Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Bible Teaching by Rev. Percy Gutteridge
Shownotes for episode #26: The Law of the Firstfruits 

Scripture Reading:

The firstsfruits belong to God – materially and spiritually!

Leviticus 23:9-14

Summary:

There is much significance in the fact that the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Pentecost were to be celebrated on the first day of the week. It signifies God's law of firstfruits. The Lord Jesus Christ, “the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20), rose from the dead on the first day of the week. But there is a greater significance: all of our firstfruits must be given to God; “it shall be a statute forever” (Leviticus 23:14).

God's laws never become void, and they each have a purpose. When one of God's physical laws is broken, there is a physical reaction; for example, when Jesus' life was taken, there was darkness over the earth for three hours; and when He rose from the dead, there was a great earthquake. God's law of rest is illustrated in [continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Bible Teaching by Rev. Percy Gutteridge
Shownotes for episode #25: The Year of Jubilee 

The famous Liberty Bell is inscribed with the words of Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” — the proclamation of Jubilee!

Scripture Reading:

Leviticus 25:1-55

Summary:

In this message Percy Gutteridge clearly explains the wonderful analogy between the Old Testament celebration of Jubilee and the glorious and complete freedom and joy which the Lord Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, gives to those who trust Him and His sacrifice on Calvary. Just as the Israelites were freed from their debts and servitude at the Year of Jubilee, Jesus sets sinners free from their bondage to Sin. And just as an Israelite could declare his love for his master and his desire to remain in His service, we can choose out of love to [continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Bible Teaching by Rev. Percy Gutteridge: Why Elijah Must Make Way for Elisha (show notes for podcast episode #24)

Scripture Readings:

2 Kings 2; Luke 1:17

Summary:

Elijah and Elisha
by Gustav Doré

The Scriptures include many types, or figures, which help illustrate important foundational truths. In this look at the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, we see Elijah as a type of Old Covenant prophet, while Elisha is a type of the New Covenant prophet. Similarly, John the Baptist is the last of the Old Covenant prophets, ministering in the spirit of Elijah with repentance, while Jesus is the greatest Prophet under the New Covenant. All who are baptized in the Holy Spirit are meant to carry on this New Covenant prophetic ministry. Just as Elisha's ministry brought the removal of a curse, Jesus ministers in the Spirit of His Father, removing the curse of sin and bringing life. In 2 Kings 2, after Elijah was taken up, Elisha healed the [continue reading…]

Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb?

My “neglect” of our hymn of the month has been due largely to my missions travels for three out of the last nine months. But now, at last, over at our FinestOfTheWheat.org site, there's a “new” poem/hymn for September. (The full index of over 250 hymns and poems can be found here.)

Elisha Hoffman (1839-1929) took glorious inspiration from Revelation 7:14…

These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

…when he penned the hymn Have You Been to Jesus for the Cleansing Pow’r? (which you may know better by its refrain and chorus Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb?). Here’s a snippet (the second verse)…

Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

…and the rest you'll find on the the hymn's page.

The Czech Republic and Its Neighbors (Map attribution: Operation World)

Czeching In

Next Monday morning, 6/22, at a humane and reasonable hour (how new and different from my usual departure time of “o'dark thirty”!) I am leaving for a four-week missions/teaching trip to eastern Europe. My first week will be in the Czech Republic. (If, like me, you grew up during the Cold War years, you can be forgiven if you mean to say “Czech Republic” but “Czechoslovakia” keeps slipping out.) There's an interesting story behind how this door opened up.

Czech in My Spirit

The Czech Republic in the E.U. (Map attribution: Wikipedia.com)

Towards the end of last year's ministry trip to Romania, I traveled by train from Timisoara, Romania to Budapest, Hungary, and from there through Slovakia and the Czech Republic on the way to Munich, Germany. For most of the latter trip, I was in a quiet passenger car and I had a lot of time to pray. The train stopped briefly in Bratislava, Slovakia; shortly thereafter we entered the Czech Republic and something stirred in my heart. By the time the train stopped again at the station in Prague, I sensed in my spirit that I would be back, though I had no idea when or how.

Czeching with Friends

Actively involved in Romania missions; L to R: Yours truly, Raul Muntean, Al Strickland, Roy Olsen, Terry Swiney, George Barham, Sangyee Nam

My friend, missionary to Romania Roy Olsen, comes back to the States once a year during the winter months. (I'll be with Roy and basing out of his Romanian Apa Vie Ministries for most of July.) Back on December 12th, I joined a group of missions-minded fellows gathering for lunch with Roy to meet his friend, Korean missionary Sangyee Nam. “Sangyee,” explains Roy, “left South Korea 24 years ago following the Spirit's leading. Since then, he has planted five churches in the Czech Republic and two in England.” Out of that meeting came an invitation to minister in the Czech Republic on my next trip to Romania.

Czeching in at the Throne Room

For those of you who are praying (thank you!), here is your “Prayer Czech List” for this portion of the trip:

Czeching the Focus

Korean missionary to the Czech Republic, Sangyee Nam

Brother Nam describes his adopted country this way: “I would like to give you some information about the spiritual situation in Czech Republic. Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries in Europe, even though they claim Czech is a Catholic country. Czechs are also materialistic and secular, so they are much different from Romanians. We teach people to live for Christ 100% and become the disciples of Jesus, so if you touch on these areas of Christian life, it would be great.”

Daniel Nam

Pray that we (in that “we” I include my translator, Daniel Nam) would be completely yielded to the Holy Spirit's leading; and give thanks for the wonderful opportunity to preach Christ crucified and the fullness of the New Birth in such a place! The national motto of Czech Republic is “Truth Prevails.” May that motto prove to be prophetic!

Czech the Calendar (and Please Pray Accordingly)

• Click on the interactive map for a better view.

  Monday 6/22 through Tuesday 6/23 – I'll be “czeching” my luggage in Norfolk, Virginia (“A” on the first interactive map to the right) to Prague, Czech Republic (“D”) via Newark, New Jersey (“B”) and Düsseldorf, Germany (“C”). Besides the need for general “traveling mercies,” in Düsseldorf I will have exactly 65 minutes to de-plane, pass through customs, and catch the flight to Prague (something of a minor miracle). Arrival will be at about 2:30 AM Virginia time. The drive from the airport to Sangyee's home in Plzen (Plisen) looks to be about 50+ miles southwest from Prague.

• Click the image for a zoomable, interactive map.

  Wednesday 6/24: Minister at the evening service in Plzen (“B” on the second interactive map to the right). The requested subject is an introduction to our Woman in the Kingdom of God series. (An appetizer for another visit, perhaps?)

• Friday 6/26: Minister at Horsovský Týn (“C”), about another 25 miles southwest of Plzen. (I'm not yet certain if this is part of the seminar training or a church meeting.)
• Saturday 6/27: Teach at the Bible school in Plzen (“B”). Here we'll spend a day on the subject of Hermeneutics, a fancy term for “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This seminar teaches pastors, teachers, and other leaders to ask-and answer!-the question “What is the context?” as they read, study, preach, and teach God's Word.
• Sunday 6/28: Preach in Plzen on the subject “God's Two Great Promises.”
• Antonín Dvorák

  Monday 6/29: Word is that we'll be able to tour the beautiful city of Prague, weather permitting (“D”). If so, I'm hoping to visit the small museum in Nelahozeves (northwest Prague, point “E” on the map), where stands the birthplace of one of my favorite composers, Antonín Dvorák. (Note to J.S. Bach: Your position as the favorite is not in jeopardy.)

• Tuesday, 6/30: I leave Prague airport (“A”) on Tarom, the Romanian airline, flying to the Romanian capital of Bucharest, and catching a plane in the late afternoon to Timisoara in western Romania, for a reunion with Roy and Melania Olsen, along with Cristi and his bride Lenuta.

Let Paul's words in Romans 15:30 set the tone of our prayer for this ministry in the Czech Republic: “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me” that God's presence, power, and the “spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17) might be present in meetings and in each personal encounter.

The God of Supply, Surprises, and Car-Repair Shops

If you'd like a larger, free version of our graphic for your webpage, desktop wallpaper, or Facebook page,
click on the photo above.

I have a testimony to share: A famous Christian saying and a verse from the Psalms gloriously collided in my experience this week. That great man of God Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to China, a man who knew how to trust in God for his provision, made this declaration: “God's will, done God's way, will never lack God's supply.” My heavenly Father, the One who owns “the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10), reminded me just the other day that He is in a lot of other businesses beside the cattle industry, including car-repair shops.

As many of you know, I'm off for another missions/teaching trip, this time for four weeks in eastern Europe. For three weeks I'll be based out of Apa Vie Ministries in Pestere, Romania, hosted by missionaries Roy and Melania Olsen, teaching at pastors' conferences (starting the day after I arrive), churches, and (if experience serves) at a Baptist Bible school. Then I'll be off to visit some new friends of the ministry, both in Budapest, Hungary and Berlin, Germany. I'd have to double-check with our treasurer, but this may be one of the more expensive trips I've mounted to date, mainly due to the addition of the intra-European rail travel during the last week.

I prayed a lot about whether or not [continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Show Notes for Grains from Gutteridge Podcast Episode #23:
The Resurrection of Our Lord by Rev. Percy Gutteridge

Resurrection Day:
Jesus on the Road to Emmaus
by Gustav Doré

Scripture Reading:

Luke 24:1-35

Summary:

This message examines the false theories concerning our Lord's resurrection, including

• the “Swoon” Theory;
• the Telepathic Communication Theory;
• the Intoxication Theory,

and shows their errors. Pastor Gutteridge's teaching fully vindicates the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on the third day, and shows [continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

5+ Weeks in Central America

These are supplementary notes to the podcast interview.

Click on the image above
for a zoomable-map version of Jim's travel

Itinerary:

• Tuesday, April 22, 2014: Denise drives Jim to the airport a las mil (the Spanish equivalent of “o'dark thirty” for those of you familiar with military parlance; 04:00 for you sticklers).  Jim flies via Miami to Managua, Nicaragua (point “B” on the map), where the teaching team sent by LendAHand Mission Teams assembles during the day, including Dr. Gladys de Chávez from Guatemala.
• Wednesday, April 23, 2014: The team travels overland travel for five hours to Quilalí (point “A” on the interactive map).
• Thursday-Saturday, April 24-26, 2014 — teaching conference for about 125 attendees.  Jim's subject: Hermeneutics (module 1) — how to read and preach the Bible in context.

Pastors Nelson, Mario, and Ramon in Quilalí

• Sunday, April 27: Team returns to Managua, participates in Sunday-evening meeting in a local church.
• Monday-Tuesday, April 28-29: Teaching conference for about 40 pastors in Managua, the capital city (point “B” on the map). As in Quilalí, Gladys teaches on the importance and the “how-to's” of Sunday School, while Jim concentrates on hermeneutics, with a special emphasis on the importance of the “context” of the entire Bible. (See the podcast Are You Fulfilling Bible Prophecy? for a challenging message on this subject.)
• Wednesday, April 30: Rare “day off” due to a communication mix-up with the local pastors. Jim spends the day working on notes for the Guatemala conferences; Gladys starts the 20-hour bus ride back to Guatemala.

[continue reading…]

The Holy Way by Isaiah Reid

Currently available in e-book formats only

It's a good thing that a growing number of Christians are discontent in their spirits, seeking the Lord, searching the Scriptures, looking for something beyond the shallowness of status-quo Christianity, something beyond the empty hype that characterizes “worship” services, something that draws them closer to their Beloved. Such restlessness can be the first thaw on the way to the springtime of personal revival.

If this resonates with you, it's not a surprise to God. A better way has always been in His heart, and He has made provision for it. That better way is what Isaiah Reid calls “the holy way.” His book “The Holy Way” is a signpost pointing the way to that “something” that so many feel is missing — a heart close to God, full of love, and freed from indwelling Sin. The book delivers what it promises: it is a short, clear, concise overview of the heart-experience of entire sanctification, its Scriptural basis, and, very practically, how to obtain the blessing of this “holy way” from God.

The Holy Way first debuted in 1892, and due to its popularity and usefulness, it went through at least three American editions and two British editions. Altogether, it enjoyed a nearly thirty-year run. It has been a labor of love to update the formatting, add the annotations and appendices for modern readers, and to make this helpful title available again.

Lord willing, this title represents the first book in the Passion, Purity, and Power series.

E-book only: $2.99. Available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.

by A. David Armstrong III, Commander U.S. Navy (ret)

Our good friend, Dave Armstrong

I offer the following thoughts learned through many years of military service, and through many years as a soldier in the army of my God. God in His infinite wisdom often uses that with which we are most familiar to instruct us. Since the principles of warfare are deeply ingrained in me after many years as a Navy officer, God has utilized that experience to give me insight into spiritual warfare. God also has made us social creatures, in His image, meaning that we are to share that which He is teaching us individually with each other, so that the body of Christ might stand and work together as a unit, whole and entire, in loving submission to His perfect will. And so I trust that as God wills, He will speak to you through the reflections in this article, so that your relationship with Him might be deepened and enriched, and that you might be a better prepared spiritual soldier ready to defend the faith and successfully do battle with our deadly foe, in the strength of Jesus.

Beginning in the Garden of Eden, the human race has been engaged in spiritual warfare with the enemy of our souls. Mankind has been deceived, enslaved, and engaged in rebellious spiritual warfare against Him in whose image we are created. The perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was God's answer. Since the time of Jesus’ atonement, when He paid the price which we could not pay, and which He did not owe, those who choose to receive His gift of life have now become soldiers engaged in spiritual warfare under [continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Show Notes for Grains from Gutteridge Podcast Episode #22:
The Three Parables of Loss, a message by Rev. Percy Gutteridge

The Lost Sheep
by Alford Usher Soord

Scripture Reading:

Luke 15

Summary:

“Uh, oh — another message on the parables of Luke 15!” If that was your first thought as you read the title, it's time for an attitude check. And that check would be very appropriate, because in this message, Pastor Percy Gutteridge looks at the different attitudes of the things and persons mentioned by Jesus in these three stories, including the attitudes of:

• the unconverted moral man;
• the devil;
• a coin;
• the lost sheep;
• the lost son; and
• the angels of God.

For example, the coin was lost but didn't [continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Show Notes for Grains from Gutteridge Podcast Episode #21:
The Three Seed Parables, a message by Rev. Percy Gutteridge

“Behold, a sower went forth to sow.”

Scripture Readings:

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, 24-30, 31-32

Summary:

As detailed in Matthew 13, Jesus told many parables, three of which had to do with seeds. With the words, “A sower went forth to sow,” the first parable describes a sower who casts the seed of the word; the final disposition of the seed sifts out the true heirs of the Kingdom. The second parable is concerned with the seed of God, which shows the refining of the Kingdom by the final rejection of the false seed sown by the evil one. Then comes the final seed parable, that of the mustard seed, which reveals the growth and glory of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Other Scriptures Cited:

[continue reading…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Harul Interview – 45 Minutes with Romanian Pastor Teofil Ciortuz

Romanian Pastor Teofil Ciortuz
at his desk

It's wonderful when Christian parents prayerfully name their children, especially when that name turns out to be prophetic.  Teofil Ciortuz (tay-oh-FEEL chor-TOOS) seems to be the prophetic fulfillment of his first name — Teofil, an eastern European form of Theophilus (see Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1), meaning lover of God. One of the great blessings in my travels is to meet sanctified, joy-filled, no-nonsense servants of God, men and women who are loving and serving the Lord Jesus with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Teofil certainly fits that bill.

Pastor Teofil is the second assistant pastor at Biserica Crestina Baptista Harul Lugoj (Grace Christian Baptist Church in Lugoj). Harul means grace.

The red dot marks the location
of Lugoj in Romania

Teofil earned his degree in mathematics and taught that subject for a time before he was tapped by the Lord to go [continue reading…]