Podcasts about Edom

After 200 years of idolatry, God finally allowed the northern kingdom of Israel to be destroyed and the people carried off by Assyria. Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah was being ruled the young, foolish, idolatrous King Ahaz. After being defeated in battle by the Aramean Kingdom of Damascus, Ahaz decided to worship the gods of Syria rather than turning to God for help. He also sacrificed his son to Molech in the Valley of Hinnom southwest of Jerusalem. Then he turned to the Assyrians for help against Israel, Syria, and Edom, cutting up fixtures in the Temple to send to Assyria as tribute. Needless to say, God was not pleased. Apparently, neither were the people of Judah. Ahaz was buried in the City of David rather than in the tombs of the kings of his forefathers. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been battling stage 4 bowel cancer and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Derek's new book War of the Watchers Book One: From Baal to Balfour is now available at Amazon in paperback and as a Kindle e-book! 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 JOIN US IN ISRAEL (NOTE NEW DATES)! We will tour the Holy Land Oct. 25–Nov. 6, 2027 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Follow us!• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Substack: GilbertHouse.substacdk.com | SharonKGilbert.substack.com• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation | @thebiblesgreatestmysteries• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship 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/. 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 left-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

#top .av-special-heading.av-gs9o3p-df6f01107eca46217f6892a3152522f4{ padding-bottom:10px; } body .av-special-heading.av-gs9o3p-df6f01107eca46217f6892a3152522f4 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{ font-size:25px; } .av-special-heading.av-gs9o3p-df6f01107eca46217f6892a3152522f4 .av-subheading{ font-size:15px; } Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 01Amos 6 LISTEN HERE Through My Bible – August 01 Amos 6 (EHV) https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/03-0801db.mp3 See series: Through My Bible Judgment Against Complacency 1 Woe to [1] you who are complacent in Zion, you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,     you distinguished people of the leading nation,     to whom the house of Israel comes. 2 Travel to Kalneh and look.     Go from there to Hamath Rabbah,     and go down to Gath of the Philistines.     Are you better than those kingdoms?     Are their territories greater than your territory? [2] 3 You who are trying to put off the evil day,     you bring near the session for violence! 4 Those who lie on ivory beds,     sprawling upon their couches,     eating lambs from the flock     and calves straight from the stall, 5 improvising tunes on the lyre,     composing music for themselves on musical instruments like David, 6 drinking large bowls of wine—     they slather [3] themselves with the most expensive perfumed oils,     but they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 That is why they will go into exile as the first of the exiles.     Those who sprawl out at their feasts for the dead will depart. Certain Destruction for Proud Israel 8 The Lord God swears by himself,     declares the Lord, the God of Armies:     I detest the pride of Jacob,     and I hate his citadels,     so I will hand over the city and everything in it. 9 If ten men happen to survive in one house, they will die. 10 When a relative who burns the bodies [4] comes to take away the bones from the house, he will say to whoever remains in the recesses of the house, “Is there anyone else still with you?” And they will say, “No one.” And he will say, “Silence! For you must not invoke the name of the Lord!” [5] 11 Look, the Lord is indeed giving a command, and he will smash the largest house into fragments and the smallest house into splinters. 12 Do horses run on a rocky cliff?     Does anyone plow the sea with an ox? [6]     Yet you turn justice into poison     and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood. 13 You are rejoicing over Lo Debar.     You are saying, “Was it not by our strength that we captured Karnaim for ourselves?” 14 Indeed, I am about to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,     declares the Lord, the God of Armies.     They will oppress you from Lebo Hamath to the Canyon of the Arabah. [7] Footnotes Amos 6:1 Or how terrible it will be for Amos 6:2 The line of thought is difficult to follow here. The context seems to require that the two lines of the verse be parallel statements, each of which requires the answer “no.” The context therefore seems to call for reversing the second comparison, but there is no manuscript evidence to support such a switch. Amos 6:6 Literally anoint, but the reference is not to anointing to office. Amos 6:10 Or who prepares bodies for burial Amos 6:10 Verses 9 and 10 are difficult. Translations vary greatly. Amos 6:12 The translation follows a re-division of a word of the Hebrew text. The main Hebrew text reads does one plow with oxen, a reading which calls for the answer “yes,” but which does not fit the context. Another solution is to repeat the object rocky cliff from the first half of the verse: does one plow a rocky cliff with oxen? Amos 6:14 Lebo Hamath is far to the north in Syria. The Arabah is the rift between the mountains of Edom and the mountains of Sinai, south of Israel. #top .hr.hr-invisible.av-aocsdx-89cb4ca21532423cf697fc393b6fcee0{ height:10px; } The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. #top .hr.hr-invisible.av-4vzadh-3f04b370105df1fd314a2a9d83e55b26{ height:50px; } Share this entryShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare by MailLink to FlickrLink to InstagramLink to Vimeo

In this episode, we look at the vision that Obadiah had concerning Edom. It's easy to pass right by Obahdiah because it's such a short book but it's packed with amazing verses that both shed light on the history of God's people and on our lives today. We trace the history of Edom back to see what led up to them appearing in Obadiah's vision, we see what set the course that they'd later walk and then we find how they were acting in the vision, how they willingly and brazenly came against God's people and went out of their way to oppose them. Then we trace them forward to see how their history progressed. We look at how the enemy influenced them and how that same pride that they indulged in, plagues many people today. We need to avoid the pitfalls that Edom fell into and instead humble ourselves before the Lord, trusting God to go before us and give us the victory!

(This podcast was previously published on September 9, 2021)   Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...   Without problems, would we see the victories of God?   The children of Israel greatly rejoiced when God brought them through the Red Sea and when God drowned Pharaoh and his men in the Red Sea.   Exodus 15   1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for HE hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath HE thrown into the sea.   2 The LORD is my strength and song, and HE is become my salvation: HE is my God, and I will prepare HIM an habitation (making myself ready for God to live in me); MY father's God, and I will exalt HIM.   3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is HIS name.  

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/03-0729db.mp3 Listen to Bible reading Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 29 Amos 1 – 2 Amos 1 1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders [1] from Tekoa. He saw a vision concerning Israel during the days of Uzziah king of Judah and during the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 He said:     The Lord roars from Zion.     From Jerusalem he sends out his voice.     The pastures of the shepherds dry up, [2]     and the top of Mount Carmel withers. Judgment Against Aram 3 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins [3] of Damascus,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they cut up Gilead with iron threshing boards. [4] 4 So I will send fire against the house of Hazael,     and it will consume the fortresses of Ben Hadad. 5 I will break the bars of the gates of Damascus,     and I will cut off the one seated in the Valley of Aven,     and the one who holds a scepter in Beth Eden. [5]     So the people of Aram will go into exile toward Kir. [6]     The Lord has spoken. Judgment Against Philistia 6 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins of Gaza,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they sold an entire population into exile,     handing them over to Edom. 7 So I will send fire against the city wall of Gaza,     and it will consume her citadels. 8 I will cut off the one seated in Ashdod,     and the one who holds a scepter in Ashkelon.     I will also turn my hand against Ekron,     and what is left of the Philistines will perish.     The Lord God has spoken. Judgment Against Canaan 9 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins of Tyre,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they delivered over an entire population and exiled them to Edom,     and they did not remember a treaty of brotherhood. 10 So I will send fire against the city wall of Tyre,     and it will consume her citadels. Judgment Against Edom 11 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins of Edom,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because he [7] pursued his brother with a sword,     and he had no compassion. [8]     His anger kept tearing Israel apart,     and his fury raged without stopping. 12 So I will send fire against Teman,     and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah. Judgment Against Ammon 13 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins of the Ammonites,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their own territory. 14 So I will ignite a fire against the city wall of Rabbah,     and it will consume her citadels         with a battle cry on the day of war,         with a strong wind on the day of the storm. 15 Then their king will go into exile,     he and his officials together.     The Lord has spoken. Judgment Against Moab Amos 2 1 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Moab,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they burned the bones of the king of Edom to make lime. 2 So I will send fire against Moab,     and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.     Moab will die in an uproar,     with a battle cry, with a blast of a ram's horn. 3 I will cut off the judge [9] from her midst,     and I will kill all her officials with him.     The Lord has spoken. Judgment Against Judah 4 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins of Judah,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they rejected the law of the Lord,     and they did not keep his statutes.     Their lying idols led them astray,     the idols that their fathers followed. 5 So I will send fire against Judah,     and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem. Judgment Against Israel 6 This is what the Lord says:     Because of three sins of Israel,     because of four, I will not hold back judgment,     because they sell the righteous for silver     and the needy for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth,     and they turn aside the claims of the oppressed.     A man and his father go to the same young woman.     In this way they profane my holy name. 8 They stretch themselves out beside every altar         on pieces of clothing they seized as collateral.     In the temple of their gods they drink wine obtained through fines. 9 I was the one who destroyed the Amorites in front of them,     the Amorites, who were as tall as cedars,     who were as strong as oaks.     I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. 10 I myself brought you up from the land of Egypt,     and I led you in the wilderness for forty years,         so that you would take possession of the land of the Amorites. 11 I raised up some of your sons to be prophets,     and some of your best young men to be Nazirites.     Is this not so, you people of Israel? declares the Lord. 12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine,     and you commanded the prophets, “You must not prophesy!” 13 Look, I am weighed down under you,     just as a cart is weighed down when it is loaded with sheaves of grain. [10] 14 There will be no escape for the swift runner.     The powerful man will not be able to exert his strength,     and the strong warrior will not be able to save his own life. 15 The archer will not stand his ground.     The swift runner will not save himself,     and the horseman will not save his own life. 16 The most courageous among the warriors will flee naked on that day,     declares the Lord. Footnotes Amos 1:1 Or ranchers Amos 1:2 Or mourn Amos 1:3 Or crimes Amos 1:3 A threshing board or threshing sledge is similar to a toboggan, but it has iron teeth protruding from the bottom. It is dragged over piles of grain to cut up the straw and release the kernels of grain. Amos 1:5 Valley of Aven and Beth Eden mean Valley of Wickedness and House of Pleasure. They may be figurative names for the region around Damascus. Amos 1:5 The location of Kir is unknown. It probably lies far to the north or east. Amos 1:11 Edom is referred to by the singular he because it is also a name of Jacob's brother Esau. Amos 1:11 Or he destroyed pregnant women Amos 2:3 Or ruler Amos 2:13 The meaning of the verse is uncertain. It may mean I will weigh you down as a cart is weighed down. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

When we read from 2 Chronicles in our last episode, we covered Edom's rebellion against Judah during Jehoram's reign, wherein they separated from Judah and established their own king. Obadiah rebukes this nation for their rebellion in our first reading. A return to the book of Kings, now in the second part, means a little backtracking: in short, Jehoshaphat is king and Jehoram has not yet taken the throne. Ahab's son Ahaziah is now on the throne in Samaria of Israel, but he won't outlive the Lord's prophecy against Ahab which says that his family line would come to an end in the next generation. Last but not least, the prophet Elijah passes his mantle to Elisha who receives a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Obadiah - 1:03 .  2 Kings 1 - 6:10 .  2 Kings 2 - 11:43 .  Psalm 119:81 - 17:31 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Introduction: Why is Complaining So Serious? (Numbers 21:1-9) Because It INSULTS GOD . (Num 21:1-5) Because It INFECTS OTHERS . (Num 21:4-5) Because It INFLICTS A PENALTY THAT MUST BE PAID . (Num 21:6-9) John 3:14-15 - “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” Romans 8:32 - He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? God, I give you thanks for... ____________________________________________________ Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Complainers Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:48Numbers chapter 21.00:53Do you ever suffer from decision paralysis?00:57Trying to figure out what to watch on a Friday night, and you end up spending the whole night scrolling through all your various streaming services because you can't figure out a movie to watch?01:08You and your family have decision paralysis about where you're going to go on vacation next year, the lake, the beach, a road trip across America.01:17You and your spouse have no idea where to go for your next date night. Do you know where I experience the greatest sense of decision paralysis? The Cheesecake Factory. Has anyone else ever been there? Does anyone want to guess how long their menu is? 21 pages. 21 pages.01:47on those 21 pages. Over 250. That's insanity. There are so many good options to choose from. Whenever I'm in that booth, I have decision paralysis. I don't know what to pick. I don't know what to eat. I felt that same exact way that I always feel in the Cheesecake Factory booth as I decided what to preach on this morning.02:16This is the final week of our latest series for our example, Ancient Warnings for the Church. Today, we have been digging into the books of Exodus and Numbers and learning from the negative example of the Israelites and receiving warnings from God Himself. Warnings like, do not be idolaters. Do not be doubters. Do not be fake repenters. This morning, we will receive our fourth and final warning.02:45Do not be complainers. So why did I experience decision paralysis as I was planning out this series and this sermon in particular? Because there are so many stories of the Israelites complaining in Exodus and Numbers. Their complaint menu is long and extensive. There are so many options to choose from.03:15their work harder in Egypt. In Exodus chapter 5 verse 21. They complained at the Red Sea. In Exodus 14. 11 through 12 that they would die. And they finally shut up whenever God rescued them. They complained about food and water in Exodus 15. Exodus 16. Exodus 17. Numbers 11. Numbers 20. The people complained about how hard their lives were in Numbers 11 verses 1 through 3. And as a result, some of them were consumed by fire from heaven. And number 16, a group is not happy with God's choice of leadership and they rebel against Moses and Aaron. They grumble, they complain. And as a response, God opens up a sinkhole and swallows the rebels. A much more serious sinkhole than the one outside Passman Hospital a few weeks ago.04:14People are very upset. They think Moses is the one who killed these rebels. They complain. And then God kills those complainers with a plague from heaven. Do you see why I suffered decision paralysis? There are so many options to choose from on the Israelite complaint menu. What about your complaint menu? Is it short and almost non-existent? Or is it long?04:44and extensive.04:47If I asked you to list all the things you complain about, would that be difficult for you?04:53Would it be difficult to filter out all the options, to list out every single thing you complain about because you complain about most things in your life?05:02Or maybe you even complain about everything in your life.05:07Complaining may seem like small potatoes compared to idolatry, doubting, and fake repentance, but it isn't. Complaining may seem like a small issue, but it isn't. It is a big deal. It is a serious issue that you need to take seriously right now. It is a serious issue that I need to take seriously right now. Thankfully, I eventually overcame my decision paralysis.05:40And I forced myself to make a decision. I settled on the last recorded example of the Israelites complaining in the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 21 verses 1 through 9. This passage shows us why complaining is so serious and how we can take it seriously moving forward. So let's go to the Lord and ask for his help. Let's ask the Lord that we would take our complaining seriously and we would take his word very seriously as well.06:10Go to the Lord in prayer. Father, there is not a single person in this room or watching online who can say that they did not complain this past week. And the same for me. Lord, we are so sorry that we complain so often. We are so sorry that we often do not recognize Your goodness in our lives.06:40We walk out of this service with a renewed desire to worship you and give you the thanks that you deserve. We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So why is complaining so serious? Why is complaining so serious? Reason number one, because it insults God. Because it insults God.07:10I know that many of you have been in and out of service over the past month so let me give you an idea of where we are in Israel's history they have been rescued from slavery in Egypt and many of them survived worshipping the golden calf at Mount Sinai two weeks ago we studied a sad story of doubt the Israelites refused to go into the promised land they chose to trust themselves more than God and as a result God gave them a consequence The Grumbling and Complaining Older Israelites will never ever see the Promised Land. They will die during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The younger generation will see the Promised Land. It will take 40 years to see that come true. Last week we focused on the Israelites' response to this bad news. They tried to take the Promised Land by force against God's wishes.08:10for them? Not at all. They were quickly defeated and they were sent away. Now we are fast forwarding in time and we're picking up their story near the end of the wilderness wandering. The older generation is fading away and the new generation is replacing them. Let's see if the new kids on the block do any better than the older generation when it comes to complaining. Look at verses 1 through 3 of chapter 21.08:40When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Otharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction. And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.09:10The Canaanites pick a fight with the Israelites, which leads to the defeat of the Canaanites. God is giving His people a preview of what their conquest of the promised land will look like. It looks like a new day is dawning. It looks like the Israelites have turned over a new leaf. It looks like they are closing the book on their disobedience. And they are starting a new chapter of obedience.09:39Maybe not so much. Check out their response to God's victory. The victory that God gave them in verses 4 through 5. From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no food and water and we loathe this worthless And we're back.10:14It looks like the apple hasn't fallen very far from the tree.10:17New generation, same old sins.10:21The Israelites are impatient again.10:23They are accusing their leaders again.10:26They are complaining again.10:30At its core, complaining is dissatisfaction with God and His good gifts to you.10:38Complaining is an unspoken thought or a spoken word of dissatisfaction with God and His good gifts to you. And that's what the Israelites are doing here. They are complaining. They are acting like God hasn't done anything for them lately. They are completely ignoring His provision in the past and in the present. The Lord just showed up for them in a huge way in their battle against the Canaanites. God could have chosen to sit this one out, but He didn't.11:08He could have sat on the sidelines and did nothing, but He didn't. He gave them victory. And all along their journey in the wilderness, food and water has miraculously been provided for them. More on that in a minute. These are the facts. But the Israelites have forgotten the facts. They have lost sight of their many blessings. Very often, spiritual defeat comes right on the heels of spiritual Spiritual Victory. One minute the Israelites are riding high after the defeat of the Canaanites, and the next minute they are down in the dumps. They are feeling sorry for themselves. They are moaning and groaning about what they do have and what they do not have. You realize the same trend happens to you and me as well. Spiritual defeat often follows Spiritual Victory. You're on the mountaintop, and then you're down in the dumps. You tend to sabotage yourself after God helps you, after God blesses you greatly. You forget the facts. You lose sight of his many blessings. You moan and you groan about what you do have and what you do not have. You and I complain. Yes, this complaining in the wilderness is an ignoring of God's past and present provision, but it's even worse than that. It is an utter insult to God. It is a slap in his face. It is an attack on his character and reputation. Look again at what they say in verse 5. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, why have you brought us up out of the land of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.13:08This first reminds me a lot of my son, Sam. Whenever he finds out that he's about to be served his least favorite meal, which is my favorite meal that my wife makes. Chicken with ranch potatoes and green beans. I love that meal. Sam does not feel that way at all. When he asks his mom, what are you making for dinner? And she breaks the news to him. He complains before he eats it, as he eats it, and after he eats it.13:43It's the same for the Israelites in this passage. God's best is not good enough for the Israelites. Let's go through their list of grievances to see what is not good enough for them. God brought us up out of the land of Egypt to die in the wilderness. Really? That is your view of what happened. God rescued you from back-breaking labor, slavery in Egypt.14:08He was your personal GPS who led you with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He annihilated the Egyptians whenever they chased after you. He led you through dry ground on the Red Sea. Really? That's your view of what God was doing? He brought them to the edge of the promised land where they blew it. They chose not to go in. They chose to doubt Him. That was their fault, not God's.14:38I'm sure none of us in this room or watching online can relate to complaining about circumstances that we have brought upon ourselves. Next grievance. For there is no food and water. Seriously, over and over again, God has miraculously taken care of them. Water from a rock. A literal quail storm that rains down quail from the sky. Manna. Miraculous manna.15:07every single day. All they have to do is bend over and pick it up. But again, that is not good enough for the Israelites. That's their last grievance. We loathe this worthless food. The Israelites view this miraculous manna as monotonous manna. They walk out and are like, manna again? God, can't you do something better for us? Can't you give us something that tastes better? Can't you at least give us, like, nachos?15:37or Flamin' Hot Manna, can't you do something different for us? Come on, I'm sick of this. The gift that used to look good seems pretty bad right now. The blessings that they used to give thanks for seem like curses to them. God's best is no longer good enough for them. You know, at times, God's best doesn't seem good enough for you and me.16:08The gifts that used to look good seem pretty bad right now. The gifts that you used to give thanks for seem like curses right now. You and I can look like those miserable people in those memes that say something like, me at the job I prayed to God for. Or me parenting the kids I asked God for. We're just so unthankful for what God has given to us. The things that we begged Him for and asked for now we can't stand them maybe god has blessed you with friends and fellow christians who love you and care about you but you make it clear to everyone who will listen that they don't do enough for you they don't reach out to you enough they don't make enough of an effort you say that you're just telling it like it is but you know what you're doing you are complaining and insulting god Maybe God's blessed you with a means of providing for your family, but you constantly think negative thoughts about every single aspect of your job and you constantly say negative things about your boss and your coworkers. You say that you're just venting, but you know what you're doing. You're complaining and insulting the Lord.17:29Maybe you are very quick to point out how your family does not meet your high expectations.17:35You are very quick to critique and to lash out.17:40You say that you're just being honest, but you know what you're doing.17:44You are complaining and insulting the Lord.17:49Here's a big one for me.17:51Maybe the Lord has blessed you with a house that you constantly rattle off things you hate about.17:58You constantly talk about other people's houses and how they're way better than your house. Again, you say you're just venting, but you know what you're doing. You're complaining and insulting the Lord. Here's the thing. You cannot insult a gift without insulting the giver of the gift. You cannot grumble about the blessings of God without grumbling against the God of the blessing.18:29Your complaining is serious because it insults your God. Why is complaining so serious? Second reason, because it infects others. Because it infects others. As I studied this past week, I couldn't stop thinking about the origin of this complaining. How did it start? Who did it start with? We're told this in verses 4-5. The people became impatient along the way, and the people spoke against God and Moses. This is a communal sin that must have started at an individual level. While they are wandering in the wilderness, the germ of complaining, the germ of grumbling, begins in the mind. It begins in the mind of individuals, and then it exits the mouth. It starts in the mind something like this.19:27I can't believe we're doing this again we're wandering in circles again this is so stupid and so senseless it's so hot out my throat is so dry my stomach is eating itself the germ of grumbling starts in the mind and then it quickly exits the mouth individuals begin to vocalize their thoughts as they walk sit around the campfire at night and lay in their tents personal protesting turns into corporate complaining It snowballs very quickly and gets out of control. That's how complaining works. It doesn't just stay with you. During the school year, my kids bring home a variety of viruses and illnesses. When one of my kids is stricken, it's just a matter of time before all of us are stricken. One sore throat turns into four sore throats. A solo cough turns into a family.20:27In my house, viruses are easily caught. Sickness effortlessly spreads. The same goes for complaining in your house, your workplace, and even this church. Grumbling is a sinful virus that is easily caught. Complaining is a sickness that effortlessly spreads. One grievance turns into an unending list.20:57of grievances. One complaint invites another complaint. One person complaining leads to many people complaining. It only takes one complainer to infect your small group and this church. Are you patient zero? Are you a contagious complainer who corrupts your home.21:30Are you a contagious complainer who corrupts this church?21:37You have to understand that more than just your health is at stake.21:41The health of your family is at stake.21:43The health of harvest is at stake.21:48Would you purposefully sneeze in someone's face after service and intentionally spread your sickness to them?21:57Would you do that? You answered that way too slowly. I'm going to stay away from all of you after service. Would you purposefully sneeze on someone and intentionally spread your sickness? Okay, I guess I'll shake your hand after service. Then why would you purposefully grumble and intentionally infect someone else with your spiritual sickness? That should be as unthinkable. That should seem as rude.22:26as literally sneezing in someone's face.22:31It's infinitely more destructive than physically passing on a cold or a fever.22:37Deal with the germ of grumbling when it first pops up in your heart.22:41Do not give it room to breathe.22:45Your complaining is serious because it sickens your soul and infects the people you care about the most.22:54Why is complaining so serious?22:55third and final reason. Because it inflicts a penalty that must be paid. Because it inflicts a penalty that must be paid. The Israelites don't want God's best, which results in a serious penalty in verse 6.23:21Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. The Lord has responded to Israel's complaining with a lot of creative penalties in the past. A plague, a fireball from heaven, a literal sinkhole, but He reserves His hardest and most challenging penalty for this act of complaining.23:50fiery serpents. And no, this doesn't mean that the snakes are on fire like flamethrowers. It means that they have bites that inflict severe inflammatory pain. These bites don't just hurt you. These bites kill you. These snakes slither into the camp, bite many of the Israelites, and many of them die. The new generation of Israelites quickly change their tune. They go from complaining to crying, Look at verse 7.24:24And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned and we have spoken against the Lord and against you.24:30Pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents from us.24:35So Moses prayed for the people.24:40Once again, Israel messes up big time.24:43And once again, Moses stands in the gap and intervenes to them.24:46He prays for the Lord's mercy.24:49And once again, the Lord responds to his request. And he gives his mercy to his people who do not deserve it. What is the method of the Lord's mercy? You see it in verses 8 through 9.25:19and live. Does this method of mercy seem odd to you? It's kind of a strange way to be healed, right? You know, the guys in my small group went to an all-we-can-eat wing night this past Wednesday. It was a lot of fun, but I gotta tell you, the last thing I wanted to see after eating 24 wings was another plate of wings in front of me. My stomach wasn't feeling very great. Doug can tell you he was there.25:49But imagine if the waitress came up to me and said, oh, your stomach hurts. I have just the thing for you. Here, eat some more wings. That'll make you feel better. What? No, get those things away from me. I don't want that. That method of healing my stomach wouldn't make sense to me. Again, the last thing I want to see after eating all those wings is more wings. On a human level, the bronze serpent solution seems as crazy as the just eat more wings solution. It doesn't seem to make much sense. The way to be healed of your snake bite is to look at a fake snake on a pole. I'm guessing the last thing the Israelites wanted to see after being bitten by snakes is another snake. Why does God choose this method of mercy and healing? Why does God go this route? Because it requires faith.26:49of human wisdom and acceptance of divine wisdom. It requires a rejection of self and a deep trust in the Lord. To be clear, the bronze serpent is not a magic trick. The fake snake has no healing properties of its own. The healing comes through looking. The healing comes through trusting. Faith is the method of salvation and forgiveness. Faith is the method.27:19of healing.27:21The Israelites have a choice in this moment.27:23They have two options.27:25They can pay the penalty of their complaining on their own.27:29They can refuse to look at the serpent and die.27:32Or they can in faith look to the serpent and live.27:36They can obey God's command even though it doesn't make sense.27:42Those are the only two options available to them.27:47And you may be thinking, this is all super interesting. But what does this random snake story from over 3,000 years ago have to do with me and my complaining today? Well, you and I must understand that every single sin is a complaint against our Creator. Every single sin we commit is an act of discontentment. And this goes back to the very beginning.28:16with Adam and Eve. They were tricked into believing that God's best was not good enough for them. They were tricked into believing that something more satisfying must be on the other side of disobedience. Eating that fruit was an act of discontentment and complaining. Adam and Eve communicated a loud and clear message to God that we've been talking about this entire sermon. God, your best is not good enough for us and we want better.28:46All the sins we have studied over this past month find their root in discontentment. The Israelites are expressing their discontentment to God by committing idolatry, by doubting His promises, by refusing to genuinely repent, by complaining about His provision. They are shouting, Lord, Your best is not good enough for us.29:16same message to God every single time that we sin. Your sins are acts of discontentment and complaining. The penalty for insulting a good and perfect God is eternal death. The penalty must be paid by someone. The penalty must be taken care of by someone.29:45Do you know that this bronze serpent story isn't a random and isolated incident in the Old Testament? Do you know that the bronze serpent pops up in the New Testament as well? Jesus makes it crystal clear that this bronze serpent points forward to himself. It points forward to the most important person, the most important event in human history. The bronze serpent points forward to Christ and his sacrifice upon the cross.30:15Look at what Jesus says in John 3, 14-15.30:19And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.30:32Like the Israelites, you have two options.30:36You can pay the penalty for your complaining on your own, or the penalty for your complaining can be taken care of by looking to Jesus Christ in faith. By believing that His death is enough for your forgiveness and cleansing. By believing that God's best is all that you need. There is no option C. There is no third way. There is only trusting in yourself which leads to eternal death in hell. Or there is trusting in Christ which leads to eternal life.31:13in heaven.31:17Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers of the 1800s.31:21I'm sure you've heard him quoted and misquoted many times in church.31:24Every single time a pastor shares a quote in church, it's either Spurgeon or C.S. Lewis.31:30But Spurgeon came to Christ as a teenager when he stumbled into a random church during a snowstorm.31:37And the preacher that morning wasn't particularly gifted or eloquent, But the Lord used that sermon to grab ahold of Spurgeon's heart and save him. At one point, the preacher looked directly at him and spoke to him in the sermon. And Spurgeon describes it this way. Just fixing his eyes on me as if he knew all my heart, the preacher said, Young man, you look very miserable. Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow.32:11struck right home. He continued, and you will always be miserable. Miserable in life and miserable in death if you don't obey my text. But if you obey now this moment, you will be saved. Then lifting up his hands, he shouted, young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but to look and live. I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said. I'd not take much notice of it. I was so possessed with that one thought. Like when the bronze serpent was The people only looked and were healed. So it was with me.32:45I had been waiting to do 50 things.32:47But when I heard that word, look, what a charming word it seemed to me.32:51Oh, I looked until I could have almost looked my eyes away.32:54There and then the cloud was gone.32:56The darkness had rolled away.32:57And that moment I saw the sun.32:59And I could have risen that instant and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ and the simple faith which looks to Him alone.33:09Oh, that somebody had told me this before. Trust Christ and you will be saved. Friends, look to Christ and live. Trust in Christ and be saved. Have you looked yet? Have you trusted yet? If you haven't, there is no time like the present. Next year may be too late. Next month, may be too late. Tomorrow may be too late. Now is not too late. Now is the perfect time. Look to Christ. Trust in Christ. You will be forgiven. Maybe you've already looked to Christ. Maybe you've already trusted in Christ. If you have, continue to look to Him. Continue to trust in Him. There is no other way to grow.34:09There is no other way to fight against the germ of grumbling when it pops up in your heart. Whenever you are tempted to complain, look to Christ who suffered, bled, died, and bore the wrath of God for your discontentment. Look to Jesus and never forget that God gave you His best. He gave you His own Son so that you could be His son or daughter.34:39forever.34:42When you are tempted to complain about anything, remember the words of Romans 8.32, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?34:57You have been given everything in Christ.35:01What more is there to strive for?35:03What more is there to gain?35:05What could this world possibly give you that compares to what God, has given to you? Nothing.35:13What is there to complain about when God has given you everything that He has? Nothing.35:21Your complaining is serious because it inflicts a penalty that must be paid.35:28I hope and pray the penalty for your complaining has been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.35:37The worship team can now make their way forward. It's so easy to walk away from a sermon series like this and say, you know what? I'm going to buckle down and I'm going to stop committing idolatry. I'm going to stop doubting. I'm going to stop fake repenting. I'm going to stop complaining. Well, that's great to hear. But what will take the place of those unproductive sins? Sin loves evacuations.36:07If you do not replace an unproductive sin with a productive discipline another sin will just rush in and take its place For right now let's focus on complaining What will you replace complaining with?36:24What will you replace grumbling with?36:28Thankfully the Bible gives us the clear answer You are to replace complaining with thanksgiving You are to replace grumbling with gratitude But as Pastor Jeff often says It's not enough just to feel thankful You need to actually give thanks And I'm going to give you the opportunity right now On the bottom of your outline There is a fill in the blank prompt that says God I give you thanks for Fill in the blank I want you to fill in the blank for what you are most thankful for right now. Be very specific because specific praise honors God's specific blessings. Write down what you are thankful for. The Thanksgiving party doesn't end here. Now we are going to give you an opportunity to share what you are thankful for with the rest of the congregation. I'm going to have a microphone. One of our elders, Brian B., he's also going to have a microphone. And we ask you to come down one of the aisles.37:34and to share one sentence with us. Fill in the blank. God, I give you thanks for fill in the blank. I guarantee that you will not regret giving thanks to God and sharing that blessing with the entire congregation. So come forward if you would like to share. Let's stand and continue to thank the Lord together. Small Group DiscussionRead Numbers 21:1-9What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why is complaining such a big deal?What do you tend to complain about the most and why?What are you thankful for right now?BreakoutPray for one another.

This sermon explores the final verses of Obadiah, emphasizing that God's judgment on Edom serves as a foundation for the hope of His coming kingdom. The preacher argues that just as Israel was promised restoration to their ancestral lands, believers today possess a heavenly inheritance secured by Christ's redemption. By remembering God's covenant promises, the faithful can endure present trials with confidence in their ultimate return home. The passage illustrates how God uses His people as witnesses to extend His rule over all nations until the kingdom fully belongs to the Lord. This perspective transforms current struggles into temporary detours on the journey toward eternal fellowship with Christ.

En el cierre de nuestra serie "El evangelio según Abdías", exploramos cómo el juicio divino sobre la nación de Edom se transforma en un mensaje de esperanza redentora. Junto a nuestro invitado David Menéndez, analizamos la "reversión redentora" de la gracia, donde los últimos son los primeros y el juicio de Dios abre el camino a la reconciliación universal a través de Cristo Jesús.

“Even thou wast as one of them.” — Obadiah 1:11 Brotherly kindness was due from Edom to Israel in the time of need, but instead thereof, the men of Esau made common cause with Israel's foes. Special stress in the sentence before us is laid upon the word thou; as when Caesar cried to Brutus, […]

En este episodio, exploramos cómo el conocimiento profundo de Dios y Su carácter nos brinda consuelo en medio de las pruebas, descubriendo cómo la justicia de Dios sobre Edom revela, a través de Cristo, nuestra única esperanza de restauración y vida eterna.

En este episodio, exploramos el dolor profundo de la traición y cómo esta afecta nuestras vidas y relaciones. Analizamos el juicio de Dios pronunciado contra Edom, descubriendo cómo la falta de arrepentimiento y la desvalorización del prójimo nos conducen a consecuencias severas, y cómo, en medio de nuestra propia condición de pecadores, hallamos la redención, esperanza y sanidad a través de Cristo Jesús.

This chapter highlights the oracles about Babylon, Edom and Arabia.

En este episodio iniciamos nuestra serie "El evangelio según Abdías", explorando el mensaje del profeta sobre la soberbia de Edom, la justicia divina y la urgente necesidad de humildad ante Dios. Descubrimos cómo el orgullo nos ciega y nos aleja de Dios, y cómo solo a través de la obra de Cristo podemos hallar verdadera reconciliación.  

Daily Dose of Hope July 20, 2026   Scripture:  2 Kings 14   Prayer: Lord, Forgive us for the many times in which we have put other things in front of you. Help us have laser focus on who we are. We belong to you. We are a chosen people and a royal priesthood. We are yours. More of you and less of me, Jesus. Amen   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We have been working our way through both 1 & 2 Kings this summer and today's reading was 2 Kings 14. And the drama continues. Aram/Syria has been weakened considerably, which should have been quite a relief to both Israel and Judah. They could have used this time to get their act together, both spiritually and governmentally. But they don't. Instead, they begin to torment one another.   The king of Judah challenges the king of Israel. Why in the world did he do this? Israel was larger and probably much stronger. Did Amaziah, the king of Judah, simply get the big head after the defeat of Edom?  That is part of it, but we get a fuller picture when we look at 2 Chronicles 25.  As we read, Amaziah was initially a fairly good king.  He did what was right in the eyes of God. But after the defeat of Edom, 2 Chronicles details how Amaziah brings back Edomite idols and worships them. A prophet confronts him for this, but Amaziah arrogantly rejects God's warning.  He seems to think himself untouchable.  But the confrontation ends up being a disaster for Judah.   Israel's army comes marching into Judah, tears down part of the wall surrounding Jerusalem, captures Ahaziah, takes some hostages, and plunders the silver and gold out of the temple. In 2 Chronicles 25, we read that God allowed this punishing defeat because of King Ahaziah's blatant idolatry. But this would have certainly been humiliating for the king. It's unclear, but the text (when we look at 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25 together) suggests that King Ahaziah may have been held as a hostage for years. While he may have officially still been the king of Judah, Ahaziah lost his grip on leadership of the nation.   God is serious about not worshiping other gods. I might venture to say that God holds his leaders even more accountable to living with integrity. Think about your life. My guess is that you don't bow down and worship other gods, such as in this Old Testament text. But there are certainly lots of false gods all around us. What have we allowed to enter our lives that could be seen as a false god? What have we put before the one true God, Yahweh?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

Most times, we end up fighting our own battles. But sometimes, the opposition is just – well, it's overwhelming. Then what? Well that's when we can discover that the battle, belongs to the Lord.   I Can Do Anything I Want In this day and age one of the things that they teach us is to be self reliant. To have confidence in our own abilities. You can do anything you set your mind to they tell us. You can make it, it's all up to you. That's ok to a point I guess. It's a good thing to have some confidence in who we are that God made us to be. But you can take this idea too far and it will bring you undone. The positive turns into a terrible negative. See what happens, when the situation we're in or the circumstances that we're facing are so far beyond our ability to deal with them, that any idea of self reliance is completely ridiculous. What happens when the problem confronting us requires skills and abilities that we don't have. What happens when the career we've chosen just doesn't fit who we are? What happens when the one we love, our wife or our husband or one of our children is going through some tough times. Something that as much as we love them, we can't seem to be able to help them through. An illness, a depression, a crisis. And nothing we can say or nothing we can do seems to make any difference. Well, then what? What happens when a tsunami hits our lives? What do we do when the enemy that gathers around us completely outnumbers and outguns us? Come on. Then what do we do? And this isn't some theoretical exercise. This is life. It's my life and it's your life. Because this happens. It's real. There are times in our lives when the enemy whoever or whatever that is, when the enemy is so much bigger than our ability to survive. It happens in families. It happens in work places. And it happens in our hearts. When sickness hits for no good reason. When a loved one is taken in their prime and the grief overwhelms us. When a marriage falls apart. It happens when retrenchment hits. When the economy takes a nose-dive. When their isn't enough food to feed the family. When people betray us. This is life. It's real life. Let me ask you something. When the enemy is so much bigger and so much stronger than anything that you or I could ever handle, what do we do? Some people panic and they run around in ever decreasing circles wasting their precious energy on panicking. You've seen it I've seen it. You know we've both probably been their too. Some people pull over and stop because they're immobilised by fear. That's what happens you know. But neither of those things cut the mustard. Neither of them help. Running around like a headless chook. It's exhausting. Wallowing in self pity is destructive. What do we do? See I'm a pretty self-reliant kind of guy. I like to think that I can handle most things. BUT – there are times when things happen that are completely and utterly beyond anything I can handle. And in those times to hang on to this notion of self-reliance, this delusion of "I can do anything", that will only make it worse. It's OK to believe in ourselves but the reality is that sometimes, maybe this time, we can't swim against this tsunami. It's too big. It's too scary. I was talking the other day with a young woman. She's extremely competent and confident in her field. Professionally she's a class act in every way that you can imagine. We got onto the fact that she had a couple of young kids. And her demeanour changed. See, as someone who's got kids and now they're all grown up, I'm well and truly past the stresses and the strains of bringing up young children. I love telling parents, "Don't worry it's the first 25 years that are the hardest. After that it's a piece of baklava!" It's my, I guess it's my gift of encouragement. Right?" But like any young mother, this motherhood thing was a struggle for this competent, professional woman. It's so tiring. There is so much that is new and is challenging. There's so much in bringing up kids. It's beyond our control. That's the key isn't it. When we're dealing with things that are under our control and we happen to have the skills and the ability and the inclination to control them, well, it's all good isn't it. But the further things are out of our control the more they look like that tsunami and that wave that we can't ride. Then, then it gets scary. I want to introduce you today to one of the kings in Israel's history. Actually he's the king of a couple of the tribes of Israel, Judah and Benjamin. His name was Jehoshaphat. Ok it's a long name. We don't use that kind of name these days. But he was definitely one of the good guys. And there was a time when he was confronted with an enemy that was way, way, way beyond his ability to fight and defeat. Let's pick up the story in 2nd Chronicles Chapter 20 verse 1. After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; already they are at Engedi. Jehoshaphat was afraid; See this was an army much bigger than his own. The odds were completely overwhelming and Jehoshaphat were facing absolutely certain defeat. To the king that meant death for his people it meant death or slavery or loss of all their possessions and land. Probably rape for the woman. The higher the stakes are the scarier it gets, doesn't it? And for Jehoshaphat the stakes couldn't have been higher. He was in that place well and truly that you and I find ourselves in for time to time. I just want to establish here that old king Jehoshaphat, well he was human like you and me. He's not some super-human king. There were armies coming in against him. He was completely outnumbered and outgunned. This was a life and death situation and it says Jehoshaphat was afraid. Jehoshaphat is just one of us. I remember as a young boy going to the dentist. I'd walk in the front door and there was this staircase leading up to the dentist. And the smell of the dental surgery the moment you walked in the door. And their was a knot in my stomach sitting in the waiting room. Fear is something that disables us. It's not good for anyone when we're disabled by fear. It's not good for ourselves, it's not good for God. It's not good for those who need our help. Jehoshaphat was afraid. But it's what he did in his fear that made all the difference and we're going to take a look at that in just a moment   What Happens When I Can't? Well let's get back into God's word and take a look at what happened king Jehoshaphat. What he was facing in this completely overwhelming odds. Have a listen. We're starting, if you have a bible grab it, in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 beginning at verse 3: Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the LORD. Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, "O LORD, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you. Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? They have lived in it, and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.' See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. See Jehoshaphat didn't let his fear immobilise him. He didn't get into a flap or into a panic in the face of overwhelming odds he turned to God. Sometimes that's the only way that God gets our attention. I'd like to be able to tell you that I first turned to God because I was wise and loving and understood that Jesus is the Son of God. But if I told you that I would be lying. I needed to be hit across the back of the head with a lump of four by two for God to get my attention. Overwhelming odds. That's what did it for me. I turned to God in the middle of fear. And for me it was the last resort but for Jehoshaphat God was his first port of call. Now a king is supposed to have all the answers. A King like Jehoshaphat should have a powerful army and contingency plans based on a comprehensive threat assessment. He should be self-reliant. A man for the people to respect and to follow and to trust for their safety and their future, but listen again to what Jehoshaphat says when he's praying to God in 2nd Chronicles Chapter 20 verse 12: O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. I relate to this. When I stepped out of the secure, well-paid job as a consultant into full time ministry, that was a step of faith. Leaving security behind to serve God and I can't begin to tell you how many times since then I have been in that place that Jehoshaphat and his people were in. See I started out with this naive notion that if I was going to be about God's work, well lit should be easy. And yet so many times people and circumstances have conspired to be against God's work. Every couple of years our board gets together to do some strategic planning. That's important and the strategic plan always looks good on paper. Gives us a sense of what direction we think that God wants us to head in. And then invariably all hell breaks loose because the enemy wants to overwhelm us. He doesn't want to see God's will done here on earth as it is in heaven. And that's what's going on with Jehoshaphat and Judah. Remember these are God's chosen people. The king honoured God and by all accounts and by all accounts he was wise and competent. But in the face of overwhelming odds he admitted to God, "We do know what to do." So was the solution How did he cope with this? And the same sentence, the same breath, he says "but our eyes are on You." I wonder sometimes when I see people who profess to believe in Jesus running around in panic wasting so much of their energy complaining and worrying and being afraid. See, it takes a lot of energy to be afraid, you realise. I wonder if they spent even half that amount of their energy having their eyes on God, how much better off they'd be. You and I, we can't help but be afraid. Jehoshaphat was afraid. It's a natural human, reaction. I'm not here to tell you somehow to pretend that you're not afraid when fear is rocking you to the very core. That's ridiculous. But it's what we do when fear strikes that makes all the difference. When we panic we burn energy, when we frozen and immobilised that's probably the end of us. That's what fear does. Stop's us dead in our tracks. We go nowhere. Had Jehoshaphat done that, he and all his people would have been dead literally. Or we can just turn and look at God. "You know something Lord, this is so huge, I just know what to do but my eyes, my eyes are on you. I'm just going to wait on you. I don't know what you are going to do, I don't even know if you are going to show up, but no matter what, my eyes are on you." And here's the bit that blows me away about this story. It's this. That God wasn't Jehoshaphat's last resort. God was his first port of call. He trusted in the sovereign grace of God. Jehoshaphat was afraid, but he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. I wonder how different if things would be amidst our fear, if instead of running around and spending all that energy on panic or instead of running to the phone to talk to a friend, if we first ran to God. If the very first thing we did was to take stock and in our hearts, deep inside somewhere – decided to set ourselves to seek the Lord? God, the first point of call, rather than the last resort!   A Powerful Outcome So how did it end? Was Jehoshaphat's trust misplaced or well placed? Let's take a look. 2 Chronicle 20 beginning at verse 14: Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. He said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God and you will be established; believe his prophets." When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the booty from them, they found livestock in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the booty, because of its abundance. Unbelievable I hear you say. How could this possibly happen?? I'll tell you how. Because Jehoshaphat decided that he would stand and wait on God - no matter what the outcome! That's the key. That's the faith that God was looking for. No matter what the outcome. Let's take another look. 2 Chronicles 20:9-12: If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save. See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy – they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. This is the do or die faith that God is looking for. When we place our faith in God in this way – for things that are completely out of our control – right when that tsunami hits His Spirit and His Word come along and witness His truth to us: This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17) Listen to me. Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ? Have you? Then those times of fear are times when we discover what a beautiful thing it is to trust in the Lord, no matter what is coming against us. No matter what the world throws at us. No matter how overwhelming the odds might be. Those times are the times that we get to stand still and discover in our very own experience that the battle isn't our it's not ours at all. But the battle belongs to the Lord. Can I encourage you that if you feel right now that you're on death row, as though there is no tomorrow, to listen to the words of apostle Paul from his dungeon as he writes in Philippians Chapter 4 beginning at verse 6: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. See that's the word of the Lord for us today. Jehoshaphat knew it and learned it again in his experience. The people of Judah learned it again under the leadership of Jehoshaphat. This overwhelming army came against them. They couldn't win. It was a no win situation. And they discovered afresh and anew the battle was not theirs but the battle belonged to the Lord. And they listened to God through His prophets when he said, "Stand still to see and to watch what the Lord would do for you." Can I encourage you today to remember the battle is not yours. The battle belongs to the Lord. Stand still and watch to see what the Lord will do for you.

God's word to Edom through Obadiah has a lot to say to us today.

The sermon expounds on Obadiah 15-18, urging believers to shift their focus from immediate personal struggles to God's overarching plan of redemption and judgment. It highlights the 'Day of the Lord' as a time of retributive justice for nations like Edom and restorative hope for God's people. The preacher connects this Old Testament prophecy to the New Testament, emphasizing that salvation comes through calling on the name of the Lord in Christ. By relying on Jesus' completed sacrifice, believers find assurance against condemnation and are empowered to live faithfully while awaiting His return. Ultimately, the message calls the church to trust in God's sovereignty and participate in His mission with humility and hope.

by Aubrey Botha https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/14130359/July-12-Sermon.mp3 Genesis 25:21-34 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb,    and two peoples from within you will be separated;one people will be stronger than the other,    and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.[a] 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob.[b] Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. 27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[c]) 31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.   Matthew 13:1-9 The Parable of the Sower 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Transcript (Transcribed by TurboScribe) Well, thank you, Alexander, and thank you for all those who make me feel welcome on a Sunday morning in your own special way. I mentioned this last week. There’s a lot of good natured teasing that goes on, and that’s simply because, as Alexander shared, I’ve known the congregation a long time. I guess it was 2009, I came to what was then St. Andrew’s Church, just up the hill, and a few years later, St. Andrew’s and St. Giles amalgamated and became Westside Presbyterian Church, and stayed for several, well, more than some years after that, and retired, I think it would be about four years ago, but still active in ministry. I enjoy attending churches, church services on those Sundays. I’m not preaching elsewhere, but one of the things I look forward to is being here for a few weeks in the summer. So, again, thank you to Aubrey and the session for the invitation. Two readings this morning, from the book of Genesis and then from Matthew. Let us hear God’s word. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebecca became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, why is this happening to me? So she went to enquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb, and two peoples within you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebecca loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, quick, let me have some of that red stew. I am famished. That is why he is also called Edom. Jacob replied, first sell me your birthright. Look, I’m about to die, Esau said. What good is a birthright to me? But Jacob answered, swear to me first. So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. From Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 13, that same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying a farmer went out to sow his seed, and as he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, but because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. And still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear. Amen. In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer. Amen. We are told earlier in Genesis that for twenty years Isaac and Rebekah had prayed for a child. Finally their prayers are answered, and the miracle of conception came. But it wasn’t smooth sailing. Even in the womb, the twins were struggling with one another. It’s a foreshadowing of what would continue on throughout their whole lives. It leads Rebekah to ask, while the twins are still in the room, it leads Rebekah to ask, why is this happening to me? And God answers, two nations are in your womb. One people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall serve the younger. We’re not told within the text how Rebekah would have received this news. It helps us understand what is about to unfold in foreshadows what’s taking place. But it wouldn’t have been immediate help at that time, and especially that latter phrase, the elder shall serve the younger. As I say, it’s not said in the text, but Rebekah must have said to herself, oh this does not bode well, because that’s not the culture. That’s not the custom. Firstborn, the elder, that’s the head, and the younger siblings serve the elder, but that’s not what Rebekah is told. Esau is born first. Jacob falls close behind, grasping at his brother’s heel. Even that small detail foreshadows the life that Jacob will lead, always grabbing and holding on. In fewer than 15 verses, the twins grow from newborns to young men, yet very little has changed in their lives or in their personalities. They were different in the womb, and they are different outside. Esau is impulsive. He’s driven by the moment, never thinking things all the way through. Jacob is patient, calculating, and as we see, he’s very opportunistic. With that understanding of who these twins were and their personalities, we come to the latter part of the story that I read to you. Esau comes in from the field, exhausted and starving. Let me have some of that red stew, I am famished. Jacob replies, sure. First, sell me your birthright. Sell. You’re firstborn. I’m to serve you. Sell it. Not even give it. Sell it to me. Esau, again, in the moment, not thinking it through. I’m about to die. What good is a birthright to me? And just like that, Esau gives away the birthright over a bowl of lentil stew. Now, I know something about the persuasive power of a good bowl of food. I know I’ve mentioned, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before. After all, I’ve been coming here for some years. I’m sure I’ve mentioned the trophy I received for cooking chilli. Just happen to have it here. I have it at home, but if there’s a display case, I’m happy to leave it later. Yes, the People’s Choice Award from 2003. Okay, a few years ago. The Rotary Club of Brantford Sunrise, the ninth annual chilli cook-off, June 21st, 2003. The People’s Choice. Not just awarded by, the people spoke and gave me and my team this, I know the power of a good bowl of food. Now, some of you are saying, wait a minute, 2003, anything more recent? Funny you should ask. I thought I heard somebody ask. 2020, just before the world changed, we had in February of 2020, we had our annual Super Bowl contest up at Westside. Super, S-O-U-P-E-R. And yes, if you are asking, I placed in the top 10 of that competition. There were nine of us in entry, but that still places me in the top 10. A good bowl of chilli, soup, stew, that can certainly be tempting. But it’s probably not worth however good it is. It’s not worth your inheritance, your birthright. Neither brother comes out of this encounter looking particularly good. Esau acts impulsively with little thought for the future. Jacob sees his brother’s weakness. He sees it and he exploits it. Neither brother comes out looking good. And let us not completely overlook the parents. It says within the text, the father favoured one child and the mother favoured the other. It’s not just the brothers are not looking good. The family is not looking particularly good. Later in the book of Genesis, Jacob will deceive his own ageing father as well. So where does this ancient family story, and I know many of you would be familiar with this story, where does that ancient story about a long ago family meet us today in our circumstances? With our families. Well, when we think about our families, most of us still feel the pressure to convince the world that everything’s fine. Most often that’s certainly the image we would like to project in a natural way, that everything is okay. Family is normal. Everything’s under control. But when we’re honest, and we can be honest with each other at times and with good friends, when we’re speaking a little more honestly and it feels safe to do so, we know better. We know families can be complicated. We know relationships can be strained. Old wounds can linger. Misunderstandings happen, and sometimes as they’re explained, the situation does not get better. I’ve offered enough explanations over a misunderstanding that I have successfully made the situation worse with my explanations. Sometimes the people we love the most are the ones who can hurt us the most. And yet, let’s get to this, and yet God is still present. God is still there in the midst of that, in the midst of the strain, and the misunderstanding, and the friction, and the tension. That’s one of the great gifts of the stories in the book of Genesis. The very first book, the book that not only emphasises our ongoing, our original and ongoing relationship with God, but also talks about the families that are within that relationship with God. The Bible never pretends that God’s people are flawless. The Bible never pretends that families are not without their challenges. Quite the opposite. Again and again, God chooses to work through people. Again and again, God chooses to work through families that are imperfect. At the heart of Genesis is the inspiring truth that God accomplishes God’s purpose through some of the strangest, most awkward, most hard-to-understand families imaginable. When God looked across the world for people through whom to bless the nations, that’s where that phrase comes from Genesis, when God looked for people through whom to bless the nations, God did not choose people who seemed to have it all together, who had no flaws, that had never known challenges. Sometimes it looks like God would choose the B team, that God would choose not the best and the brightest, but God would still choose them. Families that argue, families that failed, people who doubted, people who made terrible decisions. God would still use them, people just like us. Many of the stories in Genesis make the very first book, as I said, of God’s story with God’s people. Many of the stories make this wonderfully clear. We do not have to be perfect before God can use us. We do not have to have everything figured out before God can bless us. We do not have to belong to a flawless family before God can call us to be a blessing to others. The good news is that God does not wait for perfect people. The good news is that God is faithful even when we are not. If God could work through Isaac and Rebecca, if God could work through Esau and Jacob, if God could bring blessings to people, to nations, to the world through that family, then surely God can work through us and ours. You’ve heard me say in the past, and I mean it with the utmost sincerity, Central Church has a lot going for it. And I hope this doesn’t shock you. But it’s not because you’re perfect. I’ve never heard anyone claim that about Central Church. What I have heard, it’s a group of people who care about each other, who care about the neighbourhood they’re in, who care about the community that you’re part of. Not perfect, but perfectly caring people. This is a church that God has, that God can, and God will continue to work through. Because by the grace of God, we are exactly the kind of people that God has always used and loved to use. People, people just like us. Amen, and so be it.

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH and MALACHI It is an unfortunate misconception that because these books are called "The Minor Prophets, as their relevance to our lives is also minor." This couldn't be further from the truth! The richness of life's lessons and our prophetic hope permeate every word. Don't be tricked into missing these overwhelmingly rich studies. In the book of Haggai we see God sending the prophet Haggai to challenge the people to rebuild which led to a significant turning point in their history. Haggia's audience was the remnant. (They were not unbelievers.) They were the right people, living in the right place, wanting to do the right work, and for the right reasons. But their priorities were not right. They were caught up in their own pursuits. They were living for themselves rather than for God's glory. [Isn't that us?] Zechariah is often called the Apocalypse of the OT, it presents the Messiah as: The Branch who will remove iniquity, The Stone, His Throne, His Temple, The Coming King, The Shepherd, The Triumphal Entry, on a donkey, His Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, His Crucifixion, and His Second Coming: looking upon me whom they pierced. It also focuses on the Day of YHWH, the return of Israel in unbelief, and their passing through the Great Tribulation; the siege of Jerusalem by the confederated Gentile powers, and their deliverance by King Messiah. Zechariah also gives us the only physical description of the Antichrist in the Scripture. [It also seems to suggest a neutron bomb in Chapter 14.] It also may hold the solution to the enigma of Mystery Babylon and its relation to literal Babylon in prophecy. Malachi means ''my messengers.'' Malachi ministered in the fifth century b.c., about 100 years after Cyrus had issued the decree in 538 b.c. which permitted Jews to return from exile to Judah. The destruction of Edom (re: Mal 1:3-5) was affected by the Nabatean Arabs who totally drove out the Edomites between 550 and 400 B.C., setting up their own Idumean state in its place. This study contains 19 hours of verse by verse teachings. Copyright © 10-01-1997 Remastered to Video: 2024

This class explores why Bnei Yisroel were commanded to avoid conflict with Ammon, Moyov, and Edom, revealing their connection to the three intellectual faculties of the soul. The Rebbe teaches how our spiritual mission in exile focuses on refining emotions, while intellect will be fully realized with redemption. https://www.torahrecordings.com/classes/by_parsha/005_devarim/001_devarim/014

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH and MALACHI It is an unfortunate misconception that because these books are called "The Minor Prophets, as their relevance to our lives is also minor." This couldn't be further from the truth! The richness of life's lessons and our prophetic hope permeate every word. Don't be tricked into missing these overwhelmingly rich studies. In the book of Haggai we see God sending the prophet Haggai to challenge the people to rebuild which led to a significant turning point in their history. Haggia's audience was the remnant. (They were not unbelievers.) They were the right people, living in the right place, wanting to do the right work, and for the right reasons. But their priorities were not right. They were caught up in their own pursuits. They were living for themselves rather than for God's glory. [Isn't that us?] Zechariah is often called the Apocalypse of the OT, it presents the Messiah as: The Branch who will remove iniquity, The Stone, His Throne, His Temple, The Coming King, The Shepherd, The Triumphal Entry, on a donkey, His Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, His Crucifixion, and His Second Coming: looking upon me whom they pierced. It also focuses on the Day of YHWH, the return of Israel in unbelief, and their passing through the Great Tribulation; the siege of Jerusalem by the confederated Gentile powers, and their deliverance by King Messiah. Zechariah also gives us the only physical description of the Antichrist in the Scripture. [It also seems to suggest a neutron bomb in Chapter 14.] It also may hold the solution to the enigma of Mystery Babylon and its relation to literal Babylon in prophecy. Malachi means ''my messengers.'' Malachi ministered in the fifth century b.c., about 100 years after Cyrus had issued the decree in 538 b.c. which permitted Jews to return from exile to Judah. The destruction of Edom (re: Mal 1:3-5) was affected by the Nabatean Arabs who totally drove out the Edomites between 550 and 400 B.C., setting up their own Idumean state in its place. This study contains 19 hours of verse by verse teachings. Copyright © 10-01-1997 Remastered to Video: 2024

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH and MALACHI It is an unfortunate misconception that because these books are called "The Minor Prophets, as their relevance to our lives is also minor." This couldn't be further from the truth! The richness of life's lessons and our prophetic hope permeate every word. Don't be tricked into missing these overwhelmingly rich studies. In the book of Haggai we see God sending the prophet Haggai to challenge the people to rebuild which led to a significant turning point in their history. Haggia's audience was the remnant. (They were not unbelievers.) They were the right people, living in the right place, wanting to do the right work, and for the right reasons. But their priorities were not right. They were caught up in their own pursuits. They were living for themselves rather than for God's glory. [Isn't that us?] Zechariah is often called the Apocalypse of the OT, it presents the Messiah as: The Branch who will remove iniquity, The Stone, His Throne, His Temple, The Coming King, The Shepherd, The Triumphal Entry, on a donkey, His Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, His Crucifixion, and His Second Coming: looking upon me whom they pierced. It also focuses on the Day of YHWH, the return of Israel in unbelief, and their passing through the Great Tribulation; the siege of Jerusalem by the confederated Gentile powers, and their deliverance by King Messiah. Zechariah also gives us the only physical description of the Antichrist in the Scripture. [It also seems to suggest a neutron bomb in Chapter 14.] It also may hold the solution to the enigma of Mystery Babylon and its relation to literal Babylon in prophecy. Malachi means ''my messengers.'' Malachi ministered in the fifth century b.c., about 100 years after Cyrus had issued the decree in 538 b.c. which permitted Jews to return from exile to Judah. The destruction of Edom (re: Mal 1:3-5) was affected by the Nabatean Arabs who totally drove out the Edomites between 550 and 400 B.C., setting up their own Idumean state in its place. This study contains 19 hours of verse by verse teachings. Copyright © 10-01-1997 Remastered to Video: 2024

Numbers 21:4, "And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way."

Welcome to Be Bold for Jesus MinistriesOur mission is to equip believers to live boldly for Christ with discernment, obedience, andunwavering trust in God—especially in a world filled with false promises of security. Led by LeeArnold and Jaclyn Arnold, Be Bold for Jesus Ministries teaches God's Word with clarity andconviction, calling believers to place their confidence in Christ rather than the temporary securitiesof this world.Today's MessageThe Danger of False SecurityLee Arnold LiveScripture: Jeremiah 49:1–39Jeremiah 49 contains a series of warnings to the nations surrounding Israel—Ammon, Edom,Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. Each nation trusted in something that made them feel secure.Some trusted their wealth. Others trusted military power, wisdom, geography, or reputation. But allof them shared the same fatal flaw: they placed their confidence in something other than God.Like the residents who ignored the warnings before Mount St. Helens erupted, these nationsmistook past stability for future security. They assumed that because judgment had not come yet, itnever would. But God's warnings are acts of mercy, and His promises always come to pass.Key Takeaways• God's warnings are acts of mercy, not cruelty• False security can be more dangerous than obvious danger• Wealth, wisdom, power, and reputation cannot save us• Pride causes nations and individuals to ignore God's warnings• God often removes the very thing we trust more than Him• Every earthly fortress will eventually crumble• The strongest refuge is a relationship with Jesus Christ• God's judgment is always balanced by His mercy and grace• Repentance leads to restoration• The only security that lasts forever is found in Christ aloneToday's ReminderThe Ammonites trusted their riches. The Edomites trusted Petra. Damascus trusted its history andreputation. The Bedouins trusted their independence. The Elamites trusted their military strength.Every nation believed it possessed something that made it untouchable. Every nation was wrong.Jeremiah 49 asks a deeply personal question: What is your Petra? What are you relying on morethan God? The danger is not having these things—the danger is trusting them. God loves usenough to expose our false securities before they become our destruction. The only refuge that hasnever failed and never will fail is Jesus Christ.Stay Connected• Sunday Sermons – Live on Zoom & Facebook• Wednesday Bible Study – He's The Solution Interactive Discussion• Daily Dose of Boldness – Daily encouragement from God's WordBe Bold for Jesus Conference 2026October 2–3, 2026Tickets & information at BB4J.comSupport the MissionGive at bebold4jesus.org#BeBoldForJesus #Jeremiah49 #FalseSecurity #TrustGod #FaithOverFear #JesusIsTheRock#BibleTeaching #SundaySermon

Daniel 11:1-45 11And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. 2And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.3Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills.4And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. 5Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority.6After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supportedher in those times. 7And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail.8He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north.9Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land. 10His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.11Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand.12And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.13For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies. 14In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail.15Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand.16But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.17He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage.18Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him.19Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. 20Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.21In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.22Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant.23And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people.24Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.25And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him.26Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.27And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.28And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land. 29At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before.30For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.31Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.32He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.33And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder.34When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery,35and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. 36And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.37He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.38He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.39He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. 40At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.41He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.42He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.43He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.44But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction.45And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

What are the greatest feuds of all time? From the Hatfields and McCoys to Hamilton and Burr, history is full of rivalries, but none with longer-lasting consequences than the feud between two brothers: Jacob and Esau. This week in Summer Shorts, we dig into the book of Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, written at the moment when Edom stood back and watched, even celebrated, as their brother Israel was ransacked by Babylon. At the heart of their betrayal, God names one thing: pride. And through Obadiah, God makes clear that the same pride fueling that ancient feud is alive in all of us, in every relationship where hurt has curdled into superiority, and where someone else's suffering quietly satisfies us. But Obadiah doesn't end in judgment. He ends with a promise: a day is coming when all feuds cease, and a kingdom bound together by mercy reigns over the whole earth. We believe that day arrived in Jesus Christ, and the church is where that kingdom is already taking shape.

Daily Dose of Hope July 10, 2026   Scripture:  2 Kings 8   Prayer:  Lord Jesus, We give you glory and praise.  You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Thank you for your giving your life for us.  Your love is overwhelming and all-encompassing.  As we think about our day and our week, help us focus on when we have seen your love at work.  Show us those moments when you were with us, walking alongside us, guiding us, directing our thoughts and our words.  Lord, how we need you.  How we yearn to see your glory.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We have been working our way through the Old Testament books of 1 & 2 Kings this summer.  Today, our reading is 2 Kings 8.   This is a chapter filled with much drama. Besides the first narrative about the Shunammite widow having her home and land restored to her (a beautiful picture of God's care for widows), the rest of the chapter is all about kings behaving badly. One king is killed by his lieutenant who then takes the throne. Other kings, even those with Godly fathers, were highly influenced by the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Over and over again, the kings disobey God, marry women who disobey God, and then create offspring who disobey God. It's a vicious cycle.   We also find a brief description of how Edom broke away from Judah, the southern Kingdom. The kings, with their messy, dramatic lives, operating far out of God's design, have made Judah a weak nation. Long gone are the days of David and Solomon. Now, Joram, king of Judah, can't get control of his people, his nation, and its various regions. There is chaos in Judah. Things aren't going to get much better.   Now, join us for our going deeper discussion with Emmy Roberts.   Blessings, Pastor

Now that the 'US-Israel relationship' is falling apart, will Jews allow themselves to explore what our prophets and sages teach about its deeper nature? Yehuda HaKohen airs a conversation with Rav Mike Feuer about the deeper essence of Israel's relationship with the United States particularly and Western civilization more generally. The two also discuss US President Donald Trump and the need to understand the practical application of prophecy to contemporary events.

A @Christadelphians Video:What a thought-provoking and revealing journey this is! In this outstanding expositional study, we (your Christadelphian brothers and sisters) delve into the life of Obed Edom—a often-overlooked character whose story holds wonderful encouragement for every believer. Was he a Levite? Or a Gentile Philistine? The answer changes everything.Brother Roger Lewis masterfully unpacks 1 Chronicles 13, tracing the ark's journey from disaster at Uzzah's breach to divine blessing in Obed Edom's house. We explore how his attitude of reverence, not mere ceremony, drew Yahweh's favour. Most insightful of all, we see how this Gentile “Gittite” became a trusted porter before the ark—and how his family grew to supply 62 of the 93 temple gatekeepers! This isn't just history; it's a powerful prophecy of Gentiles being grafted into Israel's hope (Amos 9, Acts 15). Prepare to be inspired to make your own home a sanctuary for God's presence.**Chapters:**00:00 – Introduction & Purpose of the Series 00:55 – The Stark Contrast: Uzzah's Breach vs. Obed Edom's Blessing 02:01 – Was Obed Edom a Levite? Examining the Evidence 03:27 – “Gittite” – Uncovering the Philistine Origin (Joshua 13, 2 Samuel) 08:07 – Obed Edom: A Philistine Proselyte and David's Friend 12:48 – Why Was He Blessed? His Attitude of Reverence, Not Ritual 14:32 – The Blessing Defined: Psalm 128 & a Household Multiplied 18:45 – Obed Edom as a Porter Marching Behind the Ark (1 Chronicles 15) 25:10 – Two Tabernacles: Gibeon (Old Covenant) vs. Zion (New Covenant) 26:30 – Thirty Years Later: 62 Descendants Serving as Porters (1 Chronicles 26) 31:10 – Revelation in Amos 9: The Tabernacle of David & the Remnant of Edom 35:25 – Acts 15: James Quotes Amos to Include Gentile Believers 39:54 – Personal Application: Making Our Homes a Little Sanctuary 44:53 – Conclusion & Call to Action **

On a day we celebrate the semiquincentennial of our nation, we read about the ancient nation of Edom.Reading Plan: Worship - Psalm 78:67-72Wisdom - Proverbs 17:8-9Witness - ObadiahVisit https://www.revivalfromthebible.com/ for more information.

Under the prosperous King Omri of the King of Israel there was religious tolerance. Thus King Omri is trashed in the Bible by the Yahweh worshipers.Omri worshiped Baal Melqart the chief god of the Phoneticians and Sidon. This is different from Baal Hadad of the Baal cycle and the storm God that Baal-Yahweh is largely modeled on. Not the Story of Elijah at Mount Carmel. (1 Kings 18:40)Never heard of Omri? The Omride dynasty basically made Israel. King Ahab was Omri's son. His wife Jezebel (Jezebaal) also worshiped Baal-Melqart. The bible is not kind to her either. But they admit she was queen. (She was pushed out a window trampled by horses and fed devoured by stray dogs)The Asherah poles have a very interesting history going back to the Tree of Life. Kings' scepters were said to be branches from the tree of life. Note Aaron's budding staff. Numbers 17:6“6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds”The earliest version of the plant of life and waters of life referred to a Date Tree and Rivers. However between that and the Garden of Eden story which has both he tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life, the life Tree Asherah is an almond tree. The Menorah is a stylized Tree of life. The Asherah poles did disappear after King Josiah's orders. They went underground. God with the capital G, from the Israelites is a merger of El and Asherah with a touch of Baal Hadad. The metallurgy and life tree in the Menorah is beautiful iconography of both. (Earliest Yahweh was a Wind god of Edom used in smelting and is storms).There are neat parallels between the pre-Jewish Kabbalah and its Sephirot Tree and the Norse Yggdrasil (Cosmic tree of the realms). Also the Qlippoth or tree of death worshiped by some Jewish cults today.Unfortunately Asherah (do not confuse with Astarte/Ishtar/Inanna) was removed as the Israelites became further and further obsessed with war, rape and genocide. The Book of Hosea in the OT is basically Yahweh's divorce from his wife. More on Ancient gods. I lifted the paywall This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ryandawson.org/subscribe

→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes(00:00) A brief overview of these chapters.(05:08) Elijah calls down fire from heaven to consume King Ahaziah's soldiers that were sent to apprehend him.(12:02) Elisha is wrapped in the mantel of Elijah. Youth that mock Elisha are attacked by bears.(25:30) Possible reasons for Elijah being taken to heaven and translated.(26:29) Judah, Israel, and Edom join forces against Moab. They are in desperate need of water as they pass through the Negev desert. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, directs his partners to the prophet Elisha who can provide the miracle they need.(30:08) The king of Edom, desperate to escape Judah, Israel, and Edom, sacrifices his own son to his god Chemosh. He is able to escape. This story emphasizes that monolatry existed in the ancient Near East.(33:27) Elisha multiplies the widow's oil. If we are willing to give what we have to God, he will give us back so much more.(38:07) Elisha raises the son of a widow woman from the dead. Prophets are types of Christ.(40:38) Naaman comes to Elisha to be healed of leprosy, but then second-guesses Elisha's instructions because they seemed too simple. One dip blessings compared to seven dip blessings. Faithfulness to God's commandments brings miracles.(48:12) Elisha refuses to accept a reward from Naaman for being healed. Gehazi secretly obtains the reward and is cursed with leprosy.(50:33) Naaman desires to take home some dirt from the place of his miraculous healing. Cultural context helps us understand why he would want to do this.(53:53) The sons of the prophets leave for more space. Elisha causes an ax to float.(56:44) Syria wages war against Israel in an effort to capture Elisha, their secret weapon. The Syrians are smitten with blindness and are led away in peace.(1:02:14) A seam in the text can be found in 2 Kings 6. Oral traditions that were written and later stitched together by editors leave evidence of their work. Israel, under siege by their enemy and experiencing a famine, is in need of a miracle. The Syrians leave their spoils behind and Elisha's promise of plentiful food is fulfilled.(1:08:40) Jezebel's death fulfills the earlier prophecy of Elijah. Time vindicates the prophets. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 379 | 2 Kings 2-7, Come Follow Me 2026 (July 6-12) appeared first on Talking Scripture.

Sacrifice for Kingdom Rewards (1) (audio) David Eells – 7/1/26 Eat Your Manna David Eells Don't miss any opportunity to eat your bread of life from heaven every day. Partaking of the Word of God and fellowship with those who share it is of utmost importance. Exo.16:4 Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. The Israelites didn't obey God in this, and they murmured and fell in the wilderness. When, because of worldly pursuits, we pass up the chance to eat our manna today with the excuse that we will do it tomorrow, we miss the only chance we had to eat that manna and prepare our soul for the wilderness. 19 And Moses said unto them, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was wroth with them. You see, either you eat it, or you lose it forever. If you have a phone, you can listen and program your mind daily. All excuses aside, people do what is important to them. If the Kingdom is not first in a person's life, God will find someone else who values what He has to offer. Mat.22:4 Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bidden, Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast. Luk.14:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: 17 and he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for [all] things are now ready. 18 And they all with one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Jesus accepted none of these excuses to abstain from the Word. 21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22 And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain [them] to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper. (Manna Lost) 25 Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Even these cannot be an excuse.) 27 Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. I pray for you that God will be first in your life. You have a chance to prepare for the wilderness. Without taking advantage of this, you will fall and someone will take your place. “Let no man take thy crown”.   A Call to Sacrifice Debbie Fenske Prophesy 1/25/26 (My dear children, I am doing a work in each of you. My Beloved, I am preparing you. Have you sensed a preparation? Yes, I have been preparing you for a new thing. A new thing, by My Spirit, is coming to you. But it will take you seeking Me so much more than you do. It will take sacrifice. For I need your attention, My children. Attend to Me. Give ear to My words. Give ear to this, My dear ones, whom I have chosen to be in My Bride company. Not only have I chosen you, but you have been My choice pick. Yes, My children, precious to Me. My first pick. So, now comes the sacrifice. It is this one in particular. Give ear. There is much going on. There is much news. What can you trust? Who can you trust? You have been hearing and reading things that have been preparing you and helping you to know how to pray. But I see your confusion. I see doubt and uncertainty in things you are hearing and reading. It is time My children, to pull back. No more, for the time being, of being on your own, hearing and reading so much news. Pull back from letting your eyes see and your ears hear all this news going forth. Pull back and spend time seeking Me, speaking to Me, and hearing Me. Starting now, set that time for Me first. Your daily duties can follow. I appoint your leaders; your leader, David, and your leader, Michael, to give to you what is important for you to know, and to pray for, and to do spiritual warfare against. Whatever they give you to read, and whatever you hear from them, is My will for you to know about, and to do the job I have equipped you for: prayer and spiritual warfare. No seeking, and no sifting through the news, but seeking only Me and gleaning what I have for you from My Word, with ears and eyes wide open to the things of My Spirit. This will be a training for you. A training in sacrifice. For truly, the flesh is what drives you to know these things of the world. I say, listen to your leaders whom I have appointed over you. I know you can do this. I know you can seek Me and hear Me. And I know you can listen. I know you can lay down your life in this small way of sacrifice. My Beloved, you will be rewarded. And the time to let up on what I am putting on you right now will be revealed. But now is the time for sacrifice in this way, unto Me with obedience of heart. This is for your good, My Beloved. And as the days continue on, and as the news continues on, and as the things happening continue on, you will know for certain that this is for your good, and for the good of many, My Beloved. Be humble. Be faithful. Be true. Be obedient to Me out of your love for Me. And, remain in love with one another.   Rewards and Penalties David Eells I want to share a revelation the Lord gave me a few years ago (6/25/02). I was walking on the road next to a golf course, where I sometimes get some exercise. I immediately noticed golf balls here and there by the road, having been knocked out of the course. It is not unusual to see one or two like this, but I was seeing many now. Usually, this area is combed very well by earlier walkers. After picking up six or seven balls, I thought, “How unusual, I wonder if you are talking to me, Lord”. Then I saw a bright yellow advertisement on the ground, probably blown from someone's mailbox or front door. The unusual thing was that it was within inches of a golf ball that was the exact same unusual color. There was nothing else of that color as far as I could see. The chances against this happening are awesome, I am sure. Then I knew the Lord was speaking to me, but I was not yet sure what. I continued my walk, picking up nine golf balls. My pockets were bulging. On my way home, I had the distinct impression that I would find one more ball. I turned down my street, and just before reaching home, I found one more ball, quite a ways from the course. That made ten in all. I asked the Lord what He was saying, but received no answer until the next day. The Lord showed me that the golf course was like the believers' race to the finish line. I know little of golf, but I understand the trick is to follow that little ball (like we are to follow Christ) across the finish with as few strokes as possible. A hole-in-one, which would of course win the race for that particular hole, would necessitate hitting the ball only once. In disregard to God's command to merely speak to the rock, Moses “smote the rock with his rod twice” and it brought forth water. The penalty for this was that he was not permitted to enter the Promised Land with Joshua and Caleb (Num.20:8-13). 1Co.10:4 and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ. 5 Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Jesus, our Rock, who brought forth the water of life, was smitten once at the crucifixion. We are told that He is not to be smitten twice. We are told that those who walk in willful disobedience “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” Heb.6:6. The person who walks in obedience crucifies the old man (2Co.4:16), but those who walk in willful sin “crucify to themselves” the new man who is “Christ in you the hope of glory”. They smite the rock twice. Those who are twice born and continue to walk in this way will be “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” Jude 12. Heb.10:26 For if we sin willfully 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. 28 A man that hath set at nought Moses law dieth without compassion on [the word of] two or three witnesses: 29 of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? Jesus bore all sin; He also bore the penalty for all sin, except willful disobedience. Notice that there is “no more a sacrifice” for that sin. Instead, there should be “a certain fearful expectation of judgment”. Many of us have been lied to about the cleansing of the blood. 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. Notice that the blood cleanses the one who walks in the light of the Word, not in the darkness of willful disobedience. For willful disobedience, we are promised certain judgment. Those who knock the ball off the course cannot retrieve it and pay the penalty for losing a stroke, while everyone else passes them up. We pay the penalty for this sin here and now, as in the following verses: Mat.18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors (demons), till he should pay all that was due. 35 So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. God will use the demons to make us pay for the sin of the will. Mat.5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge (God), and the judge deliver thee to the officer (demon), and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing. The prison here is spiritual bondage to sin and the curse is administered by the demons. Jesus came “. . .to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound” Isa.61:1. Willful disobedience throws us back into the prison that Jesus delivered us from. David sinned willfully with Bathsheba. When he repented, Nathan the prophet said, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin”; but he also said, “The sword shall never depart from thy house”. In other words, I forgive you, but you will have to pay the penalty. This proved true, for David lost three sons and many people. His own son Absalom won the sympathy of the people and usurped the kingdom. David had to flee for his life. As parents, we do not spank our children for failure or mistakes, but for willful disobedience. Paul said, “For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not (or willed not), that I practice. But if what I would not (willed not), that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me” Rom.7:19,20. Paul was failing God in a sin that his will was against. Notice that he hated the sin and was not accounted guilty; the old sin nature was guilty. When we are against the sin, God takes our side against the sin. He takes the side of the spiritual man against the old man. In this state, Paul cried out to the Lord. 24 Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? Then he accepted God's promise of deliverance by faith. 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus bore the curse of the sin for a person who is repentant, like Paul, even before he overcomes the sin. There are types on top of scriptural types, and one does not negate the other. The clear type that the Israelites in the wilderness show us is that those who walk in rebellion and do not bring forth a measure of fruit will not enter the Promised Land, representing the Kingdom of Heaven. Many years ago, I saw another less-known type in the same text that is important here. In golf, as in life, there are penalties. Moses struck the rock twice and did not enter the Promised Land in his body as Joshua and Caleb did. He entered the heavenly Promised Land as a spiritual man. The Israelites who failed to totally walk by faith died in body, but their fruit, the spiritual man, represented by their children, entered the Promised Land of heaven. Num.14:30 surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones (Their fruit, Christ in You, the spiritual man), that ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. After their bodies died, their little ones, that which was conceived in them and born from them, as is our spiritual man, entered the Promised Land of heaven. Only the seed, representing the spiritual man or new man, of those whose bodies died in the wilderness, entered the Promised Land of heaven. Mat.13:38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; ... The body is not a son of the kingdom or son of God, but a son of man. 1Co.15:50 ... Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Only a body born from above can enter the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb had their bodies under submission to the Word. In these days, the totally faithful, represented by Joshua and Caleb, will receive this body before dying, but “the soul that sins must die”. The ‘pre-wilderness all fly away' lie says that everyone will enter the Promised Land in their new bodies, but the penalty for not overcoming sin in the wilderness is that the body will die. In a nutshell, those who believe, like Joshua and Caleb, will enter the Promised Land in body after the wilderness trial. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. The faithful will not die but be translated. Heb.11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God: 6 And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]. However, those who walk in a measure of unbelief will have to die in body in the wilderness and will enter only as the spiritual man. Num.14:33 And your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your whoredoms, until your dead bodies be consumed in the wilderness. 34 After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, even forty days, (The number of tribulation) for every day a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my alienation (meaning, the revoking of my promise). Contrary to popular opinion both those who sleep, whose bodies fell, and those “who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord”, like Joshua and Caleb, will go through the wilderness which God says is the tribulation (Rev.12:6, 17:3). Joshua and Caleb knew because of God's promises that they could conquer the carnal man (the Canaanite) and take the Promised Land. They spoke the good report (Num.14:6-9). Those who say that the carnal man is too strong for us, that we are always going to be sinners, and speak the bad report will die in the wilderness (Num.14:36, 37). To them, the carnal old man is a giant, but to little David they were nothing. Remember that Jesus already crucified the old man, and you are to “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus” Rom.6:11. God is able to do it for the people who believe it, as Joshua and Caleb did. Getting back to golf, the trick is to keep the ball in the fairway. That's the “fair” “way”. Those who do not run the race and keep their ball in the fair-way will fall into the hazards of the water, the sand traps, the rough, or out of the course entirely, like the balls that I found. These hazards are the penalty of costing golfers more strokes to get the ball back in the fairway while everyone else passes them up in points. The major penalty is losing the race to the one who does it right the first time and hits the ball the fewest times down the fairway. The water represents the curse of the Word that falls on those who are contrary to it. There are penalties written there for the disobedient. The sand traps are for those who do not stand on, or build their house on, the rock of Jesus. Mat.7:26-27 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. The rough and sand trap is for those who are not on the fairway of the straight and narrow road, the manicured grass. Mat.7:13-14 Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. 14 For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. Pro.13:15 Good understanding giveth favor; But the way of the transgressor is hard. Those who knock the ball out of the course cannot retrieve it and pay the penalty of losing a stroke, while everyone else passes them up. I believe the Bride and the Man-child are hole-in-one golfers. Rev.3:11 I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. We struck the ball, the rock of Christ, once. Let us not do it again. I asked the Lord why there were ten balls. Ten represents the law of God, as does the Ten Commandments. Paul taught that God's law in our covenant is no longer written on tablets of stone but hearts of flesh, meaning it is to be a part of our nature (2 Cor.3:3). For much of the church, God's law has been struck out of the “fair way” like the balls I saw. The curse of the law is the penalty for this. When Moses was in the mountain of God getting the law, Israel took the opportunity to create their own God, the golden calf, to follow and called it in Hebrew YHWH and Elohim (Exo.32:4,5,11), much like the church today puts the name “Christian” on their own creation. When Moses came down and saw this, he cast the tables with the commandments down and brake them (Exo.32:15,19). The church is in much the same way today, and the Man-child is coming with the true Word that has been broken by them. Again, here is a true type in the midst of many true types. When Israel was in Egypt, as the church is in the world, the Egyptians represented the old carnal man, and the Israelites represented the spiritual man. Here is clear proof of this. When Moses (representing Christ), put to death the Egyptian (representing the carnal man who died on the cross), he left Egypt (the world) and married a Gentile bride, one of seven daughters (representing the seven churches - Exo.2:16; Isa.4:1; and Rev.3:10- who was the obedient Philadelphia Bride who escaped the trial.). These were daughters of one father, Jethro (Hebrew meaning: His excellence), who represents the Father. Paul also said that Israel was baptized in the Red Sea and, of course, the Egyptians, who represented the carnal man died there in a baptism. I said all that to say this. God smote the Egyptians, the old man, with ten strokes, from the waters being turned to blood to the Passover. The world is headed toward many strokes of judgment from the hand of God, but ten categories typified by these judgments. This represented the curse of the law that was broken. This was to cause Israel to repent and come out of Egypt, out from among them. In this type, they left the world represented by Egypt. A parallel revelation is that Israel tempted God ten times by not hearkening unto His voice in the wilderness (Num.14:22). The Egyptians took the penalty of ten strokes, while Israel missed out on seven of them because they abode in Goshen, representing Christ. It took three strokes before God made a division between Israel, the spiritual man, and Egypt, the carnal man (Exo.8:22,23). When Paul no longer willed to do sin, even though he was failing, God made a division between him and the sinner, the carnal man. Rom.7:20 But if what I would not (willed not), that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. After seven more strokes, they not only willed to give up sin, they gave it up. The old man was put to death in the baptism of the “washing of water with the word” Epe.5:26 in the Red Sea. I found the last ball when I was almost home. The Passover was the last great stroke that came on those not under the blood when Israel left Egypt, the world, to go home. That last great stroke will be the Day of the Lord at the end of the tribulation, when God pours out His wrath in a spiritual end-time flood of destruction as Noah lifts off. Now the following dream speaks to those disciples of Christ who abide in Him by grace through faith and have endured the trials to walk in His steps of His Word. 1Jn.2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: 6 he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. If Jesus lives in you by His Word and Spirit, He can do this. Joh.7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. 39 But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive…   Bride Rewarded for Building the House of God Eve Brast - 10/01/2017 (David's notes in red) (I was hesitant to send this, but I believe it primarily has a corporate meaning. I asked Father if He wanted me to send this dream, to give me all heads on three quarters, and He gave me all heads. So I think I'm representing the corporate bride body. Maybe it has individual meaning as well. But I believe the first fruits are about to be rewarded for diligence in “building the house” and being a habitation for the Lord to dwell in. :o) I dreamed that I was at the back of our local UBM meeting. (Which is a type of Larger UBM) I had been working very hard cleaning the house up with those white Mr. Clean “Magic Erasers”. (1Pe.4:8 above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins) (Eve and all of the Bride do work hard to clean up the house. They are very serious about pleasing God in this way.) Everyone was sitting facing the opposite direction than usual, and the musicians weren't in their normal places with their instruments. David had called a special meeting to make an announcement to everyone. (David here represents those Davids who will take the place of the Sauls to raise up Jerusalem, which John in Revelation revealed is the Bride. God said He is restoring the Kingdom of David, but in the spirit. Amo.9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.) In the meantime, while everyone was sitting and talking amongst themselves, waiting for the announcement, I was over in the back left-hand corner of the room, near the front door with a flat-edge shovel, shoveling a 3-foot diameter pile of leftover dust and red dirt into a container or bucket of some kind, in order to throw it out the front door. (Here are the first three mentions of “dust” in the Bible. Gen.2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Hebrew = spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. (So the carnal man is dust. The spirit breathed into man is from God.) Gen.3:14 And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (So Satan, the serpent, can devour dust which is the carnal or fleshly part of the man. If we don't want Satan taking advantage of us we must lose our carnal life.) Gen.3:19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (1Co.15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. So dust goes back to dust and the fruitful receive a NEW heavenly body. So the dust must be swept out of the house of God, which is to be holy.) I was also patting down the red dirt into a hole in the floor with the shovel and trying to seal it up. (So that what is earthly is removed from the house of God and put under our feet. Red dirt reminds us of getting rid of the flesh of Esau and his faction against his brother. Esau was red, and his seed, Edom, means “red”. And dirt is what the flesh comes from.) This seemed like hard work in the dream, and I was breaking a sweat. (It is hard work. Eve worked a regular job, raised a family, and carried on her prophetic ministry, too. Also, this is great training for the Bride to deal with God's people in the wilderness tribulation.) David had been observing what I was doing with a smile while standing in the dining room. (This was true even in the letter.) He then walked swiftly past me into the room and took his seat, which was located near the restroom. I felt the wind (Greek word pneuma: wind, spirit) rush past me as he went by. As David sat down and began to speak, everyone settled down and became quiet. He said, “The Father has instructed me concerning a blessing for Eve Brast (As a type of the larger Bride body.) and here's why... Father gave me these verses....” 1Ch.22:3, And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; (The Davids are preparing the “Words”, which are nails, to build the house of God, which is His people. They build the walls which separate us from the world. They build the gates that keep the enemy out and the sheep in. And Eve received this very fitting verse.) Ecc.12:11, The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one Shepherd. (Who is Jesus. Goads are sharp prods to keep the sheep or cattle in line. They are like nails in this regard. The “Words” keep the people in line and hold them together. The Word is what the people are made of. Like their Lord, they are the Word become flesh. Joh.1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. Heb.2:17 Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.) Exo.39:40, the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, the cords thereof, and the nails thereof, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; (All furnishings of the house of God, which is His people.) Ecc.2:4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; 5 I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; 6 I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared; (Houses, vineyards, gardens, trees, fruit are ways the scripture uses to speak of God's people, which are “builded” here by the wisdom of Solomon, son of David.) Pro.24:3 Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; 4 And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches. (The wise and humble love to be taught truth, seeing it as riches. The wise teacher will separate the sheep from the goats by the Word. The sheep are the building blocks of the house.) Heb.3:4, For every house is builded by some one; but he that built all things is God. (God uses His Man-child reformers and five-fold ministry to build His house.) Eph.2:20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (These have laid the foundation of the Church which is God's house), Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; (Jesus is a replica of the whole building and it is squared by Him.) 21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord (We, as individual buildings, are builded together as God's temple.); 22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. When I heard my name in the dream, I straightened up, and leaning upon the handle of my shovel, I stopped to listen. I was shocked that the Father had wanted to bless me like that. (The Bride is a humble and unassuming people.) I thought the blessing should be for someone more deserving and involved, someone who was more useful or important to His Kingdom. In my mind, all I had been doing was hard, menial labor in the background that didn't seem to amount to much. Then I woke up. (Eve has worked hard to clean up the Kingdom people who are the House of God being built in the verses given. She is a good type of the Bride. She worked full-time and had a household to take care of, but she took time to type up and think about the prophetic exhortations to the body, too. So this is a labor of love. I also believe there is an important larger view here, in that the Lord uses Eve as the bride of Adam, and the last Adam is Jesus. So the Bride, and Eve as part of the Bride, is working to perfect God's people, and we are so thankful to God for all of them.) (As David read the verses, the words nails, build, builded and house, stood out to me and were very important to his message to everybody. David read them as if they were one whole passage. He didn't give scripture references in the dream, so when I woke up, I searched for the key words nails, build, builded, and house. The Spirit helped to clarify which ones I had heard David read in the dream.) I asked Father for a personal word for me concerning this dream, if there was a personal aspect for me in it. (Because the dream doesn't seem to fit with my current reality. I've had to devote so much of my time to working in “Egypt”. The enemy tries to use this a lot to condemn me, which is probably why I was shocked in the dream and even afterwards, when I woke up and was pondering on what it could mean. [The enemy does a lot to keep us humble.]) So anyway, I received: Pro.8:31 (in context: 30-31) (my finger was on “habitable” from Pro. 8:31 in the Bible concordance.) 30 Then I was by him, as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men. (God delights in His builders who delight in His people. The wicked and the Pharisees hate them with a passion.) In the context of Proverbs 8, these verses seem to fit with the ones David read in the dream. :0) Very encouraging. Thank you, Father!

Family feuds can last for generations—but God has something better in mind. In this message on Obadiah—the shortest book in the Old Testament—we trace the rivalry of Jacob and Esau all the way to Judah and Edom, and discover how God confronts betrayal, bitterness, and transactional love. Learn why God overturns social pecking orders, why compassion must start at home, and how the church is called to be more than a fan club for Jesus: we're called to be family.Support the showWe are growing the Kingdom of God through the lives of everyday people by reaching UP to God, IN to Grow, and OUT to GiveJoin us on Sundays at 9:30 in person and online!FBC Nokomis Youtube: www.youtube.com/@FirstBaptistChurchofNokomisFBC Nokomis Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstbaptistnokomisFBC Nokomis Sermon Podcast: https://fbcnokomissermons.buzzsprout.com/share

In this Bible Story, we learn about the departure of Elijah. The faithful prophet is taken up into the clouds by chariots of fire. Elisha, his faithful student, took his place as prophet over Israel. Now he watches over the people, ministering to them in times of trouble. This story is inspired by 2 Kings 2. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Kings 2:11 from the King James Version.Episode 129: Joram, King Ahab's son was now King over Israel, and for 12 years he built a kingdom that fed his self-importance. Sick of being under Israelite subjugation, the nation of Moab rose in revolt. King Joram quickly sent word to King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Edom asking for help. As the three kings and their armies were marching up for battle they ran out of provisions. Frightened, the kings sent for Elisha that he might inquire of God on their behalf. Then Elisha prophesied water for the men, and victory over the Moabites.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Fruitless Will Fall Away (1) (audio) David Eellls, 6/28/26 What is the fruit of the life of Jesus? It is the same as His name, which means nature, character, and authority. We are baptized into His name. Non-Spirit filled Christianity has not touched the authority part. The "these signs will accompany those who believe" part. These were supernatural signs they, in large part, refuse so according to this verse, they are not believers as the scripture hath said. And as far as coming into His nature, they consider impossible. The falling away has already started with them, so pray that they come into the full gospel in the latter rain.  Although the apostates will deny it, God's plan for mankind and the earth is clear and simple. He planned to perfect a Son through Whose spiritual seed of His Word He would have many offspring like Himself. (Heb.2:10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (11) For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. God knew these sons before the physical creation and spoke them into existence. He planned that they would be born and fashioned through the seed of His eldest Son, coming into His image. (Rom.8:29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Those who accept flesh-appeasing doctrines do not bear the image or fruit of this Son and prove themselves to be called but not chosen. Clearly, when God inspects His crop, He only chooses the fruit that is born of the Word, 30-, 60-, and 100-fold as Jesus said. Those who accept this fleshly life instead of the life of Christ are as “Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright” (Heb.12:16). Multitudes have been sons of Abraham through faith, but will prove themselves to be the seed of Esau and be cut off. (Isa.63:1) Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?…. “Bozrah” here means “sheepfold” and was the capital of Edom, Esau's seed. These apostate sheep will be cut off and trodden under foot in the great winepress of the wrath of God. (2) Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? (3) I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. (4) For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. Now we see a more inclusive meaning of “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Rom.9:13). The scenario is repeated in a parable Jesus gave concerning the end of the Jews' covenant, when the fruitful escaped but the apostates went into the wrath in 70 A.D. This is also a type about to be fulfilled in the end of the Church's covenant. (Luk.13:6) And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. (7) And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? (8) And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: (9) and if it bear fruit thenceforth, [well]; but if not, thou shalt cut it down. The husbandman, the Father, had given three years to the fig tree of His people to bear fruit. According to the Law of First Mention, the number three by itself is first found in the Bible in Genesis 6:10, “And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” The seed of the saved of all mankind was in these three. They were in the ark of grace, (Gen.6:8) But Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of the Lord. The next three verses in Genesis 6:11-13 speak of the total corruption of mankind and God warning, “I will destroy them with the earth.” God said almost the same thing in Jesus' parable after the three years, “cut it down.” However, the Son's intercession gained a fourth year of grace. There is also a First Mention in the New Testament for “three.” (Mat.12:40) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Notice that God's grace through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for all mankind, symbolized by the number three, is spoken of four times, possibly symbolizing God going the extra mile here.  The Father was disappointed in the lack of fruit on the tree that represents His apostate people and gave command to “cut it down.” The vinedresser, His Son, interceded for one more year's grace, until he could “dig about it,” breaking up its fallow ground through tribulation, “and dung it” through persecution to see “if it bear fruit… but if not, thou shall cut it down.” We should not be deceived; those who do not bear fruit before the end of the Tribulation will be cut off and fall away. Notice that the Lord ultimately is only coming for the “fruit” of the spiritual man, not the “fig tree” of the natural man. Our natural life is only the earth in which God has planted the seed of His Son, the Word, so that He bears fruit in us (Mat.13:19-23). Only He that came out of heaven will go back. (Joh.3:13) And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, [even] the Son of man. (Note: “who is in heaven” is usually added here but is not in the ancient manuscripts and has no numeric pattern.) Bearing fruit is normal for those who walk by faith, but for those who profess Christ while they do not believe His Word to bear fruit, there is destruction. (Jud.1:5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance…that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Moses also interceded and delayed the cutting down of the fig tree in his day, but some continued in unbelief and murmured, and God overthrew them in their wilderness tribulation (Psa.106:21-26). Some of you would say that God can't break His promise to bring us into His kingdom. Haven't you read that God disinherits His people who do not believe? (Num.14:11) And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? (12) I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.  God “sware” He would bring them to the Promised Land and then changed His mind because they did not keep their side of the covenant through walking by faith. (30) Surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. God revoked His promise and then promised they would fall in the wilderness tribulation. (34)…Ye shall know my alienation (which in Hebrew means the “revoking of my promise”). (35) I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this will I do unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. The wilderness trials are to prove who the chosen believers are among the called, “for many are called, but few chosen” (Mat.22:14). Because of faith and obedience, God can promise evil or good to a people and yet change His mind. (Jer.18:7) At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; (8) if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. (9) And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; (10) if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Micah prophesied the destruction of Zion, but the people repented, and God changed His mind, as Jeremiah 26:18-19 says. In Exodus 32:10-14, Moses interceded for Israel on the grounds that God promised the fathers to save their seed, and so God repented. However, when the people continued to turn the grace of God into a license to go their own way, Ezekiel prophesied that even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there interceding, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness (Eze.14:14). We must move quickly now to redeem the time for the race is to bear fruit before our individual or corporate allotted time is up. Paul said that “they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize” (1Cor.9:24). That One is Christ – those in whom Christ lives, and those who live in Him. Paul called this “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27). This principle of the race was given to my wife, Mary, many years ago in a dream. She saw us running on a treadmill and up ahead of us was a door that was closing. Then she noticed that the treadmill was deceitfully picking up speed to carry us away from the door. We had to run faster and faster to make progress. This is the way of the world, friend. It is picking up speed, departing from God. Mary said that I made it through the door just as it was about to close, and then I jerked her through. Paul went on to say that the only way to win in this race against the clock is to “exerciseth self-control in all things” (1Cor.9:25). He then enforced this by saying, “I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” (27). “Rejected” here is from the Greek word for reprobated, meaning “not standing the test.” Paul was saying that even after all his preaching, if he didn't make his body serve the Lord, he would not finish the race and would be reprobated. If it was true of him, then it is certainly true of us. It's not those who call Jesus Lord and do mighty works, but those who bear the fruit of obedience, who shall enter the kingdom. (Mat.7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Gifts and powers are wonderful and necessary, but they will not gain for us the kingdom; only 30-, 60-, or 100-fold fruit can do that. They who build their house on the Rock that stands the test of the tribulations of life, hear the Word and obey it (Mat.7:24-27). The “works of the flesh” are listed in Galatians 5:19-21 and Christians are warned that “they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The works of the Spirit are also listed there, but they are called “the fruit of the Spirit.” God's works in us through our faith are His fruit in us. Joel prophesied that when the “day of the Lord” comes, God's remnant, who abide in spiritual New Testament Mount Zion and Jerusalem, will escape the wrath. (Joel 2:31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord cometh. (32) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as the Lord hath said, and among the remnant those whom the Lord doth call. David asked, “Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” His answer was, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart” (Psa.15:1-2). At that time, all nations are gathered together against the righteous in “the valley of Jehoshaphat” where, as a type, God divided and destroyed the nations that came against Israel in the time of Jehoshaphat. (Joel 3:2) I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for my people and for my heritage Israel…. At that time, the holy ones will be in the ark of God's safety, as Jehoshaphat's people who went forth in 2 Chronicles 20:21 to “give praise in holy array.” It is here that the one world order is divided into three as the nations destroy each other. (2Chr.20:22) And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (23)…every one helped to destroy another. The Lord, with His newly glorified saints, will fight against those nations in the Day of the Lord; they will face the winepress of the wrath of God. (Joel 3:11) Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. (12) Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. (13) Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.  This scenario is clearly set forth in Revelation. First, there is the harvest of the righteous. (Rev.14:13) And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them. (14) And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud [I saw] one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. (15) And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. (16) And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. This harvest of the fruitful includes the physically “dead in Christ” and also the dead-to-self in Christ “that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord.” All will receive their earth-transcending bodies at this time. Then, in the Day of the Lord, the harvest of the wicked will come, which includes the many who are called but not chosen for lack of fruit. (Rev.14:17) And another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. (19) And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great [winepress], of the wrath of God. (20) And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. This harvest includes those “without the city,” that is, the true spiritual city of God, whereas the natural city of Jerusalem will be half-taken and plundered (Zec.14:1-2) because it is mostly wicked. “The great [winepress], of the wrath of God” is the Day of the Lord and is detailed in much more depth in chapters 15 and 16 of our Hidden Manna book. The Lord with His saints executes this slaughter of the wicked with the sword of the spoken Word. (Rev.19:11) And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (14) And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white [and] pure. (15) And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. As we can see, the same story of the Tribulation leading to wrath is told many times in Revelation, but in different parables. For instance, the sixth and seventh seal judgments and the seventh trumpet judgment bring the Day of the Lord's wrath, and the bowls, or vials of wrath, are the Day of the Lord's wrath. (Rev.6:12) And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; (This is after the Tribulation when the great nuclear war darkens the sun and moon and the Lord comes for His saints.) (13) and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. The fig tree represents God's New Covenant people – Jews and Gentiles. The unripe figs are the people of God who have not borne fruit 30-, 60, and 100-fold and are therefore not picked but fall to the earth to incur the Day of the Lord's wrath. (14) And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (15) And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; (16) and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: (17) for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand? The unfruitful are destroyed in the wrath, just as the Jews who bore no fruit of the Gospel were destroyed in 70 A.D. In a clear type of the coming of the Lord with His saints, Jesus was on the Mount of Olives with His disciples. As He was about to return to Jerusalem through the eastern gate at the time of the Passover, He saw a fig tree that had not born fruit and cursed it “for ever.” (Mat.21:18) Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered. (19) And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. According to the Jews, the eastern gate is sealed until the coming of the Messiah. The Mount of Olives represents apostate Christianity, and the cursed fig tree represents those fruitless “Christians” who are rooted in it being reprobated. The timing of the judgment of the fig tree is seen in Zechariah 14:4-5 when the Mount of Olives is split in half, and then Jesus returns with His saints. As we have studied before, Passover is the time when the saints are being passed over by the flood, or winepress, of war because they are in the ark. There is no Passover for those who do not eat all of the Lamb and do not have the blood on their doorposts. Then the Lord picks His fruit as the ark lifts off without the fruitless, and they go to defend Jerusalem from the nations. In a type of this, in Matthew 21:9, Jesus rides triumphantly as King through the eastern gate as the multitudes cry, “Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” This was clearly a type of the Lord's coming through the sealed eastern gate in the very end, because Jesus quoted them in Matthew 23:39 when standing at the eastern gate, saying, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” So we see that shortly before the Messiah comes as King to defend Israel, He reprobates the unripe figs, which fall to the earth to incur the wrath of God. I would like to explain yet another parable that is found throughout the Scriptures concerning the falling away of the fruitless. The whole Church is identified by God as the sun, moon and stars. (Gen.37:9) And he (Joseph) dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. (10) And he told it to his father (Jacob or Israel), and to his brethren (the patriarchs); and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? (11) And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind. All of the body of Israel is identified here according to relationship as the sun, moon, or stars. The father, who is the head and a type of those who are capable of sowing the seed of Israel, is identified as the sun. The mother, who is a type of those who receive the seed and bring forth the fruit, is called the moon. The children, who are the most immature in mind and actions, are called the stars. These represent the three stages of Christian growth, of which Jesus told us in the parable of the sower. (Mat.13:23) And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. The more fruit of the Word or righteousness a person has, the greater the glory. As we walk in the faith, “it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal.2:20) and we grow into the image of Christ from glory to glory. (2Cor.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.  We are to grow into the last “glory,” which is described as the image of Christ, the Sun, in us. Paul spoke of the three different glories of the saints, which will be rewarded with three different spiritual bodies that they will receive. (1Cor.15:35) But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? (40) There are also celestial (heavenly) bodies, and bodies terrestrial (earthly): but the glory of the celestial is one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial is another. (41) There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. (42) So also is the resurrection of the dead…. According to Paul and the Holy Spirit, we will all have a sun, moon, or star glory new body in heaven. This is according to what stage we are in when it comes to manifesting the resurrection life of Christ. Everyone wants to know what determines which new body they will have. The short answer is that the glory that we walk in before death or rapture determines the glory of our eternal house or body. God “will render unto every man according to his works” (Rom.2:6). It literally says in 2 Corinthians 5:10 in the Greek and in the numeric pattern, “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each receive through the body, according to what he hath done, whether good or bad.” Notice that the reward is given “through the body” and what we do “good or bad” determines whether the glory of the new body will be a star, a moon, or a sun glory body. The Greek word for “judgment-seat” here means “footprint tribunal.” This means that we are going to be judged by how closely we walked in Christ's steps. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Remember that abiding in Christ is to abide in heavenly places. By the works of Jesus through us, we are growing in these progressive glories and putting on the clothing of our new spiritual body while still living in the old body. This is so that, when this body is gone, we do not become naked. (2Cor.5:1) For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. (2) For verily in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven: (3) if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. Our mortal life is to be swallowed by the life of Christ. Paul taught that by faith we are to spiritually put to death the members of the old man, which are his works. (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. Notice that those who fail to put off the old man will go into the “wrath of God,” just as the fallen stars or unripe figs. (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.  We grow up in the image of Christ from star glory to moon glory to sun glory, or from 30- to 60- to 100-fold fruit, as we put off the old man's works and put on the new man's works. (Rom.13:12) The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light (that is star, moon and then sun light). (13) Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. We must cast off the works of darkness and put on Christ by putting on His works. Christ's works are “the garments of salvation” (Isa.61:10). However, the garment spotted by acts of flesh send many to fiery trials to burn up these evil works. (Jud.1:23) And some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 1Co.3:11-15 For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire. The true Bride is making herself ready by putting on the works of the bright garment of the glory of God. (Rev.19:7) Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (8) And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright (Greek: Lampros) [and] pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Notice that our “righteous acts” are the glorious garment.  Friends, don't believe the apostate gospel. God said, “I will give unto each one of you according to your works” (Rev.2:23). Those who say that they have faith but don't need works will not be saved. (Jas.2:14) What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? (17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. (18) Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from [thy] works, and I by my works will show thee [my] faith. (26) For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. Salvation is not by our works but by faith because it empowers us to do Christ's works. Every place the judgment is mentioned, God judges works because that is how He judges faith.             Let's look closer at the first stage of Christian growth, which is star glory. (Dan.12:3) And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. God told Abraham that his seed would be “as the stars of the heavens” (Gen.22:17). Paul said to the New Covenant Church: “They that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham” (Gal.3:7). As the stars sit in the heavens with the sun, so He “raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him (that is the Sun) in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus” (Eph.2:6). Notice that to be in “heavenly places” is to abide “in Christ.” Those who do not continue to abide in Christ do not bear fruit. (Joh.15:4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. (5)…He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. As we see, those who do not bear fruit do not continue to abide in heaven. (Rev.6:13) And the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. Like the fallen figs, the fallen stars represent the falling away of a portion of the spiritual seed of Abraham. According to 1 John 5:11, “God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” and that is the only place we can claim this gift.  (Joh.15:2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he (that is, the Father) taketh it away…. One of the most common ways God takes away these unfruitful “Christians” is to permit the wolves to carry them away. (Deu.13:1) If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, (2) and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (meaning false Jesuses), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; (3) thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  The false prophets come with deception to weed out the Church of those who do not love truth and purity. (2Thes.2:11) And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: (12) that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. It is the corporate False Prophet that “the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed” (Isa.9:15-16). The false prophet is the tail of the corporate dragon of which we are told that “his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth” (Rev.12:4). Obviously, if even one literal star falls to the earth, there would be no earth, so this has to be spiritual stars falling away. Notice that a third of the Christians, who are stars that are living at the time of the end, will be cast down from their heavenly position in Christ. This does not include merely the religious who are not born again. We have been told that the stars here are angels, but the false prophets certainly do not cast down angels, rather the apostates who believe their lies. These lukewarm, unfruitful “Christians” are rejected from the righteous harvest and fall to the earth to be part of the wicked harvest, “the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God.” In all the verses we have looked at, where the stars fall, there is not one where the sun or moon falls. Only stars are in danger of falling, for they have the least glory or the least fruit. According to Jesus' parable of the sower, the least that would make it into the kingdom is 30-fold fruit. Star glory saints do not all have the same glory, and those who do not have at least the 30-fold fruit will fall. (1Cor.15:41) …One star differeth from another star in glory. I believe a newborn Christian has been given 30-fold fruit, but many leave their “first love” and do not maintain their “first works” so that their lampstand is removed (Rev.2:4-5). They have the 30-fold glory with a new born-again spirit, but that glory becomes diminished by the “garment spotted by the flesh” and its works. They are born again and die again, which is what is meant by “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jud.1:12). We must overcome through faith, or we lose our position in Christ. (Rev.3:5) He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life…. From the rebirth of our spirit (30-fold), we are meant to continue taking the Promised Land of our soul (60-fold) and body (100-fold) until nothing of the old life remains. (Mat.13:33)…The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal (spirit, soul, and body), till it was all leavened. Instead, many live after the flesh so that even their spirits are not preserved. This is like the servant who was given one talent but brought forth no fruit because he hid it in the earth, and for this was cast forth into outer darkness. (1Thes.5:23) And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly (completely); and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Moon glory saints will not fall at the end, for they are 60-fold. Sun glory saints are 100- fold for they have come to maturity and manifested the Son to walk as Christ walked. We are all sons by faith, but those who truly walk in the faith of the Gospel will manifest their Sonship (2Cor.3:18). Besides the differences seen in Jacob's family between the star, moon, and sun glories, there are more. The Lord impressed in my spirit some of these differences. The stars are separate from one another because they have their own glory. We saw that glory is the righteousness of Christ manifested in us. Those who are immature in the Lord are self-righteous and it keeps them separated from one another. This is where the foolishness of denominationalism comes from. Those who are sectarian are star glory or, worse, just religious. However, the second stage of our maturity is the moon glory. We are told that the moon will be turned into blood before the Day of the Lord (Act.2:20). This is death to self, caused by the persecution through tribulation. The moon is united because it is dead, not having its own glory or self-righteousness to separate it as a body. It only reflects the light of the sun, as those who are dead to self only reflect the light of the Son. (Rom.6:5) For if we have become united with [him] in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of his resurrection. Notice that those who fully manifest moon glory will have sun glory. The third stage is the resurrection life of the Son because we once again have our own glory, but this time it is the glory of the sun. Of course, this is the manifestation of Sonship or “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27). We seek for this place in Him when the sun is straight up and we are fully walking in its light. (Pro.4:18) But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The perfect day is when there are no shadows of darkness and Christ, the Sun, is manifested in our life. (Mat.13:43) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father…. It is God's desire that we outgrow star glory to fill up the ranks of the moon and sun glory before Jesus comes. (Isa.30:26) Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.  At the end of the Tribulation, “the light of the sun shall be sevenfold” because a portion of the seven churches will have repented, and become sun glory. At this time, it will be “as the light of seven days” because they will manifest Sonship at the end of the tribulation on the seventh millennial day. Those who refuse to manifest the light in these three stages will degenerate and be spit out of the body of Christ in order to purify it. (Rev.3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. After these stars fall, the sun, moon, and remaining stars are darkened because they no longer share their light with the world. The time of evangelization is over and all of the elect are hidden in the ark or martyred and resurrected. (Isa.13:10) For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. God attributes character to the heavenly bodies because these are His saints, who will no longer share the light of the Gospel with an unrepentant world or its reprobate “Christians.” (Rev.9:20) And the rest of mankind…repented not of the works of their hands….  Let me share a few revelations with you that go along with this teaching.   Death to Self Leads to Resurrection Life G. M. - 1/16/23 (David's notes in red) It was a bright sunny day, and I was walking with someone on the sidewalk. (representing that the sun/Son shines upon us when we walk the narrow road.) It seemed to be on a college campus somewhere. (A college campus represents a place of higher learning.) There were quite a few other people gathered in small groups here and there along the way. It was a beautiful day, and everyone was happy and joyful. At the end of the sidewalk, there were a couple of glass doors going into what I thought was a building, but once inside, I felt that I was in a cave, as it was so dark. (I do not know who was walking with me, but I felt it was someone I knew.) (Jesus is walking with us as we walk the straight and narrow unto the death of our flesh nature represented by the cave. Jesus was buried in a cave after His death by the cross and so must we. There is a parallel between what happened to Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection and what is happening with the Man-child/Bride bodies.) This was not a large cave but seemed to be 30-40 feet long. (The Number 30 is considered the number of maturity and the number 40 represents a period of testing or trial.) The darkness was so dense and overwhelming. The idea of it being a cave never entered my mind before we entered through the glass doors. (We must all lose our fleshly life, which is against God, so that our spiritual life will rule. (Mic.7:7-9) But as for me, I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.) Once inside the doors (Jesus is the transparent Door. We enter the Kingdom only through Him and His resurrection life.) I got separated from the person who had been walking with me. (This reminds me of what Jesus cried out on His cross in (Mat.27:45-46) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Jesus felt separated, too, during His death experience.) It was very dark, so it was hard to recognize people as they just looked like shadows moving about. (When we are going through our death to self process, we become hard to recognize because we are shadows of our former selves.) I didn't want to stand in the path, so I moved up to the highest row of seating available, which was the third row.) (Jesus said after 3 days I will rise again. The three rows could also represent bearing the 30, 60-, and 100-fold fruit of Christ.) There were planks set into the steep bank of a hill that was very hard dirt. The ceiling of this area was barely above the highest seating space. I sat quietly waiting to hear the voice of the person who walked in with me so I could locate them and sit with them. When I awoke, I did not know what had happened to the person who walked in with me. (He is still there in spirit with us, even in our darkest moments. He promised He will never leave or forsake us.) … There were people scattered about sitting on the rows of planks, but the area was far from full. (The first fruits harvest is small. Few are taught the crucified life or Jesus' message of death to self.) I received by faith at random Jeremiah 4:6 for this dream. My finger was on the words, “flee for safety”. This chapter is very fitting for these days. (Jer.4:6) Set up a standard toward Zion (the Bride):    flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. (Those who are dead to self, like the first fruits Bride, are safe from judgment.) The Lord brought to my attention the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Thank you, Father, for the seed sown upon good ground, for those who hear the word and understand it; that they may bear much fruit and bring glory and honor to Your Name. In Jesus Name, Amen.   30-, 60- & 100-Fold Paths Anonymous. - 10/25/2007 (David's notes in red) I saw three different groups of believers (star glory: 30-fold; moon: 60-fold; sun: 100-fold) and we had to decide which pathway we all wanted to take. There was an extremely huge boulder or rock, like what you see in a mountain. (Representing Jesus and the Kingdom of God.) There were three pathways to choose from to go to the other side. The first was to take a pathway around the rock, which looked fairly flat, and on level sandy ground. This pathway looked off-white, exactly like the sand you see on a beach. (The easy way on the flesh is not the crucified life and may not bear fruit much beyond 30-fold or star glory. It is from this place that many will fall away. This may represent the born-again in spirit, but not completely crucified in the soul, life. Many avoid the fiery trials that burn up the flesh by not walking in the steps of Jesus. The garment for such an individual, if they did not fall away, would be off-white, reflecting their works. To many, the rock is too great to hope to walk on, reflecting their immature understanding of the Gospel and God's plan of recreating Christ in us. These choose the unstable, impure, off-white sand of man's traditions on which to stand.) The second path was to climb up that rock. The steps were carved out of the rock, and it was a steep and high climb. (This represents walking in the steps already set in stone by the Word, which is also standing on the rock of Christ's Word. This will bear more fruit even to 60-fold, or moon glory, but something important is not emphasized on this path.) The third path was to enter into a very narrow opening going into that rock and walk down steep steps, also carved out of the rock. (This is also standing on the rock in the steps of the Word. It suggests more the abiding in the cleft of the rock of safety by entering into Christ's suffering through death to self, spiritually beneath the earth. Through this method, we can transverse the fullness of moon glory and enter 100-fold or Sun glory, Christlikeness.) We were all outside that rock, looking at these 3 paths and deciding which pathway to take. This place was flourishing with grass and trees and was not barren. The pathway into the rock was directly in front of us. The pathway climbing up the rock was to my left (from the rock's perspective, it would have been right [those who walk more as sheep on Jesus' right]) and the pathway going around the rock was to my right (from the rock's perspective, it would have been left [those who walk more as goats on Jesus' left]). Both these were detours to the straight pathway into the rock. (This is God's perfect will -- His chosen path, which few will find.) We could view all the believers taking the different pathways. The vast majority turned to my right (the rock's left) because that way seemed bright, flat, and sure, which could be easily negotiated. (“There is a way that seemeth right unto man” but is really left unto God. Many are comfortable with the worldly “Christian” life where discipleship is considered unattainable and something that has passed away.) There were some turning to my left to climb the rock. Again, it was bright, and the steps seemed visibly carved out from the rock, though the ascent was very steep and the height was frightening. (This is the life of faith without the emphasis of the crucified life.) However, the pathway into the rock was not as visible as the pathway outside; it seemed the scariest. (Because it represents the self being swallowed up by the life of Christ through death to the old man and walking by faith.) I saw one believer from my church wearing white, calling me to follow her. Most took the pathway around the rock, whilst there were very few people who climbed on top of the rock or went into the rock. (It is always a few who take the best paths.) The believer from my church started climbing the rock. I did not follow her but went into the rock. (We cannot follow others' individual path or that of churches and religion, or denominations. God has a scriptural plan for each of us.) One could not see the steps before you -- you had to descend by faith, but as you descended it got easier, and I remember thinking that from the outside it looked like a difficult, narrow, dark, and unknown pathway, but when you walk by faith, God's grace is sufficient to hold your footing in the steep descent. I felt tremendous confidence and joy whilst going on my journey; it was not scary at all. (The more we die, the easier life becomes because we have more of Christ and less of us.) This path was not taken by most people, and the dream ended here. The two paths: the one to the right of the rock mountain and the one into the rock mountain. Both point out scriptural needs in our life and paths in which the most glorious will major. The easy path of star glory is the one from which the greatest falling away will come. (Rev.6:13) and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. When I shared this interpretation with [“Anonymous”] she had just received this confirmation from the Lord: “I too was told that this is the 30-fold pathway where a lot of people will fall”.   Climbing and Entering the Rock Mountain P. O. – 2015 (David's notes in red) P.O.'s introduction: I am typing this dream from memory, but that's not a problem because it was a very memorable experience. When I originally gave this dream and testimony in the assembly, I remember some of the verses the Father gave me at that time, but not all of them. At the time when I shared it with the brethren, I emphasized the part of the dream about 'being above it all', that (Eph.2:6) He raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus... and that we are (1:21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come... I emphasized that part for two reasons: First, because we were heavily coming against the chemtrails threat. Secondly, the part about entering the rock was very difficult to describe, so I gave it less emphasis than it merited. Here's the dream: I was climbing a rock that was also a mountain. (Jesus is the Rock and the mountain or Kingdom of God. Jesus is Mt. Zion into which the Bride will enter and be one with Him. On Mt. Zion is the presence of God, the Man-child David and the Bride. Climbing here, represents coming closer and closer to this goal by overcoming obstacles and hindrances to the Word in us. Climbing a mountain is, in many cases considered a place of safety and so it is in this case.) The ledge was narrow and close. (Mat.7:14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. (The way is as narrow as the obedience to the Word restrains our actions. Those whose actions are not conformed to the Word are not climbing this mountain.) There was one place on the ledge that I had just come from that had lots of pebbles, like loose debris. I could hear pebbles skittering off the edge, echoing, like they were going down, almost forever. I felt my heart kind of skip a beat. (I have known people who were climbing this mountain through faith but stumbled at the rock, being disobedient, and fell away. (Rom.9:30) What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith: (31) but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. (32) Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling; (33) even as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (Joh.6:28) They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (Eph.2:8) for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. Condemnation is generally the devil's way of bringing us under law to our own works, which brings no faith or fruit. God's way is to repent and believe, and He will give you grace to climb the mountain.) I thought briefly about turning back, but it seemed like a bad idea. (Heb.10:38) But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. (39) But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul. When I arrived at what seemed to be nearly the peak, I rested my back against the mountain, while my face looked skyward. I was so high that I was above the clouds. (Climbing Zion represents the height of obedience, which is also the height of sanctification and safety. (Psa.125:1) A Song of Ascents. They that trust in Jehovah Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever. (2) As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round about his people From this time forth and for evermore. (3) For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity. (4) Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good, And to them that are upright in their hearts. (5) But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel. (Psa.15:1) A Psalm of David. Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? (2) He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart; (3) He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; (4) In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah; He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; (5) He that putteth not out his money to interest, Nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (24:3) Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah? And who shall stand in his holy place? (4) He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto falsehood, And hath not sworn deceitfully. (5) He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (6) This is the generation of them that seek after him, That seek thy face, even Jacob. [Selah] Considering the many threats, temptations and obstacles that are ahead, we need to abide in Christ, the secret place of the Most High. (1Jn.2:24) As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. (2Jn.9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. Judgment is at the door; repent of sin against the Word and believe.) I never even saw any ground. It was all rock and sky. (This represents that worldly temptations are left behind. I am crucified with Christ.) I remember thinking, “Nothing can affect me here”. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. (Gal.5:24) And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. (Again, this was the part that I tried most to communicate to the brethren that night.) I was “in heavenly places” and “far above all rule, and authority, and power”, as the Word says. But then the 'twilight zone' part happened. I felt the urge to turn and sort of 'fall into' or embrace the rock face. (Mat.21:43) Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God ... shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. (44) And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces... I extended my arms out as I turned 180 degrees, as if I were going to hug something really huge. This was when it was as if the rock absorbed me. (The ultimate end of the climb of sanctification by the Word is to be one with God and to be one with our brethren in Him.) It was something like one of those old movies where a wall somehow opens up to reveal a secret door. Then, in the blink of an eye, the door and person disappear. In the movies, they've gone somewhere mysterious. This is like what happened. When this occurred, I thought, “Why do I want to go into this rock?” My natural mind wanted to tell me that it would be dark and uncomfortable. But that is what I wanted, and that is what happened. I embraced the rock and it was as if a secret chasm or door cracked open to take me in. (Joh.10:9) I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. (Mat.10:39) He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Joh.12:25) He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. End of dream. Final thought and prayer: The night that I shared this dream/testimony, I tried to demonstrate the last part to our group, failing miserably at the attempt to demonstrate a rock mountain absorbing a person. In our natural minds, this seems like a nightmare or a B-rated movie. But in the dream, it felt perfect and right. (Because this path brings us to the joy and peace of a cleansed conscience. It brings us to serve God because of the love of Him, rather than just fear of Him, which is “the beginning of wisdom” but not the end of it.) Father, thank You for giving this dream to us and helping us to understand what You are saying. Your Son is perfect and right. And we thank You for our being in Him. From Isaiah, I am reminded of a favorite 'rock' passage: (Isa.50:7) For the Lord Jehovah will help me; therefore have I not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. (8) He is near that justifieth me; who will content with me? let us stand up together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. (9) Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. (10) Who is among you that feareth Jehovah, that obeyeth the voice of his servant? he that walketh in darkness, and hath no light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and rely upon his God. Thank You that Jesus is our Rock and that we will never be put to shame. Because we are in Him, we can turn our faces like flint and never look back. And, lastly, (Job.13:15) Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope: Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him. Thank You, Father. We no longer live, but Christ the Rock lives in us. Amen.

Welcome to today's Portions Podcast! Why did God take Edom's rejection of Israel so personally? In today's episode, we unpack a fascinating moment in the book of Numbers that reveals God's heart for His people and the consequences of opposing His purposes. Grab your Bible, and let's dive in!Be sure to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a video from TFI! Donate to TFI: https://www.togetherforisrael.org/givingpageThe ORIGINS Bible Study: https://www.togetherforisrael.org/storeWeekly Email Sign up: http://eepurl.com/ga8y7HVisit our Website: https://www.togetherforisrael.orgDownload our App: https://subsplash.com/togetherforisrael/download-appJoin us for a tour: https://www.tfi.tours

A @Christadelphians Video: In this outstanding and thought-provoking opening study, we explore Genesis 37 and uncover the wonderful truth beneath Joseph's famous coat. While his brothers saw favour and his father saw promise, God was quietly forming something far deeper—a calling that no human hand could strip away.This insightful, expositional presentation traces Joseph's journey from shepherd boy to the separated one—a living pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ. We examine the stark contrast between earthly power in Edom and God's hidden work in a 17-year-old, the meaning behind the coat (ketonet), the prophetic dreams, and the envy that poisoned a family. What makes this truly revealing is how Joseph's life teaches us that the visible coat can be torn, but the divine calling beneath it remains secure in God's hands.Join us as we ask: What is God forming in *you* beneath the coat?**Chapters:**00:00 – Introduction: The Coat That Could Be Taken 01:04 – Edom's Kings vs. God's Hidden Work 03:28 – What God Forms Beneath the Coat 04:40 – Joseph's Name: “Yahweh Shall Add” 06:26 – Joseph the Shepherd: Learning to Care 08:16 – The Evil Report: Faithfulness, Not Gossip 10:30 – Jacob's Love: Favouritism or Prophetic Sight? 12:36 – The Birthright Passes to Joseph 14:35 – The Coat (Ketonet): Priestly & Royal Garment 16:54 – Hatred, Envy & The Poisoned House 20:27 – “More” – The Language of Envy 22:17 – Joseph's Dreams: Linked to Bethel 25:50 – Sheaves Bowing: Preservation, Not Ambition 28:25 – The Brothers Sound Like Esau 32:22 – The Second Dream: Sun, Moon & Stars 34:35 – Jacob Observed, The Brothers Hated 36:31 – Three Lessons from Beneath the Coat 43:00 – When the Coat Is Taken, Will You Still Trust? 44:09 – Conclusion**Bible Verse Category:**

What if I told you that the Creator of the Universe wrote a letter to comfort you during these challenging times since October 7th?In this episode, we're joined by Jake Turx, senior White House correspondent and chief political correspondent for Ami magazine, and a political contributor at Newsmax. Jake analyzes Sefer Ovadia, the shortest book in the Prophets section of the Tanach, with just one chapter and 21 verses. Despite its brevity, it delivers a powerful message of divine justice and the fate of Edom.This is a message dictated by the Almighty to His prophet, Ovadia, 2,800 years ago, specifically for you today.

Ezequiel 36:26 “Os daré corazón nuevo, y pondré espíritu nuevo dentro de vosotros; y quitaré de vuestra carne el corazón de piedra, y os daré un corazón de carne.”Introducción: El peligro más silenciosoUna de las cosas que más nos debe asustar, y a la que más debemos temerle, es que nuestro corazón se endurezca. El corazón es un misterio; la Biblia dice que es engañoso, pero también nos enseña que de él mana la vida y que es el tesoro que determina lo que somos. Por eso la Escritura nos advierte de forma categórica: Proverbios 4:23 (RVR1960) "Sobre toda cosa guardada, guarda tu corazón; Porque de él mana la vida."Pero, ¿qué pasa cuando el corazón se endurece? Hoy nos enfrentamos a una generación indolente e insensible, que ha sido entrenada para endurecerse. Tú puedes ser muy cristiano, hablar en lenguas y tener años en la iglesia, pero si tu corazón está duro, le vas a hacer daño a todos los que están a tu alrededor. Dios quiere cambiar tu corazón de piedra por uno de carne, y para eso vamos a desenmascarar este enemigo a través de sus síntomas.1. El síntoma de la discusión y el "Todavía" de DiosEl primer síntoma claro de un corazón duro es la discusión constante y la tendencia a tomarse todo de forma personal. En los evangelios vemos un ejemplo tremendo con los propios discípulos:Marcos 8:14-17 (RVR1960) "14 Habían olvidado de traer pan, y no tenían sino un pan consigo en la barca. 15 Y él les mandó, diciendo: Mirad, guardaos de la levadura de los fariseos, y de la levadura de Herodes. 16 Y discutían entre sí, diciendo: Es porque no trajimos pan. 17 Y entendiéndolo Jesús, les dijo: ¿Qué discutís, porque no tenéis pan? ¿No entendéis ni comprendéis? ¿Aún tenéis endurecido vuestro corazón?"El Maestro estaba ahí advirtiéndoles sobre cosas espirituales, y ellos discutiendo por un pan. El corazón duro tiende a hacerlo todo personal: "Esa indirecta fue para mí", "Esa mirada fue por mí". Puedes caminar al lado de Jesús, estar en su misma barca, y aun así tener el corazón endurecido.Por eso Jesús les dice: "¿Aún?". Esto significa: "¿Todavía?". Cuando nos acercamos a Dios, es normal traer dureza, pero llegará un momento en el que Él te va a decir: "¿Todavía con ese enojo? ¿Todavía con esa maña? ¿Todavía discutes por cualquier tontería?". Alármate cuando de todo sales ofendido, porque es el síntoma claro de la dureza.Esa misma insensibilidad es la que vemos en el Antiguo Testamento. Cuando Israel le pide a Edom (sus parientes lejanos) que los deje pasar por su territorio sin tomar nada prestado, Edom simplemente se cierra a las razones.Números 20:18 (RVR1960) "Edom le respondió: No pasarás por mi país; de otra manera, saldré contra ti armado."Cuando la gente tiene el corazón duro, no importa cómo le hables o cuántas razones tengas. El insensible no presta atención a los argumentos; su especialidad es pelear. Te transformas en alguien al que no se le puede decir nada.2. El corazón de diamante, la terquedad y la soberaníaEl segundo problema de un corazón duro es la terquedad de cerrarse a escuchar: Zacarías 7:11-12 (RVR1960) "11 Pero no quisieron escuchar, antes volvieron la espalda, y taparon sus oídos para no oír; 12 y pusieron su corazón como diamante, para no oír la ley ni las palabras que Jehová de los ejércitos enviaba..."El diamante es excesivamente difícil de cortar; no lo trabaja cualquier joyero. Si se corta mal, explota. Así es el corazón duro: cierra sus oídos a la lógica. La dureza se nota cuando alguien no quiere escuchar consejos y dice: "No necesito que nadie me diga nada…". ¡Cuidado! Que tu dureza nunca te impida recibir un buen consejo.Esta terquedad nos lleva a un punto muy peligroso: querer ocupar el lugar de Dios. Jeremías 18:12 (RVR1960) "Y dijeron: Es en vano; porque en pos de nuestros ídolos iremos, y haremos cada uno el pensamiento de nuestro malvado corazón."La dureza te hace terco. Le pides consejo a alguien, te dicen "no lo hagas", y vas y lo haces de todos modos. La dureza te lleva a vivir como te da la gana. Y cuando vives exclusivamente siguiendo tu propia opinión y tus propios planes, estás intentando destronar a Dios para ser tú la máxima autoridad de tu vida.3. La destrucción del diseño: Divorcios físicos y espiritualesEsta insensibilidad y terquedad destruyen lo más sagrado. Hoy vemos un problema crónico donde la gente cree que el matrimonio es desechable: Mateo 19:7-8 (RVR1960) "7 Le dijeron: ¿Por qué, pues, mandó Moisés dar carta de divorcio, y repudiarla? 8 Él les dijo: Por la dureza de vuestro corazón Moisés os permitió repudiar a vuestras mujeres; más al principio no fue así."Jesús es tajante: el divorcio (fuera de las cláusulas graves que da la Biblia) no es el diseño original, es el resultado de un corazón endurecido. Es el fruto de decir "ya no nos entendemos" en lugar de tener la humildad para ceder. El ego se siente bien cuando logra manipular o poner al otro contra las cuerdas, pero a la larga, destruye la familia.Y ojo, porque la dureza también causa divorcios espirituales. Hay quienes dicen: "Ya no voy a congregarme, en mi casa estoy más cómodo". Claro, en casa escoges lo que quieres oír, pero en comunidad tienes que tolerar. "Me voy porque hay mucha hipocresía", dicen otros. Quien busca excusar su ausencia señalando los errores de los demás, refleja un corazón de diamante. El evangelio no nos enseña a aislarnos a la primera ofensa, nos enseña a amar a pesar de las imperfecciones.4. El antídoto: Ser "fáciles de amar" y el Espíritu SantoLa fe tiene dos dimensiones: nuestra relación con Dios y nuestra relación con los demás. ¿Eres tú una persona amable? Ser amable no es solo saludar; ser amable significa ser "fácil de amar".Pregúntate: en tu hogar, ¿eres fácil de amar? ¿Tus hijos te honran solo porque es un mandamiento, o te has ganado su corazón con tu trato? Qué hermoso es cuando la gente te aprecia gratis, cuando relacionarse contigo no es pisar un campo minado.Si reconoces que has sido duro, no todo está perdido. Dios prometió la solución de raíz: Ezequiel 36:26-27 (RVR1960) "26 Os daré corazón nuevo, y pondré espíritu nuevo dentro de vosotros; y quitaré de vuestra carne el corazón de piedra, y os daré un corazón de carne. 27 Y pondré dentro de vosotros mi Espíritu..."Quizás digas: "Pastor, yo soy duro porque me crié sin amor, me han engañado y humillado, y me volví inflexible para que no me lastimen". A ti te digo hoy: son los corazones lastimados los que más lastiman a otros.No permitas que tu corazón se quede como una piedra. Deja que el Espíritu Santo te dé un corazón de carne. Rinde tu orgullo y llévate esta verdad: Para todo corazón herido y endurecido, el amor de Jesús sigue siendo la respuesta.

Tonight on JT's Mix Tape we dive into the growing "Disclosure Day" narrative, UFO propaganda, ancient architecture, and the biblical concept of Satan's Little Season. We examine claims about alien disclosure, discuss whether UFO encounters are actually demonic, review recent end-times discussions, and explore fascinating connections between Edom, Herod, Obadiah, Malachi, and Revelation. We'll also take a look at incredible Old World architecture in Virginia and discuss why some historical narratives deserve a second look. #jtfollowsjc #LittleSeason #DisclosureDay #BibleProphecy #Aliens #UFOs #Revelation Chapters 00:00 Opening Prayer & Updates 04:30 JT's Mix Tape Patreon Update 06:00 Old World Architecture Discussion 09:50 Roanoke Cathedral Tour 12:30 Salem Courthouse & Ancient Architecture 16:00 Virginia Tech & Old World Buildings 24:00 Disclosure Day Discussion 29:00 Spielberg's Alien Movie Review 38:00 Why Disclosure Day Failed 41:00 Satan's Little Season Debate 44:00 Obadiah and Edom Explained 49:00 Malachi, Esau & the Priests 54:00 Herod the Great and the Edomites 58:00 Jerusalem & Prophecy Discussion 01:02:00 Matthew 24 Breakdown 01:11:00 Daniel 8 and the 2300 Days 01:21:00 Mark of the Beast Discussion 01:23:00 Polygamy & Seventh-Day Adventism 01:25:00 Q&ABecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jt-s-mix-tape--6579902/support.Please support our sponsor Modern Roots Life: https://modernrootslife.com/?bg_ref=rVWsBoOfcFPatreon: https://patreon.com/JT_Follows_JC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkJESUS SAID THERE WOULD BE HATERS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/mens-shirts/JT's Hats: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/hats/Coaching Program: https://www.echoesoftruthnetwork.com/joinTelegram Group: https://t.me/jtsmixtape

The Song of Moses15.1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.2 The Lord is my strength and my song,    and he has become my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise him,    my father's God, and I will exalt him.3 The Lord is a man of war;    the Lord is his name.4 “Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.5 The floods covered them;    they went down into the depths like a stone.6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,    your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;    the floods stood up in a heap;    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?12 You stretched out your right hand;    the earth swallowed them.13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.16 Terror and dread fall upon them;    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,till your people, O Lord, pass by,    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,    the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

We journey with the Israelites as they face resistance and hostility from nations like Edom and the Amorites on their way to the Land of Canaan. Despite these challenges, God continuously provides victory for His people. The Israelites face a significant event where God sends serpents due to their lack of faith and continuous complaints. However, they find healing by looking at a bronze serpent that Moses sets up on a pole. 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: @realbiblebriefX: @biblebriefFacebook: @realbiblebriefEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.orgWant to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out our partner Biblingo (and use our link/code for a discount!): https://biblin...

Prophecies against Ammon, Edom, and others. Then we enter the "finale", an incredible but mystifying future look at "Babylon."

Part 11 of the series in Isaiah. Universal global judgement, with Edom as its focus, but a new creation. Then the account of the turning back of the Assyrians from Jerusalem.

In our continuing study of Genesis, our focus shifts briefly from Jacob's family to that of his twin brother, Esau. Esau is the father of the nation of Edom. He was a handsome man but lived by following his sinful human nature. Beginning with him, the Edomites become a large and proud nation.

In this message from the book of Obadiah, Pastor Landon continues our study through the Minor Prophets by exploring one of the shortest books in the Old Testament—and one of the most powerful. Obadiah confronts the pride of Edom, a nation that trusted in its strength, security, wisdom, and alliances rather than in God. Through this prophetic warning, we are reminded that pride deceives the heart, resists God's grace, and ultimately leads to destruction. Yet the message does not end in judgment. It points us to the hope found in surrendering to Jesus Christ. Through the examples of Edom and Christ, we see two very different paths: self-exaltation versus humility, self-rule versus surrender, pride versus grace. While Edom sought to elevate itself, Jesus humbled Himself—even to the point of death on a cross—so that sinners could be redeemed. This sermon challenges us to examine our own hearts. Are we building our own kingdom, or are we surrendering to God's? Obadiah reminds us that every earthly kingdom will pass away, but one kingdom will remain forever: “The kingdom shall be the Lord's.” (Obadiah 1:21) Speaker: Pastor Landon Churchill Date: 5/31/2026 ComeToFreedom.com

→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes → Timestamps: (00:00) A brief overview of these chapters.(02:35) The Israelites murmur and complain in the wilderness. How we respond to our afflictions will shape our character. We can strive to see God's hand in our lives like Nephi and Francis Webster.(15:34) The book of Numbers contains evidence that it is a compilation of separate traditions. Understanding these traditions helps to explain some contradictions in the text.(21:48) Israel murmurs and lusts for meat instead of manna. The Lord abundantly blesses them with quail.(25:11) Moses complains that he can't bear the burden alone and is commanded to choose 70 to assist him. The very essence of Christianity is to have compassion for those who are downtrodden.(29:24) The Greek translation of manna leads to fascinating possibilities. The Israelites loathe the manna and want something exciting and new.(35:41) Aaron and Miriam challenge Moses' authority. Numbers 12 portrays Moses as God's authorized representative, emphasizing hierarchical priesthood authority.(39:08) Moses sends 12 spies to search the land of Canaan. Ten of them bring back a negative report, telling of giants inhabiting the land. Joshua and Caleb give a positive report and say that Israel can take the land of Canaan.(43:20) Moses stands as intercessor, working to convince the Lord to not smite the Israelites. The adult Israelites murmur and want to die in the wilderness. The Lord grants this request, while also emphasizing that he desires to have a righteous people who will build Zion.(47:34) Miriam and Aaron die in the wilderness. Moses will see, but not enter the promised land.(49:42) The king of Edom refuses to let Israel pass peacefully through his land. We can choose to not be offended.(52:04) The Israelites are plagued and bitten by fiery serpents. Moses lifts up a serpent of brass to save those who will look upon it. This story is told in greater detail in the Book of Mormon. We should not be slothful because of the easiness of the way.(1:00:00) Og, the king of Bashan, is described as the last of the giants. His bed is described with the same dimensions as that of Marduk, a Mesopotamian deity.(1:02:16) Balak offers Balaam money, cattle, and great honors to curse Israel. Balaam refuses, and instead pronounces great blessings upon Israel.(1:13:54) Another perspective on why the Lord was angry with Balaam. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 370 | Numbers, Come Follow Me 2026 (May 4-10) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.