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  • Jesus and the serpent
    Did you know that Jesus once compared His crucifixion to a brass statue of a serpent attached to a metal pole in the middle of the desert? Stick around and we’ll talk about it…here on 5 minutes of truth.
    One of the most interesting elements of the four Gospels is how each Gospel is unique in its own way. Though they essentially tell the same story, each of them have their own unique characteristics that differentiate them from the others. But of all of them, the Gospel of John is by far the most unusual.
    The Gospel of John stands alone amongst the others by including events and conversations the other three (also known as the synoptic gospels…which simply means “similar”), do not include. For example, Jesus’ first miracle at Cana; His conversation with Nicodemus; His healing of the man at the pool in Bethesda; and His raising of Lazarus from the dead are just a few of the many things that makes John’s Gospel unique amongst its peers.
    Perhaps one of the more fascinating aspects of this Gospel is John’s use of metaphors. Or, to be more specific, John’s recording of Jesus’ use of metaphors to give the reader more insight on Who He really was (and is). Of course, all of the Gospels do this to an extent, but John accentuates this much more prominently than did his fellow Gospel writers. Probably the most famous manifestation of this reality is displayed in the so-called “I Am” sayings attributed to Jesus.
    Jesus used these statements to provide the reader a point of reference about His nature and the purpose of His mission on the planet. There are seven of these sayings that are some of the most well-known in all of Scripture. He made comparisons like: “I am the light of the world”; “I am the good shepherd”; “I am the resurrection and the life”; and “I am the way, the truth and the life”. That’s not all 7…but you get the idea.
    Jesus’ reasoning behind the use of these metaphors was to try and provide a familiar picture that illustrates a very complex theological assertion. He used every day, familiar symbols to illustrate His nature, His love and His salvific mission on this planet. It gives us a reference point and helps us understand. But perhaps the least known (and possibly oddest) of metaphors has nothing to do with the “I Am” sayings and instead has to do with Jesus comparing His crucifixion with a rather obscure Old Testament event that most Believers have never even heard of. What am I talking about?
    During Jesus’ amazing conversation with the Pharisee leader Nicodemus as recorded in John chapter 3, Jesus is trying to explain to Nicodemus Who He really was. Nicodemus had acknowledged that Jesus had “come from God” but that just scratched the surface. And almost right, is not right. Nicodemus needed to understand that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah…the Savior…God incarnate. And He used a bronze snake to make His point.
    In John 3:14-15 Jesus states: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Now, it is clear that when Jesus states that the Son of Man (one of His favorite titles for Himself) must be “lifted up”, He is clearly referring to Himself being lifted up on the Cross during His crucifixion. How do we know this? Because He connects Himself being lifted up to salvation and having eternal life. That only took place on the Cross. But what about that reference to Moses and the serpent. What’s up with that?
    The Book of Numbers gives us the answer…and it is an amazing answer. To keep a 40 year story relatively short…remember that after the Exodus from Egypt, because of their lack of faith, the Hebrews were forced to wander through the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. And if there was one thing that permeated virtually every part of that 40 years, it was the constant complaining and sometimes near mutiny of the people after their rescue from bondage. To mix Biblical personalities, Moses had the patience of Job.
    He endured hardship and turmoil almost beyond belief. When the people were hungry, thirsty, tired and bored…they complained to Moses. In this event in Numbers 21 they were even complaining about the manna God had miraculously provided for them…for over a million people…for 40 years. They were actually complaining about a miracle. As often happened and after much long-suffering, God decided to punish the ungrateful people by unleashing a horde of “fiery serpents” among the people so that whomever was bitten…would die.
    Once the people saw the error of their ways and the sin in their hearts, they cried out for Moses to intervene for them. God then told Moses to do something that even to this day seems a bit odd. He tells Moses to make a bronze statue of a serpent…place the serpent on a pole…and lift the pole up so that “everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live”. And God was as good as His word as the Bible records that everyone who had been bitten, once they looked at the serpent, was saved and lived.
    An obscure passage to say the least. And a perfect metaphor for Jesus to use. Look at this more closely. The Hebrews in the desert were punished for their sin…and the punishment was death. God told them their salvation rested on this object being lifted up and they needed to believe in order to be saved. He didn’t say look at the serpent to keep from being bitten. He didn’t give them medical advice. They were dying because of their sin…and they needed saving because they certainly couldn’t save themselves.
    Such is the case with Jesus. We are born into sin and the end result of that is death. We cannot save ourselves neither can we prevent this from happening. We are dying in the wilderness of our own sin. And then…Jesus is lifted up. We do nothing save look at Him, believe and live. When God was telling Moses to put a bronze serpent on a stick…He was already preparing for His Son to be lifted up in the very same way…for us. How cool is that?
    On behalf of myself, Robert Houghton and all of us here at Growth Project. Keep reading God’s Word.
    0 min
  • GPR 34: Special Guest Coleen Sharp of Theology Gals Discussing Biblical Submission and the Role of Women
    How does God instruct husbands and wives to submit to each other?  What rules and guidelines apply theologically? What are some of the worlds and some believers presuppositions about submission and how has it been misunderstood?  Who does God call to lead the family and church? What is God’s intention regarding submission and what does submission even mean!? How does it work?
    Also in tonight’s discussion, we have the great pleasure of speaking with Coleen Sharp of Theology Gals.  She touches on areas of female theology based discussion.  What is the role of women in the church? How do you feel about a woman lead pastor in a church? Are women really supposed to submit to their husbands?  What if the husband is not a good leader of the household?
    What are some guidelines to help find a good church?  Join us and listen in to tonight’s lesson as we delve into these and more intriguing questions and find theologically sound answers.  You won’t be disappointed.
    You can check out Theology Gals at
    theology-gals.blubrry.net/

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    58 min
  • GPR 33: Ephesians discussion | ch 4 | unity based in love | defining love | knowing God

    Ephesians 4

    How does Works fit in with Unity? What are the steps involved? What does Love have to do with Unity?
    What do you think is one of the biggest mistakes we make in our marriages? Do you think love is based
    on a feeling? What would you say love is based on? Who does God tell us we need to love? The answer
    may shock you! Find out how we get that ability. What do you think the difference is between knowing
    God vs knowing about God?
    Tune in for some lively discussion on these facts and more in this week’s action-packed episode!
    Prepare to be amazed! You’ll be glad you did
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    1 hr
  • Achan: Sin has a price
    Achan: Sin has a price.
    Did you know that immediately after the Israelites defeated an impenetrable city called Jericho because of a miracle of God…that they then lost a battle to a small city because of the actions of a single person? Stick around and we’ll talk about it. Here on five minutes of truth.
    Many times people come to what I suggest is an errant conclusion about the Old Testament. Casual (and sometimes not-so-casual) readers of the Bible will conclude that the Old Testament is about judgment while the New Testament is about grace. Nothing could be further from the truth.
    I understand why folks can come to that conclusion, but doing so relegates the truth to a gross oversimplification. The truth is, both the Old and New Testaments do a very thorough job of discussing both judgment and grace. Because to be honest, you can’t have one without the other. Grace only exists because we have a concept of judgment. One cannot exist without the other.
    I will concede, however, that you do have to work a little harder to find grace in the Old Testament than we do the in the New Testament. We are familiar with the Fall, the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the fiery serpents, the plagues in Egypt, the droughts, the famines, the Babylonian captivity, and many other calamities described as being caused by God as punishment for extensive and continued disobedience.
    But we also see God’s grace in the Garden, with Abraham, Hannah, David, Solomon, Ruth, Esther, Joshua, Jonah and innumerable other people and circumstances where God could have executed judgement and chose to show grace. Likewise, possibly the most grace-filled passage in all of Scripture () is followed with an admonition of certain judgement for those who reject Jesus as Savior.
    So we see that the Old Testament is not devoid of grace. Probably the bigger question should be, why is there so much judgement portrayed in the Old Testament. That is the correct question. For the answer we need to take a look at an incident most people are not even familiar with. It is recorded in the book of Joshua…and it involves a man named Achan.
    To keep a long story short, as the Israelites were conquering the land that God had promised them, they had a dramatic victory at the city of Jericho. Not only was Jericho militarily superior, they also were surrounded by an impenetrable wall that the Israelites had no hope of breaching. We know the story. God produced a miracle…the walls came down…and Jericho was completely defeated. People remember that victory, but often are ignorant of the ensuing defeat.
    The book of Joshua records God admonishing the Israelites prior to the battle of Jericho to not take “devoted things” (a). He then goes on to explain what that means when He says: “All of the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated for the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord” (). Are you following?
    God is telling the Israelites not to plunder any of the riches for themselves. He did not want them seeing this conquest as a means of enrichment, but as tool to accomplish His ultimate will. After Jericho, the city of Ai was next in line. After determining that they would be able to mount little opposition, the Israelites settled on a small attacking force and expected a quick victory. After all, they had just seen God deliver the mighty Jericho into their hands. It didn’t go so well.
    After the battle of Ai was over and the dust settled, the Israelites lost and the casualties amounted to 36 soldiers dead. In fact, the Israeli army was routed and “the hearts of the people melted and became like water” (c). What could have happened? God was with them, was He not? He led them to a defeat of Jericho but seemingly abandoned them against a much smaller foe. Joshua himself prayed aloud wondering why God had broght them there in the first place? It would not be long until they found out.
    Once Joshua was informed by God that their defeat had been a result of open sin among the Israelites, it was simply a matter of time before the truth was discovered. A man named Achan. Who probably would have remained an anonymous member of the Israelites throughout history, had it not been for this one thing…was responsible for this entire defeat.
    His crime? He took silver and gold from the battle of Jericho for himself…in direct opposition to what God had warned them about. In his own words Achan confessed that he: Saw; coveted; took and hid the consecrated items. His confession cleared up the confusion the people had about the loss to Ai. And as a result Achan, his family and even his livestock were all killed.
    Now, here is where the, ‘Old Testament is full of judgment’, crowd will kick in. Why did they have to kill Achan. Wasn’t his confession enough? Why did they kill his family? His livestock? And the answer is of course linked to the fact that this was the Old Testament and before the grace of the New Testament. But not like you might think.
    In order for us to be able to see the amazing blessing of grace, we must first see how horrendous sin is. What a horrendous toll it takes. And what horrendous wrath accompanies it. The wonder of grace is never understood apart from the horror of sin. Achan’s sin cost his life. It cost the life of his family. It costs the lives of 36 soldiers who went into battle. Sin corrupts. It corrupts every single thing it touches. It corrupts us.
    To prepare the way for Jesus, God had to show us that sin is not just some less-than-desirable behavior that a self-help book can fix. It is a genetic disease that leads to death. Paul writes: “The wages of sin is death” (a). And that would be a terrible reminder of the inevitable if it were not for the second part of that passage: “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (b). The price of sin is seen again and again in the Old Testament, so that we can see the payment of that sin on the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
    On behalf of myself, Robert Houghton and all of us here at Growth Project. Keep reading God’s Word.
    0 min
  • GPR 032: Ephesians discussion | Ch 2-3 | Our True Condition Only Magnifies God’s Grace And Mercy

    Ephesians parts 2 & 3

    What’s Grace got to do with it? Are we dead in our trespasses? Can we do anything good? Why are we here? Why do we hear preaching about sin so much? What’s the big deal about sin back in Jesus day and now? What does your spiritual filter look like? How comfortable with the world are you? What do you need to know about grace and this world? Is there anything we can or can’t do for God’s forgiveness if we come in faith to Him?

    By nature we are children of wrath.  What is the biggest complaint we have about church?  Listen in as Robert Houghton and Dr. Danny Purvis discuss these lessons regarding this thing called Grace. 

    #LightOverDark #HowCoolIsThat

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    1 hr 1 min
  • Promise Not Made
    God makes many promises in His Word. It would take a lot longer than 5 minutes to go through them all. But did you know that He often gets blamed for not keeping a promise He never made? Stick around and we’ll talk about it. Here on 5 minutes of truth.
    There are a myriad of amazing promises that God makes throughout the 66 books that make up the Bible. Putting aside the fact that the God Who spoke the universe into existence would make any promises at all to us, it is estimated (by some) that there are over 3,000 specific promises God makes throughout the Bible. Yet despite all of that, in fact maybe because of all of that, God continues to get blamed a lot concerning promises.
    He is blamed for promises He makes and keeps. He is blamed for promises that He doesn’t make, yet keeps. And He is blamed for promises He did not make and does not keep. And it’s the last one we are most interested in here. Because for some strange reason, God is often held to promises He did not make and therefore does not keep. This leads to some of the most curious complaints leveled against Him from the most curious of perspectives. This also leads to some of the most damaging misunderstandings about God that lead to some of the most damaging conclusions.
    For example, God is often blamed for “innocent” or “unfair” deaths as we define them. And there is a reason why this happens. When horrific things happen to people, we want several things. We want answers, we want justice, and we want someone to blame. Therefore, when a natural disaster kills people: God is to blame. When a lone gunman kills people: God is to blame. When an accident kills people: God is to blame. And when disease kills people: God is to blame.
    But I am confused about the logic behind this. Blaming God for these deaths is to acknowledge He has supreme power over life and death. All life and all death. The Bible confirms this. Maybe we just need some perspective. There are 7 billion people who live on this planet. Do you know how many people die every year planet-wide? 55 million. See where I’m going with this?
    Let’s go ahead and blame God for every single death that occurs in the world every day. Just to make this easier. Though there are some deaths we are more “comfortable” with than others. Not too many people are going to sit at the bedside of a 100 year old person who died peacefully in their sleep and ask: Why did this happen? It happened because the person was 100 years old and already had beaten the life expectancy by 20 years. See my point?
    We don’t view certain deaths as tragic or see them as unfair. And there are a lot of those in the 55 million deaths each year. But as I said, for the sake of clarity, let’s blame God for every single one of those 55 million deaths. 55 million is less than one percent of 7 billion. Again…see where I’m going with this? Let me make it clearer. Every year, God allows more than 99% of the earth’s population to live. More than 99%! While He allows (or even causes) less than 1% to die each year. If, as we have already conceded, that God is the ultimate power behind who lives and who dies, then why doesn’t He get the proportional thanks for allowing more than 99% of people to live as He seems to get blame for allowing less than 1% to die? I’m not sure I understand how He can be blamed for death and ignored for life. But maybe it’s because people don’t seem to think of it in this way.   
    This is somewhat understandable as we try to make sense out of things like this that often defy understanding. At some point, virtually everyone will wonder what God’s role in this is. But this idea that God is to be blamed for these unfair or innocent deaths is built upon a theologically incorrect presupposition: That God promises he will stop all of these types of things from happening. To be clear, He never made that promise. It is not a part of the 3,000 promises He makes in His Word. In fact, He promises the exact opposite. Jesus Himself stated: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
    However, though God never proclaims to rescue us from every horrific thing that we might encounter while we sojourn on this planet, He does make an extraordinary promise that He will not leave us alone…ever. Here is an example of what that looks like.
    In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples: “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35). He is referring to getting into a boat and crossing the Sea of Galilee. On the journey, a vicious storm arose and began swamping the boat. The Disciples feared for their lives, but found Jesus sleeping in the rear of the boat. They proclaim: “Do You not care that we are perishing” (Mark 4:38b)? Notice the verbiage. They did not say they could perish or were about to perish, but that they were actively perishing.
    You probably know the rest of the story. Uttering the now famous phrase, “peace, be still” (Mark 4:39) Jesus immediately and miraculously calmed the storm and saved His Disciples. But He also made another statement, this one more curious and more appropriate for our conversation. Jesus stated: “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith” (Mark 4:40)?
    Why is this curious? Doesn’t it seem somewhat rational to be afraid of a killer storm? Sure. But remember, this is about promises. And Jesus had already promised them that they would, “cross over to the other side”. He never promised there would be no storms. He never promised there would be no emergencies or that the ride would be a smooth one. He simply promised He would get them to the other side.
    That’s the promise He makes to us. God does not promise that He will always rescue us. He does not promise we will not face danger. He does not promise we will not experience death…unfair or otherwise. He does not promise we will be safe in this world.
    He simply promises to us, those who know Him as Lord and Savior,  that He will never leave us nor forsake us. And that He will get us to the other side. How cool is that? On behalf of myself, Robert Houghton and all of us here at Growth Project…keep reading God’s Word.
    0 min
  • GPR 031: Ephesians discussion | Ch 1 | What is an Apostle | Does God choose some for salvation?

    Ephesians Chapter 1 Whats an Apostle and does God choose certain people for salvation?

    This week’s lesson is a biblical view of Paul’s letter to Ephesus. Paul was on a missionary journey in which he would plan, build, and move on to various destinations to teach the Word of God and help set up churches there.  Inevitably, problems always followed once he moved on to the next place.   The book of Ephesians is a short letter (6 Chapter) which begins with an important introduction.  He wants the churches to know these letters come to them directly from God- that he writes with authority given by God.

    Did God choose you for salvation? What did God mean when he said “I chose you before the foundation of the earth” Take a moment to listen to tonight’s episode as we delve into the first chapter of this amazing 6 chapter letter.

     

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    1 hr 1 min
  • Moses' Wife Did What?
    Did you know that in one of the most unusual and confusing stories in all of Scripture, there was a moment when Moses’ wife actually got so frustrated with her husband that she threw their son’s circumcised foreskin at Moses? Really…you didn’t know that? Well, as weird as it sounds we will explain it all…here on five minutes of truth.
    There are quite a few stories, sprinkled throughout the Bible, that on the surface seem a bit…if we’re being honest…weird. From floating axe-heads to a sermon bringing a valley of dry bones back to life. From raising people from the dead to a chariot that carries one Bible hero off to heaven. There are stories, many in the Old Testament, which when observed from a distance and removed from context do not lend themselves to easy understanding.
    They contain actions that seem to defy conventional wisdom and promote, in many cases, significant skepticism for the casual reader. And sometimes even for the not so casual reader. I understand the confusion. These stories seem so outrageous that one can quickly come to the conclusion that there is very little reason for it being included in the Bible at all. We know, however, that this is not true.
    The Apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” . If that is the case, this also includes the “weird” passages that I firmly believe are considered weird simply because they are not understood in light of Paul’s statement. And one of the most misunderstood events happened as Moses was on his way to free God’s people from the yoke of slavery they endured in Egypt.
    We know the story. After fleeing Egypt upon learning of his heritage, Moses met Jethro, a priest from Midian, and married Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah. Sometime after, Moses had the encounter of a lifetime when he ventured up Mt. Horeb to examine a burning bush, but instead met the God of the universe Who told Moses to go back to Egypt…confront Pharaoh…and free the Hebrew slaves.
    It is on this journey to Egypt that we read this curious story found in . The Bible relays that on the journey, God actually threatens to kill Moses. He does not explicitly say why, but the context of the story fills in the missing pieces. Immediately after the threat, Zipporah circumcises their son. So, we can glean that Moses’ neglect in doing this himself spurred on the harsh threat God made towards Moses.
    After the circumcision, Zipporah takes the severed foreskin and throws it at Moses’ feet. She states: “you are a husband of blood to me” (b). And to make sure he really got a proper reading on her indignation, she repeats it by saying once again, “you are a husband of blood” (). It is clear that Moses’ wife was not happy (putting it lightly) and that something really bad must have happened. Now we look at what did happen in context with the rest of Scripture which will make this seemingly weird passage not so weird after all.
    First we must remember the importance the Hebrews placed on circumcision. It was THE sign that they belonged to God as a people. It was THE sign of the everlasting covenant God made with His people (b). And any male child not circumcised would be cast out from his own people because “he has broken My covenant” (b). To say that circumcision was a big deal…would be the height of understatement. God stated that every male child would be circumcised when they turned 8 days old and it fell to the father to ensure this happened. Is this becoming a bit clearer now?
    We don’t know how old Moses’ son was but he was at least 8 days old. Considering that the birth was mentioned in Exodus chapter two and the circumcision was not brought up until chapter four…it’s a pretty good guess that he was well older than 8 days old. Therein lies the problem. Moses knew the sign of the covenant. His wife knew, so certainly he did. He knew that God commanded circumcision at 8 days old, he knew that this was THE sign for the covenant, he knew that his son could be cast out by his own people, and he knew it was his responsibility to see that it was done.
    Moses failed his son and his wife by failing as a father and husband. And when that happens, there are terrible consequences. This was not Moses’ first go at disobeying God. After God told Moses He was sending him to free the Hebrews, Moses came up with every excuse he could muster to bow out. Such as: I don’t know Your name; What if they don’t believe me; Who am I that I should do this; and I’m not a good speaker. Finally, he provides the truthful statement when he says: Just send someone else.
    These two events (the avoiding the circumcision and the lack of faith at the burning bush) are related. They both tell the same story of a man who is willing to shirk his responsibility to his family (in the case of circumcision) and his enslaved people (whom he wanted no part in helping). Moses was called to be the husband and father God wanted him to be. And he failed. His own wife had to circumcise their son to save both the son and Moses. And she was not happy about it. She was crushed and she was angry. We can debate the wisdom in throwing a bloody foreskin at your husband, but it just goes to underscore what a huge failing this was on Moses’ part and how the ramifications of that failure impacted his ability to be the husband, father and Believer God wanted him to be.
    All of a sudden, that weird story that didn’t make much sense, makes a lot of sense when we see the entire picture. So it is with all of God’s Word. There is always a reason the so-called “weird” stories are included in the Bible. So we can see Who He is, how much He loves us, and how He wants to save us. How cool is that.
    On behalf of myself, Robert Houghton, and all of us here at Growth Project…keep reading God’s Word.
    0 min
  • GPR 030: Special Guest Andrew Rappaport

    How important is it to have sound doctrine to teach sound theology? In this podcast, we interview special guest Andrew Rappaport.  Join us as he expounds on his newest book, “What Do We Believe”.  Andrew has an extensive background in Judaism as well as 30 years’ experience of “Open Air Evangelism” or “Street Evangelism”.  Listen in on this podcast to hear what his book has to offer.  He wants us to know there is something for everyone in this book. In this episode, he speaks on the conundrum of our Holy Trinity, Do we believe that God exists, and so much more!  There is much to learn from this interview and it is presented in a candid, friendly setting.

    #THETHINGBEHIND THE THING #HOWCOOLISTHAT

    You can read more about Andrew Rappaport by going to Striving For Eternity

    You can buy his books from his online store here

    Follow us on all Social Media Platforms @growthprojectUS

    59 min

About Growth Project Radio

From the publisher's feed

Growth Project Radio is a fresh new show with Dr. Danny Purvis and Robert Houghton discussing everything from Theology to the Arts. All through a Biblical worldview. If you are a Christian and enjoy…