Podcasts about jehovah rapha

After a devastating car accident left my daughter and son-in-law seriously injured, I've been walking closely with them through the slow, painful process of healing. In this solo episode, I share more about their story and how it brought me face-to-face with the lasting effects of trauma. Trauma doesn't just touch one area of life. It impacts our emotions, our bodies, our relationships, and our ability to function in everyday life. As I reflect on what it means to heal, I also want to speak hope. God has provided powerful tools through trauma-informed care and the expertise of trained professionals. Friends and loved ones can walk with us, and God Himself, Jehovah Rapha, is present in our pain. He wants to bring healing not only to our bodies but to our souls.  If you're struggling to make sense of suffering or wondering how to move forward after trauma, I pray this episode reminds you that healing is possible, even when it feels out of reach. God is near, and He is enough. To inquire about counseling, email Louise at Louise@louisesedgwick.com.  

Jehovah Rapha means the Lord God who heals. This Sunday, we will be exploring how God incorporated healing into God's creation, as well as the different ways humanity experiences God's divine healing. Group Questions:1. Read Exodus 15:22-26. Identify all the key players in this passage. What stands out to you regarding each of the key players' actions?2. Debate the statement that God wove healing into creation. At what point do you think the elements of healing were incorporated in the formation of the world?3. Can you recall a time of pain and suffering in your life? Have you healed from it? If so, how did you heal from it? Did you bury the emotions? In which ways did you not deal with it (denial, detachment, medicate)?4. Have you ever, or do you know someone who has experienced divine physical healing? Share the story!5. Read and discuss what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 15:42-57.

Freedom Sunday | The Names Of God | Message 3: Jehovah Rapha | Pastor Chad Dingess | 07/06/2025 by Bethesda Church

In this powerful message, Jeannie Burgess reveals the healing heart of God through His name—Jehovah Rapha. Discover how faith in God's Word and His willingness to heal can bring life-changing transformation to your spirit, soul, and body. Watch now and experience the power of divine healing!

Welcome to our Reveal PodcastToday, we're diving into a powerful topic: What is Biblical Healing? what it is, and why it still matters today.Biblical healing is more than just physical recovery. At its core, it's about restoration, body, mind, and spirit, brought about by the power and presence of God. Throughout the Bible, we see God as Jehovah Rapha, "The Lord who heals." From miraculous healings performed by Jesus, to the comforting words in Psalms, healing is often tied to faith, prayer, and God's compassion.So whether you're praying for healing today or supporting someone who is, remember: biblical healing is a journey of hope, trust, and God's timing.To support this ministry and help us continue our God-given mission, click here:Subscribe to our channel for the latest sermons:https://www.youtube.com/@revealvineyardLearn more about Vineyard Church Reveal Campus:https://www.revealvineyard.com/Follow us on social media!Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/vineyardrevealcampus Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/RevealVineyard

Scripture:  Exodus 15:22-27, Luke 4:18The Pulse Experience Chosen Camp 2025Speaker: Luke MaceTopic: Identity-Jehovah RaphaWednesday, June 25, 2025https://linktr.ee/thepulsewinfield

Welcome to our Reveal podcast,Today we're diving into a big, beautiful question—why does God heal? What'sFirst off, healing isn't just something God does—it's part of who He is. From the Old Testament to the New, God reveals Himself as Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. Healing reflects His character: compassionate, restorative, and deeply invested in human wholeness—body, soul, and spirit.But let's be clear—it's not just about fixing a problem. When Jesus healed the blind, the lame, the leper, or even raised the dead, He was revealing the kingdom of God breaking into a broken world. Healing is a signpost. It points us to something greater, the restoration of all things.To support this ministry and help us continue our God-given mission, click here:Subscribe to our channel for the latest sermons:https://www.youtube.com/@revealvineyardLearn more about Vineyard Church Reveal Campus:https://www.revealvineyard.com/Follow us on social media!Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/vineyardrevealcampus Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/RevealVineyard

Message from Casey Andis on June 8, 2025

Message from Elder Ronnie Loudermilk on June 1, 2025

Join Lisa and Laura for our series Names of God. In biblical times, names were of great importance—they conveyed a person's essence, history, nature, or character. As we explore the various names of God in the Old Testament, we gain insight into His character. With each name, we will learn a new attribute, deepening our understanding of and growing closer to God. In today's episode, we explore our third name, Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. The word “rapha” often refers to physical healing in Scripture, but it has a more expansive meaning, too, involving the entire person. Jehovah Rapha doesn't just heal the body. He heals the mind and soul. In a world desperate for healing, this is an episode you do not want to miss. Grab your Bible and invite a friend to listen. We all need Jehovah Rapha! Open your Heart to our key Scripture. Exodus 15:26: If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you. Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode. Exodus 3:13–14: Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” Psalm 22:14–15: I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. Exodus 15:22–27 Romans 8:22: We know that all creation has been groaning with labor pains together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 5:5: Hope does not disappoint us. Invite Him in with this episode's questions for reflection. Are you in the place between devastated hope and deliverance? Bring your heart to Jehovah Rapha and ask, what does He want to reveal and what He is longing to heal? Is it a physical illness? Sin? Trauma? Childhood wound? Unforgiveness?  Show mentions. Walking with Purpose, Virtual Group Webinar: A Learn about Leading Event, July 17, 2025, 7 p.m. ET Fr. Boniface Hicks, The Fruit of Her Womb Ignatius Catholic Study Bible Father John Riccardo, Acts XXIX, The Rescue Project Encounter School of Ministry Let's stay connected. Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.  Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community. Stay in the know. Connect with us today.  We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ. Learn more about WWP on our website. Our shop. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Jesus took our sin, our shame, and our sickness upon Himself on the cross so that we could be healed. It's a truth we can rest in because the Word of God is His will, and the Bible shows us who He is through His names. One of the names God declares Himself is Jehovah Rapha, which means “the Lord who heals.” We can have faith for healing because it's who our God is! Tune in as we trust that He will do what He said and reclaim the healing that belongs to us.

Jesus took our sin, our shame, and our sickness upon Himself on the cross so that we could be healed. It's a truth we can rest in because the Word of God is His will, and the Bible shows us who He is through His names. One of the names God declares Himself is Jehovah Rapha, which means “the Lord who heals.” We can have faith for healing because it's who our God is! Tune in as we trust that He will do what He said and reclaim the healing that belongs to us.

Jesus took our sin, our shame, and our sickness upon Himself on the cross so that we could be healed. It's a truth we can rest in because the Word of God is His will, and the Bible shows us who He is through His names. One of the names God declares Himself is Jehovah Rapha, which means “the Lord who heals.” We can have faith for healing because it's who our God is! Tune in as we trust that He will do what He said and reclaim the healing that belongs to us.

We all want healing from God, but few of us get it. How do we reconcile that experience with the revelation of God as Jehovah Rapha, which means God our healer? We try to answer this question by studying Exodus 15, where God first reveals Himself to be Rapha.

We all want healing from God, but few of us get it. How do we reconcile that experience with the revelation of God as Jehovah Rapha, which means God our healer? We try to answer this question by studying Exodus 15, where God first reveals Himself to be Rapha.

One of God's names in the bible is “Jehovah Rapha” which means “The Lord is my Healer.” We know that God does heal people of sickness and disease, but why doesn't He heal everyone? If I don't experience healing, am I being punished? Is it because I lack faith? In today's instalment of “You Asked For It,” pastor Dan shares how to think about physical, emotional and spiritual healing from a biblical perspective. -- GIVE: Visit www.connectcalgary.ca/give to help share #LifeOverflowing across Canada.

Esmeralda was concerned that she had been having numbness in her jaw. The day before she was in the ER and they had no answers for her. Praise God, with one touch from Jehovah-Rapha, her healer, all numbness immediately left her jaw! Psalm 30:2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. www.cathycoppola.org https://mightywindtv.lightcast.com/ #healing #God #Jesus #miracle #ChristianTV #healingtestimony #church #deliverance #HouseofGloryChurch #Christian #prayer #signs #power #endtimes #faith #prophesy #miracleservice #Deliveranceministry #healingchurch #backpain #powerofprayer #viral #numbness

Esmeralda was concerned that she had been having numbness in her jaw. The day before she was in the ER and they had no answers for her. Praise God, with one touch from Jehovah-Rapha, her healer, all numbness immediately left her jaw! Psalm 30:2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. www.cathycoppola.org https://mightywindtv.lightcast.com/ #healing #God #Jesus #miracle #ChristianTV #healingtestimony #church #deliverance #HouseofGloryChurch #Christian #prayer #signs #power #endtimes #faith #prophesy #miracleservice #Deliveranceministry #healingchurch #backpain #powerofprayer #viral #numbness

In our series, the case for healing, we are looking to see if my clients, God and Jesus, are guilty as they stand accused of making people sick, using sickness and diseases, killing, taking people in death, etc...do they, are they? Let us look and see if we can find any evidence of this, any eyewitness accounts, any quotes from my clients about this. OR is God a healer?  

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If we will believe that Jesus is God the Healer, Jehovah-Rapha, and believe that he has already paid the price for our healing, and if we will come to him in faith, asking him to heal and restore us, we can experience healing at his hands.

healing.

Deep in the heart of Israel, God desires to be known by His chosen people.  Revealing Himself to Moses as Yahweh, the Great I Am, a name too holy to utter, the Israelites call Him Jehovah.  Throughout the Old Testament, Jehovah responds to the faith of His people and shows Himself strong on their behalf.  In remembrance of Jehovah's power and love, the people give Him additional names describing His ability and willingness to help in their lives.  Each name describes the nature of the One True God!  Each is Jehovah!  Together, they are the J-Team!The son of the widow woman, whom God used to feed and provide a place for the Prophet Elijah to live, became very sick one day… and died.  His mother brought him to Elijah.#kids, #biblestoriesforkids, #storiesforkids,#bedtimestoriesforkids, #storiesforchristiankids, #biblelessonsforkids, #bestronginthelord, #namesofgod, #jehovahrapha, #thelordgodalmightyourhealer, #healing, #jesusourhealer,  #fishbytesforkids, #fishbytes4kids, #fishbites4kids, #ronandcarriewebb, #roncarriewebb

This week, Pastor Ernest Grant continues "The Great I AM" series with a powerful message on Jehovah Rapha—The Lord Who Heals.

In this message, Pastor Aaron discusses everything that encompasses God's ability to heal us.

OPEN HEAVENSMATALA LE LAGI MO LE ASO TO'ONAI 22 FEPUARI  2025(tusia e Pastor EA Adeboye) Manatu Autu:  Ieova Fa'amālōlō Ma'i (Jehovah Rapha) Tauloto -Tusi Paia–Esoto 23:25 ”A ‘ia ‘outou ‘au‘auna i le ALI‘I lo ‘outou Atua, ‘ona fa‘amanuia lea e ia lau mea e ‘ai ‘atoa ma lou vai; ‘ou te fa‘ate‘a ‘ese fo‘i ma‘i ‘iā te oe.”Faitauga – Tusi Paia – Ioane 9:1-7I tausaga ua mavae, sa faafuasei ona o'u iloaina ua faaletonu la'u faalogo. Sa ou valaau i se tasi o o'u afafine, o ia o se foma'i e sau e siaki o'u taliga. Ina ua siaki a'u e lē foma'i, sa faapea mai, “Auoi le Atua e!” ona fai mai lea o taliga uma e lua o loo i ai patu i totonu, ma sa ia fautuaina a'u ou te alu i le falema'i. Sa o'u ata ma fai i si o'u afafine e tu'u mai ni aso se fitu. A uma aso ia o i ai pea patu, o'u avatua loa le fa'atagaga ia te ia e fai ai so'ose togafitiga e mana'o e fai. Sa o'u iloaina o loo i ai lo'u Tamā o le foma'i o foma'i, ma sa o'u talanoa loa ia te ia ina ua alu lo'u afafine foma'i. Sa faapea, la'u tatalo, “Tamā faamolemole aumai ni o'u taliga fou auā e mana'omia lo'u lagonaina o le faa amene a tagata pe a ou tatalo.” Ina ua toe fo'i mai lo'u afafine i le aso lona fitu e vaai i totonu o o'u taliga, sa toe fai mai, “Auoi le Atua e!” Peita'i o le taimi lea o lana alaga o se tala fiafia auā ua faamalōlō a'u e Ieova faamalōlō ma'i.E te iloa e mafai ona e soifua e aunoa ma lou maua i se ma'i? E te iloa o le faamalōlōga o lau meatotino pe afai o oe o se atali'i poo se afafine o le Atua? Peita'i o le avea o le Atua ma Alii e faamalōlō ia te oe e tatau ona e matuā filigā e faalogo i lona siufofoga (Esoto 15:26). E tatau ona e faia soosemea e fetalai atu le Atua ia te oe e fai, ma usitai e aunoa ma le faatuai. Ina ua iloa atu e lepela e toasefulu Iesu, sa o latou augani atu ia te ia i le fia malōlō, ona fetalai atu lea o Iesu ia te i latou ina ia ōs ma faaali atu i latou i le ositaulaga (Luka 17:11-14). O se tulaga e lē saogalemu lea faiga auā afai e o atu I le ositaulaga o lepela pea i latou e le'i fa'amamāina e ona fetogiina i latou i ma'a ma feoti ai. Na usitai lepela iā Iesu ma ui i le ala e lamatia ma faamaloloina ai i latou. E faapenā fo'i le tagata na tauaso talu ona fanau mai, na malolō o ia ina ua fetalai i ai Iesu e alu e mulumulu i le taelega i Seloa (Ioane 9:7). Na filifili le tagata tauaso e usita'i iā Iesu ma toe fo'i mai ai lana taelega ua pupula ona mata.Le au pele e, o le finagalo o le Atua mo oe ia e ola fiafia i le manuia i vaega uma o lou soifua. O se fiafiaga I le finagalo o Tamā lou soifua maloloina, peita'i e tatau ona e filiga e faalogo i lona siufofoga. O a ni mea taumafa ma ni vaiinu o loo fetalai atu le Atua e tu'u aua ne'i e toe tausami ai? O le a se mea o fai atu le Atua e amata ona e faia? Usita'i nei loa ma fai ae aua le faatuai, ona e soifua lea ma fiafia i lana faamalologa, i le suafa o Iesu, Amene.

Healing and deliverance is a heart issue. Bitterness, offense and unforgiveness will prevent Jehovah Rapha from doing his wonderful miracle working power within your soul and physical being. When we root out offense and unforgiveness, healing occurs not only in our hearts but also in our lives and our health. Join Kathy in this Prophetic Spiritual Warfare TV episode with special guest Demontae Edmonds, known as the miracle man. They will teach and instruct you to receive your healing miracle.   Connect with Kathy on her website at https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/   Purchase Kathy's new book at: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/healed-at-last/   Receive Free Prayer: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/declarations-download/   Purchase Kingdom Scents anointing oil at:https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/anointing-oils/  or on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Kingdom+Scents&ref=bl_dp_s_web_0   Kathy's Deliverance and Kingdom Development intense mentoring and e-courses: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/training/    Subscribe to Kathy's podcast on Apple or Spotify    Podcast title – Prophetic Spiritual Warfare | Kathy DeGraw   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathydegraw/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathydegraw/

The son of the widow woman, whom God used to feed and provide a place for the Prophet Elijah to live, became very sick one day… and died. His mother brought him to Elijah. Deep in the heart of Israel, God desires to be known by His chosen people. Revealing Himself to Moses as Yahweh, the Great I Am, a name too holy to utter, the Israelites call Him Jehovah. Throughout the Old Testament, Jehovah responds to the faith of His people and shows Himself strong on their behalf. In remembrance of Jehovah's power and love, the people give Him additional names describing His ability and willingness to help in their lives. Each name describes the nature of the One True God! Each is Jehovah! Together, they are the J-Team! #kids, #biblestoriesforkids, #storiesforkids,#bedtimestoriesforkids, #storiesforchristiankids, #biblelessonsforkids, #bestronginthelord, #namesofgod, #jehovahrapha, #thelordgodalmightyourhealer, #healing, #jesusourhealer, #fishbytesforkids, #fishbytes4kids, #fishbites4kids, #ronandcarriewebb, #roncarriewebb

The God Who Heals! What does mean to you? What kind of healing does God provide? In this message, we discuss our healing needs and learn of God who heals them.

Dr Onyi Okonkwo brings us our Sunday message this week titledJehovah Rapha from our series called ‘The Names of God'.You can follow the message along in the YouVersion bible app athttp://bible.com/events/49382709 and add your own notes!You can also watch the entire service on:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64LOQexq73g

The book of Exodus is an allegory for the spiritual condition of mankind, & God's response. We're in bondage and need deliverance, and only the Lord can provide salvation. But even with that, we can fall into grumbling--a red light indicator of a deficiency of faith and entitled indulgence.  Our flesh pushes us into the negative and forgets God's goodness.  But He proves Himself over and over as Jehovah Rapha--the Lord our Healer.  We can always trust Him to meet any of our needs.  Video of this service is also available:  https://www.youtube.com/watchv=n8rDpv0syi8&t=3511s

Getting To Know God | Week 3 | Ken Miller--Jehovah-Rapha is one of the compound names of God in the Bible, often translated as "The Lord Who Heals" or "The Lord Our Healer." God instructed Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water, making it sweet and drinkable. After this event, God declared Himself as "Jehovah-Rapha," promising that if the Israelites listened to His commands and kept His statutes, He would protect them from the diseases that afflicted the Egyptians.--Notes

Looking for healing in your life? In his message Healer, Pastor Trevor explores the profound truth that God is not only our provider but also our healer—Jehovah Rapha. Drawing from stories of physical restoration, he highlights how God's healing power, through the cross, brings restoration to our body, soul, and spirit, and is available to all who trust in His promises.

Saved from Rejection and Fear (Audio) David Eells – 1/5/25 God loves you, rejected brethren, and He has a plan to set you free. Many millions of people are so wounded inside that they don't even want to examine the real cause of their pain. It's like they are saying, “Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”. This is a self-preservation tactic of the demons who keep them in bondage. Christian, you are not wrestling with flesh and blood but principalities and powers and rulers of this darkness. The demons have deceived you into thinking men are your enemies so you will leave them alone and be a submissive host in their divide and conquer tactics. Their plan is to break up every family and fellowship so they can pick the lambs off one by one. When I speak on this subject, I know these spirits will speak to their hosts and say, “He is talking about you again” and they will feel that pain again. But we must get to the real problem and the real solution. So bear with me and a little pain and those of you who believe will be totally set free. Those of you who do not believe will destroy and be destroyed. You are a porcupine Christian. You are wounded and you wound everyone who gets close to you. When someone deals with you they have to be so careful or they will get stabbed. When someone tries to help you, it's like a man who finds a spiny cocklebur on his socks and tries to take it off and it sticks in his hand. He quickly tries to pull it out of his hand and it sticks in his other hand. I would like to share with you from my own painful experience with these demons and about God's solution. My own dad inherited a spirit of rejection from his dad and passed it on to me by association and by blood. When we were in darkness, we could not do anything about what we inherited through the gene pool but we can now. I loved my dad but to my mind I couldn't please him because he couldn't show any love or favor to me for “fear of rejection”, a companion spirit to “rejection”. He was a stern disciplinarian but he couldn't show any love with it. So I grew up with feelings of rejection, which were very painful. This spirit brings feelings of being unloved, unwanted, disliked, looked down on, incapability and loneliness, even in the midst of a crowd, etc. {Pro.18:14} The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; But a broken spirit who can bear? I was tormented with recurring thoughts from this spirit that I was rejected because of what my dad or some other person said or did to make light of me or criticize or correct me. Correction, although necessary and necessary for growth, is always seen and felt as painful rejection by one who has this spirit. This is a terrible trap because being angry at correction ultimately makes one a fool. This spirit blows minor correction or criticism all out of proportion to actuality with his lies and constant bringing of these things to memory. Some literally shake their heads when these painful thoughts come. This constant pain programs the host into a deadly spiral of other spirits of unforgiveness, frustration, hopelessness, depression, anger and retaliation, or it goes the other way to suicide. This is all unloaded on the person they FEEL is the culprit because the spirits make them feel that the problem is NEVER, NEVER them. Everyone else can know it's them but they refuse any blame for fear of more rejection. This is another self-defense mechanism of the demons in them. Some people go beyond fear to paranoia about what they perceive everyone is thinking and saying about them. When this perceived offence is unloaded on the perceived culprit, that person is at a loss for words, wondering what just happened and what is wrong with this person. Little do they know it is a coven of evil spirits warring with and through this host. The host is equally dismayed, wondering why this culprit does not understand they have offended him or her. And so two people are totally divided as the demons laugh at them. If a son feels rejected by his father, for instance, the demons can pull a switcheroo. The son will equate a father figure later in life with the rejection of his father and unload on him. And that father figure will wonder, “What in the world just happened?” A daughter FEELS rejected by her father and equates him with her husband many years later and unloads on him. And he wonders, “What just hit my family?” It is a vicious demonic cycle that never stops until families and churches have been destroyed and, ultimately, the host, too. As a young man, I didn't realize I was trying to ease the pain of rejection with alcohol and drugs. My dad was just like me. He tried to ease the pain with alcohol for a short time. After I became a Christian, I commanded this spirit of alcoholism out of him and it left immediately. He was thankful to God that He even cared about him enough to do this. Many people with drug, alcohol, sex, food, etc. problems need to be delivered of unforgiveness and rejection so they can get and stay delivered of these crutches and false comforts. Having my dad's fear of rejection made me close many out of my life for fear of being hurt, so I had no social relationship to people who were not like me. I built a spiritual wall around me for fear that if I let myself be known or love outwardly, I would be rejected. I became frustrated and angry with anyone's questions about my personal life, in order to help me because I felt they wouldn't like what they saw. I always desired and sought my dad's acceptance but never FELT I had it. So now I felt rejection, fear of rejection, frustration and anger about people who were much more normal than I and sometimes just wanted to help me. In my mind, I turned their attempts to find out my problems and help into attacks against me. These demons had me in a sullen, stand-offish trap that I would have died in, had I not come to the Lord and found out their lies. I learned of the sovereignty of God and learned to pity and forgive others as I wanted to be forgiven. I learned it was I who was deceived and not they. This delivered me from the wall I had built all around me with the demons' help. When I had these spirits, they made it painful for me to be around good people who could help me and they lied to me about them. They made me comfortable to be around people who had the same spirits that I did so I would never get deliverance through association and transference of demons with them. When I raised my own kids, some of whom also inherited rejection through the blood, I didn't like bringing them around my father because I saw that these spirits strengthened in them when they associated with these spirits in him. There was a transference of spirits through association. When they got away from him, this subsided. I raised my children as Christians but when they got out on their own some of them went their own way and became cold toward the Lord and began to manifest the same spirits inherited from both sides of our family. I have told them to forgive and they would be delivered and I know that they will be soon. The Lord has shown me that many of the ministers who have attacked me or our ministry have done so because they were infected with these spirits and are seeking a place God has not given them. Although not ordained by the Lord, they seek to be in the ministry for selfish, egotistical desires. It is easy to do nowadays; with the Internet, anyone can share knowledge that they have gained from others and before you know it, they have claimed a title and no one knows where they came from. These men don't just teach against bad doctrines and principles, they teach against individuals by name a lot, which is very seldom done in the New Testament. This was never done by Jesus, once by Paul and once by John. In these few cases, these men were causing great destruction to the local body because of their own ego and rebellion against the Lord. The reason these self-ordained or Babylon-ordained preachers pick out certain men to rail at is because, in a perverse way, this soothes their own ego that they are better than someone else and they are saying this very loudly. Why do they do this? Those who have rejection spirits many times desire and seek what they don't feel they are getting from others: acceptance, esteem, respect, even worship. This leads to much idolatry and submission to what the world expects of you. If they don't feel they get this respect from you because what you teach is against their wicked lifestyle, they will attack and belittle you to make them feel better about themselves and to make sure their followers won't hear you. This, of course, is a perverse way to gain esteem in their own eyes and in the eyes of others who are like them. Birds of a feather flock together. {Mic.3:5} Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people to err; that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and whoso putteth not into their mouths (or feed their egos and wallets), they even prepare war against him: {6} Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them. When you see these people, pray for them. Like Paul, they can be delivered and be a great witness. The Lord moved me to write this article when I was realizing how big this rejection problem is among Christians and that day I was put in contact with a young man who was a drug addict and wanted deliverance. It was ruining his relationship to everyone, including his wife. As I spoke to him, I felt the drugs weren't the foundational problem. I asked him what kind of mental pain he was seeking relief from in drugs. He wasn't sure. I asked him if he was not forgiving anyone. I asked him if he felt over-corrected and under-loved by anyone. He said that would be his dad who recently died. He said his dad was constantly correcting him and he couldn't take it. His dad was at one time an alcoholic. I told him that his dad had passed on a spirit of rejection to him through constant correction without the ability to show love. He basically said I hit the nail on the head, although it was the Lord. I told him he was trying to cover up or get relief from the mental and emotional pain of a rejection spirit with drugs. I told him he should forgive and pity his dad because he was also in bondage to rejection and didn't know how to be free and used alcohol to relieve the pain. I asked him to pray a prayer of forgiveness for his dad and his granddad that he said he felt unforgiveness toward because he left him alone through his death. When he did this, I commanded rejection, fear of rejection and abandonment to leave him in Jesus name, which they did. He had labored under their bondage for some years. He had been delivered over to the tormentors because of unforgiveness, as Jesus said would happen. After this, we were able to command the spirits of addiction to leave him and they did. We talked again and he was feeling greatly relieved and had come off the drugs and is seeking to be a disciple of Jesus. His mom told me, “I can see the son I haven't seen for quite some time and I praise the Lord for that”. He said, “I wanted to let you know that my sickness has passed. Thank you, Lord, and thank you, David. Thank you for your help; you guys saved my life”. Jesus saved his life through his forgiveness and faith. As a young man, I never forgave from the heart and, therefore, rejected others in return. I was, therefore, delivered over to the tormentors, as Jesus said. {Mat.18:32} Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: {33} shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? {34} And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. {35} So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. So the key to take away the demons' rights over you is to forgive and to believe that Jesus delivered you from them at the cross. {Col.1:13} who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. Friend, if you will be sure to forgive everyone and exercise your faith toward God's promises, you will be a new person who is free to love and associate with good people. You may believe that a person's sins are cast into the depths of the sea, as Micah 7:19 says, to be remembered no more. But when a person does not forgive, their past sins are remembered and they are judged for them. {Eze.21:24} Therefore thus saith the Lord: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. ... {Mat.6:12} And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. {13} And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil [one.] {14} For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. I pray you will forgive whatever you believe any has done to you so you will be forgiven and the tormentors will have no authority to hold you in bondage ever again. There is not a set of classic symptoms for this spiritual disease. Rejection isn't always the same because it is only one spirit, but depending on the tactics they are using to destroy the individual, other spirits are invited in. It's like a demonic family tree which changes with different people and their blood inheritances. Some seek acceptance and recognition in order to comfort themselves and end up with pride, manipulation and controlling others. Many seek to be pastors because of this. Satan loves that. Some go another way and have fear of more rejection so they separate from others and become very introverted and cannot be joined to anything or anyone. Some cannot be corrected because of their fear of rejection and become fools, as the scriptures say. The demonic branches are as different as family trees. We are told that many ways seem right unto men but the end of this all is death, just as Satan plans. But for the grace of Jesus there go I. If some of these symptoms are in you and you will seek to be honest with yourself and God, He will deliver you. Please pray with me. Father, with my will I forgive _______ _______ and I ask you to take the emotions of unforgiveness and bitterness from my heart. I ask you to forgive and bless them to know You in all Your fullness and restore them from any damage I may have done to them. Now, please take the authority given to you by Jesus, Who said: {Mar.16:17} And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons. If possible, do this with other Spirit-filled believers. Say with me: I command you, spirits of rejection, fear of rejection, frustration, hopelessness, depression, anger, retaliation, suicide, etc., to leave me now in Jesus' name. Now agree with me that this is done according to: {Mat.18:19} Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. And: {Mar.11:23} Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. {24} Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Now go and confess your deliverance before men, according to: {Rom.10:10} for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. {11} For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. ... {Mat.10:32} Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. {33} But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Now walk in the steps of Jesus as His disciple. Love from your servant in Christ, David Friends, the solution for what you have suffered all your life could be forgiveness from the heart. Listen to The Curse of Unforgiveness series. It ends with part seven, which is a revelation on rejection, anger and retaliation. If a Christian does not forgive from the heart, he will go to hell, no matter how much he has done for the kingdom because he cannot be forgiven, according to Jesus. Read Deliverance from Rejection. Read about how good and evil traits are passed generationally through our DNA. Also, a sister suffered all her life with bondage to rejection, fear, anger and separation from others. She began to have terrible headaches and we would pray them away but they continued to come back until she seemed to have a stroke. Her speech was slurred and her leg was numb and she would drag it. The pain was terrible. Everyone was praying for her, as we are you. She got a revelation that she had only been forgiving her ex-husband with mental assent and not from the heart, as Jesus commanded in Mat.18:34, 35 under threat that the tormentors would have control of her life. Esau was a son of Abraham and Isaac, as we are through faith, but sold his birthright through a root of bitterness that defiled his seed -- Hebrews 12:14-17. Don't let this happen to you. This sister repented under this pressure and forgave him from her heart. Then something wonderful happened to her -- her bonds just fell off and she was a completely different person than she had ever been her whole Christian life. She is loving, friendly, outgoing and joyous. Everyone recognizes that she is totally different. She has been bubbling over with joy since this happened. Her husband has never known this person.   Chris Boswell - 05/20/2010 I just read the above article. Rejection and fear of rejection are big in my family and have been in me, also. I am glad I read this article because it brought me great insight and deliverance from these demons! I pray also that my whole family be delivered from these evil spirits, in Jesus' name! I can also see how these demons have destroyed many lives around me, and people I grew up with, and I pray that they would all be delivered from these destructive spirits. I am so glad to be rid of these demons; it has brought me great relief! And I know now that I also am able to receive forgiveness and healing that I so desperately need. Thank you, brother David, for sharing your own testimony about deliverance from rejection and its fears. God bless!   Lorena Wagner - 05/20/2010 Tonight's Bible study was absolutely fabulous!!! I loved it! I know it was for me. I have been devouring The Curse of Unforgiveness audios. Last year I was royally burned. All I thought about was, just add water -- The Water of the Word -- and turn the other cheek, which I did. With the ashes of burning the wood, hay and stubble, and the Water of the Word, it was a potent, purifying cleanser. I was delivered of two demons that flew out of me with such a strong force that it woke me up. I had been sleeping at the time. One demon flew out and hit my window, and my window even rattled because of it. I wasn't even trying to get rid of any demons when that happened. Tonight I was delivered of the spirit of rejection, the fear of rejection and condemnation, which I had been battling all my life. Father is amazing!   Jim and Andie Dearest family and friends, We read the article above this morning in our daily devotional and prayed the enclosed prayer and received deliverance from the feelings of rejection and the fear associated with it that have plagued us (both) all of our lives. Praise the Lord! In His love, Jim and Andie   Melanie - 01/06/2011 It seems peculiar but I was helped to see that I had a spirit of rejection when I was listening to your broadcast last night and after reading about the railings and the topic of slander. Though I hate such things, I did realize that I had a spirit of rejection when I realized how insurmountable it would seem to me to address all of this as the elders and David have. I looked up the post on the spirit and rejection and prayed and forgave all others I could think of. I believe that God has done a great deliverance in my life because of this. Thank you God and UBM.   Rejection Lied; Father Loves Me Anonymous - 04/04/2015 (David's notes in red) Friends, one of the biggest plagues in Christianity is people who received rejection spirits through their relationships with their earthly parents and/or inherited them through the bloodline, who now relate to their Heavenly Father or spiritual fathers in the faith in the same way because of these deceiving spirits. This is also what spawned the faction movement. I hope this will help the saints not to fall into the same traps of Satan. It was sure an eye-opener for me, though. I wasn't realizing that the thoughts and feelings I was having were sinful and were grieving Father. Most people don't recognize that feelings of unworthiness and self-pity or self-loathing (all side effects of rejection) are sin and contribute to fear, doubt and unbelief. They create a huge gulf between us and the saving power and deliverance of Jesus, and keep us from receiving the gifts of God. I feel there are two manifestations of rejection. One is that people lash out at others and defend themselves and the other is that people turn inward on themselves in the form of self-loathing and unworthiness. (We cast these spirits and their thoughts down from all who agree with the good news that Jesus bore this curse on the cross.) I believe these issues go along with unforgiveness, even of oneself. I think there may be others besides me who have forgiven everyone else, except themselves. (Unforgiveness of oneself or of Father God or of spiritual fathers causes many much grief and gives the devil authority over us.) Father has shown me in this dream that now it is time to forgive myself. I believe Father has shown me that this has been a main block to overcoming and receiving healing for trials and temptations. (I pray, Father, that You will show Your love, grace and forgiveness of all who have this need today.) There may be other things but Father is being faithful to reveal these things to me. I know in my head that He loves me but I desire to know it in my heart also. (We pray that all who hear these words and have a need to feel the love of the Father, that they receive this today, in Jesus' name.) It is His will that I be in perfect health. I know He will be with me every step of the way and that I will have a great testimony at the end. I dreamed that I was in a white surveillance van parked outside of the home of an old, Middle Eastern man who was a doctor. (He represents Jehovah Rapha, our healer. [This is Jesus Christ who repairs broken lives and bodies.]) His home was my childhood home. (Many people's hurts start in their childhood but our Healer was there and knows of these hurts and is meeting those needs today.) I remember that this house faced east. (The coming of the sun/Son in their lives.) {Eph.2:19} So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God, {20} being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; {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. I was watching the doctor closely through a pair of very powerful binoculars. I watched every move He made and studied all His activities and His comings and goings. He was very predictable and seemed like a nice, gentle man. {Heb.13:8} Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and forever. I was studying him from afar because I was fearful of Him and concerned about His activities. (This represents trying to understand the Father through natural senses and finite understanding and assigning our own human nature and qualities to our Heavenly Father. Trying to make Him into our image and trying to understand His ways through a human perspective. This causes us to be fearful of God in the wrong kind of way. We cannot understand God through our own intellect. We need the Holy Spirit to understand anything about God and His ways. (God's foreordained plan to transform us starts in our beginning with the dirt He sows the seed in. Our natural life is the dirt, which cannot be compared with the eternal seed of the sons of God. All sons and daughters of God must be saved from sin so that they know and understand grace -- unmerited favor of God.) (Jesus said, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father”.) (Jesus' giving heart. His kindness and graciousness to men exhibited in the Gospels is an example of our Heavenly Father's love for us. He cries to us.) {Isa.55:6} Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near: {7} let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. {8} For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. {9} For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. {Joh.14:8} Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. {9} Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; How sayest thou, Show us the Father? {10} Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works. One day, when this kind doctor went out on an errand, I decided to go inside his house and find out what was inside and what he was doing in there. I thought he might be doing something to hurt the 'children'. (This represents viewing God as an angry and punishing father. Many, like myself, who have had this type of earthly father, may unconsciously project that experience onto our Heavenly Father. This is caused by a spirit of rejection that will keep you from an intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father and from being able to receive all the benefits He has for you.) {Luk.11:9} And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. {10} For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. {11} And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? {12} Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? {13} If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? When I went inside, I saw that he had a bunch of servants (angels [and earthly ministers]) who were preparing many gift packages out of the gifts that the doctor had made for the 'children'. They were wrapping them in clear cellophane and getting them ready for delivery. {Heb.1:13} 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? (These gifts represent salvation through Jesus and the promises of Father in His Word to us.) {Rom.11:28} As touching the gospel, they are enemies for your sake: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sake. {29} For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of. {30} For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, {31} even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy. {32} For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. Only sinners can be saved and understand mercy and grace, given to those God loves in manifold ways to bestow upon the needy. {12:6} And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; {7} or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; {8} or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. The gifts were all over the house on tables and along the floors next to the walls. I was surprised at all these wonderful gifts he had prepared and then I felt ashamed. I had thought that he meant to do harm to the 'children' and that I didn't trust him. Then I realized that so many of these gifts had been sitting in their places for a long time because many of the 'children' felt the same way toward the doctor that I had felt. I thought to myself, ‘If only they could see these gifts!' Then my husband (representing Jesus) came up behind me and encouraged me to go lay down and rest on the large king-sized bed that was in the middle of the living room. I was still fearful of the doctor because, even though I saw all the wonderful gifts that he had prepared for the 'children', I felt that he didn't intend any of those gifts for me and I thought he would be angry at me for intruding into his house and doubting his person. (This is representative of a lying spirit of rejection. If we listen to these lies, it will keep us from receiving all the gifts that Father has intended us to have.) {Heb.4:2} For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. So I decided to lay on my right side, underneath the bed. My husband was disappointed and didn't agree with this, but he loved me so much that he still went and laid next to me under the bed with his arm around me to bring comfort and peace to me. (Many live beneath their privilege and relationship with Jesus. We are sons and daughters of God through Him.) {Rom.8:35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (We endure the death of the old man of self.) {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, {39} nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The underneath of the bed was very high up, so that I could sit up underneath it and there was a blue, transparent bed skirt that I could see the front door and the rest of the living room through. (The place of rest, on top of the bed, is high up in Heavenly places. Laying underneath represents being overcome by our carnal mind.) {Rom.8:6} For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. I then saw the doctor come in through the front door. I watched his every move, while laying under the bed, through the transparent bed skirt. My husband gently said to me, “Let's get out from under here. It's okay. It's safe”. So I came out from under the bed, but I couldn't face the doctor. He knew what my thoughts were and saw the brokenness of my being. He knew I felt unworthy of his gifts and his love. This saddened him. He longed for me to come to him and receive his love with open arms. {Heb.3:17} But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? (Fear, doubt and unbelief are sin and it grieves the Father. Spirits of rejection, self-loathing, self-pity and unworthiness hide very well in “religion” and in those who are under the law and self-works. We must not forget that it is the sacrifice of our Savior and the grace of the Father that we are counted worthy and reckoned as righteous.) (This is what we must believe for deliverance.) I went out and sat on the front porch on the first step. I was feeling hopeless when, suddenly, I saw the doctor's hand place a love letter to my right on the step next to me. (The Word of God is His love letter to us and all His promises in it. This is always the “first step” to victory over the enemy and his lies!) I looked at it. It was in a white business envelope with my name written on it with fancy lettering (like calligraphy). I then looked away from it, as tears rolled down my face and a pain went through my heart. I was afraid to read it and afraid to accept His love. Then the evil voice of Rejection told me that if I opened it there would be nothing but rebukes and words of rejection and condemnation! Self-pity said that I didn't need any more of that in my life and Self-loathing said, “How could you even think that He could love you?” All the while, my Spirit man, inside, knew how special I was to the doctor, but the lies of the enemy were casting me down, discouraging me and making me feel unworthy. (And so having no faith toward God, we miss out on all of His benefits, as the demons plotted.) I wanted to leave the letter there, unopened, and slide down a yellow slide that appeared, now, in front of me, off of the porch. (“Yellow” signifying being fearful or chicken.) My husband appeared behind me and again told me, “Please! Don't go! Open the letter. It is a love letter just for you! He wrote it just for you! Can't you see how much he loves you? You are so special to Him”. I could see past my husband and through the wall of the house that the doctor was sad that I was ignoring His special letter that He had written just for me. I wanted to believe so much that I was special to Him but at the same time I was afraid to let myself believe it because I was afraid that my trust in Him would be betrayed and that eventually He would turn on me in a punishing way. (These demons are called fear of rejection and fear of failure.) When I woke up, I knew that I was making Father sad because I wasn't trusting Him for His gift of healing and deliverance from the enemy and that I needed to get back into His Word to renew my mind daily and remind myself of His love for me. {Eph.6:16} withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. {17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. I asked Father for a verse or text through faith at random for this dream and He couldn't have picked a better “love letter”! My finger landed on Psalm 40:11, but here it is in context. {Psa.40:1} I waited patiently for Jehovah; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. {2} He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. {3} And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, And shall trust in Jehovah. {4} Blessed is the man that maketh Jehovah his trust, And respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. {5} Many, O Jehovah my God, are the wonderful works which thou hast done, And thy thoughts which are to us-ward; They cannot be set in order unto thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. {6} Sacrifice and offering thou hast no delight in; Mine ears hast thou opened: Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. {7} Then said I, Lo, I am come; In the roll of the book it is written of me: {8} I delight to do thy will, O my God; Yea, thy law is within my heart. {9} I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great assembly; Lo, I will not refrain my lips, O Jehovah, thou knowest. {10} I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great assembly. {11} Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Jehovah; Let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. {12} For innumerable evils have compassed me about; Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; And my heart hath failed me. {13} Be pleased, O Jehovah, to deliver me: Make haste to help me, O Jehovah. {14} Let them be put to shame and confounded together That seek after my soul to destroy it: Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor That delight in my hurt. {15} Let them be desolate by reason of their shame That say unto me, Aha, aha. {16} Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: Let such as love thy salvation say continually, Jehovah be magnified. {17} But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinketh upon me: Thou art my help and my deliverer; Make no tarrying, O my God. Important messages in this regard: Letter to a Prodigal Son Freedom of Forgiveness Deliverance from Rejection and its Fear Seeing Others through Eyes of Faith https://www.ubm1.org/?page=rejection-conquered https://www.ubm1.org/?page=delivered-lorena https://www.ubm1.org/?page=deliverance-from-rejection 

Presented by Lauren Stibgen What in your life needs healing? When we think of healing, we quickly think of our physical bodies—healing from sickness, recovery from surgery, or something worse like a diagnosis. But healing can be so much more. God is our great healer, and foundationally, the first thing he wants to heal us from forever is sin. On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). Maybe you don't feel sick with sin, or on the other end of the spectrum, maybe you don't feel like your sin rises to the need of a healer. Our ultimate healer is God, Jehovah Rapha. The truth of the matter is we are all sick with sin, not one greater than the other. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It isn't that some of you sin; it is all. And, going back to omnipresence, God is in all places at all times at once. More than this, God is omniscient. Simply, God knows everything! There is no hiding this sin. Thankfully, God sent his only son, Jesus to die on the cross for our sins—the ultimate sacrifice of love for us! But what about the other healing—the physical or mental well-being healing we often turn to God for? Jehovah Rapha promises this too. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3). Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security (Jeremiah 33:6). Not only does God want health and healing for us but he also wants for our abundance, prosperity, and security. Amid a trial, especially when you need physical or mental healing, it can be hard to imagine abundance, prosperity, and security. Ultimately, we won't fully experience this until heaven. We know God will wipe away every tear from our eyes in heaven. We are citizens of heaven here on earth and until we find ourselves in heaven, we need to lean into knowing more about God and all of his names. After all, he is Emmanuel, God with us, a provider, the best at seeing us at our best and worst, the very best listener, and the ultimate healer!

Presented by Lauren Stibgen Are you anything like me? I find myself wondering how another year is coming to a close. The older I get, the faster they seem to go. Honestly, sometimes I am just tired. Competing priorities of work, family and attempting to maintain some semblance of wellness during our most gluttonous time of year has me feeling weak. While I am in a good habit of starting my day in God's word and journaling, sometimes the time is hurried. How much do I “know” God? One of the ways I am drawing near to God this season is through studying his names. You have heard a lot about Emmanuel this season, as we celebrated the birth of Jesus. It's the beautiful name that reminds us God is with us, but this week I want to focus on some of the other names of God. Emmanuel reminds me of the one and only gift that Jesus is. God as man. He walked this life to rescue the sinner like me with the ultimate sacrifice of his life on the cross. This reminds me God is relational, and he wants me to know him and be in relationship with him. As working women, it is easy to let life get the best of us like I mentioned above. Perhaps as you approach year end, finances are tight. Maybe finances aren't only tight, but you are looking for work. With the end of the year, maybe you are in the process of performance evaluations at work. You feel like you have done so much but it is evident no one sees it like you do. As a working mom, maybe you are asking for some extra helping hands during the holidays from your spouse or children and they aren't hearing you. And, overall, you are feeling down, or maybe all of this has taken a physical toll on your body. The Bible is full of reminders about our God. He is our provider. He sees us. He hears us. And God is our healer. What I have come to understand is God wants to be my everything. The names he uses to describe himself to me are all reminders that he is truly all I need. If you need extra strength for this season like me, join me this week as we consider the names of God: Jehovah Jireh, El Roi, Elohim Shama, and Jehovah Rapha.

Jehovah Rapha : Exodus 15:22-27 : Pastor Raef Chenery : 12-22-24 by Park Community Church

In week three of our Christmas Unwrapped series, we turn our hearts to another beautiful name of Jesus: Jehovah Rapha. What does it mean to know Jesus as the One who restores, mends, and brings wholeness to our lives? How can we experience His healing power—physically, emotionally, and spiritually? This episode features powerful testimonies of healing that showcase the transforming touch of Jesus. Join us as we reflect on the hope and renewal He brings, preparing our hearts to celebrate the ultimate healing He offers through His love and sacrifice this Christmas season. * * * HOST: Sarah Turner GUESTS: DeAnna Fields & Sherrie Saltzgaber * * * Beltway Park Church: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Today's Passage: Exodus 15:22-26Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”Today's Prayer: Lord, we love you. You are Jehovah-Rapha – the Lord Who Heals. Your blood was shed and your body was broken that we may receive an everlasting healing.A gift we can hardly comprehend. Your Word so beautifully points to this truth from the first words to the last.And we cling to this promise today. We need your healing, and we need your hope today. Reveal in our hearts today where we need your healing power to bring life to our bitterness.Reveal in our minds where we need the truth of your Word to overcome our selfish thoughts. Help us see you anew today,In the simplest of moments,And in the places of deep pain. We praise your beautiful name. Amen.For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church. 

Pastor Brian highlights the ever-present and faithful nature of God. Drawing from Ezekiel 48:35, he reminds us that God's presence is constant, even when we focus on problems rather than the Problem Solver. Through Psalm 139, we are assured that God is with us in our darkest doubts and furthest wanderings. Pastor Brian also reflects on Jehovah El Roi, the God who sees, using Genesis 16:13 to show that God's watchful care extends into the hidden and unseen parts of our lives. Faithfulness, he notes, is rooted not in our circumstances but in God's unchanging character. Finally, he introduces Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, from Exodus 15:26, emphasizing that God's healing power purifies both body and soul, offering restoration and wholeness. Through these divine names, the sermon calls believers to trust in God's presence, provision, and healing.

Deception is simply taking a piece of the truth, and twisting it. That's what makes it so convincing. It sounds right... sort of. Almost. I believe I first read in one of C.S. Lewis's books, probably in several of them, that evil defines itself by the absence of God, just as darkness defines itself as the absence of light. Satan cannot create anything; all he can do is pervert something that God made, and intended for good.   The introduction of Jonathan Cahn's most recent book, "The Dragon Prophecy," puts this extremely well, so I'm going to just quote him. He writes, "If God is good, then how could there be evil? And if God is evil, then how could God be good? But if God did not create evil, then how could evil exist? Or how could God be God?... If evil was created, it would not be a problem, nor would it be evil. Evil is a problem for the very reason that it was not created. It should not exist, because it was not created, and yet it does. The existence of evil defies the created order. It is not of the creation and thus exists in opposition to the created order. Evil exists in defiance of existence... evil is not simply a force, like that of an earthquake, a hurricane, or a fire. All these bring calamity and destruction. But none would constitute true evil. Serial killers are. Why? The hurricane is an impersonal force. It acts without consciousness, will, choice, volition, or intent. But the serial killer commits his acts with conscious intent, will, an volition--and so is evil. And so evil is not an impersonal force--but a personal one, requiring consciousness, volition, will, and intent. Thus in our search for an answer to evil, we are led to personhood... Evil is an inversion--an inversion of truth, of reality, of existence. Evil is, by nature, inverted and, by nature, inverts. It twists, bends, and turns existence in upon itself. It exists as anti-existence. Its being is anti-being, and its nature, anti-nature. It is a negation and therefore seeks to negate, a nullification that exists to nullify. It has no true, ultimate, or absolute existence and therefore acts to bring that which exists into non-existence... Possessing no absolute or true existence of its own, evil is, as well, by nature, parasitic... Evil must use the good. And so though good can exist without evil, evil cannot exist without good. Truth can exist without falsehood, but falsehood cannot exist without truth. Laws can exist without crimes, marriage without adultery, and life without murder. But crimes cannot exist without laws, adultery without marriage, nor murder exist without life. Destruction requires structure, immorality requires morality, and sin requires the holy. The good is primary. Evil is the parasitic inversion of the good. And so the existence of evil inadvertently testifies not against the existence of the good--but for it. It bears witness, unwillingly, to the existence of the good--the existence of God" (9-10). So if evil itself is an inversion of something created to be good, then nearly everything God created for our pleasure and enjoyment can also become evil... but because it contains the seeds of something that was originally good, Satan can also use that kernel of goodness, or truth, to convince us that the twisted version is actually good and true, too... and if we don't know the truth well enough to tell the difference, we'll fall for it.  The Syncretism Trend According to Dr George Barna's research with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, the dominant worldview of Americans (92%) now is syncretism (https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CRC-Release-AWVI-2-April-23-2024.pdf): that is, an amalgamation of disparate and contradictory beliefs, pulled from multiple religious or philosophical ideologies, according to an individual's personal inclinations and emotions. Syncretism is therefore not a single worldview, but a mishmash of beliefs--hence the common phrase, "your truth" and "my truth." The implication is that these can be mutually exclusive, without any logical contradiction. This strategy of Satan's is nothing new. He is a liar and the father of lies by nature (John 8:44). He sticks with this approach because it works.  Syncretism in the Old Testament Syncretism has  been around since the days of the Old Testament, and was the main reason why the Israelites couldn't seem to stay on the "blessing" side of God's covenant (Deuteronomy 28). Literally the first of the Ten Commandments was "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex 20:3)--and al, the Hebrew word translated "before", also means "by" or "beside." So God wasn't saying they simply had to worship Him the most, but it was okay if they occasionally sacrificed to Baal or Molech or Asherah--so long as He was the most important. No; they were to have no other gods besides Him. Period. The entire Old Testament history is a cycle of the Israelites' disobedience of this one commandment. The first example after the Ten Commandments were given is the golden calf that Aaron made with the spoils from Egypt while Moses was up on the mountain receiving God's law (Ex 32). These Israelites had spent their entire lives in Egypt, where a pantheon of gods were worshipped (many of whom God specifically humiliated by the plagues chosen to eventually force Pharaoh to let them go). When they made the golden calf, the Israelites declared that this was God--the One who had delivered them from Egypt (Ex 32:4). So they weren't exactly abandoning Yahweh for some other god; rather, they were mixing Him with the gods they had grown up with. Then, the Israelites tended to mix worship of Yahweh with worship of the gods of neighboring nations, even before they ever got to the Promised Land. Israel's enemies feared God, and one of them (King Balak of Moab) sent for Balaam, a local seer, to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). God wouldn't allow Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam wanted Balak's money... so instead, he told Balak how to get the Israelites to curse themselves, by placing themselves on the "cursing" side of God's covenant (Deuteronomy 28). Numbers 25 shows the result: the Moabite harlots used sex to entice the men of Israel into idolatry. The issue in this case wasn't so much the sex, as it was that sex was used in worship of false gods.  The cycle repeats throughout the Old Testament: Israel falls into idolatry, they fall under the 'cursing' side of God's covenant as a result (bringing themselves out from under His protection, and subject to Satan's machinations), they get oppressed by their enemies, they cry out to God, and God delivers them. They renew their vows to and worship of the One True God in varying degrees, but then they forget again, fall into idolatry, and the cycle repeats. God had laid out very clearly that they would be blessed if they followed His laws, and cursed if they didn't (Deut 28), and the very first commandment was no gods before Him. It was the first for a reason: God knows that we were made to worship something, and we treasure what we worship. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21), and our hearts guide the course of our lives (Prov 4:23).  Eventually Israel split into two kingdoms (Northern and Southern, or Israel and Judah) over this very issue. Most of the subsequent kings of both nations perpetuated idolatry, though a few tried to purge the nation of idolatry to varying degrees, and enjoyed the 'blessing' side of the covenant for a time as a result (Deut 28). But God sent prophet after prophet to the Northern and Southern nations (writers of most of the major and minor prophetic books of the Old Testament), warning them of impending destruction if they did not repent of their idolatry. They ignored the warning, and eventually both nations were taken into captivity because of their idolatry: Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. (Though of course, God was not done with Israel, and His promises to them still stand--Ezekiel 37 prophesied their restoration to their own land as a resurrection of dry bones, which miraculously took place on May 14, 1948. And the nation of Israel takes center stage throughout most of the book of Revelation, from chapter 5 on.)  Syncretism in the New Testament  Syncretism was around during the time of the early church, too, particularly in Paul's ministry. God sent him as the apostle to the Gentiles, who practiced varying forms of pagan beliefs already. They attempted to mix Jesus with these beliefs, until Paul's preaching convicted them to follow Jesus only, burning their books of magic arts and getting rid of their idols of Greek and Roman gods (Acts 19:11-20--which turned into a big riot in the city, v 21-41). Paul described the end times as being a time of "unrighteous deception among those who perish" (2 Thess 2:10), so we can expect that as we approach that day, this will only increase. Jesus told us that in the last days, "if possible, even the elect" would be deceived (Matt 24:24). The Greek work for deception in these verses is planao, and it means "to lead away from the truth, to lead into error." This inherently means that there is such a thing as truth. If you believe something contradictory to that truth, that is deception. We're living in an age that largely borrows from postmodernism as part of the syncretic worldview. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Postmodernists deny that there are aspects of reality that are objective; that there are statements about reality that are objectively true or false; that it is possible to have knowledge of such statements (objective knowledge); that it is possible for human beings to know some things with certainty; and that there are objective, or absolute, moral values." Holders of this worldview are therefore confused about even observable or mathematical truths, let alone those that are not observable (such as whether or not there is a God, and if there is, how many, and which one, how do we get to Him, etc). So before we even approach the topic of how to avoid being deceived, we have to establish that there is such a thing as objective truth. If there isn't, then there is no such thing as deception, either, since deception derives its definition from truth (just as darkness derives its definition from light, by the absence of it). What Is Truth (i.e. Is There Such A Thing As Objective Reality?) The best argument I've heard on the topic of whether or not there is an objective reality comes from Dr Jason Lisle's "The Ultimate Proof of Creation" (which is a book, but here is his lecture on the argument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_UxcV-xcM). While there is an abundance of apologetic evidence for the scientific and historical accuracy of scripture (here's the first in an apologetics series I did on the subject, https://www.drlaurendeville.com/anthropic-fine-tuning/), Lisle points out that none of these arguments can be definitive, because someone who holds a different worldview can simply invoke a "rescuing device" to explain away any evidence that seems to contradict his own position. We all do this, and it's not necessarily a bad thing--for example, if someone points out an apparent contradiction in scripture, my first reaction isn't, "Oh, I guess the Bible is wrong!" Rather, I assume there's additional information I don't happen to know about yet, which resolves the apparent contradiction, and then I go look for it. Even if I can't find it at the time, I am still certain it exists, and someone will find it eventually. That's a rescuing device, to preserve an otherwise deeply held worldview without logical contradiction. The real key to establishing which worldview is correct lies in that last statement: "without logical contradiction." There are laws that govern the way the world and the universe works--laws that we all have to believe in and abide by in order to know anything at all. C.S. Lewis expounded on this concept in "Mere Christianity" (https://www.authorcagray.com/posts/mere-christianity/) with respect to morality, in particular--the idea that we all know that there are universal laws of decency and conduct, and we further know that we don't live up to them. But, that being the case, who made those laws? Where did they come from? He argues that their very existence necessitates a lawgiver. Lisle takes this argument further--the existence of non-moral rules that govern how the material world works, such as the laws of logic, and principles of math and science, are the presuppositions upon which all knowledge is based. Everyone has to abide by these, no matter what their worldview is, or it would be impossible to know anything at all. But who made those rules? Where did they come from? Why does math work? Why do we all assume the laws of logic in order to have a coherent conversation? This, too, necessitates a creator. Many who abide by laws of math, science, and logic (and morality, for that matter) don't happen to have a theistic worldview, but that in and of itself is a logical inconsistency; they can't account for those rules in their worldviews at all. They have to borrow from the theistic worldview in order to make any of their other arguments.  This is the very place where postmodernism diverges, though. If there is no objective reality, then knowledge of any kind doesn't exist. Most of those who hold this worldview at least believe in morality of some kind. Lewis's argument might be most relevant here--you'll never get someone persuaded by postmodernism and religious syncretism to argue that murder, or genocide, or racism are fine, for example. They know these are wrong because they "feel" them to be wrong--and they're not just wrong for them, they're wrong for everyone. Now we have at least one absolute... which necessitates a lawgiver not only for morality, but also for at least one logical law: that of non-contradiction. This already establishes the existence of an objective reality. If there is an objective reality, then necessarily, some statements about it must be true while others must be false. The world is round and not flat, for example. If a world exists at all, both things cannot be true about it at the same time and in the same way, simultaneously--that would be a logical contradiction. Which Objective Reality Is It? (Can Anybody Know?) If some objective reality does in fact exist, how do we know which one it is? How do we know that our senses are reliable, first of all, and that we're not living in a simulation a la "The Matrix," for instance--one in which the laws of morality, logic, math, and science are simply foundational to the code? This argument goes back to Descartes, who concluded that at the very least, he must exist after some fashion, because his consciousness told him he must. C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity" used a similar line of reasoning, arguing that if there were a deeper reality, one that created this reality, we couldn't possibly find out anything about it through our five senses. Of course we couldn't; those senses are of the physical world, and can thus only give us information about the physical world. Our consciousness, however, has no identifiable physical reality. (To this day, science cannot explain what consciousness actually is - https://www.drlaurendeville.com/electromagnetism-vital-force/.) So Lewis argues that, if there were anything knowable about the world beyond our own, the only place where we might possibly expect to find clues about it would be in our own consciousness. And there, in fact, we do find such clues: specifically, we all have a sense of right and wrong. While we might quibble about the details therein--someone might say that under such and such a condition, killing someone is not murder, for example--no one will seriously argue that murder is morally fine. One might have different rules surrounding the morals of sex, but nobody is going to say you can just have any person you like anytime you like. This establishes several things, according to his argument: the existence of a moral law outside of our reality, of how we ought to behave (even though we know we don't, or at least not always, and certainly not perfectly), which necessitates the implied existence of a law-giver. The very fact that we do not keep the law (even though we know we should) is the whole point of the law of the Old Testament, too (Romans 7)--but even those who didn't know the Old Testament were aware of the moral law to this extent, so that no one is without excuse (Romans 1:18-2:16). Once we know that there is a moral law, and that we're incapable of keeping it on our own, that narrows down the possible religions considerably. We must choose one that hinges on the concept of grace, not works. There is literally only one of those. (More on that in this podcast: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/relational-apologetics/). That's why we call Christianity the gospel, which means good news: the good news is that, while you can't make yourself righteous no matter how hard you try, you don't have to make yourself righteous because Jesus did it for you. All you have to do is accept what He did on your behalf. Once you've gotten to this place, now all the scientific apologetics (start here: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/anthropic-fine-tuning/) can fall into their proper place: as corroborating evidence for the Bible. But the Bible has to be philosophically established as authoritative first. Once we've established that the Bible is truth (John 17:17, Psa 25:5, Psa 91:4, Psa 96:13, 100:5, 117:2, 119:142, 151, 160; 138:2, Prov 3:3, Col 1:5), we've got to learn what it says--well enough that Satan can't take it out of context and feed it back to us, or add a tiny bit to it to change the meaning. That's exactly how he works, though. He even tried that with Jesus (Luke 4:1-13). Fortunately Jesus was the Word made flesh (John 1:14), so He didn't fall for it... but the less we actually know the scripture, the more vulnerable we'll be to this strategy. Knowing the Truth Well Jesus warned us that as the last days approach, Satan will double down on this strategy: that false prophets will rise up and deceive many (Matt 24:11), claiming to be Jesus returned (Mark 13:6), some with signs and wonders. At the same time, Revelation suggests that in the last days, the church will become apathetic, so prosperous materially that we will be unaware of our spiritual emptiness (Rev 3:14-22). (This sounds a lot like the seeds choked by thorns in Jesus' parable of the sower: the seed is choked by "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, and he becomes unfruitful", Matt 13:22). Peter tells us that "scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'" (2 Peter 3:3-4). Paul tells us that the last days will be accompanied by a great "falling away" (2 Thess 2:3). Deception comes in many forms, but one thing they all have in common is that they act almost like a vaccine against the truth. There's just enough truth to them, mixed with a lot of untruth, that it's hard to tease apart the good from the bad. In that way, they can deceive "even the elect, if possible" (Matt 24:24, Mark 13:22). We protect against this, in a nutshell, by knowing the truth really, really well. This is the way bankers are trained to recognize counterfeit money: they don't study every possible counterfeit (there will always be a new one). Rather, they learn what the real thing looks like so well that they'll know when something seems off, even if they can't articulate what it is. In the same way, we're to renew our minds with the Word (Romans 12:2); that's how we will recognize truth from lies. Otherwise, it's all too easy for Satan to take a sliver of truth, mix it with a lie, and so deceive us. An Old Testament example of this is found in 2 Kings 18. The back story: in Numbers 21:6-9, the people had sinned, had come out from under the protection of God's covenant, and were dying from bites from poisonous snakes. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent on a pole, and told the people that if they would only look at the serpent, they would be healed. We know with hindsight that this was a type and shadow of Jesus, who was made sin for us, and became our substitutionary sacrifice ("by His stripes, we are healed," Isaiah 53:5). But the Jews didn't realize that; all they knew was that God ordained healing through looking at the pole, so the pole became a symbol of deliverance. But over the centuries, they made looking at the pole into a formula: the shadow without the substance of Jesus behind it. It became an idol, which they called Nehushtan. Back to 2 Kings 18, centuries later: verse 4 tells us that King Hezekiah had torn down the high places and broke Nehushtan in pieces. Later in the chapter, Judah is threatened with destruction by a messenger from the King of Assyria, Rabshakeh. This would have been especially terrifying, since Israel (by this point they has become two nations, Israel and Judah) had already been carried into captivity by Assyria, in punishment for the fact that the people kept falling into idolatry and had forsaken God. So when Rabshakeh threatened the people with destruction, he said, "You broke down God's symbols of worship! Why would He come through for you?" (2 Kings 18:22). The people of Judah had to know God and His word well enough to know that what Hezekiah did was actually right in God's eyes (2 Kings 18:5-7). God had originally ordained the serpent on the pole, yes, but the people had made it into an idol, which broke the first of the Ten Commandments. Hezekiah's actions had placed the Jews on the right side of God's covenant (Deut 28), so they, unlike their sister nation of Israel, could trust that God would come through for them. But if the people had not understood all the back story, they might easily have believed Rabshakeh's taunts. They could have lost faith that God would come through for them, convinced that they would go the way of Israel before them, and turned against Hezekiah, thinking he'd brought them out from under God's protection. This is how the enemy works. The serpent is subtle and cunning (Gen 3:1, 2 Cor 11:3-4). Satan tried to deceive Jesus not even by misquoting scripture, just by quoting it out of context (Matt 4:6). This happens to us today all the time. One common example is the teaching that God causes or (directly) allows sickness in order to discipline us, or to teach us something, or for the "greater good". This sounds so spiritual, and a host of out of context scriptures even seem to back it up--yet Deut 28 makes it clear that sickness is always considered a curse. Jesus became a curse for us and redeemed us from the curse (Gal 3:13-14), and even before that, He healed all who came to Him (Matt 15:30, Matt 4:23-24, Matt 8:16, Matt 9:35, Matt 10:1, Matt 12:15, Matt 15:30, Luke 4:40, Luke 10:9). Jesus He was a perfect representation of the Father (John 5:19, 5:30, 8:28, 12:49). So this cannot be right. He may take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good (Gen 50:20), but that doesn't mean He caused the evil in the first place. Not even close. (For more on this, see https://www.drlaurendeville.com/why-bad-things-happen-from-a-biblical-perspective/). Truth is the foundation of the spiritual armor (Eph 6:14)--it must go on first, before anything else. The Bible can testify to us that not only is the Word truth, but God is the God of truth (Isa 65:16), that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). Only knowing the truth will make us free (John 8:32). If we focus on knowing the truth, we will recognize deception. It's important to also rely upon the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13, 1 John 5:6), to guide us, rather than on our own understanding (Prov 3:5-6), or the wisdom of the world (1 Cor 1:20-2:7), or any other spirit besides the Holy Spirit. The world is confused about what truth is (John 18:37-38) because they don't hear His voice--but we do. This shouldn't be a problem for us.  Cross-Reference What You Hear Along those lines, just because we hear a doctrine preached from the pulpit doesn't mean it's so. It's our responsibility to be like the Bereans in Acts 17--when Paul and Silas preached the word to them there, Luke writes of them, "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed" (Acts 17:11). They didn't just take Paul and Silas's word for it; they went straight to the source text to confirm it. Paul later wrote to the Galatians, "even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:8-9). He repeats himself, because this is so important. Forget him--even if an angel preaches it, let him be accursed! We are not to blindly follow any person simply because of his or her authority. (We're to respect authority of all kinds, Romans 13:1-7--that's a different issue. But when what someone in authority says comes in conflict with God's word, we obviously go with God's word, Acts 4:19). There are plenty of warnings about false teachers in scripture (though one important note here--there's a difference between a false teacher, and a good person doing his or her best who is simply flawed. None of us is going to get everything right. This is the reason why James says that not many should become teachers, as they will "receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things," James 3:1-2.)  A false teacher, though, is one who will distort the truth (Acts 20:29-30, 2 Peter 3:16), by mixing it with myths/fables (Titus 1:14) or "merely human commands" (Matthew 16:1-12) or the traditions of men (such as forbidding to marry, abstaining from certain foods, 1 Tim 4:3), according to the principles of the world (Col 2:4-8). They will pretend to be godly or moral, though (2 Cor 11:13-15, 2 Tim 6:5)--so we must use discernment. There are a few criteria we're given to distinguish a false teacher from just a flawed human being, in process like the rest of us: Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a false teacher (1 John 2:22-23, 4:2-3) Some may lie intentionally for their own gain (Deut 18:20, Ezekiel 13:9, Jer 14:14, Jer 23:16, Titus 1:10-11) or in hypocrisy (1 Tim 4:2-5), using "godliness" as a means of their own selfish gain. Others may be so blind that they truly believe they are doing God a favor in persecuting His true followers (John 16:2). Romans 16:18: Paul said in this verse that these individuals use good words and fair speeches and deceive the hearts of the simple. This means that they flatter people (2 Timothy 4:3) and appeal to the same selfish desires that they themselves have, to draw people after themselves (Acts 20:30). We can't judge another person's motives (Matthew 7:1-3), but we can, and should, judge the fruit of their lives and ministries (Matthew 7:15-20, 1 John 3:7-9). There are many who claim to be believers but aren't (Matthew 7:21-23) and they'll be among us until the end of the age, when God will finally separate them out (Matthew 13:24-30). Truth, "Signs," and Our Emotions We are the gatekeepers of our hearts (Prov 4:23), and have to guard its boundaries, careful of what we allow in. I always thought the parable of wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30) only referred to evil people sown amongst the good people of the church. But what if it also means good and bad ideas from good and bad spirits within a given individual-- in other words, we can bear good fruit and bad fruit from different 'trees' even within our own hearts? This might be why Jesus could tell Peter "get behind me Satan" (Matt 16:23) and James and John, "you don't know what spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55), but the men themselves were still His. This also probably goes along with the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:3-15)... the 'tares' we allow into our own hearts are part of what can choke the word and render it unfruitful. Truth of course must correspond to an accurate description of reality (Gen 42:16)--which should negate any postmodernist philosophy, or syncretism, blending contradictory descriptions of reality. Once we know the truth, we are to continue in what we were taught (Col 2:6-7, 1 John 2:24), not mix a little Christianity with a little of some other contrary message. Paul rails against this practice in many of his letters. In 2 Cor 11:3-4, Paul is angry that the Corinthians' minds may be corrupted so that they receive the one preaching a different Jesus or gospel from the one he preached. In Galatians 1:6-9, as mentioned earlier, the Galatians are falling prey to a perverted gospel, and Paul curses those who preach such a gospel. In Eph 4:14, he writes that only "children" in Christ are tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine, taken in by trickery and craftiness and deceit. We're supposed to guard against not just what we hear from other humans, but to test what the spirits say too--hence Paul's angel comment (Gal 1:8-9). John also tells us, "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). In a lot of denominational churches that don't believe in the supernatural gifts of the spirit (1 Cor 12), this may not come up much. But in those that do, or for individuals who might ascribe to varieties of syncretism (believing in "signs from the universe" if they seem especially coincidental, perhaps), this will become important. Just because a prophet seems to be speaking from a supernatural source doesn't mean what they're saying is from God. It might be, but we have to test it. Just because an idea out of left field pops into our minds doesn't mean it was the Holy Spirit who put it there. Just because a black crow perches on a tree doesn't mean it's an omen foreshadowing our future. Just because we see the same state license plate on every car doesn't mean God is telling us to move there, etc. Solomon writes, “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps” (Prov 14:15). Elsewhere "simple" is used as a synonym for "fool" (Prov 7:7, 8:5, 9:13). We have to remember that the physical world is a battleground. Until the earth lease is up, Satan is still technically the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). So God can send us signs in the physical realm, yes--but so can Satan. God can whisper thoughts to our minds--but so can Satan (in fact, this is his primary tactic, 2 Cor 10:3-6). Peter writes that the scriptures are a "more sure word of prophecy" even than hearing an audible voice from heaven (2 Peter 1:19-21), probably for this exact reason: anything using the physical realm has the potential to be counterfeited. That doesn't mean God can't use physical means to communicate with us, but it's clear that the primary means He uses for His own are the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, 26), who also often speaks to us by bringing the scriptures we know to our remembrance. He also will speak through the prophets (1 Cor 12:1-11), dreams and visions (Acts 2:17-18), but we have to check all of this against the Word. Scripture will divide between soul and spirit (what originates with us vs Him, Hebrews 4:12), as well as what might originate with a malevolent spirit sent to lead us astray. David tells us it's the scriptures that make the simple wise: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7). What if an idea comes to us as an idea, a dream, a vision, a prophecy, or a "synchronicity" moment that seems supernatural, and it's something that isn't addressed in scripture at all, though? How do we know if it's from God, from us, or from the enemy then? The first thing to check there is whether or not the message is consistent with God's character. Jesus said we can ask anything in His name and He will give it to us (John 14:14). What's in God's name (https://www.drlaurendeville.com/names-of-lord-psalm-9-9-10-meditation/)? He is Jehovah Nissi (the Lord my Banner), Jehovah-Raah (the Lord my Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (the Lord that Heals), Jehovah Shammah (the Lord is There), Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord our Righteousness), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (the Lord who Sanctifies You), Jehovah Jireh (the Lord who Provides), Jehovah Shalom (the Lord is Peace), Jehovah Sabaoth (the Lord of Hosts).  The next thing to check is the fruit that message produces (Gal 5:19-23, Romans 8:6-8). God won't lead us into anything producing negative fruit--if the fruit is bad, it's from the flesh or the enemy, and not the Spirit. If it passes those tests, though, then as we continue to pray about the message (dream, vision, prophecy, idea, etc) then it's also biblical for us to ask for additional confirmations of the message--Paul says in 2 Cor 13:1 that every word should be established by two or three witnesses. If the message is from God, He'll make sure you know it. His Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13). And as you continue to seek Him and pray about it, peace (a fruit of the Spirit) should grow, confirming that the message comes from God (Col 3:15). Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A Word of Encouragement with Vicky Mutchler is heard at 11:30 AM Central Time on Faith Music Radio.  Join the Facebook group On a Positive Note to get more words of encouragement from Mrs. Vicky - https://www.facebook.com/groups/171863542874382/