Podcasts about canaanites

THE PASSING of the mantle from Elijah to Elisha was spectacular: A fiery chariot pulled by horses of fire in a whirlwind carried Elijah off to heaven. The whirlwind was a theophany, an appearance by God Himself. The chariot, as Sharon noted, was believed to be the vehicle that carried human spirits to the netherworld—but in this case, Elijah was carried off to heaven. We discuss the location of the event, the plains of Moab across from Jericho, and why that has supernatural significance. For one thing, it's where Moses was buried after his death, and it's probably not coincidental that Moses and Elijah are the two who joined Jesus on Mount Hermon, the “Canaanite Olympus,” for the Transfiguration. The place from which Elijah was caught up was below the ruins of Sodom, at the southern end of the Jordan River called the Valley of the Travelers by Ezekiel. “Travelers” was a term used by the Canaanites for the spirits of the Rephaim, which were venerated by the pagan neighbors of the Israelites. It's also the Valley of Siddim, where the armies of Sodom, Gomorrah and their allies fought the kings of Mesopotamia (Genesis 14). Siddim can also be rendered shedim, which is a Hebrew word meaning “demons”--in other words, the Valley of Demons. In other words, God carried off Elijah from a place that had been notorious for demonic activity for about a thousand years by the time of Elijah and Elisha. We also discuss the final days of the son of King Ahab, Ahaziah, who turned to Baal-zebub (“Lord of Flies”) for healing instead of God. Big mistake! Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources: Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF) The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser's two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch Follow us! • X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. NOTE: If you'e going to Israel with us in October, you'll need to apply for a visa online before you travel. The cost is 25 NIS (about $7.50). Log on here: https://www.gov.il/en/departments/topics/eta-il/govil-landing-page Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech! The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site! Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store. Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

Dr. Titus Kennedy, a biblical archaeologist specializing in the Eastern Mediterranean, reveals how archaeological discoveries provide tangible evidence of the Bible's historical accuracy. His journey from childhood fascination with Troy to uncovering Canaanite altars demonstrates how archaeology transforms abstract biblical narratives into concrete historical realities.• The discovery of a 9th century BC "House of David" inscription dramatically changed scholarly views on David's existence• Archaeologists have found evidence for 132 people mentioned in the Bible• Kennedy's favorite biblical figure is Daniel, whose story offers both spiritual guidance and archaeological richness• Future archaeological possibilities include discoveries related to Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, and early biblical manuscriptsFind Dr. Kennedy's work in his books "Unearthing the Bible," "Excavating the Evidence for Jesus," and his forthcoming book documenting archaeological evidence for 132 biblical figures.

The sermon explores the story of Rahab, a Canaanite harlot, to illustrate that faith and action can transcend a person's past and secure God's favor. Drawing from Joshua 2, the message emphasizes Rahab's courage, her willingness to risk her life to protect spies, and her unwavering belief in God's power, demonstrated by her placement of a scarlet cord as a sign of deliverance. Ultimately, the sermon asserts that past mistakes do not define one's future, and through faith in Jesus Christ, individuals can experience redemption and find hope for a new identity, encouraging listeners to pray for the salvation of others and to embrace the transformative power of God's grace.

In this world, Jesus is famous for His love. But not everyone understands just how radical and polarizing His compassion was: Healing the humble gentile; and sending away the prideful religious. Compassion fueled the fire of Christ to proclaim, teach, heal and sacrifice. But could many believers have lost sight of God's great compassion in how we are to treat others? In this teaching: Did Jesus call the Canaanite Woman a dog? How Yeshua dealt with Israel's enemies How love is both more than about feelings, and more than about rebuke Stories of God's compassion The historical context of the Canaanites, and how Jesus healed a demon oppressed boy. The grace and compassion Christ calls you to. Who exactly will inherit the Kingdom of God Support Rise on Fire Ministries by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/rise-on-fireRead transcript

Matthew 15:21–28. While others begged Jesus to send the Canaanite woman away, she refused to back down, revealing a desperation that moved heaven. Jesus' silence wasn't rejection, but invitation. Her faith pressed past offense, and her response gave her access to covenant promises she wasn't even “qualified” for. Pastor Ryan Schlachter reminds us: breakthrough often comes when we let Jesus offend our expectations. Even the crumbs of His presence are more than enough. Desperation that draws near is the door to divine encounter.

As believers in today's world, we are to contend for the miracles of God, because He is still a miracle-working God! While praying and expecting miracles may be a risky endeavour that could bring disappointment and inner tension, faith requires pressing in—despite setbacks. Just like the Canaanite woman, let us be encouraged to persist in prayer and faith, trusting in God's compassion and power to heal, deliver, and provide!

There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.JOS.17:2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.JOS.17:3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.JOS.17:4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.JOS.17:5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;JOS.17:6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.JOS.17:7 And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.JOS.17:8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;JOS.17:9 And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:JOS.17:10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.JOS.17:11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.JOS.17:12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.JOS.17:13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.JOS.17:14 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?JOS.17:15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.JOS.17:16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.JOS.17:17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:JOS.17:18 But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.

Gideon's story continues as his many sons, including Abimelek—born of a concubine from Shechem—play key roles in the unfolding drama. After Gideon's death, Abimelek uses his maternal ties to Shechem, a city with a mixed Israelite and Canaanite population, to seize power. He manipulates the people and elites, securing seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith to hire mercenaries. Abimelek kills his brothers and is crowned king under a great tree near Shechem, marking the first Israelite kingship over a city with a complex cultural and religious backdrop. Meanwhile, the youngest son of Gideon condemns this rise to power with a fable illustrating Abimelek's destructive rule. This episode explores themes of ambition, political intrigue, and the consequences of leadership outside God's anointing.   Scripture Judges 8:34-35 and Judges 9:1-15   Support and Feedback If you'd like to support The History of the Bible, visit our Patreon Page at https://patreon.com/TheHistoryoftheBible. Your feedback is valuable to us! Share your thoughts and insights via our feedback form at https://forms.gle/AtzUReJ8gLuFYPaP8. Let us know how our podcast has impacted you or someone you know by filling out our impact form at https://forms.gle/jr4EdGsqCaFk4qZm8. If you have concerns about any information presented, please inform us via our correction form at https://forms.gle/PiMMkPnJFaa4j5p37.   Hashtags #BibleHistory #Judges #Abimelek #Gideon #AncientIsrael #BiblicalLeadership #Shechem #BaalBerith #BiblePodcast #HistoryOfTheBible #BiblicalStudies #OldTestament   Sources ESV Study Bible ESV Archaeology Study Bible Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (NIV) New Spirit-Filled Life Bible (NLT) BlueLetterBible.com Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps, and Timelines Satellite Bible Atlas by Schlegel The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History WorldHistory.org

And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel,JOS.16:2 And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,JOS.16:3 And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer; and the goings out thereof are at the sea.JOS.16:4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.JOS.16:5 And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;JOS.16:6 And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;JOS.16:7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.JOS.16:8 The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.JOS.16:9 And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.JOS.16:10 And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.

Exodus 13:1-161 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.11 “After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?' say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel conquered on this side of the Jordan, on the west, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon as far as Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, which Joshua gave to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,JOS.12:8 in the mountain country, in the lowlands, in the Jordan plain, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the South-the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:JOS.12:9 the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;JOS.12:10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;JOS.12:11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;JOS.12:12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;JOS.12:13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;JOS.12:14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;JOS.12:15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;JOS.12:16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;JOS.12:17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;JOS.12:18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;JOS.12:19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;JOS.12:20 the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;JOS.12:21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;JOS.12:22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;JOS.12:23 the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of the people of Gilgal, one;JOS.12:24 the king of Tirzah, one-all the kings, thirty-one.

It's vital not to be like Jezebel who worshipped the Canaanite god Baal. Worship of God alone is important.

A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity St. Matthew 5:20-26 by William Klock In last Sunday's Gospel we were with Jesus and Peter in that fishing boat as Jesus preached to the crowd on the shore.  I said that I had a pretty good ides the sorts of things Jesus was preaching, because both Matthew and Luke preserve versions of his favourite sermon about the kingdom.  Today's Gospel gives us a snippet of Matthew's version of that sermon.  In Matthew 5:20 Jesus says to the gathered crowd, “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  In the words leading up to this, Jesus was preparing the people to hear this.  He talks about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world and a city set on hill and a light held high on a lampstand for everyone to see.  “That's how you must shine your light in front of people!” he says, “Then they'll see what wonderful things you do, and they'll give glory to your father in heaven.”  Do your works, does you the way you live make people take notice and give glory to God?  That's a tough one, isn't it?  And then, just in case people might be thinking that Jesus came to do away with the law and the prophets: “Don't suppose that I came to destroy the law or the prophets,” Jesus said, “I didn't come to destroy them.  I came to fulfil them!  I'm telling you the truth: until heaven and earth disappear—and since that won't happen this just means never—not one stroke, not one dot, is going to disappear from the law until it's all come true.  So anyone who relaxes a single one of these commandments, even the little ones, and teaches that to people, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.  And anyone who does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  And this is where Jesus says those words, “Yes, let me tell you: unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.”   Because Jesus was doing and saying so many things that a lot of people thought weren't right, I suspect some people thought that Jesus was teaching an easier way to the kingdom.  The Pharisees were mad because he didn't seem to keep the law with the same zeal that they thought everyone should, but I suspect there were others who thought Jesus was offering them a way to God without all the spiritual rigor and rules.  Just this week I found myself talking to someone who had left an orthodox, biblical church a few years ago and is now worshipping at a United Church.  The reason: “They aren't so strict.  They let people be themselves.  They aren't so bound to the Bible.”  In other words: The United Church offers a way to God that you can follow on your own terms.  I suspect some people thought Jesus was doing a sort of First Century Jewish version of that.  And so Jesus makes it clear that this is not the case.  No, just the opposite in fact.  Not even the Pharisees with all their zeal for torah, not even they meet the standard.  Later in the sermon he'll go on to talk about the wide and narrow way that will lead Israel to destruction and the narrow gate that few can find and the narrow and difficult way beyond that leads to the kingdom.  No, Jesus hasn't come to relax the standard.  Not at all. But before we can go on we need to ask a couple of questions.  When Jesus talks about “righteousness”, what does he mean?  Well, for the Jews “righteousness” was bound up with torah, with the law and with God's covenant.  A righteous person was someone who was faithful to God and to the covenant and that meant, fundamentally, that he was faithful in living the law that God had given his people. The name “Pharisee” means “separated one”.  That's what Israel was supposed to be.  The Lord had delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt to be his people and he gave them a law, he gave them torah, as a way of life that would separate them and that would make them distinct from every other people on earth.  When the nations looked at Israel they were supposed to be moved to give glory to God.  But for most of their history, the Israelites didn't do a very good job of being that separate and distinct people.  They were selective in their obedience.  They worshipped idols.  And so just as he cast Adam and Eve out of the garden and out of his holy presence, the Lord cast out Israel and sent her in exile to Babylon.  Righteousness means “covenant faithfulness” and if Israel wasn't going to be faithful to the covenant, then in order to be faithful himself to the covenant, the Lord would have enact the covenant curses that he promised would befall his people if they didn't keep their end of the covenant—if they were unrighteous. As I've said before fairly recently, the Pharisees knew all of this.  More than that, they believed that the exile was, after a fashion, still ongoing.  Because Israel was still ruled by pagans and because the Lord's presence had never returned to the temple.  They desperately wanted an end to Roman rule and even more than that, they prayed for the Lord's return.  But that wasn't going to happen as long as Israel was still unfaithful—still lacking in righteousness.  So the Pharisees decided to set an example.  They weren't just going to obey the law as best they could; they were going to live their whole lives as if they were priests in the temple.  They wouldn't just keep themselves from sin.  They'd keep themselves ritually pure at all times.  They were ready for the Lord to return.  If only they could get everyone in Israel just as ready!  But not everyone in Israel was as interested in righteousness as they were.  There were a lot of people who just weren't as serious about God's law as they were.  But worse were the compromisers—the Jews who gradually assimilated to the pagan ways of the Greeks and Romans and the people who willingly and knowingly became traitors to the covenant: tax collectors and sinners. Think of it this way: The Pharisees saw themselves in the midst of a culture war.  And they knew it wasn't the first time Israel had faced a culture war.  And so their heroes were the righteous men of Israel's past culture wars.  One of those heroes was Phinehas, one of Aaron's grandsons.  In the book of Numbers we read how Balak, the King of Moab, had hired a prophet to curse the Israelites.  But the prophet, Balaam couldn't do it.  Every time he opened his mouth to curse the Israelites, the Lord caused blessings to spill out.  So Balak, instead, sent a bunch of beautiful Moabite women to infiltrate the Israelite camp and to entice the men of Israel to worship the Canaanite god Baal with them.  Isreal's first culture war.  The men were enticed into sexual immorality and then into idolatry—those two always go hand-in-hand.  But Phinehas, came upon one of the Israelite men in flagrante delicto with one of these women.  Filled with holy zeal, Phinehas grabbed a spear and ran them both through together.  That was the end of Israel's first culture war and Phinehas became a hero for his righteous zeal. But much more recently, the Pharisees looked back on the heroes of the Maccabean Revolt—about 160 years before.  In those days Judah was ruled by Greeks.  And the Greeks just sort of thought that because their culture was so superior to everyone else's, everyone would just assimilate given the chance.  Think of Gus in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  “There are two kinds of people: Greeks and everyone who wish they was Greek.”  But no matter how many temples or gymnasiums the Greeks built, the Jews wouldn't assimilate.  Antiochus IV Epiphanes had enough of it and finally outlawed the law.  If you circumcised your son, you and he would be executed.  He defiled the Lord's altar by sacrificing a pig on it.  In Second Maccabees we read a horrific story of seven brothers and their mother who were tortured and gruesomely martyred when they refused to eat pork.  Jews were forced to offer sacrifices to Zeus.  Mattathias Maccabeus was watching as one Jewish man caved into that pressure.  The writer of First Maccabees tells us how Mattathias burned with zeal for the law, just like Phinehas had.  He ran forward and killed the man at the altar, then turned and killed the King's soldier.  That would kick off a revolt against the pagan Greeks.  But the Maccabean revolutionaries didn't just go after their foreign rulers; like Mattathias they went after compromising Jews as well. They were the inspiration for the Pharisees.  The Pharisees didn't have that kind of power.  They couldn't force anyone to keep the law or to keep it better.  But they had the same kind of zeal.  They desperately wanted, they prayed for the Lord to return to Zion to destroy the Romans and all the other unrighteous pagans—and all the compromisers like the tax collectors and sinners in Israel, too. And—getting back to Jesus peaching on the hillside—and Jesus now says that even that kind of zeal, that kind of righteousness isn't enough to get folks into the kingdom.  In other words, to the people who were coming to Jesus thinking he was making it easier—kind of like some modern liberal spirituality that you can shape to your own liking—Jesus says, “No.  I didn't come to make it easier.”  But then he condemns even the Pharisees.  They were the most righteous people around and even they weren't going to make the cut.  So what now?  Imagine all the people holding their breath to hear what Jesus is going to say next.  They really, really want to know.  Before he ever started preaching, they'd seen him doing all the Messiah things: casting out demons, healing the sick and the blind and the deaf.  They knew without a doubt that the God of Israel was somehow acting in and through Jesus, so they had to think that when he preached, he preached with authority and he spoke for God.  He's got their attention now.  Now they want to know what it means to be more righteous than even the Pharisees. So Jesus goes on and says, “You have heard it said to the people of old, ‘You shall not murder'; and anyone who commits murder shall be liable to judgement.  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement; anyone who insults his brother with foul and abusive language will be liable to the lawcourt; and anyone who says, ‘You fool,' will be liable to the fires of Gehenna.”   And Jesus keeps going on like this.  If we skip down to 5:27—picking up just were today's Gospel ends—Jesus says something similar about adultery.  “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you: everyone who gazes at a woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  On and on.  Divorce falls in Jesus sites too: Divorce is wrong.  Marriage is a life-long covenant.  Tell the truth, he says, and you won't need to make oaths for people to believe you.  The law commanded justice and put limits on retaliation, but Jesus says, “Don't resist evil with violence”, “turn the other cheek”.  “When someone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat, too.  When someone forces you to go one mile, go a second one with him.”  And in verse 43 Jesus puts a cherry on top of all this.  They knew that the law was about loving your neighbour, but then they got the idea that the only people who were their neighbours were their fellow Jews.  Love your neighbours, yes, but hate your enemies—people like the Romans, the tax collectors, and the sinners who openly rejected God's law and covenant.  Love your neighbours.  Pray for God to smite your enemies.  And Jesus says, “No!  I tell you: love your enemies!  Pray for people who persecute you!”  Why?  “So that you may be sons [and daughters] of your Father in heaven.”   Do you want to have a share in the kingdom?  Do you want to be a child of the Father?  Do you want to know how to have a righteousness—a covenant faithfulness—greater than even the Pharisees?  Do want people to glorify God when they see how you live?  Then love the way that God loves.  That's what righteousness has always been about: it's been about a people that conforms to the heart of God.  Righteousness is about sinlessness, but it goes deeper than that and that's what the Pharisees and so many others in Israel had forgotten even though it was there all along: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbour as yourself.” Brothers and Sisters, this is what kingdom people look like in a culture war.  They love the way God loves.  This is the narrow gate, this is the difficult path that leads to the kingdom and life with God.  It's hard.  All we have to do is look around us.  Things haven't changed much since Jesus preached this two thousand years ago.  We're in the middle of a war ourselves and it seems like Christians are prone to the same two failures.  There's a ditch on either side of the road.  You fall into the ditch on this side when you give in and compromise.  Whether it's the Judeans who went along with the Greeks, leaving their sons uncircumcised, eating pork, and making offerings to Zeus or the Christians today who give up and buy into the pagan world's notion that love is whatever you make it, anything goes, and we can all live and fellowship with God on our own terms.  Brothers and Sisters, compromise with a godless and anti-gospel culture isn't the way.  Jesus didn't come to make it easier to get into the kingdom, but there are a lot of people and churches today who think that the answer to the culture and to dwindling interest in the gospel is to lower the bar and to make it easier to think of yourself as a Christian.  Appealing to the cultural moment might get you a few followers in the short term, but it will land you in the outer darkness, weeping and gnashing your teeth just as surely as the opposite error will. The opposite error—the ditch on the other side of the road—is Phariseeism.  And that happens when we forget that the gospel wins not through violence and force but when Christians love the way that God loves.  Brothers and Sisters, no amount of compelling, force, violence, or political power will ever move the heart of an unbeliever to give glory to God because of what they see in us.  But in the midst of a culture war it's very easy for God's people to think that seizing the reigns of power is the answer.  We'll do anything, compromise just about anything, team up with just about anyone no matter how ungodly they are, to get our hands on that power.  And we can do it all with a zealousness like that of Phinehas or Mattathias that feels so right.  We try to meld Caesar and Jesus together, forgetting that Caesars bloody and violent way is the opposite of the gospel, which conquers through love.  You can't trust in Jesus and at the same trust in horses and chariots.  You can't trust in Jesus and at the same time trust in political power.  Jesus demands our allegiance and our trust—all of it and without compromise.  And it's when we give him that full allegiance that we have the loving heart of God.  It's when we're willing to follow Jesus as we turn the other cheek, as we give both our shirt and our coat, as we go the extra mile, even as we go to our own deaths, it's then that world takes notice and give glory to God.  That's how the gospel captivates hearts and transforms the world. Brothers and Sisters, that's the narrow gate and the difficult path.  Don't give up on righteousness when the going gets tough.  And never forget that law is ultimately about loving God and loving our neighbours—everyone—the way God loves them—enough to give his own son.  Love them as God does—even your worst enemy—even to point of sacrifice.  That's how God once captivated your heart and it's how he will captivate theirs. Jesus stresses just how important this is.  Going back to the end of our Gospel in Matthew 5:23 he says, “So, if you are coming to the altar with your gift and there you remember that your brother has a grievance against you, leave your gift right there in front of the altar, and go first and be reconciled to your brother.  Then come back and offer your gift.”   We probably miss the significance of this.  To go to the temple in Jerusalem to make an offering to God was the peak of righteousness, of covenant faithfulness.  This took precedence over everything else.  No one.  No. one.  Would go to Jerusalem.  And remember, Jesus is preaching in Galilee, a three day's journey from Jerusalem.  No one would trek all that way, carrying their animal for sacrifice or buying one at an exorbitant price at the temple, wait their turn, and then standing there with the priest ready to make the sacrifice, suddenly realise they needed to go all the way back home to make something right with a brother or a sister.  Yes, I think Jesus is using a bit of hyperbole here, but he wants to drive his point home, because this is how people—especially the Pharisees thought.  If you were doing it for God, nothing else mattered.  Think of the priest and the Levite in Jesus' parable, leaving a man for dead on the side of the road lest they become ritually impure.  For all their talk of loving God, they'd forgotten just how much God loves us and they'd failed to live it out.  That's why they grumbled when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.  They'd forgotten that all of heaven rejoices over a sinner who repents. No, says Jesus.  Never think that you're honouring God if, at the same time, you're failing to love your neighbour the way God loves him.  Never think you're doing God's work if, at the same time, you've compromised his call to faith and to faithfulness.  Never think you're building the kingdom if, at the same time, you're compromising its principles.  Instead, stop what you're doing and make things right.  Go back and love your neighbour.  Reconcile and make things right with him.  Remember that you serve the God who gave his son out of love in order to reconcile sinful you to himself.  Have that kind of love in your heart and let it shape every thing you do. Brothers and Sisters, every Sunday we recite those words of Jesus: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  Don't just mindlessly say those words.  Be shaped by them.  Love God and love your neighbour with everything you've got and then you will have that righteousness greater even than that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Let's pray: O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

God is a God who speaks to us. It's something He's been doing for centuries. Millennia in fact. And sometimes, sometimes he speaks to us in ways that we just don't expect. Right out of the blue. Question is – are we listening?   The Power of the Prophetic It's just fantastic to be with you again this week and yes, we are continuing this week with our look with how it is that God speaks to us today – here and now, in the twenty first century. This series is called, “How Can I hear God Speak to Me?” And today's message is about expecting the unexpected. It's interesting, way back in the Old Testament, God spoke to His people through the prophets – people like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and all those Old Testament prophets – men whom God had called to speak His message to His people. Then in the New Testament, He speaks to us, first and foremost, through His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ and the Apostles and the other writers of the New Testament Books. And He is still using those, through His Word the Bible, to speak to us today. By His Spirit, He speaks today. But interesting – the New Testament in particular, tells us how His Spirit speaks today. Sometimes it's easy to ignore that – it's easy to get all dull and boring about the way that God communicates with us but God is a stunningly creative communicator. There's absolutely nothing dull and boring about how He communicates. And one of the ways He does that is through the power of the prophetic. So today, what we are going to do is take a look at that. Now, in embarking on this today, I acknowledge that there are those amongst God's people who simply believe that there are no more prophets today – that this is something that belongs to the past and not the present. What's a prophet? Well, simply someone who speaks on behalf of God. Someone who speaks God's will into the lives of God's people. And yet, other traditions and denominations really emphasise the prophetic dimension of God's communication. And sadly, some do so to the point of abusing the prophetic. What do I mean by that? Well, I don't carry any particular baggage of denomination or tradition around when it comes to these things. My heart is simply to open God's Word, the Bible and to figure out what God says and to go with that. So that's precisely what we are going to do today. Let's take a look – this is the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth – so after Jesus has died, risen again and is sent into heaven. This is the fledgling New Testament church that he is writing to. First Corinthians chapter 12, beginning at verse 4: Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. Now, here Paul is talking about supernatural gifts that are given to the family of God. And not just the special super-spiritual Christian leader type people. Have a listen again to verse 7: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. In other words, to each person; to each believer, is given one or more of these supernatural gifts. Now, I have heard people say, "Oh, well. That was for back then. It's not for now.” Umm! This passage – First Corinthians 12 – rolls straight on to First Corinthians 13; the next chapter that famous passage about love, which kind of says, "You know, you can have all the spiritual gifts under the sun but unless you use them in love, they are useless." And it goes on to explain what love is. These same people love to quote First Corinthians 13 but somehow, maybe it's because in our Western mindset; maybe we are uncomfortable with the idea of these supernatural gifts - we can't explain them rationally. Some people want to deny that this bit of the New Testament – 1 Corinthians chapter 12 – actually exists and yet they go on and rely on the next chapter. I'm not quite sure why that is. But I find nothing – let me say this – NOTHING in the New Testament that tells me that this thing on spiritual gifts – supernatural gifts – was meant for them back then and not for us here and now. Nothing! And the gifts; words of wisdom and of knowledge, extraordinary faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment of the Spirit, speaking in different tongues, interpreting different tongues. One of the arguments against words of wisdom and knowledge and prophesy, is that these so-called "modern day" prophets can set themselves up above the Word of God. They can say things that don't agree with the Scriptures; God's Word. So what are we going to do with that? Well, I have to tell you: like anything else good that God gives us, you can take it and you can abuse it. Absolutely! I have seen it happen in this area, where people go for emotionalism and manipulation, where they claim to be speaking for God, but in fact, they are not at all. But just because something good from God can be abused doesn't mean that it's not a good thing from God. There are several times in my life when someone has given me a specific prophesy, just for me, and all of those, barring one exception – which simple didn't ring true as being from God to me or other people who were there at the time – but the rest of those had a huge impact on my life. I look back on them now – and most of them were key turning points in my walk with God. And you know, these weren't proud people coming out with “Thus sayeth the Lord” type of proclamations. One of the most powerful was from a man called Dennis Adams. He worked at the time for a Christian Radio Network called HCJB – it was at a conference. I had just become involved, full time, here at Christianityworks. My predecessor had taken all of our radio programmes off the air. There was almost no financial support – the ministry was almost dead and I simply didn't know what to do. I met Dennis for the first time at a Christian Media Conference. He looked at my name tag – we didn't know each other – but he had heard some of the short radio messages I had preciously put together. And almost immediately, tears welled up in his eyes and with such passion and such conviction, he said to me, "You have to start doing those radio programmes again. You just have to." That day, Dennis's words pierced my heart and because of that we spent the last few thousand dollars the ministry had on producing the first series of these radio programmes but at the time we had no idea how we were going to get onto a radio station anywhere. Well, that was almost six years ago now and today, these programmes are heard by millions of people each week, around the world. See, I know that those words that Dennis spoke to me that day were God's words; they were a prophesy and without them I wouldn't be here today. Should we discern prophesies? Absolutely! Should we think them through and pray them through? Absolutely! Should we reject any that don't ring true? Absolutely! But, friend, God's Word says that He has appointed prophets amongst His people. God's Word says that He is still speaking to us through prophets and their prophesies today. Why, oh why would we want to deny that?   Out of the Blue Have you ever heard kind of a voice out of the blue and wondered, now, where did that come from? We are chatting this week again on the programme about hearing from God. How does God speak these days and how can we hear Him. That's what we are exploring because God is still speaking and He means for us to hear Him. Now one of the ways I notice He talks to people throughout the Bible is well, it's like a voice out of the blue. I had coffee with a dear friend of mine, James, just yesterday. He was telling me about how the day before he had been racing out for a meeting and he had this distinctive impression on the way out the door; a strong impression that he should go back into his study and grab his diary. Of course, he ignored it and on the way something happened and he needed to contact the person he was supposed to be having this meeting with to adjust the arrangements. The problem was he didn't have the man's phone number on him. You guessed it – the phone number was back in the diary, sitting on the desk in his study. Now sometimes God has big things to say to us and sometimes He has just little things to say. And in my experience, if we love Him, if we are in the business of drawing close to Him, sometimes in the thick of things, while we are on the run, He speaks to us out of the blue. Some people are uncomfortable with that. There is a school of thought that God only ever communicates to us through His Word, the Bible. Well, I agree – the Bible is the primary way that He communicates with us and if anyone claims any other form of communication – prophesy, a word of knowledge, something from God out of the blue – if anyone claims to have any communication from God like that, but it's inconsistent with what the Bible says, well then, my friend, it is not from God. God never contradicts Himself, so I agree on that front. But the number of times He speaks to people in the Bible and they answer Him, "Here I am, Lord" – let's have a look at one of those today: Moses – this burnt out old wreck of a man – he is eighty years old. He had murdered an Egyptian as a young man and so, even though he grew up in Pharaoh's house, he fled out to the back of the desert and he had been tending sheep for forty or fifty years. But all of a sudden, when God is ready to speak with Moses, well, God speaks – out of the blue or at least out of a bush. Let's have a look at Exodus chapter 3, beginning at verse 1: Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up. When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of Israel has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Was it an audible voice or was it a voice that Moses heard in his heart? Well, we don't know, but God didn't have a Bible to speak through back then – it wasn't written yet. So He spoke to Moses out of the blue, as it were. Now if you have access to an electronic version of the Bible, I suggest that you do a search on the words ‘here I am'. It happens over and over again – God speaks to people out of the blue and they answer Him, ‘Here I am, Lord.' Has it ever happened to me? Well, I have never quite been called to lead Israel out of Egypt, to be quite honest with you, but at the same time God has spoken to me out of the blue, about things that are big and about things that are small. I remember not long after I became a Christian. I was alone in my house – it was a Saturday afternoon and I was ironing down stairs. As I finished each shirt, I would take it upstairs and hang it in the wardrobe. As I was heading back downstairs I was just overwhelmed by the presence of God so I sat down on the stairs and what I experienced over the next fifteen/twenty minutes was God calling me to preach the Good News of Jesus. I thought, "Hang on, I have been a Christian like five minutes and You are calling me to do this?" And then He showed me how, over the prior twenty years, as I had been invited all over the world to speak at conferences and events in the I.T. Industry, which is what I did back then – I was an I.T. consultant – He showed me how He had been getting me ready for this, even before I had given my life over to Him. These weren't my thoughts or my ideas. This wasn't a vivid imagination at work. It was a definite ‘someone' outside of me, speaking to me and showing me this stuff – kind of an experience. Did I hear an audible voice? No, I didn't – never have. But I knew it was God. Jesus said in John chapter 10, verse 16: I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they will follow me. And that's exactly how it was for me that day. I just knew that it was God speaking. I just knew that He had called me to do this. I didn't know how it would happen – I had absolutely no idea, at that point that it would involve radio – none what so ever. That didn't come until another eight years later. Sometimes I thought I heard His voice and I don't think I got it quite right, so I always test things – I think, I pray, I see if it makes sense. And little by little, what I have discovered is that I am getting better and better at recognising His voice and listening to Him. In my day to day life, God sometimes nudges me this way, sometimes that. In the middle of the pressure and conflict sometimes, the Holy Spirit speaks strongly and directly, often with a Scripture, to me, that leads me to behave in a godly way, rather than following my natural human inclinations. And that's exactly what Jesus promised. When the Advocate comes,” He said in John chapter 15, “whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, will testify on my behalf. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Friend, God is in the business of communicating with us. When He does, when we hear Him out of the blue, let us test everything against His Word, the Bible, if it's not consistent with His Word, then it is absolutely certain this thing was not from God. But He does communicate with us in all sorts of different ways and sometimes He speaks to us completely out of the blue. It's fantastic! Let's just be ready to listen.   Feet on the Ground You know, I love the fact that God speaks to us in all these different ways. We have looked at quite a few over these last couple of weeks – ways that He speaks to us today. And we will be doing that again next week too. But as I said, I really feel the need to end today on a note of caution. The point is that not everything that someone says, supposedly in the name of God, is going to be true. And not everything that we feel sometimes, or think we hear sometimes, is going to come from God. Why? Well, we're human, we're fallible. Sometimes we get things wrong. Sometimes other people have ulterior motives. Now, this is nothing new – false prophets have been around for a long time. And sometimes the things that false prophets have to say, is stuff that we really, really want to hear – its stuff that sounds much better than the stuff that's coming from the true prophets. Listen to this – Jeremiah chapter 5, verse 31: The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule as the prophets direct; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” In fact Jesus said - Matthew chapter 7, verse 15. He said: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. So, there is a risk; there is a danger. Now that doesn't mean that God doesn't speak through prophets or through dreams or visions – quite to the contrary. The biblical record is clear – He has been doing that for millennia, even though all that time, there have indeed been false prophets around. In fact, often in Israel's history there were many more false prophets than there were true prophets. And so, in the face of that, there are two equal and opposite errors that we can make. The first one is to deny the unexpected; to retreat to the safety of things that we can understand and live our lives believing that God only ever speaks to us from one source these days – the Bible – and that's it. Now if you know me you will know that I believe that the Bible is God's Word and it is the authority; the absolute truth, when it comes to what God has to say. And for that reason, it's because of what I read in the Bible that I simply can't come to the conclusion that God doesn't speak through prophets anymore or dreams or visions or words of knowledge. God's Word doesn't let me draw those conclusions. And the other error that we can make, on the other end of the scale, is to chase after the false prophets who tickle our ears with things that we love to hear. Jesus said – Matthew chapter 24, verse 11: And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. So, the answer, quite simply, is this: it too comes from God's very own word and I love this because God's wisdom is so balanced. First Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 19 to 22: Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. In other words: don't fall into either of these two errors. Don't deny what God is doing anymore. Don't quench the Spirit – don't throw the baby out with the bath water. God is still speaking today – God is still speaking through prophets. “Don't despise the words of prophets.” But at the same time, don't take everything everybody says as though it is true – especially if it tickles your ears and if that's what you want to hear. Instead, test everything, sift it and weigh it, sort through it – go to God, go to your Bible and under God's hand, decide whether it's good or bad. If it's good, hold onto it, if it's bad, abstain from it. I mean, imagine you are walking down the street – some guy in a flashy, shiny suit walks up to you and he says, "I have the best investment plans for your savings that you will ever find. Give me all your savings and I will invest them for a hundred percent return every year." Let me ask you something: you don't know this man from a bar of soap – would you give him all your savings? Would you at that point, walk to a bank, take out all your life savings and give it to this man to invest? Of course not! We would discern what he has to say; we would figure out – is this person trustworthy? Is this something that's good or should I just ignore him and walk away? And it's the same with prophesies and words of knowledge. People, God's Word calls us “not to quench the Spirit, not to despise the words of prophets but to test everything” – to sift it, “to hold fast to what is good; to abstain from what is evil.” Pretty good advice! I frankly can't figure out why people want to fall into either of these two errors – throw the baby out with the bath water, quench the Spirit, or, accept everything without being discerning. Why would you want to do that? Now, I know I am going to get some mail over this message, from both camps – that's okay. For me, it's about going to God's Word – without baggage we carry from the past and openly, honestly, faithfully finding out what it is God is saying and how He speaks to us today. That's where it's at! That's what God honours!

We explore the period of the Judges in Israel's history, a time marked by a cycle of sin, oppression, deliverance, and drift. After the deaths of Moses and Joshua, the nations was tasked with continuing the campaign to conquer the Land of Canaan. Their disobedience led to Canaanite influence and oppression. Despite Israel's repeated rebellion and worship of false gods, God showed mercy by raising up judges to save them. These judges brought temporary relief, but the Israelites continued to stray.Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @biblelitTwitter: @bible_litFacebook: @biblelitEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.org Want to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out ou...

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The story of the Canaanite woman is about a woman who asks Jesus to heal her daughter, and he does. Jesus' response to her proves that God constantly enters new territory and breaks long-held and man-made boundaries. This message will remind us that everyone who trusts Jesus has a seat at his table

In this week's message, Ebony shares a deep and heartfelt reflection on the film The Six Triple Eight. She explores the inspiring true story, based on the accounts of living witnesses, and highlights the real courage of the all-Black, all-female battalion who served during WWII—women who were not fully recognized in their time.Ebony connects their story to the biblical truth of Imago Dei—that every person is made in the image of God and worthy of dignity. Drawing from Jesus' interaction with the Canaanite woman, she reminds us that Jesus saw the humanity in people others overlooked. The challenge for us: see people the way Jesus did.

PSALM 82 is a courtroom scene in heaven. This psalm is the source of the term “divine council,” a concept well known in the ancient Near East. The high god in the pantheon was believed to preside over a group of lesser gods, who were tasked with carrying out the will of the king of the pantheon. But in the religions of Babylon, Canaan, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc., the lower gods were part of a polytheistic pantheon. This is a twisted version of God's council. We see God's divine assembly in action in Job 1 and 2, and especially in 1 Kings 22, where God asks the council for recommendations on how to lure King Ahab to go to war with the Syrians where he will fall in battle. To be clear, God doesn't need a council to carry out His will. He created one for His pleasure, because He desires family. However, just as with us humans, the spirits in the unseen realm were created with free will, and many of them chose to rebel against His authority. What we see in Psalm 82, then, is God passing judgment on those lesser elohim, the “sons of the Most High,” for exercising their free will to “judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked”. As a result of their mismanagement of creation, which threatened the very “foundations of the earth,” God decreed that these small-G god will die like men. We also discuss the New English Translation's rendering of Psalm 82:1, in which Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “stands in the assembly of El,” the creator-god of the Canaanites, to pass judgment on the gods of Canaan! Was that a prophecy of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the summit of Mount Hermon? Here's the link to the paper by Dr. Michael Heiser explaining Jesus' quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34 (link opens a PDF document) Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources: Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF) The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser's two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch Follow us! • X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech! The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site! Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store. Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

In this powerful exploration of faith, we delve into the story of the Canaanite woman from Matthew 15. This narrative challenges us to reconsider our understanding of difficulty in our spiritual journey. The woman's persistence in seeking Jesus' help, despite facing silence and apparent rejection, serves as a model for unwavering faith. We're reminded that our struggles and moments of divine silence aren't signs of failure, but opportunities for spiritual growth. The message encourages us to push through barriers, both external and internal, in our pursuit of Christ. It's a call to trust God's goodness even when His responses don't meet our expectations, understanding that He may be using our difficulties to deepen our faith and dependence on Him. This teaching invites us to reframe our perspective on life's challenges, seeing them not as obstacles to avoid, but as the very means through which our faith can be strengthened and refined.

In this powerful exploration of faith, we delve into the story of the Canaanite woman from Matthew 15. This narrative challenges us to reconsider our understanding of difficulty in our spiritual journey. The woman's persistence in seeking Jesus' help, despite facing silence and apparent rejection, serves as a model for unwavering faith. We're reminded that our struggles and moments of divine silence aren't signs of failure, but opportunities for spiritual growth. The message encourages us to push through barriers, both external and internal, in our pursuit of Christ. It's a call to trust God's goodness even when His responses don't meet our expectations, understanding that He may be using our difficulties to deepen our faith and dependence on Him. This teaching invites us to reframe our perspective on life's challenges, seeing them not as obstacles to avoid, but as the very means through which our faith can be strengthened and refined.

Exodus 13:1-161 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.11 “After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?' say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

PSALM 82 is a courtroom scene in heaven. This psalm is the source of the term “divine council,” a concept well known in the ancient Near East. The high god in the pantheon was believed to preside over a group of lesser gods, who were tasked with carrying out the will of the king of the pantheon. But in the religions of Babylon, Canaan, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc., the lower gods were part of a polytheistic pantheon. This is a twisted version of God's council. We see God's divine assembly in action in Job 1 and 2, and especially in 1 Kings 22, where God asks the council for recommendations on how to lure King Ahab to go to war with the Syrians where he will fall in battle.To be clear, God doesn't need a council to carry out His will. He created one for His pleasure, because He desires family. However, just as with us humans, the spirits in the unseen realm were created with free will, and many of them chose to rebel against His authority. What we see in Psalm 82, then, is God passing judgment on those lesser elohim, the “sons of the Most High,” for exercising their free will to “judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked”. As a result of their mismanagement of creation, which threatened the very “foundations of the earth,” God decreed that these small-G god will die like men. We also discuss the New English Translation's rendering of Psalm 82:1, in which Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “stands in the assembly of El,” the creator-god of the Canaanites, to pass judgment on the gods of Canaan!Was that a prophecy of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the summit of Mount Hermon? 

We delve into the initial conquest of Canaan led by Joshua and the Israelites. We explore the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, the swift fall of Jericho, and the strategic victories at Ai and in southern Canaan. With Yahweh's divine intervention, including hailstones and an extended day, the Israelites vanquish their enemies, establishing control over the southern territories. The army then shifts to the northern campaign, where Israel faces a massive alliance of Canaanite forces. Despite the overwhelming odds, Joshua leads the Israelites to victory, fulfilling God's commands and demonstrating unwavering faith by destroying captured tools of war. By the end of the campaign, Israel largely controls the Promised Land, marking the beginning of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and providing a period of rest from war. Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @biblelitTwitter: @bible_litFacebook: @biblelitEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.org Want to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out ou...

Jesus Delivered Us (5) (audio) David Eells – 7/16/25 Saints, I want to point out to you that if you want deliverance from any demon, do not put the responsibility for the sin upon the demon. What did Peter say to Ananias and Sapphira? (Act.5:3) … Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit …? Was Peter blaming the lying spirit, or was he blaming Ananias? Some people have demons they inherited through the bloodline (Exodus 20:5, 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9), but we are born in sin. Psa 51:5  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.  If you have a demon because of what you have done, guess what? You are still guilty. The Bible does not let you get off without being guilty. So the solution is 1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins (not the demons sins), he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (Pro.26:2) As the sparrow in her wandering, as the swallow in her flying, So the curse that is causeless alighteth not. See, there are people who just run from ministry to ministry looking for somebody to give them deliverance, but they will not first repent. They think all they need is deliverance, but God says they need to repent, because you can get delivered of anything and everything if you repent and believe. So there may be things you have never been delivered of yet, but God's plan is to deliver you from lusts of the flesh and demon spirits that take advantage of them. Let's look at some Old Testament types and shadows about delivering the Promised Land that show us the way God leads us from the time we come to know Him. This “house,” your body, is supposed to be ruled over by the spiritual man, and for that to happen, the carnal man who lives in your house has to be driven out and killed. This is a type of taking the Promised Land. Those Israelites represent the spiritual man, and those Canaanites represent the carnal man. God told them the Canaanites had to be driven out and killed, and the Israelites had to live in their houses. God said in (Deu.7:2) And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them. And He also commanded, (Exo.23:33) They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods (demons), it will surely be a snare unto thee. You see, if you leave one of the lusts of the flesh in your land, it is going to cause you to sin, so don't leave them and don't bow down to their gods. (Exo.23:20) Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. By the way, you have an angel, too, as the Bible says in (Heb.1:14) Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation? These spirits are with us to bring us into this salvation that Jesus provided. Exodus 23 is an exact parallel. (Exo.23:21) Take ye heed before him, and hearken unto his voice; provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgression: for my name is in him. God's Name, which is His Nature, Character, and Authority, is in those angels. His Nature is so strong in them that they are perfect prophets for the Lord, and when an angel speaks to you, he speaks to you with the Voice of God. In the Book of Acts, Stephen said it was an angel who spoke out of the burning bush to Moses. (Acts 7:30) And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. An angel spoke to Moses with the Voice of God. (Exo.23:22) But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; (We see the Lord is speaking, but it is the angel's voice.) then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies. If you obey His Voice, He will be an enemy to your enemies. If you do not obey His Voice, He is not going to be an enemy to your enemies. You may run around everywhere looking for your deliverance from flesh and spirit, but you will fail when you are not obeying His Voice. (Exo.23:23) For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: and I will cut them off. These are the original inhabitants of the land. They represent the lusts of the flesh that live in our Promised Land right here, and the Lord is going to lead us to sanctification from every one of these lusts. Each group of these original inhabitants represents the old man ruled over by demon gods with matching specialties and each of their names has a meaning. “Canaanite” means “to bend the knee, to humiliate, to subdue.” “Amorite” means “prominent,” and of course, one of the evils of the flesh is pride. “Hittite” means “terror, fear.” There are many different kinds of demons of fear, and God wants to deliver us from all kinds of fear. Your flesh fears many things; you could have a fear of rejection or a fear of heights and so on. “Perizzite” means “to separate.” Think about it; religions separate from religions and nations separate from nations. Factions separate. When religions separate from each other, it's “sectarianism,” which Paul listed among works of the flesh. (Gal.5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these:] fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, (21) envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like… Paul called them “lusts of the flesh”; we call them “denominations.” And countries naturally have a bias toward the people who live in their nation, but we are not supposed to be divided from Christians anywhere in the world. We are a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). We are “one man in Christ Jesus.” (Gal.3:28) There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one [man] in Christ Jesus. That means a Christian over in Russia is my brother; I am not going to fight for America to kill a Christian over in Russia, or anywhere else. It is wrong! This is worldly thinking and we need to understand that Jesus said, (Joh.18:36) My kingdom is not of this world… We are one holy nation, so no matter where on earth we are living, we are supposed to be a part of (Heb.12:22) … the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. “Jebus” was the old name for Jerusalem, and it's interesting that “Jebusite” means “trodden down.” The Bible says that Jerusalem will be “trodden down.” (Luk.21:24) Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Revelation 11 talks about the outer court being trodden down. (Rev.11:2) And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. Jesus told us in (Mat.5:13) Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. It's the old Jerusalem, not the New Jerusalem, who is going to be trodden down. Old, unregenerate Jerusalem was Jebus. They were trodden down that New Jerusalem could take their place. Going on in (Exo.23:24) Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works… Notice two things in this verse: “their gods” and “their works.” If you live after the lusts of your flesh, that is your works, and if you “bow down to their gods,” then you're being ruled by demons. It says in (1Co.10:20) But [I say,] that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have communion with demons. You see, every one of the lusts of the flesh has a demon spirit that rules over it. Jesus Christ sowed a Seed in us to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit, but the demons have sown other seeds in mankind. They have sown seeds of anger, seeds of lust, and seeds of rebellion, and the flesh has been bringing forth what is called the “lusts” of the flesh, which is another way of saying “fruit” of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Peter 2:10-19). Demons are the ones who sowed the seeds that have brought this forth. They are the gods of the lusts of the flesh and God commanded us to kill them and not to serve their gods. (Exo.23:33) They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. He is talking about marching through this Promised Land, and putting to death, one by one, the lusts of the flesh. And He is talking about not submitting, not bowing down, to their gods. If you are throwing out their “flesh,” you are throwing out the demon gods' power. If you simply throw out the demon gods and hold on to the flesh, they will be back. We are this Promised Land that has to be sanctified. The word “sanctified” means “separated from sin, separated from the curse, and separated unto God.” As God led the Israelites through their Promised Land and they put to death the original inhabitants with a physical sword, so we are led of the Holy Spirit through our promised land to put to death the lusts of the flesh with the “sword” of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Heb.4:12) For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And it is two-edged because one edge is for you. We are commanded to Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Col.3:5) The devil fears you if you know your authority and you are walking with God. Now, what about casting out demons from the lost? Are we authorized to do that? One time, I had been asking God about casting demons out of my mother. She had come to live with us in our house, but she didn't know the Lord. Most people do not know you need permission from God to cast demons out of a lost person, but it's biblical. (Luk.11:24) The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and finding none, he saith, I will turn back unto my house whence I came out. (25) And when he is come, he findeth it swept and garnished. (26) Then goeth he, and taketh [to him] seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. You see, the lost person will get them seven times worse if you cast the demons out without the person turning to God. There are “loopholes” in the Bible, and so I asked God for permission to cast the demons out of my mother on the basis that my house is not cursed, but she was in my house and bringing me under a curse. I asked, “God, I am not under the curse. Can I cast the demons out of her because she is bringing a curse upon me?” God gave my daughter Jennifer a dream that night. She saw my mother's house in the middle of my house, except it was three stories tall, sticking out of the top of my house. Out of the second floor, representing the soul, there was a plank leading out to the street. Five chickens, representing unclean spirits, were on it and they were walking the plank to the street. Well, I knew exactly what the Lord was saying. That night, Mama, full of demons, came to our bedroom door and her demons threatened us, “I am going to keep you awake all night!” I said, “Oh no you're not!” My wife and I jumped up and went into her room, and as we stood there, God gave us five spirits to cast out. We didn't even wait to see them come out. We just commanded, “Come out in the Name of Jesus!” as fast as we could name them. Then we marched out, went back to bed, and slept peacefully all night. The next day, we noticed that it was awfully quiet in that room. Not knowing what was going on, we opened the door and peeked in to see that her room was a total mess. And there was my mother, crawling out from under the bed! She had been wrestling in there with something all night long, but when she came out, she was humble, meek, and submissive. I never knew my mother to be that kind of person. She had been demon-possessed all of her life; she had been taking medication all of her life to keep those demons in subjection. Her “religion” had kept her from turning to God when she had the opportunity, but as long as she was in my house, we had peace. When the demons started drifting back, the Lord took her out of my house. As she was dying she returned to peace. There are several reasons why God will give deliverance to the lost, and we should read the Bible like a lawyer because God put loopholes in there so you can step through them sometimes. Another great loophole that the Lord showed me is that if somebody is a blessing to you, you can be a blessing to them. It does not matter if they are lost. We have the example of when Paul was shipwrecked on Melita and the natives of the island came to the rescue. They were very kind to Paul and the others who were cold and wet. The natives dried their clothes and got them out of the rain (Acts 28:1-2). (Act.28:7) Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us, and entertained us three days courteously. (8) And it was so, that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him. He never preached the Gospel to him; he just healed him. Then they brought all the sick people on the island to Paul. He prayed for them and God healed them. (Act.28:9) And when this was done, the rest also that had diseases in the island came, and were cured. You do not see this elsewhere in the Bible because “healing is the children's bread” (Matthew 15:26), so I asked, “Why is this, Lord?” The Lord answered, “They were kind to them.” God will let you pray for somebody and heal them because they were good to you. He said, (Gen.12:3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. This is talking about us; we are the “Israelites.” There's one loophole, too, that's the mercy of God. The demoniac described in the Gospels was so far gone that you could not expect the man to have faith or make a rational decision, and Jesus cast the demons out of him, knowing what kind of decision he was going to make afterward (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39). Sometimes God does this, but He does not have to do it. Now let me share with you the following testimony: Delivered from Scoliosis by D. M. My brother-in-law once bought me a book by Henry W. Wright entitled “A More Excellent Way: A Teaching on the Spiritual Roots of Disease.” I found the book to be fascinating and, as the British say, “spot-on” in many ways. (There is definitely a connection between a sin and its curse. Quite often, a sickness can identify the sin.) I have a good friend named “A” whom I've known since I was saved. We have conversed via phone for years, since we live in different states. A couple of years ago, he mentioned that he'd had scoliosis since childhood. I didn't say anything to him, but I went to Henry Wright's book and looked up what he had to say about scoliosis. I kept this to myself because I didn't feel right bringing it up to “A.” I knew the time would come as the Lord gave me freedom to do so. Today, I received an email from “A” asking me to pray for him for deliverance from a particular sin. He did not go into detail but gave me a hint. I replied that I would pray for him in a moment. But first I wanted to know when his scoliosis had begun, and if, in fact, it had begun about the time of his traumatic incident. He replied back that it did begin right afterwards. I decided to give him a call. We talked. He made a full confession of the incident. I quoted (Jas.5:16) Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. And I told him that there was now nothing in the way of his deliverance. I prayed over the phone with him in agreement. Glory be to God, a hundred-pound weight came off my friend and he was delivered from the evil spirit of scoliosis and was healed! Awesome! Praise the Lord! Saints, we need to be led of the Spirit and wait for the Lord's leading so He can open the way for us to minister to others. Here's another testimony I'd like to share with you. Delivered from Lung Cancer by Linda L. (This lady was healed of a spirit of cancer when I for the brethren in our meeting rebuked it, although she was not present at that meeting. She related to us how, later that same night, what looked like smoke came out of her nose and she knew she was healed. Please note that she had faith to be healed.) My doctor's office called to tell me I had an inconsistency on my chest x-ray. I needed to go to the hospital for another x-ray. The second x-ray was not any better than the first. A CT scan was ordered. The suspicious spot was a ten-centimeter (approximately two inches) sized nodule in the upper right lobe. That night after numerous internet searches, I was devastated to learn that most nodules are malignant. My father had died of lung cancer in 1998. I am very familiar with the disease. At this point I started to do a lot of praying. Even though I knew Jesus heard my prayer, I did not have peace yet. My doctor sent me to a pulmonary specialist. The first thing Dr. Wagner told me was that I was not to worry. The surgeon would remove my lobe. I would not have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. He started to ask questions about health, lifestyle, etc., and we talked more. He decided to wait and repeat the CT scan in two months. At this point, I told Dr. Wagner that God would heal me. He did not say anything, but I am sure he thought I was deluded. I am a very reserved person. I usually do not share information of this nature with many people. However, the Holy Spirit prompted me to tell Dr. Wagner how Jesus would heal my lung. When I saw Bob, a UBM elder, I told him my predicament. And as we talked, I asked his group to pray for my healing. Jesus would heal me. This was a Tuesday. I did not see Bob during the week, but I KNOW his prayer group prayed for me. A peace beyond all understanding came over me Saturday night. During the middle of the night, I saw an evil spirit leave my lungs! I KNEW I was healed. The next month arrived. It was time to repeat the CT scan. The doctor at the Imaging Center observed the entire scan. He reported the nodule was starting to calcify. In his opinion the nodule was now benign. Tears and praise flowed, as Jesus had healed me. Dr. Wagner told me I was one lucky lady. I reminded him that Jesus would heal me. The doctor did not acknowledge anything yet, but he knows that this healing from a deadly lung nodule was a miracle. Jesus hears our prayers and heals those who ask and have faith. He knows our pain. He honors His commitment to us when we believe Him and the works of His hands. Amen! That's so true! Praise You, Lord! Let's look at this parable in the Old Testament, how God delivers us. The Lord says in (Exo.23:27) I will send my terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. (28) And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. You know, it's easy to win a battle when your enemy is afraid, and making your enemy fearful is a proven strategy of warfare. There have been great battles won by very small armies against very large armies, all because fear was in the larger army. This happened to Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War when Arabs attacked them from all sides. Israel won overwhelming victories against all odds because God put fear in the hearts of their enemies. It's a quick battle when the enemy is fearful. Only God is able to do this! He did this in many places in the Scriptures, giving the Israelites tremendous victories. We have a good example where they sent spies into the Promised Land to understand their enemies' thinking. (Jos.2:1) And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there… (8) And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; (9) and she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. (10) For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt… Going through the Red Sea was their salvation experience. Guess who knows immediately about our salvation experience? Demon spirits. They know who we are, but the problem is not that they know; the problem is, do we know? This is why we need to study the Scriptures; it's important that we find out who we are. Unless we know who we are, demon spirits can, and do, take advantage of us, but when you know who you are according to Scripture, the demons are fearful. In the dream that the Lord gave my daughter, the Lord had a sense of humor because He pictured the five demons as five chickens. Our enemies know that they cannot keep us from taking our land. (Jos.2:10) For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. (11) And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. All of these verses are types and shadows of our enemies being fearful of us. (Jos.1:5) There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (6) Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them. (7) Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. (8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Spiritually speaking, the Lord is talking about taking this “land” in which we live, taking this land of the soul, which is our mind, our will, and our emotions. God says, (Exo.23:29) I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee. From this example, we see that it is not God's plan to purify us instantly, but almost every Christian religion teaches some form of “instantaneous sanctification.” They say all you need to do is get saved and you're sanctified. A number of them also believe that you're automatically filled with the Holy Spirit. In other words, there's a line you just step over and that's all there is to it; then you can sit down and take it easy. No, we can never sit down and take it easy because we have a land to conquer. God goes on to say, (Exo.23:30) By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. “Little by little” is God's plan. People who have their “instantaneous sanctification” theology do not understand that sanctification is when you are delivered of all the lusts of the flesh to the point where you're not even going to be tempted anymore. The ultimate end of sanctification is when the flesh is dead. We can all think of things in our lives from which God delivered us. They do not even tempt us anymore because that flesh is dead, but God wants to continue that process until He goes through all of our “Promised Land.” God wants to lead you to your enemy, give you the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), and put the fear of God in you (Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; etc.) He wants to give you understanding to know that you have victory through the Gospel and through the Blood of Jesus. So the Lord said, (Exo.23:22) But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. But He also says, (Exo.23:29) I will not drive them out from before thee in one year… and (Exo.23:30) By little and little I will drive them out from before thee… Well, the people of Israel did not “hearken unto his voice” to do all that the Lord spoke. We read in (Jdg.21:25) In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Jdg.2:20) And the anger of The Lord was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; (21) I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died; (22) that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of The Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. (23) So the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua. If you break God's Covenant, He is not going to do a quick work of delivering your enemies into your hand. The Blood is our weapon to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The New Testament says, (1Jn.1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Blood cleanses as we walk in the light and as we obey what we know to obey. We cannot do anything about what we do not know, but as we do what we know to obey, the Blood cleanses. These “lusts of the flesh” and their “gods,” which have the same names, have to be driven out. Every lust of the flesh has a “god.” It's the demon spirit, having the same name, that rules over that particular lust. God said He is not going to be in a hurry to drive out your enemies if you are going to rebel. The Bible says in (Luk.12:48) And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required. If you do something with what God gives you, He will give you more, but if you do not do something with what He has already given you, He is not going to give you anymore. You're going to stop right in your tracks because God is a merciful God. Otherwise, you would be condemned for not doing even more, and so when you stop doing something with your Sword against your enemy, God is going to stop. God does not flood us with knowledge of our every evil. He leads us to each individual evil, step-by-step, and He expects us, at that point and time, to do something about it. If He were to just flood our minds with the knowledge of all of the evil in us, we would be overwhelmed and probably lose faith. And if we didn't do something with all that knowledge, we would be condemned. When you have a lot of knowledge, Scripture warns us, (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. When you have a lot of knowledge, yet do nothing, you have a lot of sin. God brings these enemies up, one at a time, in front of our face. This usually occurs through temptation, through something happening around us. When He brings these enemies up in front of our face, we have an opportunity to use the Sword to come against that enemy. We can reject that lust of the flesh and command it to go in the Name of Jesus. If there is any demon spirit in our flesh, or if there is any demon spirit using that lust of the flesh to exercise authority in our soul, we can come against it, and we can win right there. We do not have to live with these demons all of our lives or go searching for some deliverance ministry, because we have authority over demon spirits and the flesh (Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 10:19; etc.) We're told, (Rom.6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. This is what we have to believe. We are dead unto sin, but alive unto God. We have total authority over the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Canaanites, and so forth. We have total authority over them and their gods. Every one of us can learn to exercise our Sword, the Word, against the lusts of the flesh and those spirits. We don't have to live with them anymore, but God is only going to continue this process as long as we cooperate. We are here to conquer our Promised Land, and there's no time for us to rest in the flesh. Our rest is in the Spirit. Our rest is in the promises of God. We can safely rest in His Word. The quicker we submit to him and resist the devil, the quicker we win. It says in (Psa.81:10) I am the Lord thy God, Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt (He delivered you from the power of the old man at the Red Sea baptism.): Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. That is, “Say what I say,” speak as an oracle of God (1 Peter 4:11). And (11) But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel would none of me. (12) So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels. (13) Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways! (14) I would soon subdue their enemies (If we obey and fight the enemy, we will “soon” win.), And turn my hand against their adversaries. And they will be conquered. (15) The haters of the Lord should submit themselves unto him: But their time should endure for ever. (16) He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee. It's our obedience that brings the blessings. Remember, we are to be vigilant when we are in a trial because it's our opportunity to come against that particular enemy in our Promised Land and win. God brought us to this enemy for us to conquer it, and to do it now. This is why we are here. He has given us total authority over that enemy. There is no such thing as a “giant” in our Promised Land since even the least of us has total authority over the mightiest demon that comes into contact with us. God is walking with you. You need to realize that He wants your enemies to be conquered here and now, day by day, little by little. (Psa.81:11) But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel would none of me. (12) So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels. You see, if you're resting in the flesh, rather than resting in the Spirit, then you are not doing anything. We are here to redeem the time and to win a battle. (Eph.5:15) Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; (16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17) Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. What is His Will for us if we walk in His ways? (Psa.81:13) Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways! (14) I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn my hand against their adversaries. You may say, “Well, David, that's exactly my problem, walking in His ways,” but there is always a step you can take, however small it may be. If He makes us responsible to walk in His ways, then we can walk in the light. (1Jn.1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. We can take those steps. (Pro.4:18) But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day. You can take one step at a time, and God will be with you each step.

Matthew 15 describes the lengths to which Jewish traditions could be taken to subvert Divine precepts and the Word of the LORD. The 5th commandment, described as the first with promise (Ephesians 6 verses 1-3), was bypassed by a legal ruse known as Corban. It allowed the wealthy to avoid all responsibility to their parents by declaring with an oath that an individual's entire wealth belonged to God. Whilst ,at the same time, ensuring that the wealthy enjoyed unfettered access to everything "promised" to the Temple. Just like the times of Jeremiah the chosen people gave mere lip service to their Creator and substituted this for this is what the truth demanded by our Sovereign demands from all disciples. The record tells of a discussion about the true source of defilement of people - that is their own fleshly minds - and not any external thing. These matters reveal Pharisaism as an example of the blind leadership of the blind. The faith of the Canaanite woman, whose daughter Jesus healed, was astonishing to our Lord. This incredible incident is like the faith of the Roman centurion in Matthew 8. This woman's belief and accepting of the power of Jesus to heal and his authority caused our Lord Jesus to marvel. This faithful woman acknowledged that privileges rightly rested upon the covenant people of Israel. She also requested that Jesus graciously give her crumbs that fell from the chosen people's table by heading her daughter. The chapter tells us that Jesus performed many miracles for the Gentiles. This caused many of them to ascribe praise to the God of Israel. The chapter concludes by telling us that our Lord Jesus fed 4,000 gentiles. This was despite his own Apostles' reticence to show any compassion to those people who were after all Gentile dogs. Our Lord never shared such prejudices. Christ was always expansive in his love of all and freely distributed the gospel's bounties.

(Bilingual) このメッセージでは太助牧師が「祈りがすぐに答えられないのはなぜ？」について以下の2つのポイントから話します。ディスカッション用の質問はノートの最後に確認できます。In this message Ps Tasuke talks about ”Why Haven't My Prayers Been Answered Yet?” in these 2 points:Check the questions for discussion at the end of the note. マタイ7:7 JCB / Matthew 7:7 NIVルカ11:5-9 ERV / Luke 11:5-9 ERVルカ18:1-7 ERV / Luke 18:1-7 ERVマタイ15:21-28 新改訳2017 / Matthew 15:21-28 AMPローマ8:32 JCB / Romans 8:32 NLTガラテヤ6:9 JCB / Galatians 6:9 NLT1.あなたはどれくらい求めている？How eagerly are you seeking?2.信仰に強くあれ=諦めずに祈り求め続ける姿Strong in faith = Posture of Praying PersistentlyQUESTIONS(質問) : ・What stands out to you about the Canaanite woman's faith and how she kept asking Jesus for help?カナン人の女性が、イエスに助けを求め続けたストーリーから印象に残ったことはありますか？・Have you ever felt like God was silent or slow to answer your prayers? What did you do?神様が沈黙していたり、祈りにすぐ応えてくれないと感じたことはありますか？その時どうしましたか？・Why do you think Jesus praised the woman's faith as “great”?イエスがその女性の信仰を「立派な信仰」だと言ったのはなぜだと思いますか？・What does it look like to come to God boldly and persistently in your life?あなたの人生で「大胆に、諦めずに」神様に求めるとはどんな姿ですか？・How can we encourage each other to keep praying and not give up?お互いに「祈り続けること」、「諦めないこと」をどう励ませますか？Connect with us:Web: mylifehouse.comInstagram: instagram.com/lifehouseglobal/Facebook: facebook.com/lifehouseglobalVideo Messages: ビデオメッセージ: youtube.com/LifehouseTokyoOther Podcasts:Want to listen to our messages in other languages?Lifehouse Messages (English): https://lifehousemessages.captivate.fm/listenLifehouse Hong Kong (Cantonese & English): https://lifehousehongkong.captivate.fm/listen

We delve into the story of Jericho, focusing on Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute who displayed extraordinary faith in Yahweh. Rahab hid two Israelite spies, risking her life to ensure their safety. Her actions were driven by her belief in the power of Yahweh, having heard of His mighty acts, including the parting of the Red Sea. We explore Joshua's unconventional battle instructions from God, which led to the miraculous fall of Jericho's walls. Despite the severe judgment on Jericho, God's mercy was shown to Rahab and her family due to her faith and actions.Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @biblelitTwitter: @bible_litFacebook: @biblelitEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.org Want to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out ou...

SummaryThis presentation explores the story of Jael, the displaced wife, and her role in the deliverance of Israel from the oppression of the Canaanites. It highlights the faithfulness and leadership of Deborah and Barak, as well as the consequences of Heber the Kenite's decision to separate himself from his faithful family.Highlights

Description: In the times of Deborah and Barak, there was a problem with leadership. Faithless leadership in Israel cost them their inheritance, when they did not drive out the Canaanites from the land. Deborah encouraged Barak to lead Israel. Deborah, as a mother in Israel inspired others to achieve great outcomes without a claim to glory. True leadership, like that shown by Deborah and Barak, has vision and tenacity to see things through, right to the very end. They worked together until the enemy was completely destroyed.

Christianity has long claimed to be for every person, irrespective of who you are or where you're from. Does Jesus undermine that claim and show himself not to be divine, or even not worth following, by making a racial slur against a foreign woman? In this episode of Ask Away, Vince and Jo talk about what we should make of this confusing interaction between Jesus and the "Canaanite" woman in Matthew 15 and Mark 7. ------ We're so glad you joined us for Ask Away. If you have a question that needs answering, we'd love to hear it. Send us an email at askawayquestion@gmail.com or call and leave a voicemail at ‪(321) 213-9670‬. Ask Away is hosted by Vince and Jo Vitale, and produced by Studio D Podcast Production. New episodes come out regularly, so make sure to subscribe. The best way you can support Ask Away is to leave a review. All you have to do is open up the Podcast App on your phone, look for Ask Away, scroll down until you see ‘Write a Review' and tell us what you think. If you'd like to see videos from Vince and me, invite us to speak, or make a financial gift so that more people's questions can be heard on Ask Away, visit Kardiaquestions.com See you next time, and remember, if you have a question, it's worth asking.

We delve into Joshua's leadership as he prepares to lead Israel into the Promised Land following Moses' death. We explore the strategic and spiritual aspects of the conquest of Canaan, highlighting God's command to be strong and courageous. The episode outlines the geographical strategy of dividing and conquering the land, and the spiritual mandate to completely destroy Canaanite cities to prevent idolatry. Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @biblelitTwitter: @bible_litFacebook: @biblelitEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.org Want to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out ou...

In this episode, we dive in to what the Bible really says about tattoos. From the tattooed bodies of the Canaanites and Philistines to the spiritual practices of pagan worship, we explore the historical and cultural context behind markings on the skin—and what it meant in biblical times. Whether you're inked, curious, or questioning, this episode will give you a fresh, faith-based perspective on a topic that continues to spark conversation in the church today.CREDITS: Developed & Hosted by Michael Lane. Produced & Edited by Isabel Kolste. Graphics & Publication by Isabel Kolste. Additional Art, Film, & Photography Credits: Stock media “Memories” provided by mv_production / Pond5 | Logo Stinger: Unsplash.com: Leinstravelier, Logan Moreno Gutierrez, Meggyn Pomerieau, Jaredd Craig, NASA, NOASS, USGS, Sam Carter, Junior REIS, Luka Vovk, Calvin Craig, Mario La Pergola, Timothy Eberly, Priscilla Du Preez, Ismael Paramo, Tingey Injury Law Firm, Dan Cristian Pădureț, Jakob Owens | Wikimedia: Darmouth University Public Domain, Kelvinsong CC0 | Stock media “A stately Story (Stiner02)” provided by lynnepublishing / Pond5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DONATE: https://evidence4faith.org/give/ WEBSITE: https://evidence4faith.org/NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/hpazV5BOOKINGS: https://evidence4faith.org/bookings/CONTACT: Evidence 4 Faith, 349 Knights Ave Kewaskum WI 53040 , info@evidence4faith.orgMy goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. - Colossians 2:2-3

And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.JOS.3:6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.JOS.3:7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.JOS.3:8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.JOS.3:9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.JOS.3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.JOS.3:11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.JOS.3:12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.JOS.3:13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.JOS.3:14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;JOS.3:15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)JOS.3:16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

Abrahamic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partakers! We are now on day 5 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Lets read together: Genesis 12v1-9 The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth-his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran-and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. A Theocratic Covenant Whilst the Edenic, Adamic and Noahic Covenants were universal covenants, this fourth Covenant is the first covenant which is theocratic, or relating to the rule of God. It is dependent on God alone! A God, who through grace in the "I will..." statements promises to bestow blessings! This covenant with Abraham, or the Abrahamic Covenant, is also the basis for all theocratic covenants to come and provides blessings on three levels: Personal level to Abraham: "I will make your name great; and you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12v2) National level: "I will make you into a great nation" (Genesis 12v2) Universal level: "all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12v3) Initially here in Genesis 12, this covenant can be seen in broad outline, but God later confirms it to Abraham in greater detail as we shall see. The Abrahamic covenant is a link to all of God's activities and programs until the end of time. Personal Aspects The personal aspects of the Covenant, particular to Abraham are: Abraham will be a father of a great nation (Genesis 12v1) Abraham will receive personal blessing (Genesis 12v2) Abraham will receive personal honour and reputation (Genesis 12v2) He, Abraham, will be a source of blessing to others. (Genesis 12v3) Universal Aspects The aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant, pertinent universally are: God will bless those who bless Abraham and the nation of Israel which comes from him (Genesis 12v3) curses on those who curse Abraham and Israel (Genesis 12v3) blessings on all the earth through Abraham (Genesis 12v1-3) This was the first time God made this promise to Abraham, but not the only time as Abraham received it another 5 times as God gives great detail to it (Genesis 13:14-18, Genesis 15:4-5, 13-18, Genesis 17:1-8, Genesis 18:17-19 and Genesis 22:15-18. All Change! Abram, as Abraham was originally known, was weaned away from his native land by God, into a journey of the unknown! It was in this way that Abraham would develop his faith in God and use it like a muscle. In fact, when God reiterated the covenant in Genesis 17 to Abram, God changed his name from Abram meaning "glorious father", to Abraham, which means "father of many nations!" (Genesis 17v5) Reminded and renewed! So important was this covenant that God renewed it with: Isaac, the "only begotten son" of Abraham twice: Genesis 26:4 and Genesis 26:23-24 Jacob twice as well Genesis 28:14-15 and Genesis 35:9-12 This covenant gives yet further glimpses of God's essential character of grace and mercy, as well as hinting at somebody who is to come as a messiah or saviour! Can you tell how and where these glimpses are? Tomorrow our story continues! Do you know where to next? Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

“Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”Exodus 3:7-8Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.' “Exodus 4:1

It doesn't mean God isn't leading you.    “And it came to pass, when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan,… the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; that they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.”  - Joshua 9:1–2 (KJV)

This week in our Kings & Kingdoms series, Pastor Alex Bennett shares the powerful story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. When Jesus enters Gentile territory, a desperate mother seeks healing for her daughter—and her bold faith moves heaven. In a moment filled with tension, silence, and testing, we discover that even crumbs from the Master's table carry the power to transform. Watch this faith-filled message and let it stir your heart to draw closer to Jesus.

I continue to struggle with pornography. What can I do differently? Did Enoch and Elijah get a special death-free experience from God? I know I'm saved, but for some reason I still get the doubting thoughts. Where is that coming from? Is it okay that I was saved without anyone else present? Are the Canaanites descendants of Cain? How would they be alive after the flood? Can you explain sanctification, holiness, and perfection (completeness) in Christ?

Last week, we explored Mark 7 as the religious leaders challenged Jesus about their traditions of ritual washing. To the religious leaders, being clean before God was about outward actions and religious rituals. Jesus called them hypocrites, referencing Isaiah 29 to describe their outward religion but hearts that are far from God. Jesus then explained that what defiles a person before God is a fallen heart, and only Jesus can transform our hearts to make us right with God. In the rest of Chapter 7, Jesus demonstrates that the clean/unclean distinction also applies to the nations. He travels outside of Israel and gives the same preview of covenant blessings to Gentiles. In Tyre and Sidon, Gentile regions considered impure by the Pharisees, a Syrophoenician woman (referred to as a Canaanite woman in Matthew's account) pleads with Jesus to cast out the unclean spirit that afflicts her daughter. Jesus's immediate response to her request is unexpected. Instead of granting her request, Jesus says it is not yet time for the "dogs" to be fed. First, the children (the Jews) must be fed. However, despite her status as an outsider, her humble and persistent faith leads Jesus to fulfill her request. (Matthew 15 highlights her faith.) Furthermore, this unclean Gentile woman is the first in Mark's gospel to recognize Jesus' kingdom ministry and mission. (In Matthew's account, she even calls Him the Son of David.) Her heart is laid bare before us that we might see her humble and persistent faith, which leads her to see clearer than the disciples and the Jewish religious leaders. Then, in the Gentile region of Decapolis, Jesus heals a deaf-mute man by touching his ears and tongue—acts that would have horrified the Pharisees. His touch and word bring healing, which is also a preview of the kingdom where the effects of sin will be abolished. The Gentiles who witness this miracle say, "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak" (v. 37). Isaiah 35:5-6 foretells that this is exactly what the Messiah will do when he comes to His people. And here He is—doing so among the Gentiles. These two Gentile healings follow Jesus' teaching about what constitutes clean and unclean before God. Previously, Jesus taught that the heart is humanity's problem; now, we see how that problem is solved for both Jew and Gentile. By grace through faith, sinners enter the kingdom of God and are heirs to the promise of Abraham. (See Gal. 3:7-9; 29). The woman and the deaf-mute man show us that Jesus' grace is for all nations, no matter how unworthy we feel. By grace, all may come to Him in humble faith and be adopted into God's family. Regardless of our sins or past, Jesus "has done (has made) all things well." Setting v. 24 I. The Persistent Faith Of A Gentile Woman (v. 25-30) II. Jesus' Powerful Touch Of Grace (v. 31-35) III. The Proclamation Of God's Messiah (v. 36-37)

We continue our series in Matthew in our June 29 Sunday gathering. This week's discussion questions are below: Discussion Questions 1. What part of this story challenged you the most? What part encouraged you? 2. Have you ever experienced a time when you cried out to God and were met with silence? How did that affect your faith? 3. Why do you think Jesus responded the way he did to the Canaanite woman? What does this teach us about persistence in prayer? 4. The Canaanite woman was an outsider — a woman, a Gentile, and from a region under judgment. What does it say about the kingdom of God that she becomes the example of great faith? 5. What does this story reveal about how Jesus responds to people who “don't deserve” his help? How does that challenge the way we think about who is in or out? 6. The disciples tried to send the woman away. Have you ever felt like others discouraged your faith or told you to stop hoping, praying, or asking? How did you respond? 7. Jesus praises the woman's “great faith.” What do you think made her faith great? How can we grow in that kind of faith? 8. Who in your life (or community or church) might feel like they're on the outside looking in? What would it look like for you to embody the radical welcome of Jesus? 9. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs...” Do you believe that even a small act of grace from Jesus can transform a life? Where have you seen that kind of miracle in your story or someone else's?

The Red Heifer, then and now. Miriam and Aaron die. Eleazar the new High Priest. The water of Meribah: Moses and Aaron excluded from entering Canaan. Edom refuses passage. Attacked by the Canaanite.

June 22nd. Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus Delivered Us (2) (audio) David Eells – 6/25/25 I'm going to continue speaking about how Jesus has delivered us. When the Syrophoenician woman asked Jesus to deliver her daughter in (Matthew 15:21-28), who was “grievously vexed with a demon” (Mat.15:26) … He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. Deliverance is for God's people; deliverance is “the children's bread.” Those who think they can go and just cast demons out of any lost person do not know anything about deliverance. In the first place, it's a very dangerous thing to do. We are the ones who are in covenant with God, the covenant being deliverance from the curse of sin and of death (Rom.8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.). This is our covenant. We have a right to total deliverance from bondage of the flesh and from bondage to demon spirits. We have the right, but that does not mean we will attain it. The right to deliverance comes when we receive knowledge and understanding of the promises, and then we enter into those covenant promises by faith. The Bible says in (Heb.4:3) …the works were finished from the foundation of the world. So the only thing remaining is for us to enter into those works through faith. It also says in (Heb.4:2) …but the word of hearing did not profit them (the Jews), because it was not united by faith with them that heard. When the Israelites were supposed to conquer their Promised Land, all they needed to do was what Joshua and Caleb did; they believed the Word of God. Ten of the twelve spies who came back did not believe the Word of God. They believed only what they saw, felt, and heard, and those were the things they confessed. They did not enter into the Promised Land because they brought back a bad report. Let's read that. (Num.13:25) And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. (26) And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. (27) And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us; and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. (28) Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. (29) Amalek dwelleth in the land of the South: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of the Jordan. (30) And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. (31) But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. (32) And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.  (33) And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Num.14:1) And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. This is also a type and shadow. There are ministers today who do not believe that we can be holy. They do not believe we can overcome sin and the devil. God wants to lead us through our Promised Land or Land of Promise to come against our enemies and conquer them all. But you have no authority to cast a demon out of a person who is full of bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, and resentment. You'll waste a lot of breath trying to deliver these people because, without true repentance, they can come back. And you do not know the tormentors; you just know that they are demons. They could be demons of spiritual infirmities or they could be unclean spirits. Anyone wanting to help in the ministry of deliverance should first be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need this gift, and a person who is not filled with the Holy Spirit has no business in any deliverance ministry. In the days of the first disciples, all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they would make sure other disciples were also filled with the Holy Spirit. (Act.19:1) And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples: (2) and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they [said] unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was [given]. (3) And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism. (4) And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. (5) And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit is God's authority to know what is going on in people. We are to live under the law of the Spirit (Romans 7:6,8:2,4; etc.). The Old Testament Law, all those rules and regulations, was given to Israel because they did not have the Spirit of God, and so they didn't know what to do when they got into such-and-such a situation. It does not work that way in the New Testament because we have the Holy Spirit to lead us. (Gal.5:18) But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. He guides us in the ministry of deliverance from lusts of the flesh and demons that rule over the lusts of the flesh. The most common reason why people don't get delivered from demons is because they are not right with their brother, and what often happens is that not being right with their brother does not get revealed. Jesus tells us to make things right with our brother before we bring our gift before the altar; otherwise, He will turn you over to the jailer and the jailer will throw you into prison. That “jailer” is the devil. (Mat.5:23) If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, (24) leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (25) Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Jesus came to set the captives free. That is what we were, but that is not what we are now supposed to be. We were captive to the lusts of the flesh, representing the old man of the land, who seems like a giant to us, and were captive to the devil. We were in prison, having no hope without God. In Luke 4, Jesus was quoting from Isaiah, (Isa.61:1) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound… Liberty to the captives has been proclaimed, but not everybody is entering into this liberty being cowards before their giant flesh. Our job as ministers of reconciliation is to minister the same thing that Jesus ministered. (2Co.5:18) But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation. Our job is to proclaim the liberty that was given to us at the Cross. This liberty is deliverance from bondage to the flesh man, and deliverance from the demons that rule over the him. Then Jesus went on in (Luk.4:18) … to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of the sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He did not quote the second part of the sentence in (Isa.61:2) To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God… He only quoted the first half of this verse because the day He was ministering in was the day of the Lord's favor, but in these days we're coming to the second half, “the day of vengeance of our God.” While grace and liberty to the captives are being offered, to the extent that we will humble ourselves to the Word is the extent we can enter into it. The Bible says in (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. Even though we have authority to cast out demons, there won't be anything lasting you can do for a person who is adding to or taking away from the Word. If you think you are going to deliver them from that curse, then you're deceived, and you haven't read Deuteronomy 28 for yourself. So that person should fill themselves with the Word to keep their gift. It was not the devil who put the curse on this earth; it was God. He sent the curse because of man's rebellion. The curse is designed to motivate us to run to the Cross and to make us run to Jesus Christ, Who has the only antidote for the curse. The world likes to deceive us into thinking they can solve our curses for us, but it's not possible. All the world can do is just shove the curse around without solving a thing, and they're about to see the truth of that now. For example, diseases they thought they had wiped out are coming back, and they're coming back stronger than ever because of man's intervention. And mans so called cure is killing a lot of people.  You see, it's not possible to destroy a curse that God has put out there, but He also sent Jesus Christ to deliver us from that curse when we repent. God is so merciful that He sent the curse to turn us away from the wrath of hell. The devil will laugh at you when you want to deliver somebody who has not repented. It's a waste of breath and time, and I know because I've tried to do it. When you have people who have not repented, it doesn't matter that they call themselves “Christians.” It makes no difference, lasting deliverance from the curse comes by repentance, faith, and obedience. There's no way we can get around that.  Jesus said, (Mat.28:18)… All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. This does not leave anything for the devil if it is not given to him, since Jesus delegated His authority to us when He said, (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. That was delegating authority to us; so how is it then that the devil gets his authority? He gets it from us. When we walk out from under the Blood and walk in the flesh, submitting to demon spirits, we give the devil authority. The only way to take away his authority in that case is through repentance and faith that Christ delivered us. The apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, turned a man over to Satan (1Co.5:5) to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Again, you cannot get around this. If you had come to that man after Paul had turned him over to the devil, thinking to cast out all of the demons from him, you would have been deceived because those demons will literally play with you. Sometimes they'll act as if they are gone, and sometimes they will even come out, but they will not be gone for long. When you turn your head, they're right back, and if you ask them, “Hey, what are you doing? I thought I cast you out of there!” They'll tell you, “No, we have a right to be here. They want us to be here.” Or, “They invited us to be here.” I've actually heard demons say that. The demons know when they have a right, and you'll be wasting your time because they'll just deceive you. What does the Bible say will happen if you cast demons out of a person who does not repent? They may come back seven times worse. (Mat.12:43) But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. (44) Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. (45) Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation. These were apostate covenant people. Mere flesh can be dealt with by repentance and faith, but sometimes you find that even when you exercise repentance and faith, you are still not having success. That's because demonic oppression or possession is a compelling bondage that goes beyond just mere flesh. It is still repentance and faith that gets rid of the bondage of a demon spirit, but first you have to take away the “stink” that brings them. The “stink” arises when someone is giving in to the flesh or sin. “Flies” represent demons, and the “flies” come to the stink. Beelzebub, the devil, is known as the “Lord of the Flies.” Scripture calls him “Beelzebub the prince of the demons.” (Mat.12:24) But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. As long as you have the stink, the flies will come because they have a right to come. If you repent of the stink and get rid of the stink, that will cast out the demon or demons, and they won't be able to come back. Most deliverance happens when people do not have the foggiest idea that they have ever been delivered of anything. A lot of deliverance happens when people get saved. By the depth of their commitment to Christ, they are delivered of many demon spirits. I, and others close to me, have had demons from which we were delivered. We mentioned a man whom Paul turned over to Satan in 1 Corinthians 5:5. Did you know this man was a Christian? So what was it that caused him to be delivered over to Satan? It was the lusts of his flesh. You are protected if you walk under the Blood of Jesus Christ, but willful disobedience is not under the Blood. The Bible warns in (Heb.10:26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. Willful disobedience brings judgment by the “tormentors,” who are demons. (Matthew 18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. Demons can bring forth sickness and corruption of all kinds. When Jesus cast out demons, who was receiving that deliverance? Well, what did Jesus say? (Mat.15:24) … I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It was not the Canaanites who lived around them; it was the Israelites, the people who had God's Covenant promise. Jesus said that casting out demons is for God's children. He did not cast demons out of the world, because deliverance is the “children's bread” (Mark 7:27). This makes it clear that the Covenant people were the only people out of whom Jesus was casting demons. Deliverance is what God has provided for His children. The world is not in covenant with God, and they have no right to deliverance, healing, or any of the promises of the New Covenant, nor the blessings of the New Testament. If it is the “children's bread,” then it is not to be given to the world; however, Jesus had to have been awed at the Syrophoenician woman's great faith. Since He was right on the edge of a new covenant, He counted her as a believer and He gave her what she asked. (Mar.7:26) Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. (27) And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. (28) But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. (29) And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. The Bible says, (Rom.1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. You see, there's a condition in the Gospel that has to be met in order to receive deliverance, healing, soul salvation, and so forth, and that condition is believing what the Gospel says. You may ask, “Does God ever cast a demon out of somebody who does not believe or even think because they are totally possessed?” Yes, He does, but it's usually because they are among the elect and will later believe, like with the demoniac of the tombs (Mark 5:1-20; Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39). Sometimes they are oppressing others who have a right to peace. In most cases it takes repentance and belief in order to get deliverance. (Mat.8:16) And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick: (17) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying: Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases. This word “our” is talking about us. Christians spoke and wrote these words. Jesus took the curse from us. Did He bear the curse for the world? Yes, but it is ultimately to “whosoever will” (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:34; Revelation 22:17; etc.) Who is “whosoever will?” The Bible says, (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him… The elect will; this is absolutely clear. The elect are those who bear fruit and were chosen before the foundation of the world, as the Bible says. (Eph.1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ: (4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved: (7) in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (8) which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, (9) making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him (10) unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, [I say,] (11) in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; (12) to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: (13) in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,-- in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) which is an earnest (down payment) of our inheritance, unto the redemption of [God's] own possession, unto the praise of his glory. The “elect” are the overcomers who will be standing at the end of their time of testing (Romans 12:21; 1 John 5:4; Revelation 2:7,11,17,26-28; 3:5,12,21; etc.). Many of the called will not, but the elect will have gotten what Jesus was talking about here because the elect are those who bear fruit. (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. The Greek word here for “chosen” is the same word for “elect,” eklektos. Many are the called, as we see from when God called the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10; Hosea 11:1-7). He said in (Mat.2:15) … Out of Egypt did I call my son. He also said in (Jud.1:5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. You see, “calling” is not “election”; “calling” is on the way to election. “Calling” just means “an invitation,” from the Greek word klētos, “to invite.” Jesus has invited us to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. If we do this, we will not have any problem bearing fruit. 2Pe 1:10  Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble:  The Bible says, (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So you may be wondering how a Christian can have a demon and the Holy Spirit at the same time. It's simple; let me explain. The body is a temple. (1Co.6:19) Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; (20) for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body. The ancient manuscripts say, “a temple of the Holy Spirit” because the Temple was threefold (Exodus chapters 25-27). It had an outer court, a holy place, and the Holy of Holies, and the outer court was called the “Court of the Gentiles” (Revelation 11:2). Were Gentiles holy? No, and we have proof from Old Testament examples that evil people did come into the outer court. They even laid hands on the horns of the altar to receive mercy (1 Kings 1:50; 2 Chronicles 23:12;15; Matthew 23:35), and sometimes they found mercy and other times they did not. So we see that evil could come into the outer court, but it could not come into the Holy of Holies. Some people like to say that the Spirit of God will not dwell in an unclean temple. If you're talking about the flesh, the flesh is unclean and it's also the enemy of God. (Rom.8:6) For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: (7) because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: (8) and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. In fact, when the Bible talks about the lusts of the flesh, those lusts have the same nature as the demons do because the flesh is unclean and it's not going to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. (1Co.15:50) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Only the “High Priest” Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, dwells in your “Holy of Holies,” your spirit. The demons do not enter into the spirit. Except for the High Priest, anybody who came into the Holy of Holies was struck dead. (Lev.16:2) And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. No evil could go into the Holy of Holies because that was the place of only the High Priest. The Holy Spirit is not dwelling in an unclean temple when He dwells in your spirit. Your spirit is clean. He has to give you a new spirit before He can even come and dwell there. You need to be born again before He can come and dwell in that spirit. (Gal.4:6) And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Demons come into the flesh with the desire to possess your soul, which is your mind, will, and emotions. The Lord comes into your spirit with the desire to possess your soul. The warfare is between spirit and flesh; God and demons seek to possess the soul. (Act.10:38) Even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. We've been lied to about the supposed difference between “possession” and “oppression.” “Possession” is when the demon is reaching out of the flesh and into the soul, taking control of the mind, the actions, and the character of the person. If you've ever seen a schizophrenic, where one moment they are given over to the lusts of the flesh, and the next minute they seem to straighten right back up. Is that person possessed or not? They are possessed when that happens and they are not possessed when the demon backs off. The demon is still in them; he hasn't gone anywhere. All he's done is just back out of the soul into the flesh, becoming dormant, and he remains there until the next time he wants to take control. The Holy Spirit is the same way. Just because you have the Holy Spirit does not mean you are being led by the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit is not even going to save you! (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. You can have the Holy Spirit, but not be led by Him, and it's the same with demons. You can have demons, without the demons being in control. We should desire to give possession of this “land” to the spiritual man (Hebrews 6:4-8). God, through the Spirit, gives our spiritual man the power to possess our soul. When you walk after the flesh, the Bible says you must die. (Rom.8:13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. When you walk after the flesh, you permit the demon's power to reach into your soul to take control of your thinking, actions, and character, your very nature. In the world they call this “schizophrenia,” but it's demon possession. There is only one nature that is the “real you”. The demons like to come into Christians and impart their own thoughts to deceive them into thinking that this is their nature. The demons give themselves up to the lusts of the flesh and then rule the Christians by speaking in their minds and blending into their characters so that they do not even know that it is them. Christians think it's themselves, but those demons can be forced to manifest by the Authority of God. Some of you may have heard or seen the Gospel being preached and demons manifesting in Christians. They are forced to manifest because they hate the Gospel. They hate tongues and they hate the Blood of Jesus. They hate all things that are Godly. If you learn the things that they hate, those are your best weapons against them. Some of you have already found out that these demons can hide in you very tactfully, convincing you that their thinking is your thinking. Thoughts coming through your mind might seem to be yours, but when forced to manifest by the Word of God, you realize they're coming from a demon. Where the Word of God is tormenting these demons, they will manifest, and this is exactly what happened in Jesus' Presence. The Word of God forced them to manifest. (Mat.8:28) And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two possessed with demons, coming forth out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man could pass by that way. (29) And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? If you have a repentant person and you command these demons to give their name and to manifest in some way, they will do it. If they have never been commanded to manifest, you may have never actually felt their presence. When they are commanded to do so, they will literally speak out of a person and give their name, but they'll also argue with you and lie to you. They will do all the things that demons like to do. Now it's helpful to have other people alongside, but you can deliver yourself because we have that authority. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. If you suspect something is more than just flesh, then exercise your authority and command those demons to go. Sometimes they will speak in your mind, or you'll get their name in your mind. Sometimes their names will come right out of the person's mouth. Many times, a strong, compelling desire turns out to be a demon, not the flesh, but the devil wants you to think that it is only flesh. We are in the process, called “sanctification,” of being delivered of two things: defilement of flesh and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1). But is your spirit defiled? If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in a new, clean spirit Who is called the Spirit of Christ in you. (Gal.4:6) And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. This is a Christian. God says, (Eze.36:26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes… Notice, a “new spirit” and then “My Spirit” or the Holy Spirit. You do not have a defiled spirit, so why does Scripture say to Christians, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit”? It's because this defilement of spirit is talking about the defilement of you by demon spirits. This is not talking about the defilement of your spirit because your spirit is the only part of you that is totally white and clean. If it is not, you are not a Christian. The defilement that we have the authority to get rid of is the defilement of our souls by the flesh and evil spirits. Do you know what “self” is in the Bible? It is a synonymous term for the word “soul.” One Gospel will say “self” and another Gospel will say “soul” in a same text in another Gospel. “Self” and “soul” are the same. We want to be delivered of all defilement of our soul by both flesh and spirits. (Col.3:5) Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; (6) for which things' sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: (7) wherein ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things; (8) but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: (9) lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, (10) and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him. The Bible tells us in (Eph.4:27) Neither give place to the devil. The Greek word “place” there is a geographic term meaning “region” or “area.” This is the exact thing God talked about when He was cleansing the Promised Land from the pagan tribes that controlled it. (Deu.7:1) When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou… All these “ites” had their demonic “gods” (Deuteronomy 32:17). If you leave a place for the lusts of the flesh to live in your land, you are going to sin because they will make you sin, so we are not to leave them any place in our land. (Deu.7:2) And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them; (3) neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. (4) For he will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly. When Jesus delivered the woman with a “spirit of infirmity” in (Luke 13:11), He said in (Luk.13:16) And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound, lo, [these] eighteen years, to have been loosed from this bond on the day of the sabbath? Jesus called this woman a “daughter of Abraham,” and you might think, “Well, He's just talking about Jews,” yet Jesus never called the literal, physical Jews “daughters and sons of Abraham.” These Jewish leaders and their followers were professing Abraham to be their father, but Jesus totally disagreed with them because a daughter or son of Abraham, like the woman He loosed, is someone who is truly in covenant with God. (Joh.8:38) I speak the things which I have seen with [my] Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from [your] father. (39) They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. Here's the point: “Ye would do the works of Abraham.” (Joh.8:40) But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God: this did not Abraham. (41) Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God. (42) Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me. (43) Why do ye not understand my speech? [Even] because ye cannot hear my word. (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. Paul said the same thing; he said that people who walk by faith are the sons of Abraham. (Gal.3:7) Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. Jesus never disagreed with this. This woman who was loosed, got her deliverance because she was a daughter of Abraham. The people who were coming to Jesus were Covenant people, just as we are Covenant people. They had the right of the Covenant and therefore they got healing and deliverance from God. We are proving ourselves through this “trial in the wilderness,” through the things that we're going through, to be either sons of Abraham or sons of the devil. The Bible says in (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Sons of the devil in the world have no Covenant rights, and you're just casting the children's bread to the dogs when you try to deliver an unrepentant person (Mark 7:27). You'll have the same problem, too, if you're trying to give deliverance to a Christian who is unrepentant. We are proving who are overcomers, those who truly belong to Christ. They are going to be the ones who are proven to be the Elect of God (Philippians 2:12; 2 Peter 1:10). We can prove ourselves just as much sons of the devil by our actions as these people proved themselves sons of the devil by their actions. Jesus pointed out to them, “No, if you were of your father Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham!” Amen.

In this detailed teaching of Judges chapter 9, we explore the final days of Gideon and the tumultuous reign of his son, Abimelech. After Gideon's valiant victories and his refusal to become king, the Israelites fall back into the cycle of sin and idolatry. Gideon's many wives and concubines, including the Canaanite concubine from Shechem, further complicate his legacy. Abimelech capitalizes on his father's legacy to seize power, leading to a reign marked by treachery, destruction, and ultimate downfall. Through this narrative, key biblical themes of faith, obedience, and the consequences of forsaking God are emphasized, all while calling listeners to remember and choose their true King, Jesus Christ. 00:00 Introduction and Recap of Gideon's Story 01:12 Gideon's Wealth and the Golden Ephod 02:30 Gideon's Family and Personal Struggles 06:44 The Cycle of Sin and Disobedience 09:38 Abimelech's Rise to Power 16:02 Jotham's Parable and Warning 22:53 The Final Destination: Who is Your King? 23:32 Solomon's Metaphors for the End of Life 24:20 A Call to Repentance and Prayer 25:45 The Story of Abimelech and Shechem 27:21 The Downfall of Abimelech 29:57 The Folly of Trusting in Men 36:21 The Destruction of Shechem 40:26 The Death of Abimelech 42:47 Conclusion and Next Week's Preview Subscribe to the weekly sermon questions at: Calvary Chapel Naples churchteams.com/m/Register.asp?a=SUpvTlJUSUFQaVk9

In this episode of Truth Be Told Paranormal, Tony Sweet explores three jaw-dropping archaeological discoveries announced in June 2024 that could reshape our understanding of biblical history and ancient spirituality: ✨ A 2,300-year-old gold ring—crafted for a child—unearthed in Jerusalem's City of David, pointing to a mysterious elite class in the Hellenistic era.

Daily Dose of Hope June 20, 2025   Scripture – Matthew 15   Prayer: Almighty God, We come before you with awe and humility.  Help us remember all you have done for us.  We are nothing without you.  We need you desperately, Lord.  Help us gather our scattered thoughts today as we focus on you.  In these next few moments of silence, help us remember that we belong to you.  Help us lay our worries and cares on the throne of your grace...We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  We are unpacking Matthew 15 today.   In today's Scripture, we are talking about handwashing and cleanliness but it has nothing to do with germs. Germ theory wasn't even discovered until the 1800s. So what was the hand-washing ritual discussed in the first half of Matthew 15? To go deeper, we need to talk a little about 1st century Jewish life. We walked through this in Mark as well.  If you recall, certain groups of Jews, such as the Pharisees and the scribes, affirmed two types of law. There was the written law (the first five books of the Bible – the Torah) and the oral law (the traditions of the elders/rabbis). Basically, the written law didn't have specific details so the rabbis, over the years, filled in those details with oral traditions.   There were Pharisees from Jerusalem who sought out Jesus. We don't know why these Pharisees had traveled some eighty miles from Jerusalem (a very long trip in those days) but there is some speculation that they had come to check out this Jesus character, this man who was healing, teaching, and saying things that were questionable in their eyes. They were suspicious and they must have also felt pretty threatened.  Remember the Pharisees were a strict sect of Judaism that believed in following the law in the fullest sense.   The Pharisees noticed that Jesus' disciples were not going through the ceremonial hand-washing rituals that were required before they ate. They asked Jesus about this. This was clearly an insult, it was more like, why aren't you properly teaching your disciples? Jesus has this interesting reply, he quotes Scripture from the prophet Isaiah: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me...”   I should note that there wasn't anything wrong with what the Pharisees were trying to do. They had purity laws which they thought were very important in following God. But Jesus could see past their ritual and into their hearts. He saw their insincerity and hypocrisy; it was all a facade. Thus, he sees this as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Just as in the times of Isaiah, the Pharisees are giving lip service to following God but their hearts are far from him. They are concerned about the Sabbath being followed to the tee but they cheat people in the marketplace. They are concerned about following specifics of the handwashing but they aren't worried about the widow and the orphan. Something was wrong, truly wrong. They appear to be all about piety but they neglect compassion, justice, and love.   But this issue goes even deeper. Being unclean and being defiled was a big deal in 1st century Judaism. If you couldn't be clean (and a lot of regular people worked jobs or had lives that meant they couldn't meet all the various regulations to stay clean). If you were unclean for whatever reason, then you were ostracized from the temple. You were basically shunned from religious life.   Jesus is making a huge point here. Jesus is saying, “You are shunning people, you are telling them they are unclean, you are ostracizing them from the community, based on the rituals they have done or haven't done to be clean. But what you are missing is this: the things that really matter, the things that pose the greatest danger, are not external. They aren't hand-washing. They aren't meticulously keeping Sabbath. The things that matter most to God are internal.”   What Jesus is saying to them is that God cares most about the heart. I think we will all should admit that, at times, the church has looked a lot like these Pharisees. We've been all about religious activity and less about trying to be like Jesus. We've been about the external and not the internal. We've cared about appearances. We are putting up this great religious front but then being horribly judgmental, angry, or bitter. Friends, God could care less about your religious busyness. He wants your heart. He doesn't care about our ceremonial handwashing---he cares about if we are treating others with the love of Christ. And if we aren't, then all the ceremony, all the church stuff, it's kind of a farce. Why? Because God looks on our hearts.    The chapter says that Jesus withdraws from here to a Gentile region.  Maybe he was trying to get away from the people and the crowds OR maybe he knew that an important interaction was about to occur.  Here, we have this interesting and somewhat disturbing interaction with a Canaanite woman.  This was also in Mark, and it goes pretty much the same way.    When this woman approaches Jesus, she is breaking all the social taboos of that time and place.  Not only is she considered unclean but she is a woman alone trying to get the attention of a Jewish teacher.   The woman begs Jesus to heal her daughter, who has an demonic spirit in her.  Jesus' reaction is not what we would expect, as Matthew writes that Jesus doesn't answer her.  Did he ignore her?  Hard to tell but the disciples are pretty clear about wanting Jesus to send her away.  Jesus finally responds to the woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  It's possible he wants to see how she will respond.   Her quick reply is that even dogs get the crumbs dropped from the table.  Basically, there is enough of what Jesus has that he can afford to share it with her and her daughter.  And Jesus agrees, he sees her faith and heals the daughter immediately.  There is enough of what Jesus has for outsiders to be included.  God's Kingdom is more than big enough.  And that's good for us because most of us are Gentiles too.   Finally, we get the feeding of the 4,000.  This is where I just want to shake the disciples.  They just were part of the feeding of 5,000 men and probably 15,000 people in total.  Jesus has already shown what he can do.  Why are they doubting?  Why don't they start from an attitude of abundance, knowing that Jesus can easily feed these people.   But they don't.  They still have a scarcity mindset.  We better send these people away because we just don't have enough food for them.  How in the world will we ever feed them? Yet, Jesus has already demonstrated the abundance of God's Kingdom. And Jesus wants us to operate from the ABUNDANCE mindset.  He wants us to trust that he will provide all our needs and then some.  All our resources – they are a gift from God. Just as Jesus was asking his disciples to do in this miracle, he is asking each of us to do --- look beyond what's in front of you.  Look up from this physical, earthly reality and see that there is so much more.  I've got you.  I'm here for you.  Trust me.  The world tells us to be afraid, hold on tight to whatever you have, send the people away.  But Jesus is saying, “Look beyond the world.  Look beyond what's right in front of you.  Look at my Kingdom.” When you do this, when you trust in the abundance of God's Kingdom, then it frees us to be generous.  It frees us to not hold so tight to things, to allow God to use us to bless others, to care for others.  It's gets us beyond ourselves.  Friends, we are to be a picture of God's Kingdom to an unbelieving, hurting, hungry, anxious, fearful, angry world.  There is no plan B.  We are plan A for demonstrating the Jesus way of life to others.  Just like he said to the disciples, “You do this,” he is saying the same thing to us.  John 20:21, Jesus tells the disciples and he tells us, “Just as the Father sent me, now I am sending you.”  Remember, the Christian life was NEVER supposed to be self-focused, it's about giving ourselves away.   Have a wonderful weekend!   Blessings, Pastor Vicki          

Psalm 82 presents a striking scene: God presiding over a council of other divine beings. But what does this really mean? In this episode, we explore the ancient Near Eastern backdrop of this mysterious psalm—drawing from Canaanite and Ugaritic texts that may shed new light on its origins.