Okay, it's five o'clock. It's think tech. It's community matters and guess what? It's the senator Sharon Mori walkie She joins us from the Capitol building the square building not too far away. Hi senator Mori walkie Jay nice to see you nice. See you after all these months. It's true Good I haven't seen you in a while, but if that doesn't mean I don't hear from you I hear from you every day sometimes more than once My am I messaging every day my message out to my community? Yeah, well, you know, I can't remember any elected official That was as ardent as you are about your community about, you know connecting with your community and The day wouldn't be the same if I didn't get your newsletter honestly It's really remarkable. You must have people absolutely love hearing from you and learn by it and You're kind of our neighbor. You're our collective neighbor. That's what you are well, you know, I had monthly chats before and since COVID and and are unable to congregate and my restaurants one of them is still open, but they're closed Which is very sad. I took to emailing my District so that at least we have some connection during this time when we're all Shuttering and shuddering Yeah, I saw that no booze is going to close And I walked my district and so little open and some open and then closing It's this up and down as well in terms of these Emergency proclamations from the governor and from the mayor and people just don't know what to do And it's really tough on businesses because they have to Follow all the protocols and in sanitizing and social distancing They have half the number of Customers so you know you bring back your staff, but you have half as much income coming in so it's really tough I really try to support them as much as I can So yeah, and your district covers Waikiki Which is sort of like one of those it's like Aleppo in Syria, you know And and kakaako too because you know a number of the restaurants have opened up in kakaako And it's really for the community, but but Waikiki is so hard hit. It's it's very very sad So, you know tell us about the session. It was I called it the Swiss cheese session Because it was on again off again. What kind of experience did you have over that session where it was on again off again? It was it was a stressful session. We thought last year was stressful, but this year was very stressful it because we had we had No game plan, you know, there was nothing really to follow as the first ever unprecedented as they say And we we had the idea that we would go because it happened in the last I guess the last week in February. So we had the idea that we would go till about April and we would conduct all the business that we could then and early. But what happened was one of our own Was diagnosed with with COVID. So everybody we had we shuttered right then and that was in March. So much of our work was done remotely. We decided we there was There's faith two phases was the first bunch of money that came down from the feds. We allocated those funds and then we said, Okay, there's another another Phase that's going to come in and we'll come back and we'll we'll look at how we can allocate the funds to make sure that the money got into the community. So most of the bills that were pending and the resolutions pending this before we we recessed really are still pending very little was able to get past all all focus was on On on the pandemic on bills that we need to have to help us through with policies and also The allocation of funds so that it could get out into the community. Yeah Yeah, if you don't it was for a while it was put into the rainy day fund and The consensus was if you leave it there, it'll have to go back to the federal government. So Got to spend it Rainy day fund was was there we put it there because It was untouchable except by the legislature because we were not sure On the first phase that all the funds were going in places where they should be going So we wanted to make sure that if we put it there we would spend that three weeks in between To talk with the community see whether needs were that we would allocate funds where the need was greatest, you know, like unemployment insurance rent assistance And child care support. So all of those Decisions in terms of the allocation of funds was done in this three week period So we didn't want to send the money out and then have it just be misspent or not spent So so Was there any bills? I mean cobit or otherwise that you would have liked to Seen past this year that you know got got deferred by by cobit You know the rent the the real estate investment trust has been something that that um We've been going at it for a number of a number of years and that was passed By the senate and it was over in the house and it passed the first committee and was going to the second committee It was lingering there and you know, I think that as as we look at it That is that would have Taxed all corporations in the state equally and not just giving an exemption for those that are off off off state and and you know when looking at who's making Who's generating the revenues? It is these rates because they really can still charge the rent to their to their To the businesses the small businesses and so forth that are renting from them. They're still charging the rent So there aren't really being hurt as some of these other businesses Those are their tenants that are being shuttered, you know, so that's one that I would have liked to see Pat that we would have been able to generate more income for the state in this time The the the others are the the elder services That that went by the wayside because We had some funds for elder care, but not for the the caregivers. So that went on the wayside There were a number of smaller bills. I think the rent supplement bill we had a big bill for rent supplement and and so we put that into the rate the The federal relief fund and the governor at first cut 50 percent but by error Um, we're going to get the whole hundred million dollars But it's still it's still not released and that's what makes me so upset is is that we had rent and mortgage supplement funding from the cares act and that we worked with the community agencies and and both the house and the senate agreed on on this package that Would have gone to a third party Contractor so that it wouldn't get stymied in in government, you know, it would be out in the community and that still hasn't gone out because budget and finance attorney generals Getting their hands on it instead of just letting it go as it was planned by people who are in the know On how you get funds to to people in need. So it's very it's very concerning about what's happening with the administration Um, it's not moving fast enough. It's not moving as if we were in uh An urgent emergency situation Yeah Really frustrated us especially Um, you can see the house and the senate Have been frustrated by the slowness of this administration to act Well, and then of course, uh, you've been following in your newsletters reflect that in detail the The progression to use that word of kovat Um, the infection the infection rate the the lethality of it the effect on the community And there there there have been some uh bad press for the administration in the past week or so Involving You know a failure to test a failure to trace a failure to even hire the people necessary to do those things And I wonder how that plays with the legislature and with the committees that you're on Well, you know, it's nothing new to but I think the house is why I can't speak for the house or for the senate committee We have been harping on the administration for For months now since march april june To get testing up to get contact tracing up Um to look at how we can we can assure that we've got enough people Set up to do the tracing and to contain the virus that we're going out now the governor His first his first proclamation was in early march And we had single digit cases and today Five months later We still don't have the the the system set up for um, how we deal with not only the testing But the whole system of testing and and if you find positive cases you trace all the contacts within 24 To 48 hours of your finding and and when we went and and talked to the nine contact tracers They're investigators, but they're doing contact tracing because they haven't been ramped up That was a couple weeks ago. I think they're making changes now um, we're finding that Some of these people I have a hundred cases. How do you do that? So they're not getting to to they're not tracing and contacting people within the standard, which is 48 hours map It's taking a couple of weeks or even more. So of course that spread is going to be Be be moving out into places that you know, they haven't been yet contacted people So, um, it's it's a very sad state of affairs that during these five months That the department of health has been telling us. Yes, we have the contact tracers We push them to get more so they put two and a half million dollars into the uh budget So they could trace train the tracers And I think The monies were let In june. So by july they had some 400 people train And we said, well, where are they? Well, they Walked through the hiring of these people and then and then department of health said well, you know, even if they're trained We have to now train them. So You're wondering why when they didn't that they were training at uh That they not take their people over and and co-train At one time, you know, so when you hear these kinds of things j You know, it's just very frustrating and we try to help and support the administration but When you get this kind of feedback and you find out that they're not Being forthright with you and they're saying everything is fine, but it's not um, you know, we really we really are starting to you said we had to look for ourselves and and and I have to say for the record that uh, the day before we went over there To department of health We did talk to dr park and we said how many and she said I have 105 we said well, we've heard otherwise in fact, there was a grievance From their contact tracers and hga was was was um investigating So we knew that that there were not 105 some of these people these nine were um, you know having 50 60 100 cases and how can you do that with a with that every day coming in It's you know, it's like a treadmill so So we said well, you know, we're going to come over and see for ourselves We'd like to come over and see it and dr park said oh come any time You know, please come we'd love to have you so we went and then you know the director Of health bruce anderson said, you know, how dare you come the governor said how dare you come? You know, you've got to give us notice and um, it it became More than what it was. We were going over to see okay. What do you have? Where can we support you? You know, like unemployment insurance, you know going over there seeing how how tough it was How do we get people over there to help you? How do we loosen up the bureaucracy to get people there? um, we we went over to ui and uh unemployment insurance and Saw that they had not enough people. We met with uh The human resources department. We said look Find all the people who are working from home not essential workers. No computers Send them over to help unemployment insurance. So from the 24 people they had Uh, you know, we sent people over from the legislature And all of these volunteers went over that they had something like 500 people Then trying to you know get this burden of the 200 thousand cases, which still wasn't enough So the same thing with contact tracing. We said, you know use the convention center do Something that's proactive and bold and get those people there that you need We weren't there to go Over and investigate. We were there to help and it just became I think low not a proportion. We we want to help Yeah As I understand it Bruce Anderson and the governor were not happy that you were there on the other hand Whether you were there to help or just to do oversight Um, you have an absolute right if not a duty to be there and do oversight What is going on here? You know, we're jobs. That's our job That's our not to mention that all of us not not those on the committee But many more of our our colleagues. We're all getting these calls from people You know, why aren't you doing this? Why is this happening? You know, I got I I I was um Tested positive and I was with somebody who tested positive and nobody's calling me and You know, it was it was chaos in the community whereas We're being told we've got it under control um, and that's not right and Worse than that, it's not effective and it leads to more cases and more fatalities Simple as that. We have triple digit Cases every day every day Yeah, yeah Well, it seems to be down a little today unless I missed my guess that it was doing a way over 200 there and Now it's down to less than 200. So that's a the good news thing But but what do you think has to happen here, Sharon? I mean, you're on it.  You sanitize you you mask up You keep your distance when you're in in a congregate settings I mean all those are good and well, but you still need a health system a public health system in place And we don't have that it seems So it's from the time. So so dr. Park's system worked, you know with a small outbreak, you know, you've got But the the testing of this person you see that, you know, they got ill And and so then you do that.  But but this is like hundreds and now we're up to 6600 that were, you know, affected So you've got to have a public health system And so it's the testing and doing more testing Before they they they didn't do as much testing because we didn't have the test kits, but now we have the capability and we have The the consultants and the testing facilities That are already there in place that just give them more funds and get the equipment to test more broadly You test then Then you you you get the cadre of of contact tracers and and get them in in place And so when you get you get an outbreak, you know, you can send people out immediately within 24 to 48 hours You've got people there and you can contain You contain it and so then you don't have this community spread where you don't know where it is And now they're they say oh because of privacy issues. We're not going to tell you where it is So the communities Is scared stiff because they don't know if it's the neighbor next door or somebody in their building When people really should know enough so that they can be aware of what is around them Be much more mindful And everybody can be part of the the solution and so this lack of communication Lack of a system in place lack of transparency How many cases do we have how many hospital beds do we have how many ventilators do we have All of that needs to be a system and it has to be conveyed to the public So we all are in this together really and if department of health is You know doesn't have the capacity for they should tell us You know because the funding is there jay. That's a sad part of this. They had 50 million dollars. We also had cares act money The money is there. It's just the Allocation of the money into places that it can be used immediately And you know these care act monies they go away at the end of the year. So time is clock is ticking So Yeah, I'm sure you saw there were two Long op-ed articles in the last couple of days My doctors epidemiologists over this sort of thing and One of them covered the issue of privacy and said what what is it with the privacy? Nobody wants you to reveal the name of the individuals We just want to know the demographics the neighborhoods. We want to see a breakdown of the data That's not a violation of any privacy so Yeah, and and you know that that there was a report that Said that that We have among all the states We have disclosed only 13 percent of useful information that the public really needs to know about this pandemic and and I think that department of health has a has a A What they call the joint information center they have a group of communications people they have contracted out Millions I think are hundreds of thousands of dollars that they really need to come up with with the plan and they even have A way that that they can let the public know of vital information You know that that that people are all trying to do the right thing It's just not knowing what it is and it changes from day to day We've got a rationale no so, so You know you said that there there were going to be or there are Now changes happening What what what's the nature of those changes and uh, I used a good time to to make those changes because we're still in the middle of it Uh next january when the legislature meets again. Hopefully it will meet again in january Um It may be late and legislation may not be the solution It may it may be kind of a negotiated result with the the oversight that I was talking about So what what kind of changes are happening or could happen now? right now it's it's it's um Trying to to fix the problem of the contact tracing because that's immediately necessary We can't we can't go hobbling around with you know, nine or 10 or 20 or 40 contact tracers when there's this kind of spread so um, so We had recommended that they use the convention center because the unemployment insurance crew is kind of winding down so now you put in the contact tracing crew and and Ramp it up to the 400 that were trained and there's a lot of community support from the hawaii pacific university as well as the university of hawaii Um to to really bring in whoever can help to help and this whole um effort now I I just saw today that there is um A surge testing that they're going to start to doing more widespread testing in the community Which has been really um for me And many others A concern because we could test up to we were told 5 000 a day and we were testing maybe Sometimes not even a thousand a day So I think the testing needs to go up. Um, they did hire a new um Disease it's a disease Investigation branch which oversees the contact tracing investigation contact tracing. Um, Emily roberson And she started I think about three weeks ago She's a faculty or former faculty member from hpu so um Maybe that will help with new eyes fresh look a more public health orientation Hopefully that will work So that's one of the changes just in in terms of of staffing But hopefully she will have the authority To move quickly and do the kinds of things that need to be done To make this a real public health system Yeah, so this is supervising the testing and tracing I take it Yeah, and and so bringing in the new hires and training them 400 I think she's spending her time now at a convention center trying to set up that whole Contact tracing unit. Yeah, what about the information? I'm reminded of an article that appeared in haaretz, which is a an israeli paper out of televive Where they they gave you an example In the paper of how much information The the government is giving to people and it was really something It was the whole enchilada. It was everything. I mean, there are no names, but a lot of information about what was happening in covet That's a parallel situation except You know, we ought to have a parallel information available to us. Is that going to change? Is that on track? You've been urging them to give us that information, you know, again, they're very cautious So everything goes past the attorney general department of health But I think that this whole sphere of hippa and fippa Is is pretty much To me this weighing of individual privacy versus public health interest And we really need to look at the public health interest at this point and the information is not Joe blow living, you know, uh in in one waterfront tower It really is in kakaako, you know, there's this Three or four cases or at this the school in in this area so that people know that they need to know Um, so that they can be much more aware and and if not At least department of health can call all these people in the context and make sure that is contained So that, you know, it really isn't spreading um I had A situation in in my district where and this was an elderly building that they were not told That uh, someone had cove it so they locked everything down not knowing what the situation was not being able to tell anybody that You know, we have cove it or at least it's contained Uh, and so everybody's fearful because the you know, coconut wireless works very well So you might as well say what you can say to protect the interests of everybody else I mean, it's like Not a lot of people are saying well, you know, it's my constitutional right to do whatever I want to do I don't need to do this. It's a hoax Well, so be it, but if masking up is something that's very neighborly and um And and a way to show that you care for your neighbors Then mask up, you know, what's the problem? It really is a matter of community and that's what I think Really needs to be stressed in these times That we are in is that we are a community and we really need to care for each other, you know You've always said that you said that a long time ago And uh, you've been faithful to it and you've been faithful to this issue And I guess I I would ask you I mean you intend to follow this going forward It doesn't sound like you're going to let go of it No, in fact In fact, um, you know the session is over And the covet committee and both the senate and uh speaker psyche on the house side We're continuing to meet because we haven't seen the kind of progress, you know when we quarantined At the airport and we said, okay, we closed loopholes. We closed loopholes with short term rentals We closed loopholes with um enforcement. We closed loopholes with, uh, you know the uber and and the the The car rentals and then we circle back and we're hearing from uh, angela keen and you know the quarantine breakers Oh, that's not happening. There's all of this violation is still going on and hpd is not uh, it's not Enforcing quarantine. Oh boy So, you know, so so if it's not us Then nobody could really say hey, what's happening and and you know at least work with administrations to say these things aren't happening How do we help you make it happen? Yeah, well, I'm so glad you're doing that. You know one thing that strikes me sharon And I think it's really relevant Is is that you know, I I stay at home most of the time A lot of people I know you stay at home And we get and we're getting you know used to it to start a new life here It isn't like the old life and we have fond memories Of of time time's gone by But you know, I'm not going to go out unless I feel Confident I I have to develop a whole new sense of confidence and to see those triple digit numbers all the time That doesn't give me confidence Now if I had more information About what was happening I could start developing a kind of personal track on how this is all doing Then I could develop a sense of confidence. That's just me, but I'm I'm not alone I think a lot of people would do the same. So if they saw And they could make their own minds up if they saw the data on the the neighborhoods the demographics all that stuff Um, the stuff that's not being reported Then they could they could develop confidence over time and and if you give them the information Then what you get at the end of the day is is is a reopening Then confidence equals reopening So to me it's a secondary benefit there. It's not just a drill It's if you want to get people to reopen you got to tell them all all these things. Am I right? You are absolutely right. I agree with you a thousand percent And and and I think that people need to recognize that that we're not We're not Targeting anybody it really is and again, it's this mental set that we are a community How do we make ourselves safer? Even the hotels are saying we want to do what's right We don't want to open up until we're really really sure that we're safe So everybody's on board. It's just the enforcement and the Knowing having the information to do what needs to be done And so if we have the information that Whether the the covet is here or there in one school or another that we have the protocol to know how you contain it So you don't shut the whole schools down. You know this classroom or wherever it is that that is a much more targeted Science-based or data-based Um way of sure it's the same thing. It's it's confidence if I'm a parent And I and I'm stuck on the dilemma of whether to send my kid back because nobody is going to force me to do that I'll chain myself to the front door in my house and you know, nobody's going to force me to send my kid back So I have to have confidence and that information could help me develop the confidence Where are we on that? Can you just my last question really is where are we on the schools now? Where are we on the way people feel about the schools? It really is not quite Um together I think the superintendent told us some things and we have been still asking We have senator kidani on our committee and she's very much on top of Hearing from the schools and hearing from the teachers and we all get those comments as well of the fear for not knowing and being having to open up when you're not fully equipped with with protective equipment, you're not fully equipped with with uh, sanitizing equipment not Equipped with how you social distance your classroom if you're getting people back in and especially those Uh, what they call the special ed programs where students need to come back to school These are small classrooms. There's no accommodation on how do you social distance? How do you give them the necessary protective gear? They will need gowns and you know gloves and everything else So it's not really well thought out. So and it's not consistent across the board. Um Some teachers a big issue the other week was telework Some teachers they're all doing social distancing for a week until they they get themselves, you know for maybe even the quarter But until they can learn the system and how they have it really safe for all the kids and the teachers and the staff It's a learning but but you know, I think part of it is not having the protocols in place So hopefully in the next several weeks or months They will learn that that's important to have in place before opening up the schools for everybody to come in Because with with kids, especially the younger ones, you can't keep them apart So they have this concept of a bubble, but you know, that's even that is hard to to really Be able to manage when you've got all the kids running around in it, you know all their energy. So We we also heard that when they bring them in by bus, you know, they're not all messed up and you know it's it they really need to have more protocols and a way to To deal with the the students, especially the younger ones and how they're going to accommodate them so that they really are safe Given their energy You know Answer your question is not quite quite there yet I very much admire and compliment you on doing the oversight and Being part of the senate group that does the oversight and you really have to continue to do that because if you don't do it then nobody will and I'd be very concerned I believe that legislative oversight and i'm learning this from the federal government, obviously Is very important and i'm so glad you're doing it and I really like being your district and getting your your your newsletters and I I would encourage and compliment you on on sending them out It's a it's a real community service that you do You you're an outstanding senator sharon I knew you would be and here you are And then you come on our show and talk about it and I really appreciate that and I hope we can do this again from time to time To learn from you how things are going Of course, of course. It's always it's always a pleasure to come talk to you jay talk with you Senator sharon moriwaki the hawaii state senate. Thank you so much for talking with you


But that said, we're here in Acts chapter 15. I'm going to read to you verses one through five. And then what we're going to do is I'm going to give to context, kind of sharing. As a matter of fact, I'll be sharing several things that we've seen as we've gotten up to chapter 15 to kind of lay the foundation for what is taking place here in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts. Because what is taking place is there's an argument that's occurring. It's relating to the place of the law of Moses in the life of a Christian. And there are those who are bringing in to the church a doctrine that says that you need to follow portions of the law of Moses and also circumcision in order to be saved. We're going to be seeing how that actually plays out and the response that you'll be seeing here in chapter 15 to that particular teaching that was error. But in order to get to that place, let me share with you a few things. First, I'll read verses one through five and then share a few things and we'll get into our study. Acts chapter 15, beginning at verse one, reading to verse five. Luke writes, certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sects of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Now, to develop this, let me remind you of a few things. First, I'll remind you that from the very early days of the church, Satan worked in opposition to the gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we've seen, he used various strategies in order to undermine the effectiveness of this message. As we've gone through the book of Acts, we've seen how that Satan provoked religious leaders to attempt to silence the proclamation of the gospel. We saw how he instigated false believers, Ananias and Sapphira to infect it with greed. We saw how he incited division between Hellenist believers and native-born Jewish believers, bringing division into the body of Christ. He inspired two sorcerers, one by the name of Simon, the other by the name of Elimus to distort and to resist the gospel. Simon tried to buy the Holy Spirit. Elimus withstood the apostles as they proclaimed it. Now, in spite of this, the gospel was preached from Jerusalem and through Samaria. Peter had preached the gospel to a Gentile man by the name of Cornelius. And when he preached the gospel, I'll see this later on, when he preached the gospel, Cornelius was saved and the Jewish believers in Jerusalem heard of this and they were concerned. And when Peter had returned to Jerusalem, they asked, is this so? Has the, have you gone in to eat with and to minister to a Gentile? It may be that they forgot the commission that Jesus had given to the churches. Perhaps they were unaware of what he had said. Remember in Acts one, he had said, at verse eight, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in Al-Jadiyah and Samaria to the end of the earth. Later on, Paul would write to the Romans in chapter 15 verse 12, Isaiah says, the root of Jesse will appear, one who will arise to rule over the Gentiles and in him the Gentiles will put their hope. Well, when the Jewish believers in Jerusalem questioned him, he had testified to them, he shared. Peter shared what happened, how God had baptized them with the Holy Spirit in Acts 11, 17 and 18. If therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter says, who was I that I could withstand God? Well, when they heard these things, they became silent. They glorified God saying, then God also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. The door of salvation has been opened to the world, to both the Jew and the Gentile. And Paul and Barnabas have gone to various lands, various cities and they've been preaching this gospel of grace. Jewish opposition increased, but Gentiles began to flood into the church. We saw in chapter 14 verse 27, how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. So in the midst of all the good things, opposition continues increasing. Persecution increased to the point that we saw how Paul had received stoning and almost died. Now, that would have caused many to have given up, but instead Paul continued preaching. And all of this shows the attempt that is being made to stifle the preaching of the gospel. It didn't stop him from ministering as we have seen. It only inspired him all the more.  He's gonna say in Acts 21, 13, I'm ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem from the name of the Lord Jesus. So instead of quenching the spirit, it actually ignited the spirit of God in him. Now, there are all these efforts to stifle the proclamation of the gospel, but they're not working. The question has to be asked then, if this can't undermine the gospel, then what will? What can undermine the effectiveness of the gospel of Jesus Christ? I'll supply the answer. What can undermine it? The preaching of a different message. One that adds works to the grace of God. And that's what we're seeing here. See, persecution and opposition didn't undermine it at all, but adding to the work of God, adding to the grace of God, human efforts and human works undermines what the gospel's all about. And that's what we're looking at here in chapter 15. We're looking at an attempt to undermine the power of the gospel, a gospel of grace. We're looking into that now because that is something that was a very serious thing that they had to deal with. So in verse one, chapter 15, certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So these certain men have come down from Judea and they're teaching the brethren. It would seem that these men may very well be mentioned again in the book of Galatians. You see, in the book of Galatians in chapter two, verse four and five, it says, this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. You see, they've been undermining the message of the gospel. How do you undermine the message of the gospel? You undermine the message of the gospel by adding to it or subtracting from it. The message has been intended to be communicated without addition and without omission. All the way back in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, chapter 12, verse 32, we read, whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. These men are self-appointed teachers who are undermining the truth. They're insisting that circumcision is necessary for salvation. They're also saying that Christians need to obey the law of Moses. And these visitors from Judea would refuse fellowship with uncircumcised believers. Now what's really interesting is that they came to Antioch where Gentiles dominated in the church and still they're insisting the church not allow people in who don't follow their rules. They want to combine the law of Moses with the saving grace of God. And as is typical with error, they're mixed in the two. And in doing so, they're bringing people or in danger of bringing people into spiritual bondage. You see, the result, if you do something like that is you begin to put confidence in your good works rather than in the grace of God. Someone said, the teaching that salvation is by human works is a foundation of all false religions and the longest running heresy in the history of the Christian church. That's absolutely true. The teaching that you can somehow work your way into God's kingdom is the oldest heresy from the very beginning. That you can somehow be good enough and do enough that God will open the door to you because you're so good. There's really, as we know, nobody that good, except for me, other than that. None of you can go to heaven. Now the bottom line is, is you see that in every religious system. It's the heart of a variety. I could start naming them, but it's every system. See, in every system there is this effort to make yourself good, to do something, to make yourself good. But Christianity is the one message that says you're never gonna be good enough. That's why God sent us on Christ. That's why Jesus was sent in the first place. We don't put confidence in our works. When Paul was writing to the church in Philippi in chapter three, verses two and three, he said it like this, he's speaking of false teachers who are entering into the church, and he said it like this. He said, watch out for those dogs. Those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh, mutilators of the flesh could be speaking concerning those who are demanding circumcision. Those mutilators of the flesh, for it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh. Now Barnabas and Saul had gone out to minister under the authority of the church. Remember in Luke, Luke had said in chapter 13 how the Spirit had given direction to the church leadership concerning them, and it says in Acts 13, two and three, separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them, then having fasted and prayed, laid hands on them, they sent them away. So they had been sent out by the church, but not so with these men. These men came without authorization, and as they came they brought error. Now these teachers from Judea were not recognized by the leaders of the church. They claimed obviously to certain Christian principles, they claimed to recognize Jesus as a promised Messiah. They also would have asserted that they recognized the necessity of his death on the cross, because if they hadn't they wouldn't have had a hearing in the church. But the problem was this, it's very simple, as they tried to improve the gospel of Jesus and by doing so they were destroying the grace of God. It added man's efforts to God's grace and emptied grace of its power. Paul would write to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter one, and he would say to them in verse 17, Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom and eloquence, unless the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. You see it's the power of the gospel to save, it's the power of the gospel to transform lives. We aren't transformed by man's wisdom. We're not transformed by human eloquence. You may enjoy listening to somebody who speaks and he speaks well. He can say things that tickle your ears and speak to your emotional part of your being. And he may have this sense of wisdom and he has this golden oration, he speaks well. But his fleshly wisdom and eloquence is not gonna save you. We're saved by the power of the grace of God to the gospel of Jesus Christ, a gospel of grace. Man's laws can restrict my behavior, but man's law can't change my evil, sinful nature. You can pass as many laws as you want and we're known for laws. We like to pass laws, we pass hundreds of them every year. And you can outlaw people from saying certain things and doing certain things and the more evil society, the more laws you have in it. And so you're always finding something to outlaw. You can't say this, you can't do this. We know that, we have those things taking place in our country, in our state. That's just part of what happens. We're used to passing laws. Don't do this, don't do that. You can do this, you can't do that. So a law may restrict my behavior. It's against the law for you to do such and so and then I won't do such and so because it's against the law, but that doesn't change my heart. You can pass as many laws as you want to tell me not to hate somebody, but you can never pass a law that makes me love them. That comes through the gospel.  By this shall all men know that you're my disciples. If you do everything, no. By this shall all men know that you're my disciples if you have love one for another. And so the love of God worked out in our lives is the motivator for us to be kind to others and that comes through the grace of God, not by laws that say thou shalt, but rather laws that are not on the pages of our Bibles, but are written on the tablets of our heart. That comes through the grace of God and to try and force people into living outward righteousness doesn't change the heart. It's like that little boy who's running all over the house and mama gets so tired of him doing that. She says, you sit there. I don't want you standing any more. You sit there and think what you've been doing. And as he's sitting there in the corner, he says, I may be sitting down, but in my heart I'm standing up. And that's how we are. That's how people are. Is even though you restrict behavior, you cannot deal with sinful nature. Only the gospel can give me a new nature. Any man who is in crisis, a new creation, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That's how the grace of God works. That's why you can see pictures of all of these people who they were incarcerated. Some of them are sitting right next to you too. Watch your purses and your wallets. But it's the gospel. It's the gospel that changes lives. Incarceration didn't, the gospel did. And that's how it works, see? And we need to be careful that we don't try to force people to do the things that please us. But we should encourage them to do the things that please the Lord and he gives them the power to do that. That's what they're dealing with here. So you see, these men were self-appointed. They were not recognized by the church's teachers. They didn't meet the approval of the leadership. Now remember, Barnabas and Saul had been sent to minister by the church. It was under the church's authority. But not so with these men. They came without authorization. And when they went out, they brought error. They were teaching that circumcision's necessary for salvation as was following the law of Moses. And by adding to the gospel of grace, they created a different gospel. We are saved by grace and not by works. That's what the scripture tells us. In Romans 3.24, we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Justified freely by his grace. For by grace you save through faith, that not of yourselves is a gift of God and not by works. Let's say any man should boast. And so as they're coming and they're bringing this bondage to the Gentiles, how did Paul and Barnabas respond? Well, Paul thought that the loving thing to do was just to get along with them and to encourage them in their teaching. After all, who was he to judge them? They had a right to preach their truth, didn't they? As long as they mentioned Jesus in their teachings, that's all that matters, right? I mean, that's what we say today. That's what we're saying today in purpose, all across the United States and throughout the world. As long as you use the name of Jesus and you're nice to your neighbor, everything's cool. I was watching an interview with an individual who preaches in a particular church who was being spoken to by an evangelical Christian and they were saying that. They were saying, oh, we don't preach these things. We rock them all. It doesn't matter. Everybody's gonna go to heaven. So is that how they respond? I want you to see this because the spirit of this age is welcoming this kind of thing, but Paul and Barnabas didn't welcome it. They actually responded to it. Notice it says in verse two, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. They had no small dispute, no small argument. They vehemently disagreed and they wouldn't give an inch. This disagreement was important enough to be taken to the highest level. It needed to be taken to the apostles and elders in the city of Jerusalem. And so the church sent Paul and Barnabas and some others to Jerusalem for an answer. Now keep this in mind. Persecution and opposition was something they had accepted and were prepared for. As a matter of fact, the church had grown stronger, increased numerically through that. The problem here is more serious because it's going to the heart of the gospel. It's a foundational truth that must be defended. So verse three, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia, Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles and they caused great joy to all the brethren. So they were sent out. They went out through the church, they were sent out and accompanied and supplied for the journey and they're traveling to Jerusalem, the going south. They're going through Phoenicia. Remember, Phoenicia is actually ancient Lebanon. And remember that that area had been evangelized after Stephen had been martyred. Samaria also had received the word of God. And so as they're going, they're sharing the work of God and there's a great joy that's being experienced. In verse four, it says, when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders and they reported all things that God had done with them. So they go to the church and the first mention is a general convergence of the body of Christ there in Jerusalem. The church gathers together and it includes the leadership of the church. If you look back and remember back in chapter eight, when persecution had first hit the church, the general membership of the church had scattered. It says in Acts eight, verse one, a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered except the apostles. While the church wasn't completely eliminated, there were still gatherings and continued to grow. The apostles had remained. Peter and John had gone out to evangelize. And so Paul and Barnabas are traveling south and they're ministering to the different churches and they're speaking of the Gentiles who've come to faith and there's great joy. And hearing that the gospel is producing the fruit of salvation will always cause great joy. Why is that? Because joy is the natural response when we hear of someone getting saved. Why do we rejoice when someone's saved? Because someone has been rescued from judgment and has passed from death into life. And why wouldn't I rejoice? When I first got saved, we saw a lot of rejoice and we still do. When someone would get saved, I mean, even in this church, when I give invitations and God blesses by drawing people to be saved, there's cheering, there's joy, why is that? Because God is rejoicing over a person being saved, coming to faith in him. Remember with me in the New Testament book of Luke in chapter 15, that chapter 15 of Luke contains various parables of things that were lost and later were found. There was a lost sheep. There was a lost coin. There was a lost son. And there was joy when each of them had been found. Each of them had been recovered. In Luke 15, verse 10, Jesus said in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. There is joy. There's rejoicing, notice, in the presence of the angels of God. If there's joy in the presence of the angels of God, the question has to be asked, who's rejoicing? A lot of times we'll hear it's the angels rejoicing. But when you read your scriptures, the scriptures tell us that the angels don't understand salvation. Why is that? Because angels, angels when they fell remain fallen and the ones who didn't fall remain unfallen. Angels don't understand the mystery of salvation because if they've failed, they have failed forever. If they didn't, they haven't failed. And so at the end, the angels who fell received judgment and the angels who didn't are not judged. I had somebody who wrote me a while back now saying that Satan is gonna repent and be saved. And I said, no, how could you say that? Well because Revelation 20 tells us verses 11 through 15 makes it clear that the enemy Satan goes into the lake of fire forever. He's never recovered. And none of the fallen angels are either. So those angels that didn't fall look into salvation questioning, wondering, because they don't understand it. It's God rejoicing, not the angels. There's joy in the presence of the angels of God. Why? Because God has found that which was lost. And when you got saved, there was joy in the presence of the angels of God because you got saved. And you're saying, well of course, look how important I am. No, that's not true. It's because God rejoices in your salvation because you have passed from death into life. And he sent his son Jesus to save you. And he rejoices over you because you have been found. You who have been lost. And so if God rejoices over someone being found, so should we. Genuine believers rejoice when someone is saved. And the joy of the church will not, the joy of the church contrasts rather with the harshness of the Pharisees. The Pharisees don't rejoice over those things, but the church does. So if God rejoices, so should we. Now it says, notice in verse four, when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church. So when Paul and Barnabas arrived, they were welcomed by the body of Christ. And they began in detail to share what they had gone through. Now that includes everything. That would include them giving testimony concerning the miracles that they had seen, the healings that they had seen, the demons that had been cast out, the salvation, all of that would be included as well as their pain and their suffering that they'd gone through. They would share with them, not only the things that were so wonderful that we all just are so excited to see, but they also shared concerning the things that were difficult, how they were run out of towns, how they were hounded, how Paul had been stoned to the point where they thought he was dead. But they also spoke of the multitudes of Gentiles who were being saved, even though the Jews were opposing that. Now, I mentioned that when Peter first explained this, the Jerusalem church had accepted it. Peter had told them that God had baptized them in the same gifts of the spirit as they themselves had received. Acts 1118 says that God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance until life. And so there was joy at first. They said, wow, this is wonderful, but not this time. When they're sharing this time, verse five, some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying, it's necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. So they're not rejoicing. They're saying there are other things required. They can't rejoice over what God is doing in the midst of their joy. Legalism breaks out. In the church, in the early days of the church, of the Jesus movement, I've said this before, bear with me as I repeat this. When hippies were coming to faith in Christ, you know, Greg brought out the movie Jesus Revolution and some of you saw it. A lot of what he was saying was very accurate, very true. When hippies started coming to faith in Christ, the church world didn't rejoice a whole lot about it. The church world actually got upset at us. Legalism began to filter in. There was a church, a well-known church, I could give you the name, I won't. It's in another state. I've shared this before, but during this movement, when young people were coming to faith in Christ and hippies were coming to faith in Christ, this church was a very large church and young people with long hair, young men with long hair and barefoot started going to church and this is a true statement. In the invitation, the pastor would pray with them and then send them to another room and that other room had a barber, true story. And the barber was there to cut the hair of the hippies to show that they really did come to faith in Christ because everybody knows that Jesus had a buzz cut and that's what they were doing. And if you didn't dress in your Sunday best, then you weren't really going to church. There were movements against the worship with electric guitars and drums. Now some of you are too young to know that, others are old enough to remember that. I grew up in a world that you didn't play drums in a church and so what happened and I remember this very well. What happened was people were saying, we don't want that voodoo music in our churches because it put you in a trance and it was just absolutely crazy how the mainstream church was responding to these hippies, these kids. Pastor Chuck, thank God for my pastor. He didn't put restrictions. He knew that you catch a fish before it's cleaned.  Pastor wanted people to be saved and he knew that God would do what he was going to do with that person once he got all of them. That's what really matters. So we hippies, we kids with the long hair and the bare feet and all of that, he didn't tell us to put on shoes. I can still remember Chuck telling the story of how the hippie kids, myself included, would go to church and I did this. When he said it, I remembered it.  I didn't wear shoes for long. I didn't wear shoes when this church first began. I would preach barefooted. I don't wear shoes. I have to. My mother made me. She said, I want to look at your feet, put some shoes on. I didn't wear shoes. I don't wear shoes to this day except when I have to. That's just fact. And so I still remember crossing my legs and my big toe getting caught in the communion cup holder that you have right there. And Chuck spoke about those things and I laughed within because I know that's true because I did that. Haven't put some shoes on there. Soiling our carpets. He didn't get concerned about that. And the church, the church adds to the grace of God all the time. Don't play drums in church. Cut your hair. Make sure women wear dresses. They can't wear pants into church. They can't wear makeup. There's so many rules and regulations that people just put on you so that you look the way they want you to look. But you know what? There was this big thing when kids started getting their tattoos and stuff.  This and that, you know. And yet these kids, so many of them who have all those other marks and all they minister to other kids they see them for who they are and they can talk to them in a way that other people sometimes can't. God opens the door in that way. We need to rejoice when God reaches down and grabs somebody's life and not put shackles on them. They need the word of God. They need authority over them. We all do biblical authority, but we need to walk in the spirit and walk in the grace of God. And when these people are saying they have to keep these laws and they have to receive their Gentiles, they have to receive circumcision. You see, the Gentiles who were called God-fearers would attend synagogue, they would listen to the words that were being taught. They would hold fast to the moral teachings, but they were not full converts because they didn't receive, they didn't submit to the right of circumcision. So now they're saying, how can you know the grace of God if you don't understand the law of God? How can you understand grace in its depth if you haven't gone through the customs and laws that we have in the Old Testament? And that's what's taking place here. Now notice with me that it speaks concerning, in verse five, some of the sect of the Pharisees. Now during the time of Christ, there were people who were part of the Phariseic sect. It's like a religious denomination. And they had come to faith in Christ. In John 1242, it says, among the chief rulers also many believed on him. And when you read concerning some of the men who were followers of Christ, they're identified as Pharisees, like in Academis and Joseph of Arimathen, Paul himself was a Pharisee. He called himself a Pharisee, a Pharisees. I was a chief Pharisee, not just a Pharisee. But unlike Paul, these Pharisees hadn't relinquished the Mosaic tradition. They believed in Jesus' resurrection. They believed that Jesus was Messiah, but they were so ingrained with tradition, they wouldn't let it go. Some traditions aren't easy to let go of. There are different traditions in this church. Some of you may represent what I'm about to say. Now you came from a church where you had miracle seeds that were sold, that you would plant in God would bring an increase, or you had a blessed prayer mat, or you had tearing benches, or you danced in the aisles with your little tambourine. Some came from that. Others come from the background like I did, where you had the infant baptism, prayer to angels and saints, you prayed for the dead, you venerated Mary, you had holy water statues and scapular sacred pictures and all of that. And you get saved, and those things don't necessarily just immediately fall away. For some they do, for others it may take a little while. When my wife first got saved, she continued holding on to some of those things that were part of her tradition. But over time, as she got in the Word of God, she saw that these are the things that I need, this is the one I do need, and those things eventually are dealt with. That's how it works. Sometimes religious habits are hard to break free of. We can think that these things are real expressions of true faith. So they're saying believers need to receive circumcision, they need to keep the law of Moses, and if they don't do this, they really aren't believers in Messiah. It's a very serious situation. So verse six says the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. There's a meeting. Notice it's the leadership, the apostles and elders. So the question is, shall we command Gentiles to become Jews? Again, how can people who've never been under the law of Moses understand the grace of God? So verse seven, when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, men and brethren, you know that a good while ago, God chose among us that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. And so they're not angrily arguing, it's not a loud kind of shout fast. They're actually soberly discussing amongst themselves. They're disputing, they're inquiring. And even amongst the leaders, the solution isn't easily arrived at. Now Paul had spoken earlier of the Gentiles that had come to faith and multitudes had done so. They hadn't been circumcised. Peter had preached the gospel to Gentiles, mentioned named Cornelius. His family and household had become followers of Christ. They weren't converts to Judaism, so the question would be can they really be saved? And that's why Peter rises up and speaks. He shares what the Lord has taught about this. He encourages them and by inference, the church to unity. Notice again in verse seven, he said, men and brethren, you know that a good while ago, God chose. The conversion of Cornelius is what he's referring to. That had happened, it's estimated, some 10 years earlier. 10 years ago, God chose among us that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of God and believe. You know, come to faith, and so he's saying, if you want to determine when and how this started, begin with God and begin with me. God is the one who chose to move among the Gentiles. And of all the apostles, he chose to use me to open the door of heaven to them. Now notice in verse eight how he says, God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us. I want you to look at that with me for a moment. Because when you look at the story of the conversion of Cornelius and his household, it's interesting that Cornelius didn't verbally acknowledge Jesus, but in his heart, he was truly converted. You don't see him verbally stating anything. And the way verse eight, and the way he, God acknowledged them was by giving them the Holy Spirit. I'll develop this with you a little bit. He did for them, Peter is saying, what he did for us, the Jews on the day of Pentecost. Because in Acts 10, 44 through 46, when Cornelius and our were converted, it says while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. So these believing Jews who were there with Peter saw God pour out the same Spirit upon these Gentiles and realized that they were welcomed into the family of God too. But there was no invitation. He didn't say Cornelius and family and friends. Well, somebody's playing an organ.  He didn't do that. I'm not saying you shouldn't do, I do that. When we have invitations, of course I do that. I give people opportunity to come forward, but do they necessarily have to answer an invitation? Well, the Bible doesn't seem to him to say that. What's it say? It says that God knew their hearts. They heard the word and they came to faith in Christ. I give invitation so we can give opportunity for followup. So we can say, you've come forward for Christ, let us help you to go forward in him. It's just, I think our responsibility to do that. But we have people who sit in here every week who give their heart to Christ. I've talked to them. They've come up and they said, I gave my heart to Jesus six years ago. I was in the pews and I opened my heart. That's what happened with Cornelius and his household. Peter didn't say receive Christ because God sovereignly knew their hearts and even as he was speaking, he hadn't come to a conclusion nor an invitation. Even as he was speaking, God saw their heart. Psalm 139, one and two, oh Lord, you've searched me and known me. You know when I sit down, when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. He goes on in verse four of Psalm 139, even before a word is on my tongue, behold, oh Lord, you know it all together.  You know that. Well, Paul makes it clear that there's no distinction, verse nine. No distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Salvation comes by faith for both Jew and Gentile and not, he's saying, by obedience to religious rules. Now, Paul makes it clear that salvation is received through faith. Romans two, 28 and 29. He is not a Jew who has won outwardly nor a circumcision, that which is outward in the flesh, but he's a Jew who has won inwardly. Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter whose praise is not from men but from God. It's the circumcision of the heart. The physical circumcision is really an expression of the internal circumcision of the heart. Abraham is the father of Israel. He lived around 600 years or so before Moses gave the law. He did not receive circumcision according to the law of Moses. Oh, he was circumcised, but he didn't receive circumcision by the law of Moses nor did he have the law of Moses to live by. But Paul speaks of him in chapter four, verse three, when he says, what does scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. The point he's making is the Gentiles were converted. We have been converted in the same way. He says again, in verse nine, he made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now, verse 10, therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? Why are you trying to make them do what we fail that? Why are you giving them the rules and the regulations? We couldn't keep them. Why would you say they should? When he speaks about putting a yoke, that word yoke speaks of the severity of keeping the law of Moses. It's called the Yoke of the Law. And in James two, verse 10, James said it like this. He said, whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. You may not have ever committed adultery, but if you lied, you have broken the whole law because the law demands perfection, perfect obedience. And that's why we need the grace of God because none of us can keep the law. Because if I kept nine of those rules, we'll say, but I broke one, I'm guilty of breaking them all. That's the point he's making. And the Yoke of the Law is a very heavy burden. That's why Matthew 23, four, that's why Jesus said this concerning the Pharisees. He said they tie up heavy loads, put them on men's shoulders. They themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. It's the Yoke, the burden of trying to live a perfect life. And that's why Jesus came. He did for us that which we could never do for ourselves. His invitation is found in Matthew 1129 when he says take my Yoke upon you, learn from me, for I'm gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Without going into a large testimony, I don't have the time nor do I desire and I'm sure you don't want to hear it, but I will say this. I will say that when I gave my heart to Christ and I mentioned First Service this month on a Wednesday night, this month, December 20th is a Wednesday night. I will celebrate on a Wednesday night in a couple of weeks should I live until that point. My 53rd anniversary of coming to faith in Jesus Christ. 53 years. And it wasn't because I was a good person. It was because I was rotten in sin and miserable and tired, tired of hurting people, tired of my addictions, tired of all the things I was doing to break the heart of my family and friends. It wasn't because I was a good person trying hard.  I got arrested this one time. I didn't spend that much time, 27 years. No, I only spent a few hours at LA County, but I was driving drunk. I smashed into a pole, a light signal and they put me in jail. My father came to pick me up. And I was driving home with him. And I turned to my father and I said this. I said, I remember, I looked at my dad. I was 19 years old and I said, I'm sick. My dad tried to get me help, sent me to a psychologist. My problem wasn't just mental. My problem was spiritual. I was a miserable, lost, broken-hearted, addicted kid. You didn't know what love was. Didn't know what joy was. Didn't know what being faithful was.  And you could have told me all day long because my dad did. I believe that you son, you'll be all right. No, I won't. Because you don't get better over time. You fall deeper. I needed salvation. I already had a religious faith, but I needed to know Jesus. And so if you would have made me go to church and made me do certain prayers and maybe that would not have changed me. It did not change me. But when you told me that God loved me and he had forgiveness and grace for me and it wasn't works that I would do but his love and mercy towards me that would transform me. That was such a great offer. I couldn't resist it and that's how I got saved when I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so I heard a gospel that God would forgive me of every one of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness and it wasn't by my works it was by the work he did through Christ and I yielded my life to him and this year, this month, 53 years later I have never regretted that. That's how it works. Finally, a couple thoughts and we'll close. I've been with Calvary for a long time and I was on a board with Pastor Chuck. I still am on the board. Chuck Smith had put me on a board with it was called the CCOF board. We oversaw all the Calvary chapels in the world.  It's like a reunion in some ways because there's guys from the east and from the south and we're all together in the room and kind of talking amongst ourselves and we'd be talking maybe laughing and then Pastor Chuck would walk in and when Chuck walked in, all of this even though we're old men, passers-in-churches many of us, you know, we're not young but when Chuck would walk in we'd all immediately add a respect for Chuck, just be quiet. And Chuck would walk in and he'd say, hi boys, I always call this boys, hi boys, how you doing? He'd come and he'd sit down. And everybody'd be quiet and then somebody always would say this, Chuck, what are you concerned about? What would be the number one thing that you want us to be aware of? What are you concerned about? And he always quoted this scripture, Galatians 3.3. What am I concerned about? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? What am I concerned about? I'm concerned that we could begin to add to the grace of God works and in doing so stifle the work of God amongst us. That's what I'm concerned about. May we walk in the spirit of God. May we wake up in the morning and say, Father, here am I used to be.  Lord, I'm gonna wanna do your work. If I'm given opportunity, help me not to add to the gospel of grace. Help me to share what is true. And so it finally closes, and I'll close by saying this, all the multitude, verse 12, kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul, declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. They had listened to the apostle Peter. Now Paul and Barnabas are speaking, they're sharing, but this time they give special emphasis to the works of God, the miracles. Jesus had worked miracles, Jews had received miracles, so had the Gentiles. It's an evidence that God is working among them. And the testimony of these pillars of the church settles the concern, and the decision is about to be made. And we'll look at that decision when we gather together next Sunday.


Hello people, I'm Ginny Metherall and I am a fourth generation witch. Today I want to talk about Magical sleep. Sleep is something that eludes so many of us So I want to discuss varying ways which you can use magic and witchcraft to help you get a better night's kip Today's video is kindly sponsored by Zamat who sent me one of their pillows in order for me to give them an honest review So here it is I've got it here Let's have a look Love parcels The pillow that they sent me was the chilling cue and it arrived very quickly In fact, I got it in about two days. It was incredibly well wrapped and once I'd got through everything It looked like this A lot bigger Than I thought it was. I'm gonna try this out tonight. So I'll let you know So this is a memory foam pillow and it comes with its own pillowcase, which I'm unzipping here Inside is the pillow protector this level and then you can take or remove extra wads of memory foam Depending on how high or low you like your pillow It has a pop-up button in the middle to secure the pillow case in place And this blue area that you see is where it's supposed to be a cool area And this I'm most interested in because I'm incredibly hot so I tried the pillow out last night and I went to sleep with it then and My first impressions were which is extremely comfortable. I enjoyed using it My second thoughts are is that the chilling cue pillow is chilling and so I'm quite impressed In the morning. I found that my back was quite well supported. My only issue is I don't like the color But that of course is easily changed Xamart have given me a 15% discount for all my followers So should you wish to purchase a pillow do use the code GINNY15 at the checkout If you click on the link in the description box below, this will take you straight through to their website We spend so much of our lives asleep And so it is really important to try and get as much use from that sleep as possible It is through sleep that we regenerate not just our bodies but our energy Now what I mean by that is that we're regenerating our magical power So it's very important So tonight I'm going to show you how to improve your dream state and get that perfect connection through varying methods So lots of people start by having a bath and within the bath they'll put some flower petals Some essential oils, they might like some candles or play soothing music All of this ritual is of course incredibly worth it However it's not necessarily helping your magical energy Let's look at some very definite ways in which you can really work this The first one is to create a sacred space Now lots of people like to create a sacred space in different ways I personally want to enhance the atmosphere of my room Placing a bunch of flowers by your bed is one of the easiest ways to do this So you can hail their scent as you sleep Nature is abundant with flowers and plants and all of which have great use I personally like to use lavender as a dried form underneath my pillow Because when you inhale the scents of lavender it really helps to perfume your mind with sleep It is known as a sleeping herb As much as eating lettuces, that is why Peter Rabbit first sleep in Mr. McGregor's garden after eating lettuce It's a soporific Other great herbs that you can use are yarrow Which is known in my family as the witch's herb because it's almost a panacea for all things great One of my other favourite herbs to use is valerian Just dry the flowers and place them in a sachet underneath your pillow for you to inhale as you sleep This is one of the easiest ways to help you really take advantage of those 8 hours a night Other ways that you might find herbs useful to help you fall asleep is to take them as a tea For example mugwort tea or chamomile tea I personally don't find that either of these work but that's because I don't actually like the taste And I reckon that if you don't like the taste of something then it tends not to tune with your body so much Other people certainly like to use crystals Crystals just need to be in your environment They don't necessarily need to be touching you But it does have, you know, there are more potent of their closer The more you have of them as well is the greater the potency So if you can create a circle of crystals around you then this will really help to gain their necessary energies This is why I sometimes wear a rose quartz necklace at night Rose quartz is incredibly loving and has a great sort of calmness energy to it And this is perfect should you wish to sleep Next, why don't you infuse the air with the essence of enchantment I love a rose and so a rose-centred candle is almost always lit every night before I go to bed Or you can make your own sweet dreams incense blend and I'm using lavender and rose Beautiful Now it is important to remember that in order to produce a safe environment for you to sleep and dream in You need to have no negative energy around you I would suggest that you use incense sticks or just sticks as we English call them Around and especially underneath your bed Remember, monsters live underneath the bed and this is not just a fabrication of children's minds When you sleep your magical energy is replenishing and cleansing itself And so negative energies tends to drop from you And of course this drops down and it tends to pull under the bed Now this can attract all sorts of monsters under the bed So therefore very important do get that smoke sticks underneath your bed area and really cleanse it You can also cleanse your own aura before you go I often find this makes me feel lighter I don't want to dream of bad stuff And in fact it's a bit of a red flag if I'm having nightmares This means there's something not good happening I mean sort of uncomfortable dreams, that's probably fine But nightmares, actual nightmares, massive red flag Other crystals I like to use are things like selenite, the moon crystal Labradorite, it's terribly protective and that's great for really keeping you safe whilst you're sleeping Because when you sleep and when you dream, this is actually when you astrally travel You're off there, seeing the world, other worlds, whoever And this is the times that you can make some really profound understandings of what is going on in the world However there's one thing about dreaming this, as they say, and another of actually remembering it Keeping a dream journal is also incredibly useful Dreams show us not just aspects of the universe that we can't see necessarily during the day But also it can show us the future, I often dream of the future And the only reason I know that I'm dreaming of the future is because I write it down And then when I get to that part of the future I'm like, oh yeah, it's in my book So I cannot recommend highly enough dream journaling, it really does help Casting a spell just before you go to sleep is also a very useful and innovative way Of helping you achieve your dreams, literally So here is what I would say before I go to sleep As I close my eyes and enter my dream world, I call upon the magic within me To guide my way, reveal to me the mysteries that my soul seeks to know And that is a perfect incantation to say when you go to bed The clearer the dream that you have tends to mean that that dream is you interacting either with people now Or with future events, and so do write it down because you'll find that you will be dreaming of the future This is why Native Americans have dream catches, it is an important part of the witchcraft culture I do journal my dreams as much as I possibly can because as Oscar Wilde said It's important to have something interesting to read on the train Let me know in the comments how you prepare for a magical sleep I mean there are so many different variants of it, this is my personal view and how I do it So I'd love to hear your thoughts Otherwise, don't forget, I've got my blog going, GinnyMetherall.co.uk Go and have a read of that I'll put a blog off about dreams quite shortly I should imagine My monthly covering meeting will be coming up around the 20th of August So do go to patreon.com forward slash GinnyMetherall in order to check that out It's really good fun and you will learn so much, I promise Otherwise, I really need you to like and subscribe because that supports this channel And really enables me to carry on making these videos for you Otherwise, I will see you in a very short time Thank you


Hey YouTube, DroneTech here. Our favorite outrage actor, Don Lemon, has found another horrible example of racism in America from 1993. In their push to incite more hatred and more division and more paranoia, CNN has gone looking for old blackface pictures and various yearbooks so they can continue a narrative that America is still as racist as it was 200 years ago. This time they managed to find a Baton Rouge police yearbook from 1993, showing two white officers disguised as either drug dealers or gang members, I can't really tell, for operations in the field. Now clearly this is not blackface, okay?  That's blackface. Conversely, this is just two officers who've got to get creative to bust criminals in a city that just happens to be a majority black.  I find it interesting that Don Lemon portrays this like it's such a serious issue yet ignores the fact that in this country, 13% of the country is responsible for half of all violent crime. That would be black Americans. In Baton Rouge, 87% of the murder victims are black men and 96% of the perpetrators of those murders are black men. That might actually provide some relevant context to this narrative, however, Mr. Lemon isn't doing any of this for the betterment of black people. He's doing this for the purposes of political propaganda. That's it. And for me, this one is close to home. That actually happened in my hometown. Sinin has obtained a 1993 police yearbook photo of two white Baton Rouge Louisiana police officers dressed in blackface for an undercover field operation. You heard that right. The article says officers were initially made up in blackface to conduct a sting operation. That operation targeted people in Baton Rouge attempting to buy drugs. One of the officers in blackface even boasted to the newspaper about his racist disguise. He said, not only do they not know where cops, they don't even know where white. Make no mistake. These cops were proud of what they did. First of all, what automatically makes these disguises racist? Again, if they had on shoe polish and had big red lips or something like that and they were dancing around all goofy, I'd agree with you. But these are just cops trying to bust drug dealers and gang members. Don Lemon tries to make this argument that they should have just used black cops, but maybe black cops just weren't available at the time. Maybe these two guys were just the best guys for the job at the time.  What I have a serious problem with is Don Lemon's insistence that this is racist. And there's no other way that this could possibly be perceived. To make things worse, he starts smearing the cops and mocking them for obviously being proud of what they did. Why shouldn't they be proud, Don Lemon? They put on a disguise and they risked their lives to try and make your hometown a better place. It's quite clear that as a millionaire in America, Don Lemon is truly a victim of the white supremacist system. It's really nauseating watching this privileged hypocrite lecture law enforcement about how they should do their jobs. Later during the segment, Don Lemon goes on to suggest the department should hire more black people to get a better representation of the population. The problem for Lemon is that they've been trying to diversify the department for years, but apparently there's just not enough black people in the city that want to be police officers. Of course, Don Lemon talks us up to racism, but doesn't tell you that all the leadership of this police department is black. One thing is for sure, CNN and people like Don Lemon will continue whipping up this racial paranoia and racial division as long as people are watching them. Turn off your TV.


You may have seen products like this before. There's a big, well-known brand out there called Ridge Wallet that absolutely crushing it. They're making a ton of money. It's a metal debit card, credit card holder, and you can like pop your credit cards out. There's a little kind of strap that holds your cash. Basically it's like a modern world alternative to the old school leather or wallet. There's quite a few reasons then why I think this product has so much potential. Number one, if we look at the order numbers, the total sales closing in on nearly a million dollars, over 50,000 orders, and we can see that there's been a massive increase in popularity. Also, with the way that the world is going, so if we have a look at on the search term of metal wallet here on Google Trends, this is, there's been a slow and steady increase in popularity. In terms of my strategy then, if you can get something that looks similar and does a very similar job, but charge say 30, 40, 50 pounds, then I think there's a gap in the market for somebody to be doing that.