A SubtleManipulation

00:00Introduction: episode 200

Hello, dear friend, today episode 200. Woo! 200 episodes in Gospel Parallels, September 9, 2026.

00:12A subtle manipulation

The topic of today is a subtle manipulation. And the Scripture comes from two verses, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verses 27 and 28. And we read in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Please, Lord, guide us through this story. Thank you, Jeho, for the Scripture on the screen. And we read,

00:31The reading: Luke 11:27-28

"As Jesus was saying wonderful things, a woman with the people there called out to Him, "Blessings from God belong to the woman who gave birth to you and fed you." But Jesus said, "The people who hear the teaching of God and obey it, they are the ones who have God's blessing." Oh, oh!

00:59Last week, and today

Last week we talked about how powerful the Lord Jesus is. Today, you will learn what truly opinionated people want. So, first of all,

01:10The Lord always says wonderful things

we know that the Lord always says wonderful things. This is the beginning of the reading, right? The Lord Jesus was saying wonderful things. It doesn't matter what part of the Bible you read, God will always show you wonderful things. You just open the holy book, and that is what you should do every morning.

01:33“I don't have time, Pastor”

I don't have time, Pastor. I have to go to work. Everybody has to go to work. Ten minutes before you go to work, put your alarm ten minutes before. Open your Bible, get your cup of coffee, and read and pray. You will read wonderful things that will inspire you for the rest of the day.

01:55Opinionated people want to be noticed

You know that opinionated people, all that they want is to be noticed. That is their objective. Is that what you want when you are loud? When you are loud, whether it's in public or privately? Do you want to make statements even about God only wanting to show that you have an opinion? That's what opinionated people do. That's what this woman was doing.

02:22What if your opinion is incorrect?

But what if your opinion is incorrect? That woman was wrong. Would you like to be contradicted by God in public? This woman was put in her place by the Lord Jesus.

02:39Wait for the right moment

On the contrary, look how smart you look when you wait for the right moment to ask a legitimate question or to express your opinion by saying, "I am not sure if I am correct, but I think this and this and that." What do you think? That makes you look smart, my friend. But this woman, you

03:09Idolatry and manipulation

know that idolatry is the result of religious views about anyone other than our Lord God. The purpose is manipulation. Catholicism is saturated with that. And that is so funny because it's so interesting. This woman is pointing out to Mary. Isn't it that the issue with Catholicism? Isn't it that the problem that we have with them, the emphasis they put, not just in Mary, but Peter? And everybody else, they talk about what great qualities of individuals. We don't have anything against Mary or Peter or anybody else. But to that point, to try to put them at the same level of our Lord Jesus, God blessed is the woman that fed you. And the Lord just put her in her place.

04:11Preachers and singers on a pedestal

Now, let's talk about Christianity. What about Christian putting preachers or singers on a pedestal? Oh, my pastor is wonderful. Oh, have you heard the last song of such and such? Is it bad to admire your pastor? No.

04:30Respect, admiration or idolatry?

But when do you cross the line between respect and admiration? This is one side. Respect and admiration. When do you cross that line compared to idolatry? When do you cross that line? When you are looking for his acceptance and you do anything to get his approval? That's just wrong. The problem is that many preachers and singers, particularly those that are involved in music, they just love to be worshipped. You know, people say, "No, my pastor is not." Well, in general, it's a bad thing when we are putting so much on high somebody else. It's not the right thing to do. Period.

05:24Love them; don't put them on a pedestal

I love my mother. I love my father. I love my children. I love my wife. I love my supervisor pastors. I love my mentors. One thing is to love them. Another thing is to put them on a pedestal. No, my friend.

05:41Nobody between the Lord God and you

Nobody on this planet is between the Lord God and you, other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can show you that. The Trinity of God in action and all that is supported by the Bible. Beautiful!

06:02The Lord God gets all the credit

The Lord God has to have all the credits. The preaching is necessary. The preachers, the singing, the songs, the ambience. Well, we, myself, what we do here, it's important. But nothing like our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Trinity of God.

06:29The Holy Spirit inside of you

You know what? Everything that we can perceive that is from God is because the Holy Spirit is playing a role. He is doing a function by impacting us, making us believe and making us think. If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit is inside of you. Maybe it's not too big. Perhaps you have a little tiny portion of Holy Spirit inside of you. I have done that joke before. A tiny Holy Spirit. I'm tiny. Just kidding. It doesn't matter. When the Holy Spirit is inside of you because you receive the revelation that you are a sinner and that Jesus is your Savior, there is the power of God operating in you. In the Bible, the Bible, my friend.

07:16What Jesus said to this woman

Listen to what the Lord Jesus said to this woman. He didn't say anything about his mother Mary. He did not say anything wrong about Mary because it's not God's style. It's not his style. But he made it clear. The people who hear the teaching of God and obey it, they are the ones who have God's blessing. There you go.

07:47That is the blessing

Notice how our Lord Jesus is putting our Lord God on high in the Bible, who reveals all this to you, the Holy Spirit. That is the blessing, my friend.

07:58Freedom, not fear

Therefore, you will experience freedom. And that's freedom. The love of God inside of you. Listen, the Lord God didn't give you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, a spirit of power, and sound mind. That is why you don't have to go to look for the approval of a preacher or a priest or anybody, for that matter. The blessing is to come to our Lord Jesus Christ. And then is when you are free, my friend. That is the real blessing. And you need to continue reading your Bible. I'm glad you are here. Give a like, a comment, share the message. All that is great.

08:46Your true source must be the Bible

But your true source must be the Bible. Remember that, my friend. No fear. Just joy. Okay? See you next week. Remember, we are in many platforms. But before I show you that, try to get this. Okay.

09:07A little humor

Why did the scared cow say "woo"? Because it's a coward. You know? Excuse me. Okay. I used to be scared of pretty girls. My mom explained that was silly. Because they were much more scared of me. You know, the Lord God didn't give you spirit of fear. But the spirit of what? Love, power, and sound. What? A few moments later. Sound mind. Sound mind. Did you hear about the mathematician who was scared of negative numbers? Alright. Last one. Here are 10 things I am scared of. One, heights. Two, lists. Three, finishing things.

10:16Thank you for watching

Thank you for watching our episode 200. I hope that I will see you here next time. We have tons of videos here on our different platforms. Go and search for what we do. There are tons of ministries doing the same thing, my friend. I wish you a beautiful rest of your day. And I hope to see you soon.

Transcribed from the video and lightly corrected. Spoken words are kept as Dr. Gian said them.