Podcasts about his sovereign

New Age Alien Deceptions (audio) David Eells - 4/20/25   The camel's nose is in the tent. We are headed towards a New World Order in the midst of a Galactic Federation of “aliens” aka, demons by those of discernment. (Who of us voted for this? The Alliance leaders did. Is this Communism?) I want to share with you some updates regarding the AI, New Age and Alien Deceptions we are witnessing among the Alliance and others. I'm going to begin with some recent headlines from Operation Disclosure (4/17/25) that point to this federation: ·         Thurs. 24 April 2025: Planetary Council announced. New Global Alliance leaders step forward. Non-territorial cooperation treaty signed by 177 nations. (We are to be realigned as a one world order) ·         Sun. 27 April 2025: Interplanetary programs declassified. First public mention of secret space operations. Unity Accord with Off World Representatives acknowledged. (When did we have a say?) ·         Tues. 29 April 2025: New Earth Constitutions signed locally. Communities select Peace Councils to represent them in the Planetary Council. “Governments” replaced with Service Cells. (We are being absorbed into their Galactic terminology) ·         Wed. 30 April 2025: Final transfer to Quantum Internet complete. All devices migrate to Q-Net. Artificial Intelligence fully transparent, accountable and people-aligned. (We cannot be aligned with antichrist) ·         Fri. 2 May 2025: Healing centers begin opening across continents. Med Beds, DNA repair chambers, and neuro-harmonization technologies become publicly available. The Age of Restoration officially begins. (We must now harmonize with the rest of the pagan planet and Galaxy.) ·         Sat. 3 May 2025: The first interspecies council meeting is broadcast worldwide. Humanity is formally acknowledged as a sovereign civilization by the Galactic Alliance. Contact protocols enter public discourse. (A federation does not permit a sovereign planet.) ·         Sun. 4 May 2025: “Earth Year Zero” is initiated. (Is our history now abolished?) A new planetary calendar replaces systems rooted in empire and conflict. Time now begins from the moment of planetary liberation. (Resistance is Futile says the Borg.) ·         Mon. 5 May 2025: Starport construction begins in seven geostrategic locations. Civilian transport to orbital gateways is confirmed. Terra-farming partnerships announced for Mars and Luna sectors. ·         Wed. 7 May 2025: The Department of Human Advancement launches. Global curricula shifts toward consciousness training, ethics, quantum sciences, and planetary stewardship. ·         Thurs. 8 May 2025: Agricultural reset begins. Geo-engineered soil is restored. Food independence programs roll out. Seed vaults opened under open-source planetary stewardship mandates. ·         Fri. 9 May 2025: Language harmonization initiatives commence. (Back to Babel?) Ancient root languages are integrated into education. Telepathic development modules introduced for children under 9. (Will we know who is training our children?) ·         Sat. 10 May 2025: Planetary Defense Grid declared active. Not military—protective. Q-NET AI monitors for existential threats in space and time. Transparency dashboards are made public. ·         Sun. 11 May 2025: Official end of the Transition Phase. Humanity enters full-spectral sovereignty. No more passports. No more taxes. No more surveillance. Only stewardship, transparency, and service. A one world order.     How To Connect With The Galactic Federation https://thegalacticfederation.com/016-24 Many people believe that the Galactic Federation is a made up thing, some are so confused to even claim it's negative, but it is not. (If the people did not get to vote on this and the aliens are actually demons, this is traitorous.) The Galactic Federation is a group of highly evolved souls who have been around since the beginning of time. They are here to help you fulfill your purpose on earth. (Let the Bible be the judge.) The Galactic Federation is made of love, light, and peace. It is a collective of beings who have reached the highest level of consciousness possible. (Everybody believes that about their religion.) The Galactic Federation was created as an extension of each individual's soul to help them on their journey towards self-realization. They exist to help us live in harmony with one another, as well as with our environment and the rest of creation. Next, let me share a few revelations from brethren on our site that relate to these alien, aka demon deceptions.     Aliens Are Demons Manifested in Flesh There are many people convinced of “aliens” or “guides” that they feel are friendly to humanity, which is a strong delusion because all of the aliens are demons, as the Scripture says. Have you noticed that many of the Planet X / Nibiru researchers have fallen for what they read the ancients said of aliens showing up when Planet X did? They were deceived by demons as a type for our day. We should not be deceived; they are being released by God to deceive. Jud.5 Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6 And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. It is possible they will play the good alien / bad alien game to drive the multitudes into the camp of the so-called “good aliens,” but they are all demons.   G.C. - 06/15/10  (David's notes in red) In my dream, I was outside in a populated area, maybe in a park or something. It was nighttime and it seemed like any other summer night. All of a sudden, a lot of strange lights started appearing in the sky. First, it seemed like hundreds of shooting stars falling to Earth; then, as the light became more illuminated, the objects took the shape of spacecraft. The night sky was lit up like the Fourth of July! Everyone was shocked and amazed; from east to west, the sky filled with this armada of craft entering Earth's atmosphere. (What the ancients believed were aliens, who showed up during the time of Planet X, according to their writings, were in fact demons who are fallen angels and can take on the appearance of physical bodies, just like God's angels can, but for the purpose of deception. The Tribulation covenant could be made under the cover of catastrophes. Just as the Woman is going into the wilderness, there is a war in heaven and Satan and his fallen angels are cast to earth to deceive the whole world. Rev.12:9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. We also received a dream of a bright star falling from heaven and the confirming scripture Isaiah 14, where Satan is falling from heaven. Isa 14:12-13 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! 13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.) Satan deceives men into thinking he is God, and he is pleased with unregenerate, falsely called “good men,” which is the doctrine of the New Agers. 2Co.11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. The Alliance is bringing about many good moral changes but it appears they are complicit in this deception of the nations. Rev.18:23 and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. Back to the dream, I was very skeptical, even while seeing this with my own two eyes. I confidently told everyone, “Don't be fooled; it's a hologram!” (Which is one of the theories.) I thought these sights were just a crafty trick (which is true but not as a false vision) but then the ships started to get closer to the ground and they ultimately landed. By this time, I was starting to get bewildered; I didn't know what to think. I was really caught off guard. I thought for sure it was all some sort of illusion by the evil rulers of the world. (Is the Alliance in on the plan of “strong delusion”, which is according to God's will to separate the wheat from the tares? 2Th.2:8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (Can fallen angels perform lying wonders? Did we get to vote on joining the Galactic Federation?) 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 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 appears in this dream the fallen angels' deception is so strong that God's people will be tested to see who really believes. Mar.13:22 for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect.) Once the craft landed, the door opened and some humanoid beings walked out. Everyone was amazed and startled at the same time. I couldn't believe my eyes. Still believing this was a hologram, I ran over to the ship to touch it and realized it was real. (Satan and his angels are very technological, if they have to be, and have the ability to manifest and interact with the physical realm. They gave men atomic bombs and anti-gravity flying saucers.) I swallowed hard, realizing I was wrong, and I ran back to the crowd. The humanoid beings dressed in Star Trek-type apparel were being led out by a blond-haired woman. (There is a woman who has introduced many to speaking and hearing from aliens. This is no different than a seance, which is speaking to aliens called familiar spirits.) I, being overwhelmed and slightly intimidated, ran up to her and began to rebuke her in my tongue language. (I often do this in dreams when I feel physically or mentally helpless against an enemy; it often gets me results.) I thought for sure she would shrivel up in a puddle of goop, like something out of The Wizard of Oz. But, to my astonishment, she just kind of pushed me out of the way, without even acknowledging me. I was perplexed. (The answer to this is, when God sends a delusion to deceive the evil world, we cannot cast it down, nor should we try to. 2Th.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. As you can see, we only have authority to help the believers.) I watched the group of beings disperse into the crowd. It seemed like they had specific orders and didn't even stop to talk to anyone; they just went about whatever it is they were sent here for. I remember being surrounded by hundreds of people like me -- everyone just totally in awe of what they saw. After some time, I started to see the beings again, but now they did not look like humans. They had glass faces, like ice. It was like they were wearing a mask, but they weren't -- I could see through their heads and nothing was inside. (fallen spirits) They had hideous, clown-like faces with big smiles, like jack-o-lanterns. (Thinking these beings to be mere humanoids while in fact they are demon-possessed is more common than we think. But the whole world outside of Christ will be deceived and possessed.) They were now corralling people like cattle in different areas (FEMA camps). The adults were forced to separate from the children and were taken to a designated area. The children were all taken to another area and placed in long lines, all of which led into a large circus-like tent. (This alien disclosure will bring much confusion and distraction as well as cause some people to give up their faith in the One True God.) None of the children quite knew what was happening; they were all a little less concerned than the adults. I remember leaving the adult group and running over to see what was happening to the children. After seeing what was taking place, I immediately woke up.   I Met Satan :o) G.C. - 4/19/11 (David's notes in red) I would like to share a dream I had that confirms we should not fear Satan or evil. Evil is not as powerful as our minds sometimes imagine, and Satan is no different. I dreamed that I was with an unknown person in this dream who I believe was an angel. I could tell he knew a lot more of what was going on than I did. I accompanied him everywhere he went. I was like an observer. Toward the end of the dream, we entered an elevator. This elevator took us deep inside the Earth. I was told we were going to Hell to see Satan. The ride took a long time and my mind was wondering about how Satan would really appear. I was thinking, “Would he be intimidating? Would he be scary? How would I react to seeing him?” Once we arrived at the very bottom, the door opened. I looked around and we were inside a very large, dark cave. Hell was just like I'd imagined it: Big, dark and cavernous. I looked out of the area we were in and looked out into the larger opening. I saw armies and very sophisticated weapons. There was violence taking place and fire was everywhere; it was almost like a war itself. One of the weapons spotted us as we came out of the elevator and fired a missile at us, but it missed and exploded against the wall. My companion, the angel, was never frightened; it was like he knew nothing could hurt him. As he walked, I followed; he knew right where he was walking. He came to a door off in a dark corner in the cave. I realized this was Satan's office. Behind the door was the evil one himself. My heart was racing, not from fear but from the suspense. The angel I was with opened the door and there sat Satan in a chair behind a desk. But to my amazement, Satan was not a seven-foot giant with goat horns. He was a clown. Yes, a clown. And a cartoon clown at that. I was shocked and a little disappointed. I was expecting something more terrifying. Clearly the Lord is saying that Satan and his demons are putting on a false face but are not to be feared. Luk.10:17 And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. The angel then revealed to me that Satan is planning something big for Earth. During our trip back up in the elevator, I saw all these green vines shooting up through the elevator shaft from Hell and they were headed straight to Earth. There were a lot of them, like something from Jack and the Beanstalk. But instead of reaching from Earth to the heavens, they were going from Hell to the earth above. Then I woke up. (According to the follow up dream that Father gave him recently, the vines represent the alien deception that satan is sending to earth from the pit of hell.) G.C. said, “Below is a continuation from the dream above from 2011 called. “I Met Satan”. It has the “green vines connection” where green vines were growing up from hell, and the angel told me, “Satan is planning something big for Earth.” Well, it seems the green vines finally made it to Earth and the plan is revealed....     Satan is Planning Something Big for Earth G.C. - 5/13/22 (David's notes in red) G.C. said, “For a little context, many years ago I worked for mortgage companies securing and repairing vacant foreclosures.” I dreamed that my dad and I had been given a work order to secure and inspect a foreclosed home in Los Angeles, California. (Los Angeles means, “The angels.”) It was a big house in a nice neighborhood. It was owned by a black husband and wife in their 50's or 60's. (UFOs and aliens were big in the 50's and 60's. The black couple owning the house could represent that this is a house of sinners submitted to darkness.) (I gathered this information by looking at their family photos still left at the property.) I thought these folks looked very successful from the photos. It didn't make sense to me how they could lose their house to foreclosure. (Foreclosure means that they can't pay their debt so the house is taken back. The debt for our house has been paid by faith in Jesus. If it's not paid because there is no faith, then it belongs to the devil.) I thought maybe one or both of them died. But I wasn't sure. I just knew something was amiss. (When one loses one's house to the devil, their soul is his too.) We proceeded through the large house, taking photos with a camera I had rented at a local camera shop. These photos were to be provided to the bank. Then we walked into the basement and to our utter amazement, we saw a small alien infant tangled up in green vines that appeared to be growing from the floor of the basement. (And according to the previous dream, they came straight out of hell. This represents the alien deception.) The vines were attached to the wall and the infant was wrapped up in them. He had a large brown head with 2 large eyes. When we saw him and approached him he became aggressive and hissed at us. (The aliens/demons hate Christians.) I remember taking the rented camera and snapping pictures of him. Even though I was astonished at this, I was not overly distracted by it. I proceeded with my work at the property. My dad and I decided not to show the photos to anyone as it would become a distraction to the public. (Could this represent the Father hiding things from the wise and prudent and revealing them unto babes?) I knew people would not be ready to see this. I downloaded the photos, removed them from the camera and told my dad to return the camera to the shop. Later, I sent my report and inspection photos to the bank. The next day, I was out and about and realized the whole world was aware of the alien we had found! They had our photos! They were in every publication and on every news station. I had no idea how this had leaked. (True Christians will recognize this as a deception while the rest of the world will swallow the lie, like the waters out of the mouth of the Dragon.) I assumed it was because we returned the camera and the camera shop found the photos on the device and released them. I knew we had discovered it, but no one would ever know our identity. I was ok with that, but I was a little disturbed by how and why they were released. The world was in a frenzy, to say the least. A few days had passed and I was sent back to the same home by the bank to remove the small area of vines growing in the basement. When I got back to the house, the alien child was gone, but the basement dining room was now absolutely full of green vines. (This will be a worldwide deception that will be ‘fed' to all the people.) The walls and ceiling were now covered. I was supposed to remove them, and it was a daunting task. Then, my dad showed up, and we were talking about the alien. The next thing I knew, I stumbled across the rented camera in the basement. I got so upset at my dad because he returned the case but not the camera. (Honestly, I was worried about the late fees. Lol) He said he forgot to look inside the case when he returned it. I realized something strange had happened. How did the world know of the alien if we never took the camera back? Who released the photos? Then I woke up. (2Th 2:8-12 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 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.)     Flesh is Born of Flesh and Not Demons Excerpt from: Sons of God, Aliens and Giants   David Eells God said in John 3:6, That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. So Demons cannot birth Children through humans. Demons can infest humans with lying spirits. (Gen.6:1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, (2) that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose. Believers are the sons of God mentioned here and in the rest of the Scriptures (Psa.82:6; Dt.14:1,2; Hos.1:10; Isa.43:6; etc.). Notice this was “when men began to multiply” not angels. Jesus quoted Psa.82:6 to His people: (82:6) I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High. To be a son you must be born of God, not created, as the angels. Adam was called a son of God and he was born of God when He breathed into him the breath or Spirit (same Hebrew word) of life. Only his flesh was created from the earth and so was ours, which came from his. God specifically says that He never called an angel His son nor are they born of Him. (Heb.1:5) For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten (Greek: “born”) thee?.... God specifically says their spirits were created. (7) And of the angels he saith, Who maketh (created) his angels winds (Greek: “spirits”). The proponents of this false doctrine say that Satan came among the angels in Job who were said to be sons of God. It does not say that. Satan, the highest fallen angel, was not a son of God but only came among them to be their accuser as he did with Job. (Job 1:6) Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan also came among them. He immediately begins to accuse them to God. (11) But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will renounce thee to thy face. Here is the same case. (Zec.3:1) And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. (2) And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. (3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. Joshua, the Hebrew word for Jesus, and Jerusalem represent the same thing here, the body of Christ, who are being accused by Satan. Paul said the heavenly Jerusalem was “the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” (Heb.12:23). We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. We, as the sons of God present ourselves before him constantly and Satan comes among us to accuse us. We are never out of God's presence. You will notice that God separated the line of Seth and the line of Cain in Gen.4 and 5, just as he separated Israel from the Gentiles and commanded them to not cross. In the New Testament Christians are forbidden to marry unbelievers (1 Cor.7:39), although if you are married to one do not leave them for God can save them (7:12-14). Notice in all three of these cases we are talking about crossing the sons of God and the sons of the Devil, or men, which is strictly forbidden (1 Cor.7:39; Ezra 9:2; 10:10; 2 Cor.6:14-18). In all of these cases when the sons of God fell away they began to have fellowship with fallen angels which we call demons (Psa.78:49, called here “angels of evil”; 2 Cor.12:7; Greek: “angel of Satan”) Demons did not directly create giants because they cannot. The Scripture teaches that each seed brings forth after its own kind. Jesus said, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. Therefore, spirits cannot bring forth flesh. Some would argue that Jesus was born of God. Jesus' spirit was born of God but His flesh was born of David through Mary; “the seed of the woman”. Rom.1:3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Spirits can inhabit bodies of men that can procreate but they cannot have anything to do with making giants through marrying the daughters of men. (Mat.22:29) But Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (30) For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven. Fallen angels do not procreate man's flesh but his spirit and soul. Spirits sow a spiritual seed, not a physical one. Jesus is the Word, who in Matthew 13 sowed the seed of the Word in His people's heart to bring forth His fruit in them, 30, 60, and 100 fold. In Mat.13:24,27,32 the word for seed in Greek is “sperma”. Demons also sow their “sperm” in mankind's hearts to bring forth their evil fruit but this is their spiritual man and not their flesh. Seth, the son of God, is mentioned in the spiritual lineage of Jesus. (Luk.3:38) the [son] of Enos, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God You will notice that God mentions all of Cain's wicked descendants in Gen.4:16-24. After this we are told, (Gen. 4:25) And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth. For, [said she], God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him. (26) And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Lord. Notice after all that evil seed God gave one to replace Abel the righteous seed. Why didn't any of Cain's seed replace Abel as a righteous seed? Obviously, his seed were evil. (1 Jn.3:12) not as Cain was of the evil one. Only after Seth and his son were born did the scripture say “men (plural) began to call on the name of the Lord”. Obviously Cain and his tribe did not call on the Lord. They were sons and daughters of men and as such called on the devil. After Adam there was not another son of God born until Seth; skipping over all of the seed of Cain. (Gen.5:3) And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness, after his image (a son of God) ; and called his name Seth. Notice none of Cain's descendants were sons of God but were of men. How then were the giants made? Seth and Cain's lineages stayed separate for hundreds of years. They inbred within their lines, which was not against the command of God at this time. In nature, especially after the curse, this deteriorates the line. They became weaker, smaller, and less intelligent. Wherever there has been in-breeding today, the descendants are sickly in mind and body. When the sons of God began to fall away some became inhabited by demons. This also happened in Israel and Christianity because history always repeats. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. When after years of inbreeding the fallen sons of God and the sons of men crossed, making what is called in nature hybrids. The “Nephilim” were bigger, stronger, and more intelligent because as hybrids they end up with the better physical characteristics of both lines. Later in the Law God forbid inbreeding, at least with close relatives. Now even cousins are a no-no because the farther from Adam we go the stronger the curse has become. The serpent obviously walked on legs in the Garden because God cursed him to crawl on his belly. That curse was gradual and increased as time went by. Even in Job's day, which was in Jacob's day, he saw dinosaurs in Job 40:15 - 41:34. You have to ignore the translator's silly notes calling them hippopotamus and crocodile. We have never seen a hippo with a tail like a cedar tree or a croc that stood so tall that a multitude of men with spears and arrows dared not even approach him. The dinosaurs were serpents with legs. Even today some serpents have vestiges of legs beneath their skin. The fire-breathing dragon in Job 41:18-21 was a tyrannosaurus. This was one type of the serpent in that time but it was cast down by the curse to crawl on its belly. Rev.12:9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent...The increasing curse made it more and more improbable for giants, human or beast, to be bred.     “Added Books of the Bible” Disproven by God David Eells – 4/20/25 The people are wrong who say: “There were other books of the Bible that should have been included or the apocryphal books should not have been taken out. Saying we only had 66 of them, while many were missing. The White Hats retrieved all of them from the basement of the Vatican.” Who made these people experts on the anointed words which they have never followed? There have been many books hidden at the Vatican, but Numerics is a pattern in every letter of the original Greek and Hebrew, parts of which are shown in various ancient manuscripts. Every manuscript can be proven as to where this pattern is or isn't, showing the original text. This pattern was designed by God to prove that only the 66 books are inspired by Him. No other book has been found to have this complete pattern in every letter and its position. The Catholics added their apocryphal books that were proven not to have this pattern. The original KJV had these books in it. Satan and his “aliens” want desperately to pollute the Bible. The “New Agers” throw out the book of Revelations, which has this perfect pattern disproving their 1000 years of peace. Where the original “Numeric Greek New Testament” is used Bible skip sequence codes will show up all through the text. God pronounces a curse at the end of the true Bible on all who add to or take from its Words. Rev 22:18-21 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.     66 Books Proven by Math Science Proves the Bible Numeric English New Testament The Holy Bible, Wholly True Numerics and the KJV Numeric Materials   Now I'm going to share an excerpt from this book by Philippe Besnard on New Age. Why? Because this sect has invaded the Alliance and is totally defenseless against this demon deception along with the Unitarian types and long dead “Christian” religions of shifting sands. Only the firm foundation of the Word and infilling of the Holy Spirit will give discernment.     Spiritual Warfare- Revelation of a New-Age Deception https://www.ubm1.org/spiritualwarfare-besnard.pdf (David's Notes in Red) North America, Birthplace of the Modern New-Age Movement (When I met Philippe, he was coming out of 30 years of the New Age movement, and as such, he was an expert in describing it.) The North American continent is the birthplace of the modern New Age movement, and when I immigrated to Canada from France, I felt in awe of what I saw as the vibrant “new spirituality” of this wild land. In comparison, I thought France and old Europe were still living in the Middle Ages. France is now catching up with the New Age, but for many years, it has been very slow to emerge. As part of my new identity, adapting to a new culture and learning English, I became a true product of the New Age. I was eager to embrace the lifestyle and social and spiritual trends of my adoptive country. For thirty years I had earnestly followed New Age teaching, traveled to workshops, conferences, seminars, training sessions, and festivals, met many of its teachers, and was personally taught by some of them. I had received countless readings from channelers, psychics, astrologers, palm readers, and Tarot card readers. I received spiritual healings from healers of all faiths and denominations, and even so-called “DNA activation” from a “Spiritual Scientist”. But the Bible says in Lev.19:31 “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” I had embraced the mystic path and the contemplative lifestyle. I practiced yoga and meditation for many years; sat in Darshan to receive the blessings of gurus, and participated in Satsang, chanting the names of Hindu deities and Buddhist mantras. I facilitated devotional evenings with my guitar, chanting Sanskrit mantras, the music of which I had composed. I traveled to India twice and other countries in the Far East seeking “truth, wisdom, enlightenment, and good karma”. I have been in the company of, and received teachings from, a number of swamis, gurus, yogis, lamas and so-called “enlightened” Western spiritual teachers. As a nature lover, I had worshipped Nature, called the earth Gaia, followed and believed in various native teachings and Shamanism. My space at home was cluttered with New-Age paraphernalia on the walls, tables, and corners. In the garden, I had crystals, posters, images and statues of Buddha and Hindu deities. The New Age is a melting pot made of practically every religious and occult philosophy found in the world. It is a strange convergence of mysticism, holism, pantheism, aboriginal animism, humanism, Luciferian Western occultism with Freemasonry, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, modern Masonic witchcraft (called Wicca), the Illuminati, apostate Christianity, Gnosticism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Zen, Sufism and Hinduism. The New Age is a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an interest in Druidism, shamanism, neo-paganism, Voodoo, exploration of human sexuality, environmentalism, modern-day occultism, worship of “Mother” Earth, psychic healing and extraterrestrial phenomena. Most of the ancient origins of the New Age are found in classical Hinduism, Buddhism, and pagan Babylonian religions. So, despite the name “New” Age, we are dealing here with a very ancient system. Paganism is a people or a community observing a polytheistic religion, which is the worship of many gods, as opposed to monotheism, the worship of One Almighty God, the Creator of All that is. A Pagan is also called an irreligious heathen, gentile, or hedonistic person... The great New-Age plan is dedicated to the unification of all races, religions and creeds. This plan is claiming to establish a “new order of things”, it is to make all things new - a new nation, a new race, a new civilization and a new non-sectarian one world religion that has already been recognized by the United Nations. This New Age globalism movement advocates a one-world government, a one-world religion, and a one-world economy; and this would mean the destruction of the sovereignty of nations and religions. New Age teachers are using standard texts of Eastern religions such as the Hindu Baghavad-Gita and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as well as writings of Jewish mysticism called Kabbala and those gnostic scriptures often called the Apocrypha. Over the years, I became more and more confused in studying such “new revelations” as the Urantia book, the Keys of Enoch. (Academy for Future Science), A Course in Miracles, Elizabeth Clare Prophet (of The Church Universal and Triumphant). (General Flynn in Sept. 2021 offered a prayer at a large church gathering of Trump worshipping, patriotic “Christians” that originated from Elizabeth Clare Prophet invoking the 7 fold rays and the arch angels. Rick Wiles has denounced Michael Flynn, because he delivered a “New Age prayer” almost word for word by Elizabeth Claire Prophet, a New Age Theosophist and Christian Science advocate, at pastor Hank Kunneman's Christian conference last week and had everyone in the congregation repeat the invocation after him: “ Rick said, “My advice to you is to separate from Gen. Michael Flynn.” In this prayer Flynn invokes “the 7 fold rays and the arch angels”, “in your name and the name of your legions” to help guide humanity (Ascended Masters) and protect us against the enemy and further the purposes of their agenda. (Who is his god? And to whom is he praying?) The “7 fold rays and the arch angels” is based on New Age Theosophy developed by Helena Blavatsky. By the way, you can not achieve the rank of a military general without being initiated. The White Dragons who support the Alliance behind the scenes believe that the Abrahamic God is satan @ 11:53 minutes. (What's Behind General Flynn and the White Hats Alliance? Here is an informative Link: https://youtu.be/Dkx7v0JTmmw) Back to Philippe's text: I also studied... Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophy), Edgar Cayce, Law of One, Aquarian gospel of Jesus Christ, Heindel Max (the Rosicrucian cosmo-conception-Mystic Christianity) the Gnostic gospels. There is a lack of uniformity in the doctrines of the New Age. The beliefs of New Agers vary from ‘group to group' and ‘person to person.' Thus, it is difficult to have a clear definition and a solid understanding of what the New Age really is. I believe this confusion has been created on purpose. It is very hard to pinpoint, identify and shoot the enemy when it is moving constantly, shape-shifting, or invisible. People entering these movements are generally concerned with having an experience, and not necessarily with finding the truth. Their actions are determined by feelings, not intellect. The emphasis is on “practicing and becoming god” and this is why meditation and many other techniques that teach “stillness of the mind” and a “receptive feeling mode” are promoted. We are told to “follow our bliss”, “go with the flow”, “let loose”, to “transcend the limitation of the mind,” and to “experience the pleasure and the ecstasy of the body”. Using your mind to discriminate and discern has become taboo. The principle of “spiritual vibration” is the belief that all things vibrate at some frequency. The ultimate goal of all New-Age practices is for humanity to vibrate at the same frequency so that we can all become one, spiritually and mentally. “We are all one”, this most repeated New-Age catch phrase, wants us to believe the unity of all things, heaven and earth, spirit and matter, the invisible and the visible worlds, the great melting pot of Darkness, Light, and everything in between. (WWG1WGA?) This “All is ONE”, “all is good”, “don't worry, be happy”, “don't judge” and “be in the moment” is a disastrous recipe that generates apathy and complacency. It is creating a generation of self-seeking, egotistical people who are indifferent to iniquity and the suffering of others. I have been a dedicated student of this school of thought and I have practiced being fully in my body, opening all “the inner channels” and feeling “the subtle currents”. I was proud of “feeling and being” but I was a total fool...! I had lost common sense and the ability to discern and discriminate good from evil. I didn't want to judge anything or anybody for the fear of being unloving, and spiritually not evolved. What a perfect brainwashing and a diabolical device to enslave, control people and turn them into powerless puppets! I was losing my God-given right to discriminate and I didn't realize that judging is necessary for preserving the integrity of my soul. I used to confuse judging with condemning, and I know this confusion had been fostered on purpose. Then I discovered I can judge a situation or someone without condemning and feel love and compassion toward all the parties involved. This was a very liberating and empowering realization. Of course, our human judgment is flawed and imperfect, but as we draw closer to God, we learn true Divine Justice. (And discernment)     Is Darkness Real and Is it a Sovereign Force? The beginning of the story starts with a question I have been asking myself over the years: “And what about God?” I often wonder how God is seeing me, seeing us, seeing the world. I often cry out to Him, asking, “Why, God? Why is there so much pain and suffering everywhere on this beautiful planet? Why is there so much injustice, poverty, and violence?” Do you have the feeling, as I and many others do, that something ominous is about to happen and that we are only seeing the beginning of a momentous transformation? It seems with each day, the world is spiraling down into greater chaos, deception, and destruction. I know a lot of us choose to look at the positive and ignore the increasingly rapid deterioration of our civilization, but refusing to see that anything serious is happening, denying that we, as a human race, are in deep trouble is not going to change it, resolve it, or make it go away. No, in fact, denying is not seeing, and if we don't see, we are blind and hopeless to change anything. Because of my willingness to honestly acknowledge and recognize the darkness pervading our world, I have been more readily able to recognize that this darkness is also within myself. I realized I can only change something in the world or within myself when I am fully aware of what is truly happening. I have heard many times people saying, “The dark only exists when you believe in it. If you believe in the devil, in darkness, you are giving it power, but if you focus on the light, the dark has no place to be.” I tried that belief on, wearing it for some time, but darkness was still there. This belief crippled my ability to discriminate evil from good. Is not believing in darkness preventing darkness from manifesting? Is the world such a paradise that there is no darkness to be seen anywhere? How can anyone believe this? The dark, of course, wants you to believe it is not there but even the most remote paradisiacal Pacific island has murder, theft, violence, greed, etc. In my twenties, I lived on Boraccai, a remote Philippine paradise island, for five months. I was living in a bamboo hut on the beach with no electricity, no running water or any modern amenities. Life was so gentle and simple, I felt surely, I had found the Garden of Eden. One morning, I heard that a man had been murdered the previous night. There had been some drinking and a knife fight broke out. I was deeply shaken to the core, as was most of the tiny population of the island. My innocent naivety that the world is a safe place was completely shattered. In that one moment I became aware of the pervading presence of the dark. “The light” is such a broad, impersonal concept when it is not mentioned as an attribute of God. In fact, many of us embrace the concept of “the light” standing all by itself as a sovereign, impersonal, beneficial force that is replacing the Name of God. Few people know the dark is quite capable and is a master at parading and appearing as the “light”. 2Co.11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. There is the assumption prevalent in New-Age circles that the light needs the presence of the dark to exist. We are told that within the fabric of the universe there is built in an eternal polarity that makes the light of God not being able to exist without the darkness of Lucifer. This is a clever but absurd concept invented, of course, by the dark to deceive people into accepting Lucifer as a legitimate, purposeful, and even beneficial force. The great paradox is this: that Lucifer is, indeed, purposeful, not as an independent sovereign entity but as a force that God uses for His own plan. The dark was created and is allowed to exist by God for His Sovereign purpose and actually needs God's approval and permission to continue to exist. On the other hand, God obviously exists outside of this fallen, polarized world and has no need whatsoever of anything or anybody outside of Himself. There is no darkness in the Kingdom of God, not even anything that remotely resembles darkness. 1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If there is no darkness in the Kingdom of God, then surely this planet, which has been corrupted with darkness since the beginning of time, is not the Kingdom of God. Jesus confirmed that fact by saying: My kingdom is not of this world: John 18:36 Of course, this doesn't mean God is not present or is removed from His creation, but I wondered why God allows darkness to be here. Please be patient with me as I attempt to offer my understanding based on the fruit of my life experiences and the teachings found in the Bible.     The New-Age Movement For over thirty years I had been searching for God and the Truth while being completely lost in the great deception of the New Age. I was immersed in New-Age thinking, was an intimate part of its movement, and worked to promote its philosophy and belief system. I was brainwashed to blindly accept and embrace New-Age occult knowledge, and I was convinced my life of service and my spiritual studies were the highest expression of my love for God. I was sincere, as most New-Agers are, but I was also completely deceived and clueless. My study and knowledge of esoteric and ancient mysteries gave me a sense of belonging to the highest-evolved portion of humanity. Although I have always managed to retain some humility in my being, through a natural devotion to the Lord, I still had a typical new-age persona, a spiritual vanity, that vague illusion of having achieved a higher consciousness. This was constantly reinforced by countless readings, which I had received over the years from psychics, clairvoyants, mediums and channelers. I was repeatedly told how great, spiritual, and amazing I was and how I had come here on earth from the higher angelic realms to save lost mankind. I was a walking earth angel with a mission….!!! Of course, I knew everybody else was more or less told the same story, so I took all of it with a grain of salt as I was aware of the deception of ego-flattering, but I was hoping somehow I was special in the eyes of God. Little by little over the last few years, I came to realize through the grace of God's revelation, the many distorted truths and the outright evilness of the New-Age teachings. Because of my passionate nature, I had delved into this New-Age pool deeply and had many close encounters with renowned teachers and spiritual centers across North America. This first-hand, practical knowledge and in-depth study has given me a unique perspective to share with you, the discovery of a very shocking and disturbing truth. The Dark New Age of Aquarius is here right now, and those leading the way forward in this New Age are working hand-in-glove with the great and the powerful. Some of the wealthiest and influential men and women on our planet are openly identifying themselves with the New Age. From bankers, industrialists, politicians, celebrities, and religious leaders of all faiths, it seems everyone is going “New Age,” and they are bringing huge numbers of the population along with them. Darkness is a very powerful force at work over this world. It is a corporate entity made up of many individuals, and is described in the Bible as “the beast”. It is also the embodiment of one being who has been known by various names, including Thoth or Seth in Egypt, Manu in India, Hermes in Greece and Lucifer, the Devil, or Satan in the Judeo-Christian tradition. God is executing end-time Bible prophecy right this very day and He is allowing Lucifer to create the final end-time New World Order of the beast empire. One of the instruments for all this to come to pass is the New Age Movement, also called “The Plan” and what Freemasonry calls “The Great Work Of Ages”. (The QAnon movement has always said, “Trust the Plan.” Whose ‘Plan' are they referring to? Probably not God's plan, but the New Age plan and their AI computers.) This is Lucifer's rebellion and master plan in action against God. The New Age movement has become a powerful political, philosophical, and economic force in our contemporary culture and is exerting its influence into every facet of modern life. (As I've often said, One beast is being conquered by the other and we are grateful for that at this moment. The day will come when all this camaraderie will melt away because they are looking down their snoots at us.) Its ultimate goal and plan is to introduce a One World Order and One World Religion. The UN is gradually becoming the center of this New World Religion, and the “house of peace” with its programs and policies is even more worthy of comparison to what some have called a modern-day “Tower of Babel”. All of my research and personal experiences during those years have led me to believe that Lucifer is very real and he is rising, or descending, depending on which way we look at it! He is here on earth, in this dimension, causing havoc and chaos in an attempt to seat himself on the throne of a World State, and to inaugurate a New Religion with himself as its sole deity. Dan.11:36 And he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done. (Isa.14:13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; There is a false belief among many today that Lucifer and Satan are the same but this is propagated by the New Ager's. “Lucifer and Satan are actually two different aspects of the same creature. Lucifer, meaning “the brilliant one, son of the morning” in Hebrew, was an angel beloved by God until his fall and after his rebellion, he became Satan. While there is a significant difference between the two, the terms today have unfortunately become synonymous with each other and with the devil.” Satan has been busily working through his false prophets and religious harlots to pollute true Christianity and also offer a fake moralizing replacement for it to the world so that no one has to repent of sin.     False Prophet and Religious Harlot Experience and the Word have taught me concerning prophecy that if the majority of God's people believe something, it must be wrong. God hides his truths in dreams or visions that are parables so that the false prophets and carnal Christians cannot understand them as in (Mat.13:10-13) but privately He explains them to His disciples. He hides truths from the wise and understanding of this apostate religious system and reveals them to babes according to Jesus in (Luk.10:21). He reveals His hidden truths to those who are faithful. Rev.2:17…To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna…. John's Revelation was given to him as a parable from Jesus. If it were literal, the false prophets would know what is going to happen and that is contrary to Jesus' own words. When the disciples were young and under the Law they did not recognize the false prophets that ruled them. As a matter of fact, they respected them! And so it is today! I want to share with those of you who have eyes and ears who the false prophet is and what his work is. ...The false prophet is a corporate body of religious leaders that to the trained eye resemble those of Jesus' day. Since Jesus' day is a type of the coming Man-child reformers in our day, we know there are going to be false prophets, plural. In all of the New Testament writings, outside of the book of Revelation, we are warned that false prophets, plural, would come. In Revelation, false prophet, singular, is used, but in an allegory or parable to hide the corporate body. Since Jesus, Peter and John said that in the end time many false prophets shall arise, then the false prophet in Revelation is a symbol of a corporate body, like the rest of the characters there like the Woman, the Harlot, the Beast, etc., are corporate bodies. It's the only way that all verses concerning false prophets can be right. Mat.7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. Mat 24:11&24 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets… so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. So you see they are plural... They come to you with moralizing like the New Age but cannot live it at all because they don't know the Gospel that saves from sin, and nothing is sin to them. They are false because Jesus said, “To him that overcometh will I give authority” meaning, overcome sin. False prophets fit the type and shadow of history, according to Jesus. Luk.6:26. Woe [unto you], when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. Peter also said there would be false prophets among us. 2Pe.2:1 But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers …. John also said that many false prophets would speak for antichrist. 1Jo.4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (3) And every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist … Notice that every spirit is the antichrist. The New Age is one of these false prophets that confesses not Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and leader of His Church. Part of the “strong delusion” (KJV) taught by the false prophets is that we are to be looking for the coming of a man called the false prophet, while the Biblical corporate false prophet is here and in the pulpits already. 2Co.11:14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. ...Most agree that the second beast in Revelation 13 is the false prophet. He is given authority by the first beast for the second stage of the last 3½ years of the Tribulation (Rev.13:5). He is identified as a beast because he is a corporate body, as is every other prophetic beast in the Scripture. Rev.13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (12) And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed. The beast that is coming into authority now is pointed to by the New Age. It is a one-world order with a covenant. Here we see that the false prophet masquerades as the lamb: “two horns like unto a lamb” but he speaks as the world and Satan: “and he spake as a dragon” (beast). This second beast in chapter 13 is also identified after the world beast in Revelation 16:13 as the false prophet. This impostor leadership for the harlot has “a form of godliness” (2Tim.3:5) but is carnal and can only teach a worldly corruption of the Word. They are actually a mouthpiece for the world beast in the apostate church. It was said of the world beast, (Rev.13:5) and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies…. These apostates speak against (Greek: blasphemeo) God with their hypnotizing, ear-tickling doctrines of all-fly-away, unconditional eternal security, worldly prosperity, greasy grace, and anything but the self-crucifying truth. And 1000 years of peace that will be interrupted by the Tribulation that they do not believe in. The false prophet is a corporate body within the corporate body of the harlot, which is female because they receive the seed of antichrist. In verse 15, we see the female body of the false prophet. “And it was given to her (Greek) to give spirit (Greek) to the image of the beast.” Bible Numerics show a perfect pattern for “her” and “spirit” in the original Greek and in the most accurate New Testament, the Numeric English New Testament by Ivan Panin. There is no pattern in “he” or “it.” In Greek, breath and spirit are the same. Numerics show beyond a shadow of a doubt which words are correct here. In the rest of the text this false prophet is identified as male by the same numeric pattern. A translator would have had to respect the Word enough to ignore his own reasoning to simply translate what was there. Most are not willing to go out on a limb and look foolish when they do not see the reason. A male, who is also seen as female, is clear proof that God is not speaking of an individual here but a corporate body of people. In parallel, we are the male body of Christ, made in His image (2Cor.3:18), but we are female in another type (Eph.5:22-25), being married and submitted to Him to receive only His seed, His Word. Let's see this corporate false prophet and his relationship to the harlot in another parable. We know Ahab represents the ten-horned beast who was being ridden by Jezebel (1Ki.18), exactly as the harlot rode the beast in Revelation 17:1-3. They ruled over the apostate ten tribes, who were also those who worshiped the image of the beast, the golden calf. As the corporate mother of the harlot sects of Christianity, she leads them into the Great Tribulation and death unless they repent. Rev.2:20 … Jezebel … teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication (with the world beast by receiving their seed)…. (21) And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication. (22) Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works. (23) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works. Like the harlot, Jezebel was guilty of the blood of the prophets and of the saints (1Ki.18:4; 2Ki.9:7; Rev.18:24). In Revelation 17:16 when the beast is through using the harlot he devours her, and so it was with Jezebel who was devoured by the dogs (1Ki.21:23), symbolizing the unbelievers (Mk.7:27) or the beast. The true ministers of God are fed at the Church's table (1Cor.9:13-14) and the false prophets are fed from the harlot's table. (1Ki.18:19)…The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table. The two categories of false prophets represent the two horns of the false prophet in Revelation 13:11. Find out who Baal and Asherah represent in modern times and you will know who the corporate false prophet is. These two have their roots at the tower of Babel and were originally Nimrod and his wife Semiramis (Gen.10:8-10). They created the original harlot religion that spawned all the rest. They are a type of the great corporate mother of harlots of all of history. Rev.17:5 And upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. When Nimrod died and Semiramis (later called Asherah) became pregnant, she claimed that Nimrod had become the Sun God (later called Baal) who then by virgin birth was reborn as her son, Tammuz (Son of God). These original Babylonians worshiped the false father, son, and virgin about 2,300 years before the true virgin birth. Semiramis probably knew of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 concerning the virgin birth seed of the woman and if she didn't, the devil did. With the confusion of languages and dispersion at Babel, this legend went throughout the world and these three were given different names in different cultures, many of which are in the Bible. The golden calf in Egypt was a symbol of the Father (Baal) in the Son. Remember Pharaoh's title meant “Great Temple of the Sun God.” Sun images all over the world and in Catholic and Eastern churches symbolize the false Son. The Israelites with their golden calf thought they were worshiping “YHWH” or “Elohim,” the true God, but it was Baal, “another Jesus.” One horn, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, represent those who teach “another Jesus.” This is the apostate Protestant ministers. The other horn, the four hundred prophets of the Asherah, represent those who worship the virgin. These are the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and many others that are into “Mariolatry.” We know that Mary became saved and is our sister, and we love her but she is not the mother of God as Mariolatry teaches. (Rom.1:3) Concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (Jesus' “flesh” was the “seed of David” through Mary, which was the promised seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. Mary is the mother of Jesus' flesh which is the “Son of Man.”) (4) who was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; [even] Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus' “spirit” man was the “Son of God.” Jesus agreed with this saying in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. Some would say that the two horns are the apostate leaders of the Christian religion and the leaders of false religions. To this I agree. The same verses usually address both greater and lesser types. The greater type is the most complete fulfillment and all the Babylonish religions will be gathered together in the end-time harlot. The False Prophets and Religious Harlots spread from the confusion at Babel throughout the world, and now the Unitarian New Age is seeking to bring Babel back together in a new Catholic, meaning “universal” religion that doesn't rebuke their own sins, much less others. Read also: Aliens Demons Bow to Jesus' Name Note: If you are a Spirit Filled Christian the Lord was speaking to you when He said, “I give you authority over all the power of the enemy.” And “What you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” The Lord said that we can delay this invasion now but we cannot ultimately stop it for God has sent this delusion. 2Th 2:9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 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.  “Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.”

How do we know if we're following God's will? What if we make the wrong choice and miss out on His plan?

Exodus 25 tells us of the Tabernacle itself. Verses 1-14 describe the curtains which served as the roof of the Tabernacle. Eleven curtains made of linen and embroidered with golden, blue and scarlet threads woven through the linen in a cherubic pattern. These would have been visible to the priests, who served in the Holy Place; and to the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, the one day each year when he entered the Most Holy Place. Three other layers covered the linen – a layer of goats hair dyed scarlet; a layer of rams' skins; and finally, on top of these a waterproof layer of what has been translated as, badgers' skins in the KJV; and was probably dugong skins. As well as forming the roof they covered the boards of acacia wood (themselves covered with beaten gold plates); at the sides and back end of the building, where the Most Holy Place was situated. The dugong covering would be seen by the priests in the courtyard and by the worshippers, who had brought their offerings. Verses 15-30 describe the acacia boards that formed the building. Like the covering curtains these were on both sides and at the rear of the structure. They were fastened to each other by bars which passed through coupling rings providing a unity for the frame and giving it rigidity and stability. It speaks of the role of the ecclesia, whereby believers support one another and are united in their goals. They were anchored in the ground by silver sockets – speaking of our hope is fixed and grounded by the redemptive work achieved in our Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 31-33 describe the veil, which separated the Most Holy Place from the zHoly Place. Again the veil, – which was linen and interwoven with threads of blue, purple, scarlet and gold – spoke of the work of Christ, in whom we can draw near to God. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that it spoke of the nature of Jesus, through which the divine characteristics inherited from his Father were woven (see Hebrews 9 verses 19-23). At the precise time Jesus died on the stake the veil in Herod's temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27 verse 51). This tearing of the temple curtain spoke of the removal of the sacrificial code of the Mosaic Law; and the bringing in of a better hope for faithful believers. Verses 34-35 provides a brief overview of some of the items of furniture within the Holy and Most Holy Places. The last verses of this chapter tells us of the entrance curtains through which the Tabernacle was entered. It was a linen screen of embroidered needlework with several similarities to the inner veil. It spoke of Christ, who is the door, or way of approaching the Father (John 10:1-6; 14:6). Psalms 79 and 80 are two further psalms from this cluster of Asaph writings in Book 3 – psalms related to the Sanctuary. In Psalm 79 we have a plea for God to arise and deliver His people from their despised and downtrodden situation. It is a Psalm of the exile period when Israel found themselves in Babylonian captivity; and Jerusalem was in ruin. The first four verses tell of the devestating scenes as Babylonia took the city. Verses 5-7 call upon the Almighty to help and to rise to repay the oppression. From verses 8-12 the writer remembers the wrongdoing of God's people and pleads for His Sovereign to remember to show mercy with His justice. He says, in verse 13, that when this happens the sheep of the LORD will graze securely and in thankfulness. Psalm 80 celebrates Yahweh as the Great Shepherd of Israel. The writer calls upon the mighty One of Jacob to shine forth from His cherubic chariot. This Psalm was a song sung by the female choir. God would lead the flock of Joseph – the doubly blessed son of Israel – like His flock. And the favour of Yahweh would rest upon the head of the one who was separate from his brothers. This of course describes Jesus as the Beloved and only Begotten Son of the Father. The redemptive process is prophetically described by two figures in this Psalm – the bow of the vine specifically strengthened by the Father to redeem us and to bring forth fruit (John 15 verses 1-11); and secondly in verses 17-19 that this Son would become, after his suffering (Ben-oni “son of my sorrows Genesis 36 verses16-18, Isaiah 53) the Son of God's right hand – Benjamin – (Psalm 110). In the 11th chapter of Mark we read of Jesus' triumphal entry to Jerusalem. He rode on a donkey, a colt the foal of an ass, in fulfilment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9. It was an animal that had never been ridden. It seems to suggest that our Lord Jesus would be the ruler/rider of the Gentiles. The crowds strewed their clothes and palm branches before Christ's path, and shouted, ‘Hosanna' (save now) as the prophecy predicted. We are additionally told they recited Psalm 118 verse 26. It is recommended that we read Psalm 11 verses 19-29 and meditate on the many messages from that Hal-eel – or Passover Psalm – this being Passover time. As it was late, our Lord and his Apostles headed to Bethany. The next morning, as they left Bethany, Jesus saw a fig tree that showed promise of early fruit; just like Israel, whose symbol that tree was. But finding no fruit on the tree our Lord cursed it. It was like the fruitless nation: Matthew 21 verse 43 – read and consider the context of these words. That day Jesus cleanses the temple from corruption – the second time see John 2 verses 13-17 this was first done three and a half years earlier at the commencement of our Lord's ministry. That evening Christ returns to Bethany. The next morning the disciples were amazed at the withered tree and our Lord uses the opportunity to tell the power of persistent prayer. Jesus' foes were confounded the following day by his masterful answer on the source of his authority.

Chapter 4 tells of the angel giving Moses 3 powerful supporting signs to convince the resistant Hebrews to believe God and His prophet and representative, Moses. The sign of the staff that would turn into a snake; the sign of the hand that would become leprous before being healed; the sign of waters of the Nile (Egypt's life blood) becoming blood (itself the symbol of life) turning to blood and bringing death. Still Moses poses excuses to Yahweh as to why someone else should be God's spokesman. In anger his Sovereign tells Moses not to give any more excuses – you will have Aaron, your brother, to support you. Aaron will become your mouthpiece and your prophet. Moses returned to Egypt with his wife and sons. And the message for Pharaoh, “Israel is My firstborn son; let My son go to serve Me; or I will slay your firstborn son”. The challenge from the God of Israel was to issued to the gods of Egypt, of whom Pharaoh was their incarnation. In the inn the angel sought to slay Moses because Moses, despite being sent as the leader of the circumcised(covenanted) people, had neglected to circumcise his own son, Gershom. What an unforgettable lesson to Moses and to ourselves. Although God can and does use us; He relies on no individual for His plan to proceed (with the exception of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ). Psalm 56 is Miktam of David telling of his plea to the Almighty for help, when he was hopelessly lost in Achish's prison in Gath. It also calls upon all hearers to praise God for His capacity and willingness to save. God vindicated David's trust and delivered him. Yahweh would recompense the Psalmist's foes; and for these reasons God would be extolled by David and all mthe ladies prighteous. In confidence the Psalmist tells of offering thanksgiving offerings in the glorious icoming Kingdom Age.Psalm 57 is likewise a Miktam of David's and shares the background of the 56th psalm. It is a plea for mercy and the image of a defenceless, trembling bird find a place of refuge beneath the protective wings of the Almighty. Our Lord Jesus the same metaphor in describing his desire to protect his people, Israel (see Matthew 23 verses 37-39). God's purpose for the psalmist would be fulfilled and his foes put to shame. David, like Daniel later, felt as if he was in a lions' den. This possibly is a description of the desperate 600 men who had gathered themselves together with David, during his exile. His Sovereign would, nonetheless, turn them into a band of courageous, faithful warriors. David then described his pursuers, in Saul and his army, as having spread a net in which they themselves would be ensnared. Because of his trust in the LORD, David remained steadfast, immovable. The psalmist would praise his God for His steadfast faithfulness and loving kindness. Yahweh will be exalted and His glory fill the earth. In Romans 9 Paul explains his frustration at his nation's failure to grasp the glory God was offering his people. The Apostle shows from Scripture that this failure was foretold and follows a persist pattern of behaviour demonstrated by Israel. Nonetheless the Almighty's sovereign selection would stand upon the principles of the Divine grace and mercy, not because of any effort or merit on the part of any individual within the Chosen People. The Scriptures stand true and the restoration of the former people of God's choosing would be by His actions through which anyone to be saved could on one basis alone – by faith in the foundation stone the Father set in Zion (Isaiah 28 verse 16) His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thoughts on the readings for January 31st (Exodus 3, 4;  Psalms 56, 57; Romans 9) In Exodus 3 Moses had brought his flock to the edge of the desert, Mount Sinai - known as Jebul Miss (the Mt of Moses to the Arabs. Here he saw in  the distance an amazing sight - an acacia bush burning brightly, but remaining unconsumed (a symbol of God's providential preservation of His people, Israel - Isaiah 43 verse 1-3,  54 verses 17). Baffled by the scene, Moses turned aside to investigate and, as he neared the bush, was commanded by the angel to remove his shoes; for he was on holy ground. Notice the angel (as Stephen tells us in Acts 7verses 30) is called God; since he was acting for God. Stephen says in Acts 7 verses 31-34 that God was in that location making it holy. God had seen the affliction of His people and was (verse 8) come down to deliver them - alluding to Joseph's last words (Genesis 50 verse 24).  Moses, who had been described as "mighty in words and deeds" (Acts 7 verses 22); was now told by the LORD to represent Him to Pharaoh. Moses answered God and said that He had chosen the wrong person. Moses persisted in refusing despite Yahweh making it clear that He had made no mistake. Moses you must bring them to this mountain to worship Me. Still Moses resists with the words, "who will I say has sent me". The divine name of Yahweh is now explained to Moses. In verse 14 he is told "Ehyeh" (meaning "I will be") has sent Moses. The name is expanded and developed in verses 15-16 - Yahweh Elohim of the fathers - He who will become mighty ones through the Promised seed. We are told a number of things about the Hebrew understanding of the 4 letter name (called the Tetragrammaton; YHWH: the 4 lettered name) - 1) that although the meaning is essentially referring to the future; it is indeterminate in Hebrew having all 3 tenses covered {"I was"; "I am"; and, "I will be"} i - WHO I CHOSE; WHO I AM; and , WHO w WILL BE - principally used in chapter 6 of God's future intentions. Revelation 1:8 makes it clear that each of these meanings are to be accepted. 2) that to understand what the name means is essential for salvation (Hebrews 11:6) - that God exists (present tense), and; that He becomes a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (future tense). We must live and act out of these beliefs.  They tell us that the LORD is developing a faithful family of His choosing; who will in their lives and actions show to the world their Father and His ways (Psalm 105 verses 1-11). The chief east exemplar being His incomparable Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (John 17 verses 1-4, 12-26). Verses 17-22 tells Moses that Egypt must be forced to allow God's people to triumphantly exit Egypt. The Egyptians will be plundered as pay for their Sovereign's people. Chapter 4 tells of the angel giving Moses 3 powerful supporting signs to convince the resistant Hebrews to believe God and His prophet and representative, Moses. The sign of the staff that would turn into a snake; the sign of the hand that would become leprous before being healed; the sign of waters of the Nile (Egypt's life blood) becoming blood (itself the symbol of life) turning to blood and bringing death. Still Moses poses excuses to Yahweh as to why someone else should be God's spokesman. In anger his Sovereign tells Moses not to give any more excuses - you will have Aaron, your brother, to support you. Aaron will become your mouthpiece and your prophet. Moses returned to Egypt with his wife and sons. And the message for Pharaoh, "Israel is My firstborn son; let My son go to serve Me; or I will slay your firstborn son". The challenge from the God of Israel was to issued to the gods of Egypt, of whom Pharaoh was their incarnation. In the inn the angel sought to slay Moses because Moses, despite being sent as the leader of the circumcised (covenanted) people, had neglected to circumcise his own son, Gershom. What an unforgettable lesson to Moses and to ourselves. Although God can and does use us; He relies on no individual for His plan to proceed (with the exception of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ). Psalm 56 is Miktam of David telling of his plea to the Almighty for help, when he was hopelessly lost in Achish's prison in Gath. It also calls upon all hearers to praise God for His capacity and willingness to save. God vindicated David's trust and delivered him. Yahweh would recompense the Psalmist's foes; and for these reasons God would be extolled by David and all mthe ladies prighteous. In confidence the Psalmist tells of offering thanksgiving offerings in the glorious icoming Kingdom Age. Psalm 57 is likewise a Miktam of David's and shares the background of the 56th psalm. It is a plea for mercy and the image of a defenceless, trembling bird find a place of refuge beneath the protective wings of the Almighty. Our Lord Jesus the same metaphor in describing his desire to protect his people, Israel (see Matthew 23 verses 37-39). God's purpose for the psalmist would be fulfilled and his foes put to shame. David, like Daniel later, felt as if he was in a lions' den. This possibly is a description of the desperate 600 men who had gathered themselves together with David, during his exile. His Sovereign would, nonetheless, turn them into a band of courageous, faithful warriors. David then described his pursuers, in Saul and his army, as having spread a net in which they themselves would be ensnared. Because of his trust in the LORD, David remained steadfast, immovable. The psalmist would praise his God for His steadfast faithfulness and loving kindness. Yahweh will be exalted and His glory fill the earth. In Romans 9 Paul explains his frustration at his nation's failure to grasp the glory God was offering his people. The Apostle shows from Scripture that this failure was foretold and follows a persist pattern of behaviour demonstrated by Israel. Nonetheless the Almighty's sovereign selection would stand upon the principles of the Divine grace and mercy, not because of any effort or merit on the part of any individual within the Chosen People. The Scriptures stand true and the restoration of the former people of God's choosing would be by His actions through which anyone to be saved could on one basis alone - by faith in the foundation stone the Father set in Zion (Isaiah 28 verse 16) His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team, produced by Christa delphian video .org

To reconcile offending man,  Make Justice drop her angry rod;  What creature could have formed the plan,  Or who fulfill it but a God?  No drop remains of all the curse,  For wretches who deserved the whole;  No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce  The guilty, but returning soul.  Peace by such means so dearly bought,  What rebel could have hoped to see?  Peace by his injured Sovereign wrought,  His Sovereign fastened to a tree. – William Cowper 

174 - EPHESIANS 1:3-14 - PREDESTINED TO ADOPTION - BRIAN SUMNER - 2024In such an amazing passage of scripture, Paul dives into God Predestining us, Choosing us, and Adopting us, by way of His Sovereign, Plan and Purposes, even sealing us with The Holy Spirit, as we look forward to the day of Redemption, to the Praise of His Glory. To support this channel and partner with Brian in Ministryhttps://www.briansumner.net/support/For more on Brianhttp://www.briansumner.net  / briansumner    / briansumnerofficial    / brisumner    / briansumnerministry  To listen to Brians Podcast, click below.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Purchase Brians Marriage book at https://www.amazon.com/Never-Fails-Da...Brian is a full time "Urban Missionary" both locally and internationally with a focus on MISSIONS - MARRIAGES - MINISTRY. Since coming to faith in 2004 doors continued opening locally and internationally to do more and more ministry with a focus on Evangelism, Outreach Missions, Marriage, Counsel, Schools, Festivals, Conferences and the like.  Brian is also a volunteer Pastor and part of the Preaching/Teaching Team at Branches Church Huntington Beach, CA.Everything about this ministry is made possible because of people personally partnering through the non profit. To hear more and personally partner with Brian's call please visithttp://www.briansumner.net/support/God Bless and thank you. †Support the showSUPPORT THE SHOW

Title: Measuring Spiritual Success Text: Acts 11:19-24 FCF: We often struggle in our responsibilities to make disciples because we place too much or wrong responsibilities on ourselves. Prop: Because God's sovereignty and human responsibility work in perfect concert in evangelism and discipleship, we must go and make disciples of all nations. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 11. In a moment we will read from the scriptures beginning in verse 19 from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1244 or in whatever version you prefer. After officially concluding the episode of Corenlius, a God-Fearer now received into the body of Christ, Luke now continues his record of the unified and triumphant church. The Gospel continues to spread far and wide, geographically and culturally. And today we will see another first for the gospel. Up to this point, we have only seen people come to the Messiah of the Jews, Jesus of Nazareth, with a previous affiliation or familiarity with the faith of the Jews. Even Cornelius, a God-Fearer, maintained a level of intimacy with the practice of the Jewish faith. But what about outright pagans? What about those who worship false deities? Is God able to save them directly through Christ? Would they even be able to believe on the Jewish Messiah while not being connected to Judaism at all? This question and its answer will change the trajectory of the book of Acts and the ministry of the church… forever. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Prayer for Illumination: Father, make your Word a swift Word, passing from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and conversation; that, as the rain returns not empty, so neither may your Word, but accomplish that for which it was given. I ask this in Jesus name… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] Every morning my girls go out and do chores. They feed chickens and ducks and cats. But before they go out they always consult our temperature gage to determine if they need to bundle up or not. Imagine if they go to read the gage and it says 30 degrees. So predictably they go out in their winter gear. Only to find out that the temperature is actually 30 degrees Celsius. Just in case you don't know that 9/5 of the Celsius temperature plus 32 is the Fahrenheit, let me just tell you that 30 degrees is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. See what can happen when we start using the wrong tool to measure things? In the church we know that we are to go and make disciples. We know that. We know that God has given us certain responsibilities for His Kingdom on earth. But if we are measuring our success by Celsius when we should be measuring by Fahrenheit… we are bound to be disappointed or overwhelmed. What is our scale to measure whether we are successful or not? Let's see if the text today can answer this for us. I.) God's sovereignty and human responsibly work in concert together in evangelism, so we must go and make disciples of all nations. (19-21) a. [Slide 3] 19 – So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. i. The emphatic particle here that is translated “So then” in the LSB consists of 3 words in the Greek. ii. It is used to emphasize a stark change of scene. Many other translations use the word “Now” with the NLT choosing “Meanwhile” iii. What we are to gather from this is that the episode with Cornelius is over and that Luke is shifting to another episode in the narrative. iv. Luke points back to the stoning of Stephen to provide the backdrop for the gospel going forward beyond Judea and Samaria. v. [Slide 4] On the map behind me we see Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. vi. Phoenicia refers to a region along the coast north of Israel. vii. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea about 100 miles from the nearest coast. viii. Antioch is the capital city in Syria which is in the south east of modern Turkey. 1. Antioch is 3rd most strategic city in the Roman empire behind Rome and Alexandria 2. Josephus estimates that Antioch is around 500,000 people strong at this time. 3. It was inhabited by around 25,000 Jews and many other Proselytes and God-Fearing Gentiles. 4. On its coins, it called itself “Antioch, metropolis, sacred, and unbreakable, and autonomous, and sovereign, and capital of the East.” 5. Though culturally and ethnically diverse, Moral and religious laxity abounded. 6. It is the center for worship of Artemis and Apollo 7. But quickly it becomes the hub of much of Christianity's westward expansion. ix. What we need to recognize immediately is that we are well outside of Israel at this point. As you can see from the map, Judea and Samaria are several hundred miles south of the setting of this next episode. x. Even Caesarea, which is where Cornelius lived, is several hundred miles south of this. xi. Here we see the effect that the stoning of Stephen had on the church. The Christians fled far and wide to escape Saul's persecution. xii. And although at the time, Damascus seemed to be stretching Saul's limit of authority – look how far these Christians escaped? God's church was never truly in danger. xiii. We also learn from this verse that the common practice for these Christians, since they were all Jewish, was to share the gospel with Jewish people in these various places. xiv. Up to the end of verse 19, we should probably see all that is said as a “pre-Cornelius”. b. [Slide 5] 20 – But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. i. The way this reads, it does leave the possibility that evangelism to Gentiles was being successfully done prior to or concurrent with Cornelius and the outpouring of God's Spirit. ii. However, since Luke is writing this account of the spread of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, it seems likely that Cornelius and his house coming to Christ was the ground zero of Gentile evangelistic endeavors. iii. [Slide 6] Cyprus we've discussed already but Cyrene is on the North African coast of the Mediterranean sea, west of Egypt. iv. We can see it on this map which zooms out even further. v. Cyrene is the furthest point to date that we've seen the gospel of Christ go. vi. It is unclear if these men came to Antioch to proclaim the good news, like missionaries, or if they came to Antioch for another reason and began then speaking the gospel. vii. But in any case, we see that with Cornelius, people now have concluded that the gospel should not be preached only to certain nationalities or cultures. c. [Slide 7] 21 – And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. i. The Lord's hand was with them. His power, His guidance, and His will. ii. Without the Lord's hand going forward and empowering and enabling, no man can be saved. iii. How remarkable then to see God do so for those who have had no background in Jewish teachings or religion. iv. As a result of the Lord's empowering… a great number who believed turned to the Lord. v. This brings up a difficult but doctrinally significant thought. 1. Some translations attempt to solve the difficulty by changing this to read something like “and a large number believed and turned to the Lord.” 2. However, the word believe here is a participle and not a verb. Furthermore, it has an article with it, the Greek text says “The believed” which makes it necessary for this particular participle to act like an adjective. 3. Well, what is this word modifying? 4. It modifies the word “number” and the phrase “a great number”. 5. It defines the great number as being those who believe. 6. The verb in the sentence is the word “turned”. 7. So what? This isn't English class, Chris. Speak plainly! 8. This is not saying all who believed turned. Rather it is saying a great number who believed turned. 9. In other words… there were some who believed who didn't turn to the Lord. 10. What are some implications of this? a. There are different kinds of faith or belief. b. Last week we pointed out that there were different kinds of repentance. There are repentances that lead to life and that are gifts from God. There are also repentances that lead to death and are not from God. c. In a similar way there are kinds of faith that are from God and truly unite us to Christ. But there are also kinds of belief that seem genuine but ultimately do not save and are not from God. i. We see this as the kind of belief that Demons possess in the book of James. ii. We also see from the book of John, disciples believe on Christ as the Messiah and then abandon Him. d. What we see here is that of all the people who believed in Jesus, with at least a confession of their mouth, a great number of them also turned to Jesus as Lord. e. And to turn to Jesus as Lord is to turn from other Lords. It is to repent. f. In other words, this is Luke's way of further clarifying the 3 points of genuine conversion. Someone who believed and turned to the Lord… has repentance, belief, and the indwelling of the Spirit. g. Remember…It is all or nothing. h. For a great many, they had it all. i. But for some, they only had belief. Therefore, they had nothing. d. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: In this new episode we see familiar themes repeat themselves yet again. A new group of people in a new place take the gospel to people who had never heard and the Lord's hand goes with them. And what happens? Conversion. We see men and women, who have never had any association with Judaism at all, believing and turning to Christ as Lord. Would we have dived into this text alone; we might be tempted to conclude that God's hand is only necessary to save the hard cases. His hand is needed to save those who are unruly, unclean, unkept, and irreligious. But we don't need His hand to save the moral and the religious. A British monk named Pelagius, the heretic, would have agreed with this thought. However, because we've walked through verse by verse the first 10 chapters of Acts, we know beyond doubt, that the moral and religious need just as much of the Lord's sovereign intervention to save them as these pagans did. The truth of the matter is… that God's sovereign intervention is necessary to save every single individual from their sin. The only way a man receives repentance, faith, and the Holy Spirit, is if God gives it to him. But notice that these men from Cyprus and Cyrene did not sit around waiting to see God's hand move first. Instead, they preached to all the Greeks. And the Lord's Hand went with them. We too must make disciples of all nations, praying for and relying on the power of God to save them from their sin. Transition: [Slide 9 (blank)] So we see tension resolve in harmony. God's sovereign and and human responsibility work together to bring the gospel to all kinds of people. While true that God's hand must be present for any to come, God has given His people the honor of being a conduit of His saving power. Buy is this harmony maintained in discipleship too? Is discipleship purely man's responsibility or does God have sovereignty over this as well? II.) God's sovereignty and human responsibly work in concert together in discipleship, so we must go and make disciples of all nations. (22-24) a. [Slide 10] 22 – Now the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. i. Similar to the events following Philip preaching in Samaria, we see the church at Jerusalem acting not as an administrative check but rather as a support to the work. ii. They send Barnabas, a man we have seen several times so far in the book of Acts. iii. He was from Cyprus, probably a wealthy man who sold his possessions to help poorer members of the church. iv. When Saul was rejected by the Christians at Jerusalem because they didn't trust him, Barnabas was the one who took Saul to the apostles and vouched for him. v. Now we see Barnabas sent, not to correct, but to aid and guide the development of the church in Antioch. b. [Slide 11] 23 – who when he arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and began to encourage them all with a purposeful heart to remain true to the Lord. i. Barnabas when he arrived was overjoyed. Why? ii. The grace of God was on full display. iii. What might we expect to see from the grace of God if it is indeed present in the lives of true converts? This verse actually tells us. iv. The instruction of Barnabas was that they remain true to the Lord. v. Therefore, we can see that one expression of God's grace on someone who is truly converted, is that they are true to the Lord. They are loyal and faithful to Him. vi. So, Barnabas, seeing no need for correction began to encourage them to remain faithful in what they were doing. vii. There are two items in this verse we need to address. One is textual the other is theological. viii. Textually, we really don't know where the concept of a “purposeful heart” goes. 1. The phrase “with a purposeful heart” describes devotion and determination. 2. But here is the question. 3. Is Barnabas' encouragement to them achieved by devotion and determination or is their remaining faithful to the Lord achieved by devotion and determination? 4. While many translations put this phrase at the end of the verse implying the latter, the LSB has put this in the middle, probably to maintain the necessary ambiguity. 5. In a moment, we'll see good reason for this devotion and determination to be applied to Barnabas' encouragement and not to the loyalty of these new converts. ix. Theologically we have something else to point out here regarding God's grace and human responsibility. 1. Although God's grace is displayed in the loyalty and faithfulness of His people, that does not mean that Barnabas could walk away from the situation. 2. God's true people will never walk away or stop being true to the Lord. But the means of that happening comes about through God's people encouraging and teaching one another to stay faithful. 3. While God's grace makes it possible and assured that His true people will remain in Him forever… That does not mean that God's people do nothing. 4. Instead, they must strive to remain loyal to the Lord. As His grace has already predisposed them to be and as His grace will assure them to be. 5. Both extremes favoring God's sovereign grace or Human effort take us down theologically untenable options. We must maintain this balance. 6. We call it, theologically, the ordinary means of Grace. God uses ordinary means, i.e. humans encouraging and instructing other humans in the Word of God, to dispense grace to His people to enable and assure their growth and faithfulness. 7. God's Word will not return to Him void. We often use this in evangelism to indicate that either we plant a seed or reap a harvest. But really this principle is most readily true in discipleship and preservation. God's Word when given to His true people is guaranteed to render results. 8. This is why in Church discipline, when someone refuses to respond to the Word of God correcting their sin behavior, we ultimately treat them like unbelievers. Because God's Word should have an effect on believers. It should grow and preserve them and they should respond in obedience. c. [Slide 12] 24 – for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a considerable crowd was brought to the Lord. i. The beginning of this verse is the reason I believe that the purposeful or steadfast heart belongs to Barnabas in his encouragement. ii. He was determined and devoted to encouraging them in their faithfulness to Christ. iii. If not, what does this description about Barnabas being a good man, full of the Spirit and faith help to explain? iv. His joy? He was joyful because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and Faith? v. His encouragement? He encouraged them because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and Faith? vi. His joy and encouragement could be explained simply because he was sent by the Jerusalem church and was a fellow believer. But the fact that his encouragement was devoted and determined to ensure their faithfulness to Jesus… that would certainly need explaining. Why was this man so devoted and determined to encourage these new Christians to be faithful? vii. Because he was a good man who was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. viii. Truly like his nickname suggests, he was the son of encouragement. ix. As a result of the Spirit's power in Him and His dedication and determination to encourage strong disciples of Christ, many more were brought to the Lord there in Antioch. x. Strong disciples who are faithful to the Lord are the beginning of many more coming to Christ. d. [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: God calls on His people to participate in both His saving and preserving work of grace. Not to aid Him or because He could not do it Himself, but because He has afforded us the opportunity to serve Him in this way. Barnabas did not need to go to Antioch to make sure the new converts stayed true to Christ. God's grace would have been more than sufficient to keep them sealed until the day of redemption. But God has chosen ordinary means to dispense His grace to His people. So, Barnabas goes and as a determined encourager becomes a conduit of God's grace to these new believers. And these new believers strive to remain faithful to the Lord as a result of that grace being given. God's grace sets us to action not to passivity. So, knowing God is sovereign over salvation does absolutely nothing to dampen the passion we must have for evangelism. In fact, it ignites it, because we know that God is the one who saves and that we are simply that conduit for His grace to flow through. And that is true in discipleship as well. I stand up here and teach you each week, knowing that God is the one who grows you and preserves you in His grace. But I hope that He may use me for that end. That is why I preach. The notes of God's sovereignty and human responsibility play in perfect harmony because that is how God has composed them in His grand opus called Redemption. Conclusion: So CBC, what must we learn from this text and how then shall we live? What doctrinal truths do we see here and how does that affect us? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 14] God's sovereignty over the saving, growing, preserving and glorifying of His people should not be disregarded or diminished. Jesus is the one who will present us faultless before the throne of God. He will not lose one single sheep that the Father has given Him. And all that the Father have given Him will hear His voice and follow Him. And even though all this is true, God has commanded His people to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the triune God and teaching them to observe everything He has commanded. God saves and keeps His people. But God's people have a responsibility to share the gospel and disciple one another toward faithfulness to the Lord. Rather than seeing these two items as contradictory or at odds, we must instead see them as a glorious gift to us. In our work we are guaranteed success without fear of failure. And in His work, we are afforded usefulness and participation. God the ultimate delegator has assured His work will be completed and then calls, empowers, and equips His people to see it done. My friends… what an amazing and loving God we serve. He has secured our end, paid our way, but is training us for greater things. He will not fail, so we must obey. Now let me break this down into some more practical ways. 1.) [Slide 15] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that evangelism and discipleship are spiritual battles we cannot win without a special work of God's grace. a. Evangelism is telling someone who is blind to look at the beautiful colors of mercy and grace. It is commanding those who are crippled to stand and run the race toward Christ. It is telling the dead to rise and breathe in the breath of God's love. b. Discipleship is teaching someone to crucify themselves every single day. To offer themselves up as a living sacrifice. To cast themselves upon a God they cannot see, hear, smell, or taste. c. Can men do this? How did we ever get convinced we could? Why do we naturally assume that we are equipped for this work? d. We read in the scriptures God's people doing these things but ignore God's hand in it all! e. What a despicable thing it is. It is borderline blasphemy. f. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood my friends. The battles we face are not ones that can be won by logic, reason, kindness or tolerance. g. Every single heart that is to be saved must have the impossible done to it first. It must be overthrown. h. Every single believer that grows must intentionally and joyfully endure pain and hardship to cut away sin from their lives and obey the Lord. i. This is not a fight we can win. j. And the New Testament writers continue to show us that in every individual salvation and in every believer's growth, God is actively pouring out grace to accomplish it. k. God did not sacrifice His Son enabling all men to somehow be able to convince other men to be saved. For all men are still dead in sin. l. No, my friends. God's grace, God's hand, God's sovereign intervention is necessary for each individual's salvation and each believer's individual growth. For evangelism and discipleship. m. But that can't mean we do nothing! 2.) [Slide 16] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must make disciples of all nations, not because they won't be saved or preserved without us, but because our God has commanded and afforded us this privilege. a. Just because we cannot do it and God does – doesn't mean we should not do anything at all. b. Just because God can do it by Himself, doesn't mean that we sit like bumps on a log and watch from the bench. c. No, my friends. d. God has called us up and put us in the game. Knowing that only He can carry the team. e. Though God does all to save and keep His people with His sovereign grace… He has called us to go and make disciples to the best of our ability. f. To share the gospel with passion and care and to disciple His people with determined encouragement. g. The results are up to Him… this is sure… but knowing He is in control of the results only propels us to give our utmost. h. Because we are no longer striving for an outcome but for His glory and out of love for Him. i. If we believe the results are up to us, the highest motivation we can possibly attain for evangelism and discipleship is the good of our fellow man. j. But if the results of evangelism and discipleship are up to God, then our motivation is for the glory of God. Is this not the chief end of man? Would it not make sense to have this motive at the core of all God has called us to do here on earth? k. Believe that God is in absolute control over saving and keeping His children! And allow that to encourage your hearts to obey Him passionately… to make disciples… for His glory. 3.) [Slide 17] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop measuring success or failure by human metrics. a. My friends so often we get so caught up in measuring our success. b. Butts in pews. Professions of faith. Attenders of this function or that function. c. My friends, I succumb to this as well. d. Oh it is so easy to look out and see light attendance as a personal failure. The last few weeks our attendance at church has been fairly light. e. And I confess to you that even though I know there are sicknesses and things preventing folks from coming to worship - standing in front of you my flesh rebukes me and calls me a failure. f. Why? Because I am just prideful enough to think that what I am doing here can be measured in this way. As if I am responsible for you being here or not. g. My friends, I struggle with metrics. I do. This little church has not grown numerically since I've been here. h. People have come. i. People have gone. j. People have gone home to glory. k. And for the most part… our numbers have stayed the same. l. A few have been saved. m. A few have been baptized. n. Compared to many businesses and even other churches… it would be easy to call this church… a failure. o. But my friends, this church is a success. p. Do you know why? q. Every week we as a body faithfully worship God, study His Word, pray to Him, serve one another, and love each other. r. That is success. s. Friends, if I died tomorrow and next Sunday rolled around… would you come to church? t. Of course you would. Why? Because in reality no one wakes up on Sunday and says… oh goody I get to go learn from Chris today! u. Nobody wakes up on Sunday and says… well, I don't really want to go to church today, but I don't want to miss what Chris has to say! v. Because evangelism and discipleship are spiritual battles that we need God's power and grace to wage… measuring success and failure is a completely different metric altogether. w. Success is no longer how many souls are saved or how many people are growing. That is a metric we can observe but it is not one we can reliably equate to our success or failure. Why? Because those items belong to God not us. x. So, what is success? y. Success is… have I poured out myself to deliver the teaching, counseling, care, and service to His people this week? Have I done all of this out of Love for God and love for His people? The answers to those questions determine whether I have been successful or not. z. And it is the same for you. aa. Success is not leading your children to Christ, nor is it insuring they grow up to be a godly man or woman. For in reality – you can't do any of that anyway. bb. Success is faithfully teaching them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Teaching them His ways and demonstrating them in your life… not perfectly… but consistently and progressively. That is success. cc. The same goes for your grandkids, the same goes for the person who sits in your pew. The same goes for your neighbors down the road. dd. That is how we should measure success. Not by results… but by obedience. ee. So how are you doing? 4.) Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God goes with us to save, grow, and preserve His elect, our brothers and sisters! And He will not lose one of them. a. This thought is of immeasurable comfort to me my friends. And I hope it is to you also. b. Combining the truths of God's sovereignty and human responsibility in saving and keeping His people we might feel the overwhelming and daunting task of our responsibility. c. Even though there is an initial load lifted from our shoulders when we realize that success doesn't mean numbers… that weight was no doubt partially reapplied when I spoke of measuring success by our obedience. d. Even the question – so how are you doing… may have been quite rebuking to you. e. That's good. It is good to feel rebuked. f. But let me soften that slightly by reminding you again that God goes with us in all of this. g. He has not left us alone with what is our responsibility. That is why His Sovereignty and our responsibility must be held together. His Sovereign and powerful hand aids us in our monumental task to go and make disciples. h. So maybe after the question, so how are you doing, you felt hopeless. i. I'm doing terribly you might have said. And along with that you may have said, and I'll never do any better. j. Let me encourage you friend that you are only half right. k. Yes, you are doing terribly, and yes, YOU'LL never do any better. But my friends… when the hand of the Lord goes with you… You cannot help but succeed. l. Be comforted and cry out in dependance for God's mighty hand to do all He requires of you. Let me close with a prayer by a monk named Serapion (Ser-ah-pee-on) Scholasticus. A scholar who not only was banished by Emperor Constantius (Con-stan-tea-us) II for his orthodox views against Arianism, but who wrote a prayer handbook called the Euchologion (Yook – oh- log- eon) of Serapion. Father of the only-begotten, you are good and compassionate. You care for us, lover of humanity and lover of our souls. You are the benefactor of all who turn to you. Now would you hear this prayer, and give us knowledge and faith, piety, and holiness. Bring to nothing every passion, every lust, and every sin from among this people. Make us all clean. Have patience with our faults, for we kneel before you, uncreated Father, through the Only-Begotten One. Give to us your holy understanding and complete support. Enable us to seek and love you, to search and seek out your divine answers. Master, give us your hand and raise us up. Raise us up, God of compassions, and cause us to look up. Uncover our eyes and help us to speak. Do not allow us to be ashamed or embarrassed, or to accuse ourselves. Blot out the charge of the debt that is against us (Colossians 2:14) and write our names in the book of life (Philippians 4:3). Include us among your holy prophets and apostles, through Your only-begotten Jesus Christ, through whom to you is the glory and the strength both now and to all the ages of the ages. It is for His sake we ask this... Amen. Benediction: May He who guides our feet through this vain world, To lead us to His heavenly seat; Whose mercies shall ever endure, When this frail world shall be no more, Help you to contend in the cause of the Gospel with your fellows whose names are written in the book of life. Until we meet again… Go in Peace.

The two theological systems known as Calvinism and Arminianism disagree about many things. Their greatest agreement comes in their understanding of the human condition. In the Calvinist “TULIP”, T stands for Total Depravity. Both sides agree that sin impacts every aspect of life, and leaves human beings completely unable to contribute anything to their own salvation. The difference between the two approaches has to do with how God acts to remedy the human problem.--The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --NotesIn this series, we are introducing the basic differences between two theological systems known as Calvinism and Arminianism, generally following the five points of Calvinism defined by the word “TULIP”. The T stands for Total Depravity. This addresses the underlying question: what is the spiritual condition of human beings? Total depravity is the idea that Adam's fall left all human beings completely unable to do a single thing to contribute to their own salvation. On our own strength, we cannot repent and believe, or live a life pleasing to God. Total depravity doesn't mean everyone is as evil as they can be, or that people are incapable of any kind of virtue apart from God. Yet without God's action on our behalf, sin impacts every aspect of life and we cannot know God or please God. Both Calvinists and Arminians believe that fallen human beings require God's grace throughout the salvation process, from beginning to end. The difference between the two approaches has to do with how God acts to remedy the human problem. How Bad Is It?Both sides of the debate agree that fallen human nature is so sinful and corrupt that on our own, we cannot seek God, believe the gospel, or do anything that pleases God.One Calvinist author writes, “A proper understanding of Calvinism is fully dependent on understanding Calvin's view of man's depravity. He taught that man, who once enjoyed perfect fellowship and communion with God, had his very nature changed through the fall into sin. This not only destroyed the communion between God and man, but also removed the ability of man to have communion with God. Man's nature became so wholly corrupt as to leave him unable to choose against his nature. A fallen man is able to choose to do what he wants, but is unable to want God. Because man does not want God, he can never choose Him. Only God, in His Sovereign free will, can change man's nature and make him capable of repentance.” But an Arminian source says something quite similar: “Humanity was created in the image of God, good and upright, but fell from its original sinless state through willful disobedience, leaving...

To reconcile offending man, Make Justice drop her angry rod; What creature could have formed the plan, Or who fulfill it but a God? No drop remains of all the curse, For wretches who deserved the whole; No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce The guilty, but returning soul. Peace by such means so dearly bought, What rebel could have hoped to see? Peace by his injured Sovereign wrought, His Sovereign fastened to a tree. – William Cowper

To reconcile offending man, Make Justice drop her angry rod; What creature could have formed the plan, Or who fulfill it but a God? No drop remains of all the curse, For wretches who deserved the whole; No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce The guilty, but returning soul. Peace by such means so dearly bought, What rebel could have hoped to see? Peace by his injured Sovereign wrought, His Sovereign fastened to a tree. – William Cowper

Bible Study with Jairus- Revelation 3, part 2 The Mission of the Church in Philadelphia is to be a replica of the New Jerusalem   Traditionally, our understanding of the letter to the Church in Philadelphia is limited to noticing a few key facts. We point out that this church was one of the few churches in Revelation that was not criticized by the Lord. We also observe that the word "Philadelphia" means brotherly love, indicating that the people of this church must have loved one another. We often use the idea of the church in Philadelphia as a metaphor for revival. These are all helpful observations. However, let's not forget that the theme of the book of Revelation is to bring forth a mature Bride of Christ who can judge angels, ushering in God's ultimate judgment on the world. Therefore, we know that God's work in Philadelphia will somehow contribute to the maturity of the Bride of Christ. The New Jerusalem, the holy city that descends from heaven, is the Bride of Christ. Revelation 21:2 says that the New Jerusalem is like a bride adorned for her husband. The Lord's promise to the overcomers in Philadelphia is that they will not only become pillars in the temple of God, but they will also have the name of God's city (the New Jerusalem) written on their foreheads (Revelation 3:12). From these verses, we see that God wants the church at Philadelphia to become a model of the New Jerusalem. God also wants his body to mature into warriors who can eventually judge angels. The work of the Lord in the church in Philadelphia brings maturity to the church and defeat to the enemy. Although the church is not yet judging angels, we can tell that the enemy is already losing ground—especially in the church in Philadelphia. For example, Revelation 3:9 says that the Lord will make the false Jews in the synagogue of Satan come to worship at the feet of believers. Demons cannot worship at our feet if they are possessing us or sitting on our heads like monkeys (to borrow imagery from the visions of people with prophetic gifts). How can an evil spirit riding on your head bow down to you? That is impossible. You must first cut ties with evil spirits, cast them out, and distance yourself from them. Only then can they bow down to you. God's work in the church at Philadelphia is to continue to break Satan's ties with believers. Only then will the “synagogue of Satan” be able to bow down before believers. This analogy about evil spirits is not limited to evil spirits alone. Many sinners, including the false Jews mentioned in this passage, have the work of evil spirits behind them. Only when we deal with the evil spirits within these false teachers will they be able to bow at our feet. We will one day reign with Christ, just like Joseph reigned over Egypt. God used famine to humble his brothers so they would repent of their sin and bow at Joseph's feet. Joseph ruled over them as second-in-command, the person closest to Pharaoh's throne. In the same way, faithful believers will be second-in-command to God. The believers in the church in Philadelphia will become the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem, the ones closest to God's throne. This leads naturally to the next letter to Laodicea, in which we learn that the overcomers will sit on the throne with the Lord (Rev 3:21).   The One Who Has the Key of David, Who Opens and No One Will Shut. At the beginning of this verse, the Lord reveals Himself as "the holy and true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens" (3:7). What does this verse mean? We know that the Book of Revelation quotes about 500 passages from the Old Testament, many of which are woven naturally into the text and not clearly identified. This verse is quoted from Isaiah 22:22. We must look at the context of the book of Isaiah in order to understand the meaning of this verse. Isaiah 13 to 23 contains God's judgments on various nations. These countries that were judged include Babylon (Chapter 13), Assyria and Palestine (Chapter 14), Moab (Chapter 15-16), Damascus (Chapter 17-18), Egypt (Chapter 19), Egypt and Ethiopia (Chapter 20), Babylon and Arabia (Chapter 21), Jerusalem (Chapter 22), and Tyre (Chapter 23). In this context, let us talk in detail about God's judgment on Jerusalem. God's judgment on Jerusalem included the dismissal of the king's steward, Shebna, who symbolized an unfaithful steward (Isaiah 22:19). At the same time, Eliakim, a faithful man, was called to God's service. He was clothed with a girdle, and the government was committed into his hands. He would become the father of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the house of Judah (Isaiah 22:20-21). Eliakim symbolized God's faithful servant. He would receive an anointing and authority from God to do God's work. In this context, God says he will give Eliakim the key of the house of David and lay it on his shoulder. What he opens, none would shut. What he shut, none could open. Since Jesus Christ used this sentence to describe himself in Revelation, we can infer that Eliakim symbolizes Jesus Christ. Eliakim is a type of Christ. As mentioned earlier, Joseph is another type of Christ. Joseph experienced many years of suffering and trials and was even imprisoned in an Egyptian prison. But one day, God opened the door for him to become prime minister of all Egypt. This was an open door that no one could close. When it is God's time, no one can shut the doors he opens. But when it is not his time, no one can open the doors he has not yet opened. During Joseph's trials—being sold into slavery by his brothers, being falsely accused, being forgotten by the cupbearer—God refused to open the door to power. God's time had not yet come. Joseph's experience helps us understand the letter to the church in Philadelphia. God's appointed time had come. He had worked in the church of Philadelphia, and it had reached a certain level of maturity. Therefore, he was opening a door for future growth. Just like Joseph matured through trials, the church of Philadelphia had gained a level of maturity. God would now use the key of David to open for them a door that no one could close. The Key of David in Daily Life In 2001, I left China to study in the UK. Before a year had passed, I had heard the gospel and repented of my sin. In 2002, I was baptized and became a Christian in the US. In 2004, God appeared to me and I surrendered to His service. After this experience, God did not reveal to me exactly how he wanted to use me. Instead, he led me through more than 10 years of study and experiential growth, including many difficult circumstances in the spiritual wilderness. At the beginning of 2017, God ended our ten-year infertility and gave us a miracle baby. On the last day of 2017, the Lord lifted my spirit into heaven and told me that He would use me greatly. At the same time, I received many prophecies from prophets who said that I would do great work for God in the future. Yet I didn't see God opening the door for me to serve Him. Although I also served him in a few ways, they were all very small-scale. As I waited, I was being trained by God. While I was getting my Doctor of Ministry at United Theological Seminary (UTS), I knew I was still preparing for God's service. I continued to receive prophetic confirmation that God has plans for my life. A sister in Christ with the gift of prophecy told me that when she was praying, she saw in her spirit that the enemy had built a wall around me, trying to block the fruits of my service. Not long after that, I also had a dream. In the dream, there was a wall around me. As I tried to tear down the wall and stab the wall with a dagger, a snake slithered away. These prophetic messages told me that there are indeed enemies around me who have erected spiritual barriers in an attempt to hinder my service to God. A few years ago, I was praying for two of my relatives, hoping that they would come to know the Savior and experience real repentance. I fasted and prayed every day at noon for one family member for six months, hoping that he would repent and be saved. I gave another family member the book of heavenly testimony, hoping that he would also be saved. However, after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019, and during the months surrounding the 2020 US election, the enemy used the flesh to stir up conflicts among us. Due to these conflicts, my family members moved further away from salvation and repentance. The discord Satan stirred up among us has temporarily prevented them from getting saved. I believe they will eventually be saved. But in the meantime, I wonder, “Why can't I win this spiritual battle?” One reason is that I am not yet full of light and love. I am not yet fully filled with love, reflecting the New Jerusalem. For that reason, Satan is attacking and using my life. God has promised me that one day he will open the door for me to serve Him. He will even use me as a healer of spirit, soul, and body. But before I can be used by God in this way, I must experience the healing of my own spirit, soul, and body. My spirit needs to be uplifted, and my soul and body need to be healed. I need to break away from sin, the influence of the world, the entanglement of the flesh, and the oppression of evil spirits. Only then can I truly experience the infilling and the overflowing of the Holy Spirit, manifesting the rule of righteousness that is characteristic of the New Jerusalem. Only then will I be able to cast out the evil spirits in others. Madam Jeanne Guyon once testified that she wanted to drive out a spirit that was possessing another person. But before she spoke, the spirit went out. The evil spirits knew and feared Jesus and Paul, but they were not afraid of the seven sons of the Jewish chief priest, Sceva (Acts 19:15). In the same way, the spirits are not afraid of me, and I cannot cast out the demons in my relatives. My fasting, praying, and preaching of the gospel only aroused the resistance of the evil spirits inside of them, stirring up their flesh to oppose me. Although I believe that God is still working on them, my job right now is to learn how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Only then will I be able to drive out spirits in others. I once had a dream in which I was taking a shower in a simple outdoor bathroom in my hometown in rural China. As I bathed in lukewarm water with my clothes on, I sang happily. There were some flies around me. Outside the curtain, a group of children was waiting for me to come out. The inspiration I got from this dream is that God wants to use me to help Chinese people (represented by the children) be freed from the ties of evil spirits. However, God must cleanse me first. Bathing with lukewarm water with my clothes on symbolizes the Holy Spirit's cleansing of my heart, words, and deeds. The flies around me represent my past sins, as well as the evil spirits of my family and nation. My joyful singing reminds me that the joy of the Lord is my strength. With God's power, I will eventually be freed from the oppression of evil spirits and become a vessel that brings God's blessing to others. God has confirmed this call to me through the prophecies of many prophets, as well as His direct words to me. But we must become a living copy of the New Jerusalem before we can make the enemy bow down before us. When will God give us the key of David? God will give it to us in His Sovereign time, and he will wait until we each become a living replica of the New Jerusalem. What is the New Jerusalem? So what is the New Jerusalem? As I said, every letter written to the churches reflects a stage of God's work in the book of Revelation. The mention of the “pillar in the temple of God” and “the name of God and the name of the city of God (that is, the New Jerusalem) written on the forehead of overcomers” reflects what is written in Revelation 21 about the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven (21:2). First of all, Revelation 21:11 describes the New Jerusalem, saying, “In the city is the glory of God; its radiance like the rarest jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.” To become a replica of the New Jerusalem, we must be filled with the glory and the light of God. John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness never overcame it.” Whenever we harbor darkness in our hearts, the enemy gains a foothold in our hearts. Only because Christ had no darkness in him could he say that Satan had no hold over him (John 14:30). Madam Jeanne Guyon was able to cast out demons because she was filled with the glory and light of God. Satan and his evil spirits cannot enter the realm of the New Jerusalem. We must remember that any darkness in our spiritual lives provides a dwelling place for evil spirits. Secondly, according to Revelation 21:12-14, the New Jerusalem demonstrates a unity between Jews and Gentiles. The gates of the New Jerusalem contain the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel (Jews), and the foundations of the city walls contain the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (believers). Ephesians 2:18 says, “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” The word “both” refers to Jews and Gentiles. Through Christ, Jews and Gentiles abandon their hatred toward one another. They can both approach God through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. To become a replica of the New Jerusalem, we must abide in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ, before God the Father. Only when we live in this intimate fellowship with God can we manifest the light of the New Jerusalem. Third, we notice that the walls of New Jerusalem are made of jasper. The city is made of pure gold, and the foundation of the walls is adorned with all kinds of precious stones (Revelation 21:18-20). These precious substances illustrate the final result of God's dealings with the seven churches. Gold is refined by fire, and gemstones are transformed through immense pressure. In the same way, our personal spiritual lives must be refined through fire and pressure so we can be transformed into precious stones in God's sight. Fourth, we learn that the twelve gates are made of twelve pearls (Revelation 21:21). Pearls are produced from the secretion of mussels who have been injured. This demonstrates that suffering and trials can produce beautiful gems in the lives of believers. Lastly, New Jerusalem is filled with the glory of God, and nothing unclean will ever enter into it (21:23-27). From this passage, we learn that the degree to which we are filled with the glory of God is the degree to which evil spirits can be subdued in our lives.   Conclusion: We Need to Become a Replica of the New Jerusalem The letters to the seven churches reveal the seven spiritual stages of God's work in the church. These different stages of spiritual work are an outline of the seven stages of God's work in the entire book of Revelation. If we want to become a replica of the New Jerusalem, we must learn about God's work described in the six previous letters to the churches. We must deal with our sins and return to our first love for God (the work of the Lord in the church in Ephesus). We must overcome the attacks of the spirit of death (the work of the Lord in the church in Smyrna). We must overcome the teachings of Balaam and deal with all the idols in our hearts (the work of the Lord in the church in Pergamos). We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit within (the work of the Lord in the church in Thyatira). We also need to outwardly manifest the righteousness of Christ (the work of the Lord in the church in Sardis). Only then can we become a prototype of New Jerusalem (the work of the Lord in the church in Philadelphia). Finally, we will be enabled to sit on the throne with the Lord (the work of the Lord in the church in Laodicea).

To reconcile offending man, Make Justice drop her angry rod; What creature could have formed the plan, Or who fulfill it but a God? No drop remains of all the curse, For wretches who deserved the whole; No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce The guilty, but returning soul. Peace by such means so dearly bought, What rebel could have hoped to see? Peace by his injured Sovereign wrought, His Sovereign fastened to a tree. – William Cowper

Jesus' Sovereignty over the storm reveals His Deity and invites His disciples to turn from the fear of circumstances to the fear of God and trust in His Sovereign care. Mark 4:35-41 For more resources on this teaching, please visit https://www.brcc.church/lord-over-the-storm

Charles Swindoll…Intimacy with The Almighty I'm finally learning that His Sovereign plan is the best plan. That whatever I entrust to Him, He can take care of better than I. That nothing under His control  can ever be out of control. That everything I need, He knows about in every detail. That he is able to supply, to guide, to start, to stop, to sustain, to change and correct in His time for His purposes. When I keep my hands out of things, His will is accomplished, His Name is exalted, and His glory is magnified.   In this episode I'll share some very personal struggles I'm in the middle of that I think some of you may be able to relate to. Maybe not the exact circumstances, but probably somewhat the same ideas. And we'll talk about the differences around giving something up and giving it over. We'll talk about how when we'll drag our weary lives to the throne of grace, God will increase our power and ability to navigate all the disappointing places, even if they still feel terrible----giving us the strength to not only hang on, as we ride the wave of disappointment, but also the strength to hand it over to the only One who can do anything about it.

The book is one of two that have no mention of God. Yet we see His Sovereign hand throughout. A reminder that in those seasons of life when we don't see God, we can be certain He is at work.

The book is one of two that have no mention of God. Yet we see His Sovereign hand throughout. A reminder that in those seasons of life when we don't see God, we can be certain He is at work.

God works in our lives to accomplish His Sovereign will often in ways we do not understand.

This week, [Dr. Eric Mason] preached from Proverbs 16:1-4. He lets us know that our Purpose and Dreams should flow from being Gospel-centered and not our personal preferences. God allows us to plan but we always need to be open to His edits and Divine pivots according to His Sovereign will and Providence in our journey.

A new MP3 sermon from Pines Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: God uses difficult experiences to accomplish His Sovereign purposes Speaker: D. J. Orsini Broadcaster: Pines Baptist Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 10/9/2022 Bible: Habakkuk 1-3 Length: 31 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Pines Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: God uses difficult experiences to accomplish His Sovereign purposes Speaker: D. J. Orsini Broadcaster: Pines Baptist Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 10/9/2022 Bible: Habakkuk 1-3 Length: 31 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Pines Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: God uses difficult experiences to accomplish His Sovereign purposes Speaker: D. J. Orsini Broadcaster: Pines Baptist Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 10/9/2022 Bible: Habakkuk 1-3 Length: 31 min.

Kingdom living is a life lived under the authority of a king. For us that King is Jesus. His commands are not for our consideration but for our obedience in harmony with His will and His way. The basic meaning of the word Kingdom in the Bible is “reign.” God's Kingly rule and reign include His actions, His Lordship, and His Sovereign governance (Isaiah 9: 6- 7). Philippians 3: 20, in the Amplified Bible, reminds us that we have dual citizenship. We are citizens of our country of origin and we are citizens of heaven. “But we are different because our citizenship is in heaven and from there, we eagerly await the coming of the savior the Lord Jesus Christ.” Luke 17:20-21, in the Living Bible, declares, “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the Kingdom of God begin?" Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God isn't ushered in with visible signs. 21 You won't be able to say, 'It has begun here in this place or there in that part of the country.' For the Kingdom of God is within you." In Psalm 23:3, KJV), David says, “He restores my soul…” Restoration denotes giving or receiving something back that was taken or lost; experiencing something again. Restore further means, "to bring back from a state of ruin, decay, or disease, to renew; to recover. In Psalm 51:12, David the man after God's own heart says, “restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Therefore, for Kingdom Living to become a reality in our churches and community, we must restore God's Kingly rule and reign. His actions, His Lordship, and His Sovereign governance in the minds and hearts of God's people (Matthew 22:37-39). Invite a friend or co-worker to join us as we continue to learn to "Think Like God Thinks," Restoring Kingdom Living. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dr-gregory-l-cruell/support

Video: https://youtu.be/b9d1mBI7H1U ONE THING Opposing God is always a consequence filled bad idea. Ezra 6:11-13 CONTEXT We oppose God when we believe, think and act against His Sovereign will. Scripture Background…In the midst of opposition to God they spoke the word of Life, that we know as the Gospel, Bible. Presented with the hardships of our faith we must remember that God, Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit will not ever be overthrown! It is good advice for us to never be found opposing God's will to biblically seek, save and mature us all. (The temporal and eternal consequences can / will be disastrous) Who are we opposing when we go against God's will? God in His Sovereignty, the Saving Grace Filled Authority of Jesus Christ and the Guiding Strength of the Holy Spirit. We exist to bring God glory and make disciples. Not Opposing God IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT TO WHY WE EXIST Based on this message what can we do to become more like Jesus? Gospel-Centered = WORSHIP Ask God to help you remove any opposition in you toward Him. COMMUNITY Believe, think and act in accordance with His Sovereign will. SERVICE Invite others through explanation and action to gladly submit to God. MULTIPLICATION Only affirm, support and stand with what is God's will as found in the Bible.

A friend and I got together for dinner this week and discussed his answer to a question I asked him several weeks ago about my podcast. What precisely that question was escapes me now, but it was something along the lines of what he thought of the podcast, and what might be some areas of improvement to pursue, particularly where the quality of the content is concerned. In the interim between the ask and answer, he listened to a number of episodes, and shared some of his observations. Most of those I'm still mulling over, but one has to start somewhere on the questions. So some of the questions he asked surrounding what the goals of the podcast are and what success looks like seem as good a place as any to begin. Answering the general question of what the goal of the podcast is, and how specifically talking about my new desk or men getting vasectomies relates to that goal, the admonition our Lord gives in the gospels is at the fore of my attentions. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Don't misunderstand. This podcast being successful need not mean losing my soul. Listening to sound advice and constructive criticism on ways to improve the podcast is not the same thing as selling out. But where some changes might bear a closer examination of the hierarchy of priorities here, I want to restate, even just to myself, what the order of operations is. First, in order to hear in the end "Well done, good and faithful servant" from my God and King - this requires that the topics and their treatment here come from a place of devotion to God. And this in turn requires recalling God's Word as our only infallible authority for life and doctrine. Where we are commanded therein to "take every thought captive" for Jesus, what all should be considered "gospel issues" correspondingly expands to every topic and subject to which God's Word could be said to speak. And when we frame the question in those terms, as to what constitutes a "gospel issue" we should want to keep our definitions from becoming unproductive for being either too broad or narrow. But where God has given us all Scripture to know Him, ourselves, one another, and both life and godliness, the entirety of the Bible is "the gospel." Or else what technically is it except "the good news"? And isn't the good news this, that God rules and reigns over every facet of life? Is it not that all Creation belongs to Him just as it was created by Him? Is it not that all Creation is under His Sovereign rule and reign, and that our prayer and meditation ought to be to relate to all of the above in a way that honors Him faithfully by His grace? Second, where we husbands are commanded to live with our wives in an understanding way, and to train up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, this podcast for me specifically is at its core intended as a labor of love to serve God, my wife, and my children well as we endeavor to think holistically about what it means to provide for the needs of our households. And where the prophet Jeremiah delivers the faithful and true word of the Lord to the exiles in Babylon to "seek the welfare of the city" to which God's Providence has brought them in their exile, and to build houses and plant gardens and take wives and have children, this also is the reason I would talk on this podcast about my standing desk, or other men getting vasectomies. But where some changes to the way I research, outline, record, edit, and publish this podcast may serve these goals well, or better, humility requires heeding wise counsel like his. And where other changes might undermine these goals, even there a clarifying of purpose by answering the questions again is also a benefit in renewing the commitment to what conscience dictates is a good, worthy, and God-honoring endeavor. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/support

New Age and Alien Deceptions (2) (Audio) David Eells - 5/18/22 Spiritual Warfare- Revelation of a New-Age Deception Excerpt from Book by: Philippe Besnard (David's Notes in Red)     North America, Birth Place of the Modern New-Age Movement   (When I met Philippe He was coming out of 30 years of the New Age movement and as such he was expert in describing it.)  The North American continent is the birthplace of the modern New Age movement, and when I immigrated to Canada from France I felt in awe of what I saw as the vibrant “new spirituality” of this wild land. In comparison, I thought France and old Europe were still living in the Middle Ages. France is now catching up with the New Age but, for many years, has been very slow to emerge. As part of my new identity adapting to a new culture and learning English, I became a true product of the New Age. I was eager to embrace the lifestyle and social and spiritual trends of my adoptive country.  For thirty years I had earnestly followed New Age teaching, traveled to workshops, conferences, seminars, training sessions and festivals, met many of its teachers, and was personally taught by some of them. I had received countless readings from channelers, psychics, astrologers, palm readers, and Tarot card readers. I received spiritual healings from healers of all faiths and denominations, and even so-called “DNA activation” from A “Spiritual Scientist”. But the Bible says in, Lev. 19:31 “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”   I had embraced the mystic path and the contemplative lifestyle. I practiced yoga and meditation for many years; sat in Darshan to receive the blessings of gurus, and participated in Satsang, chanting the names of Hindu deities and Buddhist mantras. I facilitated devotional evenings with my guitar, chanting Sanskrit mantras, the music of which I had composed. I traveled to India twice and other countries in the Far East seeking "truth, wisdom, enlightenment, and good karma". I have been in the company of, and received teachings from, a number of swamis, gurus, yogis, lamas and so-called “enlightened” Western spiritual teachers. As a nature lover, I had worshipped Nature, called the earth Gaia, followed and believed in various native teachings and Shamanism. My space at home was cluttered with New-Age paraphernalia on the walls, tables, and corners. In the garden, I had crystals, posters, images and statues of Buddha and Hindu deities.  The New Age is a melting pot made of practically every religious and occult philosophy found in the world. It is a strange convergence of mysticism, holism, pantheism, aboriginal animism, humanism, Luciferian Western occultism with Freemasonry, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, modern Masonic witchcraft (called Wicca), the Illuminati, apostate Christianity, Gnosticism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Zen, Sufism and Hinduism.  The New Age is a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an interest in Druidism, shamanism, neo-paganism, Voodoo, exploration of human sexuality, environmentalism, modern day occultism, worship of “Mother” Earth, psychic healing and extraterrestrial phenomena. Most of the ancient origin of the New Age is to be found in classical Hinduism, Buddhism and pagan Babylonian religions. So, despite the name "New" Age, we are dealing here with a very ancient system.  Paganism is a people or a community observing a polytheistic religion, which is the worship of many gods, as opposed to monotheism, the worship of One Almighty God, the Creator of All that is. A Pagan is also call an irreligious heathen, gentile, or hedonistic person... The great New-Age plan is dedicated to the unification of all races, religions and creeds. This plan is claiming to establish a “new order of things”, it is to make all things new - a new nation, a new race, a new civilization and a new non-sectarian one world religion that has already been recognized by the United Nations. This New Age globalism movement advocates a one-world government, a one-world religion, and a one-world economy; and this would mean the destruction of the sovereignty of nations and religions. New Age teachers are using standard texts of Eastern religions such as the Hindu Baghavad-Gita and the Tibetan Book of Dead, as well as writings of Jewish mysticism called Kabbala and those gnostic scriptures often called the Apocrypha.  Over the years, I became more and more confused in studying such “new revelations” as the Urantia book, the Keys of Enoch  (Academy for Future Science ), A Course in Miracles, Elizabeth Clare Prophet (of The Church Universal and Triumphant). (General Flynn in Sept. 2021 offered a prayer at a large church gathering of Trump worshipping, patriotic “Christians” that originated from Elizabeth Clare Prophet invoking the 7 fold rays and the arch angels. Rick Wiles has denounced Michael Flynn, because he delivered a "New Age prayer” almost word for word by Elizabeth Claire Prophet, a New Age Theosophist and Christian Science advocate, at pastor Hank Kunneman's Christian conference last week and had everyone in the congregation repeat the invocation after him: “ Rick said, "My advice to you is to separate from Gen. Michael Flynn.” In this prayer Flynn invokes "the 7 fold rays and the arch angels", "in your name and the name of your legions” to help guide humanity (Ascended Masters) and protect us against the enemy and further the purposes of their agenda. (Who is his god? And to whom is he praying?) The "7 fold rays and the arch angels" is based on New Age Theosophy developed by Helena Blavatsky. By the way, you can not achieve the rank of a military general without being initiated. The White Dragons who support the Alliance behind the scenes believe that the Abrahamic God is satan @ 11:53 minutes. (What's Behind General Flynn and the White Hats Alliance? Here is an informative Link: https://youtu.be/Dkx7v0JTmmw)  Back to Philippe's text: I also studied... Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophy ), Edgar Cayce, Law of One, Aquarian gospel of Jesus Christ, Heindel Max (the Rosicrucian cosmo-conception-Mystic Christianity) the Gnostic gospels.   There is a lack of uniformity in the doctrines of the New Age. The beliefs of New Agers vary from group-to-group and person-to-person. Thus, it is difficult to have a clear definition and a solid understanding of what the New Age really is. I believe this confusion has been created on purpose. It is very hard to pinpoint, identify and shoot the enemy when it is moving constantly, shape-shifting, or invisible.  People entering these movements are generally concerned with having an experience, and not necessarily with finding the truth. Their actions are determined by feelings, not intellect. The emphasis is on “practising and becoming god” and this is why meditation and many other techniques that teach “stillness of the mind” and a “receptive feeling mode” are promoted. We are told to “follow our bliss”, “go with the flow”, “let loose”, to “transcend the limitation of the mind” and to “experience the pleasure and the ecstasy of the body”. Using your mind to discriminate and discern has become a taboo.  The principal of “spiritual vibration” is the belief that all things vibrate at some frequency. The ultimate goal of all New-Age practices is for humanity to vibrate at the same frequency so that we can all become one, spiritually and mentally. “We are all one”, this most repeated New-Age catch phrase, wants us to believe the unity of all things, heaven and earth, spirit and matter, the invisible and the visible worlds, the great melting pot of Darkness, Light, and everything in between.  This “All is ONE”, “all is good”, “don't worry, be happy”, “don't judge” and “be in the moment” is a disastrous recipe that generates apathy and complacency. It is creating a generation of self-seeking, egoistical people who are indifferent to iniquity and the suffering of others.  I have been a dedicated student of this school of thought and I have practised being fully in my body, opening all “the inner channels” and feeling “the subtle currents”. I was proud of “feeling and being” but I was a total fool...! I had lost common sense and the ability to discern and discriminate good from evil. I didn't want to judge anything or anybody for the fear of being unloving, and spiritually not evolved. What a perfect brainwashing and a diabolical device to enslave, control people and turn them into powerless puppets ! I was loosing my God-given right to discriminate and I didn't realize that judging is necessary for preserving the integrity of my soul. I used to confuse judging with condemning, and I know this confusion had been fostered on purpose.  Then I discovered I can judge a situation or someone without condemning and feel love and compassion toward all the parties involved. This was a very liberating and empowering realization. Of course, our human judgment is flawed and imperfect, but as we draw closer to God, we learn true Divine Justice. (And discernment)   Is Darkness Real and Is it a Sovereign Force?  The beginning of the story starts with a question I have been asking myself over the years: “And what about God?”  I often wonder how God is seeing me, seeing us, seeing the world. I often cry out to Him, asking, “Why, God? Why is there so much pain and suffering everywhere on this beautiful planet? Why is there so much injustice, poverty and violence?”  Do you have the feeling, as I and many others do, that something ominous is about to happen and that we are only seeing the beginning of a momentous transformation? It seems with each day the world is spiralling down into greater chaos, deception and destruction. I know a lot of us choose to look at the positive and ignore the increasingly rapid deterioration of our civilization, but refusing to see that anything serious is happening, denying that we, as a human race, are in deep trouble is not going to change it, resolve it, or make it go away. No, in fact, denying is not seeing, and if we don't see, we are blind and hopeless to change anything.  Because of my willingness to honestly acknowledge and recognize the darkness pervading our world, I have been more readily able to recognize this darkness is also within myself. I realized I can only change something in the world or within myself when I am fully aware of what is truly happening.  I have heard many times people saying “The dark only exists when you believe in it. If you believe in the devil, in darkness, you are giving it power but if you focus on the light, the dark has no place to be.” I tried that belief on, wearing it for some time, but darkness was still here. This belief crippled my ability to discriminate evil from good. Is not believing in darkness preventing darkness from manifesting? Is the world such a paradise that there is no darkness to be seen anywhere? How can anyone believe this?  The dark, of course, wants you to believe it is not there but even the most remote paradisiacal Pacific island has murder, theft, violence, greed, etc.  In my twenties I lived on Boraccai, a remote Philippine paradise island, for five months. I was living in a bamboo hut on the beach with no electricity, no running water or any modern amenities. Life was so gentle and simple, I felt surely I had found the garden of Eden. One morning I heard that a man had been murdered the previous night. There had been some drinking and a knife fight broke out. I was deeply shaken to the core, as was most of the tiny population of the island. My innocent naivety that the world is a safe place was completely shattered. In that one moment I become aware of the pervading presence of the dark.  “The light” is such a broad, impersonal concept when it is not mentioned as an attribute of God. In fact, many of us embrace the concept of “the light” standing all by itself as a sovereign, impersonal, beneficial force that is replacing the Name of God. Few people know the dark is quite capable and is a master at parading and appearing as the “light”. 2 Co 11:13  “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”  There is the assumption prevalent in New-Age circles that the light needs the presence of the dark to exist. We are told that within the fabric of the universe there is built in an eternal polarity that makes the light of God not being able to exist without the darkness of Lucifer. This is a clever but absurd concept invented, of course, by the dark to deceive people into accepting Lucifer as a legitimate, purposeful and even beneficial force.  The great paradox is this: that Lucifer is, indeed, purposeful, not as an independent sovereign entity but as a force that God uses for His own plan.  The dark was created and is allowed to exist by God for His Sovereign purpose and actually needs God's approval and permission to continue to exist. On the other hand, God obviously exists outside of this fallen, polarized world and has no need whatsoever of anything or anybody outside of Himself. There is no darkness in the Kingdom of God, not even anything that remotely resembles darkness. 1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.   If there is no darkness in the Kingdom of God, then surely this planet, which has been corrupted with darkness since the beginning of time, is not the Kingdom of God. Jesus confirmed that fact by saying: My kingdom is not of this world: John 18:36  Of course this doesn't mean God is not present or is removed from His creation but I wondered why God allows darkness to be here. Please be patient with me as I attempt to offer my understanding based on the fruit of my life experiences and the teachings found in the Bible.    The New-Age Movement  For over thirty years I had been searching for God and the Truth while being completely lost in the great deception of the New Age. I was immersed in New-Age thinking, was an intimate part of its movement, and worked to promote its philosophy and belief system.  I was brainwashed to blindly accept and embrace New-Age occult knowledge, and I was convinced my life of service and my spiritual studies were the highest expression of my love for God. I was sincere, as most New-Agers are, but I was also completely deceived and clueless. My study and knowledge of esoteric and ancient mysteries gave me a sense of belonging to the highest-evolved portion of humanity. Although I have always managed to retain some humility in my being, through a natural devotion to the Lord, I still had a typical new-age persona, a spiritual vanity, that vague illusion of having achieved a higher consciousness.  This was constantly reinforced by countless readings, which I had received over the years from psychics, clairvoyants, mediums and channelers. I was repeatedly told how great, spiritual, and amazing I was and how I had come here on earth from the higher angelic realms to save lost mankind. I was a walking earth angel with a mission….!!! Of course, I knew everybody else was more or less told the same story, so I took all of it with a grain of salt as I was aware of the deception of ego-flattering, but I was hoping somehow I was special in the eyes of God.  Little by little over the last few years I came to realize, through the grace of God's revelation, the many distorted truths and the outright evilness of the New-Age teachings. Because of my passionate nature, I had delved into this New-Age pool deeply and had many close encounters with renowned teachers, and spiritual centres, across North America. This first-hand, practical knowledge and in-depth study has given me a unique perspective to share with you, the discovery of a very shocking and disturbing truth.  The Dark New Age of Aquarius is here right now and those leading the way forward in this New Age are working hand-in-glove with the great and the powerful. Some of the most wealthy and influential men and women on our planet are openly identifying themselves with the New Age. From bankers, industrialists, politicians, celebrities, and religious leaders of all faiths, it seems everyone is going “New Age” and they are bringing huge numbers of the population along with them.  Darkness is a very powerful force at work over this world. It is a corporate entity made up of many individuals, and is described in the Bible as “the beast”. It is also the embodiment of one being who has been known by various names, including Thoth or Seth in Egypt, Manu in India, Hermes in Greece and Lucifer, the Devil, or Satan in the Judeo-Christian tradition.  God is executing end-time Bible prophecy right this very day and He is allowing Lucifer to create the final end-time New World Order of the beast empire. One of the instruments for all this to come to pass is the New Age Movement, also called “The Plan” and what Freemasonry calls “The Great Work Of Ages”. (The Qanon movement has always said, “Trust the Plan.” Whose ‘Plan' are they referring to? Probably not God's plan, but the New Age plan.)  This is Lucifer's rebellion and master plan in action against God. The New Age movement has become a powerful political, philosophical, and economic force in our contemporary culture and is exerting its influence into every facet of modern life. (As I've often said, One beast is being conquered by the other and we are grateful for that at this moment. The day will come when all this camaraderie will melt away because they are looking down their snoots at us.) Its ultimate goal and plan is to introduce a One World Order and One World Religion. The UN is gradually becoming the centre of this New World Religion, and the "house of peace" with its programs and policies, is even more worthy of comparison to what some have called a modern day “Tower of Babel”.  All of my research and personal experiences during those years has led me to believe that Lucifer is very real and he is rising, or descending, depending which way we look at it ! He is here on earth, in this dimension, causing havoc and chaos in an attempt to seat himself on the throne of a World State, and to inaugurate a New Religion with himself as its sole deity. Dan. 11:36 "And he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.” (Isa 14:13  And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;  There is a false belief among many today that Lucifer and Satan are the same but this is propagated by the New Ager's. "Lucifer and Satan are actually two different aspects of the same creature.  Lucifer, meaning, "the brilliant one, son of the morning" in Hebrew was an angel beloved by God until his fall and after his rebellion, he became Satan. While there is a significant difference between the two, the terms today have unfortunately become synonymous with each other and with the devil." Satan has been busily working through his false prophets and religious harlots to pollute true Christianity and also offer a fake moralizing replacement for it to the world so that no one has to repent of sin.     False Prophet and Religious Harlot Excerpts from: Hidden Manna for the End Times Experience and the Word have taught me concerning prophecy that if the majority of God's people believe something, it must be wrong. God hides his truths in dreams or visions that are parables so that the false prophets and carnal Christians cannot understand them as in (Mat.13:10-13) but privately He explains them to His disciples. He hides truths from the wise and understanding of this apostate religious system and reveals them to babes according to Jesus in (Lk.10:21). He reveals His hidden truths to those who are faithful. Rev.2:17…To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna….  John's Revelation was given to him as a parable from Jesus. If it was literal the false prophets would know what is going to happen and that is contrary to Jesus' own words. When the disciples were young and under the Law they did not recognize the false prophets that ruled them. As a matter of fact, they respected them! And so it is today! I want to share with those of you who have eyes and ears who the false prophet is and what is his work.  ...The false prophet is a corporate body of religious leaders that to the trained eye resemble those of Jesus' day. Since Jesus' day is a type of the coming Man-child reformers in our day, we know there are going to be false prophets, plural. In all of the New Testament writings, outside of the book of Revelation, we are warned that false prophets, plural, would come. In Revelation, false prophet, singular, is used, but in an allegory or parable to hide the corporate body.  Since Jesus, Peter and John said that in the end time many false prophets shall arise, then the false prophet in Revelation is a symbol of a corporate body, like the rest of the characters there like the Woman, the Harlot, the Beast, etc., are corporate bodies. It's the only way that all verses concerning false prophets can be right. Mat. 7:15  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.  Mat 24:11&24  And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets… so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. So you see they are plural... They come to you with moralizing like the New Age but cannot live it at all because they dont know the Gospel that saves from sin and nothing is sin to them. They are false because Jesus said, “To him that overcometh will I give authority” meaning, overcome sin. False prophets fit the type and shadow of history, according to Jesus. Luk. 6:26. Woe [unto you], when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. Peter also said there would be false prophets among us.  2Pe. 2:1  But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers …. John also said that many false prophets would speak for antichrist. 1Jo. 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (3) And every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist … Notice that every spirit is the antichrist. The New Age is one of these false prophets that confesses not Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and leader of His Church. Part of the “strong delusion” (KJV) taught by the false prophets is that we are to be looking for the coming of a man called the false prophet, while the Biblical corporate false prophet is here and in the pulpits already.  2Co. 11:14  And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. You might say “David, aren't you sharing God's secrets with the false prophets?” Have no fear, they are too proud and blind to admit they have passed on the traditions of men… ...Most agree that the second beast in Revelation 13 is the false prophet. He is given authority by the first beast for the second stage of the last 3½ years of the Tribulation (Rev.13:5). He is identified as a beast because he is a corporate body as is every other prophetic beast in the Scripture. Rev.13:11  And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (12) And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed.  The beast that is coming into authority now is pointed to by the New Age. It is a one world order with a covenant. Here we see that the false prophet masquerades as the lamb: “two horns like unto a lamb” but he speaks as the world and Satan: “and he spake as a dragon” (beast). This second beast in chapter 13 is also identified after the world beast in Revelation 16:13 as the false prophet. This impostor leadership for the harlot has “a form of godliness” (2Tim.3:5) but is carnal and can only teach a worldly corruption of the Word. They are actually a mouthpiece for the world beast in the apostate church. It was said of the world beast, (Rev.13:5) and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies…. These apostates speak against (Greek: blasphemeo) God with their hypnotizing, ear-tickling doctrines of all-fly-away, unconditional eternal security, worldly prosperity, greasy grace, and anything but the self-crucifying truth.  And 1000 years of peace that will be interrupted by the Tribulation that they do not believe in. The false prophet is a corporate body within the corporate body of the harlot, which is female because they receive the seed of antichrist. In verse 15 we see the female body of the false prophet. “And it was given to her (Greek) to give spirit (Greek) to the image of the beast.” Bible numerics show a perfect pattern for “her” and “spirit” in the original Greek and in the most accurate New Testament, the Numeric English New Testament by Ivan Panin. There is no pattern in “he” or “it.” In Greek, breath and spirit are the same. Numerics show beyond a shadow of a doubt which words are correct here. In the rest of the text this false prophet is identified as male by the same numeric pattern.   A translator would have had to respect the Word enough to ignore his own reasoning to simply translate what was there. Most are not willing to go out on a limb and look foolish when they do not see the reason. A male, who is also seen as female, is clear proof that God is not speaking of an individual here but a corporate body of people. In parallel, we are the male body of Christ, made in His image (2Cor.3:18), but we are female in another type (Eph.5:22-25), being married and submitted to Him to receive only His seed, His Word.  Let's see this corporate false prophet and his relationship to the harlot in another parable. We know Ahab represents the ten-horned beast who was being ridden by Jezebel (1Ki.18), exactly as the harlot rode the beast in Revelation 17:1-3. They ruled over the apostate ten tribes who were also those who worshiped the image of the beast, the golden calf. As the corporate mother of the harlot sects of Christianity, she leads them into the Great Tribulation and death unless they repent. (Rev.2:20)…Jezebel…teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication (with the world beast by receiving their seed)…. (21) And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication. (22) Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works. (23) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works.  Like the harlot, Jezebel was guilty of the blood of the prophets and of the saints (1Ki.18:4; 2Ki.9:7; Rev.18:24). In Revelation 17:16 when the beast is through using the harlot he devours her, and so it was with Jezebel who was devoured by the dogs (1Ki.21:23), symbolizing the unbelievers (Mk.7:27) or the beast. The true ministers of God are fed at the Church's table (1Cor.9:13-14) and the false prophets are fed from the harlot's table. (1Ki.18:19)…The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table. The two categories of false prophets represent the two horns of the false prophet in Revelation 13:11.  Find out who Baal and Asherah represent in modern times and you will know who the corporate false prophet is. These two have their roots at the tower of Babel and were originally Nimrod and his wife Semiramis (Gen.10:8-10). They created the original harlot religion that spawned all the rest. They are a type of the great corporate mother of harlots of all of history. (Rev.17:5) And upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.  When Nimrod died and Semiramis (later called Asherah) became pregnant, she claimed that Nimrod had become the Sun God (later called Baal) who then by virgin birth was reborn as her son, Tammuz (Son of God). These original Babylonians worshiped the false father, son, and virgin about 2,300 years before the true virgin birth. Semiramis probably knew of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 concerning the virgin birth seed of the woman and if she didn't, the devil did.  With the confusion of languages and dispersion at Babel, this legend went throughout the world and these three were given different names in different cultures, many of which are in the Bible. The golden calf in Egypt was a symbol of the Father (Baal) in the Son. Remember Pharaoh's title meant “Great Temple of the Sun God.” Sun images all over the world and in Catholic and Eastern churches symbolize the false Son.  The Israelites with their golden calf thought they were worshiping “YHWH” or “Elohim,” the true God, but it was Baal, “another Jesus.” One horn, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, represent those who teach “another Jesus.” This is the apostate Protestant ministers. The other horn, the four hundred prophets of the Asherah, represent those who worship the virgin. These are the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and many others that are into “Maryolotry.”  We know that Mary became saved and is our sister and we love her but she is not the mother of God as Maryolotry teaches. (Rom.1:3) Concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (Jesus' “flesh” was the “seed of David” through Mary, which was the promised seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. Mary is the mother of Jesus' flesh which is the “Son of Man.”) (4) who was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; [even] Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus' “spirit” man was the “Son of God.” Jesus agreed with this saying in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”.  Some would say that the two horns are the apostate leaders of the Christian religion and the leaders of false religions. To this I agree. The same verses usually address both greater and lesser types. The greater type is the most complete fulfillment and all the Babylonish religions will be gathered together in the end time harlot. The False Prophets and Religious Harlots spread from the confusion at Babel throughout the world and now the Unitarian New Age is seeking to bring Babel back together in a new Catholic, meaning “universal” religion that doesn't rebuke their own sins much less others.       Select LanguageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKinyarwandaKoreanKurdish (Kurmanji)KyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianOdia (Oriya)PashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTatarTeluguThaiTurkishTurkmenUkrainianUrduUyghurUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

When the Apostle says God's "judgments" are unsearchable, he means God's decisions or rulings as the Sovereign of the universe. When he says God's "ways" are past finding out, he means God's methods for bringing to pass all that His Sovereign will purposes to do. How do we respond when we find ourselves objecting to the decisions and the methods of God?

ONE THING: When thanksgiving to God is given then you know you're living. 1 Chronicles 16:1-7 CONTEXT: Give God praise and credit for how He demonstrates His Sovereign presence. How can we know we are thankful for forgiveness and the holiness journey? By our faith-filled deeds that brings God glory and helps others do the same. How can others know God offers forgiveness and the journey of holiness? By giving our obvious faithful best to God's will for the day. Based on this message what can you do to become more like Jesus? Gospel- Centered = WORSHIP Praise God for who He is to all of us. Take time each day to give God credit for His majesty. COMMUNITY Give others the opportunity to get involved in giving God thanks. Help them to use what they are good at to give God praise. SERVICE Give credit where credit is due. When God des good, help others to realize it. MULTIPLICATION Lovingkindness can help others connect with God. Use the resources around you to help others see God's goodness

Imagine how confident in Christ you could be if you understood how God was working in your life. God knows your purpose even if you don't and He is using you to fulfill His Sovereign will. Knowing your purpose will help you to understand the things that happen in life and make sense of it. It will help you in prayer and in confidence. It's time to activate and live fully in your purpose today. || Support www.patreon.com/lwinston --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lela-winston/support

We often wrestle with the question of "Do I have freedom of choice if God is sovereign in determining the outcomes? This podcast provides a starting point to build my faith in God while trusting HIs Sovereign will.

Title: To Whom Much Is Given Text: I Timothy 6:17-19 FCF: We often struggle using wealth correctly Prop: Because God abundantly provides for His people, we must enjoy having and sharing our abundance. Scripture Intro: CSB [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to I Timothy chapter 6. Last week Paul instructed Timothy to flee the love of money and instead pursue Christlikeness. Timothy must be the shepherd of the church there and preach to, lead, grow, and protect them from the lure of these false teachers. This is the job of every Elder in a local church until the Lord returns. This week Paul turns his attention back to the discussion of worldly wealth. He has spoken about money, really since chapter 5. It is apparent that many in the church in Ephesus had a skewed view of money and wealth. Not just the false teachers but even the people in the church. Of course in the 2000 years since this was written, the church has gotten a handle on wealth and every one sees it the way God does now… The words of scripture could not be more relevant for us today – and as people who are citizens of the wealthiest nation in the world – we would do well to listen. I am in I Timothy chapter 6. I’ll start reading with verse 17. I am reading from the CSB today but follow along in the version you prefer or in the pew bible on page 1341. Transition: We keep pendulum swinging back and forth. Two weeks ago we had a easy to understand but hard to live passage. Last week we had an hard to understand, but comforting passage of hope and purpose. This week, we swing back to somewhere in the middle. There is doctrine here – but there is also sharp application. Let’s dive in. I.) Because God abundantly provides for His people, we, without arrogance or idolatry, must enjoy what we have. (17) a. [Slide 2] 17 – Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant. i. Coming down off of what we just studied, this may be a little awkward for us. ii. Paul just had this magnificent hymn of praise to God, extoling His transcendence, His sovereignty, His immortality, His unapproachable holiness, and His due honor and dominion. iii. He says amen, and we might think… ok great place to end it right there. But he goes on. iv. Several suggestions have been made, from he forgot to address wealthy Christians to he added this later, or even another author added this later. v. Really, the best explanation is that this is where he intended to go next with Timothy – but he had to break out into a song of praise to God as he spoke of the glorious return of Christ. vi. And so, what we have here is not an afterthought, but really a continuation of all that he had been talking about up to this point. vii. He just told Timothy to lay aside the love of money and the pursuit of earthly things and run after things that are eternal and are treasures. Before that he talked about godliness with contentment being great gain. viii. So now he moves to instruct those in the church who do have a lot of earthly goods. ix. Certainly, if we are not to love money – one could make the logical assertion that to have money means you are guilty of the love of money. x. However, this is simply not the case. But having lots of earthly goods does require a bit of instruction. xi. Paul tells Timothy to command those who are wealthy in worldly goods, first, to not be arrogant or high-minded. xii. Is such a thing a danger for those with wealth? Even for those with wealth who are believers? xiii. Absolutely! xiv. Wealth, power, influence, and class positioning have always been linked down through the millennia. xv. So, what does the gospel do to that? Like every other earthly division – it absolutely destroys it. xvi. Paul tells Timothy to command these wealthier believers that they ought not see themselves as a higher rank, as having better faith, or as having some sort of bigger connection to God. xvii. Indeed, they ought to esteem others better than themselves. They ought to love other believers with the same love with which Christ loves them. xviii. But it is not just arrogance and pride that Paul commands Timothy to warn them of… b. [Slide 3] Or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth i. Certainly, a temptation to the wealthy is to depend on money to solve their problems. ii. I believe that this is the great lie we struggle with here in our nation. iii. Although many problems can be solved by spending enough money – the solution to our biggest problems never seem to come with a price tag. iv. No amount of money can raise the dead. No amount of money erases the past. No amount of money can erase our rebellion against a Holy God. v. And Paul brings another weakness of wealth. vi. It is transient. It is fleeting. It is here today and gone tomorrow. As secure as you think you are in diversified investments, and bank accounts – what happens when $1000 is only enough to buy a loaf of bread? What happens if the entire server where your bank account information is stored, is wiped and there is no record of any of your investments? vii. What happens if our nation falls – and the USD is not even real any more. viii. What happens when you die? Can you take it with you? ix. As our Lord said in His sermon on the mount – Moth, rust, and thieves do make all our earthly goods so volatile. x. No – there is nothing certain about wealth. It is not worthy for us to set our hope on it… c. [Slide 4] But on God i. There is a firm foundation. ii. A God who stands outside our world unaffected by it but wholly involved in it. He is the Blessed. He is the Only Sovereign. iii. He is a God who is immortal. iv. A God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. v. God is our source for all things my friends. Food, clothing, breath, life, and grace. God is the only thing worth hoping in. d. [Slide 5] Who richly provides us with all things i. Everything we have comes from Him ii. Indeed, all good gifts comes from the Father of lights with whom there is no change. iii. Furthermore, he provides RICHLY to us from His bounty. iv. He is THE blessed and we are blessed BY Him. v. Why? e. [Slide 6] to enjoy. i. Wow. ii. Did you get that? iii. God provides to us, richly, all things we have… why? iv. So, we can enjoy them. v. Not to trust in, not to hope in, not to pursue, not to fall in love with – but to enjoy while we hope in Him alone. vi. He didn’t have to do that folks. But He loves us. vii. In this Paul battles the aestheticism present in his day that denied pleasure to gain respect, honor, and meaning in life. viii. Paul says if you have something – it is from God – to enjoy. So, enjoy it. f. [Slide 7] Passage Truth: i. Paul to Timothy returns to his instruction on the balance between earthly gain and heavenly gain. ii. He instructs Timothy that God provides us all things. iii. God is THE example of a generous giver. He has given all we have to us to enjoy. g. Passage Application: i. Therefore, Timothy must instruct his people to not be arrogant about what they have, nor to depend on it, but rather to hope in God. ii. He is the true object on which they must rest their hope. iii. And in this proper view of wealth, they can actually enjoy what they have, like God intended them to. h. [Slide 8] Broader Biblical Truth: i. Zooming out to the rest of scripture we see that if God is the blessed and only sovereign, if God is the Father, the creator, the sustainer, then it must be that every good gift and every perfect gift is handed down from the Father of Lights. ii. He is the giver of all things. In Him we hope, because He gives all things. i. Broader Biblical Application: i. So what should 1st world wealthy American Christians do with such understanding of wealth? ii. Don’t be arrogant about what you have thinking that you are some special class spiritual citizen because you are wealthy. iii. And DO NOT hope in your riches. Because they are volatile. Moth, Rust, Thieves – they all take away our earthly goods. iv. They disappear quickly. v. If these are true of us we are free to enjoy what we have been given. Transition: [Slide 9(blank)] So, God is the giver of all things. So we cannot be arrogant about what we have, because all was given. And we cannot hope in what we have, because all can be taken away. Instead, we must enjoy what we have while we have it, and put our hope entirely on God. But what else accompanies this understanding of wealth? II.) Because God abundantly provides for His people, we must give generously out of our abundance. (18-19) a. [Slide 10] 18 – Instruct them to do what is good, i. This is a general statement but I think this is set against the enjoyment we have of our things. ii. God has provided us richly with all the things we have. He did this so we could enjoy them. iii. But He does not want us to stop with our own personal enjoyment! iv. Enjoy, yes, but live for, be obsessed with, worship -NO v. We ought to be going about taking all that we have been given and turning it toward good. vi. How? vii. Paul gets more specific. b. [Slide 11] To be rich in good works i. All who are in Christ have been given marvelous wealth. He set His treasure in jars of clay – remember. ii. Our value has been woven to His Son. iii. We are blessed people. Favored of God. We have been given grace. iv. That doesn’t mean we are inherently special – we are but jars of clay. First century clay pots could be used as centerpieces for elaborate feasts. But they could also have been used to go to the bathroom in. The pot is not inherently valuable. v. But God put His Spirit in us. He gave us His Son. For that, we have gained infinite value. vi. And so out of THAT abundance – we give. vii. God has given us the power to will and do His good pleasure. viii. He has endowed and continues to endow us with grace to obey Him. Grace to mortify our flesh. ix. And so – out of the abundance we have been given… we GIVE! Richly. x. But how specifically should believers who are already spiritually wealthy, who also are wealthy in earthly goods, how should they be rich in good works? c. [Slide 12] To be generous and willing to share. i. We have been given much – probably because God has a purpose for our wealth. ii. Certainly, it is for our own enjoyment – this is true. But not our own enjoyment alone. iii. It is to give away. It is to further his kingdom for those who have little earthly goods. iv. A couple weeks ago on Wednesday night, one of you shared the guilt that comes along with living in America and having great wealth while missionaries go to foreign lands, preaching the gospel, live on very little. v. Perhaps God is calling you to go – but maybe God is calling you to stay and pay their way. vi. God could miraculously provide money to people. Indeed, we saw last week in Foundations, God miraculously provided food to Elijah with Ravens. But perhaps, and there is no way to know for sure, but perhaps that is also a sad commentary on the state of Israel at the time… that none could or would house the prophet. vii. Be rich in good works, be sure to do good… by sharing all that you have. By giving of yourself and your goods… generously! viii. Most of the time, God uses His people to provide for His people, because in doing so, both parties grow in faith. ix. And that growth is what Paul speaks to next… d. [Slide 13] 19 – storing up treasure for themselves i. It is obvious that Paul is not talking about physical treasures. How could he? ii. He is talking about giving and sharing. Giving and sharing are not typically a paths to great wealth. It just so happens that God loves a cheerful giver and does often reward those who give with more to give. iii. But counter to some who call themselves Christians in our nation – Paul is not outlining a way for you to get rich on earth. iv. Rather he is talking about laying up treasures for yourself… e. [Slide 14] As a good foundation i. What does this mean? ii. The word foundation is fairly simple to understand but how Paul is using it could be twisted here. iii. The word speaks of the substructure of a house or some kind of base on which to build. iv. However, sometimes with this thought comes a nuance of beginning. v. In other words, if we read this and think that our giving and sharing lays a beginning for us – as we keep reading that may start to seem like Paul is saying that we can earn our own eternal life by giving of our wealth. vi. Interpreting this in this way would be catastrophic and condemn any who are poor to hell. vii. So what is Paul saying instead? viii. Rather foundation inherits the strength nuance. That is shore. It is firm. It is solid. ix. This contrasts with the uncertainty of wealth and the futility of hoping in it – but this kind of treasure, this kind of treasure is secure and solid and it is something that you can place your hope upon. f. [Slide 15] For the coming age i. But the hope is not for this life but for the next. ii. And it is not a hope that is tainted with uncertainty or human effort. iii. We are not laying up treasures in hopes to merit the coming age. iv. Rather it is in the laying up of treasures that our hope rests. In the sense that the act of laying them up is only possible by those who are bound for that next age. v. Which is exactly what Paul means when he says… g. [Slide 16] So that they may take hold of what is truly life. i. Our entire existence, these 100 years give or take a couple decades, that we have on this earth is but a mirage. It is a vapor. It pretends to be life when it is instead, walking death. ii. But when the gospel shapes and forms us… iii. When God infuses us with His goodness iv. When God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us. v. When God continues to give grace to us. vi. When even wealth and poverty does not divide us vii. When wealth is not sought or pursued viii. When it is shared for those in need out of love ix. When wealthy people are wealthy in good deeds. x. What happens? They are living a life that is real among the dead. The have been re-born into a Kingdom life that starts now – and will continue forevermore. xi. My friends, earthly goods come from God for our enjoyment. But heavenly treasures come from God through His Son as He conforms people to Himself and compels them in love to share all they have. xii. In this the only difference between heavenly and earthly treasure is that only heavenly treasure has an eternal component. Both are from God, both can be enjoyed now, but only one can be enjoyed in His future Kingdom. xiii. So, enjoy having and enjoy giving. h. [Slide 17] Passage Truth: i. Paul continues this theme that God is the greatest giver. ii. He has given all things to us, including His Son whose gospel works in us to form us and shape us to be conformed to Him. iii. This gift is so abundant that it cannot be contained within us. i. Passage Application: i. Timothy is to instruct his people to follow the Lord’s example and give generously out of their abundance. ii. To do good and be rich in good works. iii. To give generously to those in need, and share what they have. iv. This is how they will make an eternal investment that they can both enjoy now and in the kingdom to come. j. [Slide 18] Broader Biblical Truth: i. Zooming out from this passage, from the bible as a whole we understand from Old to New testament God teaches His people that it is better to give than to receive. ii. God is always giving to His people. He is always providing and protecting them. You’d have to be blind to not see that all the way back to Adam and Eve, and all the way to the churches in Revelation. iii. He illustrates it best at the cross, where He richly provided both righteousness and substitution for His people. iv. And He continues to give us grace that we may live more and more like His Son, let alone earthly blessings. k. Broader Biblical Application: i. So applying this to our lives – what is our response? ii. What can our response be but to be generous givers! iii. To be like our God and give liberally of our bountiful supply. iv. To be sharing with each other. v. To find and help those of the household of faith. vi. To abundantly give our spiritual fruit to all, to edify and help all. vii. To not cling to or hope in riches, but to enjoy what we have – and enjoy sharing what we have with others, laying up treasure for ourselves that will never tarnish. viii. This is truly living the life that will never end. Conclusion: CBC, this sermon hits hard and it hits fast. There is not a person in this room, or watching from home, that is not one of those who are “rich in the present age.” Not a single one. Make no mistake about it, you are the intended target of this instruction. Unemployed, down on your luck, it doesn’t matter – you are wealthier than most of the world. So what does this mean? Should we feel guilt ridden because we have so much? Should we deny ourselves the pleasures of life – should we sell it all and live as a pauper… no. Why? Because God, in His Sovereign providence has placed you exactly where you are to accomplish His will. Of course there are warnings. Don’t be arrogant about your wealth. Don’t rely on it. But we must realize that God has given all that we have for us to enjoy. Now what does this NOT mean? See we have a lot of perversion in our churches in America regarding wealth. First, God gives these things according to His will and providence. It is not because you have faith, or have done something that he is rewarding you with. Rather this is simply His Sovereign prerogative to give out of His abundance and love for His people. That is why pride in what you have is forbidden. Because at its root, it denies the fact that God alone gives and assumes that you had something to do with it. Second, God does not desire for you to have your best life now. God has a much better life, one that is real and eternal, waiting for you, that He has secured it for you in the sacrifice of His Son. Therefore, God is our hope, not for wealth, riches, gain, or earthly happiness – but for life eternal. All that being said – God has given us much. So, enjoy it. Enjoy what He has blessed you with. You don’t earn kudos or bonus points denying yourself pleasures in this life. GOD GAVE THEM TO YOU! Enjoy them. But… God, having been generous to you, expects you to generously give. Not just from your earthly wealth -but from all that you have. He has given you His very Son. So, you must do good, be rich in good works, and yes, to give generously and share what you have. In this way you will store up for yourselves eternal heavenly treasure. But we must again define what this does NOT mean. First, this is not a plea to send your check in so that God can richly bless you with wealth. My friends this prosperity gospel is no gospel at all. It has enslaved many and it continues to impoverish many, worst of all, people think they are serving Christ, when they are only feeding materialism in their own heart – and the wallets of their wolfish leaders. Second, as we mentioned, this is not some kind of credit system where we store up good deeds for God to dispense to us in the next life. Instead – We must see our wealth as tools for which God has given us to use in this life to further His Kingdom and make His name great. We can enjoy what we have and we can enjoy giving what we have generously to others. Why? Because God is our hope not money. His Kingdom and His righteousness is our goal – and giving of our abundance is toward both of those. So lets get down to where the rubber meets the road. Be rich in good works! True Christians, true followers of Jesus Christ, grow in grace. There is definitely a human component as God sanctifies us. We must work out our own salvation. But friends, God has richly supplied to all who are truly His, the power and passion to do His will. His true children can, for a time, grieve the Spirit. They can, for a time, run from God. But that will not last. If you are not rich in good works… you have to start asking yourself, am I a true child of God? And when it comes to money… My friends… GET OUT OF DEBT. I’m not saying you can never be in debt. I’m not saying that there are not wise things to go into debt for… But my friends the less you have tied up in financial obligations the more you can give. And that ought to be our goal. LIVE ON LESS! Supply your needs, prioritize your wants, and make some cuts. We live in a world where you “deserve” to have what you want. Why? Why do you deserve it? God tells us in His word what we deserve… you know what it is? Death. Make sure your needs are provided – and have a couple wants to enjoy what God has given… and then give generously and share with others. When God gives more earthly goods, do not say “hey we got some extra money – what can we buy?” Rather say “hey, we got some extra money – who can we bless?” Leave things for your birthday and Christmas lists, or better yet, keep your want list to 5 things or fewer. And be ok in your heart if you never got them. Oh and here’s something revolutionary. Pray through that list of wants. NOT so that God would give you the money for them… but rather that God would grant you wisdom as to if they should even be on the list. Ask Him to change the desires of your heart to suit His will. Finally, Be wise. If you want to give your money away – there are hundreds of thousands of places you can send it. But that doesn’t mean you should give it. Prioritize God’s people first, specifically among your local church. Even setting aside money for that purpose may be wise. And outside of your local church, be picky with who gets your money. Some causes may be good – but the greatest cause is the spread of the gospel. Prioritize that over others. Support a missionary. And when I say support – I don’t just mean in worldly goods. But pray for them and chat with them as often as you can. And make plans to up your giving occasionally. A $50 commitment 20 years ago isn’t going to go as far today. My friends, God has given so much to us. He expects us to be like Him, as gospel formed people, and generously give out of our abundance.

A discussion of King Hezekiah's prayers in response to the threat of a Assyrian siege upon the city of Jerusalem, and a reminder that no matter how great a difficulty may seem to us, God has it under His Sovereign control and it's nothing to Him.

In this episode we explore the fourth chapter of The Book of Daniel. We examine King Nebuchadnezzar's response to Daniel's interpretation of his dream. The King also has a second dream requiring interpretation. One of the most interesting figures in Scripture, King Nebuchadnezzar, learns a powerful lesson, humbles himself before God, and bears witness to His Sovereign guidance.

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story... When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:1-4, 18) There are many barriers visible and invisible that separate us from one another. In Peter's day, one of them was the separation between Jews and everyone who wasn't a Jew (i.e. Gentiles). Now Peter had just visited the home of Cornelius, who was a Roman Centurion and a Gentile. Peter had, through some Spirit-led prompting, become Cornelius' guest, an opportunity to practice Christian hospitality through receiving the experience set before him—eating and staying with Cornelius and his household for a few days. This was already a break in the barriers of Jewish kosher laws and established practices. Through God's not-so-subtle prompting Peter also shared the Gospel with these Gentile folks from the nations, and God poured out His Spirit upon them, before Peter had even finished speaking. This was a sign to them all that the barrier between Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the Earth had been obliterated. This experience of God's work upended the church's theology. Today, we are deeply hesitant and skeptical to allow experience to overturn our theology and practice or break down our barriers. Experience is subjective, after all—who can trust it? We much prefer objective facts and "clear" texts. Yet sometimes in doing so, we limit God's Sovereignty to our finite conceptions: pinning His wings to the cork like a biology project. You can see that play out in this section of Acts 11. When the other apostles and believers hear that the Gentiles received the word of God—they're taken aback. The theology and practice of the barriers said that Jews did not associate with Gentiles and neither did their God. So they immediately pile criticism on Peter, using many of the same words used by the Pharisees to criticize Jesus for eating with sinners. But then Peter again moves in Christian hospitality: he does not react defensively, but in humility, takes the criticism and hears their concerns. In turn, they humbly listen in to Peter's story of God's Sovereign work in the lives of these Gentiles gathered in Cornelius' home. At the end, the other apostles and believers simply praised God. Together, with humility and hospitality, they discerned together through the objections raised to this experiential anomaly, and when they did, they found it truly to be an act of the Sovereign Lord! So they praised Him for it. Barriers had been broken and theology upended, but God was in it. Many conflicts have raged in the church over the years. Some still continue today. And more conflict will surly come, especially as we navigate these choppy waters of COVID-19 and whatever "re-opening" a church building and navigating new ways of ministry and worship together may look like. But what if, as we enter into these places of likely conflict where our barriers, theology, and practices are challenged, what if we enter into those conversations with a Christ-like humility, love, and hospitality—ready to hear and receive one another's experience, fears, and concerns? What if we enter in, assuming that the Sovereign Lord is already at work—in ways that we may not fully understand, but perhaps can, together and with the Spirit's help, discern our way through? May God continue to open our eyes and ears and humble our hearts and minds to discern His Sovereign work among us today.

Todays Bread. "I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. Ecclesiastes 3:14 NKJV *The Lord GOD Almighty is the same yesterday today and forever. He is the sovereign authority and the author of our salvation. If we but our trust and confidence upon Him and wait for His will, we shall be the blessed inheritance of His promise. Here the author says whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it and nothing can be taken from it. What He speaks He brings it to pass. And the ultimate purpose behind His working is to make this world fear and tremble before Him. He manifests His Sovereign authority upon heaven and earth that all those who seek His name shall call out with reverence and obedience. Today, commit your life to His will & plan, make a humble prayer and ask Jesus to take full control of your life. He shall re-visit your frames and make you an inheritance. Amen!

Preached at ICC on June 28th. Today we look at the U in the acronym TULIP, known as Unconditional Election. Meaning, God didn't choose you based on your works, but based on His Sovereign choice! Please join us for this powerful message out of the Word of God!

Our world has been shaken with the onslaught of the COVID-19 virus. Evangelist Mac's answer to this pandemic is to share the gospel in two different formats on Facebook Live. The first way is to have an actual Sunday Service With Mac & Myra which he ministers with his wife. This has proven to be very popular and is available on the ADORATION website at http://adorationtalkradio.com/, at https://twitter.com/adoration1534 and at https://www.facebook.com/AdorationTalkRadio/. The second way is doing a Wednesday Worship With Mac experience where we find our Evangelist sitting down at the piano in a mostly improvised hour of praise and worship and prayer. What we have done is take pieces of a few of these services and "compiled" them into a package we pray will bless the listener and present both the power and peace of GOD in the midst of the confusion and division our news and social media sources present. Our prayers go out to all families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic; our hearts are with the medical professionals, law enforcement officers, fire department personnel, EMTs and all other essential workers who have braved the virus selflessly and victoriously. May GOD bless the nations and may HIS Sovereign will be done.

Our world has been shaken with the onslaught of the COVID-19 virus. Evangelist Mac's answer to this pandemic is to share the gospel in two different formats on Facebook Live. The first way is to have an actual Sunday Service With Mac & Myra which he ministers with his wife. This has proven to be very popular and is available on the ADORATION website at http://adorationtalkradio.com/, at https://twitter.com/adoration1534 and at https://www.facebook.com/AdorationTalkRadio/. The second way is doing a Wednesday Worship With Mac experience where we find our Evangelist sitting down at the piano in a mostly improvised hour of praise and worship and prayer.What we have done is take pieces of a few of these services and "compiled" them into a package we pray will bless the listener and present both the power and peace of GOD in the midst of the confusion and division our news and social media sources present. Our prayers go out to all families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic; our hearts are with the medical professionals, law enforcement officers, fire department personnel, EMTs and all other essential workers who have braved the virus selflessly and victoriously. May GOD bless the nations and may HIS Sovereign will be done.

Our world has been shaken with the onslaught of the COVID-19 virus. Evangelist Mac's answer to this pandemic is to share the gospel in two different formats on Facebook Live. The first way is to have an actual Sunday Service With Mac & Myra which he ministers with his wife. This has proven to be very popular and is available on the ADORATION website at http://adorationtalkradio.com/, at https://twitter.com/adoration1534 and at https://www.facebook.com/AdorationTalkRadio/. The second way is doing a Wednesday Worship With Mac experience where we find our Evangelist sitting down at the piano in a mostly improvised hour of praise and worship and prayer. What we have done is take pieces of a few of these services and "compiled" them into a package we pray will bless the listener and present both the power and peace of GOD in the midst of the confusion and division our news and social media sources present. Our prayers go out to all families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic; our hearts are with the medical professionals, law enforcement officers, fire department personnel, EMTs and all other essential workers who have braved the virus selflessly and victoriously. May GOD bless the nations and may HIS Sovereign will be done.

Our world has been shaken with the onslaught of the COVID-19 virus. Evangelist Mac's answer to this pandemic is to share the gospel in two different formats on Facebook Live. The first way is to have an actual Sunday Service With Mac & Myra which he ministers with his wife. This has proven to be very popular and is available on the ADORATION website at http://adorationtalkradio.com/, at https://twitter.com/adoration1534 and at https://www.facebook.com/AdorationTalkRadio/. The second way is doing a Wednesday Worship With Mac experience where we find our Evangelist sitting down at the piano in a mostly improvised hour of praise and worship and prayer.What we have done is take pieces of a few of these services and "compiled" them into a package we pray will bless the listener and present both the power and peace of GOD in the midst of the confusion and division our news and social media sources present. Our prayers go out to all families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic; our hearts are with the medical professionals, law enforcement officers, fire department personnel, EMTs and all other essential workers who have braved the virus selflessly and victoriously. May GOD bless the nations and may HIS Sovereign will be done.

SERMON TOPIC- Major Moral Matters--SERMON TITLE- Gender - Miraculous Fact or Mistaken Fiction - Pt. 4--SERMON TEXT- 1 Peter 3-15-SERMON THESIS- God's -7- logical arguments against Secular concepts of gender neutrality in lieu of His Sovereign creation of gender reality climaxes with the Biblical argument. The Biblical argument involves inspired and infallible evidence from both Old and New Testaments authenticating that gender is a miraculous fact not a mistaken fiction- and that gender reality refutes gender neutrality. Having examined the OT evidences, as well as initial portions of NT data, this final message exposits remaining NT arguments that gender is a fixed Creational constitution, as opposed to a fluid Cultural construct- SERMON TRANSITION- Of God's NT arguments against Gender neutrality and the Transgender ideology the final -5- focus on God's--I. PLEASURE over the human body and its gender reality - 1 Cor. 15-38-II. PLAN for the human body and its gender reality - 2 Cor. 5-10-III. POSSESSON of the human body and its gender reality - 1 Thess. 4-3-3-IV. PEACE with the human body and its gender reality - Heb. 13-4-6-V. PRAISE over the human body and its gender reality - 1 Thess. 5-28

As we continue with our new sermon series ‘Recycled', this message explores and unpacks how, despite her nationality and tragic situation, God, as the Master Recycler, turned Ruth's life around and used it for His glory, aligning her to His Sovereign plan. This is a message of encouragement and hope to anyone who is either in a difficult situation or whose life isn't quite what they think it should be. In particular, it is a message to women, as well as those who are excluded for whatever reason.

In our new series ‘Recycled', this third message continues on the theme of God recycling lives and situations to fulfill His Sovereign plans. In this episode we examine the Apostle Paul, a man who dramatically changed from being merely ‘religious' to being a ‘revivalist' after meeting the risen Jesus, as recorded in the Book of Acts chapter 9. Formerly known as Saul, he was a zealot for the cause destroying the early Christian church, but he soon found out that he would be recycled by God in order to pioneer it.

In our brand new series ‘Recycled', this second message continues on the theme of how God is in the recycling business, changing lives and situations to fulfill His Sovereign plans. It looks at the life of Esther, an ordinary Jewish orphan who became queen in a foreign land and thus saved her people from annihilation through an act of courage, knowing that she had been called for such a time as this.

In our brand new series ‘Recycled', this first message introduces you to our God who is in the recycling business, changing lives and situations to fulfill His Sovereign plans. It looks at the life of the Apostle Peter and reveals how the Lord transforms this ordinary man into a vessel fit for the Master's use.

DECREE OF KINGS Sunday, January 20, 2019, the Year of Our Lord Pastor Carolyn Sissom   This past week, Jo Ann, Sonya and I went to Austin, TX to the inauguration ceremony for Governor Gregg Abbott and Lt. Gov., Dan Patrick.   On our return trip from Austin, I remembered a word the LORD spoke to me at the end of George W. Bush’s 8-year term of office.    “Carolyn I chose George W. Bush to secure the border.  That was to be his first priority in office.  He failed to do so.”   The thought came to me, “this is a “mandate” and “command” for our nation from the LORD.  George W. Bush was a given a command, authority and anointing to secure the border.     In view of that, we are NOT to pray as intercessors crying out to the LORD to move by His Sovereign power to build the wall; we are to speak and decree from the realm of the LORD’S AUTHORITY THAT HE HAS COMMANDED THE BORDER TO BE SECURED.   We are to come into agreement with the command of Heaven and the authority Heaven gave to the Office of the President of the United States, as Commander and Chief of this nation.   As in the days of Israel, Kings were given commands by the LORD and they failed to carry out their mandate.  Their failure brought trouble upon the nation of Israel.   It is note worthy that Dan Patrick made a decree in his inauguration speech.  He decreed Texas will appropriate the money from our Reserve to secure the Texas border.  

This text gives us a perfect picture of the Lord's sovereign works in and through His faithful servant Hannah. It also reflects several of God's Attributes in the outworking of His Sovereign plan for Israel. An exposition of 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

This text gives us a perfect picture of the Lord's sovereign works in and through His faithful servant Hannah. It also reflects several of God's Attributes in the outworking of His Sovereign plan for Israel. An exposition of 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

The first four words of the Bible give us all the information we need to understand our position in the universe. From these four simple words we can immediately recognize that life comes from God, is found in God, and exists for God. He who was the beginning and source of all things naturally has the authority to govern our existence.However difficult this may be for our rebellious hearts to accept, it is unalterably true. Like the Priest in the movie, “Rudy,” if we only know two things, they are the two things that guide us best: “There is a God and I am not Him.”The history of the world is the ongoing story of man's dogged insistence that it is he who is sovereign, not God. Man is the perpetual toddler, stuck in the “terrible twos” and continues to stomp his feet, raise his voice, and scream, “Mine!” to God. But it is the Creator who gets to form the creation any way He desires. The Creator makes the rules, sets the limitations, and determines the outcomes for His creation.“The Creator of the world is doubtless also the Governor of it. He that had power to give being to the world, and set all the parts of it in order, has doubtless power to dispose of the world, to continue the order he has constituted, or to alter it. He that rst gave the laws of nature, must have all nature in his hands. So it is evident God has the world in his hands, to dispose of as he pleases.”- Jonathan EdwardsGod has decided to allow His created ones to choose who they trust: their Creator or themselves. But our decision in this regard does not affect God or His Sovereign plans, for He already knows the decisions we will make and will use both our obedience and our rebellion to accomplish His sovereign will.Yes, there is a Sovereign One and you are not Him.

God is Sovereign in showing His grace and discipline. We should find joy in His Sovereign plan. 

As Luke begins we see how God has sovereign ordered all things as His plan of redemption begins starting with the foretelling of John; in order to show us His Sovereign promises, our unbelief, and His glorious grace.

  Title of my message is: The Plans (Proverbs 19:21) (NLT) “You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.”(John 16:13) (NLT) “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 LB)  “There is going to come a time when people won't listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear.  They won't listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.” (John 16:13) (NLT) “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The 3 Faces of God's Will  1.    His Sovereign will. 2.    His Moral will.3.    His Personal will. (Psalm 139:16) “…your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Romans 8:28) (NLT) “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”(Philippians 1:6) “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” What am I doing in my life that I should not be doing? What's in my life that is not like the Lord? What is it that's in my life that doesn't line up with His convictions? (Romans 6:1-2)  “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Hebrews 2:1) “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”(Hebrews 12:2) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” How to read the plans.1.    Give your life to God(Matthew 18:14) “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”(1 Peter 4:2)(NLT) “You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:3)(NLT) “You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.” 2.    Allow your mind to be transformed. (Romans 12:2) (NLT) “Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” 3.    Connect to God's plan. (Ephesians 2:10) “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”