Rwy'n credu i ddweud o cwestiynau ddiogel. Diolch yn fawr, Mary Evans. Rydw i'n cael ei gwrsiau, ond y bydd y rai oedd ddweud o'r gofynau sydd wedi'i gafod i'r gafod o'r bwysig iawn ddwyb yn ddweud o'r pwysgolodau a'r ddweud o'r bwysig iawn. Ie ddwyng mwynt y bydd ygafod o'r gafod o'r gafod o'r gafod o'r gafod o'r gafod o'r gafod argaen nhw ddig cakesen am gyllid yn ddig dependinguig o charles, i bob hwn i gweld ar gyfer iawn a yw cael ei edrych i gyflwyno cywir i gyflwyno. Rwy'n amrydd o maes syniad yn eich lleol i ddatblygu i gyflwyno ein bod chi'n amryd yn eu cyflwyno am gyllid, ac mae nhw'n iddyntio'r lleol a'u rhan oedd yr unig ac yn sylfaen i gael i'r lleol i gyflwyno i gael i gael i gael i gael i sefydliadol ar gyfer iawn. Rwy'n employedag i gyflwyno i ddigcasio ar gyflwyno i wrth hyn mae'n gweithio i nhw'r ganfer o gweithio edrydolach, wir ydweithio'r gwaith ystod gan y olygu yn dŷmwysigon a fyddwch o'r lleiwyr llygfa iawn yn ei ddeithaswr. Mae Rheu Pan senseiwyr ynhowodd yn y dryf yn gweithio ei fod yn gwahanol o haul장ol yn gweithio a'u groesfynig yn dŷmwysigon yn ei ddeithaswr, ac yn gweithio'r gwaith o'r geithweithio'r geithwyr yn ni'n gweld yn cael y cyfnod agel Hyunu yn ôl i'r monitor a trac pupil progress apropretly? I have listened very carefully to the arguments and points around the presence of unit assessments, which were, of course, applied to the new qualifications by agreement across the education system. The changes that I have announced to national 5 and higher, which I will be putting to the curriculum for excellence management board tomorrow, are part of a package of measures designed to address unnecessary bureaucracy and, crucially, to liberate teachers to concentrate on teaching and to change the balance between assessment and learning within the education system, so that more time is allocated to be able to concentrate on the learning experience. The whole issue of quality assessment is intrinsic to the undertaking and exercising of teacher judgment in our education system, which is the crucial part of curriculum for excellence, and it is important that that principle is made central to the delivery of education within Scotland's schools. Iain Gray The cabinet secretary's reform of school governance suggests a new funding formula for schools. What guarantee can he give us that no school will see a real-terms reduction in their budget as a result? The purpose of the funding formula is to ensure that we see an effective deployment of resources where resources are required to support attainment within our schools. I would have thought that that is a principle that the Labour Party would have supported, given what it has said to Parliament before about the importance of ensuring that there is adequate and effective support to ensure that we close the attainment gap within Scotland's education. The Government, of course, has put proposals to Parliament, which are currently under consideration by Parliament, for the increase of resources to be available to education through the rebanding of the council tax. I hope that the Labour Party is able to support us in that measure to ensure that we can ensure that new resources are able to be allocated to Scottish education, which is what I thought the Labour Party believed in. Tama Scott This morning at the Parliament's education committee, the Royal Society of Edinburgh suggested that separating the inspectorate from the policy advice that is given by Education Scotland would be an important reform to further education in Scotland. Does the cabinet secretary agree? John Swinney Mr Scott has raised that issue before. I am interested in what the Royal Society of Edinburgh has said at the committee this morning. The Government's review, as Mr Scott will know, sets out the issues that have to be considered about the range of national bodies that have an involvement in the improvement of education. In my view, the functions of Education Scotland—whether that is its role as the inspectorate or the role in relation to educational development—are both focused on the improvement of the quality of Scottish education. I will, of course, consider any representations that are made to me through the consultation exercise, whether from the Royal Society of Edinburgh or from Mr Scott, on that particular question. Question 2, Gil Paterson. Gil Paterson Many thanks, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the Attainment Scotland fund. Cabinet Secretary More than 300 primary schools across 21 local authority areas were supported in 2015-16 to the Scottish Attainment fund. £11.7 million was allocated to seven challenge authorities with the greatest concentration of primary-aged children living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland. A further £2.5 million was allocated to 57 schools across 14 local authorities through the Attainment Scotland fund schools programme. Following the election, we expanded the Scottish Attainment fund to £750 million over the next five years. That has allowed us to double the funding for our existing challenge authorities and schools programme to £50 million per year, extending the reach of the challenge to include secondary schools and two additional challenge authorities. From financial year 2017-18, the additional £100 million per year that will be raised each year from our council tax reforms will be allocated directly to schools with headteachers given the freedom to invest the extra resources in the ways that they consider will have the biggest impact on raising attainment in their schools. Gil Paterson I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Can the cabinet secretary outline whether every school in Scotland will benefit from the attainment fund within the lifetime of this Parliament thereby allowing every child to directly benefit from this additional educational spend? The Scottish Attainment challenge is about achieving equity in educational outcomes with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. The supporting attainment Scotland fund is targeted at the significant number of children in Scotland whose educational outcomes are adversely affected by poverty. Therefore, funding has been directed at those schools and authorities with the highest levels of deprivation. In 2017-18, that will be extended to all schools who have children who are eligible for free school meals, extending the reach much more widely across Scotland. Liz Smith I ask the cabinet secretary for some clarification on that last point about the free school meals. In primaries 1 to 3, all children are liable for free school meals. Does he intend therefore to use the existing measure, or will there be some new adjustment to that? I would make two points in response to Liz Smith. Clearly, there is a well-established methodology for the calculation of entitlement to free school meals, and that is one measure that the Government could use in this respect. That is what the Government set out in our manifesto that we would do. The second point that I would make is that I have made it clear to interested parties that if there is viewed to be a more effective measurement that would target resources to address deprivation across Scotland, I am prepared to consider that measure. In the absence of any alternative, I think that the eligibility for free school meals is the most robust and reliable mechanism that we have available to us to determine that eligibility. Ivan McKee To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on making it mandatory to train teachers about inclusive education. Presiding Officer, the standard for full registration managed by the General Teaching Council for Scotland requires all teachers to show in their day-to-day practice a commitment to social justice, inclusion and caring for and protecting children. The Scottish Government will work with the General Teaching Council for Scotland to provide more support to teachers on equality issues by August 2017. In addition, we will require all new guidance and promoted teachers, and eventually all teachers, to undertake training so that they are confident in tackling prejudice-based bullying in schools. We will also ensure that schools address the important issues that LGBTI young people face and that teachers have the skills, knowledge and confidence to embed inclusive approaches in their schools. Ivan McKee I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. The cabinet secretary will be aware that the Scottish Government strategy in this area is to issue LGBT inclusive guidance to schools and local authorities, but there is currently no requirement for schools to deliver on this. There is clear evidence from research conducted by the TIE campaign that this approach leads to a situation whereby some schools are LGBT inclusive and others are not. Can the Scottish Government advise as to whether there are plans to rectify this in order to ensure that all schools are delivering an LGBT inclusive education? Ivan McKee First of all, I agree wholeheartedly with the aspiration that Mr McKee set out in the latter part of his question that it is vital that in every school in the country there is an ability and a capability to ensure that LGBTI issues are dealt with properly and effectively and that any young people who are in any way prejudiced in this respect are supported and that unacceptable practice is tackled. We address this mainly through the guidance that is available to schools. The principal area of this guidance is the relationship, sexual health and parenthood education materials that are made available to schools. The Government is currently reviewing our national approach to anti-bullying for Scotland's children and young people. We want to make sure that that guidance is relevant and current for all schools within Scotland. There is a wide dialogue being undertaken with LGBTI groups to ensure that the work that is undertaken to review the guidance is effective and that it creates the approach that I wholeheartedly agree with Mr McKee has got to be the case in any school in our country. Research by the Thai campaign published earlier this month suggested that 90 per cent of LGBT pupils had experienced homophobia and that 42 per cent had attempted to commit suicide. Following on from the questions by Ivan McKee, when mandatory training and guidance can be issued to schools on identifying radicalisation in the classroom, why can't such a similar mechanism for identifying homophobia and bullying in the classroom also be rolled out? The approach in this respect, as I have said to Mr McKee, is to ensure that schools are properly and fully equipped with the trained personnel and the guidance to ensure that those issues can be handled properly. It is intolerable that young people should face bullying of any description in our schools and it is particularly intolerable that young people should experience any homophobic bullying. The guidance that the Government issues and the approach that we take in relation to teacher training is designed to ensure that that is the approach that is taken in all schools in the country. I welcome the commitment to roll out training by August 17, but that is quite a long time away and we know that only 55 per cent of teachers are aware of the current guidance that is in place. Today, the time for inclusive education campaign has a very simple ask. They are looking for our help, they are asking MSPs to sign the campaign pledge. It takes a couple of seconds to do so on Twitter and I am really pleased that across the chamber a number of MSPs have already done so. Can I ask the Scottish Government if members of the education front bench will be doing the same today? I think that it would send a very important signal to the TIE campaign and to young people in the classroom. I have put on the record my position in relation to LGBTI issues and any existence of bullying. I will look at the material that Monica Lennon has drawn to my attention today, but let me re-emphasise from the education front bench that the Government's absolute determination to ensure that we do everything that we can to support young people who are in any way affected by prejudice-based bullying and to ensure that we have the proper support in place in our schools to enable that to be the case. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the cabinet secretary for his responses. When he is looking at the guidelines and schemes going forward, would he also look at bullying for disabled people within our schools? There seems to be an under-reporting of this particular bullying for the disabled community who have been mainstreamed. I think that there is a concern among many disabled groups that it is simply going un-reported and that teachers are not able, at the moment, to give appropriate education for both obvious disability and also hidden disability. I think that the issues that I have covered already in my answer are as relevant than dealing with Mr Balfour's important question, as they have been in relation to the issues for the LGBTI community. I said in my first answer that the Government is intolerant of any bullying and we must make sure that schools are equipped to support young people who are in any way affected by whatever the circumstances or the excuse for the bullying that is put forward. I have seen myself in different schools in the country, a tremendous empathy and support for young people with disabilities. I do not doubt the existence of concerns that Mr Balfour has raised in Parliament today. I have also seen myself tremendous practice within our schools to support young people with disabilities and to ensure that they are effectively assisted in every way that we can do. However, I will certainly make sure that the guidance that is brought forward is comprehensive, effective and meets the needs of young people who are the victims of bullying, regardless of the excuse that is levelled for that bullying. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to help and support students from Scotland who want to study elsewhere in the UK EU. In 2014-15, we launched a pilot project to support Scottish domiciled undergraduates to attend a number of universities in other EU countries. Students taking part do not pay tuition fees are an entitled to apply for the same living cost support as those studying in Scotland. We also provide support for a small number of postgraduate students to study at selected European higher education institutions. The Scottish Government also continues to support the Erasmus Plus programme and the British Council's international association for the exchange of students for technical experience programmes. Over the last four years, with much funding from universities, colleges and students associations, the Scottish Government has invested over £500,000 through its outward mobility fund to support 50 projects and over 600 student places of varying duration and type in Europe, Canada, China, USA and India. The Scottish Government's portability pilot is due to run until the end of academic year 2016-17. Constituents who have contacted the student awards agency Scotland have been informed that, because of possible constraints as a result of the EU referendum result, we cannot at present state our funding position for any new students starting undergraduate degrees from 2017-18. Given that Scottish Domicile students studying at eligible European universities can apply for the same bursary and loan support as students attending university in Scotland, what steps will the Government take to ensure that this very valuable link to Europe for future generations of young Scots will remain open? As I said in my initial answer to Mr McDonald, this is a pilot project and it is due to end with the 2016-17 intake of students and we will then evaluate it. I should be clear that all students currently taking part and those beginning an eligible course this year will be supported to complete their whole studies. Before confirming the continuation of the pilot, it is important, however, that we do assess the overall impact of the programme and its success. As part of that, we will obviously look at the potential impact on Brexit of student mobility in Europe, but the member should be reassured that we will continue to want Scottish students to play their full part in the European Union to study and to seek benefit from that wherever that particular programme will be. He can at least be assured that this Government will continue to want Scottish students to play a full part in the European Union. Encourage the minister to address the issue of college students who will be needed more in apprentice skills, because if Brexit happens in the way in which we believe it may happen, then the number of apprentices we need, particularly in the construction industry, is going to become more so. We should undertake to look into that with the respective colleges in order to ensure that the growth of apprentices continues to happen in order to meet those skills needs that are very clear in the industry across Scotland now. Tavish Scott raises a very important point about the implications for Brexit and the requirements for the economies. The construction sector is one of those parts. Apprenticeships have played a very important part in the Scottish Government's commitment to its offerings for young people, and we, of course, have made a commitment to increase the number of apprenticeships. Construction will play a very, very important part. I take the points that Tavish Scott has made today on board. To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that there are equality of admissions to university places for people who meet the entrance requirements. As autonomous institutions universities are ultimately responsible for their own admissions procedures and decisions. That said, we invest more than £51 million every year to support around 7,000 places targeted on disadvantaged learners and those progressing from college. We have also welcomed the final report of the commission on widening access, which commented extensively on how admissions could be made fairer. We will continue to work closely with the university sector on how best to take forward the implementation of the commission's recommendations. Willie Coffey. For that answer, I understand that there is little or no centralized data showing where the successful and in particular the unsuccessful applicants come from who actually meet the entrance requirements for courses such as medicine, law and dentistry. Is that something that the Government will seek to address as it takes forward the attainment agenda to ensure that equality of access is achieved? Although data on entrance to university by social economic background is available, the widening access commission recognised the need for enhanced data and analysis on access is required. My officials are therefore working with the Scottish Funding Council to deliver the commission's recommendations for better monitoring of fair access at key stages of the learner journey, including applications, offers and acceptances to universities. We are working closely with the sector and the Scottish Funding Council to progress the commission's recommendations on admissions, and I hope that that will address Willie Coffey's concerns on that point. The final report of the commission for widening access was widely welcomed across this chamber. With that in mind, could the minister confirm what steps have been taken to appoint a commissioner for fair access and when we might expect a commissioner to be imposed? That was a very important part of the commission's recommendations, and the Government is keen to make an appointment on that. It has to be the right appointment. We want somebody who can challenge not just the sector but the Government, so we are looking for someone who will independently scrutinise both ourselves and what is happening within the wider university sector. We hope to make an appointment on that soon, but it is important that we can speak to a number of people and continue to do so until we are very sure that we have the right person to not only hold this Government to account, but the rest of the sector as well. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the implications of Brexit for the college sector. The Scottish Government is determined to protect our place in Europe and will explore all options to do so. The UK vote to leave the EU presents a period of uncertainty for our education sector, including our colleges. The Scottish funding council and other partner bodies, such as Skills Development Scotland, is working to establish the potential impact on the sector in terms of EU funding, EU students and EU staff. We will also expect agencies to work with the college sector to explore opportunities to continue its relationship with Europe and to seek ways to mitigate the potential impacts at this time of great change. Graham Dey. I thank the minister for that answer. The minister will be aware from a recent visit there of the success story that is Dundee and Angus college. However, the progress-made post-regionalisation now faces being undermined by Brexit, with the college confronted by the loss of £2 million annually in ESF and ERDF funding as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU. Can I ask her if there are any specific steps that the Scottish Government can take to try to protect the college sector from the ravages of Brexit? As the member said, I did very much enjoy my visit to the college during the summer recess and saw firsthand what is going on within the college, both at an employability and had a chance to speak to EU students while I was there. Of course, our ability to fully assess the different options will be constrained with regard to Brexit until we start to gain some clarity about what the UK Government is actually seeking to achieve themselves. As I have mentioned to the member of the Scottish Funding Council, we will work with both colleges and universities to success the impact. I will continue to discuss those issues with colleges and universities to ensure that I am fully appraised of the referendum result and how we can ensure that Scotland's colleges and universities remain attractive and enhance their competitiveness in the global education market. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the provision of physical education and extracurricular activity in schools is encouraging children to lead active and healthy lifestyles. Quality physical education provides young people and children with the fundamental competencies and skills necessary for lifelong participation in sport and physical activity. 98 per cent of primary and secondary pupils across Scotland are now providing at least two hours or two periods of PE a week. That is a key part of our sport strategy for children and young people, giving children and young people a sporting chance in their future life. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The reality is that there is a decreasing number of opportunities for all youngsters to participate in that school PE has a very limited time allocated to it and, warningly, is being squeezed out of the curriculum more and more. Time allocated to PE is advisory rather than compulsory and in many cases the school gates are shut at 4pm and therefore access to facilities is cut off. Increasingly, clubs now have waiting lists and we are turning away many who are eager to take part. Will the Government look at opening up school facilities after school hours across the country to give children an accessible opportunity to get active? First, I say to Mr Whittle that I am just a little bit perplexed by the doom-laden character of his question. I said in my initial answer that 98 per cent of primary and secondary schools across Scotland are providing at least two hours or two periods of PE a week. That is a significant improvement on what used to be the position in the country. The second point that I would make is that Mr Whittle comes here and complains about the difficulties of school opening hours. Maybe his party has been a great advocate of PFI. PFI arrangements for schools have been one of the significant factors that restricts the availability and opening of schools by nature of the restrictions of the contracts. Thirdly, I witness across the country a tremendous amount of voluntary energy and enthusiasm given to encourage our young people to be active and healthy. Nobody obliges the primary school that my son goes to to take part in the daily mile, but they do, because of the enthusiasm and the energy of teaching staff. I know that Mr Whittle has a lot of interest and enthusiasm for encouraging children to lead active and healthy lifestyles, and I share his aspiration, but I encourage him to be slightly more positive and express in the point of view. Bob Doris. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Cabinet Secretary, in relation to the daily mile that my question refers to, can you give an update on the progress in rolling out the daily mile, not just in primary schools and other schools but also in pre-school provision and whether could benefit in terms of addressing the attainment gap also by getting young people more physically active? The Government is committed to Scotland becoming the first daily mile nation since the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Life, Learning and Health and Well being roped to all-head teachers in Scotland in November 2015 to inform them of this initiative. At least 800 primary schools in Scotland—41 per cent of the total number—are now participating in the daily mile programme, adapting the basic idea to meet their own circumstances. I would highlight that point to Mr Doris and to other members, including to Mr Whittle, that in the space of periods since November 2015, 41 per cent of primary schools in Scotland have adopted the daily mile or adapted it to their programme, which I think is a welcome indication of progress on physical activity in our schools. To ask the Scottish Government what the mechanism will be for distributing moneys from the attainment Scotland fund to schools. During the first two years of the Scottish attainment challenge, we used the Scottish index of multiple deprivation, which is a long-established set of indicators that shows levels of deprivation in communities across Scotland to identify the authorities in schools with the greatest concentration of school-age children living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland. That mechanism has been used to allocate funding through our existing challenge authorities and schools programme to more than 300 primary schools and 100 secondary schools across 21 local authorities. We secured a mandate at the recent election to raise an additional £100 million per year through our council tax reforms, specifically for raising educational attainment. Our manifesto proposes that this additional funding should be allocated directly to schools based on eligibility for free school meals from 2017-18. We are engaging with local government representatives in COSLA, the Association of Directors of Education and the Society of Local Authorities Chief Executives, on the key principles underpinning this additional £100 million, and those discussions will inform the approach to determining eligibility and distribution of the funds. Ross Thomson, I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Given that the money will be removed from council grants to spend nationally elsewhere, what percentage of this funding will be spent in the north-east of Scotland and can the cabinet secretary guarantee that disadvantaged pupils in the region will not lose out? I say two things to Mr Thomson. The first is that all council tax income that is raised in all local authority areas will be retained in those local authority areas. The second point that I would like to say to Mr Thomson is that the mechanism that I set out in my answer, which is the utilisation of the eligibility for free school meals, is designed to ensure—that is a development from our existing position of using the Scottish index of multiple deprivation—that the free school meals entitlement to eligibility is designed to ensure that we reach every young person who is living in poverty to ensure that they receive the support to which they are entitled, regardless of the part of the country in which they live. I thank the cabinet secretary for that last answer. Can he provide reassurance to local authorities across Scotland that what they raise in council tax will stay in their local authority area? I am happy to give that confirmation that all council tax revenue that is raised in all local authority areas will be retained in those local authority areas. That is the principle of local authority taxation, and that is what will continue after the reforms that we have undertaken. Cabinet Secretary is saying exactly the same thing as Derek Mackay said last week. Yes, it is consistent, but it is slightly misleading. It is accurate to say that councils will retain all the council tax that they raise, but the money will be clawed back through a cut in grants. The question for Mr Swinney is whether the cut in grants in particular areas will be more than is raised in council tax. I think that Mr Simpson rather gets the wrong end of the stick here. The £100 million is going to be new revenue that is raised. It is going to be raised and will be part of the council tax that is raised in every local authority area. As is normal practice in all aspects of local government finance, which has been the case throughout time—certainly for all the time I have ever had to do with local authority finance—the level of revenue support grant for individual local authorities is a product of how much is raised in council tax and non-domestic rates in local authority areas into the bargain. Mr Simpson should be reassured that all the money raised in council tax in every local authority area will be retained in that local authority area. I hope that that allows him to sleep a bit easier in his bed tonight, as a consequence of that absolute clarity. The point is that COSLA is absolutely clear that what we are seeing is local finances being pulled back, with £100 million taken back, and then redistributed across Scotland. It is a playway words, but the truth is that you are taking council tax monies off local authorities because you are taking £100 million off their grant, and you are telling them that they can make up that up by raising council tax. I think that we have to have a degree of pulling together and working together in terms of transparency around this. There are two very distinct parts of the Government's commitments on local authority taxation. The first is in relation to the rebanding of the council tax and the extension of the ban, of an order of which is currently being considered by Parliament. There is also the Government's manifesto commitment to enable local authorities to raise the council tax by 3 per cent, entirely separate from the process of the rebanding exercise. Mr Mackay and I were just talking about the issue with COSLA at one of our regular meetings this morning in relation to those questions. There are two separate processes under way here, and Mr Rowley has been a leader of a local authority in the past. He knows the way that local authority France is working. Revenue support grant is a product of the amount of revenue that is raised by local authorities in council tax and non-domestic rates, and revenue support grant is influenced by the factors that are generated by the amount of revenue that is raised by those to sources of local authority income. What contribution improving support at school for young children with autism will make towards meeting its ambition to close the educational attainment gap? Our ambition is to deliver equity and excellence for all children and young people, supporting them to reach their full potential, including those that are affected by autism. The additional support for learning act provides the legal framework for the identification of provision for and review of personalised support for children and young people who face barriers to learning, including those arising from autism. In order to help schools to meet the needs of those pupils, the Scottish Government has supported the development of the autism toolbox published in 2014. The toolbox provides guidance on the planning and support of pupils and training of staff, as well as sharing examples of best practice. The toolbox also provides a forum for continually updating and disseminating good practice. Thank you for that answer, cabinet secretary. In recent months, I have had a number of families in my constituency raised concerns over the support that is available for children, particularly as the transition from nursery school into primary one, where a presumption of mainstreaming applies, but not always backed up with the support that is required. I am concerned that a lack of support may impact on the educational attainment of some of their most vulnerable children. I suspect that that is not isolated to Glasgow. As part of addressing the attainment gap, will the cabinet secretary review how local authorities provide such support for vulnerable children? I certainly believe that the framework that we have in place, and certainly the legislative framework that is in place from the additional support for learning act, should provide and address exactly the point that has been made by Mr Doris, but I am very happy to look at particular examples and experience that he has had to try to ensure that that is the case. Fundamentally, we have an obligation as a Government and as a public sector to work to get it right for every child in Scotland. That means about meeting the needs of young people, wherever there are circumstances, and young people with autism will have particular support requirements. All public authorities in the responsibilities that they exercise should take due account of that within the legislative framework of the additional support for learning act. However, if Mr Doris would care to write to him about any further detail about that, I would be happy to explore that on his behalf. To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the progress of its education governance review. I launched the governance review on 13 September, and it will run until 6 January 2017. The governance review is an opportunity to engage in a positive debate. We want to hear from children, young people, parents, teachers, practitioners and the wider community. We want to hear from those with a formal role in our education system and those who share a stake in its success. I will, of course, update Parliament following the conclusion of the review to set out the Government's actions in relation to the consultation exercise. The cabinet secretary will be well aware that the statutory responsibility in these matters lies with education authorities and a number of those authorities in the north and northeast of Scotland are already working together to address joint concerns in particular around the recruitment and retention of teachers. Will the Government, in looking at those matters, consider shifting the focus of its workforce planning from simply focusing on the national picture to focusing on the individual needs of individual education authorities in meeting their objectives in the recruitment and retention of teaching staff? I think that Mr MacDonald raises a very significant point. The experience of what has emerged as the Northern Alliance of authorities in the area of the country when part of the area that Mr MacDonald represents and into Highland and the island communities is a welcome example of local authorities collaborating together to find solutions to common problems. Teacher recruitment is one of those issues, but there are others. I might also add ways of enhancing educational provision as a consequence of collaboration between local authorities. That type of working is very much what is in my mind in relation to the issues that I raised in the consultation exercise around the regional education boards and the collaborations that we have talked about in that respect. That, of course, enables solutions to be developed, which might meet, for example, the teacher recruitment challenges that we face in the north of Scotland. I think that Mr MacDonald raises a very thoughtful point in relation to the consultation exercise, which I look further to hearing more from him about and from the other authorities that he represents. To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the condition of college buildings. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Funding Council to advise ministers on the condition of college buildings. The SFFC undertook an assessment of college estates in 2014 and refreshed that exercise earlier this year. Can I thank the minister for that answer? Audit Scotland reported that Scotland's colleges face major funding challenges in financing capital improvements to their estate. The Scottish Funding Council study that the minister referred to looked at a third of the college sector and estimated that it would cost £256 million—that is more than £1.25 billion—to bring those properties alone up to a decent standard. And yet, over the last four years, the Scottish Government has reduced its capital funding to colleges by over 70 per cent, a drop from £90 million to £26.6 million. Does the minister agree that the staff and students of Scotland's colleges need decent buildings to teach and learn, so will she reverse those capital cuts? The capital funding to the Scottish Government as a whole has fallen quite dramatically given the Westminster austerity measures. I think that there is a dose of realism that needs to be brought to the chamber. Every single time an Opposition member continues to make capital and revenue claims against his Government, they at least have to bring a bit of reality to that as well. We have invested £550 million in the college of states between 2007 and 2015, and we continue to support the further education sector by supporting investment for over £300 million worth in the NPD pipeline. He will have also noticed that, in the programme for government announcement, colleges were awarded an additional £10 million of accelerated capital funding to help to improve existing states, and I would expect a member to welcome that progress. I thank minister members. That takes us to any topical questions. We move on to the next item of business.


Tonight we're in chapter 3 here in the gospel of Luke. We're going to be looking at verses 15 through 18 Because I want to take my time in the next couple of sections, and so we're going to be looking only at verses third Rather 15 through 18 So in Luke chapter 3 beginning at verse 15 our read to verse 18 and we'll get into our study Luke chapter 3 beginning at verse 15 reading to verse 18 Luke writes now As the people were in expectation and all reasoned in their hearts about John whether he was the Christ or not John answered saying to them all I Indeed baptize you with water But one mighter than I is coming whose sandal strap. I am not worthy to loose He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire His winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire and With many other exhortations he preached to the people Now as we're looking in chapter 3 We're looking at the life of a man by the name of John the Baptist Obviously, he's referred to as the Baptist not because he went to the Baptist Church of Jerusalem But because he was one who baptized and so he's referred to as John the Baptist And as we've seen him already in chapter 1 as well as Being reintroduced to him in chapter 3. We've seen that he was an incredible man a man that God used in an Extremely mighty way. We know that he was a miracle child We know that he was born to a couple that had passed their years of childbearing We also know that as Luke was writing concerning them that they were devout they were righteous believers They were descendants from priests in Israel and one was a was a practicing priest at that time They're described by lucas righteous and blameless people and yet they're advanced in years and elizabeth The mother of john the Baptist is barren In spite of the obstacles of age and her barrenness God had made it possible for them as we've read and studied in chapter 1 for them to have a son The son that god was giving to them was one who was destined to have a tremendous impact on the nation of israel If you remember chapter 1 verses 14 and 15 luke had said prophetically luke was Writing the prophetic words concerning john you will have Joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth For he will be great in the side of the lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink He will also be filled with the holy spirit even from his mother's womb And so this miracle child was destined to be used by the lord in a tremendous way We know that he spent the majority of his life from childhood up to adulthood in the wilderness of israel waiting for his call We also know that he being about six months older than jesus was around 30 years old When the word of god came to him and he began his ministry So here he came in chapter 3 out of the wilderness and he came preaching with conviction and courage And uh began to minister to the people as he was proclaiming to them that they needed to get ready for the uh the messiah Who is to come now i'd like you to turn with me for a moment to matthew's gospel I want to show you something our matthew chapter 11 because the lord jesus christ speaks about john in this particular chapter matthew chapter 11 beginning at verse 7 And jesus speaks concerning his cousin And it says here in matthew chapter 11 verse 7 After some people had come and spoken to jesus as they departed Jesus began to say to the multitude concerning john What did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses But what did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I say to you and more than a prophet For this is he of whom it is written behold i send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you Assuredly i say to you among those born of women there has not risen one greater than john the baptist But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he amongst those born of women there has not arisen One greater than john the baptist excluding himself And so the lord jesus christ as you turn on back to luke chapter 3 spoke concerning this man john a man who was fiery A man who was filled with conviction and courage This is a man who came came preaching to the nation of israel and notice with me that as we looked at this passage last time We were together he came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sin And so as he was coming and preaching the message of preparation telling people to be ready because messiah is going to come People would receive baptism And as they received baptism they were coming in reception of baptism and were in doing so confessing that they were sinners In need of a salvation And as i was looking at this in chapter 3 as i was preparing today concerning this i began to wonder within myself about the message That john had a message that was very powerful a message that was extremely Convicting he was a man who when he spoke he's he meant no words We're going to see that as we continue to see him exposed to us through luke's gospel and all But this was an individual who spoke with tremendous conviction by the power of the holy spirit He had courage as he did so And uh, he was a man who had no problem whatsoever speaking to people in a very straightforward way Remember in verse 7 how it says he spoke to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him Rude of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come But an amazingly powerful thing to do could you picture him on tbn or any other christian station Being interviewed by paul crouch or somebody and have him speak like that to the audience Do you think he'd be asked to come back? I doubt it very much because people would think that this guy's message Was abrasive they would think he was abusive even they would they would have a problem with the man Like him today But this is an individual who had no problem saying listen god is righteous and man is not He had no problem saying god is sinless, but we are sinners. He had no problem with that He wasn't concerned about Sanctifying people's egos and giving them self confidence and and self esteem The bottom line is he knew that people needed to see themselves as depraved Not simply people who are victimized He wanted people to see themselves as being separated from god Not just simply in need of personal fulfillment You see today we have many people as a matter of fact I would say probably the majority of americans who who believe that life is really a quest for personal fulfillment John would have a problem with that. He'd say no life isn't isn't a pursuit of personal fulfillment life is To glorify god And you need to see yourself for what you are Because if you don't There's really no way that you're going to glorify the lord So we're in the season now of american idol I wonder do any of you watch any of it raise your hand. I want to know do you you watch it, huh interesting, isn't it It really is I mean I watch it and sometimes i'm ashamed to say that I laugh But I do I say oh my goodness because they come out they're saying I am the next american idol like like big bird did yesterday and Probably wasn't kind was it but I but I Watch it and I say You know my my goodness But so many are saying that they indeed have incredible talent in the world has been waiting for them to be unleashed on the world And then we see their their you know auditions and you know One says well I can't really sing because the wooden platform here is Is causing my voice to not sound as good as it is and then they stand on the rug and and are even worse and And and yet and yet their mind and this is what amazes me. It's it's extremely delusional, but their mind Really is telling them that they are sounding exquisite That they are absolutely better than anybody who's ever existed in the world will stand in line to hear them in concert It amazes me, but it also hurts and it really does it actually hurts. I'll tell marie sometimes I'll say you know this is this is sad Because they're deluded because they really have gotten caught up with what they want to be Reality which is that they might someday stand on a stage and and command the adoration Of of millions of people. I how sad that really is when you really begin to think about it That for them the peak of their existence is going to be if they cut a record deal and go and sing in malls for a year And that to me is very sad It really is but you want to know something I have encountered an awful lot of people who morally are american idols They absolutely believe they're a lot better than they are They believe they're good And perhaps they're not as as bad as the next person and maybe they're better than some But the problem is is they have this this this awareness of their own spirituality in such a way that it's over inflated You see the gospel And the message even of john which was preparatory for the gospel to be presented through jesus the the message tells us That we are we are sinners that we are cut off from god And that the only thing that we have awaiting us is as a is judgment And and if god hadn't stepped into into the world to rescue us Then we ultimately would be lost forever in in eternal damnation as a matter of fact You're going to see that when he says in verse 17 the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire That's another way of saying that there is eternal judgment awaiting those who reject him. That's the gospel That's the message the message that isn't hasn't been sent by god to massage our egos But to awaken us from our delusion And and we are deluded many of us are deluded into believing that we are much better than we actually are And it actually really does take a strong message and sometimes through a man like john the baptist a strong messenger Who is willing to put his head on the line and ultimately lose it as we know he does For speaking the truth in such a way That it that it helps people to realize that they're lost And that they need to make a choice a decision as to whether or not they're going to pursue god or continue in the sin that they're living in You know today churches have become aware of the flow of culture And unfortunately what has happened is the church has begun to accommodate this flow And so what we end up doing is entertaining people who are who are lost instead of challenging them I was reading something just today where a pastor said worship is not all doom and gloom Where we take our bibles and just bore each other Let's show the world that we also can have fun And I think within myself if that really is I mean is that the reason that I have been created and is that the reason That I stand behind this pulpit and share with people so that I can prove to the world that I can have as much fun as the world Is that what salvation is intended to do? It did god say look and i'm going to send my son jesus christ to dying across In order that you might be free to have some good times. I have a real problem with that There's a writer by the name of oswald chambers Who said we must never confuse our desire for people to accept the gospel With creating a gospel that is acceptable to people And so what john would do is john would speak the truth and he called people to repentance And as he was preaching to them he told them there must be fruit that is Demonstrating true repentance in other words your lives will demonstrate if you've turned away from your sins He had said to them and we saw this last time you to reject self righteousness You're to reject greed you're to reject violence and you're to begin to love other people You're you're you're to turn away from yourself and turn to god and in doing so your life is going to demonstrate that In the way that you treat other people In roman's chapter 13 verse 9 the bible says the commandments you shall not commit adultery You shall not murder you shall not steal You shall not bear false witness you shall not covet And if there is any other commandment are all summed up in this saying namely you shall love your neighbor as yourself You see if I love my neighbor as much as I love myself.  I'm not going to murder them I'm not going to steal from them. I'm not going to lie about them. I'm not going to covet what they have Because I love them now my mom taught us Children she had four of us She really should have only had one me but she had four She didn't ask me permission to have the others But my mom taught us as we're growing up To love one another That was a real big thing in the family to love each other to have love for one another And to you know just just to rejoice with each other and if something good happens to one of my siblings and my brother and my sisters I should be glad about that. I was taught to do that. My mom taught us that That she didn't favor one or the other and she taught us to care about each other and and to be fair with one another From the time we were small and I can still remember some of the lessons that she taught us in that In that way and she was speaking to me recently and told me That prior to my father going home to be with the lord somebody had a company had stopped by her house In order to share with them or actually to sell them Some things related to caskets and funeral arrangements and you know writing up wills and things like that And my mom said that one of the salesmen said to her You need to put all of your things You know the things that you own and all your will in order and put it down in writing and and all of that because When you're when when you die when your husband dies He said Your children are going to be vultures Uh taking everything and my mom just told me this recently and she said that when they said your kids are going to be vultures My mom says she stood up from the table there She walked to the front door and opened the door And she said you can leave Because she said my children are not vultures They weren't raised to be vultures and they're not going to do something like that, which my mom of course is 100 Correct. I didn't want my father's things. I want my father And so that's how we were raised and that's the truth So the bottom line is love Love is what god has called us to do and and if i'm loving a person then again, i'm not going to be self-righteous I'm not going to be greedy. I'm not going to be violent. I'm just going to be loving them And that's what we've been looking up looking at up to this point And so as we continue on in verse 15 as this is all going out on luke says Now as the people were in expectation and all reasoned in their hearts about john Whether he was a christ or not john answered saying to them i indeed baptize you with water But one mightier than i is coming whose sandal strap i am not worthy to lose He will baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire So during this time according to verse 15, there's a great expectation occurring in the nation of israel a growing number of people Are hoping for the arrival of messiah And john begins to fit into their expectations notice how it says in verse 15 all reasoned in their hearts about john Whether he was the christ or not You see john's preaching has attracted tremendous attention It had said in verse 7 multitudes came out to be baptized And so his his ministry is gathering a lot of attention now In matthew 3 5 3 5 and 6 it says jerusalem all judaea All the region around the jordan went out to him and were baptized by him and the jordan confessing their sins So his ministry is far-reaching and greatly respected by the general population And so there are people now who are obviously looking for messiah, but they're now growing confused about john And part of the reason that they're getting confused about john is because john is baptizing he's baptizing jews You see baptism is basically Reserve for gentile converts and so as he was baptizing he was calling people to repent and turn back to god And that was a message that was familiar to them if you remember second chronicles chapter 7 verse 14 If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face You remember how god said then i will hear from heaven i'll forgive them of their sins and i will heal their land And so this is a message that they were familiar with They knew that the old testament prophets very often had called the nation of israel to repentance and god had said That if you repent i'll heal you if you repent i'll forgive you of your sins if you repent i'll be amongst you And so as they're hearing this message from john who has come and spoken to the nation and says to the nation You need to repent you need to turn away from your sins You need to do the right kinds of things demonstrating that god is amongst you What happens is people begin to question amongst themselves could this possibly be messiah Now this isn't the only place that this is handled. Let me turn you right now to john's gospel I want to show you something there john's gospel chapter 1 and i want to show you something john chapter 1 And you'll see that this is really an ongoing kind of thing in john chapter 1 verse 19 Now this is the testimony of john when the jew sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him. Who are you? He confessed and did not deny but confessed i am not the christ They asked him what then are you elisha? He said i'm not are you the prophet? He answered no Then they said to him who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us What do you say about yourself? He said i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness make straight the way of the lord As the prophet isaia said now those who were sent were from the Pharisees And they asked him saying why then do you baptize if you're not the christ nor elisha nor the prophet? john answered them saying i baptize with water but there there stands one among you whom you do not know It is he who coming after me is preferred before me whose sandal strap i am not worthy to lose And so this is something that was an ongoing situation with them You see as they came these priests and levites came they asked the question of john you just read that in verse 19 They asked him who are you so people are wondering they're wondering if you're messiah So what do you have to say about yourself verse 20 says well he confessed and didn't deny i but confessed i'm not the christ I'm not messiah. I'm not the anointed one Had john claimed to be messiah there were people who were prepared to accept him, but he immediately made it very clear I'm not the christ As a matter of fact i find it interesting that he answers a question that wasn't even asked and so they asked him in verse 21 Well, who are you are you elisha? He says i'm not Now if you're messiah if you're not messiah then maybe you're another great figure. How about elisha now? Why would they say elisha? Well when you begin to look at elisha in the old testament you discovered that there were similarities that one of the similarities Obviously was that he looked similar to elisha in second kings chapter 1 verse 8 elisha is described as a harry man wearing a leather belt around his waist Matthew 3 verse 4 says that john was clothed in camels here with a leather belt around his waist So one he looked similar to elisha two both elisha and john had similar ministries. They called the nation to repentance elisha preached to the king ahab and a nation pursuing idolatry But john preached to harrid and a nation in need of national repentance And then three the jews were looking for elisha to come as promised in malachi Because malachi 4 5 says i will send you elisha the prophet before they come into the great and dreadful day of the lord And so john answers and said i'm not elisha so they say to him in verse 21. Are you the prophet? Now when it says there are you the prophet there was a belief in the coming of a second moses at the end of the age Deuteronomy 18 15 says the lord your god will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst from your brethren Him you shall hear Deuteronomy 18 18 i will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren and will put my words in his mouth He shall speak to them all that i command him They were expecting A man like moses a human being bringing to them message of god I was in israel a while back It's been a few years now talking to the guide we had at that time Who was an orthodox jew? And as we were speaking I had never asked him this question before and he had been our guide on several occasions over the years and I had never asked him this question before I didn't want to insult him And I was waiting for the lord to open the door so I could share with him But he was the guide not only to me but many calvary chapels. He'd heard many of our messages We'd all had very faithfully presented the gospel through our teachings and all I knew that he was aware of the messages and all in the gospel as a matter of fact This was a man who whenever I would go to a site would turn to me and say look in this particular site You ought to use the gospel of mark more than the gospel of matthew because matthew says this and mark says this And I mean he knew the new testament because he'd been at the site so many times and heard chuck and others preach So he'd say this is really the best place for you to use john here Or there are six different places you and he used to do that And so he was so convincing very often our our people on the tourists actually thought that he was a christian In reality, he wasn't a christian. He was an orthodox jew was very very well versed in basic bible, especially new testament And so on one occasion he and I were speaking and we're having a cup of coffee And in northern israel by the sea of galilee. I still remember where it was And as we're drinking this coffee he looks at me and he sees you probably wonder why we jews don't receive jesus christ as our messiah And I smiled at him And I said, well, yeah, I'd I'd like to you know I'd like to know He says because we believe That god is going to send a prophet like moses He got that from where I just read to you deuteronomy 1815 deuteronomy 1818 We believe that god is sending unto us a prophet a man Like moses who is going to lead as a great Deliverer the nation of israel out of its trouble We cannot believe that god took upon himself human flesh because we believe That would violate god's command against making a graven image of anything in heaven And so for us messiah has to be a human being has to be He says and that's why you christians who claim that jesus christ is god in the flesh are not received by Those of us who are orthodox Because we are looking for a man Like moses to deliver us And it was at that moment for the first time that I can remember That I actually saw so that's how antichrist Will be accepted by the nation So that's how it's going to happen You don't want to receive messiah because you believe it's a violation of god's word So contrary to god's word you will receive the antichrist The interesting thing though is that belief goes all the way back To even the time of of john the baptist When people were wondering who are you if you're not the messiah are you elisha? If you're not elisha, are you the prophet? Just exactly who are you What are you saying about yourself and and what would you have us to know about you? And that's why john makes it very clear. Listen. I am not the messiah I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. So turning on back to luke chapter three As you turn back they wanted to know listen if you're not the messiah and you're not elisha a prophet Then why are you baptizing people? You might find this interesting Jews did not receive water baptism Though they would baptize themselves in ritual bath prior to Making offerings and a variety of other things Gentiles when they converted from being a gentile into becoming a jew would be baptized So they wanted to know why john was baptizing people Because as they were being baptized They were actually beginning to identify with something that was new now When god began to work in the nation of israel and even prior to that when god began to work with the People with people when he began to work with abraham He gave abraham a visible sign and that was circumcision When he gave to the nation of israel something that was visible He gave to them not only circumcision that to put into the law, but also he gave to them The law of moses that they would hold fast to And then with john what they give to him as a symbol is water baptism So these are all symbols of how god is working amongst men through circumcision the law of moses and now baptism unto repentance And so this is what's taking place here And so they're in expectation according to verse 15 The reasoning in their hearts about john whether he's the christ or not verse 16 But john answers saying to them i indeed baptize you with water But one mighter than i is coming whose sandal strap i am not worthy to lose He will baptize you with the holy spirit and fire when jesus comes There will be a new symbol by which people will be identified as children of god It's going to be the gift of the holy spirit It's going to be the holy spirit purging your life living in you and empowering the people of god You see in joel chapter 2 verses 28 and 29 The old testament says it shall come to pass afterward that it will pour out my spirit on all flesh Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy your old men shall dream dreams your young men shall see And also on my men's servants and my maid servants. I will pour out my spirit in those days So god had made a statement. He said listen.  You shall be clean I will cleanse you from your filthiness into your idols I'll give you a new heart put a new spirit within you I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes And you will keep my judgments and do them. Obviously this was ultimately fulfilled on the day of pentecost 120 people are awaiting the promise that god had given in an upper room there in jerusalem And god baptizes them through the power of the holy spirit What is it that we need today if it's not the power of the holy spirit? What is it that the church needs today? It's not gimmicks It's not programs. It's not ways to entice people into the four walls of a church What we really need is we need the power of the holy spirit When I first got saved the holy spirit began to work in my life as a 20 year old And after five years of drugs and alcohol and everything that went along with that That there was a refreshing that took place in my life. There was an invigoration. There was a power surge There was something that happened that was so transforming that it radically caused me to change in such a way that for 36 years I've been following the lord as a transformed individual That didn't come because of one day. I decided I'm a bad person and I need some help My dad had taken me to a psychologist and the psychologist couldn't do anything for me I talked about my problems, but they weren't being dealt with I talked about my sins, but they couldn't be forgiven. He couldn't forgive me of my sins He didn't even believe in sins more than likely All I had is just, you know, some neuroses or some, you know, bad childhood experiences Or whatever it is that he was beginning to ascertain through conversation with me But you want to know something? You know, he could not talk me out of the life that I was living He could not talk me into being a loving person. He could not talk me into being a forgiving person He couldn't talk me into being a gentle person. He couldn't talk me into being anything like that He couldn't do that. You cannot talk somebody into that Because if somebody can talk you into that then somebody else can talk you out of that It took the conviction of the Holy Spirit It took the power of God, a radical transformation and empowering To cause this person to be radically transformed into the person that you see today And that's what God wants to do in our lives You know, we don't preach religion here What we say is, listen, get connected to God through Jesus Christ So forgive you of your sins Not only that, he'll empower you to live a life that glorifies him and is pleasing to you Now you don't get saved so that you can have a perpetual happy day You get saved because you're a sinner in need of God's forgiveness You get saved because you know that you're cut off from God And you design a relationship with him You get saved because you know that you've sinned against God and God alone And you need to be transformed by God and forgiven by him That's why you're saved And when you're saved, your life begins to be It begins to demonstrate the reality of that And that's why John had said, listen If you're going to receive this baptism that leads into repentance Or the baptism of repentance And what you need to do is you need to demonstrate that you really have repented by a changed life But I can't change my life That's why I need something more than a symbol That's why water baptism never will save me Because water baptism, all it can do is wash the outer person It just cleanses the skin God wants to put a new heart within you God wants to transform you from the inside out Oh man, so many times people get caught up with the outside You know, when I was a young guy, so long ago The bad thing was not wearing shoes and having long hair And it was all outside It was all outside Today, the bad seemed things to be You know, wearing piercings and tattoos And you can't really be a Christian if you have that Bringing your nose and I think that we just get caught up with the superficial so much, don't we? We get caught up so much with the outside We really, really do You know, God, when I got saved, God didn't say, okay, now you're like me You better get a short haircut So that people will listen to you God said in his word, I'm forgiving you of your sins And I will transform you and conform you into the image of my son And so I didn't go around asking if there were any photographs of Jesus So that I could wear my hair like that or look like that Trim my beard like that I just began to read the Bible to discover what he was like And I think that the church gets caught up so much in the superfluous, the superficial When what God wants to really do is just transform our lives And the only way my life can be transformed That's right Is by the Holy Spirit Now I wish I would have said, I wish I'd have said the Holy Spirit and then it would have popped That would have been good But that's the only way That's the only way Just the Holy Spirit I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand So don't worry But if you had a quiet moment just between you and the Lord And the Holy, and God said to you Have you been baptized by my spirit? Do you know, be on a shadow of a doubt That you're walking in my power And then he said, and how do you know that? What would your answer be? Don't say anything, please, of course, I'm not asking you to But could you say, you know what? I know I've been baptized in the Holy Spirit I know that because as I've read the Bible I've discovered that Jesus Christ is the Holy Ghost Baptizer It wasn't John the Baptist and it wasn't his apostles Sometimes people say, well, you know this baptism in the Holy Spirit That's a first century, first generation kind of thing And God baptized the early church in the day of Pentecost But that doesn't mean that it's repeatable I don't see anywhere that the apostles were the Holy Ghost Baptizer I see that Jesus Christ is I can still remember When I was a young believer going to a revival at a Pentecostal church And I still remember as they gave the invitation to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit I was so hungry for the things of God I can still remember saying, God, I just want whatever you have for me And I went up there and I prayed and I sought the Lord And that was, you know, 36 years ago Kneeling down at a little Terriene bench that they call it And praying God in Jesus' name, fill me with your spirit I don't care if people think I'm odd or strange or uncool What I really want is your power because I'm aware of the power of sin And I'm aware of the power of my old nature And the temptations and the drawing back that occurs And if I don't have you living within me and strengthening me Then Lord, I'm not going to survive I need your power See, within three months after getting saved I went into the military And anybody who's been in the military will tell you That's a difficult place to live your faith out It really is The temptations are incredible and continuous In our barracks, we had our beer machine right there in the barracks You could go for, you know, a quarter or whatever it was You could buy your beer, take it back to your bunk And you could drink yourself into oblivion Any time you want, didn't cost hardly anything at all to do that There was temptation everywhere You'd go to the city I was stationed in Fort Bragg, you'd go into Fayetteville And Fayetteville, it's bar after bar after bar after bar There's fighting and the variety of things It's there all the time You can do that any time you want You can blow your paycheck in a day It's very easy to do that It's not hard, a lot of my friends did that all along Me, I started thinking, Lord, I want to live for you And this is a very dark place It's a very difficult place This is a place filled with temptation Lord, it's easy for me to stumble I need help I need your power And sometimes I was successful Sometimes I wasn't I can't say that I walked unscathed Because I didn't I blew my testimony more than one time there in the military But I knew that without God's power I would not have survived I knew that And I began to actually consciously pray My last year in the military While I was stationed there at Fort Bragg I would pray on a daily basis And I would say, God, keep me strong Make me strong, I need to be strong I need your spirit I need your spirit to work within me Because Christianity is not a philosophy Alone, it has philosophic tenets and all of that But it's not a philosophy alone It's a relationship with God And it's empowering And see, that's what he's saying He's saying, listen I'm not worthy to even bend down And tie the sandals of the Lord Jesus Christ He must increase I must decrease I'm just the voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare the way of the Lord But he's the one you're preparing for I can baptize you with water As you confess your need for God But he baptizes you with the Holy Spirit And with fire He's the one that you need in your life He's the one who's going to empower you And strengthen you He's the one who's going to give you a heart of flesh As he removes that heart of stone He's the one who's going to write his word On the tablets of your heart And he's the one who's going to give you the power To be able to fulfill that Which he gives you the desire to do It all comes from him Therefore, he says, don't look to me Like I'm a psychic because I'm not Look to him And open your heart to him And be willing and asking him Lord, in Jesus' name, empower me with your Holy Spirit Because Lord, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt How difficult it is out there for us And without you, without your power You know, I'm going to just be swept away by this world So he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit And with fire If you have never taken that moment To say, God, in Jesus' name, fill me with your Spirit Empower me with, I encourage you to do that tonight I encourage you to do that Because you need it You need his power There have been people who have asked me How come you're so bold? And I can be Part of it, I guess, is because I come from a family Where I was given permission to talk when I wanted to My mom didn't get mad at me if I said what was on my mind So I had freedom Secondly, yeah, I was a hippie And hippies didn't care what other people thought about them If people hated us, so what? Who cares? I don't care, who are you? What do I care? That's true And I'm still pretty much like that People hate me, I don't care But that's not really it, that's flesh What makes a person bold is the Spirit The Holy Spirit Because you come to believe that this is true And that if people don't get right with God They're going to hell And when God puts love in your heart for people You will tell them the truth Even if they don't like you for doing so And so that comes, I believe, from the Spirit of God I mean, they crucified Jesus and cut John the Baptist's head off Well, how do we expect them to treat us? And so he's saying that He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire Verse 17 His winnowing fan is in his hand He will thoroughly purge his threshing floor And gather the wheat into his barn But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire And with many other exhortations he preached to the people Well, in other words, as he's winnowing And separating the wheat from the chaff Not all people are going to receive Messiah And that's quite obvious during the time of Jesus Multitudes rejected him And they ultimately did find a way to have him crucified Not all will receive Messiah Jeremiah tells us in chapter 35 verse 15 I have also sent to you all my servants the prophets Rising up early and sending them Saying, Turn now everyone from his evil way Amend your doings and do not go after other gods to serve them Then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers But you have not inclined your ear nor obeyed me So Jeremiah was saying, Listen, you need to turn your ear to the Lord and obey him He said, And I've sent my prophets, they got up early And they preached all day, but you wouldn't listen to them And that's the United States today, by the way And that's the truth Even churches like this, see people don't know what Calvary Chapel is Sometimes they drive by and they see a big building They see a lot of cars, they wonder what's going on They think it must be entertaining or something They show up, they get a Bible study and they get bored Because they don't know what to expect They walk in thinking there must be something Maybe there's some trampolines or some trapezes or something There got to be something going on in there And they roll up and they come in and they look around And they say, Oh, I don't need this, you know, this isn't what I was expecting Just because somebody goes to church and somebody may even put up with a message Doesn't mean they're saved And so God has a way of going in and he has a way of lifting up that That wheat and as he's lifting up the wheat, everybody knows this Whenever you take care of wheat and you separate it You go onto a hill where the wind is blowing You have all the wheat there that is put there in its kernel You take that pitchfork if you will You throw it up into the air The wind catches the chaff and blows it away And the kernel hits the ground And ultimately they gather up the kernel of wheat The chaff has been blown away It's been separated And that's what happens with the preaching of the word of God When God's word goes forth When John was proclaiming the message Even tonight when the word goes forth People's lives are thrown into the air The chaff blows away and the wheat settles And that's how it works Not everybody receives Christ Not everybody follows Jesus Christ Not everybody wants Jesus Christ There are so many people today that claim to be Christian Or believe themselves to be And I think they're greatly deceived Because their lives don't demonstrate that they know God at all I encounter people like that quite often No judgment, just fact Just fact Ultimately God is the judge And sometimes people may be not walking with the Lord at that moment But that doesn't mean he's not convicting them But so often people I believe especially today Are getting such a watered down message They don't even repent They think that they're Christian Because they show up at church and maybe give or serve once in a while They don't have a relationship with God It's temporary at best And they did it so they could get something out of it John says, listen, you need to know that his winning fans in his hand He's going to thoroughly purge his threshing floor He's going to gather the wheat into his barn The chaff will burn with unquenchable fire That speaks of judgment And with many other exhortations He preached to the people And he passionately, passionately called to them Wanting them to listen To listen Ezekiel 1831 Cast away from you all the transgressions Which you have committed Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit For why should you die, oh house of Israel Let God work in your life to transform you And that's the preaching of repentance Not very popular As a matter of fact, some people find it mean-spirited But you want to know something? If one of my daughters, my unmarried daughter My unmarried daughter was being asked out on a date by somebody And I didn't know him And I got a phone call And somebody said, you know, Pastor David, I need to let you know something You know, this guy's chasing down your daughter Wants to be with her And I want you to know that he has a history of breaking hearts I also want you to know that he has made it very clear in front of me That he's intending to break your daughter's heart And I think I better warn you Because he doesn't have good intentions for her What kind of father would I be If I knew that and didn't tell her anything What kind of father would I be If I knew that somebody was going to rip her off And hurt her and possibly take her And break her heart What kind of dad would I be If I didn't sit down with my little girl and say, listen baby girl I need to let you know something I've heard some things about this guy and I'm concerned about it Because it came from a good source And I think it's true So honey, would you mind if I sat down with him tonight When he comes over and kill him I'll do it nicely And I'll give him a free funeral too I'll preach a good message, I promise you I mean, what kind of dad would I be If I didn't sit her down and say, baby girl You need to be aware of something, I don't approve of this Would that be a good dad or a bad dad I think that's a good dad Because as a father, I want to protect those whom I love And I believe that the preaching of repentance And preaching with conviction Is safeguarding the ones you love You're telling them the truth So even if they get upset And they walk out saying, oh, I've been judged Maybe that was the Holy Spirit's conviction Saying it's time to change It's time to stop playing It's time to get right with God Maybe that's what was happening Not just rain on somebody's parade John was bold, courageous Preached with conviction Because he was anointed by the Spirit And he said, you've got to get right with God Because if you don't, he has an unquenchable fire awaiting you And he will separate the wheat from the chaff He knew that not everybody would listen But those who did became followers of Jesus Christ


If you're bullish on a stock, have you ever been confused as to whether you should do a short put vertical or a long call vertical? Both are bullish positions, but there are slight nuances between them. Welcome to another video from NavigationTrading.com. In this lesson, we are going to discuss the difference between a short put vertical and a long call vertical, both of which are bullish strategies, meaning you want the price of the stock to go higher. But there are some very slight differences between the two, so let's jump in. In this example, we'll use the S&P 500 ticker SPY. If you go to the trade tab in Thinkorswim, this will populate the options chain. In this example, I am looking at this at a 37 days to expiration cycle. Let's start on the put side and discuss the short put vertical. We're going to start with some options out of the money. Let's just select around the 35. This should give us about the range we want. If we right click, sell vertical, we're selling a short put vertical. Let's just move this to about five points wide. We'll sell the 259, and we will buy five strikes lower, which is the 254. If we take this over to the Analyze tab in Thinkorswim, this is what the risk profile graph looks like. When we set these up, we like to set them up with about a 60% or so probability of success. You've got about a 60% chance at expiration. This will be profitable, about a 40% chance of loss. I also like to make sure that my max loss, which in this case is $369, is not more than three times what my max profit is. I've got a max profit of $131 and a max loss of $369. As I mentioned, this is a bullish position. We want the price of the stock to go up, but it can also come all the way down to this level here, to this breakeven point, and we can still make money on the trade. That's one of the beauties of vertical spreads. Let's go back to the option chain over to the call side. We're going to look at the same strike. We're going to do the 254. We're going to buy a vertical on the put side. We want that five points wide as well, so it'll be the 259 is the one that we'll sell. Now, you'll notice these options are in the money. Is there a risk of assignment? Yeah, it's very slim, but you do have the risk of assignment. Now, if you do get a sign, you simply close out the trade and move on. It's not that big of a deal, but the bottom line is we're typically out of these trades way before expiration, so the chances of us getting a sign is very slim, and it rarely happens. So let's take this trade over to the analyze tab so we can compare. I'm going to check off the short put vertical so we can look just specifically at the long call vertical. So I've got that up now, and as you can see, it's almost identical. Now the market's open right now, so if I adjust these prices so that we're exactly the same, move it up two cents down a couple pennies. So now we've got a max profit of $131 and a max loss of $369. That's the exact same as the short put vertical. So again, if I click on the short put vertical and I click off of the long call vertical, you can see they are identical. Same max profit, same max loss. Both of the trades are bullish, so we want the price to go up, but we have this buffer to the downside where we can come all the way down to here and still make money. So the difference between the two is almost nothing. The only nuance between the two is the effect of implied volatility. If we are buying a long call vertical and the price goes up, it goes in our direction, typically implied volatility is going to be contracting. So that's actually going to work just slightly against us. Whereas if we're selling a put vertical and the price is going higher, typically implied volatility is going to be contracting and that's going to work slightly in our favor. Now when I say slightly, I mean ever so slightly. These trades are almost identical, but we're talking about maybe a, you know, if you're trading one contract, you might be getting an advantage of maybe a dollar, $2 difference from that implied volatility, depending on how much it contracts or expands of one versus the other. So it's not a big deal. And remember, it works both ways. So if this price goes against you, it goes lower than typically if implied volatility is going to be expanding, which is going to benefit the long call vertical just ever, ever, ever, ever so slightly. So if you're bullish on a stock and you want a higher probability of success with defined risk, a vertical spread works, and both a long call vertical and a short put vertical are equally good options. I hope that helps. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line in the community at community.navigationtrading.com. See you there.