Selah - A Podcast by Koinonia Fellowship

Pastor Ray Viola
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Selah - A Podcast by Koinonia Fellowship

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. 1D AGO

    Spirit-Filled Fathers: An Endangered Species

    There is only one perfect Father, and that is God Himself, the Everlasting Father. But because God is our perfect Father figure, human fatherhood should seek to reflect the fatherhood of God as best as they can. Biblical, Spirit-filled fatherhood is an “endangered species” in our society. But one of the most vital ingredients to a strong family, church and society is the need for biblical, Spirit-filled fathers. Biblical, Spirit-filled fatherhood is regarded as archaic and irrelevant in “today’s culture” (whatever that means!). Sadly, even within the church, biblical, Spirit-filled fatherhood has been replaced by extremes of legalistic authoritarianism or flat out, no involvement and absenteeism leaving wives and mothers to “fulfill” a role that God never intended them to fulfill. Today’s message is a call for the fathers and grandfathers of Koinonia to step up and accept our God given roles of fatherhood, in spite of how we feel or what society says. Men, our families need us to be Spirit filled men of God. Listen to this griping story: In 2003, Hurricane Isabel slammed into the East Coast of the United States, leaving 16 dead and cutting power to six million homes. The edges of the hurricane passed through Washington, D.C., prompting the president and members of Congress to find safer quarters. That was not the case at Arlington National Cemetery, where guards stood vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns at the time, just as they had done every hour of every day since July 1, 1937. When the hurricane hit, the soldiers remained at their posts even though they were given permission to seek shelter. That’s what a soldier does. He acknowledges the storm, but he doesn’t give in to it. He stands firm. Biblical manhood and fatherhood is under attack by today’s society and the liberal church. Like these soldiers, Christian men, young or old, are called to stand and do our duty while staring down the very storms of a God forsaken culture that is pressuring us to neglect abandon our biblical posts as heads of our families. When men abandon this pursuit of Christ like, Spirit filled headship or when this responsibility of leadership is usurped by their wives or simply taken away from them... CHAOS ENSUES in the home, in society and in the church. For the glory of God, I pray that Almighty God pour out His Spirit upon each and every father here today. SELAH

    41 min

  2. JUN 8

    Parenting The Gospel

    Last year I got a plant for my office. It was a nice bamboo plant, exotic looking, with lots of life. It sat front and center on my desk. I sympathize with Jonah because I was “exceedingly glad because of the plant” (okay, maybe that’s a bit overstated. But you get the idea). After a couple weeks, one of the shoots started to turn brown, so I trimmed it. Well done, Dylan. Except the next week another bamboo shoot turned brown. Trimmed again. Well, suffice to say, that plant is now the property of Waste Management. If that plant was to grow and remain healthy, it was going to require constant nurturing. Watering, sunlight, attention, pruning, etc. were required. Life is fragile. And if we are to nurture real growth, it must be done through intimate care. Paul tells us about how the gospel grew through his ministry. He did not preach with “error or impurity or any attempt to deceive”. He did not come with “words of flattery” or with “pretext for greed”. In fact, he did not even exercise the authority of an apostle (which he had the right to exercise). The gospel did not come through Paul with domination, but with self-donation. “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” A nursing mother is more than simply saying “a mother”. A nursing mother actively gives of herself for the growth and health of her children. If we want to see the gospel grow and develop in the souls of the people near us, then we must do more than simply proclaim the gospel with our lips. We must present it with our lives. But that does not mean that we are simply good people everywhere we go, smiling at the cashier, telling someone they look nice, and letting that red pickup truck change lanes in front of us. It means that we take active measures to donate ourselves to those who are closest to us. Yes, that is a tall order, but it is how the gospel came to us. More than that, it is the gospel itself - Jesus donating himself on the cross. If we want the gospel to pour out of us and into the lives of those near us, then it must be poured out through self-donation, as we depict the ultimate self-donation of Christ on the cross.

    44 min

  3. JUN 1

    Following Jesus, Reaching the Lost

    The greatest example of an evangelist or soul winner to ever set foot on planet earth was none other than the Lord, Jesus Christ. Whether it was the woman at the well or a great multitude, the Lord Jesus shared the truth with those that the Father sent Him. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, verses 36-38, "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest”. In the gospel of John, verses 5-7, “Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink”. Whether it was a single individual or a great multitude, the Lord Jesus ministered to them with all of His heart, for He knew that the Father sent Him “to seek and to save those who was lost”. We tend to forget that whenever we read the accounts of the Lord Jesus ministering to people, we are seeing the heart of the Father at work, for Jesus Himself said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father”.   At the end of each gospel and in the first chapter of the book of Acts we read what has come to be known as The Great Commission that has been passed down to every generation of saints throughout the history of the church. Jesus said to the disciples in the upper room, “as the Father has sent Me, so send I you”. And we learn from John 20 and Acts 1:8 that He sent them (and likewise God is sending us out) He breathed on them the Holy Ghost and sent them out. Please pray that the Lord will give you a renewed vision for reaching the lost to Jesus Christ and recovering the straying back into fellowship. We join you in prayer as we seek to invite people to come and hear and believe the everlasting gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. SELAH

    1h 3m

  4. MAY 25

    Living Epistle for Jesus Christ

    The epistles that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians are thought by many to be some of his earliest epistles. One thing that will be clear to us as we work our way through these letters is that they reveal Paul’s theology, and also give us glimpses of the transformed lives of those who came to salvation in Jesus Christ during these early stages of the spreading of the gospel. Bear in mind that this epistle and the remarkable “gospel-centered lifestyle” of the Thessalonians was written to a church that was largely Gentile in nature; who had recently heard and come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ out of a life of pagan worship and idolatry. He talked to them about the doctrine of divine election. He talked to them about the necessity of walking in holiness in the Christian life. He mentions the hope of the imminent return of Jesus Christ in every chapter in 1 Thessalonians. In chapter 4, we learn that one of the reasons why Paul wrote this book was to comfort saints who had questions about where their loved ones who had died were. He told them to comfort one another with the fact that that they were with Jesus. Beloved, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is a comforting hope in this insane world that we are living in. But what I’d like to leave you with this morning as a personal application “takeaway” can be wrapped up in 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10. It says, "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come". Note beloved, in verse nine, that when these saints heard and believed the gospel, they turned to God from idols. That’s repentance. They turned around. The Lord Jesus said, "repent, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). 59 times we find the word repent or repentance in the New Testament. Repentance is a vital part of the Christian life. Secondly, they began to serve the Living and True God. A truly repentant heart will devote itself to serving the Living God. Thirdly, they waited (like a waiter or waitress serving tables) for the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the good and faithful servant that Jesus taught us about in Matthew 24:42-47, these saints were serving the Lord in the anticipation of Jesus’ soon return. These transformed lives were telling others about the gospel of the soon returning Lord Jesus Christ to such an extent that every place that Paul went to share the gospel, they had already heard about it from them! What would Paul write about our zeal for spreading the gospel? What would he say about the spiritual climate and culture of our church family at Koinonia? “Blessed Father, we ask You this morning in the Name of Jesus to stir us up by Your Holy Spirit, in order that we might as a church family be about the business of serving You in such a way that souls are saved, disciples are made, and You are glorified.” SELAH

    55 min

  5. MAY 18

    3 Keys to Empowered Encouragement

    Our passage today is about encouragement, what that really means and how we can have biblically empowered encouragement. Life is good, but life is hard, and we need encouragement. We need to be stirred up. We need our souls knit together. Paul talks about this idea of being knit together throughout his letter to the Colossians. Paul prayer in Colossians 2:19 is that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding, and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  The thrust of his message is this: if you want to resist false teaching, if you want to resist heresy, destructive, deceitful ideas coming into the church, knit yourselves together, encourage one another. Paul then gives some practical ways that we can encourage each other. Number one, companionship. Number two, specificity. And number three, personal touch.  He doesn't just offer words of encouragement to the Colossians, he sends his companion Tychicus, so "that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts."  Sometimes when we think of encouragement, we think of a nice pat on the back. But that that's not the type of encouragement that knits our hearts together.  The Greek word translated encourage here is parakaleō, which can be illustrated by a father teaching his son how to walk. The father encourages the son, comes alongside him, stands by him, then steps back and pleads for the son to come forward.  If you want to really encourage someone where your hearts are knit together, consider the situation they're in, then tell them how you are doing in the same fight that they are engaged in.  Secondly, Paul encourages us to get specific. In verse 17 he directly addresses Archippus with a specific encouragement: "see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord." Thirdly, we need personal touch. Notice what Paul says in the last verse. "I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you."  The people reading the letter would see that it's Paul's handwriting, but maybe it was a little more jagged than usual. And then they read that phrase, remember my chains, and think, oh, he's got chains on his wrist. Every Thursday morning, a brother in the Lord named Jack and I would get together and he'd teach me about hermeneutics, about how to study the Bible techniques. At the end of that time he got me this thick systematic theology textbook. I still use it every single week, and every time I do, I think about Jack, because when I open the front cover I see a handwritten note written just to me.  A year and a half ago, Jack passed away. But every time I open that book it feels as if all the angels and all the saints of old are cheering me on. Exhorting me to read, encouraging me to pray. Calling me forth into truth. All the right information in the world can't do that. But the personal touch brings to life.  When Paul talks about knitting of our souls together through encouragement, he's saying that as we encourage one another and as our souls are knit together in Christ, we inch closer and closer to glory.  Father God of all comfort. Comfort us. Knit our souls together. Oh, Lord, we thank you that you reached out to us with personal touch to knit our souls back to you. God, what a marvelous mystery. God, you're with us now. You're in us by the spirit. You're in us by faith. You encourage us. You strengthen us. Help us to do that with our brothers and sisters.

    52 min

  6. MAY 14

    The Whole Duty of Man

    As I've been studying Ecclesiastes 12 this week, I can hear Solomon's voice—aged, reflective, and full of hard-earned wisdom. He urges me: Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Not someday. Now. Before the noise of life and the wear of age dull my hunger for God. We sometimes think we will finally have time to get serious about faith later in life, when things slow down. But Solomon corrects us—life doesn’t get easier, only different. If I won’t follow God when I’m young and strong, I likely won’t when I’m old and distracted. He's honest about the effects of age: the trembling hands, fading eyesight, shallow sleep, and quieter passions. He’s not complaining—he’s reminding us that time is short and precious. Life isn’t about preserving youth but preparing for eternity. This body is a house that’s wearing out, and the soul inside it is meant for something greater. I’m sowing the seeds of my future now—what kind of harvest do I expect? Solomon then points us to what lasts: God’s Word. Wise words are like goads—they prod us, sometimes painfully, always helpfully. They’re like nails fastened by the Shepherd—secure, reliable, worth hanging our life on. There’s one Book, from one Shepherd, and it holds all the truth I need. Every time I’ve let Scripture shape me, it has steadied me. The conclusion of the book is clear: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Not part of it—all of it. This is what I was made for. Not to accumulate, impress, or indulge—but to love God with all I am. Solomon, who had everything the world offers, says it all left him empty. But fearing God—that’s fullness. And there’s a final reminder: God will bring every deed into judgment, even the hidden ones. For the believer, it’s not judgment unto condemnation, but examination for reward. Even so, I’m called to live with purity of motive—serving for His glory, not mine. That makes today sacred. It matters how I live, and even more, why. So ask yourself today, is the gospel a question mark or an exclamation point? You’ve been redeemed. You belong to Christ. And this is your whole duty: to fear God, to keep His Word, and to enjoy Him forever.

    56 min

  7. MAY 11

    A Tribute to Mothers

    Over one hundred years ago, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established it as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”  Much has changed since then; listen to this quote from Rachel Jankovic from Desiring God: “Modern women are starving for power. They are marching, demanding, and fighting — doing everything they can do — to try to obtain a sense of power because they are painfully aware of a feminine power shortage. The horrible irony is that they trample on the bodies of infants — demanding abortion rights as essential to feminine strength. But it is all a perverting of the truly shocking feminine power — that of childbearing, that which they are discarding. We have been slowly brought to believe that empowered women are those who have detached themselves from fertility. We stand by feeling embarrassed of our bellies, while intentionally infertile shells of women despise our childbearing, as though it was a hobby for the low-achieving and undereducated. They take the glory and the awe out of sex, both the act itself and the incredible archetypes God wrote into human sexuality. Love that is creational. mankind and womankind, constantly creating new men and new women. They have persuaded us that there is no fight in motherhood, no value to children in marriage. It’s certainly true that no nation is ever greater than its mothers, for they are the makers of the next generation.” Every person reading this was brought into this world by a biological female who is identified by God as mother. A mother has the potential to touch a whole generation by simply loving her own child well with the love of Jesus. Actually, she can affect the next 2000 years. All of us are affected today to some degree because of the godly mother and grandmother who raised a young boy by the name of Timothy in the Holy Scriptures. 2 Timothy 1:5 says, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also". One popular poem, written almost 150 years ago, contains this line, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”  And a young mom added, the hand that rocks the cradle is usually attached to a mother who isn’t getting enough sleep! One Jewish proverb says, “One mother achieves more than a hundred teachers.” Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James because of its eloquent English. Another said he liked the ESV for its literalism. The third scholar was sold on the New Living Translation for its use of contemporary phrases and idioms. After being quiet for a moment, the fourth scholar admitted: “I have personally preferred my mother’s translation.” When the other scholars started laughing, he said, “My mom translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I have ever read.” Children of all ages, honor your mother today. She is not perfect, no one is, but there is only one person on earth who you can call mother, and it the woman who poured into you, loved you, and raised you. Pray for your mother, saved or unsaved. Extend to her the grace and mercy that you expect from God yourself. Remember, heaven is populated with imperfect mothers who trusted Jesus Christ for the salvation of their eternal souls, and purposed to live their lives for His glory and honor. SELAH

    49 min

  8. MAY 4

    Resting or Wrestling?

    In the book of Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, God speaks of a rest that remains for those who place their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:9 says, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. The Lord Jesus said to the multitudes in Matthew 11:28-30, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The key to entering into this glorious rest, spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, is faith in God (Isa 11:10). In reading Hebrews 3 & 4, we learn that the Israelites failed to enter into the promised land because of unbelief. Hebrews 3:18,19 says, And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. The Holy Spirit goes on to say in Hebrews 4:10,11 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. So, dearly beloved, let me ask you a question: Are you resting in your faith or wrestling in your faith? Are you resting from your own works and finding rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ? Having begun in The Spirit, are you now being made perfect by your own works? Oh yes, we do work now, but the work that we do is motivated by our love for God and because He first loved us. It is only by faith in Jesus that we can have rest. It is this rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ that gives us the peace of God that passes all understanding. The perfect peace that stems from our mind being stayed on Him (Isa 26:3,4). It wasn’t the giants that kept the Israelites out of the promised land, it was unbelief in the promise of God. Never allow unbelief to rob you of the rest that is yours as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is finished! SELAH

    53 min
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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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