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A French specialist in softcore/hardcore sex pictures, filmmaker Just Jaeckin started with a pair of 1970s blockbusters derived from erotic novels, Emmanuelle and The Story of O. He made only ten features, the last being this attempt at an outrageous sex comedy adventure based on an erotic French comic strip. The most obvious comparison is Roger Vadim's Barbarella, but Gwendoline works hard to outdo that film on its own turf: Campy, oversexed escapism with a high kink quotient. Trimmed by almost a half hour, the film came to the U.S. in 1985 bearing the elongated title The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak.
Just Jaeckin's filmography is heavy with upscale erotica -- sex films with money. He's less pretentious than many Euro skin directors, and certainly less gross. The atypical Gwendoline is a genre hybrid perhaps inspired by the Indiana Jones movies or Terry and the Pirates. It's a display of the writer-director's kinky imagination, as well as the Métal Hurlant fantasies of his costume designers. With its many scenes of topless women in bondage or strapped into erotic leather warrior outfits, Gwendoline's images could fill the pages of a hundred fetish magazines.
The production values are lavish: Philippine waterways and Spanish (or Moroccan) deserts provide exotic locales in lush color and widescreen. A great deal of attention is given to imaginatively designed sets and high-fashion fantasy costumes. The art direction is on a par with a glossy TV commercial.
Jaeckin's story is pitched at the level of an onanistic twelve year-old, the kind who wants his sex fantasies fast and puerile. Leading lady Tawny Kitaen is forever finding reasons or excuses to get naked ("It's raining! Take off your clothes!") and exists in a perpetual state of readiness for whatever sexcapade is around the next corner. There's definitely an air-head Little Annie Fannie component at work here. Kitaen improves on Jane Fonda's faux-abandon as Barbarella; compared to this film's free spirit Fonda seems far too intent on 'acting' her role rather than just 'being' it. Gwendoline's sidekick Beth is a comic dark-haired co-adventuress. The pair generates a 'let's have fun' vibe that the uptight Fonda would never allow.
The joke-laden script keeps the two girls bickering with their dreamboat protector between bouts with river pirates, kung-fu assassins and a toothy rubber crocodile. Some of the silly post-dubbed dialogue has a cutesy appeal but only Kitaen seems able to deliver it with the right attitude: Zabou is awkwardly dubbed into English and Brent Huff (or his dubbed voice) seems incapable of a truly good line reading.
Despite the constant nudity the film has few overt sexual situations. Yet those tend toward raunchy material in odd contrast with the overall tone of innocence. The movie eventually gives us a squadron of semi-nude Amazon warriors, sleek sex-toy fantasies that are used mostly for visual tableaux. Although Jaeckin's direction is peppy and the settings fun to look at, the camp attitude and weak story begin to grind as the film nears the two-hour mark. Voyeurs and dirty old men will enjoy all the skin on view but the main interest is wondering what the exaggerated art direction will present next.
The most original scene finds our imprisoned heroes bound next to each other on a bamboo floor. Unable to move, Willard excites the virginal Gwendoline with verbal lovemaking, which results in a lot of heavy breathing until it is revealed that Beth, listening off to the side, is just as excited. The three then laugh so much that they're still in hysterics when their scary native captors come to check on them.
The overlong last third of the film takes place in an interestingly art-directed volcanic city under the desert sands. Willard, Gwendoline and Beth get into a fix with the jealous and spiteful Queen, played without much variety by Bernadette Lafont, a favorite Claude Chabrol actress since 1960's Les bonnes femmes. Ms. Lafont seems to be involved just for a laugh, a feeling encouraged by her Princess Leia hairstyles. One hairdo gives her giant Minnie Mouse ears. The last act intrigues are like a watered-down version of She, with Gwendoline forced to race for Willard's life in a chariot drawn by female 'horses.' It sounds much more sexy than it is and Jaeckin hasn't much of a knack for action. Gwendoline has a definite cult following, but the stills from the set promise much more excitement than the show delivers, and slow pacing dulls the overall appeal of its spirited cast.
Severin's DVD of Gwendoline is a dazzlingly clear and clean copy of the uncut French version of the film. The shorter version reportedly drops several action scenes. Although it definitely has more nudity the long cut reveals no forbidden erotic treasures. Audio tracks in both French and English are provided, in Dolby 5.1 and 2.0.
The disc is afforded a hefty set of extras. The director joins two French journalists for a joking commentary; Jaeckin speaks more to the actual production in an illustrated interview documentary. We're also given a photospread on Tawny Kitaen prepared for the French magazine Lui. Winning the prize for esoteric DVD extra of the year is an audio interview with the original comic strip author John Willie, conducted by sex researcher Dr. Kinsey. Willie is introduced as "the father of modern fetishism." And I thought I had ambition.
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Gwendoline rates:
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Crossbench senators continue to pressure the Abbott government to withdraw or revise some of its controversial budget measures.
Treasurer Joe Hockey met with Liberal Democrats' senator David Leyonhjelm today as he continued a round of talks with the MPs ahead of federal parliament sitting later this month.
Senator Leyonhjelm later told AAP he got the feeling the 11-month-old government was still getting used to having to negotiate.
"I pointed out that if the situation was reversed and it was Labor in government needing our votes I would have 25 (ALP senators) new best friends," Senator Leyonhjelm said.
"He (Mr Hockey) laughed at that and said 'that's true. We are not very good at that thing'."
Senator Leyonhjelm said he had no problem with the depth of the budget expenditure cuts, saying they could have gone further.
When he suggested this to the treasurer, Mr Hockey "smiled a little bit because I think he probably agrees with me", the senator said.
The Liberal Democrat, who opposes new levies on business, has proposed the mining tax legislation be split into separate spending and revenue bills for debate and complains Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party (PUP) and the Australian Greens were holding up progress.
"It is Clive's tax, he has retained it," the senator said.
As well, a proposed $7 GP visit co-payment could be made more palatable if it was offset by a cut in the co-payment for pharmaceuticals and the revenue did not go to a medical research fund.
While Mr Hockey and the senator did not discuss a delay to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's signature paid parental leave scheme, its financial impact was discussed the treasurer saying it would be "cost-neutral".
Senator Leyonhjelm believes the focus - the scheme is expected to cost about $4 billion a year and be partly funded by a levy on big corporations - should be on childcare services.
The PUP wants Mr Abbott to give up the scheme, saying it's too expensive.
PUP senator Jacqui Lambie, who met with Mr Hockey over the weekend, said she was convinced a mini-budget was needed and that the paid parental leave and the GP co-payment should be axed.
While she personally liked Mr Hockey, "his economics are certainly worth questioning".
Senator Lambie will bring a "folder full of questions" with her when she visited the Treasury department office in Canberra next week.
"I think the budget measures are illegitimate and they don't have a mandate for them," she told ABC Radio.
The PUP has suggested halving the foreign aid budget to pay for economic stimulus in struggling states like Tasmania.
"He was just sort of stunned," Senator Lambie said of the treasurer's reaction to the proposal.
Mr Hockey, who needs to secure at least six senator crossbench votes to get his remaining measures through, said there was a lot of work to do.
"I will meet with anyone who is sensible and the independent senators so far are proving to be sensible, unlike some of the others in the upper house," he said.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the coalition budget was out of touch and unfair because it targets low income earners.

subset: commoncrawl


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Notified Bodies are allowed to apply first-time since November 26, 2017 for designation under the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) 2017/745. We are glad to inform you, that our application is already filed and covers a comparable scope as currently maintained by us.
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Team player for your medical products and in vitro diagnostics.


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What do Hurricane Isaac and Republican National Convention in Tampa have in common?
They are both amusing, annoying and costly disruptions.
The biblical Isaac was born only son of legends Abraham and Sarah. Though his parents were beyond childbearing years Mr. Patriarch lived 180 years. People lasted longer than needed back then. Likewise the Republican Party was born of Abraham and Sarah... Lincoln and Palin that is.
Welcome to Trampa
The Mayor prepares for glitz and gore USAstyle.
Governor Rick Scott tells us everyone loves to visit Florida. What he does not tell us is all Floridian do not welcome every visitor.
Isaac is swampy, republicans for the most part are not.
Before and Before
From the Marshall Mcluhan school of managed perception, video projection screens get enumerated.
Rock Mining in our backyard, sandbag are prepared in anticipation of the inevitable swamping.
Sandy, Cristal and Kembra prep for RNC
Officer Nosey attends to his appointed chores.
Huey, Dewey and Louis before the storm.
Smile, Ibor City loves you.
Homemade signs are mass produced at an undisclosed empty place.
Let's just say republicans were not in the warehouse when Gawd handed out the fabulous gene.
If the RNC 2008 in St. Paul MN was an indication, we can expect plenty of riotous over-reaction from the Tampa militarized enforcers. It may not be raining rubber bullets yet but there already are elephants falling from the sky.
Republicans historically were keen on the exceptional thing. Who does not like to feel special. But more recently they try to plant seeds of their dreams everywhere. When their ideals and democracy are propagandized here and around the world, people get hurt. Repubs have somehow seeded a level of disdain only matched by serious concern when a bunch white guys get to party.
Homegrown Romneyheads
photo courtesy of post office bulletin board
Ten to one, i wager most pictured above lean to the right.
Not all Kazynskis are crazy.
Not all demonstrations, free-speech zones and lawful assemblies are created equal.
Likewise, not all storms pack a punch.
Is this the face of truth or an agent provocateur.
The face of Peter King, Republican Kazy.
Like Hurricane Isaac, the RepublicanNationalConvention will be a washout by Wednesday.
But the weather will not go away any sooner than partisan politics or special interests will give way to respectable governance or direct democracy.
Soon South Floridians will get back to the business of building sandcastles and cigars. Tampa will be reset back to normal, whatever that is.


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Sunday Sweets to Put a Spring in Your Step
Today is the first day of Spring! Time to celebrate all the verdant vivaciousness of the season with a charming cornucopia of fabulous flowers!
Baker unknown - anyone recognize it?
I love the colors! And that harlequin pattern is one of the smoothest I've ever seen.
And here's one of the best support columns I've ever seen:
[Update: Eagle-eyed reader Jim A. just pointed out the column is actually this resin cake stand. Now I feel silly. It's still a gorgeous cake, though!]
This one, too, if you have topsy-turvy dreams:
Sub'd by Vanessa M., made by Ron Ben-Israel (?)
Or, if you're feeling a little blue:
Imagine the time it took to make each of those little flowers! And I love the textured icing here; sometimes the smoothness of fondant is just a little too modern.
And finally, let's go out with a bang.
Meaning more daisies.
I mean, I know this was for a pair of one-year-olds, but a thirty-something can have one, too, right?


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I'm not sure of the origin, but as I was watching an adventure race years ago, I heard an awesome quote. One of the contestants was asked how he was able to trek a 300 mile course, navigating so many obstacles through so much adversity. His reply was "even an elephant can be eaten, if you do it a bite at a time". Though I try not to whip that quote out every time one of my colleagues appears stuck on a project, I do like to bring it out for special occasions. I think this may be one of them. 3 things happened this week, that rate the reference: Work during the day, school, and work during the night.
By day, I'm an adviser to a Federal Project Management Office. I'm not in a position to tell government employees what they should or should not do. It's my job to advise and support them in any way I can. This week, they asked me to attend an invoice meeting. This wasn't a surprise. Upon reviewing the vendor's invoice from last month, I wasn't satisfied the Billing of Materials (BOM). There was a lot of stuff ordered and I am very particular about asset management. I recommended a 7 figure short pay. I don't think it's important to be specific about the amount. My client decided to do a 6 figure short pay. At the 2 hour meeting, we went line by line and the vendor offered corrective actions for items I recommended not be paid. I accepted some of their proposed corrective actions but they still need to deliver on some promised if they want all of the invoice paid. One month down, another to go.
Our son started Kindergarten this week. We weren't sure how he was going to take to it. Until Monday of this week, we were convinced he was going to be crying at the bus stop, wanting to say home with Mommy. We figured he'd come around in time. Monday arrive and so did the bus. He ran aboard almost before we could give a hug and a kiss goodbye. He returned some 8 hours later and ran off the bus with a big smile on his face. The adventures that boy had! Here it is Friday night and he's fast asleep. One week down, 16 years to go.
At night, I find myself reading the PMBOK® or project management blogs and writing PHP, CSS, and JavaScript. Back in March of 2009, I realized I wanted to create something to help project managers on a grand scale. That's when I started doing mockups and wireframes for what was to become the HueCubed engine and PMPrep Flashcards. One year later we launched version 1.0. This week I worked on 2 new jQuery elements and tonight deployed v1.2.12. The web application has been progressing nicely and both customers and affiliates are signing up. Though I never thought we'd get to v1.0, I now do an iterative build and deployment at least once a week.
For those interested, I still have plans for a PMPrep Exam Simulator web app and Prince2 Flashcard web app. And yes, we're going to be doing an iPhone application.
Graphic: South African Tours and Travel


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Father, we're so thankful that indeed it is true that You are our Shepherd, that You lead us gently, that You lead us to refreshing water, even the Word, You lead us to green pastures to feed. Father, we pray that we might indeed feast this morning upon Your truth. We pray in Christ name. Amen.
Turn in your Bibles to the third chapter of Acts. We're going to be looking at verses 19 to 26 continuing our study of the book of Acts going verse by verse as we always do in all of our book studies we find ourselves at the conclusion of Peter's sermon. His second recorded sermon in the book of Acts not too many days after the day of Pentecost. It is preached in Jerusalem in the temple courtyard in front of a multitude of people who have been gathered by a miracle of the healing of the lame man. And Peter is preaching and exalting Jesus Christ and indicting Israel for the execution of their Messiah. And then he concludes his message with the words in verse 19, "Repent therefore and be converted". Now that's really the climax of his message. That's the great point to which he has come but it is not the end it is the conclusion in the sense of its appeal but there is more yet running clear through verse 26. Before we get to it, however, let's consider just a little background so we understand what's happening.
The Jews have crucified by the use of the Romans their own Messiah.And it would have been a very obvious thing for us to assume at that point God would have brought judgment upon Israel. Swift, terrible and final.
For, after all, had they not had prophet after prophet throughout their history and had not God now at this point sent His own Son, the very Messiah Himself and had they not rejected the Messiah as they had all the other prophets and would it not be fair and would it not have been justice indeed if God at this point had called a halt to all His responsibility to Israel and in tremendous judgment come down upon them. But that is not how God operates because God is a God of mercy and God is a God of great grace.
And even though they have earned the wrath of God and they have deserved the judgment of God He calls on them in grace in verse 19 to repent and God will forgive them blotting out their sins. A tremendous insight into the grace of God. Now Peter's message is very clear, it is very powerful but beyond all of the qualities of power and clarity that come in the first 18 verses the salient feature of this chapter is the statement at the beginning of verse 19, for that is God's grace in action. God is lovingly patient and God is forgiving and Peter says, "He is not willing that any should", what? "Perish" And He tenderly calls men to Himself even men who have been their whole lifetime long and nations who have been historically against Him He calls to Himself.
Now as I said, it would have been a very fair thing in some sense for God to have judged Israel at this moment finally but He did not. And it reminds me of the occasion in the life of Jeremiah, there were forty years of Jeremiah's ministry. And Jeremiah's ministry was a ministry of judgment He was announcing the destruction of Jerusalem and God kept delaying it for all these forty years in grace. And interesting that is a parallel of what we have here for Jesus being crucified judgment could have come but judgment didn't come for forty years later. It was not until 70 AD that Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed and Judaism as such was wiped out. And God gave the same period of grace that He gave in Jeremiah's day a period of forty years.
Now as we approach the book of Acts in this particular historical interval God is in that grace period of forty years in connection with Israel.
God has always operated by grace before and after that forty year period but in terms of His relationship to Israel He has not brought down judgment He has postponed it forty years and during that forty years He leaves open the option to Israel to come to Messiah. The book of Acts, then, not only because it covers those forty years or a good portion of it, the book of Acts not only then has much to say about the church but it also has much to say about Israel. And it has much to say about the kingdom promise to Israel. Even though the church has been born and it's begun to grow in Acts chapter 2, even though the church has already been formed its unique identity God is still dealing with Israel. There is an overlap of forty years and Jerusalem has not yet been destroyed and Judaism has not yet been halted. And God is really through Jesus Christ, through the mouth of His early apostles holding out the same offer He held directly through the mouth of Christ when He first arrived, when Jesus first came preaching, "Repent for the kingdom is at hand"--a kingdom for Israel. John the Baptist came saying, "Repent for the kingdom is at hand", and in effect Peter in Acts 3 is saying the same thing, "Repent your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come". That's the kingdom. The message really hasn't changed. Even though the Messiah had been rejected and executed God's grace is extended to Israel and the continued offer of the kingdom is still given here in Acts chapter 3. Now we say Peter's introduction to his sermon in verse 12 as he just kind of jumps off the miracle of the lame man. We saw the theme in verses 13 to 18 as he presents Christ and indicts Israel. And now in verse 19 we see his conclusion. And he calls upon them basically to just do two things: repent and be converted. One is active; one is passive. If they will turn around, God will change them. If they will reverse their verdict about Jesus. If they instead of determining that Jesus is a blasphemer, a mocker and no Messiah at all will reverse their decision see Him as Lord, God and their Messiah God will change them, God will convert them. So Peter cries to Israel from the bottom of his heart and from the depths of the heart of God, repent.
Change your mind about Jesus. God is still gracious even though you've executed His Son, change your mind and repent and be converted. Now Peter doesn't leave it at that because in the remaining verses he gives them five reasons why they ought to repent. Five reasons for repentance. Why should Israel repent? There are five good reasons and these are exciting and I think you're going to learn some things this morning that perhaps you weren't familiar with, exciting truths.
All right, number one he says repent; and you have an outline there in your bulletin that you can use to follow along and take some notes if you desire. There are five things that will happen if Israel repents. Number one, their sin will be forgiven. Their sin will be forgiven. Now we saw that last time so I only want to review. Verse 19 says, "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out". Now we studied the word blot out last week and we found that it meant totally removed, totally erased.
The only way you'll ever have your sins erased and totally removed is when you repent. When you turn around and God changes you. David in the Old Testament prayed, "Blot out all mine iniquity" but it couldn't happen because there was no sacrifice provided that could blot out. Sacrifices in the Old Testament never blotted out anything it only covered them up. They only shoved it under the rug. Isaiah had said God can blot out and then Isaiah said in the next chapter 44, God will blot out and here we find in the coming of Jesus Christ God provides for that blotting out. And Peter says, if you'll only change your minds about Jesus you can have your sins blotted out, forgotten by God, I'll remember them no more. What a promise, total forgiveness. In Col. 2:13 the Bible says He has forgiven us all our trespasses. Total forgiveness--something the Old Testament believer never knew. They never had a freedom from guilt. They never had a freedom from the besieging problem of sin, because as soon as they offered a sacrifice they'd go out and sin again and they'd be in the same boat again. There was no liberty. There was none of that great freedom that we have without the burden of bearing the guilt of sin. So he says you can have your sins forgiven if you'll turn to Jesus. That's the first thing. That's the first reason.
Second reason. Not only will your sins be forgiven but the kingdom will come. Oh, what a promise this is. Look at verse 19, "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out." Note when this is hoposon in the Greek it's what we call a purpose particle and it really cannot mean when it has to mean in order that. Let me read it that way. "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out in order that times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." The times of refreshing cannot come unless you repent and be converted. Now what are the times of refreshing? I believe that is a reference to the kingdom, the earthly millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. Now you know that the Bible both Old and New Testament indicates to us that Jesus will reign on earth for a period of a thousand years. Now in Revelation it clearly tells us it's a thousand years Christ reigns on earth. In the Old Testament it describes it in great detail we'll see that in a moment.Second Samuel 7 David was promised that he would have one of his own seed who would sit on His throne in Jerusalem and reign in a kingdom. So there is promised on the earth a thousand year reign of Jesus Christ right here on this earth. Now this is that for which the Jews dreamed and hoped and waited all the long history of Israel.
They've always waited for when is Messiah going to come and when is He going to set up His kingdom? And they had waited and waited and waited and it never, never, never came. And then finally their Messiah came and they rejected Him and God said, That forfeits it, you cannot have the kingdom if you will not have the king. And so Peter says repent in order that the kingdom might come. You see, that's the point. They had to repent before the kingdom could come. And I want to take the term 'times of refreshing' for just a moment and show you what significance it has.
Look at the word "times" in verse 19. The word "times" is kairos; this has to do with a fixed, set or predetermined time. So whatever this phrase, times of refreshing, is it's not just some looseygoosey era it's a fixed, set, predetermined time. That's very important. In fact it's used in Acts you remember they said, When are you going to restore the kingdom? And Jesus said, It's not for you to know what? The times, or the seasons, the predetermined times that God has placed in His own economy. You see, it's a predetermined time. All right, so there's a predetermined time. It's interesting, isn't it, that God has predetermined the time and yet it depends upon Israel's repentance. That's the same paradox between sovereignty and human will that you find everywhere in Scripture. Now it's called the times of refreshing. Now the word refreshing just means that. Refreshing, rest, respite. Now to the Jew that was so important. The Jew has been hassled throughout all its history. The Jew has been moved. Israel has been pushed and shoved all over the world mercilessly persecuted and abused, tragically treated. And even today, one of the most despicable things in existence is antiSemitism. The Jews have been mistreated all through the years partly due to the fact of their own failure to recognize God and so God has chastised them in this way. Which gives no right to any man ever to be abusive to Israel but rather to love Israel like the apostle Paul said, "My heart's desire and prayer is for Israel". But Israel has been under the judgment of God because of sin and they have been pushed and shoved and abused throughout all the years. And Israel is longing for the time when they can go somewhere and rest. They're in their land right now for the first time in over twothousand years possessing their own land but are they at rest? No, they are not at rest. There is such unrest in Israel.
The times of refreshing haven't come yet but they're longing for them.
Every Jew dreams of this. So what does this phrase mean then? It means there's coming a fixed time when Israel rests. What else could that be but the millennial kingdom, the earthly kingdom, the promise when Messiah comes and makes things right in the world and reigns and Israel has its kingdom? You say, What's that kingdom all about? Well let me just show you a couple of passages that are just really fascinating. The kingdom is the time when everything is changed. You'll notice that in verse 21 it say "the restitution of all things", it's the time when everything reverts back to what God meant it to be in the beginning. You know, God never meant this earth to be cursed? God never meant the whole thing to be so fouled up as it is. That's what happened when Satan took over. But someday God's taking over again and that's going to be the kingdom. Now listen to what the kingdom's going to be like, Isaiah chapter 11 describes a little of it. It's a wonderful description, I can't wait. You say, Well, is it only for Israel or are we going to be there? No, we'll be there too, all believers will be there. It's for Israel primarily in terms of their rest and in their land, all the special blessings of God but we'll all be a part of it for we'll be blessed in Israel. Listen to what happens in the kingdom, the reverse of the curse verse 6; The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. Imagine that? Then it says this;"The leopard shall lie down with the goat, the small goat the kid "The calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them." The whole menagerie will be lead around by a little child. You see, the whole animal curse is reversed and natural enemies cease to be. "The cow and the bear shall feed their young ones shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox and the nursing child shall play on the hole of the asp and the weaned child shall put his hand in the snake's pit." And I always say my wife says kingdom or no kingdom my kids aren't playing in the snake pits,anyway verse 9 says, verse 9 says, "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse." Who's the root of Jesse? Jesus Christ. "Who shall stand for an ensign of the people, to Him shall the nations seek and His", what's the next word? "Rest shall be glorious", that's the kingdom it's called rest. That's why I say I think it's the times of refreshing is a direct reference to the kingdom.
Now in Isaiah 35,oh what wonderful things we read there, you want to know what the kingdom's going to be like? Verse 1 of Isaiah 35, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose". Can you imagine that? You know, the reason the desert is the desert is because it's cursed. "It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it the excellency of Carmel and Sharon." All those places are tremendously fertile places and the desert's going to become fertile like the most fertile places in Israel. And then he says, verse 5: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped".
Everyone's going to be healed instantaneously at the beginning of the kingdom.
Then he says, "The lame man shall leap as an hart", that's a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing for in the wilderness shall the waters break out and streams in the desert." The whole curse is reversed. Deserts will no longer exist. "Parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water in the habitation of jackals where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And the highway shall be there and a way and it shall be called The Way of Holiness." He goes on to talk about that in verse 10, "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads and they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." That's the kingdom and it's on earth. It's right here on earth. And it's what Israel's waited for and waited for and waited for. They're going to be regathered, restored and regenerated and exalted.
They're waiting for it. And Peter says it can't come until you repent. You can't have the kingdom unless you love the King. That's the point. And here is God and grace extending the same offer to Israel even after they've executed the Messiah.
Now notice verse 21 for a minute because there's a phrase there we want to pull out of that, "the times of restitution of all things". The times of restitution of all things has again to do with the kingdom. It has to do with the coming kingdom of Christ when all things are reverted back to their original owner. It is the very same word in the noun form that is used in Acts 1:6 when the disciple said, "When will Thou restore the kingdom to Israel?" When are You going to give back what is ours? Here there is the time when things are given back. Not some things but what? All things are going to be given back to the God who rightfully owns them. That's the kingdom. And in the kingdom the curse is removed and all these things are placed back in the control of God. Now, that's the kingdom and he says it can't come until you repent. Now, one other statement about the kingdom in verse 21, the end it says, "That it shall come from the presence of the Lord." The kingdom is not political. It is not drummed up. It is not brought off by a cue. The kingdom comes from God. The presence is literally the face.
It comes from the face of the Lord God. God sends the kingdom. God sends His promised blessing. He will bring it to pass. But even though it is a sovereign thing from God's viewpoint, from Israel's viewpoint it depends on their conversion. Now when it says all things it means just that. There are so many things going to be changed in this kingdom. I just jotted down about thirteen of them, maybe fifteen, I don't know, I don't count too well, but anyway let me just tell you what's going to be in the kingdom. Everything' going to be restored to what it was, everything. The Bible says, and all or this is taken from Scripture, the Bible says there will be peace and no war.
Now, that is something. The Bible says there will be joy, fullness of joy.
Holiness manifests everywhere, glory fully revealed, comfort. And the King will personally minister comfort to everybody. There will be justice, perfect justice for everybody and no injustice at any time to anybody. There will be full knowledge. There will be instruction and the King will be the personal tutor of everybody. There will be no curse in the animal kingdom and no curse in nature. There will be no sickness for the King will heal everybody. There will be healing of all the deformed as we read. There will be preservation of life and protection by the King Himself. There will be freedom from oppression, nobody will oppress anybody else. There will be prosperity so that nobody in the entire world wants for anything and so forth.
That's the kingdom. That is all clearly spelled out in the Old Testament.
That's what Israel's been dreaming of. That's what Israel's been waiting for. That's what they've been crying for and when they tried to get Jesus and force Him to be a King that's what they wanted. Peter says, Well, I know you want the kingdom but you can't have it until you love the King. You've got to change your verdict about Jesus Christ.
Now it's all going to come back to God. Now if you want to read the story of how God's going to get it back read from Revelation 5 on. Remember the Father sitting on the throne in Revelation 5 and in His right hand He's got a scroll with seven seals and that scroll is the title deed to the earth. And he says the angel looks around to find somebody worthy and there's nobody worthy to unwind the scroll and John begins to weep because there's nobody there to unroll it and see what it says. All of a sudden one of the elders stands up and says the Lion of the tribe of Judah He is worthy, the Lamb of God to unroll the scroll and Jesus steps up and takes the scroll out of the Father's hands and step by step He unrolls the scroll and step by step He takes back the earth. And the unrolling of that scroll is the record of the rest of the book of Revelation through chapter 19, all the events by which Jesus takes back the earth. And that, when you get up to 19 He's got it back and bang in chapter 20 the kingdom comes. So you see Christ is going to take it back, it's going to be restored to God. Now God knows when this is going to happen. It's all predetermined in His design and His will andmorally it is conditioned upon Israel's repentance. It can't come until Israel believes. And isn't it sad that many, many, many times Israel had the opportunity to determine the immediate course of world history and they blew it.
They could have brought the kingdom when Jesus arrived the first time. They could have brought the kingdom right here in Acts chapter 3. They didn't.
They had nobody to blame but themselves. Jesus came announcing, Repent for the kingdom is at hand. Peter's still announcing it. They could have changed the course of the history of the world, they didn't. They forfeited it.
Now the first time they forfeited it by their rejection and their rejection still remains when Peter preaches. In Matthew chapters 1 to 12 Jesus is carefully announcing the kingdom to Israel. He's offering Himself as Israel's Messiah. But in chapter 12 everything starts to shift because we read about Israel's rejection. In chapter 12 verse 14, listen to this, tragic words, "Then the Pharisees", leaders of Israel, "went out and held a council against Him how they might", what? "Destroy Him." That was their conclusion. And then you read tragic, tragic words; listen to this: "But when Jesus knew it", listen to this, "He withdrew Himself from there". Isn't that sad? It's the beginning of the end of Jesus' call to Israel, His first call. And then in the next statement He makes in chapter 12 later on in verses 46 to 50, the next one we want to look at He denies any natural connection to Israel. Listen to it, "While He was talking to the people, behold His mother and brothers stood outside desiring to speak to Him. And one said unto Him, Behold Your mother and brothers stand outside desiring to speak with You, but He answered and said unto them that told Him, Who is My mother and who are My brethren?" You see, He's denying any kind of a natural connection. "And He stretched forth His hands toward His disciples and said Behold My mother and My brethren for whosoever", whosoever not a Jew, not anybody particular, "whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in heaven the same is My brother and sister and mother". And Jesus said, all of a sudden, It isn't natural anymore it's just for anybody who obeys the will of God. And when Israel turned from Messiah, Messiah turned from them at that point. It's a sad thing. God is still gracious and even later on here in the book of Acts He comes back for a second invitation to Israel.
It's not a new offer. It's not a reoffer; it's just the same standing offer, Repent and you can still have the kingdom even though you executed the King. He took the execution of the King and turned it to glory anyway. Tragic thing that they forfeited. In Luke 19 there's an interesting thing that I just want to share with you quickly, Luke 19:42 it says: "If thou hadst known even thou at least this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace but now they're hidden from thine eyes". Oh that is sad. He says, Israel, if you only knew; He's crying over Jerusalem. Verse 41 says He's sitting above Jerusalem crying, Jesus is. And He says, Oh, if you knew, if you knew the things that belonged to your peace but now they are hidden from your eyes.
"For the day shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee around and keep thee on every side and shall lay thee even with the ground", flatten, "and thy children within thee and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation". See. Israel, you if you only knew and because you didn't, judgment. Verse 24 of Luke 21, "And they shall fall by the edge of sword and shall be led away captive into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
In other words, Jesus said, If you only knew but since you rejected this thing, since you turned your Messiah away judgment is coming. But even with the promise of judgment He still extends grace. He still extends grace. I don't know how the will of man in a gracious situation squares with the sovereignty of God in a prophetic utterance but that's not my problem. All I know is that He's gracious and even after all those statements about judgment here comes Peter and Peter simply says if you just repent God's still extends grace and you can have the kingdom. You can have the kingdom. You see, the kingdom cannot come until Israel repents. It cannot. If they would repent their sins would not only be forgiven but the kingdom would come. It is clear in prophecy that there are three steps involved prior to the kingdom.
Step one is the restoration of Israel back to the land. True? It's in the Old Testament in Ezekiel several places, 36, 38. It's in the New Testament in Luke 21, Mark 13 and Matthew 24 and 25. First of all Israel is brought back to the land. Secondly they are repentive in their hearts.
Thirdly the kingdom. Three steps. Beloved, do you realize that we've already seen step one? Is Israel being brought back to the land? Indeed they are at a rate which is unbelievable. All that God has left to do is redeem them. That happens during the tribulation and we go before that happens.
The church is taken away before that happens. We don't have much time. Israel is being brought into the land. And after Israel's repentance comes the kingdom.
But you see, the kingdom cannot come; it cannot happen apart from repentance. Now, let's take it a step further. Peter says not only should you repent because your sins will be forgiven and the kingdom will come but thirdly, the Messiah will return. Look at verse 20. "And He shall send Jesus Messiah which before was", not preached but appointed is probably better, either one is true. "He will send Jesus who was appointed unto you", here's the next thing. They were always looking for their Messiah. It was an Old Testament principle, equally true in the New Testament, that the Millennial kingdom cannot come apart from the Messiah. There is never in Old Testament prophecy a kingdom without a Messiah. An earthly kingdom cannot be without an earthly King. And so the Messiah's coming was always connected with the kingdom and the kingdom was always connected with Israel's salvation. So it all has to happen. You believe the kingdom comes Messiah returns. It's all in one thing. That's why he says in verse 20, "And He shall send Jesus Christ who was before appointed or preached unto you." But He can't send Him until you believe. God is so forgiving. I mean, why in the world would God even think of sending Jesus back after they did what they did to Him the first time? What gives them the right to believe they even deserved Him to come back? But God says I'll send Him back. How, I mean, you blew it but I'll send Him back if you'll believe. If you'll change your mind about Jesus you'll have the King, He'll return. So the whole house of Israel is called on to reverse the verdict of Passover evening and acknowledge Jesus as Messiah then Jesus will return. The King and the kingdom always come together and they always await the conversion of Israel. Matthew 23:39 might help you to see this it says this, Jesus said to Jerusalem; "For I say unto you ye shall not see Me", listen, He says, "You'll not see Me again until you say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord". That is an important statement. That is a Messianic destination. He says, You won't see Me again until you claim Me as Messiah. Now, that's the point. That's what Peter means when he says, If you believe in Jesus, acknowledging Him as Messiah, He'll come back. Jesus said to Jerusalem, I'm going and you won't see Me again until you acknowledge Me as your Messiah. He cannot return until then. That's one of the reasons I don't believe anybody in the world will see Jesus at the rapture except believers. And He never really gets to the earth in the rapture.
Where do we meet Him? In the air. And Israel will never see Him until after their repentance. And then after they say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. And so that's exactly what Peter is saying. You can't have the kingdom and you can't have the King until you change your mind about Jesus. You say,Well, will they do it? Sure. Now I'm not going to give you a long chronology but just to kind of help you understand, some of you might not be familiar with prophetic things but this period we're living in is the church age. It will end when the church is taken away. When the church is taken away there is a seven-year period called the tribulation.
Seventieth week of Daniel, Daniel 9:24 to 27 explains it. During that seven-week, seventieth week, that last seven-year period God redeems Israel. The church just Whissh, we go; the world goes on as usual, not quite as usual with all of us gone but the world goes on, they make do. Israel is redeemed. Israel is redeemed during that seven-year period, that seven-year period is immediately followed by what? By the kingdom. Because once Israel is redeemed the kingdom can come. You see? And so God is a forgiving God. He willingly forgives those who come to Him. He says, Come now, come now. And they didn't come. And they didn't come. Someday they will. Praise God.
Paul said in Romans 11:26, he said, "So all Israel shall be saved". It's future, they will be but Oh, I wish they were now.
Then verse 21, "Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things". That just means He's got to stay in heaven 'til the kingdom starts. Because the Jew in his mind he says this,Now wait a minute, if He's the Messiah why doesn't He stick around and set up His kingdom?
And Peter says, He's got to stay in heaven until you acknowledge Him as King until the kingdom comes He's got to be up there and the kingdom can't come until you acknowledge Him as King, and you can't acknowledge Him as King until you change your mind about Him. That's the point. They had rejected Him; therefore He must remain in heaven until they believe. He cannot come until they say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. He cannot return until the time of restitution. He cannot come back until they acknowledge Him as King and He can take back the earth that rightfully is His. Now this sequence is not just something I dreamed up in my brain. I want you to see that this isn't even a New Testament sequence it's clearly an Old Testament one, Zechariah chapter 12 that's the next to the last book in the Old Testament, next to Malachi. And if you'll look at 12 you'll find the general sequence of what's going to happen in the final days. Now I'm going to read some things to you. 12:10, Zechariah's prophesying, he says, "I'll pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace", oh great, that's just what they need. They're going to get the Holy Spirit some day, uh hmm, that's good you only get the Holy Spirit when you're converted so that means they're going to get converted. Right?
Now watch this, "And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced". Isn't that interesting because you know who's talking here? God. Now some people don't want to argue whether Jesus is God. It's a little tough to argue when here it's God speaking and God says they pierced Me. All right, "they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him". Isn't that interesting? They pierced Me and shall mourn for Him. There's a Trinitarian designation right there. You see Him as God in the first statement and as the Son of God in the second statement. You know what's going to convert Israel? When they look upon the One they pierced and they acknowledge Him. That's conversion isn't it? Now you say, You mean Israel's going to get converted? Oh is it going to be a great day? There's going to be first of all bitterness because they're going to be so sad as to what they did "there's going to be great mourning in Jerusalem and mourning in Hadad Rimmon in the Valley of Megiddo. The land's going to mourn", a lot of crying going on in those days when that comes. But look at verse 1 of chapter 13; "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness".
You see, when they look on Jesus and they say,O,Oh, we pierced our Messiah we change our minds we repent". Whoosh--the fountain of cleansing and they clean. And you know what follows their cleaning immediately? The battle of Armageddon, and that's in the next few verses in chapter 13 and if you go down there it says: "And it shall come to pass", in verse2 that God's going to bring judgment and all this death and all these things and the day of the Lord, 14:1, gathering the nations and the great battle is going to be fought. Huh, that battle's not going to last too long it's going to end like this; verse 4, "And His feet shall stand that day on the Mount of Olives", that's Jesus returning. Why can He return then? Because Israel's what? They've been converted. And so He comes back and He hits that mountain and, oh I love this, skipping down to verse 9, "And the Lord shall be", what's the next word? "King." But, you see, He cannot be King until Israel believes. Zechariah 12:10 has to happen before 14:9 can happen. That's the point. That's the point. So Peter says, Listen, you can't have the kingdom until you believe the King and He's going to stay in heaven until you do.
And then I like this, he says, Boys, don't think this is anything new, verse 21, "which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the age began". Where have you been? They always accuse the Christians, you know, of announcing a new heresy and so they always connect it to the Christian preachers, always connected it to the Old Testament. I mean, all your prophets have been telling you this all along. Have you read Zechariah lately? You can't have a kingdom till you have a King, you reject the King, you forfeit the kingdom. The Jews had lived in the hope of the Messiah.
They had dreamed that He would come. They had dreamed that the kingdom would come. Peter's not preaching any new message he's just saying why don't you listen to your own prophets? They told you it couldn't come without you accepting the King. You execute the King you can't have the kingdom.
Now there's a classic footnote here that I want to just draw very quickly in verse 21 which is a definition of biblical inspiration. You want to know how the Bible was written well here it is. Middle of the verse, "Which God hath spoken". Who spoke? God. What did He use? The mouth of all His holy prophets. You want to know how the Bible was written?
God said it through the mouth of His prophets. The Bible, every word is inspired by God. It's not theological speculation. No prophet was a speculative theologian, prophets were messengers who delivered a message direct from God. When I pick up my Bible and read every word in its original autographs every word was that word which God designed to be there. And if you don't believe that then who sits in judgment as to which words are right and which ones are wrong? If you take anything less then the absolute total inspiration of the Bible by God then somebody else has got to play God to determine which is in and which is out. In fact, threethousand, eighthundred and eight times in the Bible it says, And God said or the word of God came or something similar, threethousand eighthundred and eight times at least. I Peter says, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit". Now that's a footnote, that's free.
Now in the text before us he says, Your own prophets have told you this where have you been? You know you've got to repent and receive your Messiah before you have your kingdom. He says let me give you a classic illustration of what your own prophet said, and he pulls the number one prophet in Israel the first prophet they ever had, Moshe, Moses. And he talks about Moses in 22 and 24 and he uses Moses as an illustration of what their own prophets told them. And he uses Moses for two reasons, the greatness of Moses and the fact that Moses was the oldest prophet Israel had. So this was the oldest message Israel had, nothing new. So Peter has said repent and be converted for three reasons, your sins will be forgiven, your kingdom will come, Messiah will return and now he gives a fourth one the prophesy of Moses, judgment will be avoided, judgment will be avoided. Watch it; this is something, verse 22: "For Moses", here's an illustration of one of your holy prophets who told you this you can't have the King without the, you can't have the kingdom without repenting and receiving the King, "Moses said unto the fathers," the oldest prophet you've got. This is right smack out of Deuteronomy 18 verses 15 and 19 directly Moses said this, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me". You know who that prophet was to be? The Messiah. You know, that every Jew knew that was the Messiah? You know the very term ' that prophet' referred to Messiah? Remember in John's gospel when Jesus was up in Galilee that He was doing those wonderful miracles and they said, "He must be that prophet". And they tried to make Him a King? That's a Messianic title. They knew that Deuteronomy 18, that prophecy was the prophecy of Messiah they knew that. And so Peter simply says Moses told you look for your Messiah He will be like me, a Messiah like Moses. That is a redeemer.
And there are many other similarities. Then he says, watch this, "Him shall ye hear in a few things", no, "in all things whatever He shall say unto you and it shall come to pass", verse 23, "that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people". If the Messiah come and you don't hear Him you forfeit every blessing the covenant relationship ever bought. You can't have any blessing let alone the kingdom if you don't accept the King. What a powerful statement. And so Peter uses Moses to show them they need to repent in order to avoid judgment. Moses said, There is coming one like me and when He arrives you better believe Him or you'll be destroyed. Now the phrase 'like unto me' was one that was familiar to the Jews in fact the Jews knew their Messiah would be like Moses. They knew what Deuteronomy 1? meant. They knew it was talking about their Messiah.
There was no argument, they all know that. And in the Midrash Rabbah which is some of the rabbinical writings I pulled out one quote that was interesting, I'll just read it to you. "As was the former redeemer so shall the latter redeemer be", now this written by old ancient rabbis, they knew He'd be like Moses, "As the former redeemer so shall the latter redeemer be", and they were basing it on Deuteronomy 18, "while of the former it is said, quote"And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass," so of the latter for it says (Zechariah 9:9) "He is lowly and riding on an ass."
So they said, one thing we'll know about our Messiah we can tell Him because He'll be riding on an ass. How did Jesus enter Jerusalem? Riding on an ass. Not only that, it says in Midrash Rabbah, "And while the former redeemer brought down manna so the latter shall bring down manna". Moses brought manna from heaven, Jesus said in John 6, Remember what Moses did? Well I have brought you true bread from heaven. And there are more comparisons in that same volume and every comparison they make is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They knew what to expect. Jesus did everything to fulfill that expectation and they believed Him not and therefore Moses said unto them, If you don't you'll be destroyed, cut off from all the covenant promise of your people.
Every soul, look at that, every soul. Did you get it? "Who will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people." A man who lives in this world without Jesus Christ will be destroyed and cut off from all covenant blessing in Israel and through Israel to the Gentiles. There is no salvation in any other then Jesus Christ. You may be religious, you may believe in a whole system of religion that does only damn you if it prevents you from coming to Jesus Christ. There is no salvation in any other, that's in another chapter, that's the next couple of messages. And you know one of the great heartbreaking things that I feel in my own heart is the terrible heartbreak of the Jews who are missing out on all the things they've dreamed for all their lifetime because they reject Jesus. You know it's sad. It's absolutely tragic to see those people of Israel who long and long and long for rest and refreshment and the times of refreshing and the kingdom and the Messiah and what happens? They die and they spend an eternity in hell and they never know one of the blessings that God intended for them because they will not accept the King. That is a heartbreaker. Oh how that ought to compel us to take the message of Jesus Christ to the Jews who are in Judaism for they're dreaming and longing for Messiah. Even the ones who are reformed a longing for a Messianic era that they'll never know anything but torment for eternity unless they know their own Messiah. And so Moses himself says, you expose yourself to the severest punishment God has at His hands when you reject your Messiah. My how we should be concerned with bringing those people to Jesus that they might know the fulfillment of all the things they've dreamed. So he says, Listen to your own prophets.
Then in verse 24 he takes it a step further and the next prophet in the sequence of the history of Israel, he's dealing with the ancients so they know it's not new stuff, he says; "Yea and all the prophets from Samuel", remember Samuel was a prophet, he ran the school of the prophets, he says, "From Samuel on and those who followed after, as many as have spoken have likewise foretold of these days". Everybody told about the Messiah the details are explicit. Do you know that you can draw such an absolutely detailed profile of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament that it's impossible to conclude anything else but that He was the Messiah and that God had to write the Old Testament? You can find every detail about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Any man who studies the Old Testament can see nothing but Christ over and over and over. And Jesus on the road to Emmaus said to those two disciples, If only you had understood the Scripture you'd have known all these things. He even said to the Jews, Why don't you study the Scriptures they speak of Me. They had enough evidence. All their prophets from beginning to end of the prophets had said the same thing.
This is who He is and this is what He requires. Watch for Him and when He gets here don't miss Him or you'll be destroyed. So throughout the history of the Jews they didn't not only didn't believe Jesus but they didn't believe their prophets either did they? They never believed their prophets?
You say,What makes you say that? The Bible makes me say that and I say it only because Jesus said it in Matthew 23, listen to the pensive, sad words of Jesus Matthew 23:37; "O Jerusalem. Jerusalem", as He weeps, "Thou that killeth the prophets and stonest them who are sent unto thee". See, they did it to the prophets. Nothing new. Remember the parable of the man in the vineyard, he sent his sons they killed he sent his servants, they killed his servants. He said, Ah, I'll send my son. He sent his son. What did they do to his son? Killed the son. That's Israel. You didn't listen to the prophets you just killed them. He said,"How often, how many times would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings and you would not". And then this horrible statement, "Behold your house is left unto you desolate". Desolate and then, of course, He makes the statement, "You'll never see Me again until you say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord". It's desolate until then. You know, even today the house is desolate. They haven't changed their verdict about Jesus. Did you read in the papers recently, I read it in the Jerusalem Post which comes to me from Jerusalem, that there was a man who approached the Jewish Knesset which is the Parliament and the Courts and he asked if they could please reverse the verdict that was made on Jesus in order to get all the world off their backs? And you know that the Jewish Knesset turned him down, turned the man's plea down and would not reverse the verdict and there was some explanation for it. It's not it doesn't prove anything supernatural or explosive or dynamic but it simply shows that the attitude is still the same, basically nothing has changed. They still do not recognize Jesus Christ. So Peter calls for repentance in order that their sins may be forgiven, the kingdom may come, Messiah may return and judgment may be avoided. It could all happen if Israel believed.
Then the last reason, we'll close. Promised blessing will be realized. Verse 25--and I'm just going to read this and make a couple of comments. And notice the word you and ye and you're here and let me emphasis this. "Ye are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed, unto you first God having raised up His Son (or servant) Jesus sent Him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."
And what he is saying is this, I can't believe it it's for you He did it all and you're the ones who won't believe it. See? He did it all for you, you're the sons of the prophets and the covenant in the truest way because all the prophesies and all the covenants came to pass in their lifetime in Christ.
Here you're the truest sons of the covenant that ever were, you are alive in the covenant day in the day of the offer of the kingdom and under you the promise came for blessing and under you God brought the Messiah and under you He said I'll turn you away from your sins and I'll bless you and you won't believe it. Paul said in Romans 1:16, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it's the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew"--what?--"first." It was to them. Luke 24:47--He started to preach the gospel and He says, You go out and preach the gospel beginning at--what?--Jerusalem. It was for them. It was all for you, Peter says, it's all yours; you didn't believe it. So he closes his sermon. Ah, he probably said a lot of other things.
What is their reaction? Look at verse 1, I'm just going to read this; we'll study it next time, "As they spoke unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead they laid hands on them and put them in custody". That was their reaction. Verse 4, "But many of them which heard the word"--what?--"believed."
There's always a remnant, five thousand. That's probably the total believers--men believers--to this point. They believed. What a tremendous thing. There were some, but the nation rejected it.
Now I want to close with a simple illustration. From this time on, listen to this very important, from this time on there is no more offer of the kingdom to Israel. No more. God only made two formal statements to Israel. Jesus came saying, Repent for the kingdom is at hand; Peter came saying the same thing. Both times they reacted in hostility and God withdrew it. And right now they are confirmed in a situation where they could not see the kingdom. They had their two chances. To prove to you that they had only two I read you Matthew 22 the words of our Lord and we'll close with that reading. Matthew 22 beginning at verse 1, here Jesus in a parable tell us He would offer the kingdom twice to Israel; "And Jesus answered and spoke again by parables and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who made a marriage for his son", now here's the kingdom and the king, being God made a marriage for His Son the Son being Christ, "And he sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden". Isn't that interesting?
He called people who had already received an invitation. Who were the chosen people? Israel. So when Jesus came offering the kingdom, whom did He speak to? Israel. He invited those who were already chosen, but they wouldn't come. That's the first time. It just says they wouldn't come--no hostility. It doesn't say they killed all the disciples not at all it just says that. Then again verse 4, "He sent forth other servants", here's the second offer, "and said, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, things are ready, come to the marriage. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm another to his merchandise and the remnant took his servants and treated them shamefully and slew them". No disciple died during the first offer. What happen to all the disciples after the resurrection of Jesus?
Jesus offered the kingdom to Israel again and they began immediately to slay them, didn't they? Only two offers. Do you read about a third offer? No; verse 7 says this: "When the king heard it he was angry and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city".
Did you ever have a clear description of the destruction of Jerusalem? Two offers then judgment. And I love this; oh is this good; "Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready but they which were bidden weren't worthy", Israel's set aside, "you go into the highways and as many as you shall find bid them to the marriage. So they went out into the highways and gathered everybody, good and bad and the wedding was furnished with guests". Guess who they are? Guess who came to dinner? The church, the church, only two offers, only two offers. You say, Well I'm not a Jew what does this say to me? It says the very same thing. It says you better change your mind about Jesus and then you can receive all the blessing of God because every blessing promised to Israel is passed on to us in Christ. I trust and pray no one will leave this morning who doesn't know Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
Our Father, we thank You that You've provided for us in Christ all of those things which You promised in the covenants to Israel and that indeed it is through Israel that we, all the nations of the earth, are blessed.
God, our hearts are constantly reminded that there are people in our midst who do not know Christ. God, maybe in some of Israel who need to change their mind about Jesus in order that their sins might be forgiven, they might avoid judgment and all the wonders of the kingdom might be theirs.
God, our hearts are grieved for Israel. O how our hearts are broken for those Jews who shall miss it all because they missed the Messiah. God, may no one leave this place this morning who's not turned to Jesus Christ, the only Savior, the only One who can forgive sin. As we close, Father, we ask Your blessing upon even that which becomes our benediction in Christ's name.


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Read full history - Blog Action Day 2012 is Near!
The theme for Blog Action Day 2012 is …http://blogactionday.org/2012/08/28/the-theme-for-blog-action-day-2012-is/
October 9, 2012
The theme for Blog Action Day 2012 will be (drumroll please) …
"The Power of We"
We choose this theme for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the popularity of the your suggestions; Community, Equality, Transparency/Anti-Corruption and Freedom, in our theme poll.Secondly, The Power of We is a celebration of people working together to make a positive difference in the world, either for their own communities or for people they will never meet half way around he world.
So, what what will I do for my Blog Action Day post, I hear you ask?
Well, you might profile someone or a group who inspires you by the way they made a positive influence, talk about your own efforts to make change with others, or highlight a cause that is successful for using people power to make a difference.
There are hundreds of examples you could choose from such as fighting for healthier meals for kids in schools, protecting people's rights in countries far away, stopping practices in industries that hurt the environment and communities, challenging authorities to listen and act for the people, ensuring people small-scale farmers get fair deals, the rights of women and children are protected and many many more.
You might even want to discuss the strategies and tips of how to organise to encourage other people to make change happen on the issues they care about, or make it easier for them to join in existing groups.
As Blog Action Day get's closer (just under seven weeks away) we will be highlighting the thoughts of our NGO partners, previous Blog Action Day participants and interesting individuals have about our theme, and ask them to provide suggestions and materials that you can use for your blogs on October 15, 2102.
Over the next few weeks we will be increasing our communications with a weekly email to people who have registered to take part in Blog Action Day, as well as regularly updates, content and opportunities via our website and social media channels.
The team at Blog Action Day can't wait to see what you all blog about and we really hope that you enjoy taking part in Blog Action Day on October 15, 2012.
Jason and Karina from Blog Action Day.
Jason and Karina from Blog Action Day.


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2020 AAPB 51st Annual Scientific Meeting
La Jolla, California
AAPB's top selling texts are now available for purchase in digital form, SAVE ON SHIPPING!
Upcoming Events
AAPB is excited to announce our new webinar pricing for members.
Register today and earn CEs at this new discounted price of $50.
Thank you to our members for their continued support.
Infection Risk Mitigation for Biofeedback Providers:
Biofeedback providers necessarily make contact with patients or clients using sterile and non-sterile instruments and sensors. Many biofeedback providers lack the aseptic technique training that is common to licensed medical providers. This review familiarizes biofeedback providers with the essential principles and procedures of infection risk mitigation by touching on routes of disease transmission, disinfection, sanitization, and Spaulding classification. Basic suggestions for infection risk mitigation standards of practice are offered.
Biofeedback in the News! Technology That Prods You to Take Action, Not Just Collect Data.
Biofeedback Therapy for the Treatment of Cerebral Palsy and Concussions.
AAPB Comments of Cease and Desist Notices
Cease and desist notices were recently issued in the practice of biofeedback, one in the state of Nevada from their psychology board and the other from the Iowa medical board. Here are links to the letters that were submitted to each in support of AAPB members for the practice of biofeedback and neurofeedback in their states:
Cease and Desist Notice - Nevada
Cease and Desist Notice - Iowa
The Foundation for Education and Research in Biofeedback and Related Sciences (FERB) has launched a new "Honor a Mentor program" recently. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize those people who have given time and energy to better the field and its practitioners, while supporting the next generation with research scholarship funding.
Latest News
No one knows how beneficial AAPB membership is to the investigation and application of applied psychophysiology and biofeedback better than AAPB members. Now you can share your AAPB membership experience and get rewarded for doing so! Through its new "Direct Member Connect" program, AAPB rewards your efforts in recruiting new members. CLICK HERE to learn about AAPB's membership recruitment rewards program...Direct Member Connect.
Check out how AAPB members are contributing to stress management through presentations around the world.
This video lecture, Simple Ways to Manage Stress -An experiential lecture for people impacted by the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. For more information, please visit http://peperperspective.com/author/erikpeper/.
What is Biofeedback?
Biofeedback has evolved from a fascination in the 1960s and 70s to a mainstream methodology today for treating certain medical conditions and improving human performance. This evolution has been driven by years of scientific research demonstrating that the mind and body are connected, and that people can be taught to harness the power of this connection to change physical activity and improve health and function. Public interest in biofeedback is growing, and with it the need for a clear answer to the question, "what is biofeedback?" The leading professional organizations representing the field have answered with the following standard definition:
Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. Precise instruments measure physiological activity such as brainwaves, heart function, breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature. These instruments rapidly and accurately "feed back" information to the user. The presentation of this information — often in conjunction with changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior — supports desired physiological changes. Over time, these changes can endure without continued use of an instrument.
Approved May 18, 2008 by:
Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB)
Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA)
International Society for Neurofeedback and Research (ISNR)
To learn more about biofeedback, go to the AAPB Consumer's page.
Available Online!
The Neurofeedback Book, 2nd Edition
by Michael Thompson, MD
and Lynda Thompson, PhD
Functional Neuroanatomy
by Michael Thompson, MD, and Lynda Thompson, PhD
This 137-page monograph features over 100 plates/illustrations and comprises all new information that will be published in The Neurofeedback Book: 2nd Edition - available in the Fall of 2015.


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K2 Meteorologist Don Day Part of Record Setting Jump Attempt [PHOTOS, VIDEO]
Yesterday, Austria's Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a space capsule from an altitude of approximately 71,580 feet as the Red Bull Stratos project moved forward into the manned flight stage in New Mexico. The 42-year-old rode the space capsule attached to a giant helium balloon above the so-called "Armstrong Line."
The goal of the Red Bull Stratos project is to see Baumgartner attempt a record-breaking freefall from 120,000 feet this summer where he'll potentially become the first man to go supersonic without the support of a vehicle.
The Red Bull Stratos team brings together the world's leading minds in aerospace medicine, engineering, pressure suit development, capsule creation and balloon fabrication. It includes retired United States Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger, who holds three of the records Felix will strive to break.
Joe's record jump from 102,800 ft in 1960 was during a time when no one knew if a human could survive a jump from the edge of space. Joe was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and had already taken a balloon to 97,000 feet in Project ManHigh and survived a drogue mishap during a jump from 76,400 feet in Excelsior I. The Excelsior III mission was his 33rd parachute jump.
One of the members of the Red Bull Stratos Team is K2 Radio Meteorologist Don Day who has been working on the project since its inception. See some of Don's comments on the video shot yesterday.
Watch the Red Bull Stratos Jump Footage:


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1. Introduction
2. Steps to using the ecosystem approach
3. Applying the Ecosystem Approach
Task 1. How do you involve all members of society in decisions associated with the management of land, water and living resources?
Task 2. How do you ensure management is decentralised to the lowest appropriate level?
Task 3. How do you ensure the effects of management actions (potential or actual) on adjacent and other ecosystems are taken into account?
Task 4. How can the economic context be understood so that
Market distortions that affect biological diversity are reduced
Incentives are developed to promote biodiversity and sustainable use
Ecosystem costs and benefits are externalised?
Task 5. What measures could be used to conserve ecosystem structure and functioning so as to maintain ecosystem services?
Task 6. What measures can be taken to ensure ecosystems are managed within the limits of their functioning?
Task 7. What actions can been taken so that the problem(s) is (are) addressed at the appropriate temporal and spatial scales?
Task 8. How can varying temporal scales and lag-effects be taken into account when considering the sustainable use of ecosystems?
Task 9. How can adaptive management be used to address the problem(s) identified?
Task 10. How can an appropriate balance be sought between, and integration of, conservation and use of biological diversity?
Task 11. How do you ensure all forms of relevant knowledge including, scientific, indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices are included?
Task 12. What measures can be taken to facilitate the involvement of all stakeholders including all sectors of society and scientific disciplines?
Cross-cutting issues
4. Creating a Management Plan
The information that follows provides a guide to creating the structures and processes necessary for implementing the ecosystem approach as part of a project to address a particular issue. It is aimed at those working to achieve sustainable management of ecosystems, although much of the information could also be applied to projects seeking the creation or development of legislation or policy. There is no correct way to create a plan, every situation is different and it is important to modify the plan to fit the circumstances under which the project will operate.
Identifying the issues
The processes through which issues are identified and the project plan developed can be difficult to separate. The use of the ecosystem approach should begin with an issue. Having identified the issue (or several) it can be assessed against the tasks set out above in Section 3.
However, once the potential tasks for action have been identified a draft management plan should be produced before actions have been finalised. This is necessary so that there is an opportunity for stakeholders to feed into the management processes at an early enough stage to ensure they are part of the management process. If the involvement of stakeholders is left too late they might feel they can not contribute to the management process or the issues that concern them might not have been addressed. As a consequence it will be more difficult to develop relationships based on trust between the different people and organisations involved.
Creating a Draft management plan
The objective of the draft management plan is to:
Set out the tasks that need to be undertaken to meet the issue(s) and the objectives of the ecosystem approach.
Determine who needs to be involved in the tasks and what mechanisms could be used to encourage participation.
Set out a draft timetable for actions and target dates for completion (though it is important to keep these as flexible as possible especially during the initiation phase of the project).
Before setting up a project choosing the right time for its establishment is important. There might be opportunities or circumstances which can help or hinder the project's success. For example:
Political stability – a return to a more stable political situation can provide an opportunity to develop a new project.
New government policies and strategies can create conditions under which a project can thrive. Likewise the ratification of international conventions can provide an opportunity for a country to review environmental policies, legislation and practice.
Re-organisation and re-structuring to government departments and institutions can provide opportunities.
The time taken to put in place actions that can restore or maintain ecosystems should not be underestimated. At the project initiation stage the likely time required for the various elements of project preparation, enactment and follow-up should be evaluated. Stakeholders should be given realistic timings so that they do not become disillusioned or frustrated by the time taken to put plans into action and for results to be achieved.
Key actors
One of the first tasks is to decide which organisation should lead the project's development and subsequent implementation. These roles do not have to be undertaken by the same organisation, for instance a government department might provide the initiative to set up the project but it would actually be run by a local or regional organisation in either the public or private sector, or an implementing body might be created specifically to address the issue.
Reliance should not be placed on one organisation to carryout the project as this can jeopardise the likely success. Successful projects often have one fully-committed organisation (either governmental or non-governmental) which works with other partner organisations. The lead organisation should be able to act as:
An effective facilitator and co-ordinator working with all stakeholders.
Provide clear reasons for and evidence of the decisions taken.
Be willing to listen to the views of others and adapt to their needs if that is required.
Engaging with stakeholders
There are many different ways to encourage stakeholders to participate. Workshops and focus groups can be one way to engage a number of stakeholders at the same time. In other circumstances one-on-one liaison might be the best approach initially before advisory/working groups can be established. Tools such as decision trees can be very useful for explaining the range of issues affecting an area and for capturing new issues. Later on decision trees can also be used to develop pragmatic steps for addressing problems. More information on engaging stakeholders can be found under the sourcebook section on tools and approaches or search for case studies / tools on the database under public participation.
Setting Objectives
All projects need well defined and readily identifiable objectives. These and any actions should be agreed through discussions with stakeholders so that an understanding of the issues and actions necessary to address them can be agreed and understood. The objectives should be closely related to the issues identified. The use of decision making tools can be useful in this respect. For example having established a problem tree when identifying the issues to be addressed can then be used to create an objective tree. In this case each issue is paired with an objective so that if the issue is a decline in native invertebrates, the objective would be to halt the decline and adopt management necessary to increase native invertebrates.
The setting of objectives can also provide a useful starting point for creating monitoring actions.
Project design
The development of the project plan should consider
Adaptive management
The management plan should be flexible, with a clear aim and methodology for reaching decisions and undertaking actions, which in turn are realistic and clearly justified. Progress should be assessed against agreed targets which can be reviewed as necessary to allow for any change in circumstances. All outputs should be agreed and discussed with stakeholders to allow them the opportunity to contribute to this process.
Long-term viability
The ultimate aim for any project should be the continuation of the objectives beyond the project's lifespan. This includes providing implementing organisations with the resources to continue long-term management after the project has finished. The development of an exit strategy at the beginning of project so that at the end it is agreed who and how organisations can continue to meet the objectives. This can also strengthen commitment to the project as it is clear how it will continue into the future.
Financial stability is also key to long-term viability. Where possible self-financing strategies should be developed to ensure sufficient resources are available. These may come from, income generated from products or services from the ecosystem or where non-tradable services are generated (eg national park or watershed protection) it might be appropriate for government funding.
Defining the boundaries, scope and time scale
Although boundaries lead to limitations these can be necessary for managing ecosystems. Tasks seven and eight in Section three above identify what issues need to be taken into account when developing the boundaries.
Producing the project work plan
The first task of the core work team is to produce a work plan, which should be done in a participatory and collaborative manner, using logical framework techniques to facilitate problem analysis and planning.
A research plan might also be required; this will cover collecting social, ecological and economic data. Where ever possible links should be made with the academic and research institutions specialising in the area (either geographic or sectoral), and should use the capacity of local communities to provide baseline information.
The creation of the work plan is a unique opportunity to define a clear public image for the project and to communicate it as widely as possible. This is important because the ecosystem approach is still a new concept to many which might not be widely understood or appreciated. The best project image is one that clearly promotes it as a capacity-building and conflict solving exercise, with a group of unbiased experts working in close association with the various interest groups.
Reducing risk to project outcomes
Risk analysis should be used to identify critical issues/risks to the project. For example:
Is there sufficient scientific and other knowledge available to undertake identified field activities? If not, it might be necessary to undertake surveys etc before moving on to specific activities.
Is the project expected to have significant environmental or social impacts? All projects should be assessed to ensure negative impacts are not detrimental.
Has there been previous communication with local groups, organisations or individuals? If not, or where there have been difficulties before, a preliminary consultation phase might be needed to build confidence and good working relationships between the project and the local people.
Legal barriers to project implementation should be considered. For example Wildlife and environmental legislation might not be compatible with sustainable use of natural resources.
Land tenure and access to natural resources for local communities - if security of land and access to the benefits is not clear, local communities can not be expected to take responsibility for management.
Legal boundaries of a protected area which are not clearly defined, making implementation of management measures difficult.
Do organisations have the correct resources for implementing parts of the project plan identified for them? If not, training and capacity-building might be necessary.
Do institutional barriers affect project implementation, for instance does an inappropriate agency have responsibility for management? It might be necessary to seek new legislation or work with the agency to find appropriate mechanisms.
When attempting to restore degraded ecosystems it might be necessary to carry out a pilot project to assess restoration techniques before working on a larger and hence more risky scale.
Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring can be used to assess progress and determine how future management can be developed to meet the project's goals. The monitoring of activities, aims and objectives should not be fixed but remain adaptable to changing conditions as knowledge, understanding and issues are raised and resolved. Sufficient time should be allowed for effective monitoring and any changes should be supported by evidence as to why the change was made. This provides information to those assessing the project's success and stops targets being revised down for convenience of action. Monitoring should cover both the short and the long-term to allow initial results and the future sustainability of the ecosystem.
Wherever possible local people and organisation should be involved in monitoring. Local groups will be more likely to collect information which they can analyse and use themselves in managing the ecosystem. This information can be complemented by other monitoring activities.
Indicators can be used to monitor success, for example by showing practical and visible project outputs, such as species distribution maps, new government regulations protecting wildlife, establishment of new partnership organisation. Changes to the abundance of species, increased productivity or access to a resource can also be used as indicators.
It can be difficult to assess changes to attitude, awareness and behaviour, without considerable monitoring effort. This type of monitoring can be very effective for showing how understanding of resource use has changed or whether there has been effective devolution of decision making in resource use to an identified group.
Ecosystem health can also provide a valuable mechanism for assessing a project's achievements. For example by assessing changes to biological diversity, food chain characteristics, ecosystem productivity or ecosystem functions.
Project Implementation
Key concerns in implementing natural resource management projects include Length of time allocated to the project to achieve an impact on the health and integrity of ecosystems, is crucial. Improved ecosystem management and natural habitat restoration may require 10-15 years of work before results become apparent.
Staff competence and commitment is vital to project success
The creation of a network of partner agencies and interest groups, which will progressively take on the implementation of the project activities is vital. This will help empower others and stop the project becoming an institution with its own agenda.
Political, institutional and community support must be secured to fulfil the project goals and objectives.
Project implementation generally follows a series of stages, some of which overlap and can include several steps. For example
Stage 1
a. build project team
b. produce work plan and develop links with the local community and other stakeholders
c. establish advisory committees
Stage 2
a. determine project activities
b. desk-based actions
c. capacity building
d. review project (adapting monitoring and research as required)
Stage 3
a. putting agreed plan into action
Stage 4
a. continuation and forward planning
b. strategic plan for future initiatives
5. Assessing a project against the ecosystem approach
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*** This listing is for the binder and cover only. Pages available in separate listing***
Now there is a beautiful way to keep track of all your WIP's in one place! This binder cover measures 7 1/2" by 10" and holds 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" pages. (Pages shown in photos are NOT INCLUDED but available in separate listing) The cover is lined and padded with warm and natural batting. I've added a pretty elastic to keep your binder closed when you are not using it. Simply write all the details of what you have in your project bags in this handy binder and you'll never forget where you left your favorite scissors or needle minder again!
*Fabric placement may be slightly different due to the pattern repeat.
This item ships by USPS 1st class mail.
I currently accept Paypal, Etsy Direct Checkout with credit cards or Money Orders for purchases. If no payment or communication is received within 24 hours, I reserve the right to cancel the sale and relist the item. I must charge sales tax on all items sold to California addresses. This will be reflected on your invoice.
I ship via the US Postal service, first class. These bags are made to order. Please allow 2 - 3 weeks. Please contact me if you have questions about ship dates. I put love and attention into every item and I do my very best to get the bags made and shipped earlier than the 2 - 3 week timeline.
All sales are final; however, I want happy customers. Therefore, if you are unhappy with your purchase, please convo me immediately to discuss options. I must hear from you within 5 days of delivery. I cannot be responsible for return shipping costs. Refunds will be minus the original shipping charge.
Mar 27, 2018
LOVE, LOVE this! Very well made! Always love SewMuch2Luv!
Feb 14, 2018
Great person to do business with!