Podcasts about Asaph

Welcome to Day 2672 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2672 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 75:1-10– Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2672 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2672 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: God, The Ultimate Judge – No Boasting Before Him - A Trek Through Psalm 75:1-10. Today, we embark on a powerful new trek through Psalm 75 in the New Living Translation, encompassing its foundational verses, 1 through 10. Psalm 75, like the last two psalms we explored, is also penned by Asaph, one of King David's chief musicians. However, after the raw, desperate cries of Psalm 74—a communal lament over the utter devastation and desecration of the Temple, and a fervent plea for God to remember His covenant and His honor—Psalm 75 strikes a decidedly different and triumphant note. It's a psalm of thanksgiving, yes, but also a bold proclamation of God's righteous judgment and absolute sovereignty. It addresses one of the most agonizing questions we face: why do the wicked often seem to get away with their wickedness, even prospering, while the righteous suffer? Asaph wrestled with this very question in Psalm 73, nearly losing his spiritual footing. Psalm 75 now provides God's definitive answer: He is the ultimate Judge. He sets the time, He determines who rises and who falls, and He will ensure that justice is served. This psalm is a direct, authoritative word from God that brings order and reassurance after the chaos and despair of the previous psalm. So, let's immerse ourselves in this powerful declaration of God's ultimate control, allowing its truth to anchor our trust in His perfect justice. (Reads Psalm 75:1-3 NLT) We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks, for you are near. People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds. "For at the time I appoint," says the Lord, "I will judge everyone fairly. The earth and its people tremble, but I keep its foundations firm." Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalm begins with an outpouring of thanksgiving, immediately countering the despair we felt in Psalm 74: "We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks, for you are near." The repetition of "We give thanks" emphasizes the depth and sincerity of their gratitude. This isn't a forced thanks; it's a genuine outpouring from a community that has experienced God's presence despite deep suffering. The reason for their thanks is profound: "for you are near." This stands in stark contrast to the agonizing question in Psalm 74:1, "Why have you abandoned us forever?" The answer here is a resounding affirmation: God has not abandoned them; He is near, even in the midst of their trials. Because God is near and active, "People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds." This refers to God's miraculous acts of deliverance and His interventions in history. The community is now proclaiming God's mighty works, indicating a renewed sense of His power and...

Welcome to Day 2670 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2670 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 74:18-23– Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2670 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2670 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: God's Honor at Stake – A Final Plea for Justice - Concluding Our Trek Through Psalm 74:18-23 Guthrie Chamberlain: Welcome back to Wisdom-Trek, your compass for navigating the profound landscapes of faith and life. I'm your guide, Guthrie Chamberlain, and today, we reach the powerful, urgent conclusion of our trek through Psalm 74 in the New Living Translation, encompassing its final verses, 18 through 23. In our journey through Psalm 74, we have plunged deep into the raw agony of a communal lament. In verses 1-8, we witnessed a people devastated by the destruction and desecration of their beloved Temple, crying out, "O God, why have you abandoned us forever?" We saw the enemy's brutal rampage, their triumphant shouts echoing in the very sanctuary where God's praise once resonated, leaving behind only "perpetual ruins." Then, in verses 9-17, Asaph, the psalmist, voiced their spiritual desolation – the absence of prophetic signs, the agonizing uncertainty of "how long?" But he then masterfully pivoted, grounding his plea in God's unparalleled past acts of cosmic power. He reminded God of His eternal kingship, His splitting of the sea, His crushing of sea monsters, and His establishment of the very order of creation. The argument was clear: if God could do that in ancient times, He could surely intervene in this present crisis. Now, in these concluding verses, Asaph brings the full weight of their suffering and the enemy's continued blasphemy to God's attention, making a final, desperate appeal for God to rise up and contend for His own honor, His own cause, and His own downtrodden people. It's a prayer that implicitly asks: "If You don't act now, Lord, what will become of Your name and Your covenant?" Let's immerse ourselves in this final, impassioned plea for divine intervention and ultimate vindication. (Reads Psalm 74:18-23 NLT) See how these fools insult you, Lord. How they blaspheme your name. Don't let your dove be hunted by hawks. Don't forget your downtrodden people forever. Remember your covenant, O Lord, for the dark places of the earth are full of violence. Don't let the oppressed be humiliated; instead, let them praise your name. Arise, O God, and plead your cause! Remember how these fools insult you all day long. Don't overlook the shouts of your enemies, which grow louder and louder. Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalmist returns with searing intensity to the core offense that demands God's attention: the enemy's direct affront to God Himself. He pleads: "See how these fools insult you, Lord. How...

Welcome to Day 2668 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2668 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 74:9-17– Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2668 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2668 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: Remembering Ancient Wonders – A Plea for Present Deliverance - A Trek Through Psalm 74:9-17 Today, we continue our poignant trek through Psalm 74 in the New Living Translation, encompassing verses 9 through 17. In our last conversation, we plunged into the raw agony of communal lament found in Psalm 74:1-8. We experienced the profound despair of a people whose sacred Temple, the very dwelling place of God, lay in "perpetual ruins," desecrated by enemies who "shouted their victorious battle cries" where God's praise once resonated. We heard their desperate plea: "O God, why have you abandoned us forever?" as they wrestled with the unimaginable horror of God's apparent absence and the systematic destruction of their places of worship. The weight of their loss and the depth of the sacrilege were palpable. Now, as we move into this next section, the psalmist, Asaph, continues to voice their anguish, lamenting the continued mockery of the enemy and, crucially, the disheartening silence from heaven itself. But then, in a dramatic shift, he pivots to a powerful rhetorical strategy: he reminds God – and himself – of God's awesome, unparalleled acts of cosmic power and historical deliverance in the ancient past. This becomes the foundation for his desperate plea for present intervention. It's a profound lesson in how to appeal to God's character and past faithfulness when facing seemingly insurmountable present crises. So, let's immerse ourselves in this cry for divine memory and a demonstration of power. (Reads Psalm 74:9-11 NLT) We see no miraculous signs. There are no prophets among us. And who can tell us how long this will last? How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to mock you? Will they insult your name forever? Why do you hold back your strong right hand? Unleash your power and destroy them. Guthrie Chamberlain: The lament continues, but now it highlights a particularly agonizing aspect of their suffering: the spiritual silence and uncertainty. The psalmist cries: "We see no miraculous signs. There are no prophets among us. And who can tell us how long this will last?" In ancient Israel, God often communicated His will and demonstrated His presence through "miraculous signs" (Hebrew: otot), powerful demonstrations of His intervention, like those at the Exodus. He also spoke through "prophets," individuals who delivered direct messages from Him, offering guidance, warning, and comfort. To have no miraculous signs and no prophets was a profound crisis of spiritual guidance. It meant God seemed utterly silent, His presence hidden, and His will unknown. The most agonizing part was the unknown duration: "And...

Psalm 82A psalm of Asaph.1 God presides in the great assembly;  he renders judgment among the “gods”:2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.5 “The ‘gods' know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.'7 But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.

Welcome to Day 2667 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2667 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 74:1-8 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2667 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2667 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: A Cry from the Ashes – When God Seems Absent - A Trek Through Psalm 74:1-8 Guthrie Chamberlain: Welcome to Wisdom-Trek, your compass for navigating the profound landscapes of faith and life. I'm your guide, Guthrie Chamberlain, and today, we shift our focus from a personal spiritual crisis to a national tragedy, as we begin our trek through Psalm 74 in the New Living Translation, encompassing its opening verses, 1 through 8. Psalm 74, like the Psalm 73 we just concluded, is attributed to Asaph, one of the chief musicians. However, the tone and context are dramatically different. While Psalm 73 wrestled with individual suffering and the prosperity of the wicked, Psalm 74 is a raw, agonizing communal lament, born from a devastating national catastrophe. Scholars generally believe this psalm was written in the aftermath of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, most likely by the Babylonians in 586 BC. For the ancient Israelites, the Temple was more than just a building. It was the physical dwelling place of God's presence, the center of their worship, their national identity, and the very symbol of their covenant relationship with Yahweh. Its destruction was an unimaginable horror, a theological crisis of monumental proportions. It wasn't just a military defeat; it felt like God Himself had abandoned them, allowing His sacred dwelling to be utterly desecrated. This psalm gives voice to the profound anguish, confusion, and desperate pleading of a people reeling from unspeakable loss and wondering if God has truly turned His back on them forever. It offers a powerful model for how to lament when tragedy strikes, and when God's apparent silence is deafening. So, let's immerse ourselves in this cry from the ashes, feeling the weight of their despair and the desperate longing for God to remember. (Reads Psalm 74:1-3 NLT) O God, why have you abandoned us forever? Why does your anger burn against your own sheep? Remember your people, whom you chose long ago, the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession. Remember Mount Zion, where you live. Walk through these perpetual ruins, see the appalling destruction the enemy has done to your sanctuary. Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalm opens with an immediate, piercing cry of abandonment: "O God, why have you abandoned us forever? Why does your anger burn against your own sheep?" This isn't a gentle query; it's a desperate, almost accusatory question hurled at God. The phrase "abandoned us forever" expresses profound despair and a fear of permanent divine rejection. This feeling of being utterly forsaken by God, especially after such a catastrophe, was a terrifying reality for them. The psalmist uses the intimate metaphor of "your own sheep" –

Psalm 83 is an intriguing psalm. On the surface it is characterized as an imprecatory psalm in which Asaph calls upon God for vengeance by utterly destroying Israel's enemies. But upon deeper reflection, one notices that the psalm is arranged around the three major promises of the covenant God made with Abraham: an eternal nation, an eternal land, and eternal blessings upon both Israel and the nations.The psalmist, then, is not merely driven by a desire for vengeance and judgment. Rather, the psalmist's desire is for the promises of the Abrahamic covenant to come to fruition. But because of the nations' hatred for the Lord, and consequently, his people Israel, for those promises to be realized God must first deliver his people from all their enemies and do this in such a way that it leads the nations to repent of their sin and to seek the Lord.Asaph then closes his prayer on a hopeful note (vs.16-18). Out of a desire for the Lord to fulfill his promise to Israel to provide blessings to them and the nations, he prays Israel's enemies would be humbled before the Lord.YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/X7YH6wDUUZgSend us a text

Welcome to Day 2665 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2665 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 73:21-28 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2665 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2665 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: From Bitterness to Brilliant Clarity - Concluding Our Trek Through Psalm 73:21-28 Today, we reach the powerful and transformative conclusion of our trek through Psalm 73 in the New Living Translation, encompassing verses 21 through 28. We've journeyed alongside Asaph, the psalmist, through his profound spiritual crisis. We heard his agonizing confession of almost stumbling, his feet nearly slipping, because he envied the apparent prosperity and carefree lives of the wicked. We saw his perplexity over his own suffering despite his efforts to live purely, and the immense burden this intellectual and spiritual dilemma placed upon him. Then, in our last trek, we witnessed the pivotal turning point: Asaph's revelation in the sanctuary of God, where he gained divine insight into the wicked's true, terrifying, and sudden end. Their prosperity was but a fleeting dream, a fantasy soon to vanish. Now, as we delve into these final verses, we witness the glorious resolution of Asaph's crisis. He moves from deep-seated bitterness and self-reproach for his foolishness to a profound affirmation of God's constant presence, His guiding hand, and His ultimate value as his true strength and eternal portion. This is the heart of what it means to truly resolve doubt and re-center our lives on God's unchanging truth. So, let's step into this moment of profound humility and renewed devotion, allowing Asaph's journey to illuminate our own. (Reads Psalm 73:21-22 NLT) Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalmist begins this section with a stark and humbling confession, a moment of profound self-awareness that comes after his revelation in the sanctuary: "Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside." The truth he had gained about the wicked's fleeting destiny didn't just resolve his intellectual confusion; it exposed the spiritual state of his own heart. "Bitter" (chametz) implies sourness, resentment, even fermented anger. His envy and questioning of God's justice had poisoned his inner being, leaving him "all torn up inside" (literally, "pricked in my kidneys/inward parts," the seat of emotions and conscience in ancient thought). This signifies deep emotional pain and guilt over his misplaced focus. This realization leads to a confession of profound foolishness: "I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you." This is a powerful and humbling admission. "Foolish" (ba'ar) in biblical wisdom literature often refers to someone lacking moral discernment, acting without true understanding. "Ignorant" speaks to his inability to grasp God's ways from a human perspective. The simile "like a senseless animal"...

Welcome to Day 2663 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2663 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 73:13-20 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2663 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2663 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled The Sanctuary's Clarity – From Perplexity to Profound Peace - A Trek Through Psalm 73:13-20 Today, we continue our deeply honest and transformative trek through Psalm 73 in the New Living Translation, covering verses 13 through 20. In our last conversation, we opened Psalm 73, penned by Asaph, and stepped into his profound spiritual crisis. We heard his agonizing confession: his feet almost slipped, he nearly stumbled from faith, because he envied the wicked. He vividly described their seemingly carefree lives – healthy, plump, free from the troubles of ordinary people, proudly draped in arrogance and violence, their greed knowing no bounds, openly scoffing at God himself. He saw how even others, disheartened, began to "drink in their words," questioning if God even knew what was happening. It was a raw, unfiltered expression of one of life's most perplexing mysteries: why do the ungodly prosper while the righteous suffer? Now, as we delve into this next section, we witness the turning point in Asaph's agonizing struggle. He recounts his despair over his own efforts to live righteously, but then, in a moment of divine clarity within God's sanctuary, his entire perspective shifts. He finally understands the true, terrifying end of the wicked, and his crisis of faith begins to resolve. Let's immerse ourselves in this powerful transition from deep perplexity to profound revelation. (Reads Psalm 73:13-16 NLT) Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence? All I got was trouble all day long; every morning I was punished. If I had said, “I will talk like that,” I would have betrayed your people. So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it was! Guthrie Chamberlain: Asaph opens this section by articulating the painful conclusion he had drawn in his moments of doubt: "Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence?" This is the agonizing cry of someone who has genuinely striven for righteousness, who has sought to live a life pleasing to God. "Kept my heart pure" refers to internal integrity, sincere devotion, and freedom from malicious intent. To "wash my hands in innocence" was an ancient gesture signifying freedom from guilt or responsibility for wrongdoing (Psalm 26:6). He felt that his efforts were in vain, that his integrity was unrewarded. This is a common human experience when faced with apparent injustice – "What's the point of doing good if evil goes unpunished and even thrives?" This question strikes at the very heart of divine justice and the value of righteousness. His personal suffering...

Psalm 73 is one of my favorites because it's just so true to life. Here we have a guy named Asaph who was a worship leader in his day. But he starts this song by admitting that he nearly lost his spiritual footing. He was ready to quit. Why? Because he saw the inequity of life. He noted how often people who didn't follow God were successful, healthy, and wealthy, while he gave everything to serve God and His people, yet he struggled to get by. The dissonance was killing him.“It's not fair, God!” That's the gist of the first several verses. “I've tried to keep myself pure and do the right things, but what has it gotten me? I'm faced with afflictions and pain all day, every day.” But then he came to a turning point. “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God…” (v. 17)Worship was the hinge upon which his soul swung from death to life. Worship changed him. What worship did for Asaph, it can do for us. In worship, he received perspective. (vs. 18-19) When we have eternity in view, we recognize that what really matters, that which is truly valuable, is not wealth, beauty, or fame—it's the Kingdom. In worship, he was able to diagnose the condition of his heart. (vs. 21-22) In worship, we come face to face with our selfishness and shortsightedness. But we also see how much God loves us and that His ways are best.In worship, he was reminded of the fact that he wasn't alone. (vs. 23-24) Picture yourself walking through life with God holding your hand like a little child with her father. By drawing close to God in worship, He is able to keep us from making foolish, self-destructive mistakes.Asaph concludes his song with these beautiful words: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (vs. 25-26)It's as if he's thinking, “What if I hadn't come to the sanctuary? What if I hadn't prioritized worship?  I would have gone on in bitterness and envy. I would have settled for short-term gains at the expense of long-term benefits. I would have trashed my life by engaging in self-destructive decisions. I would have walked through life all alone. Thank God for the sanctuary.  Thank God for worship. Because worship has the power to change me.”   Text: Psalm 73Originally recorded on January 31, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Welcome to Day 2662 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2662 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 73:1-12 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2662 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2662 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: The Stumbling Block of Prosperity - A Trek Through Psalm 73:1-12 Guthrie Chamberlain: Welcome to Wisdom-Trek, your compass for navigating the profound landscapes of faith and life. I'm your guide, Guthrie Chamberlain, and Today, we begin a deeply honest and challenging trek through Psalm 73 in the New Living Translation, starting with its opening verses, 1 through 12. Psalm 73 is penned by Asaph, one of the chief musicians and seers appointed by King David. Unlike many psalms that begin with an immediate cry for help or a declaration of praise, Psalm 73 opens with a profound struggle, a crisis of faith that many of us can intimately relate to. Asaph grapples with one of life's most perplexing mysteries: why do the wicked often prosper, seemingly enjoying an easy life, while the righteous suffer? This question has troubled believers in every generation. In the ancient Israelite worldview, there was a strong emphasis on divine justice being dispensed in this life. Obedience to God was expected to bring blessing and prosperity, while wickedness would lead to suffering and misfortune. So, when a faithful servant like Asaph observed the opposite – the ungodly thriving without apparent consequence – it created a serious spiritual dilemma, shaking the very foundations of his faith. Let's immerse ourselves in Asaph's raw honesty as he confronts this agonizing truth and nearly loses his footing on the path of faith. (Reads Psalm 73:1-3 NLT) Truly God is good to Israel— to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost slipped; my feet were nearly gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. Guthrie Chamberlain: Asaph begins with a declaration that is simultaneously an affirmation and a struggle: “Truly God is good to Israel—to those whose hearts are pure.” On the surface, this sounds like a statement of unwavering faith. It's a theological truth, a bedrock conviction for an Israelite. God is inherently good, and His goodness is particularly directed towards His covenant people, especially those whose hearts are “pure” or upright. This purity isn't sinless perfection, but sincere devotion and integrity of intention towards God. However, the “But as for me” immediately introduces a stark contrast, revealing Asaph's personal crisis: “But as for me, I almost slipped; my feet were nearly gone.” This is powerful imagery. Imagine walking on a treacherous path, perhaps a slippery incline or a narrow ledge. One false step, one moment of distraction, and you could fall completely, losing all your progress, perhaps even your life. Asaph's faith was...

Pastor Fernando Rodrigues - Psalm 73:1-28 . Wednesday, Jun 25, 2025Our Location : https://goo.gl/maps/2tAhVnZGbEavLP2C9Website: https://calvaryitl.orgGive: https://calvaryitl.org/giveYou can also donate via your phone directly by texting “itlGive" to 888-364-4483Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1U1Y6LJUioUoayFRwmzgfyFollow on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/calvary-chapel-into-the-light-podcast/id1374484093 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryITLFollow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CalvaryITLFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvarychapel_itl/ 

Pastor Fernando Rodrigues - Psalm 73:1-28 . Wednesday, Jun 25, 2025Our Location : https://goo.gl/maps/2tAhVnZGbEavLP2C9Website: https://calvaryitl.orgGive: https://calvaryitl.org/giveYou can also donate via your phone directly by texting “itlGive" to 888-364-4483Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1U1Y6LJUioUoayFRwmzgfyFollow on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/calvary-chapel-into-the-light-podcast/id1374484093 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryITLFollow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CalvaryITLFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvarychapel_itl/ 

Spending time with God will fix your perspective. Thank you for listening to Encourage-Mint. If you've been refreshed, don't forget to subscribe, Leave a review on iTunes, and share a little Encourage-Mint with someone you love. Encourage-Mint is a podcast from Family Radio. These moments are just a taste of what you can hear every day. Listen at FamilyRadio.org or find more encouragement on the Family Radio app.  Get daily Scripture and encouragement by following Family Radio on your favorite social media platforms:FacebookInstagram Twitter

Frustration, bitterness, resentment, anger—emotions we rarely associate with our spiritual lives, yet ones that inevitably surface when our expectations collide with reality. What do we do when God feels distant or his timing seems unbearably slow?This episode explores the forgotten art of biblical lament—a practice modeled throughout Scripture that offers us a way forward when we're struggling with difficult emotions toward God. Drawing from Jonah's selfish complaint and David's honest lament in Psalm 13, we discover a crucial distinction that changes everything: while both men brought their complaints to God, only one ended with hope and praise.The biblical pattern of lament includes four essential elements: directly addressing God, honestly expressing our complaints, petitioning for divine intervention, and concluding with an expression of trust. This final component distinguishes true lament from mere complaint, offering us a pathway through our darkest moments."The same storms that terrify the sheep also water the grass." This powerful image captures the heart of biblical perspective—our challenges often contain hidden provisions we can only see when we shift our gaze from inward turmoil to upward trust and outward service. When we find ourselves bitter or resentful, the solution isn't simply to pray differently but to see differently.The sermon reveals how figures throughout Scripture—Job in his suffering, Asaph in his envy of the wicked, Habakkuk in his impatience, and Naomi in her bitterness—all eventually discovered that their painful chapters weren't the end of their stories. Like a father guiding his visually impaired daughter, God walks beside us through our limited understanding, teaching us to trust even when we cannot see.Whether you're currently wrestling with disappointment or seeking to prepare for inevitable storms ahead, this message offers biblical wisdom for bringing your whole self—including your most difficult emotions—before a God who can handle your honesty and wants to lead you toward hope. If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.

On this segment of Sunday Morning Stories, Asaph is going THROUGH it. No sleep, no peace, and no comfort. Until... MooreSubtance@gmail.com Flash

Psalm 89,I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant:4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.'” Selah5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?8 O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you?9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.12 The north and the south, you have created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel.19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: “I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,21 so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.22 The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him.23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted.25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.37 Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah38 But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed.39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.40 You have breached all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins.41 All who pass by plunder him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword, and you have not made him stand in battle.44 You have made his splendor to cease and cast his throne to the ground.45 You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?47 Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!48 What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults[f] of all the many nations,51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.52 Blessed be the Lord forever!Amen and Amen.Structure and SummaryThis psalm is the final psalm in Book Three of the Psalms. The first two books are mainly written by David, while the third book has psalms primarily written by Asaph and emphasizes holy worship. Nevertheless, this final psalm focuses on God's covenant with David.The psalm is arranged into five sections: two small sections at the beginning and end, and three larger sections in the middle. The first section (v. 1-4) introduces the twin themes: God's character and his covenant with David. In this psalm, his character is defined by his steadfast love and his faithfulness, both of which appear seven times in the psalm. Both of these words describe God's character, but they are particularly applied in terms of his covenant with David — the promise that the seed of David will sit on an everlasting throne (v. 3-4). Notice the verbs in 2-4: steadfast love will be built up forever; and David's throne will be built forever. God's faithfulness is established in the heavens; David's offspring will be established forever. And this is crucial: the psalmist says he will sing of God's steadfast love and faithfulness forever.The psalmist then celebrates God's majesty, might, and saving power (v. 5-16). God is incomparable; there is no one like him. He sits enthroned among his heavenly council, but he is supreme over all of them.All of creation belongs to God. He is the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth. His dominion is from north to south, and east to west, from the highest heavens to the seas to the land. He is all-powerful, with a strong right hand and mighty arm. But he's not merely a tower of power, like the false god of Islam. His power is directed by his holy character. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne, and his steadfast love and faithfulness go before him, radiating from his presence (v. 14). But God isn't simply unique among the heavenly beings; nor does he simply rule the heavens and the earth from his throne. He also crushes his enemies. In this passage, Rahab is not a reference to the prostitute from Jericho. Instead it's a reference to a dragon-demon associated with Egypt (Psalm 87:4; Isa 30:7). Crushing Rahab is linked to ruling and stilling the sea, just as God crushed the king of Egypt beneath a wall of water. Job 26:12,“By his power he stilled the sea; by his understanding he shattered Rahab.”Isaiah 51:9,“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?”This is a celebration of God's majesty, might, and saving power, and the people who belong to God and join this celebration and walk in the light of his face are blessed (v. 15-16). God is the glory and beauty of his people's strength (v. 17). Then the psalmist brings God's majesty to earth and links it to his covenant promises to David. Israel's king is Israel's shield (v. 18), and God is the one who found, helped, anointed, and exalted (v. 19-20). God's mighty hand and arm? They establish and strengthen David (v. 21). Just as God tore Rahab apart, so will the Davidic king outwit and beat down his enemies (v. 23). God's steadfast love and faithfulness will be with David (v. 24), and David will call upon God as Father, and God will make him his firstborn, the king of kings (v.26-27), and he will establish David's offspring on an everlasting throne (v. 28-29).God's covenant with David and his sons will endure, even if and when David's sons break God's law. Discipline? Yes. Rod? Yes? Rejection? No. Why? Because of God's steadfast love and faithfulness (v. 33). God's character has established this covenant with an oath (v. 34-35), and David's offspring and throne will endure as long as the sun, moon, and stars — faithful witnesses in the sky (v. 36-37).Then we have the turn. Verse 38 introduces a contrast. For the next ten verses, God's steadfast love and faithfulness are completely absent. Instead, we see a rejected son (v.28), a renounced covenant, a defiled crown (v. 39), breached walls, ruined fortresses (v. 40), plundered cities (v. 41), triumphant foes, rejoicing enemies (v. 42), a throne in the dust, and shame, scorn, and reproach in every direction (v. 41, 45). God's wrath has come upon the people because the king, David's son, has rebelled against God. And so the psalmist is confused. In light of God's character and covenant, how can this be? How long will it last (v. 46)? If God's character and covenant fail, then everything is futile, vain, and worthless (v. 47). Will the psalmist see God's saving power before he dies, because no one escapes the power of Sheol (v. 48)?The final section is an appeal to God's steadfast love and his faithfulness to David, in light of the mocking reproach of the nations (v. 50-51). The psalmist asks where God's covenant love has gone, begs him to remember his promise, and concludes with a triumphant hope: Blessed be the Lord forever (v. 52). Read Your Story in Light of the StoryOne of the great values of regular Bible reading is knowing what story you're a part of, and being able to read your life in light of it. This psalm is filled with echoes and allusions to the big events of Israel's history. Listen to these passages:The revelation of God's name, glory, and goodness to Moses in Exodus 34:6,“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”In this psalm, the psalmist emphasizes God's oath (v. 3, 35, 49) and covenant (v. 3, 28, 34) three times each. Hebrews 6:13-20 tells us that when God wants to convincingly and abundantly show the unchangeable character of his promise, he swears by himself, like he does to Abraham after the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22:16-18, which Moses appeals to at the Golden Calf episode in Exodus 32:13), or in Isaiah 45:23, when God swears by himself that every knee will bow and every tongue swear allegiance to him as the only righteous God and Savior, or in Amos 4:2 when God swears by his holiness that he will bring judgment on the pride, idolatry, and oppression of Israel's leaders.Genesis 22:16-18,“By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”Exodus 32:13,“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'”Isaiah 45:22-23,“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'”Amos 4:2,“The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.”The psalm draws heavily on the promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (89:4, 29, 36). 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son (89:26). When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men (89:30-32), 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him (89:33-34), as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.' (vv. 12-16)In order to lay the groundwork for the key fight of faith, the psalmist pulls together these biblical themes:God's name and characterGod's oath by which he swears by himselfThe covenant God made with DavidWhat Is Real?This is the real question. The gap in this psalm is between what the psalmist knows of God's character and covenant on the one hand, and the circumstances at the present moment. Who God is (steadfast love and faithfulness) and what God has said (oath and covenant to David) seem out of accord with the reality before him (judgment, wrath, and a crown in the dust). That is the question for all of us when the world seems confusing, futile, and vain. Do we interpret our circumstances in light of God's character and covenant? Or do we abandon God's character and covenant in the face of our circumstances?God has promised the nations to Christ as his inheritance (Psalm 2:8; Matthew 28:12-20). And then we look at the state of the world, and the state of our nation, and see the rampant apostasy, rebellion, and decay around us. What's more real? God's character and covenant? Or sexual deviancy, political corruption, and widespread evangelical apathy and compromise? When you see the crown in the dust, when the walls are breached and the cities are burning and the enemies of God and his people are rejoicing — do you pray like this? How long, O Lord?At present, we don't see everything subjected to him, but we see Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.When your kids wander, or when they get a case of the wobbles: what's more real? God's character and covenant? Or the wobbles and wandering? How do you pray? Do you bless God in confidence that he will hear and answer? Do you still sing of the steadfast love of the Lord? Does your mouth still make known his faithfulness to future generations?Or maybe it's your own faith and holiness. Your own remaining sin frustrates you, and you wonder what to make of all of those promises — that God will sanctify you and make you holy, that he will put your sin to death and deliver you from the domain of darkness. When you see your abiding anger and envy, your drunkenness and lust, your anxiety and fear of man, your worldliness and selfishness, you feel the confusion and vanity. What is more real to you? Do you still sing of the steadfast love of the Lord?This is not hypocrisy; it's what a living faith does when confronted with the vanity of man and the discipline of God. Faith honestly confronts the facts on the ground, and then appeals to God's character and his covenant. And maybe there is a lesson for us in the proportions of the psalm. 70% of the psalm (37/52 verses) is devoted to rehearsing and celebrating God's character and covenant, his steadfast love and faithfulness.20% of the psalm (11/52 verses) confronts the current facts on the ground.The last 10% (4/52 verses) offers a simple prayer for God to remember his covenant and character, along with a concluding declaration of praise (“Blessed be the Lord, forever!”).How much of your mental attention is devoted to rooting yourself in God's steadfast love and faithfulness, in rehearsing his mighty deeds and covenant promises, and how much is spent fixating on the breached walls, triumphant enemies, and reproaching shame?In other words, the confusion is real and the situation is hard and ugly, but he lands on the oath, on the covenant, on God's character, and makes good on his opening promise: “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever…” (even when the city is burning and the crown is in the dust).Christ's CrownChrist is the offspring of David. He crushed the dragon's head. He stilled the waves. He was strengthened by God's grace. His enemies did not outwit him. The wicked did not humble him. God anointed him with his Spirit, and established and exalted him above the angels and the powers. But Christ himself faced God's rejection and absence.“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”His crown was defiled in the dust. His days were cut short, and he was covered in shame. But Christ bridged the gap between God's character and covenant, and the rejection and crown in the dust. In his darkest moments, he called upon God as Father (89:26). In Gethsemane: “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me…My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matthew 26:39-42).At Calvary, when with a crown of thorns, mocked and reproached as his enemies rejoiced:“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do…Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:34, 46). The psalmist's question that haunts the psalm: What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Christ saw death…and he swallowed it whole. He crushed both Death and the Dragon. Where is the steadfast love of the Lord? Where is his faithfulness that he swore to David? It's on a Roman cross. It's exalted at God's right hand, seated above every angelic and demonic power, ruling over heaven and earth, as God puts all of his enemies under his feet. That's why in Revelation 1:5, Christ is introduced with distinctive language from Psalm 89 as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth.”And his oath and covenant are sealed in blood. He swore by his holiness. He swore by his faithfulness. And that faithfulness is yours.His oath, his covenant, his bloodsupport me in the whelming flood.When all around my soul gives way,he then is all my hope and stay.

Message by Chris Chase – June 15, 2025 ABOUT THE PSALMS The Psalms are a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, prayers, and songs found in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament. They are traditionally attributed largely to King David, though other authors such as Asaph, the sons of Korah, Moses, and others are… Read more...

08/06/2025 - Pr. Asaph Borba - Alianças by Igreja Nova Aliança de Londrina

A psalm of Asaph reminds of how our perspective shifts from the gift of time in His presence.

In the final week of our series Honest To God, Paul unpacks the powerful message of Psalm 73, reflecting on Asaph's journey from envy and doubt to faith and trust in God. In this message Paul highlights how life's frustrations and unanswered questions can actually become the path to deeper faith. As Asaph's focus shifts - from others, to himself, to God - ours can too. Paul reminds us that God is good, faithful, and in control, even when life feels unfair. When we bring our doubts into God's presence, we don't receive judgment - we receive grace, guidance, and an eternal perspective that gives us lasting hope.

Tim Hyjek // Asaph's Song // June 8, 2025 Message Notes: http://bible.com/events/49444424

Isaiah 36–37:7 (Listen) Sennacherib Invades Judah 36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh1 from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 3 And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder. 4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”'” 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me2 and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'” 21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah's Help 37:1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'” Footnotes [1] 36:2 Rabshakeh is the title of a high-ranking Assyrian military officer [2] 36:16 Hebrew Make a blessing with me (ESV)Isaiah 37:14–20 (Listen) Hezekiah's Prayer fo...

That day, David first appointed Asaph andhis associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner:8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name;Make known among the nations what He has done.9 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;Tell of all His wonderful acts.10 Glory in His holy name;Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.11 Look to the Lord and His strength;Seek His face always.12 Remember the wonders He has done,His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.But now I say to you—You are no longer just His servants—You are His friends, His prized possession,A chosen generation, a royal priesthood!14 He is theLord our God—Faithful, true, and unshakable.He remembers His covenant—The one sealed through Christ's sacrifice,Eternal and unbreakable.19 When theywere but few in number,Strangers in the land,20 Wandering from nation to nation,He allowed no one to oppress them;22 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,Do My prophets no harm.”So now—Sing to the Lord, all the earth!But let us proclaim: Jesus!He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—Salvation is found in no one else.Declare His glory—His everlasting love poured out for the world.Proclaim His marvelous deeds among all peoples.25 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;He is to be feared above all gods.26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,But the Lord made the heavens.27 Splendor and majesty are before Him;Strength and joy are in His dwelling place.So ascribe to the Lord, all youfamilies of nations—Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!Bring your worship, bring your offering,Come before Him— Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness!30 Tremble before Him, all the earth!The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad,Let them say among the nations:“The Lord reigns!” 32 Let thesea resound, and all that is in it;Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!33 Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord—For He comes to judge the earth.34 Givethanks to the Lord, for He is good!His love endures forever.The joy of the Lord is our strength!And His Spirit sings through us songs the enemy cannot silence.Even in a world of anxiety, we look to Christ—Our peace in the storm, our anchor in the waves.36 Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ,From everlasting to everlasting! And now, I prophesy over your fear—Be still.You were not born to be anxious.For His Spirit within you is one of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind. You were born to be bold,To be strong,To be courageous—For in Christ, you are more than a conqueror.Anxiety cannot bring you down.Depression has no hold over your born-again spirit.Do not accommodate these lying spirits—Speak the life of Christ over your mind.Affirm the reality of who He has called you to be.Give thanks to Him.Be watchful in prayer.Be steadfast in worship.Like David—Dance before your King, undignified.Dance before the throne of mercy,From which grace flows endlessly.Lift up your voice, child of God,And give thanks.        

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 9:00AM Session   Richard leads a bible study Isaiah 3, 13, 53 and other passages which point as what an effective shepherd would look like. From a foundation of believes to actions, Richard explains and provides examples of shepherds.   2 Kings 15-21 - Azariah Reigns in Judah 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 4 except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 Then the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king's son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land. 6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 7 So Azariah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham his son reigned in his place. Zechariah Reigns in Israel 8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 10 Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place. 11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 12 This was the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was. Shallum Reigns in Israel 13 Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. 14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place. 15 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 16 Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open. Menahem Reigns in Israel 17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 19 Pul king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control. 20 And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22 So Menahem rested with his fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place. Pekahiah Reigns in Israel 23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. 24 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 25 Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Pekah Reigns in Israel 27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. 28 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Jotham Reigns in Judah 32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord. 36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 37 In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 So Jotham rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place. Ahaz Reigns in Judah 16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. 5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria captured Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin. 10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded. 17 And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts, and removed the lavers from them; and he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stones. 18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king's outer entrance from the house of the Lord, on account of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Hoshea Reigns in Israel 17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. 4 And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Israel Carried Captive to Assyria 5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, 8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, 12 for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. 19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. 21 For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day. Assyria Resettles Samaria 24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. 29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, 35 with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 36 but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 18 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. 9 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the 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, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them. 13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped 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. Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord 17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 18 And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 20 You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21 Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem'?” ' 23 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 24 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.' ” 26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; 30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ' 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” 33 Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' ” 36 But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 19 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ' ” Sennacherib's Threat and Hezekiah's Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?' ” 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib 20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.' 21 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 23 By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: “By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, To its fruitful forest. 24 I have dug and drunk strange water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.” 25 ‘Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 27 ‘But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came. 29 ‘This shall be a sign to you: ‘You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 30 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.' 32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the Lord. 34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' ” Sennacherib's Defeat and Death 35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah's Life Extended 20 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.' ” 2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ' ” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?” 9 Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.” 11 So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. The Babylonian Envoys 12 At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 18 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ” 19 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?” Death of Hezekiah 20 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21 So Hezekiah rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place. Manasseh Reigns in Judah 21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will 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 Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord had 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 make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are 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 paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the Lord spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), 12 therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, 15 because they have done 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 his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh—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 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. Amon's Reign and Death 19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. 22 He forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. 24 But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.       Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYpEm7AL4fU   Duration 40:15

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 2:30PM Session   Looking at the life as a prophet, Ken reflects on how Isaiah wrote his inspired work.   Isaiah 20-23 -The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia 20 In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?' ” The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed 21 The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. 3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. 4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. 5 Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! 6 For thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.” 7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. 8 Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. 9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” 10 Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. Proclamation Against Edom 11 The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” 12 The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” Proclamation Against Arabia 13 The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. 14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. 15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. 16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.” Proclamation Against Jerusalem 22 The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.” 5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain. 6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. 8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts. The Judgment on Shebna 15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the house, and say: 16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock? 17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you. 18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master's house. 19 So I will drive you out of your office, And from your position he will pull you down. 20 ‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; 21 I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah. 22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open. 23 I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father's house. 24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 In that day,' says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.' ” Proclamation Against Tyre 23 The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, So that there is no house, no harbor; From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, Whom those who cross the sea have filled. 3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the River, is her revenue; And she is a marketplace for the nations. 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea has spoken, The strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labor, nor bring forth children; Neither do I rear young men, Nor bring up virgins.” 5 When the report reaches Egypt, They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre. 6 Cross over to Tarshish; Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland! 7 Is this your joyous city, Whose antiquity is from ancient days, Whose feet carried her far off to dwell? 8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the honorable of the earth? 9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it, To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. 10 Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more strength. 11 He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The Lord has given a commandment against Canaan To destroy its strongholds. 12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more, O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; There also you will have no rest.” 13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, This people which was not; Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, They raised up its palaces, And brought it to ruin. 14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste. 15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: 16 “Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.” 17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.   Isaiah 35-39 - The Future Glory of Zion 35 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord 36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 3 And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. 4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar'?” ' 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.' ” 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ' 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' ” 21 But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 37 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ' ” Sennacherib's Threat and Hezekiah's Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?' ” 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.” The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 23 “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest. 25 I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.' 26 “Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 28 “But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.” ' 30 “This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the Lord. 35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' ” Sennacherib's Defeat and Death 36 Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah's Life Extended 38 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ' 7 And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. 9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10 I said, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” 11 I said, “I shall not see Yah, The Lord in the land of the living; I shall observe man no more among the inhabitants of the world. 12 My life span is gone, Taken from me like a shepherd's tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me. 13 I have considered until morning— Like a lion, So He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; Undertake for me! 15 “What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it. I shall walk carefully all my years In the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live. 17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18 For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. 19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children. 20 “The Lord was ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.” 21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” 22 And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?” The Babylonian Envoys 39 At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ” 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_459QS0jW0   Duration 34:07

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 11:00AM Session   Bruce leads a study of Isaiah 36-39 and describes some of the history detailed in these chapters.     Isaiah 36-39 - Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord 36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the [a]Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 3 And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. 4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are [b]mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar'?” ' 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.' ” 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in [c]Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ' 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' ” 21 But they [d]held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 37 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and [e]blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ' ” Sennacherib's Threat and Hezekiah's Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?' ” 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.” The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 23 “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest. 25 I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of [f]defense.' 26 “Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 28 “But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.” ' 30 “This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the Lord. 35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' ” Sennacherib's Defeat and Death 36 Then the angel[g] of the Lord went out, and [h]killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah's Life Extended 38 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a [i]loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ' 7 And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. 9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10 I said, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” 11 I said, “I shall not see [j]Yah, The Lord in the land of the living; I shall observe man no more [k]among the inhabitants of [l]the world. 12 My life span is gone, Taken from me like a shepherd's tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me. 13 I have considered until morning— Like a lion, So He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O [m]Lord, I am oppressed; [n]Undertake for me! 15 “What shall I say? [o]He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it. I shall walk carefully all my years In the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live. 17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18 For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. 19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children. 20 “The Lord was ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.” 21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” 22 And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?” The Babylonian Envoys 39 At that time [p]Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ” 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”   Video: 2025 Equipped Workshop 4-26-25 - "A HISTORICAL LESSON ON DEATH AND DELIVERANCE"- Bruce Daughtery   Duration 36:42

Sermon Notes:CLICK HERE

Medina Federated ChurchPastor Darren LemmonSenior Sunday 2025

[2 Chronicles 5:11-14 NKJV] And it came to pass when the priests came out of the [Most] Holy [Place] (for all the priests who [were] present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), [12] and the Levites [who were] the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets-- [13] indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers [were] as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, [saying]: "[For He is] good, For His mercy [endures] forever," that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, [14] so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.A ____________________ mentality is not the problem. It's a symptom of the real problem: _______________ from truth.[Matthew 11:27-29 NKJV] "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and [the one] to whom the Son wills to reveal [Him]. [28] "Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.Transformative Rest comes when God to reveals the __________ about ___________ in the light of the truth about ___________.[John 21:11-17 NKJV] [Hebrews 3:12-15; 4:8-9 NKJV] Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; [13] but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [14] For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, [15] while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." [4:8] For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. [9] There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.The Promised Land of “Rest” is not a ___________ or a ___________, it's a ___________.[Exodus 20:18-21 NKJV] [Hebrews 10:11-14 NKJV] And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, [13] from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. [14] For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.Jesus took our ___________ in the sacrifice so we could ___________ ___________ in His place of rest.[Hebrews 4:11-13 NKJV] Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. [12] For the word of God [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [13] And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things [are] naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we [must give] account.[Genesis 32:24-30 NKJV] 

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter Psalm 82, St. James 1:17-21, St. John 16:5-15 by William Klock How'd your week go?  Several times—actually, a bunch of times—I found myself thinking about what I preached last Sunday—thinking about the hope that lies before us.  Thinking about how Jesus, risen from the dead, is the beginning of God's new creation and how he—and his gift of the Holy Spirit—give me assurance that what God began that first Easter morning he will one day complete.  Thinking that because I am by faith in Jesus the Messiah, I will one day know that new creation in all its fullness.  And I was thinking about that because—a bunch of times this week—I was looking forward to that day when God will set everything to rights.  Because I hope that in God's new world there will be no broken spokes or being chased by dogs on the River Trail, no need to change timing belts or ball joints, and maybe the best part: no arguments started by random strangers on the Internet and no relationships with old friends strained by current events.  Because all those things did happen to me this week.  None of them were earth-shatteringly horrible—and I'm glad of that—but they remind me that the world is not as it should be.  And then I read the news and I learned about a man stuck in bureaucratic immigration limbo with seemingly no hope of getting out of it.  Having been through that process, his story resonated with me.  And I read about a farmer in Vermont stuck with a bill for thousands of dollars assessed on his cattle feed from Canada because of tariffs.  His business profits for the year gone.  And there's absolutely nothing he can do.  And reading about people stuck in the middle of wars.  And a friend shared an article about the persecuted church in China.  And all I can do is pray, which feels like it's not enough and some people say it's a waste of time.  But I know it's not, because Jesus has risen and I know that means that God's new world has begun and one day he'll set everything to rights.  And so I hope and I pray that it may be “on earth as it is in heaven”. And then I started looking at this week's scripture lessons.  And there's the Old Testament lesson from Job and that verse we read in the procession at funerals: I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though this body be destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.  Brothers and Sisters, there's that same hope.  Job had faith that the Lord would vindicate him. And the Psalm.  Psalm 82 has been with me, running around in my head all week. God has stood up in the council of heaven:          in the midst of the gods he gives judgement. How long will you judge unjustly:          and favour the cause of the wicked? Judge for the poor and needy:          and save them from the hands of the wicked. They do not know, they do not understand, they walk about in darkness:          all the foundations of the earth are shaken. Therefore I say, “Though you are gods:          and all of you sons of the Most High, Nevertheless you shall die like man:          and fall like one of the princes.” Arise, O God, and judge the earth:          for you shall take all the nations as your possession.   Psalm 82 is from a group of psalms written by Asaph.  Asaph was Samuel's grandson and he and his sons were commissioned by King David to worship the Lord.  That was their job.  They were court worshippers.  And in Psalm 82, Asaph cries out with the whole people of Israel at the injustices of the world.  The gods of this age favour the wicked.  They will not come to the aid of the poor and needy.  In other words, Asaph knew that the world is not as it should be.  And yet Asaph knew what the Lord had done for Israel and he knew his promises and so he could sing out about the Lord, the God of Isreal, as the great judge in heaven.  Asaph had hope that the Lord would hold the powers of this present age accountable.  Asaph closes with that confident prayer: Arise, O God, and judge the earth: For you shall take the nations as your possession.  This was how Israel prayed “on earth as in heaven”.   Things were going well for Israel under King David, but even then, Asaph, with the people of Israel, still had a profound sense of the brokenness and the fallenness of the world.  It was the Lord's plan, as he called and created a people for himself, that this people would know the crushing weight of sin and death.  He allowed them to become slaves in Egypt.  And he delivered them that they might know his grace and his faithfulness—so that they might know that he is the God who keeps his promises and that he is the judge who will vindicate the cause of the poor and the oppressed.  And this became Israel's story and Israel's identity.  Over and over she would find herself being crushed under the heel of this or that pagan king, and she would cry out to the Lord, and he would come as the great judge to vindicate Israel and to defeat her enemies and to rescue her.  And as this was the identity and story of Israel, so it would be the identity and story of the Messiah, and then the story and identity of the Messiah's people, of the church. But the disciples weren't expecting this.  No one—or almost no one—in Israel was expecting this.  The Messiah was supposed to come and break this cycle.  In him God's new world would come, they would all be raised, and they would reign forever in a world set to rights—once and for all.  And they were sort of right, but they got the timeline wrong.  And that's because they'd forgotten the promises and the part of the story where God calls and sets apart this special people for himself in order to bring the nations to him in faith.  Only a people who knows suffering, who knows the crushing weight of sin and injustice, can carry God's forgiveness and justice to the world.  That's why the Messiah had to die.  Sin and death had to do their worst, so that Jesus could rise triumphant over them.  Deliverance comes through suffering.  Forgiveness and new life require sacrifice.  But they'd forgotten this and this is what Jesus has been trying to explain to the disciples through the lessons we've had from John's gospel these past weeks.  And so he says in John 16:1: I've said these things to you to stop you from being tripped up.  They will put you out of the synagogues.  In fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will suppose that they are in that way offering worship to God.  They will do these things because they haven't known the Father or me.  But I have been talking to you about these things so that, when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.   Jesus by this point has already explained to them that very soon he's going to be leaving them.  That was bad news enough.  But now he tells them that after he's gone, persecution is coming.  Their unbelieving Jewish brethren will throw them out of the synagogues—which means cutting them off from the Jewish community, from family, friends.  They will become outsiders in their own community.  Some of them, Jesus warns, will even die for their faith in him.  And when that happens, Jesus knew, it will be really tempting to give up.  They thought that the Messiah was going to put an end to all the suffering and tears, but now Jesus is warning: you're going to know suffering and tears the likes of which you've never known before—and all for my sake. I didn't say these things to you from the start, Jesus goes on, because I was with you.  In other words, as long as Jesus was with them they were still pretty sure of how all this Messiah stuff was going to work out.  Again, the Messiah would usher in God's new world and everything would be great.  And then, with Jesus gone, they're going to be tempted to give up—just like we saw them hiding behind locked doors.  If Jesus goes away without setting everything to rights, well, he must not have been the Messiah after all.  That would be the logical conclusion.  And they'd do their best to go back to their old pre-Jesus lives.  So now Jesus is getting them ready.  He goes on: But now I'm going to the one who sent me.  None of you asks me, “Where are you going?”  But because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.   Well, yes.  If Jesus is leaving, how's he ever going to accomplish his messianic mission?  But this is what Jesus wants to stress to them—even though they won't understand right away.  This is his messianic mission: Truly, truly I say to you: It's better for you that I should go away.  If I don't go away, you see, the Helper won't come to you.  But if I go away, I will send him to you.   Just in case it isn't clear, what Jesus is talking about here is his ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit.  The risen Jesus couldn't stay here forever.  When his own people cried out for Jesus' crucifixion they declared, “We have no king but Caesar.”  It was the ultimate rejection of both their God and their Messiah.  It was blasphemy and until that moment, if you'd asked anyone in Jerusalem if they considered Caesar their king, they'd have laughed at you.  The Lord was their king.  But they became so outraged by Jesus' messianic claims, so outrage with the things he said about the temple, that they shouted the unthinkable to Pilate: “Crucify him!  We have no king but Caesar.”  And then to spite them, Pilate posted those mocking words on the cross: “This is the King of the Jews”.  But when God raised Jesus from the dead, he vindicated him.  It was a divine declaration that Jesus really is the Messiah and that he really is Israel's (and the whole world's) king.  And kings have to take their thrones.  And since God's work of new creation has only just begun and Jesus' throne is in heaven, that's where he had to go to begin his rule.  The king couldn't stay here forever.  But—the second thing Jesus is saying here—if he goes, he will send the Helper—God's own Spirit—and God's Spirit will make the reality of Jesus resurrection and of God's new creation real to us.  The end goal is for heaven and earth and God and human beings to be reunited.  Jesus, the God man, is the embodiment of that hope.  But consider, Brothers and Sisters, that the gift of the Holy Spirit is too. The title John uses is parakletos.  In Greek it literally means “called alongside”, which is a powerful image of who and what the Spirit is for us.  He comes alongside as our helper, our intercessor, and our advocate.  And this is essential.  Like I stressed last week, as the disciples began to realise the significance of Jesus' resurrection, they got excited.  They were ready to go out and shout it from the rooftops of Jerusalem.  But Jesus stressed to them: “Wait.  Wait until I send the Helper.”  Because enthusiasm will only get us so far.  Jesus has given his people a mission, but enthusiasm and excitement alone won't fulfil it.  We need the help of the Holy Spirit.  So Jesus goes on here in verse 8: When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong on three counts: sin, justice, and judgement.  In relation to sin, because they don't believe in me.  In relation to justice—because I'm going to the Father, and you won't see me anymore.  In relation to judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.   God's people had longed for their day in court and for the Lord to vindicate them—just like we read in Psalm 82.  And Jesus' point here is that it's finally going to happen.  Except it's going to be his people—this new Israel—who will finally get their day before the judge.  And as Jesus' people bring their case before the great Judge, the Spirit will be there to help them—to be their advocate.  The Spirit will present the evidence for the world's sin.  But there's no reason for the Spirit to bring exhibit after exhibit showing the world's—and that's not just the pagan nations, but also unbelieving Israel—it's not necessary for the Spirit to put every last sin on display to prove the world's rebellion against God.  All the Spirit has to do is present as evidence the world's rejection of Jesus.  Either you stand with Jesus and on the side of God's new creation and are part of the world set right, or you stand in solidarity with sin. And, second, Jesus says, the Spirit will convict the world in relation to justice.  If you're following along, some of your translations might say “righteousness”.  These are the same word in Greek.  “Justice” fits the context better here.  Jesus' point is that the world thinks it has justice on its side.  Like he told them earlier: They will kill you and in doing so they'll think that they're offering true worship to God.  But Jesus' resurrection from the dead and his ascension to his throne are the evidence of his vindication by the Father.  At the cross the world issued its verdict against Jesus, but when he raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned him in heaven, God overturned the false verdict of the world and declared his son to be the Messiah and the world's true lord.  If you want justice, look to Jesus, because everyone who trusts in Jesus and gives him their allegiance as king shares in that verdict. And, third, Jesus says that the Spirit will give evidence that the world is wrong in relation to judgement.  The world was about to pass judgement on Jesus and condemn him to death as a false messiah, but his resurrection and ascension would prove the world wrong.  And not long after that the world would pass the same judgement on Jesus' people, on the church, but Jesus promises that the Spirit will stand with them and continue to prove the world's judgement wrong.  The Spirit will continue to present the evidence of Jesus resurrection and ascension as proof that the devil has been defeated and that death itself no longer has the final say. Brothers and Sisters, the Holy Spirit isn't just our advocate before the judge, he is our comforter amidst the trials Jesus promised we will face as we take up our crosses to follow him.  Jesus promised his disciples and he promises us that we will face hatred and even persecution—sometimes martyrdom—for the sake of his name.  But because we know he is faithful, because he has vindicated Jesus, we can trust that the judge of all the earth will do what is right.  Even as we face death itself, we know that death has been defeated.  As the Father raised Jesus from death, so he will raise us if we are in him. And the Spirit comes alongside us not so we can hunker down inside our churches like the disciples hunkered down and hiding in the dark that first Easter weekend.  The Spirit comes alongside us to empower us as we go out.  As we take our message of hope and forgiveness, of the world set to rights and tears wiped away, as we take that good news of Jesus, crucified and risen and Lord to the world.  This is the point of our Epistle today from St. James. Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes down from above, from the Father of lights.  His steady light doesn't vary.  It doesn't change and produce shadows.   I have to think that when James talks about the good and perfect gift coming down from the Father of lights he's talking about the Holy Spirit.  Yes, everything good we have is a gift from him, but the Spirit is the gift above all others.  For Jesus in John's gospel, the Spirit was the one who would come alongside to help and advocate for us.  For James, the Spirit shows us the constancy and faithfulness of the Father.  The gift of the Spirit is proof for James that God keeps his promises, because the life of the Spirit is the thing he'd been promising to his people all along: his own presence with them to give them a new heart and set them to rights. James goes on in 1:19. So, my dear brothers [and sisters], get this straight.  Every person should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.  Human anger, you see, doesn't produce God's justice.  So put away everything that is sordid, all that overflowing malice, and humbly receive the word which has been planted within you and which has the power to save our lives.   In other words, let the Spirit transform you.  Let the Spirit make you—or maybe better to align you with—God's new creation.  The example James uses is anger.  Anger is what wells up from the fallen human heart in response to injustice, but responding to injustice with anger—and James isn't talking about righteous or just anger, but about malice and pride—responding with anger just compounds the problem.  Sin can never make another sin right.  Instead, God's word has been planted within you.  Let the Spirit cause that world to take root and grow.  That gospel word is what has saved your life.  But if you let the Spirit grow that word in you, if you let God's word shape you, if you let the Spirt make you a truly gospel person, that life-saving combination of word and Spirit will overflow from you and you will be a gospel light in the darkness of the world, you will be a beacon of God's new creation in the midst of the old.  Word and Spirit working through us will make us a people ready to endure suffering and persecution so that we can, even if it's just in small ways, so that we can bring God's justice into the world, so that we can wipe away the tears and proclaim the good news that Jesus is Lord. Brothers and Sisters, this is how God's new creation comes.  This is how he wipes away the tears and set things to rights.  Jesus started it when he rose from the grave, but God's word and God's Spirit, working through the church—through us—as we go out into the world, not only bring God's salvation to individuals, but as we are transformed one by one, the gospel, the word, the Spirit create a whole new culture with Jesus and the gospel at its core.  One day Jesus will come back for the final act, to cast down death and to fully bring heaven and earth back together once and for all.  But that day will come because his people, empowered by his word and by his Spirit have been faithful in being his new creation right here in the midst of the old.  So, Brothers and Sisters, go out in peace to love and serve the Lord.  Alleluia! Let's pray: Father, as we asked in the Collect we ask again: fix our hearts on the good things you have promised.  Keep the hope of your salvation and of your justice ever before us, that we might go out full of your Spirit, to live and to proclaim the good news of Jesus and his kingdom.  Through him we pray.  Amen.

Friday Bible Study (5/9/25) // 2 Kings 18: 13-37 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.org Follow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch DAF Donations: https://every.org/mbc.chicago PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but... 2 Kings 18: 13-37 (ESV)Sennacherib Attacks Judah13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents[a] 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 treasuries of the king's house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. 17 And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer's Field. 18 And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.19 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 20 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”'”26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my[b] hand. 30 #mbchicago #2kings | #BibleStudy | #DanielBatarseh | #mbchicago | #mbcchicago | #Bible | #livechurch | #churchlive | #chicagochurch | #chicagochurches | #versebyverse | #church | #chicago | #sermon | #bibleexplained | #bibleproject | #bibleverse #versebyverse #oldtestament

Dá para obedecer a Deus em todas as coisas ou isso é apenas uma utopia??? Você vai aprender muito com este Debate 93!!!

“What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do” May 11, 2025 2 Chronicles 20:1-23 Rev. Bill Vogler  Sermon Application [file]    ----more---- 2 Chronicles 20:1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. [2] Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). [3] Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. [4] And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. [5] And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, [6] and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. [7] Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? [8] And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, [9] ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.' [10] And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— [11] behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. [12] O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” [13] Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. [14] And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. [15] And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. [16] Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. [17] You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” [18] Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. [19] And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. [20] And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” [21] And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” [22] And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. [23] For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.      I. Recognize Our Weakness    II. Turn Our Eyes to God's Character   III. Remember God's Faithfulness in the Past   IV. Trust God's Promise for the Present    V. Move Forward in Faith, Not Fear

Psalm 83 is a Prophetic Prayer describing by name a confederacy of nations, which surround her, who all want to destroy Israel in the end-times. Derek and Tim explain how this Prophecy has been fulfilled in detail in the wars that Israel has faced since her rebirth in 1948, including the present Israel war with Hamas. The Psalm is an inspired prayer that God would give Israel military victory, as in her ancient victories by Gideon and Deborah, with the help of God. God has answered this prayer again and again by giving Israel victory against her enemies, even when it was against all odds. This prayer also gives a blueprint for how we should pray in the present situation. The stated purpose of this victory is to glorify the Name of the true God, the God of the Bible, the God of Israel, so that Israel's enemies, who worship and trust in a false god, may repent and trust in the true God instead, and so be saved.

Psalm 83 is a Prophetic Prayer describing by name a confederacy of nations, which surround her, who all want to destroy Israel in the end-times. Derek and Tim explain how this Prophecy has been fulfilled in detail in the wars that Israel has faced since her rebirth in 1948, including the present Israel war with Hamas. The Psalm is an inspired prayer that God would give Israel military victory, as in her ancient victories by Gideon and Deborah, with the help of God. God has answered this prayer again and again by giving Israel victory against her enemies, even when it was against all odds. This prayer also gives a blueprint for how we should pray in the present situation. The stated purpose of this victory is to glorify the Name of the true God, the God of the Bible, the God of Israel, so that Israel's enemies, who worship and trust in a false god, may repent and trust in the true God instead, and so be saved.

In this episode, Christine Caine walks us through Psalm 73 to unpack the paradox of wisdom—how we can find peace even when life feels unjust and chaotic. Through the story of Asaph, Christine explores the raw questions many of us have wrestled with: Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? With powerful honesty and biblical insight, she reminds us that peace doesn't come from perfect circumstances but from entering God's presence and gaining eternal perspective. If you're struggling to reconcile what you believe about God with what you see in the world, this episode will challenge and comfort you with the truth that God's wisdom always leads to peace, even when nothing around you changes. Get your free Episode Reflection Guide at ChristineCaine.com/Podcast. + + + + + Christine Caine is a speaker, activist, and best-selling author. She and her husband, Nick, founded the anti-human trafficking organization The A21 Campaign. They also founded Propel Women, an initiative that is dedicated to coming alongside women all over the globe to activate their God-given purpose. Each week she brings you a Gospel-centered message filled with Biblical truths that will equip and empower you to step into the life God has for you. Purchase Sacred Marriage HERE.

05/04/2025 Rev. Paul Bang Nehemiah 7:5-73     5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it: 6 These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. 7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 8 the sons of Parosh, 2,172. 9 The sons of Shephatiah, 372. 10 The sons of Arah, 652. 11 The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. 12 The sons of Elam, 1,254. 13 The sons of Zattu, 845. 14 The sons of Zaccai, 760. 15 The sons of Binnui, 648. 16 The sons of Bebai, 628. 17 The sons of Azgad, 2,322. 18 The sons of Adonikam, 667. 19 The sons of Bigvai, 2,067. 20 The sons of Adin, 655. 21 The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. 22 The sons of Hashum, 328. 23 The sons of Bezai, 324. 24 The sons of Hariph, 112. 25 The sons of Gibeon, 95. 26 The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188. 27 The men of Anathoth, 128. 28 The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42. 29 The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. 30 The men of Ramah and Geba, 621. 31 The men of Michmas, 122. 32 The men of Bethel and Ai, 123. 33 The men of the other Nebo, 52. 34 The sons of the other Elam, 1,254. 35 The sons of Harim, 320. 36 The sons of Jericho, 345. 37 The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721. 38 The sons of Senaah, 3,930. 39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973. 40 The sons of Immer, 1,052. 41 The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. 42 The sons of Harim, 1,017. 43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74. 44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148. 45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138. 46 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha. 57 The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon. 60 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants were 392. 61 The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers' houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. 63 Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). 64 These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise. 66 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. 68 Their horses were 736, their mules 245, 69 their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720. 70 Now some of the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests' garments and 500 minas of silver. 71 And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests' garments. 73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns. And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.

The Exodus Way E12 (Bonus Interview) — If we come to the New Testament without much knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, we may think that baptism is just something that John the Baptist made up and Jesus carried on for new disciples. But there are multiple levels of meaning in this practice, including ritual purification, Israel's passage through the Red Sea, entry into the promised land, and, most importantly for Jesus, a symbol of his death on our behalf. In this episode, Jon and Tim have a wide-ranging conversation with prolific author and theologian N.T. Wright about the meaning of baptism and its connections to the Exodus story.View all of our resources for The Exodus Way →CHAPTERSWelcoming N.T. Wright (0:00-10:20)Baptism as Repentance and Ushering in the Kingdom (10:20-33:17)Baptism as Death and New Life in the Messiah (33:17-47:37)OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTView this episode's official transcript.REFERENCED RESOURCESN.T. Wright mentions the online learning platform Admirato, which hosts dozens of his theology courses.God's Big Picture Bible Storybook by N. T. Wright“Sonnet X” or “Death, be not proud” from Holy Sonnets by John DonneYou can view annotations for this episode—plus our entire library of videos, podcasts, articles, and classes—in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.Check out Tim's extensive collection of recommended books here.SHOW MUSIC“Faithful” by Marc Vanparla“Sanctuary” by Asaph's ArrowsBibleProject theme song by TENTS SHOW CREDITSProduction of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who edited today's episode and also provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Special thanks to N.T. Wright.Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

“I've got some questions, God! I've been looking at those people over there. I've been living my life over here. And I've got some questions.” That's the posture of the psalmist in Psalm 73. He's got questions and doubts. You too? Trying to make sense of God's ways in the world when they seem to make no sense at all? Asaph too. Yet, it was the very process of praying his doubts and raising them up to the Lord, that brought Asaph to a place of certainty. “Ah yes, now I see what you're doing.” Yes, when we learn to pray our doubts, God teaches us to trust him in him even when we can't make sense of his ways. A sermon on Psalm 73.

Scripture Reference: Psalm 73 Does doubting mean lack of faith? Does doubting mean immaturity? What does a follower of Jesus do with their doubts? Psalm 73 gives us a window into the doubt of a Psalmist named Asaph. Surely this means the Christian life has a place for doubt, and that doubting can actually lead us to a deeper relationship with Jesus and others.

Psalm 88 WorksheetOne of the most interesting things about this Psalm and the next is that they are written by 2 men named Heman the Ezrahite and Ethan the Ezrahite. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were each descendants of Levi's sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Asaph was from Gershon; Heman from the line of Kohath; Ethan from Merari (1 Chr. 6:31-48). Heman has the added distinction of being the grandson of _______________________ (1 Chr. 6:33).Asaph wrote 12 Psalms, 11 here in book 3 of the Psalms; Heman wrote Psalm 88 and Ethan wrote Psalm 89. So 13 of the 17 Psalms of Book 3 are attributed to David's key music leaders from the tribe of Levi. The tone of Psalm 88 is very much one of _____________________________. It appears the Psalmist is facing suffering and death is very discouraged. It is not regarded as a Messianic Psalm, but several verses remind me of the suffering Jesus endured. As I read Psalm 88, look for the different ways death is referred to. Also look for the 3 times he speaks of calling out or crying out to the LORD. A man _______________________ death cries out to the LORD V. 1-9This man is despondent, but at least he is __________________________. Be honest with God in your prayers like in Psalm 88, and then go on to the kind of perspective that Psalm ____________ gives! The first reference to death is in verse 3, the word grave or Sheol. Sheol occurs 64 times in the Old Testament. The second reference to death is in verse 4, the word pit or bor. Bor occurs 61 times in the Old Testament. The third reference to death is in verse 5, “adrift among the dead.” The word for dead is mut, which occurs 693 times in the Old Testament. The sixth and seventh references to death are the words darkness and depths in verse 6.The word “wrath” in verse 7 reminds me of when Jesus was bearing our sin on the cross and cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me” (2 Cor. 5:21; John 3:36). Verse 8 reminds me of Jesus “shut up” on the cross, with so many of His followers not there to support Him. Jesus can identify with the Psalmist and any of us who feels neglected or forsaken by _____________. Verses 1 and 9 begin and end the first section by crying out to the LORD in the midst of this man facing death. A man ______________________ death cries out to the LORD V. 11-18Verses 10-12 feature 6 questions that it appears the Psalmist fears the answer is no but Christians now know the answer is ________________ in Christ!Let's not forget our count of references to death – verses 10-12 have the eighth through ________________ references to death! Verse 13 gives the one note of hope that after death, the “___________________________” will come. We borrow that hope from this being near to Psalm 86 by David.“I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” -Psalm 86:11-12Back in Psalm 88, the Psalmist wants to know, he wants to feel what David feels and __________________ in Psalm 86, but he is on the struggle bus. Verses 15 to the end make that struggle clear.Verse 15 gives us at least the 14th reference to death. With other references to being “cut off”, “wrath” and “terrors,” we may get all the way to ________________ references to death. Why is this discouraging Psalm in the Psalter, meant to be sung by the people? Sometimes getting the way we feel out there begins the ___________________________. Psalm 88 is like parts of the book of Ecclesiastes, that really describe the emptiness in life without God. Ecclesiastes brings to despair to then drive to faith in God (Ecc. 12:13-14). Psalm 89 does that for book 3 of of the Psalms. After the discouraging note of Psalm 88, Psalm 89 includes this thought to God's people when they feel discouraged:Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. -Psalm 89:33

Pastor Maritza Gutierrez brings this week's message, “Turn Up the Volume." 2 Chronicles 20.1-15 ESV: “After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.' And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.” Sermon Topics: Worship, Battles, Faith If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends on social media. For more information about PNEUMA Church, visit our website at mypneumachurch.org.  Connect with Us: Instagram: https://instagram.com/mypneumachurch YouTube: https://youtube.com/mypneumachurch Facebook: https://facebook.com/mypneumachurch Time Stamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Welcome 07:41 - 2 Chronicles 20.1-15 ESV 11:51 - Turn Up the Volume

In this episode of the "Faith with Friends" podcast, host Lisa Lorenzo continues the series titled "40 Days of Seeking More of Jesus" by examining Psalm 73. The episode unpacks the emotional and spiritual journey of Asaph, a worship leader in Israel, as he grapples with the prosperity of the wicked and the seeming futility of his own righteous living. Asaph's moment of revelation comes when he enters God's sanctuary, leading him to a profound transformation and deeper understanding of God's presence and priorities.The episode invites listeners to reflect on their personal spiritual journeys, using Asaph's experiences as a guide. Lisa explores themes of faith, worship, and perseverance, encouraging listeners to find solace and clarity in worship, even when faced with life's uncertainties and injustices. Through this discussion, the podcast emphasizes the importance of authentic expression and dependence on God as a source of strength and clarity. Worship, Lisa suggests, is not merely a response to resolved issues but a pathway to understanding and peace, echoing Asaph's eventual conclusion that God is an eternal reward and source of true satisfaction.Key Takeaways:Worship is a means to gain clarity and perspective, not just a response to resolving life's challenges.Authentic faith involves acknowledging doubts and struggles, openly bringing them before God to facilitate spiritual growth.Asaph's journey in Psalm 73 underscores that true satisfaction and strength are found in God alone, beyond worldly prosperity.Drawing near to God transforms bitterness and confusion into worship and understanding.Living a faithful life holds spiritual rewards that surpass any temporary worldly successes or pleasures.Notable Quotes:"Worship is not the reward for clarity; it's the path to clarity.""My flesh and my heart might fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.""God is our reward. So worship before the answer comes.""Being far away from God is not freedom. It is an invitation to destruction."

In today's reflection, Morgan Teruel explores Psalm 73, where Asaph struggles with understanding why the wicked prosper. Through this psalm, we are reminded of the importance of keeping our focus on God and His eternal perspective. Reflect on God's goodness and take time to pray for contentment and peace in trusting His plans.--Support content like this and the vision of Sandals Church at http://sandalschurch.com/support/Join our email list for content updates: http://sandalschurch.com/subscribeDownload the Sandals Church App: http://sandalschurch.com/app/If you have questions, need prayer or want to get connected, please email us anytime at online@sandalschurch.com!

This week we are listening to the a class by Bro. Roger Lewis from his series on "The House of Asaph - Family of Faith and Masters of Music" that he has given at several Bible Schools over the years (we are unsure which Bible School this recording is from). This is the fifth class from that series titled "The Faithfulness of the House Asaph" . Be sure to subscribe to the GCT Extended podcast to hear the other 5 classes in this series!We hope this strengthens your Faith and brightens your day!Thank you for listening, God bless, and talk to you next week.Send talk suggestions or comments to: ⁠⁠⁠GoodChristadelphianTalks@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠For Show Notes, visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠GoodChristadelphianTalks.com⁠⁠⁠Social Media: ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram

Welcome to Day 2582 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2582 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 50:16-23 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2582 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2582 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today's Wisdom Nugget, we conclude our study of Psalm 50 by examining verses 16-23. This passage shifts the focus to God's rebuke of the wicked—specifically, those who claim to follow Him but live in hypocrisy. The psalmist Asaph presents God as the divine Judge, calling out those who speak His commands yet reject His discipline. From an Ancient Israelite perspective, this would have been a shocking indictment. Many believed that outward religious acts—such as reciting the Law or offering sacrifices—were enough to secure God's favor. But here, God makes it clear: lip service without obedience is meaningless. This passage challenges us to examine our hearts and reminds us that true worship requires integrity, thankfulness, and a life that honors God. Let's begin by reading Psalm 50:16-23 from the New Living Translation: Psalm 50:16-23 (NLT) 16 But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting My decrees and pretending to obey My covenant? 17 For you refuse My discipline and treat My words like trash. 18 When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers. 19 Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. 20 You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother's son. 21 While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn't care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all My charges against you. 22 Repent, all of you who forget Me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you. 23 But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me. If you keep to My path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” The Problem of Hypocrisy (Verses 16-17) The passage begins with a strong rebuke: “But God says to the wicked: ‘Why bother reciting My decrees and pretending to obey My covenant?'” This statement is directed at those who claim to follow God but live in disobedience. They speak His words, but their actions tell a different story. Verse 17 adds: “For you refuse My discipline and treat My words like trash.” Here, God exposes their real attitude—they reject His correction and ignore His teachings. In the Ancient Israelite worldview, God's Law was seen as the foundation of life, meant to guide His people in righteousness. But these individuals saw it as optional,...

Asaph Cries Out To The Lord

Welcome to Day 2580 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2580 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 50:7-15 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2580 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2580 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today's Wisdom Nugget, we will explore Psalm 50:7-15, a passage where God speaks directly to His people, correcting their misunderstanding of true worship. In this passage, God reminds Israel that He does not need their sacrifices, but rather, He desires their genuine faith and dependence on Him. From an Ancient Israelite perspective, this was a challenging message. Sacrificial offerings were central to their worship and covenant relationship with God. Yet, the psalmist Asaph presents God as the ultimate judge, correcting those who relied more on outward religious rituals than on a sincere heart devoted to Him. This passage teaches us that God desires thanksgiving, obedience, and trust—not empty religious actions. Let's begin by reading Psalm 50:7-15 from the New Living Translation: Psalm 50:7-15 (NLT) 7 “O My people, listen as I speak. Here are My charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God! 8 I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly bring to My altar. 9 But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. 10 For all the animals of the forest are Mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are Mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is Mine and everything in it. 13 Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? 14 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. 15 Then call on Me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give Me glory.” God Speaks as the Judge (Verse 7) The passage begins with a dramatic shift. Up until now, God has been summoning the heavens and the earth as witnesses, preparing to judge His people. Now, He speaks directly to Israel: “O My people, listen as I speak. Here are My charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God!” The phrase “I am God, your God” is significant. It reminds the Israelites of their covenant relationship with Him. This echoes Exodus 20:2, where God says: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt.” God is not addressing foreign nations but His own people—those who should already know His ways. However, they have drifted into a mechanical form of worship, offering...

Welcome to Day 2578 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2578 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 50:1-6 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2578 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2578 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today's Wisdom Nugget, we begin our exploration of Psalm 50, focusing on verses 1-6. This psalm, written by Asaph, presents a dramatic scene in which God Himself appears as the divine Judge, summoning the heavens and the earth to witness His judgment over His people. From an Ancient Israelite perspective, this psalm would have carried deep significance. The imagery of God speaking from Zion, fire and storm surrounding Him, and His call for justice would have reminded them of God's covenant at Mount Sinai. The Israelites were well aware that God was not just their Deliverer but also their Judge, calling them to righteousness and true worship. Let's begin by reading Psalm 50:1-6 from the New Living Translation: Psalm 50:1-6 (NLT) 1 The Lord, the Mighty One, is God, and He has spoken; He has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets. 2 From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. 3 Our God approaches, and He is not silent. Fire devours everything in His way, and a great storm rages around Him. 4 He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of His people. 5 “Bring My faithful people to Me— those who made a covenant with Me by giving sacrifices.” 6 Then let the heavens proclaim His justice, for God Himself will be the judge. God Calls the Whole Earth to Attention (Verses 1-2) The psalm begins with a grand and powerful statement: “The Lord, the Mighty One, is God, and He has spoken; He has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets.” The threefold name of God—“The Lord, the Mighty One, is God”—immediately establishes His authority and power. In the Ancient Near East, kings and rulers would summon their people for important announcements, but here, it is God Himself summoning all of humanity. This is not a private revelation—God's message is for the entire world. From east to west, all people are called to attention. Verse 2 continues: “From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance.” Zion, referring to Jerusalem and the temple, was seen as the earthly dwelling place of God's presence. The psalmist calls it “the perfection of beauty”, not because of its architecture, but because God's glory radiates from there. This verse echoes passages like Isaiah 2:3, which...

Visit Podschool.org For Free Bible Lessons