I grew up having quite a difficult time with reading comprehension. I do not learn through books but through hearing and doing. I did read the Bible daily for 20 yrs. Now I don’t read as much but watch tons of Christian you tubers. I agree that reading vs watching should not be pinned against each other. I find that watching videos help enhance my understanding of the scriptures, and it gives me context. It increases my love for God and His word.
I have learned more about the Bible in the 3 yrs of watching youtube than the 20 years of daily reading. Videos is not a substitution to reading but it is helpful.
@@dr.snipes9410 That can certainly be a great resource, but for some people, the lack of a visual element makes it hard to concentrate and really engage with the material. That's where videos can be a huge help. One thing I would recommend though, to anyone struggling with that, is to try using an audio version and following along with a text version. The two elements together can help a lot with actually taking it in.
I have been a Bible teacher for over 50 years so I think I have a basic understanding of scripture. However, I really appreciate the added understanding that I get from listening to Mike Winger. I usually listen while I have my second cup of coffee or while I do a household task. Very practical and time efficient. It’s a wonderful, enriching form of Bible study, not a replacement. I’m a better Bible teacher because of it. I do sometimes find that your take on a passage is different from mine. That’s a great reminder that you’re not perfect and that I should consider what you say,not swallow it whole. :) Thanks for all the time and effort that you put into your work!
I appreciate what you wrote. I mean no disrespect but I had to add that at least with Mike there's been times when after he stated something I previously wouldn't have agreed with I listened and read the Bible verse in question and realized 'I' had it wrong. To be honest I can't think of a time when he hasn't been spot on biblically speaking. I do however really appreciate like I said your comment because I've listened to other pastors on YT and found what they're saying to be false or share a different belief and have struggled with whether to listen to them at all. You helped me remember their human too and not to throw the baby out with the water unless obviously it's biblically incorrect rather than a view I hope this made sense.
I haven't been a Christian for a full year yet but I appreciate RU-vid pastors like Mike and a few others. It's because of these teachers that I now read my Bible, study and pray daily that I'm growing to know and trust in God. Reading my Bible was hard at first because I didn't understand it. Mike's teaching has helped SO much that I can now actually read instead of just listening. I am thankful for this channel
This is really encouraging, Bonnie. Welcome to the family. I remember being a new Christian and being confused when reading the Bible too. Thankfully, we have Mike and others to help us understand what we read. Have you watched The Chosen yet? It's a biblically based TV show about Jesus and his disciples. Like Pastor Mike, The Chosen helps me understand Jesus' teaching in the context of his Jewish heritage. Highly recommended.
@@teej0813 I do watch The Chosen. There are so many who criticize it and say it's unbiblical but I don't focus on what's going on around the actual story. The life of Jesus. I'm still on season 1. Going slowly because I can't make it thru an episode without crying. The Bible, the story of Jesus, for a new Christian, it's all so emotion filled and overwhelming at times.
@@bonniec1765 I'm glad you found The Chosen, Bonnie. And I'm glad you're finding it meaningful. My reaction to it is similar to yours. Although I've been a Christian and attended churches for 30+ years, I wasn't really taught much about the Jewishness of Jesus and the disciples. I've learned much from the show about the culture and how Jesus' listeners would have understood his teachings. And I've read (or listened to) the bible cover-to-cover a dozen times, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of who God is and what he wants from us. I have yet to see anything in The Chosen that is contrary to Jesus' teachings.
Hi there Bonnie. I also have just started my own Christian bible teaching channel, so if you were interested, feel free to check out some of my content, no pressure of course, just trying to help you as a fairly new Christian. I know how hard it can be to understand the bible when you're first starting out. ✝🙂
@@debrasmith4675 Lusifer fallen angel died 6 Jesus died (33) 3+3=6 ? sun day law? sun of god? Baal ? Moon ? Sun? lusifer? Did ALMIGHTY YEHOVA THE MOST HIGH AND SAVIOR tell Abraham to slaughter Isaac??? -YEHOVA ELOHIM SAID- The Sorrows Pain And Suffering, Of Those Who Have Chosen Another god Will Be Multiplied; [Because Of Their idolatry]; I Will NOT GIVE Their BLOOD Offerings, And I Will NOT TAKE Their Names ON MY LIPS: ~ Psalms 16:4 "The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessman,Teachers, Lawyers, Carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them Our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." - Morpheus, The Matrix 💊 Lightworkers: We Came To BREAK THE MATRIX!!!! HE Replied, “Go Your Way, Daniel, Because The Words Are Rolled Up And Sealed Until The TIme Of The End. Many Will Be Purified, Made Spotless And Refined, But The Wicked Will Continue To Be Wicked. None Of The Wicked Will Understand, But Those Who Are Wise Will Understand. ~ Daniel 12:9-10 and he shall speak great words against THE MOST HIGH (YEHOVA - ԵՀՈՎԱ) and shall wear out The Saints Of THE MOST HIGH YEHOVA and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. ~ Daniel 7:25 2nd testimony worshiping sun not ALMIGHTY YEHOVA THE MOST HIGH: And He Brought me into the inner court of THE ELOHIM’S HOUSE, and, behold, at the Door Of The TEMPLE Of The ELOHIM, between The Porch and The Altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward THE TEMPLE Of The ELOHIM, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. ~ Ezekiel 8:16 But At That Time YOUR People Shall Be Delivered, Whose Name Shall Be Found Written In The Book. And Many Of Those Who Sleep In The Dust Of The Earth Shall Awake, Some To Everlasting Life, And Some To Shame And Everlasting Contempt. ~ Daniel 12:1-2 the evil ones will be change to zombie!!! ‘The Mystery Of The Rapture’ “As In The Days When I Brought You Out Of Egypt, I Will Show Them Miracles.” When The Nations See Those Miracles, They Will No Longer Brag About Their Power. They Will Put Their Hands Over Their Mouths; Their Ears Shall Be Deaf. ~ Micah 7:15-16 In Time, It Will Be Said About Jacob And Israel, ‘Oh, What ELoHIM Has Done!’ Behold, This People Will Come Out Like A Lion, And Rise Up Like A Lion; It Shall Not Lie Down Until It Devours The Prey, And Drinks The Blood Of The Slain. ~ Numbers 23:23-24 Our RACE Is OVER: DON'T Look Back: Don't Ask Me Silly Question Anymore, That WHO IS My ELOHIM And My CREATOR. My ELOHIM IS [YEHOVA] THE ELOHIM Of Abraham, Isaac And Jacob. لا تسألني أي أسئلة غبية أخرى من هو إلهي وخالقي؟ إلوهيم هو يهوه [يهوفا] إلوهيم إبراهيم وإسحاق ويعقوب. All Generations Moreover MOST HIGH SAID To Moses, “ Thus You Shall Say To The Children Of Israel: ‘ THE YEHOVA ELOHIM Of Your Fathers, THE ELOHIM Of Abraham, THE ELOHIM Of Isaac, And THE ELOHIM Of Jacob, HAS SENT Me To You. THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER, [YEHOVA- ԵՀՈՎԱ] AND THIS IS MY MEMORIAL To All Generations. ~ Exodus 3:15 THE YEHOVA WILL BE KING OVER THE WHOLE EARTH. ON THAT DAY THERE WILL BE ONE ELOHIM, AND HIS NAME (YEHOVA) THE ONLY NAME. ~ Zechariah 14:9 Some Trust In Chariots And Some In Horses, But We TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE YEHOVA OUR ELOHIM (THE MOST HIGH). ~ Psalm 20:7 Don't Be Afraid Of Them! Because THE YEHOVA Your ELOHIM WILL FIGHT For You. ~ Deuteronomy 3:22
I think it’s very important what you do to mention your own limitations and constantly refer to the Bible as the source. It helps remind me that I’m just hearing a vessel of Scripture, not a Great Bible Thinker(TM).
This video is why I continue to listen to you, @MikeWinger. I feel the same way. No matter how much I like someone, or someone likes me, we are all just brother and sisters in Christ. He is the one that should get all the glory!
Thank you for pointing out the coinciding of covetousness as idolatry along with “traditional” idol worship. I’ve been guilty of both (not with carved idols but with relationships, expecting things from others that I should have been running to God for), and God had to pretty much up and break me so I could see that my dependence and devotion is only well spent when it is spent on Him. I’ve learned that if there’s something- even a good, holy thing- that I can’t bear the thought of parting with, even if God tells me to “just because” (as I ought to trust His leadership), then I shouldn’t sacrifice anything for that thing, but rather sacrifice that thing for the Lord.
Mike I have to say, when I was hurt by a church, it was through your content I grew as a Christian God used it in my life, I struggle reading. I also handwind guitar pickups and love to wind them while listening to a series like Jesus in the Old testament. So thank you for being our brother in Christ and being obedient it really does help. I found your content as a hurt relatively new believer, looking for a biblical way to choose a church to call home. Thank you for helping me find the right group of believer's to grow in Christ with
I've watched many of your videos. I think you're a nice guy: intelligent and sincere. And I can see where many of those under the pernicious influence of naked belief might idolize you. You've plotted a tricky course for youself.
modern-day idolatry is a constant message that we are not good enough until we attain xyz. This makes people especially women vulnerable and opens you up to suffering
1:20 That could be absolutely anything nowadays. Your phone, your job, your addiction, your shoes, your spouse, your food, your money, your entertainment, on and on... Not in a legalistic sense but some of us have weak points in these different areas.
We should all praise and glorify God above any man. But you and truth tellers who hold the line against popular and flashy self serving, ear tickling, money.loving preachers are worth your weight in gold. Keep humble and let people like me praise you!
It is remarkable that so many brothers and sisters around the world are going through something similar in their prayer life (Tim Mackie, Itiel Arroyo, many locar churches in my country Mexico and now this channel) This may be a time of great darkness (confusion, lack of manifest clarity) but God has a plan for this time as we are drawn to trust God's character, reputation, and honoring what he has done in our lives previously. My advide to my brother Mike, who has helped me without knowing so many times before, is to keep engaged in a community that knows him personally and open channels of communication where his flaws ar more apparent, like a Facebook page, so himself and others are more aware of his flaws. I know this is hard but I say it in love because we are all striving towards an impossible ideal. Only in Jesus we are saved and to Him we must look upon. Blessings
I agree! I misspoke, it IS POSSIBLE for God. I only meant it is really hard for us humans to never fail and we have all failed except for Jesus. Who is towards whom we strive, who we want to be like, our ideal.
Thank you sir! This really makes my definition of modern day idolatry. “And we know that we are of God” and the whole world lieth in wickedness(sin, unrighteousness towards God) and we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us and understanding that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true even in his Son JESUS CHRIST “This is the tru God” and eternal life( all other is idolatry) little children keep yourselves from Idols AMEN!!!
As a Catholic, I really respect your carefulness around this and not clumping all Catholics together. We truly should only seek intercession with saints like asking a friend to help in our prayers to Jesus. I'm afraid some got lost along the way though. It's something sneaky that can happen in any religion imo.
I like you ministry Pastor Mike Winger, because you "steel man" you do your best to protect us from your own interpretation/bias by providing the best arguments you have found on opposing views so you and your viewers can be objective. I'm curious if you know other RU-vidrs/ authors that do this also with high fidelity?
I would say that there are at least four prominent examples of rampant idolatry within the Catholic church: the worship of saints as mentioned, the worship of Mary and elevating her to essentially a fourth person of the Godhead, the prominence of literal graven images, and the worship of the Eucharist.
Hey Brother Mike or anyone else in the comments. Could you all pray for my friend Kenneth? Found out he's got cancer and just want to get as many believers to pray for his comfort physically but most importantly spiritually. Thanks to all and God Bless!
We should never settle for over-processed leftovers from the doggie bags of others. God desires to serve each of us a fresh feast, at His table for two. (Mike, thank you for serving up appetizers, that give me a hunger to go to God's word for more.)
Hey Mike, I subscribed to your channel and give you a thumbs-ups, but be assured, I don't idolize you. My church body has their own channel: Redeemer Moberly, and I watch my own church, even though I was there and I watch Ray Comfort and Greg Laurie. None of these I idolize, but I get so much in return by watching every channel. Though we should still physically read scripture, all these channels are still filling my need for God's Word. Keep up the good work.
I agree with you on the importance to read the Bible because as it states in various bible chapters of the Bible such as Joshua 1 and Psalms 1. Everyone needs to verify and read their bible because many preachers both people sealed with the Holy Spirit and false teachers misinterpret the Bible and use bible verses completely wrong without read the context. As you said Mike Winger only God should be worshipped and Jesus being human in the flesh has defeated death, he resurrected and now has a glorified body. Even Peter told Cornelius not to worship Peter because he (Peter) is only human. Cornelius was a pagan that was accustomed to worshipping false deities(gods) and Cornelius tried to to the same thing just as it says in Acts 10:25-26. Acts 10:17-29 17 Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. 18 They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three[a] men are searching for you. 20 Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” 22 They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous[b] and God-fearing man who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So Peter[c] invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers and sisters from Joppa accompanied him. 24 The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 On Peter’s arrival, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, worshiped him. 26 But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled, 28 and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is improper for a Jew to associate with or to visit an outsider, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”
I was brought up in it!..... Yet God showed me more than the nature of all things! Funny how I was shut up for this evil times! Is a child receiving visions an evil...This is what I deal with everyday! UNTIL NOW
For the second question: From my experience, the downside to having so much Christian content fed your way is that most of it is opinion. Especially on Tiktok/Instagram. It can be really influential opinions that most of the time aren't scripture based and can actually do harm. People share their ideas, opinions, propaganda, that lead you to different way of thinking.. a lot are not backed by the bibleee..
Found this video as I was searching for *Why people worship their idols* With this I did not mean any statues in images of a godlike entity but actually *idolising people* Fans = Fanatics I am not a religious person. I overall don’t see it intelligent to choose one thing to gather around and worship it. One does not have to worship a “thing” in order to “respect the thing”.
Modern day idols: When I saw the crowded streets of Buenos Aires stuffed with celebrations about a ball crossing a line, I saw adoration. Those soccer heroes represent what's most important to them - the fans, the etymology of that word traces back to fanatic. And as an Italian who got caught up with it all in 2006 (Forza Azzurri) I can assure that I'm not looking down my nose at anybody. The sports hero is the "idol of the age." "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."
Anything and anyone we put 1st places using our resources (mind, heart, body flesh or strength) than our Lord Jesus Christ and his words to be done. Again it is the 1st and Greatest Commandment that we love our God with all our mind, heart, strength (our body or flesh). We turn over what are not righteous and good the other way around which that could be are hanging ON OUR MIND, ON OUR HEART, ON OUR BEHAVIORS, AND ON OUR SPEECH. Repent our sins basically from head to toe.
Some people might not like to hear this but patriotism is a form of idolatry. All Christians are dual citizens which requires us to choose which kingdom we ultimately prioritize. God's Kingdom has no equals and often we must lay down a flag in order to carry a cross. For the early church, sometimes being a good Christian meant being a bad Roman. Incorporating any kind of nationalizm into songs of worship or adorning God's churches with flags and symbols would have alarmed the first followers of Jesus and even considered blasphemous. The objectives of governments' often directly contradict the teachings of Jesus. Caring for the poor, helping the oppressed, forgiving our enemies. If those ideals offend some people then they do not honor God's instructions.
Great answer! So many were taken in by Ravi Z and that was sad to see. I did not idolize Ravi like so many did because he visited our church and he didn't seem fully on board with grace. Mike is the best there is today imho and I don't get the Ravi vibe from him. Of course, I had no idea what Ravi was doing to women in his private life. God knew though. I am very skeptical by nature and it is almost impossible to find anything wrong in Mike's teachings. There are some web sites that will take what he said out of context and say it was wrong. But they are fringe and their mistakes are pretty obvious. Truly remarkable how well Mike has done and is doing.
Hey Mike, love your teachings, they’ve helped me find my faith. Was wondering if you would mind me downloading your videos? I would really love to have them as a backup to watch offline, but I wanted to ask first. Of course I wouldn’t re upload them or anything. Thanks again Mike, your ministry is a godsend.
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” -1 Samuel 15:23 There are other things GOD equates to being idolatrous than making physical idols
Hi Mike. Do you know of the Urantia Book? Also the second 8th week ministries? Had some encounters with the S8W specifically. Both contradicting the Scriptures and not Christian, but under the name of Christianity. Would love to see your take on both.
I think the issue being online is potentially filling your mind with too much noise. Yea there is a lot of good meaningful content but social media is geared to pull you down that rabbit hole where anything goes.
Am I the only one who had such a great passionate love for God at the start of my relationship with Him (when I was first saved) and yet feel as if through, as time passes, my love has slowly faded? How do I restore the strength of love that I had with God at first?
Remember how you were before you were saved. Remember again the glory of the gospel. Pray aloud and sincerely seek the Lord in prayer time that you set apart for Him.
@@cameronshannon8398 Be encouraged. I am going through the same situation as you. As I was thinking about this recently, I thought about how blessed we are to even be able to care or feel that we are “far apart” or even distant from God. In no other religion does the believer have this personal relationship with God. I am glad and grateful that the distance that I may feel from the Lord in certain seasons point back to the precious gift of relationship I have my Heavenly Father.
Modern day idolatry is worshipping yourself (false pride). Many Christians today actually say out loud that they want to be a god like Jesus, which is completely impossible and a stupid goal which is purely Satanic. In the Lords Prayer Jesus says that he is not God, which is correct but considered a heresy by many people who worship the Bible and that is idolatry.
Is cross reverence idolatry? Jer 10:5 compares a scarecrow in a melon patch comparable to an idol... that does seen very similar image to Chrsit on the cross. Crosses never appeared in the early church till later .. people wear around neck, in homes in churches...is this acceptable to Christ?
Idolatry is not what you love more than God, people didn't make wooden statue to love, it was made to pray to them and get unswer. Idolatry is putting trust into something more than God!
I clicked on this video expecting that you would mentioned actual modern day idols such as video games, VR, musicians, NFL and wearing other players jerseys, new age spirituality and crystals, ouiji boards, the moon, sun, and stars, Podcasters, body builders, foodies, and earthly creations vs Our Creator.
Anything you worship or spend so much time on it keeps you away from God. This can mean money, material things or works (in the church). Satan will use anything to take your eyes off of Jesus.
REFORMED THEOLOGY (13yrs) 3:31 You don't have to explain yourself here! 🫵😲 Modern technology has just made learning God's word that much easier because of the the ways it can be ingested! RU-vid videos Apps Websites Online quizzes Podcast Ebooks Chat GPT So metaphorically speaking, if God's word is our "daily bread" (Mathew 6:11) then videos like this are just serving the bread up in different forms. 😚🤌 In other words, how many ways do you think the Israelites cooked Manna? 🤔
AMEN brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord and God bless ya brother Mike Winger. I hope the best for my Atheist, agnostic and secular humanist friends. This has nothing and everything to do with the video but please listen if you want to otherwise leave it alone and ignore it. Hello my name is Justin and I'm a fellow Christian and Apologist but I'm also a college student. I'm not a closed minded Theist as I have nothing against Atheists or unbelievers as I speak to them often to understand their reasons for unbelief but we as Christians are convinced of God's Existence due to many real factors). I'm not trying to convert anyone or convince anyone to become Christians as that's The Holy Spirit's job to help people believe but only explain why I believe in Jesus Christ. There's actually evidence of God's Existence in Christianity. First of all there's proof that Jesus of Nazareth existed in history since the writings of Tacitus, Josephus Flavius, Pliny the younger and other historical documents prove that He was living two thousand years ago that even scholars both religious and Atheists agree with historically speaking but not that He's The Divine Son of God because obviously they don't. I'm going to give you historical and archeological evidence for God's Existence as The Scriptures have prophecies that predate the events recorded in them by several millennia including Matthew, Hosea and Zechariah which prophesy accurately of the people of Israel becoming a nation again after over 1900 years of being scattered around the nations since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. spoken of by Christ in Matthew 23:29-24:3 and returning to their homeland after The Holocaust with Jerusalem as their capital in 1948 exactly as Jesus The Christ said. The prophets including Daniel spoke of the time where several world empires would arise and fall including the Babylonian kingdom, Medes and Persians, Roman Empire, and Saladin and the Muslims which went in consecutive order for the past few millennia. The people of Israel becoming a nation after The Holocaust in 1948 (ironically the melting point of gold as God compares Israel to gold that's tested in fire in Zechariah 13:8 and Jeremiah 16:15) exactly how Jesus The Christ said would happen since God us everything to come in The Scriptures and not just because people were working towards as Atheists claim which are impossible for any regular man to predict. Just before anyone says Christianity is a white man's religion made to oppress blacks during slavery you obviously aren't aware that the first Christians were Jews in The Middle East and that Christianity just like any religion can be used by evil and corrupt people to oppress others but you forget that the first Abolitionists/Civil Rights activists were Christians who sought to abolish slavery, racism, segregation, injustice and prejudice throughout American history. Jesus The Christ loves you enough not to give you what we all deserve which is God's Wrath by His Own Blood. Charles Darwin didn't originally come up with The Theory of Evolution over 200 years ago as it is mentioned in the writings of Ancient Greeks who believed in Demons that gave knowledge to philosophers. Evolution makes no sense when nothing has evolved after thousands of years of human history and supposedly the first creature came from primordial sludge several millions of years ago funny how they won't believe that God an Eternal Almighty Spirit Being created us from the Earth) which came from a supermassive expansion of matter at high temperature that inexplicably created everything in the known universe that supposedly came from nothing billions of years ago. How did the organs evolve before there were bones, skin, substance and how did any creatures see before eyes evolved? I've studied evolution and abiogenesis in the past and read Darwin's " Origin of The Species" and I'm not convinced of macro Evolutionary biology whereas I accept micro Evolution like speciation and adaptation but not macro Evolution because there's no evidence of it nor clear observable examples of it where living creatures evolve into other kinds of species plus the fact that fossils don't show evidence of evolution and genetic entropy rules out evolution. The question begs how did two genders evolve from a common ancestor with a perfectly hospitable and sustainable environment with breathable oxygen and resources to survive on inexplicably? Atheists have the burden of proof to explain how everything came to be and why our existence is possible without the Existence of God from an godless perspective just as Christians have to provide evidence of God's Existence and the validity of His Word. Evolution requires life to already exist in order to take any effect in living organisms so it doesn't account for the existence of Life and reality. Also evolution is impossible because it goes against The Law of entropy and the second Law of thermodynamics because evolution makes things better whereas nothing continues to get better but decays and turns to absolute destruction in the end. Mark Ridley an Evolutionist said "No evolutionist whether gradualist or punctuationist uses the fossil record as evidence in favor of The Theory of Darwinian Evolution as opposed to special Creation". God's Existence is made perfectly known and observable in the universe as demonstrated in His Handiwork in the intelligently designed manner that Creation was made, human consciences and consciousness historical and archaeological evidence of God's Word being valid history, fulfillment of Bible Prophecies God in His Holiness and Righteousness could give us what we deserve in Hell for our since but He's merciful to give us free will to choose to accept or reject His gift of salvation by grace through faith in His Son Jesus. I don't mean this is any condescending manner but if you'd like to discuss The Scriptures with me or have me listen to your view on anything my instagram account is Savage Christian Kombatant.
It isn't so much the exact wording on the piece of paper, but the message or meaning behind it that can be brought through in a number of ways. Just look at Bible translations, there is no one true translation that is correct and all others must be thrown away, you can portray the exact same meaning in a number of wordings and still have identical doctrines and beliefs. We aren't muslims, who put all faith into the exact wording and punctuation down to the letter, as they say.
I think your willingness to address those who may idolize you is already indicative of you handling things correctly. I don't ever hear you suggesting that you're an authority, or that you're someone who deserves to be placed on a pedestal. There's a clear difference there, because people who do this more overtly do exist and make it clear through their vibes -- though "vibes" could just be a misinterpretation of certain behavior that society has assigned meaning to, when it's really not true. Society is really great at misunderstanding people based on trivial subtleties because they want to, and it's often led by confirmation bias. "I saw this dude act this way, so his intentions must be [X]." > "OMG TOTALLY!" (but this "dude" may not actually have said intentions...)
I think some spiritual/religious figures/leaders do encourage idolization, where they put themselves equal to Jesus (ie your savior, conduit/connection/intercession to God) or even equal to God (like false prophets). I don’t think listening to Christian content like this channel is, or Mike himself, are encouraging/risking that same sin because this content is extremely saturated in actual Bible text (ie you are still spending time “in the Word”). I do think it’s easy to get caught up in shallow or even scripturally empty content that is still being packaged as Christian content where you risk thinking you’re spending valuable time in the Word or growing in faith/closeness to God, when you’re really not getting any scripture, worship, or growth (like channels that focus on “drama”/conflicts/complaints/mud flinging, questionable prophecy/theories/doctrine, dubious supernatural experiences, esoteric/New Age/Kabbalistic/secret knowledge/codes that turn Biblical content into divination or manifestation tools, etc). Christian content isn’t replacement for time spent reading the Bible (or prayer or personal ministry time), but it can be equivalent to reading/studying time if it’s good quality Biblically grounded content. You also need to judge if you’re actually listening/processing the information or if it’s just background noise while you’re dissociated or distracted or multitasking… because then that’s not equivalent either. Also check your heart/motivation for choosing other content over the Bible… if you’re overly relying on social media content to avoid reading the Bible (I don’t want to, it’s boring, I feel too stupid, it’s old/outdated/useless, it’s not important/reliable/exciting, etc) that could also be a sign that you are idolizing a content creator or need to address other barriers/issues/concerns that are negatively affecting your faith or relationship with God (which could be a sign that there’s a problem with doubt, fear, sin, mental health issues, out of control life stress, spiritual warfare, or priorities out of order going on).
Protestant preachers are all the same. Each thinks he knows more about Christianity than anyone throughout the first fifteen centuries of Christianity.
Mike, I have zero temptation to idolize you. I never prayed to the God of the bible to get "what I wanted". I prayed for truth, discernment, clarity. Jesus said "If you love Me, keep my commandments".....well guess what...I can't, and neither can anyone else. Debating just this one verse leads to endless contention and frustrates me as I am sure you have picked up on based on my previous posts.
I may step on a few toes here and I don't want to come off as being anti-pets. I'm all for owning pets. Seeing how some people's lives get consumed with their pets and how they tend to them looks like they are almost worshipping their pets, if they have children, their pets are a higher priority. I believe that is wrong.
@@blueskies382 As I said, I am not against owning pets. Comparing David and his sheep to pets can't really be done as they were livestock, a means to make a living. Pets are a "luxury", in strict financial terms they cost only cost money, they don't bring any back and aren't sold. It's sad to see that for some people pets hold such a high place that their children aren't a high a priority.
Idolatry is making certain peoples' bodies and what they say as someone to idolize. Most of the comments here exemplify that. Ideas are what need to be explored and lived to find if they are true, not making the presenter as what is great. We are not these bodies but spirit which is of God, not of his world.. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Ignore criticism at your peril, Mike.
The answer to this is just so simple. Modern day idolatry is praying to anyone besides the one true God. If jesus said you can't come to the father except through me, obviously he is not the same thing as God. Therefore when you pray to jesus who will then go to the father who is presumably God, you are practicing 100% pure idolatry.
@@Thoham So do you ever say "jesus, help me" or "thank you, jesus"? I would assume you do since I hear these phrases all the time. This would mean you are relying on jesus to change something and to use his power to do it. When you pray, don't you use jesus in your prayer?
@@nothingbutthetruth613 If you ask Jeshua in a payer, he acts as your agent before Our Father. Thus Jeshua presents it to the Father. It all ends in the Father hands.
great answers. I also spend more time using Christian resources online than actually praying and reading the Bible. I want to change this. i think simply reading the Scriptures is more important than anything else apart from prayer.
I'm somewhat guilty too BUT I found a way ... my eyes are always SUPER tired from working on computer all day ... so ive been "listening" to the Bible... not reading ... at night when i go to bed ... I play it ALL night long ... it's super comforting and I do learn something new or gain a deeper understanding.... quite often ... YUP using my phone on my nightstand
The difference is... I can listen to people like Mike Winger while I work and do other things! It's OK to spend "more time" on this stuff if it's time you were gonna spend doing something else, anyway.
Yes me too! I really want to get over that and know God for myself and not just what ( people I respect and smart people ) tell me who God is. We need to be doing the work ourselves. My goal is to work through the book of Psalms this year. I feel like one psalms a day it isnt over whelming and it's pleasant book to read so I won't get discouraged and quit.
I think the most common form of idolatry these days is people calling themselves Christian but coming up with their own god based on their own preferences/feeling, then picking and choosing bible verses and interpretations to support these.
RU-vid channels, like Mike’s, are a tremendous resource. View them as a study tool, an online class, that we didn’t have years ago. Like Mike said, read the scriptures that he references and analyze thoughtfully just as you would while listening to a sermon. Thankful for Mike, and others, that are providing us with wonderful content. Listening to biblical content on your phone is truly the best use of your phone.
Can you tell me why Mike has more videos on RU-vid vs episodes on his podcast. I want to listen to his podcast but afraid im missing content if I only listen to the podcast vs watching him on youtube
I listen to biblical teaching on RU-vid all day. What you said about that limiting my prayer was convicting and I thank you for that. No worries about you becoming an idol. I see you as my brother in Christ. 🙏
Hi there Karen. Just letting you know that I started my own bible teaching RU-vid channel around six weeks ago and I also love @mikewinger. Just thought you might be interested in checking out some of my teachings, but no pressure of course. Cheers Justin. ✝🙂
Amen. One of the things preachers do to seek to be on that pedestal is to demand to be called by a title. But we _never_ see such titles used in the Bible. _No one_ ever said "Pastor Peter" or "Apostle Paul" or "Evangelist Philip" or "Reverend James" when talking to these leaders. It's interesting that _all_ of the leaders who demand titles will sometimes refer to the Son of God as simply "Jesus," with no title. Obviously it's not wrong to say "Jesus" with no title--the Bible does it--so even more so it not wrong to call a preacher by his first name only.
RCC does worship saints! Just had this conversation with my BIL. He said we are NOT all saints. I said the Bible says those of us that ARE christinas are. He rolled his eyes and said you think you are as good as them. I said yes, they are sinners just like us! He didn't like that.
It's my experience that God's word read out loud (by yourself, alone) cleanses, instructs and strengthens in that no other media activity can emulate. I've felt God's power and blessing for reading his word that no other biblical activity can match. Prayer comes immediately next. Online videos, tapes, debates, classes and study materials take a far distant backseat. Don't neglect the written word, you grow faster by staying in it.
Im not a reader. Utube has actually brought me closer to Jesus. It has opened my eyes and has me wanting more. I have alot of respect for Mike. But i only worship Jesus.
There are a lot of things in the Orthodox and Catholic churches that are plain idolatry. I grew up in an orthodox community and when you see people venerating the bones of some saint, some relic, or the virgin Mary, it is sickening. Oh and don`t even get me started on the "miracle working" icons, or on the ones that are supposedly weeping. I have seen people that were dirt-poor, paying their last penny to kiss the rotting bones of some dead dude, hoping they will be healed.
I agree, there's a lot of people being drawn to orthodoxy these past years because they are tired of the irreverent worship in many modern churches but this alone is a good reason not to go there. There's plenty of reverent protestant churches left if they looked.
As a Catholic, some of us do view the saints in a wrong way. I believe it's an overall misconception about the purpose of prayer. Even when we pray for certain thigs, we know we may not receive it as God might have something greater for us. I encourage you all to look into the Catholic Church's history and teachings, that's where the key to salvation is
In case anyone finds this helpful or is interested in praying for our Christian ministries/leaders/shepherds/evangelists/apologists like Mike Winger: 16 prayer points you can pray for them: 1 You can pray that they will always have a good walk with God (that they will not forget their first love), that God will bless their daily private Bible reading and prayer life, and that they will have good sound doctrine. 2 You can pray that they will be full of the Holy Spirit and that God will bless their ministries so that many more people will come to faith in Jesus for God’s glory, and that they will feed God’s sheep and disciple them properly. 3 You can pray that they will be humble, that they will remember how many Christian leaders in the past have fallen, and that they will have a very healthy fear of the Lord. 4 You can pray that God will protect them and the ministry God has given them from: Pride Love of fame Love of money Desire for the approval of people rather than the approval of God Being worried about offending people Compromising God’s Word Sexual temptation Demonic attacks Persecution (from outside the Church and inside the Church) 5 You can pray for their PHYSICAL HEALTH and that God will heal all their health problems. 6 You can pray for their MENTAL HEALTH. Pastors and Christian workers often have stress and battle discouragement and depression. Please God touch them and heal them of all mental and emotional problems and distress. They can also sometimes be hurt by the people they serve or by other Christian leaders - so we can pray that this won’t happen but that if it does that God will heal these wounds and strengthen His servants to forgive each other and that God will restore unity for His Glory. 7 You can pray that God will bless and protect their families. Satan often attacks Christian workers by attacking their loved ones. So you can pray that their family members will all have a good walk with God, have good sound doctrine, that God will protect them all from demonic attacks, that God will also bless and protect their physical and mental health, heal them of all infirmities, and that God will bless all their family relationships so that there is peace and love in their families. You can pray that God especially blesses and protects all areas and parts of their marriages, so that they will not be tempted to look elsewhere. Also please God bless their marriages especially so that they can be a model and example for other Christians. 8 You can pray that God will abundantly bless and protect the finances of the ministries and also the personal finances of God’s servants (especially finances needed for health or medical expenses). You can pray that they always have abundant finances so that they can always do every good work God wants them to do. 9 You can pray that God blesses and protects the relationships between Christian co-workers in ministries - so that no jealousy or strife or bitterness takes root. That they will all have Christian unity and that their focus will be on God getting all the glory and rejoice in any and all work for God. 10 You can pray that God prevents any technical or logistical or legal or any type of problems for their ministry, but if they have any such issues/problems that God will help them resolve/fix and totally solve and remove these problems. 11 If it’s an internet (e.g. RU-vid) ministry you can pray that God will help the videos spread on those platforms and get many views and that God will use the videos to bring many people to repentance and faith in Jesus. 12 You can pray that God will help Christian leaders be good shepherds of Jesus’ sheep and continue to feed Jesus’ sheep, and that they will not only convert people, but also disciple new converts so that they can grow and develop and mature in a healthy and supported way. 13 You can pray that God will give them the heart of a servant. 14 You can pray that God gives them wisdom and helps them and powerfully guides them when making all decisions and plans. 15 You can pray that if they make mistakes or sin that God will grant them humility and repentance and restore them. 16 You can pray that more Christians will pray consistently for Christian leaders/pastors/shepherds/workers/ministries. *********************** You could make a list of pastors/ministries you want to support and pray for them regularly. Jesus said: “ when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6
14 more BIBLICAL prayer points for praying for the LOST: Jesus and Paul actually told us specifically what to pray for on several occasions: 1 “pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified” 2 Thessalonians 3:1 ------- 2 Jesus said we should pray for more labourers. "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore PRAY earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”" Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore PRAT earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Luke 10:2 ------- 3 We can pray for more opportunities to share the Gospel, and for God to open more doors for effective work: "pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." Colossians 4:3 “because a great door for effective work has opened to me” 1 Corinthians 16:9 ------------------------- 4 We can pray that God will give us all the right words to say. "Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel," Ephesians 6:19 ------- 5 We can pray that God will give all Christians the boldness to share the gospel. "Lord... grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness... And when they had prayed... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Acts 4:29-31 ------------------------ 6 We can pray that Christians will speak boldly RELYING ON THE LORD: “they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord” Acts 14:3 ------------- 7 We can pray for God to draw more people to Jesus and to grant more people to come to Jesus. Jesus said: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them" John 6:44 Jesus said: “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” John 6:65 -------------------------- 8 We can pray that God will REVEAL the reality and truth about Jesus to more people. "Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not REVEALED to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in Heaven." Matthew 16:16-17 "At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and REVEALED them to little children." Matthew 11:25 --------------------------- 9 We can pray that God will teach more people. Jesus said: "It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him COMES TO ME." John 6:45 -------------------------- 10 We can pray that God will open more hearts to attend to His message. "The Lord opened her heart to attend to the things being spoken by Paul." Acts 16:14 ------------------------- 11 We can pray that God will open more eyes to see and open ears to hear so that they would turn to God and God would heal them. Jesus said: "I send thee (Paul), TO OPEN THEIR EYES, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." Acts 26:17-18 “while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand….. OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.” Matthew 13:13…16 “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made both of them.” Proverbs 20:12 “Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.” Deuteronomy 29:4 ---------- 12 We can pray that God in his mercy and generosity will bring more prisoners out of spiritual dungeon into the freedom and light of Jesus Christ. “proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18 “a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” Isaiah 42:7 ---------- 13 We can pray that God will grant more people repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth: “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” 2 Timothy 2:25 --------- 14 We can pray that new converts/disciples will find/be guided to/or have guided to them good Christian teachers who can help to disciple them correctly in the way, so that they can mature as God wants them to: just as God provided Philip to teach the Ethiopian so that the Ethiopian could understand what God wanted him to understand in Acts 8:26-40, or as God provided Priscilla and Aquila to teach Apollos in Acts 18:24-26 or as God provided Paul to some disciples in Ephesus who lacked knowledge in Acts 19:1-5 AND: We can rejoice, thank and praise God in our prayers for His Holy Spirit who guides all genuine new converts/disciples into all truth: “when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL THE TRUTH; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:13-14 --------- 15 We can pray that we will have more of God's love in our hearts for the lost so that we will not be afraid to share the Gospel, but that God's love in us will override any fears and make it automatic that we share the gospel in love. If there was a frozen lake, you wouldn't want to go swimming in it. But if a small child fell in, you would automatically dive in to save them. We can pray for love that will cause us to act. ------------------------- "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2 Jesus told us multiple times throughout Scripture to watch and pray always.
I like how you mentioned you don’t honestly know what to do if someone else were to idolize you. I think the most you can do, and in part did, is be like the angel in revelations who corrects John when he was going to bow down? Or give praise or whatever, and he stops him. He then says I’m just a servant like you. Worship God.
Don’t worry Mike. There are some of us that are being “baby bear”; not thinking too highly, nor too lowly about you, what we’re thinking is just right. And I credit you for that. You constantly remind us to check scripture ourselves to see if your analysis is on track, and that you yourself let us know when you’re giving us your best guess when discussing questions that won’t be fully answered until we’re in heaven and “know fully.” Keep on truckin’, brother Mike! 😎
I think it is possible to idolize church attendance and the Bible itself, and still not have a sincere relationship with Christ, because these specific people lack understanding and grace, and often worry more about others' behavior more than their own.
The concern with getting all Christian content from YT or social media and not reading for yourself is that there is a lot of garbage out there, and people can get drawn into all sorts of bad doctrine. Some seem to take doctrine from YT and then say it's from the Holy Spirit.
Yeah, and so many people have so many different interpretations of many different parts of scripture that it would probably eventually lead people away from Christianity out of pure confusion and frustration if they rely ONLY on other people, never on the bible. It even frustrates me that there are so many interpretations even though I know to double check and compare doctrine and interpretations with the bible.
The best thing someone can do in that scenario is look for teachers who give them tools to understand Scripture and think for themselves rather than rely on that person’s teaching and explanations. I frequently think of when Paul said some people should have been teachers “by now” but they still needed milk. Christians shouldn’t just be absorbing lessons but rather equipped to eventually teach or help others
The inherent problem with all of the YT "ministries" is that they want to be viewed as an authority on scriptural matters, no matter how wrong they actually are in regards to their beliefs. That's why they typically like the comments that hype them up as being such a great teacher. The "Christian YTer" gig is very profitable because ppl who know very little about the Bible are preying on ppl who won't fact check them.
Sadly, one way that preachers are idolized is when their audience follows them into false doctrine. These teachers start very well, but for whatever reason (possibly fame or wealth), they become false teachers. Eugene Peterson, for example, was a great writer during the 1980s, but today his _The Message_ is a horrible excuse for a paraphrase, and Peterson endorsed the heretical _The Shack_ film. I fear for Francis Chan. He was my favorite preacher for many years, but now he's so obsessed with "unity" that he's embracing wrongful elements of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox. And Chan is saying it's wrong to oppose bad teaching, even though the apostles strongly opposed bad teaching.
Growing up in Calvary Chapel by the time I could drive I made a run to my closest denominational protestant church (Reformed in my case) where the pastors aren't superstars but they actually pastor their sheep by getting to know them personally.
@@FRN2013 yes, it's ok to have well known pastors but too many entertains a cult of personality where the church is known more for it's "pastor" than it's location. There's a lot of other problems that some Calvary Chapels have solved by go to a presbyterian polity (more accountability). Most of them are dictatorships run by the pastor and have rampant histories of abuse that was thrown under the table. But this tends to happen in most churches that don't practice church discipline and membership.
I think you are right that people should not idolize or worship you. However I have nothing but love and respect for you. Your teaching has and does help me to understand the Bible a lot! I’m not able to go to church right now so I am so thankful that I have someone that I can fully trust for biblical teaching. Thank You for what you do pastor Mike. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Happy New Year!
Its great that you have been helped but do consider how constant praise effects a pastor. I had a pastor friend who told me he stopped preaching because he got constant praise and found it very negatively affected him and he found himself becoming conceited
If you celebrate Christmas (and Easter) you're already lost - they're pagan customs - nothing to do with the bible. Christians don't celebrate birthdays.
