Growing In God with Gary Hargrave

Growing In God Podcast  Web Description: Is there something for which God has forgiven you, others have forgiven you, and yet you cannot forgive yourself? You cannot assume that it would have no impact on your expression of love to others. We love because God first loved us, and the power of God's love is forgiveness. So we must not limit it from doing its work in us first. Let us turn loose that power by fully accepting God's love and forgiveness for ourselves.    Show Notes:  There is no answer for this world apart from God's love. There is a power in His love that if turned loose would bring the solutions that we need. All the wars that are happening are a product of hate. The missiles being launched against Israel are from those who hate Israel and hate the Jews. And yet this is in a land that is about the love of God in the children of Abraham. Therefore, instead of hatred they should be expressing brotherly love because no one can love God and hate his brother.   We love because God first loved us. This means that the love He gives us at some point must become a love that is expressed from us. We know that the power of God's love toward us is unlimited. Why then is the expression of that love from us toward others so often limited and lacking power? To answer that question, we need to look within ourselves. We know we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Therefore, if we do not love ourselves, we restrict the flow of love to our neighbor.   The power of God's love is forgiveness. We may believe and accept that nothing can separate us from God's love. But if we are unable to forgive ourselves, we can effectively block the power of that love from working in our lives and consequently in the lives of others. God has made an everlasting covenant with us according to His faithful mercies to David. It is a covenant of forgiveness. We in turn must let the power of His forgiveness work in us and through us.   Key Verses:   •       Romans 8:37–39. “I am convinced that neither death, nor life … will be able to separate us from the love of God.” •       Romans 5:8. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” •       Romans 8:28–35. “Who will bring a charge against God's elect? … Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” •       1 John 4:16–21. “We love, because He first loved us.” •       Matthew 22:35–40. “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” •       Galatians 5:14. “The whole Law is … ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'” •       1 John 4:7–11. “If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” •       Psalm 130:3–4. “There is forgiveness with You.” •       Isaiah 55:3. “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies [hesed] shown to David.” •       Psalm 136. “His lovingkindness [hesed] is everlasting.” •       Acts 13:34–35. “I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.”   Quotes:   •       “It's one thing to know that God has forgiven me. It's another thing for me to be free and delivered by His forgiveness in that I'm able to forgive myself.” •       “Once we have this love of God in us, it should manifest as a love of our brother, of our neighbor. And yet, why can't that happen? It can't happen if I can't love myself, if I can't forgive myself, because you love your neighbor as yourself. And that is where this whole thing gets stuck.” •       “When we're able to love our neighbor as ourself, the whole world changes. Everything changes. The hate stops. The lies stop. The war stops. The put-down stops. The shame stops. Everything that we do in a negativity of relating to the person and the people outside of us ends with that love.”   Takeaways:   1.    The power of God's love always ministers forgiveness. In other words, forgiveness is the outworking of God's love. Wherever you find His love, you find forgiveness. What can stop this power? Only we can stop it when we do not forgive ourselves. 2.    We love because He first loved us. And if we love ourselves, we should love our neighbor. God's love to us and in us must be expressed from us because we cannot love God and hate our brother. We are the only ones who can limit that expression. 3.    God promised an everlasting covenant according to the faithful, steadfast, and eternal mercies (hesed) of David. This is a covenant of forgiveness as shown to David and given to us in Christ. This power of God's love needs to work through us to bring a freedom from the hate, division, and all that is not forgiving.  

Growing In God Podcast   Web Description: Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, is urging Americans to visit Israel at this time. Ambassador Huckabee is also a Christian and a true example of how to bless Israel and the Jewish people. As fellow Christians we should follow his example, go to Israel if we can, and be the expression of Christ's love to the Israeli people.   Show Notes: During our solidarity tour in Israel, we had the pleasure of meeting with Ambassador Mike Huckabee. In this meeting we had a deep connection of heart and spirit together as the ambassador conveyed a message to the American people. That message is, “Come to Israel.” It is significant that Huckabee is not Jewish like many United States ambassadors to Israel have been. He is an evangelical Christian and a true man of faith. As Christians we should take this to heart and understand our role in helping Israel.   At Hargrave Ministries we try to deal with the issue that the Church has long been a source of negative relations with the Jewish people. Christians have a history of persecuting Jews as well as trying to convert them to Christianity in a way that erases their Jewish heritage. Therefore, you find many who do not trust the motivation of Christians when they come to Israel. That is why we need to pray for Mike Huckabee and follow his lead. As a Christian with a heart of love and faith for Israel and the Jewish people, he is not only representing the United States but also representing all Christians as an ambassador to Israel.   If you are a Christian, one of the greatest things you can do right now is visit Israel. Israel needs to see the expression of love and faith coming from Christians. The Jewish people, whether they are in Israel or not, need to see that Christ is an expression of the love of the Father for them. Everywhere we have gone in Israel on this tour, the response from people has been, “Thank you for being here. You have no idea what your support means for us.” So go to Israel and be a blessing. But whether you go or not, keep praying for Israel and keep giving to help the Israeli people.   Key Verses:   •       1 John 4:16. “God is love.” •       John 3:16. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” •       Isaiah 55:3. “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.”   Quotes:   •       “I think it's a real problem when Christians try to missionize the Jewish people because you're doing more than just saying, “Be a Christian.” You're trying to change the culture. You're trying to change really who the Jewish people are.” •       “We send donations and support every month to eight different organizations here in Israel. But I'll tell you, when we walk in the door and we show up here, that really impacts them, and they appreciate it beyond what you can imagine.” •       “You can pray for the people of Israel. You can pray for the nation of Israel, pray for the soldiers, pray for those that are in need in Israel. So many things that you can pray for if you're not able to come. But if you are able, know that you have an invitation with an open heart from our current representative here and his staff—Mike Huckabee the new ambassador.”   Takeaways:   1.    Mike Huckabee, the current United States ambassador to Israel, is a born-again evangelical Christian. In fact, he is a former Baptist minister. So not only is he representing the United States as a nation, but he is also representing all of us who are believing Christians. 2.    Mike Huckabee's love and faith for Israel should be the expression from all Christians. And one of the things he is doing as ambassador is encouraging Christians to come to Israel at this time. 3.    Because of the negative ways Christians have related to them, many in the Jewish community mistrust the motives of Christians who come to Israel. Therefore, there is a deep need for an expression to Israel and to the Jewish people of Christ's love, which is the manifestation of the Father's love for them. And being there in Israel is one of the greatest ways to do that.  

Growing In God Podcast   Web Description: In a message to faithful believers in Monterrey, Mexico, Gary shares with them the answer for Mexico. The answer is the leaven of the Kingdom of Heaven that was implanted within them. This leaven will grow until it influences all of Mexico. And it will not stop until it fills the whole earth.   Show Notes: At the Feast of Unleavened Bread, all leaven is removed from the house and unleavened bread is eaten for seven days. In 1 Corinthians Paul compares this process to what happens within us. During this feast we are to clean out the old leaven from ourselves. God wants us to remove all the influences of this world and this age until we are a new lump of dough that is unleavened. After the Feast of Unleavened Bread, leaven is again added to the bread. As Yeshua (Jesus) said, the Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven added to a lump of dough that grows until the entire lump is leavened. During the days of unleavened bread, we remove the leaven of this world that is not part of the Kingdom of God until we become a new lump of dough. But that is not where we stop. Then the Kingdom of Heaven itself is imparted into our hearts and minds. Like leaven, it grows until we are completely filled with His Kingdom. You could look at your circumstances and say, “I don't see it working.” You cannot necessarily see leaven working either, but slowly and surely it is growing and expanding in the dough. We have removed the old leaven of influences of this world, and now the new leaven of the Kingdom will continue to grow in us and influence everything around us. By this impartation and transformation within us, we become the bread that God can use to feed the world. Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 5:7–8. “Clean out the old leaven.” Romans 12:2. “Do not be conformed to this world.” Matthew 13:33. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven.” Luke 13:20–21. “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven.” Colossians 1:13. “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Philippians 3:20–21. “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Quotes: “We are implanted into the Kingdom, and now the Kingdom is being implanted into us.”  “The days of unleavened bread are finished, and we must become this new loaf of bread that is to feed the world.” “The answer for Mexico is this leaven of His Kingdom. And it is now dwelling in your hearts.”   Takeaways: 1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread has tremendous significance for believers. Paul wrote about this feast and related it to what happens to us rather than to bread. We become unleavened by cleaning out the old influences of the world from our lives. 2. At the end of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, leavened bread is eaten again. And so we do not remain unleavened. Christ imparts to us the leaven of His Kingdom. We have removed the old influences of the world, and we have growing within us the influence of the Kingdom of God. 3. This influence of the Kingdom that expands in our hearts does not stop with us. It will leaven our community, our nation, and ultimately the entire earth.

Growing In God Podcast   Web Description: As Christians, are we conformed to this age? Do people look at us and see no difference between us and the world? The Lord does not want us to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds. By the authority of Christ through the Holy Spirit, we destroy the speculations that are conforming us to this world. And we take every thought captive in obedience to Christ.   Show Notes: As Paul explained in 2 Corinthians, spiritual warfare involves destroying speculations and bringing every thought captive in obedience to Christ. Much of what is taking place in the world today is driven by speculation. So many things that we are seeing and hearing are speculations made up by people attempting to control our thinking. These things are coming directly against the truth and the knowledge of God. But we as Christians need to know the truth and have the knowledge of God. So we must take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. We cannot allow our thoughts to be controlled.   We are constantly bombarded with the thoughts, the ways, the lusts, and the concerns of this world. All of it is trying to take our thoughts and make us conform to the world. But the Scriptures tell us that we have the ability in God to be conformed to His image by the Holy Spirit. We have the promise that if we refuse to be conformed to this world, we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. According to the Word of God, if we take these thoughts captive under the authority of Christ, we will be transformed.   Let us stop the world from controlling our thoughts. This may seem difficult because the world is screaming so loudly, and all our senses are attuned to this age. However, the Holy Spirit was given to teach us and to guide us. And we need to spend time with Him, learn how to communicate with Him, turn off all the input from the world that is conforming us to this age, and by the Holy Spirit find the way to be conformed to the Word of God.   Key Verses:   •       2 Corinthians 10:3–5. “We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” •       John 14:6. “I am … the truth.” •       1 Corinthians 2:16. “We have the mind of Christ.” •       Isaiah 55:8. “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” •       Romans 12:1–2. “Prove what the will of God is.” •       Ephesians 4:22–24. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self.”   Quotes:   •       “We may be facing the flesh in this age that surrounds us, but we can't fight back in the flesh. We have to have the spiritual ability.” •       “We must come to a recognition that we are growing up into Christ, growing up into the mind of Christ, until our thoughts are His thoughts.” •       “The greatest tribulation that we will face is the war within us to take every thought captive and to be transformed by the renewing of our mind and come into the image of the Lord.”   Takeaways:   1.    Satan is always moving to remove or cover over the truth. Much of what we absorb in this age through all forms of media is not the truth, but speculation designed to conform our thoughts to the world. By the Spirit we must destroy speculations and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. 2.    We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We do not want to be Christians who look, act, and think like the world. We want to be transformed into the mind of Christ, into the thoughts of God, where God no longer has to say, “Your thoughts are not My thoughts.” 3.    According to the Word, you have the ability in Christ to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and to “put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."  

Growing In God Podcast  Web Description: God commanded us to comfort His people. And that is what we intend to do, not just by our prayers but by our actions. That is what this Israel solidarity trip is all about. We are going to Israel to be the hands, feet, and voices of comfort to the Israeli people. We are going there to help them spiritually and physically during this time when so much is coming against them.   Show Notes: At Hargrave Ministries we are on our latest solidarity trip to Israel. The purpose of our trip, as the name states, is to show solidarity with the people of Israel. We are following God's command in Isaiah 40:1 to comfort God's people. We are there to be a source of encouragement and support, to let them know that Christians are standing with them. In other words, we are not coming to Israel as sightseers for our own benefit. We are coming to be the hands and feet that are helping Israel and the Jewish people.   We plan to visit several sites in Israel to give them our support. This includes helping pack boxes at Leket Israel, the leading food rescue organization in Israel. We also want to visit United Hatzalah, the volunteer emergency medical service that is saving lives in this current conflict. Shiloh Israel Children's Fund is also on our schedule. This volunteer organization ministers to children who have suffered emotional and physical trauma from terrorism. We have scheduled a trip to Hebron which, like Shiloh, is in the Jewish homeland of Judea and not the “West Bank” as it is currently mislabeled. And we plan to visit Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, which is a pillar of education for ending anti-Semitism.   Please help Hargrave Ministries help Israel. We need your support through your prayers and through your giving. Not only do we need to cover the travel, food, and living costs of the trip, but we will also be making donations to support Israel financially at this time. If you have a burden to bless Israel and the Jewish people, you can be a part of this solidarity trip by donating to Hargrave Ministries. Most of all, we need your spiritual support that will allow us to be God's instruments in this day.   Key Verses:   •       Isaiah 40:1. “‘Comfort, O comfort My people,' says your God.” •       Genesis 12:1–3. “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” •       Ephesians 6:12. “Our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” •       2 Corinthians 10:4. “The weapons of our warfare are … divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” •       Joshua 15:13–14. “Now he gave to Caleb … Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron).” •       Deuteronomy 9:1–2. “You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess … the sons of the Anakim.”   Quotes:   •       “Christianity must be free from anti-Semitism and the roots of it. And we come now as a voice of comfort, as we believe God has commanded us to do in these words from Isaiah.” •       “Part of this solidarity trip is to be a reminder that great prophecies and promises in the Hebrew Scriptures exist and are yet to see a fulfillment over the children of Israel in this day. And we go as Christians believing to be a force of faith to say, ‘We hold to the Word that God has spoken, and we know that not one Word God has spoken will fall to the ground.'” •       “We must realize that part of what we're doing as we go is that we're believing to have the authority and the enabling by the grace of God in the Spirit to bring down these spiritual forces of wickedness that are at the root cause of what we see transpiring.”   Takeaways:   1.    An Israel solidarity trip is a tour of Israel for the purpose of being a blessing to the country of Israel. We are going there to be a source of comfort, backing, and encouragement to the people of Israel. We want to help the economy and help the local organizations that are helping the Israelis with the difficulties of war and terrorism. 2.    The history of the Jewish people has been one of living under anti-Semitism, persecutions, and just pure hate. And much of that history has been because of Christians. Now as we see Israelis surrounded by many nations committed to their destruction, we want to demonstrate to them that Christians are supporting them. 3.    We need to understand that the attacks on Israel and the Jewish people today are from spiritual forces that have assaulted them since the beginning. Our job as Christians is to use the spiritual weapons God has given us to see the destruction of these spiritual forces that are the root cause if what is taking place in the natural realm.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: How do we bring the healing that we need and that the world today needs so desperately? The example of healing at Bethesda is a lesson for all of us to apply. When Christ asks us, “Do you wish to be healed?” Our answer needs to be an emphatic, “Yes!” And not, “We are waiting for someone to carry us.” Christ is the source of our healing. He is always willing. And we pick up our own bed and walk in what He has provided.   Show Notes: During the first church service of Bethesda Ministries and the ordination of Silas as pastor, a message came about the ministry of healing. At the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Yeshua (Jesus) asked this man a question: “Do you want to be healed?” The man answered by giving the reasons why he had not been healed so far. Yeshua did not listen to the man's complaints. He simply said, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” This story shows us something about our own responses to the Lord.   The Lord had already decided to heal the man at Bethesda. Christ was standing there as this man's healing. But he had to be brought to the place where Christ was positioned as the manifestation of God's healing for him. The same is true for us. The Lord is not here to listen to our troubles, our excuses, and all our reasons for why things have not worked. He is here to bring us into the place where the answer already exists for the healing and ministry that we need.   There must be a drive in you to fulfill the will of God in your life. Someone else will not do it. It is never someone else's responsibility. It is always your responsibility to get up and walk with God. Christ is always there for us. He already said to the Father, “I am willing,” and He went to the cross for us. Now the fulfillment of that cross is always available to us. We just need to go to Him and say, “I already know You are willing because You have already done it. And I am coming to You to receive everything that I need.”   Key Verses:   •       John 5:2–8. “Do you wish to get well? … Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” •       Matthew 8:1–3. “And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” •       Matthew 26:39. “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”   Quotes:   •       “There's going to be a way that you find, in the anointing of the Lord, to have people really take responsibility for the will of God in their own lives, for the will of God in their own community, for the will of God in their own churches.” •       “I don't want a lot of preaching. I want a lot of learning to do it. Christ was pretty simple here: ‘Pick up your bed and walk.' We can do it if we do it.” •       “Do you know what's available on that cross? Everything. That's the point at which nothing is impossible. Any one of our needs—any one of the possibilities that exist for us—is right there.”   Takeaways:   1.    Yeshua asked the ill man at Bethesda, “Do you wish to be well?” However, the man answered by saying, “No one will take me to the water to be healed.” The correct answer would have been, “Yes! You are the source of my healing. And I want it!” That is how we need to answer the Lord. 2.    At Bethesda the Lord did not listen to the man's reasons for why he was not healed. He simply told the man to pick up his pallet and walk. God does not listen to our excuses. It is always our responsibility and never someone else's to walk in what God has given us. 3.    We have to see that Christ is the source of all that we need to accomplish His will in the earth. And He is always willing. We lay aside our excuses and our waiting for someone else to do it and take what He is giving us now.  

Growing In God Podcast  Web Description: On the death of Pope Francis, we must do more than reflect on his legacy. We must be in intercession for the selection of the new Pope because this will impact how the entire Body of Christ moves forward. Let us pray by the Spirit to create the Pope who will not only continue what Pope Francis started, but will break new ground in our oneness, our functioning by the Spirit, and our connection with the Jewish people.   Show Notes: As the Catholic Church remembers Pope Francis, we also remember our connection with him and with Catholics going back to World Youth Day in 2013. Pope Francis was a groundbreaking Pope in many ways. As we saw at World Youth Day, he had an ability to relate to young people and draw them back to the Church. In fact he drew in many believers and truly revitalized the Catholic Church. He was also baptized in the Holy Spirit, prayed in tongues, and promoted the spirit-filled Catholic movement. In addition he had faith for the joining together of Catholics and Protestants.   Of course there are biblical and political positions that Pope Francis embraced that we take issue with. This does not mean however we should break oneness with Catholics or stop praying for them. Catholics make up a little more than fifty per cent of all Christians. Therefore who the Pope is and what he stands for is important for all Christians. The conclave for the selection of the next Pope is coming up, and we must pray that the new Pope continues the progress made under Francis.   Unfortunately many Protestants do not even consider Catholics to be Christians and exclude them from the Body of Christ. This belief is not only incorrect, but it also plays into the hands of satan, who by dividing Protestants and Catholics effectively splits the Body of Christ down the middle. Our oneness is our power in the world of spirit and satan would like nothing more than to reverse the oneness we have attained. That is why it is crucial to pray for the upcoming conclave and the selection of a new Pope. Please reject satan's lies and pray to create the Pope who will be the voice for oneness, for functioning in the Holy Spirit, and for God's unbreakable covenant with the Jews and the land of Israel.   Key Verses:   •       Matthew 5:14. “You are the light of the world.” •       Philippians 2:13. “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” •       Matthew 22:36–40. “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD … WITH ALL YOUR MIND.” •       Luke 10:26–27. “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD … WITH ALL YOUR MIND.”   Quotes:   •       “What he did in many ways was groundbreaking. And I know that there are people who criticize some of the ground that he broke. He was a little too liberal and got out of being biblically sound. But I feel like what is important to me are all the things he did that were so positive.” •       “When you're developing oneness, you're not afraid to bring up problems. But you keep the oneness moving because at some point I believe the Holy Spirit is like a river and things are purified as they move.” •       “We as Christians need to be able to move in our intercession to see change come in the world. We are the light of the world and we need to be on top of our game as the Body of Christ right now.”   Takeaways:   1.    Our involvement in 2013 with the World Youth Day in Brazil was our introduction to a relationship with Pope Francis as well as with the Catholic Church. This has been a deep relationship with many Catholics that continues to this day. We joined with Pope Francis in his heart to see the joining together of Catholics and Protestants. We continue to have faith for and work with believers to expand this oneness in the Body of Christ. 2.    The deep division in Christianity between Protestants and Catholics is something very destructive to the oneness we need as the Body of Christ. Our oneness is what makes our intercession effective in changing the world. We must see this division come to an end. 3.    Protestants need to come to grips with the fact that the selection of a new Pope will greatly impact the faith of the Body of Christ moving forward. Instead of focusing on doctrinal issues, we need to see the will of God and the Kingdom of God brought to bear in what is taking place in Rome. Do not think that satan will not be fighting with everything within him to prevent the will of God from happening. 4.    Let your prayers turn loose the creative power of God within you. He is in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Therefore do not just pray for God to do something. In your meditation move by the Spirit to create the new Pope by your prayers.  

Growing In God Podcast  Web Description: After a vision of men turning away from evil because of the force of the Kingdom of God in the spirit realm, Gary laid out a burden for greater effectiveness in our prayers to see real change happen in the earth. Our meditation should be something that connects with the Kingdom of God that we have already received and then manifests the power of God in the earth from within us. Show Notes: Daniel saw the Son of Man come up to God from where He was given “dominion, glory, and a kingdom.” He saw this before Christ ascended to the Father, which to us is a past event. But Daniel was beholding the reality of Christ's Kingdom in the spirit world where there is no past or future. There is only now. God is not bound by time. He is always in the present, and with Him all things exist, and all things are possible in the present. And whenever we are in His world, we are in the realm where nothing is impossible. Christ said that where He is, His servants will be also. If there is anything we want to see happen on earth by our prayers, it is from this realm where Christ is. It will happen through His unlimited power that moves within us. If we want to change the world, then the change happens within us before it impacts the world. This aspect of God moving from within rather than outside of us is an experience Christians need on a greater level. Prayer is a matter of asking God for something. But we are usually praying outside of ourselves for something to happen outside of ourselves. In meditation, however, we are wanting to connect with God's unlimited power within us from where God will move in the earth. Instead of something we avoid, meditation should be something we work at to become aware of the Holy Spirt and the power of God within us, just as Christ and the apostle Paul taught. Let us reach into the realm where God's Kingdom is not a future event but an ever-present force that we turn loose in the earth.   Key Verses:   •       Ephesians 3:20. “Now to Him who is able to do … according to the power that works within us.” •       Zechariah 4:6. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.” •       Mark 11:24. “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them.” •       Matthew 6:9–10. “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done.” •       John 14:23. “We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” •       John 12:26. “Where I am, there My servant will be also.” •       Galatians 5:25. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” •       Daniel 7:13–14. “With the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man … came up to the Ancient of Days.” •       Acts 1:9. “He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” •       Isaiah 9:6–7. “There will be no end to the increase of His government … from then on and forevermore.” •       Psalm 2:1–8. “I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.”   Quotes:   •       “The spirit world that is demonic in its moving and possessing people is driving a lot of the activities that we see on a natural level. But we know that it's rooted and initiated out of the spirit world. It's coming from that realm, and we know that it has to be changed from that realm.” •       “We should be living in this realm where we have free access to the totality of God's creation, and we can connect with the things that are available to us.” •       “God said, ‘I have installed my King on the throne in Zion.' It has taken place. We shouldn't be praying for it to take place. We should be connecting with it and letting the reality of it begin to be the vibrational power that is exuding from us, that is impacting the world around us.”   Takeaways:   1.    We have seen prayer, intercession, and fasting. But what we have not seen are the results we need in the physical, natural world outside of us. That is because the evil we see in the world is being initiated by and controlled from the spirit realm. If we want to see it change in the physical realm, then we need to change it in the spirit realm. 2.    Paul had spiritual experiences and wrote that believers would have them as well. He taught about finding how the unlimited power within us is expressed from us and through us. However, the Church lost something when it lost the practice of what came to be looked upon as Eastern style meditation. Yet we must find the way to turn loose the power of God that is within us. 3.    Daniel saw that Christ was given the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God exists now in the spirit realm. So our prayers are not about believing that God will do something outside of ourselves sometime in the future. It is about believing that we have received His Kingdom now and it actually comes within us. His Kingdom is expressed in the earth from us and through us.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: The book of Zechariah records the specific day on which Zechariah's prophecy was voiced. This emphasizes the significance of this prophecy and how much we should be expecting God to fulfill His Word in our day. We look eagerly for the fulfillment of these promises of God's blessings on Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. This is the day they come to pass.   Show Notes: The prophecy of Zechariah is one of the greatest messianic prophecies that we have. And in Zechariah 1:7, we are given the exact day when that prophecy came. The significance of this became very real as we recorded this podcast on the very same date approximately 2,548 years later. God was making a point by naming the specific day when the prophecy was voiced. Every year on that date we are reminded that there is a day when that prophecy will be fulfilled. Today could be that day.   There is no reason that today cannot be that day because we are seeing the fulfillment of the Word of the Lord over His land and over His people. Zechariah's prophecy records God declaring to the nations, “For while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster. Therefore … I will return to Jerusalem with compassion.” However, He will “throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judea.” Today we see the nations gathered against Israel like never before. And today could be the fulfillment of this prophecy that God's justice will be revealed against the nations who have sought to destroy Israel.   Jeremiah's prophecy, stamped by God with a date, is about the return of the Lord. And as we see God's blessing return to the land of Israel, we can look with anticipation for the coming of Messiah who will dwell in their midst and “possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.” This can be the day that it comes to pass.   Key Verses:   •       Zechariah 1:1–6. “In accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.” •       Zechariah 1:7–21. “The LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.'” •       Zechariah 2:1–13. “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”   Quotes:   •       “The land of Judah, by the way, is known as the West Bank. The Lord will possess the West Bank as His portion in the Holy Land and will again choose Jerusalem.” •       “The Lord of hosts will bring His hosts with Him to bring justice and judgment into the world. And I believe that it's the time.” •       “We bless Jerusalem. We bless Israel. We bless the Jewish people. And we believe that it's time for the return of the Lord. We believe that it's time, as it says in verse 11, ‘Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people.'”   Takeaways:   1.    The time when Zechariah made his prophecy is time-stamped with a precise date, to the very day. It came on a specific day, and it will be fulfilled on a specific day. That day could be today. 2.    Zechariah prophesied that God will bless Judah and Israel and deal with the nations who used His discipline of His people as an excuse for destruction. Today, when the nations could not be more against Israel and the Jewish people, could be the day this prophecy is fulfilled. 3.    This is a prophecy about the reign of Messiah, about God turning to His people as they turn to Him, about many nations joining themselves to the Lord, and about God repossessing the land of Judah and Israel and taking Jerusalem as the holy city. We look for these things to come to pass.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: The Lord begged the church in Laodicea to open the door to Him, so He could dine with them. This need to dine with God does not make sense to our Christian thinking. But it makes total sense in the Hebraic context of making a covenant over a meal. God is knocking on the door of the Church in this day. And regardless of how far removed we are from Him, if we open the door, He will make a covenant with us to bring us into everything He has promised.   Show Notes: The Laodicean church was a lost church, having fallen away from God. Yet Laodicea received one of the greatest opportunities offered to any church mentioned in Revelation. No matter what their violations were or how far they had fallen, Christ was knocking at their door asking to come in. Like Laodicea our nation has moved far away from God. But the opportunity remains the same. Christ is standing at the door knocking because He wants to be let back into our lives and our society. No matter how great the violations have been, He wants to meet with us again.   He wants us to come in and dine with Him. This is what happens when we open the door to the Lord. He sits down with us, and we have a meal together. Why is that important? It was during meals that covenants and agreements were made. For the covenant at Sinai, God instructed Moses to bring the elders of Israel up the mountain where they had a meal together with the Lord. Christ declared a new covenant in His blood at a Passover meal with His disciples.   Along with God coming back into our lives, He wants to make a new agreement, in other words, a new covenant with us. Even though we have strayed far away from Him like the church in Laodicea, God wants to make a new agreement with us to walk with Him. As Christians we have failed God just as Israel failed Him at Sinai. But God already knows we are going to fail. The point is that He is always there knocking on the door of our hearts, and we can let Him in. We can let Him make a new covenant with each of us to write His Word on our hearts and lead us into a greater oneness with Him.   Key Verses:   •       Revelation 3:20. “If anyone … opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him.” •       1 Corinthians 11:23–26. “He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood.'” •       Exodus 24:3–11. “They saw God, and they ate and drank.” •       Jeremiah 31:31–34. “I will make a new covenant.” •       Romans 8:3. “What the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did.”   Quotes:   •       “When Christ is standing at the door knocking, He's not just planning to come in to us and abide with us. He's saying, ‘I'm going to dine with you.' And I believe He's pointing to the fact that there will be a new covenant that will be made.” •       “Christ is saying, ‘Look, I'm standing at the door and knocking.' He is not talking to Israel here. In the book of Revelation, in chapter 3, He's talking to a church. He's talking to the Christians saying, ‘You guys have really failed Me in this. But I'm not rejecting you, just as I'm not rejecting Israel.'” •       “As Christ knew the Father when He was here, I believe there is more for us. And I believe that there is a meal that's waiting—a time of dining with Christ where He will bring an impartation to us that will be a new knowledge, a new understanding of Him, and a new way of walking with Him and the Father.”   Takeaways:   1.    In Revelation 3, we read Christ saying to Laodicea, “I stand at the door and knock; if anyone … opens the door, I will … dine with him.” Why would the Lord want to dine with us? We can understand that when we understand that covenants were made during a meal. God wants to make a covenant with us. 2.    Christians have used the new covenant as a means of anti-Semitism, claiming that God rejected Israel because they failed the covenant at Sinai. But in the new covenant promised to Judah and Israel, God promises to accept them in spite of their failure. Laodicea represents the failure of Christians, but Christ also wanted to make a new covenant with them. 3.    The promise of the new covenant is that we will all know Him, from the least to the greatest. But we are still being taught about God by someone else or by the history of religion or doctrine. We need to open the door to Him and receive from Him a new impartation of knowing the Father.  

Web Description: At the Passover God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt to bring them into the land He had promised their fathers. But their focus was on the difficulties that this deliverance meant to the life they had adapted to. Moving from our present age into God's Kingdom can also feel like a disruption to the life we are comfortable with in this world. Our focus must be on His Kingdom and not on the difficulties of deliverance.   Show Notes: Passover celebrates the deliverance of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. When they first heard that the Lord had come down to deliver them, the children of Israel rejoiced and worshipped God. They were so thankful that He had heard their cries and was going to do something for them. Then Pharaoh made their bondage more severe. Suddenly, the process of deliverance was not as wonderful as they thought it would be.   The Israelites had a difficult life in Egypt, but they were conditioned to being slaves. As difficult as their situation was, it had been their lifestyle for around four hundred years. When God began to deliver them, they faced major disruptions to what had become their comfort zone. As Christians today we too have adapted to a world that has grown increasingly wicked and oppressive. We want deliverance from the bondage of this age. But when God begins to move, that will inevitably mean disrupting our comfort zones.   People tend to be fearful of the end-times. But the end-times are when God delivers us from the bondages we have to this age as He brings the age of His Kingdom. During these days we might go through many difficult things. And our deliverance at times might disrupt us and confuse us because we have adapted to life under this bondage. Let us therefore keep our focus on the Lord and what He has promised in His Word, not murmuring and complaining about our circumstances but rejoicing in His Kingdom.   Key Verses:   •       Exodus 3:7–8. “I have … given heed to their cry. … So I have come down to deliver them.” •       Exodus 4:29–31. “They heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel.” •       Exodus 5:1–2. “I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” •       Exodus 5:10–19. “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.” •       John 12:31. “The ruler of this world will be cast out.” •       Exodus 5:20–23. “You have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight.” •       Exodus 14:11–12. “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” •       Psalms 106:6–12. “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders.” •       Deuteronomy 6:20–23. “He brought us out from there in order to bring us in.”   Quotes:   •       “For the last seventy or more years, we have seen things moving in a negative direction as far as things about society and morality, about Judeo-Christian values no longer being a focal point. There's a lot that's gone on, and yet it's happened over a slow period of time. And as it has happened, we have gotten more and more used to it.” •       “God is delivering us and yet at the same time there are a few difficulties with deliverance. And those difficulties really are found within our own hearts and what has happened to us by the influence of what we've lived under for our lifetime.” •       “They couldn't remember the wonders of what God had done in delivering them from Egypt. And this is the attitude that we find sometimes ourselves fighting. It can be very uncomfortable to really face what's necessary in being delivered by God.”   Takeaways:   1.    God is bringing the end of this age to bring us into the age of His Kingdom where Messiah reigns as King. We may not find this process or even His Kingdom in alignment with our comfort zone. 2.    It might be a difficult transition. But God in His love, grace, and kindness is bringing us out of all our conditionings to a dying age. And He is reconditioning us to be able to live in the days of His Kingdom. We open our hearts to this experience of Passover. 3.    When God brings deliverance, we cannot be so focused on our temporary circumstances that we murmur and complain against God. Let us stay focused on the promises of His Kingdom.  

Web Description: Christianity is suffering tribulation today even if we as individuals feel unaffected by it. We need to be one with our fellow Christians who are suffering and be praying for them. Let us not be fearful of what satan might do to us because Christ defeated him at the cross. Even if we must face death ourselves, we overcome satan by simply exercising Christ's victory.   Show Notes: The Lord said to the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty.” Just as God knew then what the Christians in Smyrna were suffering, He is aware of what Christians are suffering today. And there are many Christians today who live under tribulation and endure great poverty. These are not people with whom we have no connection. They are fellow members of the Body of Christ with whom we are one. We should be aware of their suffering and be crying out to God for them.   According to Open Doors, a group that ministers to persecuted Christians, more than 380 million Christians worldwide suffer persecution and discrimination. This is the reality surrounding all of us in Christianity right now. We should be aware of it, and we should be prepared for however God would lead us. The Lord said to Smyrna, “Do not fear … Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” We should not be fearful even if it means giving our lives for Christ, just as many believers are doing today.   Maybe you believe in the rapture and are planning to escape tribulation. That does not change the fact that many Christians are now in tribulation, experiencing hunger, imprisonment, and even death for His sake. We should remove any fear from our hearts and refuse to be separated from the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us deliberately study and become aware of what is really transpiring in Christianity throughout the world we live in. We need to be interceding for the Body of Christ in this day.   Key Verses:   •       Revelation 2:8–11. “I know your tribulation and your poverty.” •       Revelation 12:9–12. “They did not love their life even when faced with death.” •       Romans 16:20. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”   Quotes:   •       “Even if you say, ‘Well, I am not suffering,' be aware that your brothers and sisters are suffering potentially great tribulations and also poverty.” •       “We need to reach in for a faith before the Lord that gives us a freedom from fear and allows us to recognize that satan is on the earth raging. And he is casting believers into prison and people are being tested in their faith and there will be tribulations that come.” •       “As believers in this day and age, facing the raging of Satan in the earth in this time, we must not be fearful. We must not love our lives unto death. And we must be ready to sacrifice and give our life if that is what is necessary because this battle will rage. But we know that the battle will be won because it has already been won on the cross.”   Takeaways:   1.    Much of the Body of Christ today lives in the midst of tribulation and poverty. We need to put some time into studying what is happening to believers throughout the world, become aware of what they are suffering, and intercede for them. 2.    As Christians there is no guarantee that we will escape tribulation. Many Christians are already suffering from satan's raging and it could happen to any of us. The Lord told the church in Smyrna not to be fearful. And we should ask the Lord to remove any fearfulness from our hearts. 3.    Those who overcame satan loved not their lives even when faced with death. Even if we die in this war with satan, we have the promise of the crown of life and freedom from the second death. So we exercise Christ's victory over death and become those who cast satan from this earth.   Links:   Open Doors US  

Web Description: The religion of their day prevented many from receiving Christ when He appeared in the flesh. Religion is no different in our day. Religion tends to establish orthodox interpretations about God rather than lead us into a relationship with God. However, the promise is that we will all know the Lord. And we need to honestly deal with that which prevents us from knowing Him, even if it is our own religious thinking.   Show Notes: It is important to understand the degree to which our lack of awareness is based on our religious upbringing. Religious orthodoxy encourages us—demands even—to close off to anything new. This makes it difficult for us to develop an awareness of God's moving in the present because it might fly in the face of doctrines we learned in church, Bible school, or seminary.   Many people rejected Christ because His actions and teachings seemed not to fit the orthodoxy of their day. Orthodoxy today has the same effect of hindering rather than helping our relationship with God. Religion emphasizes doctrines that build walls around concepts about God rather than emphasizing a relationship with Him. Just look at the history of Christianity. Has the process of protecting doctrines and orthodoxy in the Church resulted in people knowing the Lord? It seems like it has resulted in divisions, accusations of heresy, and persecution.   We do not want to reject a true moving of God today because it does not fit our concepts of orthodoxy. The disciples who stayed with Yeshua (Jesus) when His statements challenged their orthodoxy did so because of their relationship with Him. The emphasis of Christianity must be our relationship with Christ. We do not need more teaching that builds denominational walls to protect our understanding of the Bible. We need to be taught a relationship with the Lord so that everyone comes to know Him. Father, bring us out of religion into a relationship with You.   Key Verses:   •       John 5:8–16. “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” •       John 5:17–19. “Whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” •       John 5:39. “You search the Scriptures; … it is these that testify about Me.” •       John 17:20–22. “… that they may be one, just as We are one.” •       John 6:44–52. “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” •       John 6:63–69. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” •       Jeremiah 31:33–34. “They will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.”   Quotes:   •       “With God nothing is impossible. Yet religion says almost everything is impossible. Everything is wrong that doesn't line up to the orthodoxy that has been developed.” •       “If all it takes is reading the Bible to have understanding of exactly what God is saying and what He's wanting, then I don't think we would be at this place of having all these thousands of denominations surrounding us at this time.” •       “We can read the Bible, and we can have it be totally beyond our ability to grasp what is being spoken. And that's where the Holy Spirit comes in—in the relationship with the Holy Spirit who comes to us from the Father.”   Takeaways:   1.    Yeshua functioned according to a relationship with the Father and not according to religious orthodoxy. Scholars who knew the Scriptures but did not know the Father rejected Yeshua on the basis of orthodoxy and religion as they knew it. 2.    Christian scholars have persecuted the Jews as well as other Christians based on their understanding of the Bible. Establishing orthodoxy by the Scriptures has not led to a greater knowledge of God. It has divided Christians into thousands of denominations. The only way we will have the oneness Christ desires will be through a relationship with Him. 3.    We do not want the Lord's coming to be like a thief in the night because we are unaware of Him. We do not want to reject God's moving today because of our orthodoxy. We need the relationship with God that hears His voice and understands what He is telling us.  

Web Description: The Scriptures warn us that just as we are unaware of a thief at night, we could be unaware of the Lord's appearing. Perhaps the greatest problem we face is not the circumstances in the world but our own unawareness of God. It is imperative that we seek the Lord for a greater awareness and understanding of what He is saying and doing today.   Show Notes: A characteristic of the end-time is the unawareness on people. We see this in the flood of anti-Semitism that is moving through the world today and even sweeping through many churches. What enables the anti-Semitism is a tremendous unawareness of what God has spoken in the Scriptures, which is that He has never abandoned His people Israel, and He will fulfill every Word He has given them. The unawareness of what God is saying is where deceptions take root and where we miss the purposes of God in the earth.   God spoke through Isaiah, “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?” We have to be aware of what God is going to do today and not depend on our understanding of what God did in the past. Again we read in Isaiah, “I proclaim to you new things; … before today you have not heard them.” We may be confident that we know what to do today because we have heard what God did yesterday. But what if God proclaims something we have never heard before?   God is speaking today to our generation. But will we hear Him and will we understand what He is saying? Samuel at first did not understand what God was saying to Him. He had to learn the voice of the Lord. Samuel grew and became a prophet who knew and taught what God was speaking to Israel during his time. And Christians today need to seek the Lord until we like Samuel can hear the voice of God, understand what He is saying, and be those to show this generation the new thing God is doing now.   Key Verses:   •       Isaiah 43:18–21. “Behold, I will do something new; … will you not be aware of it?” •       Isaiah 42:8–10. “Now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.” •       1 Samuel 3:2–11. “Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.” •       Isaiah 48:3–9. “I proclaim to you new things from this time.” •       1 Thessalonians 5:1–9. “So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” •       Luke 21:29–36. “Keep on the alert at all times.” •       2 Peter 3:10. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief.” •       Revelation 3:3. “If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief.” •       Mark 13:31–33. “Take heed, keep on the alert.” •       Matthew 24:37–39. “They did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.” •       1 Corinthians 2:1–16. “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; … he cannot understand them.”   Quotes:   •       “If we want to be fearful of something, we should be fearful of our unawareness.” •       “What Christ represented in the earth was One who knew the Father, One who heard the voice of the Father, One who saw the Father and had the exact understanding of what God was doing. So He was able to manifest it before people.” •       “Recognize that what seems to be playing itself out in great wisdom and understanding and taking over the earth is actually functioning out of an unawareness and an inability to understand what God is doing.” •       “We're not learning about the things of this world, the things outside. We're learning the things of the Spirit so that we hear the voice of the Spirit; we hear the voice of the Lord.”   Takeaways:   1.    Being fearful and concerned about world events means our focus is wrong. Our focus should be on what God is doing inside of us and not on what is happening outside of us. What matters to God is that we understand the wisdom and mysteries that He is unfolding to enable us to walk through these days. 2.    God is going to do something new. And the concern is that we His people could miss what He is doing because of our unawareness. Within the Church today there must come a greater awareness of what God is speaking. 3.    The challenge is not to become biblical scholars but to hear the voice of the Lord. Not only do we need to hear the voice of the Lord, but we also need to understand what He is saying to us right now. We need to be His prophets through whom He can move in this age.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: In the story of Esther, the king was not personally involved in delivering the Jews from the destruction imposed by Haman. However, his signet ring in the hand of Mordecai gave Mordecai all the king's authority and power to deliver the Jews as if he were the king himself. Likewise through the name of Yeshua (Jesus), we have been given the signet ring of God Himself. Let us accept who we are as His instruments and use His authority and power to bring Christ's deliverance to the earth.   Show Notes: In the story of Esther, King Ahasuerus gave his signet ring to Mordecai. Esther and Mordecai then used that ring to seal a decree against those who were attacking the Jews. Having the king's signet ring in those days meant having the power of the king himself. A decree sealed by the signet ring had to be obeyed and could never be revoked. As Christians we also believe in using the King's signet ring, the name of Yeshua (Jesus), to accomplish the will of God.   We need to acknowledge that this is how God moves. When He works to brings deliverance, as the king did with Esther and Mordecai, God uses human instruments to bring about His will. God did not come down and deliver Israel from Egypt by Himself. He used Moses as His instrument. Again, God did not redeem humanity on His own. The Father chose to move through His Son. Then after Christ had ascended to the right hand of the Father, He moved through the apostle Paul to fulfill the sufferings of His Body.   We live in a time when the world has a desperate need for God, and as the Body of Christ today we must begin to accept what we are. As He has done in so many ages, God is going to work through vessels that He chooses and who are willing to give themselves for that purpose. Open your heart to that which God wants to do through you. Be open to receive the signet ring of anointing and authority that God can place upon you to work through you for His purposes to bring about the conclusion of this age.   Key Verses:   •       Esther 8:2–8. “The king took off his signet ring … and gave it to Mordecai.” •       John 5:17–23. “Whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” •       Colossians 1:13–24. “All things have been created through Him and for Him.” •       Colossians 1:29. “I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” •       John 14:12. “He who believes in Me … greater works than these he will do.” •       Esther 4:12–14. “Who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”   Quotes:   •       “What God was doing in bringing Christ forth in the flesh—bringing the Word into flesh—is He was manifesting Himself in humanity so that He would move in full power and authority through Christ as His human vessel and representative.” •       “We don't want the Body of Christ to be perishing in this time because we refuse to take our place in what God has called us to do.” •       “We may be facing threatening times. It may even seem like there is a decree of death and destruction on this age, on the Church, and on God's people—the Jewish people in Israel. But who knows whether we are not the ones who have come into this anointing and relationship with the Lord for such a time as this. Let's believe that God can work in us and through us to accomplish His will in this day.”   Takeaways:   1.    The king giving his signet ring to Mordecai represents an important aspect of Purim. When sealed with the signet ring, whatever Esther and Mordecai enacted had the full authority and power of the king behind it. When we act in the name of Christ, it is like having God's signet ring, bearing His authority, power, and presence. 2.    God chooses to move through human instruments just as the king did through Esther and Mordecai. We have examples of this in Moses, Yeshua, and Paul. If we want the authority and power of God to impact this age, then we need to be God's instruments. 3.    Haman once had the king's signet ring and had the power to destroy all the Jews. Their deliverance happened when the king took the signet ring from Haman and gave it to Mordecai. As ruler of this world, satan also had the authority to destroy mankind. But that authority has been removed from him and belongs to Christ. As instruments of Christ, using His authority, we can abolish the decree of destruction against mankind.  

Web Description: Get out of your mind that you are here on the earth by happenstance, wondering, “Why am I here? What is my purpose?” Instead of spending a lifetime trying to answer those questions, simply know that you were brought to birth by the will of God to be on earth at this time. And God is working in you and through you to accomplish exactly what He wants to accomplish.   Show Notes: There is so much confusion in this age that it can be overwhelming. This level of confusion can lead people to feel ineffective in their lives and even develop a sense of uselessness or depression. We see then how confusion is a tactic of satan. If he can keep us confused about who we are, what we are to do, and how we are to do it, then he can keep us from moving with the power and authority we need. This confusion is the opposite of what believers are to have in Christ.   As a believer it must be real to you that you were not born by the will of man nor of the will of flesh. You were born by the will of God, and you are here on this earth at this time with a purpose in God. God is also at work in you to work His purposes and His pleasure in this earth. Therefore, you do not have to go it alone, trying to work things out by yourself. You have the force of God Himself, Christ, and the Holy Spirit working within you to accomplish this purpose.   If we could get this understanding that we are brought forth by His will, then we would begin to flow with our time here on earth, rather than fight it. Are you wondering, “What is it all about? What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to become what God wants?” Instead, keep rehearsing John 1:13 and say, “I am born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Let there be an assurance that God is working His will in us and through us. And that purpose can flow in us and through us without the uncertainty we often struggle with.   Key Verses:   •       John 1:9–13. “… born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” •       James 1:16–18. “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth.” •       Philippians 2:12–13. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you.” •       1 Peter 1:22–23. “You have been born again … through the living and enduring word of God.” •       Ephesians 1:1–14. “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose.”   Quotes:   •       “We must be unwavering in the fact that we are here by the will of God with that purpose in God, and we are able to reach in by the Holy Spirit to find the revelation of that, and begin to move with great clarity and force in our hearts.” •       “This is not some flash-in-the-pan existence that we're part of. This is part of our eternity with Him in an eternal life. We are living in God. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” •       “What a privilege we have! What an honor we have to be part of God summing up all things in Christ, both things in the heavens and the things that are in the earth! And we are brought forth by His will to have a purpose in fulfilling and concluding His great purpose.”   Takeaways:   1.    It is necessary, especially in this generation, not to be caught up in the confusion of this age. The demonic realm is driven to keep us in confusion to prevent us from moving in power and authority with clarity about our purpose. 2.    It is a great necessity for believers to really grasp the fact that we are born by the will of God, that we are here at this time in history by the will of God, that we are here with a purpose from God. And we must move forward and accomplish that purpose. 3.    We are not part of some temporary existence that we have to work out by ourselves. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and created us by the living and abiding Word of God. Our life on earth is part of our eternal life in God who is working in us to accomplish His will. 4.    There may be a mystery in His will, but He will make it known to you if you seek Him. But seek Him knowing that you are born by the will of God, brought forth for His purpose, and you are simply clarifying that which you know to be true about yourself.

 Web Description: The parable of the king who invited guests to his wedding feast is something we want to apply to our hearts today. God has made a great provision of salvation through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. It is His free gift to us by His grace, but we still must show up before Him and appropriate all that He has made available. This means we need to get rid of any excuses and everything that we would value more than God's great provision. Lord, help us to come before You with prepared hearts, worshipping You with thankfulness for all You have given us.   Show Notes: Yeshua (Jesus) told a parable of a king who prepared a wedding feast, but the invited guests were unwilling to attend. Like this king, God has prepared a feast at great expense and has invited everyone to freely partake of it. In the sacrifice of His Son on the cross, God has provided salvation, healing, and all things pertaining to our life and godliness. As Christians we could feel like we have already accepted this invitation. But could that attitude be limiting how much we really should be receiving from the Lord?   According to this parable, those invited to the wedding feast made excuses for not attending. These excuses were rooted in personal pursuits they deemed more important than the king's offer. Are we guilty of the same kinds of excuses regarding God's provision? Maybe we are not overtly refusing Him, but we can easily be so focused on the concerns of our lives that we do not give the attention we need to the appropriation of all God has made available.   What keeps us from daily relating to the Lord in prayer, meditation, and waiting on Him? The root of the problem is explained in this parable. Those who skipped the king's feast or attacked his servants or did not prepare to appear before him did so because they did not value what the king offered. So we ask God to forgive us for placing value on earthly things that are truly worthless in comparison to our eternity in His Kingdom. Let our thankfulness and appreciation for everything He did in giving us His Son be expressed through our daily appearance before Him, with prepared hearts to partake of His great provision.   Key Verses:   •       2 Peter 1:3. “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” •       Matthew 22:1–14. “Those who had been invited to the wedding feast … were unwilling to come.” •       Luke 14:16–20. “They all alike began to make excuses.” •       Isaiah 53:2–8. “He was despised and forsaken of men, … but He was pierced through for our transgressions.”   Quotes:   •       “It's time for us to get rid of our excuses. We need to evaluate, in repentance and humility, the excuses that we make before God on a daily basis of why we can't seem to show up for what He's made available.” •       “Are we just going about our own business? Are we just paying attention to whatever concerns we have in our life and realizing that, yeah, the provision may be there, and He may have made all this available to us, but it's not getting the notice from us and driving us into the appropriation of all that He's made.” •       “The first thing we should do is spend the time with Him. Come before that cross. You know that cross is available every minute of every day. Every second that cross stands and we can touch it. We can embrace it. We can receive all that it holds within its power to heal us, to restore us to the Father.”   Takeaways:   1.    As we read the parable of the king's wedding invitation, we want to feel the depths of God's love for us to restore us to Himself through the suffering and death of His Son—and His anger if we hold His provision lightly. 2.    Many who were invited were unwilling to attend the wedding. This should challenge us to examine our own hearts. If we are willing, then what energy are we putting into what God has set before us? Are we coming to Him daily to appropriate all the provision He has made? 3.    Many seized the king's messengers, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was very angry with the persecutors and brought judgment on them. We can see God's anger at those today who have such disregard for all God did to give us salvation that they persecute, and even kill, those who bring His message of grace. 4.    Some showed up to the wedding but were not wearing the wedding garments, and the king threw them out. There still must be a preparation of our hearts to go before the Lord. It is offensive to God that we have so little regard for His effort to give us salvation that we make no effort to prepare ourselves to meet Him.  

Web Description: If God put us in this world by His will, then we accept that He has enabled us to do His will. That means whatever He makes real to us in His Word is not something only for the past or waiting for the future. His Word is something He wants us to walk in now. Therefore, we ask God's help to end our double-mindedness by making our conscious and subconscious minds a united force to manifest His Word in the present.   Show Notes: As Christians we believe that the Scriptures are the Word of God. But we need to change our conditioning that relegates everything in the Scriptures to the past or the future. The Word of God must be our present reality. It is not enough to mentally accept that Christ was resurrected in the past and by virtue of that determine we will have a resurrection in the future. Instead, we need to believe without wavering that Yeshua (Jesus) is, as He said, the resurrection and the life, and we can therefore experience the power of His resurrection and life in our own lives at this very moment.   God is speaking to us now in the present, but what hinders our effectiveness is this duplicity in our thinking that prevents us from experiencing it in the present. James wrote that a double-minded person should not expect to receive anything from God, and the reality is that we are by nature double-minded. We have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind, and those two minds are not necessarily in sync. We live crossing ourselves out more than we recognize because our conscious and subconscious minds are at odds with each other.   You can determine with your conscious mind to walk in the Word and then fail to even get started because your subconscious mind is not engaged in carrying out your conscious decision. We live mainly in our conscious mind because that is what we know how to relate to. But our subconscious mind is what makes the planning of our conscious mind active and operational in the present moment. With the Holy Spirit's help, we apply the force of our subconscious mind to take the Word that we understand with our conscious mind and make it our present and active reality.   Key Verses:   •       John 1:13. “… born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” •       Philippians 2:13. “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” •       Luke 17:21. “The kingdom of God is in your midst [or within you].” •       Matthew 28:20. “I am with you always.” •       James 1:5–8. “That man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man.” •       James 4:8. “Purify your hearts, you double-minded.” •       Isaiah 54:17. “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper.” •       1 Peter 2:24. “By His wounds you were healed.” •       John 11:21–26. “I am the resurrection and the life.” •       Roman 13:14. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”   Quotes:   •       “Our subconscious mind does not flow with our conscious mind. These two things are not necessarily in sync with each other and a lot of problems are born out of that.” •       “How do we get to oneness? We've got to get to oneness in ourselves, and it has a lot to do with the Holy Spirit. It has a lot to do with learning our subconscious mind the way we know our conscious mind.” •       “My subconscious mind has to be brought into unification with my conscious mind and vice versa in order for me to live in the present moment. And if I don't do that, then I'm constantly living in this throwback of the past or the future. And there's no power in that.”   Takeaways:   1.    When God says that you are here, not by the will of flesh nor by the will of man, but by the will of God, then you must take that in your mind and make that your present reality and reject anything that says anything different. If God's Word is true, then it is true now. 2.    It is not enough to know and teach the Word. We have to know how to manifest the Word. Not manifesting it now in our lives puts the Word into the future or keeps it in the past. 3.    Even though we love the Word and have tried to walk in the Word, we are confronted with the fact that a double-minded person receives nothing from God. It is our double-minded nature that crosses out the effectiveness of the Word. 4.    Instead of only mentally accepting the Word with our conscious mind, we need to involve the capabilities of our subconscious mind to keep the Word active and functioning in the present moment.

Web Description: God is not limited by time. Why should we be? Christ went to the cross two thousand years ago, and yet we experience salvation through that cross as if it happens for us the moment we believe. Even people of faith, who lived before Christ, reached into the power of the cross long before it happened. We need to change our focus from the physical realm bound by time to the eternal realm where everything God did in the past or will do in the future is available now for us to walk in.   Show Notes: The Scriptures consistently emphasize the freedom and liberty we are to walk in. According to the Word of God, there is nothing lacking in the power of Christ's blood shed on the cross. There is nothing lacking in the power of His death, burial, and resurrection for our fullness of life and complete healing of every affliction. However, there are obstacles within us that seem to hinder us from fully experiencing the power we are meant to have. It is one thing to know what the Word says. We also must know how to implement that Word in our lives.   Surprisingly, the science of quantum physics can help us with this. Scriptural concepts that make no sense according to physical laws have been observed to be a reality in the quantum realm. Long before Yeshua (Jesus) went to the cross, Isaiah wrote, “He was pierced for our transgression and by His scourging we are healed.” After Yeshua went to the cross, Peter wrote, “By His wounds you were healed.” To us in a physical realm limited by time, experiencing past or future events in the present seems impossible. Yet tests prove that the quantum realm is not limited by time.   The quantum realm is a creation of God, who Himself is not bound by time. In Him the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously at the moment. What would happen if we could experience the realm where our past and future were connected to our present? What if we could lay hold of God's movings in the past and promises for the future and bring them into our now? Let us apply what we already know about walking with God in the Spirit and waiting on the Lord and reach into what God has for our lives today.   Key Verses:   •       1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful … to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” •       John 14:6. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” •       Matthew 19:26. “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” •       Hebrews 3:18–19. “They were not able to enter because of unbelief.” •       Matthew 8:1–17. “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.” •       Isaiah 53:4–5. “By His scourging we are healed.” •       1 Peter 2:21–24. “By His wounds you were healed.” •       John 11:25. “I am the resurrection and the life.” •       Ephesians 1:5. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” •       Romans 12:2. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” •       Galatians 5:16. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” •       John 8:56–59. “Before Abraham was born, I am.” •       Revelation 13:8 (NASB). “… written from the foundation of the world in the book of life.” •       Revelation 13:8 (KJV). “… the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” •       Revelation 17:8. “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come.”   Quotes:   •       “God always holds the past, the present, and the future before Him in His mind. Therefore, a man of faith who comes to God may claim the promises of the past or prophecies of the future as the provision for the present moment” (John Robert Stevens). •       “What Yeshua did thousands of years ago is valid for you today. All you have to do is reach into it today and you will be healed. Just reach into the cross today and you will be saved.” •       “Abraham saw the day of Christ on the earth in the flesh. Why? He lived thousands of years in the past. Yeah, but he also knew how to get into a realm where the past and the future were his present.” •       “How does healing work right now? It happens because we get into that realm where the past, present, and future all exist at once.”   Takeaways:   1.    God's Word, His power, and the work of Christ for us are unlimited. The only limitations are in us due to impasses on a subconscious level. Religion will not help us overcome those impasses because they are more related to the scientific principles of the quantum realm. 2.    The quantum realm confirms the timeless nature of God, as well as our own ability to draw from the provision of Christ, whether it occurred in the past or will occur in the future, and to walk in it at the present moment. 3.    Abraham knew the day of Christ thousands of years before it happened. And to be prophets in this age, we must have an awareness of this realm where the past, present, and future exist simultaneously and then be able to manifest it.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: Is God a gentleman? Yes. When we invite Him out of the room, just like a gentleman He leaves. As we watch all the systems we trust in fall apart, we can despair and feel like there are no answers. Well, God has all the answers but we have excluded Him. We need to invite Him back in. We need to end our dependence on what we have created and put all our trust in our Creator.   Show Notes: Elijah learned an important lesson when he fled for his life to Mount Horeb. There he saw a strong wind, but God was not in the wind. Then he saw a powerful earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Then he saw a great fire, but God was not in the fire. In the world today we are seeing great destruction from hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires. And of course we often interpret those events as God's judgments. But what if God is not in any of those things? Maybe we should stop blaming God for them and acknowledge that they are the result of how we as humans have lived.   In this country, as in many countries, we have taken the Lord out of our lives. We have removed Him from every aspect of our society. We have spent years putting our faith and trust in everything but the Lord. We build systems and pour money into programs to meet our needs, and before we know it, we are dependent on those things instead of on God. When those systems fail we are utterly devastated, as we saw in recent fires in California. And that was only one of many catastrophes in the world.   Our concept of the end-time is that God is directly engaged in judging people. A better understanding might be that we suffer the consequences of a lifestyle that excludes God. All the man-made systems we have put our trust in will continue to come tumbling down until we return to trusting, honoring, and glorifying God. Let us return to Him with all our hearts. Let us believe the promise that if we humble ourselves and ask the Lord's forgiveness, He will hear from heaven and heal our land.   Key Verses:   •       Proverbs 3:5–6. “Trust in the LORD … do not lean on your own understanding.” •       2 Chronicles 7:13–14. “If … My people … humble themselves … I will hear from heaven.” •       James 4:13–15. “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” •       1 Corinthians 4:7. “What do you have that you did not receive?” •       John 6:53. “You have no life in yourselves.” •       1 Kings 19:9–10. “I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” •       1 Kings 19:11–18. “The LORD was not in the wind … not in the earthquake … not in the fire.” •       Isaiah 31:1. “Woe to those who … trust in chariots … but they do not … seek the LORD.”   Quotes:   •       “Idolatry is just trusting in anything except God. And I think we do that all the time every day.” •       “We all need to humble ourselves and come before Him and say, ‘We repent of our wicked ways.' You say, ‘Well, what's my wicked way?' That we don't trust in Him, that we're not giving our lives to Him, that we're not honoring Him for all that He is.” •       “Whatever we've built, it's only because He's given us the ability to build. Whatever we've done, it's only because of His enabling, His wisdom, His blessing of intelligence.”   Takeaways:   1.    We have grown increasingly dependent on systems that we have built ourselves. Consequently our security comes from things other than the Lord. We have worked the Lord out of our lives, out of our national institutions, out of our marketplace, out of our schools, and out of every aspect of our society. 2.    When it comes to the devastating events such hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires around the world, people declare, “God is doing this. God is doing that.” The truth is that God might not be in any of those things and we are simply experiencing the results of our own lifestyle without God. 3.    Like the tower of Babel, many systems among the nations will come tumbling down until humanity itself turns back to the Lord and says, “You Lord are our only God. You are the Creator of the universe and we glorify You. We honor You. We start trusting in You only, and we humbly repent where we have gone astray.  

Web Description: When judgment happens, do not blame it on God or on those who are serving God. Blame it on those who like Pharaoh refuse time and time again to humble their hearts, who refuse to open their hearts to receive the things of God and His truth, and who never stop in their commitment to destroy God's people and His creation.    Show Notes: The Israelites learned the lesson of Pharaoh. And we need to learn that lesson or we will misinterpret God's judgments. Why did God bring judgment after judgment on Egypt? It was because Pharaoh kept refusing the will of God to let the people of Israel go. Pharaoh kept refusing to let his power over Israel be displaced by God. This is the reason God ultimately moves in judgment. It is the refusal of rulers to let their kingdoms be displaced by the Kingdom of God.   Make no mistake, those who are fighting the Kingdom will not stop. Those who are dedicated to the destruction of Israel will never stop. Evil rulers will never stop controlling and oppressing people. Satan will never stop in his drive to destroy all flesh. People accuse God of being full of wrath and indignation. But God's indignation is simply His response after His long-suffering has delayed judgment until it cannot be delayed any longer. He is a God of peace. But He will use whatever indignation is necessary to stop the destruction of His creation.   Do not think there is a solution for this world other than the Kingdom of God. It must come, and it must be complete. And it will come at the elimination of every kingdom that is driven by satan to refuse God's Kingdom. We will not have a righteous world until we have a righteous King. We will not have justice until we have a righteous Judge over all the earth. And this is what is beginning to happen. The Kingdom of God is coming, and we should continue to pray for His Kingdom to come.   Key Verses:   •       James 2:13. “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” •       Philippians 2:9–11. “EVERY KNEE WILL BOW … and … every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” •       Isaiah 34:1–3. “For the LORD's indignation is against all the nations.” •       Matthew 21:33–41. “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” •       Mark 13:20. “No life would have been saved.” •       Joel 3:9–17. “Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!” •       Exodus 10:1–3. “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?” •       Romans 1:18–32. “God gave them over to a depraved mind.”   Quotes:   •       “God is going to set up His Kingdom. And the end-time and the struggles of the end-time are all surrounding that reality that the Kingdom of God will be set up.” •       “I don't care what the problem is. There is no solution other than the righteous King of all the earth coming to rule and reign over all the earth.” •       “People are moving with a hard heart. Their minds are filled with futility. They're darkened in their understanding. But that's a result of their actions, not a result of God's actions.”   Takeaways:   1.    Just like Pharaoh, satan will never quit. Pharaoh was bent on the destruction of Israel, and today the nations are bent on the destruction of Israel. Those wicked nations that are refusing the Kingdom of God are taking it out on Israel. 2.    These nations will not stop this pursuit until they have brought complete destruction because their minds are filled with deception, their hearts are hardened, and they cannot understand the truth any longer. 3.    The lesson of Pharaoh is that you cannot negotiate with someone who desires nothing but your destruction. And that is who satan is. You can never negotiate with him. He is not going to be saved. He is on one course and one course only: your destruction. 4.    We have to reach into the Lord and His salvation, His truth, His righteousness, and His justice because God is getting ready to move.  

Web Description: Psalm 2 states, “The kings of the earth take their stand … against the Lord and against His Anointed.” So there should be no confusion about the conflict happening in the world. The Kingdom of God is coming, and many governments are standing against it. Yet God's Kingdom is the answer for the world, and our focus is not on the conflict but on the solution. Father, Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done on the earth.   Show Notes: When a country goes through a change of government, it can experience turmoil. This concept helps us understand what is happening on a global scale today. The entire world is experiencing a governmental changeover as the Kingdom of God comes into the earth. And the reaction of many nations to the Kingdom of God is to reject it. They reject the laws, the conditions, and the requirements of God's Kingdom. And so a battle ensues.   We need to understand the nature of this battle. There are many wars and rumors of wars in the world today, but the prophecies in Scripture are not about random nations fighting one another. The war against the Kingdom is the war of nations against the Jewish people. That is why we are seeing so many attacks against Israel and against Jews worldwide. It is because they are the representatives of God's Kingdom. Israel is where the Kingdom will come on the earth, and the Jews are the people from whom it manifests.   We must stay focused on what God is doing and stay free from the negativity generated by the hostility of nations against Him and His people. God's purpose is not to bring war but to fulfill the promised blessings of His Kingdom. We might see many negative events in the days ahead, but it is important that we remember how it all turns out. Many nations and people will go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, to learn His ways and never again learn war. That is the focus of the last days, not the negative. That is our faith and intercession for His Kingdom to come.   Key Verses:   •       Philippians 2:10–11. “Every knee will bow … and … every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” •       Psalm 2:1–3. “The kings of the earth take their stand … against the Lord and against His Anointed.” •       John 4:22. “Salvation is from the Jews.” •       Psalm 2:4–12. “I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance.” •       Matthew 24:6. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.” •       Isaiah 34:1–3. “The Lord's indignation is against all the nations.” •       Isaiah 2:1–4. “The law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”   Quotes:   •       “The nations are in an uproar. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is drawing nearer and nearer.” •       “I think we're at the time where the nations have chosen and taken their stand against the Lord and against His anointed.” •       “The wars will pass away. The rumors of wars will pass away. And as the Kingdom of God sets in, no longer will nation lift up its sword against another nation.”   Takeaways:   1.    What we are witnessing in the world is a governmental changeover, and that is the Kingdom of God coming into the earth. This is not an easy transition as many nations, governments, and peoples will resist submitting to His Lordship. 2.    The focus of resistance and opposition to the Kingdom of God is and always has been the Jewish people because the Kingdom manifests from them. That is why we see increasing attacks against them and against the Jewish homeland of Israel. 3.    If the nations were able to bring peace and justice and solutions to the world's problems, they would have done so by now. The Kingdom of God has the answers that mankind has been seeking, and we should excitedly await and strive to be a part of it. 4.    We must not let our hearts become fearful or let our spirits faint. Let us proclaim His Word to break the lies that come against God's people and against His land. Let us pray that the truth of His justice and His love be known and that His government prevails.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: We can be very concerned and even fearful about all the tumult in the world. But as Psalm 2 explains, the nations are in an uproar because they oppose the Kingdom of God. So we should not be surprised by what is happening since we are the ones praying, “Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done.” We should be immovable in our faith because our focus is on the Father and not on the world. Show Notes: It is easy to worry about all the turmoil in the world right now. But the events we see taking place are no accident. And they are not without our participation as Christians. We have initiated and are initiating much of what is going on. You could say, “I'm not doing anything. How am I making these things happen?” Well, for centuries Christians have prayed to the Father, “Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth.” It is His Kingdom—His will—that the nations are raging against. We can compare these times to watching a hurricane. From one perspective it is a confusing scene of things being ripped apart and swirling around. From another perspective we see the weather forces that are the root cause of all the turmoil. And in the simple prayer Christ taught us, we can maintain a perspective above the storm that is focused on the root cause. We can have a fixed focus on the Father, His will, and His coming Kingdom. You do not have to look around and say, “What is all this craziness in the world? Can you believe what's happening?” Instead, look at the root cause of the hurricane and recognize that everything happening is very simple to understand. It is exactly what was spoken by John the Baptist and Yeshua (Jesus) two thousand years ago. And it was spoken by all the prophets before that about the son of David coming and setting up His Kingdom. By this focus we can put our stake in the ground and become immovable, which is where we are supposed to be in our faith.   Key Verses: •       Matthew 6:7–13. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth.” •       1 Corinthians 15:25–28. “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” •       Matthew 3:1–3. “John the Baptist came, … saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” •       Matthew 4:12–17. “Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” •       Psalm 2:1–12. “As for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion.”   Quotes:  •       “This has been going on for a long time. This preaching of and speaking of the Kingdom of God is at the very heart of Christ, the very heart of Judaism, the very heart of our faith.” •       “When nations are addressed, it is not necessarily every individual within that nation. We as believers do have a way of thinking that is a biblical worldview. We have a way of living that is, again, not necessarily in alignment with all of those in the nation surrounding us.” •       “There are going to be many other rulers and dictators and governors, even democracies, that are going to be displaced by this Kingdom that God is bringing forth.”   Takeaways: 1.    What are we living through in these days that we call the end-time? We are living through the dispossession of the leadership and rulership of the earth because the Kingdom of God is coming. And do not forget that we as believers have been a great part of praying these days into existence. 2.    Do not look around and say, “I don't get it. I'm afraid. I'm confused. I'm concerned about the wars and the rumors of wars. It seems like the world has become very dangerous.” Well, it has. And that is because the Prince of Peace is coming to rule and reign. So, do not let your heart be in fear. Do not let your spirit become passive or melt within you. 3.    Continue to pray the prayer that Yeshua gave us from the beginning. Keep your focus on the Father. Keep worshipping Him as the Lord, the Creator of all, and keep speaking into existence, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  

Web Description: Christ came into this earth as the Word made flesh. We too, having received of His fullness, must grow by grace until we as members of His body are the fullness of Him who fills all things. We too must become in this age the Word made flesh. That is what will have the power and authority that we need to move in the greater works that He has promised.   Show Notes: How amazing it is that the Word of God is so available to us today! We simply have to pick it up and read it. And that is only possible because of the generations of Jewish and Christian scribes who preserved it by faithfully writing it down. When Moses first inscribed that Word in stone, it came with such glory that his face shone, and he had to hide his face with a veil. Today there is still a glory that manifests in the Bible, the written Word. Yet God is looking for something even greater.   He is looking for a greater glory and a greater manifestation of that Word to be more impactful and effective. God is wanting more than His Word engraved on tablets of stone—something outside of us that we know or study. He wants His Word engraved on the tablets of our hearts until we become, as Christ was, the Word made flesh.   That is what He was looking for when He brought Christ to dwell with us. Something had to express His Word to humanity in such a way that the Word could be implanted in us. And the Word implanted in our hearts is to grow until we are the mature expression of that Word as Christ was. And that is what we reach for. We want Him to write His Word on our hearts by the Spirit. We want the veil removed so that we can behold Him as He is and be transformed into His image.   Key Verses:   •       John 1:14–18. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” •       John 1:1–5. “He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him.” •       2 Corinthians 3:1–3. “You are a letter of Christ … on tablets of human hearts.” •       2 Corinthians 3:4–18. “We all, with unveiled face … are being transformed into the same image.” •       1 Peter 1:23. “You have been born again … through the living and enduring word of God.” •       Ephesians 4:11–13. “He gave some … to the building up of the body of Christ.” •       John 1:16. “Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” •       Ephesians 1:18–23. “The church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”   Quotes:   •       “Even what Moses did—as tremendous as it was being the expression to write that Word, to speak that Word, to give that that Word to the children of Israel—the power was not there to release mankind into being likewise this expression of the Word of God.” •       “He is not looking for us to be teachers of the Word, to be scholars of the Word, to be believers in the Word, to be those who are witnesses by testimony of that Word; He's looking for us to be as Christ was.” •       “He was the Word made flesh; and we likewise are to attain to that knowledge of the Son of God, to that mature man, to that measure of stature which belonged to Him. We're to come into His fullness.”   Takeaways:   1.    God created the heavens and the earth by His Word. Then He gave His Word to Moses to speak to the sons of Israel. Since then God's Word has been recorded and preserved. So we have the Word of God. But something had to express the Word of God to humanity in such a way that the Word could be implanted in us. That is why God gave us His Son, who was the Word made flesh. 2.    When we understand this, we understand what Christ really was. And then we can begin to understand what it is God is looking to impart through Christ manifesting as that Word of God. He is looking for the Word implanted in us to grow until each of us likewise becomes the Word made flesh. 3.    The reason for the Church and the ministries God gave to the Church is to build up the Body of Christ until we grow into a mature man, to the measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ.  

Web Description: We really need to see the works of God in this generation. And those works will only happen through us, the Body of Christ. And so we must have a new revelation of God's grace. Why? Because the works are God's and not ours. And they are for God's glory and not ours. This must be our absolute and permanent conviction: The only reason we can do God's works at all is by His grace. It is by His grace, which is sufficient for us, that His power will be released.   Show Notes: We are believing for God's power to be manifested through the Body of Christ. But we also know that the more God anoints us to perform miracles, signs, and healings, the more difficult it becomes to separate ourselves from the works happening by our hands. We have seen it many times in the history of the Church that people start focusing on and glorifying an individual who is moving in God. When that happens the anointing from God dissipates and eventually goes away.   When people began to attribute to Yeshua (Jesus) the works He was doing, He was very firm to respond, “These works you see me doing are not mine. They are the Father's works only.” And we need something in our hearts where we are absolutely convinced that whatever is happening through us is God moving to glorify Himself. And it is only by His grace that we are involved in it at all.   According to the Apostle John, “Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” And the more of Christ's fullness that we receive, the more His grace needs to be multiplied in our lives, until there is no question in our minds that we can do nothing of ourselves; we can only do what Christ has given us to do. By this grace Christ glorified the Father through the greatest works ever seen. By this grace Paul labored mode abundantly than all the apostles. Let us reach into this grace today and see Christ glorified in His Body.   Key Verses: •       Isaiah 48:11–12. “For My own sake, I will act.” •       John 5:18–20. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing.” •       John 5:30. “I can do nothing on My own initiative.” •       John 17:4. “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” •       John 20:21. “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” •       John 14:12. “He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do.” •       John 1:15–16. “Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” •       Romans 11:6. “If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” •       1 Corinthians 15:7–10. “By the grace of God I am what I am.” •       2 Corinthians 12:7–9. “My grace is sufficient for you.” •       2 Corinthians 13:14. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ … be with you all.” •       Acts 4:23–31. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” •       Acts 4:32–33. “And abundant grace was upon them all.”   Quotes:  •       “There has to be, according to the Scriptures, a Body of Christ that's moving in the power and the awesome things of God.” •       “Here's a good place to start having the mind of Christ: ‘I can do nothing on my own initiative.' We are incapable of anything. The works are not our works. It is God working, and Him working through human instruments.” •       “I think the key gift is grace. Because if we're filled with grace—if we have a solid revelation of the grace of God being the only thing in our lives—I think then all of the gifts follow that.”   Takeaways: 1.    We are believing for God to move through our intercession. But in everything God is getting ready to do, He is going to glorify Himself. We need to always keep that picture before us. What is God doing? He is glorifying Himself among the nations. He is glorifying Himself before all creation. 2.    When the works of God start happening, people start following the person performing those works. It becomes difficult in the eyes of the world to keep the focus on God and not on man. Therefore it must be real to us that it is only by the grace of God that we have any involvement in His works. 3.    God is glorified by His works. And just as the Father sent Christ into the world to do His works, Christ has sent us into the world to do even greater works. That is why we must have a new powerful revelation of the grace of God in our lives that is continually expanding as we grow in God.  

Web Description: Hanukkah is all about the Temple of God—what had happened to defile it and what they did to cleanse it and rededicate it. We too are a temple of God. We are to be a holy place in which God can dwell. But He cannot dwell within us if we are filled with defilement. Let us do today what Hanukkah celebrates. Let us enter into the promises that God will purify us and dwell in us. Then let us rededicate ourselves to walk with Him.   Show Notes: Christians need a greater understanding of Hanukkah. It occurs around Christmas time, but it existed as a celebration long before Christians conceived of Christmas. Hanukkah is the Feast of Dedication. And it remembers the time the Temple was rededicated to God after it had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes during the Seleucid dynasty. We as Christians should regard this time of rededication to the pure worship of God as something very applicable us. The people at the time of Antiochus IV rose up and fought against the defilement, and they removed it from their midst. What was at stake was the very presence of God in the place where He chose to dwell—the Temple. We must take it just as seriously today. We must fight against everything that is coming into our lives to defile us because the issue is still the same: Will God have a place to dwell in the earth? We are to be His dwelling place. We are to be His temple. And He cannot dwell in us if our temple is defiled. This Hanukkah should be a tremendous time for all of us. It was a lot of work to remove all the objects of defilement, clean and prepare the Temple, and rededicate it to the worship of God. And it may take a lot of work to do that in our own lives. But Hanukkah means that it can happen. We can separate ourselves from the defilement of this age. We can repent and He will cleanse us. We can be that place for Him to dwell.   Key Verses: Read 1 Maccabees 4:36–59. John 10:22–24. “The Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; … and Jesus was walking in the temple.” 2 Corinthians 7:1. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.” John 2:14–16. “He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.” 1 Corinthians 6:19–20. “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” 1 John 1:9. “He is faithful and righteous to … cleanse us.” 2 Corinthians 6:14–18. “We are the temple of the living God.” Ephesians 2:18–22. “You also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”   Quotes: “As we enter into Hanukkah ourselves and find the importance in our own lives about it, we realize we begin with an energy, with a drive in our heart that says, ‘We must remove all defilement.'” “He is holy, and He must dwell within holiness. We cannot tolerate the defilement and the uncleanness. We must remove all defilement and dedicate ourselves to being the dwelling place of God on this earth.” “We must be dedicated to the fact that He must have a holy temple called the Body of Christ in whom He will dwell, having built us up together into that dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”   Takeaways: 1. Just as the Temple had been defiled in the days of the Maccabees, today there are many people who have been defiled so that they no longer qualify as a place in which God can dwell. 2. Just as the altar and the instruments of worship had to be remade and rededicated, so this is a time for us to remake our lives in God. It is time for us to begin again and rededicate ourselves to the Lord. 3. We must put the energy into tearing down and removing that which is defiled. We must be cleansed of the defilement within ourselves, and we must rededicate our lives in service to the Lord so that we might be that place in which He will dwell.

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: There is a great deal of debate concerning Christmas. Why is it celebrated? When should it be celebrated? Should it be celebrated at all? Rather than attempting to unravel all the doctrinal and scheduling dilemmas surrounding Christmas, this podcast goes into its real purpose. Christmas is all about the love of God manifesting to humanity. The coming of Christ into the world is God manifesting His love in us. There is no more perfect gift that can be given for Christmas.   Show Notes: What is Christmas all about? First and foremost, the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) is about God sending His Son into the earth. But we get so caught up in what the celebration of Christmas is supposed to be, what church is supposed to be, and what religion is supposed to be that we lose sight of exactly why we are celebrating Yeshua's being born. Very simply, God was manifesting His love within a human so that we as humans could find a way to open up and receive God's love in us. God wants us to know the love He has for each one of us as individuals. It is easy to get lost in the big picture of God doing something for the whole world. But by the gift of His Son, the Father manifested His love in you personally. In Christ, God is driven to get every human to know and feel and recognize and celebrate His love. That is a big part of what He was doing in the birth of Yeshua. If God can get us to see His love for us, then He can make us become love just as He is love. That means love for yourself and love for one another. If you celebrate Christmas as the time when Yeshua was born, then remember the purpose of that event. As you exchange gifts, remember that the greatest gift was God manifesting His love in a human being. Today we need that more than ever because we are losing the love for one another. We are seeing the opposite of love in the destructive actions toward ourselves and toward one another. There is only one way to stop that trend, and that is by opening our hearts to receive how much God loves us. Loving yourself and loving others will not be a challenge when you really receive the love that God has for you.   Key Verses: •       1 John 4:9. “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son.” •       1 John 4:7–11. “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” •       1 John 4:12–21. “We love, because He first loved us.” •       Leviticus 19:18. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” •       Ephesians 3:16–19. “Know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” •       John 3:16. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.”   Quotes:  •       “If you're celebrating the birth of Christ, then you're celebrating the manifestation of God's love in us.” •       “What is sin? It's separation from God. But it's deeper than that. It's separation from His love for us.” •       “What is eternal life? The love of God is eternal life. Because God is love and that is eternal.”   Takeaways: 1.    As we give ourselves to this season, let us remember that it was because of God's great love that Yeshua was sent to this earth. He came to be the expression of God's love to each of us individually. God is driven for us to know and experience His love for us. And the greatest celebration of Christmas would be us opening our hearts to know and receive and experience the love of God. 2.    Since no man has seen God, and we cannot relate to Him easily, God sent His love packaged in Christ. If we receive Him, we are receiving the love of God so that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God, just as Christ was the fullness of God in man. 3.    Read John 17. What made Yeshua and the Father one? The love that the Father had for Him and the love He had for the Father is what welded them into oneness. And because of that love, we have the ability to be one. The one who abides in love abides in God. And Christ and the Father will come and take their abode in us because we finally come into the revelation of God's love for us.  

Web Description: Did you know that your daily charge of faith and prayer and seeking God is the energy that makes the Body of Christ function? No one in the Body can say, “I'm not important. It doesn't matter if I'm not supplying what little I have.” It does matter! And the power of oneness will only be released when each of us is manifesting what we are.   Show Notes: As we learned in the previous podcast, the Bible is filled with examples of God moving from a focus on an individual to a focus on a people. The prayer of Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7 shows this process. As an individual anointed by God, Solomon prayed, and God responded to his prayer. It is significant that God's response was not to tell Solomon what he must do; rather, God told Solomon what the congregation must do.   God was saying, “Just like I answered Solomon's prayer, I will answer the prayer of my people if they humble themselves and seek My face.” In a sense, Solomon's importance as a singular individual ceased once he finished the Temple. Now God emphasized the importance of all the individuals of Israel. The effectiveness of the prayer depended on how each individual walked with God. The same is true today.   According to God's plan, you are important. Without you, it does not work. Yet it is easy for us to minimize our own worthiness and effectiveness. As Christians we need to get over that mentality. We must recognize the importance of what we bring individually through our faith. Stop saying, “What I have isn't important, and so it won't matter if I don't give it.” Instead, get up daily and say, “I need to bring what I have because the Body of Christ will not function without it.”   Key Verses:   •       2 Chronicles 7:11–14. “If … My people … pray and seek My face, … then I will hear from heaven.” •       Acts 4:24–33. “The congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” •       1 Corinthians 12:12–16. “The body is not one member, but many.”   Quotes:   •       “The body functions only because the cells function. We exist only because of each cell in the body doing its part.” •       “You can say, ‘Well, I don't do that much,' or ‘I don't have that much.' It doesn't matter what you have. Without you, the Body of Christ doesn't work.” •       “We need to change an age. We need to see the land delivered. We need to see God come and answer and move. And it requires you.”   Takeaways:   1.    According to 2 Chronicles 7, God answered Solomon's prayer when he fulfilled David's heart by building the Temple. Then God said He would answer the prayers of His people. But that required that every individual walked with God and served God after the heart of David. That meant it was no longer just Solomon. Each individual was important to the purpose of God and what each individual did mattered. 2.    If we want the promises of 2 Chronicles 7, then we must realize that it is no longer what a singular leader does. We are all important as individuals in the Body of Christ. What we do matters, and it does not happen without us. 3.    Each cell in a body does not seem to do that much. But the body does not function if each cell is not supplying what it has. You cannot say, “I don't have very much, so it doesn't really matter what I do.” The energy you supply is important to the proper functioning of the Body of Christ.   Scripture Readings:   1 Corinthians chapter 12             Ephesians chapter 4

Web Description: In Christianity there is a strong emphasis on individual ministry. However, the Scriptures show God's emphasis moving from one individual to many. Then the beginning of the Church showed us the many becoming one. With the Lord's help, let us follow His leading from our own individuality to real body ministry to the oneness of Christ.   Show Notes: When God met Abraham, the entire focus was on Abraham as an individual fulfilling God's plan. When his descendants multiplied and moved forward in the plan of God, the focus on an individual transitioned to a focus on the many. Likewise, when Yeshua (Jesus) was on the earth, the focus was on Him as an individual. But when His disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, the great anointing that was on Christ was transferred to them, and the plan of God began to happen through the many.   Abraham as an individual did not possess and fill the Promised Land. His descendants did. And Christ as an individual had to ascend to the Father so that the Holy Spirit could fill a people to become the many-membered Body of Christ. God has always transitioned from an individual to a people. Yet it is difficult for us to get out of focusing on the singular individual. Even within the Church today we tend to emphasize individual ministries rather than really getting into body ministry.   Our focus needs to be on body ministry because God wants to lead us into the next step, which is the transition from many individuals into oneness. Christ's prayer to the Father was that we as His Body would be one. And we have to see that this is the conclusion that everything He did for us is leading to. The revelation of Christ to the world happens as we become one just as the Father and Christ are one. Let this be imparted to our spirits as we pray for His Kingdom today.   Key Verses:   •       Genesis 22:17. “I will greatly multiply your seed … as the sand which is on the seashore.” •       Leviticus 23:5–11. “You shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.” •       John 12:24. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” •       Leviticus 23:15–17. “You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering.” •       Acts 1:1–11. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.” •       Acts 1:14–15. “A gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together.” •       Acts 2:1–4. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” •       Acts 4:23–25. “They lifted their voices to God with one accord.” •       Acts 4:31. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” •       Ephesians 4:13–16. “The head, even Christ, … causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” •       John 17:11–21. “They may all be one … so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”   Quotes:   •       “In the plan of God, we go from one—a focus on one individual or one ministry—and that transitions into many. Then the many must transition back into one.” •       “All that has transpired in the story of God is coming to this conclusion: there must be a body of people. That body must be fitted and held together by that which every joint is supplying.” •       “What's happening to the many? They are becoming one. And that is what the purpose all of this was about in the mind of Christ.”   Takeaways:   1.    We emphasize individual achievement and individual ministry. But it is important for us to see that God's plan has always been to transition from one to many. 2.    The Feast of Weeks shows the transition from the singular first fruits of grain to the two loaves of bread made from many grains. Christ was the singular first fruits who pleased God and did His will completely. At Pentecost His followers received power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, signifying the transferring of anointing from Christ as a singular ministry to His many-membered Body. 3.    This transition resulted in a great congregation of people who were serving the Lord. Then there was another transition as this congregation was together in one place, in one accord, in one mind and heart. When they prayed together, the power of God was released by that oneness. 4.    The next step is that the many become one. The Body of Christ cannot continue on as a multitude of individuals. It must become one for the purpose of God to be finalized.  

Web Description: The 2024 elections were an encouraging sign that Americans are concerned about the moral collapse in this country and want to do something about it. But more than a victory for our faith, it is a window of opportunity that we must not waste. Let us not let up in our faith and intercession for this country until we see it return to its Judeo-Christian roots.   Show Notes: This podcast looks at the results of the 2024 presidential election from a spiritual rather than a political standpoint. Our own political views are certainly important to us, and we all have the right to stand for whatever we want to stand for. However, this election showed more than a political choice. It showed the genuine concern people have for the wrong direction this country is moving and their desire to change that direction.   This election saw a great many people in this country standing up and saying, “We have had enough of rampant crime and destruction of our cities. We have had enough of the immorality being forced on our children in public schools. We have had enough of the antisemitism and anti-Israel policies.” It was an encouraging voice from this nation that we do not want to lose our Judeo-Christian values. It shows that our prayers have been effective up to this point.   It is like God is saying, “Okay, I'm listening. Here's an opportunity. What will you do with it?” And we cannot afford to waste this opportunity. If the intercession of the Body of Christ has brought this victory, then now is not the time to stop. We need an intensified level of intercession to shape what this victory will mean to our society in the coming days. We need more than political reforms. We need a change that reaches down to the very roots of this country. We need the depth of repentance that brings a nature change. Let us use this window of opportunity and pray like we never have until we see this nation become what God wants it to be.   Key Verses:   •       2 Kings 13:14–20. “The man of God was angry … ‘Now you shall strike Aram only three times.'” •       2 Chronicles7:11–16. “My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.”   Quotes:   •       “God is in the business of judging immoral nations. And I feel like we have become that and are sliding very quickly into a worse state day by day.” •       “Things are not going to change unless we change them through faith and prayer. And they're not going to change unless God is the force behind the change that happens.” •       “Let's get out of the caves. Let's for sure have our own faith and prayer and intercession coming to another level. But let's open our mouths and do more than just vote privately in our houses.”   Takeaways:   1.    The 2024 presidential election was an announcement that Americans want a new direction for this country. The voice of the majority against the lawlessness, immorality, and antisemitism was an encouraging sign that this nation does not want to lose its Judeo-Christian values. 2.    In 2 Kings we read that Elisha directed Joash the king of Israel to shoot an arrow, meaning he would have victory over Aram. But when Joash beat the arrows only three times, Elisha told him he will win only three battles and not put an end to Aram. 3.    We can look at this election with a sense of victory. But it really is a window of opportunity that we do not want to waste. We can be like Joash and accept a limited victory. Or we can keep beating our arrows by our intercession until we see the end of the wickedness that is destroying this county.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: Thanksgiving is a wonderful time set aside for giving thanks to the Lord. But the scriptural example of thanksgiving is not something that is done only on specific days. It is a continual practice of giving thanks and praise to the Lord every day. The pattern in our lives should not be thanking the Lord whenever we feel He has blessed us. We should have an attitude, a mindset, and an intentional emotion of gratitude for everything God is and does. Let this Thanksgiving be the beginning of a new lifestyle of overflowing gratitude before the Lord.   Show Notes: In the transition from the Tabernacle to the Temple, David commanded the Levites to thank and praise the Lord every morning and evening. This concept of giving continual thanks and praise to the Lord goes deeper than our concept of giving thanks. When someone gives us something, we say, “Thank you.” And so our definition of thanksgiving still has this idea of thanking God after He blesses us. A better word for the scriptural concept of continual thanks to God is gratitude.   The Scriptures show us that we can develop a mindset, an attitude, and especially an emotion of gratitude before the Lord. Even when we face difficulties and negative situations, we can still have this emotion of gratitude because it is not dependent on our circumstances. We do not have to deny what may be happening to us, but we can continually focus on the Lord and develop within ourselves the sense of wonder and gratitude for all that God is and all that He does.    Therefore, let us celebrate Thanksgiving this year with gratitude. Let it be an expression of our continual thanks and praise to the Lord and not isolated to one specific gift or answer to prayer that He has given us. Let our gratitude become something that we develop within the depths of our being as part of our relationship with God, whereby we say daily, “Lord, we are not thankful for one or two things that You did for us. We are overflowing with gratitude for all things that You are to us and have provided for us.”   Key Verses:   •       1 Chronicles 23:30. “They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening.” •       Psalm 92:1–5. “It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.” •       2 Peter 1:3. “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” •       Colossians 2:6–7. “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, … overflowing with gratitude.”   Quotes:   •       “We don't just want to say ‘thank you' for something. We want to develop in our hearts an attitude of gratitude.” •       “When we talk about gratitude, it's not just an action; it's an emotion that is being expressed from within the depth of our being.” •       “There is an unending list and an unending focus of what we should be giving praise and thanks to the Lord for.”   Takeaways:   1.    David introduced a new responsibility and ministry for the Levites. They were to stand every morning and evening to thank and praise the Lord. It is also important for us to find a new expression in our giving of thanks and worship to the Lord. 2.    It is good to set aside one day at Thanksgiving to express our thanks to the Lord. But we need more than just a practice of thanking the Lord on one day and afterwards reverting to a life of ungratefulness. We need the Levitical pattern of thanking and praising the Lord continually. 3.    Giving thanks when we are blessed is still a limited emotion in response to our circumstances. We need to develop an intentional emotion of gratitude that is a continual expression of praise and thanks to the Lord.  

Web Description: When we pray for Israel, what are we praying for? Are we praying for God to bless Israel in the future? No. God's Word over Israel exists now, and we are praying for that Word to be fulfilled now. The fact that all the nations are focused on Israel today means that they are focused on God and on His ability to perform what He said. Therefore, the focus of our prayer is for God's Word, His power, and His glory to be revealed in Israel to all the nations.   Show Notes: We need effective intercession in this time. And one of the greatest examples of effective intercession is the prayer of Moses. When God said, “I am going to kill these children of Israel and make a new nation out of you,” Moses answered, “Israel is Your nation now by Your Word.” Moses reminded God that His Word was already completed, and he changed God's mind at that moment. It did not happen in the future through Moses or in a future Israel.   This is important for our prayer because we as Christians relate too much to the Word of God as being in the future. We are always waiting for it, hoping for it, or believing for it, instead of recognizing that if God spoke it, it already exists. When we pray for Israel today, we need to be like Moses and say, “All these Words that God will restore, forgive, cleanse, and prosper Israel exist now, and we are not putting them off into the future.”   Moses made the issue about God's Word and His glory. If God did not fulfill His Word over Israel, the nations would not scoff at Israel. Instead, they would scoff at God and say that He could not do what He said He would do. Right now, the focus of all the nations is on Israel. And there is no issue except God being glorified until everyone will see and hear that God bared His mighty arm, manifested His power, and fulfilled His Word over His people. Lord, glorify Yourself before the nations now.   Key Verses:   •       Jeremiah 31:31–34. “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it.” •       Genesis 1:3. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light'; and there was light.” •       Isaiah 55:11. “My word … will not return to Me empty.” •       1 Peter 1:19–20. “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times.” •       Exodus 32:9–14. “So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” •       Numbers 14:11–21. “But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared.” •       Ezekiel 36:22–28. “I will vindicate the holiness of My great name.” •       Romans 10:6–8. “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART.” •       Ezekiel 38:21–23. “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known.” •       Deuteronomy 9:28–29. “The land from which You brought us may say, ‘Because the LORD was not able.'”   Quotes:   •       “As long as you're willing to put it into the future, God is willing for it to happen in the future.” •       “What does Israel mean? Israel means you, the world, the nations will behold God moving in a people. And just as He is moving for Israel, He can move for you. And He will move for you.” •       “Christians have been trying to get the gospel to the whole world for two thousand years now; and they're still working at it. But I'll tell you, it can happen in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, if you see God move on Israel.”   Takeaways:   1.    God created the world by saying, “Let there be.” And when we look at the prophecies over Israel, we are looking at the same power of God to create. As the Sabbath tells us, everything God created is finished. And all the prophecies over Israel are finished now; they are not waiting for the future. 2.    We should pray like Moses who refused to let God move the fulfillment to the future by destroying the Israelites and making a new nation out of Moses. We move the future into the present with our prayers. 3.    We should pray like Moses who told the Lord, “If you kill these people, the nations will hear of it and say, ‘You could not do what You promised by oath.'” The issue is not the events that are happening or the people involved. It is about what God has said and His glorification to the nations.  

Web Description: Often after deliverances or breakthroughs or answers to prayer, we experience spiritual warfare that seems diametrically opposed to what we are believing for. But we need to see that God is doing something greater than what we assume. We must be careful that our prayers and speaking the Word of God are not limited by our own minds because God is able to do abundantly beyond our limited ability to imagine.   Show Notes: The Lord sent Moses to tell the children of Israel that the God of their fathers would deliver them from Egypt. But as the deliverance unfolded, the people became very upset with Moses because their lives got worse every time he spoke. It seemed that God was doing the opposite of what Moses said He would do. Moses himself had to hold in his mind what God told him at the beginning: “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied.”   God was looking for something beyond Egypt. He was going to deliver His people out of Egypt, but He was also going to multiply His signs and wonders and magnify Himself to pharaoh and the people of Egypt. After their deliverance at Passover, it seemed to Israel that God was trying to destroy them by Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea. But God was doing far more in His deliverance than the people understood. He was completely destroying Pharaoh's army and bringing down the power of Egypt.   We need to hold this in our minds as we voice or re-speak the promises of God in the Scriptures. The spiritual warfare will come to make us feel like the exact opposite of what God promised is happening. So it is important that we set aside our expectations for a situation and reach into what God is wanting. What is the spiritual warfare really about? It is telling us that God's deliverance will be greater than anything we can believe for or even imagine.   Key Verses:   •       Exodus 11:9–10. “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied.” •       1 Corinthians 13:12. “Now I know in part.” •       Isaiah 55:8–9. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” •       Exodus 12:42. “It is a night to be observed … by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.” •       Exodus 14:10–13. “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD.” •       Ephesians 3:20. “To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.”   Quotes:   •       “Satan can't take anything from you. He can only try to talk you into letting go of what you've received.” •       “It's always good to remember what God is looking for because we tend to get so consumed in what we're looking for.” •       “It's never about what the enemy is doing. It's always about what God is doing in fulfilling His purpose.” •       “We can't even bring ourselves to imagine how great is the release that God is going to bring. How great is His Kingdom. How great and abundant are His promises and His deliverances and His answers to our prayer.”   Takeaways:   1.    After God promised to deliver Israel at Passover, the people became discouraged and angry because the judgments on Pharaoh made their lives worse. But God had told Moses that Pharaoh would not listen so that His wonders would be magnified. 2.    At Tabernacles we experience great victories and receive directions for new hope and promises from the Lord. Then after such times of great victory, we often find that we are plunged into spiritual warfare that makes it appear as though our deliverance failed. 3.    What is really happening may lie in the fact that this new spiritual battle is being brought by the Lord, who is in the process of giving us a greater victory and deliverance than what we had originally been promised or could even imagine.  

Web Description: In the quantum realm all things exist as possibilities until we observe them. But it must be understood that we are observing what exists; we are not creating something new. In God all things are possible to the one who believes. But that only works when it is a belief in what God has created. The Sabbath means that God rested because He completed His creation. And we enter His rest when we stop trying to create our own thing and become instruments to manifest what He has created.   Show Notes: Quantum physics describes a realm where all possibilities exist. It is the act of observation that takes something out of the quantum realm of possibility and manifests it in the realm we relate to. This quantum principle applies to the Sabbath. God rested on the Sabbath because all His works were completed. That means everything already exists in the realm of possibility. Therefore, our faith is not to create something new. It is to become aware of what God has already created and thus manifest what He has made available.   When you enter God's rest, you are resting from your works, from your striving, and from your seeking to accomplish something. There is nothing for you to accomplish since God has already accomplished everything. If you are stressed as a believer, it is because you have not entered His rest. You are still trying to work too hard to accomplish all the things you feel are from God. If they are from God, then He has already created them, and you need to manifest what He has created, not work harder yourself. If our awareness can lock onto what He has created, finalized, and completed, then we will become the manifestation of His works.   The book of Hebrews warns us not to be like those who failed to enter His rest because of disobedience. What was their disobedience? Even after they had witnessed God's signs and wonders, they still did not believe He was God. They did not believe He was capable; they did not believe He was going to follow through on His promise. What then is the obedience God is looking for? It is believing in who He is as God and that what He has created is finished and fully available to us.    Key Verses:   •       Hebrews 4:9–11. “The one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” •       Genesis 1:27–31. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” •       Genesis 2:1–4. “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work.” •       Hebrews 4:1–11. “Let us be diligent to enter that rest.” •       Mark 9:23. “All things are possible to him who believes.” •       Matthew 7:7. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” •       Psalm 95:6–11. “They tried Me, though they had seen My work.” •       Psalm 78:10–33. “In their heart they put God to the test.” •       Matthew 4:5–7. “YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.”   Quotes:   •       “Something that we're still looking for is this idea of entering into His rest. So you must see that there is an experience available to us that God is wanting us to have that has not been accomplished yet.” •       “All things are possible to him who believes. If we pray, then we can pray and believe for these things to manifest. You knock and you keep on knocking. You ask and you keep on asking because they are there. You're not trying to invent them. You're not trying to recreate them. You are simply believing in what is.” •       “We've seen His salvation in our own lives. We've read the Bible stories. We've witnessed at times, many of us with our own eyes, the moving of God in the earth—healings and wonders. We cannot doubt. We cannot come back and say, ‘Oh, now we just need You to do one more miracle for us.'”   Takeaways:   1.    Many Christians think that the Sabbath is strictly Jewish. But God sanctified the Sabbath day after He finished His creation, long before the commandment to observe the Sabbath. This means that the Sabbath was set apart for all mankind. 2.    People are still trying to understand the quantum realm. But simply, it is a creation of God. It is the mind of God. It is the realm where all things are possible. And the Sabbath rest means that we simply activate what is possible in the mind of God rather than striving in ourselves to accomplish something. 3.    The generation that God delivered from Egypt failed to enter His rest because of their unbelief. We do not want to follow their example. We had better know that He is God and that nothing is impossible for Him and that all He has created is available for us to possess.  

Web Description: In this day it is essential that we know and believe the love God has for us, as we read in 1 John 4:16. Otherwise, we become overwhelmed by the increasing lawlessness in the world, and we find our love growing cold. The Kingdom is God's love. And we can only minister His love to others when we know His love for us personally.   Show Notes: Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.” Already we see this happening with people as they react to the increasing lawlessness around them. The fact is that we are affected by the spirit realm. And as we watch all the negativity happening in the world, we have to take care that we are not drawn into the same spirit.   Yeshua directly tied the increase in lawlessness to people losing their love. Satan knows this and brings all the lawlessness and wickedness because they generate a force in direct opposition to what Christ is trying to impart to us, which is His mind that has the capacity to know the love of God. As His Son, Yeshua knew the love the Father had for Him, and He came to impart the knowledge of that love to us as individuals.   We need to come into the knowledge of the Father's love for us because Christ is sending us into the world for the same purpose that He came. It is not to do signs and wonders. It is not to perform healings. It is not to speak living words. It is to impart the love of the Father into the lives of people. But you cannot impart what you do not have. The greatest preparation you can do right now to carry out the will of God in the earth is to become aware of His love for you personally.   Key Verses:   •       Matthew 24:12–14. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.” •       1 John 4:7–13. “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” •       1 John 4:14–16. “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.” •       Ephesians 3:16–19. “Know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.” •       1 Corinthians 2:16. “We have the mind of Christ.” •       Romans 12:2. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” •       John 15:9–13. “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” •       John 17:24–26. “The love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”   Quotes:   •       “Everything that's going to happen in the bringing forth of the Kingdom between now and the manifestation of it in the earth is born out of love.” •       “The spirits that are taking over this age right now have a purpose. And that is to block the knowledge of love. It is to remove love from the hearts of humanity.” •       “If we can come to know this love that God has for us individually, we can be filled up to the fullness of Him, to the fullness of that love.”   Takeaways:   1.    When we see everything happening in the earth, our immediate tendency is to be caught up in the negative. But it is not for us to relate to what is going on from a negative perspective. It is simply a matter of shifting our focus and awareness to God's presence. 2.    Yeshua had the awareness of God's love for Him personally, and He functioned out of the knowledge and the understanding of that love. And Christ came to bring the knowledge of that love to us as individuals. 3.    Why is satan bringing all this lawlessness and wickedness and this increase of evil? Because if he does that, then the love of people grows cold. The wickedness is in direct opposition to what Christ is trying to impart to us, which is His mind that has the capacity to know the love of God. 4.    As humans we struggle with knowing the love that God has for us. That is why we need this impartation of the mind of Christ that is beyond human knowledge or human ability to understand.  

Web Description: Let us come to Christ and learn of Him. Let us take on His yoke. Let us change our whole approach to walking with Him. Instead of stressing and struggling and carrying a burden He has not put on us, let us enter His rest. His works are already finished. And it is not our job to do new works or to pray for new things. We are simply to be the expression of what He has already created.   Show Notes: After years of serving the Lord, do you feel weary? Do you feel a heaviness? Are you weighed down by all the burdens you carry? That means you need to try a different approach. Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” It comes back to the fact that we need to enter His rest. We need to remember the Sabbath.   When you remember the Sabbath, what are you remembering? You are remembering that God has already completed everything He has promised. So if you are stressed out from serving the Lord, consider that your stress is from working so hard to bring the manifestation of His promises that you are doing your own works—not the works He has completed.   Yeshua said that He could do nothing of Himself. He only did the works of His Father. And He told us to learn of Him. When we do that, we will find rest for our souls. We need to come to Christ and learn of Him because He knew how to be in God's rest. And we need to know how to do that. Let us change our approach. Instead of being those who are struggling and straining to do the will of God, let us be those who are bringing into this moment all that God has already provided.   Key Verses:   •       Matthew 11:27–30. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” •       Jeremiah 31:25. “For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.” •       Hebrews 4:1–3. “We who have believed enter that rest.” •       Psalm 95:9–11. “Your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work.” •       Matthew 4:5–7. “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'” •       Hebrews 4:9–10. “The one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works.” •       John 5:19. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing.”   Quotes:   •       “When you look at the world, it's languishing right now. We should be the ones who are imparting the refreshing of God's presence. But we can't impart what we don't have.” •       “God gets angry when you test Him. Why? Because we should already know He's God. We should already absolutely know beyond a shadow of a doubt who He is and what He is capable of in our lives.” •       “What do we remember on the Sabbath? We remember that everything we need, everything we're believing for is already done.”   Takeaways:   1.    We are not supposed to be weary, under a heavy burden, and stressed out in our walk with God. Yeshua is saying, “All you who feel this way, come to Me, and learn a new way. Learn a different approach. Learn of Me because My yoke is easy.” 2.    This is necessary for us because the longer we walk with God, the more our tendency is to say, “I believe. But can God really do what I believe?” We have seen enough in our years of walking with God that our faith in Him should be absolute. And we must not put God to the test like those who failed in the wilderness by challenging His ability. 3.    It is all about the Sabbath. The Sabbath was established because God finished His work. And we must come to the realization that everything God is going to bring is already done. We should not be praying for God to do things in the future. We should be manifesting His finished work.  

Web Description: What is the Feast of Tabernacles about? It is about remembering God's power to deliver, to protect, to provide, and to lead His people. As we celebrate Tabernacles this year, let us be grateful for everything God has done for us and worship Him, acknowledging His power to do all that He has promised for Israel and for us.   Show Notes: Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is a time when Jewish families live and take their meals together in a sukkah or a booth, just as their ancestors did in the wilderness. It is a time to remember the miraculous works of God that delivered them from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness. They are to teach this history to their children so that no generation will ever forget the miraculous provision of God's power. They know they must never forget that God is able to move today as He moved in the past.   As Christians we should not regard Tabernacles as just a Jewish holiday. We must be those who remember God's power in our lives because we are in serious trouble when we forget. And so we should celebrate Sukkot this year with Israel and the Jewish people, not religiously but in a true heart of remembrance. We should be rehearsing the stories about the forty years in the wilderness and recognize that the power of God for Israel then is the same power He has now.   Today we need this provision of God moving in our midst. We must remember all that He has done. We must remember that we are sustained by His power alone and not by anything we do from ourselves. So let us study the Scriptures and teach our children the history of Israel and how God moves by His mighty power to take care of those He loves and covenants with. We keep these facts alive in our hearts and know that God can do the same thing in our lives today, right now.   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 23:39. “Celebrate the feast of the LORD … with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.” •       Leviticus 23:43. “So that your generations may know.” •       Deuteronomy 5:13–15. “The seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; … You shall remember.” •       Deuteronomy 31:8–12. “At the end of every seven years … at the Feast of Booths, … you shall read this law.” •       Deuteronomy 8:1–5. “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you.” •       Deuteronomy 8:11–18. “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God.” •       Psalm 78:4–18. “They forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had shown them.” •       Psalm 78:35. “And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer.”   Quotes:   •       “We're in a time when many things are happening around us. Many things are happening in Israel. And it's necessary that we don't forget that He is a God of miracles and that He provides for His people.” •       “We will probably need again to experience this type of miraculous provision from God during our lifetime.” •       “There's got to be a humility that comes in our hearts to remember all that God has done, all that He provided because we may find ourselves living in what seems like a new time of wilderness. And in that wilderness, we must remember He is able miraculously to provide for us.”   Takeaways:   1.    The purpose of Tabernacles is that we come before the Lord to remember His mighty works, to remember His power, and to remember His ability to sustain us, to carry us, to protect us, and to shepherd us. 2.    Let us not be like those who forget the works of God and therefore fail to keep His commandments. Let us not be like those who forget His deeds, who forget His miracles, and who forget all that He has spoken and sworn to Israel and to us. 3.    We live in an age when the world is headed for disaster. And the greatest source of it is that we have forgotten the miraculous deeds of the God of heaven, and we have not honored Him or worshipped Him or given Him the credit for all that He has done.   For Further Study:   Deuteronomy 8 Psalms 78 Nehemiah 9 and 10

Web Description: We are coming to the Day of Atonement, which has great significance for us as Christians. It is about the forgiveness of our sins, something we understand well. But it is also about something we need a greater revelation and appropriation of, and that is our purification and the removal of our sins. Let this be our experience as we celebrate the Day of Atonement this year.     Show Notes: We read in Leviticus 16 that the Day of Atonement is about cleansing the people of their sins. It was a solemn assembly, a time for the people to humble themselves and repent of their sins. Then the first goat was sacrificed as a sin offering, speaking to the forgiveness of their sins. But there was also a second sacrifice. The goat of removal was sent into the wilderness to take away all the iniquity of the people.   Most Christians relate to Christ who is our Atonement in the context of the forgiveness of sins. But the Day of Atonement is about being cleansed of our sins. And cleansing is more than external washing. It is about our purification. The prophecy of the Messiah in Malachi tells us that He comes for the very purpose of purification. Yeshua (Jesus) HaMashiach, the Messiah, came for our purification, which along with forgiveness is the cleansing and removal of our sins.   Therefore, we absolutely should celebrate the Day of Atonement this year. And as we celebrate it, we should remember that our atonement is not only about the forgiveness of sin. It is also about the purification of the believer, enabling us to truly enter the presence of the Father. With great thankfulness we reach in during this time to humble ourselves before Him and appropriate all that He has provided for us on this Day of Atonement.   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 16:29–31. “It is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you.” •       Leviticus 16:18–22. “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land.” •       Malachi 3:1–3. “He will purify the sons of Levi.” •       Hebrews 10:1–2. “The worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins.” •       Psalm 103:12. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” •       Hebrews 10:14–23. “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean.”   Quotes:   •       “The Lord through the blood of Christ forgives us. But again, there's something more that the Day of Atonement is pointing to that we want to receive. And that is this removing out of us the iniquity and the sin so that we don't continue going through the same process of sinning.” •       “We as believers are not just to live lives having been forgiven of our sin. We are to live lives that are more represented by this event in the Day of Atonement that we are forgiven but also cleansed and purified.” •       “When God forgives, He does forget. He remembers our sin no more. But He goes beyond that because in the purification He is then able to put His law upon our heart and upon our mind.”   Takeaways:   1.    On the Day of Atonement two sacrifices were made. The first sacrifice was to forgive the sins of the people. The second sacrifice was to remove the sins of the people. We understand the forgiveness of our sins in Christ but not so much the removal of our sins. 2.    Atonement is for our cleansing. And that is not just cleansing as we relate to cleansing ourselves by taking a bath or cleaning something by wiping the surface of it. It is talking about purification. 3.    Malachi tells us that when Messiah comes, He is like a refiner's fire and fullers' soap and will sit as a smelter. The sacrifice of Christ forgives our sins but also puts us through the process of purification that is like the refining and purifying of gold or silver.  

 Web Description: As we come to the Day of Trumpets this year, let us cry out to the Lord in our intercession. But let us follow the pattern in His Word. When we shout and lift our voice like a trumpet, let it be done according to the Lord's guidelines and instructions so that we may get the answers we need.     Show Notes: This month we will celebrate a new year—not the New Year of the Gregorian calendar, but the biblical new year of Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Yom T'ruah, the Day of Trumpets. The Hebrew word t'ruah means “the blowing of trumpets,” which we read in the Scriptures was used to call the congregation together for a meeting or for going to war. T'ruah can also mean “shouting or expressing joy.” These expressions are something we can apply today.   At Jericho the Lord gave the children of Israel specific instructions that involved t'ruah. They had to spend seven days blowing trumpets and shouting until the walls of Jericho fell. The Lord had promised them the land and told them that He had given Jericho into their hands. Yet to take what belonged to them, they had to follow exactly the pattern of the Lord. In a real sense our intercession is like t'ruah, and if we want to be as effective as the Israelites were at Jericho, then we too need to be obedient to the Lord's pattern.   That is why our intercession should be guided biblically by what the Lord has said—by what He has promised and by what He has given us through prophecy. How do we pray for Israel and the Jewish people today when the entire world seems determined to destroy them? We read the prophecies in the Scriptures of everything God has said He will do for His people in these end days. Then we cry out to the Lord and shout t'ruah and believe for the walls that stand against His Word to come down.   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 23:23–24. “You shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets.” •       Numbers 29:1. “It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets.” •       Exodus 12:1–2. “This month shall be the beginning of months for you.” •       Joshua 6:1–5. “When you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout.” •       Joshua 6:15–20. “The people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; … and they took the city.” •       2 Chronicles 7:12–16. “I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” •       Daniel 9:2–22. “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action!” •       Matthew 6:5–15. “When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret.”   Quotes:   •       “God doesn't just tell us to pray for something. He doesn't just promise us things. He really directs us in how we should go about receiving those promised events that the Lord is giving.” •       “While we're in these days of great intercession that the Lord is bringing to us, we must recognize that we have real instructions about how we're to approach the Lord and how we're to pray.” •       “If we follow the pattern of how He taught us to pray, how He gave us instruction in His Word to pray and approach Him, then it will happen. Keep walking around the walls until you're instructed to shout in the day of victory, and those walls will come down and it will be given into your hands.”   Takeaways:   1.    The concept of a new year in the Scriptures is not the same as our concept according to the Gregorian calendar. Rosh Hashanah, which begins in the seventh month, is the beginning of the ordinary calendar year. The ecclesiastical year begins in the month of Nisan. There are also new years for the tithing of animals and trees. 2.    The word t'ruah in Yom T'ruah, the Day of Trumpets, has various meanings such as “the sound of a trumpet, clamor or loud noise, a battle cry or alarm, rejoicing, and shouting.” 3.    The Lord gave specific instructions to the children of Israel for the use of t'ruah in the taking of Jericho. Israel had to follow exactly the pattern of the Lord to take the land He had promised them. The pattern and instructions for our intercession are also laid out for us in the Scriptures. 4.    We pray according to the scriptural promises and prophecies, according to the repentance and returning to the Lord that God revealed to Solomon, and according to the instructions that we have from Yeshua (Jesus).  

Web Description: God rested from His works. That means they are completed. And that is what the Sabbath is all about. This Sabbath rest of God is expressed in the coming feasts of the fall season. They are windows of opportunity to enter God's rest by rejoicing in, proclaiming, and appropriating God's completed provisions.     Show Notes: On the seventh day God rested from all His works that He had completed. Then He set apart the seventh day as the Sabbath, a day when we recognize that God has completed all His works for us. They exist now, and therefore we look forward to appropriating everything that He has made available to us. And the upcoming fall feasts are a perfect time for us to do that. We should approach these times with a drive in our hearts to appropriate God's provisions and see them manifested.   The fall feasts begin with Yom Truah, the Day of Trumpets. According to the meaning of truah, Yom Truah is a day of blowing the trumpet, shouting, or crying aloud before the Lord. This reminds us that while we have many promises in the Word of God, we should be shouting and proclaiming them. We find this command throughout the Scriptures that we are to shout, rejoice, and worship God in what He has spoken. His great provisions are available for us now, and we proclaim them into the earth.   The Sabbath rest of God means that we are not waiting for the promises of the feasts to be fulfilled in the future. We rejoice in our total salvation on the Day of Atonement and in God's presence with us at Tabernacles. These are already created in God, finished, and available to us. These days of the biblical feasts are more than just observances. They are a time to reach in for that which has been completed for us by God. We celebrate these feasts by entering God's rest, by worshipping Him, by rejoicing in what He has provided, and by appropriating His provisions into our experience.   Key Verses:   •       Genesis 2:2–3. “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work.” •       Psalm 98:4–9. “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.” •       Isaiah 54:1–3. “Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud.” •       Jeremiah 31:7–9. “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout.” •       Jeremiah 29:11–14. “You will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” •       Deuteronomy 4:29–35. “From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him.” •       Ezekiel 36:24–28. “I will cleanse you from all your filthiness.” •       Zechariah 2:10–13. “Sing for joy and be glad.” •       Leviticus 26:11–12. “I will make My dwelling among you.” •       Exodus 29:45–46. “I will dwell among the sons of Israel.” •       Psalm 118:21–29. “Let us rejoice and be glad.” •       John 7:37–38. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”   Quotes:   •       “I don't want to wait for some day in the future. If I wait too long, I'm not going to be here to enjoy it. I want the Kingdom to come in my time. I want these things to manifest because Christ said, ‘It is finished.'” •       “We want to appropriate the open door that exists right now for God's people to return to the land in a time of great blessing, upon a straight path which the Lord will make so that there is no stumbling.” •       “We don't wait for Him to fulfill the promises and then feel thankful, then feel glad, then feel rejoicing. We feel it now. It is completed now. It exists now. It's available now.”   Takeaways:   1.    In looking at the Sabbath rest of God, we realize that God has finished the provisions that He made for us. The things that He has made available for us are ours to appropriate. They exist now. 2.    The feasts are windows of time that God has made available. So we should approach these celebrations with a determination to find out what God has provided in them and be driven to receive all that He has for us. 3.    The feasts are times to shout and declare God's promises, to worship Him and rejoice in their completion and our appropriation of them today. 4.    We live in a day when the nations are coming against Israel and the Jewish people. But that is the opposite of what God has provided. God has provided for many nations to join themselves to the Lord and to Israel and become His people. Then He will dwell in our midst. Let us celebrate this as a reality now at this time of Tabernacles.  

Web Description: There are many ways that we could pray about the times in which we live, but we will be the most effective when we pray in all humility like Daniel prayed when he asked God to restore Israel according to His Word to Jeremiah. Today we pray that God fulfills Christ's Word that the days of tribulation are cut short for the sake of God's elect, and that Israel and in fact all mankind are saved from the destruction that satan has planned.     Show Notes: There is power in prayer and power in the words that we speak. That is why we should not be making up prayers that do not align with the will of God. We should be studied and careful in the way that we pray, just as Daniel was when he prayed for Israel's release from captivity in Babylon. He saw in the Scriptures that he was living in the time when God promised the return of Israel to their land. Therefore, he humbly entreated God according to the Word that God had spoken.   Daniel's prayer was very effective. And if we want to be effective, then we should follow Daniel's example and pray according to the Word that God has spoken about our day. And in this day as we see the signs of tribulation all around us, the Word of God is clear. Concerning these days of tribulation, Yeshua (Jesus) said that God will cut them short for the sake of the elect. The Jewish people are God's elect, and for their sake He will stop the course of the Tribulation to prevent the destruction of all flesh.   This is how we pray. We declare this Word that the Lord will cut short the time, that the events planned by satan through Iran and its proxies are stopped dead in their tracks, and that the planned destruction of Israel and the Jewish people does not happen. We also pray according to this Word that satan's planned destruction of humanity does not happen. Like Daniel, we humble ourselves, confess our sins before Him, and pray to the Lord that His Word is fulfilled in its time.   Key Verses:   •       Daniel 9:2–3. “I, Daniel, observed in the books .... So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him.” •       Matthew 24:21–22. “For the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” •       Genesis 12:3. “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” •       Mark 13:19–20. “For the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.” •       Daniel 9:4–19. “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God.” •       1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins.” •       2 Chronicles 7:12–16. “My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”   Quotes:   •       “We need to pray. But I think it's so necessary that we pray according to the Scriptures.” •       “These days, the days of the Tribulation, according to Yeshua are going to be cut short for the sake of Israel, for the sake of God's chosen people.” •       “We look at the Temple and say it applies to us. Its desolation is our desolation. Its destruction is our destruction. And the cause of that destruction is our own actions, our own failure to walk in His righteousness and His ways to keep His Word.”   Takeaways:   1.    When talking about Israel and the days of tribulation, Yeshua said, “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” In other words, if the time is not cut short, there will not be a Jewish race and there will not be a land of Israel. But for the sake of the Jewish people and the land of Israel, those days will be cut short. 2.    Just like Daniel saw the event of Israel's restoration in the Scriptures and said, “This is for my day; this is what I'm praying over,” we can look at the Words of Christ and say, “This is for our day, and we will pray that the Lord will cut short these days of tribulation and save mankind.” 3.    The tribulation comes about because of the wickedness that is even in our own hearts. Therefore, we put ourselves before God in an attitude of humility, believing that our brokenness and repentance combined with prophesying the Word of Christ will have the power to change the world according to that Word.

Web Description:  Baptism is a sacrament. It is also a work we do as an expression of our faith. But even more than that, it should be our immersion into everything we believe about Christ, making His suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension the real experiences of our walk with God.   Show Notes:  The Scriptures tell us that if we suffer with Christ, we are glorified with Him. That is not something you simply take by faith and say, “I believe He suffered for me, and so I believe I will share His glory.” No, you suffer with Him. That means the cross is more than something you believe happened in the past; it is something you experience now. It is something that moves from the realm of faith into the reality of experience. This is a truth that baptism teaches us.   James wrote that faith without works is dead, and baptism is a work you do to express your faith. It must be more than symbolic, however, because our new way of life is to be immersed in Christ after we first believe in Him. That means we can be immersed in all that Christ experienced for us. We can live through His shame and suffering, His death and burial, and His resurrection and time on earth in a glorified body. We can experience His ascension to the right hand of the Father and be seated with Him as He begins to rule and reign.   That is why we take up our cross daily. Our salvation can grow daily and become greater and greater as we experience deeper and deeper experiences in the Holy Spirit, in the Word, and in our waiting and meditation before God. He has given us these events so that through our faith we can experience them. We reach into God for the reality of the provision and the promise of baptism that He has given us.   Key Verses:   •       Romans 8:17. “We suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” •       Matthew 27:51–53. “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints … were raised.” •       James 2:14–26. “Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” •       Romans 6:3–14. “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” •       Colossians 3:1–8. “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” •       Galatians 6:14. “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” •       Hebrews 11:1. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”   Quotes:   •       “The resurrection of Yeshua was so powerful that those who had gone before Him in death were literally pulled out of death into resurrection bodies also, came out of their graves, and began walking the streets of Jerusalem.” •       “I think we have to be careful that we're not just being dunked under water and getting wet. We are to come up out of that water with experiences that are life changing for us.” •       “Your faith should lead you into a life of prayer. It should lead you into a life with the Word. And as you immerse yourself into the Word, you're going to find that you not only want to believe that Word. You find yourself needing to experience what that Word is saying.”   Takeaways:   1.    Our faith is given to lead us into the experiences that we are to have. We can have experiences with the things of God that are even historical, bringing them up to the present moment, making them alive in our lives, and making them part of our walk with God. 2.    The events of Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and ascension are more than historical events that we believe in. These are events that we should be experiencing through baptism as the next step in our relationship with God and the building of our faith. 3.    We need to see baptism as something beyond a secondary confession of faith. It should be our immersion into the fullness of Christ's experiences as our new life.  

Web Description: As Christians we are believers. And there are many blessings to believing. But believing in something must ultimately lead to experiencing what we believe. If we are to take up our cross daily and follow Him, then by the Holy Spirit there must be a way to make all that Christ experienced through the cross our daily experience.   Show Notes: According to James, faith without works is dead. If you say, “I believe in riding bicycles,” do you stand back and never get on a bicycle? No, you jump on a bike and start riding it. This applies to your walk with God. If you want to walk with God, then you cannot stand back and say, “I believe in walking with God,” and yet never do anything to walk with Him. Walking with God is a daily experience of your belief in God.   Yeshua (Jesus) said that to be His follower you must take up your cross daily. That means the cross of Christ must be a daily experience in your life and not just a belief about the cross. That is the purpose of baptism. It is to take all you believe and manifest it in your life as an experience. It is not just a sacrament that we do religiously. If we are truly baptized into Christ, then His sufferings and death to the flesh, His life in resurrection, and His ascension to the Father and reigning with Him can all be experiential realities for us.   Do you find yourself struggling to believe God or struggling to be faithful to your beliefs? It is not that you need to try harder to believe. You need to experience the faith that you already have. In your daily prayer life and waiting on the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into deeper spiritual experiences and make what you believe the reality in your life.   Key Verses:   •       Luke 9:22–23. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must … take up his cross daily and follow Me.” •       Matthew 10:38. “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” •       Romans 6:3–13. “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” •       James 2:26. “Faith without works is dead.”   Quotes:   •       “Faith is something that enables us to move on into experience. Faith leads to works, and without works faith is dead.” •       “We have to be able to say, ‘I know the cross because I have visited the cross. I've experienced what Christ experienced on that cross with Him. I watched Him as though I was standing at the foot of the cross, embracing it as He was suffering upon it.'” •       “I think we should take up the reality of His death, His burial, and His resurrection so that they are experiences to us that we have connected with, even if it's by a deeper and deeper revelation through the Holy Spirit.”   Takeaways:   1.    We must understand that we walk by the Spirit, and we have the Holy Spirit through whom the Lord has granted for us to be able to experience our faith. 2.    Faith without works is dead. The real purpose of faith is for us to progress from faith into the works or the experiences that we are to have because of our faith. 3.    By the Holy Spirit let us be immersed experientially in everything Christ experienced in His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. This is what baptism is all about.  

Web Description: Our relationship with God begins at the cross of Christ. But it is also where it continues. We never leave the need for the cross in our lives. The cross is the only means we have for winning the victory over our sin nature. It must be put to death and the only place that happens is at the cross. As disciples of Christ we take up our cross daily for that purpose.   Show Notes: As Christians we generally see the cross as a one-time event that we associate with our initial salvation experience. Yet once we have already believed and confessed that Yeshua (Jesus) died on the cross for our sins, we often find ourselves struggling with condemnation over the fact that we still have sin in our lives. The feeling we have, and even the teaching we get in churches, is that once we are saved, we are not supposed to have problems with sin anymore.   To deal with this we need to relate to the cross differently. Christ bore our sins in His body one time on the cross so that we might die to sin, but our own death to sin and the removal of our sin nature is not instantaneous at the moment we first accept Christ. To be a disciple of the Lord, we must daily take up His cross as our own and follow on with Him. There must be an ongoing relationship with the cross in our lives.   The process of the Christian life includes a daily visit and encounter with the cross. We need to go back daily to the reality of the cross, to that place where sin is defeated and put to death. Just as Christ put sin to death in His body by hanging on the cross, we go back to that cross and make sure that sin is put to death in our body. As believers today we can take faith to mature and grow in this ability to be His disciples. Learn how to take up your cross and follow Him. Let it be a daily experience with His cross.   Key Verses:   •       Luke 9:23. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must … take up his cross daily and follow Me.” •       Luke 14:27. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” •       1 Peter 2:24. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” •       Romans 6:1–18. “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” •       Romans 8:1. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” •       Philippians 3:8–12. “I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” •       Colossians 3:3–10 (HCSV). “Put to death what belongs to your worldly nature.”   Quotes:   •       “I know we desire to grow in God and to mature in the things of the Lord, but many times maturity begins with the elementary expressions of what we know and what we must do.” •       “This war can only be won by the cross. There was no defeat of sin and unrighteousness other than through Yeshua. And if you're going to master sin, you're going to do it at that cross, and you're going to do it daily.” •       “What is the obedience? It's to go to the cross and to immerse ourselves once again in the blood of Yeshua as the victory over sin and death and commit ourselves to this way of life that He has opened up for us, which is to be instruments of righteousness.”   Takeaways:   1.    We recognize that the cross is not something that we just experience on the day of our salvation and becoming a Christian. It is something that we experience daily to see the defeat of everything of sin. 2.    We put to death the old nature and the unrighteousness that still battles against us. We bring it to an end. And we have the ability and the tool to do that in the cross. There is no condemnation because we find ourselves in these struggles. We simply recognize we have been provided with the answer. 3.    The cross is daily, continuously the victory of Christ given and provided by God over the things of sin and the flesh. And we as believers today will mature and grow into an ability to be His disciples because we understand how to daily take up our cross and follow Him.

Web Description: Through the cross of Christ, we have been raised up with Him. Therefore when you face difficulties or spiritual warfare, do not anxiously look around you. Instead look up. Rise up and be with Him where He is. Stay with Him. Focus on Him. Then you will be positioned to loose God's will and His Kingdom in the earth.   Show Notes: We read God's Word in Isaiah: “Do not anxiously look about you.” This is God speaking to Israel, and it applies directly to what Israel is experiencing today. We are witnesses to all the warfare and anti-Semitism that Israel and the Jewish people are suffering. Yet the Word of the Lord to them is not to look at those things but to trust Him. As Christians we need to apply this same Word to ourselves.   As we walk as believers these days, we can see many signs of the end times. They are called days of tribulation, and we know that very desperate things can take place. Yet again the encouragement from Yeshua (Jesus) is that we do not focus on the things that are happening around us. Instead, we stand up straight, lift up our heads, and look up because our redemption draws nigh. This focus is very important for us as we strive to experience the cross in our daily lives.   Taking up our cross daily to follow Him does not mean that we spend all day on the cross. It is through the cross that we are raised up with Christ and daily we keep seeking the things above where He is. In our waiting on the Lord and in our meditation and intercession, we are to be where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. If we are too locked into the world around us and our human needs and human problems, our intercession will be hindered. Our focus is on what Christ and the Father are doing so that what we see in the Kingdom of heaven we can loose here on earth.   Key Verses:   •       Colossians 3:1–3. “If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above.” •       Isaiah 41:8–14. “Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” •       Luke 21:25–28. “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads.” •       John 14:3. “Where I am, there you may be also.”   Quotes:   •       “The cross is not a stopping place. It really is a point of beginning.” •       “The resurrection is as important as the cross. If Christ only experienced the cross and there was no resurrection, then we don't have what we're looking for.” •       “If you've been raised up with Christ, then don't be moved from that place with Christ. Keep seeking the things above where He is. We're supposed to be there. We're supposed to live there. We're supposed to focus there.”   Takeaways:   1.    We do not just go to the cross and die and then that is the end. The cross is the beginning of being raised up with Christ and moving in His presence. And if we are raised up with Him, we keep seeking the things above where He is. 2.    We are to set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Our focus is not to be on the world around us and what is transpiring there. We are to keep our focus on the Lord. 3.    We are to rise up, which is more than standing up straight or looking up. We are to rise into God's presence and be with Him just as Christ said we could. 4.    This is what makes our intercession effective. Yeshua taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” And if we are beholding His will in heaven, then we are able to loose it on the earth.  

Growing In God Podcast Web Description: We need to do more than relate to the cross of Christ merely as a distant historical event. Yes, we believe it happened two thousand years ago and because it happened our sins are forgiven. But we need to embrace Him on the cross today because it works today. In your relationship with Christ, you never outgrow the cross. You never put it aside or make it secondary. It must be your daily experience.     Show Notes: The cross is where our relationship with Christ begins. Yet it is easy for us to leave behind our salvation experience with Christ on the cross and move onto other things. We know that He is not only our Savior through the cross, but He is also the Lord, and so we are to know Him as Lord. We are to grow in the things of God and that means moving on. But we never stop walking on the foundation. And the cross of Christ is the foundation of our life and our relationship with God.   You can embrace Christ on the cross at any given moment. Yeshua (Jesus) said that we must take up our cross daily if we are to follow Him. And we interpret our cross as being our personal grief and sorrows and suffering. But Christ bore our grief and sorrows on the cross. He bore our suffering that was caused by our sins separating us from God. The cross that we carry daily is the cross of Christ. And we need to start our day in a connection with all He did on that cross for us and because of us.   If you are struggling every day with everything the world is imposing on you, the answer is the cross of Christ. It is only at His cross where you are crucified to the world and the world is crucified to you. We never leave the necessity of the cross of Christ. We must never get so far away from it in our lives that we become enemies of the cross, as Paul warned. Instead we strive to know the Christ whose death on the cross is our daily experience of being conformed to His death and to His resurrection.   Key Verses:   •       Luke 23:34. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” •       Luke 9:23. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must … take up his cross daily.” •       Isaiah 53:4–5. “Our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.” •       Galatians 6:14. “In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ … the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” •       Hebrews 7:25. “He always lives to make intercession for them.” •       Matthew 27:46. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” •       1 Corinthians 2:2. “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” •       1 John 1:7–9. “If we walk in the Light, … the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” •       Romans 10:6–10. “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART.” •       Hebrews 11:1. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” •       Philippians 3:7–14. “I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” •       Philippians 3:15–18. “Many walk, of whom I often told you, … that they are enemies of the cross of Christ.”   Quotes:   •       “The cross will always be with us. Just as we understand that Christ Himself will bear in His body the marks of the cross, the cross itself is existent in the moment. It's existent now in this moment.” •       “If I confess my sin in this moment, then the cross is alive in this moment, and He forgives me in this moment and cleanses me in this moment from all sin and unrighteousness.” •       “There's no knowing of Christ without knowing Him in that moment—in those moments on the cross where He is dying for me and because of me, and He's dying for you and because of you, and He's dying for the whole world, who hopefully at some point will have this revelation and come to the cross.”   Takeaways:   1.    The cross of Christ is more than a historical event that we believe happened. The event of Christ's death and what He accomplished by that on the cross is right now in the moment. And we need to experience that moment daily. 2.    If that seems too mystical, then understand that everything about belief as a Christian is mystical. Everything surrounding our faith in God is mystical because God dwells outside of this realm of time-space that we are bound by. 3.    There is one cross: the cross of Christ. You do not carry a different cross. Everything that you can interpret as your cross—your personal sufferings and sorrows—He bore for you and because of you on His cross. That is the cross that you take up daily to follow Him. 4.    We never outgrow the need of the cross as we progress into the Kingdom of God. Our maturity means knowing Christ and that includes knowing Him on His cross.  

Web Description: The fast of Tisha B'Av this year will be another time of fasting and mourning for the Jewish people. But also this year there are many who cry out as the comforters of God's people—who speak kindly to Jerusalem, and who voice in faith the Words of the Lord that prophesy the rebuilding of the city and the reestablishment of the fortunes of Jacob.   Show Notes: The fast of Tisha B'Av is observed on the ninth day of the month of Av, which in 2024 begins at sundown on August 12 and ends at sundown on August 13. Tisha B'Av is a fast of mourning for the tragic events in Jewish history occurring on the ninth of Av, but primarily for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. The prophecies of Yeshua (Jesus) concerning the destruction of the Second Temple, which are recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, are applicable to this fast.   As Christians we need to see how specific these prophecies are to Jerusalem and to Israel. And it is important that we observe this time with the Jewish people because we have a purpose to fulfill. That purpose, as we read in Isaiah 40, is to comfort God's people. With that purpose in mind, how do we pray for Israel and the Jewish people at this time when they are suffering so much from war and the threat of war? We pray for God's promises of restoration to be fulfilled.   God's promise through Zechariah is that the times of fasting will be replaced by feasts of joy and that the nations will not return to Jerusalem with sword and spear but will go up to the house of the Lord. Also Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos prophesied that the fortunes of Israel and Judah will be restored. We step up to be those who speak kindly to Jerusalem, who comfort God's people, who declare that God will restore their fortunes today.   Key Verses:   •       Luke 21:5–9. “See to it that you are not misled.” •       Matthew 24:1–6. “See to it that no one misleads you.” •       Luke 21:24–28. “Straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” •       Isaiah 40:1–2. “‘Comfort, O comfort My people,' says your God. ‘Speak kindly to Jerusalem.'” •       Zechariah 8:18–23. “The fast … will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts.” •       Isaiah 41:8–14. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” •       Isaiah 61:1–4. “The LORD has anointed me … to comfort all who mourn.” •       Ezekiel 39:25–29. “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel.” •       Amos 9:13–15. “I will restore the captivity of My people Israel.” •       Jeremiah 30:15–20. “I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob.” •       Jeremiah 33:7–9. “I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel.”   Quotes:   •       “When He says, ‘You're going to hear of wars and rumors of wars,' that's significant at the moment because Israel right now is in a war and there are also rumors of another war to take place.” •       “When these things begin, then you're to take a certain position, which is that you're to stand up. You're to lift up your head because your redemption draws near.” •       “It's so easy to look around in this time of mourning to anxiously wonder what will happen. What will tomorrow bring? What are the days ahead going to be like? But He says, ‘Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God.'”   Takeaways:   1.    Tisha B'Av is a time of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the Temple. And this is specifically what Yeshua's prophecies of the end-time are about, as we read in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. We generally apply His prophecies to events taking place in the world. But He was speaking of events that will happen in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, and in Israel. 2.    When we see these things happening, as we are seeing them in Israel today, we are not to be focused on those events. We are to look up. We are to reach into the heavenly places to be focused on God and on Christ and on what they are doing to bring forth the Kingdom. 3.    The command in Isaiah 40 is directed to Gentiles. We are to comfort God's people and speak kindly to Jerusalem. In our prayer and intercession, we need to declare God's promises of restoration to Judah and Israel.  

Web Description: I do not want the crucifixion of Christ to be a distant impersonal event for which I have no responsibility. It must be real to me that Christ died for me and because of me. I believe that we as Christians must keep that uppermost in our minds. I want us to give ourselves to this reality that every day we take up our cross, which is the cross of Christ that He went through for us, and then begin to walk with Him on that basis.   Show Notes: As Christians we all understand that Christ died for our sins, and we can apply that universally to all mankind. Christ died for the whole world to bring salvation to everyone. Yet salvation only works for everyone when it works for each person individually. As an individual you have to realize that Christ did not just die for everyone; He died for you personally. And more than dying for your sins, He died because of your sins.   When Yeshua appeared to him, Paul realized that he personally was sinning directly against Christ. Paul was fully aware that Christ died because of his sin. That was Paul's salvation experience, and that was the revelation Paul lived with every day after that experience. As with Paul, not only does our salvation begin at this revelation, but it must continue throughout our walk with God. What does it mean that you take up your cross daily and follow Him? It means that Christ wants His cross and His suffering for your sin to be extremely personal to you on a daily basis.   It all starts with the reality of the cross and without the reality of the cross, there is no relationship with God. And so, to begin our day in a relationship with Him, we must go to this point of beginning: “He died for me. He died because of me.” No matter how many years you walk with God, no matter how much you grow and mature in the things of God, you must always go back to this point and keep it alive for yourself every day.   Key Verses:   •       Acts 2:36. “God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” •       Acts 4:10. “Jesus Christ … whom you crucified … by this name this man stands here before you in good health.” •       Romans 5:8. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” •       Ephesians 5:2. “Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God.” •       Romans 4:25. “He … was delivered over because of our transgressions.” •       Romans 8:32. “He … did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us.” •       Galatians 2:20. “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” •       1 Peter 2:24. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” •       Isaiah 53:4–6. “Our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.” •       Luke 9:23–24. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily.”   Quotes:   •       “God delivered Christ to the cross as a sacrifice for me, and it was done out of necessity because of my sin. Christ had to die, or I had to die eternal death and damnation without His sacrifice.” •       “Paul's life was being lived against Christ. He was persecuting Christ, not Christians. What he was doing was against Christ. And what Christ was coming to do was to be personally a Savior to him.” •       “He died for me. He died because of me. And I need to go once again to that place of the cross and make that the reality and the most important event in my life, not to mention in my day.”   Takeaways:   1.    Accusing the Jews of crucifying Christ is at the root of anti-Semitism. Not only is it anti-Semitism on the deepest levels, but it separates us from the fundamental truth that the crucifixion of Christ was for our personal sins and because of our personal sins. 2.    Let us not limit the purpose of the cross or generalize the concept of our salvation, and thereby take away from the extremely personal nature of the cross and what we must have as a very personal experience for salvation to be effective in our daily lives. 3.    You cannot separate your cross from the cross of Christ. Christ Himself certainly suffered on that cross. But He was also bearing your sorrow, your grief, and your separation from God because of your sin and disobedience.

Web Description: Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah is called the Prince of Peace because He reconciles us to the Father. Through Him we have shalom, which is expressed in the wholeness and completeness of mankind on the Sabbath when God rested after His works were completed. This is the peace that is ours in the fruit of the Spirit. And we reach in for the Holy Spirit to pour out this expression of God's emotion within us.   Show Notes: When we talk about emotions, we understand that there are human emotions and divine emotions. This includes the emotion of peace. And if we want to understand the emotion of peace only in human terms, we could find many ways that peace is defined and applied in the world today. However, the peace that we have in the fruit of the Spirit is not human peace but the peace that we receive from God. And we need to understand God's definition of peace.   In Hebrew, the word for peace is shalom. And shalom means “to be whole, to be entire, to be complete, to be in safety, and to be in health.” These concepts are distinctly tied to the meaning of the Sabbath. God rested on the Sabbath from all His works because His works were completed. They were perfect. They were whole and entire. Therefore to have the shalom that is the fruit of the Spirit is to have the wholeness and completeness that enables us to enter into the rest or Sabbath of God.   Clearly there is no rest in the world because people are always striving to achieve or enforce peace according to their own definitions. But this striving is directly related to our lack of wholeness and completeness, which only comes through our reconciliation with the Father. And this reconciliation is only brought about by Messiah, who is called the Prince of Peace because He restores our oneness with God, allowing each of us individually to become whole and complete. Only when we individually have shalom in God will we be able to bring peace into the world.   Key Verses:   •       Galatians 5:22–23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” •       Isaiah 9:6. “A son will be given to us; … His name will be called … Prince of Peace.” •       1 Thessalonians 5:23–24. “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely.” •       2 Corinthians 13:11–12. “Live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” •       Hebrews 13:20–21. “The God of peace … equip you in every good thing.” •       Philippians 4:8–9. “Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” •       2 Thessalonians 3:16. “May the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace.”   Quotes:   •       “When we look at human striving that exists around us in the world today, we understand that all striving exists because of our lack of shalom, our lack of completeness. And that of course comes because of our separation from God.” •       “From now on when we greet one another with the word shalom, we realize that we are releasing the ability to be made whole and complete by the peace that God has made available through His great love for us.” •       “The prime objective of God's love is to bring about His peace with each of us personally and individually in order that peace can then encompass the globe.”   Takeaways:   1.    When God completed His creation, which included mankind, He sanctified it, by which man was purified. The Sabbath rest that followed was by the fact that everything was whole and complete, which is the definition of shalom or peace. 2.    This reality was lost by Adam in Eden, and it has left all of mankind trying to figure out what peace is, while striving to accomplish or gain what will make them feel whole and complete. 3.    God has made provision for our peace through His love manifested in Yeshua, who is the physical manifestation of the Day of Atonement. He is the Messiah, the great Prince of Peace, who has come to establish on this earth God's Kingdom of peace. 4.    Peace is only possible when we individually are at peace, having been restored to wholeness through reconciliation with the Father by the Prince of Peace.  

Web Description: We always point to the Day of Pentecost as the moment when the disciples changed. But I do not think we completely realize what changed them. It was the fruit of the Holy Spirit being poured into them. Instead of the negative emotions that had defined their lives, now they were filled with love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, and all of God's emotions that came into them. Lord, we pray for that to be our experience today.   Show Notes: When we think of being filled with the Holy Spirit, we do not usually think of being filled with emotions or functioning by emotions. Yet when we have the fruit of the Spirit, we have emotions like love, joy, and peace. God is love, and love is a key emotion that we are to be filled with as believers. We do not want to be filled only with human love. We want to be filled up to the fullness of the love that comes from God.   That is why the Holy Spirit is such an important answer for our personal deliverance. We may be living in devastation because of emotions connected to a past event. We may have feelings, which are rooted in emotions that prevent us from having the peace that we need. How can we have the perfect love that casts out fear as the Scriptures promise? If we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, then we can be filled with God's emotions to cast out the negative emotions that are restricting us.   As Christians we need to realize the significance of our emotions and accept the Holy Spirit's role in the emotional realm. Emotions connected to painful experiences of the past keep us living in the past. We want to be able to apply the fruit of the Spirit—God's emotions, God's feelings, and God's thinking about a past experience. If we love God and are called according to His purpose, then He can change our negative picture of the past into a positive picture of His purpose in our lives. Lord, help us to walk in this.   Key Verses:   •       1 Thessalonians 5:24. “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” •       Galatians 5:22–23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace ….” •       John 21:16. “‘Simon, … do you love Me?' He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.'” •       1 John 4:16. “God is love.” •       1 John 4:18. “Perfect love casts out fear.” •       Romans 8:28. “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.” •       Revelation 7:17. “God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” •       2 Peter 1:3–4. “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”   Quotes:   •       “Whatever it seems like is going on in your life, I just know there's something bigger going on, which is God fulfilling His purposes in creating you.” •       “The most emotional experience of our existence would be to stand there on that Day of Pentecost experiencing that outpouring and the mighty rushing wind and all that it meant.” •       “I think that our deliverance begins when we are able to have the love cast out the fear, have these emotions of the Holy Spirit cast out the negative emotions.”   Takeaways:   1.    It is more significant than we realize, and more significant than the way we have tried to function in the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit is poured out into us to bring us emotions. That is what the fruit of the Spirit produces within us—emotions like love, joy, and peace. 2.    The Christian Church began with Judaism in the Eastern world. As the Church became Westernized it lost not only its Jewish roots but also the meditative practices of the East. But we need to meditate on the Lord and appropriate what He has provided. 3.    We need God's emotions and His feelings to replace our negative feelings that are rooted in the past. 4.    God lives in eternity and His perspective is born out of eternity. Therefore, He can turn anything into your good because He is seeing not just the end of your life as a human; He is seeing you through an eternal relationship with Himself.

Web Description: Christ appeared the first time to bring salvation by being the sacrifice for sin. Then He appeared a second time to men such as Peter and Paul, not for sin but to deliver them from their reliance on themselves into a reliance wholly on God. We also need to reach into the promise that He will appear a second time to those who eagerly await Him. Lord, appear to us! Make us those whose works are one hundred percent from the throne of God and not mixed with human pride.   Show Notes: We read in Hebrews 9:28 that Christ “will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin.” We know that Christ in His first appearing came for salvation with reference to sin. He came at Passover to be the sacrifice for sin, for the forgiveness of our sins. We also know that Yeshua (Jesus) appeared again to His disciples during the fifty days between Passover and Pentecost. This was a time when the Lord was delivering them from the limitations of their flesh.   Peter for example knew what it was to believe in Yeshua as the Christ, the Messiah. But something more had to happen for Peter. He had to be delivered from his own pride. So Christ appeared to Peter a second time for something beyond the revelation that He was the Messiah, beyond the salvation of forgiving sins. He appeared to Peter to break his spirit and bring a level of humility, without which Peter could never have moved in the apostleship that he was to move in.   Like Peter, if we are to walk in the works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in, we will have to know that there is nothing of ourselves that comes from ourselves, that everything is from Him and by Him. Yes, we believe in the salvation for forgiveness of sins that Christ accomplished at His first appearing. But we need Him to appear to us a second time, as we eagerly await Him, for a salvation from the mixture of flesh and Spirit in our lives that hinders us from walking in the ministry that the world needs in this hour.   Key Verses:   •       Hebrews 9:28. “Christ … will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin.” •       Luke 22:32–34. “Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times.” •       Matthew 16:16–17. “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” •       1 Corinthians 2:8. “If they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” •       1 Corinthians 15:1–5. “He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve.” •       Luke 22:61–62. “Peter … went out and wept bitterly.” •       Ephesians 2:4–9. “It is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” •       Ephesians 2:10. “We are … created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.” •       Philippians 3:4–12. “Not having a righteousness of my own … but … the righteousness which comes from God.”   Quotes:   •       “God is not out of control. God is in absolute control. He knows what He's doing. Listen, He's had this plan for a long time. He's had this plan for so long, He wrote it down in a Book several thousand years ago.” •       “We've had a walk by faith. We've had a walk by revelation. But I think that right now what we have to experience is a walk by grace.” •       “What we've walked in up to this point has been wonderful, especially if you ask us. It's been wonderful because we see the partial as the perfect. And now He's coming to say, “No, it was partial. It was mixed. But now I'm removing the mixture.” What will come will be perfect. And it's going to be a walk of pure grace.”   Takeaways:   1.    During the fifty days between Passover and Pentecost, Christ appeared to Peter to deliver him from the problems of his flesh that would hinder his apostleship. We also have the promise that Christ will appear to us a second time, not to forgive our sins again, but for a salvation from the flesh that is still hindering us. 2.    If satan knew the truth, he would not have crucified Christ. But he is incapable of knowing the truth, and he was so convinced of his own lie and his control of others to carry out his plan that he felt very free to express it. We find this same unrestrained manifestation of satan's lie today. 3.    People can have the same conviction concerning a lie. We have seen Christians with this problem. Are they saved? Yes. Are their sins forgiven? Yes. But are they also arrogant, boastful, and prideful? Yes. We must all admit that we have had this problem at some point in our Christian walk. 4.    The Kingdom of God will not be a mixture of God's works with human fleshly works. Just as Christ appeared to Peter and Paul to deliver them from the proudful reliance on their own flesh, we should have an anticipation that Christ will appear to us to remove that from us once and for all.