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God's Word can be a Lamp unto our feet and Light unto our Path if we are being led by His Spirit in the Path's of His Righteousness because all of His Words are IN Righteousness.
God's Word can be a Lamp unto our feet and Light unto our Path if we are being led by His Spirit in the Path's of His Righteousness because all of His Words are IN Righteousness.
Big Idea:God wants your FAVORITE FOOD to be His WORDS.Here is why:1. MATURE wisdom is LOVING the Holy Spirit.2. Righteousness is CONFRONTING your BROKENNESS.3. Usefulness is OVERFLOWING with God's LOVE.Challenge:TASTE and SEE that the LORD is GOOD.
'I ﷺ am for the worst of my Ummah.' "In the Name of Allah (SWT) The Supremely Merciful, Most Kind. His words are true whilst those of the oppressors spell ruin. This remembrance mentions the Ummah that will come in the Last Era. They will face trials and their dear ones will encounter calamities. They will cross the seas to tackle their enemies. Their distinct worship will be Salaah. If they had been with the nation of Nooh (as) they would not have perished in the Flood. Or with Aad, they would then not have perished from the violent winds. Or with Thamood, then they would have not have perished with the Piercing Cry. In the Name of Allah (SWT), His Words are true, whilst those of the Oppressors spell ruin (Bayhaqi).
Join us as Pastor Joe continues our His Words series in John chapter 5!
Jesus Is The Way - Humility To Glory (5) (audio) David Eells – 3/30/25 I'm going to continue with our study on Jesus is the Way – Humility to Glory and talk with you today about who and what is blessed of God and what it truly means to be blessed. Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask that You open our understanding. Help us, Lord, to retain the things that You say to us. We need the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrance everything, Lord, to protect us, to guide us, and to give us wisdom in the days to come. We hold fast to that promise because we need so much, Lord, that Your Spirit will bring these things to our remembrance again. Thank You, Lord, for blessing our minds. We know that our minds were created to be much more useful than they have been under the curse. We also know that according to Galatians 3:13, Jesus bore the curse for us and, therefore, Lord, we know that You're working to restore our minds today. We thank You for that, Lord. Father, we want to understand what Jesus did for us. We want to be able to exercise faith in Your Will. And in order to know Your Will, we need to have knowledge, Lord, so we ask You to open our knowledge and give us understanding, in Jesus' Name. Thank You, Father! Praise You, God! Now some people may be wondering, “David, what does that word ‘blessed' actually mean? What is it to be ‘blessed?'” So let's go first to Deuteronomy 28 because the first 14 verses speak of that, and we can translate these into what they mean for us in our day. (Deu.28:1) And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God (“Hearken” there is the Hebrew shama meaning “to hear and obey.” Not just be hearers of the Word but be doers of the Word {James 1:22}.), to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day (We know that the Lord has given us commandments in our Covenant, too. We need to be diligent to study them and obey them, and we know that by faith, God's Grace gives us power to do just that.), that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. This not talking about our physical nation where we live; this is talking about our spiritual nation. We are the nation of Israel. We who have been born again and believe in the sacrifice of Christ, according to Romans 11, have been grafted into the olive tree called “all Israel.” So we are Israel, not physical Israel, but spiritual Israel. (Deu.28:2) And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (3) Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. (5) Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. That was very important to them in those days, and this could translate into a few different things for us today, but basically, this was their livelihood and their food. (Deu.28:6) Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (So whether you're coming or whether you're going, meaning just about everywhere you are, you're going to be blessed.) (7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee… Now, we know that our enemies are both natural and spiritual, and Paul tells us this in (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. The Lord has promised us victory if we will “hearken” diligently unto His Voice, meaning if we will keep His commandments. (Deu.28:7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. In the midst of the trial, “hearken” unto the Word. Accept the good report, and the devil won't know what to do with you, and neither will your physical enemies (Numbers 13:30). Our physical enemies come against us as persecutions and a matter of crucifixion, so the best thing to do is lay down your life. Stop trying to save yourself by man's methods. Put your trust in the Lord and “hearken diligently” unto His Word. (Deu.28:8) The Lord will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (9) The Lord will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. (10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. Wow! That certainly doesn't sound anything like Psalm 2, where we are told all the nations are going to come against God and against His people. Let's look at that. (Psa.2:1) Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed, [saying,] (3) Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. And it's a far cry from what Jesus said in (Mat.24:9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. Instead, the Lord says the nations will fear you if you hearken unto His Voice. (Deu.28:11) And the Lord will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. (12) The Lord will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. That's certainly contrary to what a majority of people believe about the Will of the Lord nowadays: “thou shalt not borrow.” The Lord says you'll lend, but you won't borrow, and that's part of the blessing, saints. If you hearken unto His Voice and believe what He says, He will provide your needs. (Deu.28:13) And the Lord will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them,] (14) and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. “Other gods” there is the word elohim, and many, many people today choose to follow another “Jesus” of their own making. Paul complained about that even back in his day, didn't he? (2Co.11:3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. (4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, [or] if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with [him]. And if we follow after something other than the commands of God, He's not making any promises about blessing here. The blessing comes from our finding the Will of God in the Word and then walking in it through faith. So who is it that receives the blessing of God? Let me remind you of the text we were studying last time in Matthew 5. (Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying … (4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Evidently, the people who are obedient “to the Lord thy God,” who do His Will, and seek to be submissive to His commandments, are a people that mourn. Now how could that be? In what way is mourning righteous and just? The thought that comes to my mind is that the first thing we need to mourn about is our own life. As David said, “I will not be satisfied until I awake in thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). The first thing we have to mourn about is not manifesting the Life of Christ. James also speaks about this. (Jas.4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Grace is all we need to walk with the Lord. We've learned that grace is His favor in our life; His favor makes us able. He's putting in us the desires that we need and giving us the power that we need. Grace is all we need, and God says He gives it to the humble. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. In whatever ways the Lord reveals to us that we're walking contrary to His commandments, that we're not hearkening unto His Voice, that we're not representing Jesus Christ to the world as true Christians, we have something to mourn about. And it should be grievous to us to not walk in His Steps because that's what it is to “abide in Christ” (1 John 2:27- 28; 2 John 1:9; etc.). It should be grievous to us to be anything contrary to the Will of God. Of course, repentance always precedes faith. Faith alone won't overcome our own lack of repentance, and repentance is what mourning is all about. However, after we mourn what the Lord shows us about ourselves, we need to be careful not to spend too much time in condemnation. We confess our sin to the Lord, He forgives us, and then He cleanses us from it. (1 John 1:9) We need to go from there to faith. We need to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God (Romans 6:11). So you repent and you mourn because of what the Lord shows you in your life, but He doesn't reveal everything all at once, or He would overwhelm us with grief. Thank God, it's “line upon line; here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). Otherwise, we probably would never come to faith because we would be overcome with condemnation. So He's very merciful. He leads us through our promised land to conquer one enemy at a time. This reminds me of a vision my wife received in which she and her sister were standing underneath an apple tree, and worms were hanging out of the apples, just eating away at them. So my sister-in-law got a can of pesticide spray and started broadcasting it over the whole tree, but my wife said, “No, that won't work.” She took the can from her sister and told her, “This is how you do it.” She sprayed each one of those worms in the mouth, and as she did that, she realized that they were all little serpents, not worms. And, of course, that's what we have to do. We attack these things one at a time as the Lord shows them to us, and the first thing we have to change is our mouth as we're told in (Rom.10:10) for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We have to put that wickedness to death. We have to use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). And what does God promise us if we humble ourselves in His sight, if we cleanse our hands and are afflicted and mourn concerning this problem, and turn our laughter into mourning? He says that He will exalt you. Humbling ourselves is the first step. Yes, we can be grieved over other people's sins, and there's a place for that, but first, we need to get the board out of our own eye, so we can see clearly to get the mote out of our brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41-42). Certainly, we can cry out to the Lord to give us the grace to humble ourselves, because working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure is something that comes from Him, too (Philippians 2:13). It's not a case of picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. We're not deceiving God by mourning over something that we don't feel. He knows if our repentance is sincere or not. The Lord wants to give us a conviction of sin. He wants to put that mourning in our hearts concerning sin. He wants us to hate sin as He hates sin (Psalms 1:5,5:5-6; Romans 1:29- 32; etc.) Needless to say, there is a place of mourning because of the persecutions and the tribulations that come upon us through the wicked people around us. Jesus told us in (Luk.6:21) Blessed [are] ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are] ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. (22) Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company,] and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. We don't see that as a blessing, but it's listed here as one of God's blessings because when we're hated of the world, that means we're loved of God. If we weep because of what we're giving up in the natural, because of persecutions that we're suffering and enduring for Christ's sake, persecutions that we endure because of the crucified life, this is good. The Lord is going to bless us for this. Going on, He says (Luk.6:23) Rejoice in that day, and leap [for joy]: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luk.6:24) But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (25) Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe [unto you,] ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. It's better to weep and mourn now, while the world is rejoicing, while the world's been given the high hand, so to speak. We're heading into a time when, other than the judgments that are falling upon them, the world is going to think they have everything going their way. They will be given authority over the saints to bring them to their crosses. You and I are going to be hated; we're going to be ostracized. They will cast out our names as evil, and God says we can certainly mourn over that, but He also says to rejoice because your names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12,15; etc.) and your reward is great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Hallelujah! (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. There is a time coming of much weeping and mourning, but He also commanded us in the midst of that to rejoice and leap for joy because, when the world hates you, that means God loves you. You're on His side, and you're on your way to His Kingdom. When we're loved of the world, and we love the world, then we're departing from God. Let's look at another good example of what God considers to be righteous mourning. (2Pe.2:6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly (God's judgment is coming upon the wicked, but, at the same time, He will save those who are His.); (7) and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked… If we're not grieved by and mourning over the wicked life of the people around us, it's because we don't have the conviction of God in our hearts. The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem. (Luk.19:41) And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, (42) saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. He was grieved at the hardness of heart in the people to not receive His Words from the Father. It's right for us to be grieved because of the people around us who won't listen, won't submit to God, and who won't be convicted of sin, just as Lot was “sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked.” “Lasciviousness” is their license to “unbridled sensuality and excess.” Basically, it's their license to do what they want to do, and even among Christians, this is common. Their doctrines that promote lasciviousness and permit a person to live any way they want to live while still thinking that they are a disciple of Christ and are going to heaven are common. This is a strong delusion among major portions of Christianity, and it's just not the Truth. It's a deception that comes to people who are living after their own lusts and being bribed by self-will to please their flesh. Lot was sore distressed seeing this in the people around him, and we should be grieved today over people who call themselves “Christians” yet who walk in this way with the Lord. (2Pe.2:7) And delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (8) (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): (9) the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment… That is so true! People wonder why they're living under a curse, and it's because they have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4). They're living the way they want to live, and they're paying the penalty for their unrighteousness because the blessings come upon the people that “hearken to,” that “hear and obey,” the “voice of the Lord thy God.” The blessings come upon the people who are diligent to keep His commandments. This should be highly motivating for us to get into the Word to find out what the Will of God is and come out from under the curse. Yet, sadly, multitudes of people have insulated themselves with lascivious doctrines that permit them to live the way they want. We know that Jesus wasn't talking about what we loosely call “Christians”; He was talking about “disciples,” which means “learners and followers.” We need to lead people into discipleship, but if they desire to live in the lusts of their flesh, they will believe and promote these flesh-pleasing doctrines. And I tell you, the “Lots” in this world will be grieved. They will mourn. They will be distressed over these kinds of things. The text says that it “vexed [his] righteous soul,” but the Greek basanizó translated as “vexed” is actually “tormented, tortured.” It tormented Lot's soul to see the “lascivious life of the wicked.” The lasciviousness being spoken about here is not referring to the wicked because we know that's how the wicked live. It's talking about those who are promoting the lifestyle among Christians, and the rest of the text agrees with that. (2Pe.2:9) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; (10) but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion… The Numeric Bible states the word here for “dominion” is “lordship.” These people “that walk after the flesh” despise anybody ruling over their lives. They just want to do what they want to do, which is why they despise dominion, whether it be the dominion of those whom God has sent to be leaders or the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They would rather make up their own mind about what the Scripture says and their own “Jesus” that smiles upon their lifestyle. (2Pe.2:10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: (11) whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. These self-righteous people, here, are the ones that are going to persecute the saints. They're self-righteous in their religion, and they rail at people who are dignities. The Greek word dóksa, translated there as “dignities,” actually means “glories; majesties; brightness.” And who are the glories being spoken of here? (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. As we manifest Christ to a greater and greater degree, we grow from glory to glory: from star glory to moon glory, to sun glory. Paul pointed out the three different bodies that are given to the people who manifest the different glories (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). We grow into these glories, and the closer you get to Christ and manifest His life, the more that religious people will rail at you and come against you. But remember this: the fact that some people hate you is a good sign, and the Lord says to “leap for joy.” (2Pe.2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, (13) suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you… Some people are actually trying to deceive us. They're “pretend Christians.” They live in the world because they love the world, but they like to “talk the talk” when they're among Christians. They're sons of perdition hidden in the midst (John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) whom the Lord is going to reveal for what they truly are. And they love the hire of wrong-doing because they've been bribed by their flesh, which they love to please. (2Pe.2:13) Suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; (14) having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; (15) forsaking the right way (We can see here that he's talking about people who profess Christianity.), they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing… Yes, just as Balaam did, these people love the pay, love the advantage gained by wrong-doing. So, whom did Jesus cry over? It was God's people because they wouldn't come to Him (Luke 19:41). He grieved over them, saying, (Luk.13:34) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen [gathereth] her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Much of our grief, too, is for Christians. It's for lost loved ones that we've prayed for to come into the Kingdom. It's like the grief that Lot felt about the people being led astray around him. If we have a holy heart and we are seeking to be pleasing unto the Lord, then we will be convicted by the Word of God, and we will feel the same thing. (2Pe.2:15) Forsaking the right way they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; (16) but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. (17) These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. (18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error… That's very true. Many so-called “pastors” preach wonderful words, but they're enticing people with lascivious doctrines. They're full of greed for tithes and offerings, but they're just filling churches with tares, as Peter says. (2Pe.2:3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not. We've studied and taught a lot about sanctification. We've been given warnings that there is a great falling away coming for those who are enticed away by lasciviousness (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1). Nothing will be able to stand above the water in the flood that's coming except for those that are righteous. They are walking with the Lord, and they have grace and faith. Nothing else is going to preserve God's people in the days to come. (2Pe.2:18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; (19) promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. Multitudes of Christians are in bondage in Babylon! They may think that, through their knowledge of Christ, they've come out of the world and they've escaped the corruption in the world, but in reality, they've just been brought into bondage again with something that is not Christianity. (2Pe.2:20) For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. When people come back into bondage and they stay there, they become worse than the people in the world. They still walk in wickedness, yet they justify themselves because now they're self-righteous. They have knowledge but they're rejecting that knowledge. They're worse in God's eyes than the people in the world, and they're going to suffer greatly. (2Pe.2:21) For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it (So these people have knowledge.), to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. When somebody has knowledge and yet they continue to do the things that are contrary to that knowledge, they're a deceiver. We just read, “their deceivings while they feast with you” (2 Peter 2:12). These people are deceivers, and the Bible says, (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (2Pe.2:22) It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. This is heartbreaking! Great judgments are coming to the nations soon, and it's going to take away multitudes of people who consider themselves to be Christian. And because they don't have the mark of God, multitudes of Christians are going to take the mark of the beast. (Rev.13:16) And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; (17) and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, [even] the name of the beast or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. However, we also see the people that have the mark of God in (Rev.14:1) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. Ezekiel also talks about God judging who is righteous and who is not righteous, based on whether they mourned and were grieved over the ungodliness that they saw around them. Let's look at that text first. (Eze.9:4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Again, we see this is not talking about the sin in the world, but the sin in the church. And the people that are marked in the forehead because they “sigh and cry over all the abominations,” are the people that are going to escape the wrath of God, the judgment of God, that's coming. Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 repeatedly mention the “abomination” and the “desolation,” all leading up to chapter 9 and the mark of God. In chapter 8, we even see the image of the beast. And notice, when we read these chapters, how we don't find the theology that we hear in Christianity nowadays. In every case, the “abomination of desolation” described is God's people walking in the flesh in the Temple. They are the flesh man, and they are the beast ruling in the Temple of God. This is what God calls an “abomination.” And what does He give them for that? Desolation. The holy people of God grieve for them; they grieve for these people who walk abominably before the Lord. (Eze.8:1) And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month]… Notice that these chapters are leading up to a time that's identified with six-six, and in the next chapter, six men come with their slaughter weapons in hand. That's six-six-six. And what does this identify? It identifies the end time, the time of the beast, the time of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Now remember, in the New Testament there is no temple made with hands that God is interested in or concerned about being holy (Job 4:19; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; etc.) It's the Temple “made without hands” that God requires and expects to be holy (Acts 7:48; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 9:11; etc.), and this is the only temple that can have an abomination of desolation. Only the Temple of the Body of Christ can have an abomination that “maketh desolate,” because every other temple out there is desolate. God has departed from them. He will never again dwell in temples made with hands, and so they are desolate (Acts 17:24). But we are the New Testament temple; we can become desolate, “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jude 1:12). That's the temple we need to be concerned about. Paul told us, (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. And Peter exhorted, (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It should be the Lord Jesus Christ Who lives in us and Who manifests His holy Life in us. Returning to our text in Ezekiel, God asks him (Eze.8:6) … Son of man, seest thou what they do? (All throughout these texts, it's always “what they do” and that's the abomination.) even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here (So the “beast” in the Temple is the corporate body of these people that walk in the flesh and are in rebellion against God.), that I should go far off from my sanctuary? (Or, in other words, “leave it desolate.”) but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations. (7) And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. (8) Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door. (9) And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here. (10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts… This is just as Solomon said in (Ecc.3:18) … It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts. Peter was given the same revelation. (Acts 10:11) And he (This is Peter.) beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: (12) wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven. (13) And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (14) But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. (15) And a voice [came] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. Then Peter was given the understanding that God was speaking to him of the Gentiles, because all lost people are beasts, and so he preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his family (Acts 10:34-48). So we can see clearly from these texts that the “abominable beasts” in the Temple of God are these people who walk in the flesh. Back to (Eze.8:10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. (11) And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand… Those 70 men are the Sanhedrin. They were the corporate body of the false prophet that ruled over the people of God in Jesus' day, and God calls this the “abomination.” (12) Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? (There's the image of the beast in the Temple.) for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the land. (13) He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do. Again, notice there is no individual man. There is a corporate body committing these abominations that make desolate, and that body is not only the priests; it's also the people. (Eze.8:14) Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. (Tammuz was a false “Jesus” worshiped by Babylon. God is saying that in the midst of the Temple are those who worship “another Jesus” {2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6}.) (15) Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen [this,] O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these. Well, this chapter goes on to speak of abomination after abomination, all committed by the people of God in rebellion against the worship of the true God. In their idolatry, they were creating gods after their own liking and in their own image. (Eze.9:1) Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. (2) And behold, six men… That's the third six. This represents the beast, and all throughout history, the Lord has given the beast charge over God's people when they were in rebellion. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome each had authority over God's people in their day. Today we have a revival of Rome and, just as the Lord gave those earlier beasts authority over His people, He is going to do that again because the beast is in the Temple and there has to come a desolation. In 70A.D. God brought the Roman armies into Jerusalem to slaughter those who hadn't already slaughtered each other. Multitudes of the Jews were so full of the beast that they were killing each other off, and when the Romans came into Jerusalem, they just finished the job. [Editor's Note: Referenced from The Works of Josephus, translated by William Whiston, Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.] But, once again, it was the corporate body of the wicked in the Temple that was an abomination to God, and so He destroyed both them and their Temple. (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand… The Hebrew word for “slaughter weapon” is also translated “battle-ax,” and who does God call His “battle-ax”? Let's look at that. (Isa.10:5) Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! (6) I will send him against a profane nation (This is Israel.), and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (7) Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few… (Well, the Assyrian beast thought this was their great idea to plunder Israel, but God says, “No, no, I put it in their hearts,” and He called these people His “ax.”) (15) Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?… The Assyrians thought it was by their own might, but God says, “No, I gave you the strength to do this, and I sent you against these vain, abominable people, to judge them and bring them to their cross and, hopefully, to repentance.” Truly, we're going to see a repetition of history come upon us in our day, although people with their lascivious doctrines teach that this is something which is only going to happen to little Israel far away from them. They refuse to understand that Christians are New Testament spiritual Israel. They are blind to the corporate beast body coming upon Christianity. (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen… I believe this is Jesus in the Man-child. Revelation 12 tells us the man-child ministry is coming in the end times, and it's coming again like Moses, like Jesus, to show God's people the correct way. What the Man-child teaches is going to separate the sheep from the goats. It's going to define who is going to be judged and who is not going to be judged. (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. (3) And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn by his side. (4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem (So notice that He is not bringing judgment upon the world. He's bringing judgment upon God's house, upon those who profess to be His people.), and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Does it grieve you that God's people have been so led astray, so deceived by their leadership, and so lured into sin by their own self-will? Now listen, nobody can be deceived by another man if they don't first have a lust to live in that way and accept these false and lascivious doctrines. People are going to be self-deluded and self-deceived because, just like Balaam, they love the hire of wrong-doing. They love to please their old flesh. And they're being bribed by the flesh to accept a doctrine, a teaching, a lifestyle that is permitting the old man to live. Saints, we're here to live the crucified life (Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:27; Hebrews 13:13), and if we don't lose our life, we won't gain our life (Matthew 16:26; Luke 9:25). (Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite… He is speaking to the beast here, the six men. Six is the number of the beast, and six is the number of man. In fact, the sixth chapter of the sixth verse of the sixth book in the New Testament talks about the old man. (Rom.6:6) Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [him,] that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin. (Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; (6) slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark … Now the mark being spoken of here is the mark of the Lord, and it identifies those who are members of the body of Christ, just as the mark of the Beast identifies those who are members of the body of the Beast. Jesus said there are only two men in the earth, Christ and anti-Christ (Matthew 24:40; Luke 17:36). The truth is that people love to identify themselves as “Christian”, but these marks will prove in the coming days who really are Christians and who are not. (Eze.9:6) Slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house. (In other words, they've lived longer, and they know more, so they're more guilty than anyone else.) (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. Great destruction is coming against Christianity because it doesn't reflect what was given to us through Jesus Christ. We are to (Jud.1:3) … contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. The faith of our day won't count because religion has turned people away, through their own lustful desires, from true discipleship. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. “Discipleship” is walking in the Master's Steps, and that means a disciple studies their Master to walk as He walked. (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city. (Eze.9:8) And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem? Well, we know this is coming again because it says in (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. The Israelites were types and shadows of the end time, and a great falling away will happen just as the Bible says (2 Thessalonians 2). And notice this is old Jerusalem receiving judgment. This is the old city and the people that belonged to it. This is not born-again Jerusalem. Then in (Eze.10:2) And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling [wheels], even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city… In other words, he brings judgment. The Man-child ministry is coming to bring judgment upon the city of God. These judgments are going to cleanse it of the goats and cleanse it of the tares. The Lord Jesus Himself spoke words that separated the goats from the sheep, separated the wheat from the tares. His Words brought judgment in His day, and the ministry of the Manchild will do the same in these days, but the people that will escape are the people who have been, and are going to mourn. They are the ones that are blessed, according to Jesus. While the world is rejoicing, they will mourn because of the great wrath and the judgment of God upon the people that call themselves “Christians.” They will mourn because of the great falling away of the people who had no faith. We need to see and understand that the judgment that's coming is going to prove who has faith and who does not have faith. The judgment that's coming is going to prove who is a believer and who is not a believer. The wilderness tribulation for Israel was to prove whether they had faith or not. And, of course, Joshua and Caleb, who had faith, went to the Promised Land (Numbers 32:12). They didn't have to die in the wilderness because they had faith. They believed in the Lord. They spoke His Word, and they didn't die like the men who spoke the bad report, they spoke against the Lord and died in the wilderness (Numbers 26:65). Once again, today we are coming to a “wilderness” that God is going to use to prove who is truly of Him and who is not. The Word of God is going to separate the sheep from the goats. We need to put the Word in our hearts so that we have the conviction of Jesus Christ, so that sin is sinful to us, so that the rebellion of rebellious people grieves us. Father, in the Name of Jesus, we're asking You, Lord, that You convict those “Christians” who have created a religion and a doctrine that pleases them because they don't have to give up anything. They don't believe they have to live a sacrificial life; they don't have to deny themselves; they don't have to take up their cross. Lord, we ask that You convict them mightily and that You bring them to You, Father, in the Name of Jesus. Thank You so much, Lord. Amen. Now, I'd like to share some other scriptures about the blessings that will come from the Lord for those who have mourned, as we've been discussing. When the Man-child ministry begins, Jesus is coming with His reward! Zion, the Bride, has gone through their time of mourning and warfare to get rid of their sins and their enemies within. To get rid of the leaven. Jer.9:17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come: 18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings. 20 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. 21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them. 23 Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. 25 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, (All of the faction) and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. Zec.12:10-11 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. Psa.35:11-17 Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not. 12 They reward me evil for good, To the bereaving of my soul. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom. 14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother. 15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; They did tear me, and ceased not: 16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed upon me with their teeth. 17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, My darling from the lions. The sorrow of persecution and crucifixion is now turning into joy for those of the remnant Bride. Est.4:1-3 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2 and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. Est.9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, 22 as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. (Down goes the DS and religious factions.) Isa.40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins. Psa 30:2 O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Like Joseph, who came out of prison to the lies that were told about him by the harlot, to rule and preserve the people through the tribulation famine.) 4 Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning. (Here is the joyful saints again) 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. (But through much tribulation shall we enter the Kingdom) 7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face (As in the crucifixion of Jesus the Man-child type.); I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication: 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper. (Been there) 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. (Joy of the David's and the Bride.) Joh.16:20-24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (Because Jesus was crucified), but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (Because He is coming again in the Man-child reformers.) 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow (This is the Woman Church in Revelation 12 in our day.), because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again (in the Man-child reformers of Rev.12), and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. 24 Hitherto (Meaning until this time) have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full. Psa.30:1-12 A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. (Representing the true house of God, not that of Babylonish captivity) A Psalm of David. I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. (This is the David Man-child but also Joseph the Man-child was resurrected from prison, like Jesus the Man-child was, to rule those who lied about him.) Isa.61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified… 6 But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 Instead of your shame ye shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isa.51:3 For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Isa 51:11 And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: … Isa.57:15-18 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made. 17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. Isa.66:10-14 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies. Isa.12:1-6 And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. 6 Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel. Rev.21:2-4 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.
SUMMARY “From the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus has been intimately connected to God (cf. 1:1), and the previous pericope gave a vivid demonstration of the unity of God and Jesus, the “I am” in the burning bush and on the sea. As much as this pericope completes the larger picture of chapter 6, it also propels the Gospel's narrative forward, forcing us to confront the person of Jesus as the fullness of God. Jesus has confessed dramatically His true identity; He will now challenge his interested followers to see if they are willing to accept him as He truly is.” Edward Klink KEY TAKEAWAYS Main Idea: Jesus' offer of eternal life demands a response from us. We can harden our hearts against Him (60-65) We take offense at His Words We don't see Jesus for who He truly is We don't believe in the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit We can come to know and trust the Holy One of God (67–69) We recognize His Words are the only source of life We surrender and submit ourselves to Him
Jesus Is The Way – Humility To Glory (4) (audio) David Eells – 3/23/25 I'd like to start today with the Beatitudes because they speak to a great extent about who it is that God blesses. (Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them… Well, no man is our Example. Our Example is the Lord Jesus Christ, and it doesn't take very much study to discover that Christianity has put more emphasis upon its traditions than upon the Example that's given us in the Scriptures. When I started to look in the Scriptures for the examples I was seeing in Christianity, what the preachers and the religions were following, I discovered very quickly that I just couldn't find them. For instance, we read, “When he had sat down, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth and he taught them.” Jesus never spoke from a pulpit, yet that's become an institution in Christian churches these days. So after the Lord showed me this and I was invited to a church to speak, I just pulled up a chair in front of the congregation, sat down, and began to share with them. Well, that shocked some of them and they looked at me as if they'd never seen such a thing, but others seemed to enjoy the freedom of less formality, possibly because they thought it was more Biblical. The truth is that nowhere in the Scriptures do we see an example of the mourner's bench, the altar, or the taking up of collections at every meeting (Oh, I'm probably getting in trouble with some of you now!) or even wearing suits. Many people think you're just not holy unless you wear a suit, but Jesus didn't have one. I thank God I broke that tradition. I hate suits with a passion, though I have been weak to the weak and worn a suit to preach, but I don't like it. So we have to be free to do this too. Jesus commonly, all through the Gospels, just sat down and taught. He didn't get red in the face and unnecessarily loud and prance up and down to emulate the “anointing” like some “Hollywood” preacher. And woe be unto you if you are in the front row: they can spray spittle all over you. Jesus was just a quiet teacher with no theatrics. But the anointing isn't in any of that; the anointing is on the Truth, and here it says Jesus sat down and He gave the Sermon on the Mount. All through the Scriptures He sat down and taught them (Matthew 5:1, 24:3, 26:55; etc.) When the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people came to take Jesus in the middle of the night, (Mat.26:55) In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. And He never used a pulpit, and He never wore a “suit.” So how did these things come to be so important? It reminds me of when Jesus said in (Mat.23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. (24) Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! Things that really aren't important seem to be very important to religious people just as it was in Jesus' time. We need freedom from all that law of traditions to just follow the Lord as He also showed. We need to get back to the Example Jesus gave us. (Mat.5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When I read this, I asked, “Lord, now what does ‘the poor in spirit' mean? I need You to explain this to me.” Of course, one thing we know it means, follow the example Jesus gave us. He is the Example of someone Who is poor in spirit. He is our Pattern to copy (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 2:5,3:17; etc.) because there is something about the spirit of the poor that God wants in all of His people. Let's examine a few scriptures and see what this “something” is. (Php.2:5) Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped (That's the Greek word harpagmós (Meaning to hold on to His original position.), (7) but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. Now Jesus said the Gentiles love to lord it over one another (Matthew 20:25; Luke 22:25; etc.). However, it shouldn't be so in the Church, as said in (Mat.20:26) Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; (27) and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: (28) even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. So the greatest “among you shall be your servant,” but men love positions of authority, places of esteem, and the respect of the multitudes. And when they come into the Kingdom, they think they need to climb the corporate ladder just like they do in the world and seize the prize of a prestigious church role. Well, a prestigious church role is the very opposite of what the worldly mind thinks it is. My good friend, Bolivar, once shared a dream with me in which he was searching everywhere for the Lord, like the Shulamite searching for where the Lord taught His sheep in (Song of Solomon 1:7,3:1-3,5:6). And so Bolivar went into this skyscraper, thinking, “Surely Jesus is on the top floor and teaching His disciples in the penthouse” because, of course, that would be a suitable location for royalty according to the way a lot of church people think. They believe that it takes a fancy building to really honor God, but buildings never impressed Jesus, did they (Luke 21:5-6)? Anyway, Bolivar got in the elevator, went up to the penthouse, and opened the door, but when he went inside and looked all around, he didn't see Jesus anywhere. Well, the penthouse window was open and suddenly a dragon came flying in through the window. It was the devil, and Bolivar quickly jumped back into the elevator. He went down to the basement and there was Jesus, sitting in those very humble surroundings and teaching His disciples, just as He always did throughout the Scriptures. Jesus preferred humble surroundings, and He preferred the company of those who were poor in spirit. As Jesus told us in (Mat.23:10) Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, [even] the Christ. (11) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. (12) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. The Lord loves a humble people who are not exalting themselves, not putting themselves before God, not putting themselves over and above God. Mark speaks about that in (Mar.9:35) And he sat down (There it is again.), and called the twelve; and he saith unto them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. (36) And he took a little child, and set him in the midst of them: and taking him in his arms, he said unto them, (37) Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. A child is humble, and someone who is willing to be the least important and very comfortable to just be a child in the midst of people who are larger and more mature. Jesus said, “That's what I'm like,” and it should be that way among us, too. When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, He was very comfortable about it but Peter thought, “No, this is beneath Jesus,” and he said, “Lord, not so! You're not going to wash my feet.” And Jesus answered, “If I don't wash your feet, I don't have any part in you,” obviously meaning sanctification by cleaning up our walk in this world (John 13:8). Jesus became a Servant, and He commanded us to have that same mind. (Php.2:5) Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped (Meaning to hold on to His original position.), (7) but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; (8) and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] unto death, yea, the death of the cross. (As He also said we are to do.) (9) Wherefore also God highly exalted him. Praise God! If we have this same mind, then we are here to be a servant to God's people, not a ruler over them. For people who are running after the Lord with all their heart, God may open the door and give them a position, but we don't first the positions in the church. Those people who lust after a position are not qualified. The promises in the Word are made to the poor, who are used as a type and shadow all through the Scriptures. The Old Testament speaks much of the poor, especially in the Psalms, and if we see the spiritual revelation as a parable of those who are poor in spirit in the Church, then we can better understand what that means. (Mat.5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit are always dependent on God, and in need of God's provisions but feel it important to serve others. The poor are always humble. They consider others to be more important than themselves. As we saw, Jesus wasn't trying to cling to His omnipotence and kingly position in heaven. (2Co.8:9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor… He laid all of that aside for our sakes. He came down to become a servant and He tells us this is what our mindset must be. Each of us has to become a servant. We have to be willing to be the lowest, the very least, because the servant of all is the greatest among you, as Jesus said (Matthew 20:26;23:11; Mark 9:35; etc.) (2Co.8:9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich. (The Bible calls it “poverty,” although some people say Jesus was rich because of His seamless garment. What silliness can you get out of that? The Bible says He was poor.) (10) And herein I give [my] judgment: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to make a beginning a year ago, not only to do, but also to will. In other words, He is commanding us here to walk in His Steps in (1 John 2:6). You can't abide in Christ unless you walk in His Steps. I once had a pastor ask me, “David, would you say that poverty is a curse?” And I said to him, “Well, it's definitely listed there among the curses in Deuteronomy 28. But here's the way I see it: forced poverty is a curse because you're brought under its dominion. You don't have any choice. However, we see in the example of Jesus and the example of His disciples, that they willingly took up a position of poverty because they didn't want to be distracted by the world, the things of the world, nor the love of the world.” As you know, in times of prosperity is when the Church goes through its greatest trials. If you can't destroy the Church by temptation, all you need to do is bring them into prosperity and peace and, pretty soon, they're just as lukewarm as they can be. History has proven this. Bring them into trouble, the true Church grows up, the tares are separated, and you have a holy body. Bring them into peace and prosperity, and that's the best way to corrupt them. The devil knows that. Jesus wasn't tempted with all those things that tempt most people. (1Ti.6:9) But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. … (11) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Jesus didn't have to “flee these things” because He never wanted them in the first place, nor did His disciples love the world or have any use for the things of the world. They wanted to be servants of God, and they were because they served the people of God everywhere they went. They didn't rule over them; they served them, and the Lord Jesus says that that's exactly what He did so that we, through His poverty, might become rich. No, not rich in the things of the world but rich in the things of the Kingdom, rich in the fruit of God, rich in the righteousness that the Lord gives. He tells us very plainly there that He wants us to walk in that same fruit and become servants to God's people. If we will do that, God will promote us to positions in His Kingdom, although they won't look like the positions of the worldly church or the leadership of the worldly church. He will promote us in His Kingdom. He will give us authority. The Lord said in (Rev.2:26) And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. Authority doesn't come from a certificate and it doesn't come from going to a Bible school. Authority comes from overcoming, and that means we have to be tried and proven to hold God, the Word and the Kingdom first. We all have to be tried, and one way that we're being tried is, “Are we going to walk in the Steps of Jesus?” Are we going to be humble servants, as He was a Servant? Are we going to be poor in spirit, as He was poor in spirit? (Mat.8:20) And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Sounds like Jesus was really poor! He didn't even have His own donkey (Matthew 21:2-3; Mark 11:1-7; etc.) but, although Jesus wasn't rich in the things of the world, He wasn't poor in the blessings of the Kingdom. Everywhere He went His needs were always met because He was a man of faith, but He didn't need what He didn't need. He wasn't competitive. He took all of His pleasure in serving God's people and had no greed for material things that would only distract Him from doing that. He was poor in spirit, and He's called us to be poor in spirit. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Let's look at a parable about Jesus and His poverty that's hidden in Ecclesiastes. (Ecc.4:13) Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more. Jesus lived as a poor and wise youth and yet He was and is truly the King of this world. He was truly a king and He was truly anointed to be King, just like David was anointed to be king. Before Jesus started His ministry, He was anointed, like the kings in the Old Testament were anointed in a type (1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Chronicles 14:8; Psalm 89:20; etc.). Jesus was the real King of this world, yet look at how He lived His Life. The King of kings was Someone Who sought to serve people. But look at King Herod, who was much older, a very foolish king, with all the accouterments of a prosperous life. He had anything he wanted. He had total authority, which is very dangerous to put in anybody's hands because they'll just bring themselves straight to hell with it. You can't give authority to a carnal man, even in the Church, because ultimately, they'll bring judgment upon themselves and others. And we read, “Better is a poor and wise youth.” The Sanhedrin and those Pharisees, the leaders of the people, most of them were older than Jesus and considered to be wise men according to their religion. But Jesus was a very young man, only 30 years old, when He started His ministry, and the Bible says He was poor, according to what the world considers “poor,” yet He was very, very rich according to Kingdom thinking. (Ecc.4:14) For out of prison he came forth to be king… In other words, Jesus manifested full Kingdom authority in Heaven after He came out of prison where He was “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Here He preached to the spirits in prison. (1Pe 3:19) in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison…, who were the righteous dead in Sheol. Sheol, the place of the dead, was divided into Abraham's bosom and Hades, or hell as in Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man. He then led those captive in Abraham's bosom. (Psa 68:18) Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led away captives. (Act 2:24) whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Eph 4:8) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, And gave gifts unto men. It was here that He was fully manifested again as omnipotent King over all creation. Of course, we can also see Joseph here as a type of Jesus, because Joseph also came out of prison and became king (Genesis 41:14,38-44), which is also Jesus in the Man-child's ministry in the end time. [I want to note here; that history always repeats on a larger scale, as it says in Ecclesiastes. (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. (10) Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. For example, Jesus first came in an individual body, but in the New Testament He is coming in a corporate body of believers called the Body of Christ, (Col.1:29) … Christ in you the hope of glory. The Man-child of Revelation 12 is a body of first-fruits apostolic reformers in whom Jesus lives by His Word and Spirit, that will be worldwide in raising up the Church as Jesus did, but beyond its former glory. All of the entities in Revelation are bodies of people who cover the earth: the Woman, the Harlot, the Dragon, the Beast, the Witnesses, and the False Prophet. In the Old Testament, Israel was the first Church, meaning the “called-out ones.” They were a tiny nation but in the New Testament Church, the circumcised in heart are worldwide and will be brought to their spiritual cross to manifest Jesus. In our book, Hidden Manna for the End Times, all of this is proven with scripture. This book is available on our site in PDF at ubm1.org/book.] Continuing in (Ecc.4:14) For out of prison he came forth to be king; yea, even in his kingdom he was born poor. Why didn't God choose better than what Jesus received when He came into this world? Joseph and Mary had to lay Him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn (Luke 2:7). You would think God would have provided better for Jesus if He were a prosperity-minded God, but, no. The Lord wanted Him to be a Servant. He wanted to liken Him to humble people. He wanted Him to be an Example of the kind of King He was sending. Naturally, the prosperity folks of that day didn't expect a humble servant. They expected a king to come and rule over the Romans. They wanted a king like that “old and foolish king,” King Herod, somebody who would give them authority over the Romans, and the Pharisees of today are still looking for somebody who has that kind of authority. They attempt this through politics. They try to find positions there that give them authority over the world, and they exercise worldly authority in their organizations like the Pharisees did. However, Jesus' authority came because people willingly submitted to Him for their own good. That's the kind of authority He had, which was quite contrary to that of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Continuing in (Ecc.4:15) I saw all the living that walk under the sun (That's both a play on words and a parable because all the living do walk under the Son.), that they were with the youth (Jesus), the second, that stood up in his stead (Jesus in the world wide Man-child reformers that are standing up in this day.). They are going to be born of the woman in travail in our day. Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye behold me no more (Jesus) ; and again a little while, and ye shall see me (In the Man-child reformers) . …19 Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (At the loss of Jesus), but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. Notice that after the death of Jesus, He will be seen again as a man-child born to a woman Church. Then He confirms this. 22 And ye therefore now have sorrow (At His death): but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. This is the repeat of history that must come as we showed. Rev 12:1 And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun… 2 and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. …5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. This throne is the throne of David, which is authority over the house of New Testament Israel, the grafted in Church. We will be able to recognize these people because their ministry in our day will be in the likeness of Jesus' ministry and greater works shall they do as He said. They're going to be greatly used of God but it's the King of kings Who's inside them that does the work. It's not the flesh that He lives in; it's (Col.1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the One Who is coming to rule. This will confirm what I have said to you. Continuing in (Ecc.4:16) There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Isn't it true? Many of the so-called “people of God” are not celebrating and rejoicing in the real Jesus, the true Jesus. They have quite a different “Jesus,” one that's in agreement with the lifestyle they desire to live. These people are not humble and poor servants who are willing to give up their lives in order to serve God. They're too busy competing with the world and striving after material possessions, unlike Jesus Who willingly gave up the blessings that He had and could have had. As eloquent a speaker as He was and able to reach out and touch people, Jesus could have done what many other “kings” have done and are doing in our day. He could have built an awesome kingdom. He could have had the nicest church in town. Of course, none of those unbelieving Pharisees or Sadducees would have set foot in there, but the multitudes liked to listen to Him. He spoke as one that had authority (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 2:47). If He got down on their level so they could understand the teachings (Matthew 13:34-35; Mark 4:34; John 10:6; etc.), He could have filled churches and He could have accepted what the devil offered Him. The devil offered Him authority over all the kingdoms of the world and He turned it all down (Matthew 4:8-11; Luke 4:1-8) Not only did Jesus come as a humble Servant, but those are the only people He really came to talk to. (Luk.4:18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (There's His anointing.), Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor… If we want to be blessed, then we need to be among those who are poor in spirit. The poor in spirit can receive Jesus' Words. They're not offended by the kind of Jesus that offended the Pharisees and Sadducees. He was quite a different Jesus, and He is quite a different Jesus than is being preached nowadays. He is going to have a people who recognize Him and walk in His Steps (1 John 2:6). They are going to manifest His Life. He is going to live in them. Oh, glory be to God! This is the really Good News! Let's look at an example of how the Lord describes those who are poor in spirit. (Isa.41:8) But thou, Israel, my servant (The poor in spirit are servants of the Lord and He will bless them.), Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, … (10) Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. He's giving all these blessings to the poor in spirit. He's assuring and comforting those people who are His servants, but are we really His servants? Are we really poor in spirit so that we will hear and obey His Words? (Isa.41:14) Fear not, thou worm Jacob … Now He's likening the poor in spirit to worms, and we know a worm is about as low as you can get, but remember Jesus said the very least among you will be the greatest (Matthew 20:26,23:11; etc.) A worm is also a very weak creature but, as Paul said, God's power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and we shouldn't make any bones about it. “Lord, we're weak. We're lowly. We know we can't do it, but You can do it through us as we believe You.” (Isa.41:14) Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel (A type of the Church); I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (15) Behold, I have made thee [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. (16) Thou shalt winnow them (The only way a “worm” can do all this is by the grace of God.), and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. (17) The poor and needy seek water (This is still talking about these “worms” here, who are being blessed by the Lord.), and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, the Lord, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. (18) I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. (19) I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree… Everybody is a “worm” in the wilderness because it is a place of need and weakness where only God can supply through our faith in Him. And whom is He blessing in this wilderness but these “worms,” these very lowly people, the poor and the needy? Are you poor? Are you needy? David said in (Psa.17:15) As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with [beholding] thy form. In other words, “Lord, I won't be satisfied until I awake in Your likeness.” He always felt that he didn't have enough of God, and for those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness, they feel poor in the things of the Kingdom. They cry out to God and God is there for them; He is a faithful Savior in the things of the Kingdom. However, far too many people are quite satisfied with mere religion. They're just sitting in a pew and waiting for the rapture to happen, thinking they're going to fly away. Other than that, seeking God is the farthest thing from their mind and it's almost a chore for them to fellowship the righteous. God promises His blessings upon the poor in spirit, for those who are of like mind with Jesus. They have chosen to be servants who serve God with everything that they have. They've put their lives in the Hands of the Lord and God said that He would deliver these people. He said that He would provide for them, richly, everything that they need (Isaiah 41). And apostle Paul repeated that promise to the servants of God in (Php.4:19) … my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Psa.35:10) All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, Who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him (These “worms” are not strong creatures, are they?), Yea, the poor and the needy from him that robbeth him? The Lord is a Deliverer to the poor. He takes the side of the underdog and God's people, in many cases, are in that position, because all those who forsake the world to run after Jesus and be servants are putting themselves in that position. Even if they don't put themselves in that position, God has a way of putting those, who are truly His, into that position. Now, we're headed towards a tribulation in which God's people will be put in a place of weakness, a place of worldly weakness. But God says that He is going to be their Savior and deliver them. With that in mind, who would you rather be? Would you rather be the rich that are crying out for the rocks to fall on them (Revelation 6:16)? Or would you rather be the poor who know they need God? Now I don't mean “materially” poor here, because I know that many people who come into the Kingdom and are financially well-off and use their money to make sure that the needs are met in the Kingdom. They're faithful servants of God Paul said, (1Ti.6:17) Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (18) that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute (This is eumetádotos meaning “give from a generous attitude”), willing to communicate (The Greek is koinōnikós meaning “ready to impart; beneficent; willing to share.” (19) laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life which is [life] indeed. I'm talking here about the poor in spirit. God is going to be their Savior for the very reason that they are weak and their trust is in God. (Psa.12:5) Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in the safety he panteth for. God is going to protect the poor in spirit. In other words, they are blessed in God's deliverance, they are blessed in God's safety in the days to come. (Psa.12:6) The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, Purified seven times. (7) Thou wilt keep them, O Lord, Thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever. (He's going to preserve those that are poor in spirit from this wicked generation.) (8) The wicked walk on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. Oh, aren't we seeing that today? There's corruption and wickedness everywhere. The wicked are taking advantage of others and when they can, if they're in a position to get away with it, they'll persecute and kill them. And it's only going to get worse, but as we see, having that spirit of the poor is a place of safety. After all, who did Jesus say He was going to preach the Gospel to? It was the poor because they could understand much more about the Kingdom. They're much more humble concerning that. When I was young in the Lord, I used to go door-to-door and talk to people about the Lord, and I found that I was much happier going into the poor parts of town because people would listen. In the rich part of town, people didn't want to hear it. I wanted to talk to them about Jesus, but they just wanted to tell me what religion they were. In the poor parts of town, it didn't matter what religion they were; many times they wanted to talk with me. And so, when a group of us divided up to go to different parts of town, I'd pick the poorest part because it was much more fruitful. Let's look at another Psalm. (Psa.107:40) He poureth contempt upon princes, And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way. (41) Yet setteth he the needy on high from affliction (In other words, they are “above affliction,” so whose shoes would you like to be in?), And maketh [him] families like a flock. (42) The upright shall see it, and be glad (Notice the upright respect and favor the poor.); And all iniquity shall stop her mouth. (43) Whoso is wise will give heed to these things; And they will consider the loving kindnesses of the Lord. Those who are wise will think carefully about these things. Don't worry about not being rich in the eyes of the world. Don't worry about not being respected by the world because the world is not supposed to respect you. We need the respect of God, and we're looking here at whom He favors. Wouldn't you rather have the favor of God? (1Sa.2:8) He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory: For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, And he hath set the world upon them. (9) He will keep the feet of his holy ones (Oh, glory be to God! He is going to enable them to walk a holy and sanctified walk in the Kingdom.); But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness… God is going to lift up, He is going to exalt the needy. Praise be to God! He provides for His people! The Lord is going to cause them to inherit the throne of His Kingdom. That's a wonderful blessing! (Psa.68:7) O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, When thou didst march through the wilderness; [Selah] (8) The earth trembled, The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God: Yon Sinai [trembled] at the presence of God, the God of Israel. (9) Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, Thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. (10) Thy congregation dwelt therein: Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor. We see so many promises concerning the poor, and if we bring them over as a type and shadow into the New Testament, we can see exactly what Jesus is talking about. Again, we're not speaking against the rich who serve the Lord, we're just saying that the spirit the poor have is the one that Jesus is after. He wants all of His people to have such a spirit as that. The Bible says in (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? (6) But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? (7) Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? The poor need to trust in God and walk by faith in God because they have no other choice. They don't have any worldly ability to provide for themselves, so they cry out to the Lord and the Lord always answers them. Next, I want to share a testimony with you from Sister B.H. that exemplifies this. In the fall of 1988, after a tragic and unforeseen event, I found myself alone and responsible to raise my two daughters, ages 2 and 12. I turned to the Lord and He drew closer to me than any human could ever have. In those days of great despair, the Lord became my best friend, husband, a father to my kids, confidant, defender, provider, and comforter. (Isaiah 54:5,6) For thy Maker is thy husband; the Lord of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God. With the constant care and direction from the Lord also came many miracles during this time of my life. As finances were very slim, I had to trust God for many of the very basic needs of life and He never failed me. One of the miracles was how God returned my stolen car to me. During this time, my sister-in-law and her two children had moved in with us to help share expenses as she too had found herself alone. We had gone to the grocery store that evening and bought milk, diapers, and a few other necessities. We then went to another store to see if we could find an inexpensive telephone as mine had quit working. We only had $10 left between us, and even though I had never seen a phone sold for that little amount before, I had a feeling we would be able to find one that we could afford. I knew that God said he would supply all our needs and this was a need. My oldest daughter had to babysit the younger children for a little while each day and needed a telephone in case of an emergency. As it happened, the store we went into was no longer going to carry telephones and had them at close-out prices. We were able to get a $50 telephone for $7. (Keep in mind this was in 1988.) While we were leaving the store and praising the Lord for supplying our need again, we looked into the parking lot and could not find my car. It was gone. When the realization hit me that someone had stolen the car, a miracle happened within me that is hard to explain. (Well, didn't God choose them that are poor to the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom?) The best way I can describe it is an unbelievable joy and confidence rose up within me, coming up from out of my belly. Like John 7:38 says: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. With excited expectation, I knew that I was about to see a miracle. God was going to either bring my car back to me, or He would provide us with another car with milk and food in it. It really didn't matter to me how He did it, we needed a car and we needed the groceries that were in the car. Praise God, we knew it was coming our way. When the police came, they put the description of the car over the police radio and so officers in the area were looking for the car. The officer that responded to our call allowed us to ride around with him and look for the car for a while. He said he had never met anyone like us before in his life. He had responded to many calls like ours before, stolen vehicles and such, but never had anyone acted the way we were acting. He could see that we were very happy and excited; we told him that we were going to see a miracle. We told him that the car was coming back or God would send us another one with the groceries already in it. He was being very nice and patient with us. He also did not want to discourage us, but he said the chances were very slim we would be able to recover the car. I told him not to worry, that God had it under control. I asked the officer what thieves did with the stolen cars. He said a lot of times they would break them down and sell them out as parts; they also could be used in a robbery before they are torn down. My sister-in-law and I immediately agreed together in prayer that the car belonged to the Lord and could not be used in any crime. I am sure the officer was thinking we were crazy by this time, but he seemed to be enjoying the change from the norm. By this time the car had been missing for over an hour. The store where the car was taken was at the edge of town and at a fork in the road between two highways leading out of town, so the car could have been in the next county and in another town by this time. Then a call came in over the radio saying the car had been found and pulled over just a mile from the store. It was on one of the highways headed back towards the grocery store. It turns out it was a professional car thief with a long record of such crimes. When they were caught, they told the police officer that when they saw the baby car seat in the back seat, they had an overwhelming feeling that they HAD to return the car. Praise God, the car was in perfect shape and the groceries were fine. The milk was as cold as if it just came out of the refrigerator and the police officer knew that he had just witnessed a miracle. Yes, God WILL supply ALL our needs! Well, glory to God! Everything on this earth serves Him, and you can't get anywhere where God can't save you, but He loves to save the poor. He loves to save those who can't fend for themselves and can't take care of themselves. They're at His mercy but they trust in Him. God can, and does, cause faith that He can save them in every situation to rise up in the heart of His people. (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? The Lord is our Savior in all things. He will never fail us. He will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5; Acts 17:27; etc.) He is there all the time (Jeremiah 23:23- 24) and, according to these many Scriptures we've looked at, He is a blessing to the poor. Considering the days that we're coming to, I don't know why you would want to be anything but poor. Put your life in the Hands of the Lord. He brought His people into so many very hard places in the wilderness when He brought them out of Egypt, and each one of those places was a revelation of their weakness and His Strength. Believe it or not, where we're headed, folks, almost everybody is going to be poor in the material resources of the world, but some people are going to be poor in spirit and those people are going to have the help of the Lord. They're going to have the provision of the Lord. He's going to be their Protector. He's going to be their Deliverer and He's going to exalt them. He's going to provide for them and give them faith. If you're poor in spirit, this is what it is to be blessed of the Lord. If you are weak, know that you're in the place of miracles. If you are poor, know that you're in the place of miracles. If you are a servant of God, one who desires to serve only Him and puts that above everything else, know that you're in a place of miracles. God is going to bless you. He's going to provide for you abundantly. Put your trust in Him and worship Him. God bless you, saints! Now I'd like to share some more miraculous testimonies with you of God meeting the needs of the poor in spirit. The Lord, Our Provider Greg & Anne Kohls - 12/03/2010 I hope this testimony is as much of an encouragement to those of UBM as it has been to our family. I am very grateful for God leading us to this ministry, for my faith has taken root and I am learning the full truth of the Gospel for the first time in my life! Although I must say that God was already at work in my life before coming to UBM, for this was merely the confirmation I needed of what He was showing me. This ministry took me to an even deeper level. I remember one day while I was driving, I began thinking over our finances and wondering how we were going to make ends meet with our oldest son now in his first year of college. Our van was over 10 years old and, although it ran well, it was getting close to needing to be replaced. Right then I just said, “Lord, we are going to need a new van soon and I do not know how we be able to afford it. Could you please provide a van for us; I don't know, maybe through Greg's dad or something?” Well, about two weeks later, I saw my father-in-law and he said to me, “Oh, I happened to be talking to a friend of mine, and he mentioned in conversation that he wanted to trade his van in for a new car but he wasn't going to get much for it. I saw what a great van it was and decided to offer him a little more than the trade-in price and he took it! Have Greg go down and pick it up!” When my husband drove into the driveway with this new-looking van with only 50,000 miles on it, I was in awe! This was more than a van; it was a gift from God Himself! Later on, I started hearing more and more about the economy and began wondering, 'Lord, we need to pay off our house. Could you help us be really disciplined and work really hard to do it within a few years?' ... knowing that would be a miracle in itself. Well, that was in October. At Christmas time (of which I am not really a fan), my mom, stepdad, and brother's family came for a visit and my parents asked just the adults to come for a meeting in the living room. They began to unfold the story of how my sister-in-law had been watching the French news (they were living in France) and saw that the French could be entitled to funds if they had been victims of atomic fallout. She wondered if this would be the case in the States as well and asked my mom to check it out. Yes, she found it to be true. (My dad had been exposed to atomic bomb testing in Nevada and later died of leukemia.) She then handed us a check that covered most of our house payment! About three months after that, I asked the Lord to help us get out of our family stock club, which I did not like since we were unequally yoked with unbelievers. Due to family circumstances, everyone unanimously voted to cancel the stock club and cash in on our earnings. This was the exact amount we needed to not only pay off the house but also pay cash for my daughter's braces! It didn't take years to pay it off; it was a matter of months! All the while during this year, we somehow had enough to cover the college tuition! It seems to me that God is providing His children for what is to come and for us to not lose heart but to trust in His sovereignty and to be strengthened in spirit. I know we have many challenges yet up ahead but God is faithful to meet our every need as we continually surrender our lives unto His. It was also during this time that we had left the local church and God miraculously led our family home to worship together under the teaching of David and the Unleavened Bread Ministries. I can see the transformation taking place in our household. Again, I am so very grateful for all of you. May this be an encouragement to you to “lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight”. It is important to mention that none of these needs had been spoken of to anyone beforehand so it was purely a blessing from God and my father-in-law is definitely not in the habit of buying cars for people, nor did our family or extended family ever think we would receive retroactive pay for something that happened so long ago! “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory!” It makes it a great object lesson for the times ahead to, 'Trust in Thee'. God Understood My Needs Michael Doty - April 2011 This is my testimony about God giving simple and understandable answers to my questions about things I need and need to know, such as how He answered my living situation question. God required me to humble myself, to stop blaming my problems on others, and to realize that it was my “self”, my old self. And I also asked for forgiveness. After that, things changed, and God granted me favor from people who did not even know me -- Alan and Jill Kennedy. As young and immature as I am in my walk with the Lord, I still don't know anyone who has been given favor like I have received: 1) The Kennedys lowered the rent so that I could pay my share on my old rental until the lease was over. 2) The Kennedys did not require me to sign a lease agreement. 3) They also did not require a deposit. 4) The utilities are still in the Kennedys' name and they have not asked me to change it in any way, just to pay it. (Deposit for utilities is high here.) 5) It was also completely furnished and has a beautiful back porch deck which is also furnished. 6) My dog is also at peace after moving to the hill, but she has put in the request box the need for her own bed in her own bedroom if I want peace in my bed and room. Word for Mike: 1 Corinthians 12:18-23 on April 6, 2011 (1Co.12:18) But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. (19) And if they were all one member, where were the body? (20) But now they are many members, but one body. (21) And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. (22) Nay, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary: (23) and those [parts] of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely [parts] have more abundant comeliness ... Can't Afford NOT to Give A sister in Christ - 09/24/2007 Hello, brothers and sisters! The Lord put it in my heart to bless a Christian family in need. I don't have much money but am very, very rich in the Lord and have my needs met abundantly. I was given a certain sum for my day and was looking forward to using it to bless a Christian family in need because I almost never have the opportunity to give money, as I am a stay-at-home mom and do not handle the finances. Giving is such a joy in the Lord. A few days later I received a check as a gift. Then today my family received a large gift of money that was 20x larger than I had given away. I have also been given clothes, many brand new, for my newborn. God's provision for our family is so evident and I praise Him for it. My husband is not yet walking in obedience to the Word, but God still honors my faith and provides miraculously for our family. Last year our tax return for a family of five was under $20,000 and we lived in an area where the median income was $90,000. He certainly has been multiplying for us. He is faithful, true and a GOOD Father. God Supplied and Fixed Everything Doris Zambrano I am so happy to say that I am seeing miracles in my life, living here in the wilderness! I praise You, Lord! Anyway, due to limited income right now, I ran out of propane and just decided to let God show me what to do until I had the resources to get more. I did, however, have electricity, so I was able to have heat from a small heater and the fireplace. Bless God! I went without propane for almost a week and then I was blessed with some money to get more. The company that had been delivering propane to me since May did not return messages regarding my situation, so I was led to another company in another town. The propane delivery man came and since I had run out, he had to check all the connections and equipment before filling my tank. He discovered many leaks and a regulator that was outlawed some 10 years ago. Well, he was so wonderful, he replaced the regulator and did not charge me yet (he just said that he made note of it and would bill me when I could pay, praise God) and worked to fix the leaks and then filled the tank. Since he has been here my propane usage has gone down tremendously! I know that God has a reason for everything He does, although we do not always understand, He knows what He is doing. I know that if I had not run out of propane, I never would have gotten a new regulator or had the opportunity to fix any leaks. How awesome is our God! Lord, bless Mr. Riley, bless this oil company for their kindness and thank You for Your protection and provision! o/ Bless David, UBM, and all those You call Yours. Thank you, Father! In Jesus' name, I pray. Thanking God and Being Blessed Keith McIlroy - 08/17/2009 I am thanking God for my trials. It is a new concept for me. My earthly father comes to visit me almost every year in July to pick raspberries and black currants. We have a few hundred acres where the raspberries grow wild. There is also about a five-acre plot of black currants planted near here where we go and get the black currants from. The first nation's band (politically correct way of saying Indians) had a government grant to plant them about six years ago. The money was wasted before they were picked, so no one has ever picked or maintained them since they were planted there. One morning, we went down there and started picking. My dad was complaining about how few berries there were, compared to the previous year. I had just read a really good book called Prison to Praise and was learning to thank God for all things good and bad. So I started praising God and thanking him for the berries and for the bugs that were living up to their name: bug. Then God brought it to my mind that I was plundering the world system of my day to have these berries. I never planted or worked in any way for these berries; God had especially planted them for me. No one else goes there to pick them. I was awestruck. So I praised Him! It really reminded me of the Israelites going into the Promised Land -- it was all planted and ready for them. I could just rest; in the meantime, I had just stayed in one area and the more I thanked God for this blessing, the thicker the berries were. The other family members who were also picking there were walking all over, not finding many berries, but the plants I was picking from were just loaded! I don't think I went 20 feet and picked six pails of berries in a few hours. Every time I thanked Him for creating the mosquito biting me, there seemed to be less of them bothering me. It was an awesome experience for me. Prayer and Patience Produce Provision Melody - 09/18/2012 It has been on my heart since yesterday to write this praise report. Exactly one year ago yesterday, my son Nathan and his friends Sean and Austin moved two provinces away, which is about 1800 miles from us. They didn't have much money, and their vehicle broke down upon reaching their destination. It was starting to get cold and they were just wandering. (They all know the Lord but I sometimes wondered how well.) Anyhow, I put in a prayer request to UBM for them. After exhausting all their funds at a motel, they had no place to live. Here are the answers the Lord provided, right after I sent the prayer request. A family took them in, in exchange for some chores and babysitting. So, even though they were not a Christian family, the Lord used that situation to meet their needs and also help them to meet others' needs and to really open their eyes. Shortly after that, Austin and Sean each got jobs as cooks in a hotel restaurant. Then Nathan got a job with a large company and was hired to weld various equipment as needed (he always liked welding but was not ticketed). Not long after, the mother of a friend he worked with wanted to move into a facility for seniors. So the boys helped her move a couple of hours away. They had purchased an older truck by then and she didn't want to leave her house empty, so she rented it to the boys for $250 a month; which is unheard of. Rent for a three-bedroom home with a double car garage would normally go for $1100-$1200 a month. In exchange, the boys look after some of her belongings which she stores in the basement, and bring her anything she needs when she asks. They've also built shelves for her at her new place and look after the flower gardens. Last July, my husband, Shawn, and I went to visit our son and his friends while they were at work. We started working in the flower gardens at the boys' “greatly subsidized home from the Lord.” An elderly neighbor lady came out to talk to us. She said she would love to help but she was feeling very ill. Shawn asked her if we could pray for her and she said yes. After we finished, she started to tear up and said she felt better almost immediately! She is a retired nurse. I imagine how she had tended to others' hurts for years. Our Jesus wanted to minister to her. It is just amazing how far the prayers reached and probably reach even further than we know! Sean exchanged his job for a better one a few months ago with better pay and working hours. Yesterday, our son called to say that he just started working his first day at a new place, the same place Sean is working. They really needed a welder and couldn't find a ticketed one, so because he passed their welding test on the interview the previous week, they are putting him in at millwright wages, which he told us was $27 an hour. These are just amazing answers to the prayer I asked for these boys one year ago. Because of the great feeling of the need for prayer I had at that moment for these wandering boys, I then became a prayer partner, as well. It's so exciting to know our prayers make a difference and our God is so wonderful. I know that sometimes people expect instant or quick answers, but His answers and timing are important, not only for our needs but the character He wants to develop in us. I can surely see His hand in all of this and I wanted to share this praise report and to encourage you in all your prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and may God richly bless you all. The scripture on my heart is: (Eph.3:20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us... Your Debt Has Been Paid! Jay & Niki Nara – 1/4/23 I want to share something that just happened to me this morning. In a few short weeks my car registration should be renewed, so in order to do that you have to do a safety check. Yesterday I went to the nearest mechanic, and he gave me the bad news. He listed things that should be fixed on the car, up to $ 4,000 plus, which is an amount that I am not able to afford since I am a single dad and a pensioner. After that, I saw a little insignificant mechanical shop nearby and I booked another appointment for this morning. I was a bit worried after that, and through the night thinking of the outcome, because I really need a car to drive and to pick up my teenage son from school after the holidays, which finish in a few weeks. I was even thinking not to go this morning, doubting the outcome. Still, I got up and decided to try once more. On the way to the mechanic, I was listening to the last UBM post on 1/04/23. Then, I came to the part where you were talking about the debt and debtors, how they are trying to make us feel guilty for the debt that has already been paid by our Lord, and I got inspired by that to put it on my Facebook page (photo). I briefly prayed to God to help me in this very important situation for me. So I left my car in the shop and went home for a short time. When I went back, feeling anxious about the outcome, the mechanic (a sweet little old man) asked me how I wanted to pay, and when I asked how much I owed, he said: $47, which was just the price for the labor! I was overwhelmed and so relieved since it meant so much to me, and I went on my way praising and thanking our good God for everything. Hallelujah!!
The Bible states we should study the Bible to know Scripture and the power of God. Mark then spent time in 1. What's are we doing when we study the Bible? God entrusted His Words through people: Scripture is inspired by God. There are 2 types of critical studies described as: Lower criticism which is foundational. Then Higher criticism follows. Mark cautions us not to rely on only one Scripture translation, commentary versions, the internet, or linguistic substitutions. 2. How do we study the Bible? This will be covered next week. 3. Point for home - Explore the riches of God's Word. Listen to Mark explain that the prophets or speakers of God inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the scrolls that make up books of the Old Testament. Listen to Mark explain that the prophets or speakers of God inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the scrolls that make up books of the Old Testament. The New Testament took form again from Holy Spirit inspired men and later confirmed thru Church councils again guided by the Holy Spirit.
A Sunday sermon by Pastor Brett Deal. Do you ever find yourself asking, “now what?” I was recently at a conference, and during a follow up session, with the main speaker alongside two respondents, the moderator of the discussion voiced those words. Repeatedly as he was walking with people he was counseling, he would find himself thinking, “But now what?” He'd given them all he had to give, all the best listening he could render, all the best empathy he could muster, all the counsel he could offer, but time and time again he found himself with them at a moment of decision that asked, “now what?” I'm sure we've all been there; a tire blew up on a dark and lonely road; an unexpected change caught us unprepared; a breakdown we don't know how to get past. We've all asked, “now what?” It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last. Here at the close of Jesus' sermon on the mount we might be asking “but now what?” Jesus has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets in ways we didn't see coming. We look at the upside-down world around us, and as Jesus has been setting it aright in His Words, we find ourselves discombobulated. We want security. Jesus calls us to trust. We want peace from our enemies. Jesus calls us to pray for them. We want moral philosophy to sit quietly in the back pew of our minds. Jesus calls us to actively live His word (Matthew 7.24-29). Friends, if we will be still before the Lord, we will realize our “now what?” is an echo of His question to us! What will we do now with what He has given us? He's told us the way of wisdom. Now that we know it, we have a responsibility to live it. Now that we're on the solid rock, it's time to start building.
The Porch continues its look at the hereafter using the Lord's words from The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man as well as the scriptural inspiration of His Words. Firefall Talk Radio is archived with the ability to download the episodes. Feel free to share them with others as the Lord leads. Please help us get The Word out. If our teachings bless you, please let us know by using the contact button on the website. If you would like to support what we do, there are ways to do so on the main page for Firefall Talk Radio. We appreciate your support and encouragement. Follow us on YouTube at The Firefall Network. Links for all social media and streaming platforms can be found on the main page at firefalltalkradio.com.
Psalm 130:5 says this... “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.” Focus on His presence and His Words as you're in the waiting.
Join us as our Highlands Campus Student Pastor, Reed Nelson, continues our series, His Words.
Exodus 36 tells that Bezaleel and Aholiab were the chief craftsmen, put over several others to whom the LORD had given wisdom and skill. Moses gave the congregation's free will offerings to these two exceptionally gifted men. So great was the congregation's generosity that Moses had to tell the people to cease from their giving. What a wonderful problem to have! Verses 8-19 describe the making of the curtains of the Tabernacle. The curtains were of fine white linen speaking of the righteous deeds of the justified saints (the ecclesia). They were joined by couplings of gold – representing their tried and precious faith – called “hands”. Once again we have a description of unity and support – a common purpose in promoting the holiness of God. Through this holiness believers will see the Lord and inherit His Kingdom (Hebrews 12:14; Matthew 5:8). Verse 19 spake of two of the coverings of the Tabernacle – rams' skins and goats' skins. Verses 20-30 describe the frames of the acacia boards over which the coverings were hung. The dimensions of the frames are given and these frames were set in bases, or sockets of silver – speaking of redemption. Verses 31-34 tell of the bars which linked the frames. The bars were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Verse 35 tells of the making of the veil, which was of linen with cherubim woven into it. These weavings were of golden, blue, purple and scarlet threads. Verse 36 describes the frame from which the veil hung. Verses 36-37 tell of the linen entrance gates into the tent (“ohel”). Psalm 94 tells us that our God will never forsake His people. Verses 1-7 speaks of the LORD's vindication of His despised and downtrodden saints. The wicked will only be tolerated for so long until the Almighty rises in justice for the defence of the faithful. Fools cannot understand; but our all wise Creator, who made the each person, hears the cries of the oppressed. The One who made the eye sees mankind's evil and He must rise and avenge such wickedness. How base is human thought. However the wise will respond to the words of wisdom. And in so doing they will be blessed. The pit, which the wicked made for the righteous will become their place of eternal abode. Yahweh's justice and righteous ways will prevail. The stedfast love of the LORD will uphold the faithful. Our Omnipotent Father will eradicate the wicked and be the fortress and deliverer of His children. Psalm 95 is a call for devout worshippers to sing praises to their Omnipotent King. We praise Him with joy and with a grateful heart. We come into His presence in thanksgiving. We acknowledge His awesomeness. The lofty and deep places of the earth have been formed by, and are in, His hands. Let us worship and bow with reverence before Him. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep fed by Him and led by Him. Israel tempted and provoked their Mighty deliverer at the start of their wilderness journey at Massah and at the end of their wandering 40 years later at Kadesh Meribah. Their heart was hardened so that they failed to appreciate the wonderful provisions of their God. They became hard of hearing to His Words of life. What a contrast to the spirit with which this psalm began. How telling are the closing words, that because of their failure to hear the words of the Living God; which He swore in His wrath that those rebels would never enter the Promised Land. All of these incidents were symbolic of the coming kingdom (see Hebrews 3 and 4 for details). Among the Corinthians there was a misunderstanding in relation to the responsibility of the need to make judgments on disputes between believers. They were taking their fellow believers before the bench for decisions. So Paul urged them in this 6th chapter to settle the issue among themselves. He said that the time would come in the kingdom when the worldly authorities would be ruled by the saints. So surely determinations of differences could be decided by them. The ancient city of Corinth was renowned for fornication. It was a proverb of the day that visitors would go here to ‘Corinthianise', that is to fornicate. The Acro Corinthia, atop of the city's mount, had a temple with many restaurants and 3,000 temple prostitutes. So wrong was this behaviour that Paul warned believers against going there for a meal if they were to be distracted by the practices. And even if they were not, he says they should not go should it become a cause of stumbling to another. Engaging in a sexual union outside of marriage is defiling for holy believers – they are God's temple (see Hebrews 13:4). Our bodies are God's temple and to kept in purity for Him and in obedient loving service in worship of our Almighty God.
Coming right out of Jesus' call for his disciples to abide by remaining in His love, he prepares the disciples for the reality that some of the fruit they will bear from abiding will be a share in His suffering through persecution. Jesus tells tells them and us that, like he was persecuted because of His Words, His walk, and His witness, we too should expect to experience the same kind of suffering as our words, walk, and witness is transformed by His life and love as we abide in Him. In the same breath, Jesus further complicates things by telling them he is leaving them. So, how will they face persecution? And how can we today?
Jesus has the ability to see people for who they truly are and can transform them into something brand new through faith in Him! This truth is on full display in John 4 when Jesus encounters the woman at the well. Join us today, as we continue our series called "His Words."
I Am Holy (Identity Series)Ephesians 1:3-4 “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts! And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with and unstained innocence.”When I read these two verses this morning, I thought they were so beautiful. They begin with “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly father.” Isn't that beautiful? Did you know that your heavenly Father is lavishing spiritual blessings on you? The word blessing in this verse is a translation of the Greek word eulogy, which means “to speak well of.” Since God is acting in this verse, we can say that God has spoken good things about us or pronounced good things for our benefit. The good things that God has decreed for us are probably beyond our ability to number.Can you imagine your heavenly Father showering you with blessings? Did you know that is what He is doing? I know sometimes it doesn't feel like you are getting any blessings, but this might be because you are in the middle of a hard time. You might not be able to see the blessings because you are so focused on the hard thing that is happening. You might think there is no way God could be blessing you because of all you are going through.This isn't true. God can bless us in the middle of a hard time. He can bless us whenever He wants to. You might be wondering what that may look like, what it would look like to have a blessing while in the middle of a hardship. That could look like someone you know checking on you to see if you need anything. It could look like your friends and family bringing you meals when they know you have no time to cook. It could look like you getting a job promotion right when you need it the most! Have any of these ever happened to you? What about when a stranger says something to you out of the blue and it is exactly what you needed to hear?God is not just blessing us, He is lavishing spiritual blessings upon us. This can go against our picture of God. We all have a picture of God in our head and for some of us, probably a lot of us, it is not a picture of a wonderful heavenly Father. Many of us picture the heavenly Father similar to our dad growing up. So if you had a loving Father growing up the idea that our heavenly Father is loving is easier to grasp. However, if our earthly Father was not outwardly loving and was hard on you, maybe expected a lot out of you, then this is how you might see our heavenly Father too. But God's love is beyond our earthly understanding, and He cherishes each and every one of us.I know a lot of people who picture the Lord as an old man with a white mustache and beard sitting up in heaven, looking down on us and judging us. They picture God as someone who is just waiting for them to screw up so He can punish them. They are sure they are disappointing Him all of the time. I think this is why I chose these verses and why I like these verses so much.The second verse for today dispels this myth that God is up in heaven just waiting for us to mess up. It says, “And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with and unstained innocence.” First, it says that God chose us before He laid the foundation of the Universe. God chose you. Let that sink in for a moment. God chose you before He even created the universe. Does that sound like the act of a Father that is sitting up in heaven waiting for you to screw up so He can punish you?Next it says, “Because of His great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with unstained innocence.” Listen to that last part again, “so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with unstained innocence.” God doesn't look at us as if we are a wreck waiting to happen. In His eyes, we have an unstained innocence about us. God doesn't want us to mess up. He doesn't want us to sin or to fall away from Him. He loves us. He chose us. He wants us to be right there with Him for all eternity.God loves us. He looks down upon us as a loving Father would. Once we realize this our relationship with the Heavenly Father will become so much closer. If we haven't really experienced true love in this world, then it might be hard to understand how much our heavenly Father loves us. One thing I am finding that can help with this is to read the scriptures. Read the Psalms, read the New Testament. Last week I read Philippians and this week I am reading Ephesians and they are just beautiful. The Bible is a living document. It is not just a book of words that the Lord told His people back in the day. The Bible is speaking to each one of us right now. When you read the Bible you will realize it is just as relevant to what you are going through today than it was back then. God is so good, His Words are timeless.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask that you help us to understand your love for us. We ask you to help us understand how loved we are. We ask that you help us to change our hearts and are minds about who you are and what you want from us. We want to see you as you truly are not as we picture you in our minds. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit!Today's Word from the Lord was received in August 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email, “I use all things for good. Trust in me. I am directing your life. Every change, every movement in your life is set on me, and I pull you, pull you towards me.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Pastor Joe & Kirsten are ecstatic that the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl AGAIN! They're looking forward to all their fun traditions in Kansas City and Super Bowl weekend at NewLife! Then they jump into a discussion about the latest His Words sermon. Pastor Joe points out how Jesus' first miracle points to His last, the Resurrection. The qualities of overabundance and 'very best' excellence reflect the character of God; how He overflows us with more mercy, grace, and forgiveness than we will ever need. Pastor Joe reflects on the fact that he is still growing as he studies scripture. Finally, in our "It's Getting Strange Out There" segment, there's an eye-opening moment caught on camera during a church service that leads to some lively discussion! Let's pop the hood! Email: underthehood@newlifenwa.com Show Notes: https://www.newlifenwa.com/underthehood/
Do you really believe that God is for you? What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? -Romans 8:31-32. God is not a man that He should lie. His Words are true, but we have a choice to either take God's Words to heart or the enemy's.
Pastor Joe & Kirsten are back on the mics after a month-long hiatus and a lot has happened! There have been some highs and lows for the Williams family. Joe shares, as he calls it, a "massive cat update!" Then, they discuss the benefits of studying the life of Christ chronologically in the current His Words series. Finally, Kirsten shares a personal breakthrough in her culinary endeavors! Let's pop the hood! Email: underthehood@newlifenwa.com Show Notes: https://www.newlifenwa.com/underthehood/
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-3, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 14:1, Psalm 33:8, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:36-38, Proverbs 3:5-6. It's God alone that we are to worship, honor and follow. Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” The 10 Commandments have shaped so much of Western civilization and culture. Yet these ten words/commandments are often ignored - And what we see as people's god is the god of chance. Our culture, and much of the time our educational system, teach us that all that exists is the result of a gigantic cosmic accident. That chance is the author of life. This is seen in our media, our movies, and every direction we turn. A view that is accepted even though the science goes against it. In the last 50 years we've learned much about the complexity of life and that it points to a Designer - not to a chance explosion. Our culture has not caught up to some of the remarkable discoveries in recent history. In the 1980's MIT discovered that the likelihood of self replicating DNA is 1 chance in 10 to the 65th power - that's 10 with 65 zeroes behind it showing us creation didn't start by “chance,” it started with a Designer, a Creator. Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Not only do the heavens declare the glory of God, even at the microscopic and sub-atomic levels the complexity of creation screams that there is a Creator! Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Not chance, but Creator… and it is because of the profound truth of a Designer, a Creator, that the Ten Commandments need to be re-examined in our day by believers and non-believers. God broke into human history on Mt. Sinai, proclaiming His goodness and power and delivering the Ten Commandments. God also stepped into history through Christ's resurrection. The Living God took on human flesh and lived among us, lived a servant life, willingly went to the cross, shed His blood for all, and is risen from the grave, ascended to the Father's right hand and He IS returning! God breaking into history changes how we look at our lives and it changes how we look at the Ten Commandments. How do we see the Ten Commandments? ⁃ As Painful Demands that God says we better do? ⁃ As a Joyful Response to the move of God in history and in our hearts and lives? God has intervened in our history and intervened in our lives and He is good. He is asking us to listen to His voice. He is telling us He is our Designer and he knows what is best for us, to what will bring the greatest blessing in our lives. And that starts with the commandment that says, “You shall have no other God's before me.” It's God and God alone! He says YOU - in Greek this is singular - making this command personal. He is speaking individually to each of us. He's speaking to me. What does it mean for me to have no other gods? ⁃ I am to revere Him alone He is to be the object of reverence in my life and my source of our awe. Psalm 33:8 says, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.” Fear God - is to be in awe of Him, fear God means I am accountable to Him. ⁃ I am to love Him above all Because He is my Creator, because He is good, because He sent Jesus my response to Him is to love Him. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And in Matthew 22:36-38 Jesus is asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And Jesus replies: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” ⁃ I am to commit my life to Him and to trust Him with all my heart. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight” He will guide and lead me. When I commit to Him I'm desiring to allow His Holy Spirit and His Truth to guide me, and to allow Jesus to reign as Lord in my life. Who is “The Lord?” In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read that He is ONE, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.“ One God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. One God but yet three unique persons and He is telling us in the first of His Words from Mt. Sinai to follow, trust, revere, love, worship and honor Him. He offers us Salvation when we admit we need a Savior. “Lord, I need you, I am a sinner, and I desire to receive all that You have for me through my faith in Jesus, my Savior. Thank You.” Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. Check out the video from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/ten-words Check out the video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwakeUsNow/streams Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.
Theological Worlds. https://amzn.to/400pYYe Richard Beck's randos: Richard Beck has been Strumming My Thoughts with His Keyboard, Writing My Life with His Words https://youtu.be/6U2J7IM0nyU?si=PKokS-XuwhUBE_jt https://richardbeck.substack.com/ https://skojecfile.steveskojec.com/p/a-spiritual-awakening-away-from-traditional Paul Vander Klay clips channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX0jIcadtoxELSwehCh5QTg Bridges of Meaning Discord https://discord.gg/Vh4DsPnJ https://www.meetup.com/sacramento-estuary/ My Substack https://paulvanderklay.substack.com/ Estuary Hub Link https://www.estuaryhub.com/ If you want to schedule a one-on-one conversation check here. https://calendly.com/paulvanderklay/one2one There is a video version of this podcast on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/paulvanderklay To listen to this on ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-vanderklays-podcast/id1394314333 If you need the RSS feed for your podcast player https://paulvanderklay.podbean.com/feed/ All Amazon links here are part of the Amazon Affiliate Program. Amazon pays me a small commission at no additional cost to you if you buy through one of the product links here. This is is one (free to you) way to support my videos. https://paypal.me/paulvanderklay Blockchain backup on Lbry https://odysee.com/@paulvanderklay https://www.patreon.com/paulvanderklay Paul's Church Content at Living Stones Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7bdktIALZ9Nq41oVCvW-A To support Paul's work by supporting his church give here. https://tithe.ly/give?c=2160640 https://www.livingstonescrc.com/give
John believed in Jesus by the same means that you believe in Jesus: one of His messengers brought His Words to you. Isaiah 40:1-8Psalm 851 Corinthians 4:1-5Advent 3. Third Sunday of Advent. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dan-greg/support
Escaping Apostate Church Judgments (5) (audio) David Eells – 12/1/24 Let's continue with our study on escaping apostate church judgment through the apostate ministries. The days we're in right now are days where God is spiritually and, then physically judging these ministries because the greater Man-child ministry is coming on the scene. First let's look at Ezekiel, who was a type of the Man-child ministry; he was a type of the David ministry that was to come upon the scene to speak to God's people and speak to their leaders. In chapter one, from verse 26 down to the end of the chapter, Ezekiel was caught up to the throne of God, where he saw God on His throne. This was like Jesus and the end time Man-child ministers. Then, in chapter two, God began to call him “son of man” and He did this all the way through the book of Ezekiel. As you know, Jesus was called the “Son of man” and Jesus was also a type of the David Man-child ministry. And we see that in chapter two, in verses one and two, that the Spirit of God entered into Ezekiel. This is what happened to Jesus when He was ordained and to David when he was anointed to sit upon his throne. Also, this is a type of the end-time Man-child. So we see in verse three that the Lord sent Ezekiel to the children of Israel, to the nations that are rebellious. Just like Jesus did, Who was coming to His Own people, and David, who was to rule over Israel, Ezekiel was going forth to a rebellious people with a rebellious leadership. (Eze.2:8) But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee. So the Lord is telling Ezekiel, “You can't be rebellious like they are.” What is it that they were not doing that Ezekiel was doing? Well, He says, eat that which I give thee. (Eze.2:9) And when I looked, behold, a hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein (This book represents the Bible.); (10) and he spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. (3:1) And he said unto me, Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat this roll, and go and speak unto the house of Israel. Now, we see this same little parallel going all the way down through about verse 11 or 12. And that is, eat the roll and then go and speak to the house of Israel. Don't be like the rebellious house who don't eat the roll; they just go and speak. They like the position of authority and they've usurped the position of authority, just as Korah, Dathan and Abiram did in the wilderness (Numbers 16). They usurped the position of authority; they hadn't overcome yet. But God says, to he that overcometh, … to him will I give authority (Rev.2:26). And how do you overcome? Well, first of all, you have to eat the roll of the book and then you have to walk in that through your faith. Let's read on here in (Eze.3:2) So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the roll. (3) And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. Praise the Lord! Remember, also, John, in the book of Revelation, ate the roll of the book, but he was also a type of the Man-child in Revelation 10:9,10. He was called up to the throne and received a revelation to give to the churches in the time of tribulation. It's very neat how God does this over and over. We have to eat the roll of the book. (Psa.119:89) Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. And we're told that if any man speaks, let him speak as an oracle of God in 1 Peter 4:11. In other words, we are to say what God says. We are to eat this roll, first, for our own life, and we overcome in our own life. We learn to walk and be an overcomer in our own life before we're qualified to go forth and exercise authority over God's people. In this way, He's preparing here a Man-child ministry to go forth and speak to God's people with His Words. (Eze.3:4) And he said unto me, Son of man, go get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. This is very important. We can't speak with our own words because they have no power to regenerate Christ in the life of other people. It's only His Seed that brings forth His life in His people. So God commands that the son of man here, Ezekiel, go and speak as an oracle of God with His words. (Eze.3:5) For thou art not sent unto a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel. The Man-child is once again about to go forth to the lost sheep of the house of spiritual Israel. But the Lord said, “I haven't sent you to the lost, I haven't sent you to those whose language you don't know. I've sent you to Israel.” (Eze.3:6) Not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would harken unto thee. It was true in Jesus' day that when the overwhelming majority of the Jews blasphemed the Word of the Lord, that God turned to the Gentiles and they did harken and received. The same thing is about to happen. Now the Church has been grafted into the olive tree called “all Israel,” so the Church is part of “all Israel.” Everybody who believes in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and walks by faith in that is grafted into the olive tree. Romans 11 is very plain. But natural Israel is not involved in that. They were broken off because of unbelief in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior, so they're basically the other nations that God's going to turn to today. When much of the church blasphemes God this time, God's going to turn back to the Jews, which it also says in Romans 11. So we see a parallel here in what is being told to Ezekiel. God said, “If I sent thee to them, they would harken unto thee.” We're coming to a time, when there's going to be a lot of people in the so-called church who are just religious people who are going to fight against the move of God and when they blaspheme, God's going to turn back to the Jews. Back to (Eze.3:7) But the house of Israel will not harken unto thee; for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stiff heart. We know that was true about natural Israel when Jesus the Man-child came to them and now it's true about spiritual Israel when the Man-child of our day comes to them. There's a perfect parallel going throughout history. The church is very rebellious. The so-called church is full of people who believe they are members of the church through a born-again experience with the Lord, but they're rebelling because they're building their own kingdom. And they're of a hard forehead and a stiff heart. (Eze.3:8) Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads. (9) As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. (10) Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words which I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears. (11) And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. God's people were in captivity then, just as they are today. They're in captivity to Babylonish religion and Babylonish society, and God is sending His Man-child unto them, but first He tells Ezekiel, all my words which I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity (Eze.3:10). Any other way is like that rebellious house back in Ezekiel 2:8 and that's basically what a lot of the leadership is made up of. Ezekiel was going to the Saul ministry of his day, as Jesus went to the Saul ministry of His day. And now we see God is going to choose a Man-child reformer ministry who have received His words into their heart and who hear with their ears. Then they are going to be sent to God's people. We've already seen from Ezekiel's example what it is to be sent of the Lord. First, to get the Word in your heart. God doesn't care about religion or man's Sunday school books. If anybody speaks, let him speak as an oracle of God. Let him say what God says because God has already said it and He said it very well and it's supernatural and powerful. The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword in Hebrews 4:12, and it will accomplish that for which He sends it. But God rebuked the apostate ministers in (Jer.23:21) I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied. (22) But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. See, the whole point is that if we first put the Word of God into our hearts, we're able to pass on that Word to others. It will deliver God's people. It's supernatural. It will drive the wicked out from your midst and it will deliver those who are honest with God. This is God's plan and it always has been God's plan. Let's go back to the beginning of the chapter. (Jer.23:1) Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Shepherds like that are destroying God's people. They're not coming into the image of Jesus Christ. They're not prepared for life. They die before their time because they don't believe in a Savior Who provides, heals, delivers, Who does all these things. They don't come into maturity. They don't bear fruit without the true Word of God. So these shepherds are destroyers. God is talking about the Saul ministries here and I'll prove it to you. Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. (Jer.23:2) Therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock…. Now, that's the second time He's said that. What does it mean “scattered”? It's talking about denominating God's people, dividing them up. Instead of being one, they are now divided up into these sectarian groups for the sake of the sectarian groups, not for the sake of the Lord. Jesus said when He prayed, that they may be one, even as we [are] one (Joh.17:22). And when we read in Revelation, the church of Philadelphia was all of the church in that particular city. It wasn't a Baptist church, the Methodist church, the Pentecostal church, the whatever-denomination church. What has happened? Well, wolves came in to divide the flock. That's what we were told. (Jer.23:2) … Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. I will visit upon you. I will cause you to pay for what you have done, is what the Lord says. Back when we were writing on these things, I received two short dreams from Shirley Hinkle. The first one of them she had back in July of 2005 and the second one was just a few days after that. (My notes in red) The first one is speaking about these Saul shepherds having to pay for what they're doing to God's people. She says, “I dreamed that our former pastor walked into the room where a group of us were standing and I wondered to myself, ‘What is he doing here?' I thought maybe we were to pray for him. So I walked over to him and laid my hand on his head. I said to him, ‘You are full of lust and pornography.'” (Now Shirley is a prophetess and, so, in her dream she was prophesying to him.) “You are full of lust and pornography.” (You can't imagine how common this is today among Protestant churches. I heard the percentages one time and I was just amazed. I'm wondering how they found all this out, but it was an extremely high percentage of ministers who are into pornography.) “‘You are full of lust and pornography.' As I said these words, his head turned to mush under my hand.” (In other words, he had a mind that was corrupted by the curse.) “I pulled my hand back, revolted, and had turned to walk away and, as I did, he leered and then sneered at me. I started to wake up and that is when I saw that he was just a shell of a man full of demonic spirits.” (I believe that this was not an individual prophecy here; this was not an individual dream about an individual man. I believe this pastor represents a great group of people out there.) She continues, “God spoke in my heart and He said, ‘As he stole from My people, I am taking his mind from him. He is given over to these spirits.'” (Well, what did he steal? If he lost his mind, what was it that he stole? He stole the mind of the Spirit from God's people. The mind of the Spirit is the Word of God. These men stand in the doorway and they won't enter in to all the precious truths and understandings of God's Word and they won't let the rest enter in either as in Luke 11:52. What they are stealing from God's people is going to be stolen from them; their understanding is going to be taken away. Remember the prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus pronounced upon the Jewish leaders in that time, that their eyes and their ears were going to close, and He was basically reprobating them in Matthew 13:14.) (So what they had stolen from God's people, God was taking from them. And then a few days later she had this second dream.) “All of these people were in booths at a restaurant.” (A restaurant represents a congregation of people gathered together to eat and that sounds like the church because we gather together to eat the Word of God. We just read in Ezekiel that God said, “Here, take the book and eat the roll.” So we're commanded to eat the Word. When you eat the Word it goes into you; it nourishes you in the ways of the Kingdom and it becomes who you are because what you eat is actually what your cells are made of. We need to be the Word made flesh. Jesus was the Word made flesh and we are His spiritual offspring, the Word made flesh. A restaurant is a place where you eat, but if you're eating a bunch of leaven, and things that inoculate you from the truth, then there's destruction coming from these ministers unto you.) And so, she said, “All of these people were in booths at a restaurant and I walked in and it was the congregation of a former church. I began to go from table to table under the anointing and exposing all the lies of the teachings and the sins in the lives of the people. Some looked at me like, ‘What are you doing?' They had no comprehension at all. Others said, ‘Yes, we see it.' And then others were getting very angry at me for exposing all the lies. And I raised my right arm to heaven and I began to pray in the spirit with a loud voice and with authority. Then, as I was walking out, I turned to the people and said, ‘The associate pastor was never supposed to leave his wife for the other woman. He played the harlot. He sold his body to prostitution. He left her.'” (And you'd be surprised how often this is happening in Christianity, too. But this is not ‘Christianity', is it? No, of course not. This is all too common.) “Then the next scene in my dream, my husband and I were walking down a hallway away from the restaurant.” (In other words, they were walking away from those teachings.) “We could hear the former pastor from the other side yelling. We knew he was mad at me for exposing him. He was yelling really loud as he came around the corner, but the weird thing was he was walking on his knees. His legs were twisted up behind him and he was being led by his head usher.” (In other words, he was spiritually crippled. He was not able to walk with the Lord.) “For a split-second, I felt pity for this man who was all disfigured and then I saw his face as he was yelling. And my husband and I just stood there quietly watching at first. This pastor was so mad and yelling so loud that his hair was all matted and he snarled with his face all contorted. Then, all of a sudden, I looked at him and said, ‘Everything you have stolen from My people (she said this in the spirit of prophecy), everything you've stolen from my people (Which is what? Their walk with the Lord.), I have taken from you. Judgment has come to your house.' I then brought my right hand down like a gavel was in it.” This sounds very familiar, doesn't it? It's what we read here in Jeremiah. (Jer.23:2) … I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. (3) And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and multiply. Yes, God's people, in a spiritual way, have been taken captive to all nations, exactly as the Jews were physically captive. We are now captive to the nation, full of patriotism and things that make us pledge allegiance to our nation, rather than the nation that we truly belong to, which is the nation of spiritual Israel Peter spoke of. (Jer.23:4) And I will set up shepherds over them … Here is where He's delivering His people from these Saul shepherds. He's bringing them out of captivity back to their own land, to the Promised Land, to live on the promises of God, so to speak. (Jer.23:4) And I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, saith the Lord. So they will be fed the nourishing Word and will not be hungry and leave. That sounds good, doesn't it? And especially concerning the days that we're coming to, right? They shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, saith the Lord. That's kind of what was said about those under Jesus. None were lacking except the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled (Joh.17:12). The Scripture continues (Jer.23:5) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch … This refers to those new shepherds whom we just read about whom God is raising up in these days to take the place of those foolish Saul shepherds. They are a righteous branch. (Jer.23:5) … And he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (6) In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: the Lord our righteousness. Our righteousness represents a corporate name. It's a group of people. “The Lord our righteousness” is David in our day. The Lord said He would multiply the seed of David to rule over the house of Israel. In our day there's a corporate body of David whom He says are these shepherds He's going to raise up. And He tells us that we're going to understand this in the last days (23:20). These righteous shepherds will replace those in (Jer.23:16) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. We are to teach what comes out of the mouth of the Lord. (Mat.4:4) … Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Jer.23:17) They say continually unto them that despise me, the Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you. These apostate religions of “Christianity,” using the term loosely, these stubborn, rebellious people, have been trained to be that way. Their leaders are telling them that they're going to have peace and security and safety. They're telling them that they will all fly away, and all the other deceiving doctrines out there, such as ultimate reconciliation, unconditional eternal security, everything is okay – it's all peace and safety, peace and safety. But God says differently. (Jer.23:18) For who hath stood in the council of the Lord, that he should perceive and hear his word? who hath marked my word, and heard it? We know Ezekiel did. (19) Behold, the tempest of the Lord, [even his] wrath, is gone forth, yea, a whirling tempest: it shall burst upon the head of the wicked. (20) The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly. (21) I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied. (22) But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Yes. Amen. We need a ministry that God is raising up and sending, starting with the John the Baptist ministry, leading on to the Man-child ministry, leading on to the Two Witness ministry, leading on to the raising-up of the five-fold ministry. And this is all going to be wave after wave of a coming revival in the earth happening all during the time judgment is going forth, while both spiritual and physical judgment is going forth. Spiritual judgment is much more detrimental than physical judgment. Physical judgment can take people out who might even go to heaven, but spiritual judgment takes away their seeing and hearing, bringing reprobation upon a people which are not able to walk with the Lord anymore. That's an eternal judgment there, so it's far worse to be in that kind of a situation. (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. Satan's ministers look like ministers of righteousness. They're in pulpits teaching God's people. They “fashion themselves”, it says, as “ministers of righteousness.” In other words, they usurp this position. Like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, they usurp this position. They didn't come to authority by overcoming, by hearing the Word, by eating the roll, by having eyes to see, by being ordained by God, etc. They fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works (2Co.11:15). But notice that the judgment upon them starts down here and now, folks. It's not just going to be passing off into eternity. Now this judgment is catching up. God is going to judge these ministries and judge all their organizations. There's going to be a reprobation. What we need to do, is make sure that we're eating the roll of the book individually, every one of us. It doesn't matter whether you're a minister or not, we all need to eat the roll of the book to be Christlike and not be like Korah, Dathan and Abiram and followers, upon whom the judgment fell. As you know, Korah, Dathan and Abiram were usurping not only the High Priest's position but the priesthood. Korah was a Levite, but he was usurping the authority of Aaron and Moses. (Num.16:20) And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, (21) Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. This was one of the trials in the wilderness. The Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebellion happened in the wilderness, which is the Tribulation. The first 3½ years of the Tribulation are called “wilderness” in Revelation 12 and the second 3½ years are called “wilderness” in Revelation 17. So here they are in the wilderness with this trial of usurpers. They've been there all along but now God's dealing with them. Now God's sending His Man-child. Now God is going to speak the Word before them, make them responsible and tear down their organizations. (Num.16:21) Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. (22) And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? Well, but all the congregation was following them, you see. (Num.16:23) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, (24) Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle (tent) of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. (25) And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. (26) And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. Oh, yes. And God was planning just such a consumption, wasn't He? (Num.16:27) So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side…. So, what is this saying in our day? This is talking about a revival of God's people coming out from among these usurpers who have taken a position that's not theirs. It's similar to what Jesus spoke about in John 10 when He called His sheep by name and called them out of the sheepfolds. This is what's coming. (Num.16:27) … And Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. (28) And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of mine own mind. (29) If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. (30) But if the Lord make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into sheol; then ye shall understand that these men have despised the Lord. What is it to be swallowed up by the earth? The earth is our flesh. Adam's flesh was made out of the earth, so to be swallowed up by the earth alive is to be consumed by the fleshly old man. That's to be totally reprobated. You know, the Bible says, She that giveth herself to pleasure is dead while she liveth (1Ti.5:6). In other words, you can be dead while you're alive. They were swallowed alive by the earth, by their flesh. (Num.16:31) And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them; (32) and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. (33) So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol (the place of the dead): and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly. This is repeated again when we see Saul, and everybody that appertained unto Saul, died on Mt. Gilboa, and then David was made king. This is where we are one more time; we're right here. There is a rebellion and it's not going to be over until the Tribulation period, until God has reprobated all of the wicked and brought in all the righteous. Reprobation represents this dying while you're alive, being dead while you live. (Jud.11) Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. (12) These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. It also speaks about the shepherds, those who followed after Cain and Balaam through their lusts to lead the people. They were twice-dead and plucked up by the roots. Twice-dead means you have to be born again and die again. Yes, there are multitudes of people who have had a new birth in their spirit, but they refuse to be reborn in their soul; they refuse to follow their spirit and eat the Word of God, and be an overcomer. So God is going to reprobate their leadership. That will enable the people to see that there's something wrong with this, especially when they're able to compare it with a new ministry that God is bringing onto the scene. These twice-dead shepherds are going to be falling into more and more sinful lusts of their flesh; that way the people will be able to see it. Even today ministers fall into the most corrupt, sinful ways and yet the people who don't love truth and don't love righteousness, those people don't depart from about their tent. Those people will go down with their ministers, still justifying them, because they're in idolatry with their organizations. They won't see that these men have become corrupt. Well, God is going to corrupt them so that all of the people of God will be without excuse when they continue to follow them. God is delivering His people in these days and it's great! What's really happening is similar to what Jesus speaks about in (Mat.24:15) When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the... Literally, in the Numerics, it says, “a holy place,” not “the holy place,” but the translators thought, “It couldn't be; there's only one holy place.” So they put “the holy place” but the original says “a holy place.” The Numeric pattern proves it's a holy place, so what is Jesus talking about? (Mat.24:15) When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place (let him that readeth understand) [That's in parentheses because He's telling you, “Hey, look a little deeper here; there's something here.”], then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains: let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house: (Mat.24:18) and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. (19) But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! (20) And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a Sabbath: (21) for then shall be great tribulation…. Daniel speaks of an abomination that maketh desolate (Dan.11:31). And who is it who is “standing in a holy place”? Well, it calls to mind 2 Thessalonians 2. So who's standing in a holy place? And what is a holy place now, in our day? Is there any holy place? Well, there is no such thing as THE holy place anymore, but there are holy places all around the world. They are assemblies of God's people who are truly God's people. So it's an abomination for anybody to stand in these holy places who is an antichrist. Jesus said in (Mat.12:30) He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.. See, we don't have any choice: we're either going to speak the Word and agree with the Word or we're antichrist. It's either Christ, Who is the Word, or antichrist, who is against the Word. God's been very merciful, but with the knowledge, the understanding, the anointing that's coming upon the scene right now, He's no longer going to be merciful because we're coming to the end. (2Th.2:3) Let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] (that is, our gathering together unto the Lord) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Folks, before we gather unto Him there's going to be a falling away and the son of perdition is going to be revealed. Why do apostate ministers read this as the very opposite of what it's saying? It's because they want to make sure they get out of here. (2Th.2:4) He that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. There he is in the holy place, right? And the word “temple” here is the word naos. Everywhere else the apostle Paul used that term, he used it to talk about the temple comprised of the people of God, not a temple building. You know, hieron is the word they used when they spoke of the building, but here he's talking about the people of God, just like he used it everywhere else. So that he sitteth in the temple of God (that is, amongst God's people), setting himself forth as God (2Th.2:4). They act like gods but they are rebels. Now, if you're not paying any attention to God and you're ruling in the temple of God, then you're the god there. The whole problem is that these men think that they can do what they want to do, say whatever they want, and lead you any way they want to lead you. They don't have to do it according to the Word; they make up their own rules and their own organization. But, you see, God already has an organization. It's called the Church and it's supposed to be one; it's supposed to be one with Him and it's supposed to be one with the Word. It's supposed to be led by people who have eaten the roll of the book and who hearken unto the roll and then go and lead God's people. So they set themselves forth as God. (2Th.2:5) Remember ye not, that, when I yet was with you, I told you these things? (6) And now you know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. The falling away is what restrains the revealing of the son of perdition. The falling away is this reprobation of these people. God's taking away their seeing and hearing. (2Th.2:7) For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only [there is] one that restraineth now, until he be come out of the midst (Numerics). What is restraining the revealing of the son of God? The son of perdition in the midst of God's people. We ought to be a spotless, blemishless people. Talking about them in their corporate body, Jude called them spots in your love-feasts, these apostate leaders. They are spots in the body of Christ. They have to be removed before He can come for His people. Only [there is] one that restraineth now, until he be come out of the midst. (2Th.2:8) And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord shall slay with the breath of his mouth…. The Lord is going to destroy these wicked leaders of God's people and every other son of perdition who leads God's people astray. We are on the verge of a great corporate move like this. God's given me a little training several times in watching how He does this and I know He is about to do it now on a worldwide scale. I know that He is training up other people around the world to understand these things too. There is a corporate body of the son of perdition leading multitudes of people astray, but God is sending some help. He's sending a new anointed ministry like we saw in Ezekiel, anointed with the Holy Spirit. This ministry will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to go forth and deliver His people. Praise be to God! Thank You, Father! Now I have some revelations to share, beginning with a revelation sent to us some time ago which points out that the true people of God will have a great victory. This will be as when they came out of Egypt at the Passover and their enemies were conquered there and at the Red Sea. Esther the Bride fought for the true people of God and won. You Have Lost; We Have Won Mike Thompson - 10/5/18 (David's notes in red) Well, hello, you mighty prayer warriors and beloved of God. I had to share a vision with you. It may be a little difficult for me to get through because it's still on me. I'm sitting in the sanctuary and this is where it happened last night. I had a class that started at 7:00, and while I was coming in to do the class, I could just feel myself being overcome by the Spirit. I could hear sounds in the Spirit, and catch images; and I want to talk to you about the Lion's Army: The Lion of the tribe of Judah. I want to share with you a victory that's happening in the spirit right now. An Open Vision of the Lord's Army The first thing that I began …, In the Spirit, the way it swirls around me when these things begin to occur is that I could see darkness and I could see lightning. Here I am talking to people, in fact, standing behind the podium teaching a class, and I could hear, just muffled sounds that resembled strife and conflict. I would catch just glimpses, the glint of light that seemed to be reflecting off of swords. I slowed down in my presentation, my teaching, and the Spirit of God overwhelmed me, invaded me and just began to pull me away. The scene became clearer and I could see a battleground. And that's when I stopped the class and I just shared with them what I just shared with you: I said, Let's go into prayer, and we did. And as we did, the vision developed and went further. I could see this large battleground in front of me in the spiritual realm. It was a full vision; it was an open vision occurring. On the far side of the battleground were these hoards of grotesque disfigured demonic spirits. They were advancing and coming toward us screaming. When I say us, my position and those that were around me. The sound of their screams at the top of their lungs, and the screaming was violent, it was in anger and rage, blood-curdling screams of demonic spirits as they were advancing. Their screams were not only of anger and rage and meant to psychologically throw the opposing army off, but behind the screams, hidden in those screams I could sense fear; the fear that they have of losing the fight, of losing their purpose. It was a fear that was so strong you could tell that it caused them pain, but they screamed even louder. On the near side of the battleground were warrior believers and warrior angels, a mighty army. They were covered in light and glory. There was such a strength and a determination on the inside of them that it's like, ‘This battle is so important, we will not lose; We recognize our authority and who we are and we will not lose; We will not give up; We will not back down.' And they stood in confidence against that fear and the screams of the advancing hoard. I was part of the army. It was – it's hard to explain, but simultaneously I was both watching it from an elevated position, as well as being part of that righteous army. I could see that the army wore armor, they carried shields, they had drawn swords, light was reflecting off of the swords as they held them up; swords against the screams. Then I heard a thundering voice from behind the righteous army, and the words that just echoed with authority and power across the battleground saying to the demonic legion, YOU HAVE LOST; WE HAVE WON. (This is the Gospel, We have won through Jesus.) And as that voice thundered, I turned to look and it was a large lion that was immediately right behind the righteous army: The Lion's Army. As I write this, I'm getting overcome right now; I'm back in it. I wish I could articulate what I see and feel adequately to you. Just catch the anointing. Catch what the Spirit of God is dropping on the inside of you right now. As the words from the Lion came, they entered the army, the warriors, and simultaneously with the voice of the Lion the warriors released the same words. It was as if one voice through thousands, millions perhaps, all came forth with the Lion's voice: YOU HAVE LOST; WE HAVE WON. It was a faith declaration. The strength, the confidence, the authority from heaven, from the throne, through the Lion, through the backs of the warriors and out of their mouths. And it was like the sound of many waters as it flowed across the battlefield toward the advancing hoard. And then it shifted a little bit and at that point, the Lion's army at the same time was lifted up into the air and was carried over the heads of the advancing hoard and they began to speak down upon the advancing hoard words of authority, the Word of God, faith declarations, speaking against them in great authority and power. And when they did, there was a flaming sword that came out of their mouths and the swords launched straight down on the heads of those advancing legions. There were angels in the fire in the swords and when the fire would hit one of the demonic spirits, then his power was diminished, he slowed, his screams weakened. And it was having an effect. And then I noticed behind the legions arose a great beast. And I knew it was the same beast that I had seen in preceding visions. I knew it was the same beast that was connected with Leviathan and with Jezebel. The same beast that I saw before came up to the edge of Europe, the west coast, jumped into the ocean swam over, and crawled up on the east coast of the United States. And that beast began to yell as loud as he could. It was saying, ‘Scream harder! Scream harder!' But it was too late. The screams were no match for the flaming swords of the Lion in the mouths of His warriors and the battle, the tide of which began to change. I knew instinctively, I could feel it, that the beast had the ability to influence and call in more warriors and more screams, but the power was in the screams. But the authority in the advancing army of God, the Lion's Army, was also coming out of their mouths in prayer, in faith proclamations, in prophetic declarations, in speaking the Word, in pulling down the strongholds and the strategies and the structures, all the things that were happening. People, I feel that this vision is timely in several respects: (This was given in 2018 regarding the political scene at that time. But it fits today.) Number 1, for what's going on in the spiritual atmosphere over America right now; for what's going on in the confirmation hearing for Judge Kavanaugh; for the upcoming midterm election; for … I even see behind that, the 2020 Presidential election. (The Supreme Court is deciding who won the 2020 election now. So, this is still true and relevant for today with the current DS political situations, fake administration, the 2024 presidential vote, and imminent EBS, GCR, human trafficking, illegal immigration, weather warfare, etc. We need to be declaring the defeat of the DS/apostate church and the victory of the Lion's Army.) I see all those things just coming at me in the Spirit. And I hear the screams and the violence and the threats. And the Lord says, “Do not be afraid, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. The Lion's Army is well able to do its job. The Lion's Army with flaming words of authority will rise up and defeat the enemy.” I also feel that it's a progressive revelation that we will see a progressive vision that we will see come to pass in various forms through the upcoming years. The Lion's Army. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are part of the Lion's Army. If you will dare to stand up in prayer, you're part of the Lion's Army. If you will stand up against the unrighteousness, if you will stand against the work of the beast; you don't have to fight the beast, the LION will destroy the beast, but you are part of the army that is launching those fiery projectiles down on the heads of the legions of the damned. And it is disempowering them, it is stopping them, it is paralyzing them. It is diminishing their power and their authority in the earth, and in America, and against the body of Christ, and against God's purposes and plans for the political structure of our nation, the destiny that He has already proclaimed. YOU are a warrior … clothed in Beauty and Garments of Praise, the Armor of God, the Shield of Faith, and the Sword of the Spirit. And the angels are flowing like fire from your mouth as you speak into the second heaven, the spiritual atmosphere the words of the Lion: “YOU HAVE LOST; WE HAVE WON”; and every other word that He places in your mouth. Stand up and give it with the third-heaven authority! Discerning Shepherds and Apostles Ellen Cary - 09/10/2008 (David's notes in red) Prophetic Word - The seven-year cycle is over. I have called and you have not answered. I have warned over and over, but you have refused to hear. You shepherds who sit in your high towers have told my sheep that I didn't cause the towers to fall, that I didn't bring Katrina for destruction (of Mardi Gras in two states), that the floods and fires are not at the hand of My judgment, teaching them that all power is not Mine, so they learn to not heed My warnings, they learn to not hearken to My voice because they believe your lies; and for this, you false shepherds will pay a high price. I call you false, for you have turned from My divine plan for your life. You've allowed the enemy to entice you with the pleasures of this world, the riches and loftiness of sitting in high places. You have exalted your throne above Mine in making the choices you have to please men, to tickle their ears and tell them what they want to hear, rather than telling them the truth. Few there are who are listening to My voice and calling My church to repent of their wicked ways, for they have gone the way of the world; their lives are compromised and not set apart for Me, to live in the holiness I've commanded. See now you false prophets who speak lies of peace and safety, you shall all be brought down by My Elijahs I'm about to release upon the land. They will smite you with the sword of the spirit that will come forth from their mouths and it shall be wielded with precision and accuracy. You who have given yourselves a title of apostle, know ye not it is only the Lord God Almighty who decides who I call as an apostle, or any of My ministry gifts to My body for their edification and growth to build My church. You gather together in your convocations to discuss your lofty plans of dominating My earth, but you know not of what you speak, for this world will never be dominated by your flesh. It is only by My Spirit that My Kingdom is established on the earth because it is established in the hearts of those I choose. My true apostles are in the fields of the world, in the dark places establishing My kingdom, for I have sent them. I alone, and no man, for I called and I instructed and I gave the order to go and they have obeyed My voice to not only listen to obey My call, but to be chosen to follow My orders. They are nameless and they are faceless only to you, for l know their names and I know their faces. I know their hearts and I know their minds, for they seek only My will, not to build their mighty kingdoms, as you have done, and for this they shall be rewarded greatly. For they are true warriors and true soldiers of the cross who have died to their own plans and purpose and allowed Me to send them out for My glory only, nothing to exalt themselves, but only Me. For they recognize they are but dust willing to be blown by the wind of My Spirit to wherever I will them to go. These shall have great reward in My house, for they have laid down their lives for the sheep, some even to death, never even thinking they are great or doing anything for recognition in My body, but only having a heart to follow after Me and being obedient to My word. Yes, the time has come for all false ones to be exposed, for you want to be leaders but you lead My sheep into the darkness and for this, the blood of many will be on your hands. The hour has come for your judgment, America, the great America whom I have blessed to such measure that all the world envies you. But shortly in an hour you think not, you shall fall and the whole earth will groan and the nations will lament and rejoice at the same time, for your greatness shall be over. (DS Babylon in America and DS Babylon in the church are falling.) Shaking Out the Sinners Vision Given to Ueli Surbeck I saw the Father standing above me with the world in His hand and He began shaking it -- violently shaking the world up and down, left to the right and backward and forward and this is what the Father says: “My church has to be shaken out of the world. I want it out, and I am shaking my church until it comes out of the world! They have become so entwined in the world it is the only way to get them out”. He continued to shake the world violently (it very much reminds me of the process of harvesting potatoes); as I saw the church being shaken out of the world, I saw 3 things happening in the Church: Preachers were falling out of the pulpits, head first, pulpits started falling out of the Church, I saw the prophets falling, as they fell they lost their mantles, their mantles fell out of the churches and then I saw the reprobates start falling out of the Church. And then the Father said in the Voice of the General, “THEY HAVE MISSED THE HOUR OF THEIR VISITATION”. He said it 3 times consecutively. They missed the hour of My visitation; they think they are somebody, but in fact they are blind and naked. As the prophets fell out and lost their mantles, I saw the Father pick up the mantles and give them to the faithful prophets of the hour who had not missed THE HOUR OF THEIR VISITATION. (Isa.66:15-16) For behold the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many. Tell My People I Love Them Janet M. - 11/23/2012 Around 8:00 PM, as I was lying in bed, the Lord spoke to me, saying, “Tell My people that I love them”. He had a great urgency in His voice and He did this three times. Over the course of almost an hour, He spoke to me and showed me things. But of all the things that He said, He put the greatest emphasis on the message: “Tell my people that I love them”. He started by answering a prayer of mine: I asked the Lord, “Please confirm that You do not want us to participate in Christmas”. The Lord explained that He never asked us to commemorate His birth and yet people make the manger scene of Jesus into an idol. He is not a baby in a manger anymore. There will be no Christmas in Heaven and God does not honor that day. (When we share this with family and friends we should be graceful and weak to the weak so it can be received.) The Christmas holiday is a creation of man. He continued that it grieves Him how selfish people have become, all the exchanging of gifts is merely vanity for pleasing the flesh. (Jesus taught us to give to the poor and we will be rewarded.) Jesus already gave the greatest gift of all. How can man ever top that? He showed tremendous emotion as He spoke. I saw Him cry with trembling concerning those perishing in sin. We must repent (turn from what we know is wrong). We must forgive those who have wronged us, so that God will forgive us. Jesus died so that we can be redeemed to the Father. The blood of Jesus was that perfect sacrifice to restore fallen man unto God. We must come out from among those who covet evil and be separate from the pleasure and distractions of the worldly “Egyptian” system. Then, the Lord showed me how sin separates us from Him. I saw a narrow path and Jesus waiting at the end of it. As the people traveled the path toward Jesus, the devil would place many temptations along the way to widen the path and divert the believer from Jesus. If the believer endured, the path would again narrow, as Jesus drew them ever closer to Himself. Eventually, the believer would be near enough to abide in the Lord (they knew Him and were sure of Him). That is the place where you can reach out and touch the hem of His garment. When I saw the sincerity of the Lord as He spoke, I feared for my relatives and I pleaded to God to have mercy on them. He replied, “Believe on Me and you and your family will be saved”. I asked, “Should I do anything?” He said, “Intercede for them by lifting them up in prayer. As it is written, pray without ceasing. Since an idle mind tends to be the devil's playground, think on the things of God, for where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.” And when it comes to the devil and demons, the Lord said, “I have given you power and authority over the enemy; use it”. As the Lord saw us praying and travailing for others in obedience to God, He smiled. His smile was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I cannot describe it. I did not see His face but I saw His smile somehow. His smile had real feeling to it and was so reassuring. His smile was light, love and perfect. God then showed me how He freed my husband and me from the oppression and deception that blinded us for so long. Then I saw the chains and something like a heavy weight that bound the people who desired to stay in the world system and refused to repent. He also said that we should be willing to open our homes and our hearts to the poor on more than just Thanksgiving Day and He asked us if we would do that. As He spoke, He took me up in the spirit and showed me some things that are important to Him. I saw Jesus pointing to the Earth. The Earth looked to be about the size of a tangerine compared to Him. Somehow, I was standing next to Him. He pointed to the Earth and said, “I have commissioned you to tell them, 'Tell My people that I love them'. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Start the conversation by telling them that I love them. It is your job to tell them. The Holy Spirit will convict them”. The Harlot's Final Moments Jenni Davis - 06/30/2009 (David's notes in red) I had a vision the other night. I cannot believe it took me a couple of days to understand its meaning, as it is so incredible and obvious to me just now after God opened my eyes. In my vision, a group of people, including myself, were kneeling around an old, dying woman who was on the ground, taking her last breaths of air. Other people were standing around watching the scene, but a small number of us were knelt beside her. She was a very old woman, heavily wrinkled and ancient-looking, to the point it was clear she had shrunk in her old age. She was decked out in the most humorous way to hide her age. She had an enormous, thick, long, blond, curly wig on to hide her balding, thin hair. She had decked herself out in thigh stockings and lots of fake jewelry. She was so “in costume” that she just looked hilarious, as she was trying to cover her age and recover her youth. She was fooling no one, of course; she looked like she was dressed up for a costume party -- like an old hooker. As she lay there dying, taking her last breaths, suddenly, a horrifying-sounding demon started speaking out of her mouth. It was just like a Poltergeist movie. Here was this tiny old woman dying on the ground and this awful, male, evil voice started speaking in a language I could not understand out of HER mouth; it was clearly pure evil. I have no idea what she was saying but I could feel the evil in the air -- thick and awful --and her body slashed and flexed as she spoke these evil words forth. Suddenly, all the other people who were knelt beside her started breaking into spiritual warfare to combat the demon that was speaking. They were flailing their arms, pointing their fingers, binding demons and speaking in tongues in their own chaos all around her. My mouth dropped a bit and my eyes widened a bit, watching this mad display going on around me as this old woman lay hardly breathing, but still managing to speak forth evil. I remember thinking, ‘what in the world is going on here?' Then, like a mother who is tired of watching someone rock her whaling baby in the wrong way and finally gets frustrated and screams, “Give me that baby!” and snatches the infant into her own arms; well, I did the same. I took the old woman's upper torso into my arms and pulled her to my chest (my heart), out of their flailing hands and away from their words, and I held her to my heart and said, “Jesus”. One time only. Instantly, the demon(s) were gone! She was instantly healed and alive and she jumped to her feet and ran around happy and jumping like a little kid. Everyone was shocked, including me a little. It felt like such a natural response to pull her to me, that I was also shocked at the result. I only saw her for a second before the vision ended, but I saw that her wig and the rest of her costume was falling off. I am embarrassed to say it took me two days to realize it was the false harlot church that is the old woman, who even now lies dying. (I believe this old woman more specifically represents a body of people in the midst of the larger Harlot church who will turn to God because of the love of more mature brethren who will reach out to them as Jenni did here.) God knows what evil she will speak as she takes her last breaths (what more or new madness she will speak) and who will listen to it, but I do know how some will try and fight it. They will try and fight it with their own wisdom, their own power, their own warfare. It will not work. Jesus is the hero, He is the answer and He is the dragon slayer. He knows how to fight; it is our job to call on Him. He lives in our heart; we are His bride if we understand and know His love. It is His love in us and through us that will conquer the demons that hold the (harlot) church captive. She IS loved and out of love and genuine empathy for anyone who is lost, confused, bewitched and evil, we should do as God says: “Bring them to me and I will give them life”. All we do is hold them in our hearts and love them in Jesus' name and He will give them life. He will accomplish this --not us. I am reminded in this vision of the day that God asked me if I wanted to know what the “Best spiritual warfare is” and I eagerly said, “Yes! Tell me!” He said this slowly to me: “Close your eyes, lay your head on My chest and rest”. It is finished. It is all His work; we just call on Him.
Escaping Apostate Church Judgments (3) (audio) David Eells – 11/24/24 I'm going begin today by reading Hannah's prayer in 1Sa 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in Jehovah; My horn is exalted in Jehovah; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, And by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty men are broken; And they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; And they that were hungry have ceased to hunger: Yea, the barren hath borne seven; And she that hath many children languisheth. So what did she mean, she had born seven? We know that Hannah had been barren. Well, we're talking about a Man-child here, but the Man-child is not an individual, is he? And why seven? When we read Mic 5:5 …When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. So we see that Micah prophesied that when the Lord returned to his people that He would raise up seven princes, “seven shepherds, and eight principal men,” or eight princes among men, to defend God's people from the Beast. It's seven because there are seven churches and God is raising up the leadership to go to the seven churches. The eighth is mentioned separately because He is the prince of Peace Jesus who is in the midst of the seven. 6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up. 7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, he also lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory: (This is her Man-child, that she brought forth to inherit the throne of glory.) For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, And he hath set the world upon them. 9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones; But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For by strength shall no man prevail. 10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; Against them will he thunder in heaven: Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed. I believe this is talking about the Eli, Pharisee and Saul ministries, and a lot of ministers in our day who are going to resist and fight against the truth, as they have throughout history. In Jesus' day, the leadership over God's people fought with Jesus; they accused Jesus; they crucified Jesus. They did the same with His disciples, also. They strove with the Lord and He destroyed them. 1Sa 2:10 … And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed. Oh, praise God! Who is this king and His anointed? Well, in this case it was Samuel, but it was also Joseph, Moses, David and Jesus, all those good types. He will exalt the horn, the strength of His anointed. 11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not the Lord. How could they have been the priests of Israel and not know the Lord? Well, honestly, it doesn't take very long to read the Word of God to find out that a lot of ministers nowadays don't know the Lord. They don't know the Lord but do they have some kind of association with religion? Yes. When you come into the Kingdom and you get a born-again spirit, you have a consciousness of God, but, quite frankly, if you don't obey that born-again spirit, it soon dies and you become what the Bible calls twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jud.12). Who was Jude speaking about when he said that? The apostate ministers and many they train. And so you can be in the pulpit and be dead as a doornail. Saul died at the hands of the Philistines and I believe that it's talking about being dead in the spirit while he lived. We know that many of you have come out of churches after you realized they were dead. They were really not walking in the spirit; they were really not sharing the living Word of God. They were dead and you came out because of that. Praise God! 1Sa 2:13 And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand; 14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all Israel that came thither. Shiloh, of course, was the house of God in those days, so this is basically the ministers gathering up their tithe, but these people were abusing it. And it's a very good type of exactly what's happening today. They were abusing their position as priests of the Lord, as ministers of God's house, by plundering God's people. Now he's going to point out two main things here about the sons of Eli that are exactly the problems with the leadership of the church in our day and how they are plundering God's people. 1Sa 2:15 Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of thee, but raw. Of course, that wasn't according to their custom. 16 And if the man said unto him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. So here you have some ministers taking what they feel belonged to them, by force. The only thing was, this was a sacrifice. This was a sacrifice made by the person who was freely giving it, but they were taking it by force. That's an abuse of a sacrifice. Do you know that in the New Testament God has a sacrifice? It's a freewill offering. There is nothing in the New Testament about taking something by Law. Who is it who takes by Law? Well, you're looking at it right here. It's the apostate Eli ministry which is robbing and plundering God's people and taking from them by Law, taking from them because of their position. We don't have any such custom in the New Testament of demanding a tithe. Jesus said, So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luk 14:33). He didn't say 10%; He said everything you have. And Jesus said in Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, Jesus said tithing was of the Law, not of grace. There's no commandment in the New Testament whatsoever for you to do this. Not one. And the rest of the verse says, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. Notice that Jesus spoke to the Jews of their Law as being in the past, Meaning the Old Covenant. He never commanded it in the New Covenant because it was “a shadow of the good things to come.” But here is what's commanded: 2Co 9:6 But this [I say,] He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. So it's just according to how much you give and that's really not according to the Law. The Law was 10% -- bring into the storehouse 10%. But now He's saying very plainly, “No, the more you give, the more you'll receive.” 2Co 9:7 [Let] each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart…. Well, that's certainly not the Law at all. That's not demanding it; that's a freewill offering. Do as you feel in your heart. This is a man's personal sacrifice to God and to the ministry, and, of course, the ministry today is abusing that because they are dragging people back under the Law, which is forbidden. The Law separates from Christ; it separates from grace and, if you seek to be justified by the Law, you have to keep the whole Law. Gal 5:3 … He is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. So it's not good for ministers to say you have to keep the tithe because you can't be saved that way. If you're seeking to be justified by the Law, then you have to keep the whole Law in order to be justified, but we're justified by grace and God says this is what God wants from His New Testament, born-again people. These are not people who are lost people, who are just following rules and regulations. These are people who have the grace of God in their heart. God expects more as He says in Luk 12:48 And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required…. Now, in the New Testament, when you're born again and you receive the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your newborn temple; therefore He expects more because you have God in you and you are the temple. You don't go to the temple, you are the temple of God. God's in us. Col 1:27 … Christ in you, the hope of glory. God is the One Who is living the Christian life in us, you see. That's the whole point. So you would expect more from someone like that. You don't have to force somebody like that to do something and, if you had to, they obviously don't have God in their heart. So what does the Lord say? 2Co 9:7 Let each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity … It's not even necessary as a law would be. Well, it's not going to be edifying to a person to not give because giving is the heart of God and giving is how, of course, God multiplies it back to us. 2Co 9:6 But this [I say,] He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. In other words, God wants to bless us and He's telling us that if it's in our heart to give, then good, do it. But He's not putting you under Law. It's not of necessity. Anybody who does put you under the Law is departing from the New Testament and they're doing exactly like Eli's sons, who were using the Law to force the giving. So he says, 2Co 9:7 … For God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work…. That's a powerful promise that covers everything, doesn't it? And it's just because a person gives out of the heart, not because they're under the Law. You know, sure, if you give under the Law, God will give back. When I first learned that the Lord wanted me to give, I did, and for a short time I went under the Law. But when I realized that it wasn't Scriptural, I started to give according to the Spirit because now I had the Holy Spirit to speak in my heart and tell me what to do. In the New Testament, that's why the Holy Spirit is given. You don't need a law because now we have …the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2). You don't have need to have anybody to tell you, “You must do this.” Instead, you want to do it because God is working in you to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). That's what New Testament salvation is all about. God is putting it in your heart. That's the kind of person God wants. He doesn't want a person who has to be forced or they won't do it. What kind of a son is that? That's a servant, but it's not a son and God is creating sons. So if we look back in 1 Samuel 2, we see a problem with the overwhelming majority of apostate ministries nowadays. They want to force the people to give something that should be a sacrifice on the part of the giver. They should just want to give it out of their own heart. In other words, give them the freedom to make the sacrifice the way they see that they want to do it. But, in the apostate ministries, the giving is being forced and that's exactly what we're seeing here in 1 Samuel. But the priest's servant said, 1Sa 2:16 Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17 And the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for the men despised the offering of the Lord. See, the offering of the Lord is holy because it comes out of holy hearts, people who want to give. They see a need and they are meeting that need. And it may be the need of their brother. Jesus said, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, [even] these least, ye did it unto me (Mat.25:40). It may be a need of the brethren. It may not be bringing it into the storehouse, which is a church building or an organization, because the storehouse was not in the church. In the Old Testament, it was in the Temple and we are the Temple. God is going to judge His people by the way they treat His Temple, by what you do to the “least of these my brethren.” Did you feed them? Did you clothe them? Did you visit them in prison? See, that's how He judged the nations when He returned because that's His Temple. So it's very important that the sacrifice be a willing sacrifice in our covenant and not be demanded by Law. The people in ministry who force the giving are despising the offering of the Lord. Going on in 1Sa 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I reveal myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house? 28 and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up unto mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all of the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29 Wherefore kick ye at mine sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? An Eli ministry gets fat from the offerings of God's people because they have departed from the Word of God; they are plundering God's people. It's not permitted and they will be judged for it, exactly like Eli's sons were being judged for it. You know, we are warned over and over in the Scriptures: Isa 56:9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, [yea,] all ye beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind … Did you know, by the way, that Eli was blind? He became blind. 10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark (In other words, they do not know when the enemy's coming. They don't know how to warn God's people. They don't know that they are the enemy.); dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. How many of God's people are supporting this debauchery in God's church? See, it's totally contrary to the Word of God. What you are supporting when you're doing that, is an Eli ministry. It's going down the drain fast at this particular moment. They're all dyeing. I'm not talking physically, I'm talking spiritually. If they're not dead already, they're going to die. They'd have to repent and come out of plundering God's people. There's nothing in the New Testament about being under the Law for giving. We are, of course, stewards of what belongs to God in the New Testament. Luk 14:33 So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. We are stewards; we're not owners. So, therefore, a person who tithes is a thief because he thinks the 90% belongs to him and the 10% belongs to God. Well, you just stole 90% because Jesus said the rest of that belongs to Him, too. So, if we're not a thief, then we listen to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit tells you what to do with your house, what to do with your car, and what to do with your money. He tells you not only what to give and how much, but where to give it and to whom to give it. He is the One. He is the Lord since you have the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, they did not have the Holy Spirit commonly, so they needed a rule and regulation to tell them what to do. It's not so now. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made you free from the law of sin and death, so you're free from that law and now you're under the law of the Spirit. And the Spirit is the One Who knows your brethren, He knows the needs; He knows exactly what He wants to do and how much He wants to do, so we have to follow the Holy Spirit with everything. The Sabbath is no longer one day; it's every day. We cease from our works and enter into His rest every day. Now, what about the tithe? It's the same thing. See, when Jesus came, He multiplied the Law. Did you notice that in Matthew 5? Everything about the Law He multiplied, He made it bigger, because now God works in us from the inside out to do His Will. He works a desire in us to do what before we were fighting against with our carnal nature. It's a wonderful thing. But the Eli ministries are greedy dogs; they can never have enough. It is astounding how they can see so many people in need, even in their own assemblies, and yet don't lift a finger to help them. Meanwhile, they're flying their personal jet planes and doing all these things. Going on again in 1Sa 2:29 … Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me…. Wow! Did you know God could do that? Have you ever heard that doctrine of unconditional eternal security? Look at that big “but now” in the middle of that verse. Because God's promises are conditional and we have to have faith in Him. Our part is faith; His part is to supply the power. God can drop us like a rock any time. He can empower you to walk in His steps or He can give you up to this world and I'll tell you what: there is no promise for those who don't bear fruit. God is looking for the fruit of Jesus Christ. 1Sa 2:30 … But now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Obviously, He's talking about these preachers who were plundering His people and abusing them, and taking an offering from them. You don't “take” an “offering.” That's an oxymoron. 1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. 32 And thou shalt behold the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas…. Do you know what “Hophni” and “Phinehas” mean? “Hophni” means “stiff-necked, self-willed,” and “Phinehas,” I understand, means “a trustworthy face, but the mouth of a serpent.” Isn't that interesting? You know, a lot of people see what they see standing in their pulpit, but that's all they see. They see what they're supposed to see and they see what they are permitted to see, but they don't know what's really going on there. You may remember how I shared with you about one of the first churches I was invited to preach in Pensacola, while I was there I did a lot of teaching. The pastor of that particular church was an Eli pastor and, no doubt about it, he was doing everything that these guys were doing and more. There was a man who came in and he got saved; he came in totally drunk and he got sobered up. Shortly after that, God gave him a vision of the pastor as a serpent standing up behind the pulpit, speaking through a microphone. He did not understand it and he brought it to me and I told him, “Well, it means just what it says, you know.” And that pastor's last name meant “dragon.” He was the dragon, the old serpent. Well, “Phinehas” means “a trustworthy face, but the mouth of a serpent.” 1Sa 2:34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. I'm going to back up a little bit here. 1Sa 2:22 Now, Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. Do we ever hear of that happening nowadays? Yes, quite often, don't we? Evidently, sex and money seem to get hold of an awful lot of people who put themselves in a position of ultimate power over God's people. It seems like men who are not full of God cannot stand too much power, too much authority, too much money, too much esteem of the people, before they begin to take advantage of it. What it's saying is that a person shouldn't seek a position in God's Kingdom unless God puts them there. You know how God puts them there? He prepares them first. They are overcomers. Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. Nowadays, “You can just go to Bible school and you pay for that certificate and now you're a preacher.” You can do this, but you're in trouble because there is not the nature of Jesus Christ there. After all, you have not overcome by going through trials yourself. And so what happens when you get out there and you get all this temptation? Because the Nicolaitan error is a great temptation. Putting a man in a position that is not Biblical is a great temptation that most people cannot stand. And the proof is showing up. I mean, they are lying with the women who do the service of the door of the Tent of Meeting. They're doing it now. The money, the women, the power, the abuse of their power, it's still the problem. We know God never designed a Nicolaitan ministry, anyway. He called for a five-fold ministry. That's what He called for. He distributed the authority among the five-fold ministry. That's His way of doing things. God's going to raise up the five-fold ministry. Remember, Jesus the Man-child raised up the apostles who raised up the five-fold ministry. The apostles ordained the five-fold ministers. They are the ones who started that. Once again, history is going to repeat in these days because the Man-child is going to raise up apostles who are going to raise up the five-fold ministry. He is going to restore the real five-fold ministry this time. I'm talking about people who have overcome, who are given a position by God, who were ordained to that position by God. In the Bible, it was apostles who ordained the five-fold ministry, but nowadays Bible schools can do it, so we have gone astray. We've fallen into what the Bible calls the “Nicolaitan error” (Revelation 2:6). We've gone far, far astray, and the ministers who put themselves in that position, and the people who put the ministers in that position, are not doing them a favor because they really can't hold up to that. God has to do this. God is the One Who ordains ministers, not men, not organizations and not religions. And so we've ended up with quite a lot of the Eli ministry out there. In Jesus' day, how many of the Pharisees, who were Eli ministers, how many of them recognized Him and obeyed Him when God sent His Son? Well, God is doing it again and they're going to do the same thing. The Lord told me that this is where we are right now, in the midst of a Pharisee, Saul and Eli ministry. But coming right down the road is this Man-child reformer ministry led by the Holy Spirit. Looking at the news concerning the church and the pastors and teachers and prophets and so on, we can see the great falling away going on around us. We know that it's happening again and we can tell where we are. God has pronounced judgment upon the Eli ministry and what's going to happen to it. 1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm (this is speaking of Eli and his household), and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. 32 And thou shalt behold the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind…. Oh, praise the Lord! This is what we have coming, folks: faithful priests “that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind.” That's not a small statement there. God will give grace. He will send new leadership. Of course, we know that this priest represents a corporate body in our day, spread throughout the earth, that God is sending to restore His people. 1Sa 2:35 … And I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever. Oh, praise the Lord! What do you think that means? Well, most people think it means he'll walk before the Lord. I think that's true, no doubt that this new, faithful ministry will walk before the Lord, but I believe that there's something deeper than that here. Let's turn to the New Testament. 2Co 1:21 Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God. Stop and think about that. God establishes us in Christ and anoints us. You know, the word “Christ” means “the anointed.” And Christ was the anointed, but Jesus left an individual body to come back in a corporate body in order to be able to do all over the world what He did in that first body, so the body of Christ is to be anointed. 2Co 1:22 Who also sealed us, and gave [us] the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. The “anointing” is “to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” I dare say most of the church is not filled with the Spirit but, then, most of the church is not anointed. The Lord told me years ago that if we get what the apostles got, we'll do what they did. Read the book of Acts and find out what they had. When Jesus was ministering to the disciples, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (Joh 20:22) and there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind Act 2:2 and… they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues 4, etc. Now, if you get that, you'll do what they did. Most of the church today is very dead because they feel that they have been anointed but they haven't. It's just words, you know. So, if you don't want what they have, you won't do what they did. So “he … establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us.” Why does God anoint us? It's so that we can walk in the steps of Christ, so that Christ can live through us to the world. We need to be anointed. We have to have this anointing, you see. What it said about Samuel was that, “He shall walk before mine anointed forever.” In other words, in this case we're talking about him being the leadership of God's anointed body that God is sending in the earth. He's walking before them as the leader of His anointed body to do His works. The Man-child, in whom Jesus lives, will be a leader of the anointed body of Christ in our day, just as Jesus was in His day. 1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thy house…. What does “left in” mean? Well, we haven't gotten that far yet, but his house was wiped out and the people who followed his house were wiped out, at the hand of the Philistines. We know the Philistine represents the old man who lives in the land. There's a war going on between our spiritual man, who is an Israelite and the old man, who is a Philistine, and the war is for the land, which Hebrews 6 tells us is this physical life; this life is that land. Now when he says here, “everyone that is left in thy house,” it means, in other words, there are some people who are going to repent of the Saul ministry and not only of the ministry, but of following the Saul ministry. They're no longer going to be a part of that house and they're going to survive because their old man is not going to conquer them. 1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread. We are the priests of God. As we sacrifice unto the Lord, as we make this burnt offering of flesh to the Lord, each one of us presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, we are the priests of God. You're not sacrificing your life unto the Saul ministry. That's the whole problem; the Saul ministry refused to sacrifice the old man and, therefore, died at the hands of the old man. Now we're seeing the same thing about Eli. And so if we want to be priests, we have to be following the Samuels. There are people who are going to come out from under the Eli and Saul ministries and follow the David and Samuel ministry, and they will be priests of the Lord. Notice how this sounds very much like Joseph. Remember how, after selling Joseph into bondage, his own brothers came into the kingdom and it was he who kept them alive during the seven years of famine? He fed them. They came to him. All Israel, as a matter of fact, came to Joseph because the sons of Jacob, or Israel, all came to him in Egypt and Joseph served them; he met their needs. And we saw, also, that as soon as Saul died on Gilboa, along with the part of Israel that followed him, all the rest of Israel followed David. 1Ch 11:1 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Wow, they're actually saying they're the body of David! And so we see that this is about to repeat, folks. These people are dying; not physically, but spiritually they are dying. They're dying at the hands of the old man because they've refused to make war against the old man. 1Sa 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious (or “rare”) in those days; there was no frequent vision. It's the same today. There is “no frequent vision” from the Lord. Yes, many people have visions and the frequency of the vision of the Lord is something that the prophetic office is supposed to be sending forth, but it's all been polluted. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see). Notice that when Samuel arrives, the Word begins to speak about Eli's eyesight being poor and it seems to get worse and worse the longer that Samuel is on the scene. There's a reason for that and we'll look at it. But what does it mean for his eyes to begin “to wax dim, so that he could not see”? Well, I think this is talking about a lack of perception, a lack of discernment. As Jesus said, Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (Mat.13:13). They lost their eyesight in the days of the coming of Jesus and now it's speaking about the Eli ministry losing their spiritual eyesight. 1Sa 3:3 And the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down [to sleep,] in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. So here's Samuel in the presence of the Lord and here's Eli losing his spiritual eyesight, meaning his prophetic gift. Now if we go back to one of the verses we read earlier, it says, and the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar (1Sa 2:33). We see that there are some people who are “under” the Saul ministry who are not going to be “of” the Saul ministry because they're going to repent. There's a multitude of God's people who are going to come out of these apostate churches and follow the David ministry, follow the Samuel ministry, and we praise God for that. This is going to be a reformation that's coming. Those who stay will die. There's no doubt about it. If they continue to follow that which is not the leading of the Holy Spirit, not ordained of God, not the Word of God, they will die. 1Sa 2:33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. Remember, David was raised up under the Saul ministry, but he was David; he continued to grow. And here Samuel is raised up under the Eli ministry. This seems to be a parallel all the way through the Scriptures. So he's saying that there are people who are of that house, who will not be cut off from God's altar, but they will be “to consume thine eyes.” Why is this? How could it be that somebody who is righteous and who is going to outgrow that ministry, and who is going to repent, how could it be that these people will consume the eyes of the Eli ministry? Well, believe it or not, Jesus made a statement like that. Of course, we know Jesus was the Samuel, was the man-child of His day. Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and they that see may become blind. So here's the Samuel ministry coming upon the scene and suddenly somebody's becoming blind. Joh 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said unto him, Are we also blind? 41 And Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see: your sin remaineth. In our day, those people who say they see are becoming blind, but the people who don't claim to have the understanding, the perception, or the discernment, they're the ones like the kind of people whom Jesus gathered around Him. It was those fishermen, those tax collectors, those harlots, those sinners, it was they who became His staunch disciples and they didn't say that they could see. They didn't claim to be theologians, they didn't claim to know everything about God, but the people who did were becoming blind. In John 9 there's a really neat story about a blind man who's blind from birth and whom Jesus healed of his blindness. Jesus made mud, He smeared it on his eyes, sent him into the pool of Siloam and the blind man came back seeing. When the Pharisees heard of this, they basically called the healed man on the carpet and wanted to know who it was who had done this. So he said it was the one called Jesus. Then they wanted to know how it was that he was healed, so he related the whole story. Of course, they were just trying to pick holes in the story because these were the jealous Eli ministry that really didn't want anybody coming in and taking away their position, their kingdom. Jesus spoke of their ministry in Matthew 21 through the parable of God sending His Son and then those people who wanted the vineyard for themselves killing the Son. Well, it's pretty neat how this man rebuked those Pharisees. After they asked him a couple of times in a row, “How did he do this?” he said, “I told you already. You weren't listening. Why didn't you hear?” And they said, “We know this man's a sinner, that he couldn't possibly be from God.” To which the healed man replied, Joh 9:30 Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and [yet] he opened mine eyes. 31 We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth. 32 Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. And how is it that these people didn't know that this man was from God? The healed man told them, “We know that God doesn't hear sinners, but he opened my eyes.” So this man, who didn't say he was a theologian, didn't say he knew everything about God, had a lot more wisdom than these people who were going against the Word of God in trying to justify themselves. This man who was under their ministry, under this Saul-Pharisee-Eli ministry, was now being delivered and it was making them angry. Actually, they excommunicated him; they threw him out of the church, basically because he told the truth, but they didn't want to hear the truth. There are some of you today who are coming out from among them. Like the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon, you have tried to bring this Jesus Whom you've found back to your “mother” and some of them really don't want to hear about it (Song of Solomon 3:4). You know what I'm talking about, right? Well, every time that you come out from under those ministries and you bring back the truth to them and they reject that truth, they become a little bit more blind, a little bit more blind. Jesus the Man-child came so that these people would become blind. When Samuel came on the scene, the anointed of God, the Man-child of that day, born of Hannah, then we begin reading over and over that the Eli ministry's becoming blind. You see, in this day, folks, notice that God says, 1Sa 2:33 and the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart. You know how grieving it is to those ministries when you go back and try to share truth with them, simple truth from the Word of God, and they don't want to hear it? And when they deny the Word that you bring to them they become more blind every time. It's interesting, you know, when the man who was healed mildly rebuked the Pharisees, they answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out (Joh.9:34). Who's not born in sin, right? But they're obviously pointing out that if he was blind from birth, his blindness was because of sin. Blindness from birth was quite common in those days. But they wouldn't let anybody teach them, they didn't want to hear from somebody who was not educated, not puffed up because of their religious system, or not somebody who went through their theological training. They don't want to hear anything from those people. You can bring them simple, simple truth; every time they deny it, they get more and more blind. They lose perception and discernment, just as this verse says: 1Sa 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see), 3 and the lamp of God was not yet gone out. Now the “lamp of God” here, in a sense, means his prophetic ministry to the people of God, or it could also be talking about the lamp of the eye, as Jesus spoke about it (Matthew 6:22). But, either way, we know, for instance, in Zechariah, that God is going to raise up a foolish shepherd in the land Zec 11:15, 16. God has done it in every generation and in every cycle. Zec 11:15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound…. Of course, we need to be fed the unleavened bread because that's the Seed of God that brings forth Christ in us, which is the only kind of fruit that God is interested in. 16 … Nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat [sheep]…. Once again, we see the plundering of the sheep, living off the sheep, getting fat off the sheep. 16 … And will tear their hoofs in pieces. The Lord pointed out to me one time so eloquently that hooves are what separate sheep from the world. This represents sanctification, which means separation from the world, and separation unto God. God wants us separate from the world, but connected to Him. When Moses went up on the mountain to meet God, He told him, “Hey, take your shoes off, Moses. You're standing on holy ground” (Exodus 3:2). In other words, God didn't want Moses separated from that holy ground. “Holy” and “sanctified” is the same word, right? God did not want Moses separate from holy ground, but out there in the world, God wanted Moses to keep his shoes on because we want to be separate from the world, we want to be sanctified. Well, when you take the foolish shepherd who is breaking the hooves off of the sheep, that means they're doing anything but sanctifying them from this world. Instead, they're making them worldly. Now, I'd like to share a few revelations with you. The Church Emerging from Religion Servant - 12/30/2010 I see a huge iron structure --mountain-like. It is smooth and brown with bronze tones; smooth, glossy, shiny. It is warm and strong in appearance. Underneath and in the ground a little shoot cries, “Oh, Father, we desire Your presence!” Over and over the little shoot cries, “Oh, Father, we desire Your presence!” SUDDENLY their cry is heard of the Father. He sits forward on the throne. His eyebrows are shaped in a “V” as He looks at the mountain of religion preventing the little shoot. All the balconies of Heaven stand at attention. The earth begins to move to and fro. The mountain begins to sway as the shoot emerges from under the mountain by the power of God. GOD STANDS UP! Shaking, reeling such as never seen before! Then, with a mighty noise, the mountain reels, rips in half and falls in two pieces. The earth shakes: Destruction! Shaking! Such loud noise! Darkness; then all is still. The shoot, the true Church, emerges from the ground. God's glory -- bright, white, brilliant -- covers the shoot and the true refreshing begins. Joy! Strength! Power! The shoot rapidly grows in strength and power. Arms form, much like a mustard tree. This is the true refreshing; this is the power, glory, joy of the Lord. The earth will see and the earth will marvel at the strength, power and glory of the end-time Church. All this must be fulfilled. The Church is arrayed and ready for Jesus. Amen. Destruction Comes for Apostate Leadership B.A. - 06/23/2015 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that I found myself in Jerusalem, back in Jesus' day, and I was looking up at the temple (a temple made by man's hands which God does not inhabit). Act 17:24 The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commanded men that they should all everywhere repent: 31 inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. There were stone steps leading down from the temple and the steps were being occupied by Pharisees and Sadducees. I was standing with a crowd of people in an open area a little ways from the temple and the stone steps, and just as I was looking around me in this crowd of people, I saw a man come forward out of the crowd who began to sternly address the men who were standing up (or exalting themselves) on the stone steps of the temple. I knew that the man speaking was Jesus. Pro 25:6 Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, And stand not in the place of great men: 7 For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom thine eyes have seen. And Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. As Jesus began to speak, I began to recognize the “Word” He was speaking to these men, since I had heard these same words before. Here is what I heard: Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. When Jesus spoke the first “Woe”, I heard a loud pop-like sound and what sounded like a crackling sound. I looked down upon the stone steps of the temple that these Pharisees and Sadducees were standing on and I noticed a large, deep crack had gone right up through the middle of those stone steps, and they were beginning to crack and crumble. I noticed that the deep crack was between the feet of a rather large and extremely overweight man. (This is the apostate leadership overcome by their flesh.) 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Then, when Jesus spoke the second “Woe”, I heard another much louder pop-like sound and more of the crackling sound. I looked around to see where this sound was coming from and I saw that a large, deep crack had gone all around the temple foundation and it was cracking up and crumbling as well. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? 34 Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Just as Jesus had finished His Words to these men, the stone steps gave way and all of those men standing on the crumbling stone steps fell down into a deep pit that had opened up under the stone steps. And just after that happened, the entire temple came crashing down on top of them and covered them up. I noticed that from Matthew 23:15 through verse 39, there are “six” woes – “six” being the number of man. Also, I found it interesting that there is a “Woe” in Mathew 23:23 and the date of this dream is the 23rd and 23 means “death.” (This is clearly a reprobation of the apostate leadership and their fake temples, as Jesus pronounced in His day, and now we see a repeat of history in our day.) Apostate Leaders Fleecing the Sheep B.A.- 04/01/2012 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in some type of city. It was strange because there were no people on the sidewalks or cars on the streets. There were these strange-looking brick buildings (buildings made by the flesh) everywhere I looked. (Sounds like the people of God slaving to make bricks for Pharaoh's buildings.) I decided to go inside one of these buildings. Once inside, I saw a familiar female TV preacher who was hosting an event. I also recognized several other female preachers as well, and others whose faces I recognized but could not remember their names. (Father said, 1Ti 2:12 But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. Read Word, Women and Authority.) There were elaborate tables set up with all kinds of party food and they were all playing games. Each time the hostess presented a new game, she would have on a different outfit. I watched this for a while, then I decided to leave and go see what was going on inside one of the other buildings. Once back out on the street, I saw a long, rectangular, brick building so I decided to go check it out. It was very dimly lit; I could barely see where I was going. This building was huge inside and it appeared to be some kind of art gallery. There were statues on the floor and statues mounted on the walls. Further on up ahead, I saw some people standing around a picture on the wall, so I went to see what they were looking at. As I got closer, all of these people were dressed up like pilots and they were looking and admiring a picture of various airplanes. Some were elaborate jets and some were small Cessna-type planes. I recognized some of these people to be leaders in the apostate church. (Big time prosperity preachers can't fly with us common folks. They have to have at least one private jet. Poor Jesus, He walked or rode a donkey.) Further on up ahead, I saw another group of people standing around a picture on the wall. As I got closer to these people, they were all dressed up like gladiators and they were looking at a picture of a large coliseum (I believe this to be representative of megachurches) and bragging about their own personal coliseum. (The competitive spirit is always trying to best those who are also a part of the body to see who is the greatest, as Jesus rebuked the disciples for.) Then, all the way to the back of the art gallery, I saw several rows of people seated and listening to a man standing at a podium. Behind this man was a large mural of TV and radio stations (the apostate leadership use the media to steal from God's people). He was teaching these people how to successfully get more money from their viewers and God's people in general. (Representing, using mass media to make mass money and live in luxury while not doing the works of the kingdom. Jesus said, Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give.) As I stood there listening to this, I cried out to the Lord, “Do you see what they are doing? They are scheming and preparing a plan on how they are going to fleece your sheep during tough economic times!” Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Don't be concerned; their days are numbered.” Then I woke up. (Their greed, debt and sins against God's people will take them out.) Last House Cleaning Shelly Lynch - 06/23/2013 (David's notes in red) I had a short dream this morning. I saw myself taking a speck out of the corner of my eye. Mat 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Then I saw myself cleaning the corners of a building (Representing cleaning up the last hidden places of leaven), removing the last scraps of spoiled dog food (leaven of false teaching) from the building with a white paper towel (representing the pure Word). Php 3:2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision: (This could be the Bride's last cleansing before the anointing! And the Bride's ministry of removing the speck out of their brother's eye (which can only happen when she has the speck out of her own). Hallelujah!) (However, for Israel, which is a type of the Church and is not cleaned up at the beginning of the tribulation but through the tribulation, this text was given as a warning of coming tribulation.) Eze 7:1-10 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me saying, And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, 'An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. 'Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the LORD!' Thus says the Lord GOD, 'A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming! 'An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it has come! Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near-tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. 'My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, do the smiting. Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. (Chastening will bring the elect to righteousness. Isa 26:10-11 Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah. 11 Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see thy zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries. Including their flesh. (The persecution from the apostate Church toward the faithful in the Lord can be seen here.) Act 5:28-29 Saying Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men'. And verses 40-42 And to him (Gamaliel) they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Considering these two paths, it would be good for the disciples of Jesus to heed our instructions to be spotless and blemishless in the Bride company.) 2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 1Th 3:13 To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. Eph 5:27 that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing (speck); but that it should be holy and without blemish. And 2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Sandy Shaw shared at this same time while in prayer she heard, “This is the last cleaning”, and we all believed this would be the cleaning of the Bride of the Lord before the tribulation. She then asked for a word and got by random: 2Ch 29:15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah. 16 And the priests went in unto the inner part of the house of Jehovah, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron. 17 Now they began on the first [day] of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Jehovah; and they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within [the palace], and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of showbread, with all the vessels thereof. 19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah. 20 Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah. Hezekiah, as a type of the Man-child, “went up to the house of the Lord on the third day” and this was after the failed Senacherib Beast attack on the Bride when they were smitten. She then got by random, “into the ark” in Gen 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; and we read back in verse 9 there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
ON NOVEMBER 24: Do Not Be Afraid (Mark 16:1-8) with Pastor Patrick Edwards, PhD. HERE'S THE DEAL: Why was the tomb empty? All who hear the story of Jesus must offer an answer, and yet Jesus Himself has already told us. Only by revisiting His Words can we leave our old lives behind and faithfully follow him.
Pastor Joe & Kirsten have a big sports week lined up! They discuss the Chief's last-minute block, this week's upcoming game and even a few boxing matches they're looking forward to. Then, they unpack Pastor Joe's sermon series, His Words, in a little more depth and even drop some hints about where we're headed. The finale this week is loaded with sourdough, kittens, and social justice - it's a doozy! Let's pop the hood! Email: underthehood@newlifenwa.com Show Notes: https://www.newlifenwa.com/underthehood/
Believers Voice of Victory Audio Broadcast for 11/13/2024. Your prescription is ready! Join Kenneth Copeland on Believer's Voice of Victory as he explains how God's Word is your medicine, bringing life to you. Start taking your daily dose and watch His Words become health to your entire body!
Believers Voice of Victory Video Broadcast for 11/13/2024. Your prescription is ready! Join Kenneth Copeland on Believer's Voice of Victory as he explains how God's Word is your medicine, bringing life to you. Start taking your daily dose and watch His Words become health to your entire body!
The words that we speak are very important. We know that words are powerful because God created everything with His Words. We know that Proverbs tells us that death and life are in the power of our words. This is a message encouraging all of us to speak life with our words. To speak life over ourselves and over those that are around us. The key to speaking life has to do with what we have in abundance in our heart (Luke 6:45).
Pastor Joe & Kirsten launch into a discussion about their late night watching the polls come in. Kirsten recounts a hilarious election night tradition that started when their boys were younger. Next, they talk about the astounding turnout for the disciple-making workshop, and Pastor Joe shares his excitement for the start of the "His Words" sermon series all about Jesus. Finally, in this week's "It's Getting Strange Out There" segment, Pastor Joe digs up a clip from across the pond to help us all develop a more discerning ear. Let's pop the hood! Email: underthehood@newlifenwa.com Show Notes: https://www.newlifenwa.com/underthehood/
Will Trump Censor the Internet? His Words. Your watching a Script • Harris psyop about Hitler and Trump • Tampon Tim • Lenin made antisemitic laws than murdered Christians. Is Trump following? • Vance says fire nurses if they don't defile themselves with the poison poke • False flag watch in Atlanta just before the selection • Votes Flipping • Noahide laws will kill Christians • What is the satanic trinity • Defiling the temple of God that is you, mind controlism • Trump prays to dead Rabbi • What do they do in the tunnels – rituals to bring back the dead Rabbi that some think is the Messiah
Luke 4:14-30: “Hometown Visit.” This story of Jesus going to His hometown appears to be a different trip than those told in the other gospels. This is a story of those listening to Jesus in Nazareth (His hometown) in comparison to those hearing Jesus in Galilee and who willingly received what Jesus had to offer. But those in Nazareth because of their pride and arrogance and boastfulness and being skeptical, did not get to experience what Jesus has to give us! Jesus was born in Bethlehem but Nazareth is the town Jesus grew up in. As He returned home for a visit, He went to the synagogue as was His regular practice on the Sabbath. Here is some information about synagogues in Jesus' day: 1. Opened with singing (mainly Psalms 145-150) 2. Recitation of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) 3. Recitation of the Tefillah (18 benedictions and prayers) 4. Reading of the Scriptures (torah, prophets and writings) 5. Message of Interpretation of what was read 6. The Aaronic Benediction Jesus comes home to a town that had heard all the remarkable stories of Him since He's been gone and He's at the synagogue and He does the Reading. He chooses a prophetic word from Isaiah 58 and Isaiah 61 and closes with “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” What He's saying is that He's the one the prophets predicted and the home town people, having heard the storied of what He had been doing in the other town, and there is initial excitement. Jesus gives them these Words of Grace in the Reading: 1. Good News to the poor 2. Freedom for prisoners 3. Sight for the blind 4. Deliverance from oppression 5. Debts paid - Jubilee Jesus words of grace and hope are for us still today: 1. Good News of the Gospel message of what Jesus has done for us 2. Freedom from bondage to sin 3. Sight given for our spiritual blindness 4. Deliverance from brokenness 5. Our Debt to God for our sins is paid in full for us by Jesus through faith After Jesus delivers His Words of Grace the crowd began to question and doubt what He was saying and they became offended at His words. So Jesus confronts those doubting who He is. The crowd wanted proof that Jesus was who He said He was - but Jesus' response is that He sees into their hearts and that prophets aren't accepted in their home towns. They were acting like the Israelites. Jesus proceeds to preach a message on the time of Elijah and Elisha - a time in history much like now in America - a time of national apostasy and spiritual poverty. Jesus knows what's in our hearts and souls still today. We live in a nation that has traditionally thought of itself as a Christian nation and yet our roots have become just a veneer of Christianity. We have made our own rules, done what we want to do, followed our own gods of money, wealth and success, believed what we want to and redefined what God has said, establishing our own morality and it is destroying us from within. After Jesus' teaching about the times of Elijah and Elisha The people were furious and wanted to get rid of Jesus, to kill Him. Jesus spoke words of Truth and to those who are humble and repentant - His Words bring joy, life, hope and purpose - and they still do today. God knows our hearts and to those who refuse to listen the result is anger. But He doesn't give up when people won't listen or when they turn their backs on Him. He continues to reach out to the proud - He desires to bring restoration. He continues to reach out to those who are broken-hearted and discouraged - He desires to bring healing. And to those stuck in sin and darkness and addiction - He desires to bring freedom, restoration and renewal. May we be humble and contrite before Him and may God bring that kind of revival and renewal and awakening in our nation. Hearts turning back to Him! He comes to those who hear His voice! May we be listening always!!! Check out our website – everything we offer is FREE!! https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 St. Luke's Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. The Gospel of Luke takes a look at the life of Jesus, beginning with the well-known Christmas stories. Luke, a non Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus' life. This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.
Send me a Text Message!One of the principles fueling Daniel's thriving in the midst of hard times, is his deep conviction that God is in control of whoever's in control. This doesn't mean that we are just puppets in God's theatre of life. When we say that God is in control, we mean that nothing is beyond him. Nothing catches him unaware. What He purposes to do he will do. No power in the world is greater than his power, no wisdom in the world is deeper than his wisdom. No hate in the world is greater than his love. No evil in the world is more real than his goodness. And this is the truth that empowered Daniel to thrive when lions roared. But if we don't give Him our ears, if we don't listen to His Words, we don't really believe that God is in control. Who's got your ears?
Send me a Text Message!This episode is about two different character qualities... trust and meekness. Do you trust God and do you receive His Word with meekness. Some of us think the reason we can't believe is because of our minds... when really the problem is our hearts... our hearts have become so broken, so fragmented...that we're afraid to trust God. That's why this journey, this call to hear God is interwoven with the call to trust God. And if we trust God, we will receive His Words with a meekness of heart. I'll have to describe that one a bit, because not many of us think meek is a good thing to seek! I so deeply want us to get into this Book, and hear God's Words, but ultimately it is not abt chckng off boxes in a journal. It's about hearing the whisper of the Spirit. It's about developing a life-giving relationship with God, that is characterized by trust and meekness.
The Tongue Conquers Enemies (Audio) David Eells 9/22/24 A shaking is on the way. War appears to be breaking out on the surface. The Covert war between the Alliance and the DS is likely to break out in larger overt operations. The DS has invaded the cities with terrorists and military-aged men and CCP Chinese along with others that are expanding the voter rolls within, in order to overthrow President Trump and the Alliance. They are preparing for terrorist acts because of the Brunson case has gone to the Supreme Court which will overthrow the DS government. This from Operation Disclosure: The Brunson Brothers Voter Fraud Case before the Supreme Court asked a simple question: Did Congress investigate 50 formally filed allegations of voter fraud before certifying the 2020 Election? Obviously not, and rumor was that the Supreme Court had already ruled such on the case. We awaited an announcement likely in favor of Brunson that would dissolve the Biden Administration and all of Congress, plus bring in Martial Law until a new election was held. Five separate assassination teams actively targeting President Trump. Three are foreign, two domestic. Three Assassination Attempts have come in the last few weeks. Your prayers and faith have cast down all five of these teams. President Trump is insulated. Congressman Tim Burchett exposed the CIA's Sinister MK ULTRA plot to assassinate Trump! amg-news.com. As we will see below your prayers and confession will cast most of the lawlessness down. The DS anarchists plan on mass anarchy and destruction of cities and the Alliance military is being spread coast to coast before the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling in order to defend the cities and liberty from the lawless left who will not accept democracy. We cast down their weapons of warfare. A New War Is Coming Michael Boldea Jr. - 04/06/2007 Jeremiah 50:22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. I dreamt I was hearing what were at first faint hoof beats, but the closer they got, the louder they grew, until it was a thundering roar of not one or two horses but what seemed like hundreds. I felt as though the ground beneath me was shaking from the onrushing horses, and the sound of them became so loud, that I suddenly awoke in my bed. As I blinked a few times, adjusting to the darkness in my room, I noticed a shadow at the foot of my bed. I blinked again, and there stood the same man I have seen on previous occasions, dressed in battle armor, his hands resting atop each other before him, on the hilt of his sword. “What is the meaning of what I just dreamt?” I asked, somehow knowing he had come to give me the interpretation. “What you heard”, he began, “were the chariots of war, and they are swiftly approaching. A new war is coming, but it will be unlike this present one. Speak as you have spoken, pray as you have prayed, and walk as you have walked for dark days will soon come upon the land to which you are returning. Even now their enemies plot, even now their enemies unite under one banner, and soon they will make their intentions known to the world. There is no refuge but in the Father, and He will guide and protect those who know His voice”. (And confess His promises.) I blinked again, and the man was gone, and I was left to ponder the words I had heard. I struggled with whether I should make this dream public, for I know the reaction that some will have to it, and the last thing I desire is to stir fear in the heart of any man. After much prayer I felt I was supposed to publish the dream, and though some may receive it as a reason to fear, the true children of God will receive it for what it was, the forewarning of a loving Father, preparing His children for what is to come. God's desire for us is not ignorance, but rather knowledge, that we may prepare our hearts, in prayer and fasting, that we may draw closer to Him, that we make Him our place of refuge long before hardship forces us to seek one. The wise man prepares, while the foolhardy is caught unaware. Jeremiah 19:15 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words. Terrorists Hiding in the States Michael Boldea Jr. - May 5, 2003 I dreamt I was on a very high ridge, with a great valley spanning out beneath me. The night was calm, the moon and stars shining brightly in the sky. As I looked around trying to get my bearings, I was stunned to see my grandfather (Dumitru Duduman) standing next to me. He looked young and vibrant, his hands in his pockets, and a smile on his face. “Interesting times ahead my boy, interesting times ahead”, he said. For a minute I was so shocked I couldn't say anything. Finally I blurted out the only thing that came to mind, “They have been interesting ever since you left. Trial after trial, hardship after hardship”. “Now you know how Jesus felt when He walked the earth”, he answered, “always doing good, always in the Father's will, yet always mocked and rejected, always misunderstood and despised. Besides, it was all a test anyway”. “A test of what?” I asked. “For you personally, God wanted to see if you would stay true to your calling even when all seemed lost. He was preparing you and purging you, refining you, for the time when He will use you, and speak to you as He spoke to me”. Before I could say anything, he lifted his hand to stop me. His fingers were no longer crooked from his arthritis, they were straight, and normal. “I know what you're going to say my boy, it's not what you want, it's not what you asked for. But you should know by now it is the task you were chosen for. In this you have no choice, besides where can you hide from the face of God? Men have tried before, look how it turned out in the end. To reject what God has planned for you is to deny God. You know what the consequences are”. Unable to find the words to answer, I simply nodded my understanding and allowed him to continue speaking. “As for why the ministry had to go through what it went through, God has already spoken that to your heart. You already know the answer. God wants all that know of this work, to be certain of one thing. It is He who sustains it; it is He who blesses it, and not the hands of men or their gimmicks. Do you think any of it would still be here after all that has happened if not for God? Never doubt Gods promises concerning this work, or His ability to fulfill them. Hope in God never disappoints; hope in man always leads to disillusionment.” (Amen. God has been preparing and sanctifying His Reformers to be leaders for the soon coming tribulation.) “Now for the reason I am here. I was sent to show you something. Look and see”, he said, pointing down to the valley below. As I looked, I saw the outline of a map of America then the outlines of states began taking shape. As I continued to watch this map solidify, small lights began to flicker on and off in some of the states. I recognized California, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, Washington State, Florida, and New York, among the states that lit up. The light was rhythmic, almost like a homing beacon, constant in its progression. I continued watching the lights go on and off, waiting for something else to happen, but nothing did. Finally I said, “I don't understand. What does this mean?” “These are the places where those who were sent here long ago, to bring fear and cause chaos, have situated themselves. They lay in waiting, planning and plotting destruction. They are as coiled serpents, looking forward to the hour when they will be loosed upon this nation. If God's children pray, once more will He delay the season of sorrow that is yet to come”. (I believe He has done this.) We stood on the ridge in silence for a long time. After a while the lights stopped flickering in the valley below, and the map began to fade away. Suddenly my grandfather turned his head toward the east, and began to sniff the air as he used to do. “Storms coming my boy, and it's a bad one”, he said. “Now give an old man a hug and let me be on my way. Be vigilant and work while you still can, it's all God asks of any of His servants. If the Father wills it, we will speak again”. As I hugged my grandfather, I began to hear the rumbling of a great storm. The sky darkened overhead, and the booming of thunder was now audible. In my dream I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was in my bed, awake. I wiped at my cheeks with the back of my hand, and realized I had been crying. As my eyes began to adjust to the dark, I saw that my wife was sitting up in bed, staring at me. When I asked her why she wasn't sleeping, she said I'd been talking in my sleep for over thirty minutes. I tried going back to sleep but sleep would not come. Finally I gave up trying, went into the kitchen and prayed until morning. Over the past few days, I have spent much time in prayer as to whether I should share this dream or not. I believe that I am supposed to. My prayer is that no one would perceive it as a reason for fear, but rather a reason to hope. God hears the prayers of His children, and as long as He encourages us to pray, we must do so without reservation. The day will come, a day I anticipate with great dread, when God will speak to His children as He spoke to Jeremiah, and say do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry for them any longer. For now, while we still can, may we ceaselessly bring our petitions before the Lord. Our Secret Place of Safety David Eells Everyone is looking for the place of safety in the tribulations to come. One man says the safe place is to be with the Ark of the Covenant, which is said to be in a Chapel next to St Mary of Zion, Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Axum, Ethiopia. I believe that Solomon gave a copy of the Ark to the Queen of Sheba who carried it there. Be that as it may; God no longer dwells in houses made by men, so the ark is a relic. (Acts 7:47) But Solomon built him (God) a house. (48) Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in [houses] made with hands. That just tells us that the ark in the temple was just a type and shadow of Jesus in His body. As He said, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one” (Jn.17:23). God now dwells in the ark of Christ and Christ now dwells in the Body of Christ. In us He is the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] a golden pot holding the manna (of the Word in us), and Aaron's rod that budded (a sign of the authority of the High Priest in us), and the tables of the covenant (of the law written on our heart) (Heb.9:4). The presence of the Ark ensured Israel of victory and protection. When the Philistines captured the Ark it brought a curse on them so terrible that they sent it home with an offering. On the other hand Jesus said in (Mat.5:13) Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. Another brother asked me if I thought the Christians will flee for safety to the city of Petra in Jordan. I told him that I thought Petra would be far too small to accommodate them and it would be a natural trap where they could be wiped out. I do believe that some natural Jews will find shelter in Petra, which is the Greek word for “rock”. However, spiritual Jews who are circumcised in heart, have the spiritual Rock of Jesus as a place of safety. Jesus said that standing on Him was the place where Hell had no power over us. (Mat.16:18) And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter (Gr: “Petros”, meaning a piece of the rock), and upon this rock (Greek: Petra) I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus is our rock of safety. Peter himself said that Jesus was the Rock that we are to be founded on. (1Pet.2:5) ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (7) For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; (8) and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. The disobedient stumble through unbelief in the Word and so are not founded on the Rock. Judgment will take them away wherever they hide. Those who are obedient to the Word through faith are on the safety of the Rock. (Mat.7:24) Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: (25) and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. (26) And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: (27) and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. The apostate churches belittle obedience to the Word because of their unbelief. We don't stand on the Rock in our own strength but our faith gives us God's strength. My wife had a dream of me after we first became Christians. She saw me standing on a Rock in the middle of the ocean. I had leg braces on like crippled people wear to strengthen their legs. I perceived that the Rock was Christ or the Word and the ocean was the curse as was the flood. In our own strength we are crippled and not able to stand on the Word, but the filling of His Spirit and faith in His promises empowers us to be what we normally are not. It has come to me that only the rich in a time of economic collapse and wrath would be able to fly to the city of Petra, but salvation is for the poor. No amount of money can buy us safety, because it is not a place but a state of being. (Pr.11:4) Riches profit not in the day of wrath; but righteousness delivereth from death. (6) The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them; But the treacherous shall be taken in their own iniquity. Faith in the Lord makes Him our secret refuge. (Psa.91:1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Notice the confession that puts us on the Rock. (2) I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust. The secret place of safety will be hidden to many who are only called “Christian” but the righteous are safe right in the middle of judgment. (7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; [But] it shall not come nigh thee. (8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, And see the reward of the wicked. (The good confession that puts us in safety.) 9 For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge! Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. God's angels will protect the righteous wherever they are. (11) For he will give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. (12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. They do this for the righteous who believe. (Gal.3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (14) that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus. A friend of mine had a very clear dream about the coming invasion of America. He said everyone in the Gulf States was fleeing toward the north to get as far away from the invading army as possible. He was going to get on a shuttle and go too, but the Lord told him to give his place to someone else and sent him and his family into a local city that had been nuked. He had no fear of the radiation or the enemy. It is obvious that God's people will not need to follow the world's example. Paul was not hiding but sharing the Gospel in the most effective time to do so. He said, “[in] journeyings often, [in] perils of rivers, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils from [my] countrymen, [in] perils from the Gentiles, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren” (2 Cor.11:26). The Lord told me that this time represented the second 3½ years of the tribulation period. Paul also said, “what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2Tim.3:11). He also said, “But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his heavenly kingdom” (2Tim.4:17,18). If one is called to be a martyr, they will have the protection of God until their testimony is finished and even then only their flesh will be given up for a sacrifice. (Rev.11:7) And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. Agree with the Blessed Provisions David We are in a battle which can be won by those who will speak the Word of the Lord and confess His promises for safety and provision. The Bible tells us that Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Pro.18:21). Let's look at how we can cooperate with God in the process of sanctification so that we are those who speak life and partake of the benefits of the Kingdom and able to give them to others. (Jas.3:8) But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] a restless evil, [it is] full of deadly poison. (9) Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God: (10) out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. (11) Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening [sweet water] and bitter? (12) can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? neither [can] salt water yield sweet. We want to learn by the grace of God to bring forth those “sweet waters” so that we will not suffer with the wicked. When Moses and the children of Israel came up to Marah, meaning “bitterness” (Exo 15:22-25), they couldn't drink the water. God commanded that a tree be cast into the waters so that they would be made sweet. Marah represents the bitter waters of the fountain, or mouth, which were cured by the tree, representing the Cross. The Cross has conquered our tongue and has given us this gift of the sweet waters so we can bring forth blessings, instead of the cursings, out of this spring of our mouth. Believe this. The Bible also tells us, The heart of the wise instructeth his mouth, And addeth learning to his lips (Pro.16:23). So we want to educate ourselves to be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath (Jas.1:19). We need to think about what we are saying and disagree with the devil because he tempts us to speak the things under the curse and not the things of the Kingdom. The Lord is helping us and He has already conquered the tongue, which no man can tame, but the Lord can through His Word and promises. Jesus was the sacrifice Who gave us a new tongue through the reconciliation. It says in (Jos.1:6) Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their father to give them. (7) Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. Notice that God said that Joshua (Hebrew: “Jesus”) was going to cause His people to be brought into their inherited Promised Land. This land belongs to us, not every Pagen alien they can invade us with and we will win this battle with them. We know that the Promised Land is also us. Heb 6:7-8 For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: 8 but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. Jesus bore this curse let us confess Him before men. The Son of God is being manifested in His people. (Col.1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is a product of the Word of God being assimilated in our life and mouth; Christ is the Word of God (John 1:14). He saved us from our enemies. (Luk.1:70-74) (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old), 71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ...74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear, You crucify the spiritual man when you walk and talk in the flesh and for those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit and enlightened, who have tasted of the heavenly gift, this will become a curse unto them. (Heb.6:7) For the land which hath drunk the rain (Those who have partaken of the Word from heaven.) that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. The word “rejected” is adokimos, meaning, specifically, “reprobated.” The apostle Paul said that he kept his body under control if, perhaps, after he had preached to others, he himself would be “rejected” or “reprobated” (1Co 9:27). This has been demonstrated to us. God doesn't reprobate land; He reprobates people. The Bible is very plain; in the original Greek, we are God's “tilled land” (1Co.3:9). God wants to plow this earth, our natural life, and plant His seed in the midst of it, bringing forth the fruit of Jesus Christ in us. The land that Joshua wants to cause us to inherit is referring to our new fruit and life. Part of that is our bold faith. The spiritual man, the Israelite, is to conquer this land with the edge of the Sword, the Word of God. The spiritual man is to take the land from the enemy, the Canaanite and live in his house, our body, and plant his crop and bear the fruit of the spiritual man. (Jos.1:7) Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. Notice that turning to the right or left would cause failure to take our Promised Land from the enemies. I had a dream many years ago where I was standing on a mountain, looking down into a valley and a road that went down the side of this mountain. The road had a ditch or trench down the middle of it. I was in a car, with one set of tires on one side of the trench and the other set on the other side, going down this road to the bottom of the mountain. I realized I couldn't turn to the right or the left because, if I did, two wheels would fall into the trench and that would be the end of any progress; I wouldn't go any farther. I steered very carefully, not to the right and not to the left, as I went down this mountain. Let us speak what the Word says about us. The Lord gave me the understanding afterward that this mountain represented the kingdom of the world – man, self or the old life. I was to navigate this road and not turn to the right or left, until I got off of this mountain. As soon as I was at the bottom, I immediately realized that there were enemies everywhere. To the extent that we humble ourselves to the Word of God, going down the mountain of “self,” the more enemies we will have, even religious enemies or so-called “Christian” enemies. (2Ti.3:12) … All that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But as we hold fast to the confession of our hope the enemies will be conquered as our faction was and the political faction shall be. (Luk10:19) 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. Most of the persecution toward Jesus and the disciples came from the people who called themselves the “people of God” but were not. When I got to the bottom and knew that the enemy was everywhere, I went under a bush and there I found tools that I picked up, and treated them as if they were treasure. These tools were hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches and so on. The Lord later revealed to me that these tools represented the authority to bind and loose (Mat 18:18), as all of these tools do. The Lord made me to know I was coming to a time, when under the bush, I was going to manifest more of this authority. Let us bind our enemies in the name of Jesus. At the time of the burning bush, Moses was given authority to go into Egypt to act for the Lord. I've been binding and loosing for many years but I believe that we're coming to a time of real power from God. It's only going to come to those who humble themselves and don't turn to the right or to the left, but stay on God's road, a self-crucifying path of obedience to the Word of God. When I picked up these tools, I went up another mountain, which represented Mount Zion. I went through the front doors of a great temple, which I believe represented the New Jerusalem on Mount Zion and I saw Jesus sitting on His throne. I went over and sat down next to Him, as He said that overcomers would do. (Rev.3:21) He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. This is the throne of dominion over our enemies. As I was speaking with Jesus, I heard people trying to come into the throne room by a back way and not through the door that I had come through. Jesus is the door in John 10:1. Jesus saw these people and said, “Don't worry about them; they can't come in here.” So these were people looking for “throne room” authority but they wouldn't humble themselves to the Word of God personally. The Pharisees only had physical authority as in our day. God will give authority only to those who overcome according to Rev 2:26. Back to (Jos.1:8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. The spiritual man speaks the Word so that as you walk, it will bring good success when conquering our Promised Land for the Lord. The first fruits are approaching this point. We must speak according to God's promises, even in the midst of the fiery trial. As Christians, we “calleth the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17). We speak the things we have according to promise and not according to what we see in the world. This is how we change the things around us. This is God's plan. We let the Word, or our agreement with the Word in what we say, come from our mouth so that we may have good success in conquering our Promised Land. Further on in Joshua, we see that he is still leading the people of God to conquer their Promised Land in order to put to death their enemies there. In this particular case, the head of God's people, Joshua, is conquering the Amorites. (Jos.10:12) Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. I believe God is showing us here to what extent He would go to give our enemy into our hands, if we would speak the Word with boldness. (Jos.10:8) And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thy hands; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. On a personal and spiritual level that “man” He was referring to was the old man who lived in the Promised Land of our life before the new man took possession. He represented the lusts of the flesh, which would not be able to stand. On a physical and political level it would be the DS and their invading army. Joshua and the children of Israel were having victory over the Amorites but they were running out of time. Remember, the Lord said that if we confess Him before men, He shall confess us before the Father in Mat 10:32. Likewise, Joshua confessed in the sight of Israel. He was bold and full of faith and he spoke it right in front of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon (Jos.10:12). (13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. Now at first, I thought God just stopped Earth from spinning, but I later realized that the moon stayed in the same relative position as the sun and Earth didn't spin. It's possible the whole solar system had stopped. This is a very dangerous thing to do, unless you also control the rest of the universe. Things would tend toward collision down the road somewhere. Can you imagine that God stopped the solar system and more, just so Israel could conquer their enemy? What kind of other big miracle can you imagine that God would do for us to give us victory over our enemy? God gave the Israelites an awesome victory over their enemies! Of course, they needed the time and, for a whole day, the system was frozen. We have all heard of NASA finding the missing day so they could calculate where things would be at a certain time. People claim that God only did that back then and does not do that today, simply because of the verse right after it. (Jos.10:14) And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. Well, the Lord still hearkens unto our voice, for many people speak miracles today and they come to pass as they did in the Bible long after Joshua. The key here is “voice of a man” The creation now hearkens to the voice of God through man. Jesus said, the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life (Joh.6:63), meaning they are His Spirit and His life. In other words, it's the life of God living in us; it's the spiritual man who speaks in agreement with the Word of God. Also, it is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph.6:17). Therefore, it's not as if God is hearkening unto the voice of a man, but He is hearkening unto the voice of His sons. That spiritual man in us is not man, but God. The Son of God is manifesting in His people speaking His Words out of us. When we come into agreement with the Word, we can be trusted. The Lord said, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you (Joh.15:7). Why? The Word in you is trustworthy to God. If you fill yourself up with the Word and you desire earnestly to walk in agreement with it, God says you're trustworthy. A long time after Joshua, the Lord wrote this: (Isa.45:11) Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. Does God really do that? When you command something to be done, like when His disciples commanded healings, deliverances, provision and so on, God fulfilled it. God gave them the authority, which is the right to use power and it's what we do when we speak in agreement with the Word of God. In effect, what we are doing is commanding God, since He said that if we do, He will do it and Jesus said the same. Psalm 8 was spoken concerning the natural Adam and his seed, but also in type to spiritual Adam, Jesus Christ, and His seed. (Psa.8:6) Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet. This was said of man and the Son of man. Jesus said that God had given Him authority because He is son of man (Joh.5:27). Man was given authority on the earth but when Adam sinned, he lost that authority to Satan. However, we gained it back through Jesus Christ because He was faithful. We now have this authority over the works of God's hands when we speak in agreement with the Word of God and He fulfills it. (Lam.3:37) Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? The next thing we see in Joshua is that they went after the five kings who were ruling the Promised Land. (Jos.10:16) And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. (17) And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah. (18) And Joshua said, Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: (19) but stay not ye; pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand. The first thing they did was trap the five kings in the cave and then they rolled great stones over the mouth of the cave. Adam was created from the dust of the earth and this old man is earthly, but as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (1Co.15:49). We are both earthly and heavenly, a spiritual man of the heavens and the carnal man of the earth represented by this cave in the earth. The carnal man of the earth has a mouth and here it's called “the mouth of the cave.” The Lord made the spiritual men roll these great stones over the mouth of the cave. The five kings represent the five senses and the spiritual man put stones, which represent the Word, over the mouth so the carnal senses are not permitted to speak and bring a curse. The Bible says that senses must be exercised by the Word of God so that we understand the difference between good and evil. (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. Born-again people have born-again senses. As spiritual men, we must have spiritual senses. Our carnal senses trap and rule over us and our land when we live according to what we see, hear and feel as the old man and the world does. God teaches us how to spiritually see in (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue. We see that God has already provided us everything that pertains unto life and godliness! Now you have the eyes of a dove (Son 1:15). You have the eyes of the Spirit when you begin to see that the promises are true, but the world is transitory. (2Pe.1:4) Whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises (the stones at the mouth of the cave); that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. Having eyes to see, we can partake of God's nature. We will have spiritual eyes, ears, touch, spiritual smell (or discernment), spiritual taste and words. We've been given these spiritual gifts that enable the spiritual man to take over. The Israelites had captured the five kings who ruled the Promised Land in a cave and they closed up the mouth with great stones. And we know, Jesus is the Stone; He's the Rock which is the Word of God. These great stones represent the great promises of the Word of God. We're adding learning to our lips, which are the “mouth of the cave.” When we study the Word of God, we learn and see what we are supposed to say and what we're not supposed to say. It gives us restraint to not say things that would permit a curse upon our life. The Israelites had to conquer the Promised Land, and conquer these kings that ruled over the carnal man and bring the curse upon him. And this is what the parable points to – rolling out those stones in front of the mouth. (Eph.4:29) Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying (building-up) as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear. We can see that we can apply many verses when speaking of conquering the DS with all their invaders who are getting ready to overthrow this land we live in. Just a couple come quickly to mind. (Mat.18:18-19) Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. And (Mar.11:23-24) Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. These will come in useful when the invaders rise up. If we see and walk in the Spirit, then we speak in agreement with the Spirit. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Our nature is changed by the Word of God when …we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. (2Co 3:18) When we see a need, such as someone living under the curse, we should speak truth with grace to them to overcome, grace to meet that need, whatever it may be. When we speak according to the Kingdom, we are meeting someone's need for God and His benefits. Saving this country from the invaders to whatever extent God permits is a need. They will be permitted to persecute the apostate Church for it is in rebellion to the Word of our covenant. (Col.3:17) And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, [do] all in the name (Greek: “nature, character and authority”) of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Do everything as if you are representing Him because you are an ambassador of Christ (2Co 5:20), so speak His words to this world and His enemies. We're called to confess Him before men always and to speak in His name. (1Pe.4:11) If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, [ministering] as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. When we speak as an oracle of God, that is His Word coming out of us, we're letting the spiritual man, who is in communication with God through our spirit, do the speaking. We don't let the carnal man, the flesh, do the speaking. To walk holy is to walk separate. The Greek word for “holy” is the same word for “sanctified” and it means “separate”; that is, separated from the world, from sin, separated unto God. We speak His words, think His thoughts and we do His works because He lives in us. The more we do that, the more we grow in holiness. It's the place of Holiness, preservation and provision. Without holiness, no man can see the Lord (Heb 12:14). Holiness is what we grow in when we bear the fruit of Jesus Christ. It is separation from the old man, who is moved and ruled by the carnal senses, unto the new man, who is ruled according to the spiritual senses. Now let's go to (Isa.11:2) And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (3) And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; (4) but with righteousness shall he judge the poor (This is poor in the things of the Kingdom), and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (5) And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. He's talking about Christ in His first-fruits Man-child in the end-time who will not walk according to the carnal senses because he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears (Isa.11:3). Instead, we are to have our senses exercised to discern good from evil (Heb 5:14) by the Word of God, which is the washing of water with the word (Eph.5:26). As our senses are exercised, we begin to see and hear spiritually; we begin to hear and speak the Voice of the Spirit. It's similar to when David went to slay Goliath, the giant in the land. He went to the brook and pulled out those five smooth stones that were exercised by the washing of the water, which represents the Word. He took only one of those stones and he felled Goliath (1Sa 17). David spoke it to him ahead of time, declaring that he would take off Goliath's head and feed him to the birds. That's very bold! And because David spoke it, that's exactly what he did. The stone, or sense, that David was using was the tongue. The tongue senses tastes but it also speaks the Word. David conquered Goliath because he had spiritual senses. Now we can return to Joshua. He told the Israelites to go after their enemies, since the five kings were already trapped in the cave and closed off with the stones. Now they were able to conquer those whom the kings had ruled over. (Jos.10:20) And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, (21) that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. (22) Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth those five kings unto me out of the cave. (23) And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon. (24) And it came to pass, when they brought forth those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the chiefs of the men of war that went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. They let them out of the cave and they had to keep them from speaking, so they put their feet on their necks. It reminds me of the dream I've shared before about being in a war with a giant and not letting the old man speak. When he did, he said, “Bigger, bigger, bigger!” We have a lot of giants around us – a lot of big problems and a lot of big enemies. But we can't let the old man, whom I captured in the dream and who was in bondage to me, speak out of our mouth. I didn't want to let him speak because the old man has the authority to make the situation worse and make the enemy stronger and bigger. I refused him and demanded that the giant be reduced, saying, “No! Smaller, smaller, smaller.” Similarly, the Israelites put their feet on the kings' necks, causing the five senses to not speak or to rule over the body. (Jos.10:25) And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. (Notice, you speak the Word and the Lord will do it. In Rev.12:11, the devil and his angels were cast down by the “word of their testimony” of the saints.) (26) And afterward Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. Notice that all of our enemies, firstly our old man, will be conquered in this way. Father said against Babylon in Jer.51:3 …Utterly destroy all her army. We are not permitted to wrestle with flesh nor use fleshly weapons but to “resist not” and if opportunity arises we are to preach Christ to them. But we have authority over all their power and that includes the principalities and powers. (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. As an example to us, before Jesus' time of crucifixion, when the Jews sought to throw him off a cliff, he just passed through their midst unharmed. I was shot at by an assassin from close range and my angel made the bullet disappear. A tractor back blade was thrown straight at my head by a demon, while Michael watched, but all I felt was a finger on my nose pushing me to the ground with zero pain. That was just ahead of the blade. Michael was sure it had hit and killed me. My tractor wheel fell into a hole and the tractor was flipping into a gully. I was looking straight down at the ground when the tractor uprighted with me stuck in the seat. It was a work of our satanists. Several other times I escaped them. (Luk.1:68) ...For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people... 71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us...74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear. Jesus Christ was hanged upon a tree, or cross, and they wanted to take Him down before evening, too. Jesus also was buried in a cave. So why is God applying this to the senses of the old man? (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. That includes our five senses. The Lord has already taken care of this problem when He was crucified on that tree and you were crucified with Him. You have been given this gift of the new man, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified (Heb.10:14). We walk in the spirit according to these divine senses that are attuned to the Kingdom of Heaven. These senses see how to walk in the Kingdom. It comes quite naturally to us to walk in the world but it comes supernaturally to us to walk in the Kingdom; that is, to have our senses exercised by the Word of God to see and hear the way God sees and hears, and to smell, or discern, the way God does. It is also to have our emotions in communication with God. We have the victory over the old man and his senses because he's dead and the new man, Who is Jesus Christ, lives in you. Because of your faith and speaking that faith, God will bring it to pass. He will do it through our faith and not by our works. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. Father, we pray that You will (Psa.141:3) Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. Amen. So we know that in the Kingdom of Heaven, there is singing, praise, worship and thanksgiving to the Lord our King. When we do this, we are bringing more of His Kingdom down here to earth. (Mat.6:10) We have ‘authority over all the power of the enemy' (Luk.10:19). We have power in praise. When we praise the Lord, He gives us the victory! Worship and Praise Vines Expository Dictionary on the Greek word Worship: “to make obeisance, do reverence to” (from pros, “towards”, and kuneo, “to kiss”), is the most frequent word rendered “to worship”. It is used of an act of homage or reverence. In other words, worship is an act of love toward God. Father is looking for those who worship Him with their all: (Joh.4:21) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. (22) Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. (23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. (24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth. There is much fake worship -- words without heart and spirit. Worship is the way to bring God's presence: (Psa.100:1) Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah, all ye lands. (2) Serve Jehovah with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. (3) Know ye that Jehovah, he is God: It is he that hath made us, and we are his; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Give thanks unto him, and bless his name. (5) For Jehovah is good; His lovingkindness endureth forever, And his faithfulness unto all generations. Worship reveals our love and admiration for God and He knows it: (1Ch.29:11) Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Jehovah, and thou art exalted as head above all. Praise Him everywhere, with a new song that comes from your heart, and dancing and with all instruments and enemies will be conquered: (Psa.149:1) Praise ye Jehovah. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, And his praise in the assembly of the saints. (2) Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. (3) Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with timbrel and harp. (4) For Jehovah taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation. (5) Let the saints exult in glory: Let them sing for joy upon their beds. (This will bind our enemies works against us.) (7) To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples; (8) To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; (9) To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah. (Children can conquer enemies in worship.) Psa 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. (150:1) Praise ye Jehovah. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power. (2) Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness. (3) Praise him with trumpet sound: Praise him with psaltery and harp. (4) Praise him with timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe. (5) Praise him with loud cymbals: Praise him with high sounding cymbals. (6) Let everything that hath breath praise Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah. It is the will of the Lord to worship in songs and hymns: (Eph.5:17) Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (18) And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; 19 speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; (20) giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; We give thanks to God; this is a secret of power because we believe we have already received what we asked, right? Praise (meaning “brag on”) Him to everyone: (1Ch.16:23) Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth; Show forth his salvation from day to day. (24) Declare his glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples. (25) For great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all gods. (26) For all the gods of the peoples are idols: But Jehovah made the heavens. (27) Honor and majesty are before him: Strength and gladness are in his place. (28) Ascribe unto Jehovah, ye kindreds of the peoples, Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength; (29) Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name: Bring an offering, and come before him: Worship Jehovah in holy array. (30) Tremble before him, all the earth: The world also is established that it cannot be moved. (31) Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth. We are taught to worship, praise and pray with hands lifted up to the Lord: (1Ti.2:8) I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. (Psa.63:4) So will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. (Lam.3:41) Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. (Neh.8:6) and Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground. Why lifting up hands? Offering our hands to the Lord for His works and to conquer His enemies: (Exo.17:9) And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. (10) So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. (11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (12) But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. (13) And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Worship and praise will conquer overwhelming enemies: (2Ch.20:17) Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: to-morrow go out against them: for Jehovah is with you. (18) And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah. (19) And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. (20) And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. (21) And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth forever. (22) And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (The angels will smite the enemies in the land.) Worship to bind the enemy and their kings: (Psa.149:6) Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand; (7) To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples; (The Lord is doing this.) (8) To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; (9) To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah. Because judgment and enemies are near, fear God and worship Him: (Rev.14:7) and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters. (Dan.3:16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. (17) If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. (18) But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (2Ki.17:38) and the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods: (39) but Jehovah your God shall ye fear; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. We can clap and shout our triumph over our enemies. Triumph is celebrating the victory before we see it: (Psa.47:1) Oh clap your hands, all ye peoples; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. (Jos.6:20) So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets; and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Praise in Hebrew is “Hallal”, meaning brag on the Lord. Give credit or ascribe to the Lord: (Psa.29:1) Ascribe unto Jehovah, O ye sons of the mighty, Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength. (2) Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name; Worship Jehovah in holy array. (3) The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters: The God of glory thundereth, Even Jehovah upon many waters. (4) The voice of Jehovah is powerful; The voice of Jehovah is full of majesty. (5) The voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars; Yea, Jehovah breaketh in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. When we speak in agreement with the Word of God, we are giving “voice” to the Word and the angels hearken to His voice. (Psa.103:20) Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word, Hearkening unto the voice of his word. Amen!
In the sixteenth stanza of Psalm 119, we look to God to give us Himself as the pledge that He will act to fulfill His righteous promise. He deals with us according to His steadfast love, and so we long for His appointed time to bring about His salvation. In this confidence, we love His Words as the most valuable thing of all. Rev. Sean Daenzer, Director of Worship for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and chaplain for the International Center in St. Louis, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 119:121-128. "God's Word Is Our Great Heritage” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Psalm 119. As this longest Psalm takes us through an acrostic journey through the Hebrew alphabet, our God teaches us to find joy, refuge, strength, and life in His Word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Parsha "Ki Tetzi," (Devarim or Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19) is not only one of the most NOT-PC parashot in the Torah, but the fact that it IS should tell us exactly where things stand, on the Road to Judgment. For example, the very first segment, often called the 'war bride,' sounds like something that 'modern feminism' would call barbaric. Until they see the alternative. Perhaps much sooner that they expect. The fact is, His Word does not "oppress" women, it protects them. The Erev Shabbat reading literally lays out the case for the fact that the lessons here have become to UNPALATABLE to a nation that despises His Word that it is literally "jonesin' fer judgment." https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SSM-9-13-24-Ki-Tetzi-teaching-podcast-xxx.mp3 But that is just the beginning. WARNING: This is yet another reading in the continuing series that you will NOT hear in sun-god-day school. Which is again why what He RREALY says will surprise some. Which in itself is another commentary on the "lies we have inherited from our fathers." Only this world doesn't. Not even close. And that is why this reading should be such a jarring "eye-opener." iterally lays out the case for judgment, based on what the Whore Church as done not only IN SPITE of His Word, but TO it. In the Sabbath day midrash, Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa literally lays out the case for judgment, based on what the Whore Church as done not only IN SPITE of His Word, but TO it. In the process, it is illustrative to see just how much of the 'rhetorical device' Yahushua used in the Sermon on the Mount, His very first public address, comes right from this parsha. And how, immediately after He warned about teaching that even "the least of" His commandments can be broken, so many translations have done EXACTLY that with His Words. From marriage, to money, this is one that goes to the very heart of what is wrong with a nation, and a world, which hates His Word. Ki Tetzi: "Jonesin' fer Judgment." Which commandments have we NOT been taught to break?" https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WT-CooH-9-14-24-Ki-Tetzi-Its-SO-NOT-PC-Jonesin-fer-Judgment-podcast-xxx.mp3 The combined two-part teaching is here:
Jesus' words transform. When we encounter Jesus we are not left on unchanged. His Words make the blind see and the deaf hear and can change the human heart! In Mark 7:31-37 we see the power of Jesus' words to transform in the life of a blind and mute man.
Faith, Grace, Election, & Predestination - -----rahardin.com; Bio, Videos, RadioMy Books: Amazon.com/Richard-A-Hardin/e/B09J2YHCVB (Check them out! Approx-$5)Weekly: M-F, 7-8AM, Sat-Sun, 6-8AM (CST); Richard Hardin, POBox 45684, OKC, OK 73145;**Changes must start in the "House of God." Christianity must clean up its confused, mixed-up beliefs to be Ambassadors of God's Pure Word, for God will only back up His Pure Word, Proverbs 30:5-6, "Every Word of God is Pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. (6) Add thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a Liar!"****Teachings of faith and grace are filled with error and confusion. And, calvinism's (Reformed Theology) election and predestination is a lie of the devil to deny the work of Jesus on the cross. Ephesians 4:4 states that we should have one Spirit, one Body, one faith..." Mathew 25:41, Jesus states, "Then shall He (the King) say unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels..." People go to hell and the lake of fire because they personally reject Jesus, not because God has predestined them to go to hell before their birth. And 1 Timothy 2:4, "Who (God) will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." We must each make a personal choice to receive the Spirit of Jesus(Christ) into our hearts! And after we do we will be held accountable to our Lord and Savior to share with others about the great Grace He has paid for on the cross for each of us! The Apostle Paul says for us to not receive the Grace of God in vain, or don't keep it to ourself as a secret! Share with others and especially with each family member. Get each to share their changed heart salvation experience, don't just hope they are saved just because they are nice and go to church, that is deadly. on @KLRNRadio.com 7AM Tue #GPWF #Christian or rahardin.com (Pods)SPECIAL NOTICE:The Supreme Court Decision of the Church of Holy Trinity vs United States, Feb 29, 1892. "These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."143 U.S. 457; 12 S. Ct 511; 36 L.Ed 226; Feb 29, 1892. Pass it on, Please!
Fr. Roger J. Landry Columbia Catholic Ministry, Notre Dame Church, Manhattan Tuesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church September 3, 2024 1 Cor 2:10-16, Ps 145, Lk 4:31-37 To listen to an audio recording of this homily, please click below: […] The post Remaining Astonished by Jesus, His Words and His Works, 22nd Tuesday (II), September 3, 2024 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.
We Must Seek God's Pure's Word/Will! -rahardin.com; Bio, Pods,Videos--Proverbs 30:5,6-"Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Books: Amazon.com/Richard-A-Hardin/e/B09J2YHCVB ----Wed - 7AM CST-- Are you seeking and hoping to find God's perfect will about some specific area of very important concern? Listen to how Abraham's chief servant found God's perfect will to find Abraham' son, Isaac, God's perfect wife. Neither Abraham or Isaac were involved in the search for his wife, yet Isaac received God's special choice for him to marry Rebekah. This story shows the servant's dedication to finding God's perfect will and woman for his master's son, Isaac. Wouldn't it be neat if we all knew that God had handpicked our mates before we got married? God does have a special calling on each of our lives, and that includes a special mate(helpmate) to help us fulfill His calling.If you are seeking a mate, job, or whatever special calling of service, set yourself to seek God's will daily where you are, and you will meet someone else seeking God's special calling for their life. The two of you will soon realize that the two of you can help each other with your callings. On @KLRNRadio.com 7AM Tue #GPWF #Christian or anytime at rahardin.comSUPREME COURT DECISION, CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY VS UNITED STATES;1892."These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian Nation." 143 U.S. 457; 12 S. Ct 511; 36 L. Ed 226; Feb 29, 1892. So, The USA is a Christian Nation!!
Preachers #3 --Fri--Preachers Do Not go to Seminaries or other religious schools to learn God's Pure Word: they go to learn how to preach & teach the Bible according to their chosen religious denomination or group. -rahardin.com, Videos, Podcasts ---- *Richard Hardin, POBox 45684, OKC, OK 73145- Amazon.com/Richard-A-Hardin/e/B09J2YHCVB**God is not backing up our confused, mixed-up Christian community. Many denominational beliefs are opposite other denominations, and what they are teaching each call the "The Christian World View." God doesn't tell groups these mixed up beliefs! It is the devil's confusion. Our secular ungodly society is showing the failure of our Christian Ungodly Society to teach and live the Pure Word of God.****I name ministers/ teachings they have about grace, mercy, and charity, etc. I am just quoting what they pay thousands of dollars to say over TV and radio, so they should appreciate me telling you what they believe, but they might not like me pointing out their teaching is opposite what the Bible says. Some of these men have spent years teaching “their” gospel, their “grace,” their "faith," which is filled with errors. These errors are why God is not backing up our Christian Society in our country, for Proverbs 30:5-6 states, “Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. ADD thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” We are found liars when we misquote God's Word because He will not support or back up what we say. Our “Christian Society” is filled with liars! Listen on KLRNRadio.com 7AM CST #GPWF #Christian or anytime at rahardin.com, RadioSupreme Court Decision: Church of Holy Trinity vs United States; Feb 29, 1892."THESE AND MANY OTHER MATTERS WHICH MIGHT BE NOTICED, ADD A VOLUME OF UNOFFICIAL DECLARATIONS TO THE MASS OF ORGANIC UTTERANCES THAT THIS IS A CHRISTIAN NATION." 143 U.S. 457; 12 S. Ct. 511; 36 L. Ed. 226; Feb 29, 1892. Please Pass It On!
Richard Hardin's GPWF: Mercy, Grace, Charity, -(Works Of God!) Three of the most important words in the Bible for Christians to understand! - My Books: Amazon.com/Richard-A-Hardin/e/B09J2YHCVB Clarifies Mercy, Grace & Charity!***It may surprise you but Mercy, Grace, and Charity are not different kinds of Love! They are ways that God Who is Love comes to us in different ways and relates with us! For example: The Water that comes to your house from the main city water line is divided up when it gets to your house and goes many different paths; to the bath tub, commodes, to the kitchen sinks, to the refrigerator, to the hot water heater, etc. Now when you have a problem and want to identify it to the plumber, you say the commode water won't flush, or the hot water heater is not heating, the bath water will not turn on, and identify to the plumber the area of problem. The water is the same in all these areas. Mercy, Grace and Charity are the same Love of God (God), and it is God (God is Love),(Jesus is God the Same Love, and their Words are the Spirit of God, working or moving in different ways to us or thru us, but it is the same Spirit of God(His Words) in all cases because we only have one God and one Spirit of God! Charity is the same actions of God working with or in people which is described differently by the Apostle Paul who says "faith that worketh by love" which would be the same as a Christian accepting God's call (Word) into their heart, and obeying God's call to teach, preach, witness etc., and God going and working with the Christian in their heart to confirm His Words thru the Christian to the other person(s) heart and supply the needs. Listen in for more details.Also read in Genesis how Joseph was exalted to equality with the Pharaoh of Egypt and either of their words were helt the same power over the people of Egypt. That was a physical Trinity! Pharaoh, Joseph and their words(their spirit)! @KLRNRadio.com 5AM CST Sun #GPWF #Christian or rahardin.com (Pods)THE US SUPREME COURT DECISION: CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY vs UNITED STATES, FEB 29, 1892."These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian Nation."143 U.S. 457; 12 S. Ct. 511; 36 L. Ed. 226; Feb 29, 1892 PLEASE PASS IT ON!
Hey there! Want to be successful and attractive in all your ways? Then act now by acknowledging His Words over your life today!FAITHBUCKS.COM
Preachers # 4 ----Sun---- Preachers Do Not go to Seminaries or other religious schools to learn God's Pure Word: they go to learn how to preach the Bible according to their chosen religious denomination!---My Books: Amazon.com/Richard-A-Hardin/e/B09J2YHCVB explains the truth about errors being taught in our society.*Richard Hardin, POBox 45684, OKC, OK 73145****God is not backing up our confused, mixed-up Christian community. The denominational beliefs are so mixed up and even opposite in many cases to other denominations and what is being taught as commonly called, "The Christian World View." God doesn't tell groups these mixed beliefs, they are the devil's confusion. Our secular ungodly society is showing or reflecting the failure of our Christian Society to show and live the true Pure Word of God.****I name ministers and teachings they have about Biblical grace, mercy, and charity, etc. I am just quoting what they pay thousands of dollars to say themselves over TV and radio, so they should appreciate me telling you what they believe, but they might not like me pointing out that what many of them are teaching is opposite what the Bible says. Some of these men have spent years teaching “their” gospel, their “grace,” their "faith," which is filled with errors. These errors are why God is not backing up our Christian Society in the USA for Proverbs 30:5-6 states, “Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. ADD thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” We are found liars when we misquote God's Word because He will not support or back up what we say. Our “Christian Society” is filled with liars! Listen on KLRNRadio.com 6AM CST Sun #GPWF #Christian or anytime at rahardin.com, RadioPreachers #2 -Wed--Preachers Do Not go to Seminaries or other religious schools to learn God's Pure Word: they go to learn how to preach & teach the Bible according to their chosen religious denomination! -rahardin.com, Videos, Podcasts -- email: rhardin77@yahoo.com-Schedule: M-F, 7-8AM; S-S,6-8AM (CST) *Richard Hardin, POBox 45684, OKC, OK 73145- Amazon.com/Richard-A-Hardin/e/B09J2YHCVB , Approx - 5$ ea**God is not backing up our confused, mixed-up Christian community. The denominational beliefs are so different and each are calling their beliefs "The Christian World View." God doesn't give or tell groups these mixed beliefs, it is the devil's confusion. Our secular ungodly society is showing the failure of our Christian Society to live the Pure Word of God.****I name ministers/ teachings they have about grace, mercy, and charity, etc. I am just quoting what they pay thousands of dollars to say over TV and radio, so they should appreciate me telling you what they believe, but they might not like me pointing out their teaching is opposite what the Bible says. Some of these men have spent years teaching “their” gospel, their “grace,” their "faith," which is filled with errors. These errors are why God is not backing up our Christian Society in the USA for Proverbs 30:5-6 states, “Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. ADD thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” We are found liars when we misquote God's Word because He will not support or back up what we say. Our “Christian Society” is filled with liars!Listen on KLRNRadio.com 7AM CST #GPWF #Christian or anytime at rahardin.com, Radio Special Notice: The US Supreme Court Declared That The US is a Christian Nation.The Supreme Court Decision is: Church of Holy Trinity vs United States; Feb 29, 1892. "These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian Nation."143 U. S. 457; 12 S. Ct 511; 36 L.Ed 226; Feb 29, 1892.
EPISODE 48 - “STEVE & NAN'S FAVORITE CLASSIC FILMS OF THE 1940s ” - 08/12/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** The 1940s was a phenomenal times for movies. Auteurs like ALFRED HITCHCOCK, GEORGE STEVENS, WILIAM WYLER, and BILLY WILDER were coming into their own with important and personal films that changes the landscape of cinemas. Also, stars like BETTE DAVIS, KATHARINE HEPBURN, CARY GRANT, and HENRY FONDA were defining the screen roles that would make them legends. This week, Nan and Steve will discuss and dissent a few of their very favorite films of the most golden of all decades in film. SHOW NOTES: Sources: Preston Sturges By Preston Sturges: His Life in His Words (1991), by Preston Sturges and Sandy Sturges; George Cukor: A Double Life (2013), by Patrick McGilligan; Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director (2013), by Marilyn Ann Moss; Robert Rossen: The Films and Politics of a Blacklisted Idealist (2013), by Alan Casty; Michael Curtiz: A Life In Film (2021), by Alan K. Rode; Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford (2010), by Donald Spoto; George Stevens: The Films of a Hollywood Giant (2019), by Neil Sinyard; Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel (2015), by Wiliam Wellman, Jr; Stanwyck (1994), by Axel Madsen; Fonda: My Life (1981), by Henry Fonda; Ingrid Bergman: My Story (1980), by Ingrid Bergman and Alan Burgess; Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (2020), by Scott Eyman; Ida Lupino: A Biography (1996), by William Donati; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned: Christmas In July (1940), starring Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, William Demarest, Raymond Walburn, Jimmy Conlin, Rod Cameron, and Franklin Pangborn; Penny Serenade (1941), starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Beulah Bondi, and Edgar Buchanan; The Lady Eve (1941), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, William Demarest, and Eugene Pallette; High Sierra (1941), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Joan Leslie, Cornel Wilde, Arthur Kennedy, Henry Travers, and Alan Curtis; The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Harry Morgan, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, Jane Darwell, William Eythe, and Harry Davenport; Gaslight (1944), starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Angela Landbury, and Dame May Witty; Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, eve Arden, and Bruce Bennett; All The Kings Men (1949), starring Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dry, Anne Seymour, and John Derek; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is there a bible verse that keeps coming to mind? Are you unable to get it out of your head? Maybe God is putting it there for good reason. Pray and ask Him what He wants you to know. Here are 3 ways to know when God is talking to you. SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/ Full Transcript Below: 3 Ways to Recognize When God is Talking to You By Kelly Balarie “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” – Psalm 19:1 NIV I walked with a friend. Struggling with a sickness that was incredibly hard, I sought just the right words to encourage her. No words would suffice. What do you say when there is nothing to say? I've learned, listening is always more powerful than speaking when one is going through the wringer of life. So, I asked her questions and then let her speak. I actively repeated what she spoke to let her know that I was hearing her heart. Eventually, the moment of awkward silence arrived where I had nothing left to ask. I needed to say something. God, help me?!! I looked towards my feet, pondering what to say. A leaf caught my attention. Amazingly, it was shaped like a heart. I knew God wanted me to share His love for her. He gave me an answer to my inner unsaid pleading for just the right words!! “God loves you so much.” I told her. A well-spoken word at just the right moment has the ability to break through to a person's heart like nothing else. God reminded me of His heart for my friend through nature. This is one of the many ways that God speaks to us. Scripture says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” – Psalm 19:1 NIV How else does God speak? The second way that God speaks is through the Word of God. To store His Words in our heart is to hear them sound in our mind when the going gets tough. When my kids act up, sometimes I feel afraid. When fear comes at me a mile a minute because I have stored God's Word in my mind, I often hear a bible verse pop in my head. His Word kills my fear. The third way God speaks to us is through people. Have you ever experienced a repeat situation time and time again? Maybe it feels like people are always telling you the same thing. Once, I had a women's minister at a church tell me that I was intense. Again, a friend, I prayed with told me I also was intense. I started to feel a little upset about that. People don't want to be around intense people. However, the more I considered their words, the more I realized that Jesus was intense too. God was communicating to me, through people's words that what people noted about me, was something He loved and created. How might God be trying to reach you? Intersecting Faith & Life: Is there a bible verse that keeps coming to mind? Are you unable to get it out of your head? Maybe God is putting it there for good reason. Pray and ask Him what He wants you to know. Do you keep running into a similar situation with people? What might God be trying to say to you through this? Do you ever sit and look at God's creation? What can you surmise about God's character and nature based on how He has created the world? Kelly uplifts believers with boosts of faith; find encouragement by getting Kelly's blog posts by email. Kelly, creator of the “Hear God's Voice” podcast, is also a blogger, national speaker, and author of Take Every Thought Captive, Rest Now, Battle Ready, and Fear Fighting. Kelly, a real cheerleader of faith, loves seeing the power of prayer in live action. She loves seeing the look on people's faces when they realize –God is faithful! Kelly's work has been featured on The Today Show, CBN's 700 Club, Relevant and Today's Christian Woman. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Today is Sunday, June 9, 2024, At your chapel you may have the Mass of External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, But today is the III Sunday after Pentecost, a second class feast, with the liturgical color of green. In this episode: the meditation, ”The Meekness of the Sacred Heart in His Words,” an article from the Asia District site called Love and the Quest for Truth, and a Thought of the Day from Archbishop Lefebvre. We'd love your feedback on these Daily Devotionals! What do you like / not like, and what would you like us to add? podcast@sspx.org Sources Used Today: Love and the Quest for Truth - (FSSPX.asia) Thought for the Day - Archbishop Lefebvre (Angelus Press) Practical Meditations - (Angelus Press) Watch on YouTube Listen on SSPX Sermons Podcast Feed Support the SSPX Podcast with 1-time or Monthly Donation >> Explore more: Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional - it's a perfect companion! Subscribe to this Podcast to receive this and all our audio episodes Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channel for video versions of our podcast series and Sermons FSSPX News Website: https://fsspx.news Visit the US District website: https://sspx.org/ What is the SSPX Podcast? The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition. What is the SSPX? The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood. Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls. Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it. https://sspx.org
As The New York Times reported, " Trump's Trial Could Bring a Rarity: Consequences for His Words." People are fully aware that Donald Trump says and posts anything that occurs to him in the moment, without any filter or regard for the truth of what he's saying or the consequences of the lies he tells. But now that Trump is moving from the court of public opinion into the actual courts of criminal law - there are several ways his words will come back to haunt him. Glenn discusses the three ways Donald Trump's own words will sink him at trial.If you're interested in supporting our all-volunteer efforts, you can become a Team Justice patron at: / glennkirschner If you'd like to support us and buy Team Justice and Justice Matters merchandise visit:https://shop.spreadshirt.com/glennkir...Check out Glenn's website at https://glennkirschner.com/Follow Glenn on:Threads: https://www.threads.net/glennkirschner2Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/glennkirschner2Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glennkirschner2Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glennkirsch...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.