Selah - A Podcast by Koinonia Fellowship

Pastor Ray Viola
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  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Pastors Ray Viola and Ben Hiwale go through the Bible line-by-line, precept-by-precept in a series of in-depth teachings. Our prayer for this podcast series is that you would KNOW CHRIST, GROW IN CHRIST, PROCLAIM CHRIST, and bring GLORY TO GOD.

  1. Loving The Truth

    2D AGO

    Loving The Truth

    One of the most sobering things Jesus ever said was spoken to deeply religious people. He looked at men who knew the Scriptures outwardly, practiced religion outwardly, and appeared zealous outwardly—and He said, “I know you, that you have not the love of God in you.” That is frightening. These men studied the Bible, talked about God, defended traditions, and yet they completely missed the Messiah standing right in front of them. Why? Because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. They wanted religion without surrender. They wanted honor without repentance. Beloved, the issue is still the same today. The real test of whether a person truly loves God is this: what do they do with Jesus Christ? Do they believe He is the Son of God? Do they trust Him alone for salvation? Do they follow Him as Lord? Because salvation is not about religious performance. It is not about trying harder or becoming good enough. If righteousness could come by keeping the law, then Christ died in vain. No, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Jesus said these men rejected Him because they did not have “the love of the truth.” And when people reject the truth, they become vulnerable to lies. That is why our world is so confused today. People reject the Word of God, and then they wonder why darkness fills the vacuum. But there is good news. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He bore the curse we deserved. He rose from the dead. And the Bible says that if you believe on Him, you may know that you have eternal life. So today, don’t harden your heart. Love the truth, and rest in the grace of God that is found only in Jesus Christ. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    39 min
  2. The Righteousness of God

    MAY 3

    The Righteousness of God

    My devotional for today addresses the importance of having the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus as the very basis of our forgiveness and right standing with God. The necessity of having the righteousness of God in order to be a child of God is unfortunately oftentimes overlooked when sharing the gospel with others. Most people believe that salvation is a matter of “believing” in Jesus, but granted on the basis of them doing good works or observing religious rituals or sacraments. But The Word of God says. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Note beloved that the gospel that grants salvation is not based upon our good works, but upon faith in the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is Someone, not something. Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Note once again that it is not our good works that gets us to heaven, but faith in the righteousness of God, which is in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Sin separates man from God. Even the best works that we can do cannot pay that debt of sin. Only the perfect, sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ can do that. Scripture is equally clear that our righteousness before God is a filth rag (Isa 64:6). Born in Adam, there are none righteous before God, no not one (Rom 3:10). What you and I need to be made right with God is the only righteousness that He accepts which is Christ Himself. 2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Repent and call out to Jesus Christ and receive Gods righteousness. Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    55 min
  3. Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

    APR 26

    Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

    If that title about The Lord Jesus Christ for my devotional this week does not sound original, it’s because it isn’t. Those were the words of Christian apologist, C.S.Lewis from his incredible book, Mere Christianity. Our study texts this morning provided some of the many texts that caused Lewis to make that statement. A careful examination of the words of Jesus in the gospels leave us no other options. No mere man can make the claims of Deity and being equal to God The Father that Jesus made and be a good man or a good teacher. Every claim to deity that He made is recorded in Scripture in order that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. The claims of Jesus are stunning. Read all of His verily, verily and I Am statements. He is to be honored equal to The Father (John 5:23) and believed on equal to The Father (John 14:1) Thirty eight times in the New Testament we find the phrase sent Me to describe why God The Father sent Jesus. He sent Jesus on a mission of redemption. He sent Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary as The Perfect Lamb of God to take away our sin and rise from the dead in order to provide forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God for those who would repent and receive Him as Lord. But what are the consequences for not believing the claims of Christ or the purpose for The Father sending Him? John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Reader, your decision about who Jesus is on earth will determine your eternal destiny. The clock towards your eternity is ticking my friend. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Liar? Lunatic? Or Lord? The choice is yours. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    53 min
  4. Rising Gospel Opposition

    APR 19

    Rising Gospel Opposition

    Gospel opposition is inevitable. When we stand with Christ, the world will stir up opposition. Not only was this warned of in Scripture, but it was promised. And it was a promise that came from Jesus’ very own lips: Luke 21:12 “But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.” John 15:20-21 “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” And when the church began, they faced fierce opposition: Acts 7:57-58 “But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.” Acts 8:1 “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” But we ought to take heart: Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 5:1-18 shows us two things about Gospel opposition: why is it stirred up? And how do we steer through it? Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    47 min
  5. Our Beneficent God

    APR 12

    Our Beneficent God

    Today, we are going to hear of the miracle of healing that the Lord Jesus performs on the nobleman’s son. We read in John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. The Lord Jesus replied to Him, Go; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken to him, and he departed (John 4:50). Praise be unto God for the many miracles that He does in our lives every single minute of every single day. David, the man after God’s own heart declared in Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. Dear fellow follower of the Lord Jesus, today, you and I are loaded with a multitude of benefits from God. That next breath that you and I are taking? That’s one of the benefits. Our God is an incredibly beneficent God. He doesn’t just “trickle” us with His benefits, He loads us. In Psalm 116:12 we read, What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? The Psalmists response? Psalm 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. What is our response to the question, what shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? Is it one that calls upon the Name of the Lord with thanksgiving and praise for Who He is to us? The Lord Jesus Himself is the bestower of every good and perfect gift in our lives. Listen to what Abba says to you and me today: Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. As we hear Gods Word about how Jesus ministers to the nobleman and his son, your need may be desperate as well. You may not be “feeling” the reality of God's benefits. What really matters beloved is this. Calvary was the ultimate demonstration of these incredible benefits towards us. May His living word fill each one of you with His miraculous benefits of healing, comfort, peace, strength and love today. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    50 min

  6. APR 5

    The Gospel of the Empty Tomb

    The Lord Jesus repeatedly said that He was going to rise from the dead on the third day. In Matthew 12:40 He said. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. In John 2:19 He said: Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Even His enemies remembered after they crucified Him that He said that He would rise from the dead. Matthew 26:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 23:64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. This morning all Christians around the world are gathered together to celebrate the resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ! In Mark 16:6, the women who came to anoint the anticipated body of Jesus were told these words that shocked the world! Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. How important is the empty tomb my friend? According to 1 Cor 15:4, if there is not bodily resurrection of The Lord Jesus from the dead, there is no gospel. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Please note that this glorious gospel of Jesus resurrection from the dead was according to the Scriptures. God promised the resurrection of Jesus, and God fulfilled that promise. Acts 2:23,24 declares Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. The angel declared in Matthew 28:5,6 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, our sins could not be forgiven and mankind is left without any hope of being reconciled to God. (1 Cor 15:14-19). How important is the empty tomb? Romans 10:9-13That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Reader, you must believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin and rose again from the dead to your Lord. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    54 min
  7. The Transformed Life

    MAR 29

    The Transformed Life

    The woman at well is a wonderful example of what happens inside of the person who has had a heart-changing encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a transformation that begins to take place. Priorities change. Desires change. Likes and dislike change. Probably the most obvious change that takes place is the fact that you become more aware of the eternal souls of others. This woman is going to be used by God to plant the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of the very same community that may have previously rejected and shunned her. The Father sent Jesus to engage in a conversation with this woman that ended with her believing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. She then went back home and told others to come and see for yourselves that Jesus is the Messiah. He then gave the exhortation to His disciples, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest (John 4:35). The great commission is a daily lifestyle that tells others in both word and deed to Come and see. It is simply loving the God who created us supremely, and telling others to believe on His Son Jesus who was sent by the Father to die on the cross for our sin debt, only to rise again the third day! The transformed is Not I, but Christ live the in me (Galatians 2:20). Jesus said that His food was to do the will of the Father that sent Him and to finish His work. Redemption is God’s work. Carrying out the will of God is the work of every person in the body of Christ. The prophet Isaiah declared, Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. May that response of Isaiah be the heart cry of both writer and reader on this devotional. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    53 min
  8. Jesus and the Woman at the Well

    MAR 22

    Jesus and the Woman at the Well

    The account of Jesus with the woman at the well is a beautiful picture of God’s loving pursuit of sinners with the good news of salvation, by grace alone, through faith alone, in His Son, Jesus Christ, alone. This account of The Lord Jesus meeting this woman was not a coincidence. It was by divine appointment. John tells us in John 4:3,4 that Jesus left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. That little word must indicates that The Father was sending His Son on a mission to meet a woman whose life was broken by repeated divorces and all of the ramifications of how those relationships affected her both personally and socially. Hidden in this story we find how Jesus broke down the walls of race and “unacceptable” contact in reaching her with the gospel. She was a Samaritan, and Samaritans and Jews had no dealings with one another because of their hatred towards one another. Having been married five times and currently living with a man, she was obviously a woman with a lesser than acceptable moral conduct. The fact that she was at the well to draw water at noon instead of early in the morning indicated that she would be ashamed to be seen by other women who would be gathered at the well early in the morning. But Jesus used this common daily practice of gathering water as a place to have a life changing conversation with the woman about to her the greater need of living water. Jesus said to the woman in verse 10, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. He then goes on to tell her in verses 13 and 14, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. He then addresses that she had been married five times and was currently living with a man. Convicted of her sin, she then engages in a religious conversation with Jesus about the place that she was taught was as a little girl to go and worship God. In verses 22-26, Jesus says, Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. The woman left her waterspout at the well and went back to her community a changed woman, telling others that she met the Jews Messiah, and His Name is Jesus Christ. Every single saved person has a “woman at the well” testimony of how God has saved them. Reader, have you had this “woman at the well” encounter with Jesus Christ? Have you left behind the waterspout of your old life and embraced The Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Today is the day of salvation. Look unto Him and be saved. SELAH Koinonia Fellowship Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a 500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445 koinoniafellowship.com

    1h 3m
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About

Pastors Ray Viola and Ben Hiwale go through the Bible line-by-line, precept-by-precept in a series of in-depth teachings. Our prayer for this podcast series is that you would KNOW CHRIST, GROW IN CHRIST, PROCLAIM CHRIST, and bring GLORY TO GOD.

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