End of the Year

In this episode, Brother Jonathan closes out the year talking about an e-mail he received, changes to the Podcast format, the most listened to episodes of 2017, and episodes coming up in 2018.

 

Here are the show notes:

 

End of the Year

S1 EP47

Remnant Bible Fellowship

 

1. Introduction
   1. We’re just going over stuff for the end of the year. No lesson in this episode.
2. Email from Stuart
   1. A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Stuart. Here is what he asked:
      1. “I have listened to a couple of your podcasts and found them, as far as I can tell, biblical. My question is with all the comments around the heresy/cultish leanings of Gwen shambling. Are you affiliated with her? If so how do I know you are on the level? I grow weary of all the stuff with NAR, IHOP, Bethel, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and the hoard of others that a fellow has to sort through in order to not go down the broad path. Thanks for your time, Stuart.”
   2. I replied to Stuart and I thanked him for making me aware of something. Apparently there is a woman by the name of Gwen Shamblin who has a group by the name of “Remnant Fellowship Church”. They deal with weight loss and stuff like that, because she wrote a book that was popular…I guess. To make it clear: we have nothing to do with her or her church. It is just coincidence that our name and hers is so similar. They’re not identical though. The difference is that we have the Bible in the center of what we do.
   3. Stuart made a comment also about all stuff with NAR, IHOP, Bethel, Benny Hinn, and ole Kenny Copeland. I will be very emphatic in emphasizing that I have nothing to do with any of these groups or people. I will plainly state that they’re heretical. That may bother some people, but it is easy to prove by examining what they do and teach by the scriptures. Stuart is also right in his comment about how there are SO many false teachers today that you have to “sort through”. I’ve said that multiple times before. This is why it is so important to be consistently reading and studying the Bible yourself. It’s like the old illustration: how can a cashier spot counterfeit bills so easily? It’s because he knows the real thing so well.
   4. You don’t have to understand every doctrine in the Bible. You don’t have to be a Ph.D. theologian. If you know the Bible well then it will protect you from deception. When someone says, “The Bible says this.” Then you can immediately call to mind a scripture reference that plainly says that’s not true. The best protection you have against deception is knowing the text of the Bible.
   5. Also, on a side note, most of these ministries that a deceptive will not want to discuss these things. Any group that has a “follow the leader” mindset is generally wrong. Any group that has a “don’t question” or “don’t touch the Lord’s anointed” mindset is almost assuredly wrong. Christians, and pastors/preachers/teachers are supposed to be Christians, are commanded to be humble and to be ready to receive correction and examination about their doctrine and conduct. We are commanded to be likeminded and all speaking the same thing and teaching the same thing. We are supposed to come together and pray and reason from the scriptures about all things that there can be biblical unity. Biblical unity is just that…biblical. It is centered around the scriptures as the true objective authority that it is. Your pastor and teachers are subject to the scriptures. Even prophets in the Bible are said to be examined and proved. Don’t continue with any church or group that will not examine themselves or that will not discuss such things as doctrine. It’s very popular today to not care about those “divisive” things. The thing you have to remember is that Christianity at its very core is divisive. Christ Himself told us that: but it divides truth from error, light from darkness, sheep from goats.
   6. So, thank you Stuart for your email. If anyone ever has a question or comment, feel free to email me at Brotherjon@remnantbiblefellowship.com. You can also message me through the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/RBFellowship.

• The Baptism of the Spirit thing
  1. I had mentioned a couple of months ago that I was going to be doing an episode, or series of episodes, on the issue of the Baptism of the Spirit. Certain things came up and I believed that they were more important. I have not yet ruled out going over that totally, but there are several things that are really on my mind to take care of first. I will probably revisit that in the future. If it’s particularly on your mind you can always request that I focus on that. Really guys, asking and requesting certain topics does take priority. If you have a question I want to be able to help you to get a sound Biblical answer. If I don’t know, or don’t have the particular knowledge necessary to answer your question, I will say so and try to point out where you can get an answer.

1. Changes in the Podcast
   1. So, as we finish out 2017 there are some things changing with the podcast. We have some new equipment which may make it sound different. The recording process is changing slightly. If you were able to tell on the last episode, my wife’s testimony sounded a little thin. That’s because that was the first thing recorded using the new process. It’s not going to continue to sound that way. I am still working with my friend Jeff Holbrook, from the Weekly Catch Up podcast over on the Relatecasts network, to make sure the audio quality does not go down at all. I’m not used to recording through a mixer and using an XLR connection so I’m still figuring out how to EQ things well. So if you notice a difference in tone that’s what it is. Any questions or comments, email me or comment on the Facebook page.
   2. Another thing, we’re in the process of getting new artwork made up through 99designs.com. It’s an awesome company that sets up contests with tons of graphic designers and artists to compete for your purpose. They are currently working on a new logo and artwork for us. It should, according to the Lord’s will, be up for the first episode of 2018. These sorts of things do help make the appeal of the podcast go up I guess. I don’t particularly like focusing so much on appeal in a business type way because this is a ministry, but if it helps people to find the podcast more easily without compromising any scriptural mandate then I guess it can fall under the category of using the world but not abusing it like Paul said.
   3. Also, in iTunes, where the podcast is listed, Apple has requested that podcasters use certain tags in their information before publishing to iTunes. It’s not a big deal for us. For some other podcasts it’s creating a lot of headache. But you may notice if you listen to the podcast though there that the info on the episodes is slightly different. Whereas before I listed only the topical episodes as “episodes”, like on the webpage on the buttons to the right, now they will all be listed as episodes—at least in iTunes. They are also starting to be categorized by “season” too. So everything up to the end of 2017 will fall under season 1, and with the start of 2018 we’ll begin season 2. Again, at least that’s how it will be described in iTunes.
2. Format
   1. Now, in the past the format of the show has been quite simple. Sometimes I will answer a question and that’s the whole episode. It may only be 15 minutes long. A lot of people have liked that. Starting with 2018, season 2, the formatting will be different. We’re trying to make the formatting of the podcast be a little more consistent. So I’m probably going to start answering a question, if there is one, at the beginning of each episode. Then, after that, if there are any announcements or news I’ll go over it. Finally, after those things, we’ll do a lesson or play a sermon. That is where we’re headed formatting-wise.
3. Most Popular episodes
   1. So, as it is the end of the year, I thought it would be good to mention what were the most popular episodes this past year.
   2. In 2017, the most listened to episode was “Bible Versions Part 3: Textual Criticism and Manuscript Evidence.” The next most listened to episode was “Bible Versions: A look at James White’s book The King James Only Controversy.” If you plan to go listen to those episodes, just note that you should listen to the whole series if you want it to make sense. I especially like the Introduction episode myself. I think there are a lot of practical things in it that most people don’t think about. After those two, the most listened to episode is “On Bible Reading.” I’m a little surprised by that too. But just a week or two ago our podcast was made available through Spotify, and that really seems to be where a lot of people are now listening through. So, maybe it’s because the podcast is being found more easily now.

• Coming in 2018
  1. Okay, now coming up in 2018, we have a lot planned. There has really been a lot on my mind this past year about how there is very little effective teaching about the practical Christian life. People learn –isms and not how to overcome sin or how to seek God. There is this big gap between what is said in the Bible and the young believer today’s experience; and there are few that can give practical answers. I was just talking to a young man the other day that had become disillusioned with Christianity because he was not able to get any answers to his questions. He apostasized because of it. He thought that there were none because no one could give him any. It’s really evident when going over the stats for this past year what people are really wanting. Our most listened to episode number-wise might have been released back in January of 2017, but the one released on Bible reading is only 5 downloads behind it…even though it was released in mid-November. That shows you how much people are wanting practical instruction to fill the gap in what is being said and done in churches and what is needed in their lives. They want to know how to overcome sin. They want to know how to seek God. They might not care so much about their denomination’s form of baptism and why it’s so important. Baptism is important, of course. But knowing how to overcome sin moreso.
  2. It’s for reasons like that, which are exactly what I went through as a young Christian, that the Lord has impressed upon me, I believe, to focus on practical things for a while. So this coming year, according to the Lord’s will, we’ll be going over the following things:
     1. The Atonement
     2. Repentance and Faith

• Assurance of Salvation

1. Counting the Cost
2. The Will of God
3. Seeking God

• The Importance of the Word
• The Importance of Prayer

1. Abiding in Christ
2. Temptation and Overcoming Sin
3. What is it to be “Spiritual”?

• The Hope of the Resurrection
• The Coming Delusion
• Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

1. That’s the list of what we’ve got planned. The Lord could change something, but so far this is what’s coming up. I’ve been working on the stuff for the Atonement for two weeks now, and it should be the first episode of the New Year.
2. There will be a 30 second promo released first. That is kind of a “trailer” for the podcast in general. It’s going to be listed as episode 00 of season 2. If you share it on social media or something, when it comes out, it will help us out.

• Plug for Social Media and Ratings
  1. Speaking of that, some of you may not be aware that podcasts can be rated in most apps, and also on Youtube. Yes, we release through Youtube also—though it’s our least listened to destination. I’m not someone who likes self-promotion, especially when it comes to ministry, but it helps out our Podcast when you rate and share it. Commenting helps also. Places like iTunes allow you to rate us, and even Google allows you to rate the webpage, and you can even like the Facebook page. It really helps the Podcast to get more exposure so other people are likely to find us. For example, we’re making the podcast episodes be more consistent for the same reason. Certain apps make podcasts “featured” as it were if your artwork looks good, you have good consistent content, and good ratings from listeners. All this helps us to reach more people. So, if you listen regularly, please consider rating the podcast somewhere like iTunes, Google, or even Facebook.
  2. Any questions or comments can be sent to the email provided or the Facebook page. I try to make sure that I keep up with them daily as best as I can. Thanks for listening. I look forward to starting on the Atonement in about a week and a half.

 

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