Podcasts about Abiram

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 106Part IConfitemini Domino1Hallelujah!Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, *for his mercy endures for ever.2Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord *or show forth all his praise?3Happy are those who act with justice *and always do what is right!4Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people, *and visit me with your saving help;5That I may see the prosperity of your electand be glad with the gladness of your people, *that I may glory with your inheritance.6We have sinned as our forebears did; *we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.7In Egypt they did not consider your marvelous works,nor remember the abundance of your love; *they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.8But he saved them for his Name's sake, *to make his power known.9He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, *and he led them through the deep as through a desert.10He saved them from the hand of those who hated them *and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.11The waters covered their oppressors; *not one of them was left.12Then they believed his words *and sang him songs of praise.13But they soon forgot his deeds *and did not wait for his counsel.14A craving seized them in the wilderness, *and they put God to the test in the desert.15He gave them what they asked, *but sent leanness into their soul.16They envied Moses in the camp, *and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.17The earth opened and swallowed Dathan *and covered the company of Abiram.18Fire blazed up against their company, *and flames devoured the wicked. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsJoel 3:1-2English Standard Version“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,Joel 3:9-17English Standard VersionProclaim this among the nations:Consecrate for war;    stir up the mighty men.Let all the men of war draw near;    let them come up.Beat your plowshares into swords,    and your pruning hooks into spears;    let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”Hasten and come,    all you surrounding nations,    and gather yourselves there.Bring down your warriors, O Lord.Let the nations stir themselves up    and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;for there I will sit to judge    all the surrounding nations.Put in the sickle,    for the harvest is ripe.Go in, tread,    for the winepress is full.The vats overflow,    for their evil is great.Multitudes, multitudes,    in the valley of decision!For the day of the Lord is near    in the valley of decision.The sun and the moon are darkened,    and the stars withdraw their shining.The Lord roars from Zion,    and utters his voice from Jerusalem,    and the heavens and the earth quake.But the Lord is a refuge to his people,    a stronghold to the people of Israel.“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,    who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.And Jerusalem shall be holy,    and strangers shall never again pass through it.1 Peter 1:1-12English Standard VersionPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:May grace and peace be multiplied to you.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 29Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

The passage that we just read comes at the end of a section of narrative in Numbers. It comes right in the middle of the whole section we will cover this morning, which is Numbers 16-19. Not only does it come in the middle of the chapters for this morning, it comes right at the middle of the book of Numbers as a whole. We see at the heart of the book of Numbers, which has been a theme in the Pentateuch as a whole, the question of how can an unholy people come near a Holy God? Or vise versa, how can a Holy God come and dwell in the midst of a sinful people, without them being consumed by his Holy justice? We have seen this focus in the books of Moses (the first 5 book of the Bible). The book placed right in the middle is Leviticus, which gives instruction about sacrifices, laws, and the duties of the priests. And right at the heart of that book, right in the middle, is instructions for the Day of Atonement, where the priest once a year will enter behind the curtain of the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy place, to make atonement for the sins of the nation.So it is not a coincidence that the tabernacle and the priesthood seem to take center stage, once again, in the book of Numbers. We will return to that theme at the end this morning. But first, we are going to look at what comes prior to this story, and what comes after it.In Chapter 16, we see three distinct acts of judgement connected with rebellion, grumbling and unbelief. After the three acts of judgement, we will look at three provisions from God for the people of Israel in Chapters 17, 18, and 19. That is the high level outline this morning; 3 acts of judgment, and 3 acts of provision.Would you pray with me as we get started?1. Three acts of Judgment from God (Ch. 16:1-40, 41-50)Hear again verses 12 and 13,“And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Everyone who comes near, who comes near the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?”This is the desperate question we see in response to all that has happened in chapters 16 and 17. Death, because of God's judgment related to sin, is all over the camp. So let's look back at the acts of judgment that led up to the people crying out to Moses. The first story incapsulates two of these acts of wrath.Korah's Rebellion (Numbers 16:1–19)Numbers 16:1-19,Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.Korah, who was a leader among the Levites, has banded together with Dathan and Abiram, who are leaders from the tribe of Rueben. They have gathered 250 well-known leaders, from the whole camp to come and rebel against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. This is not a small group of complainers, this an organized revolt that has a sizable group with it. Besides the leaders mentioned, there are 250 well-known leaders that have joined in along with them. We need to see a few things here to appreciate the magnitude of what is going on. First lets do a historical fly by. Here we'll see revelation and rivalry…Starting back in Genesis, in Genesis 49, Jacob calls his 12 sons together so that he may tell them “what shall happen to [them] in days to come.” And in his speaking to each of them, it says that he “blessed them, blessing each with a blessing suitable to him.”Genesis 49 gives us prophetic blessings, that fit his sons and will play out in the coming generations. It gives us revelation into the coming days. There are three things to see in the first few blessings:To Rueben, the firstborn, he says: “[you are] preeminent in power, but you will not have preeminence”To Levi, he says: Their “weapons of violence are their swords.” Their anger is fierce and their wrath, cruel. God says: “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”To Judah, he says: “your brothers shall praise you.” “The scepter shall not depart from Judah.” Exodus 32 gives us a glimpse of this playing out for the Levites. This is the infamous story of the golden calf. Moses has been up on the mountain for a while and the people become restless. Along with Aaron, they make themselves an image to worship. Moses comes down and sees the wickednesses of the camp and how Aaron has let them stray. Moses says, “‘Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me' And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.” They are then commanded to slaughter the wickedness around them and about 3,000 fell that day. And Moses said,“…today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and his brother, so that He [God] might bestow a blessing upon you this day.” (Exodus 32:29).The Levites are blessed for their faithfulness to God and execute his judgement. We see their warrior-like fierceness, and an ordaining that will fulfill what is said back in Genesis.Numbers 2 gives us a glimpse of these “prophetic blessings” playing out for the tribes of Judah and Rueben. As the camp is ordered, Judah is placed in the first position over all his brothers, first in the first camp which will be on the east. While Rueben is listed as first in the camp on the south side, the second camp.This is the same order used when it comes to Numbers 7 with the contributions for the tabernacle. Judah goes first. The firstborn tribe of Reuben is not the leader, the tribe of Judah is.In Numbers 3, we see the redeeming of the firstborn from all the tribes. So rather than all the firstborns, being taken to serve before the Lord, they are redeemed and replaced by all the sons of Levi. The firstborns of the tribes are swapped out for the whole tribe of Levi. Service of the Lord before the tabernacle is concentrated under the Levites. So what may have been brewing for quite some time, is rivalry among family as God's revelation starts to take place. God has chosen leaders different than the natural order.And it just so happens, that Korah, Dathan and Abiram all camp together in the south camp, so they have had some time to talk. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram suspect that Moses and Aaron have carved out their own position of power, which they think they have equal or greater right to. (But we have seen this many times already in scripture, that God's choosing is not restricted by natural order. And there issue is ultimately with God, although they focus the blame on Moses and Aaron).We see their astounding wickedness.Last week Pastor Mike Schumann highlighted how unbelief adds and removes things from what is true. And in this passage we see much of the same: They disregard God's choosing and say that Moses and Aaron have gone too far by exalting themselves over the people of Israel. Their plea is that “everyone is Holy,” yet they really just want to lead. They are suspicious and suspect that Moses and Aaron seek to punish or kill the men who have confronted them by exposing their ploy for power over the people of Israel. They say: “Will you put out the eyes of these men?” They describe Moses as making himself prince over them, so they won't take any of his commands anymore… “Don't tell us to come up to the tabernacle.”They give a jaw dropping account of what has transpired:“Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself prince over us?” (Num. 16:13).A land flowing with milk and honey in the Bible is exclusively used to describe the promised land, that they refused to go into only a few chapters earlier. And here, this wicked rebellion describes Egypt as a land flowing with milk and honey that Moses has taken the people from.This is absolutely stunning, I don't even know what to say…We see the power of sin and unbelief.We either have men who have been jealous of Moses and Aaron this whole time, despite God's provision through them again and again, and now see an opportunity to overthrow them because they have not received the Promise Land… They are unchanged by example after example of God's grace….Or, we have sin and unbelief that is so potent that these men change their opinion of all that has happened. They so quickly see it all differently now, because they don't like their circumstances. Their unbelief darkens them to all God has done, and in borderline blasphemy, they call Egypt “a land flowing with milk and honey!”A word for us here: Be careful to not get caught up in the sins of others. Gossip, slander, grumbling. Do not get entangled in the sin of others. A few men of the camp, maybe talking to much around the campfire, ended up gathering 250 known leaders, which will lead to the demise of them all.So the rebellion, with leaders from the tribe of Levi, and Reuben, and 250 other notable leaders, who likely have natural first born privileges, contend with Moses and Aaron, and this is taking place in two different places, with two different challenges. And the Lord will respond with 2 different and fitting judgements. You have the 250, with Korah standing before the tabernacle, and you have Dathan and Abiram staying in their own camp.These two locations highlight two different challenges to Moses and Aaron. One to Aaron and his Priesthood, and one to Moses and authority.Korah, a leading Levite, desires to lead the Priesthood and kick Aaron aside. Dathan and Abiram, are done taking instructions from Moses and seek to lead.And as the stage is set “the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.” The Lord tells Moses and Aaron to separate so that God can consume them all. Moses pleads for the people to not be killed based on one mans rebellion. God tells them to command the people to separate from the camp of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. So Moses goes to them and commands the people to separate, and says, verses 28-30,“Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD”. And immediately as Moses finishes speaking, the Lord acts in judgement. To those who contend against the leadership of Moses, and seek to exalt themselves over the Lord's chosen, they are brought down alive into the earth. And to those who contended against Aaron as the high priest, their incense is not accepted and, verse 35, “a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men.”This was a terrible and fearful day in the camp of Israel, a significant rebellion which was against God, experiences of just wrath directly from Him. God defends Moses and Aaron. We would think that the people now see, but it is about to get worst. Verse 41,“But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron and said ‘You have killed the people of the LORD.'”The very next day, those who survived put their lot in with those who were judged in Korah's rebellion, and sided with them! One of the literary themes in this passage is the assembly of God versus the assembly of Korah. Those who belong to Yahweh, and those who “belong to Korah.”The very next day the people cry out and complain that Moses and Aaron have killed the true people of the LORD. Then the glory of the Lord appeared again. God tells Moses and Aaron to separate from the people again, and they hear that a plague has already started to wipe out the people.Moses commands Aaron to light his censor from off the altar and to run into the midst of the people, to make atonement for them, and he ran and stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was stopped. And when the plague had subsided, he returned to Moses. 14,700 died that day, in addition to all who were killed the day before.Here is the scary thing: Our hearts have the same seeds of sin and unbelief as Israel in the wilderness. They have that same capacity for wickedness, slander and unbelief. If not for the grace of God, we would fall into the same suspicion, the same grumbling, they same self-deception, the same unbelief. Our ability to deceive ourselves should be terrifying. Apart from God's grace and work, that is the capacity of your heart!You need to see that. You need to understand that. And when you do, the grace and rescue of Jesus looks like amazing news. We understand the “power of the gospel for salvation.” It was no small thing to save you, it took supernatural power, for God to overcome your sin and your heart, so that you may be alive, to see and believe in him. And not have eyes that are so blind to his grace and provision over and over again.Death is all over the camp of Israel. But God is committed to his people. And in chapters 17, 18, and 19, we see three provisions for Israel which bring hope and stability.2. Three acts of provisions for life from God (Ch. 17, 18, 19).Provision of the priest, provision for the levites, and provision for the rest of the camp.1. God Reaffirms leadership and the priesthood in the camp (Ch. 17).God reestablished the order that was for Israel's good. The wheels have been coming off, it was all falling apart, and God reestablished order out of increasing chaos. He does not abandon his plan or try something different, but he establishes again the order of the community that was given prior and brings it back into shape and form.12 staffs are brought, one from each tribe of Israel. Aaron's staff is placed among them and they are all brought into the tent of meeting, so that God will show his people who is Holy and who he has chosen by making their staff bud.Aaron's staff alone is chosen, it not only buds, but bears fruit and undeniably shows that the Lord has still chosen Aaron and the Levites to be near his house.And God says, verse 10, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumbling against me, lest they die.”God graciously gives the people a sign of his chosen leadership, and it is a perpetual sign to hold back the grumblings of rebels so they don't die.Much like the censors of the 250 that were taken and hammered out as a cover for the altar, to remind and warn the people that only the sons of Aaron can come near and offer incense on the altar.These signs don't remove the wickedness in Israel, but are described as holding it back, stopping it from breaking through to cause death.2. God reaffirms the duties of the priests and Levites (Ch. 18).Numbers 18:1–3,So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die.”The Levites will serve with the priest, they will guard and help, and bear the burden together. There is mutual responsibility, a failure in duty could cause both to die. And they will serve as a buffer between God and the people.God also gives provisions to the Levites, because they will not have an inheritance in the land. They will be provided for by what is brought to the Lord. And as we zoom forward to Numbers 35 we see this fulfilled as they are given cities throughout the land, but not given their own portion. Sound familiar?Genesis 49, “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”We see the fulfilling of what was spoken of them back in Genesis. They are a warring people that will be scattered among the people of Israel, but they also stood by Moses and the Lord at the golden calf, and have been ordained to the burden and privilege of serving before the Lord. 3. God provides purification from death to enter back into the camp (Ch. 19).Numbers 19:2–5,“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come. And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned.”There are some similarities in this offering and the offering on the Day of Atonement. Both involve action outside of the camp and both are entrance rites. The Day of Atonement sacrifices were to cleanse the priest so he may enter the Most Holy place. The red heifer ashes were to cleanse those who had been near death so that they may be cleansed and return back into the camp. The Lord provided entrance back into the camp for those who were ceremonially unclean.Only through the Priesthood of AaronBefore we close, we need to return to the miracle of Aaron's staff flowering, and what it means.For Israel, God is saying: Only Aaron and his sons may come near … Aaron's staff buds, shoots, blossoms and bears fruit. The other staffs remain dead sticks. There aren't many ways to the presence of Yahweh. Only through a sacrifice for sin mediated through whom God has chosen. And when Israel saw this, they responded with great fear.But, God is also saying: I will bless all the people through Aaron and his sons. Them coming near to God was not for them alone, but for all the people. It was not a sign of death on the other leaders, but a sign of life for all through the mediation of the Levites. Aaron will stand in the gap between death and life for them.There is another place in which we have heard a description like this before. Of branches, and blossoms and fruit. It's the golden lampstand, with its seven branches and cups like almonds blossoms.The lampstand gave light to the Holy place, and shined on the 12 loaves of bread that represent the tribes. The priests were also to put Yahweh's name on the people of Israel by saying “may the Lord bless you, and keep you, may the LORD makes his face to shine upon you...”Aaron's staff shows once again that the Lord through His priests will abundantly bless his people and will shine on them. There is abundant life and blessing that is still offered to the people of Israel. God has not left his people, He will still dwell in their midst, and he will hold back their sin until he one day conquers and removes it for good. And we have the greater reality. Jesus stands in the gap for us, between life and death, but more than holding back sin and death, he defeats it. God will bless us, and keep us, and make His face to shine upon us, but only through the mediation of Jesus. Jesus is the only way back to God.Israel problem wasn't their circumstances, it was their unbelieving hearts. Better food won't make them believe, better land won't make them believe, rescue from wrath over and over won't make them believe. And apart from Christ, our hearts are the same. But God, through Christ, has given us new hearts. And because of this, we will make it though our own wilderness. We won't make it because God gives us favorable circumstances, but because we have faith in the Son of God who loved us and died for us. The TableThe only way to be reconciled to God is through Jesus. And that is what this table represents. Jesus's sacrifice cleanses our consciences, and gives us new hearts. Hebrew 9 says exactly this as it looks back at Numbers 19. It says:“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”His life, death, and resurrection is for you. If you believe in Jesus, you are welcome to this table.

Although not every event in Israel's wilderness wandering is recorded, the rebellion led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram typifies the rebelliousness of the older generation. Although the descendants of Kohath already hold the honored position of carrying the holy things of the tabernacle, still they desire for themselves the priestly service given to Aaron. Likewise, the descendants of Reuben desire the authority given to Moses.  The LORD deals swiftly with this rebellion by opening the earth to swallow up Korah and his company. The LORD provided a physical reminder of this event in a covering that was made for the altar.   Rev. Jason Schockman, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Oconomowoc, WI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Numbers 16:1-40.  "Wilderness Wanderings” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Numbers. After the LORD delivers His people from slavery in Egypt, He leads them toward the Promised Land. Although the first generation of Israelites proves faithless, the LORD remains faithful to His people and brings a new generation of Israelites to the plains of Moab. This strengthens us to listen to God's promises today and stay faithful to Him as He guides us toward resurrection life. 

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 106Part IConfitemini Domino1Hallelujah!Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, *for his mercy endures for ever.2Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord *or show forth all his praise?3Happy are those who act with justice *and always do what is right!4Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people, *and visit me with your saving help;5That I may see the prosperity of your electand be glad with the gladness of your people, *that I may glory with your inheritance.6We have sinned as our forebears did; *we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.7In Egypt they did not consider your marvelous works,nor remember the abundance of your love; *they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.8But he saved them for his Name's sake, *to make his power known.9He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, *and he led them through the deep as through a desert.10He saved them from the hand of those who hated them *and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.11The waters covered their oppressors; *not one of them was left.12Then they believed his words *and sang him songs of praise.13But they soon forgot his deeds *and did not wait for his counsel.14A craving seized them in the wilderness, *and they put God to the test in the desert.15He gave them what they asked, *but sent leanness into their soul.16They envied Moses in the camp, *and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.17The earth opened and swallowed Dathan *and covered the company of Abiram.18Fire blazed up against their company, *and flames devoured the wicked. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons2 Kings 21:1-18English Standard Version21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1English Standard Version14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 22Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Pemberontakan Korah, Datan, dan Abiram

The Word is Our Standard   (audio)   David Eells (9/15/24)  We see in Hebrews 2:2For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; 3 how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard.   How shall we escape if we neglect this wonderful salvation? What is salvation? Well, it's Jesus. You want to see what salvation looks like? Look at Jesus. When you get saved and filled and sanctified, look at Jesus because He said, ….behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. You're coming into the image of Jesus. That was God's plan from the beginning.   Let me just point out a few verses to give you the flavor of this teaching and then the Good News at the end. It says in verse Luk 21:10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; (That certainly sounds a little like our time.) 11 and there shall be great earthquakes, (that certainly sounds like our day, doesn't it?) and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven. (Again, this sounds like warnings for our day and the days that are coming, right?)   Verse 25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; (We're certainly seeing that) and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (and they have been shaking.)   And verse 34 But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting(Overindulging in things of the world), and drunkenness(Not seeing things in reality.), and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare: And it will; it is coming as a snare, the Lord has shown us.)   35 for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. We know that there are those who dwell in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, by abiding in His Word and Spirit. But this is going to come upon those that dwell on the Earth; they're earthly bound.   36 But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. What do we need to do to be counted worthy to escape? Well, one verse that comes to me is Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; And we know that this means that we need to have the renewed mind of the Word. We need to agree with the Word when it speaks about what is sin and what is our sin. And we need to agree with the Word when it speaks about justification through faith and the blood of Jesus when we repent of our sins. If we don't repent of our sins, we don't really get that.   So …let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, Justified means accounted righteous. To escape all these things, you have to be accounted righteous, and you have to agree with God. Some people because of their pride, they pervert and twist the word, or they just don't apply the Word, so they neglect their salvation. That thou mightest be justified in thy words. (Your words have to justify you so that you can have God's benefits.) And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment,   Is judgment coming upon the world? Everybody that really, truly knows God knows that it is, and that it's here now. So, we need to escape. We need to be justified by our words by agreeing with God, by being humble enough to say, “Yes, Lord, this is right and I am wrong, and I have sinned; and I need you. And I thank You, Father for Jesus bearing this curse upon Himself.” Now, in willful disobedience, you don't have any benefit of the Passover Lamb because if we sin willfully after we receive a knowledge of the truth, there remains no sacrifice for sin; Heb 10:26. So don't sin willfully; if you do sin, do it in failure. But don't do it willfully.   Also, you probably know this by heart: Rom 10:10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (See something has to start in the heart. You have to believe; you can't be self-deluded and grow in your salvation, which is, as we said, Christ in you.)   … and with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. That is in the thoughts of your heart you believe unto righteousness; believing what God says about you and what He says about your future. Now the devil has to change this in some kind of a way in your mind about your circumstances. He has to get you to believe something else because salvation is sure if you do this. He has to pervert the Truth. Many people act as though they believe they're under the authority of the devil and are not justified in that. And if you know that you're not under the authority of the devil, why are you not walking out from under there? Because faith without works is dead, right? You have to get up and walk in the light by faith in God. Amen   We see in Rom 12:2 And be not fashioned according to this world: In other words, don't be molded by the world around you, the circumstances, the curse that was passed down to you. Don't be molded by anything but the Word of God. The Word of God gives you authority over all the power of the enemy. People who are not taking that authority are just going around in a circle in the wilderness, not getting to their promised land. So, He says, … And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,… Now let's see, God says if you're transformed, it's because your mind is renewed. So if you renew your mind, you'll be transformed. Just to pound the point home.   If you're not being transformed, your mind mind isn't being renewed. Are you believing with your heart? Are you confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Savior? If you're not continuing to renew your mind, you're not continuing to be transformed. If in some area of your life you're not transformed, you haven't repented and believed. You have not renewed your mind. You have not said, “God, You are right here, this is truth.” Are you seeking out your own salvation with fear and trembling? The Holy Book is what God renews your mind with and with that, you are transformed.   He says …that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In other words, we can't say that we abide in Him unless we walk as He walked. If we want to walk as He walked, we have to have a renewed mind. We have to repent and believe. Concentrate when you read the Word and do not quickly pass up any point where your conscience convicts you. That's how you renew your mind. Repent means change your mind, believe what God says to believe. Well, it really is always simple so us children can receive it. People have to make it complicated to not understand it, and the simplest of minds can understand it. It's a gift from God, He draws us unto Himself. The theologians couldn't understand it but the fisherman and tax collectors could.  So what is our warfare? Our warfare is to renew our mind and not accept the things that have been programmed in there through our history, through our sins, through what was passed down through our parents and through demonic bondages. The devil seeks to and must convince us of something other than the Word of God in order to take authority over us. When you see somebody that stays under the authority of the devil, they are not repenting, they are not believing the Word. We see that, …with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. They are not acting on the Word. They are not being transformed because they're not believing and confessing the Word. There is a stronghold.   We are told in 2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (Yes, and many Christians get caught up in warring according to the flesh. And God doesn't give any victory there. We have to go by the rules, right? And the rules restrain us from fleshly warfare. The spiritual man has dominion, not the flesh. So we have to fight a spiritual warfare.) 4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds).  Strongholds are places where the enemy has dominion. Where he has not been routed out; he has not been attacked with the Word and cast out. A stronghold is a place where Satan rules because of ‘reasonings or imaginations' that are against God because the next verse says,)   5 casting down imaginations.. There is all kinds of reasonings that are against the Word of God, that the devil has put there in order to protect his ground. He does not want you to renew your mind. If you do, he loses his house! So he has to convince you that those reasonings are reasonable and to be accepted. Those imaginations that are against God have to be accepted by you to give the devil this stronghold. He wants to have this control in your house.   All who receive the Holy Spirit as they did in the book of Acts with gifts will have power and discernment over the devil and his demons to destroy those strongholds. It was expected of those who got saved to be filled with the Holy Spirits power.  Back to our text …Casting down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. There it is, carnal worldly thinking and dead religion will keep us from knowing our rights and the devil will be sure to take advantage of that. So be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The devil wants, at all costs, to keep you from knowing about your authority over him. Luk 10:19-20 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. 20 Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. But he has to deceive you out of this authority because he has no legal right to keep that ground if you know this. That ground was given to you by Jesus Christ. You ‘behold Christ in the mirror' by faith, right? The Israelites took that ground as they put their trust in God and they lost ground when they put their trust in themselves. The old man took over the promised land or kept it, and he had no legal right to it.   Verse 6 and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full. Jesus said, ‘get the board out of your eye so you can see clearly to get the moat out of your brother's eye'. Be careful, don't let the devil distract you into judging other people because there's unforgiveness, criticism and every foul work there. People that get caught up in that do not grow, they fall away. That's the way God generally treats people who judge and criticize and slander and so on. They always fall away. Always, without exception.   And 2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, (There's as many Jesus's out there as there are Christian religions.) or if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with him. God demands repentance. He demands that we hold strictly to the Word so that we cannot be deceived. We should say, “the sum of thy word, is truth” Psa 119:160, so that we cannot be deceived.   We can be continually transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, if we'll continually repent. If we'll continually change our mind, we'll be transformed by the renewing of the mind! So we have to hold to the Standard, and that is the sum of thy Word; not just a little bit here and a little bit there. We see all kinds of doctrines made-up that way.   Now I'm going to Pro 4:10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many. 11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness. (Seek wisdom, seek knowledge, and be seeking to have a transformed mind. The renewed mind is most important.) 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straightened; (In other words, your steps will not be conformed or limited. You have a lot of freedom when you are full of the Word of God. But there's a lot of bondage when you're not full of the Word of God and you cannot be trusted by God, so He limits your walk. We walk into a large place the Bible speaks about when we walk into the freedom of Jesus Christ.)   12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straightened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. (Yes, people who stumble are in darkness, so get out of the darkness, get into the Light, get into the instruction of the Lord.) 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.Notice, instruction from the Lord, instruction from a wise Father like Solomon. The words of Solomon which he taught to his sons. Don't be talked out of the Word of God by deluding spirits because they cater to your flesh.   And 14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on. 16 For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. Yes they are continually on their beds calculating how they can come against their enemies or how they can answer, or retaliate, or how they can criticize or destroy someone else, because that's what the devil does. He has to program you.   But you have to be programmed by the Word of God. The restraint of the Word of God puts you on your cross. But these people can't sleep because they're continually thinking about what they can do to someone else because of their competition, jealousy, or anger.   17 For they eat the bread of wickedness. When a person is partaking of that, they are not partaking of the clean Bread of the Word of God. It's the bread of wickedness. When you're giving your mind over to Satan to speak to you against other people, that is the bread of wickedness.   …And drink the wine of violence. Wine is intoxicating. The violent and the people who retaliate, they feel a high when they've been vindicated by their own violence. But they're killing themselves and they don't know it.   18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, They are seeing more and more light until the perfect day comes, which is when the sun is straight up and there's no shadows. And it says, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. There's no shadows, it's all Light. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble. Yeah, you can look at the people who are overcome by wickedness and you think, ‘how foolish.' But they can't see it. They think they are wise. They don't even know at what they stumble.   20 My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Hear them; not just know them. People like to know them, and they think they're something because they know them. But it's only if you hearken are they going to do you any good. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; David said, “I will put no evil thing before my eyes.”  Keep them in the midst of thy heart. When they are in the midst of thy heart, they are life! Your ‘thoughts' is what He's talking about. Again, being transformed by the renewing of your mind. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh. Notice, a renewed mind is a healthy flesh. The flesh is where you get chastening from the Lord. The things that hurt, things that come against your flesh are chastening. And many of God's people are under chastening of the Lord for their sins and for their rebellion against the Word. But a person who has a renewed mind, can have healthy flesh.   23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life. Life comes out of your own heart when it is renewed with the Word of God. They are life unto those that find them. That's His Word, the Word of God! You want life? The renewed mind is the way be transformed; that's Life. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.   A condition is in 24 Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee. As we read earlier, …with the heart believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. If we confirm the Word in our hearts, if we confess Him before men, Who is the Word, we will have Life. But a wayward mouth speaks out of an evil heart; a heart that's not transformed. Just as the words of Life come out of you as Life and brings Life to everything around you, like the river in the Book of Revelation that brought Life. Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. So a wayward mouth brings destruction and death and perverse lips put far from thee, 25 Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee. In other words, don't get them out of the path of life; fill them with scripture.   And it says in Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear: What does regard mean? It means to give heed to, to have respect of, to listen to. What is iniquity in your heart? Well, again, we're talking about those thoughts that defile a man. Giving heed to these thoughts in your heart that are not of God. The devil keeps many people in bondage and they've been that way from their youth because they had the sins passed on from the parents through their blood. Demons get passed on from their inheritance, or sins they received later. These demons rule and they reign from these high places and from these strongholds. The only way they can be taken down is repentance and faith through confession. They don't have a right there. Jesus took away their rights to be there.   If you regard iniquity in your heart, these evil thoughts and reasonings that are against the word of God, then the Lord will not hear you. That's what He says in that verse. In other words, He doesn't forgive you. You don't have forgiveness because you're following, listening to, heeding, hearkening to the devil. Jesus said that If you're not for Him, you're against Him.   Now we're still talking about, how are we going to escape? We cannot neglect our salvation. We're talking about the manifestation of this salvation. And then we read in Ecc 1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. Wow, there must be a lot of it, right? Wanting means falling short of. And Ecc 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? Who can straighten it out? No one but Him! So therefore what we have to do is have the renewed mind which is His mind. Then He can straighten it out. Psychiatrists can't straighten it out.   This reminds me of a time when Michael and I were building a table and everything looked real good until the last board for the tabletop. And when we put the last board up against the nice straight boards, we could tell there was a gap in the middle, it touched on both ends, but there was a gap in the middle. And so it is when you're around people that are straight and somebody ‘crooked' gets around them; he sticks out like a sore thumb, doesn't he?    And how can you take that board if you've only got just so much to cut on there because you don't want to lose the width of the whole tabletop right? You only have so much to cut so you can take that board and stick it in a table saw. And if the board is longer than the guide of the saw is wide, and you run it through there, it'll just put the same curve right back in it. You'll just put the same bow right back in and you stick it through there until you don't have enough wood left to use your tabletop.   So the only way to correct it is to go back to the standard. Unless you have a guide on your saw that's twice as long as the board you can't cut a curvature, or the warpage out of that board. And that's because the guide slips up into it, it gives way to the warpage. It goes into the warpage, so it just follows around it. Then you cut the warp in it again. So what you can do is you can get a straight board as a standard.   Now we know Who the straight Board is. It's Jesus! He is our Standard. If you don't go by the standard, no matter what you do, that's going to be a crooked table. And Jesus is our Standard; He is straight. If you want know what straight is, what right is, you look at Jesus. Now you can take a straight board like Jesus and you can lay it on top of that other board and use it as a straight edge and mark it and then cut it with a saw and it will be straight. If not, it's going to be crooked, there's nothing you can do about it. You've got to go back to the Standard, just exactly like we're reading here in Proverbs, and reading in Romans. You must go back to the Standard.   If you build a house and you don't start by squaring the house, everything in the house will be crooked. Because you're laying things up against things that are crooked, they will all become crooked. If you have a nice square wall and you throw a piece of plywood up there, or you throw a piece of sheetrock up there, it's going to fit, and the next one will fit and the next one will fit. Otherwise, you're going to spend an awful lot of time and money cutting things to fit a house that's not square and it'll drive you crazy. It will be a waste because you did not square it from the beginning and keep it square as you went, right?   A square is a standard. You can build many things on the sand, but if you haven't laid it on the Standard, which is the Rock, it's never going to be right and it will not hold up to the problems of life, the troubles, the tribulations; it just will not hold up. You can use a Plumb Bob to find out what is upright. We know what upright means to us, right? It means righteous; it means right, and pure.   You could use a Plumb Bob and it always is going to tell you the truth as long as there's gravity, it's going to tell you the truth. But you've got to use a standard. If you don't go back to the standard, everything you build on it will be crooked. Your house will be crooked, your table will be crooked, and everybody will look at that and know you don't know what you're doing.   So, we have to get back to the Standard. If you've got a problem, if you've got something crooked in your life, you've got to go back to the Standard. You've got to change your mind; you've got to be renewed in your mind so you can be transformed. And each one of us is a house that's being built. And some of us are master craftsmen and some of us are not because they don't know the principles of going back to the Standard, Who is Jesus.   And one thing we have to do in order to renew our minds so that we can go on is make sure that we're thinking on the right things. Paul tells us how to think inPhp 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,… Now, is it true? How do you know it's true? Have you ever had a thought in your mind about a brother? Is it true? How do you know it's true? Did you go by the rules? Did you receive it not unless you had two or three witnesses, as the Bible commands? Is it the Word of God? Is it in agreement with the Word of God? If it's “no”, it's not true. The word of God lays down the rules. If you don't go back to the rules, you're building a crooked house and everything you put on it after that is going to be crooked. Nothing is going to be right.   …whatsoever things are honorable, Is it honorable? Is your thought honorable? Is it a good thing? Is it something you could say openly without being embarrassed? Well, maybe it's not honorable then. Are you saying something behind somebody's back that you wouldn't say to their face? Well, then you're not honorable. You're crooked. …whatsoever things are just, So are your thoughts justice; is it God's justice? Is it the world's justice? Is it right? Is it correct?   whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely (God says a lot of lovely things about us in His Word.), whatsoever things are of good report(You remember the guys that brought back the bad report about the Promised Land? They made the heart of the people fail. They spoke the word of the devil. They didn't bring back the faithful report of what God said about it and they're still not doing that. They don't believe you can even take the Promised Land and those guys are all going to die in the wilderness.)   … if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (He wants us to meditate on the good things. As we've said before, you can always tell the bad things by knowing the good things, but you can't study enough of the bad things to know all bad things. It would take you too many lifetimes. But the good is the Standard, that's what we need to keep in our minds. That's what we need to know and know it well, because anything that doesn't measure up to the Standard is wrong.)   9 The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you. You'll live in peace. Praise be to God! The things that you see in the apostle Paul, mimic; he is showing us the Standard. Now, the devil doesn't want you to think on all these things. Because you're renewing your mind when you do. You're casting out thoughts that are those strongholds he put there, when you think on these things.   So now I'm going to Jas 4:6-12 But he giveth more grace. (We need more grace, don't we?) Wherefore the scripture saith,God resisteth the proud, (Proud people will not speak in agreement with God's word, because it's humbling.) but giveth grace to the humble. (We need to humble ourselves to the Standard. Like laying that crooked board up to a straight one, it's the crooked one that needs to be fixed. Now you can take that same crooked board and use it for a standard but the whole tabletop will be crooked. They'll all fit together but you've got a crooked top. It doesn't measure up to the Standard and so “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”. If you copy the crooked, then you've lost the Standard and it's corrupt. It's not worth having.)   7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (Why does he flee? Because he has no authority if you submit to God. If you let Him straighten you out, if you receive His straight thoughts, His good thoughts, the devil will flee because he has no authority and he knows it. Sadly many Christians don't know the Gospel and that the devil has no authority when you submit to the Standard.)   8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (This actually means two-souled. There's the soul of the flesh (worldly thinking), and then there's the soul of the spirit. A person cannot quite walk straight when they're double minded. They need to spend more time in the Word, to give them a Standard so they can be renewed in their minds, be transformed by the Word.)   9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: (That sounds like repentance to me.) let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. 11 Speak not one against another,brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, (He's not receiving those good thoughts.) speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.   12 One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? Don't let critical thoughts into your mind. Don't let jealousy, wrath, slanderous thoughts come into your mind against someone else that has no foundation because you haven't submitted to the Standard. You have no right to think things that have no biblical foundation. The devil puts them there on purpose because he wants to defile you. And speaking of defilement, you know that according to the scriptures, if a person is defiled, they cannot partake of the Passover, which means they cannot escape. Passover is when the death angel passes over you because you're living under the blood of Jesus Christ.   Now I'm going to Mar 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, (It's what's in your heart that really counts here.) and goeth out into the draught? This he said, making all meats clean. (No matter what you've heard about having to abstain from certain meats, that's the doctrine of demons according to the scriptures. The parable there means to not partake of unclean animals, beasts, all their false natures and so on. Jesus made it plain. He's talking about what goes into the heart, that defiles a man or what comes out of the heart, that defiles him.)   20 And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed (Thoughts that are contrary to God's Word.), fornications, thefts, murders,adulteries (If you hate your brother, you're a murderer, Jesus said. And adulteries, if you lust after someone in your heart, you've committed adultery, right?),   22 covetings, (Desiring something that's not yours.) wickednesses, (that covers a lot, doesn't it) deceit, (People who love to dwell on deceit do so because it permits them to do whatever they want and live after the lust of their flesh.) lasciviousness, (which is a license to do excess, what you want, to overindulge in things.) an evil eye, (an eye not single on the things of God.) railing, (People who rail against people do so from anger, unforgiveness and criticism.) pride, (It doesn't let someone repent, they're good enough like they are. They're maybe proud of their heritage from their natural parents, which is foolishness. That's the next word.) foolishness: 23 all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.   So how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Amen. I tell you God's word is awesome! I mean, if you don't love it, ask Him to make you love it! Because it's for your own good that you spend time with the Word of God.   I'm going next to Luk 6:39 And he spake also a parable unto them, Can the blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit? (That's like taking a crooked board to use for a straight edge.) 40 The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher. (You got to make sure your Teacher is the Lord, Who is the Word, and it's Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and Paul and Peter. Make sure these are your teachers, and if you're listening to anyone who's not teaching what's there, you're getting away from the Standard; you'll never be perfected. You'll never be transformed, and you will not escape as we've seen.)   41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, (These are people who are critical of other people, judgmental of others, correcting others when they're doing the same themselves.) cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. (You must have the Standard in you before you can pass it on. If anybody uses you as a straight edge, are you going to corrupt the whole building, the whole table? Many of these went to Bible school and they're corrupting everybody. Just like the rest of the Pharisees that they were born from.)   Luk 6:43 For there is no good tree that bringeth forth corrupt fruit; nor again a corrupt tree that bringeth forth good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; (Again your life proceeds from the thoughts that are in your heart.) and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (So we got to get back to the Standard and lay the right foundation and the foundation has got to be right. Not the sinking sand of man's ways.)   Here's a good word about standards in Amo 7:1 Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, he formed locusts (That sounds like the army that destroyed God's people in Joel 2. It represents demon forces that have come against God's people to take away their fruit and blessings.)in the beginning of the shootingup of the latter growth; (You know how a nice rain causes the grass to suddenly shoot up? Well, that's because it just loves that nitrogen. You can water it with your hose for a week and you won't get that result. This latter growth is at the time of the latter rain, which we're about to receive.) and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. (We have certainly seen the King's mowings. He's been cutting down the grass and Peter said, ‘All flesh is as grass.' So this fruit is going to come after the King's mowings and He's been cutting down the flesh!)   2 And it came to pass that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? For he is small. (In other words, ‘There's a lot of flesh, Lord, and if he eats up that flesh, there won't be anything left.' Well, some people are small in God. And if their flesh gets eaten up, there's nothing left. We have to be gradually transformed by the renewing of our minds.)   3 Jehovah repented concerning this: It shall not be, saith Jehovah. (Well, that was the first threatened judgement.) 4 Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land. 5 Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease,I beseechthee: how shall Jacob stand? For he is small. 6 Jehovah repented concerning this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord Jehovah. (That's the second threat, answered by mercy.)   7 Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall (A wall is separation from the world outside, it represents sanctification or holiness. It means a renewed mind.) made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 8 And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. A Plumb line is this, you put a Plumb Bob on the end of that line and you hold it up and it shows you what's straight up and down because the Plumb Bob hangs down by gravity; it is a law. It tells you according to the law what is upright. That's what a plum line and the Bible does.)   Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; (In other words, He's going to check them out to see if they are upright, perfectly upright according to the law, which is the Word. It's a Standard. You know when God relents a few times, He delays judgment a few times so fruit can be born. He can hold up the Standard and say, “Nope they're still crooked. It's time to tear this thing back down to the foundation. It's on sand anyway, so we'll tear it back down and start all over.” Well, that can be major, major judgment. Continuing He said, I will not again pass by them any more; (meaning I'm not going to pass by them with judgment anymore. It's coming now. I'm going to judge according to the Word. That's what He says in His Word; every man is going to be judged according to the Word.)   9 and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. Well, Jeroboam is the guy that factioned Israel away from the House of David. He is the critical, angry, judgmental leadership of Israel when they fell into their apostasy and started worshipping the golden calf instead of God in His Temple in Jerusalem. That represents a lot of people out there, a lot of Judases and a lot of people that are judging other people. They themselves are crooked and Jeroboam made everybody else crooked. He made the whole House crooked and they were full of faction, full of railing and full of rebellion and warfare against the House of David.   Now I'm going to share some revelations that confirm the importance of how we should build a sure Foundation.      A Sure Foundation   Lorrie Deeter 01/09/2009 (David's notes in red)   While being still before the Lord, I drifted off to sleep: A group of people appeared to be in a classroom seated at desks. As I watched I saw different people as teachers standing over each one. I looked down and saw a group of people sitting, holding in their hands each a different book. I looked closer and saw the faces of the teachers who were standing over them, on the cover of the textbooks. (The poor apostate Christians are coming into the image of their false teachers rather than Christ, as 2Co 3:18 demands: But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.)   I looked around the room and in a far corner were cubicles. I walked over to them. As I looked, in each one sat a single person, alone, reading a bible; in another praying and in another being still, each having a bible. (Representing those teachers getting a personal revelation from God's Word to lay a good foundation.) I was saying, “What is this, my Lord?” A person then stepped out of the cubicle and walked to the group of people seated at the desks. The textbook was gone from the people seated at the desks and now placed in their hand was a ruler to each person. The cubicle person began to open the Bible and was sharing what the Lord had given. (Those who study the Word and fellowship the Lord individually, without the teachers of men, are blessed by their Lord to bring direction to those trained by false leaders.)   All of a sudden the people seated became angry and began pointing (Accusation/Judgment) with one hand while hitting the person on the hand with their rulers (With what measure you judge it shall be measured unto you). As I continued to watch each person come from the cubicles to the seated people, each time they were rejected from the people seated at the desks. (Those of denominational mindsets.) The people from the cubicles returned after being rejected with Bibles, returned each time to and remained in their cubicles; some were ushered out of the room. (The righteous are judged and rejected of the apostates. Judge not lest ye be judged.)   All of a sudden, I heard raging wind and I looked and saw a gathering tempest in the middle of the classroom. Very quickly it was picking up everyone and everything becoming more powerful by the second. (Judgment on those who reject the true messengers of the Word.)   Then it began to spit things out. It was pulling shelves off walls, as nails were pried loose. Everything was pulled from its place, desk and chairs thrown to and fro. Then I saw some people fly out of the storm and thrown out to the outside and they were no longer in sight. The storm continued to spit everything out -- the teachers and the textbooks until only those with the Bibles remained in the eye where it was calm. (Those founded on the Rock of the Word are safe.)   I then heard this spoken forth: "REST! Rest in the eye of My storm! Be anxious for nothing! Do not be shaken! I AM doing a SWIFT SIFTING! Plant your feet in righteousness, For lo I Am with thee always".   The wind picked up but there was silence inside the storm. Then I looked and the middle of the room and the floor started to buckle as though there was something underneath it. It started to crack. (As Jesus said the storm comes to those on the foundation of shifting sand.) The surface of the floor looked like matte linoleum. The cracks started to spread to the corners as though it was being torn from the underside of the surface. (These are like the wind and waves that destroyed the house built on sand that Jesus spoke of.)  Then I saw the sharp tip of something silver beginning to pierce through. It twirled slowly like a corkscrew and as it came to the surface it was a large screw. When this giant screw was all the way through I noticed all of the fresh soil around its base it burrowed through. (It came from beneath like hell.) Suddenly, many smaller machines sprung out of the ground around the screw and in the distance. They circled the screw. The machines opened up and multitudes of bats flew out and covered the sky. (These are creatures which live in darkness and do not have eyes to see.) Then this was spoken: "Demons of Doctrines". (This represents the destruction of those whose foundation is based on the shifting sands of Demon Doctrines instead of the Word.)   Then I saw a LARGE rod, and then a LARGE staff come above the storm. (The shepherd's guidance and protection of the sheep in the midst of the storm.) The whirlwind picked up and everything in its path was destroyed. I looked at all of the debris that littered the ground. The surface of the floor was destroyed. The linoleum was scattered in large and small pieces. The parts of the machines that had been destroyed by the storm also lay scattered. Then I looked and saw a large rake that came through and cleared all of the debris to the side and then it was gone.   The Holy Spirit spoke forth again: "Once more I will turn the soil, for these are they whose foundation is not built upon Me, says the Lord".   1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (The Word) Luk 6:49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.   Upon waking up this was spoken forth: "Those who speak falsely in My Name and are carried about by doctrines of men shall be spewed out of My tempest!"   Job 27:21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.   Isa 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.   Isa 32:2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.   Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.     Escaping Judgment By Abiding in Christ   Gordon Borneman 03/23/2012 (David's notes in red)   Last night I had a dream. I was walking/hiking in a mountainous area on the West Coast. The ocean was just on the other side of some rocky peaks to my left. There were some peaks of lesser height above me and also one ultimate high peak in this set of mountains. Just then I saw a tsunami wave crest the lower peaks and water rush over those into the high meadow below them. In that high meadow, I had a white stucco house (house of the Lord) to run to, even though it was in the path of that water.   I was not in the path of the water, but after it flooded the meadow, it would have drained off, coming right back at me. I started running to the house. I got to the house in no time (indicating it's not a physical place, but a spiritual house always with the saints). I reached the door, got inside the house, then looked out the window to see a giant sea rush of dark grey water blanketing the meadow and the house was right in the path. The grey sky reflected in the surface of the massive, dark grey water surge. The doors were closed and I took notice of the many foundation bolts in the treated wood floorboards that anchored the house to the foundation (a properly-built house of God is firmly anchored to Jesus Christ).   The water hit the house hard and began to rise to near the top of the windows. No water got into the house at all. The walls were open on the inside, showing the studs (not always plush inside the house of God, but always safe) and I ran around to check all of the seals at the floorboards and they were holding. I felt a particular emphasis on the anchors to the foundation as the key to safety. None of the water got into the house at all. I did not see much of any of the floor plan of the house and it was small and simple.   I knew in my spirit this dream was from God and shows our safety amidst the flood of the end times inside of God's house, a clean house made of white that is firmly anchored to our Lord Jesus. (The safety of the white house represents abiding in Jesus Christ, the secret place of the Most High of Psalm 91. Psa 90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Psa 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust.)   I have pondered this with the Lord more since the dream. I think this is much more general judgment than an actual tsunami. It is the woes and judgments on the world -- "the end will be as a flood", for example. The emphasis on this dream is more about the house of God and protection therein. The water came over the lower peaks, but not the highest peak. There was a mountain there in the range that the water could not reach (likely spiritual Mount Zion). Within the house of the Lord, we were completely safe.  It may not always be extremely plush or massively comfy, since all was laid open (nothing hidden), rather than finished drywall inside. This agrees with other UBM dreams in which people were at a camp and one says to another, "I don't think I can stay here". I.e., It's not comfortable to the flesh to be there. That's the nature of the cleanness, the whiteness of the house. The meaning is interlinked with the open walls within and all is seen, nothing hidden in darkness or closed behind walls. Emphasis was placed on the soundness of the floorboard anchors to the foundation.   The house was in a very high meadow, relative to the highest peak, with some peaks higher than the house, but not the highest peak. The water came with speed and it was like a wave cresting against a rocky shoreline. It was the speed of the water, along with the total volume that splashed it over these lower peaks. Even when rushing to the relatively humble house of God and building speed on the downhill, there was not enough power behind that wave to overtake that little white house in the high meadow. There are two senses of these lower peaks:   1. Those lower peaks are kingdoms of the world overtaken with judgment, even who were part of the range of mountains right by Mount Zion.   2. Those lower peaks may be those organizations which are their own kingdoms trying to usurp the power of the saints on Mount Zion by attaching themselves to them. But these have not the power of Mount Zion and are still overtaken.   This little white house in the high meadow reminds me of protection of the Israelites in Goshen during the 10 judgments of Egypt where, after the first four judgments, the judgments could not overtake the Israelites safe in Goshen. These judgments destroyed the great empire of Egypt, but Goshen was spared and preserved.   When I started to run for the house, I was not in the direct path of the water. But after the water hit the house, it would come back toward me soon. It was better to run into the refuge and fortress, even when it was in the direct path, rather than be outside trying to stay out of the way of the water. (Many may be in the direct path of terrible judgments but eating all of the Passover Lamb; the Word of God is our deliverance, as it was in Egypt. They had to abide in their house for this disaster to pass over. Jesus is our house. 1Jn 2:24 As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. Notice that modern religions will not be a covering, only the original Word received will deliver.)     The House That Stood   Michael Boldea - June 2012   On April 11, 2016, I had this short dream.   …I have always found fasting to be a great bringer of clarity, and given the times and the seasons that are upon us, who among us couldn't use a little more clarity? The first day of the fast, I had picked my brother Sergiu up from the airport in Chicago, brought him home, and gone to bed, when I had a dream.   I dreamt I was walking down a street, but to the left and the right of me everything was utterly destroyed. If not for the foundations sticking out of the earth, one would not have known anything had once stood there. I have seen the aftermath of earthquakes while living in California in the '80s; I have likewise seen the aftermath of tornadoes live and in person, and this looked like neither of the two. The best way I can describe it is that the entire street seemed to have been razed. From trees, to homes, to fences, everything had been flattened and annihilated.   The street curved to the left, and as I followed it turning the corner, I was surprised to see a house standing a couple hundred yards ahead of me on the right. There was nothing special about the house. A single story home, with a porch and a porch swing, once painted white by what I could gather, but having taken on a charred look. I quickened my pace, as even in my dream this seemed odd and surreal, and as I approached the house I heard what could only have been prayer coming from inside. This was no typical prayer. It was passionate, and fervent, and the only time I remember having heard prayer like this, is when we would have prayer nights in our home in Romania during the Communist occupation.  (My note: This reminds me of seeing a report in CA where a fire had swept through an area and the top of a mountain where there was a circle of homes. All were burnt to the ground but one. When the reporter put his mic in front of the owner asking why their house was untouched, he probably wished he hadn't. The woman spoke boldly saying. This is God's house and we have prayer meetings here or something close to this.)  This was anything but a restrained prayer gathering, and the voices coming from inside the house were praising God, and giving glory to Him. I stood just short of the front step, and listened to the prayers coming from within the house, until in my dream, I woke up. As I awoke from my dream within a dream, the man I have grown accustomed to seeing was standing at the foot of my mattress.   "Do you understand what you've just seen?", he asked without prelude.   "I believe I do", I answered somewhat confidently. The man gave me a look one might give to a slowwitted individual and said, "Perhaps in part", then reached out and touched my shoulder.   Suddenly I was back on the same street, and I realized this only because of the house with the porch swing, now a pristine white. It was the only thing that was the same as in my previous dream, because now there were trees, and homes, up and down the block. It looked and sounded like a typical neighborhood, but above the din of chirping birds and barking dogs; I could hear prayer coming from inside the home with the porch swing. It was the same kind of fervent, passionate prayer I had heard on the previous occasion. I strained to hear what they were praying for, but I could only hear snippets from time to time. As I made to climb the first of three steps, I was back in my bed, with the man standing patiently by my mattress.   "Now you understand", he said, "Tell them not to fear, but to draw close to the Father in whom is shelter from the storm, and protection from destruction". I then woke up, disoriented, wondering for a while if this was yet another dream within a dream. Realizing that it was not, I knelt beside my mattress and started to pray.   I have not released a dream or a vision in two years, and if not for the specific instruction "tell them" I would have been hesitant in releasing this dream as well. As I explained in a recent radio interview, the reason why I have not released any visions or dreams is because many within the household of faith have become, for lack of a better term, prophecy junkies. At every gathering, at every meetings, there is always the inevitable "What's the Lord been showing you lately?" as though He hasn't shown us enough, or as though His word is not clear enough.   I specifically asked permission of God to withhold what He was showing me for a season, and have single-mindedly focused on preaching Christ, and Him crucified wherever I was asked to preach, because our safety, our shelter, and our protection is in Christ Jesus our Lord, Savior and King.   Our refuge, our shelter, our place of safety is not a geographical location; it is in the arms of Jesus, in the will of God, in fellowship and intimacy with Him. If we are walking in the will of the Father, then we have nothing to fear. If we are being obedient to His word, His guidance, and His leading, then wherever He will guide us will be a safe place, and wherever He will lead us will be a place of shelter. Our safety is found in obedience. If God has told you to go to a certain place, then do as He has commanded. If however God has not spoken, then be at peace where you are, for God is able to protect you in the midst of the storm.   It is time to draw closer to God than ever before, to come before Him in prayer, and fasting, in righteousness, and purity of heart. The day draws near when we will behold the miracle working power of our God firsthand, when we will see what our God can do, and glory in His omnipotence.   (Psa.18:25-30) With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks. For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.   (Psa.25:4-5) Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.     Judgment on Apostate Ministries   (David's Notes in red and Joyce in Green)   First let me share a little background to this dream I received in 1992. I was in New Orleans sharing my faith and making disciples when I noticed that a lot of people could not grasp or see the real, living Jesus. After a long day of sharing my faith and running into this wall of apathy, I prayed under my breath, "They just don't get it".   That night I was given this dream:   I was in a black cast-iron helicopter, seated with Jesus. I was surrounded by total PEACE. I was there to observe what was happening below. In the air were other black cast-iron helicopters, also. (The helicopters were cast-iron, strong and shielded. This represents the protection afforded those who are seated with Christ in heavenly places. They will witness the judgment but not be affected by it. The helicopters are "in the air" for our battle is not against flesh & blood but principalities and powers, rulers of the air.)   To my right was a skyscraper that resembled the Bank One Tower in downtown Fort Worth. I looked down and noticed several tornadoes sprouting on the ground, growing in numbers and growing in intensity. I looked again at the skyscraper. The skyscraper began to shatter. (The skyscraper represents man-made prosperous mega churches; towers of Babel. Those who try to reach to the heavens without Jesus, the foundation they build on is SELF.) Some of the shattered glass came into the helicopter and into my mouth and on my arm. I spit out the glass and wiped the glass from my arm. (Joyce: Jesus showed me in 1992 that 8 years later these ministries would briefly influence me. The shattered glass represents their easily shattered false teachings. The shattered glass went in my mouth because I spoke these false teachings, but later spit them out. The glass was on my arm because my works were influenced by these teachings. The megachurch ministers are being bribed as we speak to join into a corporate false prophet to trap the harlot body into the U.S./U.N. Bablon DS Tower of Babel.)  I looked down again and there was a theological seminary building. (I used to live down the street from the Southwestern Baptist Seminary so I recognized it as a theology building.) Jimmy Swaggart ran out of the building and down the stairs. He was running as if he was very frightened. (Some megachurch leaders will discover the trap they and their followers have been led into as their rights are taken away and the mark of the beast approaches.) (Fear of judgment coming to apostate teachers and their false doctrines that are taught in the prosperous religious institutions of man.) He was wearing a nice shiny suit and he got into a green Mercedes Benz. (The Mercedes represents materialism, and the color of the car is green, which represents money and envy.)   The wind took the Mercedes and it was being blown around in a circle very fast. (They will be very disoriented because of their lack of understanding and the judgments to come.) The earth split open and the Mercedes crashed into the uprooted earth. (Just as the "earth opened its mouth" and swallowed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram because they were usurping the authority of the truly ordained servants of God.)   I then looked down and saw BLIND EYES on a man who was running without shirt and shoes. (The blind eyes represent the ministers to whom it is not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom. The lack of a shirt represents the ministers who have not put on the Lord Jesus Christ's teaching and works. Having no shoes says that they have not been shod with the preparation of the true gospel of peace. They and their lukewarm churches are BLIND and NAKED.) The man was yelling, "The occult! The occult!" (As in Jesus' day, the apostates will blame their problems on the true servants of God, who to them are always of the devil. However, their judgment is from God and only through the mouth of God's servants.)   End of dream   You see the judgments are on the false teachers, false doctrines, religious institutions, prosperity preachers and those who have profited at the expense of the blind, lukewarm sheep. Jesus answered my prayer with understanding in 1992. The apostates "just don't get it".   An interesting confirmation is that the skyscraper in the dream was across the street where I worked in 2000 in Ft. Worth. A tornado hit downtown Ft. Worth and that skyscraper was shattered and stood condemned for years. The glass came into our building and we had a lot of damage. I picked that glass off my desk and carpet for months. Things that make you go, “Hmmm”!   My prayer: Father in the name of Jesus give us a love for Your Word. A desire to be holy before You. A desire to please You and You alone. Lord, give us this gift, we desperately need it! Lord, judgment is at the door and we need a Passover. Yet many, many of your people are defiled by their thought life, and they deserve no Passover. They're defiled by what comes out of their mouth and what is in their feet as far as the way they walk. I ask You to give everyone a respect for the foundation, a respect for the Standard, which is Jesus Christ and what is upright. Everybody should fear the Plumb-line. Everybody needs to fear to be straight up and down with God. Lord, we ask You to give Your people a deep, deep respect for the Word of God, so that they can be transformed by their renewing of their mind, so that they can escape all these things and to stand before the Son of man. Lord give us that grace to escape all these things that we see coming upon the world. Lord we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. 

Psalm 106 1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;     his love endures forever. 2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord     or fully declare his praise? 3 Blessed are those who act justly,     who always do what is right. 4 Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people,     come to my aid when you save them, 5 that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,     that I may share in the joy of your nation     and join your inheritance in giving praise. 6 We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;     we have done wrong and acted wickedly. 7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,     they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses,     and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. 8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,     to make his mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;     he led them through the depths as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand of the foe;     from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries;     not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his promises     and sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot what he had done     and did not wait for his plan to unfold. 14 In the desert they gave in to their craving;     in the wilderness they put God to the test. 15 So he gave them what they asked for,     but sent a wasting disease among them. 16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses     and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord. 17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;     it buried the company of Abiram. 18 Fire blazed among their followers;     a flame consumed the wicked. 19 At Horeb they made a calf     and worshiped an idol cast from metal. 20 They exchanged their glorious God     for an image of a bull, which eats grass. 21 They forgot the God who saved them,     who had done great things in Egypt, 22 miracles in the land of Ham     and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. 23 So he said he would destroy them—     had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him     to keep his wrath from destroying them. 24 Then they despised the pleasant land;     they did not believe his promise. 25 They grumbled in their tents     and did not obey the Lord. 26 So he swore to them with uplifted hand     that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 27 make their descendants fall among the nations     and scatter them throughout the lands. 28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor     and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; 29 they aroused the Lord's anger by their wicked deeds,     and a plague broke out among them. 30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened,     and the plague was checked. 31 This was credited to him as righteousness     for endless generations to come. 32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord,     and trouble came to Moses because of them; 33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,     and rash words came from Moses' lips. 34 They did not destroy the peoples     as the Lord had commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the nations     and adopted their customs. 36 They worshiped their idols,     which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons     and their daughters to false gods. 38 They shed innocent blood,     the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,     and the land was desecrated by their blood. 39 They defiled themselves by what they did;     by their deeds they prostituted themselves. 40 Therefore the Lord was angry with his people     and abhorred his inheritance. 41 He gave them into the hands of the nations,     and their foes ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them     and subjected them to their power. 43 Many times he delivered them,     but they were bent on rebellion     and they wasted away in their sin. 44 Yet he took note of their distress     when he heard their cry; 45 for their sake he remembered his covenant     and out of his great love he relented. 46 He caused all who held them captive     to show them mercy. 47 Save us, Lord our God,     and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name     and glory in your praise. 48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,     from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord.   This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:     Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, That awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore.  Amen.

église AB Lausanne ; KJV Deuteronomy 11 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did. Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: ...

SHOW NOTES:   In Podcast Episode 282, “When a Heart Is So Hard,“ Kim discusses the dangers of having a hard heart. Although we usually think about a hardened heart as a spiritual condition, it also impacts decisions in all areas of life. Who do you have in your life who suffers from a hardened heart?   Our focal passages for this episode are 1 Kings 16:34 and Joshua 6:26:   “It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abiram. And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son, Segub. This all happened according to the message from the Lord concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun.”~1 Kings 16:34   “At that time Joshua invoked this curse: “May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.””~Joshua 6:26 WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT FEATURE:   Pray for someone whose heart is hard: “Please take away the stony, stubborn heart and give a tender, responsive heart.”   Additional Resources and Scriptures:   19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, (Ezekiel 11:19) Episode 7: Fighting FROM Victory INSTAGRAM -  https://www.instagram.com/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus” YouTube Channel: Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@EncouragingOthersInLovingJesus I WANT TO BEGIN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.   RESOURCES USED FOR BOOK OF 1 & 2 Kings PODCASTS: “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament OT in One Volume” “Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings” by Tony Merida “The Tony Evans Bible Commentary: Advancing God's Kingdom Agenda” “Life Application Study Bible” “The Swindoll Study Bible: NLT” by Charles R. Swindoll Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary “The Baker Illustrated Bible Background Commentary” by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays (Editors) Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, 2004, by Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger, III. "Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus" Facebook Group:   Our Facebook Group is devoted to providing a place for us to encourage each other through all the seasons of life. Follow the provided link to request admittance into “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus”—https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ Feel free to invite others who will be good encouragers and/or need encouragement to follow Jesus.   This podcast is hosted by Kim Smith, a small town Country Girl who left her comfort zone to follow Jesus in a big City World. Now, she wants to use God's Word and lessons from her faith journey to encourage others in loving Jesus.   In each episode, Kim will share insights regarding a portion of God's Word and challenge listeners to apply the lessons to their daily lives.   If you want to grow in your faith and learn how to encourage others in loving Jesus, subscribe and commit to prayerfully listening each week.   Remember, “It's Always a Trust & Obey Kinda Day!”   If you have questions or comments or would like to learn more about how to follow Jesus, please email Kim at EncouragingOthersinLovingJesus@gmail.com. National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline   988   https://988lifeline.org/   Reference: Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.   Podcast recorded through Zencastr and edited through GarageBand. The soundtrack was created in GarageBand by Kim Smith. The HIDDEN Episodes:  If you can't access episodes 1-50 on your podcast app (the podcast was then entitled "A Country Girl in a City World - Loving Jesus"), you can get all the content at my Podbean site at https://acountrygirlinacityworldlovingjesus.podbean.com/

église AB Lausanne ; KJV Numbers 26 And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their father's house, all that are able to go to war in Israel. And Moses and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt. Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites: Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These are the families of the Reubenites: and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Pallu; Eliab. And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. ...

Numbers 16   English Standard Version   Korah's Rebellion 16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his,[a] and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. 6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?” 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.” 16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. 20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” 22 And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” 25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.” 31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense. 36 [b] Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses. 41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped. Footnotes Numbers 16:5 Septuagint The Lord knows those who are his Numbers 16:36 Ch 17:1 in Hebrew  

église AB Lausanne ; KJV Numbers 16 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? ...

download the notes here:https://esm.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/07.06.24-.2024-Congregation-TM-Notes.pdf__________________________________________________Numbers 16:1-3 Now Korach, קרח the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, theson of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son ofPeleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, withcertain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of theassembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gatheredthemselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them,Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy every oneof them, and the LORD is among them: Wherefore then lift ye up yourselvesabove the congregation of the LORD?

The people are on edge after a severe decree that all men over 20 years old will die in the desert over a period of 40 years. Korah and Datan and Abiram from the tribes of Levi and Reuben respectively, protest and challenge the leadership of Moses and the establishment of Aaron as Kohen along with his descendants. Jealousy is running high. In this episode we look at the issue of thinking with our emotions and why that almost certainly leads to terrible failure.

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, May 15, 2024Worship Service: 2:00 p.m.Bible Study: 2:30 p.m.All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relativeVisit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”Archive of BULLETINSNumbers 16:23-40 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.” And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the LORD, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the LORD said to him through Moses. Luke 19:29-48 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.'” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers.” And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words. The Sacrament of Holy BaptismWhat is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command and combined with God's word. Which is that word of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19)

Send us a Text Message.This Podcast is Hosted at;https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.comEnjoy hours of exclusive content every month and help keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free  for listeners everywhere at;patreon.com/JeremyMcCandlessSubscribe here to receive my new church history podcast every few weeks at.https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.comEpisode Notes: "Rebellion in the Church" (Number 16: 1-50)Introduction:Personal Experience: Visiting churches with internal unrest.Biblical Parallels: Examining Numbers chapter 16 for insights into God's perspective on rebellion.Background:Previous Challenges to Moses' Leadership.Introduction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.Rebellion against Moses and Aaron's Authority.Distinction between Priestly and Non-Priestly Levites.The Initial Challenge:Accusations against Moses and Aaron.Desire for Priestly Status.Moses' Response: Challenging Korah's Rebellion.The Ground-Splitting Judgment:Moses' Test: Validation of Leadership.Earth Swallows Korah and His Followers.Confirmation of Moses' Authority.Divine Instructions and Subsequent Rebellion:Repurposing the Censers as a Reminder.Lessons from Scripture: Sodom and Gomorrah, Ananias and Sapphira.Persistent Grumbling and Accusations.Contemporary Reflections:Parallel Experiences in Modern Church Settings.Dangers of Self-Righteousness and Division.Cautionary Tale: Importance of Humility and Discernment.Conclusion:Toll of Rebellion: Plague and Death.Spiritual Truth: Rebellion Leads to Death.Anecdote of Reversal of Fortunes.Reminder of Consequences and Need for Obedience and Humility.Join us next time for more insights into biblical narratives and their relevance today. Remember, humility and obedience are key in navigating the complexities of faith and our approach to those in leadership.Support the Show.Jeremy McCandless is creating podcasts and devotional resources | PatreonHelp us continue making great content for listeners everywhere.https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com

Psalm 106 English Standard VersionGive Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good106 Praise the Lord!Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever!2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,    or declare all his praise?3 Blessed are they who observe justice,    who do righteousness at all times!4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;    help me when you save them,5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,    that I may glory with your inheritance.6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,    did not consider your wondrous works;they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,    that he might make known his mighty power.9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.11 And the waters covered their adversaries;    not one of them was left.12 Then they believed his words;    they sang his praise.13 But they soon forgot his works;    they did not wait for his counsel.14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,    and put God to the test in the desert;15 he gave them what they asked,    but sent a wasting disease among them.16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses    and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,    and covered the company of Abiram.18 Fire also broke out in their company;    the flame burned up the wicked.19 They made a calf in Horeb    and worshiped a metal image.20 They exchanged the glory of God    for the image of an ox that eats grass.21 They forgot God, their Savior,    who had done great things in Egypt,22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—    had not Moses, his chosen one,stood in the breach before him,    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.24 Then they despised the pleasant land,    having no faith in his promise.25 They murmured in their tents,    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,    scattering them among the lands.28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,    and a plague broke out among them.30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,    and the plague was stayed.31 And that was counted to him as righteousness    from generation to generation forever.32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,    and it went ill with Moses on their account,33 for they made his spirit bitter,    and he spoke rashly with his lips.34 They did not destroy the peoples,    as the Lord commanded them,35 but they mixed with the nations    and learned to do as they did.36 They served their idols,    which became a snare to them.37 They sacrificed their sons    and their daughters to the demons;38 they poured out innocent blood,    the blood of their sons and daughters,whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,    and the land was polluted with blood.39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,    and played the whore in their deeds.40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,    and he abhorred his heritage;41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,    so that those who hated them ruled over them.42 Their enemies oppressed them,    and they were brought into subjection under their power.43 Many times he delivered them,    but they were rebellious in their purposes    and were brought low through their iniquity.44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,    when he heard their cry.45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.46 He caused them to be pitied    by all those who held them captive.47 Save us, O Lord our God,    and gather us from among the nations,that we may give thanks to your holy name    and glory in your praise.48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,    from everlasting to everlasting!And let all the people say, “Amen!”    Praise the Lord!English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Sanctified From Wickedness (1) (audio)  David Eells 3/17/24  Sanctification is necessary before we receive God's blessings. He can't bless a body if it's polluted by the world, whether you're talking about the corporate body or whether you're talking about an individual body. God first separates His people from the world and bringing His people out of Egypt is a type of that. But after He brings His people into the wilderness, He separates them again. He separates the “leaven” out of their midst, those who worship false gods, those who are in rebellion and serve their own flesh.  We see over and over in the scriptures that God wants us truly sanctified, both from the world and from those who call themselves “Christians” but who continue to walk in the world. According to the Bible, sometimes unbelievers are what we call “Christians”. Jesus is the one who is qualified to identify believers. (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. These are Christians the way Jesus made Christians, not Christians from the Dark Ages, which is much of what we have now.   When He identifies believers, He's talking about Spirit-filled people who walk in His steps and that's what we need to desire earnestly. We don't want to be yoked, as in a fellowship with, the dark age Christians but we do want to influence them to come into the light. (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? (16) And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? (We saw that the children of God actually created idols, like the golden calf in Exodus 32, that they thought were God.) for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. That's what Christianity is all about! It's not about us; it's about Him.   (17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them.... Paul is talking to Christians when he says “ye” here because Paul was addressing the Church. So he says, (17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate (The word “separate” is the best description for the word “sanctification” and that is “separation from the world.”), (17)…saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing.... We see that God commanded His people to separate from apostate leadership because very little fruit of Christ and no power is manifest there. (Num.16:26) And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. These people were rebellious against the Word and the true leadership. “Touching not” means “separation from”; it represents sanctification.   Back to (2Co 6:17) …And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, (18) And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Without “sanctification” or “holiness,” without hagiasmos, God doesn't receive us and we don't become sons of God for we stagnate as children of God. (Heb.12:14) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord.   (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness (or “sanctification”-same Greek word ) in the fear of God. Those who are defiled need the “water for impurity” “sprinkled” upon them and the “water for impurity” is God's Word, called “the washing with water by the Word”. We have to humble ourselves to God's Word, letting it rule in our hearts and lives because this is what brings us out of our defilement. (Num.19:13) Whosoever toucheth (in other words, “is not separate from”) a dead person, the body of a man that hath died (The dead body, of course, represents the “old man who died in the waters of Baptism.”), and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.   We need to be separate from the old man; he does not have authority in this vessel and he cannot rule our life. The cure for impurity is the Word of God. We saw in the Old Testament that God separated His people and we see in the New Testament that Jesus came to do the same thing. He came to separate His people from the apostates. Although, according to the Old Covenant, these apostates were already separated from the world, they were still full of the world. They who come out of Egypt must then get Egypt out of them. They are represented by the “mixed multitude”. They wouldn't repent at the teaching and the preaching of the Lord, so the Lord called His people out of them, which is exactly what He's doing today. When Jesus separated His disciples from the worldly church of that day, He came first to the Old Covenant people. (Joh.1:11) He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. It didn't become the New Covenant until after they had rejected Him and the Covenant that He was bringing by His blood. And, if you look around, you can see that most of Christianity today is rejecting that Covenant.   Jesus said in (Joh.10:1) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (2) But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (3) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name.... Did you notice that we've been given a new name (Romans 6)? The problem is that we don't all live up to that name. (Mat.28:19) Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (The literal translation there is “into the name,” not “in the name.”) They all have the same name because the word “name” means “nature, character and authority.” So when you are baptized “into the name,” you put on the “nature, character and authority” of the Lord and in (Exo.20:7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.   In other words, don't say you're a Christian and don't take His name in baptism, if you're not going to walk in the nature and character of His name. (Joh.10:3) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name.... It's not a title He's talking about; what should draw us unto Christ is His name, His nature, His character. These are what we desire because sanctification is living in the name of Jesus. (Col.3:17) Whatsoever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Joh.10:3) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name (so we take His name), and leadeth them out.   (Col.3:4) When he hath put forth all his own (Jesus separated them, which is the first part of sanctification. He separated them from the apostate church of that day.), he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. Yes, we need to be able to hear the voice of the Lord and we do that by becoming familiar with His Word because He is the Word made flesh. (Joh.1:14) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. If we become familiar with His voice, we won't follow another. (Joh.10:5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. These “strangers” He was talking about were the apostate leaders from whom He was delivering His people. They were the “thieves and robbers” who came before Him.  They weren't overcomers and they had taken positions of authority that God hadn't given them. (Rev.2:26) And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. God gives authority only to those who overcome and do His works, which the apostates refuse. (Joh.10:5) And a stranger will they not follow (Being unfamiliar with the nature and authority of the Lord makes them strangers.), but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. (6) This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. (7) Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (8) All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. This is a prophecy of the end time, and we're going to have a repetition of history. In these days leading to the time of the coming of the Man-child ministry, a lot of people with all the wrong attributes have taken over the Church. They have not overcome and they have not been placed in their position by God.   (Joh.10:8) I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. (10) The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy (Babylonish religion is guilty of the blood of the saints and of the prophets. They believed they were God's people, but the things that they taught and the spirits they put into people made them more enemies of Christ than followers of Christ.): I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly. (Joh.10:11) I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. Jesus came to separate God's people and to make them like Himself.   That's going to happen once again in the very near future. The Lord Jesus is going to repeat everything you see here in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts. What method is God going to use to separate those who are His from those who are unrepentant apostates? (Joh.6:51) I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. So the “bread” symbolizes His flesh, but what does His “flesh” represent? (52) The Jews therefore strove one with another, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (53) Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. We know that Jesus was “the Word made flesh” and as His disciples are to be the Word made flesh. The Greek word for “disciple” is mathetes, meaning “a learner and a follower.” He is our example of a Christian believer.  When the Word lives through you, it will separate you from the apostate Christianity. As Jesus said in (Joh.17:16) They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. (17) Sanctify them in the truth (In other words, separate them by the truth being in them.): thy word is truth. (Joh.18) As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world. (19) And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Why is that important? The only person who could speak a Word from God was someone who was sanctified, someone who was holy. (Num.19:18) And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave. Meaning the defiled apostate.  (So these are people who haven't been sanctified and notice it says only “a clean person” is the one who can sprinkle the water for impurity.): (Num.19:19) and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify him (The seventh day is the day of rest; it's when you enter into the rest by ceasing from your own works.); and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. The “even,” or “evening,” is when the Sabbath rest starts. Only a clean person could legally sprinkle the water for impurity upon somebody who was defiled, who was not sanctified, who was not separated from the world. Jesus said ”All that came before me are thieves and robbers.” The Pharisees and Sadducees weren't clean and they couldn't make anybody else clean just like those of our day. In other words, they couldn't give away what they didn't have.   You can take a true Word and put it in front of somebody who's unclean and when they read and then teach that Word, it will be defiled by them. It takes a clean person to teach a clean Word. If you're sitting under somebody you know is not clean, you're not going to get the pure Word. It's not possible. You might get some knowledge and you might even get some wonderful revelation, but it won't be clean and the spirit behind it won't be clean, either. Jesus said, (Joh.6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.   God's life is being manifested through the Words of Jesus; He was the Sower Who sowed the seed of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4:3-20; Luke 8:5-15) and it's still that way today. The Word can only come through Him. (1Jn.2:27) And as for you, the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that anyone teach you; but as his anointing teacheth you; concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in him. We don't have any need for any man to teach us; we only have a need for the Lord to teach us and a man who is sanctified can be used of the Lord to sanctify others, to “sprinkle” them with the “waters for impurity.”   So Jesus said to His disciples, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves.” We need to know how the blood is manifested because we can't “drink” the blood if we don't know where to get the blood. Well, didn't Jesus turn the waters to “blood”? (Joh.2:5) His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. (6) Now there were six waterpots of stone (representing the body of clay flesh) set there after the Jews' manner of purifying, containing two or three firkins apiece. (7) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water (representing the Word). And they filled them up to the brim.   (8) And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it. (9) And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants that had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast calleth the bridegroom, (10) and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have drunk freely, then that which is worse: thou hast kept the good wine until now. (11) This beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.  That was the first sign Jesus did and it was called a “sign” because it was a parable. The very first thing we need to do is to be filled with the Word and then Jesus will turn that “water” of the Word into “wine.” In the Lords supper the wine represented His blood. He will turn that “water” into His “blood,” which is His nature and character. The Word needs to be a part of us. You are what you eat and we need to partake of God's Word. (1Jn.1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light (What's the “light”? The “light” is also the Word and the “light” is the “water”; they're all the same parable.), as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. As you “walk” in the “light,” as you “walk” in God's Word, you are “drinking” the “blood.” So here He was giving them something that some of them thought was impossible.   (Joh.6:60) Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard [this,] said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? (61) But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples (Notice that now He's calling them “disciples.”) murmured at this, said unto them, Doth this cause you to stumble? (62) [What] then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending where he was before? (63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. (64) But there are some of you that believe not. In other words, these were disciples, but they weren't completely believers. You know, there are a lot of people who call themselves “Christians” but there are very few “disciples,” and very few believers, according to what Jesus called a “believer.”   A believer will have signs, and His works, as Jesus said. (Joh.14:12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. A believer has a gift from God to “do” and to “see” because faith is our access to this grace in which we stand. (Rom.5:1) Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; (2) through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So if you have real faith, you're going to have grace to “walk as He walked”, but there are some followers who do not believe. (Joh.6:64) But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who it was that should betray him. (65) And he said, For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it be given unto him of the Father.   So there were a number of people there who were going to betray Him, not just Judas. Judas continued on with the disciples at this time, but these people were about to depart. (Joh.6:66)(Notice the number identifying the apostates, meaning, fallen away.” Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Notice what the Word did here: the Word separated those who were following as students of Jesus but who believed not. He didn't separate Judas, but there were others there who probably would have been big trouble down the road. You know, God will have His Judases with us in the wilderness, but, thank God, not those we see around us now.   (Joh.6:67) Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, Would ye also go away? (68) Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. They were hungry for the Word! They wanted the Word! The other disciples said, “No, this Word's too hard; we can't do this!” (Joh.6:69) And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God. (70) Jesus answered them, Did not I choose you the twelve, and one of you is a devil? (71) Now he spake of Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot, for he it was that should betray him, [being] one of the twelve. We know believers are going to be tried, just as God took Israel into the wilderness to try them, to see who would believe and who would murmur. (Joh.8:31) Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, [then] are ye truly my disciples. The trial is to see if you abide in His Word and stay disciples.   Sure, you might be a Christian, but do you abide in His Word? Notice He was talking to “those Jews that had believed him.” They had believed that He was of God and yet some of them were going to be weeded out because they didn't abide in His Word. We are warned, (Jas.1:22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. There are many deluded people who don't think it's even possible to be obedient to God's Word, but grace comes to those who truly believe and those people will be able to walk in the Word of God.   So “those Jews that had believed him” were deceived and in (Joh.8:33) They answered unto him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? (34) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. (35) And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever: the son abideth forever. He's talking here about a separation of people who were considered to be Christians. Don't pay any attention to what the world considers to be a “Christian.” Pay attention to what the Bible says a believer truly is because that's the only thing that's going to count in the end.   The Lord is coming for those in whom the Word is manifested, those in whom the Word is made “flesh,” so there has to be a separation now because we have a lot of people who are claiming Christianity but they're not Christians. (Rev.3:15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. This means spewed out of the body of Christ. You need to either come in or get out; you either have to be hot or cold and the Lord is going to force the issue in the days to come. Paul speaks about separating these people from the body. They had already been separated from the world because his letter is addressed to the Christians. (1Co.5:1) It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one [of you] hath his father's wife. Did you notice he said, “It is actually reported”? Somebody reported this!   The overwhelming majority of Christians won't report this. But elders who are truly interested in obeying the Word of God will do something about this and it should be reported. Some people think, “Well, I don't believe in ‘ratting' on people.” Well, then you don't believe in sanctifying the body! Don't you remember what the Levites did in the wilderness? (Exo.32:27) And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. (28) And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. (29) And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, yea, every man against his son, and against his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.   They took up the sword and put to death those people who worshipped the golden calf, and the Lord said, “You have to do this to get to the blessing.” The “sword,” of course, is the Word of God. You have to use and submit and stand upon the Word of God. So somebody who was more interested in the sanctification of the body than “honor among thieves” reported this. There are people who think, “Well, this is my friend,” but the Levites picked up the sword even against their friends and even against their brothers.   The body has to be sanctified. We are not to be with idolaters. There's nobody more important than the Lord and His body, and the body has to be sanctified. It's everybody's job to report willful sin to the elders because we see here that someone reported this to the apostle. We've been learning a lot about how to minister to people online, over the airwaves, and so on, but what do you do when people come into your midst and they're “dirty”? They're “leaven” and God says in (Gal.5:9) A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Well, what you do is obey the Word: (Mat.18:15) And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.   (16) But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. (17) And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican. If someone comes to you with gossip or slander or to backbite against another person, instead of going to that person privately first, then you tell that someone to go and speak with the person. And if they say, “No, I don't think I'll do that,” then you go and you tell the person to see if it is a lie or truth! If it is a lie, you bring that gossip, or slander, or backbiting, or whatever the grievance may be out into the light and that will put an end to it.   (1Co.5:1) It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one [of you] hath his father's wife. This fornicator, who was defiling the body of Christ, was reported because somebody didn't want the body of Christ to be defiled. I certainly don't, the Lord doesn't and I don't think we should put up with it for the body's sake. The Bible says that the man who touched the dead body defiled the tabernacle. As we saw, the dead body represents our old man and his sin that we are to be separate from in (Num.19:13) Whosoever toucheth a dead person, the body of a man that hath died, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. The “tabernacle” is God's body in the wilderness, His portable temple in the wilderness. We need to be zealous and jealous for God.   (1Co.11:18) For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear (notice, somebody told him) that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it. (19) For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you. So factious people will come to make divisions. They want to build their own little kingdom by getting people to agree with them and they use slander and backbiting and so on to accomplish that. But notice he said that this test is to show who are are approved. Factions can come in order to test the body because God wants to separate the wicked from among the righteous. Factions show who is approved of God and take away the people who are not approved of God. He doesn't want a little leaven to leaven the whole lump.   The Greek word there for “factions” is hairesis and it means “heresies.” According to Strong's, this is “a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and which leads to division and the formation of sects.... Such erroneous opinions are frequently the outcome of personal preference or the prospect of advantage.” Obviously, these are opinionated persons who, quite often, use Scripture as well as slander, backbiting and so on, to separate people unto themselves. (Tit.3:10) A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse; (11) knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned. In other words, separate from them.   If you have a factious person, somebody who is trying to divide the body, and they're gossiping and slandering behind people's backs, “refuse” them. Separate from them; don't have anything to do with them. Your friendship with a man cannot be more than your friendship with the Lord. Notice that again we see, “when ye come together in the church, I hear....” Somebody told him; somebody brought it to the attention of the elders that these people were causing divisions. And he says, (1Co.1:10) Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfected together in the same mind....   Of course, we should not let anybody come in with faction to divide you from somebody else by saying one thing to you and another thing to another. If they do that, they are going to separate the tares from the wheat and they are going to be one of the tares.  But the people who are approved of God will not be separated by these sinners. Only the wicked will be separated by the sly ways of the factious because only the wicked will break the rules and listen to gossip and slander contrary to God's Word.  Pro 17:4  An evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips; And a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue. God will let these be taken out, but that's okay because the factious can get only that which is their own and the body will be cleansed. (Joh.14:30) ... for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me.... That's what Jesus said.   (1Co.1:10) Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (11) For it hath been signified unto me (Notice that somebody told them! Somebody here had an interest in not letting this go on in the body.) concerning you, my brethren, by them [that are of the household] of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. (12) Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos: and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13  Is Christ divided?  They were beginning to divide up, you see. They were having favorites and possibly holding grudges against each other, probably magnifying somebody else's problem while they didn't have the beam out of their own eye.   (Mat.7:1) Judge not, that ye be not judged. (2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you. (3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye? (5) Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. If you want to be forgiven, you have to forgive, but that doesn't apply to outward moral rebellion. It doesn't apply to willful sin, like that of the man who was in fornication with his father's wife (his stepmother).   You don't forgive people who are willfully defiling the body, which is what this is talking about. Luk 17:3  Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.  People who are causing the divisions are in moral rebellion. (1Co.1:18) Is Christ divided? No, Christ is not divided. Criminals divide criminals out of the body. Jesus said, (Joh.17:20) Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; (21) that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me. (22) And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;    (23) I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me. We want that kind of oneness, that kind of unity, but there will be people who are spots and blemishes who need to be separated. So God will permit a person with a factious spirit, or with unforgiveness, or with a critical spirit, and even with paranoia, and so on, come into the body and carry away the people who will listen to them. The ones who aren't carried away will be the ones whom God has approved of, and this is a good thing in God's eyes. We may wonder, “Why would You let that happen, Lord?” Well, He's a sovereign God and He knows what He's doing.  He tests His people and removes the tares. Deu 13:1  If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder  2  and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3  thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4  Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5  And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death… (1Co.5:1) It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one [of you] hath his father's wife. (2) And ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you. This is a Scripturally legal separation. God sends people to try us, to see if we're going to permit them to stay and defile the body, or if we're going to separate them from the body. Is it more important to us to be friends with these people and have some kind of a “greasy grace” for them or is it more important to us to have the sanctified body? It should be more important to us that we be holy individually and holy corporately; when these people come along, we should deal with them according to the Scriptures.   It's not necessarily the elders who see this. Anyone who catches these people doing these things needs to speak up because notice again that Paul said, “It is actually reported that there is fornication.” (1Co.5:3) For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing (In other words, there is judgment and God does put it in the hand of His elders to come against people who do these kind of things to the body.), (4) in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, (5) to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. There has to be a penalty, a cost involved. Just as with a rebellious child, you have to give them a reason to repent.   This is mercy because, if you permit people to continue on with their sinful, evil ways in your midst, they have no reason to repent and others will think it is acceptable. (2Th.3:6) Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received of us. They have to feel ashamed for what they're doing and they need to be reported, if they continue to do it. (1Co.5:6) Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? You'll have a leavened body and the individuals in that body will be leavened because of this poison in their midst.   (1Co.5:7) Purge out the old leaven (Separate from them! Be sanctified! Sanctify the local body as well as your own personal body.), that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, [even] Christ: (8) wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Some people don't know truth! Jesus said they are liars and they are of their father the devil. (Joh.8:44) Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. They don't have a love for truth and, if you correct them, you are almost wasting your breath, so there has to be somebody with authority to make this separation. Those who permit this are puffed up and leavened through their acceptance of somebody who's defiling the body of Christ.   (1Co.5:9) I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators (I.e. separate from them if you want God's blessings.); (10) not at all [meaning] with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners (Extortioners are people who use their position with you as a Christian to plunder you.), or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world: (11) but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler (A reviler is somebody who is abusive, a railer; they speak against other people, usually behind their back.), or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat. What does he mean, “no, not to eat”? He's talking about not partaking of the spiritual Passover with them. The spiritual Passover is when you eat the body and blood of Christ, and now we're back to John again!   (Joh.6:53) Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh (Word) of the Son of man and drink his blood (The life and nature of Christ.), ye have not life in yourselves. (54) He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (55) For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (56) He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. (57) As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. (58) This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live forever.   We are partaking of the body and blood of Christ, but as we have seen we are not to eat with people who are defiled. In the Old Testament, there was the symbolism of eating with “defiled” hands, meaning their works were filthy. You don't fellowship with these people, “with such a one no, not to eat.” You don't break the bread of the Lord with somebody who is defiled; you separate from them. And the Lord's Supper is, of course, a parable, too. We are constantly “breaking the bread” and partaking of the “blood” as we study the Word and share our revelations with one another. (Lev.17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood.... The “blood” represents the blood of Christ, which we manifest through partaking of His life and nature through the Word.   (1Co.5:12) For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? (13) But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves. How many times does he have to say this? If you want a holy body, if you want the Spirit of God, the presence of God to be there, then “put away the wicked man from among yourselves.” If you don't want the whole atmosphere defiled with demon-possessed people who refuse to repent, then “put away the wicked man from among yourselves.” Are we speaking of the lost who may come to be saved? No, as we just saw we don't judge those that are without but those within the house. Show them the truth and if they don't want it, show them the door. These people are not saved; it matters not what they once had.   For instance, the factious person is not saved because, if you don't forgive, you are not forgiven (Matthew 18:23-35). They are slanderers and fornicators without conscience. You're not walking in God's salvation, if you walk in these sins, and something has to be done to shock you to deal with this. You can't be lukewarm anymore. So God gives us these rules in order to force people to come to a decision before it's too late. (1Co.6:9) Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, (10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified (That means you were “separated” from these sins.), but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. We have to do what the Word says is necessary to cleanse the body.   Many local bodies are totally defiled. They are just religion, that's all they are, because they don't have elders with the wisdom to separate from people who are defiled and won't repent. (2Th.3:6) Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received of us. Jesus taught His disciples to sanctify the body, to separate from the body those who are not willing to repent. (2Th.3:7) For yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; (8) neither did we eat bread for nought at any man's hand, but in labor and travail, working night and day, that we might not burden any of you: (9) not because we have not the right, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you, that ye should imitate us. (10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat. (11) For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies. (12) Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. (13) But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing. (14) And if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. (15) And [yet] count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Another good example of sanctifying or separating the body. (2Jn.8) Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. There are many people who start out with us, but go astray as 3 out of 4 in the parable of the sower did. (9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. (10) If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into [your] house, and give him no greeting (In other words, separate!): (11) for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works.  Jesus said to those who believed Him in (Joh.8:31) ... If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples, and The Church is not the place for evangelism; the Church is the ekklesia, the “called-out ones.” The Church is the place for the gathering of the brethren to study and pray. Evangelism is when you go outside the body to reach the lost which should be common. You tell them the Gospel and, if they repent and if they desire sanctification, then they become a part of the body. In the days of the apostles, people were afraid to join themselves to the Church because God protected it from sin. (Act.5:1) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, (2) and kept back [part] of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles feet. (3) But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back [part] of the price of the land?   (4) While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou has not lied unto men, but unto God. (5) And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost: and great fear came upon all that heard it. (6) And the young men arose and wrapped him round, and they carried him out and buried him. (7) And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. (8) And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for so much.   (9) But Peter [said] unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them that have buried thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee out. (10) And she fell down immediately at his feet, and gave up the ghost: and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband. (11) And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things. You know, that's coming again! There are people who die today because they're trying to join themselves to a body, but they are being deceitful. They're not really there to submit to the Lord.   (Gal.1:8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. That means “devoted to God for destruction.” (Gal.1:9) As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema. In other words, give him no greeting! Invite him not into your house! Be separate from him! Cling to the pure and holy Word!   Sanctification has to come before blessing. God first separates us from the world and then He separates us from those who are leavened and those who are carnal. He is making a spotless, blemishless body. The “spots and blemishes” in our midst are people who refuse to walk after the Lord. (2Pe.2:10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: (11) whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. (12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed,  (That identifies the faction, Jezebels, witchcraft, and what is happening to them.) (13) suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; (14) having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; (15) forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing.   (Jud.12) These are they who are hidden rocks (“spots”) in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds (No Numeric pattern) that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; (13) Wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved forever. (16) These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling [words]), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage. So correct them or separate from them.  In the Old Testament, how did God deal with the Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebellion? (Num.16:20) And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, (21) Separate yourselves (This is the word that means to “sanctify,” “sanctify yourselves.”) from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. God was again condemning the whole congregation because, as a body, they were polluted. So what does God have to do? He has to make a smaller body that is not polluted. When you do that, you have to separate the wicked from among them and in this case it was those people who were bound and determined to follow false prophets, false pastors, false leadership. We are coming to a great division, and those who won't “come out from among them” will be reprobated.   (Num.16:22) And they (Moses and Aaron) fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? (23) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, (24) Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. That's what Jesus did. He went into the sheepfold and called His sheep by name, and they followed him. He separated them from those apostate leaders.   (Num.16:26) And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. In other words, the Lord demanded, “If you want to live, this is what you must do. Separate yourselves, get away from their tents, their tabernacles, their churches and don't touch anything of theirs.” So the people did that and God opened the earth and it swallowed up Korah, Dathan and Abiram, along with their families and all their possessions. Then the Lord sent out a plague that killed another 14,700 people because they murmured about it. In other words they sided with the sinners against God and Moses. And when they murmured about it once more, He separated them again.  Is God going to do that in these days? That is exactly what He is going to do in these days. He is going to have a spotless, blemishless Bride. He is also going to get rid of the corrupt people in the midst of the corporate body of Christ who do not repent. Of course, individually, He wants to clean us up, too. We're talking about two kinds of separation here: sanctification for the individual and sanctification for the body. This separation is necessary for the blessing and the blessing in this case was that those who separated themselves from the rebellious weren't destroyed along with them.   Why does He say, “touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins”? It's because these people are corrupt; they are dead men. You know, the Lord said in (1Ti.5:6) But she that giveth herself to pleasure is dead while she liveth. There are people who are dead because they walk after the lusts of the flesh, they walk after the works of the flesh instead of becoming transformed by the renewing of their mind; that is, the mind of the spirit.  Let me share a little parable with you here that implies “not touching” is necessary in order to be sanctified and in order to receive blessing. (Num.19:11) He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. Remember, you are not to touch anything of these corrupt people and that means don't be influenced by anything that they have, do and think. Sanctification represents being separate from them. (2Co.6:17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you. “Touching” is the opposite of “separate.”   Touching is when you are not sanctified; you're too close to this dead person. The dead people are the ones we have to separate from. They have no business in the body. They're “spots and blemishes,” darkness in a light body. They have to come out of the body and, if you do what the Bible tells you to do, they will either submit to the Word of God, repent and obey, or they will leave. If you preach the Word of God, they can't stand it for very long. I've seen people come and go. I've seen some people become sanctified, holy and walk in the steps of Jesus. And I've seen others who don't fit in. They do all kinds of deceitful things and live in sin behind the scenes, and after a while they become offended. Then, finally, they leave because they can't stand the Word. The Word is the sword. It will drive them out. If you love and submit to the Word, there will be people who don't want to be around you. That sword will separate you from them, which is a good thing because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. In other words, if you are not sanctified, then you are unclean.  (Num.19:11) He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. So what is this “touching the dead body”? What is this parable trying to tell us? Well, a good explanation can be found here: (Eph.2:1) And you did he make alive, when ye were dead (spiritually) through your trespasses and sins.... That means people who are walking in trespasses and sins are walking in death, aren't they? And when you aren't separated from them, that means you are not sanctified from their trespasses and sins. It means “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” and the Lord doesn't want you to have anything to do with that.   (Eph.2:1) And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins, (2) wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world (Christians who walk according to this world are dead while they live, just as Timothy says. They're not alive because they are not sanctified. They're “touching” the old man, the dead man.), according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; (So there are people who call themselves Christians but they are following the devil. You can't get them to submit to the Word. You can correct them over and over, but they won't and can't submit to the Word because their nature is contrary to that.)   (Eph.2:3) among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind.... (Rom.8:13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. People who walk after the flesh are dead people. You're not walking in the light, walking in the Kingdom. If you're not abiding in the life of Christ, which is partaking of His body and blood, you're a dead man. You need to be separate from the old man; he is dead and gone. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. That old man was crucified with Christ and he's dead. If you go back and touch him, if you aren't separate from him and he rules in your life, then that is where this destruction comes from.   (Eph.2:3) Among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. There are a lot of Christians who are “children of wrath” because they are not separate from the old man. The old man isn't dead and they're “touching” him; they're not separate from him. There are apostate churches where they don't teach that when a person walks in outward immorality, it has to be dealt with so that the body is not corrupted. They teach some kind of “greasy grace” where everybody is accepted, so individually and corporately, the whole body is totally corrupt. (Eph.2:4) But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved).   Of course, there are still people who are dead in their trespasses because they don't believe in separating from sin. They believe that they are a sinner saved by grace and don't understand that they were a sinner who has been saved by grace. Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  So they think they can continue to live as a sinner the rest of their life but still go to Heaven. These people are dead. This is not a step-over-the-line type of thing. If you are not walking by faith now, you don't have grace and you don't have salvation now. Are you being saved now from your sins and the curse? Are you saved now, are you bearing fruit? Or are you “touching” the old man? Are you living in the works of the old man?   Well, Paul says here that you're dead, if you're doing that. If you walk after the flesh, remember that the soul that sins must die. Either you are walking in life or you are walking in death. He is telling you that there are people in the midst of the body who are dead and you are not to “touch” them. The flesh is dead; don't have anything to do with it. We were crucified with Christ; it is no longer you who lives but Christ Who lives in you. Separate yourself from the old man and his works, both as an individual and as a body.   Let's read it again. (Num.19:11) He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days (meaning until you enter the “rest” on the seventh day.). The “rest” is when you cease from your works. We just read that the people who live in the works of the flesh are dead. The Sabbath represents when you cease from your works and you enter into the rest through faith in God's promises. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. That is the Sabbath according to the New Testament. So we have to separate, we have to come out from among them and be separate.   The Sabbath is no longer a physical day but we have entered the seventh thousand year day of God. Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. (This is the only place Christians are commanded to keep the sabbath and this word is only used once - Sabbatismos – meaning a continual rest.) As we have seen we are commanded to cease from the works of the flesh every day not one of seven. Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works (of the flesh), as God did from his.  (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? A yoke couples two creatures together and you don't want to be yoked to the old man; the old man is dead. You aren't pulling alongside the old man, you aren't giving the old man equal time, are you? He's dead and now you're in control; you're not supposed to let him lead at all. This is like those two stages of separation. The first separation was to come out of “Egypt” or, in other words, separate yourself from the wicked world. The second was to come out from among those who proclaim to be “Israelites,” yet they walk after the flesh, they walk after false prophets and false leaders. 

Fr. Mike dives into the recurring issue of the Israelites rebelling against God and remaining stuck in their past as we read about the revolt of Korah, Dathan and Abiram against Moses and Aaron. Today's readings are Numbers 16, Deuteronomy 15-16, and Psalm 97. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Episode 253 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 8 – Jericho Old & New 2 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus … was sitting beside the road. …The blind man [said], “Master, I want to see!” Jesus told him, “… Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” At once the man could see ... The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10, verses 46 through 52, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: Hi. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. This is our 8th episode in a series that we are doing on archeology and the Bible. It’s popular today, especially in academia and the media, to attempt to portray the Bible as a book that has little connection to the real world. But when reviewed objectively the it is obvious that the Bible is a book that is firmly set in time and place and accurately reflects a large body of important history. And archeology has been extremely supportive of the Bible’s historical trustworthiness. That’s why we wanted to do this series. We want everyone, especially listeners to Anchored by Truth, to have a firm grasp on evidence by which they can be assured that the Bible is the inspired word of God. To help us continue to explore this topic, in the studio today we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books RD, thus far in this series we have reviewed a number of specific archeological finds that have confirmed details of the Bible. And in our last episode of Anchored by Truth we spent some time providing evidence that the story of the fall of Jericho told in the book of Joshua is true. Can you give us a brief reminder of some of the things we talked about? RD: Sure. One element of the Biblical story that is attested to by archeology is that Jericho was strongly fortified and could have held enough people to be militarily significant. A second element is that it was small enough for the Israelite army to march around seven times in one day. A third element is that when the archeologists excavated at Jericho they found a one-meter-thick layer of ash and debris, including jars of burnt wheat, in many sections of the city. Joshua, chapter 6, verse 24 says “Then [the Israelites] burned the whole city and everything in it …” One final piece of evidence that is consistent with the Bible is that one section of the city wall was found to still be upright and that there were houses whose back walls were actually part of the city’s walls. The Bible explicitly says that the harlot Rahab’s house was built into the city wall. Joshua, chapter 2, verse 15 says, “So [Rahab] let [the Hebrew spies] down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.” A German exploration team in 1907–1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else and formed the back wall of a house. VK: The main point of the evidence we cited is that there is ample archeological evidence to support the reliability of the Bible’s account the Israelites captured the city of Jericho exactly as the Bible describes. And then we talked briefly about, “why does it matter whether the story - as told in the Bible - is true?” Some people might very well say that whether the story is literally true or just an embellished account doesn’t make a difference. RD: And, as we said last week, the answer to that question is that it makes all the difference in the world whether the story is true. The city of Jericho was the first major obstacle the Israelites encountered when they ended their period of wandering in the desert and were about to enter the Promised Land. That’s not unusual even in the lives of faithful believers. Even if we are doing exactly what God wants us to do we can and should expect to encounter opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Overcoming opposition is a part of fulfilling God’s plans for our lives. And that is why it matters that the story of Joshua’s conquest is true. Humanly speaking Joshua and his soldiers may or may not have been able to ultimately breach Jericho’s walls. But they sure weren’t going to do it in a matter of days – more like months or maybe years. For the Hebrew conquest of Canaan to be successful it was vital for Joshua to keep the momentum going. But he couldn’t do that on his own. He needed God’s help. And he got it. And because Joshua really got the help he needed when he needed it that gives us hope we can receive help from that same God when we need it. VK: But if the story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho was just a legend or some kind of embellished story why would that give anyone hope. We might be able to learn lessons from stories – Jesus used parable to teach - but if we want real hope we need examples, real examples, of when our God came to the aid of His people. That’s one thing we get from the story of Jericho. But we only get that if the story is real history. RD: Exactly. Militarily and psychologically it was important for the Israelites to conquer Jericho to fulfill the mandate they had received from God to take possession of the land of Canaan. And with God’s help they did conquer Jericho and proceeded to other cities in Canaan. And most Christians, and many non-believers, have a sort of basic awareness of this episode from the Bible. Well, the book that contains the account of the conquest of Jericho is Joshua which in most modern Bibles is the 6th book of the Bible. VK: The book of Joshua immediately follows the five books that Moses wrote during the wilderness wanderings. Together these five books are often called the Pentateuch and they are sometimes referred to as the “Torah” or the “Law.” The book of Joshua is the first of the historical books which include Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. So, the book of Joshua is featured early in the Old Testament. RD: And while many, if not most, people are familiar with the story of the conquest of Jericho and the walls falling down, most people are probably not aware that the city of Jericho also appears in the New Testament - which, of course, means that Jericho was rebuilt after it was destroyed by Joshua. And the continuing story of Jericho is something we want to take a look at because it helps illustrate the unity of scripture. VK: So, the first thing we note is that, even though Joshua led the expedition against Jericho, Joshua himself prophesied that the city would be rebuilt. The Contemporary English Version of Joshua, chapter 6, verse 26 puts his prophecy this way: “After Jericho was destroyed, Joshua warned the people, ‘Someday a man will rebuild Jericho, but the LORD will put a curse on him, and the man's oldest son will die when he starts to build the town wall. And by the time he finishes the wall and puts gates in it, all his children will be dead.’” This prophecy was fulfilled over 500 years later. Ahab was the king of northern kingdom of Israel from around 871 B.C. to about 852 B.C. During Ahab’s time Jericho was rebuilt. 1 Kings, chapter 16, verse 34 tells us that a man named Hiel rebuilt the city. RD: That verse in the Contemporary English version says this. “While Ahab was king, a man from Bethel named Hiel rebuilt the town of Jericho. But while Hiel was laying the foundation for the town wall, his oldest son Abiram died. And while he was finishing the gates, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the LORD had told Joshua to say many years ago.” Now the Bible does not tell us why Hiel decided to rebuild Jericho but we can engage in a little sanctified speculation. Hiel was from Bethel and the location of Jericho was just a little to the east of Bethel. So, Hiel was very familiar with the area around Jericho and likely with the ruins. And he probably realized that the ruins contained a lot of potentially desirable building materials that he could salvage and repurpose. VK: Plus, as you mentioned, it had been over 500 years since the original Jericho had been destroyed. Perhaps Hiel reasoned that over such a long period Joshua’s original curse had simply expired. Also, Bethel was one of the religious sites for the northern kingdom. Let’s remember that the original unified nation of Israel had by this time split into the northern and southern kingdoms. After the split the northern kingdom was called Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. Jerusalem was the religious center for the southern kingdom but the northern kingdom had established two religious centers – one in Bethel and one in a more northerly city, Dan. So, it’s possible Hiel simply felt that now that the kingdoms were split he wouldn’t be affected by a curse that had been given during a time before the split. Or perhaps he just didn’t believe in the validity of the curse because he lived in a time and a place when his people had set aside many of the religious practices that had been inaugurated by Moses during the Exodus. RD: Any or all of those things are possible. As you noted Hiel was chronologically, culturally, and religiously a long ways away from the pronouncement of the curse. That’s how people reason. We tend to think that things from long ago won’t affect us. But that’s now how God acts. God had inspired Joshua to pronounce the curse to begin with. So, when Hiel rebuilt Jericho he suffered the penalty for his ignorance or his hubris and his children died. But the city of Jericho lived on and it was still in existence during Jesus’ lifetime. But there is one detail about Jericho’s reconstruction that we need to note. Even though Hiel rebuilt a town named Jericho he did not build it on exactly the same site as the original city. VK: And that makes perfect sense. The original site of Jericho would have been a mess. There were ruins of structures scattered everywhere, the residue from walls that had fallen in, the ground would have been uneven and hard to navigate. The original site would have been a very difficult place on which to build a new set of walls and buildings. So, Hiel probably made a sensible decision to salvage what materials were useful but to build the new city a short distance away. He would have chosen a site that was relatively level, more construction friendly, but close enough where any salvaged materials did not have to be transported very far. And that’s the configuration that came down to New Testament times. RD: And that configuration is an important element of understanding two passages from the New Testament. We heard one of those two passages in our opening scripture from the Gospel of Mark. The other passage that we want to compare is from the Gospel of Luke. It’s from Luke, chapter 18, verses 35 through 43. VK: Let’s listen to that section – again from the Contemporary English Version. When Jesus was coming close to Jericho, a blind man sat begging beside the road. The man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening. Some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. So the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people who were going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus stopped and told some people to bring the blind man over to him. When the blind man was getting near, Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see!” he answered. Jesus replied, “Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” At once the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. RD: So, that passage from Luke tells us that Jesus encountered the blind beggar as he “was coming close to Jericho” – in other words, as he was approaching Jericho. Now Mark told us the name of the beggar – Bartimaeus – which just means son of Timaeus – but Luke didn’t bother mentioning the name. But let’s remember what Mark told us about the encounter. In Mark the opening of the passage says, “Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, … A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus … was sitting beside the road.” VK: So, the distinction that you want us to note is that Mark tells us that Jesus encountered the beggar as they were “leaving” Jericho, but Luke says the encounter occurred “When Jesus was coming close to Jericho.” – in other words as Jesus was approaching Jericho. So, that does seem to be a bit of a problem. Luke says Jesus encountered the beggar on the way into Jericho, but Mark tells us it was he was leaving Jericho. That does seem to be a bit of a contradiction. RD: Yes, it does. But the key word you used is “seems.” And that’s where we need to go back to Hiel’s ill-fated decision to rebuild Jericho. Hiel rebuilt the city but, in all probability, he did not use exactly the same site for the reasons we have discussed. Plus Hiel’s reconstruction of Jericho was over 800 years before Jesus was born. And during those intervening 800 years there were a lot of invaders who had passed through Palestine including the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans. It’s entirely possible that some, or all, of the town Hiel rebuilt had been destroyed and rebuilt yet again. We do know that around Jesus’ time the heart of New Testament Jericho was the winter palace complex built by Herod the Great. New Testament Jericho was about 2 miles southwest of Old Testament Jericho. So, it is possible that Mark and Luke could be referring to an encounter that took place between the two sites. Mark was referring to Jesus leaving the vicinity of the Old Testament site and Luke was referring to Jesus approaching the New Testament site. VK: But it is also possible that Jesus had encountered a blind man on the way into Jericho who had tried, but failed, to get Jesus’ attention. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, verse 29 has this to say about Jesus’ encounter with blind beggars near Jericho. “Jesus was followed by a large crowd as he and his disciples were leaving Jericho. Two blind men were sitting beside the road. And when they heard that Jesus was coming their way, they shouted, ‘Lord and Son of David, have pity on us!’” Matthew goes on to say that Jesus did restore sight to both men although Matthew does not provide any names. Only Mark mentions a specific name. RD: Agreed. That is also a possibility. Some scholars believe that the reason Mark mentions a specific name of one of the men who was healed is that Bartimaeus was the more vocal and forceful of the two. And if Bartimaeus had initially tried to get Jesus’ attention as Jesus was approaching Jericho and then waited around to make another attempt, knowing that eventually Jesus would leave the city, that would also mean Bartimaeus had particularly strong faith. So, one reasonable explanation for how these 3 passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke can be reconciled is this. Bartimaeus had heard that Jesus was travelling in the vicinity. VK: And that was certainly possible. As even these accounts note Jesus was being accompanied by a large crowd. And people in Jericho and in that region knew that Jesus was going to be in Jericho at about that time. Let’s listen to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verses 1 through 4. “Jesus was going through Jericho, where a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was in charge of collecting taxes and was very rich. Jesus was heading his way, and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like. But Zacchaeus was a short man and could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree.” So, we know news about Jesus being in and around Jericho had circulated widely enough for a large crowd to gather. The crowd was so large that the chief tax collector of the region – who would have been a very important man in that time – wasn’t even able to get a glimpse of Jesus. It’s probable that, as we say, “the crowd was lining the streets.” To be able to see Jesus Zacchaeus was willing to completely put aside his dignity and climb a tree. RD: Right. So, a lot of people had heard about Jesus. His fame had spread. News travels fast in a place where villages are close and a person as famous as Jesus is in the area. Bartimaeus had probably heard that Jesus had performed miraculous healings. Most people in Israel at that time had heard that. As we’ve said, it appears that, even though his blindness had reduced him to begging, Bartimaeus still had very strong faith. So, Bartimaeus positions himself on the route into Jericho. Also, as we’ve said Jericho was an important place at that time – so important Herod the Great had built his winter palace there. VK: The palace complex was so large that it totaled over 35 acres. It had been built on the foundations of earlier royal palaces. The palace complex of Herod contained luxurious gardens, theaters, and athletic facilities as well as palaces and villas. That’s the kind of place that everyone knows about. There are going to be lots of people around who provide goods and services to the palace. That’s probably a big reason Zacchaeus lived in Jericho. He was the chief tax collector. He would have had his own mansion. And of course where there are big houses and rich people there will be a lot of trades people, merchants, and suppliers who all want their piece of the high end business. It would also have been a common place for beggars to gather. Beggars want to be where people with money are coming and going and that would have been Jericho in Jesus day. RD: Agreed. So, Bartimaeus either lives near Jericho or travels there knowing that Jesus is going to be in that vicinity. When Jesus is approaching Jericho Bartimaeus hears the commotion and starts calling out to Jesus to be healed. It’s possible that Jesus healed Bartimaeus at that time but it’s more likely the large crowd kept a blind man from getting Jesus attention on his first attempt. But, with his strong faith Bartimaeus knew Jesus would leave the city at some point. So, he decides to try again. While Jesus and the crowd are inside the city another blind beggar joins him and they wait together. Nothing would be more natural. It’s likely part of the crowd, maybe most of the crowd stayed in Jericho, either eating or spending the night. So, when Jesus came out Bartimaeus’ faith was rewarded because now he got Jesus’ attention and the healing he desired. VK: And so did the other beggar who joined him in the waiting. That provides us a good example of why it makes sense to be around people with strong faith. God pays attention to people with strong faith. So, if have faith that is still maturing or developing it’s a good idea to associate with people who are farther down the faith journey. In this instance it meant a man got his sight restored. He might otherwise have remained blind his entire life. RD: That’s a very cogent observation. VK: Thank you. But there’s a larger point we want to make in going into the details of these three passages. As with the account we heard from the book of Joshua when the walls fell, God miraculously intervened when people of faith had a dire need. But neither the story from Joshua or the reports of blind men being healed in the gospels are of any value to anyone today unless they are real history – unless those were real people, at real places, with real needs. RD: Right. And because of archeological finds we can be confident that that’s exactly what the Bible is reporting – real history. Jericho is still in existence today. It’s a real city with real residents. And it’s in about the same location as it was when Joshua encountered its massive walls. It was destroyed but it was rebuilt and as we’ve been discussing it played an important part in the New Testament. VK: And because we know that Jericho is real we have a great starting point for assembling the evidence that show that the miracles performed there were just as real as the city. RD: Right. The story of Joshua and Jericho tells us that we don’t have to be discouraged when we encounter obstacles in our lives of service to the Lord and others. The Lord knows of the obstacle long before we encounter it. And the story of Bartimaeus and his fellow blind beggar tells us God provides help to individuals as well as to large groups of people. In many ways Jericho is a great illustration of how the story of redemption unfolded in time. In Joshua’s day Jericho was an obstacle to be overcome. But when Jesus arrived it became a site of renewal and reformation. Zacchaeus renounced his greed and theft after encountering Jesus. Zacchaeus received spiritual healing which he desperately needed. VK: As do we all. RD: And Bartimaeus and his companion received physical healing. But as Jesus told Bartimaeus he was healed because of his faith. Before Jesus had dinner with him Zacchaeus had curiosity about Jesus but that curiosity was enough to lead him to true faith. Bartimaeus had real faith. That’s what kept him in place as he had to wait for God’s timing to provide his sight. Jericho is a place from which we can learn deep spiritual truths – but it wouldn’t be of any value if the accounts we hear about from the Bible weren’t true. Fortunately, for us they are. VK: And that is why we all need to be fully persuaded that the Bible is true. Verifying for ourselves that the Bible’s history is accurate is one step in that process of developing deep and abiding faith. And knowing a little bit about archeology can help us with that process. We have said this throughout our series. Archeology may or may not interest us as a subject. But we must know enough to be able to intelligently respond to the world’s resistance. Knowing a little bit about archeology can help with this greater goal. It’s just a little bit silly to believe that God will reward people whose faith wavers constantly. The book of James tells us He won’t. And we don’t have to surrender to a wavering faith. God has given us ample evidence that His word is true. And He is more than willing to help us live productive, joyful lives if we will just acknowledge that simple fact. This sounds like a time to go to God in prayer. There are many places around the world where Christians are persecuted just for acknowledging and proclaiming their belief in the God of the Bible. Let’s remember them in prayer today. ---- PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the Contemporary English Version) The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10, verses 46 through 52, Contemporary English Version

Numbers 13–31Main Point: The Israelites, even their leaders, continue to fail and exhibit a lack of faith in the LORD to keep His promises. Still, the LORD preserves and judges His people.Texts to Consider:Numbers 14:5–10; 26–38What were the results of the spies' mission and their report back?Numbers 16:12–16What is interesting about the words used by Dathan and Abiram?What happened (Numbers 16:31–32; 16:41–50)?Numbers 20:1–13What did Moses do wrong?Numbers 21:4–9; 2 Kings 18:4; John 3:14–15Moses put what on a pole?Numbers 22:1–6Why was Balak, king of Moab, so afraid of Israel?Numbers 24:15–19Who is Balaam talking about?Numbers 27:12–23

We Need To Check Ourselves (2) (audio) David Eells 1/14/24 Pray Alone With God David  The Man-child is coming to chose the Bride and we need to be in love with the Lord. Did Jesus teach that we are to have a personal relationship prayer life with God? More than that He commanded it. Or did He call for prayer meetings?  Mat 6:5 And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.  Did Jesus also demonstrate this personal prayer life alone with God?   Mat 14:23 And after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray: and when even was come, he was there alone.  Mar 6:45-46 ASV And straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, while he himself sendeth the multitude away. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he departed into the mountain to pray.  Mat 26:36-40 ASV Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and sore troubled. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (So even when His life was threatened He sought God personally.) 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?   Luk 6:12 ASV And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God.  Others followed Jesus' command and example to have a personal prayer life to God.  Act 10:9 Now on the morrow, as they were on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour:  Act 10:30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel, 31 and saith, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.  Some are afraid their faith is never enough but it should be so; we should cast off this fear for He loves us and cares for us. Some had a bad relationship to a parent or spouse and see God in the same light and are not sure God loves them and wants to meet their every need as He said. An expectant bride should trust that her groom loves her enough to provide for her like it was with Esther.  We must seek this personal relationship in prayer alone with God not just in a crowd trusting in their faith. “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to God.” When Jesus ministered to others he said, “be it unto you according to your faith.” And “As you have believed so shall it be unto you.” Ask Him for the gift of faith to love Him and respect Him as our provider, our Jehovah Jireh. Cast out double mindedness and doubt demons.  Father is asking us to seek this faith relationship with Him now before the return of the Lord to choose His bride. If you have this faithful relationship with him then adding your faith to others is of worth. Then if any two agree its powerful. Ask Him for this relationship and forgive everybody from the heart.  If you only feel comfortable in a crowd or an eating meeting, then you need to seek this relationship to Him now. He got alone with God for 40 days and forgot about the food.  My best talks with Father are when I am reading the Word or in the middle of the night alone when there are no responsibilities and all is quiet.  Father has been telling me that many are too busy, even religiously busy, to spend time alone with the Lord so check your heart and seek repentance if so.  What is the secret cause of the coming revival? Is it power? No that's a result of the revival. Is it timing? Thats part of it. The Man-child anointing will bring revival and it won't happen before. Is it “vain repetition” in prayer? Jesus said no. We are to believe we have received whenever we pray according to Mark 11:23-24.  How many times have we heard that past great revivals were traced to some old ladies praying on their own and believing God. :0) I have watched pre-promoted church revivals come and go for 54 years and its always the same. A few people get healed and delivered or just saved in some churches who don't believe in the power today. This probably would have happened anyway but they still call it revival. But the people didn't seek deliverance of their sins from and by the Lord. They trusted they were in good standing because of their association with an a church, a preacher, or “what we believe”, etc.  What is the foundation and preparation for the coming greatest revival? It is the condition so often repeated in scripture: “Repent and believe”. The churches are full of “just accept Jesus” converts who will miss this opportunity. Let's look at the cause and foundation for this coming revival.  Exo 19:10-12, 10 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments, (So will it start with the multitudes? No it will start with the anointed Man-child represented by Moses here. No one can prime it until then, as it was with Jesus, The Man-child. But we can prepare to receive it by personal relationship with the Lord and sanctification from our sins.) 11 ASV and be ready against the third day (Here is some timing, plus 40 days (as we shall see). We are at the morning of the third thousand year day from Jesus.); for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. (He is coming in His Man-child reformers by Word and Spirit to begin revival and the timing is set.)  12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: (To ascend the mountain of the Lord's presence represents death to self, I.e. repentance and sanctification. So it is with Paul who said “ye are come unto mount Zion” Heb 12:22, with the presence of the Lord at the top.)  Exo 24:12-18 ASV And Jehovah said unto Moses (The Man-child, but it is true of all who want to come into his presence through death to self.), Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. (Time alone with the Word prepared Moses to come to the people with the glory shining from his face.)  13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them. 15 And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount. 16 And the glory of Jehovah abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day (More timing plus 40 days. We are at the 7th thousand year day from the first Adam.) he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire (Our God is a consuming fire; consuming the wood, hay and stubble of the old man.) on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.   18 And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud (Representing entering the glory of God), and went up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. (Forty is the number of testing. Jesus, the Man-child, also got alone with God and was tested for forty days. Both got alone with God, heard Him, and then overcame the enemy, the flesh and the Devil. They both used fasting too in order to weaken the flesh. So why is food now days so involved with drawing near to God and seeking revival? Busyness, even religious busyness, or constant fellowship, robs this most important time of soul searching with God and prevents the revival in one's heart where it has to begin. I watched for years those who came to the Lord the same time as me and where are they? They spent no time with the two edged sword, one edge being for self.)  Once again the foundation and cause of revival is repentance and sanctification. Didn't God tell Moses, Take your shoes off this is holy ground. He didn't want Moses separated from holiness. He had to stand holy/sanctified to be in God's presence.  Luk 3:2-8 ASV in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins; (And he preached this to God's people many of whom turned against Jesus because their repentance from sin was skin deep.)  4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. (Notice: The path from the Word of the Lord to your heart must be prepared by repentance.) 5 Every valley shall be filled (Meaning the humble will receive from the Lord), And every mountain and hill shall be brought low (The proud will hold to their sin and receive judgment instead of the revival of Christ in them just as the faction has.); And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth; (Departing from crooked ways to follow the straight path without stumbling blocks of sin is necessary for the Lord to enter the heart.)  6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. (All types of men saw Him but not all men saw with the eyes of their heart.) 7 He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (The Pharisaical didn't believe repentance was for them because of religious pride just as we can have now.) 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father (You may think, “But I follow David or Michael or Jesus”): for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And even now the axe also lieth at the root of the trees (Have you not seen them cut off? And we thought some were holy.): every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Fruit is proven through testing, which they failed.)  Luk 3:21-22 ASV Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, (John tried to stop Jesus from receiving the baptism of repentance but Jesus said, “thus it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness.” Without true repentance 3 out of 4 fall away.) 22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son: in thee I am well pleased. Is He please to dwell beside willful sin? Luk 4:1-21 ASV And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan (Where He received the baptism of repentance as a demonstration to us.), and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness 2 during forty days (Again timing + 40 days alone with God overcoming the devil as a type of the Man-child to come.), being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered. (Fasting and prayer through alone time with God was the key to overcoming temptations that to us identifies sin that most don't even know are there.)  3 And the devil said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread. (To us this would be the temptation to prove our power for self-glory to feed our flesh in the next verse.) 4 And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. 5 And he led him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them (Representing temptation to have the glory of men.): for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine. (Temptation to gain disciples and authority over them for self-glory like the factious and ambitious always do. This is always bowing the knee to the devil.) 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.   9 And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple (Temptation in a very visible place for self-glory.), and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: 11 and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Temptation to test God's ability to save while being self-seeking.) 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.   As we can see, most of Jesus' temptations were about seeking the glory of men, which He of course did not do. But there are many who do. There is jealousy, competition, exclusiveness, putting on shows, disrespect, self-seeking, etc., such as those who fall into faction among leadership people or otherwise.  Seeking self-glory is a common temptation for leadership and makes them unqualified for the Man-child status or any other leadership position. Joh 12:42-43 ASV Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: 43 for they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God. (Jesus said qualification is to reject the approval of men to confess Him before men.)  Joh 5:41-44 ASV I receive not glory from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yourselves. 43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. (And the wicked with their fear of rejection did receive the wicked testimony of men.) 44 How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only God ye seek not?  Joh 7:18 ASV He that speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. (So did God send you to say that against all of God's commands or was it for your own glory?)  Mat 6:1-4 ASV Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2 When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.  Back to our text: 13 And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season. (After overcoming selfish temptations by drawing near to God alone the revival began through Him as a type for the Man-child today.) 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.   16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written, (After overcoming all temptations through fellowship with the Father He was anointed to bring the revival.) 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears.  So I say that God warned me to tell you this because your time to be chosen to be in the Man-child and Bride body is very short. As we saw with Jesus, when the Man-child came He chose the Bride. Go into your spiritual 40 days, representing a time of testing, alone with God and ask Him to seek out your sin and reveal it to you so you may reject it as Job did and be cleansed with the pure glowing white robe of the Bride. And the Lord and Baruch gave an Amen to this revelation!  We are told that there will be 10 days to 2 weeks of media darkness during martial law except to declass criminal activities in an 8 hour video playing over and over. This is mostly for those who listen to news on TV. The rest of us already know what is going on. I suggest you use this time to draw near to Father and ask Him to show you any sin. Then renounce and forsake them believing they were nailed to the cross as in Rom 6. Shortly after this time the Man-child reformers will begin to appear and the Bride will be chosen. God bless you my friends. The advantages of the Bride are tremendous.    Beware Be Watchful, My Glory  Debbie Fenske 1/8/24  It was on my heart to ask the Lord that in my time alone with Him this morning He would allow me to hear Him speak to me. Thank you, Father.   "Beware of the subtle one. Beware of the pretender who will try to come to you with a voice as the sound of My voice. Beware. He will try to come in your thoughts. He will come with a still small voice. He will come in your flesh. And he will come to try and deceive you in this time. I say to beware. Be watchful unto yourselves. Beware and be careful to do everything that you have been told to do. This time is crucial, and your light will soon shine forth as the stars. Intense, and in great brightness will it shine forth from you; My glory in you, shining forth through you, bringing attention to Me, your Glory and the lifter of your head. So be lifted up, My people.   You have been hearing that the time of My glory coming to be revealed in you is soon. I say, it is here. I am standing at the door ready to make My entrance. This is not the time to yield to temptation, lies, deceptions. Beware. For these will try to speak very loud to you, now, and in the days ahead of you. Much louder. So, as you have opportunity, hold one another up. Be strong for one another.   I say to you, My Glory, beware, be watchful, be obedient and steadfast with a single eye on My glory ready to shine through you. What glory awaits! Keep your eyes on me. Nothing else. What glory awaits!"  I asked Father if He would give me a couple scriptures about our seeking Him and waiting on Him in our times alone with Him, and, about us being His glory. The first place my finger landed in was Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek Me and find Me when you will search for Me with all your heart." I landed on "for Me." Thank you for that, Lord,  The next scripture came to me a little differently. But it was exciting for me how Father did this. I first landed in Isaiah 47:6, which is about God's anger with His people who profaned His inheritance. (When the Lord returns in His Man-child reformers he will judge these Edomite haters of their chosen brothers.) I was like, "No. no. this can't be it!" I turned my eyes to look directly across to the previous page which was chapter 46. (The opposite of them is the chosen.)  How awesome! Isaiah 46:13 "I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; and My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation (The meaning of Jesus is “Jah is Salvation” and where is He >) in Zion, and My glory for Israel." Glory to your name Lord!  And I thought it very interesting how He spoke of His glory, "My Glory," in this word, because I almost didn't use it, thinking it may just be from myself. But then I heard, "Use it." Thank you, Lord! (He is the glory of the Lord and His people.) Yes Lord. We want to seek You, to search for You with all our hearts, and come into Your very likeness from glory to glory. We are to be Your glory on this earth, and by faith we are Your glory, Your glorious Bride. Thank You for helping us to give You not just our time, but that all our time with You will be with You and You alone. I thank You for Your great mercy and Your great grace towards each of us. Thank You that in Your sovereignty You desire us to show forth Your glory, to be Your glorious spotless Bride.  Now help us to be obedient to You, to be to so watchful and aware of Satan's devices, his temptations to lure us away from our time alone with You. We can do all things through You, Jesus, Who strengthens us. We thank You that Your salvation and Your righteousness will not delay. Make us understand the urgency in what is required of us if we want to be in Your glorious Bride and be Your Glory as You shine through us on this earth doing the work You have called us to do, all for the glory of Your name. Thank You for Your grace given to all who are called to be in Your Bride, all over the world. Thank you, Father! Amen.    Bike Usage, A Prayer Life Vision  Anonymous 9/1/23  I had a vision of a standard BMX on the floor in a dank gloomy garage. There was clutter and items that had collected a large amount of dust. It was possible to make clear writing in the dust. (The bike ends up being a prayer life that is ignored and the consequences.) Then I saw a young man, he was in his room reading and doing tasks. He would then occasionally pick up a manual on bikes and say he liked a particular model. Then he placed it by his side and slept.  (A bike represents balance and the manual the Bible represents the same thing.) Another day and not many changes. He grew old and rarely even considered looking at the bike manual anymore. (The Bible) He then got old, and declared to throw it all out, his time had gone for that. Then he never thought of it again, he was caught in his impending death.  Then I saw a fit young man who had stories and excitement every moment. All he wanted to do was ride his bike. He shared it with everyone. He rode everyday everywhere. And he was constantly happy.   He had accidents and was seriously hurt but never stopped riding his bike once he was healed. He never changed because of his age or his other life duties.   His family then rode too and independently had a love for it their own way. He got old and couldn't ride but passionately wanted to and would encourage everyone to ride. He spoke and wrote books and submitted articles to enrich lives with the use of the bike.   Then he donated it to young children all just before his death. He and his family all cherished the times together well spent.  I then realized; this is our PRAYER LIFE.  The bike is getting close to God. It's a means and relationship. You can do much more when you use the bike and go places doing more amazing things than it laying on the floor. You could read about a bike but not ever think about where it could take you. Praying is an adventure. It's real and when you keep doing it, it will get easier and more in tune with God. Then when you connect with God, that is all you want to do is bathe in His presence and talk with Him and talk about Him with others. He becomes your all, your desires, wants, He is your only need.   I'm convinced, convicted and a flame kindled to go to the Lord and pray. Pray openly, pray about everything.    Be Ye Separate  David In the New Testament, “sanctification” is the Greek word hagiasmos and it means “separated from sin and consecrated unto God.” This sanctification has been given to us as a gift through Jesus Christ; it is also something that we attain to through faith in that gift. In other words, the Lord will fulfill it in us, if we go after it by faith.  (Rom.5:1) Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; (2) through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We believe the Lord has given us this sanctification and holiness because of His promises. God can't really bless an individual, nor can He bless a body of people, that's been polluted by the world. If we walk in repentance and faith, the Lord will account it to us as righteousness, but if we walk in rebellion and self-will, the Lord's chastening will be upon us.   The Bride will have special protection and provision from the Lord. The Bride is not all the people of God, as much of the Church says. (Son.6:8) There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number. (9) My dove, my undefiled, is but one.… He was speaking about the Bride. There are many people of God whom God loves, but the Bride is a special place because the Bride represents Zion, as we know from Revelation 21.   Zion, of course, was only a small part of the parable of God's people in the Old Testament. There was all of Israel and there was all of Judah, and then there was Zion.   I'd like to briefly review a little about the protection that is afforded the Bride. In 2 Kings 18, we have the revelation of the end-time Beast's attack upon God's people. The Assyrian empire and the king of Assyria conquered all of Israel, and those whom they didn't kill, they carried away captive. (2Ki.18:9) And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.   (10) And at the end of three years they took it: in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. (11) And the king of Assyria carried Israel away unto Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, (12) because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.  They conquered all of Judah next. (2Ki.18:13) Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them. (14) And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.   (15) And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house. (16) At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.   But we find that God zealously protected Zion, or Jerusalem, because it represented something for our day. Assyria was the second of the seven heads of the last Beast (Revelation 12:3, 13:1, 17:3,9), which consists of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medio-Persia, Greece, Rome and the revived Rome. Every one of those Beast kingdoms represents a revelation that is going to happen in the end time because today all seven heads are a part of this Beast. Assyria, as that second head, gives us the revelation of God's protection for His Bride, Jerusalem.   (2Ki.19:30) And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (31) For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape (This is talking about escape from the Beast kingdom that is conquering God's people.):the zeal of the Lord shall perform this. So the Lord is zealous, but why is He zealous over this particular part of His people and not the rest of His people? Why was He not zealous to protect and to destroy the Beast before it conquered all of Israel and Judah? It's because of what Zion represents: it represents the Bride.   (Rev.21:9) And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. (10) And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem (New Jerusalem), coming down out of heaven from God,  (The Bride is manifestly born from above.) (11) having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: (12) having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: (13) on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. (14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Amen!   What is it about Jerusalem that represents something so holy and so perfect? Well, the wall of Jerusalem represents something. In the Song of Solomon, the bride, the Shulamite, which means “perfected one,” said (Son.8:10) I am a wall.... A wall represents sanctification; it represents separation from the world. Jerusalem was encompassed with this wall and it was a separation, a protection, from the Beast. And the bride also said of her immature little sister, (Son.8:9) If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret (or “battlement”) of silver.... “If she be a wall” sounds strange. Why would the bride be a “wall”?   And why would this be something to protect her little sister? It's because God will defend us, if we are sanctified, if we are separated. He will defend us, if our hedge is not let down for the enemy to come in and dwell in us, either individually or as a body of people. God defends the Bride and He will even defend the little sister before she comes to maturity, “if she be a wall.”   (2Ki.19:32) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. (33) By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith the Lord.   (34) For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. (35) And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand (185,000 men): and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. There is a place of safety in holiness and separation from the world, but there is none for those who walk in their own self-will and rebellion.   Then, after Hezekiah became ill, he pleaded with God for his life, saying that he had served the Lord. (2Ki.20:1) In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thy house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. (2) Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, (3) Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.   (4) And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, (5) Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the prince of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of Jehovah. (6) And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.   That's exactly what the rest of the Bible says about the regenerate daughter of Zion. God promises to defend them. When they walked in righteousness and purity, that wall represented separation and sanctification. (Pro.11:4) Riches profit not in the day of wrath; But righteousness delivereth from death.  Again, the Greek word for “sanctification” is hagiasmos, which means “separation unto God”; in other words, “purification and separation from the world and from sin unto God.” The word for “saints,” hagios, is the root word for “sanctification.” “Saint” means “sanctified ones.” “Saints” are those people who are “separated from the world unto God” and all through the New Testament the Lord addresses the “saints,” the separated and sanctified ones.   (Heb.12:14) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord. We certainly want to see the Lord, don't we? We want to see Him after this life, but we also want to see Him in this life. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. Without sanctification, we are not going to see the Lord. We won't see Him in the mirror, we won't come into His image and we won't ultimately see Him.   However, even the little sister can be sanctified and separated from the world. Even the little sister can be running after the Lord with all of her heart. The Shulammite was seeking to bring her little sister into the presence of the king, Solomon, who represents our King. She was protecting and raising her up, just as the Bride will do in these days.   And Paul says, (Heb.12:14) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: (15) looking carefully lest [there be] any man that falleth short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you,] and thereby the many be defiled. Many so-called “Christians” in these days are being defiled by roots of bitterness or by other people who have roots of bitterness. Those who are slanderers, gossipers, back-biters, these people are defiled. They are like Esau who sold his birthright through bitterness.  You need to be careful to remain sanctified and separated from them, as we're commanded. (Tit.3:10) A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse. In other words, separate yourself from them. (Heb.12:16) Lest [there be] any fornicator.... “Fornicator” has a spiritual aspect here: this is someone who has relations with the world and not the Lord. Esau was ordained, as a son of Abraham, to have relations with the Lord, yet he was having relations with the world and receiving the seed of another kingdom. He was receiving this root of bitterness which was, of course, from the devil and not from God. (Heb.12:16) Lest [there be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright.   Now I know “meat” here just means “food,” but it also brings to mind the thought of “flesh” because Esau followed, or “sought after,” the flesh. He found that “meat” was more important than his birthright, which was the inheritance he received because he was a child of Abraham. (Heb.12:17) For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected.... There isn't going to be a blessing to those who refuse sanctification through the Word. There isn't going to be a blessing to those who choose to receive the seed of the world, instead of being separated from the world, its nature and its curse. Esau was “rejected.” He sold his birthright and forfeited the double-portion blessing of the first-born.   There are people who are considered to be people of God, but who have been reprobated. They do not know the ways of peace and do not “follow after peace with all men,” as the Scripture says here. They have a root of bitterness and they spread their root of bitterness, so God has rejected them. (Heb.12:17) For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind (which is basically the meaning of “repentance”) [in his father,] (“In his father” was added in by the translator, according to his own understanding, but it's not in the original.) though he sought it diligently with tears.   In other words, Esau himself wanted deliverance from this curse, but he was defiled by a root of bitterness and, of course, his seed after him was defiled because the sins of the parents are passed on to the children of the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5, 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9). We know that Jesus came to break genetic curses that have been passed on, but Esau, even though he was a seed of Abraham, refused the inheritance that he had received through his father and traded it away just like Judas. Remember how Jacob, Esau's brother, was greatly blessed after he separated himself from Esau. The Lord gave Jacob so much fruit and such great abundance that it surprised Esau when, after many years, Jacob returned with his wives, children, herds and flocks (Genesis 32, 33).   Bearing much fruit and receiving many blessings is a symbol of being sanctified and separated from that which is unholy, corrupt and bitter. It's a symbol of being separated from that which has been rejected as “accursed.” Jacob bore much fruit and received much blessing because he separated himself from those who were not sanctified. We find this pattern repeated all the way through the Bible. We are all sons of Abraham through faith and we receive our inheritance through faith, but God demands of us separation and we see many types and shadows of this in the Scriptures.   There are actually two stages of separation: First, God separates His people from the world and then, second, He separates from His people those who are worldly. After Abraham was called out from Ur of the Chaldees, which was Babylon, Abraham was later separated from Lot and his family, who initially came with him out of Babylon. Lot unwisely chose to settle in Sodom, which obviously was not a place of sanctification or separation from the world, and that decision brought a great curse upon Lot and his family. So notice that God called Abraham to separate from the Babylonians and then Abraham was separated from those who were not living a life that was as holy as his.   Another good type is when God separated His people, Israel, in the land of Egypt. He separated them from the Egyptians through the judgments that Moses, the Man-child, brought upon the Egyptians. Goshen represents that land where the Israelite was separated from the Egyptian. We know the first three judgments came upon both the Israelites and the Egyptians, but after God's people had once again received the fear of the Lord, then the rest of the judgments fell only upon the Egyptians. (Exo.8:23) And I will put a division between my people and thy people: by to-morrow shall this sign be.   A different representation of that is the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea, where God made a separation of His people from the Egyptians, a separation of the spiritual man from the carnal man. (Exo.14:21) And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.   (22) And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. (23) And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. (28) And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea; there remained not so much as one of them.   Apostle Paul used that parable to show that in the Red Sea there was a baptism unto death for the Egyptian, who represented the old man that had been keeping Israel in bondage. (Heb.11:29) By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. Folks, in these days God's people are once again in bondage to the old man. And, once again, the Lord is going to send deliverance by the hand of the Man-child in the form of judgments on Egypt. Those judgments are going to cause God's people to realize that they need to depart from Egypt and stop submitting to the old man, who has been keeping them in bondage.   So God separated the Israelites from the Egyptians and brought them into the wilderness, but now He still had to separate the unbelievers from among them. You know, people like to think that only Egyptians are unbelievers, yet the unbelievers who complained in the wilderness were the unbelievers of His Own people. God could not bring Israel, even the faithful Israelites, into the Promised Land of blessing that was “flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 31:20; Numbers 14:8; Exodus 33:3; etc.) until all the unfaithful and unbelieving had died in the wilderness.   The righteous people among the Israelites, whom Joshua and Caleb represented, had to endure a time of trial and tribulation so that these unbelieving, murmuring Israelites would be separated from them. The righteous didn't get to see the blessings they should have received until that happened because God wasn't going to bless the unrighteous among the righteous. Who entered into the Promised Land? Other than Joshua and Caleb, it wasn't those Israelites who left Egypt; it was their children who entered the land of milk and honey, the blessings, the provisions of God.  Their old man shall die in the wilderness but their fruit will enter in. This is a process that God does in each and every one of us, too. We need to learn to come out from among the world and be separate because there is no place of blessing without sanctification. God wants us to separate ourselves from the “leaven” of wicked people. (Mat.16:12) Then understood they that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Even if they call themselves “Christians,” He wants to separate them from us so that we can receive the blessings.   I once asked the Lord, “Why are there so many Judases and Jezebels rising up? You know they can't help themselves; it is demons in them that rise up and torment the Church, speak and rail against the people, argue about doctrine, take authority they don't have and all these things. Why is this happening?” And the Lord told me very plainly, “I'm doing you a favor.” I said, “How so, Lord?” The Lord answered, “Because you don't want all these people going into the wilderness with you, do you?” I replied, “No, I don't.”   I do know that in the wilderness there will still be some of these people to try the people of God because when Jesus chose the 12, one of them was the “son of perdition,” Judas. Of course, Judas had a ministry, but there are many more than we evidently need, from what the Lord told me. He is certainly revealing and separating them from His people in these days. God's people also need to understand and cooperate with God in this process of separation because this wasn't a job for only Moses or just the elders of Israel. This was a job for all of Israel to do. We are going to see from the Scriptures that we need to separate ourselves from those who are “leaven” and are keeping us from being sanctified.   Sanctification is needed individually and corporately. First of all, individually we are to (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? (16) And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, (18) And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.   And then, corporately, we are to be sanctified as the body of Christ. The Bride is so beautiful to God because it is a body of people who become separated from the rest of Israel because of their purity and holiness. By the way, the Greek word hagiasmos is translated as both “holiness” and “sanctification” in the New Testament. “Holiness” and “sanctification” both mean “separation from the world and from that which is impure, unto God.”   When Israel went into the wilderness, they had already been separated from the Egyptians, which basically represents salvation. When you go through the Red Sea, the Egyptian is cut off; it is your water baptism. So these are people who are what we call today “saved”; however, they still weren't sanctified as a body. Yes, there were people among them who were sanctified and always walked in righteousness, but as a body, they weren't sanctified and couldn't come into the blessings of God.   So God brought them through trials in the wilderness to prove them. He was going to show who was a part of the sanctified body and who it was who would refuse being sanctified and separated from the world.   (Exo.32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods.... The word for “gods” there is Elohim and it's the same word that they used for the true God because what they really wanted was something visible that the flesh could follow. Our God is invisible for a reason. He doesn't want us making pictures or statues of Him to bow down to or follow. He wants us to know Him by the Spirit and not by the flesh; the flesh won't obey God. He wants us to walk by faith and faith is when you don't see, but you obey anyway.   (Exo.32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. Well, God delayed this in order to try them, to see if they would turn aside out of the way and that's just what they did.   (Exo.32:2) And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. (3) And all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. (4) And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Obviously, it was just a pile of gold. They had made a god after a fleshly image that impressed them, but had nothing to do with Elohim.   (Exo.32:5) And when Aaron saw [this,] he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord. (6) And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. You know, there are many false gods that people proclaim to be the Lord God because they permit them to live in a way that pleases their flesh.  (Exo.32:7) And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people (Notice they aren't God's people anymore.), that thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: (8) they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. This molten calf was probably a replica of Apis, the calf god of Egypt. They knew of a god in Egypt and when Moses wasn't around to lead them, they quickly reverted back to their Egyptian god.   (Exo.32:9) And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people (Not all of them were stiff-necked, but a majority of them were.): (10) now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. So we see that when they were all together as a body, God condemned them. There needed to be a separation of that which was good in their midst and God agreed to this a little further on.   (Exo.32:11) And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, that thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? (12) Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil did he bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people.   (13) Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever. (14) And the Lord repented of the evil which he said he would do unto his people.   The Lord didn't consume them at that time, but He did lay down some conditions: (Exo.32:26) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on the Lord's side, [let him come] unto me. (This is interesting; evidently, there were some who were on the Lord's side during all of this. There were people who didn't believe the golden calf was God.) And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.   The Levites represent something in the New Testament: (Exo.19:5) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: (6) and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. God's true people are a “holy” people, meaning “separated from the world and sanctified.” The Levites were separated to be God's own possession and in this situation the Levites were not in agreement with the rest of the body of Israelites about the golden calf.   Moses said, (Exo.32:26) Whoso is on the Lord's side, [let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi (the holy nation, the priests of God) gathered themselves together unto him. (27) And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. (28) And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.   What does this represent? It represents a sanctification of the people who had not fallen into this worship of a false god. Now we know in the New Testament that we are forbidden to use a physical sword against our enemies: (Mat.26:52) Then saith Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. But we do have a sword which we are commanded to use. Our sword is the Word of God.   (Eph.6:13) Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   When you are in the midst of a body and some of those people are unholy, they are what is blocking you from receiving the blessing as a body because God cannot bless the body without also blessing these evil, wicked people. We just read that it was Moses and all the priests of God who were called to sanctify the body. And as a kingdom of priests of God, we're all called to use the sword of the Word to separate and sanctify the body.   If someone who is called a “believer” comes unto you but is walking in willful sin, the Bible tells you what to do about it: (1Co.5:9) I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators; (10) not at all [meaning] with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world: (11) but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.   (12) For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? (13) But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves. You are to separate from them, (Eph.5:11) and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them.   In other words, you take your sword and you point out to this person that they are one of the people who is stopping the body from receiving the great blessings that God wants to pour out. God couldn't bless Israel while they were in Egypt; He had to separate them from that body. But then there was still something that was blocking them from receiving the great blessings from God in the wilderness and it was those unbelievers in their midst. Even though they were Israelites and they would today be called “Christians,” they were blocking the blessings from the body and something had to be done about it.   Would you take the sword? The Bible says we are cursed if we don't use our sword. (Jer.48:10) Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Would you sit on that sword? Or would you use it to correct the brother or sister who comes to you with slander, gossip, hatred or judgment against the body? Would you obey the Word and correct that person?   (Mat.18:15) And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (16) But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. (17) And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.   For instance, would you tell the brother who is assaulting the elders, “Look, it is forbidden for us to receive an accusation against an elder without witnesses”? Would you correct a brother or sister in your midst who is committing fornication and yet they are sitting right next to you in a church pew, being accepted by the rest of the body? Would you be the one with the sword and do what was necessary for the local body to be blessed? Is your allegiance to your friend or is your allegiance to God? Is it more important to build up the body to receive the blessings of God because it is holy or is it more important to keep the friendship you have with your friend? I believe most of Christianity would think, “That's not my job. That's the preacher's job.” No, that's not what we are seeing here and that's not what we see in the rest of the Scriptures, either.   Let's read on. (Exo.32:28) And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. (29) And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, yea, every man against his son, and against his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. There wasn't going to be a blessing until there was this separation and the sword was applied to these people who had caused the problem.   (Exo.32:30) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin. (31) And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. (32) Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. (33) And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.  He pardoned. He did not bring wrath upon the whole body because He wanted to bring wrath upon those who sinned. The trials that they were about to go through were going to reveal those murmurers and unbelievers among them, and through these trials, those people were put to death in the wilderness. So those who sinned against Him, those who worshipped the false god and polluted the body, these people bore their judgment. He said, “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book,” and God is still doing this in the New Testament.   (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. (Rev.3:5) He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.   (Exo.32:34) And now go, lead the people unto [the place] of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. Those people died in the wilderness because of their unbelief, their murmuring and their lack of sanctification. God was their provider that whole time, but they still rebelled against the Lord. (Exo.32:35) And the Lord smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.   The truly righteous people in their midst had to suffer for these other people because there had been no sanctification of the body. Think about the Joshuas and the Calebs, who were going through the wilderness with these people and suffering along with them. They actually deserved to go and walk into the Promised Land, yet they were suffering.   There has to be a separation so that we can come into the great miracles, great revival and great blessings of provision that are just ahead of us for the people of God.   Another trial that God used to separate between the righteous and rebellious Israelites was the Korah rebellion. If you remember, Korah took it upon himself to be a leader in Israel, even though that position wasn't given to him by God. Yet Moses was someone who never wanted the authority that the Lord gave him. (Exo.4:10) And Moses said unto the Lord, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. (11) And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh [a man] dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? (12) Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak. (13) And he said, Oh, Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.   Moses considered himself to be inadequate and was trying to convince God to send someone else. So why did so many people follow Korah? I'm suspecting that Korah was a smooth, persuasive talker and maybe even good-looking. The people followed him, but think about all the miracles that God had done through Moses, who was slow of tongue, evidently not quick-witted and not eloquent. (Num.16:19) And Korah assembled all the congregation against them (Moses and Aaron) unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation. (20) And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, (21) Separate yourselves (this represents sanctification) from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.   The Lord didn't want to consume all of them; He wanted to consume those who were taking sides with Korah. (Num.16:22) And they (Moses and Aaron) fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? Obviously, the people had the choice of whom to follow, but while they were one body and in rebellion, the Lord was considering the whole body as perpetrators. (23) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, (24) Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. In other words, separate yourselves from among these people so I can protect you, so I can bless you, so I can chasten them.   (Num.16:25) And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. (26) And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs (Be separate from all their thoughts and doings.), lest ye be consumed in all their sins. If you're touching something, you are not separated, are you? (27) So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.   (28) And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of mine own mind. (29) If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. (30) But if the Lord make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then ye shall understand that these men have despised the Lord.  (We have certainly seen the wicked going to hell while alive.) I've shared with you in the past that being swallowed alive by the earth represents being swallowed up by the flesh. (1Ti.5:6) But she that giveth herself to pleasure is dead while she liveth. We're not here to please the flesh or to be consumed by the flesh, yet people who are in rebellion against God will be delivered over to their flesh. They will be unable to overcome that flesh because of their rebellion. The Lord is saying to separate yourself from people who live after the lust of their flesh, so that you're not swallowed up by the curse that's upon them.   It has to be important to us that God's body be holy and separate from these people because people in willful disobedience need to be judged. Of course, if they are repentant, if they are turning away from their sin, then we should encourage them. But if they are happy to sit in the midst of their sins and want to use doctrine to justify themselves, then they need to be separated. Paul said, (1Co.5:6) ... Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? (7) Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened....  He commands us there to separate from these people so the whole body is not leavened or considered by God to be leavened. In whatever place you are, you always want that body to come into the blessing and provision of God. But when God reveals these people, and you can see that He has turned them over to be consumed by their flesh, then you need t