Podcasts about Behold

Today's message explores the power of remembering and beholding Jesus, emphasizing that the blood of Christ is a living, present reality that transforms, protects, and empowers believers. Pastor Kendall McDowell encourages listeners to keep their focus on Jesus, especially in new seasons and storms, reminding us that what we consistently remember shapes our faith and responses. By fixing our eyes on Christ and refusing to be distracted by fear or circumstances, we experience true transformation and victory, knowing that God's presence always has the final word over every battle.

So you think Doctor Who is on pause until The War Between the Land and the Sea airs sometime next year, eh? Well, apparently you aren't aware of the big news this week, a new dolly-adjacent figurine of the iconic Monarch from Four to Doomsday! Plus we observe the 50th anniversary of the original broadcast of Terror of the Zygons by meandering into Steven's crippling studio footage addiction, a look at Youtube deep dives and the videotape-licious Chronicles of Narnia Blu-Ray, Jon Culshaw becoming the Twelfth Doctor for Big Finish, and the fourth and final part of our Jamie Magnus Stone Miniscope, with a look at The Power of the Doctor! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon New Doctor Who Figurine Collection releases include Monarch, The Flood, and Leandro Terror of the Zygons streamed on the 50th anniversary of its original broadcast Doctor Who: The regeneration scene and the 7 second hole Doctor Who Magazine Special 70: Gothic Horror, out now The BBC's Chronicles of Narnia released on Blu-ray on Nov 24 (UK) Big Finish introduces Jon Culshaw as the voice of the Twelfth Doctor Details of Big Finish: The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Wicked! released Miniscope: Jamie Magnus Stone, Part 4 The Power of the Doctor The Confused Adipose Radio Free Skaro #892 Directing Doctor Who Clara and the TARDIS

Jeremiah 33:1 33 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the  Lord is His name): 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and [b]mighty things, which you do not know.'Isaiah 59:1-2  Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened,That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy,That it cannot hear.2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you,So that He will not hear.Psalms 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,The Lord will not hear.James 4:3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.1 John 5:14-15  14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.1 Peter 3:7  Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.Matthew 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is [c]an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”Hebrew 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.Proverbs 28:9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law,Even his prayer is an abomination.

Jesus Delivers Us (13) (audio) David Eells – 8/31/25 Saints, I'm going to continue with our teaching on how Jesus delivers us and our authority over the demons. I'm going to pick up where we left off last time about the true and false manifestations of the Spirit and begin by sharing the following testimony called:   More Than We Can Imagine or Think by P.O. I was one of thousands of people who wanted to experience "revival" in Brownsville and Toronto. As a fairly new Christian, I wanted the excitement that I thought should come from living a life for God. My prayer during that time was: "Father, do whatever You need to do so that no man or no devil can ever quench my desire for You." The first few visits there, I came away somewhat frustrated. Every time a minister approached me, he would veer away and start the laying on of hands in another direction. I recognize now that this was the grace of God, keeping me from receiving wrong impartations. But one time when we were leaving, I forgot my cape. I returned for it and tried to walk through a large lobby full of people writhing on the floor. Something invisible hit me. I fell to the floor and felt heat, like electricity, start at my feet and work all the way up to my head. I became temporarily but totally paralyzed. A friend who had followed me reported afterward that he saw my eyes roll. This man, a medic in the army, picked me up in his arms to remove me. But the strapping, six-footer made it only to the outside steps. There he, too, was taken down to the ground by this spirit. When he dropped me, I rolled under a small tree. Looking up, I saw the stars like diamonds and trees in 3-D as if "the trees were indeed clapping their hands" as the Word describes. I wanted to praise God, but I was rendered incapable of doing anything but baying like one of my uncle's hound dogs. My heart goes out to my friends who visited the "revival." Three of them died prematurely. Another four of them divorced within a year. Several of them now have serious health concerns. In short, these people are anything BUT revived. With some of these friends, I tried gently to get them to look at the falsehoods. But no. It was like the old saying, "You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make him drink." The times I tried, I encountered upturned noses, so to speak. My dearest friend, whom I met thirty-eight years ago, lived at one of the revival venues for months. She no longer returns my calls. I don't know why this is the case, since we aren't talking. But I suspect that she just couldn't handle the upturns that my life, and my children's lives, kept taking as opposed to her own. I'll always love her. She prayed for me when I wasn't even a believer. God will save her from this deception. At first I thought the experience had been the Holy Spirit. But, sparing the details, my life began to fall apart. I kept crying out for truth, the truth, nothing but the truth. Somehow, I was led via an internet science site to the e-book called "Sovereign God." I "inhaled" it. God's truth revealed in that book healed me of lifelong bouts of severe depression. Then, via the internet, I saw that people around the world were getting their vision healed. I thought, "God is no respecter of persons. Father, would you heal my vision?" It was a progressive miracle, full of dialogue with Him. After a trial of several months, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles pronounced me as having near-perfect vision. Father God also engineered that my unbelieving daughter would be present to hear the verdict. All my life, I'd had progressively poorer vision, ending with 20-200, which the state of Indiana considered as legally blind. God is able to do abundantly over and beyond what we can imagine or think. In His sovereignty, Father brought me through into the truth. He has orchestrated major periods of repenting and casting out of spirits revealed to me. By the grace of God, my marriage is thriving like never before. My blind eyes are healed. My depression is gone. I have hair now. I actually feel beautiful, but it's not of myself. It's Jesus, coming from the inside out. My children are fighting and winning for their marriages. I'm no longer fat. I have a room with a view. In this room, I help build God's Kingdom with the gifts He's given me. I'm welcomed at foreign airports with bouquets of flowers, like I'm some royal person. I'm surrounded by a vibrant company of other believers who cherish one another every day of the week. None of these blessings came as a result of the revival movement that so many people, including myself, touted for a while. All of these blessings are just "by-products" of a graceful God who loves me. He gave me the hunger and the unction to seek and find Him. Reading that blessing list, an unknowing person might say that I've won life's lottery. But it is all nothing compared to the fact that ... I have Jesus. I hope and pray you do, too. And here is another awesome testimony of God's amazing grace, called:   Delivered & Made Whole by C.M. As a young adult I was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr, chronic fatigue syndrome. For almost two years I would have to sleep at least twelve hours per day to barely function. Having visited every specialist, I was given no hope, other than just to deal with it and get rest. As a child I was taught about the Lord, even experiencing a vision of heaven at the age of seven years. I had been healed of a toothache during that vision. But when my dad left, our family fell apart, and our faith slowly faded away. By the time I was twenty-one years old, the Bible was in my closet, unread in years. One night I cried out to the Lord while remembering a story told to me when I was a child. A woman in the Bible was healed of her blood flow of twelve years. As I was begging the Lord to let me touch His garment just like that woman, I felt such a hot flow of heat through my body! I knew I was healed. The Lord let me feel that heat to help my faith. Within twenty-four hours, I felt completely better! I told everyone. People said it was just psychological—I had healed myself. But I knew better. I started reading my Bible as a babe in Christ. Almost two years later, I did join a church. I was reading the Bible regularly, but I started practicing yoga. I even became a yoga instructor, certified in sport yoga. I knew yoga had Eastern philosophies, but I thought if I just did the exercise part, I would be okay. I even asked my pastor. To my surprise, I had his support as long as it was just for exercise. Another elder even encouraged Tai Chi, another Eastern philosophy of exercise. Yoga was the pathway to all of the other Eastern philosophies: Tai Chi, hypnotherapy, and Reiki, the bringing of "energy" from the universe into your body. After two years of practicing yoga and getting involved with Reiki, I met a bold woman of Christ named Jane. She informed me of my backsliding. Jane insisted that I pray and get right with God and speak to her husband. He had knowledge of the occult. The word "backsliding" kept ringing in my ears from this woman. I had thought exercising was okay. After looking up the word "backsliding" in the concordance, I was directed to Jeremiah Chapters 3-6. The Lord showed me that night that I had left the Lord for the harlot. I felt the Lord's anger with me for what I was doing. After the Lord opened my eyes that night, I discarded everything that had to do with yoga: the music, clothes, DVDs, my teaching certification, books, equipment, mat, candles, etc. I quit teaching the next day. I visited Jane and her husband, who further explained how yoga is an occult practice. They prayed over me and anointed me with oil. We claimed that I was forgiven and that all the effects of this practice had left me. Praise God for His forgiveness, mercy and love. Now I have given my life to the Lord and have been walking with Him ever since! An undeserved blessing He gave me was a daughter, as I had not been able to have a child. According to the specialists, for fourteen months, I was not ovulating. Within two weeks of giving up yoga, I was pregnant. I am so grateful for God's love and forgiveness. David: Amen! Praise God for all His goodness towards us. It's important to remember that we must continue walking in Christ to obtain the fullness of His salvation. (Mat.24:13) But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. We have to continue in Him to receive what He's laid hold on us for. (Php.3:12) Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. He laid hold on us to manifest the fullness of Christ, and if we believe the Word, and we keep holding fast to the Word, we're going to enter into more and more of Christ. He is the Word. When we walk in Christ, we have faith to exercise the authority that He's passed on to us, but notice that although Jesus totally conquered the devil (Ephesians 1:20-22), we still see him. Why? It's because the devil still exercises authority. You may ask, "David, how is that possible?" Well, let's look at how that authority has been passed around. God never took back the authority over all creation that He gave to Adam in Gen.1:28 And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. But God didn't have to take it back; Adam gave it away to the devil! He gave it to the devil by virtue of the fact that he obeyed the devil. (Rom.6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? He made the devil his lord and gave him that authority. We know that the Bible says, "What we bind on earth is bound in heaven," so if the devil can talk us into believing he has authority, then he has it because we gave it to him. We loosed him by believing him, and we bound God by not believing Him, because God made the condition for receiving His benefits, which is our faith. Today, Adam's children have lost their authority because he gave it to satan. However, Jesus is called the "last Adam" because He is the father of the born again creation. Because He refused satan's authority He gained authority back and passed it on to His spiritual children. (1Co 15:22)  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  But Christians need faith to exercise this authority. What does the Bible say? (1Jn.3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; (22) and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. When we walk in Christ, we have faith to exercise our authority, faith to believe what the Bible says about the authority given to us. Adam was a natural man who was given authority over this natural creation. Jesus Christ was called a spiritual man, and He was given authority over this spiritual and natural creation. We just read about the authority God gave to Adam over this natural creation. Most Christians haven't entered into the authority that Adam had as a natural man, much less the authority that Jesus had as a spiritual man. We are supposed to have authority in both places, the natural and the spiritual. (1Co.15:45) So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit. (46) Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. (47) The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. (48) As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. (49) And as we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly. If your Bible has "we shall," it's wrong. There's probably a footnote that tells you the Greek says, "let us also bear the image of the heavenly." We have been given a command to bear "the image of the heavenly." God is not saying that "we shall" because that's not true. A lot of people are not going to bear the "image of the heavenly" because they're going to refuse to do that. We've borne "the image of the earthy" because we've been a natural man, like the first Adam, but to bear "the image of the heavenly" is to bear the Image of the spiritual Adam, Who is Jesus Christ. (Heb.2:5) For not unto angels did he subject the inhabited earth to come... If your Bible says, "the world to come," you probably have a footnote that says "the inhabited earth." This is the correct translation from the Greek according to the numeric pattern. Notice its "the inhabited earth to come" meaning the earth under and following Adam's authority.  (Heb.2:5) For not unto angels did he subject the inhabited earth to come, whereof we speak. (6) But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? What was "man"? That was Adam. And who was the "son of man"? That was Adam's children. Jesus was the Son of man and the Son of God. This is talking about both the natural Adam and the spiritual Adam. The spiritual "Adam" is Christ, and so then, who is the "son of man"? That is Christ's children. Adam and his children had authority, and if they hadn't fallen because of sin, they would still have that authority. Jesus has authority and all of His children have the same authority because He is an Adam. He's the Procreator of the whole race of the spiritual man. He's the (Rom.8:29) ... firstborn among many brethren. The Greek word there is adelphos, and it means "brothers." (Gal.3:26) For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. Through faith, we should be living up to our sonship; we should be exercising the authority of the first Son, Jesus Christ, our spiritual Father. (Heb.2:7) Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands. We found that was true of Adam, and it's still true. Jesus exercised authority over the works of God's hands. Just as Adam did in the natural before he fell; Jesus did in the spiritual and natural. There's a natural creation, and there's a spiritual creation beyond the natural creation. Adam had dominion over the works of God's hands; he exercised authority over all the earth, the beasts, the fish, the birds, and so on. However, there are other works of God's hands that Adam didn't know much about: the principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness, the spiritual creation of God (Ephesians 6:12). Because of what Jesus accomplished at the Cross, we've been given authority over not just the natural creation, but the spiritual creation. (Eph.1:19) And what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might (20) which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly [places], (21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (22) and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Notice that Jesus was the head of His body the Church but He put all things in subjection under the feet of His body. We have this authority as we follow the Head. Our authority over the natural creation and the spiritual creation is given by right of two facts. We have come from the first Adam, and we have come from the second Adam. Both of those have been given authority, and that authority has been passed on to us, but the only way you can exercise that authority is to believe what the Word of God says. All of this has been put under your feet; you have complete sovereignty over it as you follow the Head. (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. Notice: "Behold, I have given you authority ... over all the power of the enemy." Here's another witness that God has put all things in subjection under His feet: (Heb.2:8) Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. (Primarily, He was talking about Adam and his children. Secondarily, He's talking about Christ and His children.) But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. In other words, it's a fact that Jesus conquered the devil and gave us authority over him, but it's also a fact that we haven't exercised that authority. (Heb.2:9) But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, [even] Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every [man]. (10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory (These are His sons.), to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (11) For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one (We have one Father.): for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. So you see, we are sons of God first by faith and then by manifestation. Jesus, as the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:47), received this authority from God over all of creation, and we are in Him. As end-time saints, we are in Him as His body and even the lowest member, the "feet," have been given authority to "stomp" on the devil's kingdom. (Rom.16:20) And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. We've been given this authority, so what's the holdup here? The holdup is for us to be convinced about what the Bible says in black and white. It isn't a deep revelation; it's in the letter of the Word, and we need to step out and start exercising our authority according to His Word by faith. We have dominion over all the works of God's hand! It makes no sense to think God would have given this dominion to Adam, a physical, natural creation, but would not have given it to His spiritual creation, sons born after the Image of Jesus Christ. Start imagining yourself as a son of God with authority. See yourself that way. (Psa.8:4) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? (In other words, why would you pay any attention to man?) And the son of man (That's not only Adam, but his children. That's not only Christ, but His children.), that thou visitest him? (Psa.8:5) For thou hast made him but little lower than God, And crownest him with glory and honor. (6) Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: (7) All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field, (8) The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. Do you remember when the disciples had been fishing all night without catching anything until the Lord commanded the fish into their net? (Joh.21:6) And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. And (Psa.8:9) O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! Our words and actions must agree with God's Word. Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2 are parallel in speaking about Adam and his children, and Christ and His children, both having dominion over the work of God's hands. Everything Jesus said agrees with this. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Because we don't understand this principle, we are continually loosing the devil to terrorize us. We are continually loosing the curse to take dominion over us. We are continually doing this because we are disagreeing with the Word of God. This is what happens when we speak contrary to the Word of God, and we act contrary to the Word of God. Many of God's people don't yet understand that they have this authority to loose the devil. They loose him when they disagree with God's Word. They loose him when they agree with these spirits that rule over the lusts of the flesh. If you agree with them, they are going to rule over you, as with Adam and Eve. We have authority over the work of God's hands. We have authority over the things that God has given us. We have authority over our automobiles and our washing machines; literally anything we have stewardship of. It doesn't make any difference what it is; we have authority. Some of you have exercised your authority and commanded healing for people, and God healed them, or you've commanded healing over broken appliances or cars, and God healed them, too. What we have to do is be convinced that we have the authority of creative power in us. (Joh.20:21) Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. This means that the Father sent Jesus with authority over the works of His hands, and everywhere He went, He exercised authority. And He said, "Even so send I you." He sent us with that same authority. (Mat.28:18) And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go ye therefore... Why did He say that? He said it because He was passing that authority on to His disciples. (Mat 28:19)  Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (Just in case you believe this was only for the Apostles, He addresses all nations of disciples saying this.) 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you (so we all have the authority they had.): and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.  And in another Gospel He said in (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe... "Them that believe" includes every believer. Every believer has authority in the second heaven, too. That's where Satan rules, and he reaches from the second heaven into the first heaven to rule as prince of the powers of the air in this world (Ephesians 2:2). We can read that here, where Jesus talks to Peter and the disciples. (Mat.16:18) And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (19) I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven... What Matthew 16:19 actually says in the original is "the kingdom of the heavens." Over in Matthew 18:18, which we've looked at, the word used is "heaven," singular, because it's only talking about the third heaven, but Matthew 16 is talking about all the "heavens," plural. It says in the Nestle's Text, the three most ancient manuscripts, "the kingdom of the heavens." It says in the Numeric English New Testament, "the kingdom of the heavens." Other translations just haven't copied it correctly. This verse correctly reads, (Mat.16:19) I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens... That means you are binding in the second heaven too. But even in the third heaven we bind or loose by unbelief or faith. The devil is hidden from us in the second heaven, another realm, and he rules from there as prince of the power of the air in the first heaven, but we have authority in the realm of the second heaven when we obey the principles of God's Word. (Mat.16:19) I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens. That doesn't say that we are going to destroy everything the devil does because God doesn't want to do that. God sent the devil here to administer the curse, such as when apostle Paul turned a man over to Satan (1Co.5:5) ... for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. God still does this today, so He doesn't want to destroy the power of the devil. God wants to destroy the power of the devil in the life of the believer. Jesus didn't give the keys to just Peter, as some people mistakenly read this verse. Jesus was talking to all of His disciples. (Mat.16:20) Then charged he the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ. What made Jesus speak of Peter in the first place? It was because of what Peter had spoken. (Mat.16:13) Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is? (14) And they said, Some [say] John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. (15) He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? (16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. (18) And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. He wasn't talking about Peter alone. What was shown to Peter was the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God. This was the rock. Everybody who is saved has gotten that revelation. It is a foundational revelation. Everybody with that revelation has authority if they believe. This is the "key of David." (Isa.22:22) And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. Everybody who is saved has the key of the Kingdom of Heaven but only a few will manifest it. (Rev.3:7) And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth. Jesus in the believer has the authority of the key of David. "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." The name "Peter" is the Greek word petros, which means "a small rock or stone such as a man may throw." We are all one of these. But the Greek word for "rock" in this verse is petra, and it means "a huge mass of rock (a boulder), such as a projecting cliff." All of us small rocks who make up the body of Christ could also corporately be this huge Rock. Peter himself said that Jesus was the Rock. (1Pe.2:3) If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: (4) unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, (5) ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (7) For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; (8) and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. Peter said that we are "living stones" and all of the disciples are "living stones." Peter didn't believe that he was the huge Rock. We are living stones in God's building, and that whole building is petra, a mass of rock. Jesus is the foundation of the building of the Body of Christ. He is the Chief Corner Stone, which is missing from the Great Pyramid because He is in heaven, but that Chief Corner Stone also looks like the rest of the building, which is the body of Christ. He is the Foundation and the Head, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13), and the many stones are His body, just like the Great Pyramid represents. [Note: According to Josephus, the Great Pyramid is a prophecy built by Enoch and his sons.] Peter didn't exercise any more authority than the rest of the apostles. God gave all of His disciples the authority to bind things in the second heaven (Ephesians 2:2), things in the third heaven (Matthew 24:31; 2 Corinthians 12:2), and things in the first heaven (Mark 13:27). God's peopare not doing the works of Jesus Christ because they don't realize this authority is also theirs. We need to get this understanding down in our hearts because the devil's been given authority from God to make war on the saints. God sent an adversary so that not only would we learn to fight, but we would learn to fight and win! Did you know that if you fight the devil, you are going to be warring with your flesh? When you fight the spirit of fear, you are going to conquer fear in yourself. If you fight the spirit of lust, you are going to conquer lust in yourself. God has to send the devil because he reveals to you what is inside you. When you come against him by faith, you are not only consuming the lusts, you are not only plundering the devil's kingdom as far as the ground that he has taken in your life, but you are plundering him (Matthew 12:25-30; Mark 3:20-27; Luke 11:14-23). You are overcoming his spirits. Take your Promised Land. Conquer the carnal man that lives in it. Use the authority God gave you! This is your God-given right! Praise the Lord! Now, let me share another wonderful testimony with you called:   Faith in God's Word Plundered the Devil by sister L.W. About a year ago, the Lord showed me that I had a spirit of rejection. I received it through the bloodline of my dad. My grandparents tried to abort him. His siblings constantly reminded him that he was not wanted. The spirit of rejection took all my life experiences and twisted them in my head. It made me take everything personally and made me perceive its version of the truth instead of reality. Kids are cruel in school, and everybody is picked on in some way. They picked on me because I'm a redhead. So I saw my hair as a physical disfigurement. I thought if I were pretty, people would like me despite the color of my hair. When I would get beaten up by the boys after school, I thought I was the only one getting picked on. I didn't have any black eyes but there was a lot of hair-pulling, kicking, biting, scratching, and punching. I thought it was all because of the color of my hair. And I thought because I was different, I would never be accepted; and I hated myself and my hair. During this time, I developed nervous facial tics. My mom told me to stop, but I told her that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. I told her my face would feel extremely funny and the only relief was to allow the tic. She told me to rub my face every time I felt that and I did. The Most High God had mercy on me and broke the nervous tics that very instant, and I was immediately delivered.  A couple of years later in the summer, I woke up and the left side of my face was paralyzed and felt heavy. When I would blink, my left eye wouldn't close. When I smiled, only half my face would smile. My dad thought I was just making funny faces and told me if I didn't stop my face would stick. But very quickly, he realized this was a serious medical condition. The doctors discovered I had Bell's Palsy and informed us there was no cure and that I would have to live with this the rest of my life. Later, I asked my parents if that was really true. Would I have to live with this the rest of my life? I felt ugly enough having red hair, without adding a paralyzed face to the equation. And they said, "We serve a God who heals. He is a healing God." Being a child, I thought my parents were smarter than the doctors. So I put my faith in what they told me and ignored what the doctors said. The Lord completely healed my face within seven days. The doctors were stunned. The healing was so complete, there is not even the slightest trace even to this very day, despite the doctors' report. When my parents became missionaries to Swaziland, I was so ecstatic, looking forward to a fresh start. Maybe there they would accept my red hair. Little did I know that the country we were going to believed people with red hair were witch doctors. Now, not only did the color of my hair stand out, but the color of my skin, too. I was really different. I felt I would never fit in. I didn't know the language and couldn't understand their accent—even when they spoke in English. The Swazi kids were actually loving and gentle, unlike the American kids, and they were intrigued by me. They wanted to touch my hair and skin and smell me, but I felt intimidated. (After my sister read this testimony, she told me those Swazi kids loved me and loved playing marbles with me during recess.) The love they gave me, the spirit of rejection stole from me. I thought I was the dumbest one in my class. The standard of schooling was much higher than in the States, and the kids laughed at me because I didn't know the answers when the teacher called on me. Inevitably, there was always somebody who had pity on me and whispered the answer to me. The spirit of rejection twisted my thoughts. Once again I felt rejected. I was a loner. I thought there was something wrong with me because I was dumb. I wanted to be anybody else but me. Because there was no high school in the country we lived in, I was forced to go to boarding school. I went to an all-white, all-girls high school in South Africa. Suddenly, my hair became my greatest asset. I became interested in fashion and beauty and surrounded myself with prim and proper British tea-drinking girls who were gossips and snobs. I was the queen of beauty secrets, sharing them with everybody. Even during my short-lived popularity, inside I still felt dumb and ugly. I felt I was the object of gossip and that the girls were looking down their noses at me. After three years of boarding school, my family moved to Johannesburg, South Africa. I was finally able to live at home with my parents and go to a public school. No longer was I surrounded by prim and proper British girls, but fighting Jezebels. My sister and I rode the school bus. The Jezebels would not allow us to sit, even though there was a vacant seat. They said the seats were reserved. I was determined to sit because I didn't want to have to stand through high school. The girls converged on my sister and me. They pulled our hair, tore our dresses, kicked, scratched, bit, punched and burned us with their cigarettes. I stood up for myself and protected my sister. At that point in my life, I didn't know to turn the other cheek. I prayed and asked God to give me strength. After a while, they gave up. After I graduated from high school, I returned to the States to go to college. Before school started, I lived a few months with relatives. During those months, the spirit of rejection made me feel more alone than ever. Even though I had returned to the land of my birth, I realized I had become a foreigner. I was stranger than ever. My clothes were the latest in fashion in Europe, but they just didn't go in Wyoming. There was nothing indecent about them, but a pastor's wife wrote a letter to my parents stating I looked like a streetwalker and carbon copied it to the church headquarters. Apparently, nothing but jeans, cowboy boots, or tennis shoes was accepted. My clothes were too colorful and different. The day finally came when I was able to go to college and move into the dorm. God blessed me with a fabulous roommate and we became immediate friends. She helped me adjust to the American way of life. I became more confident. I finally started having fun, but didn't study enough; I got kicked out of two church colleges with which my parents were affiliated. I was labeled a rogue missionary kid who dressed like a streetwalker. In my shame, I went back home to South Africa. All my life I was judged by my hair and now I have begun to judge other people by their hair. One night I dreamed I was walking on a busy sidewalk in a big city. The sidewalk was crowded with people walking to and fro. There was a long, green snake gliding at shoulder level. When our eyes met, he immediately came at me and coiled himself tightly around my ponytail. I grabbed him with my right hand and tried to pull him out of my hair, but he was coiled so tightly, he wouldn't budge. I woke up. At this time, I didn't know anything about the importance of dreams. But it was so vivid that I never forgot it. Eventually, my head started to itch and burn. I thought to myself, "Whatever you do, never itch in public." I didn't want to act like the baboons in Africa, always scratching. A couple of years went by and ridges started to form on my scalp, but I ignored it. Later, I got married and moved into my husband's house. Within a week, I realized I had made a huge mistake. He became physically abusive and would often kick me out. In an effort not to worry my parents and hide my shame, I spent the nights at a hotel and kept going back. The abuse became more frequent. I felt like I was having a nightmare and couldn't wake up. It became increasingly difficult to hide the abuse from my family and from work. I found out he was addicted to pornography (that's why he would kick me out). I thought I had married a Christian. One morning, he came at me with full force. I couldn't get away because he was so much bigger and stronger. I grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1, but he slammed the receiver down. "God, get me out of here. Help me!" I cried. A few minutes later, a police car pulled up. Shocked, I didn't recognize myself when I looked in the mirror that day. Somebody else was staring at me! We had only been married four months, four days. This was the ultimate rejection and betrayal. For the next two and a half years, we were separated, but trying to work things out. Even during that time, he was physically abusive. My family was afraid he was going to kill me. When I was with him, they would often call. If I did not answer, they would call the police. It ended in divorce. I went to my mom's beauty shop for a haircut. She told me I needed to see the dermatologist because the ridges at the crown of my head had turned a reddish purple. The dermatologist did a biopsy and discovered I had a rare condition called Pseudopelade of Brocq. She gave me little green pills to take. The first morning I took one, I was doubled over in pain within 20 minutes. No matter how hard I tried to take those pills, I was never able to keep them down. I called the dermatologist to ask her what the pills were supposed to do. She said they wouldn't cure my scalp condition—they would only stop the burning and itching. I threw those useless pills out. They were not going to free me from the green snake coiled up in my hair. The name of that snake is Jealousy. When the LORD showed me the root cause of the problem, I repented from my sins of pride and vanity. (Isa.3:16) Moreover, the Lord said, Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet, (17) Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And the Lord will make their foreheads bare. (24) ... Instead of wellset hair, a plucked-out scalp. I lived under a mountain of condemnation. No matter how much I forgave and repented of my sins, I always felt like God was mad at me. I am the elder of two girls and I felt like I was Esau and my sister was Jacob. (Heb.12:17) For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. (Rom.9:13) Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. I was jealous of my sister. I felt like I was Leah and my sister was Rachel. I was unloved and my sister was loved. I was the one who had weak eyes and couldn't please my Heavenly Father, while my sister was given wisdom and favor with God and man. The LORD gave me: (Gal.3:27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. This verse changed my life. A year before this, my dad baptized me into Jesus Christ, which meant I fulfilled the beginning of the verse. If I was baptized into Jesus Christ, then I was clothed with Christ! I was bouncing off the walls! I was firmly convinced I was clothed with Christ. I told my family about that verse, confessing I was clothed in Christ. My dad and sister said I still had to manifestly be clothed in Christ. I told them that's not what the verse said. It was a very plain and simple verse. I understood it perfectly and I wasn't budging from my stance. I was so ecstatic over that verse and I told them with a huge smile on my face, "Nobody can talk me out of that promise." My mom turned to me and said, "Grab onto that promise with your stubborn mentality and don't let go." The next morning, something flew out of my left nostril with extreme force, waking me up. I heard the sound of a loud rushing wind and physically felt the force. Whatever it was hit my window and caused it to rattle. I jumped out of bed, expecting to see a broken window, but it was completely intact. That had never happened to me before, but I knew I didn't imagine or dream it. I told my family what happened. My dad said a demon was evicted because of my believing that verse. I was so happy! I became obsessed with cleansing myself from all defilement of flesh and spirit. By this time, my dad and sister were listening to me. A few mornings later while sleeping, my whole body cramped up painfully and then relaxed, causing me to wake up. I called my dad, crying on the phone, because I was afraid the demon had come back. He said the demon hadn't come back, but another demon had left and wracked my body on his departure. He said demons typically do that when they leave. I was so happy, jumping up and down, praising Jesus. A few days later, my chest still hurt. I had a big bruise on it to remind me of my deliverance. It was simply a gift Father gave me to believe His Word. His Word is true. When you submit yourself to God, the devil will flee from you. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God: but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I learned the importance of meditating on the word. Each night I would pick a verse. I came across (Sol.4:1) ...Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead. Because of my hair and scalp condition, I was always attracted to any scripture that dealt with hair. I knew there was a spiritual meaning, but I didn't know what it was. Despite not understanding this verse, I was going to meditate on it anyway. I imagined my hair being like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead. As I meditated, I heard a voice that sounded like my own say, "Don't do that!" I flew out of bed and turned on the light. I looked under my pillows and tore my whole bed apart looking for something, but I knew not what. I realized it was a demon using my voice. He didn't like me meditating on that verse. I thought, "Stupid demon. If that verse is causing such an uproar with a demon, I'll meditate on it every waking moment!" The next day as I was meditating on the verse, I heard another voice squeal my name. The Word of God is alive! A few weeks later, my mom commented that there was a huge improvement while cutting my hair at the beauty shop. She said an amazing thing was happening—my hair was growing in thick and long. (Sol.7:5) Your head crowns you like Carmel, And the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads; The king is captivated by your tresses. It's easy to see the faults in other people, but it's difficult to see the faults in yourself. I decided to ask my sister what my problem was because I knew she would be brutally honest. She told me I had a spirit of rejection. She said that a demon was the cause of my scalp condition, and that I was easily offended and it manifested in my scalp being irritated and tender. I decided to take her at her word and fight the spirit of rejection. My sister showed me this scripture: (Luk.21:12) But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. (13) It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. (14) So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; (15) for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. (16) But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, (17) and you will be hated by all because of My name. (18) Yet not a hair of your head will perish. Suffering rejection is a part of taking up your cross and following Jesus. It's forgiving those who do you wrong and turning the other cheek. A few weeks later I was at the mall with my family. I saw a really neat soap dispenser that I thought my mom should buy, but she said she didn't like it. Then I saw a perfect soap dispenser for my sister's bathroom, but she didn't like it either. The words, "So what's wrong with MY soap dispenser," flew out of my mouth! I was hearing them for the first time myself. I realized what I said was so outrageous and so unreasonable. For the first time, I saw how easily I was offended. I finally saw for myself the spirit of rejection in me. One night, I asked Father for a scripture by lot: (Luk.9:42) While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. I thought Jesus did it for the boy only and I wanted Him to do it for me. But then my sister showed me Jesus' words: (Mar.13:37) What I say to you I say to all. I was ecstatic! Jesus rebuked the spirit of rejection in me and healed me and gave me back to my Heavenly Father. The spirit of condemnation would overwhelm me. One night while meditating on (Rom.6:11) Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, another demon flew out from behind my right ear with force. I felt and heard a major vibration. I couldn't wait to tell my family. And I said to my sister, "You wouldn't believe what happened to me last night!" She asked, "Now what flew out of you?" (Luk.11:20) But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. I devoured the audio series, "The Curse of Unforgiveness" and I followed along in my Bible, highlighted scriptures, wrote notes and searched my heart for any unforgiveness that may have been lurking. I also devoured the audio series, "Overcoming Sin." I was on a mission to completely rid myself of the spirits of rejection, judgment and condemnation. I became obsessed with (2Co.7:1) Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Early one morning I dreamed I had bloodstains all over me. A little boy with blonde hair said to me, "Let me help you." I woke up, desperately wanting help! Immediately, when David Eells started the Bible study, "Deliverance from Rejection and Its Fear," I knew he was talking to me! The Man-child was helping me. My deliverance was already accomplished! I was set free from the spirit of rejection and condemnation! The mental torment has been removed from my mind. My family will no longer have to tread lightly. My Heavenly Father poured His love into me. I finally felt His acceptance. I was no longer rejected, but accepted. (Isa.43:3) For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. (4) Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. How can I possibly feel rejected? (Rom.8:31) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? I had been burnt to a crisp. But I learned the ashes of burning the wood, hay and stubble mixed with the water of the Word was a potent purifying cleanser, which is exactly what I needed. (Num.19:9) Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. (Act.11:9) But a voice from heaven answered a second time, What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy. L.W.'s Prayer: Father, Have Mercy ... Father, I ask You, for anyone out there who is in bondage to sin, needing a healing, needing a restoration in their family, needing a restoration of fellowship, that You will convict them of their sins. Convict them to go and make things right with their brethren. If they've done sin, if they're unforgiving, whatever, convict them to go and make things right with their brethren and then come to You for their benefits: healing, deliverance, blessing, whatever, Lord. We thank you, Lord, for putting Your faith and conviction in hearts. Some are very hardened in their heart, Lord. We ask you to have mercy. Restore their consciences. Grant them this gift to be bold to confess their sins so that You may bless and preserve them and heal and deliver them. Father, we ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. David: Yes, Amen! Our Lord Jesus has said in (Mat.6:15) But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Without the Father's forgiveness, we are living under the curse. (Mat.18:32) Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: (33) shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. The tormentors are the demons who administer the curse, which is partially described in Deuteronomy 28. Many are living under this and think it normal, but Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us... (Gal.3:13). Therefore, it would be of great benefit to you, saints, to also read or listen to these teachings. Deliverance From Rejection and its Fear https://ubm1.org/?page=deliverance   The Curse of Unforgiveness http://www.ubm1.org/books/pdf/TCOU.pdf https://www.ubm1.org/?page=sabs-onehour

Behold now is the acceptable time. Today is your day of Salvation. Jesus is calling you. Don't Delay. Run to Him now.

Rev. Cyril A. Stevens – Sermon 0274A recorded on December 28, 1980 teaching from Revelation 3:7-22 – Behold, I Stand at the Door, and Knock: if Any Man Hear My Voice, and Open the Door, I Will Come in to Him, and Will Sup With Him, and He With Me. Pastor Cyril A. Stevens centers…

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus  (NOT a Morning Mindset resource)   ⇒ Listen to our other podcasts: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Mark 15:33–36 - [36] And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” [33] And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. [34] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” (ESV) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Underwrite one daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: @CareyNGreen ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: Subscribe to the SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish Subscribe to the HINDI version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Hindi Subscribe to the CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/   ***All NON-ENGLISH versions of the Morning Mindset are translated using A.I. Dubbing and Translation tools from DubFormer.ai ***All NON-ENGLISH text content (descriptions and titles) are translated using the A.I. functionality of Google Translate.  

Welcome to Day 2706 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – “The Great Reversal” – Supernatural Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2706 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2706 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, we continue with the 13th of 16 segments of our Theology Thursday lessons. I will read through the book "Supernatural," written by Hebrew Bible scholar, professor, and mentor Dr. Michael S. Heiser, who has since passed away. Supernatural is a condensed version of his comprehensive book, ‘The Unseen Realm.' If these readings pique your interest, I would recommend that you read ‘The Unseen Realm.' Today, we will read through chapter thirteen: “The Great Reversal” Aside from stories about Jesus in the Gospels—such   as accounts of his birth, death, and Sermon on the Mount—perhaps the most familiar passage in the New Testament is Acts 2, where the Holy Spirit rushes upon the followers of Jesus at the day of Pentecost. It marks the launch of the fledgling church and the beginning of global evangelism in the name of Jesus. As familiar as the passage is, there's a lot more going on in it than most realize. Acts 2 is in fact designed to telegraph the campaign to reverse the post-Babel cosmic geography of the Old Testament, in which the nations other than Israel were under the dominion of lesser gods. What happened at Pentecost was a battle plan for infiltrating all the nations disinherited by God at Babel with the gospel of Jesus—an ancient strategy for spiritual war. Pentecost What Acts 2 describes as happening on the day of Pentecost was certainly unusual: And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in the same place. And suddenly a sound like a violent rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. And divided tongues like fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability to speak out. Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one was hearing them speaking in his own language. And they were astounded and astonished, saying, “Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how do we hear, each one of us, in our own native language?” (Acts 2:1–8 leb) Some of the things that take us into the supernatural worldview of the Old Testament in that remarkable passage aren't obvious in the English translation. The “rushing wind” associated with the arrival of the Spirit is a familiar description of the presence of God in the Old Testament (2 Kings 2:1, 11; Job 38:1; 40:6). Fire is also familiar in descriptions of God (Ezek. 1:4; Isa. 6:4, 6; Dan. 7:9; Ex. 3:2; 19:18; 20:18). It's clear from those references that God was present at the event and behind what was going on. His intention was to launch his campaign to take back the nations from the lesser gods he assigned to the nations (Deut. 4:19–20; 32:8–9) but who became his enemies (Ps. 82). God's tool for doing that was the words of the disciples—hence the imagery of tongues. God enabled the Jewish followers of Jesus to speak...

The book of Job is wisdom literature, like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. What can we add to what has already been written on the Book of Job? Is it the oldest book in the canon as its historical milieu would place it, or was it written (down) much later? Is it merely a literary story meant to illuminate the relation between God and man-in-the-created-order, or is it historical? We are not so foolish as to claim that we know any of these answers, or how God has in fact put His word together, but we have learned not to put the plausible stories of man in the place of what He says in His word. We will never go far wrong if we simply trust what God says, being careful readers of scripture. What we do know is that Job is a masterpiece of literature by any metric, and one of (if not) THE greatest works of wisdom literature ever crafted. I cannot help but end with a quote from another such brilliant work: Ecclesiastes 7:23–29 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.... Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things — which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found.... See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (ESV) Ecclesiastes 12:10–13 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (ESV)

The shepherds arrive to see the newborn king swaddled in a manger. The sight, as humble as it is, fills them with awe. They share what they’ve seen, and rumors of the Messiah’s arrival begin to spread throughout the land.Today's Bible verse is 1 Corinthians 1:18, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Man-Child and Bride Throne (audio) David Eells 8/27/25 Please be patient as I lay a little foundation for anyone who may be new to this. Jesus laid down His physical body, not only to take on glorified body, but also in order to take on a spiritual, corporate body through His Word abiding in the saints. The Man-child is a corporate body within the Church, which will be the firstfruits in whom the full Word is manifested. Like Mary, each believer has the seed of Jesus, the Word of God, growing in him as a baby in the womb of his heart. As in the parable of the Sower, when the seed of the Word is sown in good ground, it will bring forth the fruit of Christ, 30-, 60- and 100-fold. As the inner, spiritual man grows in the image of Jesus, the outer, carnal man is dying. (2Co.4:16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. The resurrection life of Christ is being manifested in us through death to self (Philippians 3:10-15). As we are united with Christ in His death, we, too, travail over our death to this world. Jesus tells us that this sorrow of travailing in death to self would give way to the joy of bringing forth the life of Jesus: (Joh.16:20) Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (21) A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. Jesus' disciples were likened to a woman in travail who brings forth the man-child in the image of Jesus in Revelation 12. Verse (22) And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. He will see us again first in the Revelation 12 Man-child body of reformers. Just as Christ was the firstfruits in His time, the end-time Man-child is the firstfruits of those who manifest Christ after a time of apostasy (falling away). Seeing this full manifestation of "Christ in you" as already accomplished at the cross brings power from God to manifest it in the natural, which we do by faith as it says in (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. Paul tells us that Jesus comes in our mortal flesh, not glorified bodies. (2Co.4:10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. (11) For we who live are always delivered unto death (to self) for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (Gal.4:19) My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. Through death to self, we no longer live, but Christ lives in us and does His work through us. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. God is raising up a corporate Man-child of spiritual Davids in these days, and they will lead the Bride; they will be the head of the Bride to bring them to maturity. We know that Jerusalem is the Bride, according to Revelation. The firstfruits of Christ coming to be manifested in His people is the David Man-child ministry. We read in (Luk.1:32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. 33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. This is of course, Jesus but it is also Jesus in the Man-child as history repeats on a larger scale. What many do not know is that David's throne was the throne of God that Jesus, and now Jesus in the Man-child, is caught up to. (2Ch.9:8) Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do justice and righteousness. Notice that the throne of God was for the purpose of ruling over His people on earth, just as David and Jesus did and will do again. This is not a carnal king or a carnal throne. This is not going to be anybody glorifying flesh here; this is going to be the Lord, once again, coming in humble flesh in order to do His work and to be the spiritual leader over His people. He is the one in whom the Son of God lives. That spiritual David will be sitting upon God's throne on earth. He said, He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I overcame, and sat down with my Father in His throne (Rev.3:21). Jesus overcame and He sat down on the throne of God, which, once again, is an earthly but spiritual place of authority. He is coming in us; He's coming in a firstfruits to rule and to reign, to lead God's people back to the ways of righteousness, to rebuild the tabernacle of David and the kingdom of David. John wrote of this Man-child and throne long after Jesus' ministry. (Rev 4:1)...Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter. So this was not about Jesus physically but about Him in the Man-child body. (Rev.12:5) And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (6) And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they (the Man-child company) may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. The firstfruits Man-child company will be caught up to the throne of God to minister to the Church in the wilderness for 3 ½ years as Jesus did and history repeats. This throne represents Jesus exercising His authority on earth through the Man-child body filled with His Word and Spirit. He said to His disciples, "As the Father hath sent me so send I you" (Joh.20:21); and "What things soever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mat.18:18); and "He that receiveth you receiveth Me" (Mat.10:40). Of course, no one will ever sit on the throne but "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col.1:27), for it is always He who rules in the heart and head of His Body that is to be the Word made flesh. The kingdom of David will be restored, as it was in Jesus' day and in our day. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations (Gentiles) shall be gathered unto it, to the Name of the Lord, to Jerusalem (Jer.3:17). Notice that Jerusalem represents the Name of the Lord. The word for "name" means the "nature, character and authority" of the Lord. So, we see a throne within a throne. We see David's throne in Jerusalem but we see all of Jerusalem as the throne and also the Bride. God is restoring the type of the kingdom of David. He's restoring the Bride and He's restoring the Bridegroom. Yet again ... the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride (Jer.33:10-11) will be heard in spiritual, heavenly Jerusalem. Now I have a few revelations to share that relate to those who will be chosen to this position of the throne of the Man-child and the Bride.   Anointed Ministries Lead in Tribulation M.C. - 04/08/2011 (David's notes in red) The setting seemed to be dusk, but with enough lighting so I could see. (Dusk is that time between day and night, indicating here a transition into darkness.) On the road there were many troop trucks with no canopies filled with UBMers who were standing, waiting to be taken to a major event. (Having no canopies represents the Son shining in. UBM ministry with its people are getting ready, in the light of the Son, and in position for the spiritual battle with the beast, harlot, earthquakes, economic fall, tribulation, persecution, sickness, demons, etc.) I've tried very hard to remember the event, but I haven't been able to remember it yet. (You don't remember it because it will not be revealed beforehand. Nobody except God knows the specifics of what is coming, but everyone will be given specific personal direction when the time comes.) I wasn't yet, or at least I didn't feel, qualified to be in the trucks. (This is reflecting what probably most of us feel like in our present state -- not worthy and not quite ready yet to be marching on as peaceful warriors and anointed saints of God.) Everyone had been waiting for a long time. (We have been waiting for a long time because God is warning, and cleaning out the factious, and getting the elect ready as the time draws near.) All of a sudden, David said, "OK, it's time to go!" (David leading the troops represents the anointed Man-child ministry on a global level, leading the saints, including UBM, into the wilderness tribulation, like Moses and Jesus did.) So we all piled into his open-top army jeep, which was somewhere at the back of the convoy and we sped off past all the troop trucks. (The top open represents the Davids' unhindered communication with the Father. The jeep speeding past all the troops represents the David/Man-child ministries' leadership of the Church becoming stronger, as it was in Jesus' day. Those who were in the jeep but not driving could be the bride and witnesses who will receive the same anointing.) It was a very exciting moment. We roared past the first truck at the front of the convoy and headed into the dark tunnel ahead (which is the tribulation ahead). David waved his hand and called out jovially to the convoy, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first!" (We are seeing here the fulfillment of prophecies and the promises of God coming true. After having been last for so long, the David ministries shall now be first to lead the battle in tribulation). If I remember right, the tunnel was fairly short at the beginning of the trip. I suddenly realized that I was in his jeep but should have been in the last truck, if at all. (This represents all the believers who are "poor in spirit" and don't think highly of themselves and don't believe they deserve this privilege of being in the Man-child or Bride companies. Yet they shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and be in the firstfruits.) I was very embarrassed and turned around in my seat, trying to face the convoy, putting my hands together in a gesture, and asking for forgiveness for getting ahead of where I should have been in the lineup and yelled, "Please forgive me!" (Their natural humility shows they did not feel they earned this position. But we are accounted worthy through our faith that it is ours by grace.) Then I turned back around in my seat and just started to cry. (This could be weeping for joy and gratitude for such grace and anointing flowing to us freely from the Lord.) I think we were all very happy to be finally headed toward the destination. The darkness of the tunnel didn't seem to matter. (The first job of the anointed David ministries is to secure Jerusalem, the Bride, from the old man of the land, as it says in 1 Chr.11:3-5 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of Jehovah by Samuel. 4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. 5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.)   The Bride's Throne Authority Amos Scaggs - 04/17/2010 (David's notes in red) In a dream, there was a young woman. (Representing the Bride, who will sit in the throne of authority with the King) A man looking up at her was questioning how she got to the control room (God's throne room), which was visible but not easily accessible. (The way is straight and narrow and is visible in the Word but one must be faithful and dedicated in order to access it.) She said there was really nothing to it because she worked outside of the control room and had been there many times. (The dedicated ones have been working under the authority of the throne room of God.) (And this was to permanently attain to be a pillar in the temple of the Philadelphia Bride and to go out no more as in Rev.3:12.) The young woman climbed up a tall and very dangerous set of scaffoldings where the steps and handholds had to be precise to get to the control room. The man (who represents the false, corporate leadership) was invited to follow her but the way appeared too shaky and unstable for him. (It is impossible for the apostate leadership to exercise God's true authority, for they are unstable and double-minded and without the renewed mind. They cannot walk in heavenly places any more than the Pharisees could.) The man went around to the back where he found a set of steps that wasn't as steep as the ladder the woman had climbed. (Joh.10:1 ... He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. They don't come through the door Who is Christ, the Word.) He climbed to the top but couldn't keep up with the woman and lost track of her. On the way he met friendly people working with old equipment (representing inefficient, traditional ways). All the man found were dead-end rooms and people causing him to lose direction and sight of the young woman. ("Babylon" means "confusion". Their authority rests on religious degrees and titles. Jesus, Who is the Word, is the WAY. Only "he that overcometh" will sit with Jesus in His throne.) The man never found the control room where the young woman went. (You will never find the throne room of God's authority using traditional methods. There is a Bride emerging who sees and lives more of God than the old, antiquated and apostate church.)   Death and Resurrection to the Throne Eve Brast - 12/16-17/15 (David's notes in red) Dream snippet I dreamed I was high above the ground, looking at a city neighborhood. Suddenly, everything began to shake. (These quakes are foreshadowed by the ones at Jesus' death and resurrection, which bring the same results to the Man-child reformer ministries, and will shake much of the population.) After the shaking ended, it seemed like everyone (of us) was relieved of some sort of burden. (The quakes will bring the resurrection life and anointing to the Man-child with miracles and a time of grace, safety, and reward to the Bride. Then the Church will enter the wilderness tribulation and deliverance from the burdens that the Israelites bore, slaving for the Egyptians, representing their old man. This would include deliverance from the financial burdens since the Egyptians were plundered of their wealth.) Some time passed as I watched children swinging and everything being peaceful, then I heard in my spirit, "After three days". (When Jesus died as a type of the Man-child's spiritual death, "after three days" came the resurrection and the "great earthquake" which we believe is the New Madrid quakes.) Once this was said, chaos among the people broke out everywhere and they were stealing and killing people and running around in a panic to survive. (This literally happened when the Egyptians lost their DS army at the Red Sea. After the reality of the quakes and financial shaking sets in, like "after three days", there would be great fear and panic, with survival instinct bringing out the worst in the lost. Martial law would bring bondage for those whose faith is in the Beast instead of Jesus. There was a shaking when Jesus died and then after three days, there was another great shaking when He arose. Mat.27:54 Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake (at His death), and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And in Mat.28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake (three days later at His resurrection); for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. Then there would be an empty grave for the Man-child, as we then see in the dream. Then I saw men digging up an old grave site. They were digging in red dirt and when they reached the bottom of the grave, they were amazed that it was empty. There wasn't even a coffin. (Reminiscent of Jesus, the Man-child, not being in the grave when they went to see.) This was a huge revelation to them and they went to look for David. They had many questions about this. (The spiritual resurrection of the Man-child will be a huge revelation. Then the people would be looking for the David/Man-child ministers after their death and resurrection to the throne, anointing would have been completed. Their many questions could be answered then by Jesus manifested in the anointed Man-child ministry.) This is all I remember from this dream. Dream - 12/17/15 I dreamed that David had just raised a man from the dead. (Because the Man-child Jesus resurrected Lazarus, many were coming to the Lord, so the chief priests decided to kill Jesus and Lazarus.) Everyone at UBM was excited and we knew it was time for "the feast". (The feast shortly after Lazarus' resurrection was Passover, which represented that the Man-child was crucified and there would be a Passover of judgment on the believers.) We all gathered on the upper floor of David's house and were setting up a very long rectangular table with a white tablecloth. (This table was for the Last Supper, the Passover: Luk.22:11 And ye shall say unto the master of the house, The Teacher saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And three days after the Passover was the resurrection of Jesus and His catching up to the throne, as a type of the beginning of the ministry of the Man-child of Revelation 12.) (Then we see this Passover beginning.) My oldest son, Noah, was nine years old again in this dream and he was demonized, so I brought him to David and he cast the demons out of Noah, who was completely restored. I was so glad to have my son restored to me! And I was just praising the Lord. (The people of God who dwell in the ark of Christ have a Passover covenant right to deliverance of every sort. When Jesus started His ministry, He began to deliver the people of God, as He said in Mat.15:24 But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.) After the Passover feast, I was walking with my sons out to the parking lot. (A place of rest from man's works for vehicles of faith, which we are.) This was outside David's house because we were all going to the ocean. (This represents evangelism, the Great Commission, to the peoples, nations and tongues of those Christians under the Harlot: Rev.17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.) There was a long RV parked illegally in David's parking lot. (This is a dual prophecy. Those resting in the flesh, as an RV or recreational vehicle, during the harvest are not in the rest of God and should not be in the parking lot that is for vehicles at rest from their own works. Also, we are expecting an RV, a revaluation, which will put us to work in the harvest and should not be resting in the flesh.) As I walked by it, I saw a fierce tiger painted on the RV's side. (I'm reminded of the term "paper tigers.") (Another dual prophecy. The faction fighting against the Man-child is a paper tiger with no authority or power with God. Whereas the Man-child driver of this RV is described like a tiger in Isa 11:4 ...shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.) As I passed by the open door of the RV, a painter who was an enemy of David's was mixing up some paint. (The factious leadership misrepresents the Man-child reformers through character assassination and would like to paint over the tiger. They disregard the authority and power of the tiger to their own undoing.) He turned to me and complained that we (UBM members) were all parking in front of his "NO PARKING" signs that he had placed all over the parking lot. (They think they have the power to bind or forbid the righteous. Like the faction against Jesus where Judas was a thief, so is the faction against the Man-child Davids of our day. They are Judas thieves claiming what is not theirs. Joh.10:10 The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. And in Joh.12:6 Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he [Judas] was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein. I told him that he was the one illegally parked and that he had no right to be there. He said, "Well, there is my father over there; you need to talk to him!" Jesus told the Pharisees in Joh.8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. So I went over and started talking to his "father". He started to repeat what his son had told me. But I refuted him at every turn and he became nervous and quickly began to leave the property. (The Bride is therefore subject to God as in Jas.4:7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The Bride has the real authority of the Lord due to holiness. Luk.10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.) The next thing I remember, I was at the ocean with David and Michael and all the UBM members. We were swimming in the ocean and ministering to the people there. (Obeying the Great Commission by Evangelizing the lost sheep under the Harlot.) There was a dividing wall under the ocean water in the area that we were swimming in and David and Michael were near that underwater wall up to their necks. (The underwater wall represents the sanctification or division between the elect who will come to the Lord and the other side who will not.) I saw Lexi playing with and tossing a ball in the water with David. (Lexi means "protector of mankind.") Everyone was very joyous. (Because the revival had begun.) This is all I remember. Verse given on 12/17/15 and dreams Psa.18:3 I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. Please read the whole chapter! It really goes with the dreams. :O) Verse 1 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David (representing the David/Man-child company of Revelation 12) the servant of Jehovah, who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul (The apostate leadership that died at the hands of their old man of the land as David became king): and he said, I love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. 2 Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. 3 I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. (The Dragon of Revelation 12 will fail to devour the Man-child and Woman, by God's grace.) 4 The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me. 6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations also of the mountains quaked And were shaken (Major earthquakes are coming when the Lord visits in the Man-child company.), because he was wroth. 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down (the visitation of the Lord); And thick darkness was under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his hiding-place (a visitation of the Lord, hidden in the Man-child ministry), his pavilion round about him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. 12 At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, Hailstones and coals of fire. (A judgment through Moses the Man-child to set God's people free from the beast of that day symbolizing our day.. Exo 9:24  So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25  And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.)  13 Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them (As He has told us of the faction, like the Sennacherib scenario and Joel's northern army being scattered.); Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them. 15 Then the channels of waters appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare, At thy rebuke, O Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. (He is coming with the earthquakes when the evil foundations of the beast are becoming known as today.) 16 He sent from on high, he took me (David Man-child is taken to the throne); He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them that hated me (The factions against the Man-child, as the Dragon, fails to devour him when he goes to the throne of David in Rev12:4-5. When Jesus went to the throne, He had complete dominion over the Sanhedrin faction and delivered them to the Roman Beast.); For they were too mighty for me. 18 They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay. 19 He brought me forth also into a large place (An hour ago I got by faith at random in 2Sa 22:18-20, which is this same Psalm text. What a confirmation! The large place here is freedom of the Man-child to do his works in the Promised Land); He delivered me, because he delighted in me. 20 Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God. (The Davids who walk righteously, even in the trials of Saul's persecution, will rule. The Son of God who dwelt in the son of David, the Man-child, said in Mat.21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes? 1Pe.2:7 For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner. Throughout the history of the Bible, the faction has rejected God's ordained leadership, who was given authority to judge them.) 22 For all his ordinances were before me, And I put not away his statutes from me. 23  I was also perfect with him, And I kept myself from mine iniquity. 24 Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect; 26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward. 27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down. 28 For thou wilt light my lamp: Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness. (Jesus manifested in the David Man-child reformers will give him authority over all our enemies and supernatural ability, as we will see.) 29 For by thee I run upon a troop; And by my God do I leap over a wall. 30 As for God, his way is perfect: The word of Jehovah is tried; He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him. 31 For who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, besides our God, 32 The God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect? 33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: And setteth me upon my high places. 34 He teacheth my hands to war; So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; And thy right hand hath holden me up, And thy gentleness hath made me great. 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped. 37 I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; Neither will I turn again till they are consumed. 38 I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise: They shall fall under my feet. 39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40 Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me. 41 They cried, but there was none to save; Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not. 42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets. 43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; Thou hast made me the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me. 44 As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me; The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me. 45 The foreigners shall fade away, And shall come trembling out of their close places. 46 Jehovah liveth; And blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation, 47 Even the God that executeth vengeance for me, And subdueth peoples under me. 48 He rescueth me from mine enemies; Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me; Thou deliverest me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing praises unto thy name. 50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed, To David and to his seed, for evermore.   Man-child Given Throne Dominion to Minister Cathy D's Vision 1998 (David's notes in Red) Cathy came to us and she was new to our teachings on these things, and reported that she had seen in a vision that some people were being taken from the earth by beams of light that came down and gripped them by their heads and drew them up into Heaven. She said that the Lord spoke and said "that these people had the secret of planting corn, the pure seeds". She said that in her vision, she was standing in the shadow of a building when she saw this. This is about the man-child being caught up to the throne of God, as Revelation 12 says, to receive anointing and dominion to minister on earth what they know of the true seed of God's Word. These, as reformers, are going to replace the apostate ministry in the heart of the true Church like Jesus, Moses, Joseph, etc., did. The building Cathy saw was the traditional Church which she saw spiritually standing in the shadow of at the time. As Jesus was a man-child on the spiritual throne of David to feed the woman, Israel, in her wilderness for 3 ½ years before the great persecution, so the end-time Man-child company in whom Jesus lives will feed spiritual, New Testament Israel, the Church, for 3 ½ years before their persecution. Rev.12:5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 ½ years).

Send us a textThe wealthy church of Laodicea presents a cautionary tale for believers today. After surviving a devastating earthquake, this prosperous community proudly refused Rome's financial assistance, declaring "we can handle this ourselves." This spirit of self-sufficiency had seeped into their spiritual lives, creating a dangerous disconnect between perception and reality. While they saw themselves as "rich and prosperous, needing nothing," Christ diagnosed them as "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."Many scholars identify our current era as the "Laodicean age" of church history. Though not all congregations fall into this category, those in prosperous Western nations face unique spiritual dangers. As we explore in this episode, prosperity can destroy our spiritual lives faster than poverty – a truth King David understood when he prayed for neither too much wealth (lest he forget God) nor too little (lest he be driven to sin). Even more alarming is the prophecy that the Antichrist will use prosperity as a weapon of destruction.Yet Christ's message doesn't end with rebuke. "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline," He assures before offering one of scripture's most beautiful invitations: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." This image of Christ seeking fellowship around a meal speaks to His desire for genuine relationship, not mere religious observance. The letter concludes with an astonishing promise that transforms rebuke into hope: "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne."Are you struggling with lukewarm faith? Open the door to Christ's knock today and experience the genuine fellowship He offers to all who have "ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches."Support the show

Blessing for the Next Generation A Heroine From the Non-Chosen Family 20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo…

It's Tuesday, August 26th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson Women in India raped, murdered, and secretly buried A temple maintenance man in India is under arrest, after he testified of hundreds of women who were allegedly raped, murdered, and secretly buried around the small religious town of Dharmasthala. The BBC reports that nearly 100 bone fragments of human remains have already been found at two spots the man identified. The employee says he worked for the temple administration between 1995 and 2014, when he was allegedly coerced into burying the bodies. In 2025, 950 attacks on Christians in India For the first five months of 2025, Open Doors reports 950 attacks on Christians in India, which accounts for a rate of 2,300 per year. According to this reliable source, “These incidents included attacks, threats to abandon the Christian faith, excommunication, social boycotts, halting prayer services and church closures. Throughout India, 200 cases have been filed against pastors and believers based on fabricated conversion allegations.” India rated as the worst in The Worldview's international morality index  -- or the Evil Index -- released last month. India rated high in persecuting Christians, corruption perceptions, as well as supporting abortion and homosexuality. Most evil nations vs. Best behaved nations The highest rated nations for immorality were India, North Korea, Mexico, Columbia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Somalia, Nicaragua, China, and Nigeria. Best nations on the list were Armenia, Eastern European nations, Israel, Japan, and Singapore. Among European nations, Russia, Greenland, and Belgium were rated poorly. Switzerland and Ireland rated best on this International Morality Index.  The nation of Chile lost the most ground over the last eight years. The country was rated at the top of the morality index eight years ago, and has dropped to the 66th position, due largely to approving abortion in 2017, and adopting homosexual faux-marriage in 2022.   The International Morality Index considers nations on the basis of the sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments of God's law as well as the persecution of Christians.  John 1:29 says, “But let us remember, this is why Jesus came. . . John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'” Kenyan pro-lifers object to Bill Gates' abortion kill pills Kenyan pro-lifers have issued a petition addressed to Kenya's Ministry of Health, complaining of IPAS Africa Alliance's distribution of abortion kill pills throughout the country.   The petition accuses IPAS of breaking Kenya's laws, and flooding schools and pharmacies with the kill pill.   The Citizen Go petition notes that “Kenya's laws protect unborn life, but IPAS is exploiting loopholes. They hand out abortion pills without scans, prescriptions, or medical supervision.” IPAS Africa Alliance is reportedly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mexican drug cartel leader pled guilty “Be sure your sins will find you out.” That's what Number 32:23 warns. The founder of the largest drug cartel in the world, Mexican cartel kingpin Isamel “El Mayo” Zambada, pled guilty to federal charges yesterday, reports the Associated Press. He is charged with organizing a drug smuggling operation into the US, called the Sinaloa cartel.   His partner Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was found guilty of similar charges in 2019. The Mexican Sinoloa cartel is known for assassinations, tortures, and kidnappings — terrorizing parts of the southern border areas of Mexico and Texas. Today, first time home purchase costs double rent For the first time in almost 20 years, the price of buying an entry-level home is double the expense of renting. Austin, Denver, Las Vegas, and Phoenix are some of the worst places for unaffordable properties for first-time buyers. 5% of Canadian deaths due to euthanasia Canada's Doctor Assisted Deaths now account for 5% of total deaths for the nation — more than the deaths attributed to diabetes and Alzheimer's combined.   Persons suffering solely from some sort of mental illness will be able to gain state medical help to kill themselves on March 17, 2027. In related news, the United Kingdom Bill on euthanasia has passed the House of Commons, and now has been presented to the House of Lords. United Kingdom legislature to dismiss jail time for violent offenders And finally, the United Kingdom government has come up with a plan to reduce prison overcrowding by dismissing jail time altogether for thousands of sex offenders, drug dealers, and violent criminals. The Sentencing Bill will be considered next month by parliament, reports The Times.  Exodus 22:1  provides God's wisdom in such matters. “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, August 26th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

In Chapter 64 of Brunkhollow, our friends take stock of Brunkhollow and assess the threats of allies old and new.Support the show and get access to the monthly "Notch & Soda" talkbacks! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tabletopnotch/subscribeFeaturing Matt (the Dungeon Master), Erica Ito (Kayt), Avery Banks (Val), Chris London (Lamont), Talon Ackerman (Illien Tyrun), and Jordan McDonough (Doxley Tyrun).View the Brunkhollow Intro theme here on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtu.be/tZ-62xkBN88⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Welcome to Brunkhollow" theme music by Ian Fisher: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ianfishercomposer.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View the character art here on Imgur: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://imgur.com/9Kybs4x⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Character art by BoneDust: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bonedustreborn/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behold! We have a new website! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tabletopnotch.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In John 20, we read about Christ's resurrection from the grave after the crucifixion. How can we know these events to be true and what does the resurrection it invite us to do in response? Join us as Pastor Caleb DeJesus teaches on this topic in our series, "Behold the Lamb of God."

I am thankful that I have been forgiven for all my sins. That God now is my Father in heaven. That He loves me. Hecares for me. He meets all our needs according to His riches and glory inChrist Jesus. I have been so blessed with His forgiveness. Now that's what weread about in Ephesians 1:7. “In whom we have redemption through His blood.Yes, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace”.  Wedon't deserve this kind of forgiveness, but God gives it to us. He forgives usbecause Christ died on the cross for our sins. Now, a couple more things aboutforgiveness we want to continue to talk about. In John 1:29, when John theBaptist introduced Jesus Christ to his public ministry, and he saw Jesus comingto be baptized, he said, "Behold the lamb of God, which takes away thesin of the world." It is possible that John was thinking about and referringto Leviticus 16. You remember in Leviticus16, the great atonement chapter ofthe Old Testament, that on the Day of Atonement, one day a year, the High Priestof Israel would take the blood of a goat into the Most Holy Place, dipped hisfingers in that blood, and then he would sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat in the MostHoly Place before a holy God.  Rememberthat the Mercy Seat was setting over the Ark of the Covenant, which includedthe law of God, the law of Moses, the law that condemns us, the law that tellsus we're sinners, which reminds us that none of us are perfect. We've allsinned and come short of the glory of God that's revealed in His moral law. Andthere the mercy seat was sitting above and over it reminding us that with Godthere is abundant mercy and kindness and grace if we'll turn to His way ofsalvation which is through the blood. (Read Dr. Towns Devotional that is postedon my website at: https://www.pmiministries.org/post/365-ways-to-know-god-by-elmer-towns-august-24 Therewas another goat called the scapegoat. And that scapegoat would be outside thetabernacle doors. The priest laid his hands on the head of that goat and confessedall the sins of the people of Israel. Symbolically he would put the sins of thepeople on the head of that goat. Then that goat then would be taken by a manthat was appointed by the priest and led out into the wilderness, and maybethere was another man further out already waiting, and he would take it furtherand further and further into the wilderness. And so finally, there is no waythat that goat could find its way back to the people of God. And my friend, thisscapegoat symbolized that their sins were not only covered there in thetabernacle, atoned for, but they were also removed.  Thatreminds me of Psalms 103:10-12 where it says: “He has not dealt with usaccording to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as theheavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fearHim; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed ourtransgressions from us.” My friend, God's not only saved us and forgiven us,and no longer holds our sins against us, they are also no longer on ouraccount. They were put on Christ account. And on Christ account, they were paidin full.  Godhas now removed our sins from us. The removal of our sins is as far as the eastis from the west. It doesn't matter how far east you go, you can't get to thewest. And no matter how far west you go, you won't get to the east, so tospeak. They're removed from each other, never to come together.  Yoursins will never come together upon you again because you're forgiven in ChristJesus. I love what it says in Hebrews 8:11 where God says, “For I will bemerciful toward their iniquities. And I will remember their sin no more."God not only forgives us, He forgets our sins. We might not forget them, butGod does.  Forgivenand Forgotten!!!!!  Oh, how blessed weare. Today you can experience and enjoy forgiveness of sins through Christ! Godbless!

Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son., King James VersionIn this episode, we are seeking the Lord on behalf of several right now issues that we are facing on this earth. We are praying for our children, our parents, our loved ones that are suffering with sicknesses, and we are lifting up our leaders. Thank you for being a supporter of this podcast as I grow and learn things will become more like previous episodes, but I do not want to delay the podcast while I learn how to use the new format. Thank you for all of your support. Thank you for your shares. Thank you for joining your faith with my faith so that we can see God move upon the face of the earth if you have a prayer request, you can text 843-790-4229 or submit it by email to seeingwithoutseeing2020@gmail.com. Please put prayer request in the subject line. That email address can be used on Zelle and PayPal. If you desire to sow a seed, you can do that also on cash app at $seeingwithoutseeing. Thank you once again for your support please share this and believe God with us as we seek God.

Shaking things up with a new video format and we're holding Tadd's hands to the fire for now and forever! The hot bubbling fire of the inkwell. This episode is the yearly shake down of the SCCC news and awards, along with the usual emotional-led brain farts. All while paying homage to the old school badasses of yesteryear as Tadd breaks out the long forgotten Doushade. Print illustrations secret weapon of the pre-digital era.Behold the OMAC! Want it? DM the Tiger or the Tadd-man on the Gram.A note: The “NOW” is the resurgence of the independent creator through crowd sourcing and self-publishing availability. As the veil gets pulled back ever further and the predatory practices of corporate models get revealed, it is more and more important to support those who actually create the stories and art that we as consumers enjoy. So SUPPORT INDIE PROJECTS and their CREATORS. Help make the indies the mainstream. Even the smallest of gestures can be of the biggest help.Oh look, We've still got a shop and everything! Bare the blue and seek our revenge: BTR shop!And check out “TAIGA”, Tadd's latest graphic novel with new pages (almost) weekly. Exclusively at patreon.com/gnarpigHave you experienced the elusive and majestic energy of the Blue Tiger? Had a sighting in the wilderness of the eternal forest? Drank the blue milk of it's revenge? Then let the people know it exists! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bluetigerrevenge.substack.com

Evening lessons: Psalms 134, 135; Amos 6; John 19:38-42.  Behold now, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”   Isaiah 1:18–20 (ESV)   If you want to know that "the LORD He is God! the LORD, He is God!" (1 Kings 18:39) your search for confirmation finds its best resolution in the book of Isaiah. I would argue that Isaiah, more even than Elisha, "wore the prophetic mantle" of Elijah. Only John the Baptist was a greater merely human incarnation of the role of prophet (Matthew 11:11). Isaiah 42:9 tells us: "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Below find two articles that discuss fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. By any objective measure, only God could do this. As with other books of the Bible, we suggest this brief overview of Isaiah. May your listening to this great OT prophet be as blessed by God as was our reading of it!   https://youtu.be/d0A6Uchb1F8?si=Nhsvg2DCZgWRZq_7   Check out these two articles on calculations of the probability of one first-century man, Jesus, fulfilling so many OT prophecies! https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/ https://firmisrael.org/learn/how-many-messianic-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill/#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20Jesus%20(Yeshua%20in,that%20related%20to%20the%20Messiah!

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”(English Standard Version)

Isaiah 50 (Listen) Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience 50:1   Thus says the LORD:  “Where is your mother's certificate of divorce,    with which I sent her away?  Or which of my creditors is it    to whom I have sold you?  Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,    and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.2   Why, when I came, was there no man;    why, when I called, was there no one to answer?  Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?    Or have I no power to deliver?  Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,    I make the rivers a desert;  their fish stink for lack of water    and die of thirst.3   I clothe the heavens with blackness    and make sackcloth their covering.” 4   The Lord GOD has given me    the tongue of those who are taught,  that I may know how to sustain with a word    him who is weary.  Morning by morning he awakens;    he awakens my ear    to hear as those who are taught.5   The Lord GOD has opened my ear,    and I was not rebellious;    I turned not backward.6   I gave my back to those who strike,    and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;  I hid not my face    from disgrace and spitting. 7   But the Lord GOD helps me;    therefore I have not been disgraced;  therefore I have set my face like a flint,    and I know that I shall not be put to shame.8     He who vindicates me is near.  Who will contend with me?    Let us stand up together.  Who is my adversary?    Let him come near to me.9   Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;    who will declare me guilty?  Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;    the moth will eat them up. 10   Who among you fears the LORD    and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness    and has no light  trust in the name of the LORD    and rely on his God.11   Behold, all you who kindle a fire,    who equip yourselves with burning torches!  Walk by the light of your fire,    and by the torches that you have kindled!  This you have from my hand:    you shall lie down in torment. (ESV)

Isaiah 50 (Listen) Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience 50:1   Thus says the LORD:  “Where is your mother's certificate of divorce,    with which I sent her away?  Or which of my creditors is it    to whom I have sold you?  Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,    and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.2   Why, when I came, was there no man;    why, when I called, was there no one to answer?  Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?    Or have I no power to deliver?  Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,    I make the rivers a desert;  their fish stink for lack of water    and die of thirst.3   I clothe the heavens with blackness    and make sackcloth their covering.” 4   The Lord GOD has given me    the tongue of those who are taught,  that I may know how to sustain with a word    him who is weary.  Morning by morning he awakens;    he awakens my ear    to hear as those who are taught.5   The Lord GOD has opened my ear,    and I was not rebellious;    I turned not backward.6   I gave my back to those who strike,    and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;  I hid not my face    from disgrace and spitting. 7   But the Lord GOD helps me;    therefore I have not been disgraced;  therefore I have set my face like a flint,    and I know that I shall not be put to shame.8     He who vindicates me is near.  Who will contend with me?    Let us stand up together.  Who is my adversary?    Let him come near to me.9   Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;    who will declare me guilty?  Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;    the moth will eat them up. 10   Who among you fears the LORD    and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness    and has no light  trust in the name of the LORD    and rely on his God.11   Behold, all you who kindle a fire,    who equip yourselves with burning torches!  Walk by the light of your fire,    and by the torches that you have kindled!  This you have from my hand:    you shall lie down in torment. (ESV)

Matthew 5:48 / Pastor Christian Simas

Parsha "Re'eh" (for "See!,"Behold!," or even "Check it out" -- Deuteronomy 11:26-16:18) begins with a blessing, and a curse. And, as Mark points out up front, the fact that even the significance of the distinction there is so often missed is a major indicator of why there is "no power in the [modern] 'church'." The Erev Shabbat reading begins there, and includes what amounts to a great summary of just why that is: https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SSM-8-22-25-Re-eh-teaching-podcast-xxx.mp3 Last week, the parsha told us, "Do not even bring an abomination into your house," lest you be accursed like it. This week, the admonition is to utterly destroy anything and everything associated with them. And as for false prophets, who try to get us to serve those fakes? Scripture prescribes -- in no uncertain terms -- a death penalty. How is it that a 'church' which claims to worship 'him' has fallen into exactly that trap? During the Sabbath Day midrash, Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa answers that question, as He does. And as for -- Re'eh: "Other gods not known to you? " ...now they're taught in 'sun-god day' school. Even though the idolatry is soft-pedaled. It is a fact that, once seen, cannot be un-seen. But it certainly must not be ignored. https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WT-CooH-8-23-25-Re-eh-Other-gods-you-have-not-known-but-They-DO-NOW-podcast-xxx.mp3 The combined two-part reading and Sabbath midrash:

God's redemption and possession of all things is universal, so we must see all of life as belonging to Him. Genesis 47:11–25 (ESV): 11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents. 13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.”

The LORD, Whose glory in the old covenant made Moses' face shine temporarily, is now revealed with transforming glory in the face of Jesus Christ. So, behold the LORD in Jesus!

Pastor John Ryan Cantu brings this week's message, “God is Good.” Key Verse: Genesis 50:15-21 ESV: “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” Isaiah 45:7 ESV: “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” Romans 8:28 ESV: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 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 04:55 - Genesis 50:15-21 ESV 06:16 - God is Good

What makes a multiplicative movement? We can't start a church and play church because in one generation's time, this thing is going to die out.Most Christians or most people, they don't see like Jesus. His kingdom is the answer to all your questions, all your needs, all your hopes, and everything that you long for.4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”The Purpose of the Parables10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand,lest they should turn and be forgiven.'”13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?Mark 4:1-13We'd love for you to subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications to get updates on our latest content and resources that will help more people know Jesus and people know Jesus more.GIVE : We believe that generosity is golden. Freely we have received and so freely we give back to God. If you would like to give to support the work Jesus is doing here please visit: https://www.elevatecc.church/give.Elevate City Church is a Jesus Over Everything Church that launched in the Atlanta Perimeter area on October 4th, 2020.Jesus Over Everything.Give us a follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatecity.church/Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevatecc.churchPodcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3H8BBrEFWxGKsTF8wPSvrn?si=epcQMMrmQIiTpeXEnyxMOQPodcast on itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elevate-city-church/id1536637567Visit our website for more information about who we are as a church and how you can get involved.https://www.elevatecc.church/home

Jesus Delivers Us (12) (audio) David Eells – 8/24/25 Saints, I'm going to continue with our teaching on how Jesus delivers us and gives us authority over the demons.  Today, we're going to review what the true and false manifestations of the Spirit are, which are all for the purpose of destroying the kingdom of darkness. We have to have respect for the Word. It will get and keep the mixture out of the Church. Only the Word manifested in the flesh is from God; the rest is from the devil. (Mat.12:30) He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Some of it is truth, and some of it is Babylonish religion. The Bible says, (1Pe.5:8) Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Pray for God to help us be sober and watchful because, in different ways, people are giving the devil permission. Remember, the Word says, “whom he may devour.” They're giving the devil permission to devour them by not putting on the true armor, which is all related to the Word (Romans 13:12,14; 2 Corinthians 10:3-4; Ephesians 6:11-17). Sometimes deception comes little by little. An uneven or weak foundation makes an uneven and weak building (Psalm 11:3; Matthew 7:24-27). Little deceptions that have been laid by false prophets and false teachers lead to ever bigger deceptions. The devil is out to make Christians look foolish so that the Gospel has no credibility. You'll swallow deceptions, too, unless you have a real respect for the Word. You can be “denying … the Master” even while you are saying that you believe in Jesus. (2Pe.2:1) But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them (You deny the Master by following false teachings and false ways, rather than following the Lord.), bringing upon themselves swift destruction (2) And many shall follow their lascivious doings (The word “lascivious” basically means “wanton” or “excess, an excuse for excess.”); by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. These lascivious doings in the churches, passed on by false teachers, cause the “way of the truth” to “be evil spoken of.” (2Pe.2:3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not. God is going to destroy those people who deceive His people and lead them astray. Most haven't recognized that that's what's happening, but you can see these false prophets being destroyed. The Bible says the pleasures of sin are only for a season (Hebrews 11:25). The devil deceives you and bribes you with them, and you may go after them, but they won't last, and then what happens? Then you start reaping what you've sown. The devil is bringing some of this lasciviousness into the church so that “the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of.” I'm speaking here particularly of what some call “manifestations of the spirit.” When the world looks upon these manifestations, they see them as something evil. For example, you're trying to talk to someone about the Lord, and they counter by pointing to some preacher who fell, becoming a fornicator while preaching righteousness. The world uses that as an excuse not to pay attention to you. These ministers, and many others who have fallen away, are causing the way of truth to be evil spoken of. I once went into a church where a lot of people off to one side looked as if they had nervous disorders. They were jerking and twitching. Some were on the floor. Some were throwing their hands up over their heads. I had seen this kind of thing before, and I thought, “Well, that's nice. I hope they get prayed for tonight.” It wasn't long after the service got started when I realized that those were the people they had already prayed for, and that's why they were in that condition. Through prayer, they had received this thing that people call a “manifestation of the spirit,” and now they were acting like people who had a spirit of infirmity. Then the preacher got up and talked about how the principal at the local school had called and told him that he was sending students home who were jerking, twitching, rolling, and so forth. The principal had asked the preacher what he thought about it, and foolishly, the preacher seemed proud of what was happening. I felt bad when I heard this report. These students were obviously in school to give a testimony for the Lord, but the devil had been able to destroy their testimony. That wasn't the Lord, regardless of what they were thinking. It is not the Lord's way to cause foolishness or confusion to destroy His testimony. Here is an example as proof for you. (1Co.14:23) If therefore the whole church be assembled together and all speak with tongues… Now we know that “tongues” is a true manifestation of the Spirit of God, and there's a good reason for tongues. When you pray in tongues, you can pray according to the Will of God because your carnal understanding doesn't get involved. There's no foolishness in tongues, but even tongues have had rules set upon it. This is to make sure that we as Christians don't lose our testimony before the world. (1Co.14:23) If therefore the whole church be assembled together and all speak with tongues, and there come in men unlearned or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are mad? (24) But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all; (25) the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed. They'll say you're “mad,” i.e., insane, from a genuine manifestation of the Spirit. This means that you don't want even a true manifestation in front of unbelievers because you may destroy your testimony and cause “the way of the truth” to “be evil spoken of.” Since this is the case for genuine manifestations of the Spirit, then it is certainly true of some of these manifestations that can't be found at all in the Bible. These students were going to school twitching and jerking and flailing their arms. That's not the Word of God. It is not God's way to destroy testimonies. Manifestations are meant to edify the people around you. Paul exhorted the people who speak in tongues not to get up and address the assembly in tongues because without interpretation it wasn't edifying the people around them. Now, if that's true for a true gift of speaking in tongues, it is certainly true for all these other manifestations. If they don't edify the people around you, then God says not to do it. People with a religious spirit may think they are being spiritual to go out among the heathen and do these old “holy roller” things, but that wasn't Paul's opinion or method. (1Co.9:19) For though I was free from all [men,] I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. (Paul brought himself under submission to the people around him so that he could gain them.) (20) And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; (21) to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. (22) To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. (23) And I do all things for the gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof. This idea is diametrically opposed to the idea of engaging in questionable manifestations among the lost. Paul was talking about being all things to all people so that he might save some, and so he was weak to the weak by meeting them where they were. His teaching was opposed to doing foolish things in front of them, destroying the testimony of God. [“Holy roller” is considered to be a derogatory term and may be applied to any out-of-control or bizarre behavior during worship services. From Wikipedia.org: The Oxford English Dictionary cites an 1893 memoir by Charles Godfrey Leland, in which he says, “When the Holy Spirit seized them ... the Holy Rollers ... rolled over and over on the floor.”]  The Bible doesn't speak of such a habit. Paul said, 1Co 11:1  Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ. A Baptist preacher in that assembly got up and testified about how he had real questions in his heart when he had left there. He admitted that he hadn't felt good in himself, and he questioned God about it. He asked God to please tell him what was right or wrong. God spoke to him with this verse (1Co.14:33) for God is not [a God] of confusion, but of peace. The other verse he got was (Pro.3:5) … And lean not upon thine own understanding. If we study and respect the Scriptures, then we're not leaning on our own understanding; we're leaning on God's understanding. It's important that we study Scripture to find our answers. You can't find answers through your feelings. You can't find answers through your wisdom or emotions. You can't get answers from men because you might respect a man too much. He might say something unscriptural and lead you astray. (1Co.14:32) And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; (33) for God is not [a God] of confusion, but of peace. There is a difference between manifestations of the Holy Spirit and manifestations of demon spirits. Manifestations of demon spirits may start out needing your permission, but the more they continue, the less they're interested in your permission. The manifestations will become involuntary and possessive. You may begin to jerk and twitch and do things that you're not at all meaning to do, but that this religious spirit is doing through you. There was a time when I was traveling to different groups among Pentecostals, and I had noticed that there were different manifestations in each group. I began to meditate on this, asking, “If this is the Holy Spirit, why isn't the Holy Spirit manifesting His gifts everywhere?” The conclusion I came to is that not everything the Pentecostals are calling a “manifestation of the Holy Spirit” is a true manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Since each particular religious group had its own particular manifestation, it had to be a religious spirit that was manifesting in that group. This is just part of the great mixture out there, and the devil has a reason for manifesting these things. He wants Christians to look silly to the world because that destroys their testimony. (1Co.14:32) And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. That means if it's a gift from the Lord, then that prophet can stop the manifestation, and that prophet can start the manifestation. Did you know that? Let's go back and read about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Let's see if jerking, twitching, and rolling are listed in there. And as we read, let's also look to see if these manifestations are involuntary or voluntary. (1Co.12:4) Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of workings (Notice that these gifts may manifest differently in different Christians.), but the same God, who worketh all things in all. (7) But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. The Holy Spirit isn't forcing you to do anything; the Holy Spirit is guiding you. The Bible says, (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. The Holy Spirit moves through our will. He doesn't work against our will. The Holy Spirit doesn't do things without our will. You may say, “Well, when He moves on you with a prophecy, that didn't come from your will.” That's right, but your will has to agree with it. The Lord is not pushing prophecy on you. People who don't want that gift don't manifest it. Paul goes on to list the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and many of these were ones that Jesus manifested, so we have good examples of them in the Scriptures. Some of these manifestations that we've been seeing are not mentioned in the Bible. They're excluded from this list because, in this list, all the manifestations are voluntary. (1Co.12:8) For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: (9) to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; (10) and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues: (11) but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will. These are the common gifts promised to believers. Are there some listed in scripture that are not given commonly?  1Co 5:3  For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing… I was once given a gift to listen to a factious group across town as they plotted to destroy us. I then made comments about their false assertions that they heard. One of them said in reply, “We know who you are David.” We have a witness who was there in spirit listening and agreed. Jesus and Phillip were translated by the Spirit from place to place, as was I also. These could be included in workings of miracles or discernings of spirits because I have had both of these?  God tells us in His Word what are manifestations of His Spirit because He doesn't want us to accept the devil's counterfeit manifestations. True gifts will destroy the works of the devil and promote the Kingdom. They are not to put on a show but they can confirm the Word. (1Co.14:32) And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; (33) for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. God gave us those verses for our protection. We are not supposed to have people in the church whose spirit is not subject to them, people who are doing things over which they have no control. According to these verses, being out of control does not sound like the Holy Spirit. Many have been witnesses to people falling, twitching, rolling around, and flailing their arms over their heads, etc.. One of the girls who testified on the platform had to have somebody on each arm holding her up. When the pastor came and stood next to her, talking in regard to this twitching movement that she was manifesting, something hit him in the stomach. I saw him double over with a look of pain on his face. Two men went up and got him, as he was looking kind of drunk, and they took him aside and set him down. Everybody was praising the Lord, like it was another move of the Spirit. Well, it was a move of a spirit. It was a move of that fellowship's religious spirit. These spirits like to manifest supernatural signs because people respect them, but not every supernatural sign is from the Lord. Lately, if people see something supernatural coming from a church or a preacher, they think that it's God, but God works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). If He is going to use our will, we have to submit our will to Him, and we should be inviting the Lord to use us in these gifts. It's through these gifts that He's going to manifest Himself in supernatural power in His Church, and so we're commanded to seek out these spiritual gifts that are given to us by the Holy Spirit. (1Co.14:12) So also ye, since ye are zealous of spiritual [gifts,] seek that you may abound, unto the edifying of the church. Be suspicious of preachers who are busy imparting other kinds of “gifts,” laughing gifts, rolling gifts, twitching gifts, etc. The Lord moves in supernatural things that edify the spirit, not cater to the flesh, of man. Some of these manifestations of the so-called “Spirit” give people “ecstasies,” feelings of rapture or bliss in their flesh. People have asked, even begged me, to pray over them so that they could have this feeling of euphoria. People have told me, “Oh, Brother David, I really need to go ‘out in the Spirit,'” but that's not what anyone really needs. What we really need is more of God. We don't need some tantalizing feeling in the flesh. God wants us to come away from being moved by our feelings and by our emotions. When a person is weaned from being dependent upon their emotions, then they are stable. Then they can be moved only by the Word. I've seen people claim that a move of the Spirit is upon them, yet their emotions are bouncing back and forth from one extreme to another. For instance, one moment they're crying and then the next they're laughing, the whole time saying that it's a move of the Spirit, but it's a move of demons. These spirits want to have you dependent upon your emotions. If people are moved by their emotions or feelings, they are untrustworthy because they can always be manipulated by the devil. The Bible says, (2Co.11:14) And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel (That's the Greek word angelon and it means “a messenger, {generally} a supernatural messenger from God.) of light. Satan comes as a “messenger of light.” The devil is not so stupid as to come with his pitchfork. We are going to see messengers of light. (2Co.11:15) It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. Satan's going to come as a preacher of the “truth,” as a preacher of the “Word,” otherwise the church wouldn't listen to him. That is how the devil is going to come, and yes, he has been and is doing it all along. We are warned, (2Pe.2:1) As among you also there shall be false teachers… Look around you. If you can't see these false teachers, then you have a problem. You're not respecting the Word of God enough, and are respecting the traditions of men too much. (Col.3:17) And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. No matter what we do, in word or in deed, we have to do it in the “Name,” which means “nature and character,” of Jesus. Nowhere in Scripture do we see Jesus jerking and twitching and rolling on the ground and preaching, but we do see Him manifesting the gifts we read listed in 1 Corinthians 12. We can manifest those things because we can do those in the Name of Jesus Christ. If your words or deeds don't agree with what He said or did, don't say or do them. You don't have permission from the Scriptures to disagree in word or deed. Your deeds represent Him. You are an ambassador of Christ. You have gone into a foreign country, i.e. this earth, to represent Him, so your words and actions have to represent Him. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. Your words and actions have to be a reflection of Him, but we see no reflection of the Life of Jesus in these false manifestations we're seeing in the churches. We see no foundation for us to accept them. There's a mixture. It's true that most of these manifestations are spiritual experiences, but they're spiritual experiences for the flesh. You may have heard about a manifestation called “being drunk in the spirit,” but the Scriptures tell us instead to be sober (Romans 12:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:6,8; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; etc.) There's no place where the Bible says to be drunk and sober at the same time, because God isn't going to make you drunk and then tell you to be sober. I was thinking about this manifestation when the Lord told me to go back and read this passage in Acts to see if the disciples were “drunk in the spirit.” (Act.2:4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (5) Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. (6) And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. (7) And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galilaeans? (8) And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born? (9) Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, (10) in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, (11) Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God. (12) And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this? (13) But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine. Mocking they said this. People have to come up with some explanation in order to disprove a miracle of God, and the easiest explanation here is to say that they were drunk. I've run across some nutty explanations of how God parted the Red Sea, too. That's what people do when they don't want to accept the truth; they fight against it with some goofy theory. The Jews fought against Jesus. They fought against the disciples. (Act.2:13) But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine. (New wine couldn't explain what these people were doing. The naysayers were trying to come up with an explanation.) (14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, [saying,] Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words. (15) For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is [but] the third hour of the day; (16) but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel: (17) And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams: (18) Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. These disciples were prophesying and speaking in the Holy Spirit. We know they weren't staggering around, being drunk in the spirit, especially since God says, “Be sober.” God is not schizophrenic. Why would He make people drunk when He's telling them to be sober? If a person is drunk, they're not in control of their faculties. When a person is not in control of their faculties, deception and demon-possession are enabled. If you give yourself to some gift of the devil, you did it through your passivity, but we're not supposed to become passive towards the devil. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Those who administer the devil's gifts in séances, teaching people among the lost to be “prophets,” instruct them to be passive, to be blank in their minds. That's exactly how this spirit comes upon people; it comes upon people when they're not in control, when they're not able to say, “No!” Those mockers in Acts were accusing the disciples of not being in control, but the disciples weren't drunk. Whatever it was that they were speaking in other languages, it was just so convicting to those who were listening that they couldn't stand it. At that meeting I mentioned earlier, people “drunk in the spirit” were staggering all over and falling down. Had any lost person come in, they would have spoken evil of the way of the truth. Those people and preachers who were behaving drunkenly were representing Christ. They were confessing they believed the Bible, but it was confusion from the devil, who takes unfair advantage of people. It's the devil who possesses people and takes away their ability to make voluntary decisions. He's out to make fools of us before the world. The spirits of these prophets were not subject to them. When a person allows some other spirit to come in, it's because they are being passive in mind; then they become subject to that spirit. God doesn't give a person a gift to make him a robot. As the Bible says, (1Co.14:32) And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. They are always in control. They can stop a gift or a manifestation, when they want to stop it. It's always been that way when I speak in tongues; I can start it and stop it. Paul said, (1Co.14:15) I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. “I will…,” he said. Paul used his will. The Holy Spirit does the same thing. (Act.2:4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave the utterance. They did it. They spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance. God is not going to take away our will. He's going to use our will. (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. You may open your mouth in an act of faith that God would fill it, but you do have to open your mouth. After the outpouring of the Spirit in the early part of the twentieth century, Jessie Penn-Lewis traveled the country, looking in on a lot of different Christian groups. Penn-Lewis had discernment and saw a lot of abuse of the supernatural. When God starts something, there is always an opportunity for the devil to come in, too, once God opens the door to the supernatural. Now, as long as churches don't believe in the supernatural, they won't accept it, and so they can't be deceived by it. At the time of Penn-Lewis' travels, many denominations didn't want any supernatural manifestations in their churches; therefore, they didn't have any deceptions from the devil in that regard. However, they did have a lot of deception in that they were neglecting the Scriptural supernatural and neglecting the clear command to receive the gifts and power of Christ. It was when God opened the door by the outpouring of His Spirit that the devil came in to lead people astray with manifestations that are not in the Bible. When a person gets baptized in the Spirit, their eyes are opened to the supernatural, but they are also in a more vulnerable position in that regard. Unless they love the truth, they won't be able to discern and catch the devil when he comes, bringing his supernatural copies. This is like what Jannes and Jambres did with Moses (Exodus 7:8-12,20-22; Exodus 8:5-7; 2 Timothy 3:8-9). They copied almost everything that Moses did, but there came an end to their power (Exodus 8:18-19). The same thing is happening today in the church. “Jannes” and “Jambres” are loose and manifesting their supernatural gifts in the church. These manifestations are not of God because they are not listed among the Holy Spirit's manifestations in the Scriptures, and that alone should make us suspect them. Manifestations that do not destroy the devil's kingdom but merely appease man's appetite for the supernatural are usually not from God. Even as true ministers speak truth which are confirmed with signs and wonders, false ministers speak lies that are confirmed with what the Bible calls “lying signs and wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Is it possible for a person to have a mixture, to be manifesting the Word one moment and some religious spirit the next moment? Yes, it's possible that this can happen. We've all manifested a mixture in our own lives until we learned better, haven't we? So a mixture is also possible among other believers or ministers. Let's read a few things that Jessie Penn-Lewis, with Evan Roberts, reported in the book War on the Saints, 1912 edition. I am not regarding Penn-Lewis as a teacher, and I don't agree with everything in this book, but Penn-Lewis's witness and discernment of the spirits involved is good. [Note: All passages of War on the Saints are taken from Chapter Five, “Deception and Possession”; Chapter Six, “Counterfeits of the Divine”; or the Appendix, unless otherwise stated. Underlining has been added for emphasis and is not found in the original.]   War on the Saints, Dual Streams of Power (David's notes in red) Under the heading “Dual Streams of Power,” War on the Saints states: From such possessed believers… (If you don't accept that believers can be possessed, go back and study the Word. Jesus called deliverance “the children's bread” {Matthew 15:26; Mark 7:27}. Only the children of God have a legal right to deliverance, and that right is based only on their faith in the New Testament.) …there can proceed, at intervals, streams from the two sources of power, one from the Spirit of God in the centre, and the other from an evil spirit in the outer man; and with the two parallel results to those who come in contact with the two streams of power. In preaching, all the truth spoken by such a believer may be of God, and according to the Scriptures, correct and full of light—the spirit of the man right—whilst evil spirits working in mind or body, make use of the cover of the truth to insert their manifestations… Why would God permit such a thing? Where there is truth spoken, why would God permit, in the same service, false manifestations to deceive people into receiving some false gift? God permits this for the reason of weeding out those from among His people who don't love the truth. Those who love the truth are not going to swallow a lie from the devil for long. They're going to respect the Word too much. They're going to look in there to see “if these things be so,” like the Bereans. (Act.17:11) Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. If a person has a noble spirit, they'll search the Word to see if these things are so. If they're not of that spirit, they'll swallow anything just because it's supernatural. They respect the man, so they think, “It's got to be good.” Don't get your eyes on men. The words of men should be under our feet. Now I don't care anything about the game of baseball, but in a dream I once had, I was the first batter up in a baseball game. I stepped up to the home base mound, looked down, and saw a hole in the ground where the base was supposed to be. I was standing there with my bat, and everyone had their eyes on me. I said, “We're going to have to fill up this hole.” I directed everybody to get newspapers to fill the hole, so that we could stand on these newspapers. You may think, “Well, that sounds nutty.” I thought so, too, until I started meditating on the meaning. We have to get the news, the words of man, in total submission under our feet. It's the Good News that's going to make the difference. Man is giving you his news, his word the way he sees it, but we have to overcome the word of man to be able to run the race and to win. Paul talked about this in his letters (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 5:7). So that wad of newspapers filled up that hole. I stood on it, and looking towards first base, I saw chairs for people to sit in, but some of those chairs were obstructing my view of first base. I stopped right there, put my bat down, walked over and started kicking those chairs out of the way so that I could get a good view of first base. We have to get our eyes on where we're going. We have to see the end from the beginning, and we can't let anything get in the way of where we're going. The only way you can get your eyes on where you're going is to pay attention to the Good News. You can look in the Word and see that the true Church and its order are strangely different from the organization that men have been calling the “Church.” That's because people have their eyes on men, and the bad news of men has convinced them that it's right. Get your eyes on the Word, or you'll be deceived. That's what that dream was about. “Dual Streams of Power” continued: In preaching, all the truth spoken by such a believer may be of God, and according to the Scriptures, correct and full of light—the spirit of the man right—whilst evil spirits working in mind or body, make use of the cover of the truth to insert their manifestations, so as to find acceptance with both speaker and hearers. That is to say, there may pour through a believer at one moment, a stream of truth from the Word, giving light and love and blessing to receptive ones among the listeners; and the next moment, a foreign spirit, hidden in mind or body, may send forth a streamlet through the soulish or physical part of the man, producing corresponding effects in soul or body among the listeners… A man doesn't have to lay hands on you to impart his spirit to you. Jesus said, (Joh.6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. The words of a man that are spoken through him by an evil spirit are passed on the same way Jesus' words were passed on, but that man's words “are spirit, and are death.” Those words go into you and recreate that spirit's nature in you and make it possible for that spirit to possess you. “Dual Streams of Power” continued: That is to say, there may pour through a believer at one moment, a stream of truth from the Word, giving light and love and blessing to receptive ones among the listeners; and the next moment, a foreign spirit, hidden in mind or body, may send forth a streamlet through the soulish or physical part of the man, producing corresponding effects in soul or body among the listeners, who respond in their soulish or physical part to the Satanic stream, either by emotional or physical manifestations, (Notice that the response is emotional or fleshly. These manifestations are to titillate your emotions or your physical man, rather than your spiritual man. That's the difference between the manifestations of religious spirits and the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Also Paul said, we “prophesy in part” which could be part our doctrine and part God.) continued: physical manifestations, or in nervous or muscular actions. In another passage, Penn-Lewis documented that “nerves and muscles are twisted in contortions, and convulsions, such as are described in the Scripture records.” In the Bible these “Scripture records” describe the demon-possessed, but Lewis was witnessing church people with these descriptions. One or the other of the “streams” of power from the Holy Spirit in his spirit, or from the deceiving spirit in mind or body, may predominate at different times, thus making the same man appear dual in character, with short intervals, at different periods of time. “See how he speaks! How he seeks to glorify God! How sane and reasonable he is! What a passion he has for souls!” may be said with truth of a worker, until some moments later some peculiar change is seen in him, and in the meeting. A strange element comes in, possibly only recognizable to some with keen spiritual vision, or else plainly obvious to all. Perhaps the speaker begins to pray quietly, and calmly, with a pure spirit, but suddenly the voice is raised, it sounds “hollow,” or has a metallic tone; the tension of the meeting increases; an overwhelming, overmastering “power” falls upon it; and no one thinks of “resisting” what appears to be such a “manifestation of God!” Under the heading “Mixed Manifestations,” their book states: The majority of those present may have no idea of the mixture which has crept in. Some fall upon the ground unable to bear the strained emotion, or effect upon the mind; and some are thrown down by some supernatural power; others cry out in ecstasy; the speaker leaves the platform, passes by a young man, who becomes conscious of a feeling of intoxication upon him, which does not leave his senses for some time. Others laugh with the exuberance of the intoxicating joy. Some have had real spiritual help and blessing through the Word of God being expounded ere this climax came, and during the pure outflow of the Holy Spirit; consequently they accept these strange workings as from God, because in the first stage of the meeting, their needs have been truly met by Him; and they cannot discern the two separate “manifestations” coming through the same channel! If they doubt the latter part of the meeting, they fear they are untrue to their inner conviction that the earlier part was “of God.” Others are conscious that the “manifestations” are contrary to their spiritual vision and judgment, but on account of the blessing of the earlier part, they stifle their doubts, and say, “We cannot understand the physical manifestations, but we must not expect to understand all that God does.” The most common statement I have heard out of the mouth of those who escaped demon manifestations is, “When I went in there, I told God, ‘If this isn't of You, I don't want it.'” On the other hand, people who want something because everyone else is getting it and who just assume it must be of God, these people get caught. (1Co.4:6) Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not [to go] beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other. When churches have goofy manifestations, I hear the same justification today that Penn-Lewis reported. People tell me, “We don't understand everything He does or why He does it.” Well, that's what Scripture has been given to us for! God warned us ahead of time and gave us a list of the manifestations of the Spirit. He doesn't list the manifestations described earlier in the chapter, and they're not manifested in Jesus' ministry or the disciples' ministry. Is God doing something new? No, religious spirits are doing something new, but it's not really new, is it? (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. “Mixed Manifestations” continued: We only know that the wonderful outpouring of truth and love and light at the beginning of the meeting was from God, and met our need. No one can mistake the sincerity, the pure motive of the speaker. Therefore, although I cannot understand, or say I “like” the physical manifestations, yet, it must be all of God. Briefly put, this is a glimpse into the mixed “manifestations” which have come upon the Church of God, since the Revival in Wales; for, almost without exception, in every land where revival has since broken forth, within a very brief period of time the counterfeit stream has mingled with the true; and almost without exception, true and false have been accepted together, because of the workers being ignorant of the possibility of concurrent streams; or else have been rejected together by those who could not detect the one from the other; or it has been believed that there was no “true” at all, because the majority of believers fail to understand that there can be mixed workings of the (1) Divine and Satanic, (Some of them wouldn't believe any of it was true because of what they saw. They don't believe in the mixture of divine and satanic, but there's divine in the human and satanic in the human.) (2) Divine and human, (3) Satanic and human, (4) soul and spirit, (5) soul and body, (6) body and spirit; the three latter in the way of feelings and consciousness, and the three former in the way of source and power. There must be more than one quantity to make a mixture, at least two. The devil mixes his lies with the truth, for he must use a truth to carry his lies. Otherwise, the believer won't accept it. The believer must therefore discriminate and judge all things. He must be able to see so much to be impure, and so much that he can accept. Satan is a “mixer.” If in anything he finds ninety-nine percent pure, he tries to insert one percent of his poisonous stream, and this grows, if undetected, until the proportions are reversed. Where there is mixture acknowledged to be in meetings where supernatural manifestations take place, if believers are unable to discriminate, they should keep away from these “mixtures” until they are able to discern... Under the subheading “Counterfeit Manifestations of Divine Workings in the Body,” we read: Counterfeit manifestations of the Divine life in various ways now follow quickly; movements in the body, pleasant thrills, touches, a glow as of fire in different parts of the body; or sensations of cold, or shakings, and tremblings; all accepted by the believer as from God, but showing what a full entry the deceiving spirit has obtained to the bodily frame; for there is a distinction between the manifestations of evil spirits “with” and “in” the body and mind of the believer; although when they are really inside, they can also make it appear as if they were outside, both in influence and action. When evil spirits are really outside, and desirous of entry, they work by sudden suggestion, which is not the ordinary working of the mind, but suggestions which come from without; “flashes of memory,” again not the ordinary working of the memory, but coming from without; touches and twitches of the nerves; feelings of draught [“Draught” is the British spelling for “draft.”] and sensations of wind blowing on the circumference, etc. Under the subheading “Effects of Evil Spirit Entry to the Bodily Frame,” we read: When the evil spirits are inside, the whole frame is affected, at times with the pleasant sensations referred to, (The “pleasures of sin” are “for a season” {Hebrews 11:25} but then the devil starts taking advantage of ways to bring sickness and destruction to them and their families.) but at others with pains in the head and body which have no physical cause, or else so working with the “natural” that the supernatural cannot easily be distinguished from it; such as accelerating the heartbeat so as to appear palpitation, and in other ways working with the physical causes, so that part has natural ground, and part is from the accentuating force of evil. Depression then ensues in proportion to the previous exhilaration… Many of us have seen people when the “spirit” came on them. They were swinging up and down in their emotions, elated and depressed, laughing and crying. That is what the devil does to people. He wants them to pay attention to, and become dependent on, their feelings and emotions rather than the Word of God, but we have to be weaned away from emotions and feelings. We have to pay attention to the Word and walk by faith, not by sight and not by feelings. The Lord will do this for us if we will let Him. False manifestations try to lead us back to walking by sight, to being dependent on emotions and feelings. Finishing the report from “Effects of Evil Spirit Entry to the Bodily Frame,” we read: Depression then ensues in proportion to the previous exhilaration; exhaustion and fatigue in reaction from the demand upon the nervous system in the hours of ecstasy; or else a sense of drainage of strength without any visible cause; grief and joy, heat and cold, laughter and tears, all succeed each other in rapid changes, and varied degrees--in brief, the emotional sensibilities seem to have full play. The problem is that emotional sensibilities have full play when the devil is in it. And from a chart titled “The True Workings of God, and Counterfeits of Satan,” we read: (2) The counterfeit of the Presence of God is mainly felt upon the body, and by the physical senses, in conscious “fire,” “thrills,” etc. The counterfeit of the “Presence” in the atmosphere is felt by the senses of the body, as “breath,” “wind,” etc., whilst the mind is passive or inactive. The person affected by this counterfeit “presence” will be moved almost automatically to actions he would not perform of his own will (Recall what I have already shown you about the will: God can move through your will, but the devil will move without it.) and with all his faculties in operation. He may not even remember what he has done when under the “power” of this “presence,” just as a sleepwalker knows nothing of his actions when in that state. The inaction of the mind can often be seen by the vacant look in the eyes. (I've also seen this vacant look in the eyes.) In the Appendix under “The Working of Evil Spirits in Christian Gatherings, Section 3, Supposed Manifestations of the Holy Spirit,” it says: From a book recently published, said to contain the very words of the Lord Jesus, spoken through some of His children, and written down as spoken in the first person, the following brief extract is taken, showing the extent of the mediumistic control by deceiving spirits, which by some are believed to be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is supposed to have said, “The manifestations of the Spirit, in some things, are very strange. Sometimes He will twist the body this way, and that, and the meaning is dark to you. I want you to know some things about this part of the Spirit's work. I want you to see that they are not useless. If you had spoken in your own tongue, when the Spirit came in, it would have graciously blessed you; but perhaps you might have thought it was yourself, as many have. So the Spirit comes in and speaks in an unknown tongue to you, that you might know that it was not yourself speaking… Whomever is being quoted here, it is not the Lord. This is someone possessed by a religious spirit who is comparing tongues, which is a real manifestation of the Spirit, with twistings and jerkings. These manifestations cannot be compared. They are not the same thing. The false Jesus: Your hands He has often lifted up, and again He has raised your fingers in various ways. Your eyes open and shut by the Spirit now, as they did not before. People's eyes were opening and closing, not at their will, but at the will of this spirit. The false Jesus: Your very head has been shaken by the Spirit, and you have not known why He did this. You have thought sometimes, it was just to show He was living there, and that is true, but there is more in it than that, and He will show you as well as He can, in a few words, what some of these things are… Some things in the manifestations are very peculiar to you. You have gone on wondering about them. Don't think it strange that the Spirit works in you in many ways. His work is more than a two-fold work. It is manifold. This is puzzling many minds. They see the Spirit shaking. They hear Him singing. They feel him laughing, and they are sometimes tried with His various twistings and jerkings, as though He would tear them to pieces. Sometimes it seems He is imitating the animals in various sounds and doings. The false revival, or false prophetic movement, is full of these kinds of Eastern religious spirit manifestations, but these movements have had a strange lack of those manifestations that destroy the works of the devil, as seen in the Gospels and Acts. Satan doesn't cast out Satan. (Mat.12:26) And if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? The false Jesus: This has been all a mystery to the saints. His work, I say, is manifold. He seeks, in some, to show them that they are all one with each other, in the whole creation… If He shows you, by making a noise as of some wild animal, and that you are like that, you must not despise His way of working, for the Holy Spirit knows why He does it. He makes these noises in the animals, can't He make them in you?” This is the reasoning of some kind of religious spirit. It is Satan who turns men into beasts. This is a sign of the false revival spirits of Eastern religions. (Ecc.3:17) I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. (18) I said in my heart, [It is] because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are [but as] beasts. (19) For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath (This is ruach, which is the same Hebrew word for “spirit.”); and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity. The beasts of Revelation and Daniel are wicked, lost men, who are moved by their flesh. We must love the Word so much that we won't add to it or take away from it (Deuteronomy 4:2,12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19; etc.) People who don't love the Word are going to add to it. I've made this mistake in my youth because I listened to Pentecostal people. Satan's deception didn't start with us; it started way back before us. When the supernatural from God comes, the supernatural from the devil comes in right behind it to deceive. This is just as we saw happening back with Moses and Jannes and Jambres. When the Lord moves, the devil is going to move to stop it. We thank God that He has given us examples of those supernatural manifestations spoken in His Word. The manifestations of spirits detailed in this chapter help us to pay attention to our senses and to our emotions which cater to the flesh. People are getting a thrill in the flesh, but they're not getting an understanding of what's happening. When the lost of the world look at what's going on, it makes them think little of the Word of God and little of the testimony of the people who are manifesting these things. All this is the devil seeking to destroy our witness and seeking to make the things of God look foolish in the eyes of the world. In the false revival or false prophetic movement, they were making all kinds of beast noises, barking, roaring, howling, and so on, which is what demon spirits do. These people are possessed by Eastern religious spirits, Kundalini sspirits, who usually kill them before their time. A lot of these manifestations, like twistings and jerkings, also happen in Buddhism, yet these uninformed people wrongly think they are peculiar manifestations of the Holy Spirit. If you do follow this kind of thing, you'll lose interest in the Word and will not be able to follow the Spirit of God. To follow the Spirit of God you have to be weaned away from following feelings and emotions. To follow the Spirit of God, you can't go against Scripture which He wrote. Now let me share this testimony:   Delivered from False Revival Spirits and Religion by R.C. When I was twenty-two years old and just married, I was very hungry for God and trying to draw near Him the best I knew how. And the Lord was revealing Himself. I was beginning to have dreams and visions, and experiencing the Lord drawing me, speaking to me, and teaching me. In my hunger for more of God, I began to attend revival meetings for about three or four years with many speakers associated with Toronto, Brownsville, the Kansas City prophetic movement, and even Fresh Fire Ministries. (Many who associated with the false revival or false prophetic movement fell away from the Lord and many marriages failed. Besides the Kundalini eastern spirits, Jezebel spirits were imparted causing women to feel independent of their husbands and even domineering towards them and some become ministers. Amany men and women died early.) My wife and I were happy at first, but after a while I got so minded toward pursuing the Lord, I left her in the dust. (People did warn me many times.) I came across a prophetic power minister from the Toronto movement and got to know him pretty well. In his meetings he had all sorts of manifestations, like the laughter. After people would get prayer, oftentimes, visitations would occur. You would see all sorts of strange signs and wonders. (They lay hands on as many as possible to impart these spirits.) You would smell frankincense and different fragrances. Sometimes in his meetings people would begin to feel fire come on them. (Some of the counselors of this would advise the people to stop calling on Jesus but to just chant, “fire, fire, fire”.)  During one meeting people would begin to see streams of gold in visionary experiences. Our pastor even opened our church to this ministry. (A huge mistake.) We had meetings with a lot of these strange manifestations. The focus was completely on experiencing manifestations, rather than loving Jesus and becoming more like Him, manifesting Him. It was like a meeting was a big show. I was always hoping to experience something new. We went to a retreat with our worship leader and some of our youth. There a prophetic pastor laid hands on me and prophesied to me. I went to the floor and experienced the laughter manifestation. I was not faking it. I felt someone literally laughing through me. (A demon of Kundalini) My wife and I got in an argument about me going to meetings. She wanted me to spend time with her and my son. That night at the meeting a prophet came and prophesied to me, saying, I see you had trouble coming to the meeting tonight. The Lord says, “This is the time I want you to be coming to meetings and getting filled up.” Looking back, that was definitely not a word from God. I told my wife what the prophet had prophesied, and I could tell she got upset. I now know that God would not have put a knife in our relationship like that. At first she was coming near to the Lord, and her heart was softening. But after a time she began to resent the LORD and me due to my lack of attention to her. At times I would get a vision where the “Lord” was telling me to fast, so I would end up fasting. My wife would get really angry. And it was my fault. I began to fast maybe two or three days a week. I went from 140 to 123 pounds, and stayed that weight for about two years. Our marriage was going downhill. When I began to fast more, the prophetic began to increase in my life. I began to listen to teachings from Fresh Fire Ministries about “soaking,” meditative or contemplative prayer. This is described as a practice of meditating on Jesus, while being still for long periods of time. I began to listen to an offshoot ministry from Fresh Fire Ministries, called Abiding Glory Ministries. I listened to the prophetic school they offered, then I began to increase in visions. (This movement became known as the false prophetic movement for good reason.) The enemy was sending new friends from the Bahai faith into my wife's life. She began to come to me with a lot of questions. I remembered hearing the testimony of Sadhu Sundar Singh, an Indian Apostle in the early 1900s. (A man of God.) Satan had come to him and tried to get him to leave the Lord and become a prophet of a new religion that would join religions together. He had refused the devil's offer. But my wife was being deceived into the Bahai faith. I agreed to speak with these people. One of them talked about Isaiah 61 being about Mohammed coming from Bosrah. He said the prophecy there was referring to Mohammed. Then he went on to talk about Revelation 19 when the Lord had a name written on Him that no man knew but Himself. Then he proceeded to say that this was Mohammed. Christianity to him is what going back to the Jewish Law would be to us. (Both the faction movement and this false prophetic movement cause many to fall away in foolish deceptions.) They began to talk with me about the two witnesses. Their point was: How could I believe that these two prophets were going to really breathe fire out of their mouth? They ended with Revelation 19—riding on a white horse, the man with a double-edged sword coming from his mouth. According to these people, I was wrong. Both texts were spiritual, not literal, incidents. They truly had more understanding of Revelation than I did. As I was really humbled, I tried to avoid them for a while. My wife kept asking, “Why can't any Christians disprove these things? Why can't they truly explain Isaiah 61 and Revelation 19 to other Christians to stop them from converting to the Bahai faith?” Many times the Bahai leaders would go to PhD professors of theology and ask them to disprove their interpretation. One of the guys in the room I met was a former Christian. I went home and fasted and prayed for a day. I wondered, Why was the Holy Spirit not with me like He was with Stephen in the book of Acts, helping him to be able to refute them with the spirit of Wisdom. I asked the Lord for the truth. I told Him that if Bahai were truth, I would convert. But I didn't believe it was true. A couple of months later, on the Prophecy Club website, the Lord led me to UBM. Then I began to hear the book of Revelation explained and I knew the Lord was showing me truth. The Lord has been really gracious to bring me out of this deception. It truly has been just His mercy. Here's one example: When my old mp3 player broke (on which I listened to all the false prophetic ministries' messages), my wife got me a new player. But it got stolen. At the time I couldn't understand why … now I know the LORD was keeping me from listening to those messages. Another example is: I would have dreams in which I was under the influence of marijuana. I dismissed these dreams as demonic. I now realize that the LORD was telling me I was “under the influence…” My mother (who prayed for me constantly) and my pastor began to recognize the deception I was in. But I wouldn't listen. If anyone were to start talking about the revival manifestations being false, I would just “label” them as having an unreceptive religious spirit. They were missing this “new thing” GOD was doing. I heard a UBM broadcast where a man was talking about coming out of the prophetic movement. Then UBM talked about deception pertaining to what was going on in Lakeland, FL. At first I was thinking, “Religious spirit?” and then, “What if I'm wrong?” Slowly the LORD began to open my eyes and show me I was in serious deception. Then my wife wanted to separate. She pretty much left the LORD. At this time my wife put our house on the market. I began to fast and cry for my marriage and pray that our house would not sell. But it sold, resulting in me not knowing where to go. The Lord kept telling me to go home. But the false prophetic spirits were leading me to stay and get my family together. Eventually I had no options, so I moved back to Texas with my son. I didn't understand why God had neither stopped the house from selling, nor put our marriage back together. When I got to Texas, I didn't take seriously my mother telling me that I was being deceived under a false prophetic spirit. But one night I was praying for a friend, receiving “words of knowledge” that he was out drinking that night. The next day I asked him about this “revelation.” He replied that he'd been home sleeping. Then I knew I was under falsehood of the devil. I got news that my wife was coming down to bring my daughter for a visit. It seemed, again, like the “Lord” was saying, “Fast.” I began to see how this thing was operating on me…. The Lord gave me a dream that, while watching Christian TV, I was high on marijuana. Two individuals, a lady and my cousin M., were with me. When he went to the kitchen, I got up and could feel unclean spirits all over and inside of me. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Then I woke up…. Through this dream the Lord was telling me that two spirits were controlling me, using the things of God to distract and keep me under their influence. In the dream I got up and went to the bathroom. This represented a place to clean up and get rid of waste. In another dream I was committing adultery with a lady with short hair (Jezebel). It ended the same as the first one: I got up to go to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and woke up. I was trying to get delivered, but my faith was not what it once was. A spirit of unbelief had gotten into my life somewhere. No matter how much I remembered what the LORD did for me, there was an invisible wall of unbelief. I just couldn't break through. During this process, the Lord began to tell me to stop pursuing the prophetic gifts and stop asking for a visitation from the Lord. But the Word says, (Psa.37:4) Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart. So I thought, “No way that I am going to stop.” But when I would start praying, I kept feeling uncleanness in my heart. After the Lord had told me to stop, one night I was praying for the prophetic. The next morning my son said he had this dream: He saw Jesus, but in his heart he knew it wasn't really Jesus. Satan, dressed like Jesus, had asked him what he wanted for a gift. My son replied, “A pony.” Then he opened the gift. Instead there was a demon in the box! NOW I understand that GOD didn't save my marriage (like I thought He would) for a reason—to bring me here to get delivered and restored to Him. God wanted me to stop my pursuit of the prophetic because this was doing nothing but feeding the spirit of falsehood controlling me. The Lord began to reveal to me that I'm not a prophet. I had wanted to be one, but that was not my calling. I'm not saying “don't earnestly desire the gifts,” but rather, make sure your heart is right. I don't know when or how it's going to look, but our marriage is restored by God's grace. (Praise to the Lord!)  I have gone through severe chastening from the Lord, but I thank Him. What I was seeing in the movement was not right, but I ignored that voice. Even when I was in the false revival meetings, I always internally felt the wrongness of it. I'm just constantly crying out to our merciful Lord now for grace. He has shown me that the most awesome possession on the face of this earth is Himself. He is the prize—to fully gain Him and have Him gain us. It was His grace to even open my eyes to see the truth. Else I would have had Him say to me on that day, (Mat.7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Bill Cooper is remembered by some as a prophet and by others as a dangerous crank. His book, Behold a Pale Horse, became scripture in conspiracy circles, shaping everything from UFO lore to militia movements, But behind the myth was a deeply flawed man, volatile, abusive, and consumed by paranoia.In this episode we strip away the noise and face the reality: the warnings Bill Cooper gave, the demons, he carried, and the lessons we can take without inheriting his chaos, Clear eyes, no idols, just truth.Intro: Are They Real? MGR ProductionsOutro: The Sixth Sense Danijel ZamboPatrick's primary SM outlet is TikTok @aliensforbeginner (Patrick Roy)Support the show with AFB Merch (linkTree) or Venmo @AFBpodcasthttps://linktr.ee/aliensforbeginnerspod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptGood morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab a Bible and head to First Samuel, chapter 29. We're gonna be in chapter 29 and 30 today. We are working our way through the book of First Samuel. And what we've been seeing in the story is that the story has followed David until he worked himself into a corner. And right at the moment, you were like, what's gonna happen? Then it was like, hey, let's talk about Saul. And then it worked Saul into an even worse corner, and you were like, what's gonna happen with Saul? And then now it's going, hey, let's go talk about David. It's going. It's going back. That's where we are today.So what happened was David went to the Philistines. He decided that the best thing for him to do was to go live among the Philistines, that Saul was eventually going to kill him. So he goes and lives among the Philistines, and he begins to attack and raid towns and cities around him. And then going back to Achish, the King of Gath, and saying, here's who I attacked. And he lies to him. He says, I've been attacking the Israelites. I've been attacking Judah. I've been attacking the Kenites, who are friends of Judah and live in that area. And so that's what he's been doing. And then the last thing we saw was Achish said, well, hey, good news. We're going to go kill some more Israelites. All of us are going, and you get to go, too. And David said, well, you're going to find out what I can do. And what does that mean? Find out that you actually will kill Israelites? Find out, are you going to hurt Achish? Like, what's going to happen? It's a little bit like you've been lying and telling people that Adam Sandler is a family friend of yours. And now he's coming to the Colonial Life arena, and they want you to help him get tickets. That's kind of the situation we're in. We're trying to figure out what is David going to do, what's going to happen? And then it stops. Says, let's talk about Saul.So the Philistines have marched in. Saul is trying to figure out what he's going to do, and God is no longer talking to him because Saul has been rejected as king and no longer has the privileges, the right to seek the Lord and has not ever really seemed like he knows the Lord. And so in his desire to hear what he ought to do, he goes to a medium, a witch, someone's going to speak to the dead on his behalf. They summon Samuel, which she seems really surprised. Works. Samuel shows up and says, you're going to war tomorrow and you're going to die and the kingdom's been taken from you. And then it now we're headed back over to David. So we were watching is this slow motion train wreck where Dave, David is now marching in with the Philistines to go fight against Saul, who's going to die and what is going to happen and what is going to play out. And as we're reading this today, we're going to see that something very bad happens. And you might be like, yeah, we thought that was going to happen, but something very bad happens to David and it's not what we think is coming. But as we read this story today, we're going to see how David responds to this absolute tragedy and hopefully gain some wisdom in how we ought to respond in situations where the bottom falls out for us. So that's the hope. This morning we're gonna pray and then we're gonna step into the text.Father, we ask for your spirit to be at work, to guide us, to help us to hear your word, to help us to hear your voice and to follow you. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.> Now the Philistines had gathered all their armies at Aphek; and the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel.> And the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish.> And the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?"> And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years, and I have found nothing in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?"> But the commanders of the Philistines were displeased at him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Send the man away, that he may return to the place from which you have assigned him. Let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?"> Is not this David, of whom they kept singing to one another in dances, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?> Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have been upright, and it seems to me that you should go out and go in with me in the campaign." And David said to Achish, "Very well, then you shall know what your servant can do."> And Achish said to David, "I know that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God. Nevertheless the lords of the Philistines have said, 'He shall not go up with us to battle.'> Now therefore rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and as soon as you have light be on your way." So David and his men rose up in the morning to depart in the first light and to return to the land of the Philistines; and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.So they're passing on, everybody's getting ready, we're going to war. And all of a sudden the other commanders start going, whoa, who's bringing Hebrews to fight Hebrews? And why are they stupid? We've done this before. The last time we saw this is when Jonathan went up and fought against the Philistines. And it said that the Hebrews that were with the Philistines turned on them and started fighting against them. So they're like, hey, we learned this lesson. We don't want Hebrews to go fight Hebrews. So who's bringing them? Why are they here? And then it says this, Achish says this, it says, what are these Hebrew doing here? And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel? Which is just the worst way to start, because that's who they're going to fight. He's trying to work his way out. Have you ever done this? You're trying to work your way out of a situation and you just start the wrong sentence and you're like, wait, wait, wait, let me finish. I started this wrong. But that's what it seems like, because he's like. They're like, who are these Hebrews? He's like, oh, Saul's servant, you guys. And, you know, they gotta be looking at him like, what are you talking about? Okay. He keeps going. He says, this is not David, servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me, I have found no fault in him to this day. So what he's saying is, yeah, this guy's against Saul. He used to be his servant, but now he's with us. So this is going to go great.But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. So he says. They say, no, no, no, no, no. You might like him. We don't know him. That sounds terrible. Send him back. Otherwise we might get in the middle of the fight and he might start fighting us. Then they say, for how could this fellow reconcile himself to his Lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? Like, wouldn't be like a good way for him to get back in good with Saul, for him to just start killing us? Haven't we seen this guy raise one of the heads of a Philistine above him before? Haven't we. We've lived this out, right? We remember what he did with Goliath. Don't you think that'd be a good way for him to get back in his good graces? That's what they're arguing, and then they say, is not this David of whom they sing to one another in dances, Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousands, which I just. I love this song that has just made its way through this whole book. It was a problem when it first started. Saul was mad about it. This is the second time Philistines have quoted it. This song is such a hit. It's international. It's not just a hit in Israel. They know it. It's like, who let the dogs out? Everyone knows it's not good, but for some reason it just has run across the globe and it's stuck in your head. And there were Philistines, like, bouncing around their house doing yard work, and they hear themselves going, and David is 10th. Come on. That's what happens. So they're like, we know this. This is the guy they have a song about. Absolutely not.Then Achish called David and said to him, as the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and end with me in the campaign. No, he hasn't. Achish is wrong. So he says, look, David, you've been great, and you've been killing all these Israelites. And David's like, mm. He says, so I think you should come, for I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you, so go back now and go peaceably that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines. So he calls him over and says, hey, man, look, I think you're great, but they don't like you. And we just had a whole meeting where they were real mean to me about it. And I know that you would never lie to me and trick me and that you're totally on our team, but they don't know that. And so you're going to have to leave.And then David said, David said to Achish, but what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? So David says, this is an outrage. What do they think? Like, that I've secretly not been killing Israelites and I've been killing other people and that I might turn on you in this battle. Is that what they think? And he's like, yeah, I know, it's crazy, right? And David's like, yeah, this is really unfair. David says that I can't fight against the enemies of my lord the King. It's still unclear to us in this text whether or not he actually means a kish or whether or not he means Saul. David is very tactical in his approach to all of this. He seems outraged, but he's going to leave. And Achish answered David and said, I know that you are blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, he shall not go up with us to the battle. Now then, rise early in the morning with the servants of your Lord who came with you, and start early in the morning and depart as soon as you have light.So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel. Okay, so a couple of things happened in this text. First of all, we are, I think, intended to see some of the humor of this situation. And I do believe that the Philistine lords are right and that Akish is wrong, but we're not actually going to ever find out what David fully intended to do. But David's leaving. So this slow moving crash that we've been watching is not going to have David in it. And in some ways we see that the Lord is guiding this kind of behind the scenes. Doesn't really tell us that, but it just seems like the Lord's helping David out. But also some of what the text is doing is for all of time and all the readers forever to say, when Saul fought the Philistines and died, David was not there. He had been with the Philistines. He was not there. They sent him home. That's some of the work that this passage is doing is. It's just helping, you know, helping everybody know. It's not skipping this information. David wasn't there.But I said, david's going to face a tragedy, and it's not what we thought. So we're about to find out what, what has happened, what, what is, what's going on.> Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire,> and had taken the women and those who were in it captive, both small and great; they killed no one, but carried them off and went on their way.> So David and his men came to the city and found it burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters taken captive.> Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep.> David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.> And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.> Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.> And David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue after this raiding party? Shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and rescue."> So David set out, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.> But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred remained behind, who were so weak that they could not cross the brook Besor.> They found an Egyptian in the open country, and they brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate; and they gave him water to drink,> and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two bunches of raisins. And when he had eaten his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.> And David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.> We made a raid on the Negeb of the Cherethites and on the Negeb of Judah and on the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."> And David said to him, "Can you take me down to this raiding party?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party."> And he took him down and behold, they were spread out over the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.> And David struck them from the twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.> And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.> Nothing was lacking to them, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David brought them all back.> And David took all the flocks and the herds, and drove them before those who were with him, and they drove on before him as far as Aroer.> And when David came to the two hundred men who were so weak that they could not follow him, they came out to meet him to meet the men who had come with him. And David came near to the people and greeted them.> But all the wicked men and worthless fellows among the men who went with David said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may take his wife and his children, and be gone."> Then David said, "You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us.> For who will listen to you in this matter? But as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike."> And he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel from that day onward to this day.> Then David came to Ziklag, and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "Behold a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD:> to those in Bethel, and to those in Ramoth of the Negeb, to those in Jattir,> to those in Aroer, to the people in Siphmoth, to those in Eshtemoa,> to those in Rachal, to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those in the cities of the Kenaites,> to those in Hormah, to those in Bor-ashan, to those in Athach, and to those in Hebron,> to all the places where David and his men had wandered."So when they came back on the third day, the Amalekites had attacked and had burned Ziklag and taken their wives and children. When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and daughters taken captive. They raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.First response is just brokenness, lament, weeping, raising their voices until they're spent. David's two wives also had been taken captive. Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because all the people were bitter in soul. Each for his sons and daughters. So there's this moment where they start just saying, well, let's just kill David. They're bitter in soul. They don't really have a good plan. They don't really know what to do, but they just say, well, let's just kill David. If this is what it's like to follow him, let's be done with that.And there is this moment, and you can see it, where there's something very real about men who spend their lives defending and protecting and caring for their wives and children. And when that's not there, what am I doing and what do we do next? And it says, but David strengthened himself in the Lord, his God. And David said to Abiathar, we're see, somehow he does that. Abiathar, the priest, the son of Ahimelech, bring me the ephod. So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. Now, this is the first time we've seen him do this since chapter 26. The last time we saw David make a big decision, it said he just reasoned it in his heart and did something. And now he's saying, bring me the ephod. And this is good. We've been wanting to see this, but David, in this moment of utter despair, absolutely bottomed out. He turns to the Lord.And David inquired of the Lord, shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue. Can you imagine the moment that David hears that? He says, should we chase after him? And God says, go, because it'll work. And you know, David had to go strap his belt on. He said, we're going to. The Lord said, it's going to work. Let's go. We're going to catch them. Let's go. And they would have left some sort of sign. A whole group coming in and a whole group going out is going to leave some sign. Now there's a chance that they could lose it or they could split up, but they've got something to go on and they begin to head in that direction, tracking after this group that's burned their city and taken their families. And if there's a group of focused men, it's right here.David set out and the 600 men who were with him and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. But David pursued. He and 400 men, 200 stayed behind who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor. So they've traveled up, traveled back, wept themselves dry, and then said, let's go to war. They get to a place that's going to be difficult to travel over, difficult to get baggage across, and 200 of them just can't keep going. I don't know if you've ever been working and working and working or running and running and running and laboring and doing these sort of things, and then you stop for just a bit, drink some water, catch your breath, and suddenly your body doesn't work anymore. And if you hadn't stopped, you might could have kept going. But now it's not functioning. That seems what some of these guys happen, they just, they sit down and they're crazy, cramping up legs. They're just like, I can't keep going. But 400 keep going.They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. So as they're traveling along, as they're tracking, they find an Egyptian. And it seems like they have some people out in different areas trying to scout and figure out which way to go. They find this guy, they bring him to David and they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink. They gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived. Okay, so he was having a spirit problem, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. He was sick. So he was doing poorly before he got left there, but he's been there. So they find a guy who's almost dead and they're just pumping him full of stuff till he can talk. David said to him, to whom do you belong and where are you from? He said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite. My master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites, which is most likely the way that they refer to the Philistines, and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag with fire.And David said to him, will you take me down to this band? So they found a guy who was with them and they said, tell us where they're going. He said, swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master and I will take you down to this band. So he's all hyped up on raisins and figs, and now he's negotiating and he says, yes, I'll take you if you don't kill me, which is a real good chance that they might and don't return me to their master. Well, they're not showing up and giving presents to the Amalekites. So that one, I don't think they were in really any danger of happening. He doesn't seem to know who he's talking to. But these people really want to find them. And they seem to agree to some terms because he makes a statement. And then it just goes to verse 16.And when he had taken him down behold they were spread abroad over all the land eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. So they find this group that has suddenly just started taking over this whole section. Partying. And if we weren't upset with them enough, this party has eating. And as Baptists were like, okay, but then drinking and dancing. They gotta die, y'. All. They are celebrating with the spoils that they have this massive celebration spread out across the land. And it says they see them, they've caught them, and here's what happens.And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. And not a man of them escaped except for 400 young men who mounted camels and fled. So interesting. This takes a long time. They are just fighting for a long time. At least twilight sometimes can refer to morning twilight, even though we don't use it that way. And evening of the next day, their day started at 6pm so it is possible that what it is saying is the shortest amount of time was one whole day, but it could have been a night and a day or a day and another night, but at least the whole day of working their way through and fighting and differing amounts of, you know, if there's a party going on down there and people start yelling and it sounds like there's a fight, you might. Wouldn't catch you exactly what was happening until it was happening. And it says not a man was left except for 400 of them that got away on camels. Which tells us a couple of things.One, I just appreciate the way that's worded. Everyone was dead and someone was like, what about those 400, except for the 400 guys on camels? Which makes you think that camels are like the motorcycle of that day. You know, my wife and I watch cop shows and police officers will thank people on motorcycles. They'll be like, thank you for pulling over like that. They'll chase you in a car. Motorcycles are just like. That's what camels are like. They're like, pull. They're on camels. Ain't nobody catching them. But it also tells you that there was a massive amount of people because David shows up with 400 and it says they killed everybody except for 400. Meaning that the amount of Amalekites here, they were way outnumbered, but they win.And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing. Whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. David also captured all the flocks and herds and the people drove the livestock before him and said, this is David's spoil. And then David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to follow David and who had been left at the brook Besor. So they drove the cattle in front of them. So these guys are exhausted. It's been another, at least day, two days, three days. They're regaining their strength and they're waiting, not really knowing what to do now. And then flocks and herds start showing up. At first you're thinking maybe somebody. And then it's like there's too many of them. And you're like, this is a good sign. And then their families show up. And you know, there's got to be people looking for everybody. And there's moments where you don't know, are they here? Are they here? And guess what, y'? All, it says that they're all there. There wasn't a single husband, father that went out and didn't get that moment of wrapping his arms back around and retrieving what was left lost.And when they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with them, and when David came near to the people, he greeted them then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that has been, that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children and depart. So some of them say, well, they sat here hanging out by a creek, like, they don't. They can have their kids back, but that's it. But David said, you shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, he has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. Who. Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage, they shall share alike. And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.So some of what it's helping us see is like, why that's a rule for them. But it's also, this isn't the main thing we're going to talk about today. But I can't help but point this out. In this, I see a beautiful picture of what Jesus is like. When they're marching all the spoil back. They announce, this is David's spoil, that it was all his and at his discretion. And then worthless fellows get in the middle of it, and he immediately calls them brother. He says, you won't do that, brother. And then it goes to everybody. Everybody's blessed and it's like that's what Jesus does. He's a good, wise king who restores what is lost and brings it all back. That through the work of Christ in the middle of our sin, our sin doesn't win. And he ultimately restores everything the way it was meant to be. He's ultimately eternally going to fix it. And he makes worthless people his brothers. And everybody is brought in and shared with, even the ones who couldn't accomplish anything on their own. So I sorry I can't read that and not tell you how amazing Jesus is.When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord. So he's sending gifts. It was for those in Bethel and Ramoth, of the Negeb, in Jatir, in Aroer, in Sifmoth, in Eshtemoah, in Rachal, in the cities of the Jerahomeliites, in the cities of the Kenites. I got that one in Horma, in Borshan, in Ak, in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed. So he sends out, he has all this spoil that they got, and he sends it back and out to all the people where he's been wandering around. And he doesn't send any to the zip. It's because they told on him multiple times. But he sends it to the other people near where he had been, and he gives them gifts and says, this is from the enemies of the Lord, and he blesses all of them.I want to go back in the story to the moment where they find out that their families are gone and their city is burned. Because I want us to take a moment to investigate what does it look like to come out of those kind of moments. And I think David gives us a good example. So I just want to go back to verse four, it says they wept. And then in verse six, it says, and David was greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning him because all the people were bitter soul, each for his sons and daughters. Okay. I think it is helpful for us to realize that we are perfectly capable of that type of decision making. Is stoning David going to fix anything? No. Will it make the situation worse? Yes. Is David the one who's actually going to lead them out of this problem? Yes. But they're starting to think maybe we should just kill David. And they probably have some reasons, but their reasoning is not good.And one of the things that we need to know is perfectly within our grasp in these type of situations is for us to have an overwhelming desire to do something, to react, to respond, got to do something. And quite often the thing we pick is unwise, harmful. Quite often the ideas that we come up with are not good ideas. This is one of the reasons why we're blessed to have church family around us. So that when we announce, I'm going to do this, sometimes it's like, no, don't, don't do that. And you're really annoyed by them saying that, don't tell me what to do. It's like, but I don't want to. But, no, don't do that. Telling you what not to do is different. This is, we'll choose people, start making big life decisions, change their job, move locations, run to whatever makes them feel safe, run to whatever makes them forget. This is how we get run. We run to substances, we run to sin, we run to anger, sexual sin. This is how we get hermits and hoarders. Like, this is the stuff where we respond to something and we just got to make a decision that is perfectly within our ability to do that.But David takes a different track. It says, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. So David turns to the Lord in this moment. He does. He has nowhere else to turn. He turns to the Lord, which is the place to turn. And one of the things I think we need to realize is that if you've never turned to the Lord ever, when something really bad happens, then you should. But as Christians, we want to be very practiced in this so that when everything falls apart, this is the only thing we know how to do. This is one of the reasons why people who do like fighting sports and those sort of things, they practice over and over and over and over again so that when they get their bell rung and they're not thinking clearly, they can keep moving and doing what they're. And that's some of what we need to be. You need to be in the Word on a regular basis. You need to. So that when these kind of moments happen in life that you go, I don't know what else to do, but I'm going to read, I'm going to pray. I'm going to get around church, family. You're going to call people and say, y' all need to come read, you need to come pray, you need to come. I don't have the strength for this right now. I need somebody to read this to me. I need someone to talk this out with me. I need somebody when I say some idea that doesn't make any sense. I need some people here who are going to help point me back to Jesus.But that's what he does. He turns to the Lord, and we're going to see what he does, specifically, how he strengthens himself. David said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Ahimelech, bring me the Ephod. So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, shall I pursue this band? What David seeks is a word from the Lord, some clarity from the Lord, some direction from the Lord, and he goes to the place that he has access to it, which is in the Ephod, but we have access to it in the Scriptures, so that we get to be people who read our Bibles. And in these moments, read more, not less. There are times where as pastors, we'll say, you need to go home and you need to open the New Testament, you need to go to Ephesians, you need to go to Romans, and you need to start reading. And I know that sometimes it's like I don't have the energy for that. It's like, you don't have the energy to not do that. It's like I'm dying in a desert. And we're like, you need to drink water. And you're like, I don't know if I can. It's like, no, you've got to. We get to and have to. We must come to the Word and say, lord, I need your help. I need your wisdom. I need your clarity. And lean into the Word the way that David does. He seeks a word from the Lord.I think sometimes when we say that, when we say, anytime, we say, you need to read your Bible. It's like, okay, good, but I really want something to do. I really want something actual. And what we mean is something along the lines of stoning David. I want something I can do. I get it. Read my Bible. Then what? And it's like, but you're missing it if that's the way you think about it. When Jesus teaches a sermon on the mount, he ends with, if you'll hear my words and do them, you'll be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rains came and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. So if you hear my words and you don't do them, then you'll be like a fool who built his house on sand. And the rains came and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and the house fell. And great was the fall of it. The storm hits both houses, the winds beat both houses, but one of them has a foundation, has something to hold on to, has something it's built into. It'd be like if you hired a contractor. And I said, how's the house development going? You're like, they're wasting a lot of time on that foundation. We could have a three story house by now. And it's like, with no foundation. What are you talking about? Like, you need the foundation. You need. We have to have that. You need direction before you move.In the Pirates of the Caribbean movies where Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow and he's doing all this all the time, he's got a compass. And we find out in one of the later movies that that compass isn't a real compass. It doesn't point north. It points towards what Jack most wants. And so many of us, that's the compass we're running around with. It just points towards what we want. And so we're going, I'm looking at my compass and it says, go this way. And it's like, that compass is not a compass. At one point they're out in the ocean and it's pointing at a girl who's on the boat. That's the compass we run around with. So often it's just pointing at something that's moving around that changes from day to day. Do you know how often your moods change, your desires change, how often your wisdom falters and fails? And how many times you've said, if I could just have this, I'd be happy. If I could just have that, I. I'd be happy. And how often your Compass has been bouncing around, and we need one that points to the same place all the time. And if you're in a storm in the middle of the ocean, you don't have any landmarks. So when the clouds begin to clear and you get to set a course, you don't know where you are. And if you have a compass that points nowhere, you don't know where to go. So we need to be people of the Word who know how to move. And that's what happens. David seeks the Lord and it says this. He says, shall I pursue? Shall I overtake? He answered them, pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue. So David set out.Now, if that had said anything else, we would be furious. If it said, you shall pursue, that's a command. You shall surely overtake. You shall surely rescue. And then it said, so David sat down. So David cried more, louder. He'd be like, what is what go? Because we would be reading the text and saying, you have a promise, you have a command, you have something to stand on, you have something to hold on to. You have something that will help drive you forward. You have something solid. And so often we're in the middle of these situations and I want you to know that the Bible has something solid that we can hold onto. It's got some truth, some promises that have been made to us, some realities that are ours. When Jesus commissions the church, he says, I will be with you always to the end of the age. That there's never a time where he leaves us or forsakes us. And in these moments we can know that, Lord, you've promised to be with me, so be with me. But I'm going to act. I'm going to move as if you're here and you're helping. I'm going to trust your spirit to indwell me. He says that the spirit not to grieve the Holy Spirit who sealed us from the day of redemption. Meaning that if I belong to Jesus, if I trust him, his spirit is in me and I am kept. He tells his disciples, my disciples know my voice. They hear my voice and they follow. My sheep hear my voice and follow me. And he says, and no one will snatch them out of my hand so that you can in these moments go, Lord, I know that you're going to keep me. I know that you're going to hold me, and I need you to that we have promises that we can lean into because what you believe matters. You act out of what you believe. So we have to be people who know what is true, know what is real, know the promises of God and hold onto them. And also know that he holds on to us so that we won't be lost in these situations when we don't know what to do.I want to read Romans 8 because I just want you to see one of these promises. Romans 8 begins by saying there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ.> There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.> > Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?> > As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."> > No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.> > For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,> > nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.That when you're going, everything is falling apart. Well, there's a promise that you won't be separated from his love, that he'll be with you, that he'll keep you, that he'll get you to the end, that he can't be conquered by circumstance. There's some things that help ground us and hold us so that we might move forward in faith and in hope. He says no. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation. He covers that. Because if you were like, well, what about this? He said, all of it will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, that if you belong to Jesus, you belong to Jesus and you are his and he will keep you and he will hold you, and you will be able to stand in the middle of these things and you get to run to His Word and say, Lord, I need this more than I need anything else. And then you can move forward with practical steps. But you've got to do this first.Let's pray.Lord, we pray that we would be people who in the depths of our despair, because the storm is coming. It hits every house, it hits every life. There's moments where we all have ziklag or smoke rises. Lord, we pray that we would be people who would cling to the promises, that would know your word and would trust you. You. Because a promise is as good as the one who makes it. And you have died for us. You have risen, you have resurrected, you have hope that is ours in you. You are the king of all things. So may we be a people of the word, who seek you in the midst of our despair. Who love one another well in the midst of our despair. And who cling to the hope that's in Christ. Because there's nothing else to cling to. In Jesus name, Amen.The band's gonna come. We're gonna sing. One of the reasons we sing on Sundays is to worship the Lord. But also to help truth go from our heads to our hearts. And to rehearse for ourselves what is real. And so we're gonna sing together, reminding ourselves and each other of how good the Lord is and the hope that we have.

24 August 2025 | This week Pastor Evan continues our Exiles sermon series in Esther 8:1-17 where he preaches on the king changing his edict regarding the Jews, as how we are justified in God's eyes through Jesus' death on the Cross. Esther Saves the Jews 8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, hthe enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told pwhat he was to her. 2 qAnd the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. 3 Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman rthe Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. 4 sWhen the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. 5 And she said, “If it please the king, tand if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke uthe letters devised by Haman rthe Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. 6 For how can I bear vto see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, wI have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows,1 because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. 8 But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, xand seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring ycannot be revoked.” 9 zThe king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to athe satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces bfrom India to Ethiopia, b127 provinces, cto each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. 10 dAnd he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus eand sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on fswift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud, 11 saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city gto gather and defend their lives, hto destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, iand to plunder their goods, 12 jon one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 kA copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. 14 So the couriers, mounted on their fswift horses that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. 15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king lin royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown2 and ma robe of fine linen and purple, nand the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 The Jews had olight and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and pa holiday. qAnd many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, rfor fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

What if the best way to attract others to heaven… is to simply release heaven here on earth? In this powerful message, Joseph Barlow unpacks what it means to live as a new creation in Christ—a brand-new species of being that the world has never seen before.Through stories, scripture, and even real-time healing prayer, Joe explores how to:Manifest the Kingdom of God in everyday lifeOvercome shame and step fully into your identityRaise your signal-to-noise ratio so you stay tuned to God's voiceLive from the health of your spirit instead of the sickness of the worldWalk in discipleship and the renewing of your mind for lasting transformationThis episode is a wake-up call to behold who you really are in Christ. If you've been feeling distracted, defeated, or disconnected, this message will inspire you to refocus, reignite, and live boldly from the inside out.Please partner with us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and help us keep the ministry producing more and more content that changes lives.Check out Joe's books & music:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For the Healing of the Nations/Healing Leaves⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ an e-book that will make receiving divine healing so easy.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Healing Is Yours⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ an instrumental album with my voice speaking scriptures, prayer and prophetic word. Excellent for those battling physical illness.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Come Up For Air/The Secret of the Whale, my first⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ children's book. I did the pictures myself using AI. The Lord gave me the message. A simple profound truth and glorious illustrations.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Read it⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch it⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy it⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Change Is For The Brave: Potential Is A Promise, a revision⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and re-write of my first book. Deep, thought-provoking sayings along with many stories about how change happens in one's life.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer Is…⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ sayings and prophetic words about prayer. A real favorite.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Texting Through the Clouds: Your Quest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ an evangelistic book, that has Jesus leading someone to know Him through a text message conversation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Words From God: A Year of Conversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ similar to God Calling. A 365 day devotional with a prophetic word for each day.We appreciate all the help and support. This podcast was provided to you through the support of our partners. 

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.Stabant autem juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus, et soror matris ejus, Maria Cleophae, et Maria Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son.Cum vidisset ergo Jesus matrem, et discipulum stantem, quem diligebat, dicit matri suae : Mulier, ecce filius tuus. 27 After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.Deinde dicit discipulo : Ecce mater tua. Et ex illa hora accepit eam discipulus in sua.Mary began her journey along the road to perfection at a height to which other saints arrived only at the end of a long life of saintliness. In all other children of Adam original sin prevented the divine generosity from having a free course. But Mary was created immaculate, and therefore the grace of God streamed into her soul without check or hindrance. Her sinlessness, her heavenly purity, directed every action, every moment to God. Her Heart was the pattern and model of all virtues, of all purity! "Blessed are the pure in heart!"

John 1:43, 45-51 - The next day Jesus … found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” … Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Today's Topics: 1) Gospel - Matthew 22:1-14 - Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope Saint Pius, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day

Gospel Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Reflection What Jesus is trying to awaken us to is, there are two things that are required of us. One, which seems so simple, is to accept the invitation to enter the work of the Kingdom of God. Allow God's love to enter into us and celebrate union, the marriage of humanity and divinity. And some just aren't interested, and some actually work against the whole message. But even though you were invited without any necessarily credentials to get to this wedding, Jesus reminds us that the wedding invitation itself is a transformative invitation, and the person who receives it should be changed. And that's why we have this interesting part of the story, where he throws out somebody who was grabbed from the streets and came in and didn't have a chance to get his wedding garment on, was rejected. Closing Prayer Father, your attentiveness to calling us into an awareness that we do not have on our own and that only you can give us, is a sign of something so deep and so powerful that what we want is to receive the message of invitation and let it change us. Let us not get in the way by trying to become someone or do something ourselves. It's all about a gift, but it has to be received. Open our hearts to receptivity. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parablessaying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a kingwho gave a wedding feast for his son.He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,but they refused to come.A second time he sent other servants, saying,‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,my calves and fattened cattle are killed,and everything is ready; come to the feast.”'Some ignored the invitation and went away,one to his farm, another to his business.The rest laid hold of his servants,mistreated them, and killed them.The king was enraged and sent his troops,destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,but those who were invited were not worthy to come.Go out, therefore, into the main roadsand invite to the feast whomever you find.'The servants went out into the streetsand gathered all they found, bad and good alike,and the hall was filled with guests.But when the king came in to meet the guestshe saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.He said to him, ‘My friend, how is itthat you came in here without a wedding garment?'But he was reduced to silence.Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,and cast him into the darkness outside,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time IAugust 21, 2025 – Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Pope Saint Pius X.A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew.           Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.           Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen.”The gospel of the Lord.Homily Our readings today begin with the joy of living in God's grace, but end with a sad commentary on fruits of human pride and weakness. In the first reading we begin with the warrior judge Jephthah and his successful campaign to free the tribes of Israel from their enemies; and in the gospel we just heard, Jesus compares the Kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Wedding feast are usually joyful occasions; they certainly are in my family. And we enjoy getting together on other occasions to share food and each other's company. Jesus was no different. He often accepted invitations to dine with saints and sinners alike. And at the Last Supper, he left us a memorial of his loving presence, when he said: “Do this in memory of me.” So, we join together weekly, or even more often to hear the word of God and partake of this ritual meal through Holy Communion, in anticipation of the banquet that awaits us in the Kingdom of heaven. Saint Pope Pius X is remembered for encouraging frequent communion and for lowering the age of First Communion to seven or eight years old. However, Jesus' parable is not about peace and joy. The king is hurt when those invited ignore his invitation and then enraged when he sends a second invitation and some mistreat and even kill his servants. The parable, as told by Matthew, includes a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem for its rejection and crucifixion of Jesus. Joy returns when the king sends his servants out into the streets to invite all they can find, good and bad alike, and the hall is filled with guests, which signifies the Church's mission to all the world. But even then there is a discordant note. One guest refuses to accept the wedding garment, and is cast into the darkness outside. Not all who call themselves Christian accept to live love of God and neighbor as Jesus taught. And not all appreciate the Eucharist for the great gift that it is. Some ignore it, and others, more interested in their farm or business, make no attempt to fashion their life according to the one they receive. And poor Jephthah from the first reading? The joy of his victory was cut short, because of a foolish vow he had made. He had promised: “whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall belong to the LORD. I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.” To his dismay, his only daughter was the one who came out to greet him. Sadly, so as not to lose face, Jephtah did as he had vowed; but the sacred author later noted that those who truly know the Lord, know that God dos not accept human sacrifice. We claim not to believe in human sacrifice today, but how many families are still being sacrificed on the altar of greed, war and cruel government policies. Today's scriptures offer us a promise and a warning: God is always ready to offer his people life and grace, but we often let our misconceptions and prejudices get in the way. The kingdom of heaven is not just about heaven, but the joy of living the way of the Lord here on earth.May God bless you.Fr. Karl E. Esker CSsRBasilica of our Lady of Perpetual HelpBrooklyn, NY

The book of Job is wisdom literature, like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. What can we add to what has already been written on the Book of Job? Is it the oldest book in the canon as its historical milieu would place it, or was it written (down) much later? Is it merely a literary story meant to illuminate the relation between God and man-in-the-created-order, or is it historical? We are not so foolish as to claim that we know any of these answers, or how God has in fact put His word together, but we have learned not to put the plausible stories of man in the place of what He says in His word. We will never go far wrong if we simply trust what God says, being careful readers of scripture. What we do know is that Job is a masterpiece of literature by any metric, and one of (if not) THE greatest works of wisdom literature ever crafted. I cannot help but end with a quote from another such brilliant work: Ecclesiastes 7:23–29 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.... Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things — which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found.... See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (ESV) Ecclesiastes 12:10–13 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (ESV)

Blockbuster summer of 2025 happened! Fantastic Four and Superman returned to the theater! It was amazing to see these both of these iconic comic book characters back on the big screen. During this podcast we wanted to reflect on our thoughts about the new Fantastic Four movie and talk about the original 1966 three-issue comic book story, The Galactus Trilogy, that appeared in Fantastic Four #48–50. Even though this story has several adaptations why is it still considered one of the most memorable comic book stories that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created of all time. How is it different than the movie? Tune in for great comic book conversation about Marvels first family. If you like this episode check out our previous episode reviewing Fantastic Four: Full Circle.

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. Biblically speaking, hospitality is the love and welcome of strangers. “Love of strangers” is the literal meaning of the New Testament word, and it is the posture God expected Israel to have towards sojourners in their land. This is not surprising when we think of the hospitality God exercises toward us in both creation and redemption. In the work of creation, God welcomes us into the world He has made. In that world, He places us at the most honored seat, at the very pinnacle of created order, welcoming us to share in His glorious image and likeness, offering us the beauty and bounty of all He has made, and inviting us into His work of ruling over all things. Sadly, the Bible tells us we rejected this privileged status, choosing rather to be strangers to God, and so, were exiled from His presence. But God, in His work of redemption, took extraordinary means, becoming radically “hospitable” to our needy state. In Christ Jesus, He entered our exile—taking on the full experience of our humanity East of Eden. And He did so that He might become a faithful High Priest, sympathizing with all our weaknesses, giving His very life as a sacrifice for our rebellion, thus restoring us to friendship with God. Now, by His Word and Spirit, He welcomes us back into the experience of His abounding hospitality for all eternity. And that's something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”     So God created man in his own image,     in the image of God he created him;     male and female he created them.And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.~Genesis 1:26-31 (ESV) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”~Revelation 22:1-5 (ESV)

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Revelation 20:11 & 21:1-8

Behold the Future of Worlds Beyond Number! Here's a rundown of all the great stuff coming your way, taken from the most recent Fireside Chat where the gang goes deep on dissecting that WILD finale. Listen through to the end for an announcement about our upcoming album drop! What!?To hear the full Fireside Chat, come and join us by the Fireside! Our Patreon has so much stuff on it it's like, logistically annoying to even write them all out, and you can get it all immediately upon subscribing. Ame's witch class, Suvi's Wizard of the Citadel subsclass, Eursulon's Oath of Freedom, multiple one-off adventures set in Umora, soundtrack singles from the show, and just so much more, really. Not to mention early merch drops or discounts which miiiiiight become very useful very soon if you catch my drift. Wanna subscribe for one month, get all the cool stuff and then dip out? You can literally do that. That is something you can literally do. It's chilly out there in the woods. Come sit by the Fireside with us. [PATS LOG]

Have you ever felt stuck in a wilderness season—wandering from hope to hopelessness, unsure if God is still working? In this daily prayer and devotional, Jessica Van Roekel reflects on Isaiah 43:18–19 and reminds us that God is always doing something new, even when our surroundings feel barren. Like the Israelites in exile, we can become trapped in discouragement, shame, or the memory of past failures. But God calls us to lift our eyes, remember His faithfulness, and trust that He is making a way through the wilderness and streams in the desert. Main Takeaways God’s promises are not bound by our circumstances. Remembering God’s past faithfulness strengthens hope in the present. Shame over past mistakes can blind us to His new work in our lives. Even in deserts—whether by God’s leading or our own choices—He offers comfort, hope, and provision. We can trust Him to make a way forward when we can’t see one ourselves. Bible Verse Reference Isaiah 43:18-19 – “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing…” Calls to Action Subscribe to Your Daily Prayer for daily encouragement in your inbox or podcast app. Share this episode with a friend who might be in a season of waiting or struggle. Explore more devotionals and Bible studies at Crosswalk.com. Leave a review to help others discover the podcast. Relevant Links & Resources Related articles on wilderness seasons: How to Find God in the Wilderness Seasons God Will Make a Way in Your Desert Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.