Podcasts about Jehovah

What happens when one partner doesn't believe? What happens when the foundation of your relationship is no longer the foundation? Sherrie D'Souza will share her experiences and insights gained from navigating different faiths in a marriage relationship. And - spoiler alert! - returning co-host Sacha D'Souza will be joining the conversation to share his perspective, as well. Sherrie D'Souza was born and raised in Sydney Australia as a Jehovah's Witness, devoting much of her youth to full-time volunteering for the religion. After learning of the gross cover-up of child sexual abuse in the religion, she left the religion in 2016 (following her husband Sacha, who had patiently waited for his wife to wake up from the cult). Sherrie is passionate about supporting others and in April 2020 started the first RfR Support Group in Sydney. With a secular background in healthcare administration, Sherrie now works from home and enjoys the flexibility this gives her to do more in establishing RfR in Australia. When she isn't banging away at her keyboard, you will find her playing with her Abyssinian cats, Abernathy & Sidney, indulging in her hobbies of cross stitching and diamond painting or just chilling watching Sci-Fi with Sacha. This episode was recorded on 7-18-2022. For RfRx comments, inquiries & topical questions, email us at RfRx@recoveringfromreligion.org. Any time you are struggling with religious doubts or fears you can connect with a trained RfR Helpline agent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To chat online go to http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org. To talk over the phone, dial: (844) 368-2848 in the US & Canada If you are in need of professional help, we can offer the Secular Therapy Project to provide options to connect with a professional therapist. All therapists have been thoroughly vetted by our organization and offer only evidence-based and non-religious treatment. Connect with them at http://www.seculartherapy.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok. Volunteer: http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/volunteer Donate: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/donate --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/recovering-from-religion/message

Reviewing the study article, “Jehovah – the Greatest Forgiver” from the June 2022 Watchtower Study Edition. Topics of discussion: the state of being forgiven, friendship with God, omitting Jesus, second chances theology, the millennium Subscribe to the JW Review Podcast HERE (Apple/iTunes) and HERE (Spotify) Support MJF Apologetics through Patreon HERE Skype contact: mjfelk82_1 WhatsApp: please contact me directly for … More Jehovah the Greatest Forgiver – Watchtower Study Review June 2022

My goal is to help you on the road to thinking biblically about everything. LINKS I MENTIONED: Help for Jehovah's Witnesses playlist Penal Substitution Series What the Bible teaches about Alcohol Here's the link for my next video in the Women in Ministry series. This is part 9 and we will be covering the claim that many egalitarians make that there is no authority imbalance in marriage and the idea of "wives submit" has been misunderstood throughout time; it should really be understood, they say, as "mutual submission." This issue is massively important since it impacts every Christian marriage! https://BibleThinker.org 0:00 - Intro 0:30 {Are Retirement Savings Sinful?} Based off of the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21) and the story in Matthew 19:21, do you think it is sinful to save up for retirement? 14:59 {Communion Elements/Did Jesus Drink Wine?} My family and I attend a church that is in fellowship with an organization that uses water during communion instead of wine or grape juice. They attempt to use John 19:34 to justify this, and they also believe Jesus never consumed wine. Is this biblical? 21:10 {Does Jesus Live in Us?} Would it be accurate after reading 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:5 to state that both the Holy Spirit and Jesus live in the believer? 26:40 {Are “God-Given Rights” Biblical?} Does the Bible say anything about "God Given Rights,” at least the way many Americans use the phrase? 33:20 {When & How to Evangelize} I want everyone to be saved & I feel guilty if I don't share the Gospel with every person I see. How do I know when I should share the Gospel & how do I start the conversation? 38:08 {Is the Curse of the Ground Still Active?} In what way did Noah bring relief from the curse of the ground (Genesis 5:28-29)? Am I mistaken in thinking the curse still seems active today (Genesis 3:17-19; 8:21)? 43:47 {What is a False Teacher?} What do you think is the biblical definition of a false teacher? People's interpretations of this vary widely. I’d just like to have a fresh pair of eyes on it. 47:58 {About Fantasy Entertainment} What is your stance on fantasy entertainment which utilizes pagan/made up religions such as GoT, Lotr, Zelda, Hercules, or Valheim? Isn’t it promoting Idolatry? 52:05 {Safeguarding Ourselves While Witnessing} I have felt God call me to minister to the JWs, and He has opened doors for me to do so. What should I do to make sure my faith is not endangered when I am doing ministry? I meet with them tonight. 56:21 {How does Our Will Intertwine with God’s?} In Genesis 20:4-6, Abimelech seems to think he didn’t touch Sarah out of his own will, but God says HE didn’t allow it. Any insight on the intersection between our will and God’s hand making stuff happen? 1:01:29 {How did Jesus Pay in Advance for our Sin?} I'm not sure about penal substitution. How can it be that my sins, which were not yet committed at the time of the crucifixion, could have been imputed to Christ on the cross? 1:06:43 {Discerning God’s Calling from Our Feelings?} How can I tell the difference between when God is truly calling me to something or if I am just searching for signs? 1:11:44 {Is Being Baptized in a Special Location More “Spiritual”?} Is it wrong to think being baptized in the Jordan Rive

Chris comes from a large family of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Montgomery Alabama area. Being from a big family can result in big family drama though, especially when everyone is in a cult that dictates behavior and divides families. In this episode you'll learn about Chris, his family, his story, and how his story overlaps other things going on in the family as well. The song that Chris chose to represent his journey is I Wanna Live by Fifth featuring P. Black Support Chris by leaving him a comment HERE Support the show by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let's talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach. Click HERE for more information. Want more resources? Go to my other website exjwHelp.com Join our Shunned Podcast Facebook Support Group HERE Leave us a review on iTunes Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show. This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app or on YouTube. It is a 9 part series about life as Jehovah's Witnesses designed to help you understand how it worked in one comprehensive story and to help you process your own if you came from that environment. Music provided by Jane and the Boy, entitled Save Myself.

Episode 1029 | Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com   Questions in this Episode   1. How can I explain that Jesus is the answer for those who are suffering? 2. You answered my former question about Jehovah's Witnesses. It really helped me and my son. But my son came back saying, when Jesus prayed to the Father, how could he be praying to himself? I couldn't exactly answer him. 3. Did Mary live a sinless life? 4. I struggle with psychotic delusions and they prevent me from having an assurance of salvation. What can I do? 5. What place does the doctrine of hell have in evangelism? Today's Offer Core Guide – 6 Ways to Help Your Kids As They Go Back to School Request our latest special offers here or call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone. Want to partner with us in our work here at Core Christianity? Consider becoming a member of the Inner Core. Resources Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God's Story by Michael Horton

Ministering Angels Through UBM (2) (Audio) David Eells - 8/10/22 Questions & Answers with the Angels Eve Brast - 8/8/22 (David's notes in red) I wanted to share a little background with everyone concerning my angelic encounters and coming into the gift of prophetic dreams and visions in my lifetime. I was 4 years old the first time angels appeared to me. My parents had a very turbulent marriage and they had vicious fights and arguments beginning around the time I was 4 years old. I was an only child and was alone quite a bit. I had no siblings to find comfort or solace with in those times when my parents were fighting. One day they got into a bad argument and I imagined that they would hurt each other or die or one would kill the other or both. As I was hiding under my bed in my room thinking all these fearful thoughts, 3 angels appeared to me. Two of them were male in appearance and one female in appearance. They weren't big and glorious with wings and heavenly garments but they appeared to me in the form of other children dressed in that time period of the early 1970's. I knew they were supernatural because they spoke to me with wisdom and comfort like grown ups would speak and the room was filled with a supernatural peace.  They told me that everything was going to be okay and that I didn't need to be afraid. They assured me that God loved me and that He loved my parents and nothing bad would happen to us. I knew about God and Jesus because my dad had been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit when I was 2 years old and he talked a lot about God and Jesus and the Bible. My dad had bought me a little children's picture Bible and he would read me stories out of it every night before bedtime. My mom, on the other hand, wasn't filled with the Spirit until years later, so she was quite the Jezebel and it caused some bad agreements between my parents.  I was so glad to have these “other children” there with me and I asked them if they could please stay with me and be my friends. They said they would stay and so that began a long companionship that lasted until I was 9 years old close to turning 10. I remember playing with them in my room when I was 4 and my mother walking by and stopping in the doorway and asking, “Who are you talking to Eve?”  And I said, “My friends. Can't you see them?” She just raised her eyebrows and said, “OK??”  As a 4 year old I didn't think to ask them their names so I just gave them names. Later I heard her telling some other grown ups that I had imaginary friends that I had made up to play with and they all laughed and thought it was so cute and they just explained it away that I was an only child with a “vivd imagination”. I became upset and told them all, “They aren't imaginary! They are real!”  I also could see demons beginning when I was 6 years old especially when my parents would argue and fight and I knew how to rebuke them in “Jesus' Name” because that's what I heard my dad saying at times. I didn't know what “Rebuke” meant but I knew that was how you talked to demons to make them leave and I knew they were scared of Jesus. And they would always leave when I would do this because I believed that when I said this, “Magic phrase” they had to do what I said. As the years went on, and I got older, still insisting that “my friends" were real, my mom and dad started to believe me and my dad acknowledged that they were probably angels that I was seeing and interacting with. One day, as my 10th birthday was approaching, we were all playing “School” and the angels were my students. They patiently listened to my “instruction” and when I dismissed the class, the male leader of the three put his right arm around my shoulder and said, “We are going to have to leave now. You are getting too old, but don't worry we will always be with you.” (I understood that he meant I was growing up and I didn't need them in that capacity anymore. I had felt a solemnness in them that day and now I knew why.) I didn't have time to argue or try to negotiate with them. They just disappeared and I began to cry, but I heard his voice once more saying, “Don't worry. We will always be with you.” When I turned 10, I had my first prophetic dream from the Lord and these continued into my 20's. My dad had also been given prophetic dreams and visions from the Lord and he was thrilled that the Lord had passed that gift on to me too. We talked a lot about my dreams and his dreams and he would try to help me understand what the Lord was showing me. After the birth of my first son, Noah, the dreams stopped. Life was busy and I had gotten away from any spiritual closeness with the Lord or the Holy Spirit and was very worldly minded and caught up with the cares of life. God had fallen mostly silent and the supernatural door into the spirit realm closed with regards to dreams and visions. But I still had encounters with demons and the demonic realm and many battles in that arena. Once I found UBM and began to read all the powerful dreams on the website, I prayed and asked the Lord to give me dreams like that and a month later the dreams returned and as my walk with the Lord was restored through the UBM teachings and books the dreams continued and the heavenly spiritual realm was opened to me once more. More often than not, the angels as well as Jesus appear to me in dreams, but occasionally my eyes are opened to the spirit realm as an adult and I am once again allowed to see and talk with the angels and enjoy their interactions as I did when I was a child. Here are the brief descriptions of the angel's names, appearances and functions that I've seen at David's house over the years:  Jeruel is very tall and thin. He stands on the right side of the balcony as you are looking up from the living room.(We jokingly called this the “balcony".  It was a walkway between two rooms on the second floor that overlooks the living room which we have used as an overflow when the house was filled with the saints.)  He has blonde wavy hair that reaches the base of his neck and a pale complexion. He has a long simple garment that reaches the floor that is interwoven with thin strands of yellow gold. He appears sometimes to hold a polished jar or jug of anointing that has a long neck with a handle and a pour spout and his belt is a thin woven golden cord that ties around his waist at the front.  The oil that poured out of the jug the last time I saw it was opalescence in its colorations. Sometimes he appears with a long, golden colored sword in his right hand and a black velvet belt around his waist. I know when he appears like this that he is ready to go out with our praises and fight our enemies. Jeruel seems to be a very serious, vigilant, and focused angel. He is very short and to the point with his answers and I have not seen him smile or engage me with eye contact very often. He seems to always be looking straight ahead with intensity as if watching some continual unknown scene as it unfolds in front of him. “Jeruel" means “Fear or vision of God.”   The only place I could find this name mentioned in the Bible is in 2 Ch. 20:16 (in context 14-17), (We have been given this text many times concerning our battle with the faction and it fits very well.) Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of Jehovah in the midst of the assembly; 15 and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem  (the Bride), and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith Jehovah unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.  16 To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.  (The name meaning here for the angel and shows the place where the enemies are conquered by thanksgiving and praise.) 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle : set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: to-morrow go out against them: for Jehovah is with you…. I believe that we are to employ Jeruel through the power of our praise to destroy our enemies as the rest of the text in 2 Chr.20:20-30 below indicates. (The Hebrew word for praise is Hallel meaning to brag about what the Lord has done. The Hebrew word, Hallelujah, means “praise ye the Lord”.) 2Ch 20:20-30  And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.  21  And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever.  22  And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten  23  For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.   24  And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.  25  And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.  26  And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this day.  27  Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies.  28  And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah.  29  And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel. (Notice The nations came to know the fear of the Lord when by God's works, not mans, their enemies were conquered. What better witness to the lost at the beginning of the tribulation?)  30  So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about. Psa 149:5-9  Let the saints exult in glory: Let them sing for joy upon their beds.  6  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword (the Word) in their hand;  7  To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples;  8  To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;  9  To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah. Since praise is bragging on what the Lord has done, what could we be saying or singing that would conquer the enemies? That our enemies have already been conquered by the Lord.   Luk 1:68-74  Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,  69  And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David  70  (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),  71  Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;  72  To show mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant;  73  The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,  74  To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear, Psa 34:1-7  I will bless Jehovah at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  2  My soul shall make her boast in Jehovah: The meek shall hear thereof, and be glad.  3  Oh magnify Jehovah with me, And let us exalt his name together.  4  I sought Jehovah, and he answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.  5  They looked unto him, and were radiant; And their faces shall never be confounded.  6  This poor man cried, and Jehovah heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.  7  The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear him, And delivereth them. …  Part of praise is thanking God for His accomplished redemption from our enemies, which conquers them: Psa 50:14-15  Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High;  15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. … 23  Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; And to him that ordereth his way aright Will I show the salvation of God. Psa 54:6-7  With a freewill-offering will I sacrifice unto thee: I will give thanks unto thy name, O Jehovah, for it is good.  7  For he hath delivered me out of all trouble; And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies. Psa 8:2  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. Baruch, which means, “Blessed or blessed one" is a head shorter than Jeruel and very muscular. He stands on the left side of the balcony. He is a warrior angel that fights for us according to the spoken Word, mingled with our prayers, for all situations. He has an olive complexion and dark brown hair that has a slight wave that reaches the top of his shoulders. He has a deep furrowed brow that is a very prominent feature and gives him a stern look; almost distracting. He wears a simple sleeveless tunic that goes down to his knees and is tied at the waist with a brown, braided, leather belt. He also has a matching leather headband around his forehead and hair that ties in the back.  His countenance looks intimidating because of the deep furrowed brow, but he smiles a lot when he looks at me and is much more talkative than Jeruel. His eyes are a very deep blue. His sandals are leather with straps that criss cross up his calves and tie at the top. He holds a spear in his right hand and a blue, flaming sword in his left. He also has a leather satchel of pouch with a simple flap that lays over the top of it. This satchel is worn across his chest at an angle and the pouch rests on his left hip. It is filled with stars which look like orbs of light. (He told me once that these were our prayers, when activated by the Word. He said, “Make sure you pray the Word.” (This could mean two things. Pray according to the Word and/or pray speaking the Word in our prayers, which we often do.) (I knew that he hurled these stars at our enemies as we prayed the word over the various situations we are faced with.) Shemuel is a variant of Samuel and means, “God has heard.” He is primarily assigned to fight the “Swamp” of our political enemies in Government and the factious “Swamp” that wars against UBM ministry with witchcraft and other nefarious activities. He appears about 6 1/5 feet tall. He is smaller than Baruch but still muscular and has a ruddy (or healthy reddish) color to his skin. He has tight, blonde curls and his hair is also shoulder length. He also wears a knee length tunic that is tied at the waist with a sky blue belt, but his garment has long sleeves with an embroidered blue design on the sleeves and the hem.  He also wears a headband that is sky blue and ties at the back of his head and he wears the same leather sandals as Baruch. He has a prominent nose (like a classic Cherokee Indian nose) but his face is youthful and his eyes are bright blue and joyful. He is a "cut up” and is always doing crazy little antics to get a laugh or a smile. He carries a blue, crystalline looking, Roman sword in his right hand that flashes when the light hits it. He uses this sword to tap the “Drain the Swamp” sign as he cuts his eyes over at me and raises his eyebrows with a nod of assurance and a big smile. (Shemuel doesn't talk much but I asked him a direct question the other day and he gave me a thorough answer in a serious but friendly tone. It is included in the Q&A below.) One day when I was over at David's house, he asked me if the angels were in the balcony at the moment. I looked up there and I saw the two overhead and replied, “Yes.”  He said, “I would like to ask them a question.” I said, “Okay.” He said, “Do you think they'll answer us?” I said, usually if you engage them they will answer, especially Baruch.” Then Baruch said, “There is much busyness happening in the Kingdom of our Lord; Much excitement is among the saints and the angels. Everything is prepared and ready for His return.” And then after a moment he said, “The Son is waiting for the Father's command.” David asked, “So the Man-child is coming?” Baruch said, “Surely.” David then asked, “When will David be crucified?” Baruch said, “The Lord has that timing.” David, also asked, “Will the Man-child return this month of August 2022?” Jeruel said, “We do not have access to the timings of events. When the command goes out, we go.”  David asked, “Do the angels ever get bored?” (Because we see them there often except when we send them out.) Jeruel said, “We do not get bored. There is a lot going on in the spirit realm that you don't see or understand.” Baruch said, “We each have a function that we were created for and it is our utmost pleasure and joy to serve our God and King.” David asked, “Where do dreams come from? Do the angels give dreams to people?” Baruch said, “Dreams come from the throne room of God and are carried by His Spirit and imputed to men while they sleep. Sometimes the enemy fights to hinder them coming or infiltrates them to corrupt them.” (Bringing confusion. I had a vision while He spoke of a dream in the form of a scroll enveloped in light entering the second heaven and coming under assault by demons.) David asked about a portion of a dream he had recently received from someone. He felt that overall it was a good dream, but a small piece of the dream had timing that seemed out of place or incorrect. So David asked, “Has the portion of the dream I'm looking at been infiltrated by the enemy?” Baruch answered, “Yes. It was infiltrated.” Jeruel said, “The Truth is in the Word. Hold fast to that which you heard in the beginning.” (i.e. don't receive anything in dreams that contradict what the Lord has shown us personally or told us at the first and don't receive anything in a dream that is contrary to the promises to us in His Word that we are commanded to hold fast to by faith.) David asked, thinking specifically about money that had been stolen from a persons house. “ Will the angels restore what they have stolen as we asked?” Baruch answered, “When the Man-child comes, all will be restored, the source doesn't matter. (We were shown they would not be able to spend it.) In due time all provision will be had.” (Meaning, the source is irrelevant. Your Father is the source of all.) Then David asked (tongue in cheek) “Will the angels spread fertilizer on the grass for him?” LOL (I saw Baruch tilt his head in puzzlement.) Baruch said, “Humans worry about the strangest things.” (i.e. there are much greater things of importance for us to focus on and for the angels to be sent out to do. I personally feel that God expects us to bring things forth into our reality through our faith and the spoken word.)  I told David that Jeruel had taken out a leather bound book and was writing in it. David asked me what I thought he was writing and Jeruel said, “His acts of obedience.” David said, "Watch this". Then he asked a rhetorical question that he already knew the answer to. He asked, “What do you do with my disobediences?” Jeruel answered, “They are blotted out.” David laughed and said, “I knew that!" David then said a prayer that "our computers and stolen materials on the website be restored.” Baruch said, “The coming method for getting the Gospel out will be far superior to the computers you use now. It will transcend natural methods. The angels will be much more involved; both multiplying the natural materials, and also supernatural methods will be given the saints. Access and assistance (in the spirit realm) will be provided by the angels. (I had a vision while he was speaking of many translations of the saints, happening everywhere, guided by angels, and supernatural gifts being bestowed upon the saints to bless and save, heal and deliver God's elect. I also understood that languages would no longer be a barrier.) Later I asked Shemuel if he had anything to say since he is primarily assigned to fight the “Swamp” of our political enemies in Government and the factious “Swamp” that wars against UBM ministry with witchcraft and other nefarious activities. He said, “The enemy and his (human) minions have suffered great casualties and set backs recently. But they are re-grouping for another attack. Keep praying, interceding, and PRAISING. This will not end until THE END (Meaning, of this faction.). Jeruel interjected, “Yes! KEEP PRAISING.” (Jeruel goes out with our praises ahead of us into the battle.) Michael asked me to ask Baruch if he would be going with him on his next trip back to Arkansas? Baruch said, “I will not be going but another will go with you.” (I had a vision of an angel up in Michaels room standing at the foot of his bed making his own preparations for the journey. This angel had white wings and a long thick flowing robe down to the floor. He also had blonde loosely curled hair but their was a blue watery substance intermixed with his hair. I don't know if it was a blue fire or water but it behaved like water and was a beautiful aquamarine color.)  Michael asked, “What's this one's name?" I listened for a few seconds and Baruch said, “Ariel”. (David said, "Ariel is a Hebrew name meaning, “Lion of God.") He is Michael's guardian angel or angel of preservation. Several years back when we were still meeting at David's house for the morning prayer meetings. We had a guest visit us who was a friend of Denny and Debbie's. (I believe he was Iranian.) He was asking some questions and David went into his teaching mode. It was very powerful what David was sharing with this man and I felt the strong anointing that was coming through him and his words to this man. At that moment my eyes were opened to see two angels that were specifically assigned to David in his life and ministry. They were identical in appearance, like twins. They were both 6 1/2 feet tall and stood side by side.  They had long, thick, white robes down to the floor and large white wings. They had short, brown, straight, hair that was parted on the right and very youthful faces like they were in their early 20's. They had pale complexions and brown eyes. The one on David's right holds a shepherd's staff made of a polished reddish brown wood. His name is Bachuri and he is an angel of preservation or what we would call a guardian angel. His twin is named Simri and he bestows the anointing for teaching upon David. Simri means, “Watchman” but there is no earthly meaning for Bachuri that I have found. They are twins because their functions are intertwined. They are angels of shepherd-ship and teaching and well as serving to preserve and guard David's life.  When David was speaking the anointed message to the visitor, I saw Simri, who normally stands with his hands tucked inside his opposite sleeves, pull his hands out and extend them toward David's head. Then I saw what looked like a cornucopia in light mixed with sound waves resonate outwards from his hands in a funnel shape as the waves traveled through David's body and projected outward in larger and larger rings into the room. This is what the teaching anointing looked like. I've recently seen these two again and took the opportunity to ask their names.   Jesus Appears to UBM Missionary Anonymous - 8/4/22 (David's notes in red) Hallellujah to God. Praise be to God for ever, for your total commitment to his will and for the salvation of many. Maximum Respect to the entire community of UBM.  Daddy, I have been handling visitors since Friday last week until Yesterday. I had 4 apostles from a refugee camp. We shared a lot and they took books as well.  We dearly thank you for the unceasing prayers which you make for us. So far, many are crying for lack of food. Everything has continued to go high in prices. For sure every one here is so scared of where the country is heading to. But for us who are in Christ, we are strong and trusting in Him day by day. (We do what we can to meet their physical needs including to print and copy our materials.) Daddy, We have found grace before God last week. Ooh something happened to us at church in praying; I was leading prayers on Friday last week, and the Lord told me that “For in you, nations shall be blessed.” We continued praying and worshipping and a few minutes later, POWER hit the building and fire filled certain ladies. They were jumping in the air.   And then, a very strong temperature arose in our midist. I dont know what happened to me, but I was kneeling down and my eyes saw a very very bright being standing in our midst., I first saw Him from looking down. Inside the brightness was a man with a very white robe. I lifted my face upward and saw a very beautiful and smiling face!  Inside of me I heard a voice that said, “JESUS". I could not keep my eyes straight to Him. (Because of the brilliance) An atmosphere of JOY, real Joy covered the building, and 3 women in the congregation saw the same. They cried out louder saying that “OOOOOHH! MY EYES HAVE SEEN HIM" The 3 women said that HE had holes in his hands where nails had passed. It was a very shocking moment but very beautiful. It was around 8:30pm in the evening.  I started also crying out to the people that, "HE IS HERE…HE IS HERE ….HE IS HERE.” (This is not strange to us for we have seen the Lord and angels in our meetings for many years. And we have seen demons over the head of some who were turning factious and demons released when they played music or spoke.) I later on heard the Lord say that “I AM RAISING A NEW ARMY AND I START WITH YOU"  It was a tremendous thick presence around us. Many people cried out worshipping Him and rolling down on the ground… It was hard to explain, but it surely happened.  Daddy, thank you for keeping us upright in TRUTH. This message in books and audios have healed and restored many in churches back to Christ. By these messages, many surely testify that “We thought that we were born again, but we were not.”  Children here thank you very much. We are already in the Holidays (vacation) and all is well for the Lord God is in control.  May God keep you very strong and progressing in all things in Spirit and physically. Humble greetings to everyone that is faithfully serving you and serving with you in this journey... God richly bless them all. (Later this missionary wrote to report what happened to his wife that same night. He said:) "The night of that Friday after church, my wife did not sleep! She stayed awake, and at 2am she went to pray in a room, and 2 Angels came to her. The room was filled with Power and she begun to pray in a way that scared everyone in the house. She was crying so loud in the night at 2am.  She was speaking in tongues and was praying and seeing things at the same time. The 2 angels showed her, her life from since when she was a baby. Certain rituals were done on her when she was a baby and since then she saw a dark angel who has been following her everywhere she goes. Her Auntie has been doing rituals on her since she was young; controlling my wife's life on her alter until now. Her Auntie said, “My wife will be married but she will not have peace." She saw it all in that night. She has not been alone for sure." "She also saw me praying for the lame walking, people coming out of wheel chairs, casting away crutches, and power covering the congregation. God told her, "I can't use you now, stay home…”  (This was an answer to prayer for the missionary because his wife had a strong Jezebel spirit on her and she received a great deliverance this night. This mission is growing so fast and ministers from all over the country and some from surrounding countries are coming there and getting our free books and materials. These and other missionaries on another continent have seen exceeding growth. We do not identify them or their countries because the faction hates the real God and his children and have already tried to stop this. Our God is about to execute some of them for this.)   Watch How the Angels Exercise Dominion Marie Kelton - 12/6/21 (David's notes in red) I was asking the Lord about spiritual warfare again. The Lord said to me, "Watch the angels." A little while later, I had an open vision of me being in heaven. There  were these two huge angels and in between them was a huge demon with chains around it's wrists. (Our training, testing and our chastening through demons is controlled by God who, "Worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." If you don't believe this read the first chapter of Job. The demons have Biblical rights to torment those under the curse whether because of unbelief or sin. Sometimes they are permitted to test the righteous.) The angel on the left was holding a long chain that was connected to the demon's left wrist and the angel on right was holding the other long chain that was connected to the demon's right wrist. They were telling me how demons flee when you use the Word of God. They told me to test it out so I did. I don't remember what I said but I knew it was the Word of God.  The demon started to run away and it only got so far until the angels pulled it back. Then the angels said to me "See.” Jam 4:7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. In Rev. 12 the angels have authority to conquer satan and his demons through our faith and testimony. Rev 12:7-11  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;  (8)  and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.  (9)  And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.  (10)  And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.  (11)  And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.     Select LanguageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAssameseAymaraAzerbaijaniBambaraBasqueBelarusianBengaliBhojpuriBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDhivehiDogriDutchEsperantoEstonianEweFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGuaraniGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIlocanoIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKinyarwandaKonkaniKoreanKrioKurdish (Kurmanji)Kurdish (Sorani)KyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLingalaLithuanianLugandaLuxembourgishMacedonianMaithiliMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMeiteilon (Manipuri)MizoMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianOdia (Oriya)OromoPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiQuechuaRomanianRussianSamoanSanskritScots GaelicSepediSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTatarTeluguThaiTigrinyaTsongaTurkishTurkmenTwiUkrainianUrduUyghurUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

Today's guest is the award-winning writer, Kit De Waal. Until she was 21, Kit had never read a book voluntarily. But once she started there was no stopping her. Kit started writing in her mid-40s and published her award-winning debut, My Name Is Leon, at 56. Since then she has used her success to work tirelessly to promote the voices of working class writers. Using some of her advance to set up the Kit de Waal Creative Writing Fellowship (aka the Fat Chance scholarship!) and editing Common People, an anthology of working class writing.Now she's turned her attention to her own childhood. Her memoir, Without Warning And Only Sometimes, is the story of growing up in poverty, one of five children with a Black father and Irish mother who brought them up Jehovah's Witness…Kit joined me from possibly the most envy-inducing workroom I've ever ogled via zoom (and I've ogled a few!) to talk being single and reclaiming your own space at 60. We discussed race, class, privilege, the impact of a childhood spent not stepping on the cracks and why she hates that “fucking overused word resilience”. Plus why she's not interested in a man on the downward slide, being a Tuesday friend and her exceedingly cool hair* You can buy all the books mentioned in this podcast at Bookshop.org, including Without Warning And Only Sometimes by Kit de Waal and the book that inspired this podcast, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40 - and you can too, by me!* And if you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including transcripts of the podcast, please join The Shift community. Find out more at https://steadyhq.com/en/theshift/• The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker and edited by Emily Sandford. If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate/review/follow as it really does help other people find us. And let me know what you think on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jehovah is one of a kind. A mighty God who loves us and gave Himself for us. Learning to know Him more is my life's quest. Romans 1:16

My God is Jehovah IV I Kings 18: 30, 36-39 NKJV 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” Make a Decision I Kings 18:21 “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”  Make a Decision How long? Repair the Altar! Let it be known that you are God! My God is Jehovah! Then the fire fell! The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God! 

Wake the Faith up Slayer… This is Garth Heckman with the David Alliance and you can reach me at TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com    Brought to you by wellbuiltbody.com Gym Apparel for men and women that rocks and shocks and ain't for everybody - but just might be for you. wellbuiltbody.com   3 challenges I didn't expect in following Jesus.   I have been married 37 years and this one thing I know… Once you know everything there is to know about women, you never have to worry about figuring them out ever again. - You just have to know everything about them… right???   My 2nd biggest challenge that would hit me between the eyes, that I was not ready for was… Your theology will always be challenged and you will never quit learning if you want to grow in spiritual matters.    Matthew 13:11-23 Speaks of those who are willing to receive Gods word… and if they do they will hear and understand even more.    2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of God.    So I thought that when I was out of Olivet Nazarene with my Masters I would not exactly know everything, but for the most part on things that i believed in and understood would never be challenged, because…well lets face it, what I believe is right AND QUITE OBVIOUSLY SO!   But thats just not the case.  My father used to say a persons spiritual beliefs were 45% personality, 45% who they accepted Christ under (ie. denomination etc…) and only 5% actual unbiased personal study and 5% of life events mostly based on their family.    I have learned the beauty of putting myself in friendships of people who love Jesus but have very different views than I do on scripture. Many of my friends are once saved always saved, some of my friends don't believe in the gifts of the spirit anymore, some of my friends are earth is flat people, some of my friends are strong catholic believers, some of my friends are Jehovah witness or Mormons… They love Jesus, just not the way I see him.  On top of that I have many friends who share the same exact theology, but are completely different in practice… And I have learned from all of them… and quite a few have changed my beliefs… now hold on, I still believe my theology and beliefs line up with scripture, but I think I see things differently.    J.I Packer who wrote knowing god, a brilliant and beautiful scholar and theologian - was at a conference that my then one time brother in law was at. He tells a wonderfully unscript story where during lunch in downtown Chicago he runs into Packer- who was there to speak and asked if he could have lunch with him. He politely obliged and they had an amazing conversation. Now my Brother in law at the time was no slouch in theology, very very smart… and he challenged Packer on some thoughts… Packer listened oh so politely and at the end of the conversation he smiled and said “well thats at least where I am now in how I see things…  but how I see and understand God is always changing”. David added in a conversation to me, that isn't it so true that a God that never changes must demand that we do in how we perceive him.    So I want to challenge you to challenge YOU. Ask some hard questions on why you believe what you believe.  Why are the gifts for today? Why are they not? Why can't you personally see signs and wonders? Why do you not share the gospel? Why i speaking in tongues wrong or right? Why is it once saved always saved? Can you abuse Gods grace - I would love to hear what you come up with on that one… you might be shocked at my answer…  But the point is you only grow by challenging what you think you know.  When you pick up the bible asking God to challenge what you think you know. I will leave you with one quick example: I used to amen people who would say Jesus would never shame anyone… I mean he wouldn't right? Jesus wouldn't do that - he is full of grace and love and compassion and I could just never see Jesus shaming anyone… oh but wait… Luke 13:17 and Jesus shames the pharisees… the word there is politely sometimes shared as “humiliated”  but the true greek word “Kahtee-uh- skoo-no” means to not just shame, but to vehemently shame, to shame to disgrace!  So now how do you wrestle with that? Can You shame? Can I shame? is shaming right? Can only Jesus shame?  I let you figure it out- and if you don't ??? SHAME ON YOU! 

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston in our neighborhood Churches or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you, the Great God of the universe have given us this opportunity to come and worship you. We thank you Jesus, that while we were yet sinners, you came and you died for us. Not because there was anything lovely in us presently or in the future, but because you are a loving God. Lord, I pray, remove any distractions and help us focus on your Holy Word. Help us to meditate today on the Sovereignty of God that you are God over everything, over every detail, over all the minutia of our lives and all the minutia in the world. And help us take solace in the fact that you're in control, even when we look at our lives and we look at the world, it seems like everything is out of control. Your word tells us that when we submit ourselves to you, when we love you with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, you take every single aspect of our lives and you weave them all together for our good and for your glory. Bless our time in the Holy Scriptures now, as we look at a profound passage. It's difficult in many ways, but it's not difficult to understand. It's difficult to receive, so give us grace to receive it. We pray Holy Spirit, come now and minister to us. Take these words that are on paper, that are on screens and apply them to our hearts. Make us the people who love you with everything that we got. Love the Gospel with everything we got, so much so that we're willing to sacrifice anything and everything, so that others might have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and be prompted by the Holy Spirit generated in their hearts and drawn to you. Bless our time in the Holy Word. We pray all this in Christ's Holy Name. Amen. We're continuing our sermon series through Romans 9. Today, we're in Romans 9:1-5. The title of the sermon is, Heartbroken Over Eternal Souls. We've moved from one of the most popular passages in all the Scripture, Romans 8 to one of the least popular and most avoided. It's a difficult passage, but it's not that difficult to understand. I can explain it to you. It's difficult for many to accept and receive, partially because it cuts against the grain of our very nature. Our nature is driven by self. In many ways, we are natural Pelasgians. Pelagius taught that we have the power to come to Christ whenever we want. That we have a free will that's truly free and we can choose Christ whenever, wherever. That's not true. I love this portion of Scripture. It's balm to my weary soul, because it shows us that God is Sovereign. That God is King. That God is God. He is all powerful. He can do whatever he wills, and whatever he wills is good because he is good. I love this portion of Scripture because it reminds me I'm not in control, nor do I need to be. God is in control. And thanks be to Jesus Christ, the one who is in control loves me and wants the best for me. In Romans 8, one of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28, which says, "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Well this verse is only true, if God is Sovereign over every single detail in the universe. If God is Sovereign over everything, then he is Sovereign over who gets saved, because who gets saved is part of everything. And if you don't understand just how totally Sovereign God is, you don't really understand the character of God, not yet. Romans 9 is an explanation for why the word of God has not failed, even though God's chosen people Israel, as a whole, are not turning to Christ and being saved. In Romans 8, God says, "There is nothing that can sever God's people from God's love." There is nothing that can sever God's people from God's love, and here someone can raise the question, "Whoa, whoa, hold on. What about Israel? What about the Jewish People, the chosen people of God? Why aren't they flocking to Christ as they should be?" They have received so many of the privileges that many people are not born into. Here St. Paul says, "Hey, hold on. God never promised that salvation will be given to all of ethnic Israel, because salvation isn't based on DNA. Salvation isn't based on our genes. It's not based on our religious pedigree. It doesn't matter how many religious people you had in your family before you. What matters is faith in Jesus Christ, your own personal faith in Jesus Christ, your own relationship with Christ." God's word has not fallen and the sovereignty of God's grace has brought in, in Romans 9, as the final ground of God's faithfulness, despite Israel's faithlessness, their failure to trust in Christ. And therefore, God's sovereignty is the deepest foundation for the precious promises of Romans 8. With that said, would you please look with me in Romans 9:1-5, "I am speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelite. And to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." This is the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word, may write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame over our time. First, anguish over lost souls. Second, accursed and cut off. And third, religious privilege doesn't save. First, anguish over lost souls. Look at verse one. Look at Paul's solemnity. He's giving a declaration with the deepest sincerity that he can muster. He says, "I am speaking the truth in Christ." He invokes Christ, the second person of the Trinity. "I'm not lying. Speaking the truth. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness." Brings in his conscience. "In the Holy Spirit," brings in the third person of the Holy Spirit, to show us just how sincere he is and what he's about to say. Why? Because he knows that he's said some things that are problematic for religious Jewish people of his day and religious Jewish people of our day. Before Paul looks at how God has taken the Gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles community, grafting Gentiles in the place of Israel. That's what Romans 9-11 is about. He wants to make sure that these people, his brothers, his brethren, his kinsmen. His brothers that he grew up going to synagogue with these people. This is his family. He wants the Jewish community to know that he is writing these words with tears. He's not angry. He's not hostile toward them. He's speaking with a loving and burdened heart. Why is such a strong assertion of truthfulness of his love? Because he knows that he has spoken hard truths. And when you speak hard truths to people, it's easy for them to misinterpret your intentions. He's speaking truth, because he loves. Probably because Paul also knows that his fellow Jews were suspicious of his loyalty and his patriotism, because he was used by God to bring so many Gentiles into the people of God. He was viewed by a number of his Jewish people as a traitor, that he has lost his natural affection towards his people and he denies this. They doubted his love. So that's what he starts with. Why would they doubt his love? Because he said hard things, like Romans 2:24, "For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." He's talking about religious people who offered God nothing more than mouth service. They worshiped God with their mouths, but their hearts were far from him. The Gentiles saw the testimony, the sermon of the lives of these people. And he said, "You worship God?" They blaspheme the name of God. Romans 3:9, "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin." This was his message. His message has never changed. His message was, it doesn't matter what your pedigree. It doesn't matter what your genealogy. It doesn't matter what your DNA. It doesn't matter how many faithful people you had in your past, in your family. None of that matters, because God doesn't have grandchildren. God only has children. So everyone is a sinner. He's preaching the same message to both Jews and Greeks. And the Jews will say, "Hold on, hold on. You're saying we're as much sinners as the Gentiles?" And Paul says, "Yes. We're all sinners. We're all under the condemnation of God. We all deserve damnation. We're all accursed apart from God." And then he says in verse six, and we'll cover this next week in Romans 9:6. He says, "But it's not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel." It's not your genealogy that saves you. Saying it over and over and over, God's covenant doesn't guarantee the salvation of every Jew. The ultimate reason why some are cursed and cut off from Christ is that they are not among the elect. Romans 11:7, "What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elective obtained it, but the rest were hardened." Before he gets to these hard truths about election, he wants everyone to know that these truths are coming from a heart that loves people. He says in verse two of chapter nine, "That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart." You can feel his pain as grief. It's a perturbed heart, kind of like Christ was. And the more that you know Christ and love Christ, the more Christ-like you become. This is why Jesus saves us, so that we can be refashioned and transformed into the image of Christ, that we become more Christ-like, and Christ loved sinners. Christ gave everything to save sinners. On his way to Jerusalem, he knows the passion is coming. He knows the crucifixion is coming, and he knows the people that he is dying for, killed by. These are people that he loves and he wants them to be saved. This is what Jesus says, as he cries out in lament about Jerusalem, a city that hardened their hearts against the word of God. Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you are not willing." Paul continues and this is point, accursed and cut off. In verse three, he says. This is how deep his grief. This is how deep his sorrow. He says in verse three, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Well, you got to pause here and meditate on what he's saying. What are you saying, Paul? The first thing that he's saying is an implication. What he's implying is, that his kinsmen, his brothers according to the flesh, his fellow Jewish believers are accursed and cut off from Christ. He does soften the statement of their loss by expressing in relation to his own anguish, but the statement's unmistakable. He's saying that the Jewish people who rejected Christ are accursed, that they're lost. They're on their way to hell, under the judgment of God. The word for accursed here is anathema. It's used in other places, like 1 Corinthians 16:22, "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. O Lord, come." So why are these people accursed? What makes one accursed? Well, breaking the moral law of God. You break the moral law of God, God's curses upon your head. It's upon your soul. And there's only one way to be saved from the curse that we all deserve for our law breaking. That's the trust in the God Man, Jesus Christ, who was cursed on our behalf. These people rejected the only one who could save them from the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree." Paul knows this. Paul knows that the only way to be saved from damnation is to trust in Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ, the substitutionary atonement, he bore the curse that we deserve. And as soon as we trust in him, the curse is lifted off from us, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. "He who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God." Paul knows this, but he still sees his brothers and sisters as kinsmen in the flesh. They've rejected Christ, and he says some haunting words. He says, "For I could wish that I were accursed on their behalf." What he's saying is hypothetically, if there were a way for them to be saved and for me to be cursed, I'm willing to take their curse upon myself and bear eternal torment forever. Of course, he's speaking hypothetically. It's impossible that any mere man could be cursed in exchange for the salvation of others, but Paul expresses this impossible wish in uncertain terms. He says, "My conscience bears me when it's in Christ, I'm saying the truth in the Holy Spirit." He knows it's not true, but if it were true, he would do it. The wish can't be fulfilled. Nothing can sever believers from the love of Christ. We already know this from Romans 8, but he says, "May I be damned so that they would not be." Martin Luther comments. He says, "It seems incredible that a man would desire to be damned in order that the damned might be saved." Well, this is as Christ-like as you can become. He sees people that he loves and he's willing to do absolutely anything and everything sacrifice everything for these people to meet Christ. That's what Christ did. He knew that there was no other way for people to be saved, other than for Christ to come, live a perfectly obedient life of love toward God and people. And then, Christ goes to a cross. He's crucified and the crucifixion was chosen by God. This is pre-destined sovereignty of God. He controls every single detail. God chose crucifixion, because it was the most excruciating form of capital punishment ever known to man, and even that was just a tip of the iceberg of the spiritual anguish that Christ went through. Christ bore our curse upon himself, and that curse was bearing the wrath of God in his soul. Christ went through hell so that we would not have too. You can hear the grief and the voice of St. Paul here at the unbelief of his people. And I wonder, could you say this? Could you say anything remotely close to this? Could you say you love someone so much that you give up your own salvation for them? Those of us who have loved ones who were lost, perhaps a sibling or a spouse or a child or a parent, a grandparent, friends, we know this grief. We know this sorrow. We made joy time with them, laugh with them, even play with them, but there's always a pain underneath knowing, unless this person trusts in Christ, we will spend eternity apart from each other. Luther put it this way, "Love is not only pure joy and delight, but also a great and deep heaviness of heart and sorrow." The good news is, we don't have to give up our salvation for the salvation of others. But if you put yourself in this posture of heart, where you're willing to give up your salvation for that of another, well it makes other things so much easier, like sharing the Gospel with them. As awkward as it can be as politically incorrect as it may be, you can have a difficult conversation with the person. And by the way, this is what St. Paul and by the way Jesus calls each one of us to. The great commission wasn't just given to the disciples or the Apostles or professional trained clergy. The great commission was given to each one of us. Jesus Christ tells each Christian, "Look, I've saved you and now I'm giving you a job. I'm commissioning you, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do everything that I have taught you." I do want you to increase your evangelistic ministry. You should have one. Every Christian should have an evangelistic ministry, where you have unbelievers that you are heartbroken over, sorrow, anguishing your heart over, and you beg God to save them. And you take any and every opportunity to share the Gospel with them, to read Scripture with them, to speak truth in love and serve them. This is what Paul did. These aren't just words for Paul. He devoted his life, his whole life to sharing the Gospel, planting Churches and doing missionary work. Paul's immense heart broke for Israel and he uses the same word when he writes to the Galatians, the word anathema. The Galatians were being seduced away from the true Gospel in Galatians 1:8. He says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." So what he's saying to false teachers who do not preach the full Gospel? He says, "May you be cursed for preaching lies." What he's saying is, "Damn you for destroying the Gospel." This is the worst kind of curse that could be brought against a human being. It goes back to the Old Testament, when God's curse was upon Canaan and God tells the people of Israel, "Don't even take their goods. Slaughter them, give them up to absolute destruction." This is the kind of anathema that Paul is calling upon himself. "I am willing to go through this anathema so that my kinsmen could be saved." And the reader of Romans who knows his or her Bible will immediately spot, that the posture of heart in verse three is very similar to that of Moses. When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and he sees that the people of Israel have fashioned golden calf, and they're worshiping it. Moses discovers the sin of the people and he knows that God is about to vanquish them, and he says, "God, you got to hold on." And he intercedes for them in Exodus 32:30-32, "The next day, Moses came to the people. You have sinned." And he said to them, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' So Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin. If not, please blot me out of your book that you have written." What a heart for the lost, and I pray that the Lord develops a similar heart in each one of us. This is why we exist. This is why this Church exists. This is why we have an army volunteers, every Sunday, show up here like 6:00 AM. They're here till like 2:00 PM, sweating and burning calories. You worship God and you get a workout. It's like CrossFit. Jesus is the center of the cross. This is what we do. We do everything. We do glorify God, and we want unbelievers to meet Jesus. That's what we want. And every single Sunday, there's unbelievers that show up and we hear, people get saved. We prep people for baptism, discipleship, et cetera. The Lord is doing his work. Third point is religious privilege doesn't save. Romans 9:4, "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises." What he's saying is, some people are given more revelation than others. These are spiritual privileges. If you grow up in a Christian family, you have a father and a mother who care for you, teach you the Gospel, teach you Holy Scriptures, have devotions with you, pray with you, pray over you, care for you. And they embody the truth of the Gospel with their own lives. That's incredible privilege. I think of my own parents. Every single morning, I walk down the stairs as I go prep breakfast on the way to school. And my dad is on his knees, open Bible, praying to God. My mom and my dad loved the Lord, incredible privilege. But what we are you saying here, it doesn't matter the privileges that you've been given, if you don't do anything with them, if you don't make them your own, if you don't accept these blessings, privileges. The privileges missed, the first one is adoption. And here he is talking about Israel not as adoption given to individuals. And this has to be clarified because in Romans 8, he does say that we have been, "Christians individually adopted into the family of God." Israel did not have the same adoption. They had a national blessing of adoption conferred on them, but they still had to appropriate for themselves. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see this application from the Old Testament, when Jesus Christ was born and then Herod issued the threat of infant slaughter. An angel comes and warns Joseph in a dream to flee from Bethlehem and not to return to Nazareth, but go to Egypt until the threat had passed. And then Matthew tells us, that Joseph took Mary and the baby Jesus and fled to Egypt. And when the Herodian persecution was over, they come back to Israel, thereby fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy that we're given. And this is the text in Matthew 2:13-15. "Now, when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.' And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt, I called my son." Well, the original reference to this adoption was when God, through Moses brings Israel out of captivity, out of the yoke of slavery under Pharaoh and calling the nation, his son. And that's Hosea 11:1, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." The Israelites were those who had been called to enjoy the adoption, but then they've run from the Lord, turned from the Lord and turned to idolatry. The second privilege that they were given is the glory, and the Greek word for glory's Doxa, where we get the word doxology from. When we sing the Doxology after every Sunday Service, we're giving glory to God. He deserves it. The Latin equivalent of the word Doxa is Gloria, from which we get the Gloria Patri, Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning and is now and ever shall be. Amen. In this context here, Paul is undoubtedly referring to God's presence to people of Israel. God was amongst them, but the reader of Romans have forgotten that Paul has attributed this characteristic to Christians, that God is in us. The Holy Spirit is in us in a way that wasn't true with Israel, but they did experience the Glory, hovering over the mercy seat in the Arc of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies and glory in Israel is connected to the Shekinah, the blazing light that manifested God's Glory and made him a consuming fire. Ezekiel saw the Glory of God rising from the City of Jerusalem and departing. And at the birth of Jesus Christ, the Glory of God flooded the landscape and the angelic choir gave Glory to God. The covenants were given to Israel, the covenants with Adam, with Noah, with Abraham, with Isaac, Jacob, Moses and with David. And the covenants we inherit from the Jews, not from the Gentiles. We inherit these from Paul's kinsmen. The covenants belonged to them. Covenants and promises probably goes together, but we'll get to the promises later, but all these covenants that God made and all the promises that God made belong to Christians as well. You elect remnant of Israel, you future ethnic Israel as a whole, and you Gentiles who trust in the Messiah and are grafted into the tree of the covenant of the promise, these are ours. Why? Because in Jesus Christ, "All the promises of God are yes," as 2 Corinthians tells us. The giving of the law. We received the law because the law was given by God to Israel. The law wasn't given to Hammurabi. It wasn't given to Babylon, Phoenicia or Egypt. The law was given to Israel and through Israel, it was given to all of us. And the law was given to us, so that we might realize that we are sinners in need of the Grace of God. Romans 3:19, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." The whole world. The moral law is given to every single human being. It's not just the Jewish people. And as you read the Ten Commandments, you realize that there's a self authenticating power to them. That these are God's words and these words are written on our hearts, so that's the self authentication. And ultimately, the law is given to us to show us that we need salvation. We need Christ. Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." In the long term, aim of the law wasn't our condemnation. It was our salvation. For trusting the Messiah for our righteousness, the law has become to us, what it was given for, a servant to lead us to Christ. And the word worship. The worship was given to the people of Israel and the word for worship that he uses here is the same word as service. So to worship God is to serve God. To serve God is to worship God, the Greek word [foreign language 00:29:19]. Our instructions about how to bring praise, sacrifices to God in corporate worship were given to us through the people of Israel. And the word here refers to ministry of priests and the offering of sacrifices. And the supreme temple service, the supreme temple worship was the Passover. In the Passover, a lamb was to be slaughtered. Blood was supposed to be shed. And then you take that blood and you paint it over your doorway, so that the angel of death passes over your household. And then, 1 Corinthians 5:7 says that, "Christ is our ultimate Passover lamb. He has been sacrificed." He has performed the final and decisive atoning temple service on the cross. So when we say the temple service belongs to true Israel, we mean in the fullest saving way, our sins are forgiven and God welcomes us into his fellowship. Then six, he says, "The promises we're given to them." Which promises? And there are thousands in Scripture, but in particular, it's the promise that God would save his people from their sins, and we'll get that from the very beginning in Genesis 3 right after the fall. In Genesis 3:15, God gives us the Protoevangelion, the first Gospel in Genesis 3:15 where he says the following, "I will put enmity between you." He's talking to the serpent saying, "And the woman, between your offspring and her offspring, he." So this is the offspring of the woman. "He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel." And this is God promising that the seed of the woman. This is going to be a human being, but it's a human being who can vanquish Satan. So it has to be God. He's the only one who can vanquish Satan. He's the one that will come and he's the one that will save. A friend sent me a video this week of Jordan Peterson. Apparently, he's been getting into the Bible recently, and it was a video of him with a slide behind him of every single Cross reference in Scripture. And it's just arc after arc after arc. And I'm like, I already knew this, but he was amazed. There's 65,000 Cross references in the Bible. I actually think it's more, but 65,000 Cross references in the Bible and he's like, "This book is ... You can't make this up. This is a miracle." He called it the first hyperlinked book ever. He's like, "There's no links to click, but it's hyperlinked." It's telling one story. 3000 years, three millennia, 40 plus authors, three plus language, all speaking in harmony unison about this Gospel. We have sinned. God is gracious, sends his Son to vanquish Satan, sin and death. All these things, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship of God and God's promises, they came through to Paul's kinsmen Israel. Don't you see? This is why Paul is in tears. You've been given so much. You've been given every single piece of the puzzle. You're only missing the Cross at the center, Jesus Christ. Romans 9:5, "To them belong to patriarchs. And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God overall, blessed forever. Amen." The implication of this is stated in Romans 11:28, "As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers." And we'll get into that in a few weeks. But in other words, God freely chose Abraham, freely chose Isaac and Jacob and promised to their descendants that they would be heirs of God. And what we see from Romans 9-11 is that, this is meant in three ways. First, that there is an elect remnant of Israel. There always was, and there always will be. Elijah, I don't know if you remember this one text, where he's just complaining to God like, "God, I'm the only Christian. I'm the only one that loves you." I wonder if you ever feel like that in Boston. I'm the only one. I'm the only one in my company, probably the whole university. If you go to BU, you're probably right. I'm the only one. I'm the only one. And God says to Elijah, "Stop complaining. I've got 7,000. 7,000 people who have not knelt a knee to Baal. Well that's election. That's God's saving his remnant. There's also promise that all ethnic is real. At some point, in some future time, when they're alive, will be saved. It will be incredible revival amongst Jewish people. And Gentiles, that's us who trust in the Messiah, become sons of the fathers with the same blessing as the natural children. So if you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ, you become a child of Abraham as much as Isaac was. Everything promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is yours, in the Messiah Jesus Christ. Verse five, I don't know if you noticed. He says, "Christ, who is God overall, blessed forever." Paul does affirm Jesus' Jewish ancestry, that Jesus was fully human, but he doesn't stop there. He gives one of the clearest, most decisive affirmations of the Deity of Christ, that we find anywhere in Scripture, that Christ is God. He's over all things, the entire universe. The Jews use this expression to refer to God's dominion over the entire creation. "Christ is God over all, blessed forever." So if you're having a conversation with a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness, they don't believe that Jesus is God, just keep this one in the back pocket, Romans 9:5. Just take him there, Romans 9:5, "Christ is God, blessed forever." Here, someone might raise a legitimate question and say, "Will we go to heaven, be sad throughout all eternity, because of those who are cursed and cut off from Christ in hell?" What if we have a loved one who never turns to Christ? Brother or sister, sibling, spouse, child, there will be a sadness in eternity because of them. And the answer is no. The Scripture says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore." But God will have to wipe out tears. God will have to wipe off our tears. Why are we weeping in the first place, in a place of bliss? I think there will be moments in the very beginning, where we wish we had done more, kind of like Schindler's List at the end, where he is like, "Here's the watch. Here's the pen. I wish I had done more." Well, that's just a reminder for us to do the more now, be encouraged to be more bold and preaching the Gospel now. "And with respect to any affection that the godly may have had to the finally reprobate, the love of God will wholly swallow it up, and cause it wholly to cease," as Jonathan Edwards says. In conclusion, pray for God to burden your heart for the lost. If you hear this and you're like, "I've never even thought about praying for the lost." Well first, pray for your own heart, you're living in disobedience. Pray for your own heart to care for the lost and then pray for the lost and share the Gospel with the lost. Romans 10:1, this is what Paul says, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." St. Paul had to pray for God to save people. He couldn't do it himself. He believed in the sovereignty of God. He believed that God elects people to salvation. And because he believed that God elects people to salvation, he prayed for God to save the elect. A lot of people use God's sovereignty in saving people as an excuse to do nothing. Well, if God saves people, then he doesn't need me to share the Gospel. If God is the one to predestine people a salvation, well he doesn't need me to do any. He doesn't need me to pray. That's false. If God predestines the end, he predestines the means. And the means that he predestines is for every single one of us to pray for the lost and share the Gospel with the lost. And the fruit of Paul's anguish is to pray for them and ask that God would save them. If Paul had to pray, if Paul prayed for the lost, we should too. If Christ prayed for the lost, we should too. Jesus Christ on the cross says, "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." He's praying for the loss. And because Christ prayed for the loss on the cross for their salvation, we are called to pray as well. 2 Timothy 2:25 says, "God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth." May the Lord do so even now. If you don't know if you're a Christian, if you're still under the guilt of your sins and accursed and cut off from Christ, well don't stay there. Today, turn to Jesus Christ. Look to Christ on the cross. Christ crying out from the depth of his soul and anguish and heart, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Christ was accursed. Christ was caught off from God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, so we would never have to be. He bore the wrath of God, so that we would not have to. He bore the curse, so that we might receive the blessing. So trust in him as your only hope, and you will be saved today. I'll close in Matthew 11:25-30, before we transition to communion. It's a text where Jesus Christ thanks God for closing the eyes of some, opening the eyes of others and saying that only the one to whom the son reveals the Father can be saved. And still Christ says, "Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden." Matthew 11:25-30, "At that time, Jesus declared, 'I thank you, Father Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Lord, we thank you for all the spiritual privileges that you have bestowed upon us as a Church and as individuals. We thank you for the full canon of Holy Scripture, a word that testifies to you, a word that reveals you, a word that reveals the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you that your, "Word is living and active, sharper than any two edge sword, piercing the division of soul and of marrow, revealing to us the intentions of the heart." And we come to you Lord and we ask for forgiveness of all our sin, of all our pride of all our selfishness and self-reliance, and help us not trust in our spiritual privileges. Make us people who only trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And make us people who walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel, to bring glory to you and attract attention to the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, every single person who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. We pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Amen.

Judging others, as we will be judged

Guarding the House From Our Enemies (3) (Audio) David Eells - 8/7/22 The “Beautiful Serpent” Returns To Destruction   Claire Pienaar - 7/25/22 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was at a large American-styled school in a cafeteria and I was happy. I seemed to only be observing in this dream. (A cafeteria is a place where food is served. There is healthy food and junk food to choose from. We must make the right healthy choices of what we feed our spiritual man so that we can be effective to fight the enemy and our old flesh nature. Rom 8:13  for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.)  My old school friends were huddled together, and they were acting very strange. Their behavior made me think they were drug addicts, but I pushed it far from my mind. (Riaan: Old friends represent past struggles or addictions; demons previously overcome in our lives who are huddling together to look for a way back in.) (These can be addictions of the old man to anything or idolatry with anything that has become more important in our daily lives than God. They take away our time from Him and Kingdom matters.) The cafeteria changed to a field and war zone. (Riaan: This is a spiritual war). Many Army men were taking down these drug addicts. (Representing warring angels who fight on our behalf when we invoke the Word of God.) (Riaan: The angels are ministering servants that have their orders from the Lord to obey the Word and take out these demons by the authority of Christ). (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?)  One of my drug addict friends was a lady named Linda. (Riaan: Linda means "beautiful serpent.") Linda's boyfriend whose name was Brett, hated to do it, but, he shot Linda because she was so evil. (Brett means “A man from Britain or Brittany. Briton was one of the places the Roman Empire beast that could not gain a foothold in. It caused much embarrassment to the Romans. So Brett represents my spirit man which is much bigger than the addictive sin nature. [When we walk and talk by faith.])  She was pregnant and cried out to get someone to save the baby. Her blood was running everywhere. (The baby represents the fruit of the old man and the blood; his nature.) I was watching all of this, in plain sight and nothing was happening to me. (Claire was supernaturally protected on the battlefield. Linda the beautiful serpent enemy disguised as a friend will contiue to try to bring forth the fruit of the old nature.). The entire field looked like a bloodbath. (It is the battlefield of the mind where we conquer our old nature and the fiery darts of the enemy or they conquer us. The blood of the old man is conquered by the new man, "Christ in you the hope of glory".) Then something very strange happened. Linda (the beautiful serpent) was raised from the dead; not in a good way but in a fearful way. (Rom 8:13  for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.) She was now even worse; she had more addictive and maniacal behavior and her hair was getting darker... (This is a good representation of our battle with the flesh nature when we fail to keep our foot on the neck of the old man. They can come back stronger and uglier the next time around.  This is a dangerous direction to go because, in the Parable of the Sower, 3 out of 4 fell away and bore no fruit.) (Riaan: Mat 12:43-45 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation) (Jesus was speaking to the people of God here.) She was now completely open in her dealings with the other “druggies” and told me that she had never wanted me to know, otherwise I would not be friends with her. (The enemy and our flesh nature are very sneaky this way. They want us to be in agreement with them so that they can keep their house or not have to go to their cross.) I tried to get her to come to me, but she couldn't, she was hooked.  (Our flesh nature can never change or come into agreement with our spirit man. He must die. 1Co 9:25-27 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.) Then Brett came again and he was huge. Easily more than 2 meters tall, and very large. (As we continue to feed and mature the spirit man with the Word he will easily conquer the old man. 2Co 4:16  Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.)    He said he'd have to finish her off, and he kept on calling his superior to check that it would be ok. (Riaan: John 14:31 but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.). Linda knew she'd get killed again and she was trying to hide with another girl... They were doing drugs, now, right in front of me. (This represents out-of-control fleshly addictions.)  I was astonished that they'd be so brazen and flaunt their bad habits in front of everyone. They were careless, loud, and outright rebellious. (Riaan: Luke 12:2  But there is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 3 Wherefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.)  I then sat down with Brett for lunch, and these other really tall, big men arrived, and even though they looked different to Brett, they were on his team and they were committed to getting this drug problem eradicated. They were planning their strategy. It didn't seem too difficult, but they were going to keep on attacking no matter what. (We recently heard from the warrior angel, Shemuel, who stands next to the "Drain the Swamp" sign near our water purifier in my house. He said, “The enemy and their (human) minions have sustained large set backs and heavy casualties. They are now regrouping for another attack. Keep praying, doing warfare and praising; sending us out to do battle on your behalf.")  I asked the Lord who Linda represents in this dream and I opened my Bible by faith at random on Isaiah 43:25, on “thy sins”. I thought Linda might represent the flesh in this dream, so this is a good confirmation. (In context 24-26)  Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins. 26 Put me in remembrance; let us plead together: set thou forth thy cause , that thou mayest be justified.  When we do not repent there is no sacrifice for our sins nor for willful disobedience. But in many cases it is the sin that dwells in us as Paul lamented about in Rom. 7. Claires finger was on “thy sins” in verse 25 which says, "I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins.” God knows our hearts when we sincerely desire to repent and He will give us the grace to do so for His own sake. Rom 7:13 - 8:4 Did then that which is good become death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, by working death to me through that which is good; —that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practise; but what I hate, that I do. 16 But if what I would not, that I do, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not. 19 For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise. 20 But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. 21 I find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Rom 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.)   Tempted by the Spirit of Anger and Factious Nazi Sympathizers   Claire Pienaar - 7/29/22 (David's notes in red) (This dream is a big warning not to get distracted. However, it seems the Lord has sent the distractions to some as "training" because it was "covered under the red pick up truck", as you will see. May Our Lord show favor to those who continue to seek Him diligently, and fervently.)  I dreamed I was travelling on a highway in what I thought was my silver van. I had my old boss who's last name was Khosa next to me. (She was my boss when I worked for the Dept. Of Foreign Affairs in South Africa. Her last name means “angry men” and “herder of cattle”. I think she represents the curse, and maybe specifically an angry spirit that herds beastly people. I cast out anger many years ago and saw it leave. When I feel it trying to come on me, I remember what it looked like when it left. It manifested as a small black dog, insignificant.).  In the dream, I realized I was driving a red pick-up truck, and in the back of the truck, I had all my toiletries and clothing (Toiletries represent being clean. Clothing represents being covered with the garments of righteousness, and the red truck represents being covered by the blood of Jesus). It seemed I had packed up my belongings from my home and was carrying them in the pick up truck.   I turned left, at Khosa's direction, and then realized she had no idea where she was going. I now had to turn back onto the highway (of holiness), and it was busy, with two opposing lanes. As I waited for an opportunity to cross over into the correct lane, I felt myself growing smaller. My feet could hardly touch the pedals and I could barely see out over the steering wheel. (When we listen to the flesh's directions, our spirit man gets smaller and we are in danger of losing control of our vehicle.)  I made it across and Khosa was not happy that I had made it back onto the highway. She said she never travels on highways and only used back roads. I said to her, “I've never even considered it”. She said, “You should”. I said, “Is it quicker?”. She replied, “No, It's always longer by at least 20 minutes”. I shook my head and she walked away. (Riaan: She seems to represent many different things like faction, division, anger, self works of the flesh. These will cause many to get off the highway of holiness and shrink back, or to lose maturity in Christ).  Suddenly, I was in a house with Riaan, my husband (His name means little king, so he might represent the Man-child and I, the Bride because my name means “brilliant” as the clothing of the Bride in Rev. 19.). It was not a house that we've lived in, in the natural. It was almost empty. I figured we were moving out together to another place. (We must continue to come out from among them and be separate and made holy, moving out of apostasy and familiarity with the fallen lascivious Church).  Riaan's mom and dad were there, as well as his sister, her husband, and their children. His brother's children were there too. I was very separate from them, and I kept on checking the bathroom cabinets to make sure these were empty so we could leave. (The Bride is ready to leave with her Groom and is still making sure she is clean and that she has everything required for purification.)  His family brought up the name “Dr Mengele” in every sentence. They were were praising him and said, “His sacrifice was worth it”. They kept on saying he did such good work. They were enamoured with him. I balked at this. I had a vision of this man descending into deep water as part of a military execution. In this vision, he was drowned at sea.   (Mengele was an ardent Nazi, and he joined the research staff of the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in 1934. During World War II he served as a medical officer with the Waffen-SS, which was the “armed” component of the Nazi paramilitary corps) in France and Russia. In 1943 he was appointed by Heinrich Himmler to be chief doctor at Birkenau, the supplementary extermination camp at Auschwitz, where he and his staff selected incoming Jews for labour or extermination and where he supervised medical experiments on inmates to discover means of increasing fertility, to increase the German “race”. His chief interest, however, was research on twins. Mengele's experiments often resulted in the death of the subject. He was called the “Angel of death”). (We have seen that Nazi's are like the faction in that they hate and kill God's people.) My in-laws kept on asking me what I thought, whether I agreed with them, and whether I was coming with them. They seemed to want to tempt me towards anger or discord.  I could not respond with what they wanted to hear, so I asked Riaan when we were leaving. I told him the car was packed and ready. Then I woke up. (Dr. Mengele was the enemy of God's people. Like many today, who are being experimented on by the vaccines, who are dying and many more will die.) (Riaan: Trusting in the arm of the flesh and vaccinations or any other means of self deliverance is supporting the "angel of death”).  (Claire, as a type of the Bride, does not trust in the arm of the flesh which has killed so many Christians. Jer 17:5-8 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.)    Buffet the Old Man and Wait on the Lord  Claire Pienaar - 7/31/22 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was at a large home; it was white and it was a place where people gathered and were currently gathering. (Riaan: Our bodies are the house of God. A large house represents a corporate body.)  This really old man came to the door and tried to come in, and I knew he had an assignment on my life. He was a very smooth talker and seemed very friendly to everyone else, but I knew I could not go anywhere with him and I told him to leave. I was so rude to him, it surprised me in my dream. (Riaan: No more mister nice guy to this old man!! Get rid of him with force!) (The old man is an enemy of God which makes him our enemy. Rom 8:5-8 For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: 7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: 8 and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.) Then he said, “I've got your number, little dove, you'll always be mine”. And I took him outside and I beat him up. I've never been in a physical fight, so I don't know what that looks or feels like. But in the dream, I went ballistic. I kicked the wind out of him, head butted him, got him to the ground and laid into him.  His face seemed to contort from disbelief to sheer feebleness as I did this. I could feel the frame of his skeleton give way and he was just a pile of mush when I was done. He was all squishy.  I gave him one more blow to the head and then got up and went back inside. (Riaan: Wow! Good job Claire! It's a spiritual fight against the old man, but it's still a brutal, all or nothing fight! Put down that old flesh!) (1Co 9:27  but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.) Then the scene changed, and I was at King's Cross in London, England. It is a large train station. I was not wanting to get onto any train but was waiting for a white train to pull in. (Riaan: King's Cross is a play on words, as the Bride waits at the cross of King Jesus, which represents death to self and is where the Holy Spirit train picks us up).  In the meantime, there were black men who were blowing up train tracks. (Men walking in darkness destroying the paths.) They were trying to get people killed and one of them seemed to follow me around. (Riaan: Factious and divisive apostates try to derail the body of believers who continue on the original path of the original gospel). (Isa 3:12  As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.) I started walking along the tracks and there were different levels of scaffolding and tracks. I was on a very high level and if I fell, I would die. This black man was intent on me dying. (Riaan: It's walking in the heavenlies, and we can't fall back or we risk becoming twice dead and plucked up by the roots and impossible to be renewed unto salvation. Keep walking by faith and overcome, endure). (Heb 6:4-8 For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: 8 but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned.) I pretended to jump off the high level, and then I went back to my spot, but he really jumped, and when he miraculously landed at the bottom. (The flesh cannot fall away and die. It is already dead and fallen away.) He seemed to be distracted and left me alone. I kept on having visions of these black men all over the tracks like spider men. (Riaan: The attacks from the enemy are in full scale now. Our fight is against the principalities, powers and rulers of darkness.).  At this point in the dream I knew a big inferno was coming. I could see and feel the heat and an orange glow coming closer. But I just sat and waited. These black men and other people were running left and right, but they'd never escape what was coming. (Riaan: Representing the fiery trial of God to burn up the flesh). Then I woke up.  I received this word by faith at random: 2 Samuel 3:29: let it fall upon the head of Joab, and upon all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth by the sword, or that lacketh bread. (Exo 20:5  ... I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me.) (Riaan: Joab represents those who fall back, they were once the king's best man but then did murderous works and fell away and all their previous mighty works are forgotten. Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.) I asked the Lord for another verse and my finger landed on witchcraft, from Nahum 3:4: because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts).     Burning the Old Man's House Marie Kelton - February 2022 (David's notes in red) The Lord gave me an open vision. I saw the sky was a light greenish color and my spiritual man, who was wearing all white, walked out of a black house. My spiritual man turned and looked back at the house. (We must not look back at our old nature and what is the past because it will destroy us as it did Lot's wife. We must keep our eyes focused on Jesus in the mirror, our hope of glory.   Php 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before. 14 I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 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.) Then, I saw my flesh man who was black and wearing all black, in the house screaming at my spiritual man through a closed window of the house. (Yes. We must close all windows and doors which represent opportunities for the old man to speak or gain access to our spiritual man. I believe the windows represent our eye gates and what we see and the doors are like the mouth of the cave that Joshua put the 5 kings into and rolled a great stone over the entrance, representing preventing the old man to speak and the 5 senses to rule over or bring a curse upon us.) Then my spiritual man lit a match and threw it on the house and set it on fire. (The fiery trial destroys the old man as we obey the Word. Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.)   The Lord Claims His Bride Marie Kelton 3-23-22 (David's notes in red) While reading the Bible, the Lord gave me an open vision of Him sitting beside me. (This is the key to close relationship with Jesus, our heavenly Husband, who is the Word made flesh. We must put His Word down into our hearts. Amo 3:3  Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?) He put his hand on my heart and light came forth from His hand into my heart and it lit up my heart. Then I saw the light spread from my heart to the rest of my body. (Corporately, the Bride is the heart of Christ's Body because she is the closest in nature to His own heart. Through the hand or works of Jesus, the Bride will be used in a great way to bring the true light of Christ to the rest of the Body, just as the heart in the natural pumps the life giving blood to the rest of the Body. John 15:1-8  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me.  5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (This is like the black man in the house above that was burned.) 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.)   7/25/22 During the Monday meeting, I had an open vision. The Lord came and sat down next to me. (Just as Jesus came in a body of the son of David as the Man-child, Jesus is coming in the David Man-child reformer body of ministers to take His rightful place next to His Bride body.) I notice He had a wedding ring on His left hand. Then I looked and saw that I had a ring on my left hand also. (The ring is a sign of eternity, and in this case, eternal intimacy with the Lord. It is also a ring of authority; being a joint heir with Christ.)  I thought of this verse in  Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thy husband; Jehovah of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.   Seeking to Purchase Wisdom's House Eve Brast - 7/28/22 (David's note in red) (I believe Shalonda represents the Bride in this dream just as in the dream above titled, “The Lord Claims His Bride”.) I dreamed I was in the kitchen of a house, that all the local UBM brethren were touring. It was built and owned by a silver haired old woman. (I knew in the dream that she was Wisdom personified.) She wanted to sell the house and was encouraging us all to pitch in together to buy it. But, not only were we all individually too poor to buy it, but even if we had corporately put all our money together, it still would not have been enough. We were individually and corporately too poor to purchase the house of Wisdom. (In Pro 8:19, Wisdom is valued far above silver and gold. So it seems we are poor in wisdom to purchase Wisdom's house.)(Thank God that Jesus, who is Wisdom and the Word, paid the price through His blood shed for us to have the restored house. 1Co 1:24... Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.) There was a large man standing in the middle of the living room. He had a deep voice like James Earl Jones and a long beard and was dressed in a judges robes. He was listening very carefully to what we were saying in our conversations and interactions. (This represents the Father who listens carefully to our words, considers the thoughts and intents of our hearts, monitors our actions with regard to one another and He acts on our confessions of faith to bring about His promises in our individual lives and for the corporate Body.) I walked into the living room and saw Shalonda standing with the Father to her right. Her face was turned downward towards Him as if she was ashamed for Him to see it and her eyes were cast down towards the carpet. I walked up to her and asked her how she was doing. She tried to talk with me while still looking downwards. But as she slowly lifted her face up towards me, I saw that the enemy had beaten up the whole right side of her face. Her whole eye and cheek area was all blackish blue and bruised. I asked, “What happened to you?!” She said, “It's okay. Father is helping me. I've been receiving a lot of “hand-ups.” As she lifted her right hand, palm up, in a gesture. I could tell the Father was pleased with the confession but He understood that it was half-hearted and this was why the enemy was beating her up.” At the same time I felt bad that this had happened to her and wondered if there was something I could have done to help prevent this or to help her fight. (Justification by faith is the main thing. Also Jesus made reconciliation for us and He made us ministers of reconciliation by uniting others to Him by encouraging their faith. With faith we are able to beat up the old man instead of being beaten up by him.) Then my attention was drawn to all of the moldings and cabinetry in the house and the kitchen. They were all sanded down and stripped, waiting to be restored and refinished. I had an open vision of how they used to look with intricate carvings and wood workings. I thought what a shame! I had no Idea that this house used to be so splendid and beautiful. It was still a very beautiful and desired house but nothing like it's original state.  Then Michael Hare came up to me and said, “Have you ever seen this house in its former glory?” And I said, “No. Seems a shame.” (Meaning it was a shame that we couldn't restore it because we were too poor.) Then I woke up. (Ezra 3:11-13  ...And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers houses , the old men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 14 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people…) (Jesus is the true house of God. Our job is to behold Him in the mirror by faith until we are restored as His body 2 Co. 3:18.) This dream made me think of Proverbs 8 & 9: Pro 8:1-23 & 30-36  Doth not wisdom cry, And understanding put forth her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth; 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud: 4 Unto you, O men, I call; And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 O ye simple, understand prudence; And, ye fools, be of an understanding heart.  6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, And right to them that find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold.  11 For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it. 12 I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling, And find out knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, (including the pride of life) and the evil way, And the perverse mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge: I am understanding; I have might. 15 By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.  16 By me princes rule, And nobles, even all the judges of the earth. 17 I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me; Yea , durable wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; And my revenue than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice;  21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, And that I may fill their treasuries. 22 Jehovah possessed me (Jesus) in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was... 30 Then I was by him, as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men.  32 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me; For blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, And refuse it not. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death. Pro 9:1,3-12  Wisdom hath builded her house; She hath hewn out her seven pillars: ... 3 She hath sent forth her maidens; She crieth upon the highest places of the city: 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat ye of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled. (This is the Lord's supper that we must eat and drink.) 6 Leave off, ye simple ones, and live; And walk in the way of understanding. 7 He that correcteth a scoffer getteth to himself reviling; And he that reproveth a wicked man getteth himself a blot.  8 Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee: Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. 12 If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.   Though I Walk Through the Valley Marie Kelton - 6/17/22 (David's notes in red) During the Friday meeting, I had an open vision of me walking down a dark road with little light. In the vision I was singing "God of Wonders" which was the song we were singing at that time. As I was seeing the vision the verse popped into my head "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil..." I saw as I was walking that I had on a pair of white headphones. (The white headphones represent listening to the promises in the Word of God as He leads us through the valley of the shadow of “death to self.”) After the vision I opened my song book randomly to page 56 which is the song, "God is Good all the Time.” My eyes fell on the first verse of the song which said, “If you're walking through the valley and there are shadows all around. Do not fear, he will guide you. He will keep you safe and sound.” Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.   Partaking in Christ's Sufferings Marie Kelton - 8/1/22 (David's notes in red) During the Monday meeting the Lord gave me an open vision of Him holding a goblet. The Lord then walked into the Holy of Holies were I was sitting. I was wearing all white with a white head covering. The Lord sat down beside me. (Representing our spiritual man which is sanctified and purified by the blood of Christ and is the only one who can sit with the Lord in the Holy of Holies in our individual temples.) I knew He had drank from the cup. Then He handed me the cup and I drank from it. Then the Lord said, “Partake of My sufferings.”  Mat 20:22-23 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto him, We are able. He saith unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: (Referring to the cup of suffering of crucifixion and "death to self”. This is martyrdom for Christ's name's sake.) but to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father. 1Pet 4:13 but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ 's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. Then a little while later, I had another open vision of me and the Lord in the Holy of Holies eating. (Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.) The Lord had a plate full of food and I did too. I saw the Lord eating with a fork and I asked Him what was on the plate? He said, "vegetables and fruit.” When I looked at my plate, I saw that I had the same meal. (Fruits and vegetables represent healthy food for the spirit man which is the body and blood of Jesus. Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. The bread/flesh/meat represents the body of Christ which has life because of the wine/blood/nature of Christ. John 6:53-58 Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. 54 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.)   Finish Your Own Race First!  Tabitha Pienaar - 6/30/22 (David's notes in red) (Claire said, “My young daughter, Tabitha, had this dream last week. She said, 'It's the first time I've ever come first in anything!' Thank you Lord, for keeping Tabitha's eye on the prize and from distractions.”) I dreamed that I was in a race with many other children and I was in a mixed group of boys and girls together, but mostly girls. (1 Co. 9:24-27 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? (Jesus in us receives the prize.) Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.)  (Riaan: Tabitha means “gazelle” or “gracious” ). (Tabitha is representing the Bride who finishes her race of sanctification first, so that, as we will see, she can help her “little sister” as in Song. 8:8-9, learn to run the race too. Psa. 18:31-42 or who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, besides our God, 32 The God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect? 33 He maketh my feet like hinds feet : And setteth me upon my high places. 34 He teacheth my hands to war; So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; And thy right hand hath holden me up, And thy gentleness hath made me great. 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.  37 I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; Neither will I turn again till they are consumed. 38 I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise: They shall fall under my feet. 39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40 Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me. 41 They cried, but there was none to save; Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not. 42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets. 43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; Thou hast made me the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me.)  Back to Tabitha: It was a maze race, and the racetrack was very densely covered with ferns and other leaves. The maze was strange because it wasn't grass or hedges, but it was a track where you could easily get lost. In the middle of the race there was a crocodile pond and a child got stuck in there. I went past the child and saw that she was going to be eaten by a crocodile. I stopped by and helped her, and many children raced past me when I did that. (It's not the fastest runners who win this race but the faithful who obey God's command to Love one another.)   As soon as she was freed, we started running together. In the middle of the dream there was an overhanging area of vines, that was so thick you couldn't see which way to get through. I took a vine and swung and tried to catch a fern so I could get in front of the other children. (Being in heavenly places up above the earth with Jesus, who is the Vine, is how we win the race. John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.) I failed the first few times, but as soon as I got ahold of the fern I scrambled along until I was in front of the other children. Then it was the end of the race, and I sprinted to the finish line. I knew I had won because no other children were there yet. Soon a boy came in 2nd place, and then another girl came in 3rd.   The girl who came in 3rd tried to figure out who had won between me and the 2nd placed boy. Soon another group of children came, and the rest were lost in the maze. f The man who was hosting the maze race decided it was time to give out the trophies. (Representing Jesus who was with God the Father when He created this earthly race of trials for us to overcome and win through Jesus' blood.) Then I said to him, “There are so many children who are lost in the race. Why give out the trophies now?”. He said, “We can't wait for them. I told my boss we'd give the trophies out at a certain time. Now is the time and I can't deny my Word”.  So I said, “Fine”. He took up a paper and gave a long speech about how the race was conducted and said, "Thank you to all the people who made the race a success." Then He called “Tabitha” and I stood up on the platform as he gave me my first-place trophy. For some reason, I shouted “Stevenson!”. (Riaan: Stevenson means “garland” or “crown”). (James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.)   I was so happy, and mommy and daddy were so happy too and we couldn't stop playing praise music. When we were done, I decided that I was going to look for the children that were lost in the maze. (We must get the beam out of our own eye and then we will see clearly to help our brethren. The Bride will overcome to be chosen as the Bride before the tribulation so that they can in the tribulation wilderness can guide others to maturity.)  The scene changed and I was scrambling through a maze that was more dense than the one I had been running in the initial race. I heard some shouting in the distance. I started running toward the noise and saw the rest of the children in the pond that the crocodiles lived in. (Having been through this in her own race, the Bride will be able to help the little sisters avoid or escape the perils along the way.).  One child was screaming because a crocodile was quickly swimming to her. (These crocodiles represent our beastly enemies and the factious that try to kill the children with their slanderous mouths. The people who become weary in running the race and don't endure in the trials are in danger of not finishing the race at all. Rom 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.) I crossed the rock jetty to the area where the child was screaming. I picked her up in my arms and decided the rocks were going to be too slippery for both her and I to cross, so I swam to the other side and gently placed her on the ground. I called to the rest of the children to, one-by-one, go across the rocks that formed the jetty to come back to the bank on the other side. (The Bride body will help others who are the elect of God escape the enemy and his minions who are trying to devour them with their fiery darts from their mouths. The crocodiles are like the dragon in Rev. 12 who sought to devour the woman Church in the wilderness.)  Once the children had done that, we continued the trek back. This time we got very lost. I didn't know why we got lost but there had been signs on the trees before, that pointed the way, but the maze was denser now, so we couldn't see those signs anymore.  We went to an area where we had to sign some papers to see where we were. (This represents coming back to our covenant written in the Word and recommitting to it, to find our way back to the Father.) After the race, the boss (Representing the Father) would come and get the papers to see all the children who had participated in the race. (This represents God's Book of Life that people are written into or blotted out of depending whether they endured until the end to see their salvation.) Soon we found our way out of the maze, and everyone was safe again. Then I woke up.   Tabitha asked the Lord to give her a word that would help her understand the dream, and she received, Nehemiah 6:15  So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. (Riaan: Elul is the 6th month and is usually Aug/Sept). (The wall represents sanctification which is what we are in the race for. What if the end of the race and the finishing of the wall which, represents sanctification, are synonymous and this ends in this time frame of August/September when the Man-child comes for the Bride and the tribulation begins, ending at the same timeframe?  That would be nice.)   Be My Steadfast Lighthouse Eve Brast - October 2017 (Link)  …As I was driving to work one morning, I knew that Father was really driving the message of steadfastness home to me and pulling it together from many different angles. So I asked Him to expand on this; to solidify it in my mind. At that moment, He opened up a vision to me and in a split second I saw it all and understood it more deeply. In the vision, I saw a lighthouse upon a large rock near the ocean shore. It was a pitch black, stormy night and the rain was beating against it almost sideways. Its light burned bright into the darkness out toward the storm tossed sea. It stood strong and faithful against the elements; always shining its guiding light out to sea. I was as tall as the lighthouse while I was walking toward it and then I was merged into it and I became the lighthouse. (David: I believe that Eve represents the work of the Bride to be a lighthouse to the people to bring them to safety. She is also a fit person to have this dream personally for she has worked very hard as long as I have known her to bring the light.) As its light beamed forth from my eyes out upon the wind tossed waves, I saw many wooden ships in distress, being tossed about on the waves. As I focused on these ships, the faces of desperate people appeared where the bows had been. They were intensely focused on my light to avoid being dashed upon the rocky shore. Father spoke to me and said, ”Consider a lighthouse and its steadfastness in the storm. It is reliable, immovable, and ever guiding distressed vessels away from danger… Will you be My lighthouse?” We may never know on this side of eternity how many distressed vessels were saved because of our faithfulness and steadfast reliability to bring the light to them. In the end, I've had to repent of getting caught up in my own little universe of problems. Today Father brought me back to a word He had given me during the 40 day fast... Here it is below: Father spoke to me and said, ”Don't faint in the day of adversity. Be strong. Take courage, for I have heard the cries and the prayers of my people and I will bring great deliverance. You will see the destruction of the enemy with your own eyes. With your own eyes will you see the mighty works of My hands. You feel I am far away, but I am very near to you. You wonder if I hear, but I tell you, I have heard and will answer you in ways that you could not conceive of. Don't faint ! Believe and keep believing, for blessed are they who have not seen me and yet believe! Give Me all the praise and glory for the battle is already won! And I have given you the victory for I reign victorious forever and ever. I will cause you to contend with horses.“ This word reminded me of two texts: Jer. 12:5, If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan? And Rev.2:3, and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary.   Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Assamese Aymara Azerbaijani Bambara Basque Belarusian Bengali Bhojpuri Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dhivehi Dogri Dutch Esperanto Estonian Ewe Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Guarani Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Ilocano Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Konkani Korean Krio Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Sorani) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luxembourgish Macedonian Maithili Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Meiteilon (Manipuri) Mizo Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Odia (Oriya) Oromo Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Quechua Romanian Russian Samoan Sanskrit Scots Gaelic Sepedi Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Tatar Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tsonga Turkish Turkmen Twi Ukrainian Urdu Uyghur Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

Welcome back to Ventures & Vagabonds! In this episode, our adventurers attempt to speak with Vall Othronus regarding the location of the sword that is required to slay Mordin - "Lord of Shadows;" however, things get a little bit complicated when they realize that they will need to break him out of prison in order to acquire such information...  Thanks to {Royalty Free Music - Alexander Nakarada} for the great background music in this episode!   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SerpentSoundStudios  Special thanks to {Michael Ghelfi - RPG Audio} for the great background ambience & music found throughout this episode!      Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelGhelfi  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MichaelGhelfi

Episode 135: Convert to Islam: https://untoislam.com Podcast: https://untoislam.com/podcast About Us: https://untoislam.com/about-us Contact Us: https://untoislam.com/contact-us Live QA Session: https://untoislam.com/live-qa-session Sponsor|Donate|Support|Help Us: https://untoislam.com/donate Host: Christen Amer. Guest: Nawal Verbanovic. Today we are speaking with sister Nawal Verbonovic, a 42 year old convert from Ohio. She converted 11 years ago and is currently active in the dawah field (calling people to Islam) in Youngstown, Ohio. Learn how Nawal, born into Catholicism, fellowshipped in Jehovah's Witness, finally came to Islam and found peace. For more information on how to get involved with her all sisters team dawah initiative on Facebook click this link: https://www.facebook.com/youngstowndawahinitiative Or to contact her personally click here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006885799203 She also recommends thenewmuslimacademy.org for those wanting to train in the dawah field. https://www.newmuslimacademy.org/ About Nawal: Converted in 2011, that's 11 years ago Aged 42 Eastern European cultural background Grew up in a small town in Ohio Ancestors are from Croatia, etc Currently lives in Ohio Her full-time job is in calling people to Islam She is passionate about calling people to Islam and truly believes dawah is for everyone About the Becoming Muslim Podcast Do you have questions about Islam? Are you looking for a new direction in life? The Becoming Muslim podcast at https://untoislam.com is made for those who are in the midst of researching Islam. It also suits newly converted Muslims. Our podcast offers a wide variety of audible resources. From captivating stories of converts to discussions on day to day Islamic practices, Unto Islam allows for each individual to cater to their spiritual needs. Find out: (1) How to convert to Islam (2) What it means to be Muslim (3) Why Islam has helped others As Muslims do not engage in missionary work, our site is only here to help those who want to know more about our faith and creed.

Satan's World System      As we discussed previously, Satan is permitted, for a time, to rule over the majority in this world. Three times Jesus referred to Satan as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Other passages of Scripture call Satan “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4), and “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), informing us “that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Satan rules as a tyrant who has “weakened the nations” (Isa 14:12), and currently “deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9). He personally attacked Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1-7), Job (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-13), David, (1 Chr 21:1), Joshua the high priest (Zec 3:1-2), Jesus (Matt 4:1-11), Judas (John 13:27), and Peter (Luke 22:31-32). He continues to attack God's people today (1 Pet 5:8), practices deception (2 Cor 11:13-15), and has well developed strategies of warfare (Eph 6:10-12). Furthermore, humanity is living in an “evil age” (Gal 1:4), under “the dominion of Satan” (Acts 26:18), whose sphere of influence is called “the domain of darkness” (Col 1:13). Though Satan has attacked some people directly, he mainly operates as commander of an unseen realm of demons, through a worldwide system of philosophies and values he's created, through unbelievers whom he energizes to do his will, and through the sinful inclinations of our fallen nature. These all help advance his agenda in which he attacks God and His people. Paul, when writing to Christians in Ephesus, discusses the reality of these things. Paul said: "And you [Gentile Christians, before salvation; see Eph 2:4-9] were dead [νεκρός nekros – dead, corpse; i.e., separated from God] in your trespasses and sins [i.e., acts of disobedience against God], 2 in which you formerly walked [περιπατέω peripateo – to walk, conduct oneself, behave] according to the course of this world [κόσμος kosmos - world, system], according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan – the commander of an unseen realm], of the spirit that is now working [ἐνεργέω energeo – to work, energize, empower] in the sons of disobedience [i.e., sons characterized by their disobedience to God]. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh [σάρξ sarx – flesh, body, i.e., sin nature], indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind [even their reasoning processes were corrupt], and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." (Eph 2:1-3)      The Bible recognizes Satan's world-system and warns us not to love it. John writes and tells the Christian, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15-16). We live in a fallen world, and John's command is intended to warn us of real danger. First, John opens with the negative particle Μὴ Me, which is followed by the Geek verb ἀγαπάω agapao, which is in the imperative mood—the mood of command. The word ἀγαπάω agapao denotes desire or commitment to something or someone. David L. Allen comments on love: "In its essence love is two things: a desire for something and a commitment to something … Whatever it is you desire and whatever you're committed to, that's where your time and resources will go. If you love football, that's where your time and resources will go. If you love hunting or fishing, that's where your time and resources will go. If you love your spouse, you desire to spend time with her and you are committed to her. Love is more than an emotional feeling. Love requires a commitment of time and resources."[1]      John then gives the object we are not to desire or be committed to, namely, the world (τὸν κόσμον). The Greek word κόσμος kosmos is used in Scripture to refer to: 1) the physical planet (Matt 13:35; Acts 17:24), 2) people who live in the world (John 3:16), and 3) the hostile system created and controlled by Satan that he uses to lure people away from God (1 John 2:15-16). It is this third meaning that John has in mind. Hence, the word κόσμος kosmos refers to “that which is hostile to God…lost in sin, wholly at odds with anything divine, ruined and depraved.”[2] Concerning, the word κόσμος kosmos, David L. Allen writes: "Sometimes the word “world” is used to refer to the organized evil system with its principles and its practices, all under the authority of Satan, which includes all teachings, ideas, culture, attitudes, activities, etc., that are opposed to God. A fixation on the material over the spiritual, promotion of self over others, pleasure over principle—these are just a few descriptors of the world system John is talking about. The word “world” here means everything that opposes Christ and his work on earth. Jesus called Satan “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30; 16:11), and Paul called him “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). In Luke 16:8 Jesus referred to all unsaved people as “the sons of this world.”[3]      Satan's world-system consists of those philosophies and values that perpetually influence humanity to think and behave contrary to God and His Word. This operating apart from God is first and foremost a way of thinking that is antithetical to God, a way of thinking motivated by a desire to be free from God and the authority of Scripture, a freedom most will accept, even though it is accompanied by all sorts of inconsistencies and absurdities. Lewis Chafer writes: "The kosmos is a vast order or system that Satan has promoted which conforms to his ideals, aims, and methods. It is civilization now functioning apart from God-a civilization in which none of its promoters really expect God to share; who assign to God no consideration in respect to their projects, nor do they ascribe any causality to Him. This system embraces its godless governments, conflicts, armaments, jealousies; its education, culture, religions of morality, and pride. It is that sphere in which man lives. It is what he sees, what he employs. To the uncounted multitude it is all they ever know so long as they live on this earth. It is properly styled “The Satanic System” which phrase is in many instances a justified interpretation of the so-meaningful word, kosmos."[4]      Many people who live in Satan's world-system exclude God and Scripture from their daily conversations. This is true in news, politics, academic communities, work and home life. God is nowhere in their thoughts, and therefore, nowhere in their discussions (Psa 10:4; 14:1). These are the agnostics and atheists. But there are others in Satan's world-system who are very religious, and these are the worst kind of people, because they claim to represent God, when in fact they don't. In the Bible, there were many religious people who spoke in the name of the Lord (Jer 14:14; 23:16-32; Matt 7:15; Acts 13:6; Rev 2:20), claiming to represent Him, even performing miracles (Deut 13:1-4; Matt 24:24; 2 Th 2:8-9; Rev 13:13). The Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes where this way, and they said of themselves, “we have one Father: God” (John 8:41b). But Jesus saw them for what they really were and said, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (John 8:44a). The religious—like Satan—are blinded by their pride. Humility must come before they will accept God's gospel of grace, and it does no good to argue with them (2 Tim 2:24-26). These false representatives loved to talk about God, read their Bibles, pray, fast, give of their resources, and spent much of their time in fellowship with other religious persons. Theirs is a works-system of salvation, which feeds their pride; giving them a sense of control over their circumstances and others.[5] These false organizations and their teachers appear as godly and righteous, but Paul described them as “false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor 11:13). Though very religious, these are in line with Satan, who operates on corrupt reasoning and is a deceiver. Paul goes on to say, “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds” (2 Cor 11:14-15).      The contrast between the growing Christian and the worldly person is stark, as their thoughts and words take them in completely different directions. The growing believer thinks about God and His Word all the time, as “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psa 1:2). The word law translates the Hebrew word תּוֹרָה torah, which means law, direction, or instruction. Navigating the highways of this world can be tricky, and the believer needs the direction or instruction God's Word provides. It is our divine roadmap for staying on God's path and getting to the destination He intends.      At the core of Satan's world-system is a directive for mankind to function apart from God, and when obeyed, people produce all forms of evil, both moral and immoral. We should understand that Satan's system is a buffet that offers something for everyone who rejects God, whether that person is moral or immoral, religious or irreligious, educated or simple, rich or poor. Satan is careful to make sure there's even something for the Christian in his world-system, which is why the Bible repeatedly warns the believer not to love the world or the things in the world. We are to be set apart (Col 2:8; Jam 1:27; 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16). Lightner states, “The world is the Christian's enemy because it represents an anti-God system, a philosophy that is diametrically opposed to the will and plan of God. It is a system headed by the devil and therefore at odds with God (2 Cor 4:4).…It is in this wicked world we must rear our families and earn our livelihoods. We are in it, yet are not to be a part of it.”[6] It is important to understand that we cannot change Satan or his evil program; however, we must be on guard, for it can and will change us if we're not careful to learn and live God's Word.      At the moment of salvation, God the Father “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13), and “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). This transference is permanent and cannot be undone. Once this happens, we are hated by those who remain in Satan's kingdom of darkness. For this reason, Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19; cf. John 16:33; 1 John 3:13). Love and hate in this context should be understood as accept or reject, which can be mild or severe in expression. When praying to the Father, Jesus said, “they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14b), and went on to say, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). It is not God's will that we be immediately removed from this world at the moment of salvation, but left here to serve as His representatives to the lost, that we “may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). We are not to participate in worldly affairs that exclude God, but are to “walk as children of Light” (Eph 5:8), manifesting the fruit of the Light “in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:9-10), and we are told, “do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them” (Eph 5:11).      The growing Christian faces real struggles as Satan's world system seeks to press him into its mold, demanding conformity, and persecuting him when he does not bend to its values. The world-system not only has human support, but is backed by demonic forces that operate in collaboration with Satan. Scripture tells us “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). The battlefront is more than what is seen with the human eye and is driven by unseen spiritual forces. As Christians living in the world, we are to be careful not to be taken “captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col 2:8). Realizing the battleground is the mind, we are to think biblically in everything, which is our only safeguard against the enemy (2 Cor 10:3-5).      As Christians we face situations every day in which we are pressured to compromise God's Word. We face difficulties at work, school, home, or other places, in which we are confronted by worldly-minded persons, both saved and unsaved, who demand and pressure us to abandon our biblical values. There is room for personal compromise where Scripture is silent on a matter; however, where Scripture speaks with absolute authority, there we must never compromise! Wiersbe states, “The world, or world-system, puts pressure on each person to try to get him to conform (Rom 12:2). Jesus Christ was not ‘of this world' and neither are His people (John 8:23; 17:14). But the unsaved person, either consciously or unconsciously, is controlled by the values and attitudes of this world.”[7]      By promoting the gospel and biblical teaching, the church disrupts Satan's domain of darkness by calling out of it a people for God. By learning God's Word, Christians can identify worldly conversations and activities and either avoid them or seek to redirect them by interjecting biblical truth, which should never be done in hostility. When sharing God's Word with others it's proper to know that not everyone wants to hear God's truth, and even though we may not agree with them, their personal choices should be respected (Matt 10:14; Acts 13:50-51). We should never try to force the gospel or Bible teaching on anyone, but be willing to share when opportunity presents itself. At times this will bring peace, and other times cause disruption and may even offend. In this interaction, the growing Christian must be careful not to fall into the exclusion trap, in which the worldly person (whether saved or lost) controls the content of every conversation, demanding the Christian only talk about worldly issues, as Scripture threatens his pagan presuppositions. Having the biblical worldview, the Christian should insert himself into daily conversations with others, and in so doing, be a light in a dark place. He should always be respectful, conversational, and never have a fist-in-your-face attitude, as arrogance never helps advance biblical truth (2 Tim 2:24-26). The worldly-minded person may not want to hear what the Christian has to say, but he should never be under the false impression that he has the right to quiet the Christian and thereby exclude him from the conversation.      As we grow spiritually and walk with God, learning and living His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17), we stand in opposition to Satan's world-system and sow the seeds of spiritual insurrection in the lives of those who live and walk in his kingdom of darkness. We disrupt Satan's kingdom when we share the gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). When anyone places their faith in Christ, trusting solely in Him as Savior, they are forgiven all their sins (Eph 1:7), gifted with eternal life (John 3:16; 10:28), and the righteousness of God (Rom 4:1-5; 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). They are rescued from Satan's enslaving power, as God rescues them from the “domain of darkness” and transfers them into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13). The gospel is the only way a person can be delivered from spiritual slavery; “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Once saved, we seek to influence the thoughts and lives of other Christians through fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), prayer (Jam 5:16), edification (Eph 4:29), encouragement (1 Th 5:11), love (1 Th 4:9; cf. Eph 4:14-15), and words of grace (Col 4:6).   [1] David L. Allen, 1–3 John: Fellowship in God's Family, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 96–97. [2] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 562. [3] David L. Allen, 1–3 John: Fellowship in God's Family, 96. [4] Lewis S. Chafer, “Angelology Part 4” Bibliotheca Sacra 99 (1942): 282-283. [5] There are many church denominations today that call themselves “Christian”, but who come with a false gospel in which human works are added as a requirement for salvation (i.e., Catholics, Methodists, Church of Christ, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.). [6] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, p. 206. [7] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament, Vol. 2, p. 18.

Columbus Dispatch faith and values reporter Danae King speaks with Robert Hendriks, national spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses, to talk about where you may see Jehovah's Witnesses: on city streets and sidewalks with carts full of information on the religion and waves and smiles. He will speak about what it took to come back to public ministry after the COVID-19 pandemic and how door knocking will resume here shortly.

Friendship is such an important aspect of the human life. It can encourage us to come outside of ourselves, try something new, and discover who we are. Our guest, Brad Chase, is a perfect example of this. In this episode, we discuss how his friendships led him to discover the Catholic faith, his involved with the Cursillo movement and becoming an active leader in his parish. Discussion Questions: What stood out to you the most from this episode? Throughout this episode, Brad shows his enthusiasm and openness by trying out new experiences from his weekly conversations with Jehovah's Witnesses to helping lead an Alpha group in his parish. What new experiences is God calling you to try and be open to? Brad shares his experience with the Cursillo movement and how meeting weekly with his men's group radically changed his spiritual life. Do you have a regular group that you meet with? Who can you ask to journey with you and keep you accountable in your spiritual life? How can you make a friend, be a friend, and bring a friend to Christ today? Brad Chase is a parishioner at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish with his wife Carla and their four kids. He is also an active participant in the Cursillo movement, which evangelizes through friendship with this simple motto: Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ. Proclaim is a movement of the Archdiocese of Vancouver inspiring disciples to proclaim Jesus in their homes and communities. The Proclaim podcast is a space where you listen to inspiring disciples talk all things around sharing Jesus with others, and learn how to step into your own missionary identity. To learn more about Proclaim, you can visit weareproclaim.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @weareproclaim.

On November 2nd, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the Biblical mystery man Melchizedek who appears in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and later in the New Testament. Melchizedek literally means King and Priest or Priest-King. He was said to have given the first communion to Abraham in the days before Joseph became a leader in Egypt. Although legendary he was said to have established an order of priesthood to rival that of Moses brother Aaron. He represented the original Canaanite god El ("the most High God") whereas Aaron's priesthood was that of Moses' Jehovah (Yahweh). After the Babylonian captivity Ezra attempted to overwrite all references to El in the Bible and make Jehovah the supreme being. The New testament declares twice that Jesus the Nazarene is a priest after the Order of Melchizedek -- We will look at this in relation to the Egyptian and Phoenician situation at the time and later Gnostic Christian writings. So if you want to do some Biblical detective work tune in and we'll solve the mystery.

Ano Na, BEV? #BestExpressedViews hosted by award-winning journalist Bev Llorente featuring Robert Hendricks, U.S Spokesperson for Jehovah's Witnesses and Shirley Lim Holdeman, CEO & Owner of Bamboo Sunrise Foster Care Agency.#AnoNaBev #BevLlorente #PHLVRADIO

What is “Soul Sleep”? This controversial doctrine, primarily taught by Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christadelphians, is based on biblical passages, like Jesus' statement, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up” (Jn. 11:11). Are those words to be taken literally? When Lazarus died, did his soul go into an unconscious, non-functional 'sleep' mode in the grave? Is that the plight of all who pass away? Or is it true, for born-again Christians, that to be “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8)? A vitally important subject to explore. Comparative religion website: www.thetruelight.net Ministry website: www.shreveministries.org Video channel: www.YouTube.com/mikeshreveministries Mike Shreve's other podcast: a study on the biblical names given to God's people: https://www.charismapodcastnetwork.com/show/discoveryourspiritualidentity Mail: P.O. Box 4260, Cleveland, TN 37320 / Phone: 423-478-2843

Guarding the House From Our Enemies (2) (Audio) David Eells - 8/3/22 Factious Infiltrators Steal From God's House Samuel Marychurch - 7/30/22 (David's notes in red)   (This teaching from the Lord will be very important to the Church, which is getting ready to go through this same trial of faction in the tribulation.) (We felt this is a warning dream and cast lots to confirm and got 3 heads for a yes.) I dreamed my wife Tiannah (meaning joy, happiness or follower of Christ, representing a disciple of Jesus.) Tiannah and I were staying at a studio apartment. (A studio is a play on words, meaning a place to study the Word.) (We were both in a one room apartment where we shared all things together, in common. This represents one body in Christ.) (Eph. 2:21 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.) The apartment had modern and fancy fixtures throughout. (Modern represents our current time we live in and something to be aware of or pay attention to now.) We had 2 black laptops and many items of value inside the apartment. (This represents our spiritual treasures stored up in heaven [and our “studio" materials.].) (The black laptops represent the treasures of revelations of things hidden in darkness in Isa. 45:3 and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.)f Our friend Gerald was staying there with us. (Gerald means, "ruler with the spear”. I believe he represents God.) (God's presence is with His people now that our Savior, Emmanuel, meaning, "God with us" has come and reconciled us to God our Father.) Then suddenly this lady appeared. I am not sure who she was but... we didn't invite her. (As we will see, this woman represents the Judas body of antichrist, "sons of perdition” who are thieves, and like their father the devil, they come to steal, kill, and destroy. John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy...) Gerald was concerned about her being there because he didn't trust her. Gerald said “I don't know her”. It felt as if he was trying to warn us. (God warns us through His Spirit about people and situations. His Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and discernment, but, as we will see, there's always big trouble when we ignore the warnings and sear our conscience through self-will or evil-reasonings that are against the commands in His Word.)  We went out, came back from grocery shopping and our hands were full carrying the groceries. (Hands being full of groceries represents distractions that feed our flesh. When this is occurring our discernment is so diminished that we are blind to the spiritual dangers right in front of us.)  When we got to the door to go inside, the lady was there and she offered to open the door for us. She seemed genuine and sincere and it seemed like she just wanted to help us.  (2 Co. 11:14  And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. And Rom. 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.) So, then I handed her our key chain that had a bunch of different keys on it, along with the door key. (The keys could represent the keys to the Kingdom.) She opened the door and let us in and gave us back the keys. (Mat. 16:19  I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Jesus has given us the keys to bind and loose. If we are unwise with this authority we can loose the enemy and open doors for him to steal from us.) Later on, we went out again and came back and when we went to open the door, we realized that the key to the front door wasn't on the key chain. When we checked the front door it was unlocked and the key was left in the door. We went inside and all of our items were gone. I felt upset, and I realized that the lady must have taken the key off the keychain that time that I let her open the door for us. I then woke up. (This reminds me of Hezekiah when he showed all his treasures to the Babylonian embassage and they later came and plundered the Temple and all Jerusalem.) (... I felt the Lord is trying to reveal an imposter may be trying to gain access or has snuck in, to steal, kill, and destroy inside the Body of Christ and to be on guard against it.   Don't Climb the Mountain in Your Own Strength  Kit Gioura - 7/22/22 (David's notes in red) In this dream I saw two men who had barricaded themselves in a shopping center. Their main goal was to kill everyone in sight. (This is similar to Samuel's dream above. The enemy, in the Judas, antichrist, factious body, as merchants of Babylon are seeking to prey upon and steal from and kill those who are feeding the desires of their flesh.) These two men were prepared for war and they were armed to the hilt. Many were slain by these two men. (Many are taken out because they refuse to go any further in the kingdom by continuing to carry their cross and sacrifice their flesh on the altar of obedience to the Word of God, which warns us of these people.) As they were taking people out, a call went out to the cops who came and started to attack these two men. I could hear the two men saying, “These cops are different here!" (Meaning, they are well prepared) (God's ministers are supposed to enforce the Word of God which exposes these people. The faction,  uses slander and criticism to kill, and deceive those who disobey God's commands to separate from them. Tit 3:10  A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse.) Then the scene changed and the two men were now in a house on a country side hill which had green, heathy grass. Inside this house it was dark and these two men were hiding in the darkness waiting to ambush those that were climbing the hill. (The enemy is always targeting those who are seeking to conquer their flesh and climb the hill to Mt. Zion. Jas 3:16  For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed. And Psalm 11:2  For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.) Many people took up arms and went up the hill hunting for these two. (This represents our prayers and spiritual warfare that will succeed in taking down these enemies and exposing them. We must not fight in the flesh with anger, retaliation or unforgiveness for then, we too, will fall, as we will see. Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.) One of the men was captured and was taken down. But the other was still hiding out in the corner in the darkness waiting to pounce on people but was later exposed. Many mighty men fell at the hands of these two. (These Judas' have betrayed many and spiritually destroyed and killed many who were weakened through disobedience to the Word and lazy to conquer their flesh and climb the hill to Mt. Zion. Also the devil has authority to come against us, to our own destruction, if we are trying to conquer or fight in our own strength.)           Remember What You Heard from the Beginning       Vanessa Weeks - 4/13/22 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that it was night and I was climbing a grassy hill. (This hill represents climbing Mt. Zion.) (This represents conquering the flesh by putting it under our feet. 1Pe 1:24  For, All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth). (We are remembering our promise that in Rom 6:11  Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof: This faith makes it possible to die to self and conquer our flesh as we climb the hill to Mt. Zion, the Bride.) It was very dark but there was a bright light shining on the area where I was climbing. (Psa. 18:28 For thou wilt light my lamp: Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness.  And Psa. 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path). (Jesus and His Word are what lights our way of obedience.) I knew I had to climb to the top of this hill. It was difficult and I was climbing with my hands and feet. (Representing our works and walk of faith. As disciples of Christ we may walk in His steps and have His works to climb to the top of Mt. Zion.) I heard my husband Barry (Representing the Lord our Heavenly Husband) who was standing by me, but I did not see him. (This symbolizes Jesus always being with us even when we don't see Him.) (Heb. 13:5 ... for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.) Barry was telling me to remember to do the things he had told me to do or to do the things I said I would do. (I think these were one and the same. 1Jn 2:24  As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father.)  (Psa. 15:1-5 Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart; (Being truly honest with ourselves on everything the Spirit shows us or speaks to us about not hardening our hearts thus searing our consciences.) 3 He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; 4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah; He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; (i.e. they keep their word even if it hurts them to do so. They don't utter rash vows or promises and then reason away why it's okay not to fulfill them if they truly have the means or the time.) He that putteth not out his money to interest, Nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.) Also I heard David (representing the David Man-child reformers) saying something to me to the same effect. I did not see him either. (Php 2:12  So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; And Php 2:13  for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.) When I got about half way up the hill, I got very weary and had to rest for a while. (Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.) I remember thinking of Eve at this point in the dream, (Representing the overcoming Bride) and how she has had her trials and was overcoming, and now it was my turn. Then I woke up.    A Rock of Refuge; A Strong Fortress to Save Me Marie Kelton - 7/27/22 (David's notes in red) In the dream, it was night time, and zombies were attacking people. (These zombies, who are the “walking dead" representing those who are possessed with the “stupid demons” of faction.) I got in a car with a couple of other people and we drove to a refuge where the Lord was. (Pro. 18:10 The name of Jehovah is a strong tower; The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.) Then the scene changed and this time I was observing what was happening. The zombies were still attacking people, but then a group of people started using the Word of God. When they used the Word of God, a big square shaped stone came up from under the ground with ancient symbols on it. (This stone is the stone that the builders rejected, which is Christ, who is the ancient Word. The builders became apostate and lost the power of the Word but we must stand on the power of the Word to conquer our enemies. Luk 1:68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people, 69 And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David ... 71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ... 73 The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, 74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies should serve him without fear.) As the zombies were trying to attack people, they would fall on this square shaped stone that had the ancient symbols on it and couldn't move from it. (These zombies are ministers of the curse of sin and death, which Jesus bore for us. Gal. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus. 1 Pe. 2:4-8  unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, 5 ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. 7 For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; 8 and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.)   Judgment on the Faction  Marie Kelton - July 30, 2022 (David's notes in red) In the beginning of the dream, there was this black teacher, teaching. (This Black teacher represents the leadership of the faction who have usurped the true leadership and drawn many of the spiritually weak away unto themselves.) I saw this black girl in a bright yellow outfit laying down on a couch. (The black girl represents their followers who are walking in darkness.). (The couch represents a false sense of rest because of their doctrine that, “It's all under the blood.” Also, a couch represents people with psychiatric problems.) When I walked up to her I thought of the spirit of fear because she was wearing all yellow. (The factious followers live in a lot of fear and torments because they are under a curse of separation from the Body through their willful disobedience to the Word.) But when I picked up a card that was next to her, it said, “Depression" in bright yellow like the clothes she was wearing. The card was describing symptoms of depression. (The factious body is in fear and depression because there is no life of Christ living in the darkness of witchcraft [which is rebellion.].) The dream changed and I was now in Debbie Fenske's house looking out the door. There were these big tall evergreens. (Representing the mature disciples in the neighborhood who have eternal life.) In front of the evergreens were huge tigers (Representing factious, predatory leaders seeking to destroy disciples.). They were eating the head of another tiger that was already dead. (This represents Gal. 5:15-16  Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Assamese Aymara Azerbaijani Bambara Basque Belarusian Bengali Bhojpuri Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dhivehi Dogri Dutch Esperanto Estonian Ewe Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Guarani Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Ilocano Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Konkani Korean Krio Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Sorani) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luxembourgish Macedonian Maithili Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Meiteilon (Manipuri) Mizo Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Odia (Oriya) Oromo Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Quechua Romanian Russian Samoan Sanskrit Scots Gaelic Sepedi Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Tatar Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tsonga Turkish Turkmen Twi Ukrainian Urdu Uyghur Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version  

Message preached by Pastor Daren Downs on 08/03/22 PM.

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(Psalm 23:1-6) The twenty-third Psalm is the Psalm of Jehovah! The names of God in Scripture are a revelation of Who He is—His character. The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament. As we journey through this Psalm, the beautiful attributes of the Lord Jehovah reveal more of our blessed Lord Jesus, Who is the very perfection of all these attributes. (06182220801)

wE MP3 August 2022 - 02

wE MP3 August 2022 - 05