, thoughts, and intellect to HIS will for my life. By working here at the Chapel, I am gleaning wisdom from the elder volunteers who donate their time as well as offer advice from their life experiences.

By taking advantage of programs offered during the day and through study materials, through practical application of them, I have gained insight and instruction. Therefore, I am allowing YAHWEH to enable me to become a more efficient steward over HIS talents as well as HIS house.

In showing me how to keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, HE is preparing me for CHRIST, our Passover…who was sacrificed for us.

by Victor Davis
Before I came to prison, my ego was not well formed. This fact was marked by a lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility; I could procreate, but spiritually, I was a child, an apostate.
I lived life according to my own philosophical values, although I believed YAHSHUA, I was my own idol, as a womanizer, substance abuser, and worst of all, an unreliable parent.
On January 10, 2014, I officially went into DOC custody, and everything I ever feared in my mind became a reality and a nightmare from which I could not awaken. It was a surreal experience.
Within a year’s time, I received the wages of my sins. Everything in which I found my identity and everyone I found security with, were taken away from me. My life was desolated.
During my incarceration, over the course of time I began to re-establish my relationship with YAHVEH, through prayer, faith, and by being a Berean.
In addition to this, HE started to answer my prayers, even if those answers didn’t come in the form I thought they would. However, YAHVEH pruned my heart through these things.
I have come to accept, YAHSHUA as YAHVEH, as well as my eternal SAVIOR. I have learned to be content and steadfast by trusting on HIM solely for all of my needs through endurance and not by relying on the things of the world that used to believe define me.
So, what has YAHSHUA done for me since I’ve been incarcerated? HE refined my heart by giving me HIS character.

by Victor Davis

(NOTICE: AS REQUESTED BY THE AUTHOR, THIS ARTICLE WAS NOT EDITED.)

Approximately one month ago, I had the privilege of attending the evening service and listen to the instructions of Don Coleman, pastor of Highland Baptist assembly, give a sermon over 2 Timothy chapter l . Regarding our responsibility as believers to “stir up, speak up, and stand up.” in accordance with our gifts. He taught us the Greek word for gift. Which is translated charisma in the Strong’s concordance #5486. It means a spiritual endowment.

Sha’ul was admonishing Timothy his spiritual son, to exhibit his gift with character as the leader of the Ephesians assembly, during the reign of the roman emperor Nero, approximately 54 to 68 A.D. Considering the inflictions that Sha’ul, and Timothy would have undergone as the fathers of this congregations in this period of time. I pondered as Don Coleman elaborated on the future Oppression, we as believers may have to encounter for the sake of the gospel.

I began to envision, and ponder in my heart, beginning with Yahshua himself being crucified, Stephen being stoned approximately 35 A.D. (Acts7:l-60). Ya’acob (Jacob) the son of Zebedee was beheaded by Herod Agrippa the 2nd. Kepha (Peter) was crucified A.D. 67, Sha’ul beging beheaded in A.D. 68, Ya’acob brother of Yahshua was slain near the temple in Jerusalem, and Yohanan (John) was exiled to the islands of Patmos in A.D. 100, as well as all of the old testament Nebi’im (prophets) that were martyred before them. Then my thoughts began to drift to all the people, around the world today being persecuted, because of their faith, in the messiah. Considering this, I reflected on it, and briefly cringed at the thought of having to endure such pain; but the Holy Spirit within me shouted with every fiber of my being. “I will not deny my Messiah”! I will be steadfast in heart with the character needed to overcome pressure, to represent his kingdom in adversity. While walking back from the unit from service, these thoughts consumed my mind. “I will not deny the gospel”! In connection with this I asked someone what he thought about Don Coleman’s exhortation. I stated sincerely to him that I was sold out for the edification of the Good News. To support this, I began paraphrasing John 6:48-69, but I couldn’t remember it word for word, and I didn’t have time to look it up before lock down to share it. When I entered into my cell and turned on my television to channel 26, the Church station; at that exact moment at 9:02 pm Rabbi Schneider was speaking on the exact passage and verses, I couldn’t locate while outside. Was it coincidental? Perhaps?! However, as he conveyed the scriptures, I listened intently. I’m not sure if it was due to the recent incidents in Paris, but I had never heard him preach the word with such ardor. I was attentive to his every remark as he spoke to the desires of my heart. After the program ended, I reread chapter 6 of Yohanan’s gospel.

Neither Yahshua nor any of his twelve Talmudim (disciples) was Levites or descendants of the Aaronic priesthood, but they all were familiar with that liturgy. In the Holy Place towards the left stood a golden menorah weighing 107 lbs, with seven branches on it. On the right across from it was a 3 ft long, 2 1/2 ft high, and 1 /2 1 wide table of showbread with twelve loaves upon it; accompanied with a vessel of wine. The twelve loaves represented the twelve tribes of Israel, and the wine, the blood, and life of the persons being offered to Yahweh, which in this case was the twelve tribes of Israel (Leviticus 17:1 1). When the Cohen (Priest) would perform this ceremony, by eating the loaves every Sabbath, and pouring out the wine (Leviticus 10:9) they were symbolically feeding on and receiving in themselves the life of Yahweh. Cohen were responsible for the holiness of the community, since the peoples offerings were only acceptable to Yahweh through them, but only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement first for himself, and then for the nation (Exodus 25-37).

According to the gospel of Mattithyahu 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22: 17-20. When Yahshua took matstsah (unleavened bread) blessed, and broke it, then gave it to his Talmudim, he said “take eat, this is my body, then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, drink from it, all of you, For this is my blood of the Brit Hadasha (new covenant) which is shed for the remission of sins”. To improve my interpretation of what he was saying to his taught ones that night, I borrowed a concordance, and performed a Greek word study on 7 themes of Yahshua ritual. l). #740 Bread (Artos) (4), “metaphorically of Christ as the bread of life.” 2). #4165 Feed (Pioman) means “overseer” 3). #4983 Body, (soma) (l la) means “reference to the church.” 4). #2806 Break (klao)  “of the lords act in giving evidence of his resurrection. 5). #4221 Cup (Poterion) (2bl), “of the sufferings of Christ.” 6). #4095 Drink (Pino) “of drinking of the blood of Christ, in the sense of receiving eternal life, through his death.” 7). #2222 Life (Zoe) (lal), “which he gave to the incarnate son to have in himself.”

After the completion of this research, I compared, and contrasted the rites of Yahshua to that of the sacrificial system ordained by Yahweh in the Old Testament through the priesthood. How they had to offer themselves to make atonement on the behalf of the community to appease the wrath of Yahveh. Once I was able to translate it; this is the understanding I gained concerning this custom. “I am life (Artos) and by this doctrine (Klao), pastor, oversee (Pioman), those who believe in me (Soma). By doing this, you will subject yourself to the sufferings I have now, and will inflict (Poterion) The father has given me life in myself, since the life is in the blood, by accepting it, in you by faith (Pino), you will inherit eternal grace, through me is the promise (Zoe). (Mk 10:38-39); (Jn 5:26).

This is what Yohanan meant in 6:48-69 of his gospel when Yahshua said they would have to eat of his flesh, and drink of his blood. This is why many of his Talmudim went back, and walked with him no more. When Yahshua explained to them that they would have to apply his apostolic doctrine to their lives, and suffer for his names sake “therefore they said who can understand this”? In other words who could enter into a blood covenant with this? They wanted the rewards of being associated with his kingdom, but were unwilling to suffer persecution for it. This is the reason Yahshua states in verse 65. No man can come to him unless it is granted to him by his father, because their hearts have to be purified through faith.

After I received this revelation, I had to reexamine my own heart to see if I was ready to partake in the memorial meal, with the messiah, and the conclusion of this matter is; “brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold of it yet, but only this; forgetting what is behind, and reaching out for what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of Yahveh in Yahshua Messiah. (Philippians 3:14-15) Not only that, I also have come to believe, and know that he is the Messiah, the son of the living Yah! He has the words of eternal life. (Bible verses in this article are from “The Scriptures Version.”)

Tonight’s Lesson is about the narrow path.

Good evening and thank you for coming to this lesson on the narrow path that leads to eternal life with God, in a place where there will be no more hardships, no more tears, no suffering, no pain, no death, and no prisons.

If you choose to enter this path, which probably everyone here has, it is stepping out of our comfort zone, it is leaving what appears to be safety, and entering a very dangerous place, where you will be bloodied and bruised, but you must enter because the wide path may not appear to be so dangerous, and in fact comfortable, but it leads to total failure, total destruction, eternity in hell the eternal prison.

The choice to take the less traveled road reminds me of a poem by Christopher Logue.

Come to the edge,

We might fall,

Come to the edge,

It’s too high,

COME TO THE EDGE

And they came.

And he pushed.

And they flew.

I will be sharing passages with you from the greatest book written about the narrow path “The Pilgrims Progress”, and where was it written? In prison, by John Bunyan

Bunyan, begins by describing the reasons he entered the narrow gate…

City of Destruction

The city stands as a symbol of the entire world as it is, with all of its sins, corruptions, and sorrows. No one living there can have any hope of salvation. Convinced that the city is about to be blasted by the wrath of God, Christian flees and sets out alone on a pilgrimage which he hopes will lead him to Mount Zion, to the Celestial City, where he can enjoy eternal life in the happy company of God and the Heavenly Host.

Let’s look at what Bunyan describes as the main Character hopes for as he leaves the City of Destruction:

Wicket Gate

Arriving almost out of breath, Christian reads the sign on the gate: “Knock and it shall be opened unto you.” A “grave person” named Good-will, comes out to ask what Christian wants. After the latter has explained his mission, he is let through the gate, which opens on the Holy Way, a straight and narrow path leading toward the Celestial City. Christian asks if he can now be relieved of the heavy burden — a sack filled with his sins and woes — that he has been carrying on his back for so long. Good-will replies that he cannot help him, but that if all goes well, Christian will be freed of his burden in due course.

I think this next passage by Bunyan will fully describes this path:

Vanity Fair

Happily journeying together, exchanging stories about their adventures and misadventures, the two Pilgrims come to the town of Vanity Fair, through which they must pass. Interested only in commerce and money-making, the town holds a year-round fair at which all kinds of things are bought and sold — “houses, lands, trades, titles, . . . lusts, pleasures, . . . bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.” Christian and Faithful infuriate the merchandisers by turning up their noses at the wares offered them, saying that they would buy nothing but the Truth. Their presence and their attitude cause a hubbub in the town, which leads the authorities to jail them for disturbing the peace. The prisoners conduct themselves so well that they win the sympathy of many townspeople, producing more strife and commotion in the streets, and the prisoners are held responsible for this, too, though they have done nothing.

It is decided to indict them on the charge of disrupting trade, creating dissension, and treating with contempt the customs and laws laid down for the town by its prince, old Beelzebub himself. Brought to trial first, Faithful is convicted and sentenced to be executed in the manner prescribed by the presiding judge, Lord Hate-good. The hapless Faithful is scourged, brutally beaten, lanced with knives, stoned, and then burned to ashes at the stake. Thus, he becomes another of the Christian martyrs assured of enjoying eternal bliss up on high.

So far we know we are talking about the narrow path, why we are taking it, and what we should expect upon this narrow trail, and the fear of facing the many trials.

Many Christians, no, in truth I would say all true Christians will face persecution, for the city of destruction and Vanity fair belong to Satan, the path is the enemy of Satan, the battle field for souls, and he is a vicious fighter.

The narrow path is a fearsome place.

Jesus says that narrow gate leads to a “hard” road, one that will take us through hardships and difficult decisions.

Following Jesus requires crucifying our flesh

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Romans 6:2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Living by Faith

Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith;

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him

Enduring Trials with Christlike Patience

James 1:2–3 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

And Living a Lifestyle Separate From The World

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Romans 12:1–2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

John 6:52 At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.…

From this time, many turned back and no longer desired to follow Him (John 6:66). Suddenly, in spite of all the miraculous signs, people were offended by what He had to say. Jesus then asked the twelve if they also wanted to leave.

The battle is not of the flesh, nor is it a battle we have with Satan, no the battle is between God and Satan, and that battle field is our minds, and what they battle over is our soul. it is in your mind that you either think about worldly things, or keep your mind on things above.

It is a violent battle that is raging in our minds twenty-four hours per day. It is The Invisible War. It is the battle for your soul, and that battle is vicious. It is intense. It is unrelenting, and it is unfair because Satan never plays fair. And the reason it is so intense is that your greatest asset is your mind, it is in your mind that you must resist the world, the wide path that leads to destruction, it is in your mind that you crucify your flesh,  it is in your mind  where the war rages, It is in your mind, in the midst of this war, on this battle field where you make the eternal choice for your soul.

You may ask why? Why is there such a battle going on? God is God, isn’t He? Why doesn’t He just crush Satan, take our souls to heaven to worship Him forever?

God doesn’t want puppets, He wants men, and only those who have chosen Him as their God. That means He must give you free will, that means there must be a choice and that choice is either the purity, goodness, and perfection by God, or the way of death through Satan and his charms. And, that choice must have obstacles, that weed out the chaff, for only the wheat, those with strong minds and wills travel this path successfully.

It is in your mind, on this battle field, and in the midst of this war where you make the eternal choice for your soul. It is in your mind in which free-will exists.

To have free-will, there must be a choice, and that choice is between good and evil, and when evil exists in this world, it finds a way in, and there lies the battle, you choose, you are the judge, you choose whether God wins, or Satan wins, and you must have full understanding of the choice, full understanding how to battle, and how to defend yourselves, and the consequences of your choice…

You see you are the true judge. Let me illustrate this from a passage from the movie “The Shack”.

Now ask yourself, if you must choose one of your children to go to hell, and the others to heaven, which one will you condemn? Most of us will say it is beyond us, we can’t do it, it’s too hard, it’s unfair to make us make the choice… And that is exactly what God faces… so given free will means you are your own judge by the decisions you make, God gave you the ability, and the choice. You are the judge between God and Satan.

You are the judge of your fate.

It is called a battle for a reason… it’s the hardest, most devastating battle you will ever face, it is the one and only true battle you will ever face… you are truly fighting for everything you hold dear… everything that is worth fighting for… everything that is worth living for… everything that is worth dying for….. Your very Soul.

Another great obstacle appears; Your mind, the battlefield for you soul, where you judge right from wrong, where you to choose to fight the good fight, your mind is damaged, you are fighting on a corrupt battlefield.

According to Deuteronomy 28:20 our minds are confused, Job 17: 3 -4 states it is anxious and closed, Ecclesiastes 2:21–23 claims our minds are evil, restless, and both Leviticus 5:4; Isaiah 32:4 says the mind is rash, and deluded.

And in case you think that is not very encouraging consider this The bible speaks of a troubled mind (2 Kings 6:11) a depraved mind (1 Timothy 6:5) a sinful mind (Romans 8:7 ) a dull mind (2 Corinthians 3:14 ) a blinded mind (2 Corinthians 4:4) a corrupt mind (2 Timothy 3:8)

So how in the world do we fight this fight when it is so vicious, it is in our minds, and yet our minds are so corrupt? Where can we find the answer?

Proverbs 3:5-6… 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

I want to make sure you get this…. Lean on him, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths… it is Christ Himself who will tell you what decisions to make…

And how does he do that? By you making sure you know the word, in truth…

Let’s return to Bunyan for a moment:

Village of Morality

 Near the village Christian meets Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who, though not religiously inclined, is a friendly and well-disposed person. He tells Christian that it would be foolish of him to continue his pilgrimage, the end of which could only be hunger, pain, and death. Christian should be a sensible fellow and settle down in the Village of Morality. It would be a good place to raise a family, for living was cheap there and they would have honest, well-behaved people as neighbors — people who lived by the Ten Commandments.

 More than a little tempted by this, Christian decides that he should at least have a look at Morality. But along the way he is stopped by his friend Evangelist, who berates him sharply for having listened to anything Mr. Worldly Wiseman might have to say. If Christian is seriously interested in saving his soul, he would be well advised to get back as quickly as possible on the path to the Wicket Gate which Evangelist had pointed out to him before.

We are to know the word, we must know the word to be able to defend ourselves, to defend the word, to protect the spirit. learn and teach to others in this battle for the mind is to never let up on learning.

For the way Satan truly deceives us is by making it sound wholesome or sensible.

Luke 4: 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice, 34“Ha! What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God!”…

Did you get that? … the demon possessed man asked Christ if He was going to destroy US…. Us, more than one, and where? The last place we expected to find a demon…in the synagogue… and what do you think he was doing there?

Right.. deceiving people…

And, what is Satan’s greatest

weapon when he is deceiving the world? all the riches, all that glitters,

But what is Satan’s greatest weapon when he is deceiving the Christian? By miss-using the word of God.

He even had the gall to try to deceive Christ Himself by using Scripture, but Christ knew the correct interpretation of scripture, and by that, He was able to see the misrepresentation.

One of the most common ways today, is he, Satan, uses worldly ways to deceive the Christian, by statements such as God wants you rich, wealthy, happy, because He loves you so much… and then they start teaching the prosperity doctrine, the self-help doctrine… leading Christians straight back to the wide path of destruction.

Become a lifelong learner. Love knowledge. Love wisdom. Learn to love the act of learning. The word disciple means “learner.” You cannot be a disciple of Christ without being a learner. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me” (Matthew 11:28–29). What do you do when you take on a yoke? You share a burden with another animal. You lighten a load. And Jesus wants us to learn from him. To lean on Him.  He wants to share the load, He wants to help us in the battle.

We must work on thinking about the word, keeping our minds on things above.

God described himself as I am who I am

I want you to get that I AM

I am a committed disciple of Christ.

There is a path to salvation repent confess, be baptized, be added to the church, and receive the gift of the holy spirit

There will be no excuses in Heaven none whatsoever. If you love the Lord you will commit to Him. You only have one chance. It’s either Paradise or torment. God is good and a good judge must punish the criminal. Whoever wants to keep their life will lose it. Stop being part of the world, deny yourself, and take up the cross daily.

We must have full and complete faith in God

When we are successful it is God not us

We must be like the old horse with the blinders, we must see only straight ahead of us, or we will be distracted, keeping our eyes on the goal… eternal life in heaven, and the same time keeping our eyes on the path straight ahead, knowing the word, living the word, leaning on the word and having complete faith in the word.

Isn’t it sad that so many in the world do not even know there exists a narrow path, and even more sad when people know about it, yet refuse to take it, but the most sad are those who know about it yet do not have the courage to enter upon it…

And I admit, it is a scary decision to make for all of us, but a decision we must make.

I want to close by repeating the poem from above.

Come to the edge,

We might fall,

Come to the edge,

It’s too high,

COME TO THE EDGE

And they came.

And he pushed.

And they flew.

Tulsa County Jail. Jim Pinkston, Francisco Davila and Zeth Parkhurst teach the men. Several ladies go to the women’s pods every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for the last five years, to teach. Zeth is teaching with Jim each Wednesday and teaching the hearing impaired. We have baptized 173 of our students this year.
Back to the ladies: We have ladies teaching in all four ladies pods at Tulsa County Jail each week. They rotate lessons every thirteen weeks. Jan Upton, Carol Siling, Elaine Russell, and Theresa Hawkins teach. Elaine is the coordinator for the women. They just opened the fourth ladies pod Elaine is teaching there every Wednesday. Many ladies are being changed by the Gospel because of these ladies.
Dick Connors Correctional Center. Jim Pinkston teaches NLB (New Life Behavior) Lessons and CASA (Christians Against Substance Abuse). He also teaches in the faith based unit and preaches there four evenings each month. He has taught there since 1990. Jim Carmichael teaches every Monday morning and preaches when Pinkston cannot.
Elaine Russell, Jim’s wife Jean, Jim & Jody Carmichael, and Patrick Murphy help and Booker leads singing when he can. We go to the Minimum Security unit on the first and forth Sunday nights for services and to the Medium Security (behind the walls) on the first and third Tuesday nights for services.
Correspondence. 40 packages of 6 to 7 lessons mailed to many prisons in Oklahoma. Every two weeks = 260 lessons x 2 = 520 per month or 6,240 per year. Many of these are people we studied with at Tulsa and Creek County Jail and have gone on to prison or were transferred from one prison to another. This is one way we keep up with our students as they are moved from prison to prison. Elaine Russell & Carol Siling send lessons to ladies who were former students at Tulsa County Jail who have gone to a prison or gone home. On the second and fourth Tuesdays evenings we have a group that meets to grade and get these lessons ready to mail. This is one place we can use some help. We meet at 6 PM in the Ministry Center.
John H. Lilly Correctional Center. Bryan Campbell is doing Celebrate Recovery every Saturday.
Creek Co. Jail . David Stikes, Jim Carmichael and Phil Smith are preparing to start teaching there again in January.
Re-entry program. (Hope City) houses up to eight men right now. Randy Milam is the onsite manager. In the last three years over twenty men have been helped and are closer to Jesus because of the Hope City ministry. Two of these men have their own businesses today and employ several ex-offenders.
Advisory Board. The board is made up of eight men and one woman: James Ivy,(deacon over ministry), Ken Williams, Steve Stade, Scott Blackwell, Gary Medley, Mark Clayton, Randy Milam, Kevin Neiman and Elaine Russell. Jim is the recruiter for the applicants. The board decides who

is approved to enter the reentry program. They go by a set of guidelines approved by the Elders. The board also oversees the operation of the program.
Rogers County Jail. Mike Hawkins started a great jail ministry a few months ago and has been very successful teaching there. God just keeps growing this ministry along with the others.
Future Plans. To continue with the programs that are now successful and just see where God leads us in 2017.
This ministry originated with Marvin Phillips at Garnett Church of Christ in 1989. Elaine Russell brought it to Park Plaza in 2007 where Mitch Wilburn, Terry Finch and James Ivy began working with the ministry in 2007-2008, then Jim Pinkston came on board in 2010 part time for 2 years then full time after that.
Baptisms from this work
2010 94
2011 109
2012 139
2013 259
2014 406
2015 382
2016 398
2017 173 so far this year
Total 2057 Since 2010 That we know of.
To put this in perspective, 2057 would more than fill first & second service at Park Central.
The main help we need is your prayers and support and we could use some help on second and fourth Tuesday evenings grading. We start at 6 PM at the Ministry Center. We furnish everything you need to do in this work.
Impossible without your support.
“Jesus did it!!!”

By Michael Harley

Matthew 21:33-43New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? [a] 43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

The nation of Israel was brought into existence by God to be a special treasure to Him above all people – above all the nations of the earth – to be to God a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation, to rule over all the nations of the earth so that God could bless all the nations through Israel. The governmental structure in which rule is accomplished has two realms over the earth: heavenly and earthly. Israel was called into existence to rule from both realms.

Though Israel never reached the heights to which they were called they had ruled the earthly sphere in the land of Israel. When their Messiah Jesus Christ came to them, He came and presented the heavenly realm to them. Had the nation of Israel repented and turned back to God by receiving their Messiah and His message, He would have then set up the Kingdom and they would have begun to rule over the nations and fulfilled their calling. But they rejected the Christ and His message and Killed Him.

And this is where this Scripture in Matthew chapter 21 brings us. Christians, as a nation, have been brought into existence to receive that which the nation of Israel rejected: the Kingdom of heaven.

The certain landowner is God. The vineyard, the hedge, the winepress, and tower is the land of Israel, the Ten Commandments, the laws concerning the nation of Israel conduct as priests of God, the tabernacle, and various other things that pertain to Israel. The vinedressers are the Jews – the people of Israel. The far country is God’s dwelling place in the farthest places in the north- past all the heavens – the northernmost part of the universe. His servants are the old Testament prophets. The fruits other prophets came to receive is obedience to God’s word so that God to bless all the nations of the world through Israel. And the son is Jesus Christ Himself.

God had been patient with Israel’s disobedience over the centuries since Moses brought them out of Egypt, but God’s patience had run out by the time they were in the process of rejecting and Killing His Son.

When Jesus put this parable forth to the chief priests and the elders of the people of Israel and ended with the question: “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” The leaders of Israel said with their own mouths: “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.

And this is exactly what you find taking place at the end of Paul’s ministry in Acts Chapter 28 ‘God taking the Kingdom of heaven from the nation of Israel and giving it to Christians: “Therefore let it be known to you (Jews) that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”

There are a few other things that should be noted: thought the nation of Israel as a whole has lost the heavenly portion of their inheritance, they have not and never will lose the earthly portion – the land of Israel. In the near future, after the Great Tribulation, the Jews that are alive and those resurrected from the dead will rule the nations from the land of Israel. And though the nation as a whole has lost the heavenly portion of their inheritance, there has always been individual Jews throughout time who have been obedient to God and will inherit the Kingdom of heaven. And the most important thing that all Christians should be aware of is: That Christians can lose their inheritance through disobedience. “Now all these things happened to them (to the Jews – the nation of Israel) as examples (Greek, tupos, exact types) and they were written for our (Christians) admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him (the Christian) who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:11,12)

By Michael Harley

Ezekiel 37:11-14New King James Version (NKJV)

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’”

This is a plain example of the people of Israel’s salvation. The nation of Israel, as a whole, is just as saved as any Christian is saved today. As a matter of fact, there is no salvation apart from the Jews. Salvation is of the Jews. Contrary to some beliefs, the whole Bible is written by Jews:

Psalm 147:19-20[a]  New King James Version (NKJV)

19 He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. 20[a] He has not dealt thus with any nation;

And apart from His word there is no salvation. And apart from Jesus Christ, a Jew, there is no salvation.

In the verses above, God is speaking to Ezekiel, a Jew, and commanding him To speak to the nation of Israel, and declare that God is going to raise them, “the whole house of Israel,” from the dead.

Not only is God going to raise the whole house of Israel from the dead, but He is going to raise David their King from the dead and they shall serve the Lord their God and David their King. God is going to heal them and their land – the land of Israel. He is going to put His Spirit in them and cause them to walk in His statutes, and empower them to keep His judgments and do them. He is going to sprinkle clean water on them, and they shall be clean. He will cleanse them from all their filthiness and from all their idols. He will make a covenant of peace with the nation of Israel, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. God will make them and the places all around the land of Israel a blessing.

In that Day God is going to gather the whole house of Israel from among all the nations where He has scattered them because of their continued disobedience. In that Day when God has allowed the Antichrist to destroy the rebuilt temple and the city of Jerusalem and scatter the Jews into all the nations, Jesus Christ will return, when the Jews have no other place to turn but to the God of their fathers. And when the Son of Man returns, He will send out His angels and gather His elect from the four corners of the earth and from the farthest parts of heaven and bring them into their land again.

He will set them high above all nations of the earth. Then He will set up His standard for the peoples; the nations shall bring the sons of Israel in their arms, and daughters of Israel shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be the Jews foster fathers, and their queens their nursing mothers. They shall bow down to the people of Israel with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of their feet. Then all people will know that Jesus is Lord.

Anyone that thinks that Jews were not saved in the days when Jesus Christ was speaking to them in our Holy Scripture needs to check their Scriptures again. To the contrary the Bible declares over and over again that “salvation is of the Jews.”

Faith

Prison Sermon by Jim Carmichael

May 2017

What is faith

What does Faith consist of?

I would like to start by giving a description of faith as I have observed it in Scripture, and we will start in Genesis 2:7 for you see, I see patterns in everything and I see a pattern set before us in the very beginning.

Genesis 2:7  And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

God, formed the Body, and then breathed life (himself, for God is life) into the body, and from these two elements, came a living soul.

Let me illustrate this, if we have nails and boards, and assemble them in a certain way we will have a box, remove the nails, and we no longer have a box. It takes the combination of the two elements for the third element, namely the box to exist.

It takes the two elements; the body, and the spirit for the living soul to exist.

By now you’re wondering what this has to do with faith, so lets look at James 2:28 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also

James just compared works to the spirit, and again in Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

God gave the spirit…

And where do the works come from?

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The pattern? The body when it receives the spirit becomes a living soul, the belief when it receives the works, becomes a living faith.

So, let’s make this statement when the element of Belief and the Element of Works come together comes the third element:  a living Faith.

Faith is the most crucial foundational pillar of our Christian life. All rests upon this one attribute, having faith.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)

It is a fundamental duty

John 6:28-29 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”(NKJV)

And, Christ says;

In 1 John 2:3  Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.(NKJV)

So is it just hearing? Or might there be more, or maybe the word hearing has a little more depth to it than just hearing someone talking about it.

Just as belief has a little more substance to it than just believing, for even the demons believe, but are not saved, no they tremble…

James 2:14-17 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead..(NKJV)

James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.…

So we learn from these two verses we shouldn’t expect to receive anything from God if we doubt, and any faith without works is dead, and we can’t expect to be saved with a dead faith, so without works we should not expect to receive anything from the Lord… And yet, there is so much we do want to receive from Him isn’t there, we want Him to hear our prayers, and we want them answered, generally for a desired result, but we must expect and accept a no occasionally.

There is one thing we want from faith we do not talk about much, and that is the moment to moment peace of mind that all is well, God is in His place and overseeing our activity, and that no matter what happens it will be to his perfection and our eventual benefit, and that when that fateful day arrives, that last day on this earth, we know we do not have to fear it, for we have that total conviction; that absolute knowledge where our next place in eternity is… heaven.

Many here seek freedom, but are you seeking the true freedom, the true freedom is in God, and eventually eternal life in heave.

Psalm 56:3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You(NKJV)

We want that faith, just as the apostles did;

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 5 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 5: 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Hebrews 11 as most of us knows gives example after example of those who walked in faith, and what their act of faith was, and we must follow their examples.

So, we want God to hear us, but how do we gain that faith, that faith that is stronger than ajax as the old saying goes.

We want God to do it for us, just to give it to us, and to some extent He will, but as in everything else, action is required on both parts. And we also know there is a growing, we grow in our faith.

Well, we already know we must do works for our faith to be a living faith, and when it is living we need to know how to strengthen it, what our part is, that is.

I had a person tell me once to never pray for added faith, that is when trouble comes, because that is often how God strengthens us, is by testing us, pulling us, pushing us, and so on. I read a story about faith once that included a story about a hatching egg, if you help the chick out of the egg by breaking the shell for it, the chick will not survive, it is the struggle to get out of the egg, breaking through the shell that gives it the strength it needs to survive, and that is how faith is strengthened, through struggle.

So go ahead and pray for faith, and when difficulty arrives at your door, just thank God He has heard your prayer.

Most of you know my focus here is teaching classes on apologetics, which is the Greek word for apologia which means to give a legal or logical defense. This also increases faith, strengthens it because it gives us that intellectual knowledge and power to defend what we believe, not only to the non-believer, but to ourselves during moments of doubt. At those times, instead of falling back we can fall forward, knowing beyond any doubt the bible is provable to be the inspired word of God. Our faith, our belief, is not a blind faith, no it is based upon solid historical, scientific, and prophetic facts, unshakable facts, undeniable facts… it is the truth.

With all that said, I want to take a look at another path to faith, knowing the word. It makes sense doesn’t it, we should know what it is we are defending? God gives us wisdom…. How? Maybe by the inspiration to study His word. To know it so well that it is literally a part of us, that it becomes part of our DNA.

I recently had my DNA checked for genealogical purposes, and wouldn’t it have been cool if it said I was not only 25% Scottish, and Irish, 50% French/ German, 10% Spanish and Portuguese’s, and less than 1% African, Jewish,  but also 100 % Christian, well that’s a physical DNA, and I bet if we could have our Spiritual DNA checked we would find out we are 100% Christian… Sons and Daughters of God….

In the beginning I quoted Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.(NKJV)

How do we seek Him? What is the most basic way to learn about God, or for that matter anything at all?

Study the words written about the subject, and in this case God is the inspiration of every word written in this book we refer to as the scripture.

So let’s take a look at what the scripture tells us about studying the word.

Principles Governing Kings

Deuteronomy 17:14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Growing in the Faith:

How strongly does God feel about us knowing His word?

Deuteronomy 6: 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 27:8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”

2 Corinthians 3:3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

Has anyone here ever stated they knew a song by heart? It means by memory doesn’t it, and it the same here, know it by memory.

We are told to have the words on our hearts… First Question… Why?

1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

We are told to have the words on our hearts… 2^nd Question… how do we get them on our hearts? And, I am talking about the scripture, we all know we can’t just hold the bible up to our head and all of a sudden we know them…. And there are very few who can just read the word and retain it, in fact the average is around 8 times that you must read the bible to even start grasping it… so let me share something with you from outside scripture about physically writing something, so that it becomes engraved upon your heart, in other words, committed to memory…

Writing and Remembering: Why We Remember What We Write

Dustin Wax

The following are excerpts from the actual blog:

In a nutshell he writes in his blog after a study he performed on memory, he found that those who take notes and those who don’t

1. both remember about 40% of what they hear, however those taking notes remember the key points, those who don’t take notes remember random pieces of information.
2. Writing something down helps us to remember (I was once told by a school principal that I should use blue or green ink, it helps in the memory department, and to write in caps or small caps).
3. When we take notes, though, something happens. As we’re writing, we create three-dimensional relations between the various bits of information we are recording.
4. 3-D tasks are handled by another part of the brain, and the act of linking the verbal information with the 3-D relationship seems to filter out the less relevant or important information
5. What this and other tests suggest is that when we write — before we write, although indistinguishably so — we are putting some degree of thought into evaluating and ordering the information that we are receiving.
6. That process, and not the notes themselves, is what helps fix ideas more firmly in our minds, leading to greater recall down the line.
7. But there’s something else going on, too.
8. When we write something down, research suggests that as far as our brain is concerned, it’s as if we were doing that thing.
9. Writing seems to act as a kind of mini-rehearsal for doing.
10. visualizing doing something can “trick” the brain into thinking it’s actually doing it, and writing something down seems to use enough of the brain to trigger this effect.
11. Again, this leads to greater memorization, the same way that visualizing the performance of a new skill can actually improve our skill level.

How does this help our faith

It was when I spent hours every morning just writing scripture that I found the most joy, and beyond that, I can honestly say it was exciting like a great adventure, and it was this activity that led me from being a pew warmer, to being active in the church, to do what I could to obey the sacred duty to take the word to the world as commanded in Matthew 28: 18 – 20 and to do it without fear, on the contrary with great courage, and excitement.

It is this one activity that helped my faith grow more than all other activities, and by the way, it is one of the works, and commands of Christ.

Let’s recap and call it a night:

Belief and Works are the two components of Faith

Pray for additional faith and expect the trouble that follows that will strengthen your faith

Know how to defend the faith, and by the way we are teaching apologetics right here in this room on Monday mornings starting around 9:15

Physically write the words on paper so they have a better chance of being “written” on your hearts/

The result will be a well-rounded three-dimensional unshakeable faith, the faith needed to be heard by God, the knowledge needed to be heard by other inmates, the Faith needed to get you through the moment to moment trials you face, the Faith needed to please God, the Faith needed to keep you on the narrow path to lead to eternal life in heaven where there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more death.

And, I’ll see you there.