Podcasts about if david

First Kings chapter two records the last words that King David gave to his son Solomon before he died. If David was here today, what advice would he give us to experience God's best in our lives? Message delivered by Pastor Andrea Kramer.

Service VideoSermon Audio Only Mark 12:13-4413 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to trap him with his own words. 14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone's favor, because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?” 15 But he saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 So they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar's.” 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they were utterly amazed at him.18 Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) also came to him and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.' 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren't you deceived for this reason, because you don't know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 Now as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”28 Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him.35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, “How is it that the experts in the law say that the Christ is David's son? 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said,‘The Lord said to my lord,“Sit at my right hand,until I put your enemies under your feet.”'37 If David himself calls him ‘Lord,' how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.38 In his teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows' property, and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.”41 Then he sat down opposite the offering box, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.”

Is the story of David & Goliath more than a story for the children's wing in Church? If David's name means "Beloved" and his father, Jesse, means "I am," then are we meant to see Goliath as more than just an ancient human enemy of Israel? Great meaning is waiting to be discovered... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/eatscripture/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eatscripture/support

Preserved From the Beast (8) (Audio) David Eells - 7/4/21 President Trump is Late for the Meeting Missy Pollock - 6/24/21 (David's notes in red)   I (Missy who represents the Bride) dreamed that I was showing President Trump pictures that my mom. (Representing the Church which the Bride is born out of. President Trump has many friends who are new age and the Bride is showing him what the true Church looks like.) My mom had taken these pictures while my parents were on a recent trip. (A snapshot represents an image or icon. Armed with the unleavened bread of the Word of God handed down from the apostles of the original Church we are able to present Christ's image to others who are lost or worldly so that they can come into His image.  2 Co. 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.) We were seated in auditorium seating in one of the back rows. (This auditorium represents the Babylonish world stage. Missy sitting in the back represents looking on and not being a part of the worldly system.) I had the pictures in a file folder that I had taken out of my pocketbook. They were laid out in a special decorative booklet that was in the file folder. President Trump seemed very interested in the pictures. It had pictures of people with a smile on their faces with their names underneath; but I didn't know any of them except for one, which was my mom. (Trump's interest in what a Christian looks like is positive.It could mean that he will become a believer in the future.) In the picture I had of my mom, she had on a flower print shirt that was white and purple. (Representing the fruit of Jesus. Shades of purple are my mom's favorite colors. Purple represents royalty and white is purity.) (The original church and it's doctrines came from Christ. They were pure doctrines which made sons of God who are royalty.) (Eph 5: 27  that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.   She also had dark hair again. (In real life my mom's hair is almost all white. I see Restoration as in the book of Joel.) Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you. Psa 103: 2  Bless Jehovah, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: 3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; 4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy desire with good things, So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle.) There wasn't any picture of my dad. (He represents our Heavenly Father who is Spirit and that we can't see, and the Bible Commands us not to make any image of God.) I wanted to show President Trump pictures of my boys and family so I took some out of my pocketbook. (The pocketbook is the Bible or Word of God with parables, types and shadows or pictures of what Jesus looks like; and of whom we are to look like as disciples.) (These pictures of Missy's boys and family represent showing others the love of Christ in us which is our fruit and gives them an idea of who Christ is so that they, too, would want to come into His image. 2 Co. 5:20, We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.) I started to show them to him and President Trump said he, “Needed to get going and that he was running late for the meeting." I looked at my watch and the time was 7:10. (There's a delay?) (In the natural, it seems to everyone that Trump is late in reclaiming his rightfully elected position as President of the United States again. But God is always on time and never late.) I wondered why he ran late looking at the pictures knowing that the meeting was supposed to start at 7:00 and that it couldn't start without him because he was leading the meeting. (This could represent the Trump/Cyrus parallel with the Man-child.) (Could 7 be July and 10 be the tenth day of July? It started at 7 so could this mean he will be 10 days late to reappear as President since he was “leading” the meeting? or is there another meaning. 7 is the number of perfection and 10 is the number of the Law.  The Trump administration has been leaking out that there will be 10 days of Darkness. Could this come to fulfill the law?  At least we can see there is a delay involved. One of the common complaints of the Trump administration is the number of DS people including bankers who have tried to hack into the money for the new economy. Since Daniel as a type of the Man-child, was anointed over Babylon just as Cyrus, as a type of Trump, was taking it over, could both be late? I asked this question of the Lord and got an answer below.) We got up to leave and I turned around and saw his son Barron (which means nobleman, freeman, warrior) (Representing the fruit of Trump who is certainly a nobleman who has stayed free from the DS and he is a mighty warrior.) He was behind us sitting and I realized he was looking over our shoulders at the pictures too. I said, “Hi Barron, How are you doing?” I don't remember him saying anything in response.  I left the building and went across to another building and went inside. President Trump was in there and there was food sitting around on tables like a pot blessing. He mentioned that he had gotten back from working at 3:00 and had been busy and needed to get something to eat quick before the meeting. I was hungry too and wanted to get a quick bite before the meeting. (3:00 represents when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” and died. Around noon, while Jesus was on the cross, total darkness surrounded the area, until about 3 p.m. when He cried out, “It is finished” and died. The Trump/ Man-child crucifixion and death will soon be over then they will enjoy a time of ‘feasting on the Word during the great revival that is coming during the first 31/2 years of the tribulation. Since there is a parallel, Trump's ascension to the presidency could be parallel to the Man-child's resurrection to throne authority.) End of dream. A word by faith at random for President Trump? My finger came down on, “Consider your ways.” in  Hag. 1:7, (in context 7-11), 7 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. 8  Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah. (Cyrus/Trump whom God said would build His house in Isa. 45.) 9  Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith Jehovah of hosts. Because of my house that lieth waste, while ye run every man to his own house. (It could be that people have become discouraged and are distracted by building their own house and are no longer supporting Trump and the cause with faith and prayer. This may be the cause of the delay.) 10  Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholdeth its fruit. (The reason for the delay?) 11  And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands. (Currently the world is experiencing supply and food shortages from supply chain disruptions as the economy spirals downward. The Lord allows the world and the worldly to live under the curse even if they are in positions of great power. God can and will frustrate the plans of men when they aren't in line with His agenda.) I asked Father for a word by faith at random for what I represent and got Psa. 55:16, (In context 16-23),  16  As for me, I will call upon God; And Jehovah will save me. 17  Evening, and morning, and at noonday, will I complain, and moan; And he will hear my voice. 18  He hath redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; For they were many that strove with me. (The Bride is doing her work under great opposition from the false Christians.) 19  God will hear, and answer them, Even he that abideth of old, [Selah] The men who have no changes, And who fear not God. 20  He hath put forth his hands against such as were at peace with him: He hath profaned his covenant. 21  His mouth was smooth as butter, But his heart was war: His words were softer than oil, Yet were they drawn swords. 22  Cast thy burden upon Jehovah, and he will sustain thee: He will never suffer the righteous to be moved. 23  But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in thee. (The Bride is being saved, protected and provided for during these trying times and the factious enemies in the Church and DS will be judged.) I asked Father for a word by faith at random for the dream and got Mat 22:42, (In context 41-46) 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42  saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. 43  He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, 44  The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet?  45  If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son? 46  And no one was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. (The Pharisees were confused on how the Christ was the Son of David in His flesh but the Son of God in His Spirit. Rom.1:4, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord. The Lord will silence the factious enemies in the DS and the Apostate Church when the Man-child/ Davids are anointed along with Cyrus.) (When I saw Missy's revelation of Cyrus/Trump being late to take over Babylon, I thought the David/ Man-childs would be late also, because in the book of Daniel, he was anointed to rule over Babylon the same night Cyrus took over. Then Vanessa sent me this revelation:)   David is Late for the Meeting Too Vanessa Weeks - 6/17/21 (David's notes in red) When Missy was telling her dream of President Trump being delayed, I remembered this dream I had: All of us here in UBM were meeting in a new building. There were several rooms in this building. (God is building His tower; the tower of the flock which is the New Jerusalem being born in His Bride out of Heaven. Eph 2:21-22  in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.) Many people started to come through the door on the right side. It seems they were all young people in their 20's. (These are the elect of God who are young in the Lord because they were stunted with Apostate religious Church doctrines or they are coming out of the world and its ways because of tribulation. They will be coming to the Bride and the Man-child ministries to be taught in the wilderness. Isa. 60:1-5, Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. 5 Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.) I remember 5 young women coming in with long blonde hair and wearing long dresses. (They are submitted to the Son/sun and are virgins not defiled with women representing the Harlot Apostate Churches). (Representing those who by the grace [5] of God will be under the Man-child ministry.)    The meeting was supposed to start but David was not there yet. (The Man-child David's are delayed as in the Trump Delayed revelation above since they are running parallel). We were in what looked like an auditorium, and I heard Michael tell some men that David would be late because he was busy. (As we mentioned in the Late Trump revelation hackers were busy trying to game the system. In the David situation we have the same exact thing. Hackers, like the leader of the faction of our DS, who has stalked our women and tried to keep our materials workers “busy" with his hacking so they delay to get the gospel out.  Just as the DS actors are being caught so it is with this man who is their parallel. Could this delay be Biblical in that judgment on these wicked will be performed then? Luk 12:45-46  But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;  46  the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the unfaithful.)   While we were waiting for him, I was getting tired. I went into the adjoining room and put on my pajamas, and went to rest on a bed. These pajamas were blue and white, and when my husband Barry came in and told me to get up, I was wearing a blue and white nightgown. (Maybe a warning to me to not get weary waiting for the David/ Man-child ministry to be anointed, because it was the virgins that slept while the bridegroom tarried.) Mat.25:1-5  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2  And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3  For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5  Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. (This could represent that as we are in the continual rest not striving in our own strength we must be careful not to let it turn into complacency and weariness in well-doing. 2 Th 3:13, But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing.) I asked the Lord for a word about this delay and received by faith at random Acts 1:13, and my finger was on "they went up". (This is clearly a phrase we are familiar with as to the Man-child receiving  throne authority. Notice the taken up and lifted up phrases in this text.) In context 6-14. Act 1:6  So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7  He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9  And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (Representing the catching up to the throne of the David/Man-child ministers to be anointed and then return to start their ministry.) 10  And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11  and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”  12  Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13  And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, (Just before and in preparation for their anointing by the Holy Spirit) where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14  All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.) As I was thinking of not being weary in waiting, the Lord brought this scripture to mind. Heb. 10:35-39  Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward. 36  For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. 37  For yet a very little while, He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry. 38  But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul. Vanessa's prayer: Father, thank you that you shall come and not tarry. It looks like you are late sometimes but, cause us to not cast away our boldness and not become weary. Thank you for patience which is a fruit of your Spirit and that we will receive the promise after we have done your will. In Jesus name. Amen.   Bride is Nourished and Transported Into the Heavenlies Claire Pienaar 6/11/21 (David's notes in red) (As we saw above after the Man-child Jesus was caught up to the throne, his Apostles, whom John said represented the Bride, were also anointed to rule.)  I dreamed I was standing outside a huge supermarket store that had a warehouse attached to it. There were light brown brick walls, with a big red sign that said “depot” and “delivery”. (This represents the Beast System of the world and its ways of 'storing up' here on earth. As well as the current and future oppressive ‘debt slave' system of buying and selling run by the DS.) I watched multitudes of people standing in line, trying to get the managers (Representing the DS banker elites) of the supermarket store to buy their produce or products from them at a reasonable price, and then the managers would sell them right back to the self-same people. (Exactly what happens in the old system of taxes. They sent out taxes to the banksters who loaned it back to us on interest.  The New system all taxes go into the US treasury.) (In the dream, it reminded me of what communism looks like. The prices were set, and unless people had offered something to these managers for them to sell on their behalf, they were not able to purchase from the supermarket store either. The people were essentially buying back their own produce at a higher price than what they had been paid that was determined by the managers, so all the people were at a loss. They could not buy anywhere else and were enslaved to this system.) (This system used to be known as, “The company store." Company stores have had a reputation as monopolistic institutions, funneling workers' incomes back to the owners of the company. This is because company stores often faced little or no competition for workers' earnings on account of their geographical remoteness, the inability and/or unwillingness of other nearby merchants (if any existed) to accept company scrip, or both. Prices, therefore, were typically high. Allowing purchases on credit enforced a kind of debt slavery, obligating employees to remain with the company until the debt was cleared. Many people would rack up so much debt that they were never able to pay it off and would end up never being able to leave the company.  This was also true of Tennant farming which was harmful to the tenants with many cases of high interest rates, unpredictable harvests, and unscrupulous landlords and merchants often keeping tenant farm families severely indebted. The debt was often compounded year on year leaving the cropper vulnerable to intimidation and shortchanging... A new system of credit, the crop lien, became closely associated with sharecropping. Under this system, a planter or merchant extended a line of credit to the sharecropper while taking the year's crop as collateral. The sharecropper could then draw food and supplies all year long. When the crop was harvested, the planter or merchants who held the lien sold the harvest for the sharecropper and settled the debt. Also, The Nesara Gesara law will wreck the DS system so they can not for now plunder the people, which is why they are warring against it. This 4th of July Independance Day could represent getting free from the British and Vatican bankster aliens once again. :o) I saw Kanye West and he was in a black convertible with his ‘family' (not the Kardashians but another family whose members were all black.) He was trying to sell black cattle to the managers. They would not purchase the cattle because the people could only sell 1 type of good, from one address. (Representing that the DS will begin to persecute the Harlot Church and restrict their churches and what they can teach or 'sell' to the people. Kanye recently made a conversion over to Christianity but he got tangled up with the large mega-church apostate preachers who used his fame to line their pocketbooks. The black cattle could represent their leavened meat that they are trying to sell to the world and the worldly people.) However, he'd found a loop-hole as he had many addresses all over the world and he was using them to get ahead of this system and remain wealthy, when people all around him were starving and desperate. He was smiling and laughing and was very sure of himself. (Many times we refer to the scriptures as ‘addresses'. Could all these "many addresses all over the world" represent picking and choosing what verses that the apostate preachers will teach the people so that the people will have a loop hole to keep on living in the world through their greasy grace doctrines? 2 Pe 2:1-3, But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you.) All the people standing in line were mostly black, and they looked unbelievably poor and malnourished; like the poorest communities in Africa. (Those who are dark in spirit, prey on each other and while some “get fat”, most suffer and they do nothing to help each other.) (This is the spiritual state of all those trapped in apostate Christianity.) As I walked around to the warehouse, I saw lovely fresh fruit like pineapples, guavas, watermelons and much fresh red meat and I just picked it out of the cooling fridges and went on my way. I was not stealing as people saw me do it. I was not in a hurry either. I looked over all the fresh goods and selected the best for myself. No-one could stop me, and I had nothing to offer or to pay with but that was alright. (We can all partake freely of the fruit of the Word. All of the needs of the Bride will be provided by the Lord supernaturally, even in the wilderness tribulation.) (Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.) Then the scene changed and it was dark. I was watching a friend try to have a birthday party in a restaurant but there was no food, no drinks, and the lights were out in the venue and on the street. (Representing a food shortage and famine, as well as, power outages.) They decided to take the party back to her house, but at the house it was also completely dark and there was no electricity lighting up the street lights or homes. (This could represent the coming 10 days of darkness during the birth of the Man-child ministries worldwide. They have been warning us for awhile to prepare for blackouts and power outages, which we have been seeing here and there. Electrical contractors are everywhere preparing to convert to free energy as Tesla planned but the DS stopped because they couldnt make money that way.) In both these previous scenes I was a spectator.  The scene changed again and I was in a white car, driving around a suburban area. (Suburban areas are outside of main cities representing sanctification from the Babylonian Harlot city of the world.) I was driving high up in the air and not on the road. (Representing being seated with Christ in Heavenly places. But there is a litteral thing coming.) This enabled me to see a highway bridge imploding to my left. It looked like a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but it was not red; it was dark silver. Then to my right I saw a huge traffic jam and other carnage on the road. It looked like this city was in complete disarray. (On a physical level, Cars are coming that do not need gridlock roads and bridges. They are antigravity cars which the DS has been hiding. Whether we will get to use them on a national scale before the curse closes back in is yet to be seen. On a spiritual level, judgement is coming to Babylon and the Harlot church represented by destruction on both the left and the right of the highway.  Then I turned right to get to my home. Even though I had not been there before, I knew I was going “home”. I was still driving above the road and every traffic light was green. There was sunlight pouring into the car, and I was warm and calm and saw a glow around me. I don't think other people even noticed that the car was not on the ground. (This represents 100 fold fruit; Perfection in Christ. The Bride will be clothed with the lampros garments bright and pure which are the righteous acts of the saints.) I asked the Lord for a word by faith at random, and received Isaiah 6:8-9 with my finger on “Here am I” and “Go”. Isaiah 6:8-9 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (A reprobation that came over the Jews when the Man-child Jesus came the fist time in Mat 13 will come over many “christian” apostates when He comes in the corporate Man-child body this time.)   A Tribulation-Level Event/ Apostate Leaders Exposed Andrew Gelinas 6/16/21 (David's notes in red) In my dream I was in my personal dwelling place on the top floor of an apartment complex. (Representing dwelling on the top of Mt. Zion in heavenly places in Christ. Eph 2:21-22  in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.) Suddenly there was a tribulation-level event of some sort just beginning to start. I remember thinking that what was about to come down from above would hit the upper floors first. What precisely the event was, was evident while in the dream, but I cannot recall it now. (The Trump Administration has been leaking out that "an event" is about to come that will be staggering to the unstable. While we don't know exactly what this is, I will say this: Judgement always starts at the top of the leadership first and begins at the house of God. Many wicked leaders are being revealed. After “declass happens everyone connected in any way to the factions in Church or State will be running from it..Isa. 2:12-17, For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; 13 and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall, 16 and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery. 17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.) I quickly ran to the patio and looked down. (On the evil city of Babylon) There were people rushing every direction. It wasn't pandemonium, but everyone seemed to be working on getting themselves and their families somewhere else ASAP. (When the event starts many people will wake up. God's elect will wake up spiritually and flee Babylon and apostasy for the wilderness and the leading of the Man-child and Bride.) There was a forest wilderness just at the edge of the apartment property. (Representing that we are right at the edge of the tribulation.) I could faintly hear a voice heralding or prophesying in a bellowing voice out of another patio some distance away. Then, just as the voice started to fade, I felt the Holy Spirit fill me with words and I began prophesying over the scattering sheep-like crowd. I don't remember everything I said only some of it. Most of the people below paused and started looking up at me to listen when I started to speak. I remember speaking with complete confidence when I said “We are going to go into the wilderness now. Once there, the Lord will provide for all of our needs. If you want to live, then follow us there.” (The prophetic voices of the end-time ‘Elijah' ministries of repentance as well as the Man-child company will be a light and guidance for the people leading them into the first 31/2 years of the tribulation.)  Then the scene changed. There was a crowd now gathered in a large cathedral-like hall. (Indicating Babylonish religion of buying and selling.) I began walking around to see what everyone was doing. The place was piled up with material goods. It looked like a mash up of Goodwill and Aladdin's cave of wonders. There were all sorts of old and new electronics, various large and small appliances, clothes, jewelry, toys, books, and so on. The junk was piled high all along the walls, and the crowd was busying themselves with scavenging through it all. The people had a sort of crazed “Black Friday Sale” fire in their eyes. I continued watching both the young and old excitedly rummaging through all the stuff for several minutes, until I had finally seen enough of this 'Vanity Fair' nonsense! (Representing the materialistic lusts and the greed of Babylon and the apostates in the Church. 1 Ti. 6:6-10, But godliness with contentment is great gain: 7 for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; 8 but having food and covering we shall be therewith content. 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. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. There will be a collapse of the DS economy and a sudden infusion of money to jump start the new economy. It will be a buyers paradise and some forget that we are stewards in the New Testament not owners for Jesus said in Luk 14:33  So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Therefore we have to have God's permission to buy for it all belongs to Him.) I began shouting over the banter, “What are you all doing? You don't need this junk! These are the world's desires! Stop this madness!” This would have probably calmed the frenzy entirely if it weren't for a protestant or evangelical pastor who was not a catholic priest. I found him walking around through the crowd handing out these gaudy looking plastic prayer bead necklaces coated in cheep gold paint that was chipping off. I became angry upon seeing this and told the so-called pastor “Stop giving them this Catholic junk!” Then I slapped them out of his hands onto the floor. (Mat 21:12-13  And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;  13  and he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers.)  Then I woke up. Isa. 32:9-20, Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech. 10 For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. 12 They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city. 14 For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest. 16 Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever. 18 And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places. 19 But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters…   The Man-child Ministers Heal God's Elect Andrew Gelinas - 6/16/21 (David's notes in red) On 6/15/21 I heard a news report about an elderly Asian woman in her mid-nineties who was stabbed several times while walking down the sidewalk in San Francisco. Her attacker was a man who had many prior offenses. NTD News reported that, because of the looseness of the laws there, it is unclear weather the attacker will be charged with any crime at all.  Then, I had this dream where I was a physician/healer and I was in the top floor of a high rise hospital or care center of some sort. As I stood talking with a couple of other fellow physicians, a woman representing San Francisco (Representing the spirit of lawlessness and anarchy) in some way approached us. She had an attitude with me from the beginning when she sharply informed me that the elderly woman who had been stabbed multiple times and survived would be transferred to our facility shortly. She cared nothing for the wounded woman. I asked her “How would you feel if you were ever the one who needs help?” With a smug smirk, as she turned to walk away, she replied “Oh I'm not worried about that.” (This represents the spirit of lawlessness and anarchy that has taken over the country, especially the liberal bastions, through the MSM, Antifa and BLM and has aborted justice for the people. It is a cold and uncaring spirit that has come to possess many of the rebellious in this country.) A few seconds later, a very, very small woman was wheeled into our presence. She was tiny, about the size of a one year old child. I felt an overwhelming sense of compassion flood over me. I told her anything she needed of what I had was her's. She smiled at me as the other physicians started dressing her wounds and helped her put new clean white clothes on. (This tiny woman represents the small body of God's elect Bride who have been abused by the Pharisaical Apostate leaders who are in anarchy against God and His Word. Song 5:7, The watchmen that go about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took away my mantle from me.) The next thing I remember, I was in a shopping lobby downstairs, when I noticed a large fashion advertising poster in one of the store fronts. I became disgusted when I realized the model on the poster was a trans-gender man dressed in women's attire. (Representing a homosexual spirit that has also taken over and has been promoted by the MSM. Jer. 23:14, In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.) I then walked away from the window and sat down on a reclining seat nearby. As I closed my eyes, I could feel myself beginning to dose off. (Representing resting in the faith of the Lord.) Then I felt the very real prick of a syringe in my right upper arm. I jolted up and saw a young woman in a short red dress making a quick getaway. She looked quite pleased with the success of her mischievous act, as she had a big evil grin on her face and was giggling to herself as she began to quickly scale the stairs. (Representing the vac/cine agenda of the DS and their plan to cull the Christians in the Bible Belt with a new Delta Covid variant strain of the virus.) I didn't waste a second. I picked up the nearly empty syringe and made chase. I don't recall how many floors I ran up, nearly reaching her several times. Finally, just as she burst through the rooftop door, I managed to jab her with the needle on the left buttock. That stopped her on a dime. She spun around, looking shocked that I had managed to survive her surprise attack vaccination on me, kept up with her all the way to the rooftop, and had now successfully injected her with her own poison! Letting out a cough almost immediately after getting injected, she asked with a confused grimace, “How?” I chuckled back “Don't you know I'm immune?” (By faith in the promise of our Psalm 91 protection we are immune to all the attacks of the enemy to attempt to destroy us.  Exo 15:26  and he said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his eyes, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am Jehovah that healeth thee.) Then the dream ended.     Vision: Bride and Man-Child Heal With the Angelic Host  Claire Pienaar 5/19/21 (David's notes in red) I had a vision while I was driving. I first heard my mother-in-law's voice and she said, “It's really going so bad here. I dont know how we'll get out of this." (My mother-in-law represents the institutional apostate church who put themselves under all kinds of laws and have no faith in the promises of the Word).  Then I saw the hospital she was talking about. There were people on gurneys everywhere, and everything was white. (Many of God's elect are sick physically and spiritually because of unbelief in the healing power of God. Mat. 13:58, And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.)  Then with a mighty rush of wind, Angelica Garza, Riaan and I walked through the hospital doors dressed in all white (Angelica represents the angelic hosts or messengers; I represent the Bride as my name means brilliant, and Riaan represents the Man-Child as his name means "little king").  There was a strong bond between Angelica, Riaan and I. (Heb 1:13-14, But of which of the angels hath he said at any time, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?) Riaan had a white suit on like the one he wore to our wedding, and Angelica and I were in white flowing dresses. Our palms were relaxed next to our sides, but facing up/out towards people. We were looking at each other and laughing, and we had pure joy! Riaan was ahead of Angelica and I, and he beckoned us to do what he was doing and to follow him. (When Jesus comes back in the anointing of the Man-child for His Bride, these ministries will bring physical and spiritual healing to the people just as happened in Jesus' first ministry here on earth.  Hos 6:2-3  After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him.  3  And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.) Riaan started touching people, and they were healed! They jumped up! I don't know what afflictions they had, but they were joyful and happy! It was wonderful! Then the vision ended and I continued driving.  The hair on my arms was standing straight up when I had this vision and my eyes were teary. I thought that this shows us how it will be soon. The angelic host will be with the Man-child and the Bride and they will be healing and will have unparalleled joy in doing the bidding of the Father. (Who needs Med-beds? :0) Mal. 4:2-3, But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts.       Select LanguageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKinyarwandaKoreanKurdish (Kurmanji)KyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianOdia (Oriya)PashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTatarTeluguThaiTurkishTurkmenUkrainianUrduUyghurUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

David fought with Lions and Bears and so must we. This is the final lesson in the series and so we end on this note: If David could do it...then in the name of Jesus Christ, so can we! May this entire lesson series bless you tremendously.

I Samuel 12-15 We are in The Nation stream and reading from the Easy-to-Read Version this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Streams Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Jesus, forgive us for our having lapses in our discipleship, suffering for it, only to muse, "why is this happening to me if God loves me?"  God, you do not bring or wish or want evil upon us. It just happens in this life. Our disobedience has invited evil into this world.  May our pleasures make us grateful, and our pain make us even more prayerful. Amen. 12 - God needed to use a parallel story told by a trusted friend to get to David. As has been said, he had less ethics when he was sober than Uriah did when he was inebriated. The sheep story from Nathan crushed David who came out of his moral coma finally. David did not feel the change coming over him as he took in one wife after another. But subconsciously somewhere along, he thought, "I can because I want, I want because I can, and I can because I am King. If David had paused long enough, he would have been reminded that taking Bathsheba from Uriah, was coveting and stealing and adultery and murder.  Strangely enough, David had lapsed, thinking the 10 Commandments didn't apply to him.  But his realization started him on the road right back into God's presence. David was quick to confess and repent (Psalm 51 and 32).  However this sin of David's started an avalanche that haunted him the rest of his years.  He had Uriah murdered and soon this murder visited his own home. He let lust take him to places he shouldn't go. Lust therein took over others in his family. He had sex with Bathsheba in secret thinking it would keep it hidden. Soon all his wives were ransacked in public; on the rooftop.  From this day on, "the sword would never leave David's home".  This translation says he would never have peace in his home.  And to top off the chapter, the baby David gave Bathsheba dies. Solomon is then born.  The chapter ends with a war victory but it feels less victorious in the wake of David's violations 13 - David's troubles amplify as one of his sons, Amnon, from one of his wives tricks, seduces, and rapes one of David's daughters, Tamar, from one of his other wives.  Absalom, another one of David's sons, plots to kill Amnon for his deed of raping their sister Tamar.  On cue Absalom calls it and Amnon taken out.  All of David's other sons escape in fright and Absalom becomes a fugitive in hiding in Geshur for three years.  The drama is thickening in David's family.  He must have dreamed of "days gone by" when dinner hour was a joyous event.  Not anymore.  The consequences for David's transgressions are visiting him for what he had done; line by line. 14 - Absalom was afraid to come back to Jerusalem. David seemed reticent to fetch him or even call for him to come back. It's sad, but reality is that David's resolve during his valiant deeds and battles of yesteryear doesn't seem to be there anymore.  Joab pulls together a scheme that spurs David enough to call for Absalom to return to Jerusalem. Abs' returns but is quarantined in a sense and doesn't get to visit the King; his own father, for two more years.  Absalom gets frustrated and lights Joab's field on fire to get some attention.  This finally triggers an arrangement for Absalom to visit his father in the palace for the first time in five years.  The overdue meeting finally happens. It is cordial, bittersweet, yet distant. 15 -  Absalom was not satisfied (murderers rarely are!) and soon began the role of self-appointed arbitrator so to turn affections from King David to himself.  Absalom was a huckster and not enough people saw through him.  He asks his father permission to go to Hebron but is not forthcoming as to what his real plans are.  Absalom goes, takes 200 men with him and even gets Ahithophel, one of David's confidants, to join him in the rebellion that Absalom is incubating. David hears what is really happening and seems to resign and simply leaves Jerusalem taking his household with him.  It's a sad affair and many are weeping aloud.  They pause and David insists that the Ark of the Covenant be taken back to Jerusalem and David would come back if he felt God prompting him to do so. (It's really sad how David had become so aimless in character.)  He is disturbed to learn that Ahithophel is against him now too. He sends messages that he is willing to follow Absalom as the next king [getting looney isn't it?!] and his messengers arrive back in Jerusalem just as Absalom arrives from Hebron.  What happens next ...?

“If there is a Golaith in front of you, that means there is a David inside of you.” - Carlos Rodriguez This is Entrepreneurs of Faith, a Sunday episode of Monetization Nation. I'm Nathan Gwilliam, your host. In today's episode, we're going to discuss the amazing underdog story of David and Goliath how entrepreneurs can learn from David to conquer their Goliaths.  The Story of David and Goliath 1 Samuel chapter 17 in the Bible tells the story of David's victory over Goliath. In the Valley of Elah during the year 1063 B.C., two armies faced each other. On one side was the army of the Philistines and on the other King Saul's Israelite army. Though the armies were somewhat evenly matched in the number of soldiers and skill, the Philistines had one thing that Saul's army didn't: iron. The Philistines had been able to keep their knowledge of smelting and fashioning iron into formidable weapons of war a secret. Iron was far superior to the brass weapons of King Saul's army. During this time, it was common for champions to challenge others from the opposing forces to single combat. In fact, there had been several battles decided by individual combat. One of the champions of the Philistines was a man named Goliath of Gath. His height was six cubits and a span, which is about nine feet tall. “He had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail . . . And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.” (KJV 1 Samuel 17:5-7) Needless to say, Goliath was a fearsome man. Twice per day for 40 days, he called out to the armies of Saul, saying, “Choose you a man for you and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.” (KJV 1 Samuel 17:8-9) Saul, the King of Israel, and the Israelite army were afraid and did not accept Goliath's challenge. However, there was one who wasn't afraid. The young shepherd David told Saul he would fight Goliath as he had fought lions and bears that had threatened his flock. Saul offered David his armor, but David refused. David prepared for battle by finding five smooth stones and taking them and his sling with him to meet Goliath. Goliath taunted and mocked David. David said to Goliath, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee.” (KJV 1 Samuel 17:45-46) “When the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.” (KJV 1 Samuel 17:48-50) Then, the Philistine army turned and ran. The Israelite army pursued and won the battle.  Force Multipliers Like David facing Goliath, entrepreneurs also constantly face many challenges and obstacles. The Philistine army had leveraged the tectonic shift of iron, which gave them a huge competitive advantage.  I don't have any experience with the military, But, I have been told that when one army has a competitive advantage over the other army, that competitive advantage is often called a “force multiplier.” For example, during the war with Iraq, the U.S. army had many force multipliers, such as superior aircraft, missiles, night vision, and a superior missile defense system. These force multipliers allowed the U.S. army to have a lot more force for each soldier engaged in that battle. Many of these force multipliers, such as advanced missiles and missile defense systems, could probably also be considered tectonic shifts in modern warfare. Because Israel had not leveraged that tectonic shift to iron like the Philistines, they were in a precarious situation.  Compete with Our Strengths Against Their Weaknesses Often entrepreneurs are in a similar situation where one of our competitors has a huge competitive advantage over us. The competitor may have been in business a lot longer. They may have a lot more revenue, a much larger team, a bigger office, more customers, huge trade show booths, etc. They may have even leveraged a tectonic shift before us or may have purchased a competitor who effectively leveraged a tectonic shift. We may look at this competitor and feel that there is no way we can beat them because of their size and resources. That fear is half true. It is true we cannot beat them . . . at their own game. If our competitors have a large advantage, then we should not take them on where they have a competitive advantage. We must find their weakness and figure out how to attack them there. How did David beat Goliath? It is true that Goliath had an enormous competitive advantage in his size and strength and the quality and size of his sword and armor. If David tried to fight him strength against strength, or sword and armor against sword and armor, David's chance of winning would have been very low.  Of course, that is not taking into account the power of God, who can do all things and is the ultimate competitive advantage. God gave David a different idea than fighting strength against strength and sword against sword.  Instead, David realized that Goliah's competitive advantage, his force multiplier of iron, also had a weakness. It was very heavy, especially the amount of armor it takes to cover a nine-foot man. David knew that Goliath would not be able to move quickly and by choosing to wear no armor and to carry no sword, David could have a competitive advantage with speed. David could easily keep his distance from Goliath and sling stones at him, safe from that long iron sword.  By not trying to match up to his weakness against Goliath's strengths, David was able to focus matching up his strengths—speed, a sling, and stones—against Goliath's weakness—his lack of mobility.  Like David, sometimes we need to find unique ways to overcome those obstacles. Like David, it is generally best not to match our weaknesses against the strengths of our opponents. Instead, we need to find the weakness of our competitors and develop a strength we can use to attack them. David's sling and stones might even be seen as his own tectonic shift in warfare, keeping distance from a competitor and shooting projectiles at them. That sounds similar to a strategy that helped the U.S. colonists win the Revolutionary War.  David could not beat Goliath doing the same thing Goliath was doing. David had to find and leverage a different tectonic shift. The same thing is true in business. When we face something like larger competitors with a lot more resources, we often cannot use the same strategies they are using to dominate. If we do, we will probably lose. Instead, we have to find our tectonic shift, something that our competitors aren't doing yet or aren't doing well. Modern Day Davids and Goliaths Malcolm Gladwell has a book about this called David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.  In an interview about the book, Gladwell said, “This is the classic story of the business world. The very same thing that appears to make a company so formidable—its size, its resources—serves as stumbling blocks when they're forced to respond to a situation where the rules are changing, and where nimbleness, and flexibility, and adaptability are better attributes. Which is the story of David and Goliath, right? David had nimbleness. He changed the rules. He brought in the superior of technology.” Here are a few stories of companies that started out as underdogs, but who were able to succeed through innovation and leveraging tectonic shifts. Apple Apple was started in 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, who sold his share of the company for $800 three months later. Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, was skeptical about the company. He “once said that if he owned Apple he would shut down the company and give shareholders their money back.”  (Source: Investopedia.com) Jobs proved him wrong though. He said, "It's only us and Dell making money. They're making money because they're Walmart, we're making it because we're innovating." (Source: Investopedia.com) Apple found success because they didn't do exactly what Dell was doing. As Jobs said, they innovated, finding and leveraging the tectonic shifts that worked for their company.  “Since 1976, Apple has grown into the multinational technology mogul that we know today. Apple is now the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer.” (Source: Medium.com) Netflix Before Netflix dominated the streaming arena, it was a DVD-rental-by-mail company. Its biggest competitor was Blockbuster. “In 2000, Netflix executives met with Blockbuster and offered to sell the company for $50 million, which Blockbuster refused.” (Source: Investopedia.com) Blockbuster has since filed for bankruptcy and shuttered 9,000 stores (Source: Medium.com). Now, Netflix has “193 million paid subscribers in more than 190 countries.” (Source: Investopedia.com) Home Depot Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were fired from Handy Dan, “one of America's leading home improvement retailer chains.” (Source: Medium.com) They decided to use this as an opportunity to start their own company. They opened Home Depot in 1981, creating “one-stop shopping for the do-it-yourself customer.” (Source: Investopedia.com) Home Depot now has more than 2,200 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (Source: corporate.homedepot.com). Being Small and Nimble is a Competitive Advantage “The big companies we compete against are like Goliath, large and lumbering, slow to change. Can we be David, quick and noble, willing to think outside the box, and find a new and disruptive way to solve the most important problem.”  (Source: Glenn Tulman in Forbes) Choose an Unconventional Strategy Ian Brookes in From the Lighthouse said, “The political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft looked at every war fought in the past 200 years between strong and weak combatants. The Goliaths, he found, won in 71.5% of the cases. That is a remarkable fact, especially when the result is in the context of the sample of conflicts analyzed was where one side was at least ten times as powerful in terms of armed might and population as its opponent – even in those lopsided contests, the underdog won almost a third of the time. Why, what happened? Simply, the underdogs acknowledged their weaknesses and chose an unconventional strategy. In those cases, David's winning percentage went from 28.5% to 63.6%. When underdogs choose not to play by Goliath's rules, they win, Arreguín-Toft concluded.” Key Takeaways Here are some of my key takeaways from this episode: David changed the rules in his battle with Goliath and used the sling and stone as a tectonic shift to give himself a competitive advantage and remove Golaith's advantage. Like David, we can leverage tectonic shifts to give ourselves the advantage over much larger competitors. Don't match our weaknesses up against our competitor's strengths. Instead figure a way to develop strength and use it to attack the competitor's weakness, like David used his nimbleness to compete against the giant's inability to move quickly in the heavy iron armor. David was nimble and could adapt to his surroundings faster than Goliath. Being nimble and moving quickly is often a competitive advantage of small companies. Often small companies can adapt to changes in the world faster than large ones. Don't try to do things the same way as our larger competitors. Find an unconventional way to more effectively accomplish the most important goals.  Join Entrepreneurs of Faith If this episode of Entrepreneurs of Faith resonated with you, please subscribe for FREE to Monetization Nation so you can receive Entrepreneurs of Faith each Sunday. Subscribe to the free Monetization Nation eMagazine. Subscribe to the Monetization Nation YouTube channel. Subscribe to the Monetization Nation podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.  Follow Monetization Nation on Instagram and Twitter. Share Your Story  Have you seen any other examples of leveraging tectonic shifts to defeat modern Goliaths? Please join our private Monetization Nation Facebook group and share your insights with other digital monetizers. Read at: https://monetizationnation.com/blog/87-how-underdog-entrepreneurs-can-learn-from-david-to-conquer-their-goliaths/ 

Download I Samuel 17-20 We are in the Nation Stream today as we experience that classic story of David & Goliath. We are reading from the World English Bible. 7streamsmethod.com | #7Streams | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord, thank you for David's example here.  We can shine with you and walk with you no matter who is against us, or how fierce the attitude is against us or how bleak the odds seem against us.  You will always give us the human and spiritual comfort that we need.  Amen. David and Goliath - the battle seems to be a preview or a "trailer" of world history.  We've heard of this reference in so many contests.  Well the original story comes from here; I Samuel 17.  It is intriguing that historians of all stripes and creeds will confess that monotheism hung upon the outcome of this battle. Theologically, God is bigger than our perspectives, but for that assessment [the fate of montheism] to be attached to this David/Goliath showdown is impressive.  David's courage and confidence and skill; to be assured that he could drop this behemoth pagan goon in a single pop testifies to the fact that David was in touch with more than his dismissive brothers were aware of.  Saul tried to dress David in Saul's armor so that any victory would be associated with Saul.  David doesn't need it.  If David can take on a several hundred pound lion and a several hundred pound bear, then he can take on a several hundred pound man who lacks claws and teeth. Pastor Chuck Swindoll once called Goliath a "cross-eyed discus thrower" - he didn't have much talent or break many records, but he sure kept the spectators awake!   We know the story of the five smooth stones. Goliath did have four other brothers so if the Philistines wanted to break contract and charge them in, David was ready to drop them too. Analyze this fascinating story from any angle and the discussion of it remains endless 18 - Saul's character and paranoia are only further revealed in this string of stories. He treats David as an enemy AND has to hide that fact that he loathes him, is jealous, and scared of David.  David becomes all the more entwined in the Kingdom as Jonathan [Saul's son] and David become "friends for life". The chanting about David's prowess is making Saul crazy.  Still, Saul wants him close (like Mafia thinking that is determined to keep enemies close-by). He throws spears at him after using music to make David vulnerable  He mocks David in offering his daughter then revoking the deal. He sends David on a fool's mission to kill Philistines ... time and again Saul shows his vapid character and David shows his faithfulness. 19 - things only get worse for Saul as it turns out his own home is committed to David over Saul.  Jonathan is caught in a duplicitous position in his sonship to the king and his friendship to the future king who is hated by the present king; his father.  Jonathan becomes vital informant to David and is strangely yet secretly protected by Jonathan. Michal, Saul's daughter is Davids' wife and she is eventually protecting David against the king; her father.  Saul might do well to read into the obvious but the LORD had left him and he is too crazed to see reality anymore.  In his effort to apprehend David, the LORD God of Israel intercepts again and "slays" all Saul's messengers through using them to prophecy.  It's certainly an odd scene.  It seems to only prove the mangled hilarity of trying to fight God or anyone who is indeed on God's side. 20 - Then there's the dinner, and David's failure to appear for saying he was going to meet his family in Bethlehem, [remember I Sam. 18:2; Saul had forbidden this]. Jonathan's attempting to cover for David threw Saul into a manic rage and now he is throwing spears at Jonathan; his own son!  The scene with Jonathan and David meeting, the part of the little boy present as a decoy and informant during the "arrows routine" - of which the young boy is oblivious - all this is nothing short of clever.  It shows more of the same mind of David that would win him numerous other battles and verify why Jonathan and he are such dear friends.  This would seem to be the benediction put upon their friendship as Jonathan is now starkly aware of his father's hatred of David. Jonathan was a true hearted fellow and in his right mind, but he wasn't going to trigger an open rebellion against his own father; the King.  So Jonathan and David part company and it is a sad day for the both of them.  Their final encounter is in ch. 23, but this one here in ch. 20 feels like they are both bracing themselves emotionally to part company. The friendship between them had become so costly.  And this made it all the more dear.

Psalm 110 is perhaps the most important psalm of all 150. When Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Whose Son is He?” (Matt. 22:42), they replied that He is the son of David. Jesus challenged them and reminded them that David called the Messiah “Lord” in Ps. 110:1. “If David then calls Him “Lord,” how is He his Son?” In other words, the Messiah must be more than the son of David, He must be the Son of God.

The relational breakdown between David and his son Absalom is one of the more tragic stories in the Bible. In this message we will learn what David didn’t do to prevent this relational breakdown. If David had confronted instead of avoiding, paid attention instead of ignoring, and communicated instead of remaining silent, a lot of the family heartbreak would have been prevented. Next Steps I will begin the steps of reconciliation. I will confront rather than avoid. I will say The post Prevent Relational Breakdown appeared first on Blue Oaks Church - Pleasanton, CA.

The relational breakdown between David and his son Absalom is one of the more tragic stories in the Bible. In this message we will learn what David didn't do to prevent this relational breakdown. If David had confronted instead of avoiding, paid attention instead of ignoring, and communicated instead of remaining silent, a lot of the family heartbreak would have been prevented. Next Steps I will begin the steps of reconciliation. I will confront rather than avoid. I will say The post Prevent Relational Breakdown appeared first on Blue Oaks Church - Pleasanton, CA.

22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 22:16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. 22:17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 22:18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 22:19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 22:20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 22:22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 22:25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 22:26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 22:27 And last of all the woman died also. 22:28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 22:33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 22:42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. 22:43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 22:44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 22:45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 22:46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

If David didn't believe in the prophecy over his life The Rock and the sling he had would have served no purpose --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/justin-bridges9/support

Living with his family on his farm on top of the South Pennines, David has been in the property business since 1999 where he has also taught and mentored people in property, business, and marketing since 2016. Having trained and mentored for a number of years, and having understood first-hand the stresses and demands placed upon busy people with business and pressured jobs, David now focus on self development in relation to health, business, and lifestyle. Having undertaken a life changing body transformation himself which saw him lose 70lb in weight in only 4 months during lockdown, David has written his book - 5 stones, 4 months, 3 mountains which was released in September 2020. During his transformation period David went from a position of struggling to walk for 30 minutes in March, to achieving the National Three Peaks 24 hours in July and run a marathon in October. Next year he is taking on the Welsh3000s mountain challenge and The Brutal Triathlon. How did David Fernley lose 5 stones in 4 months? Not only did he do that, he also climbed 3 mountains. Listen to this heart felt story and be inspired to make a change in your life. If David can do it, then anyone can. I am an anti-diet activist. I cultivate anti-diet cultures and non-diet nutrition. I create lifestyle change using short-term methodologies. I encourage long-term weight loss results for optimal health. I improve your relationship with food. I enhance your self-confidence. I promote self-compassion and self-care. I deliver the above through my Anti-Diet Challenge. In 30 days I help you lose up to 10lbs WITHOUT following diets, taking pills or drinking shakes. Some of my ladies have achieved up to 5 lbs loss in the first week and are loving the process. Are you struggling with the weight you may have put on while being in lockdown? Let me help you to shift this… Stop wishing and start living the life you deserve. If this message resonates with you and you would like to lose your first (or next 10 pounds) then take my 30-Day Anti-Diet Challenge™ Now, click here to sign up, https://www.30dayantidietchallenge.com Everyday, I will bring you evidence-based nutrition tips that will help you to lose weight and keep it off without counting calories, macros and points. Each week we will have a guest that will enlighten us with their expertise.

Fr. Rob shows that how we see Jesus -- as a human son of David or the divine Lord and Son of God -- fundamentally shapes what it means to love God and our neighbor. Matthew 22:34-46: When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. Support the show (https://www.episcopalcathedral.org)

Matthew 22:34-46When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is thegreatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” Hesaid to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Matthew 22:34-46 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had left the Sadducees speechless, they met together. 35 One of them, a legal expert, tested him. 36 “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being,[a]and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” 41 Now as the Pharisees were gathering, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” “David's son,” they replied. 43 He said, “Then how is it that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, called him Lord when he said, 44 The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I turn your enemies into your footstool'?[c] 45 If David calls him Lord, how can he be David's son?” 46 Nobody was able to answer him. And from that day forward nobody dared to ask him anything.

We hope you enjoy this week's video/sermon Choose to Answer at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. We encourage anyone to join us on Sundays at 10:00am! We’ll welcome you whether you are young or old, tall or short or anything else in between! Matthew 22:34-46 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at my right hand,until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

"Brendan McClenahan and Liam DeHaan read and reflect on Matthew 22:34-46. Please make sure to subscribe to this podcast! For the full Bible Reading Plan, head to victorypoint.org. To find out more about the context of Matthew 22:34-46 head to https://thebibleproject.com/explore/matthew. We would love to include your input on this podcast. Send us an email at brendanmcclenahan@victorypoint.org or leave a voice message by clicking the link below. There is more going on at VictoryPoint! (head to victorypoint.org for more trainings, events, worship gatherings, discipleship opportunities, giving, and ways to get connected). Here's the full text from today's scripture: 22:34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 22:35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 22:36 ""Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"" 22:37 He said to him, ""'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 22:38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 22:39 And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."" 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: 22:42 ""What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?"" They said to him, ""The son of David."" 22:43 He said to them, ""How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, 22:44 'The Lord said to my Lord, ""Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet""'? 22:45 If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?"" 22:46 No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/biblereadingplanvp/message

It's easy to love God, much harder to love the people life sends your way READINGMatthew 22:34-46When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,until I put your enemies under your feet”’?If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. MUSICThere’s Honey in the Rock, Nick PageWade in the Water, Roger McGuinnStar in the East, Rose Ensemble

Matthew 22:34-46 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”'? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

The sound of drums and trumpets at the beginning of this episode is spectacular, but when the stupid black Tony enters, supposedly from London, everything falls apart. His voice is disgusting to tell the truth, it does not convey confidence or desire to continue listening to the nonsense he says. If David as the host of the show never has anything scheduled and doesn't know what to say or do, this idiot Tony knows less. A total disgrace. Talking nonsense things that nobody cares about. The truth is that this episode particularly bothered me much more than the others, not to mention the sounds of the notifications of the guests and the ringtone of the phones, who apparently do not realize the serious lack that results in A radio show, if you can call this shit that. As much Alexander, like David Cooper, like Tony and JJ, and Miranda make the perfect ridiculous in this misnamed radio show. Victor from Maine gave a -500 star rating to this episode.

One of the biggest challenges men in Recovery face is impulse control. The 2 keys to victory in this area are knowing and fully understanding that you can choose not to commit a sin. Second, is knowing why you want to control the impulses to begin with. Thoughts and feelings can create impulses that cause a reaction, and if you act on every whim or trigger, you will end up with extreme suffering. Impulses affect every area of our frame and being, and without control, you will struggle with being successful. Most times, our areas of struggle are indicators of lack of impulse control. Being able to control yourself and your words makes it easy for you to keep and maintain relationships. Not everything you think needs to be said or done. With impulse control, you make better choices. At forks in the road, without proper self-control by the Holy Spirit’s help, you make wrong choices. What is impulse control? Impulse control is increasing the time between trigger and response. Impulse control is identifying your trigger point and understanding the consequences of potential actions. Impulse control is analyzing the potential consequences of your impulsive actions, if possible, with another person you are vulnerable with. If David did this, he would have foreseen the potential effect of sleeping with Bathsheba and would have made a better choice. Impulse control is to practice impulse override. Impulse control is choosing to respond instead of reacting by aligning to the paradigm of God. Impulse control is to stop, pause, and think. Impulse control is bringing yourself into a place of clarity, magnifying God within your heart, and bringing yourself to where you realize God’s plans for your life. We are made biologically with the fight, flight, or freeze response. Different people have their respective reactions to issues in line with biology. However, with God’s Spirit in us, we can analyze the situation correctly and pick the best option for a reaction. If you want to take your recovery to a new level and take part in the GCR meeting, click on the link. https://mailchi.mp/5539afae2e0d/signup. This show is brought to you by Narrow Gate Ministries. We will drop an episode every week, giving you a God-centered approach to recovery and to life. This podcast is the place for Christian men in recovery who want to live an abundant life. You can be addicted to porn hub or kinky love, cheap thrills or a bottle of pills. Maybe it’s weed or smoking speed, or you’re just caught up in greed. We don’t care if you been to hell, we have all been there so your welcome here.

David Soden, co-founder and CEO of Aptimyz, talks with Pete Townsend about early entrepreneurial influences, finding purpose in a move from pharmaceuticals to B2B SaaS, the end-all-be-all of delivering customer value...and doubling down during lockdown! For more episodes and our entire back catalogue of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. EPISODE OVERVIEW: Aptimyz is an Ireland-based SaaS startup delivering a complete and affordable EPOS (electronic point of sale) and back-office management solution providing stability for retail in challenging times. If David and Pete had recorded this right after they met pre-lockdown in February, this conversation would’ve been much different! Think about it this way – you build some hard-fought traction with your startup and climb right up to the edge of hitting the market in a big way. Then, the unthinkable happens to not only your target market, but the entire world around you, and the interactions between consumers and small businesses that you relied on as a critical lever to your business, basically drops through the floor. Well, that’s pretty much a masterclass in “Dealing with Adversity” that you can’t get in any business school on Earth. HIGHLIGHTS: Being the youngest of five boys in an entrepreneurial household with both parents and two brothers running their own businesses – “It never looked easy, but it was always exciting, and I think I had the bug from that point.” On one of the biggest takeaways from his days in pharmaceuticals: “It was amazing as a young guy to be involved in a product launch going from zero to $1.5bn in 18 months, with that kind of scale, and see the pre-launch activity through to launch activity through to hyper-growth.” On his purposeful move from pharmaceuticals to SaaS: “It was always important to have that north star and know what you’re working for and why you enjoy doing it.” On his mantra as a startup founder: “It’s not worrying about the money, it’s worrying about whether you’re truly relieving a pain point for the customer.” On his thoughts on startups: “For anyone interested in doing a startup, it’s isn’t easy, and if it is easy, there’s a good chance you’re fooling yourself that you’ve found something that’s really worth it.” On digitalizing retail: “It isn’t about having a till or a PoS and then going online, it’s about having a digital business with a physical connection to the customer in store, and the virtual connection with the customer online, but managing it all in one place.” On the pandemic: “When it hit in March, it was kind of a hold-your-breath moment, and then we realized we could give up, or double down. We doubled down and expanded the team.” On delivering value: “There are a lot better things that retailers can be doing with their money right now than spending it on old PoS hardware.” On lessons learned from pitching to investors: “Be sure of what you want going into it because you can’t cry about it afterwards if you end up with a bad deal.” On looking ahead: “It’s a huge challenge but we’ll be successful if we deliver customer value. It’s not about the shiny buttons, it’s about helping customers run their businesses more efficiently. “ To learn more about Aptimyz, get in touch at info@aptimyz.com. Follow MoneyNeverSleeps on Twitter @MNSShow, Pete Townsend @PeteTownsendNV and Eoin Fitzgerald on @EoinFitzgerald9.

David Soden, Co-founder and CEO of Aptimyz, talks with Pete Townsend about early entrepreneurial influences, finding purpose in a move from pharmaceuticals to B2B SaaS, the end-all-be-all of delivering customer value….and doubling down during lockdown! For more episodes and our entire back catalog of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. EPISODE OVERVIEW: This week Pete talks to David Soden, co-founder and CEO of Aptimyz, an Irish tech startup delivering a complete and affordable EPOS (electronic point of sale) and back-office management solution providing stability for retail in challenging times. If David and Pete had recorded this right after they met pre-lockdown in February, this conversation would’ve been much different! Think about it this way - you build some hard-fought traction with your startup and climb right up to the edge of hitting the market in a big way. Then, the unthinkable happens to not only your target market, but the entire world around you, and the physical interactions between consumers and small businesses that were a critical lever to your business, basically drops through the floor. Well, that’s pretty much a masterclass in “Dealing with Adversity” that you can’t get in any business school on Earth. HIGHLIGHTS: Being the youngest of five boys in an entrepreneurial household with both parents and two brothers running their own businesses: “It never looked easy, but it was always exciting, and I think I had the bug from that point.” On one of the biggest takeaways from his days in pharmaceuticals: “It was amazing as a young guy to be involved in a product launch going from zero to $1.5bn in 18 months, with that kind of scale, and see the pre-launch activity through to launch activity through to hyper growth. On his purposeful move from pharmaceuticals to SaaS: “It was always important to have that north star and know what you’re working for and why you enjoy doing it.” On his mantra as a startup founder: “It’s not worrying about the money, it’s worrying about whether you’re truly relieving a pain point for the customer.” On his thoughts on startups: “For anyone interested in doing a startup, it’s isn’t easy, and if it is easy, there’s a good chance you’re fooling yourself that you’ve found something that’s really worth it.” On digitalizing retail: “It isn’t about having a till or a PoS and then going online, it’s about having a digital business with a physical connection to the customer in store, and the virtual connection with the customer online, but managing it all in one place.” On the pandemic: “When it hit in March, it was kind of a hold-your-breath moment, and then we realized we could give up, or double down. We doubled down and expanded the team.” On delivering value: “There are a lot better things that retailers can be doing with their money right now than spending it on old PoS hardware.” On lessons learned from pitching to investors: “Be sure of what you want going into it because you can’t cry about it afterwards if you end up with a bad deal.” On looking ahead: “It’s a huge challenge, but we’ll be successful if we deliver customer value. It’s not about the shiny buttons, it’s about helping customers run their businesses more efficiently. “ To learn more about Aptimyz, get in touch at info@aptimyz.com. Follow us on Twitter @MNSShow, @PeteTownsendNV and @EoinFitzgerald9

Religion And Spirituality As ImaginationAfter we ask David to talk a bit about his experience as a corporatetrainer training commissioned sales people, David puts on his Stream hatand answers questions about how we as humans interact with source energy.Jim asks, “Can it be the case that we come to physical seeking moreexpansion and thus more difficult life and then come again seeking lessexpansion and thus less difficult life? Or when we come again are wealways coming back for a more difficult life? Or how does the level ofdifficulty in a life interplay with the realities we are experiencing inother environments simultaneously. I am trying to understand how I couldbe living a life of less contrast compared to so many and yet find myway to your teachings. I recognize my ego is judging more expansive vsless expansive experiences and judging myself. Yet again tangled beliefsto sort out. Thanks for blessing us with wisdom.”Karla asks, “When you are not channeling through David, what do you do?When David is not channeling, do you still provide him instruction or isthat some other consciousness? If David needed immediate assistance,like a “miracle,” could you or would you assist? Can you channel throughother humans or are you exclusive to David?”Use the LOA Today app to send in your own questions for The Stream toanswer on an upcoming episode. Download it at:https://www.loatoday.net/download.

Devin Moreno started with nothing but a stable job living paycheck-to-paycheck and $500 to his name. Despite coming from a family of investors (stocks and other businesses), it’s a surprise Devin didn’t actually make the jump to real estate sooner than he did. (And this was one of Devin’s motivations to succeed as much as he has so quickly.) So, coming onto the scene a little later than many Millennials investors, Devin buckled down and learned as much as he could about the real estate industry in six months. He knew he struggled with analysis paralysis so the six month deadline was crucial for him to get started. And just like that, Devin had purchased his very first House Hack using a VA Loan, meaning he was able to purchase the property for 0% down. Since then, he has used this first property as a launching point into the small multi-family space using a combination of conventional and private financing to continue leveraging his investments. Up to date, Devin is closing on his first triplex which will be a BRRRR investment purchase. Devin knows his goals have definitely evolved since he began, and thinks they will continue to change going forward. Right now, the important thing for him is to ensure he continues to invest in properties that excite him and challenge his comfort levels. Our takeaways with our conversation with Devin: 1) Run your business like a business. When Devin purchased his first privately funded deal, he confessed to us that asking people for money was not something he was accustomed to (as we’re sure with many investors starting out). That’s okay. As per Devin’s case, the people he was looking to get funding from were people who also didn’t know much about private financing. So as he learned more and more about deal structure, Devin kept an open line of communication with them and explained to his lenders exactly how the deal was going to work. Along with explanations and his competence, Devin proved he was trustworthy by displaying the business systems he had in place. Lastly, he didn’t take too much money for anyone to handle. Each person who funded his deal lent no more than $10,000. 2) Give yourself deadlines. All too much, we see many eager investors cave into fear and fall prey to analysis paralysis. By giving yourself a deadline (and an honest effort), you will be able to hold yourself accountable and examine your “readiness” from an outside perspective. The goal isn’t to learn and/or analyze everything for your first deal. If that’s the case, you’ll never be ready. The goal is to learn and/or analyze enough to do your first deal. Remember, even if your first deal goes completely wrong, you will still have learned more from those mistakes than you would have had you not taken any action in the first place. 3) Read the fine print. One of the many reasons real estate is such a great investment vehicle are the legal loopholes available to investors’ disposal. However, because many loopholes are popular (and maybe even considered common practice), just one overlook of text or just one uneducated assumption can lead you to a plethora of legal trouble. Have competent advisors and be competent yourself. Make sure your business practices are within the confines of the law and protect yourself and your assets. When it comes to asset protection, “Better safe than sorry” is the motto. 4) Learning your market. You don’t always need to invest where you live (not at all), but the real estate industry and real estate markets are very niche. If you want to be successful, it would suit you well to learn where you are putting your money into. There are many ways to learn a new market. You can assemble a team who knows the area, talk to other investors who invest in the area of interest, or spend time traveling around the area for yourself. For Devin, the third option was the way for him. He invests in Baltimore where the market tends to be “block-for-block,” meaning one street over from another can be a totally different market in and of itself. And that’s okay. Regardless of how you learn your market, with enough due diligence and practice, you will learn your market as well as many others along the way (just don’t fall into analysis paralysis!). Devin knew nothing about Baltimore starting out, but now he can distinguish one “block” from another very easily. If David could go back and talk to his 16 year old self, he’d tell him, “The biggest disappointment is starting this so late. At minimum, paycheck-to-paycheck will not do you any favors.” An unexpected benefit of real estate investing, Devin said, was the confidence boost it gives you knowing you are a homeowner, as well as a business owner. A piece of advice Devin would tell his friends looking to get started in real estate would be to “House Hack—even if that is [your] only purchase ever.” Devin recommends using YouTube to learn and consume all things real estate. Subscribe to Devin’s channel at Devin Moreno Investing! Devin recommends reading Landlording on Autopilot by Mike Butler & Real Estate Investing Gone Bad by Phil Pustejovsky to help you get started on your real estate education. If you’d like to get in touch with Devin, contact him at: devinmorenoinvesting@gmail.com

Some television drama series involve multiple storylines. These complex narratives weave in and out but are usually all part of one larger story. The same is true of biblical narratives. As storm clouds gathered for Saul, David was facing a different kind of jeopardy when the Philistine forces gathered at Aphek in preparation for battle. If this were a movie, the events depicted in these verses would be a brief flashback to the previous day. When the Philistine armies massed to attack Israel, some of the commanders questioned David’s presence. Although Achish defended David’s loyalty, the king’s leaders pointed out that betrayal might be a way for David to earn his way back into Saul’s good graces. After all, since he had rebelled against one king, what would keep him from betraying another? Perhaps this was David’s plan all along. What is clear is that David’s role as Achish’s bodyguard placed him in an awkward position. Defending himself against Saul’s pursuit was one thing. Taking the side of the Philistines in their attempt to destroy Israel was something else. It does not seem likely that David would have gone to war against Israel. His position in the rear as Achish’s bodyguard would have been the perfect trap. Was David’s protest in verse 8 genuine or merely an act? Either way, it seems likely that the suspicion of the Philistine commanders endangered his life. If David was truly a threat to the Philistines, what would stop him from attacking from another direction? The more strategic choice would have been to make David a prisoner or perhaps even to kill him. God used David’s enemies to rescue him from this impossible situation. But we will see tomorrow that David’s troubles are far from over. >> God’s intervention in our lives is not always direct. He often uses circumstances and unlikely people to protect us. In what ways have you seen God direct your life?

Text: Psalm 56:3 Series: Certain Truths for Uncertain Times In the good, old days when people were asked about the things that most caused them to be afraid, they’d respond with a list of phobias that had to do with their surroundings – things like fear of insects or fear of enclosed spaces or fear of flying or speaking in public. But check out the lists that are being compiled today and you’ll hear about fears that are more deep-rooted and existential – things like the fear of running out of money, or the fear of being criticized by others, or the fear of dying alone from an incurable disease. Do you see the difference in those two lists of fears? The first list has to do with fears you can see – an insect, a small room, a plane, a large audience. But the second list is marked by more unseen enemies – like the market or public opinion or a coronavirus. I’m not minimizing the former phobias; I’m only underscoring the more profound character of the latter ones, and how both are equally debilitating. Fear is an emotion that none of us wants to experience, for when we do it always calls into question our confidence about our future. And yet because there is no one on the planet that is able to avoid fear entirely, when it does come our way, we want to know how best to handle it and what to do with it. So, how do you handle your fears? Do you try to deny them, as many do, by pretending they do not exist? Do you try to drown them or at least dull them by engaging in some activity that will take your mind off them? Or do you trust your fears to God, which is the only way to defeat them regardless of the number of times your fears rise up to do you in? In the passage that’s before us this morning, the 56th Psalm, we are reminded of how in every fearful moment of life, we have a choice. We can either give in to our fears or we can give into our faith. But we cannot do both at the same time, for either faith will chase out our fear or our fear will chase out our faith. Like so many of the psalms, this 56th Psalm is attributed to David, but not during the time in David’s life when he was king of Israel. The backstory to this psalm is when David was a commander in Saul’s army and the object of the people’s adulation because of how he had been able to win victory upon victory in his military campaigns against Israel’s most feared enemies. The people had even come up with a congratulatory refrain, which had gotten under King Saul’s skin and left him fearfully raw: “Saul has slain his thousands,” the people would say. “And David his tens of thousands.” You can imagine how Saul, not the most stable of kings to begin with, had become so wearied by David’s popularity with the people that he conspired with his counselors to do him in. Thus David found it necessary to flee Saul’s wrath, but in an effort to do so had gone from the proverbial frying pan to the fire. In this case, David had fled to the land of the Philistines, which you’ll remember is the place from which the giant Goliath had come. Not enough time had passed for the Philistines to have forgotten what David did to their mighty warrior so that the king of the Philistines, a man named Achish who had gotten wind of David’s popularity, did not think it wise to let David run free in his land. These are the dynamics behind the notation that is at the beginning of Psalm 56, which tells us how David had composed this psalm “when the Philistines had seized him in Gath.” You can read the entire story in 1 Samuel 21, though the operative verse in the story is the 12th verse, which reads: “and (David) was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.” If David, that courageous young shepherd who had killed the lion and the bear and even the Philistine giant Goliath could be afraid, then what chance does any of us have to avoid fear? Which is precisely the point – David had a choice, the same choice that you and I have when we run the risk of being overcome by our very own fears – David could either let his fear get the best of him, or he could yield them to God in faith. And this 56th Psalm is his testimony as to how David chose the latter. Even when hemmed in by the Philistines and their wily king Achish, David chose to place his trust in God. “When I am afraid (not if I am afraid), I will trust in you. (I will trust) in God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. (For) what can mortal man do to me?” What David had come to understand is that, in every threatening situation, fear and faith are two forces always at work. But while fear is a reaction, an impulse, an instinct, in the face of a perceived threat, faith is a response. Faith is our confidence that when we call upon God in our times of fear, the positives God brings to bear with His presence are always greater than whatever negatives we may be encountering so that the first step in overcoming our fears is to face up to them and see them in the light of God’s sovereign presence. Have you done that in your life? Have you made the choice to trust in God’s sovereign presence so that your faith might cast out your fear? Or have you allowed your fears to chase away your faith, causing you to doubt in God’s ability or His willingness to deliver you? There are far too many folk today who miss out on God’s powerful presence because they are waiting for a time to live for Him when they are not afraid to do so. But what David’s experience teaches us is that the deepest expression of faith is that which chooses to praise God even when there seems no reason to do so, for in those times when we make that faithful choice, God draws near to hold us and keep us and fight for us so that in His power we are able to emerge victorious over all the realities that made us feel fear in the first place. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” As I was reflecting upon this psalm, I was reminded of an image of faith offered by the early church father and fifth-century theologian Augustine, the bishop of Hippo in North Africa. So much of how we understand faith in Christ goes back to this seminal thinker because of how his theological reflections were on one hand so profound and yet on the other hand so easy to understand. For example, when Augustine sought to explain faith to a people not greatly educated in the formal sense of the word, he drew upon an image he knew they would understand – the image of floating. Surrounded as so many people were at the time by massive bodies of water, like the Mediterranean Sea, Augustine spoke of faith as one’s trust in what he called “the buoyancy of God.” Faith, he went on to say, is like floating in seventy thousand fathoms of water, which is about 80 miles of deep water. Of course, Augustine knew that no ocean on the planet is that deep, but his point was crystal clear: if we are fearful and struggle as we try to float in such an immeasurably deep body of water, we will sink and we will drown. But if we trust in the water to keep us up, we float. We stay on the surface. Do you remember the first time you learned how to swim? If you were like most folk, the biggest hurdle you had to overcome was learning how to relax in the water. Your instinct and your impulse was to thrash around and do your best to stay on the surface, but that was an impossible task until you learned to relax and trust the water to keep you afloat. So many people today are in the deep end of life, where 70,000 fathoms might seem like a kiddie pool compared to what they’re going through. The threats and the challenges are more than they can handle and all they know to do is churn and thrash, which only makes it worse. But when you find yourself in such a place, you know how to stay afloat; do you not? Instead of giving in to your fears, you can face them in faith. You can put your trust in God and never worry about your future again. Your life is in God’s hands, and God will never let you sink. Psalm 56:3

David Richter began his journey early on, like many folks, immediately after he read Rich Dad Poor Dad. He was still in college at the time, but that didn’t stop him from finding a value-add property he would live in and ultimately lease option after two years, in which he then got out of tax-free. The financial savvy displayed in this first deal would become an entire business for David just a few short years later.   Not too long after that first deal, he came across a startup real estate investing company that was just beginning to grow as he came into the team. With such a dynamic company, and one that was starting to produce large amounts of business, David found himself taking on a larger and larger role within the company. As the company grew its employee base, David jumped from seat to seat in order to make room for the folks coming in and in order to stay afloat.   Then it clicked. With all the new members in the team and all the transactions they do year-over-year, David asked himself, “Are we anymore profitable now than we were before?”   After an in depth analysis of the numbers, David found that the company, despite all the business they were conducting, wasn’t really walking away with as much net profit as they originally thought. And that’s where we meet David in this episode.   Up to date, David is the founder and CEO of Simple CFO Solutions, helping real estate investors large and small take control of their finances and improve their bottom line. He has conducted over 800 deals thus far, and has teamed up with Mike Michalowicz to write Profit First for Real Estate Investors.   Our takeaways from our conversation with David: 1) Payroll and overhead. A company (real estate or otherwise) and become really large but not turn a profit due to these two things. Without control and awareness of the financial expenses tied to payroll and overhead, any revenue produced can easily walk out the door the moment it walks in. This was the problem that David saw as he was beginning his business in helping real estate investors understand and manage their books. Surprising as it seems, business owners many times simply just didn’t know what the numbers meant, nonetheless strategize and execute accordingly. 2) Everything and everyone contributes to the bottom line. From the smallest role to the largest position, if you’re going to be a savvy business owner, you have to know when to hire out jobs and bring in new team members. As a real estate entrepreneur, you’re not selling information or running a virtual business… you need to know what you need, where you’re going, and what you want to do in order to turn a profit at the end of the year. And part of that entails knowing exactly what kind of entrepreneur you want to be and what kind of business you want to run. Do you like doing hands on work or do you prefer a more managerial position? Do you want to do one deal a quarter or 50 deals a month? Only then can you even begin to effectively plan and strategy for execution. 3) Hire for what an employee can do to make the business more profitable, not just to hire out the tasks that need to be done. Once again, everything and everyone contributes to the bottom line. Having someone else do a task that you didn’t make more money or save time from kind of defeats the purpose of having someone else do that task, doesn’t it? What David found was that business owners thought that as long as they brought in more people to do more work, that it would result in more profit. They’re not necessarily wrong in their logic, but it depends on the degree of work those hires would be doing. Did their output in results justify their wage? Remember, bottom line. 4) Steps to hiring a good bookkeeper: 1. Know your numbers, they tell your story. Have, at the very least, enough knowledge about your books and what the numbers mean so you can actually benefit from the services of a bookkeeper. 2. Ask if they’ve done real estate books before and/or if they invest themselves. 3. Ask for references and inquire about previous relationships and work. 4. Throw them softball questions and access their confidence. (According to David, anyone can get the basics of bookkeeping from the general education available, but with real estate, because it is so niche and can get complicated really quickly, it’d be wise to go with someone who really understand real estate bookkeeping, hence the need to ask for real estate bookkeeping experience.) 5. Set up your systems, timelines, and establish open and constant lines for communication    If David could go back and talk to his 16 year old self, he’d tell him, “Read all this stuff earlier… Really know what you want as a person.” An unexpected benefit of real estate investing, David said, was the ability to create generational wealth that can be passed down.  A piece of advice David would tell his friends looking to get started in real estate would be to “Read as much as you can, get educated, and start making offers.” David recommends using Scribd and Goodreads for all your reading and learning needs. David recommends reading The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime! by M. J. DeMarco to help you discern whether real estate is really something you want to do.   If you’d like to get in touch with David, visit: www.simplecfosolutions.com or www.profitfirstrei.net   Thank you to everyone that has reached out to us to connect them with our trusted real estate agents in their area! And congratulations to those who have even closed deals using our referrals! For those that didn’t know, we can help connect you with real estate investor friendly agents in your area to help you get started investing in real estate. We recently made some changes to our website that we believe will better suit you in your real estate investing needs. For more information, visit www.millennial-realestate.com and head over to the “Start Investing” Tab. Best wishes and see you in the next one!

Cultivating a deeper appreciation and understanding of what God has created is an act of worship. God has given us two books, the book of nature and the book of Scripture. They are meant to be read together. As Psalm 19 shows, David speaks of creation in the first six verses and then speaks of God's revelation in and through His word in verses 7-13. He then concludes the Psalm with a prayer "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, my Rock and  my Redeemer."  In contemplating both the heavens and the word of God, David is inspired and exhorted to pray that God would accept him. And in Christ, God answers that prayer not just for David, but for all of those who would call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for salvation.  So how might a knowledge of binary stars enrich and encourage us in our faith? If David's contemplation of God's creation ultimately led him to pray, so too can our meditating on what God has made lead us in a similar way.  The way, the truth, and the life.  So come and listen to professor David Bradstreet with us.  Be fascinated by the wonders of binary stars and learn how they point us to the glory of God and His love toward us in Jesus.  A short video on binary stars.   More about Dr. Bradstreet.   A short video with Dr. Bradstreet.   More about Dr. Bradstreet's chapter in The Story of the Cosmos.   Dr. Bradstreet's book Starstruck.  

What a twisted thing sin is. Its motives and machinations are convoluted and perverse.At one level the account of 2 Samuel 14 is pretty straightforward. At another, it is full of thought-provoking ironies.David adopts the worst of all possible courses. At first he cannot simply forgive Absalom, for that would in effect be admitting that he, David himself, should have taken decisive action against Amnon. On the other hand, David cannot bring himself to ban Absalom decisively, so he secretly mourns him. After Joab’s ruse with the “wise woman” (2 Sam. 14:2), he resolves to bring Absalom back. Even here, however, he is indecisive. If he is going to allow Absalom back in the country and the capital, why does he exclude him from seeing David—and thus intrinsically from family gatherings and the like? By the end of the chapter there is a reconciliation. But at what cost? The issues have not been resolved, merely swept under the table. On the other hand, if David is determined to forgive his son, why does he leave him in limbo for a few years? How much does this treatment by his own father foment the rebellion described in the next chapter?There is no small irony in the fact that the man who convinces David, via this “wise woman,” to bring Absalom back, is the very man whom David should have disciplined years before (see September 9 meditation). If David had disciplined Joab, where would he have been at this point? Probably not manipulating the king’s counselors and petitioners.On the face of it, Absalom is willing to go to some extraordinary lengths to get an audience with Joab and eventually be restored to the good graces of the king. Burning down a man’s standing grain is a pretty big step (2 Sam. 14:29–32). Yet despite all of his sincere passion to be readmitted to the king’s court and presence, it will not be long before Absalom attempts to usurp the throne (chap. 15). That is the supreme irony. After so much effort, Absalom is finally admitted to David’s presence: “he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom” (2 Sam. 14:33). He had gained what he wanted. So what kind of power-hungry resentment is it that mounts the vicious insurrection of the next chapter?People who have been following the story right along will not only perceive all the proximate causes of the rebellion, the understandable connections among all the personal failures that brought about the terrible conclusion. They will also recall that God himself had predicted, as a matter of judicial punishment on David over the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah, that he would bring calamity on him from someone in his household. This podcast is designed to be used alongside TGC's Read The Bible initiative (TGC.org/readthebible). The podcast features devotional commentaries from D.A. Carson’s book For the Love of God (vol. 1) that follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan.

In this episode of the Explain This Book To Me podcast, host Josh Lipstone concludes his discussion with David Carothers, the author of the book, The Extra 2 Minutes.  They discuss how everything leading up to this moment has prepared us to close the deal and how to provide the client experience that no one has seen before. And David lets us in on a secret about his upcoming book.   Episode Highlights: How is David feeling with this being the last episode? (00:44) David mentions that he will write another book. (1:08) David shares that he’s had several people reach out to him from just hearing the podcast great (1:28) What has writing this book meant to David? (2:15) David thinks that he underestimated the reach that we have on people and our ability to influence people in changing the way they run their business, or they approach sales. (2:23) In David’s opinion, if the book has made enough impact on people, they'll take the time to go do that. (3:39) Josh shares the reason why he’s doing this podcast. (4:29) David mentions that he’s generous with his time, he likes helping people, and he likes knowing that the advice that he gave helps them win. (5:10) David tells Josh that he has never felt more vulnerable than writing a book and just putting it out to the public. (5:41) Josh mentions that this is making him contemplate writing a book. (6:18) David shares that writing a book is a good exercise and therapeutic. (6:25) David mentions that he’s one of those people where he can't just put something on the schedule that requires some level of creativity and thought into it. (7:20) If David could go back to when he was writing it, what would he have done differently, and what would he keep the same for writing the book? (8:01) Does David have any advice for the loyal readers who would be contemplating writing a book? (9:43) Josh mentions the next section of the book, which is closing the deal and it starts with Chapter 12, The Meeting. (10:03) Could David give us an example of how or what he would say to the prospect in discussing the journey, how he prospects, why he’s a good fit, and why they're a good fit? (11:47) David shares that it’s essential to know the prospects that you're going to be able to make the biggest impact on, and have the best opportunity to drive, and change in their organizations. (12:26) David shares one of the best success stories he ever had. (13:42) Does David ever get to the point and realize that the prospect is not a good fit for him and the agency, and how does he pivot the conversation to not move forward? (17:10) David shares that he doesn’t want to ask people about the insurance-related question because they're automatically associating that with having to physically purchase something, or prematurely make the decision to do business with him. (20:25) David explains the significance of the three questioning processes. (24:37) David thinks that people tend to make the mistake of talking badly about their competition. (27:03) David mentions his biggest concern. (29:44) What if David’s agency isn't appointed with the company, does it matter? (36:20) Josh shares that if you want to download a sample of the termination letter and bullet points, just open up the book, go to the last part of each section, and you will see a website. (38:17) Josh mentions the final section and chapter of the book which is Chapter 13, Onboarding. (38:32) Josh believes that the client’s experience is something that we all need to strive for, regardless of the type of industry or client we are dealing with. (39:02) Josh shares that this chapter consists of essentially six things that Florida risk partners do to provide a truly exceptional client experience. (39:32) David mentions his challenge for everyone. (44:57)       Key Quotes: “If you do your research and you find the hot buttons, and you know what's going to motivate somebody, then you go into that meeting, and it's more about you learning about them than it is them hearing you. Just spew out everything you possibly can in the limited amount of time about your business, you're going to gain their respect and their trust much quicker.” - David Carothers “My ultimate goal is to demonstrate that I know about them by asking questions that require them to give me answers to help me know them, on an even deeper level.” - David Carothers “Even though we're salespeople, we want to be called trusted advisors. And there's an art and a science to doing that. I talk about it all the time, it's not just art, it's not just a skill, it's both.” - David Carothers “When you think a good job is done, sit there and think, what's the one thing I can do to take this to the next level in two minutes or less? Then do it because that's what your competition isn't doing.” - David Carothers   Resources Mentioned: Florida Risk Partners David Carothers LinkedIn Joshua Lipstone LinkedIn Lipstone Insurance Group Book: The Extra 2 Minutes: How spending an extra 2 minutes on nearly anything in your sales career will take you from good to “best in class”!   Advertisers: Podium Agency Performance Partners

God strategically chose somebody who wasn’t born in a place of favor but a place of low stature. Manual labor instead of outsourceable labor. Somebody who was tough from their personal experience in the early years of life instead of a brother who had it much easier, with the best jobs, and the least amount of physical challenges. Not a silver spoon but a modest wooden cup. In verse 13 of I Samuel 17, it says the three eldest and most favored by rank went with the King’s men to fight and David returned to his flock. It also says “but David went and returned from Saul” in verse 15, emphasizing the word returned, which is plausible, David and his brothers had already made the journey from their home in Bethlehem to Saul’s location and subsequently returned home. Based on contemporary estimates, the location on the map from Eshtaol (the location of where they believe the battle between the Israelites and Philistines take place) and Bethlehem is approximately 33.3km to 44.4 km (20.69 mi to 27.58 mi) depending on which modern road taken; however, David walked or rode an animal however the latter is less likely. Additionally, the most direct route is over the mountain ridge pass between the two locations. Not a simple feat. This is also, presumably, the same route David took when bringing supplies to his brothers who were on the front lines of the battle (Langfur, 2019). If David wasn’t already a seasoned traveler and incredible endurance athlete from his years of shepherding it is unlikely many men, if any, could endure this type of traveling and daily activity. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/paladinpreacher/message

There is a perverseness to human thoughts about God that would be risible if it were not so tragic. We find ways to make him small.A marvelous antidote is Psalm 139. It paints an exalted picture of God, yet does so in stunningly personal ways, as befits a psalm. In particular:(1) God sees and knows everything (Ps. 139:1-6). The psalmist might have made that point as I just did — in the abstract. Instead, true to his form, he addresses God, acknowledging that this God’s knowledge is not passive and is not merely comprehensive: it is active and personal. This God knows the psalmist so thoroughly that he knows every movement his body makes, and every habit of his life, but also every thought he entertains and every word he speaks — even before they are formulated. Hebrews 4:13 says as much.(2) God is omnipresent, and therefore inescapable (Ps. 139:7-12). Yet again, the thought in the text is not abstract. When David asks, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (Ps. 139:7), it is pretty obvious that there is a part of him that wants to get away from God. It cannot be done. If David were to fly to the heavens or descend to Sheol, if he were to travel as far east or as far west as might be imagined, if he were to hide in the darkness — nothing could hide him from God’s searching gaze. By the end of the psalm, it is clear that David does not want to escape from this God (cf. Rom. 8:38-39).(3) God is the Creator and providential Ruler (Ps. 139:13-18). Here David does not hark back to the initial creation, but to his own formation in his mother’s womb — which formation is, finally, nothing other than a work of God, for all its terrifying complexity. Nor does this God relinquish control once the creature is made: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16). In Scripture, this truth does not compromise human responsibility, but increases our faith. Perhaps it is the sheer breadth of such knowledge that prompts David to pen the last two verses of this section: God’s thoughts cannot be numbered, for they are more numerous than the grains of sand by the sea — which is no exaggeration at all.(4) God is utterly holy (Ps. 139:19-24). David’s response to evil people is merely a function of his loyalty to God (Ps. 139:19-22).  What saves it from mere vindictive self-righteousness is the fact that in the light of this God’s holiness, David is no less resolved to deal with any evil in his own life (Ps. 139:23-24). This podcast is designed to be used alongside TGC's Read The Bible initiative (TGC.org/readthebible). The podcast features devotional commentaries from D.A. Carson’s book For the Love of God (vol. 1) that follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan.

(2Chr.24:17-25;   Ps.89:4-5,29-34;   Mt.6:24-34) “Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned you.” How quickly Joash the king of Judah, who so recently had restored true worship in the temple at Jerusalem, “transgress[es] the Lord's commands.”  After Jehoiada the priest died, the people “forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols.”  And so, “wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.”  So great is their apostasy that not only would they “not listen to [the prophets'] warnings” when they were sent “to convert them to the Lord,” but when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada stood up in their midst to call them back to the Lord, “they stoned him to death in the Lord's temple.”  And so the central place of worship becomes a place of murder. How truly Jesus speaks in today's gospel: “No man can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other or be attentive to one and despise the other.”  How clearly we see the hatred of God at work in Judah as she embraces false and empty gods.  And so Judah becomes like her profligate sister in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  She who is set aside to preserve the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem, who is given yet a share in the inheritance promised David, turns boldly from her call and blessing to despise that which is most her own.  And now does her hatred grow.  And though she may escape the chastising hand of God a longer time than her sister, God's promise: “If [David's] sons forsake my law and walk not according to my ordinances, if they violate my statutes and keep not my commands, I will punish their crime with a rod and their guilt with stripes,” will not be set aside forever, and they shall follow their sister into exile. Brothers and sisters, we must choose the master we shall serve: if the world and its spirit, then you court God's condemnation; if the Lord, then remain faithful with your whole heart and follow His Son unto heaven.  It is to heaven He desires your soul to come, but you must trust in Him and remain faithful to His call.  For if you leave Him, He cannot but leave you; but if you hold fast to His love, He can do nothing but bless you. Today Jesus, the Son of the Father in heaven, stands up to warn you against the traps of this world and call you into full, living worship of the One God.  Will you enter into His love? ******* O LORD, in your House alone let us make our home, and so find your kingship over us, and so find your blessing forever. YHWH, how kind your words to us are; how reassuring you would be.  But do we listen to you; indeed, can we hear you at all?  O heavenly Father, you know all that we need, and so would provide for us all things if we but followed in your way – but who among us has any faith? O LORD, do we not rather fret over the passing things of this earth?  Do our hearts not turn quickly to false gods, abandoning you and true worship to feed our bellies, to save the flesh?  And what can we be but destroyed like the grass of the field if we have no more sense, no more faith, no more love for you than a lifeless statue?  Woe to us as we turn from you, for you are our very life, and without your Spirit quickly we die… quickly we die. Let us seek holiness, LORD, let this be our goal, our call, our only desire.  Let us hope for you alone and for your heavenly kingdom, and we shall be blessed, and we shall remain in your House forever.

(2Chr.24:17-25;   Ps.89:4-5,29-34;   Mt.6:24-34) “Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned you.” How quickly Joash the king of Judah, who so recently had restored true worship in the temple at Jerusalem, “transgress[es] the Lord's commands.”  After Jehoiada the priest died, the people “forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols.”  And so, “wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.”  So great is their apostasy that not only would they “not listen to [the prophets'] warnings” when they were sent “to convert them to the Lord,” but when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada stood up in their midst to call them back to the Lord, “they stoned him to death in the Lord's temple.”  And so the central place of worship becomes a place of murder. How truly Jesus speaks in today's gospel: “No man can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other or be attentive to one and despise the other.”  How clearly we see the hatred of God at work in Judah as she embraces false and empty gods.  And so Judah becomes like her profligate sister in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  She who is set aside to preserve the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem, who is given yet a share in the inheritance promised David, turns boldly from her call and blessing to despise that which is most her own.  And now does her hatred grow.  And though she may escape the chastising hand of God a longer time than her sister, God's promise: “If [David's] sons forsake my law and walk not according to my ordinances, if they violate my statutes and keep not my commands, I will punish their crime with a rod and their guilt with stripes,” will not be set aside forever, and they shall follow their sister into exile. Brothers and sisters, we must choose the master we shall serve: if the world and its spirit, then you court God's condemnation; if the Lord, then remain faithful with your whole heart and follow His Son unto heaven.  It is to heaven He desires your soul to come, but you must trust in Him and remain faithful to His call.  For if you leave Him, He cannot but leave you; but if you hold fast to His love, He can do nothing but bless you. Today Jesus, the Son of the Father in heaven, stands up to warn you against the traps of this world and call you into full, living worship of the One God.  Will you enter into His love? ******* O LORD, in your House alone let us make our home, and so find your kingship over us, and so find your blessing forever. YHWH, how kind your words to us are; how reassuring you would be.  But do we listen to you; indeed, can we hear you at all?  O heavenly Father, you know all that we need, and so would provide for us all things if we but followed in your way – but who among us has any faith? O LORD, do we not rather fret over the passing things of this earth?  Do our hearts not turn quickly to false gods, abandoning you and true worship to feed our bellies, to save the flesh?  And what can we be but destroyed like the grass of the field if we have no more sense, no more faith, no more love for you than a lifeless statue?  Woe to us as we turn from you, for you are our very life, and without your Spirit quickly we die… quickly we die. Let us seek holiness, LORD, let this be our goal, our call, our only desire.  Let us hope for you alone and for your heavenly kingdom, and we shall be blessed, and we shall remain in your House forever.

Woke to the news that my friend and mentor David Clark has died. I would not be where I am today without his inspiration and support. My heart breaks for his children. We are ALL Superman. Rest In Power my brother This podcast was recorded Thursday April 4th 2019 and originally released on Episode 40 To help with David's funeral expenses, Mishka Shubaly, Josh LaJaunie and Rich Roll have set up the below Gofundme page. If David brought you some light, please give what you can afford. Thank you LINK TO GOFUNDME for DAVID

You get much smarter in this episode. David Olney IS the smartest guy in the room when it comes to devising solutions to solve complex problems and wicked problems. David lectures on applied thinking, complex problem solving, philosophies of violence, group psychology, terrorism, strategic culture, and the clash of civilizations. He knows plenty of stuff. David trains people to use (and choose between) a raft of skills and heuristics, so that they can ask deeper questions, identify assumptions, challenge biases and communicate more effectively. Alongside this episode, check out David's. He co-hosts Blind Insights with Tim Whiffen, as well as the STRATEGIKON podcast with Dr. John Bruni for SAGE International Australia. David has supervised theses on counter insurgency, counter terrorism, ASIO, drone warfare, Joint Special Operations Command, intervention in failed states, and European integration. He is a regular commentator on Australian national security, regional security, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.    Intelligence Summary (INTSUM) 04:00   David's early days. Born blind on a farm… onto guitar and violin and massage!? 11:00   The philosophies of violence. 13:50   The role of violence in contemporary society 17:50   David on Dave Grossman…. Has the world ever been more violent?           21:20   If David were planning Iraq and Afghanistan post 9-11 what would you do differently 24:50   How can you join up civil-military operations? 28:25   Commenting on the book Stephen Kotler, Stealing Fire. Found here. 31:15   What are Special Operations Units there to do? 32:35   What is complexity to you? 33:50   Wicked Problems… and the characteristics of wicked problems 34:30   How do you clear up a mess!? 35:00   What about Dave Snowden? …. Is the toolkit right (probe-sense-respond) 36:20   How do we re-shape expectations in a 4-year electoral cycle? 37:45   What advice would David give to Leaders during COVID-19? 40:00   And talking Stanley Chrystal's Team of Teams… he was failing and losing first…. Then he realised he had to adapt. 42:00   The case for adversity… 44:00   The podcast link 44:15   No happiness without struggle…. David's opinion Blind Insights (Podcast): Link here Music Mitchell Martin – ‘Broken' … available on Spotify Mitchell Martin – ‘Be Myself … also available on Spotify Thanks to Michell Martin for the use of his music.      

Today's Bible Readings: Numbers 26; Psalm 69; Isaiah 16; 1 Peter 4At one level, Psalm 69 finds David pouring his heart out to God, begging for help as he faces extraordinary pressures and opponents. We may not be able to reconstruct all the circumstances that are presented here in poetic form, but David has been betrayed by people close to him, and his anguish is palpable.At another level, this psalm is a rich repository of texts quoted or paraphrased by New Testament writers: “Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head” (69:4; see John 15:25); “I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons” (69:8; cf. John 7:5); “for zeal for your house consumes me” (69:9; see John 2:17); “and the insults of those who insult you fall on me” (69:9; see Rom. 15:3); “but I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation” (69:13; cf. Isa. 49:8); 2 Cor. 6:2); “they put gall in my food and gave me vinegar” (69:21; see Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; Luke 23:36); “they . . . gave me vinegar for my thirst” (69:21; see Matt. 27:34; Mark 15:23; John 19:28-30); “may their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents” (69:25; see Matt. 23:38; Acts 1:20); “may they be blotted out of the book of life” (69:28; cf. Luke 10:20).For the sheer concentration of such citations and allusions in one chapter, this psalm is remarkable. Of course, they are not all of the same sort, and this brief meditation cannot possibly probe them all. But several of them fall into one important pattern. This is a psalm written by David. (There is no good reason to doubt this attribution from the superscription.) David is not only the head of the dynasty that issues in “great David’s greater Son” (as the hymn writer puts it), but in many ways he becomes a model for the king who is to come, a pattern for him — a type, if you will.That is the reasoning of the New Testament authors. It is easy enough to demonstrate that the reasoning is well grounded. Here it is enough to glimpse something of the result. If King David could endure scorn for God’s sake (69:7), how much more the ultimate King — who certainly also suffers rejection by his brothers for God’s sake (69:8). If David is zealous for the house of the Lord, how could Jesus’ disciples possibly fail to see in his cleansing of the temple and related utterances something of his own zeal (John 2:17)? Indeed, in the minds of the New Testament authors, such passages link with the “Suffering Servant” theme that surfaces in Isaiah 53 — and is here tied to King David and his ultimate heir and Lord.This podcast is designed to be used alongside TGC's Read The Bible initiative (TGC.org/readthebible). The podcast features devotional commentaries from D.A. Carson’s book For the Love of God (vol. 1) that follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan.

We recently had the chance to have our guest David Pere be a part of a panel where we discuss all things seller financing (see Episode 85). In this episode, we welcome him back to hear all about what he’s done since the last time we featured him on the show. Oftentimes, people who begin investing in real estate do it to supplement their income from a salary or quit their day jobs. Back in January of 2019, David introduced to us the idea and strategies to invest in real estate while serving in the military full time (see Episode 35). And since then, David has grown his out-of-state portfolio, taken part in a syndication, dabbled around with a flip, and is currently House Hacking in sunny San Diego. Up to this point, David is still serving in the Marines full time and simultaneously growing his business. He’s having a blast doing it and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Some key takeaways from our conversation with David: 1) Syndications are a good way to build wealth and you can definitely learn a lot about the business, but David wouldn’t recommend jumping into it as your first investment. There are many pieces to the puzzle, and it might just be a little too complex and a little too complicated for someone just getting started. 2) Be attentive to the contractors you hire. You don’t necessarily need to micromanage your contractors and handymen, but make sure you keep close tabs on their work. Make sure to look at the work they’ve done and make sure it’s done correctly. If you don’t know what to look for, make sure to have someone who does. This can be done by a trusted colleague or a property manager. 3) Be attentive to how you bill and pay your contractors. Projects can easily go over budget and become overrun because of poor planning. When dealing with the financial side of the business, you want to make sure you are on top of when your cash flows. If you want to stay profitable, do not get careless with your money. 4) Have reserves and budget accordingly. Despite having challenges with his rentals, David stays afloat because he has security in his investments. Many times, investors only focus on purchasing as cheap as possible, but ignore how to manage investments effectively as well. “Just because you can purchase a property for no money down doesn’t mean you should,” David says. Do your due diligence and create a plan with multiple exit strategies. If David could go back and talk to his 16 year old self, he’d tell him, “Start networking immediately and be better with your money!”   An unexpected benefit of real estate investing, David said, was the thrill of the hunt. David doesn’t necessarily need to work anymore, but he still does because it’s fun and he enjoys what he does. A piece of advice David would tell his friends looking to get started in real estate would be to “Learn, network, take action.” Surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to do. David recommends using Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) to help you find local community banks for financing and other perks that big institutions don’t offer. He recommends reading The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over by Jack Schafer and Marvin Karlins to help you learn about the psychology involved in social interactions (because after all, real estate is a people business). If you’d like to get in touch with David, visit: www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com or follow him on Instagram @frommilitarytomillionaire

Intimacy with the Lord is attainable when we know Him personally. Knowing who God is, we will be able to apprehend that even our troubles are experiences that we have with Him. If David had not had a personal relationship with God, He would not have intuited that He is the One who preserves their lives and kept their feet from slipping. If He had not had the right focus, He would have stuck his eyes in their afflictive situation, and would not see that God had brought them into a place of abundance. If He had not been matured enough, He would not have told the people to praise God and make their songs audible amidst their infirmities.

Main Point of the Sermon: As the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus redeems the practice from burden to blessing. Intro For much of my life, people called me driven. Driven is a funny word. Because we think its a positive word. And it can be. But you have to ask yourself, what or who is driving you? For many years, I was driven by a sense of approval. I needed to be good enough. Talented enough. Funny enough. I needed to prove myself. So this inward sense drove me to work hard. Even after I became a Christian I was still driven to perform. Driven to be better than other Christians. Seeking approval from God and especially others. I was given an impression early on that there are “Good Christians.” And those who aren’t. I wanted to be good. For the last 10 years, God has been liberating me from my need to be good enough because Jesus was good enough for me. I am being liberated from my need to accomplish. I am slowly learning how to rest in Jesus’ life, death, and love for me. Do you struggle with feeling like you’re never doing enough? Measuring enough? Working enough? Holy enough? Maybe you’re sick and tired of not being good enough. Constantly under a burden and feel like God is unhappy with you. I have good news for you! Passages like the one we are looking at today are helpful. This is a hard text. But with some work, it really can be a liberator for many of us. › Before we jump in, we’re going to be looking at the context. ALWAYS! Then we will look at two different scenes occurring on the Sabbath. Context Luke 4:18–19 ESV 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” “Liberty to the oppressed” We have seen Jesus liberate people from demonic oppression, physical affliction, and cultural rejection over and over since his announcement in chapter 4. Now, we will see Jesus liberate those who were oppressed by what the Jewish leaders turned the law into. Jesus is giving an example of this new paradigm, the new covenant that Jesus introduced in our last passage regarding the wineskins and garments. The war is against legalism. But the battle in our Text today is about the Sabbath. The First Sabbath: Luke 6:1 Lk 6:1 “On a Sabbath”Let’s stop here and do a quick study on what the Sabbath is. The Sabbath is very foreign for those who are not familiar with the Bible and even for those who grew up in the Church can be deeply confused about it. What’s the Sabbath? Deut 5:12-14 12 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work… And then he lists every person and animal in a community. This was a radical law, unheard of in that time for God to call a whole nation to rest one day a week! This was not normal to give people a day of rest especially everyone: man, woman, child, servant, and animal. It was supposed to a blessing to the whole community! If we continue reading, Deuteronomy 5:15 ESV 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. The Sabbath is a weekly reminder of their liberation, they are no longer slaves and God, He had redeemed them! The Sabbath was a weekly, life-giving blessing that was simple to observe: Don’t work, instead, rest and remember. What the Sabbath Became If you want to jot down Ezekiel 20:12-13 we see that Israel ended up ignoring the Sabbath and perverting the original design. This was one of the significant reasons why they were exiled from their land. The Sabbath was such an important domino habit. I’ve talked about it before. Domino habits are those habits that when you do them well, they domino into many other habits and other blessings in your life. A weekly ceasing of work, to remember who they were, who God was, and what he had done was a game changer. If they lost that, then they would find themselves slipping in many other areas. The Jews, once returned to their land, knowing how important Sabbath was made a commitment to make sure they never mess up on it again. The Pharisees were one of the most influential groups in Israel and they believed that Israel was impure. Many believed if they followed God’s commands well enough, the Messiah would come and bring the kingdom! But instead of focusing on the heart, which is much harder, they focused on creating more rules around the law so that they wouldn’t even come near to breaking the law. They did something some call hedging. For example, let’s say you struggle avoiding porn, which is breaking a straight up commandment of not lusting. You could create an additional law to never use electronics. This would almost guarantee you would never look at porn. However, it wouldn’t address the heart. Then, in your zeal. you could condemn anyone who uses a computer because your man-made law was being violated. Hedging is not a problem, but imposing your hedge on others is. Thus, by the time Jesus steps into the scene, the Sabbath was no longer a blessing and was hardly recognizable. Here are some rules they created: • Fires could not be lit. • Fires could not be put out. • You could only walk a certain distance from your house. • You couldn’t take a bath because the water could flow off of you and wash the floor. • Women couldn’t look in a mirror or put on any jewelry. • If you were to find a white hair, you would have to wait till the Sabbath is over to pluck it out. • They had about 39 rules on the kind of work that was forbidden on the Sabbath. Sounds like a restful day, huh? Instead of being THE highlight of the week, they learned to dread it. It became like Monday's are to many workers. It was a duty not a delight. It wasn’t a weekly sign of their liberation but their slavery to traditions and cultural expectations. Eventually, these traditions became as important if not more important than the actual God-given law for many Jews. And based on how well you fulfilled the law gained a sense of social acceptance and for many, acceptance towards God. They made the rules more important than people and more important than God. They focused on outward appearances rather than the heart. › So now that we understand their context, back to our passage, Luke 6:1–2 ESV 1 On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” God commanded farmers to leave the edges of their fields unplowed so travelers and the poor could pluck some with their hands and eat (Deut 23:25). However, the stalker Pharisees have a problem with this because they’re doing this on the Sabbath. A sub-theme I will trace throughout this sermon is different characteristics of Pharisees. It’s important to take note since its something we all can struggle with in different ways. You might be a pharisee when you are stalking people to catch them doing something wrong! The Pharisees already dislike Jesus since he’s calling filthy tax collectors and traitors like Levi to follow him. There’s no way he can be the messiah! Notice what the Pharisee accuse them of doing? What is not LAWFUL! They didn’t say, “You know, some people say… or one teacher thinks.” They called it law! It was absolutely fine to walk through and eat grain. So why did the Pharisees think what they were doing was against the law? Scholar, Leon Morris helps us understand their issue: When the disciples picked some heads of grain, the Pharisees thought they were reaping. When they rubbed them in their hands to separate the wheat from the chaff, they considered this threshing and winnowing. And when they started to eat the grain, they were guilty of preparing food on the Sabbath. So with every mouthful, the disciples were violating the law four different ways. So the disciples were absolutely not breaking the sabbath but merely the pharisee’s traditions. You might be a pharisee when you elevate man-made traditions to the same level as the commands of God. › Jesus responds Jesus’ Response: Luke 6:3–5 Luke 6:3–4 ESV 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” “Have you not read” is Jesus’ implicit rebuke that they have read it but they’re totally missed the point. The story is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:1–6, which you don’t have to turn to. So David is fleeing from King Saul as he’s a jealous mess and wants to kill David. David and his company are hungry so the priest gives him and his men the bread of the presence. However, this bread was only supposed to be eaten by the priests at the end of the week. These 12 loaves represented the 12 tribes of Israel and would be place on the altar in the house of God. At the end of the week, the bread would be replaced with fresh loaves. It seems like David’s arrival was on the Sabbath since the old loaves were available. On this one occasion, the high priest gave this special bread to David and his men to eat as they were fleeing from Saul. Although the priests were the only ones allowed to eat this bread, God never punishes David or his men for this act. Why was it ok since he wasn’t a priest? David and the priest understood the heart of God which was later expressed in Hosea 6:6. Hosea 6:6 ESV 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. It seems like David’s understanding and Jesus’ point is that, at least in this case, the ceremonial law which stated only priests could eat the bread, bowed to the law of love in human survival. David understood the heart of the Sabbath was for the good of man. It was supposed to be a life-giving blessing. And his men were starving and in danger so they ate the bread. Jesus’ question has the Pharisees in a dilemma. • David was the hero king of all Israelites. • They wouldn’t dare charge David of sin. • And yet, David breaks a god-given law on the sabbath. Jesus is calling out their hypocrisy and their inconsistency. The logic of Jesus’ point is this: If David could be allowed by a priest to violate a God-given law on the Sabbath, then the disciples could certainly be allowed by the Son of Man to violate a man-made law on the Sabbath! (Inspired by John MacArthur) You might be a pharisee when you’re more concerned with following traditions than the good of other people. Jesus has been using the Old Testament to expose their legalism. But he does not merely use the OT as an outside authority to expose legalism, he points to his own authority! Luke 6:5 ESV 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Whoah! For those who knew the Scriptures, Jesus was making a huge claim here. He’s identifying himself as the Son of Man which he just did in the last chapter, Luke 5:24 ESV 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” So the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins! Pastor Ross unpacked Daniel 7 as the most significant Old Testament reference for the Son of Man but basically, the emphasis is that he’s a king and has all authority and all peoples will serve him forever. He’s explaining to all that who would have ears to hear, “I am God, the author of the Sabbath. Let me help you understand what the Sabbath is all about.” The Jews were longing for the Messiah to come, and yet, Jesus’ reference to 1 Samuel is dripping with connections that he is the son of David longed for: • Jesus is from the line of David. • David goes into the house of God. Jesus is ultimately the house of God. • Jesus is the high priest. • They eat the bread of the presence. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us and is the bread of life. • David takes the bread and passes it with those with him. • Jesus will do the same at the Last supper, foreshadowing his death. • David was betrayed by his father-in-law, Saul. • Jesus is betrayed by one of his friends. I’m the one you are searching for and yet they can’t see it or perhaps, don’t want to see it! You might be a pharisee when you love the rules more than the ruler! › Jesus is going to further reverse the Sabbath back to blessing from burden. Another Sabbath: Luke 6:6-7 Luke 6:6–7 ESV 6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. So this is a small enough town where everyone knew everyone. This man was known by all. And he had an issue with his right hand, which is a big deal. The Jewish tradition was that you could heal others on the Sabbath, only if it would save their life. This guy had this issue for a long time probably. And could go another day. The Pharisees are learning that Jesus cares about people and is able to heal. So they are looking for to catch Jesus in the wrong to accuse him. You might be a pharisee if you only care if someone is helped your way. Jesus has a big issue with their mindset. So he’s going to right at them. He doesn’t avoid the controversy and wait for the next day, lest they misunderstand him. He believes that the Pharisees’ legalism is hurting people so he’s going to go at them! Let me show you the heart of legalism. Turn to Luke 18. Jesus describes a Pharisee and a tax collector both going to the temple and their different attitudes. Luke 18:9 ESV 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Legalism is one of the greatest enemies so Jesus is using their understanding of the Sabbath to expose and destroy it. Luke 6:8–10 ESV 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. So Jesus sets them up and exposes them. He asks them a question they can’t answer without contradicting themselves. They can’t say, “Do harm or destroy life.” So they stay quiet. He shows them the heart of the law. The Sabbath was supposed to be a blessing, not a burden. It wasn’t as much of what you CAN’T do but what you CAN do. It was supposed to be for the good of people. Which is one of the biggest misconceptions of our culture. Christianity is all about rules. God is the ultimate kill-joy. However, the Law is supposed to give life! There is good reason behind EVERYTHING God commands us to do. Our problem is that we naturally love the things that harm us and ultimately spiritually kill us! Jesus looks them down and calls the man to do what he cannot do, stretch out his hand. Marvel at the authority! No dance, no chanting, no hoping. Just commanded and the man is miraculously healed. Jesus’ healing is confirmation that his interpretation of the Sabbath and the new way of his kingdom is legit. The Pharisees’ response: 6:11 Luke 6:11 ESV 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. What is wrong with these guys? Instead of bowing in worship after seeing someone they knew delivered from a debilitating disability, they are filled with fury. Their power is threatened and their whole system and life is challenged. You might be a pharisee when you will do whatever you can to maintain your power and your beliefs. They don’t want the messiah. They want their power and their way! Sometimes we think, if only God would do a miracle, I would believe. This right here is evidence that’s not always true. In fact, many times throughout scripture, undeniable miracles are performed and people keep on in their disbelief and hard hearts. The text says literally, “They were filled with madness.” They begin their process of plotting his murder according to Matthew’s account. So apparently, you can’t heal and pick up grain on the Sabbath but you can begin to plot murder??? You might be a pharisee when you are filled with rage when people expose your hypocrisy. You also might be a pharisee when you are utterly inconsistent in your keeping of the law. How now shall we Live? Should we keep the Sabbath (Sidebar) A natural question you may be wondering is if Christians have to observe the Sabbath? Last April, I preached a whole sermon on Sabbath for the Christian titled: 24/6: A Way to a Vibrant Life I’m not going to give you the answer here because I won’t have the proper amount of time to unpack how we understand our relationship with the Old Testament law. If you didn’t hear it or need a refresher, please check it out this week. Good News for the Weary › The actual weekly practice of a Sabbath was not the main heart of this passage though. Jesus is waging war against legalism. Against perverting God’s good and holy law. Making God’s ways a burden, rather than a blessing. A way to earn, rather than a way to live. The specific battle in our Text today was the Sabbath. So let’s go back to the heart of what Jesus is trying to accomplish. Are you tired of not being holy enough, not loving people enough, not killing sin enough, no reading enough? Or perhaps: not working enough, not earning enough, not accomplishing enough, not advancing enough, not traveling enough, not experiencing enough? And even if you do enough, work enough, and accomplish enough, it’s never enough. There’s always tomorrow. You’re never satisfied, there’s always more work to do then there’s time in the day. Jesus has good news for us! Jesus wants to set free those who are bondage to sin. And also those who are in bondage of always trying to be good enough. We have all failed at to keep the God’s law. The most basic law of loving him with all of our being. The law requires that we die for that failure. But Jesus has come to perfectly fulfill the law. But Jesus died for our sins and took our punishment he cried out, IT IS FINISHED!!! So the Law says, “DO” but Christ says, “Done!” So Jesus finished the work we could never accomplish so now we can rest in him. It’s like if you go to work on Monday after totally screwing up the previous week, and you expect the boss to tear you to shreds. Instead, she says, “You can go home. Someone else did all your work for you this week. In fact that they did it much better than you could ever do it. And they want you to have the paycheck plus a bonus. Enjoy the week off!” Except in our case, it’s a life-time. And it’s spiritual. Jesus lived the life we should have lived and so now we are counted as if we lived the life he did! For unbelievers Maybe you say, “I will come to Jesus but I need to clean my act up a little first.” You will never be clean enough unless you simply come in your mess and let Jesus wash you. Jesus was clean so that we who are unclean might be clean. We don’t need to work our way to God, for Jesus already worked on our behalf! And when we trust him, he puts his spirit in us and performs powerful works through us! Our works don’t earn his love or acceptance, they flow from his love and acceptance. So turn from your control, your attempts of being good enough, and put your trust and allegiance in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. For Christians You may need to repent for pushing your man-made laws onto others. Condemning them. Judging them. Putting your preferences and personal convictions as equal to or greater than God’s law. Maybe you need to lay down your works again and freshly put your trust in Christ’s work for you. Perhaps you’re a follower of Jesus but you have subtly fallen into the trap of trying to earn your approval again. Pray enough. Read enough. Do good enough. You feel a persistent anxiety and sense God is not pleased with you. Lay it down and receive the Father’s love through the perfect work of his Son. Amen! Benediction and Commission? Matthew 11:28–30 NLT 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

1) What does the Bible teach about self-defense when being attacked? 2) Could you explain how you define "modern nation" when you're speaking of Russia? 3) How can the dead be raptured? 4) If David sinned when he numbered the people why were the people punished? 5) Can a Christian lose their salvation? 6) What is a backsliding Christian? 7) How important is it to fellowship with other Christians? 8) How important is it to attend worship services? 9) Do you suggest we go to a liberal church if there are no other choices around us? 10) How can you tell if what you hear is from the Word of God or someones opinion? 11) How does one know you are doing Gods will?

There is one thing that God cannot do—He cannot lie. When He makes covenant, He keeps it, and we can hold on to His Word forever. God is faithful to His Word. He’s not going to alter what he has said (v.34). Gods Word is not going to change, but it should change us (Ps.119:89; Matt.24:35). God is faithful to chasten. He said in vv.30-31, “If David’s descendants don’t live as the ought to live, I will chasten them. My promise won’t fail even though they fail.” Even if we are not faithful, God is still faithful. He will not deny His word. He is faithful to discipline us when we need it. God is faithful to forgive. When we ask Him for His forgiveness, “He forgives our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness” (1.Jn.1:9). I’m glad I don’t have to figure out every day what God’s attitude is toward me. He doesn’t change; He is faithful. Have you experienced God’s faithfulness in your life lately? Trust His word, submit to His chastening and ask His forgiveness. The punishment will follow disobedience, the Davidic covenant will remain inviolable.

February 16, 2020 Matthew 5:43--48 (ESV) --- 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus has made it clear throughout his teaching that he does not ascribe or Pharisee. He goes from talking about accepting the poor in spirit and the meek to requiring his people to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Then he outlines what it looks like to exceed their righteousness. In this text, he gets to the heart of what we looked at last week, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." That is his description of the way they treated others. There was no compassion and no love for those who are evil. Now he takes it a step further. He calls out their teaching to love their neighbor and hate their enemy. Then he tells his people to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This is a bold and hard to believe statement. What would that look like, and what is the difference between the two mentalities? Hate Your Enemy The Jews, most likely, did not use a specific verse in the law to justify hating their enemy. It was more so a matter of interpreting a lot of Old Testament texts as they wanted to and ignoring others. Israel's History Throughout the first five books of the Old Testament, we see God making judgments against the nations to wipe them out completely. Deuteronomy 7:1--5 (ESV) --- 1 "When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, 2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire. Deuteronomy 7:16 (ESV) --- 16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. God wanted those evil people to be wiped off of the map just like during the flood, but this time he would use his people to judge the nations. This is pretty harsh of the God who is known for love in the New Testament. He sure does seem to hate his enemies. Imprecatory Psalms Then, some Psalms speak out against the enemy of the Psalmist. Psalm 69:22--28 (ESV) --- 22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. 23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. 26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. 27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. These Psalms call down Devine curses and express hatred for the enemies. If David, as a man after God's own heart, can hate his enemies, why can't we hate ours? This is probably a significant reason why the Jews taught that it was fitting and righteous to hate your enemy. How many of us feel this resentment inside of us when someone offends us? If they criticize our work, it affects us right down to the core. Why? Because they have touched on something that I hold onto for my identity. I am good at what I do, and that is where I find fulfillment. An attack on that is an attack on me. What if they criticize our family or our church family? Do we despise them for that? They have made assumptions about us. They are speaking lies and attempting to defame those I love. These attacks cause our anger to bubble over, and we may hold a grudge that we will never let go of. We might say we forgive, but we don't mean it deep down inside. We have labeled them as an enemy, and they can never be our brother or sister again. Love Your Enemy Jesus, once again, completely goes against their teaching. He tells them to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. This is not an easy idea to swallow. How many of us would be able to love someone who has beaten us to the point of being disabled? What if they hit our children or abused our wife/husband? Do we exclude those types of enemies? That's what the Pharisees were doing, but their exclusions included more and more people. First, they hated the Romans, then all Gentiles, then the Samaritans, then the tax collectors and sinners, and then they hated all who weren't them. The Romans charged the Jews with hating humankind. But Jesus says to love your enemies, and he describes enemies as those who persecute. Persecution can come in many forms. It could be murdering those we love or torturing them. He tells us to love them and pray for them. How difficult! When we look closer at the Old Testament, we see that this is what God wanted us to do from the beginning. He did not want us to hate our enemy. Leviticus 19:17--18 (ESV) --- 17 "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. He did not want us to hate our brother or our neighbor. He wanted us to love them as ourselves. How do we love ourselves? The world tells us that our problem is that we don't love ourselves enough, but we love ourselves plenty. We are always looking for ways to make ourselves comfortable, satisfy our desires, glorify ourselves, meet all of our needs, meet most of our wants, be well thought of by others, enjoy pleasure, and we are very forgiving of ourselves. We assume the best of ourselves and give ourselves the benefit of the doubt even when we know that we made a mistake. Imagine loving an enemy in that way. That is radical. There are other texts in the OT that point to loving your enemy and doing good to them. God has never wanted there to be malice or spite between people. Exodus 23:4--5 (ESV) --- 4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. Our goal is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The Jews were trying to get out of this command. In Luke 10, we read the parable of the Good Samaritan. Do you remember what question sparked that parable? The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" This is the question that shows how the Jews were getting out of loving their neighbor. They would just label someone as their enemy so that they did not have to love them. Jesus turns that thinking on its head by asking, "Who was a neighbor to the man beaten up on the side of the road?" It was not the priest or the Levite, but the Samaritan who was righteous. Be Like God Don't we do the same thing? We label people as evil or hateful so that we can justify not talking to them or not helping them. Think a little more deeply about why Jesus wants us to love our enemies. Matthew 5:45--48 (ESV) --- 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Our goal is to be the sons and daughters of God. This phrase should be familiar to us since Jesus just called all peacemakers sons of God. God's primary concern is for reconciliation and peace. He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked or in the death of anyone (Ezekiel 18:23, 32). He created us to live with him and he pursues our hearts through the giving of his son even though we have become his enemies. We set ourselves against God by rebelling against his purpose for us, but he still loves us and wants to help us. He lets us continue to live on this earth. This is one thing that has always stood out to me. Atheists and those who don't believe in God say, "If he is really all-powerful, why does evil exist?" They don't understand that if he were to remove all the evil, they would be in torment right now. We don't want God to remove all the evil without providing an opportunity for repentance. How much sense does it make for us to be forgiven and then hate those who are just like we use to be? Maybe they are hateful toward us instead of hateful toward God, but if God can forgive us, why can't we sympathize with them and love them enough to show them God's love? We like to love those who love us. It's easy to love our family, our church family, and our friends most of the time. Even the people around us love people who love them. But Jesus is calling us to love those who hate us. He is calling for us to go above and beyond what the world around us is willing to do. If someone hates us, they may talk bad about us or cause all kinds of trouble for us at work or school. They could lash out against us and seek to abuse us. Will we look for opportunities to love them? Why would anyone ever do that? Because that will make us more like God than we have ever been before. That will show them how God loves them. Remember what Jesus said on the cross? Luke 23:34 (ESV) --- 34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." What About Israel/David? Although we understand that God wants us to love our enemies, there may still be thoughts roaming around in the back of our heads about those who are evil. Is it really good for us to always show love to them? Aren't there other New Testament passages that contradict that idea (1 Cor 16, 1 John 5)? Let's look again at Israel's history and the imprecatory Psalms to learn where to draw the line appropriately. Israel's History When we look closer at the commands in Deuteronomy to show no mercy or pity not he nations, we see that what he was doing is actually an act of love. In verse four of Deuteronomy 7, he says that those nations will turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. God wanted them to remove the snares so that their sons would not be tempted to fall away. It wasn't a matter of hatred. Actually, God has been patiently waiting for the time to be right to judge these wicked nations. Four hundred years earlier, God foretold of their iniquity growing to the point of no judgment. Genesis 15:16 (ESV) --- 16 "And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." The wars of Israel were the only "holy wars" in history. They were the only wars ever prescribed by the command of God to set God's people up for holy living. They did not march in because their leader wanted to conquer land for their pleasure and glory. The conquering was intended to help Israel live in peace with God and shine as a light for the nations around them. Imprecatory Psalms What about the imprecatory Psalms? In some of the Psalms, love for the enemy has been pursued for a long time. Psalm 35:12--13 (ESV) --- 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. 13 But I, when they were sick--- I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. When we look at the life of David, this is almost always how he views his enemies. He spares Saul's life twice as he comes out to kill him (1 Sam 24, 26). Later we see him being overly compassionate with his enemy Shemei who is throwing rocks and cursing him as he is forced to leave Jerusalem. In all of these events, his mighty men are beside him encouraging him to kill Saul or to kill Shemei, but he refuses and he shows love toward his enemies. His own son, Absalom, betrays him and takes over Jerusalem, sleeping with David's concubines on his own rooftop. Instead of wanting him dead, we see him trying to save him and crying out in anguish when he finds out that he is dead. He prayed in Psalm 3 that God would deliver him out of this situation and strike his enemy, but he is still saddened and loves his son. This is likely the case for all of the Psalms. But also, these are the thoughts of God's anointed king. Are we really going to take those decrees and start applying them to our personal relationships? That goes directly against Leviticus 19. There may be a point where wickedness is so extreme or so unwavering that we speak like Paul or John. 1 Corinthians 16:22 (ESV) --- 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! 1 John 5:16 (ESV) --- 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life---to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. Jesus himself stops trying to reason with his enemies at one point and begins rebuking them (Matthew 23:34-35). There may be a point at which someone is so hard-hearted and rebellious that it would be fitting to call for God's judgment against them. However, it is not necessarily that we hate the person. I have heard people say of political people that the best thing that could happen would be for him or her to be assassinated. Actually, the best thing that could happen would be for that person to submit to our Lord and serve him with all of their heart. That was the best thing for us. Jesus wants us to have a heart that loves our neighbor as ourselves. How Can We Love Enemies? Maybe we are hearing all of this and thinking, "I don't hate anyone." But do we love them? If you are like me, you have a short list of people that you genuinely enjoy being around. Hopefully a lot of them are gathered here right now. All of those other people are just people we have to be around. We don't call them enemies because we aren't allowed to have enemies. But are we treating them like we would treat ourselves? Do we pay them the attention that they need to feel the love of God in their lives? For us to show love to someone, we have to step out of our comfort zones and actually like them. We have to look past the evil they do and hold out a hand of fellowship and friendship. They need to know the love that Christ has for them. Jesus came down from heaven for us. He surrounded himself by people who he knew would betray him and would refuse to listen to him. He endured brutal suffering from them. Then, he accepted them when he received all of the power and glory. He also accepts us. Why won't we accept others? Conclusion Throughout this sermon, we are meant to understand that we aren't perfect. No one is supposed to read through the Sermon on the Mount and think, "This makes me feel good about where I am spiritually." Jesus is calling us to perfection and helping us see that, no matter how religious we have been, we fail to meet the standard of perfection. We all fall woefully short. We need a savior, and we need forgiveness. This is what it feels like to be poor in spirit. The only way that we can grow in righteousness to be closer to perfection is through a radically new relationship with God. That will result in a radically new relationship with ourselves and with those around us. If we have God's love, we don't need to be approved of by those who are evil around us. We don't need their love and adoration to be satisfied. We are so satisfied with our understanding of God's love that we can endure tremendous hardships with a desire to show love to our tormenters. Do you have that relationship? Can we help you grow toward that?

(2Sm.5:1-7,10;   Ps.89:20-22,25-26;   Mk.3:22-30)  “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.” How different are the scribes who come to Jesus from the Israelites who come to David to crown him king.  “The tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: ‘Here we are, your bone and your flesh.'”  So united would they be to him whom the Lord had said would “shepherd [His] people Israel,” so well do they remember his leadership in war, that they wholeheartedly invite him to rule over them.  They believe what God has said of His chosen king: “I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,” and they confirm his anointing among them. But the scribes would drive Jesus from their midst.  And as the Jebusites vainly threatened David before he took the stronghold of Zion and began his reign in Jerusalem, so these blind leaders of the people vainly attack Jesus before His entering and taking hold of the New Jerusalem.  If David was anointed by God, how much more is the Father's anointing upon His only Son?  If David's deeds in war deserved respect and praise, how much more Him who came to teach and heal the nation?  And if these scribes should not only reject Jesus but designate the holy deeds He has worked among them as coming from the prince of demons, what hope have they but to join the prince of demons in eternal damnation?  For if they call the good evil, how shall they come to accept the goodness of God and enter His reign?  Shall they not rather fling themselves toward the fires of hell, as even they do here, taking the evil for good, led astray as they are by their pride and jealousy? The Lord's hand is always with His Chosen One, “that [His] arm might make Him strong.”  It is in that strength we take refuge; it is in the blessing upon Him we find life.  We must invite Him who is good to rule over us – His works must be our own.  If we do not recognize the truth of His words and the grace in His deeds, what hope will we have of finding the fountain that washes us clean of our sins and prepares us for the holiness of paradise?  What can these scribes do but “carr[y] the guilt of [their] sin without end,” for they utterly reject Him. Brothers and sisters, we choose life or we choose death.  We choose to side with the good or turn to become one with the evil.  Wickedness has no place with the grace of God and His goodness allows no evil to enter in.  Jesus destroys evil: speak only the truth of this Word.  The Spirit knows nothing of lies. ******* O LORD, may your Son rule over us all and make us strong. YHWH, Jesus shall shepherd your people Israel; the blind leaders cannot prevent Him from taking hold of the holy City.  For your anointing is upon Him, and it is your arm that makes Him strong.  O let us enter Jerusalem with Him, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh! May the house of Satan be plundered by Him who is stronger than he; let his property be despoiled, all the accusations with which he would attack your holy ones.  O let the Holy Spirit be upon us! the truth that cannot be denied.  Your goodness be upon our souls, O LORD, to lead us to all light. David was your servant, LORD, the figure of Christ, your Son.  From his youth you blessed him with your grace and power, with the anointing of your Spirit.  Now that Jesus has come to fulfill this blessing among us, let us welcome Him into our homes, that we might be welcomed into your House, your forgiveness in our hearts.  Let none turn away from your truth.

(2Sm.5:1-7,10;   Ps.89:20-22,25-26;   Mk.3:22-30)  “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.” How different are the scribes who come to Jesus from the Israelites who come to David to crown him king.  “The tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: ‘Here we are, your bone and your flesh.'”  So united would they be to him whom the Lord had said would “shepherd [His] people Israel,” so well do they remember his leadership in war, that they wholeheartedly invite him to rule over them.  They believe what God has said of His chosen king: “I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,” and they confirm his anointing among them. But the scribes would drive Jesus from their midst.  And as the Jebusites vainly threatened David before he took the stronghold of Zion and began his reign in Jerusalem, so these blind leaders of the people vainly attack Jesus before His entering and taking hold of the New Jerusalem.  If David was anointed by God, how much more is the Father's anointing upon His only Son?  If David's deeds in war deserved respect and praise, how much more Him who came to teach and heal the nation?  And if these scribes should not only reject Jesus but designate the holy deeds He has worked among them as coming from the prince of demons, what hope have they but to join the prince of demons in eternal damnation?  For if they call the good evil, how shall they come to accept the goodness of God and enter His reign?  Shall they not rather fling themselves toward the fires of hell, as even they do here, taking the evil for good, led astray as they are by their pride and jealousy? The Lord's hand is always with His Chosen One, “that [His] arm might make Him strong.”  It is in that strength we take refuge; it is in the blessing upon Him we find life.  We must invite Him who is good to rule over us – His works must be our own.  If we do not recognize the truth of His words and the grace in His deeds, what hope will we have of finding the fountain that washes us clean of our sins and prepares us for the holiness of paradise?  What can these scribes do but “carr[y] the guilt of [their] sin without end,” for they utterly reject Him. Brothers and sisters, we choose life or we choose death.  We choose to side with the good or turn to become one with the evil.  Wickedness has no place with the grace of God and His goodness allows no evil to enter in.  Jesus destroys evil: speak only the truth of this Word.  The Spirit knows nothing of lies. ******* O LORD, may your Son rule over us all and make us strong. YHWH, Jesus shall shepherd your people Israel; the blind leaders cannot prevent Him from taking hold of the holy City.  For your anointing is upon Him, and it is your arm that makes Him strong.  O let us enter Jerusalem with Him, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh! May the house of Satan be plundered by Him who is stronger than he; let his property be despoiled, all the accusations with which he would attack your holy ones.  O let the Holy Spirit be upon us! the truth that cannot be denied.  Your goodness be upon our souls, O LORD, to lead us to all light. David was your servant, LORD, the figure of Christ, your Son.  From his youth you blessed him with your grace and power, with the anointing of your Spirit.  Now that Jesus has come to fulfill this blessing among us, let us welcome Him into our homes, that we might be welcomed into your House, your forgiveness in our hearts.  Let none turn away from your truth.

(1Sm.24:3-21;   Ps.57:2-4,6,11;   Mk.3:13-19) “Sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession.” Today we see David at perhaps his most humble and obedient in the sight of God – we see why he is the great king of Israel. David is being hunted down by Saul once again in his jealousy.  His psalm, our psalm today, is his cry for protection from the Lord in whom he trusts: “I call to God Most High, to God, my benefactor.  May He send from heaven and save me.”  To the cave in which he hides, God sends his pursuer, vulnerable and at arm's length.  But this man who will be king of the Israelites by God's ordination refrains from taking the sword into his hand to kill the man who would kill him.  Why?  Because Saul is yet the king, “the Lord's anointed,” whom David even calls “a father to me” despite the threat he is to his life.  Such an act of respect, such an understanding of the obedience due God and His will is unparalleled in Scripture.  This is David.  This is the king. And how tragic a figure is Saul.  Upon having his eyes turned inward to his very soul and the injustice he wreaks upon David, he weeps aloud in recognition of his sin: “You are in the right rather than I; you have treated me generously, while I have done you harm.”  It is he who speaks the words of our quote today, he who recognizes the truly kingly nature of David…  Yet for all his penance and insight it shall not be long before his jealousy leads him to pursue David unrighteously once again.  He cannot escape his envy for David's blessing. And in our gospel we read of the blessed apostles of Christ, those “men He Himself had decided on,” whom He summoned and “who came and joined Him.”  These “He would send to preach the Good News”; these would “have authority to expel demons.”  They are named by name for us today: here is the foundation of the Church in which God dwells.  Here are His blessed kings of the New Jerusalem.  Let us not be jealous of them.  Let no man attempt to breach the authority given them; for pursue them as one would, none shall take their blessing away – it is they who are ordained by God for His service.  Humbly let us join them in their sovereignty over Israel.  Obediently let us come into the Lord's kingdom. ******* O LORD, though your justice is beyond our reach, in your mercy make us your disciples.  YHWH, those whom you appoint must be respected.  It is you who anoint the king and ordain apostles.  Jesus is your only Son and He has chosen the Twelve to follow Him.  Who are we to go against His will and pursue them and those who continue in their stead?  O LORD, you have made Peter the rock of your Church and given all your apostles power to preach the Gospel and expel all demons.  At their hands your presence becomes real, of your Son's flesh and blood we partake, and we are forgiven our sins.  If David your chosen could not kill an unjust king because of your blessing upon him, how much less can we usurp the power of the bishops and priests who stand this day in the very place of Jesus?  O let us learn the respect and obedience to your will that King David has clearly shown!  You protect your righteous ones, dearest LORD and God.  And so we need have no fear as long as we take refuge in your justice. 

(1Sm.24:3-21;   Ps.57:2-4,6,11;   Mk.3:13-19) “Sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession.” Today we see David at perhaps his most humble and obedient in the sight of God – we see why he is the great king of Israel. David is being hunted down by Saul once again in his jealousy.  His psalm, our psalm today, is his cry for protection from the Lord in whom he trusts: “I call to God Most High, to God, my benefactor.  May He send from heaven and save me.”  To the cave in which he hides, God sends his pursuer, vulnerable and at arm's length.  But this man who will be king of the Israelites by God's ordination refrains from taking the sword into his hand to kill the man who would kill him.  Why?  Because Saul is yet the king, “the Lord's anointed,” whom David even calls “a father to me” despite the threat he is to his life.  Such an act of respect, such an understanding of the obedience due God and His will is unparalleled in Scripture.  This is David.  This is the king. And how tragic a figure is Saul.  Upon having his eyes turned inward to his very soul and the injustice he wreaks upon David, he weeps aloud in recognition of his sin: “You are in the right rather than I; you have treated me generously, while I have done you harm.”  It is he who speaks the words of our quote today, he who recognizes the truly kingly nature of David…  Yet for all his penance and insight it shall not be long before his jealousy leads him to pursue David unrighteously once again.  He cannot escape his envy for David's blessing. And in our gospel we read of the blessed apostles of Christ, those “men He Himself had decided on,” whom He summoned and “who came and joined Him.”  These “He would send to preach the Good News”; these would “have authority to expel demons.”  They are named by name for us today: here is the foundation of the Church in which God dwells.  Here are His blessed kings of the New Jerusalem.  Let us not be jealous of them.  Let no man attempt to breach the authority given them; for pursue them as one would, none shall take their blessing away – it is they who are ordained by God for His service.  Humbly let us join them in their sovereignty over Israel.  Obediently let us come into the Lord's kingdom. ******* O LORD, though your justice is beyond our reach, in your mercy make us your disciples.  YHWH, those whom you appoint must be respected.  It is you who anoint the king and ordain apostles.  Jesus is your only Son and He has chosen the Twelve to follow Him.  Who are we to go against His will and pursue them and those who continue in their stead?  O LORD, you have made Peter the rock of your Church and given all your apostles power to preach the Gospel and expel all demons.  At their hands your presence becomes real, of your Son's flesh and blood we partake, and we are forgiven our sins.  If David your chosen could not kill an unjust king because of your blessing upon him, how much less can we usurp the power of the bishops and priests who stand this day in the very place of Jesus?  O let us learn the respect and obedience to your will that King David has clearly shown!  You protect your righteous ones, dearest LORD and God.  And so we need have no fear as long as we take refuge in your justice. 

elibrayley.comMatthew - The King and His KingdomMatthew 22:34-46 (KJV)34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,44 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Matthew 22:34-46 "But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked [him a question], tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The Son] of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any [man] from that day forth ask him any more [questions]."

Preached By: Jeff Lyle Preached On: 10/27/2019 Description: There are unforeseen moments in life that will define our entire storyline. Many times, we did not see them coming when we awoke on the day that they occurred. God’s providence sets up encounters, events and opportunities that will mark us forever. How we respond to those moments is crucial. Most of the time, how we respond is determined by everything we have believed, envisioned, and committed ourselves to prior to that moment arriving. David was about to face the giant in the valley. If he was going to emerge victorious, there were several obstacles he would need to overcome. David needed to be covered in the armor of God, trusting that the Lord was going to bring him a humanly impossible breakthrough. A different type of armor was offered to him. If David trusted in human resources for the victory, his moment could implode. If he would wear the armor that God provided, the giant would fall. This message walks us through a familiar story from an uncommon point of view. The armor we wear in our defining moments will likely determine the storyline of our life. Partner With Us! Donate Online At: mynewbridge.church Text "Newbridgechurch" To 77977 To learn more about us, visit: mynewbridge.church

War Stories # 6 In Christ Alone, 1 Samuel 17 By Louie Marsh, 10-6-2019   Intro: last picture Sumo & kid   To win my battles I need too…   1) RECOGNIZE what’s actually going on.   The HUMAN PERSPECTIVE   Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel." 1 Samuel 17:25 (NIV)   Our story opens with a stalemate. The army of Israel is facing off against the army of the Philistines. But there’s no fighting. Because as happened in those ancient times a challenge to single combat had been issued. The champion of the Philistines, Goliath of Gath, had challenged anyone from the Israelite army to face him in armed combat. For days he would come out, bellow his challenge, mock Israel and their God, and then retire satisfied that no one would ever dare to challenge him.   Goliath was a big man. How big? The most used Hebrew text says he was six cubits and a span, which comes out to about 9 feet tall. However there is an alternate reading of four cubits and a span which amounts to about six feet six inches tall. Since the cubit was not a fixed measurement it’s hard to be precise. So let’s split the difference and say that the G man was about 7 feet tall and that David was of average height for his day, which was five and a half feet tall.   So picture a man five and a half feet tall facing off against a fully armed and armored man like Shaq, or for you wrestling fans out there a young, fit and armed and armored Andre the Giant. Now that’s pretty scary!   Goliath was a professional warrior. He had fought and killed many times. He wore the best bronze armor, and carried a spear, javelin and of course an oversized sword. He was nothing if not confident when he saw David take the field.   GOD’S perspective. – Spiritual Warfare   David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"…The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." 1 Samuel 17:25,37 (NIV)   At this time David, the youngest boy in his family, was in his early teens. His three older brothers were in the army and their father sent David to bring them some food. Like everyone there David heard Goliath’s challenge and was amazed that no one would answer it. He was offended that no one would stand up and challenge Goliath in the name of their God.   2) REFUSE  to let the doubters derail you.   When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 1 Samuel 17:28-30 (NIV)   Jesus didn’t let them pull him OFF PURPOSE.   And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" Mark 5:25-30 (NIV)   Do we have this kind of God stopping faith??   Refuse to SURRENDER to the impossible   While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Mark 5:35-36 (NIV)   Don’t take opposition PERSONALLY.   He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. Mark 5:39-40 (NIV)   Don’t get OVERLY DRAMATIC.   He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. Mark 5:41-42 (NIV)   3) When you face your giant – RESTATE the certainty of victory.    To the DOUBTERS   Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:36-37 (NIV)   To the GIANT ITSELF.   David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:45-47 (NIV)   4) RELY on the right armor.   Don’t rely on HUMAN RESOURCES.   Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 1 Samuel 17:38-39 (NIV)   So, untrained and seemingly unprepared, David volunteered. He had no armor on, because he couldn’t fit into any and wasn’t trained to fight in it anyway. King Saul had made the offer of his armor and David refused it. So, like the true politician he was, Saul was covered. If David died he could say I tried to help him but he refused. If he won then of course Saul would take as much credit as possible. Either way he was safe to sit back and enjoy the show.   As young David took the field he carried only two weapons with him, a staff and a sling. We know Goliath saw the staff because he mocked David for thinking he could attack him with a little stick. He must have seen the sling as well.  It’s a measure of just how arrogant and over confident Goliath was that while he saw the sling he paid it no mind. Goliath was insulted that they had sent this boy out to face him. He would toy with the little pipsqueak and then swat him like a fly!   Instead use GOD’S ARMOR   For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)   You see David’s sling wasn’t like our slingshot. It was a well-known weapon in ancient times. Most armies had groups of slingers that would go out in advance of the infantry and soften up the enemy with their stones.   By Roman times the sling was still in use. Roman military texts recommended archery target practice at about 200 yards but Slingers are known to hurl their projectiles as far as 440 yards – that’s a quarter of a mile. And they were incredibly accurate. One ancient writer noted that the best slingers “would wound not merely the heads of their enemies, but any part of the face at which they might have aimed.” Experiments demonstrate that missiles leave a sling in excess of 60 miles per hour. One Roman writer noted that opponents in leather armor were in far greater danger from sling missiles than arrows. Even if the stone did not penetrate the armor, it was capable of inflicting a fatal internal injury. Unarmored bodies were easily penetrated by sling stones. An ancient medical book included instructions for removing lead and stone sling missiles from the bodies of wounded soldiers.   Clearly Goliath didn’t take David seriously at all. David challenged him to come to him and fight, and that’s what Goliath did. After all Goliath had the size advantage, the weight advantage, the equipment advantage and the experience advantage. All the smart money was on him and he knew it.   The shepherd boy facing him had only one advantage – his faith in God – something Goliath doubtless didn’t consider for even a moment.   David taunted the giant daring him to attack him. With an outraged roar Goliath began advancing upon David even as David moved towards him. But suddenly David stopped, put one little stone in his sling and began to whirl it in an underhanded motion. Almost immediately it was moving fast it was nothing but a blur to every watching eye. Then at just the right moment David released the stone. It flew straight and true to its target in probably less than a second. It hit Goliath in the forehead just beneath his helmet and penetrated into his brain. In an instant Goliath lost all control of himself and collapsed forward with a resounding thud his arms and armor rattling.   Show off the TROPHIES!   David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent…As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head. 1 Samuel 17:54, 57 (NIV)   And just like that it was over. A low moan must have come from the Philistine side even as the Israelites collectively drew in their breaths in astonishment. It happened so quickly many of the onlookers must have done double and even triple takes, rubbing their eyes to make sure of what they had just seen. Could it really be possible that the monster Goliath had been killed by a mere boy and just one stone?   David made sure that there would be no question that the giant was dead. Quickly pulling Goliath’s sword from its scabbard David decapitated Goliath and then stood victorious holding the bloody head high. As blood and gore dripped from the gruesome trophy the demoralized Philistines broke and ran. In mere seconds the Israelite army followed in hot pursuit. Thus David’s personal victory became his nation’s victory as well.   One person standing in faith and refusing to give into his fear or to popular opinion changed his world.  The real moral of this story isn’t about David at all, nor about his rocks either. It’s about his faith in God. When we trust and love God like David did then we too can stand strong even when everyone and everything around us says we’re wrong. David stood with God and you and I can too.        

Today we get to play "what if" with David. David had already been anointed to be the next King yet he was still cheerful in obeying the every day, ordinary tasks. Tasks that would have seemed to be far beneath a king. When David woke up that morning, he didn't know he was going to be battling Goliath! There was opportunity for him in the ordinary. IF David had done just a few things differently, he may not have ended up fighting Goliath, saving his people, and glorifying God. David's attitude towards the ordinary helped him be ready for the opportunity to beat Goliath.  To hear the entire David and Goliath story, please listen first to episode # 112A. For further context, please listen to the series which is episodes # 6-12 To connect with me or support this podcast, please click the link below:  https://www.kbspodcast.com/ THANK YOU for sharing the Gospel with your children!

David Wood is a personal and business coach. David left his cushy Park Avenue job 20 years ago to explore both the outer world and his own inner world. At the individual level, he helps high performing entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders to Play for Real – in their own growth, in their relationships, and at work. By integrating three main principles of Real Truth, Real Daring, and Real Caring. At the corporate level, he helps companies to improve performance and retention. He has consulted Fortune 100 companies – such as Sony Music, Proctor & Gamble, and Exxon. He was recently voted into the Transformational Leadership Council, along with such thought leaders as Stephen M.R. Covey, Jack Canfield, John Gray, and Marianne Williamson. In this interview we get real honest, in fact, David reveals something he has never shared on a podcast before — The real question is….what will “Play for Real” mean to you? I’ve been coaching for over 10 years, and when I first started coaching your website came up a lot. You were owning the life coaching scene. There was a point where David was the top 3 results on the search engine. He was fully committed to coaching. After becoming burnt out, David retired, but he is now back on the coaching scene with renewed passion. You have figured out how to do something most people dream about, which is living an abundant life, making a huge contribution, and having a blast every step of the way. What is your secret to success? David is very self-directed. He creates a vision he can be excited about, and then he uses hacks to create productive days so he can do what needs to be done to fulfill his vision. It can be hard to carry out consistent action in the face of no results. For people who can’t do that, a simple hack is getting yourself a coach. David considers himself a possibility generating machine. Other people assume that something can’t be done. If David is told that something can’t be done, he will go out there and do it. What are some of those hacks? How do you get yourself in the right state if you aren’t feeling it? He has had a lot of depression and anxiety in his life, which can be several weeks of darkness but can also manifest as not wanting to send an email or do anything at all that day. But his job requires that he does stuff to bring in revenue. One hack is caffeine (although he restricts himself to one cup of coffee and one cup of tea a day). Once a week he takes adderall which enables him to get a solid 8 hours to work done. He likes to do morning pages which are supposed to be 3 pages of stream of consciousness writing and never read it. But David likes to use it to uncover the things he wants to do. Some of those hacks are things that people often try to steer us away from, such as caffeine and other stimulants. Particularly in the self-development field. Thanks for sharing that. David used to think that all medication was bad. It is worth being wary about medication as humans have a tenuous relationship with addiction. If you like coffee, you’ll probably drink more of it and run into problems because you are abusing it. David went from thinking all medication was bad to taking antidepressants. The turning point came when he was talking to a colleague who took Welbutin and asked her why she took it since she was into personal growth. She told him that she likes herself better when she’s on it. So he got off his high horse. He tries to be careful with how he takes medication by doing research and mixing things up to avoid tolerance. Is that part of the caring element you were talking about? David believes in 3 core pillars – Truth, Daring and Caring. He acknowledges that caring isn’t the sexy part. David had a breakdown. He would be unable to sleep because adrenaline was shooting through his boy. A doctor friend told him to go on medication, but he refused because he wanted to heal it naturally. David had reached rock bottom and realized that there is a time and a place for daring, but if you don’t acknowledge your limitations and nurture other areas, things will fall apart. He realised he needed to add the 3rd pillar of Caring. You had all this success. Then you had these breakdowns. Would you agree that in many ways breakdowns can actually become the catalyst to success? Recently, David heard someone say - “Your core wounds can become your greatest gifts.” Many of the people in the coaching community have some kind of wound or past trauma they have had to overcome. If David hadn’t had the breakdowns or experienced childhood trauma, he wouldn’t be on this path. When he was 7 he watched his 5year old sister get killed in a traffic accident. He learnt how to shut down his emotions and not feel anything. This is when he started to be solution-focused. In his 20s he went to a psychiatrist who helped him to realize that he hadn’t grieved. He has now spent the last 25 years reconnecting to his emotions and learning how to feel. He now gets to bring that to other people who are system and task-oriented but would like to have deeper connections with themselves, their partner, their kids, and all the other people in their life. How do you understand yourself so you can find those gifts that allow you to get paid for who you are? David used to teach people how to be a coach. Then people asked him how he was able to travel and coach all over the world. So he wrote the book Get Paid For Who You Are. Now he’s interested in how do you love your life. He wants people to be able to be on their deathbeds and have no regrets. Part of how you do that is to have fulfilling and gratifying work. How do you find your gifts? There isn’t a magic answer. When David started coaching, it happened organically, but then he stopped. Recently a friend suggested that he get back into it and he realized how much he loves it. Then within coaching, he has found the core themes which light him us - Truth, Daring, Caring and Connection. The short answer is to read the book The Passion Test and get yourself a coach. I like how you say it takes time. Sometimes we don’t respect the process. You have to take action. Even if you don’t know if it’s the right action. How do you view the coaching industry at this point in time? David is fascinated by the state of corporate coaching today. The role of coaches is now accepted in the corporate world. What are some of your favorite coaching questions? What question would you most like to be asked right now? What coaching would you give yourself on this? You have an app right? David has an app called Get Real. I found this question on there. If you had to make one rule which everyone must follow, what would it be? That you must speak the truth all the time with the exception that if you lie you must preface it by saying I’m going to lie to you right now. So many people are lying to themselves as well as to others. It’s so toxic because people are afraid to say the truth. It takes a lot of guts to tell the truth. What if they don’t like who I am because of something I said? What if I don’t get a promotion because of saying that? It can be transformative to share your inner dialogue. It can take a lot of courage. One of the greatest hacks you can play on yourself is to tell on yourself. Tell someone your inner thoughts and dialogue. Do you have a question that you repeatedly ask your self? What did you get done today? David finds it useful to acknowledge what he achieved in order to appreciate himself. What is one thing you would love to do before you die? David wants to play drums in a band for one public gig. He has done it as a guitarist and now wants to experience it as a drummer. How can we get in touch with you?   David has a new podcast – http://playforreal.life/podcast/ David invites people to request a discovery session with him at http://playforreal.life/ Links   Get Paid For Who You Are by David Wood https://www.amazon.com/Get-Paid-Who-You-Are-ebook/dp/B003WMA85A/   The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose by Janet Attwood and Chris Attwood https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Test-Effortless-Discovering-Purpose/dp/0452289858/   Smart Marketer https://smartmarketer.com/   Camp Maverick https://gocampmaverick.com/   Yanik Silver https://yaniksilver.com/   Steve Pavlina https://www.stevepavlina.com/ The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252/   BetterUp https://www.betterup.co/   Wildfit https://www.mindvalley.com/wildfit/

Winning The Game of Life By having a God Inspired Purpose Life of purpose vs. life of mediocrity. John 10 - Abundant life Not just breath and survive - achieve my desires and goals. Abundant Life = Fulfilled Life We don’t find that purpose and momentum on our own: PSA 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. MOSES STORY MISDIRECTED PASSION Ex 2:11-12 11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. THAT PASSION HAD A GOD THOUGHT BEHIND IT Ex 2:23-25 23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.[c] 40 YEARS OF REFINING AND ALIGNING Spent time in Mideon being refined and aligned… Refined - the gifts needed to be matured. His response had to be negotiate and reliant on Gods strength not his own (Murder). Refine them from a pride into an ability and a humility that would fulfill Moses’s desires in a divine way. Aligned - he needed to come to a realization that the reason he ran was he did not know that the history, position and personality he had been given was not his burden but his purpose. Becomes a divine purpose when we can align who are to Jesus so that he can use us for good. Not a pain but a promoter Aligning and refining is not wasted time. Desert time - Jesus conquered Satan Public Speaking - trouble Preaching - good. HOLY GROUND MOMENT - BURNING BUSH 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” How that must have done something on the inside of him. But how inferior it must have made him feel. Moses was content with having the gifts and using them in a way that he could control and understand… Genesis 3:15b-17 When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. 17 But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks. But now he had been shown and felt that what he had always desired, what had cause him to step out of his protected palace world into irrational defense of his people, what he had that would protect some women at a well, could be used to liberate an entire nation. Aligning what little you think you have to the greater good that God has in mind = faith - He can see it but we can’t. Realizing there is a God given purpose to your personality and talents = passion… (ongoing - not grow weary kind of life) Mediocrity comes from weariness… Isaiah 40:31 New Living Translation (NLT) 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint. The weight of your problem becomes then fuel of your purpose. A Holy Ground Moment With God 1. Submission and Worship - Aligns your life with His will (“Holy Ground” - Moses was anti-oppression - So was God) 2. Eliminates excuses and replaces them with supernatural gifts for the tasks at hand (I can not speak - What do you have in your hand?) He gave Moses things he never knew he could do to replace the things he knew he couldn’t do. 3. Is always for others (liberation of the people) Aligning our desires with His will He will never force our will… We just need to love Him in our day to day lives. Romans 8:28 So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. He wants to use every moment of the life that you call boring, the life that you feel lacks purpose, he wants to use every moment, if you will let him, to work his will. When we can give him those moments (love him) he will use them for good. We can’t camp on Holy Ground… We need to create an environment in our lives of having Holy Ground moments. But we can not camp in the anointing. If Moses had stayed at the burning bush all he would have been able to do is have a good bbq. If David had not responded to the anointing as king he would have just been a greasy shepherd. There are major Holy Ground moments The first one = called by Jesus (Love God - Love others) From palace to people Holy Ground moment 2 = baptism of the Holy Spirit. When you can no longer handle… In a moment of desperation, fear, hopelessness whatever it is, you strike out against your current circumstances and a desire, a dream, is revealed… Marriage is a major holy ground moment. Communion is another major Holy Ground moment. All of these Holy Ground Moments (some call them sacraments) are moments of worship where we align our lives to the purpose of God. But there are also Holy Ground moments that we can have every day… Reading the Word Being with other believers Spending time reasoning with the Holy Spirit (meditation) All the Holy Ground moments are day to day sandal removing activities we can do to ensure we are aligning our desires and our lives, our talents histories and pasts with Gods desire. Despite your excuses, your life has something in it that you know God can use but you are afraid. Let him in supernaturally to link your dream to his and watch the purpose you so desire to walk out become reality… Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

First love Winning The Game of Life - By Returning to Or First Love Life of purpose vs. life of mediocrity. John 10 - Abundant life Not just breath and survive - achieve my desires and goals. Abundant Life = Fulfilled Life _________________________________________ GETTING OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT Revelation 2:5 New Living Translation (NLT) 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. _________________________________________ In Revelation 2:5, the word first means “foremost (in time, place, order or importance),” and the word works is defined as “toil (as an effort or occupation).” In other words, if you find that you have left your first love for the Lord, get your priorities back in order and do the most important things. _______________________________________________ We don’t find that purpose and momentum on our own: PSA 37:4 Take delight in the Lord,     and he will give you your heart’s desires. __________________________________________________ MOSES STORY MISDIRECTED PASSION Ex 2:11-12 11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. __________________________________________________ THAT PASSION HAD A GOD THOUGHT BEHIND IT Ex 2:23-25 23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.[c [1]] 40 YEARS OF REFINING AND ALIGNING Spent time in Mideon being refined and aligned… Refined - the gifts needed to be matured. His response had to be negotiate and reliant on Gods strength not his own (Murder). Refine them from a pride into an ability and a humility that would fulfill Moses’s desires in a divine way. Aligned - he needed to come to a realization that the reason he ran was he did not know that the history, position and personality he had been given was not his burden but his purpose. Becomes a divine purpose when we can align who are to Jesus so that he can use us for good. Not a pain but a promoter Aligning and refining is not wasted time. Desert time - Jesus conquered Satan Public Speaking - trouble Preaching - good. HOLY GROUND MOMENT - BURNING BUSH 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” How that must have done something on the inside of him. But how inferior it must have made him feel. Moses was content with having the gifts and using them in a way that he could control and understand… __________________________________________________ Genesis 3:15b-17 When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. 17 But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks. But now he had been shown and felt that what he had always desired, what had cause him to step out of his protected palace world into irrational defense of his people, what he had that would protect some women at a well, could be used to liberate an entire nation. Aligning what little you think you have to the greater good that God has in mind = faith - He can see it but we can’t. Realizing there is a God given purpose to your personality and talents = passion… (ongoing - not grow weary kind of life) Mediocrity comes from weariness… __________________________________________________ Isaiah 40:31 New Living Translation (NLT) 31  But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. __________________________________________________ The weight of your problem becomes then fuel of your purpose. __________________________________________________ A Holy Ground Moment With God 1. Submission and Worship - Aligns your life with His will (“Holy Ground” - Moses was anti-oppression - So was God) 2. Eliminates excuses and replaces them with supernatural gifts for the tasks at hand (I can not speak - What do you have in your hand?) He gave Moses things he never knew he could do to replace the things he knew he couldn’t do. 3. Is always for others (liberation of the people) Aligning our desires with His will He will never force our will… We just need to love Him in our day to day lives. Romans 8:28 So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. __________________________________________________ He wants to use every moment of the life that you call boring, the life that you feel lacks purpose, he wants to use every moment, if you will let him, to work his will. When we can give him those moments (love him) he will use them for good. __________________________________________________ We can’t camp on Holy Ground… We need to create an environment in our lives of having Holy Ground moments. But we can not camp in the anointing. If Moses had stayed at the burning bush all he would have been able to do is have a good bbq. If David had not responded to the anointing as king he would have just been a greasy shepherd. There are major Holy Ground moments places where we need to get our priorities right. The first one = called by Jesus (Love God - Love others) From palace to people Holy Ground moment 2 = baptism of the Holy Spirit. When you can no longer handle… In a moment of desperation, fear, hopelessness whatever it is, you strike out against your current circumstances and a desire, a dream, is revealed… Marriage is a major holy ground moment. Communion is another major Holy Ground moment. __________________________________________________ All of these Holy Ground Moments (some call them sacraments) are moments of worship where we align our lives to the purpose of God. __________________________________________________ But there are also Holy Ground moments that we can have every day… Reading the Word Being with other believers Spending time reasoning with the Holy Spirit (meditation) __________________________________________________ All the Holy Ground moments are day to day sandal removing activities we can do to ensure we are aligning our desires and our lives, our talents histories and pasts with Gods desire. Despite your excuses, your life has something in it that you know God can use but you are afraid. Let him in supernaturally to link your dream to his and watch the purpose you so desire to walk out become reality… Take delight in the Lord,     and he will give you your heart’s desires. [1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+2&version=NLT#fen-NLT-1580c

They handled the ark of God wrong and it costs Uzzah his life, If David would have sought the Lord regarding touching the Holy Things in Which God had already said if one touches the Holy things they would die. .The question for each one today what will one do with the word of God obey or disobey.. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pastorjim/support

https://youtu.be/ohqSmmWG8c8 Jonathans Arrows - 1 Sam 20 Will you listen to the arrows Here we go- Jonathan and David are trying to figure out what is going on with Saul. David and Jonathan make a plan. Jonathan will go and see if Dad is still mad.  Jonathan goes to find out- and Dad is clearly mad. So much so he tries to kill his own son. The plan they have is this- Jonathan will go and see if Saul is mad, if he is, at an appointed time, Jonathan will shoot arrows in a direction where David will be waiting.  If Jonathan cries out  that the arrows are near him, it means to come back. If he cries out they are beyond him, then run. The arrows are beyond him. David fleees. They meet. David is saved! Jonathan is doing a wonderful thing for his friend- He’s going into danger, and then reporting back to him what he should do. David has a choice here- listen to the arrows or listen to himself. They’ve had the conversation, and when David is sitting out there in the field waiting, he is going to have to choose what he is going to do Jonathans Arrows say- I have knowledgeThe arrows fly- 37 When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”This is the moment that David has been waiting for. He’s hiding in the field, and wondering- am I safe? Can I go back, or must I flee- Jonathan shoots the and says “I know more than you”Obviously he does- He’s the one who went and talked to Saul. This was the planI’m going to go and see what is going on and let you know32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.That’s what happened- and you can’t write that on a side of an arrow- you got to TRUSTPro 10:14 Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.Its at this moment that David has to ask himself- am I going to trust the arrow or not be very easy to change his mind here- Sitting for a long time waiting for a sign can lead to your mind telling you different things- ehhh maybe its ok, shot wrong, forgot what we talked aboutEcclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.If David wants life- he better choose to listen to the arrow and J and receive it. Pr 18:15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. What does it mean to youWhat arrows are being shot to tell you something that you are refusing to respond to?Arrows of correction that are trying to tell you what to do and how to live?See Jonathan knew better than David and was doing what he could to help himDavid could have ignored it and said “whatever- who does he think he is” But Jonathan was the one in the possession of the knowledge- NOT David- David’s ONLY option was to TRUST the arrow and TRUST the one with the KnowledgeJn 8:43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.Do you know why people wont listen to instruction? Pride. Selfishness. Arrogance.People want to own the process instead of just winning- it destroys many people. Pro 19:20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.Why would you not listen to someone who knows better? (doing lunges on Friday)People who are successful in an area are people you should listen to- Youtube- IF videos DO ITRev 2:7  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” We better listen to what God tells us to do. We better not ignore his arrows of knowledge. Jonathans Arrows say- I am trying to protect youThink about- Jonathan could have not followed thr...

We all face a Spiritual battlefield which is real, but most Christians fail to see them. Once visiting the Belgian town of Mons I asked my American friend if there were any 1st World War battlefields close by. He said he’d lived there for 2 years and there were no battlefield or graveyards from the war. I walked 5 houses down to the end of the street and there was countless graves from the battles of Mons. They are there, but my American friend never recognised them!   Our PM said overnight that he’s always believed in miracles, but regardless of the results of this election, Australian Christians should be under no illusion about our future. If the last year or so has taught us anything, it has shown us that we are facing, and more than any other time in our history, a Spiritual battlefield, we are battling for hearts and minds and even souls of our country.   So rather than sail along and ignore what we face as a church in this nation, I want to preach about it. We can get down, we can get fearful, but I’m going to get real and get mobilised as we face the enemy. And we do face a fearful enemy, but   1 John 4:4 (ESV Strong's) you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.   Over the coming weeks, we are going to talk about key battlefields in our lives, like the heart and mind, homes, families and even church. The enemy is active in all these areas, and I’m believing that these messages can be like a reconnaissance mission, to understand we can fight effectively and win. SPIRITUAL BATTLEFIELD... THE UNSEEN ENEMY, AN UNSEEN ALLY   Ephesians 6:12 (ESV Strong's) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.   Our enemy is not the government, it’s not people, it’s not gays or socialists or drug dealers, our real enemy is the devil. Our battle is not against what we can see, against people who oppose God but against an unseen, far deadlier opponents. Elisha faced a huge army coming to capture him in 2 Kings 6…   2 Kings 6:15-19 (ESV Strong's) When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.   In this story, the young man could not see beyond the physical world in which we live, just like almost everyone today in our nation.  We might be Christians, we might say the battle is not against flesh and blood, but honestly, we don’t really get it… we don’t see this realm, this Spiritual battlefield.   Yet an unseen Spiritual battlefield realm exists–a world every bit as real as what we can see, hear and feel in the physical world. It consists of a countless multitude of ministering angels who are active in the lives of God’s people (Ge 32:2; Isa 63:9). It also includes demons who battle against angels and are trying to destroy us, or at least ruin our relationship with God.   You cannot see or touch this enemy, but he is there. You cannot sense the presence of angels, but I have a feeling we encounter them more frequently than we realise as they protect us…   Psalm 34:7 (ESV Strong's) The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.   My mum and dad we’re in a car accident years ago on a remote stretch of road. Once the car came to a stop, they knew serious damage had been done, and out of nowhere a woman appeared claiming to be a nurse, and she reached through the broken car window and held my father’s head straight until ambulances arrived. Turns out his neck was broken, and this mysterious lady saved his life. However, not of the paramedics saw a woman, and we never learned her name, or why she was randomly on that stretch of road. You might call it coincidence, but after much reflection, we believe this mystery woman who save dad’s life was in fact an angel.   THE UNSEEN INFLUENCE   We are obsessed with earthly things, but the Bible encourages us to look beyond what we see to see a Spiritual battlefield…   2 Corinthians 4:18 (ESV Strong's) as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.   The heavenly realms fight to influence us in the Spiritual battlefield, and there is a spiritual battleground all around us. Books like Daniel or Revelation should show us that this world exists, and that it is fighting for influence. Demons are real, and they seek to destroy the bodies, the minds and the souls of people. Angels are real and they fight for us. But please realise that this battle is not on a knife edge… I know who wins!   Philippians 2:8-11 (ESV Strong's) And being found in human form (Jesus), he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   We should be aware, but not obsessed by this unseen world of the Spiritual battlefield and it’s influences. Our prayers, as we have seen overnight, can reach into this world and mobilise forces beyond our understanding.   WHAT WE SEE ISN’T WHAT WE GET   The young man with Elisha could not see what the prophet saw. But just one prayer opened the spiritual eyes of the servant, and what he saw stunned him! God’s power and influence is immense in this Spiritual battlefield.   Every believer should have an awareness of the spiritual battle that rages around us. Most modern Christians have no concept of this spiritual conflict at all, because our western, scientific minds exclude what we cannot measure or see, and so we think it does not exist. I can claim gravity doesn’t exist, but if I step off a cliff, regardless of what I believe or can see, I’m going to experience the consequences of my choice.   Psalms 119:18 (ESV Strong's) Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.   Elisha did not pray that his servant would stop seeing the enemy; he prayed that he would start seeing the goodness and provision of the Lord. Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what He sees. Elisha understood this and learned to look beyond his own limited perspective to the Lord’s reality. And because of his faith, God showed Elisha amazing things and did miracles through him.   Hebrews 1:14 (ESV Strong's) Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?   So when we face spiritual forces unseen. When we face life’s troubles, how can we begin to see the provision of the Lord all around us instead of the giant we seem to be facing? Well, when I think giants, I think David and Goliath, and I think of victory against all physical odds!   THE BIGGER THEY ARE THE HARDER THEY FALL   David faced a seemingly insurmountable task… a giant that the army of Israel had fled from, that he faced as one, scrawny kid. All the polls predicted a Goliath win.   Elisha saw what the young man did not, and through faith, David saw what his countrymen did not.   1 Samuel 17:45 (ESV Strong's) Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.   In times of extreme pressure, God stretches our faith and deepens our dependence on Him. Without a strong, abiding faith, we can quickly yield to temptation and fear, especially when the trial or difficulty is intense or prolonged. God developed David’s trust until it became unshakable. Whatever Goliath you face today, you need to bury one truth deep within your heart:   God loves you, He is on your side and He wins the battle every time!  You may go through times of failure. Life may not always turn out the way you planned—but ultimately, God will be glorified, and you will be blessed. When you trust Him, when you open your eyes to see the true spiritual battle, when you train yourself to see beyond the physical world into the eternal, you will live differently and keep battling!   So how were David and Elisha able to see beyond their giants, and how can we?   1.      RECOGNISE THE TRUE BATTLE   So often when we face difficulties and giants, we concentrate on the people attacking us rather than on the true nature of the battle.   Ephesians 6:12 (ESV Strong's) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.   David did not see just Goliath on his Spiritual battlefield, he saw God’s enemy. Elisha didn’t just see the Syrian army, he saw the heavenly army ready to battle.  When someone attacks us, don’t concentrate on the person and hate them. Recognise the spirit that is behind the attack. We need to look behind any political party making immoral decisions, beyond any person making our lives miserable and see the devil battling to destroy our nation, our homes and our future.   This is why prayer is so effective, because prayer battles in the heavenlies, it does not just deal with the here and now, the people, the sins and the attacks. See eternity, and see things God’s way!     2.      RECALL PAST VICTORIES   David recalled how God had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the grasp of the bear (1 Samuel 17:32–37). You first win spiritual victories in your mind. If you cave into feelings of fear and doubt, you will lose. When you focus on the truth of God’s Word, you win every time. If you want victories in a Spiritual battlefield you face, remember how God has given you victories in the past, and know He can do it again.   We are facing the prospect of moving our church to bigger and better premises. The dollars involved are terrifying, but when I recall how God moved amazingly to provide for us to gain this property, I see that His unseen forces are working on our behalf, and my fear is overcome.   3.      REJECT DISCOURAGING WORDS   The young man with Elisha spoke words of fear and defeat. No one in the Israelite camp encouraged David in his quest to defeat Goliath. The soldiers laughed at him. His brothers felt embarrassed by his presence and urged him to go home. Even King Saul doubted him. If David had listened to the advice of others, he would have given up. If Elisha had listened to the young man, he would have been plunged into captivity or even death.   But they both turned their hearts towards the Lord and there they found the encouragement they needed.   People often say horrible things, even if they don’t mean to be mean, but their words cut us to the quick. As a pastor, I’m often criticised, and it always hurts. But I need to make the choice to give the hurt to the Lord  and keep doing what I know He has called me to do. I recently had a pastor ask me what’s the difference between a politician and a pastor. If 51% like the politician he calls it a victory. If 99% like a pastor, he wonders why the 1% don’t like him!   Often you are criticised by people who should be encouraging you. Look at Peter…   Acts 11:2-3 (ESV Strong's) So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”   Gentiles had come to Christ, and the big criticism was not from unbelievers but from Jewish believers! If you face discouraging words, even from believers, your family or friends, you can choose to see the spiritual battle driving those words, and reject the words, not the people.     4.      RESPOND WITH GOD’S WORD   Elisha said to the young man who was full of fear,   2 Kings 6:16 (ESV Strong's) He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”   David was constantly told he could not beat the giant, but he responded…   1 Samuel 17:37 (ESV Strong's) “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”   Hebrews 13:6 (ESV Strong's) So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”   And it is not enough to just speak positively, you need to live trusting the Lord in every way. When you face attack or some other giant, we are tempted to worry. Worry is a sin, so confess it and give it to God and trust Him by faith that He will protect and guide you…   Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV Strong's) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Jesus faced incredible attack and pressure in His Spiritual battlefield from the devil himself in Matthew 4, and Jesus didn’t try and argue or drum up positive words. He answered using Scripture, and so should we, that’s why I want you all to be reading the Bible every day. Read it, learn it, study it, memorise it!   5.      RELY ON GOD’S POWER   2 Kings 6:18 (ESV Strong's) And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.   David went out to Goliath with a sling shot, 5 stones and an attitude! In front of Goliath he said,   1 Samuel 17:47 (ESV Strong's) and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”   You can’t win a battle with the devil on your own. But thanks be to God, we don’t face him alone, we face him with Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord, and the power of His Spirit can triumph over the evil one! Stand and fight on your knees and see the victory God will bring upon the situation in this Spiritual battlefield.     6.      RECKON ON THE VICTORY   Elisha saw an army struck with blindness. David saw a giant losing his head, and even before he stepped onto the battlefield, David knew he wasn’t going to lose. He knew it wasn’t his reputation on the line, but God’s. He knew it wasn’t his strength or cunning that would win the battle, but God’s strength and wisdom.   1 John 5:4 (ESV Strong's) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.   We face a Spiritual battlefield in our nation. We face battlefields every day in our families, our homes, our minds, our finances, and our churches, and over the next few weeks I want to target these battlefields and prove to you that victory is possible because God is on our side… But the real battle is not against people, even people who seem to hate us, but it’s against spiritual forces and powers in this Spiritual battlefield.   ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?   Try and make church every week, because over the coming weeks I’m going to centre in on areas where the battlefield is fiercest in our lives… the family, finances, our nation and morals and even in the church.  Make no mistake, Christians are under attack in this Spiritual battlefield across the board more than ever before in this nation, and I for one am not going to bow my knee to the frauds of the enemy.   Today, if you feel like you are under attack, then I want you to make a stand. Some of what you face might be natural, it might be selfish people or bad decisions, but much of what you face could be driven by the enemy, demonic forces arrayed against you. You can’t see them, but they are there, and like Elisha, I want you to open your eyes to see the incredible army of God lined up on your side!   There are demonic spirits, evil powers and principalities that come against you, whether you see them or not, whether you believe in them or not. But I refuse to concentrate on them when there are myriads of angelic servants to protect, guide and direct our lives for us. They are watching, ready to step in, but they will not force you to act as God wants. You always have a choice in this Spiritual battlefield, but when you choose righteousness, when you choose obedience, when you pray in faith and obedience, they act on your behalf…   Psalms 55:18 (ESV Strong's) He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.   If you feel like many things are arrayed against you, it’s time to reveal the enemy for the fraud he is and recognise the power of the Lord of Hosts.  We face seemingly insurmountable forces against us in our lives, our families and our church, but I for one will stand up and fight because I’ve read the Book and I know who wins!   Today, if you feel you are facing a Spiritual battlefield and demonic opposition in an area of your life, I want you to stand. I am standing, because I often feel a hopelessness about life, business, family and our church, but I am standing and committing to fight, not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark work in this Spiritual battlefield. And I’m going to win!

Doug and Brad Golf The Ides of March Doug's challenge to you Living like you speak Shooting at a Mosque in Sweden Pray for Israel ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Doug and Brad Golf College scandal Pushing our kids in sports and school 10k found for the building project LTTI in India. A prayer answered by God Prayers for Jumpin Jax House of Food that is being attacked by the enemy. ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Doug and Brad 737s Manafort sentencing Missed flight. Do I have your attention yet? Just a few nuggets left Diving completely into Mathew 23 Thanks for the prayers while in India Donations for Kunel's kids ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Doug McCary, Jake McEntire, Trey Brunson The first half hour we have Trey Brunson. Executive producer for Run the Race The second half hour Jake McEntire, writer for Run the Race returns to discuss the movie Run the Race website Run the Race trailer ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Brad Sykes, Jerry Sinclair Jerry Sinclair of Faithful and True fills in for Doug today to discuss Larry McCall's book "Loving Your Wife as Christ Loved the Church" Amazon link to Pastor McCall's book - https://www.amazon.com/Loving-Your-Christ-Loved-Church/dp/088469304X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZWPP1JQEKJAQ&keywords=larry+mccall&qid=1552093015&s=gateway&sprefix=larry+Mcca%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1 Pastor McCall's bio page at http://christscovenant.org/ ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Tim Lusk, Kent Muhling Man's plan, Russia: God's plan, Japan asianaccess.org https://www.asianaccess.org/43-community-section/staff/459-bio-kent-and-yuko-muhling?highlight=WyJrZW50IiwibXVobGluZyIsIm11aGxpbmcncyIsIm11aGxpbmdzIiwia2VudCBtdWhsaW5nIl0= ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

David Gray, Brad Sykes Doug is on his way home and will be back on the air Monday. Jumbo Shrimp Will we be able to share our faith in the near future? Jerry Sinclair of Faithful and True returns as our guest on Friday ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Brad Sykes, David Gray Week 84 Life forever, life Defined, and Is Jesus God - Matthew 22:23-46 Many people are walking miles to hear people talk of Jesus The importance of decipleship The blessings of teaching ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Brad Sykes, David Gray Week 84 Life forever, life Defined, and Is Jesus God - Matthew 22:23-46 David Gray is in for Brad while, Brad is in for Doug Doug is in India with Rich Experiences in a foreign country 450 guys went to Iron Sharpens Iron. 35 churches represented. 80 guys from SWAT to earned SWAT the Heavy Lifter Award Maturity in positions of power ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Doug McCary Week 84 Life forever, life Defined, and Is Jesus God - Matthew 22:23-46 Companion Bible Study for Week 84 ------------------ Matthew 22:23-46 Jesus Answers the Sadducees 23  On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34  But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them,  a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 41  Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David  in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,   44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46  No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am Eastside Community Church 13301 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

In this episode, David A. Sinclair, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging, provides insight into why we age and how to slow its effects based on his remarkable work on the role of sirtuins and NAD in health and diseases. He also presents the case that stabilizing the epigenetic landscape may be the linchpin in counteracting aging and disease.  We discuss: How and why David moved from Australia to Leonard Guarente’s lab at MIT [7:30]; Sirtuins and aging [15:00]; A series of experiments elucidating the mechanisms of sirtuins [20:45]; How are sirtuins activated? [25:30]; NAD and sirtuin activation [31:00]; Nicotinamide, sirtuin inhibition, andPNC1 [39:00]; Resveratrol [43:00]; The NIH/ITP studies on resveratrol [55:45]; Does David take any compounds for longevity? [1:00:15]; NAD precursors (NR, NMN) and pterostilbene [1:02:45]; Female fertility and NAD precursors [1:14:45]; A unifying theory of aging [1:20:30]; Waddington’s epigenetic landscape [1:23:00]; If David had unlimited resources, what is the experiment he would do? [1:28:25]; Testing combinations to extend lifespan [1:31:30]; What made David aware of his mortality at such a young age? [01:33:45]; What is David’s book going to cover? [01:37:15]; and More. Learn more at www.PeterAttiaMD.com Connect with Peter on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Ok. Yes. We're late. Just gonna call it out, own it, provide excuses and move on. Remember last week how I was bragging about watching Toy Story and drinking tea after NYCC? Yeah, that came right around and got the best of me because it turns out the entire time I was watching Toy Story and drinking tea there was a sickness festering inside of my body only to reveal itself the following day and torture me throughout the rest of the week. Alex, being the merciful man he is (don't tell him I said that), let me take it easy for a few days to recover which sadly meant that last week's episode was delayed until....now. But there is good news because we have a rad new episode for you featuring author David Kann and to sweeten the pot you're going to get another episode at the end of the week. How rad is that? Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. David Kann joined us this week. He's a veteran filmmaker, producer, and prop master who also authored the Kickstarter-funded "Lovecraft P.I." graphic novel. Alex met David a few months back at a local show, had the chance to exchange pleasantries, and snagged some of David's wares. Soon after it was decided David and his work would be a perfect fit for our spooky month and now here we are. If David's brand of spooky works for you check out the website and the other website and do the rest of the usual routine: follow on the social mediums, say hi in person, throw money etc etc. Enjoy! -Jr.

Grace is unfair. Have you ever been surprised by grace? Have you ever been in a tough spot, where you believed you knew what was coming… Maybe sitting in the principal's office, or opening a letter from the IRS, or answering a phone call from foreboding phone number. You thought you knew what was coming… You were going to get what you deserve. You’re finally caught. You’re anxious, sweaty palms, eyes dilated… And then… Surprise! * The Principal decides to give you another chance. * The IRS is issuing you a refund. * The doctor was just calling to reschedule your appointment because it’s no longer a pressing concern. Ahh… Deep breath. What a relief. And not only that, a fresh lease on life. A new outlook. Wind in your sails. Surprised by grace. I’m not sure exactly how to define “grace.” I’m not looking for a churchy definition. I’m talking us sitting in a coffee shop talking about life and you ask, “What is grace?” How would I answer that…? I might answer it as “receiving what we haven’t earned.” Or “receiving beyond what we deserve.” Grace is above and beyond. Grace not only surprises us; it blesses us. We walk away changed, not only from the gifts we’re holding in our hands, but also shocked by the compassion shown to us. When I was arrested, 14 years ago, for possession of marijuana, [ JOHN ARREST.jpg ] I remember being at the police station. It was a Friday or Saturday, and the police officer said, “Ok, we’ll see you on Monday at such-and-such court house.” And I was like, “Oh, no.. I can’t make that. Sorry, I’ll be at school.” And he was like… “Mr. Emery, you’ve been arrested. This isn’t optional. We’ll see you on Monday.” And that’s honestly when it hit me. “Oooo… This is serious. I could get in serious trouble.” People have served jail time for less than this. The weight of the situation settled onto my shoulders. * The funny thing is that now I’m good friends with one of the Lieutenants, so I messaged him on Facebook and asked him to run this. The most important part of this slide is that END OF APPEARANCES thing. When Monday came around, I walked in alongside this rough-and-tumble kind of guy. He caught my attention, because he looked like he was supposed to be at the court house. I didn’t. He looked like a criminal. I didn’t. But we both had these charges against us. And low and behold, his name was called right before mine. I watched him walk up to the stand, make his case (it was domestic abuse), and the Judge wasn’t having it. He sentenced him to 30 days in prison, they came up to him right then, put him in cuffs and walked him back through a separate door than we walked in through. This, as you can imagine, was not a good sign. I had just walked in off the streets with this guy… he was “free” 15 minutes ago, and now he’s in jail. So then it’s my turn. And I walk up with my rent-a-lawyer, he pleads my case, the Judge rules it a CWOF, “continuance without a finding,” which results in 6 months probation, and I get to walk out with my parents and go home. No guilty plea, no conviction, nothing I have to write onto applications for work... Not only that, but when we went to the Clerk to pay for everything, they let us know that we could pay for my 6-months probation monthly, and have to come back every month for drug testing and meeting with my probation officer, or we could pay the 6 months up front and never see them again. No probation officer, no drug testing, no nothing… If you had the means to pay whatever it was, $500-600, they call it a day and you’re free. So that’s what we did. (Can anyone say ‘privilege'?) Grace is unfair. It started out really bad… So bad that after that guy in front of me I thought I was going to jail. Then I was surprised by the CWOF ruling, then surprised again by paying up-front and essentially walking out scott-free. I can honestly say that I didn’t get what I deserved that day. I deserved less. I deserved punishment. But instead, grace. And, simply because my parents happened to have enough money—this privilege that some don’t have—my slate was wiped clean. Beyond what I deserved… Receiving a gift that I hadn’t earned. Grace is unfair. There are times that you get a gift, but secretly you feel like you deserve it? Any Millennials in here? Grown-ups call it entitlement… Whatever that means. * Weddings, birthdays, Thank You cards… * Gifts might surprise us, but then after we sort of feel like we earned it anyways. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Ellen Show giveaways type of surprise. There’s a moment in David’s life that I want to look at today… One in which he’s not the recipient of grace as much as he’s the participant in distributing grace. I’m going to share a story 1 Samuel 30 (that I’m pretty sure you’re unfamiliar with), and then draw parallels to a teaching of Jesus, and then we’re going to see where we find ourselves in the middle of these stories… Ok? 1 Samuel 30 NLT 1 Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. 2 They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. 3 When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, 4 they wept until they could weep no more. 5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. The story starts with David and his men returning home… They’ve been sleeping on the cold ground, missing their wives and children, ready to reconnect with everyone, rest, rejuvenate… But instead, they find their wives and children missing and their homes burned to the ground. Scripture is clear to say that they women and children were safe, but there’s no way these men would’ve known that. They just see destruction, and their imaginations run wild with the worst of scenarios… Imagine. That would be devastating. This is FEAR-BASED IMAGINATION, that Kelly taught on last week. I can’t imagine the grief that these men were experiencing. Going off to war is psychologically devastating enough, but home is supposed to be HOME… And you’re supposed to be allowed to RETURN HOME and have it be exactly how you left it… But not for these guys. 6 David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God. And you see what the grief does to these men. Immediately (v. 6) the men place the blame on David, the guy who led them off to battle in the first place. It’s the worst part of our human nature that immediately needs to blame someone for the wickedness and evil in the world… So they blamed David. That was their plan. David’s men made a plan from their place of PAIN. Their grief clouded their judgment and they thought the best thing to do was to kill their leader. (Maybe not a great idea) But David didn’t let his pain get the best of him. He grieved, but in his grief he turned to the Lord. He didn’t make a plan from a place of PAIN, he made a plan from a place of PRAYER. 8 Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” 9 So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. He didn’t know how it would all come together, but felt in his spirit that God said to go after them, and that they could recover their families from their enemies. A glimmer of hope. David believed that these women and children were still alive and that it was worth pursuing the Amalekites to get them back… Do you ever have those little moments of prayer that actually shift something around inside of you? God puts some thought on your heart and that spark is slowly fanned into flame and all of a sudden you have this indescribable HOPE in the face of disaster? (((Yeah, me neither… ))) Of course you’ve experienced that! While David’s men are busy listening to grief, David is busy listening to God. So David and his 600 men set out. And they come to Brook Besor, a river/brook that was probably 30-40 miles from Ziklag. 30 miles walking isn’t a short trip, especially when you’ve just returned from battle and you’re grief-stricken, not knowing where your families are, if they’re safe, if they’re even alive. 9 So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. 10 But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men. When they get to the brook, a third of the men give up. (1/3 of the worship area) 200 of the 600 men are too exhausted to continue on. And again, at this point, I can’t blame them. They have no idea where these Amalekites are, they’re basically hiking on a whim from David’s time of prayer, hoping they’ll come across a sign. 11 Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. 12 They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned. 13 “To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” David asked him. “I am an Egyptian—the slave of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. 14 We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag.” 15 “Will you lead me to this band of raiders?” David asked. The young man replied, “If you take an oath in God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.” And then, like only God does, there’s a sign. Something completely outside of David’s control that changes the rest of the story. A reminder that we can work as hard as we’d like in our power, but sometimes all it takes is for God to put one person in our path and it unlocks everything. So here’s God’s big gift to David: A half-dead Egyptian. And it’s interesting that this guy's an Egyptian, isn’t it? David and his men would’ve been well-acquainted with Egyptians, because their ancestors were slaves to them! And now here’s an Egyptian, and he’s a slave of the Amalekites. There’s so much going on here… These stories are endlessly inspiring. God always seems to choose the least-likely people to be the heroes of the story. Without this Egyptian, it’s very unlikely that David would find these Amalekites. David chooses to rehabilitate the Egyptian, and makes a deal with him that he won’t return him to the Amalekites, or kill him after they get what they want. He agrees, and the Egyptian leads David and his men right to them. 16 So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. 17 David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. 18 David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. 20 He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. “This plunder belongs to David!” they said. This next part of the story—honestly—I have mixed feelings about. Part of me loves the vengeance. It’s the epic battle part of the story… If it were depicted in the movies it would be in slow-motion and David’s men would all have 6-pack abs and they’d be spinning and stabbing and getting back their wives and children… It works. Part of it feels good. Justice. All the bad guys die and the good guys win. But… if we believe in a Creator God that loves all of His creation, we have to believe that God didn’t rejoice at this slaughter. These Amalekites, wicked as they were, each held within them a piece of God… They were made in God’s image too… They had wives and children and parents that were proud of them, and hopes and dreams… This is where nuance in how we read our Bibles is important, because God didn’t tell David to kill everyone. He told David to “overtake them” … v.8 “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” In the ESV translation it says that God said, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” That word “overtake” doesn’t mean slaughter. It doesn’t mean to slaughter them throughout the night, murder, stab, behead, burn to the ground or anything like it. That Hebrew word, “Nuh-sag” means to “reach, obtain, get, hold…” But for David, that meant slaughter… Mass murder. Like if someone said, “Go get them!” And you’ve got all this adrenaline and grief and anger swirling inside you, and you’re like, “Oh, I’ll get them! You better believe it!” And I understand that 3,000 years ago, we were far more barbaric than even today and the likelihood of David and the Amalekite king sitting down and talking things out isn’t likely, but we need to see where God’s promises END and where our own sinfulness and desire for revenge BEGINS… Personally, I think God’s heart broke when David’s men slaughtered the Amalekites, because God can see the dignity and beauty inside all of His Creation. He knew those men (and boys) better than anyone. He knew their hopes and dreams and that some of them didn’t really want to be there but they felt social pressure to be soldiers and that some of them had been abused and corrupted into being soldiers at far too young an age… I’m not trying to be all Hippie about this, but this is important to how we understand some of the violence in the Old Testament. Just because someone DOES something in the Bible doesn’t mean that God’s full blessing is on it. It just means that it actually, historically, happened. And that people wanted to preserve that story for some larger reason. If David had entered that Amalekite camp with a different approach, maybe God would’ve made good on His promise without all the violence, bloodshed, loss of life… We’ll never know. God promised that David would “overtake” the Amalekites, and he did… but the way he went about it doesn’t necessarily reflect God’s heart for humanity. K, back to the story. David and his 400 men, “overtake” the Amalekites, killing everyone, except for a few lucky guys that escaped on camelback. Here’s where to story gets interesting. Up to this point it’s a relatively predictable battle narrative. “You took something of ours, we’ll kill you to get it back.” … not that interesting. This next section is the whole reason we chose this passage to talk about. This is what makes it amazing… 21 Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully. David returns back to Brook Besor with all of the women and children, as well as a bunch of new riches. The men that were too exhausted to continue on greet them and everyone is celebrating… What was lost is now found. Those that were dead are now alive. All is right in the world. Imagine those reunions… And while the women and children are unharmed, they’ve witnessed terrible things over the last few weeks… You can imagine that these women were not well-respected and all of the terrible things that were done to them. But they’re home. These families are back together. People collapse together on the ground, rejoicing at this reunion. 22 But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.” But immediately greed enters the picture. An “us vs. them” erupts in the camp. And… guess what… Entitlement shows up on the scene. “THIS IS UNFAIR!” The men that battled don’t want to share any of the riches with the men that stayed behind. They feel like they earned it. It wasn’t grace for them. It was transactional. And they weren’t about to share it with these lazy jerks that stayed back at Brook Besor. 1 SAMUEL 30:23 But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. 24 Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” 25 From then on David made this a decree and regulation for Israel, and it is still followed today. David shares everything they received with the brave and the cowards alike; with the strong and the weak; with the powerful and the exhausted; with those on the front lines and those that stayed home. Because… Grace is unfair. This is a story where David’s men are focused on David. They’re whole world revolves around him. He’s their leader. When something goes wrong? Blame David. When things go well! “This plunder belongs to David!” You can see how quickly his men are jerked around by their emotions, and how their earthly focus affects that. If all we’re focusing is ONLY what’s directly in front of us, we’ll be victims of our circumstances. If things directly in front of you are going well, life is good. If it’s not, it’s not. David’s men are focused on David. David is focused on God. And you can see how that affects their decision making. His men wanted what was “fair” … David wanted to be gracious. Which is inherently unfair. Reminds me of one of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 20 NLT Jesus tells this parable of a landowner that’s hiring day laborers to help him work his vineyard. He basically hires folks, telling them he’ll pay a day’s wage, they agree and he puts them to work. He does this throughout the day. At 9am, at noon, at 3pm, at 5pm (right before the end of the day.) Then he lines them up to pay at the end of the day… And, shockingly, he pays them all the same wage. $50, $50, $50, $50… MATTHEW 20:10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ 13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’ 16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” v8: “beginning with the last, up to the first” — Jesus could’ve told the story with the first hired being paid first, and it would’ve likely avoided the difficulty of the interaction. But He doesn’t do that. He wants the earlier hires to see the denarius handed to every person up to them. It seems Jesus was interested in teaching a lesson about entitlement as well… Whenever God’s grace is received with an entitled heart, it turns into poison. How many times have we seen God’s gifts perverted, abused, taken advantage of, ignored… But when we receive God’s grace to us with open hands… That’s where the magic is. That’s when we begin to live with gratitude. That’s when WONDER and JOY find us again. That’s when grace is grace… That’s when grace can actually surprise us… When Grace is unfair. All of this, of course, leaning forward towards Jesus being arrested and executed. And in that public execution, Jesus, with all of the power in all of Creation at His disposal, chose instead to break the cycle of sin and death, and instead blessed those that were killing Him. LUKE 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Grace is unfair. You know what “fair” would’ve been when Jesus was being executed? All those Roman soldiers drop dead, Pontius Pilate too, maybe Barabbas, certainly the Apostle Peter after denying even knowing Jesus to save his own tail… I don’t know about you but I’m so grateful that God’s idea of justice is different than ours. Justice is getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. God is unfair with how He works in our lives. Some of us have a transactional view of our relationship with God. “If I do this, then you do this. If I give this, then I get this. A + B = C, every time.” But if you’ve been a follower of Jesus for more than a few years, you know that this isn’t how it works. Sometimes my wife and I will give thousands of dollars to a cause close to God’s heart, and guess what… That money doesn’t show back up. Or maybe it’s “doing the right thing.” And you think doing the right thing will feel good. But it doesn’t. In fact, most often there’s a cost to doing the right thing. God has no interest in keeping a transactional relationship with us. You know why? We’d owe Him a heck of a lot. God, in His grace, dismantled that transactional faith on the Cross. God, in His grace, showed us grace. And that’s how we interact with Him to this very day. Grace is unfair. And it’s not in our best interest to try to mess with it.

Today’s expert is David Wetmore, a life coach with years of experience. David takes an “inside out” approach to coaching. With inside-out we are guided by our internal feelings rather than outside events. One of David’s biggest rewards is seeing a client have that “Aha” moment where they gain clarity and see something that previously was way beyond their reach. David starts by talking about how change and coaching go hand-in-hand. People get stuck when it comes to change and need help. This is especially true when wanting to start their own business. The fear of leaving stability can be too much. It can take some work to figure out what people really want to do. Doing a deeper dive can be stressful. Sometimes David will ask the client do a faux resignation and just write the resignation letter and see how it feels. Then imagine how it feels walking through the resignation process. Don’t have to take action on it, just start stepping into those feelings. Once they do that he walks them through the feelings of moving forward from the resignation. The coaching process, itself, is just a conversation. If David listens long enough the client starts saying things of which they weren’t consciously aware but are quite important to them. It takes time for the insights to come up. Stories and examples are often used as well as asking clients to relate situations to where they are in life. He then asks them to re-tell the story if something different would have happened in their life. One of the first things David talks about with clients is slow down their thinking to become more aware which leads to greater productivity. He goes on to talk about how the words “need” and “should” are very disempowering and need to be rooted out of one’s vocabulary. Substitute “want.” The conversation turned to having to stop working with clients because the trauma/concern they are addressing is just too deep to be brought to the surface at the time. This led to discussing expectations and how they are set initially in the relationship. In addition to getting rid of the “needs” and “should,” slowing down is discussed, and the third element is dropping expectations. Now, it is good to have goals and intentions, which work best when they provide direction rather than being the destination (an expectation). There can be a time during the coaching process where the client has to dig deep in order to progress. Working to generate enthusiasm in terms of the desired end-goal can be required. It’s the achievement of results that counts when it comes to keeping energy up. For some clients keeping a daily journal of progress helps them change their thinking. Dave offers a personal insight how it became true for him. Progress is not about “the calendar” nor is it about comparison to others. Sometimes the discoveries that surface can be disorienting for the client and time is needed to re-equilibrate. For some clients they see that where they are in life and the goals that have been set really aren’t for them. Relieve can eventually set in since they discover they were going down a dead-end road. David talks about trust and what one should look for in a life coach along with self-checks a life coach must perform to work ethically and responsibly. The conversation then moves to cost vs value - which can be a challenge. The best way to find a balance is for the client to ask themselves, “What is this final state I want to get to worth to me?” The relationship continues only when the client can see the value. David then discusses the contractual nature of the relationship - usually 3-6 months, initially. Once into the relationship the duration can be revisited based on progress, challenges, difficulties, etc. Some clients progress so quickly that the time needed shortens. From there period calls are made to touch base to see if additional coaching is needed. This is all based on desired goals the client has. I ask David to go a little deeper into his literature, specifically, “I’m successful but not fulfilled and want to find out why.” It could be staying on the job for the money or security. They are just trudging along. “Successful but stressed out.” David has a program for addressing that. Events and circumstances in life don’t cause our feelings about a situation, in this case stress. It’s our thinking about the events and circumstances that causes our feelings. This can be one of the most challenging aspects. We talked about the repercussions on-the-job when unable to deal with that stress, which brings the conversation back around to the damaging aspect of expectations. The solution David works with clients on is building agreements with those around the client. Leaving space for others can have a very positive effect leading to having a sense of joy rather than duress. Being stuck is another topic. Simply starting to take action can resolve the issue — work in smaller chunks. With the final topic David addresses the difference between a therapist and a life coach. Simply put, a therapist will tell you how you got to where you are and a life coach focuses on where you want to go. There are times when the client needs to be in therapy in order to get to the point they can be coached. For more information you can contact David at: www.davidwetmore.com (c) 513 543 6596 dave@davidwetmore.com For more information on the “8 Steps From Chaos To Clarity and Calm: CEO Advanced Training” go to https://www.ctrchg.com/ceo-advanced-training/ Your feedback is important. Choose from the following options: • place a review in iTunes, • click on “leave a comment” below, • send any comments along with your name and the show number to support@ctrchg.com or • call us at 614-388-8917 and leave a message including your name, the podcast number and podcast title. Listen to future episodes for our reply.

“Brain metabolism — particularly as it pertains to glucose — is central to our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.” Those are the words of Dr. Mowll’s guest today, Dr. David Perlmutter.   Dr. David Perlmutter is a Board Certified Neurologist and four-time New York Times bestselling author. He serves on the Board of Directors and is a fellow of the American College of Nutrition. Dr. Perlmutter has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including the Archives of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and the Journal of Applied Nutrition. In addition, he’s a frequent lecturer and serves as an associate professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.   In today’s interview, Dr. Perlmutter discusses the link between dementia and blood sugar health, and how even slightly elevated blood sugar is associated with Alzheimer’s. He also talks about what we consider normal blood sugar really isn’t normal at all, how ketones can power the brain (leading to less free radicals and better brain energy), the importance of maintaining gut bacteria to protect your brain and improve blood sugar, and how you can cure yourself of type 2 diabetes and change your health destiny.   Key Takeaways: [:58] All about Dr. Mowll’s guest today, Dr. David Perlmutter. [3:14] Dr. Mowll reads an iTunes review. Remember, if you leave a review and Dr. Mowll reads it on the podcast he’ll send you the best of the Diabetes Summit on a flash drive. [4:47] Dr. Mowll welcomes Dr. David Perlmutter to the podcast. [5:24] Dr. Perlmutter explains the connection between dementia and blood sugar health. [13:43] About the third type of diabetes. [15:17] How your lifestyle can be leveraged to avoid Alzheimer’s disease. [16:14] Are there benefits to the ketogenic diet outside of keeping carbs low? [23:11] The correlation between aerobic exercise and the prevention of Alzheimer’s. [28:18] How the microbiomes in our gut can cause systemic inflammation (possibly affecting the brain). [38:48] What concept, quote, or idea encapsulates David’s work? What would he like to be remembered by? [40:12] If David had a close friend or family member that was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, what advice would he give them? [42:04] If James was sitting around with the leaders of the world to solve the diabetes epidemic, what would be his advice?   Mentioned in this Episode: The American College of Nutrition University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain's Silent Killers, by Dr. David Perlmutter Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain — for Life, by Dr. David Perlmutter Dr. David Perlmutter’s Amazon Book Page Diabetologia Dr. Sarah Hallberg’s study Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Lipopolysaccharides DrPerlmutter.com   Enjoyed the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes and leave a review! For more Dr. Mowll, check out his Instagram and Facebook — and drop a like while you’re there!   For more information on this week’s episode, visit: DrMowll.com/Podcasts

A daily devotional walking through God's word together using The Bible Reading Plan at http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com. As hard as it is to live a life of integrity, because we have God's help in doing so, we have a choice in living the life of integrity he desires of us. We might not think about that very often, but it's true. In today's society, it's easy to blame someone or something else on our lack of integrity. We push back justify our behavior on poor parenting. We blame the lack of material goods in a house bordering on poverty in a materialistic world. We blame the violence and immorality that invades us in mind-numbing entertainment like television, movies, games, and more. We blame schools for not enforcing rules that should be set and enforced at home. We blame anything and everything on our failure to maintain a life of integrity. Why? Because like most things in our life, we have a hard time accepting the fact that most often our failures are out fault. And the failure lies in the choices we made somewhere along the line. We just don't want to believe that we can fail. So we pawn our mistakes, our behavior, our failure on someone else. The problem with that approach, though, we never learn from our failure unless we take responsibility for it. We must figure out where we went wrong, fix it, and go from there. Doing everything we can not to repeat those same mistakes in the future. We will fail again? Most likely. No one is exempt from error. We all fail at one time or another at one task or another. We can't help it. We are part of Adam's race. He and Eve disobeyed God in that first garden and we inherited his inability to live the perfect life of integrity God desired of him and us. But there is something we can do about it. First, we can ask God and the individuals we might have wronged for forgiveness. John wrote that when we confess our sins, he is ready, able, and just and will forgive our sins. But also wants to lead us to a life of righteousness, right living. That means we must make some hard choices at times. We must look temptations in the eye and say no. We must obey his commands despite the lure and attraction of the things the world might offer us if we yield to her demands. We have a choice. I can choose to satisfy those base desires in unhealthy, unholy ways. I can choose to follow my selfish desires. I can choose to use other people for my gain. I can choose to hoard the things God has entrusted to me. I can choose to push the helpless and needy away when I have the means to give them hope. I can just to execute vengeance and justice instead of grace and mercy toward my enemies. I can choose the path I take. I can choose my path, but I cannot choose what lies at the end of that path. I cannot choose the consequences of every choice I make whether good or bad. I cannot alter the natural outcome of the laws God gave us. Sure, he is a God of love and mercy, but that doesn't mean he will stop the natural course of events that come to us as a result of our choices. We may still suffer the lasting effects of those seemingly insignificant choices we made in an hour of weakness. So, how do I ensure I make the right choices along the way? How do I avoid the consequence that God set in place at the beginning of time? How do I stand up to the failures that I cause through my actions? First,lean more on him. Go to God in both the good times and the bad. Pray earnestly when you're in a time of smooth sailing. When you do, it will be easier to approach him when the going gets tough. You wouldn't ask a complete stranger to help you with a personal, intimate problem, but you might ask a dear friend. Think about your relationship with God. If you only interact with him on Sunday mornings at church, why would he help? If you're not his friend, why would he stop to give aid in your time of need? So in the good times, when everything is going well, be careful to give God the glory. Maintain a constant personal relationship with him. When you do, you'll find he is willing and ready to give you the support you need and he will never leave you or forsake you. So keep your prayer life up. Second, meditate on his word. What does that mean? Think about what you have read in scripture. Of course, that means you need to read scripture...every day. Maybe even several times a day. David said, “I will meditate on your word night and day. I will hide your word in my heart, so I might not sin against you.” If David tells us a dozen times to meditate on God's word and deeds, maybe we should pay attention and do just that. Read the Bible. Let it soak into your everyday life. Don't let it be one of those tomes that gathers dust on a table. Let God speak to you through his word. He gives good advice in those 66 books if we would just listen to him and do what he tells us to do. Third, before making life-changing decisions, stop and think. It's surprising how often we just act without thinking about the second and third order affects our choices make on us or those around us. Most of the time it isn't too hard to think about the consequences our actions will create. We just need to step back for a second and use that gray matter that sits inside our skull. Tragically, we too often just act and think about it after the fact when it's too late to retract our action. Once done, it's done. Things have been set in motion and the consequences are set whether we like them or not. Then while we're on this pause before making a decision, when possible and practical, seek the advice of a mentor. Most of the time, the decision you are about to make has been made before. It is truly amazing the number of times we repeat the mistakes of others because we fail to heed their warnings. Just take a moment to listen to those who have gone before you. Listen to their counsel. Understand they have your best in mind. If they have traveled that road before you, they can help you avoid the pitfalls and the suffering they may have suffered because of choice they would make differently if given the chance. Remember, two heads are better than one. We're back to where we began today. Integrity involves choice. You can be a person of integrity. You can choose that life. It will take God's help. We can not do it alone. But we can choose to let him walk beside us and keep us on the right path. As we go back to our original definition a few weeks ago, integrity is about unity, oneness, cohesion. When we choose with God in mind, we draw closer to him. We we choose with our selfish desires in mind, we drive a wedge between us and him. Think about the choices you will make today. Stand as Joshua did with his declaration at the top of your priorities, “...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” It is always a choice. And God lets you make it at every crossroad of life. Choose today whom you will serve.

049 | David Meltzer Teaches Us How to Avoid “Dummy Tax” David Meltzer is the CEO of Sports 1 Marketing, a firm in which he co-founded with Hall of Fame Quarterback Warren Moon. David has been recognized by Forbes and Entrepreneur as a Top 5 Keynote Speaker. David’s been named 2017 “Game Changer of the Year” by ACQ Global Awards. He’s also been honored for his philanthropic work as Variety Magazine’s “Sports Humanitarian of the Year.” He is the international #1 best-selling author and national best-selling author of Compassionate Capitalism and Connected To Goodness. More recently he’s become the Executive Producer, and host judge of Entrepreneur Media's newest original show, Elevator Pitch. He’s also newly released a podcast, The Playbook, with Entrepreneur, which landed as a Top Five business podcast on iTunes. Where do you stand when it comes to asking for help? Are you afraid to ask because you worry that your lack of knowledge could be used against you? Or, do you go full in knowing that the only way to YES is asking? This week’s guest, David Meltzer, has paid an extraordinary “dummy tax” a few different times in his life. This has taught him that one of the best ways to get ahead in life and business is by asking others for help. Whether you’re asking for advice on how best to sell a golf course, or trying to re-build after going bankrupt, having the expert help from others is the key way to make advancements quickly. Are you ready to start asking the experts for help, so that you can start hearing YES more frequently? Then, this episode is a MUST LISTEN! Enjoy, and thank you for listening and tuning into Success Unfiltered! To share your thoughts: Email The Pitch Queen @ hello@thepitchqueen.com Ask a question over at www.ThePitchQueen.com Share Success Unfiltered on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, & LinkedIn To help the show out: Please leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe to the show on iTunes. Special thanks goes out to David Meltzer for taking the time to chat with Michelle. Be sure to join us next week for our next new episode! P.S. Can You REALLY Build Sales Relationships Online? Believe it or not, a sales conversation is just like any other conversation. It’s a two-way street exchange of ideas and energy. Now, that might seem obvious in the “real” world. But what about the wild and untamed landscape of the internet? Can you make real “friends” on Facebook or start genuine sales relationships on Instagram? Absolutely. In fact, it’s a must. How do you stand out as the real deal in a world of online noise? My FREE checklist will show you how! “How To Build Relationships Online: Your Checklist For TRUE Connections (And REAL Sales)!” Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode: Michelle introduces David. David gives a quick 45 second synopsis of who he is and what he does. The most devastating NO that David experienced was when he was fresh out of law school, interviewing for jobs. If David hadn’t received this NO, his whole life would have taken a different trajectory, so he is grateful for that NO. David shares how he felt after a potential employer called him fearful and desperate. David believes in tough love! “I'm no victim. I'm gonna make it my story." ~ David Meltzer When David became the CEO for Samsung’s first phone division, it was the best time of his life, that eventually led to his lowest point-- bankruptcy. Another one of David’s most devastating NO’s was when his wife threatened to leave him if he didn’t change his life. It was an expensive lesson to learn, but David quickly learned that money and things aren’t what bring him happiness, it was helping others. “I'm gonna shift my paradigm of value. Instead of worrying about what I'm gonna get, I'm gonna only worry about what I'm gonna give.”  ~ David Meltzer After David shifted his values, amazing things started opening up for him. New jobs and more revenue. David shares 3 ways to get over NO’s as a salesperson. When David flipped the script and began telling others NO, it led to him to letting an employee go, which ended up being a blessing for the individual. David shares how awful it is to own a ferrari. :) David shares what he would tell his younger self. Get David's books: Compassionate Capitalism: Journey To The Soul of Business Connected to Goodness: Manifest Everything You Desire in Business and In Life Connect with David: Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn YouTube David’s Website P.S.  Can You REALLY Build Sales Relationships Online? Believe it or not, a sales conversation is just like any other conversation. It’s a two-way street exchange of ideas and energy. Now, that might seem obvious in the “real” world. But what about the wild and untamed landscape of the internet? Can you make real “friends” on Facebook or start genuine sales relationships on Instagram? Absolutely. In fact, it’s a must. How do you stand out as the real deal in a world of online noise? My FREE checklist will show you how! “How To Build Relationships Online: Your Checklist For TRUE Connections (And REAL Sales)!” Music produced by Deejay-O  www.iamdeejayo.com  

In the book of Psalms, David called upon God to use a righteous man to rebuke and discipline him. He asked that wise people would help restrain his lips, heart, and actions. He declared that he would treat these words offered to him in rebuke as the anointing of oil on his head, a courtesy shown a weary guest by a gracious host. He viewed the corrective words of the righteous as a refreshing gift from God. David realized he needed to be held accountable by someone. He understood the spiritual discipline of accountability, and he humbly asked God to provide people in his life who could represent God and His interests. If David needed others to hold him accountable, then how much more do we need people to hold us accountable? Just like David, we need to begin to develop the discipline of accountability by admitting we need that accountability, and by being willing to listen to those people that God places in our lives. Join us as Pastor Mike shares with us the last segment

In the book of Psalms, David called upon God to use a righteous man to rebuke and discipline him. He asked that wise people would help restrain his lips, heart, and actions. He declared that he would treat these words offered to him in rebuke as the anointing of oil on his head, a courtesy shown a weary guest by a gracious host. He viewed the corrective words of the righteous as a refreshing gift from God. David realized he needed to be held accountable by someone. He understood the spiritual discipline of accountability, and he humbly asked God to provide people in his life who could represent God and His interests. If David needed others to hold him accountable, then how much more do we need people to hold us accountable? Just like David, we need to begin to develop the discipline of accountability by admitting we need that accountability, and by being willing to listen to those people that God places in our lives. Join us as Pastor Mike shares with us the last segment

A daily devotional walking through God's word together using The Bible Reading Plan at http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com. Bible Reading Plan - www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 12; You Version Bible app Engaging God's Story Reading Plan Days 78 through 84 What one night would you like to erase from your memory forever? What one event would you like to just take away from your past because of the consequences that have come from that one indiscretion? You know what it is. It probably doesn't take you a lot of time to think back through your history. You probably don't have to thumb through pages and pages of journals to think of the event you'd like to relive and do things differently. King David had one of those days. His army went to war in the spring of the year, but he didn't go with them. One night he went out on his roof and glanced over his city and there on another rooftop he saw Bathsheba bathing. If David had just walked back inside and gone about his business we probably wouldn't hear about the demise of the twelve tribes or the terrible things that happened within his own family. But he didn't. David sent a servant to bring Bathsheba to his palace and he slept with her while her husband, Uriah, one of David's mighty men, a brave and loyal soldier in his army, performed his duties on the field of battle. David sent her home. Soon she sent word to David that she was pregnant and the king tries to cover up his wrongs. First, he brings Uriah home to blame the pregnancy on Uriah, but he doesn't go home. Refusing to enjoy the comforts of home while his men are suffering the discomforts of the battlefield. Next, David tries to get Uriah drunk to then let his baser desires take hold and get him to sleep with his wife. But that doesn't work either. Uriah is just too loyal to his men and the king's army. Finally, for all intents and purposes, David murders Uriah by sending a secret message to his commander instructing him to place Uriah at the front where the fighting was the fiercest and then withdraw leaving Uriah to die. David even sent them message by Uriah to seal his own fate. David thought he covered his tracks. To the army and the kingdom, it looked like he did a noble thing and took in his warrior's widow into his palace to marry her and take care of her after Uriah's untimely death. He thought his sin was hidden from all but he and Bathsheba. But God knew and God let Nathan, His prophet know. The prophet came to David and uncovered the sin. He pronounced the punishment that God decided. Bathsheba's child would die. David prayed, he pleaded, he begged. The consequences of his sin began. David repented, but Bathsheba's child still died. His son raped his daughter. Another son rebelled against him and tried to take his kingdom from him. David watched his family fall apart as a consequence of the sin that started because he didn't walk away that spring night in Jerusalem. God forgave David and called him a man after His heart. Why? Because David did repent and tried to live according to the laws God laid out for His people. Did he make mistakes? Absolutely. But God still named David a man after His heart and all the kings of Israel were compared to David, the nation's best king. David made mistakes. God forgave him. But David still suffered consequences as a result of his sin. David didn't blame God for his suffering, though. He understood justice and knew the things he suffered were a result of his actions, not God's. The family problems he faced were because his children behaved as he had behaved with Bathsheba and Uriah, so how he could expect other results. David knew something we forget too often. The message that we reap what we sow doesn't matter if God has forgiven us or not. We may still reap the harvest of the actions we have taken. Like David, we may be forgiven, but it doesn't mean we won't suffer the consequences of those actions in this life. What does it all mean for us as we look at those characters like David? God isn't looking for perfect people. He knows none of us are perfect. He made us. He knows us. He knows your faults and failures better than you do. What He's looking for are men and women who, like David, will listen when confronted with their sin. He's looking for men and women who, when confronted with their sin will repent instead of blaming someone else. He's looking for men and women who, like David, will meditate on His word, do their best everyday to abide by His law, and listen to His voice. He tells us He really only has two rules for us to keep. Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love other people like we love ourself. If we will just do those two things we will stay out of trouble and will keep all His other commands. If David had kept those two rules that night in Jerusalem when he was out on his roof, he would have walked back inside when he noticed Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. You see, he would not have wanted to sin against God or against Bathsheba or her husband Uriah. He would have wanted to maintain their reputations and his own. David had that bad night and God forgave him. You've probably had a bad night or two yourself. I doubt if your bad night was any worse than what David did, though. He drug his whole family and nation through the mud resulting in rape, murder, incest, a divided kingdom, defeat by their enemies, finally the whole nation falling into exile. God forgave him, but the consequences unfolded before him. Don't let that happen to you. Obey God. Recognize He has your best in mind. He doesn't want you to suffer the results of the harvest of sinful ways. Reap a harvest of good deeds and righteous living. It's not impossible. In fact, God will help you along the way. Just put your trust in Him, listen to His voice, and obey when you hear Him call.

Daily Devotions from Charles Spurgeon, read by Doug Smith.  To read the entire book online, visit spurgeon.org.  For more information about the program, visit brotherdougsmith.wordpress.com. July 9 Faithful and Useful Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. (Psalm 101:6)  If David spoke thus, we may be sure that the Son of David will be of the same mind. Jesus looks out for faithful men, and He fixes His eyes upon them, to observe them, to bring them forward, to encourage them, and to reward them. Let no true-hearted man think that he is overlooked; the King Himself has His eye upon him. There are two results of this royal notice. First we read, "That they may dwell with me." Jesus brings the faithful into His house, He sets them in His palace, He makes them His companions, He delights in their society. We must be true to our Lord, and He will then manifest Himself to us. When our faithfulness costs us most, it will be best rewarded; the more furiously men reject, the more joyfully will our Lord receive us. Next, he says of the sincere man, "He shall serve me." Jesus will use for His own glory those who scorn the tricks of policy and are faithful to Himself, His Word, and His cross. These shall be in His royal retinue, the honored servants of His Majesty. Communion and usefulness are the wages of faithfulness. Lord, make me faithful that I may dwell with Thee and serve Thee.

Stream episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com (mobile friendly) The Haunting Cameron Daddo returns to Melbourne for The Haunting. In an ancient mansion in England, sheltering from the howling winds that tear across the surrounding desolate moorland, two men stumble across a dark and terrifying secret that will change their lives forever... When a young book dealer, David Filde, is employed by a former associate of his uncle to catalogue an impressive library, he finds an incredible array of rare and antiquated books. But as a series of strange and unexplained events conspire to keep Filde from his work, he discovers that things are not always as they seem. If David is to convince his sceptical employer that the mysterious phenomena he is experiencing are real, they must journey together to the very edge of terror, and beyond, to discover the reason for the haunting visitations... The truth will come out! For more http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=HAUNTEDD17&eg=FIRST&&ep=MSPECIAL# Subscribe to the Theatre First podcast at all good podcatcher apps including Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher, Pocketcasts, audioBoom etc. #theatre #reviews #podcast #haunting #melbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Psalms 110 Watch Video Listen to MP3 Download Handout Download Manuscript → Click to view the Sermon Outline Davidic Pattern #1: The path toward kingship was marked by suffering. The humble servant had to suffer first before he was exalted as king. Davidic Pattern #2: When exalted as king, God brought remaining factions and enemies into subjection to God’s chosen king (cf 2 Samuel 5:9-12). Jesus Christ, Pattern #3: God’s chosen King suffered, was delivered from the grave and then was exalted “carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:44-50). Psalm 110 - The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore He will lift up His head. Five realities about Jesus Christ that we must all come face to face with sooner or later 1. God Has Made Christ Alone King of Creation—“Sit at My Right Hand” (v. 1) a. “At God’s right hand”—Matthew 22:44, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 12:2-3, 1 Peter 3:22, Revelation 3:21 b. “The Right Hand of God” is the place of eternal rulership The ascension of Christ is as significant to the Lordship of Christ as His death and resurrection is to His role as Savior. He is both Lord/King and Savior! c. But how could any man share God’s ruling throne? Jesus Christ was not simply “any man”—“The Lord said to my Lord” (cf. Matthew 22:41-45) 2. God Has Promised Christ Alone a Kingdom (v. 2) 3. God Has Promised Christ Alone a People/Army for His Kingdom (v. 3) a. Willing volunteers b. Dressed in righteousness (holy majesty/womb of dawn, cf. Revelation 19:11-16) 4. God Has Made Christ Alone the Only Way to Be Part of His Kingdom—Christ Is Not Only a King but a Priest! (v. 4, cf. Genesis 14, Hebrews 5-9) 5. God Will Destroy Opposition to Christ Alone (vv. 5-6)  Outlined Manuscript Have you ever experienced something that you never thought you would experience in your life?  Maybe it was a sudden sorrowful thing that happened to you or someone near to you.  Maybe it was something that you waited for your whole life to happen and you just were not sure if it would ever happen (I imagine there are some parents of soon to be graduates that may be feeling that way about now).  Maybe it was something that you spent plenty of time dreaming about in your life. Wednesday night November 2, I finished up a night of youth group in the LOFT and immediately ran out to my Jeep.  I turned on the ignition and before the engine had even finished cranking over I had the radio tuned into the Cubs versus the Indians playing in Game 7 of the World Series. As I turned on to State Road 26 to begin my journey home I listened as Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run to deep right center field. Maybe tonight would be the night that I had played out countless times in my backyard as kid in Northern Illinois.  Maybe tonight the Cubs would be the world champions. It had been 108 years since the last time the Cubs had won the World Series.  For years they had been mocked as the “loveable losers”, but tonight could be a different night. Well that game did not go exactly the way that was the least amount of stress, but early on that Thursday morning the Cubs were finally the World Series Champ.  As my 91 year old grandma that was sitting next to me said as the final out was recorded, “Well they finally did it.” Everything changed in the mind of the lifetime Cub fan.  The blues and reds of the world were just brighter and more beautiful.  They no longer were fans of the “Loveable Losers”, but now were fans of the Champs. Even in something as silly as winning a World Series there was a new realization that would make life never the same again. These realization moments can come from any changes that revolutionize our lives.  We go about our lives and for the most part we get into routines But then something in our environment changes—something either that we want to change or something that we don’t want to change. And when it changes we may take a while to believe what has happened. Here is a question for you… What is the greatest reality shock of your life? Here is what I believe it is…. We by our nature grow up in a state of selfishness that causes us to seek our own good.  We exalt ourselves to the roll of king over our own life. Think about it. From birth whenever I was hungry, I would just cry, and suddenly a bottle would appear. Whenever, I had a dirty diaper I would just cry a little bit more and suddenly my diaper would be changed. As a toddler, I want a toy, I grab it from my friend that was playing with it. As a teen, I want my own pleasure, so I experiment with sex and drugs As  a highschooler, I learn how to get attention by using my body for athletics or beauty. As a college student, I want to live the party life and sow my wild oats…. As an adult, I learn to make money to spend on toys for me. The routine of living for self is our reality What happens when you come face to face with the reality of you are not KING!! What happens when you begin to see for the first time, this world doesn’t revolve around you! My friends that is a reality for all of us, that must be faced. With those thoughts in mind please turn in your Bibles to Psalms 110. That is on page 443 in the front section of the bible in the chair in front of you. I have also printed the text of Psalm 110 in your bulletin notes if you would rather look there. This year’s annual theme at Faith is In Christ Alone And after Easter we have turned our attention to a five part series on Seeing Christ in the Psalms Much of Jesus’ life and work is said in the New Testament to be a fulfillment of the Psalms. Let me say an explanatory word about my understanding of the messianic Psalms. Many of the Psalms/Songs in the OT were written by a man called David, King of Israel. David was God’s chosen king to rule over God’s people. David, was an example or type of a man who, although a sinner and having some great sins, strived to be faithful to God. He was faithful to God in His youth. He was marked by meekness and humility and trust in the Lord. He is known for His slaying of the giant menace of Israel, Goliath, by relying on Lord—not any kind of military strength. Because of his humility, God chose him as an earthly king over his people However, the path to kingship was one marked by suffering. His enemies opposed him and often sought his life… Pastor Green at FE and Pastor Wright at FW spoke about his sufferings last week. Please notice the pattern… Davidic Pattern #1: The path toward kingship was marked by suffering. The humble servant had to suffer first before he was exalted as king. When David actually became King, God gradually brought all the fighting factions and opposing nations into submission to David’s reign. Davidic Pattern #2: When established as king, God brought remaining factions and enemies into subjection to God’s chosen king (cf 2 Sam 5:9–12). Notice this passage 2 Sam 5:10David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.11Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.12And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. David as a musician recorded songs about these experiences in the Psalms And Then Jesus says in Luke 24:44 Luke 24:44  44Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem…50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. There are two observations about this passage that I want to make. First, Notice how Jesus said all that is written in the Psalms must be fulfilled—Hence we have these “messianic psalms Second, Notice this pattern Jesus Christ, Pattern#3: God’s Chosen King suffered and then was delivered from the grave and then was “carried up into heaven.” In the comparison to David what does this pattern correspond to? ANSWER: David’s exaltation as King and God working to bring all face to face with the reality of Christ’s kingship. God working to subject all people to his kingship. With that back ground let’s read now Psalm 110 Psalm 110 (Notes only)       1    The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”       2    The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”       3    Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.       4    The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”       5    The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.       6    He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.       7    He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head. Today from Psalm 110 we are discussing Facing the Reality of God’s Choice of Christ Alone Five realities about Jesus Christ that we must all come face to face with sooner or later. The first reality is this… God Has Made Christ Alone King of Creation—“Sit at My Right Hand.” Friends the NT recognizes Psalms 110 as one of the most significant chapters in the OT. Every human author of the NT quotes some portion of Psalm 110 except James and Jude. I have listed several of these references for you…. “At God’s right hand”—Matt 22:44, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Rom 8:34, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Heb 1:3, 8:1, 12:2–3, 1 Pet 3:22, Rev 3:21 Here is just one example: Eph 1:20 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. We focus a lot on the resurrection of Jesus Chris and rightly so. The resurrection represents so much Victory over Death The first fruits of the promise of eternal life—a resurrected body God’s stamp of approval on His Son for His life and His Sacrifice However, the entire NT is not only structured around the resurrection but the truth from this PSALM—sit at my right hand--the ascension of Christ into heaven! That is amazing. Until I studied this Psalm and the numerous quotes of this Psalm in the NT I had no idea of how much this concept of Christ being translated from earth to heaven informed the theology of the NT. Read the cross references I gave you and see how significant this is!!!.  But what is so significant about “the Right Hand of God” What does this mean? The right hand of God means “The Right Hand of God” is the place of eternal rulership Earthly Kings invited a cherished and faithful servant to be their right hand man to execute their rule. As an example, those of you who know the Bible remember the Joseph story and how Joseph after suffering was exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. Joseph in all practical senses was ruler over Egypt— equal to Pharaoh! David after suffering was exalted to the earthly kingdom of Israel and could be said to be “God’s right hand man on earth.” But David did not ascend bodily to heaven In Christ you have something entirely greater The Man Jesus ascended bodily to heaven not just a throne on earth…God’s heavenly throne. What does this mean…God has place Jesus Christ at the place of authority over all including you. The ascension of Christ is as significant to the Lordship of Christ as is His death and resurrection is to His Role as Savior. He is both Lord/King and Savior! My friends that is the reality…Christ simply is King. You simply are not the king. This is the reality. This is the reality that you must face either now or when God His Father, makes you a footstool for King Jesus’ feet. But Here is a question for you… But how could any man share God’s ruling throne? Jesus Christ was not simply “any man”—“The Lord said to my Lord” (cf. Matt 22:41–45) I think God has a sense of humor. He planted riddles and mysteries in the OT that would perplex people only to be revealed at the right time. I have had the privilege of attending Faith Bible Seminary and Pastor Aucoin was always so excited to point out these mysteries and riddles.  As I was discussing this passage with him in preparation for this sermon, I was reminded of that excitement he has for these Old Testament mysteries, as we talked about this phrase. David wrote the beginning line of the Psalm, “The Lord said to my Lord…dwell at my right hand.” What does, “The Lord said to my Lord” mean? Is David calling himself “my lord”—that would be a strange way for David to speak about Himself. So for years the Jewish folks interpret this phrase as applying to a descendent of David….rightfully so….the coming Messiah…. But the Jewish folks completely missed something…If this applies to David’s descendent…David call’s his descendent “MY LORD”  MY MASTER///MY KING…  How could the Messiah both be David’s Son and David’s master? How? Jesus stumped the Pharisees with this question… Matthew 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet” ’? 45“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. How is a man sitting at the right Hand of God? Because Jesus Christ is not simply a man…He is God incarnate. In order to ascend to be at the right hand of God he had to first descend to become human. This man is King.  This Man is God Himself.  Christ is King.  Christ is God Himself. Is he your King? The second reality we must face is that God Has Promised Christ Alone A Kingdom Ps. 110:2The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Folks is this the reality we live in… God does not say he will stretch forth Johnny’s kingdom saying “rule”? God does not say he will stretch forth (Pastor Garner, Folden, Green)’s kingdom saying “rule”? God will stretch forth Christ strong scepter ALONE saying rule. My friends do you remember a time in your life where you began to recognize this life is simply not about building your kingdom.       What are you doing with your life?       As I said the most routine aspect of our life is building             our kingdoms Our kingdoms of people who adore us Our kingdoms of accomplishments Our kingdoms of wealth Our kingdoms of influence       Psalm 110 brings us face to face that God has promised Christ Alone a Kingdom. Let that reality sink in a bit as you evaluate your life’s efforts…what are you working for….? Think about the summer that is coming up.  What are you going to do this summer?  Is it going to be all about you and your kingdom?  Is it about the number of hours you get to spend the pool? Is it about the number of lemonades you can consume on your back porch? Is it about the number of dandelions you eliminate from your yard? Is it about how many levels you can advance in the newest video game or the number of Netflix binges you can consume?       Why not make this summer about advancing the King that has already been exalted? Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by helping to share the Gospel to kids from our community by serving in VBS. Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by showing up to the Community Picnic and intentionally engaging with people from our community. Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by getting involved in any of the number of serving opportunities in our community this summer. God Has Promised Christ Alone a People/Army for His Kingdom       Ps. 110:3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. The King has a Kingdom And, And What else does the King have?   an Army In the Hebrew there are simply two Hebrew words “Your people” is one Hebrew word, and then the second word is the Hebrew word for “freewill offering” Your people, a free will offering The people of this Kingdom are Willing Volunteers Why would you sign up to be a subject in anyone’s Kingdom? In the OT God warned Israel about wanting a king like the other nations in that they would force the people to become slaves.  The king would force the people to serve in the army. But this is remarkable…there is something about this king and his kingdom that people say….”Sign me up…” Why would that be? Because there is something good about this King and His Kingdom. Service for this King is not like slavery to my previous masters Service for this king is freeing… Friends have you come face to face with the reality of the tyranny of the kingdom of self and sin…and how there is a much better king and kingdom that you can join? The slavery to sin and self is never fully satisfying.  – You will always be searching for just a bit more happiness.  You will always find yourself to be a horrible king in your life. You will always find your kingdom to be lacking. The mark of the armies of Christ is that they are willfully following Him. You will find no other Master you will love to serve.   The King’s people are also…. Dressed in Righteousness (Holy Majesty/womb of dawn. Cf Rev 19:11–16) Your people are in “holy array” and “from the womb of dawn” Now, remember one thing about Hebrew poetry… Hebrew poetry uses a lot of metaphors and you have got to attempt to picture what the author is trying to communicate. Womb of dawn? What does that mean? Obviously, a womb is something that gives birth (we really do not have time to expand on that concept any more than that) In this case it is the womb of Dawn So what comes out of the “birthing canal” of dawn? Light! “Holy Array” also communicates that the King’s People are Brilliant in appearance. And the term “Your Youth like dew”—may also communicate the concept of purity Folks I believe also that Revelation 19 about the coming of the King and His People refers to this passage as well with very similar imagery. Notice God’s people are clothed in Brilliance…They are not cowering in the shame of nakedness. Notice the similarity here in Rev 19. Rev 19:11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.16And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” The King’s People are viewed as pure!!! In the revelation passage the people of the king are in white brilliant clothing But what is the King clothed in?  Robe dipped in blood! In God’s eyes the King’s people are viewed as pure…..But the King is soaked in blood…What’s going on here? Furthermore, the King is at the right hand of God and the people are with the king So, 1. How could any person with all of our impurities be there with the King and 2. viewed as pure? How is that possible? Because of this fourth reality… God Has Made Christ Alone the Only Way to Be Part of His Kingdom—Christ Is Not Only a King But a Priest! (cf. Gen 14, Hebrews 5-9)       Psalm 110:4The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” Well now, isn’t this an obscure statement Order of Melchizedek?  What is this?  J It sounds like something you would order at a fast food restaurant….”I will take the Melchizedek meal with a large Coke Zero.” Melchizedek was the King of Jerusalem 1000 years before David became King of Jerusalem. You can briefly read about Melchizedek in Genesis 14. The significance of Melchizedek was that he is described in Gen 14 as both a priest and a king. Now, God had not allowed any of his earthly rulers to be both priests and kings. Do you know why? What does power do? Corrupt. And what does absolute power do—corrupt absolutely. Can you imagine a monarch with absolute power that controlled all aspects of the nation including down to what all the subjects had to believe and access to God. So, God made the first separation of powers long before the American government.  In Israel, God separated the King’s power of rulership from the priests’ role of providing access to God. Those kings in Israel who crossed the line into priestly duties—men like Saul and Uzziah—were severely judged by God. But here when God says of Jesus YOU ARE THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK….that means that the Messiah would be the only King who is both King and Priest. And Praise the Lord for you because that means this King and only this King gets you access to God Not because he sacrificed some animals for you but he sacrificed His body for you He is wearing the blood soak robes so that you can stand with him with God in white garments. Hebrews 7:21 but He (God) with an oath through the One who said to Him,“The Lord has sworn And will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever’ ”);22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.25Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;         27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Jesus Christ is sitting right now at the right hand of the Father as 1. king but not just king….as a 2. priest. And notice that there is a time frame on this….in verse 1—until the God makes the enemies of the King/priest His footstool. Since Christ ascended until this very moment, you have the opportunity to come face to face with the reality of this King as your Savior because of his priestly work. And   And you have the opportunity to learn now how to grow into the pure white clothing All of this is until—God brings everything in subjection to him and face to face with what happens if we do not subject our self to this king… God Will Destroy Opposition to Christ Alone (vv. 5–6)       5    The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.       6    He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. The king will return to earth as He ascended from it and God the father will be at his right hand executing the wrath of God. And judge those who did not come face to face with the King, His Kingdom, and His priesthood for them. Here is the reality today…. You will either be part of the army of the king dressed in brilliant clothing (the righteousness of Christ). Or you will be facing the wrath of the Father My friends, this is inescapable. This is the reality But right now the King is sitting until that time when he gets on the war horse. You today, may say I don’t want anything to do with that kind of a violent king. Let me end today with the last phrase of the Psalm…       7    He will drink from the brook (river/torrent/flood) by (on) the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head. The phrase “He will drink from the brook by the wayside… Has perplexed the commentators. There is not agreement about what that phrase means. However, some believe it is a reference to the cup that Christ drank at the cross. Do you remember the night before Christ was to experience the violent judgement that we deserved Christ compared it to a drink. He said, “Lord, if it be your will let me not drink this cup (of wrath) but not my will but yours be done.” Thus, the phrase might be better translated and could be translated, He will drink from the torrent on the way. My friend, if you never face reality of Christ being King, with a Kingdom and a People and one day you come face to face with the reality of violent judgment of the Warrior King it will only be because you did not accept the reality today that the priestly king took the violent judgment upon Himself that you deserved. So whose Kingdom will you pursue? Your own empty kingdom? Or the Kingdom of Christ alone? Let’s Pray.

If David’s past was any indication of what his future would be like, then David is certain that the blessings he's experienced in his past will continue with him forever. The overall picture is that David never expected the blessings from his Shepherd to end. When I follow Jesus the blessings never end.

If David’s past was any indication of what his future would be like, then David is certain that the blessings he's experienced in his past will continue with him forever. The overall picture is that David never expected the blessings from his Shepherd to end. When I follow Jesus the blessings never end.

God cares more about what He is doing in your future than about the mistakes of your past.  Let go of your past guilt and shame with this prayer, written by David after his affair with Bathsheba (and having her husband killed). If David was still under God’s grace, so are you.   About One Verse One Verse is a short, free podcast devotional designed to help you grow closer to God through less than 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Consistency trumps intensity. When it comes to working out, eating healthy, or managing our finances, consistency always trumps intensity. We reach our major life goals through small, purposeful steps taken daily. The same is true in our spiritual lives. I truly believe you will grow closer to God by spending just 5 minutes a day with Him versus cramming in an hour once a month. The One Verse Devotional is here to help take away the barriers of spending time with God. Now, during your workout, drive to work, or even shopping for groceries, you can invest in your spiritual life. http://phosphorusproject.com/

Welcome to the SportsKrunch with your host DKROM. DKROM is a Sportswriter & sportscaster. Host of Sports Krunch With DKROM. Football junkie and old-school music lover. #GoBroncos Today’s guest is the man in the box himself Chris Brodhead. 1:05 Rob Gronkowski and Earl Thomas season-ending injuries, which one hurts his team more?? 9:05 If David were a manager today would he focus his best draft pics on elite Offensive Linemen? 16:00 Preview of Thursday night's game between the Raiders and Chiefs. Should Derek Carr be league MVP?? 19:30 Is Jameis the next Eli Manning? 24:30 Can the Chiefs be this year's version of the 2015 Broncos?? 29:00 AFC South breakdown. Could be a three-way tie at the top of division if Colts beat Jets on MNF. Who wins the division?? 33:45 Who is the clear favorite to win Super Bowl LI as of this moment?? Is there even one? I'm not so sure

David Thompson is CMO at Domo, the company that allows customers to turn data into opportunities. David is a highly accomplished branding expert and recognized leader in demand generation, having served as longtime CMO of WebEx, where he named the company, helped create the cloud-based conferencing category and positioned the company for its IPO and subsequent buyout by Cisco. He also co-founded and served as chief executive officer of Genius.com, a leading SaaS marketing automation company, and he launched the Sales 2.0 Conference. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How did David make his way into the world of tech and SaaS pre-bubble? How did the bubble affect how David approached company building going forward? What should all SaaS startups consider pre spending big on marketing? What should their core gating factors be? Is it always right to have an internal marketing team? What are the must haves and the nice to haves in B2B marketing? Why is Facebook a must have or business branding today? How can businesses accurately measure the success of their marketing and branding efforts? Is it all about revenue or is there external reputation metrics to consider? On the whole, would David consider successful B2B branding closer to consumer or closer to enterprise marketing? What do the best in the enterprise class do? 60 Second SaaStr What are David’s favourite marketing tools? If David could recommend one book to SaaS founders what would it be? With the martech explosion: are we entering a world of consolidation? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr David Thompson

Eliab was a mocking, demeaning force against David as he checked on his brothers stationed in battle. If David had adhered to the voice of Eliab, he would have returned home without ever involving himself. But David advanced in the cause in spite of the hurling words of Eliab. His actions alone proved the belittling of Eliab to be null and void.

Dr. Constantinou continues her lesson on Solomon, this time focusing on the fascinating topic of Old Testament polygamy, adultery, and concubinage. If David and Solomon did it, why can't we?

Dr. Constantinou continues her lesson on Solomon, this time focusing on the fascinating topic of Old Testament polygamy, adultery, and concubinage. If David and Solomon did it, why can't we?