Podcasts about jephunneh

Introduction: I Will Doubt... (Numbers 13:1-14:38) If I Am Paralyzed by MY CIRCUMSTANCES . (Num 13:25-33) If I Choose the Comfort of MY PAST . (Num 14:1-4) Romans 6:20-21 - For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. If I Tune Out GODLY COUNSEL . (Num 14:5-10a) James 1:22-25 - But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If I Follow the CROWD . (Num 14:10b-38) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Doubters Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:48Well, please turn your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.00:55Now, as you turn there, I have a question for you. Have you ever been sent on a spy mission?01:02Really, nobody. I was sent on a spy mission in college. Do you want to hear about it?01:09All right, so in college, I worked for a pet sitting service. I would walk dogs, feed cats, and stay at people's houses while they were on vacation. And one day, my boss asked me to come into her office, and she sat me down for story time. Apparently, she had a client who was a local celebrity, who I won't name here, but this guy was having romantic troubles, to say the least. He and his girlfriend couldn't even be in the same room as each other anymore. And so he asked her to move out and take her stuff with her.01:45And I thought to myself, okay. Interesting, but what does this have to do with me? My boss told me, well, our client doesn't want to go to the house to see if his girlfriend has left or not. He wants one of us to do it. He's going to pay us to do it. And you're the only guy on my payroll, and I don't want to ask the women to do it. Don't worry, you're not breaking and entering. We have his garage code. We have his permission. I know this is a lot to ask, but I'll pay After a lot of reassurance, I would not be arrested or stabbed.02:20I drove over to this guy's house, and I sat on his street for a while.02:25Just like, what am I doing?02:27And there was no car in the driveway.02:30So I eventually get the courage to get out of my car, walk up the driveway.02:34I peek into the garage.02:35It's empty.02:38Type in the garage code.02:40Slip in.02:41And I just keep yelling out, hello, hello.02:44Don't worry.02:45I'm not a burglar. Your boyfriend sent me over. I don't know if that would have really been helpful. Or not. I don't really know. It's what I said. I was really nervous. I wasn't getting sneak attacked or pepper sprayed. But it became very clear that the woman was not there. But here's the problem. All of her stuff was still there. So I had to go back to my boss and our client with a bad report. The woman is gone, but her stuff ain't.03:15I knew that my boss and my client would not be very happy with this bad report from my spy mission. This morning we are studying a biblical spy mission. Twelve Israelite spies are sent on an important assignment and most of the spies come back with a report that won't make Moses or God himself very happy. In my case, I simply reported what I saw all those years ago.03:45But when it comes to the Israelite spies, the unfaithful Israelite spies, they report what they wanted to see. They report what they saw through the eyes of fear when they should report on what they saw through the eyes of faith. These unfaithful spies experience doubt. And at its core, doubt is distrust in the character, purposes, and promises of God. They allow doubt to cloud their vision and make their decisions for them.04:23What about you? You may not be a spy like me, but can you relate to the 10 unfaithful spies at all? Do you ever experience doubt? Do you ever look at your life through the eyes of fear instead of the eyes of faith?04:46Do you ever allow doubt to cloud your vision and make your decisions for you? We are taking a short pause on the book of 1 Corinthians to focus on the books of Exodus and Numbers. This is the second week of our latest series for our example, Ancient Warnings for the Church today. Ancient Israel's history of disobedience should be studied for the sake of our obedience.05:16today. Throughout Exodus and Numbers, the Israelites set negative examples for us to avoid, and God provides warnings that we should not ignore. Last week, we studied the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai, and we received the warning to not be idolaters. This morning, we will receive another warning from God. Do not be doubters. Do not be doubters.05:45You know, heeding this warning, listening to this command from God may be a tall order for some of you. We live in such a stressed out and anxious culture where worry is normalized and excused. Everyone is worried about something. Politics, gas prices, the economy, house projects, young children inside the home, grown-up children outside the home.06:15the home, personal appearance, public opinion, the list is endless. You know, worry and doubt are not just problems out there. Worry and doubt are problems in this room. The outside culture has invaded the church. Many professing Christians are just as stressed out and worried as the unbelievers around them.06:45of faithful dependence upon God, we can so often be negative examples of disbelief in God and his plans for our lives. Maybe your worry is obvious to everyone around you besides you. Maybe you justify your worry in saying, well, I can't help it. This is my personality type. There's nothing I can do. Or maybe you are very well aware of your anxiety.07:15The doubts pile up in your mind, and you don't know what to do next. You don't know how to handle this serious issue. Thankfully, no matter where you fall on the spectrum of doubt, the Lord tells you what to do next in His Word. In Numbers chapter 13 through 14, the Lord calls you to avoid the negative examples of the 10 unfaithful Israelite spies, and He calls you to follow the positive of the two faithful spies. In these chapters, God shines a light on the potholes and pitfalls that will trip you up and cause you to fall into doubt. So before we continue, let's go to the Lord and ask for his help. Please pray for me. I will faithfully proclaim God's word and I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive God's word. Father, you have never once given us a reason to doubt you.08:18But we come before you today to acknowledge that we doubt you all the time.08:23We worry, we stress, we give ourselves over to anxiety.08:30Father, we repent of this and we ask for your help to change.08:35May you use your word to transform us.08:39May you use your word to remind us of your past faithfulness.08:44So the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt. They were delivered from the Egyptian army and they passed through the Red Sea. Last week we learned they survived their horrible act of idolatry at the base of Mount Sinai.09:14of disobedience, they're finally at the edge of the promised land. They made it. This journey was a lot harder than it needed to be, but they're finally here. It's like when you're driving on vacation in bumper to bumper traffic and your kids are arguing the whole time. The trip was really painful, but it's going to be worth it, right? The trip's going to be worth it. The destination is going to make all that worth it, right?09:44of the Israelites. Not so much when it comes to the Israelite family vacation.09:50They botched the trip to the promised land, and they're about to botch the trip into the promised land.09:58Twelve spies are sent to spy out the land, scope out the enemies that occupy it, and bring back a report.10:05Before they head out, Moses gives them a pep talk in chapter 13, verse 20.10:10He says, be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. As you discussed, only two of the spies listen to Moses. Only two of them are of good courage and bring back a good report. Ten of them are cowards and they bring back a very negative report. These men choose to travel down the path that leads to doubt. And their path to doubt is the same exact path to doubt that you and I willingly walk down all the time.10:45So what is the path to doubt?10:49There are four attitudes and actions that will lead you to doubting the Lord and His good purposes for you.10:56So on your outline, I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.11:02I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.11:10Let's read verses 25-27 of chapter 13.11:36It flows with milk and honey. And this is its fruit. So far, so good, right? The first section of this report seems faithful. They give a positive description of the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. They even obey Moses' command and bring back some of the fruit of the land. Good job, guys. Well, this thumbs up is about to turn to a thumbs down. Very quickly, this report goes off the rails in verses 28 through 29.12:06However, that's when it goes wrong. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large, and besides, we saw the descendants of Anaknir.12:19The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev.12:21The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country.12:25And the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan.12:31They're doing great until that, however, changes everything.12:38Yes, the land has a lot of flocks.12:40It has a lot of fruit.12:42It's a great land.12:44But the people there are really scary.12:47They are freakishly tall.12:48They have huge cities with massive walls.12:51They are way too strong.12:56There are enemies everywhere.13:00The unfaithful spies overshadow the goodness of the land with their however talk.13:07They downplay God's good gift to them, and they overhype the obstacles in their way.13:14You and I are great at this kind of however talk as well.13:19You think to yourself, yeah, I should be more present at home and engaging with my kids.13:24However, I'm just so exhausted when I get home.13:27I have nothing left to give.13:31Oh, I know I should take part in the New Testament reading plans that they're doing at Harvest. However, I'm just way too busy to commit to something like that. Maybe whenever life slows down. I should lead my family in devotions. However, I don't really know what I would say. I don't really know what I would do, so I'm just going to avoid that. I know I should share my faith and tell people about Jesus. However, I'm an introvert.14:00And it really makes me uncomfortable to do that. However talk leads to doubt. Doubt leads to disobedience. And disobedience leads to a denial of the blessings that God wants to give to you. A voice of reason cuts through their however talk in verse 30. Caleb, one of the faithful spies, speaks up for God and tells the truth. He calls people to action. Look at verse 30. But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it. The unfaithful spies are dumping gasoline on the fire and fueling the fear of the people. The Israelites must respond in a loud panic because Caleb has to shut them up. He says, shush them so that they will listen to them.15:00And Caleb says, guys, let's stop talking and let's start going. We will defeat them. This is Caleb's epic movie moment. He is rallying the troops like William Wallace and Braveheart or Theoden in Lord of the Rings. If this were a movie, the epic music would blast. They would all raise their swords and storm the promised land. Happy ending. Is that what happens?15:30Now, the response to Caleb's epic speech is more however talk. The unfaithful spies ratchet up. They intensify their bad report in verses 31 through 33. Then the men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are. A.K.A. they are stronger than God.16:01So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw in it are of a great height and there we saw the Nephilim the sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them. In verse 27 They mix in a positive description of the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. In these verses, they are straight negative. Now on second thought, the land isn't so great. Actually, it's a terrible place that will destroy us, that will devour us, and the people there are way too strong. We will lose if we go. What is their problem? Why are they saying these things?17:00making a bad decision you'll say and do just about anything to carry that out you'll exaggerate you'll lie you'll steamroll over others who disagree with you never underestimate the power of fear and its ability to distort your perception of reality the unfaithful spies are paralyzed by what they saw in the promised land and they are too and do what God said.17:35Can you relate to the ten unfaithful spies at all?17:40Do you ever exaggerate your problems?17:44Do you ever catastrophize your life?17:49Do you feel paralyzed by your circumstances right now and unable to move forward?17:56Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstances of your marriage right now.18:01Your marriage hasn't been good for months, maybe even years, and you've given up hope that it will ever change, so you just sleepwalk through life.18:11Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstances of your children not really caring about Jesus, constantly disobeying you, and you've just given up.18:23You doubt that things will ever change. So you wave the white flag. Maybe the difficult circumstance you are paralyzed by right now is a relational strain in your life. You and a family member haven't talked for a long time. Whenever you're in the same room, there's a lot of tension. And you doubt that it will ever improve. So you stop doing your part in reconciling the relationship. Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstance of a very hard decision that you need to make very soon. And you think to yourself, there's no way there will be a positive outcome to this, so it doesn't really matter what I decide. You're paralyzed. You don't know what to do, so you decide to do nothing. You decide to disobey the Lord. And please hear me, I know that many of you are going through an intense season of suffering. Some of which I know, some of which I don't know. You're experiencing loss, isolation, sickness, deep wounds in your family. The hits keep on coming and you don't see an end in sight. I do not want to minimize your pain, but I do want to maximize your view of the Lord. You will continue to be paralyzed by your circumstances until you choose to focus on the God who is far greater and far stronger than your circumstances. You may have been thrown for a loop by what happened to you, but God wasn't. Instead of being paralyzed by the immensity of your problems, be encouraged by the immensity of your God. When you have a small vision of God, your problems seem unbelievably out of control.20:27But when you have a big vision of a big God, your problems are teeny tiny in comparison.20:34Small God, big problems.20:36Big God, small problems.20:38Do that with me.20:39Small God, big problems.20:42Big God, small problems.20:45Remember, I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.20:50Secondly, I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. The day after a presidential election is a fascinating social experiment, isn't it? Does the losing side really respond with grace and poise? Almost never. You turn on the TV, no matter who wins, no matter who loses, there is a temper tantrum.21:20There's upset feelings. There's even crying. People threatening to leave the country, which never actually happens. I've never seen that. People actually follow through on that. The Israelites react to this bad report in a very similar way at the beginning of Numbers 14. Look at verses 1 through 4 of chapter 14. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.21:50The whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would that we had died in the wilderness?21:56Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword?22:00Our wives and our little ones will become a prey.22:03Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?22:08And they said to one another, Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.22:15Wouldn't you know it, it's pity party time.22:18The Israelites are feeling bad for themselves. Do you see yourself in this response at all? I know that I do. I had a very bad reaction a few weeks ago. I had a very long and frustrating day, and I just wanted to go to bed. Anybody else, has that ever happened to you? You're just like, I'm just done with this day. I want to start over fresh tomorrow. And I thought to myself, you know what, I'm just going to fill up my water bottle, just in case I'm thirsty in the middle I'm going to go to bed. So I fill it up to the brim. It's a pretty big water bottle. Here's the problem. I didn't tighten the lid. So when I go to grab it, it spills over the entire counter. It goes down into all the drawers and it goes back behind the oven. And I just sit there and be like, what just happened? The water was everywhere. It took me 20 minutes to clean it up. I had to pull the oven out and dry behind there. And then you see all the stuff that's under your oven, which is really gross. So I'm scrubbing. I'm vacuuming. I'm doing all that. I have to pull all the drawers open and towel them dry. All of our pans are soaked. All of our bread bags are soaked. I'm fuming. And I go up to my bedroom and I tell my wife all about it. I have a very bad reaction. I say, why does this stuff always happen to me? I'm like a magnet for annoying and embarrassing stories. And then I proceeded to list all the embarrassing things that happened to me recently.23:47Like getting hit by an uninsured DoorDash driver. Who else has that happened to? Breaking my foot on stilts. Who else has that happened to? If you don't know that story, take me to Chick-fil-A sometime and I'll tell you all about it. But anyway, I'm going through this list and I finally finish my monologue. And my wife says, nothing. And she looks at me with the look that only a wife can have.24:17This water incident was not ridiculous. My response was ridiculous. Even more than that, my response was ungodly and wrong. The Israelites' response in this passage is ridiculous. It's ungodly. It's wrong. They grumble and complain against their leaders. They grumble and complain against God. They even accuse God of pulling a cruel prank on them.24:45Oh, God only brought us out of Egypt so we could die here. He did that to kill our children. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, guys. God did all that just to zing you. Right. It's ridiculous. Foolish thinking leads to foolish behavior. I don't want to focus too much on their grumbling because we're going to talk about their complaining more at the end of this series. The Israelites not only complain and make accusations, They also openly rebel against God. And they start a mutiny. They refuse to enter the promised land. And they say, we're going back to Egypt. They want to go back to slavery. Why would they want to do that? Why would the Israelites want to go back to slavery? Because it's familiar. Because it's comfortable. Because there are no surprises.25:46They know what to expect from day to day. A life of bondage is more comfortable than a life of trusting God. And the same is true for Christians today. This is why in times of trial and uncertainty, you are the most tempted to go back to who you used to be and what you used to do before Jesus Christ saved you. You are the most tempted to slip back into your old sinful patterns.26:16And Paul warns against this temptation in Romans 6, 20-21. He says, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you were now ashamed? What good did it do you? For the end of those things is death. There is no upside to sin. There is no benefit to going back. It is pointless.26:46You will be disappointed when you slip back into your old self. When you slip back into your old sinful patterns. It's like watching a movie that you used to love when you were a kid, but now it does nothing for you. Just turn it off and move on. It's like slipping into an old jacket that used to fit you so well in high school or college, but now it's way too loose, it's way too tight. Take it off, throw it in the trash, and wear something that's fits who you actually are now.27:20I could spend the rest of this sermon listing off all the sinful patterns you are tempted to slip back into.27:26But that's pointless because you know exactly what sinful pattern you are tempted to slip back into.27:35Maybe you're feeling that itch right now.27:39Maybe you've scratched that itch already and you're feeling that urge yet again.27:46Well, please consider the answer to these two questions with me. When has sin ever helped you? What's the answer to that question? Never. When has sin ever been the right solution to your problem? Not even once. Going back to your past sin will only hurt you and it will never help you. It will only amplify the fears and doubts that you're already experiencing.28:14experiencing. Sometimes it feels like the current of temptation is impossible to resist.28:20But that's not true.28:22Don't just give up and go back.28:24Instead, by the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, dig in and move forward.28:31Be honest with a Christian friend or family member.28:36Talk to me or one of the elders after service.28:38We would love to pray for you.28:39We would love to give you the counsel that you need.28:43Listen to the warning of this passage. I know that many of you just need to hear from the Lord. You don't have to go back. You don't have to do this. Do you believe that? You don't have to go back. You may feel like you have to give in to your sin, but you don't. You don't have to do this. You I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances. I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. I will doubt if I tune out godly counsel. I will tune out if I tune out godly counsel. At this point, most of the Israelites are packing their bags and typing the address for Egypt in their GPS. They are ready to go.29:43But there are four men who are willing to stand in the gap and go against the grain of this insanity. And two of these men are the faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb. They speak up and give godly counsel. In chapter 14, verses 5 through 9.30:13and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, the land which we passed to to spy it out is an exceedingly good land.30:22If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.30:30Only do not rebel against the Lord.30:33And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bred for us.30:37Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us.30:41Do not fear them. Caleb is two for two with the inspiring speeches. And this time Joshua, his friend, backs him up. You think, okay, maybe this time the people will listen. Maybe this time they will respond in faith instead of doubt. Look at their response in verse 10. Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Once again, you just want to reach the Pages of Scripture and shake them by the shoulders. Why won't you listen? Why do you keep disobeying? Why do you keep doubting? Those are great questions. Let me answer those questions with questions of my own. Have you ever not listened to God's Word in the past? Have you ever closed your Bible after reading it and not done what it said?31:41Have you ever not lived out what you were called to in a faithful sermon? Have you ever tuned out godly counsel from a wise Christian friend? I see a lot of nodding heads. I hear some yeses. But why? Why didn't you listen to God's word? Why did you tune out godly counsel? Because you thought you knew better than God. You trusted yourself.32:11when you should have trusted him. That godly counsel from a solid Christian friend wasn't what you wanted to hear, so you chose to go with your own way. You chose to follow your own advice. Like mold, doubt thrives in the darkness. Doubt will continue to spread in your heart and your mind if you do not willingly expose yourself to the light of God's word. But here's the thing.32:41It's not enough to just buy a lamp and put it in your living room.32:46What do you need to do next?32:49Turn it on.32:50That's the only way you can experience the illuminating power of the lamp.32:54You have to do something.32:56This requires action.32:58It's the same with God's Word.33:00It's not enough just to have the Bible on your nightstand, on your bookshelf.33:05You have to actually do something.33:07You have to actually read it.33:10It's not even enough just to read the Bible. It's not enough just to come every Sunday and hear the Word. You have to actually do something with it. You have to actually have action and follow through. You have to live in obedience to it to truly experience the life-giving power of God's Word. The death-destroying power of Scripture. This requires you doing what it says.33:40I stole it from the Bible. Listen to James.33:45But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.33:48For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in the mirror.33:55For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.33:59But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.34:11The Israelites hear what God has to say, but they do not do what God says. They are hearers who forget and not doers who act, so they forfeit God's blessing. Are you a hearer who forgets? Or are you a doer who acts and receives God's blessing? Could it be that you are so worried, anxious, and filled with doubt because you know a lot this book, but you're not doing a lot with this book.34:46Your knowledge of Scripture is very high, but your obedience percentage is very, very low.34:55I have to tell you, that's a very destructive place to be, and you do not want to stay there.35:01If you stay in that position of knowing a lot, but not doing what the Bible says, you will doubt that God knows what He is doing.35:09You will doubt that God loves you. You will doubt your salvation. You will not have an assurance of your faith. This is why so many believers do not believe in the truth of the gospel, not trust that they have an assurance. They're not living in obedience to Scripture. They're not enjoying that close fellowship that comes with doing what God says. You know the Bible, but don't live it out. You will doubt.35:39It's just a matter of time.35:43I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.35:47I will doubt if I choose the comfort of sin.35:50I will doubt if I tune out godly counsel.35:53And finally, I will doubt if I follow the crowd.35:58I will doubt if I follow the crowd.36:04Israel is about to treat Joshua and Caleb like human pinatas.36:08They're about to stone them.36:11Then in chapter 14, verse 10, God shows up on the scene himself and stops the whole thing, and he takes Moses aside for a personal conversation.36:22It's very similar to what we studied last week in Exodus chapter 32.36:26Once again, God tells Moses, I'm going to destroy this rebellious people and start over with you.36:33Once again, Moses pleads for mercy.36:37And once again, God responds that plea for mercy and chooses to save the Israelites. God answers Moses' request, but there will be consequences. There will be consequences for the doubters, and there will be blessing for those who remain faithful. Let's look at these consequences and blessings in chapter 14, verse 20 into 38. I know it's a lot, but please stay with me.37:07But truly, as I live, as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times, and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers, and none of those who despise me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring him to the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.37:37Now since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel which they grumble against me. Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.38:07who have grumbled against me. Not one shall come into this land where I swore you, where I make you to dwell, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness, and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness. And for the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.38:38According to the number of the days in which you spy out the land, 40 days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity 40 years, and you shall know my displeasure. I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this I will do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die. And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him, by bringing up a bad report, the man who brought up a bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. Of those who went out to spy the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. Let's cover the consequences first. The older generations who doubted and grumbled will never see the promised land. They will die in the wilderness. And along the way they'll have to wander for 40 years.39:37One year for every single day the spies were in the land. The younger generations will see the promised land, but they have to wait for 40 years. So if you are 19 when this happened, how old will you be when you see the promised land? 59 years old. These are the consequences for doubting the Lord. These are the consequences for caring about public opinion more than God's definitive word.40:06These are the consequences for following the crowd instead of following the Lord. But there is blessing for those who follow the Lord instead of follow the crowd. God says only two of the spies will not die. Only two of the spies will see the promised land. Joshua and Caleb. These men remain faithful when everyone around them is faithless. They choose to trust when everyone else doubts.40:37Why? What makes them so special? Well, God tells us. God says it's about Caleb. He has a different spirit than the rest of the Israelites. He says he follows the Lord fully. What does that mean? It means that Caleb does whatever God says, no matter what. When it's easy, when it's not so easy, when it seems impossible.41:10He only cares about what God says. He doesn't lick His finger and try to figure out which direction the wind is blowing. He is willing to stand out as different. He refuses to blend in and be like everybody else. Do you have a different spirit than the non-believers around you? Do you have a different spirit than the non-Christians at work, your non-Christian neighbors? Or do you look just like them? Do you follow the Lord fully, or do you follow the Lord half-heartedly? I said at the beginning of this message that many Christians look just as anxious, stressed out, and worried as the non-Christians around them. Is that you today?42:08If that's you, you can have a different spirit today. You can follow the Lord fully today. You can bring all of your cares, all of your intrusive thoughts to God, and His perfect peace will guard your heart and your mind today. You can cast all of your anxieties on Him today because He cares for you today. And every other day after that, you can make a change today.42:36I really don't want you to mishear me. Please listen carefully.42:40You will experience doubt. You will experience worry. You will experience fear.42:47These are just the realities of living in a fallen world. But you do not need to be controlled by these things any longer. You don't need to be worried all the time. Do not sentence yourself to a life of stress.43:02It may be a badge of honor in this sinful culture, but it will not be rewarded in heaven. Being worried all the time may seem normal by this world's standards, but it is not normal by heaven's standards. Do not follow the crowd and willingly travel down the path to doubt any longer. Be on guard against the four attitudes and actions that will lead you down the path to doubt.43:31You will doubt if you are paralyzed by your circumstances. You will doubt if you choose the comfort of your past. You will doubt if you tune out godly counsel. And you will doubt if you follow the crowd. The Lord is so faithful in giving us what we need to fight against doubt. He has given us His word. He has given us prayer. He has given us His people.44:01and he has given us the Lord's Supper. You may be wondering, how does communion help me to fight against doubt? Every single time we share in this meal together, we are rejecting the lies of this world and we are proclaiming the truths of God's word. Every single time we take part in this meal together, we are rejecting the lies that Jesus is just a made-up fairy tale or some moral teacher who has nice things to say 2,000 years ago. We are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. We are rejecting the lies that we're not sure what happens after you die, or there are multiple ways to God. No, instead, we are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We are rejecting the lies that God doesn't care about us. We are proclaiming that God is our Father, and He adopted us through faith in His Son.45:00We are rejecting the lie that we could ever be good enough to earn God's love and we are proclaiming that in Christ we are loved by God. We are accepted by God. We are forgiven. We are made new. Every single time we share this meal together we are rejecting the lies of this world and proclaiming the unshakable truths of heaven. What better way is there to fight against doubt than that? Our communion servers and our worship team can now make their way forward.45:31You do not need to be a member of Harvest Bible Chapel to take part in the Lord's Supper, but you do need to be a member of the family of God. There are some of you in this room who do not have faith in Jesus Christ. You doubt what the Bible says about who He is and what He has done. If that's you, I encourage you to stay seated. I encourage you to consider where your doubt has led you. Doubting Jesus has only led to misery, heartache, and pain. I implore you today to be done with doubt and to place your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus, in a few moments you will walk down one of the center aisles and come receive the elements from one of our servers. You will go back to your seat and wait until we take the Lord's Supper together. You can come as you are ready. Small Group DiscussionRead Numbers 13:1-14:38What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why has worry become such an acceptable sin in the church? What do you tend to worry and stress about the most?What circumstances are you paralyzed by and how can you begin to move forward?What biblical command or godly counsel do you need to apply to your life right now?BreakoutPray for one another.

Sacrifice for Kingdom Rewards (1) (audio) David Eells – 7/1/26 Eat Your Manna David Eells Don't miss any opportunity to eat your bread of life from heaven every day. Partaking of the Word of God and fellowship with those who share it is of utmost importance. Exo.16:4 Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. The Israelites didn't obey God in this, and they murmured and fell in the wilderness. When, because of worldly pursuits, we pass up the chance to eat our manna today with the excuse that we will do it tomorrow, we miss the only chance we had to eat that manna and prepare our soul for the wilderness. 19 And Moses said unto them, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was wroth with them. You see, either you eat it, or you lose it forever. If you have a phone, you can listen and program your mind daily. All excuses aside, people do what is important to them. If the Kingdom is not first in a person's life, God will find someone else who values what He has to offer. Mat.22:4 Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bidden, Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast. Luk.14:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: 17 and he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for [all] things are now ready. 18 And they all with one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Jesus accepted none of these excuses to abstain from the Word. 21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22 And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain [them] to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper. (Manna Lost) 25 Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Even these cannot be an excuse.) 27 Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. I pray for you that God will be first in your life. You have a chance to prepare for the wilderness. Without taking advantage of this, you will fall and someone will take your place. “Let no man take thy crown”.   A Call to Sacrifice Debbie Fenske Prophesy 1/25/26 (My dear children, I am doing a work in each of you. My Beloved, I am preparing you. Have you sensed a preparation? Yes, I have been preparing you for a new thing. A new thing, by My Spirit, is coming to you. But it will take you seeking Me so much more than you do. It will take sacrifice. For I need your attention, My children. Attend to Me. Give ear to My words. Give ear to this, My dear ones, whom I have chosen to be in My Bride company. Not only have I chosen you, but you have been My choice pick. Yes, My children, precious to Me. My first pick. So, now comes the sacrifice. It is this one in particular. Give ear. There is much going on. There is much news. What can you trust? Who can you trust? You have been hearing and reading things that have been preparing you and helping you to know how to pray. But I see your confusion. I see doubt and uncertainty in things you are hearing and reading. It is time My children, to pull back. No more, for the time being, of being on your own, hearing and reading so much news. Pull back from letting your eyes see and your ears hear all this news going forth. Pull back and spend time seeking Me, speaking to Me, and hearing Me. Starting now, set that time for Me first. Your daily duties can follow. I appoint your leaders; your leader, David, and your leader, Michael, to give to you what is important for you to know, and to pray for, and to do spiritual warfare against. Whatever they give you to read, and whatever you hear from them, is My will for you to know about, and to do the job I have equipped you for: prayer and spiritual warfare. No seeking, and no sifting through the news, but seeking only Me and gleaning what I have for you from My Word, with ears and eyes wide open to the things of My Spirit. This will be a training for you. A training in sacrifice. For truly, the flesh is what drives you to know these things of the world. I say, listen to your leaders whom I have appointed over you. I know you can do this. I know you can seek Me and hear Me. And I know you can listen. I know you can lay down your life in this small way of sacrifice. My Beloved, you will be rewarded. And the time to let up on what I am putting on you right now will be revealed. But now is the time for sacrifice in this way, unto Me with obedience of heart. This is for your good, My Beloved. And as the days continue on, and as the news continues on, and as the things happening continue on, you will know for certain that this is for your good, and for the good of many, My Beloved. Be humble. Be faithful. Be true. Be obedient to Me out of your love for Me. And, remain in love with one another.   Rewards and Penalties David Eells I want to share a revelation the Lord gave me a few years ago (6/25/02). I was walking on the road next to a golf course, where I sometimes get some exercise. I immediately noticed golf balls here and there by the road, having been knocked out of the course. It is not unusual to see one or two like this, but I was seeing many now. Usually, this area is combed very well by earlier walkers. After picking up six or seven balls, I thought, “How unusual, I wonder if you are talking to me, Lord”. Then I saw a bright yellow advertisement on the ground, probably blown from someone's mailbox or front door. The unusual thing was that it was within inches of a golf ball that was the exact same unusual color. There was nothing else of that color as far as I could see. The chances against this happening are awesome, I am sure. Then I knew the Lord was speaking to me, but I was not yet sure what. I continued my walk, picking up nine golf balls. My pockets were bulging. On my way home, I had the distinct impression that I would find one more ball. I turned down my street, and just before reaching home, I found one more ball, quite a ways from the course. That made ten in all. I asked the Lord what He was saying, but received no answer until the next day. The Lord showed me that the golf course was like the believers' race to the finish line. I know little of golf, but I understand the trick is to follow that little ball (like we are to follow Christ) across the finish with as few strokes as possible. A hole-in-one, which would of course win the race for that particular hole, would necessitate hitting the ball only once. In disregard to God's command to merely speak to the rock, Moses “smote the rock with his rod twice” and it brought forth water. The penalty for this was that he was not permitted to enter the Promised Land with Joshua and Caleb (Num.20:8-13). 1Co.10:4 and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ. 5 Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Jesus, our Rock, who brought forth the water of life, was smitten once at the crucifixion. We are told that He is not to be smitten twice. We are told that those who walk in willful disobedience “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” Heb.6:6. The person who walks in obedience crucifies the old man (2Co.4:16), but those who walk in willful sin “crucify to themselves” the new man who is “Christ in you the hope of glory”. They smite the rock twice. Those who are twice born and continue to walk in this way will be “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” Jude 12. Heb.10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 A man that hath set at nought Moses law dieth without compassion on [the word of] two or three witnesses: 29 of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? Jesus bore all sin; He also bore the penalty for all sin, except willful disobedience. Notice that there is “no more a sacrifice” for that sin. Instead, there should be “a certain fearful expectation of judgment”. Many of us have been lied to about the cleansing of the blood. 1Jn.1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Notice that the blood cleanses the one who walks in the light of the Word, not in the darkness of willful disobedience. For willful disobedience, we are promised certain judgment. Those who knock the ball off the course cannot retrieve it and pay the penalty for losing a stroke, while everyone else passes them up. We pay the penalty for this sin here and now, as in the following verses: Mat.18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors (demons), 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. God will use the demons to make us pay for the sin of the will. Mat.5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge (God), and the judge deliver thee to the officer (demon), and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing. The prison here is spiritual bondage to sin and the curse is administered by the demons. Jesus came “. . .to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound” Isa.61:1. Willful disobedience throws us back into the prison that Jesus delivered us from. David sinned willfully with Bathsheba. When he repented, Nathan the prophet said, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin”; but he also said, “The sword shall never depart from thy house”. In other words, I forgive you, but you will have to pay the penalty. This proved true, for David lost three sons and many people. His own son Absalom won the sympathy of the people and usurped the kingdom. David had to flee for his life. As parents, we do not spank our children for failure or mistakes, but for willful disobedience. Paul said, “For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not (or willed not), that I practice. But if what I would not (willed not), that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me” Rom.7:19,20. Paul was failing God in a sin that his will was against. Notice that he hated the sin and was not accounted guilty; the old sin nature was guilty. When we are against the sin, God takes our side against the sin. He takes the side of the spiritual man against the old man. In this state, Paul cried out to the Lord. 24 Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? Then he accepted God's promise of deliverance by faith. 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus bore the curse of the sin for a person who is repentant, like Paul, even before he overcomes the sin. There are types on top of scriptural types, and one does not negate the other. The clear type that the Israelites in the wilderness show us is that those who walk in rebellion and do not bring forth a measure of fruit will not enter the Promised Land, representing the Kingdom of Heaven. Many years ago, I saw another less-known type in the same text that is important here. In golf, as in life, there are penalties. Moses struck the rock twice and did not enter the Promised Land in his body as Joshua and Caleb did. He entered the heavenly Promised Land as a spiritual man. The Israelites who failed to totally walk by faith died in body, but their fruit, the spiritual man, represented by their children, entered the Promised Land of heaven. Num.14:30 surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones (Their fruit, Christ in You, the spiritual man), that ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. After their bodies died, their little ones, that which was conceived in them and born from them, as is our spiritual man, entered the Promised Land of heaven. Only the seed, representing the spiritual man or new man, of those whose bodies died in the wilderness, entered the Promised Land of heaven. Mat.13:38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; ... The body is not a son of the kingdom or son of God, but a son of man. 1Co.15:50 ... Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Only a body born from above can enter the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb had their bodies under submission to the Word. In these days, the totally faithful, represented by Joshua and Caleb, will receive this body before dying, but “the soul that sins must die”. The ‘pre-wilderness all fly away' lie says that everyone will enter the Promised Land in their new bodies, but the penalty for not overcoming sin in the wilderness is that the body will die. In a nutshell, those who believe, like Joshua and Caleb, will enter the Promised Land in body after the wilderness trial. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. The faithful will not die but be translated. Heb.11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God: 6 And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]. However, those who walk in a measure of unbelief will have to die in body in the wilderness and will enter only as the spiritual man. Num.14:33 And your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your whoredoms, until your dead bodies be consumed in the wilderness. 34 After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, even forty days, (The number of tribulation) for every day a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my alienation (meaning, the revoking of my promise). Contrary to popular opinion both those who sleep, whose bodies fell, and those “who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord”, like Joshua and Caleb, will go through the wilderness which God says is the tribulation (Rev.12:6, 17:3). Joshua and Caleb knew because of God's promises that they could conquer the carnal man (the Canaanite) and take the Promised Land. They spoke the good report (Num.14:6-9). Those who say that the carnal man is too strong for us, that we are always going to be sinners, and speak the bad report will die in the wilderness (Num.14:36, 37). To them, the carnal old man is a giant, but to little David they were nothing. Remember that Jesus already crucified the old man, and you are to “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus” Rom.6:11. God is able to do it for the people who believe it, as Joshua and Caleb did. Getting back to golf, the trick is to keep the ball in the fairway. That's the “fair” “way”. Those who do not run the race and keep their ball in the fair-way will fall into the hazards of the water, the sand traps, the rough, or out of the course entirely, like the balls that I found. These hazards are the penalty of costing golfers more strokes to get the ball back in the fairway while everyone else passes them up in points. The major penalty is losing the race to the one who does it right the first time and hits the ball the fewest times down the fairway. The water represents the curse of the Word that falls on those who are contrary to it. There are penalties written there for the disobedient. The sand traps are for those who do not stand on, or build their house on, the rock of Jesus. Mat.7:26-27 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. The rough and sand trap is for those who are not on the fairway of the straight and narrow road, the manicured grass. Mat.7:13-14 Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. 14 For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. Pro.13:15 Good understanding giveth favor; But the way of the transgressor is hard. Those who knock the ball out of the course cannot retrieve it and pay the penalty of losing a stroke, while everyone else passes them up. I believe the Bride and the Man-child are hole-in-one golfers. Rev.3:11 I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. We struck the ball, the rock of Christ, once. Let us not do it again. I asked the Lord why there were ten balls. Ten represents the law of God, as does the Ten Commandments. Paul taught that God's law in our covenant is no longer written on tablets of stone but hearts of flesh, meaning it is to be a part of our nature (2 Cor.3:3). For much of the church, God's law has been struck out of the “fair way” like the balls I saw. The curse of the law is the penalty for this. When Moses was in the mountain of God getting the law, Israel took the opportunity to create their own God, the golden calf, to follow and called it in Hebrew YHWH and Elohim (Exo.32:4,5,11), much like the church today puts the name “Christian” on their own creation. When Moses came down and saw this, he cast the tables with the commandments down and brake them (Exo.32:15,19). The church is in much the same way today, and the Man-child is coming with the true Word that has been broken by them. Again, here is a true type in the midst of many true types. When Israel was in Egypt, as the church is in the world, the Egyptians represented the old carnal man, and the Israelites represented the spiritual man. Here is clear proof of this. When Moses (representing Christ), put to death the Egyptian (representing the carnal man who died on the cross), he left Egypt (the world) and married a Gentile bride, one of seven daughters (representing the seven churches - Exo.2:16; Isa.4:1; and Rev.3:10- who was the obedient Philadelphia Bride who escaped the trial.). These were daughters of one father, Jethro (Hebrew meaning: His excellence), who represents the Father. Paul also said that Israel was baptized in the Red Sea and, of course, the Egyptians, who represented the carnal man died there in a baptism. I said all that to say this. God smote the Egyptians, the old man, with ten strokes, from the waters being turned to blood to the Passover. The world is headed toward many strokes of judgment from the hand of God, but ten categories typified by these judgments. This represented the curse of the law that was broken. This was to cause Israel to repent and come out of Egypt, out from among them. In this type, they left the world represented by Egypt. A parallel revelation is that Israel tempted God ten times by not hearkening unto His voice in the wilderness (Num.14:22). The Egyptians took the penalty of ten strokes, while Israel missed out on seven of them because they abode in Goshen, representing Christ. It took three strokes before God made a division between Israel, the spiritual man, and Egypt, the carnal man (Exo.8:22,23). When Paul no longer willed to do sin, even though he was failing, God made a division between him and the sinner, the carnal man. Rom.7:20 But if what I would not (willed not), that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. After seven more strokes, they not only willed to give up sin, they gave it up. The old man was put to death in the baptism of the “washing of water with the word” Epe.5:26 in the Red Sea. I found the last ball when I was almost home. The Passover was the last great stroke that came on those not under the blood when Israel left Egypt, the world, to go home. That last great stroke will be the Day of the Lord at the end of the tribulation, when God pours out His wrath in a spiritual end-time flood of destruction as Noah lifts off. Now the following dream speaks to those disciples of Christ who abide in Him by grace through faith and have endured the trials to walk in His steps of His Word. 1Jn.2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: 6 he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. If Jesus lives in you by His Word and Spirit, He can do this. Joh.7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. 39 But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive…   Bride Rewarded for Building the House of God Eve Brast - 10/01/2017 (David's notes in red) (I was hesitant to send this, but I believe it primarily has a corporate meaning. I asked Father if He wanted me to send this dream, to give me all heads on three quarters, and He gave me all heads. So I think I'm representing the corporate bride body. Maybe it has individual meaning as well. But I believe the first fruits are about to be rewarded for diligence in “building the house” and being a habitation for the Lord to dwell in. :o) I dreamed that I was at the back of our local UBM meeting. (Which is a type of Larger UBM) I had been working very hard cleaning the house up with those white Mr. Clean “Magic Erasers”. (1Pe.4:8 above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins) (Eve and all of the Bride do work hard to clean up the house. They are very serious about pleasing God in this way.) Everyone was sitting facing the opposite direction than usual, and the musicians weren't in their normal places with their instruments. David had called a special meeting to make an announcement to everyone. (David here represents those Davids who will take the place of the Sauls to raise up Jerusalem, which John in Revelation revealed is the Bride. God said He is restoring the Kingdom of David, but in the spirit. Amo.9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.) In the meantime, while everyone was sitting and talking amongst themselves, waiting for the announcement, I was over in the back left-hand corner of the room, near the front door with a flat-edge shovel, shoveling a 3-foot diameter pile of leftover dust and red dirt into a container or bucket of some kind, in order to throw it out the front door. (Here are the first three mentions of “dust” in the Bible. Gen.2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Hebrew = spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. (So the carnal man is dust. The spirit breathed into man is from God.) Gen.3:14 And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (So Satan, the serpent, can devour dust which is the carnal or fleshly part of the man. If we don't want Satan taking advantage of us we must lose our carnal life.) Gen.3:19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (1Co.15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. So dust goes back to dust and the fruitful receive a NEW heavenly body. So the dust must be swept out of the house of God, which is to be holy.) I was also patting down the red dirt into a hole in the floor with the shovel and trying to seal it up. (So that what is earthly is removed from the house of God and put under our feet. Red dirt reminds us of getting rid of the flesh of Esau and his faction against his brother. Esau was red, and his seed, Edom, means “red”. And dirt is what the flesh comes from.) This seemed like hard work in the dream, and I was breaking a sweat. (It is hard work. Eve worked a regular job, raised a family, and carried on her prophetic ministry, too. Also, this is great training for the Bride to deal with God's people in the wilderness tribulation.) David had been observing what I was doing with a smile while standing in the dining room. (This was true even in the letter.) He then walked swiftly past me into the room and took his seat, which was located near the restroom. I felt the wind (Greek word pneuma: wind, spirit) rush past me as he went by. As David sat down and began to speak, everyone settled down and became quiet. He said, “The Father has instructed me concerning a blessing for Eve Brast (As a type of the larger Bride body.) and here's why... Father gave me these verses....” 1Ch.22:3, And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; (The Davids are preparing the “Words”, which are nails, to build the house of God, which is His people. They build the walls which separate us from the world. They build the gates that keep the enemy out and the sheep in. And Eve received this very fitting verse.) Ecc.12:11, The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one Shepherd. (Who is Jesus. Goads are sharp prods to keep the sheep or cattle in line. They are like nails in this regard. The “Words” keep the people in line and hold them together. The Word is what the people are made of. Like their Lord, they are the Word become flesh. Joh.1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. Heb.2:17 Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.) Exo.39:40, the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, the cords thereof, and the nails thereof, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; (All furnishings of the house of God, which is His people.) Ecc.2:4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; 5 I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; 6 I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared; (Houses, vineyards, gardens, trees, fruit are ways the scripture uses to speak of God's people, which are “builded” here by the wisdom of Solomon, son of David.) Pro.24:3 Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; 4 And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches. (The wise and humble love to be taught truth, seeing it as riches. The wise teacher will separate the sheep from the goats by the Word. The sheep are the building blocks of the house.) Heb.3:4, For every house is builded by some one; but he that built all things is God. (God uses His Man-child reformers and five-fold ministry to build His house.) Eph.2:20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (These have laid the foundation of the Church which is God's house), Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; (Jesus is a replica of the whole building and it is squared by Him.) 21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord (We, as individual buildings, are builded together as God's temple.); 22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. When I heard my name in the dream, I straightened up, and leaning upon the handle of my shovel, I stopped to listen. I was shocked that the Father had wanted to bless me like that. (The Bride is a humble and unassuming people.) I thought the blessing should be for someone more deserving and involved, someone who was more useful or important to His Kingdom. In my mind, all I had been doing was hard, menial labor in the background that didn't seem to amount to much. Then I woke up. (Eve has worked hard to clean up the Kingdom people who are the House of God being built in the verses given. She is a good type of the Bride. She worked full-time and had a household to take care of, but she took time to type up and think about the prophetic exhortations to the body, too. So this is a labor of love. I also believe there is an important larger view here, in that the Lord uses Eve as the bride of Adam, and the last Adam is Jesus. So the Bride, and Eve as part of the Bride, is working to perfect God's people, and we are so thankful to God for all of them.) (As David read the verses, the words nails, build, builded and house, stood out to me and were very important to his message to everybody. David read them as if they were one whole passage. He didn't give scripture references in the dream, so when I woke up, I searched for the key words nails, build, builded, and house. The Spirit helped to clarify which ones I had heard David read in the dream.) I asked Father for a personal word for me concerning this dream, if there was a personal aspect for me in it. (Because the dream doesn't seem to fit with my current reality. I've had to devote so much of my time to working in “Egypt”. The enemy tries to use this a lot to condemn me, which is probably why I was shocked in the dream and even afterwards, when I woke up and was pondering on what it could mean. [The enemy does a lot to keep us humble.]) So anyway, I received: Pro.8:31 (in context: 30-31) (my finger was on “habitable” from Pro. 8:31 in the Bible concordance.) 30 Then I was by him, as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men. (God delights in His builders who delight in His people. The wicked and the Pharisees hate them with a passion.) In the context of Proverbs 8, these verses seem to fit with the ones David read in the dream. :0) Very encouraging. Thank you, Father!

The Fruitless Will Fall Away (1) (audio) David Eellls, 6/28/26 What is the fruit of the life of Jesus? It is the same as His name, which means nature, character, and authority. We are baptized into His name. Non-Spirit filled Christianity has not touched the authority part. The "these signs will accompany those who believe" part. These were supernatural signs they, in large part, refuse so according to this verse, they are not believers as the scripture hath said. And as far as coming into His nature, they consider impossible. The falling away has already started with them, so pray that they come into the full gospel in the latter rain.  Although the apostates will deny it, God's plan for mankind and the earth is clear and simple. He planned to perfect a Son through Whose spiritual seed of His Word He would have many offspring like Himself. (Heb.2:10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (11) For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. God knew these sons before the physical creation and spoke them into existence. He planned that they would be born and fashioned through the seed of His eldest Son, coming into His image. (Rom.8:29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Those who accept flesh-appeasing doctrines do not bear the image or fruit of this Son and prove themselves to be called but not chosen. Clearly, when God inspects His crop, He only chooses the fruit that is born of the Word, 30-, 60-, and 100-fold as Jesus said. Those who accept this fleshly life instead of the life of Christ are as “Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright” (Heb.12:16). Multitudes have been sons of Abraham through faith, but will prove themselves to be the seed of Esau and be cut off. (Isa.63:1) Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?…. “Bozrah” here means “sheepfold” and was the capital of Edom, Esau's seed. These apostate sheep will be cut off and trodden under foot in the great winepress of the wrath of God. (2) Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? (3) I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. (4) For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. Now we see a more inclusive meaning of “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Rom.9:13). The scenario is repeated in a parable Jesus gave concerning the end of the Jews' covenant, when the fruitful escaped but the apostates went into the wrath in 70 A.D. This is also a type about to be fulfilled in the end of the Church's covenant. (Luk.13:6) And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. (7) And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? (8) And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: (9) and if it bear fruit thenceforth, [well]; but if not, thou shalt cut it down. The husbandman, the Father, had given three years to the fig tree of His people to bear fruit. According to the Law of First Mention, the number three by itself is first found in the Bible in Genesis 6:10, “And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” The seed of the saved of all mankind was in these three. They were in the ark of grace, (Gen.6:8) But Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of the Lord. The next three verses in Genesis 6:11-13 speak of the total corruption of mankind and God warning, “I will destroy them with the earth.” God said almost the same thing in Jesus' parable after the three years, “cut it down.” However, the Son's intercession gained a fourth year of grace. There is also a First Mention in the New Testament for “three.” (Mat.12:40) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Notice that God's grace through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for all mankind, symbolized by the number three, is spoken of four times, possibly symbolizing God going the extra mile here.  The Father was disappointed in the lack of fruit on the tree that represents His apostate people and gave command to “cut it down.” The vinedresser, His Son, interceded for one more year's grace, until he could “dig about it,” breaking up its fallow ground through tribulation, “and dung it” through persecution to see “if it bear fruit… but if not, thou shall cut it down.” We should not be deceived; those who do not bear fruit before the end of the Tribulation will be cut off and fall away. Notice that the Lord ultimately is only coming for the “fruit” of the spiritual man, not the “fig tree” of the natural man. Our natural life is only the earth in which God has planted the seed of His Son, the Word, so that He bears fruit in us (Mat.13:19-23). Only He that came out of heaven will go back. (Joh.3:13) And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, [even] the Son of man. (Note: “who is in heaven” is usually added here but is not in the ancient manuscripts and has no numeric pattern.) Bearing fruit is normal for those who walk by faith, but for those who profess Christ while they do not believe His Word to bear fruit, there is destruction. (Jud.1:5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance…that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Moses also interceded and delayed the cutting down of the fig tree in his day, but some continued in unbelief and murmured, and God overthrew them in their wilderness tribulation (Psa.106:21-26). Some of you would say that God can't break His promise to bring us into His kingdom. Haven't you read that God disinherits His people who do not believe? (Num.14:11) And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? (12) I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.  God “sware” He would bring them to the Promised Land and then changed His mind because they did not keep their side of the covenant through walking by faith. (30) Surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. God revoked His promise and then promised they would fall in the wilderness tribulation. (34)…Ye shall know my alienation (which in Hebrew means the “revoking of my promise”). (35) I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this will I do unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. The wilderness trials are to prove who the chosen believers are among the called, “for many are called, but few chosen” (Mat.22:14). Because of faith and obedience, God can promise evil or good to a people and yet change His mind. (Jer.18:7) At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; (8) if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. (9) And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; (10) if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Micah prophesied the destruction of Zion, but the people repented, and God changed His mind, as Jeremiah 26:18-19 says. In Exodus 32:10-14, Moses interceded for Israel on the grounds that God promised the fathers to save their seed, and so God repented. However, when the people continued to turn the grace of God into a license to go their own way, Ezekiel prophesied that even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there interceding, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness (Eze.14:14). We must move quickly now to redeem the time for the race is to bear fruit before our individual or corporate allotted time is up. Paul said that “they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize” (1Cor.9:24). That One is Christ – those in whom Christ lives, and those who live in Him. Paul called this “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27). This principle of the race was given to my wife, Mary, many years ago in a dream. She saw us running on a treadmill and up ahead of us was a door that was closing. Then she noticed that the treadmill was deceitfully picking up speed to carry us away from the door. We had to run faster and faster to make progress. This is the way of the world, friend. It is picking up speed, departing from God. Mary said that I made it through the door just as it was about to close, and then I jerked her through. Paul went on to say that the only way to win in this race against the clock is to “exerciseth self-control in all things” (1Cor.9:25). He then enforced this by saying, “I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” (27). “Rejected” here is from the Greek word for reprobated, meaning “not standing the test.” Paul was saying that even after all his preaching, if he didn't make his body serve the Lord, he would not finish the race and would be reprobated. If it was true of him, then it is certainly true of us. It's not those who call Jesus Lord and do mighty works, but those who bear the fruit of obedience, who shall enter the kingdom. (Mat.7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Gifts and powers are wonderful and necessary, but they will not gain for us the kingdom; only 30-, 60-, or 100-fold fruit can do that. They who build their house on the Rock that stands the test of the tribulations of life, hear the Word and obey it (Mat.7:24-27). The “works of the flesh” are listed in Galatians 5:19-21 and Christians are warned that “they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The works of the Spirit are also listed there, but they are called “the fruit of the Spirit.” God's works in us through our faith are His fruit in us. Joel prophesied that when the “day of the Lord” comes, God's remnant, who abide in spiritual New Testament Mount Zion and Jerusalem, will escape the wrath. (Joel 2:31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord cometh. (32) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as the Lord hath said, and among the remnant those whom the Lord doth call. David asked, “Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” His answer was, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart” (Psa.15:1-2). At that time, all nations are gathered together against the righteous in “the valley of Jehoshaphat” where, as a type, God divided and destroyed the nations that came against Israel in the time of Jehoshaphat. (Joel 3:2) I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for my people and for my heritage Israel…. At that time, the holy ones will be in the ark of God's safety, as Jehoshaphat's people who went forth in 2 Chronicles 20:21 to “give praise in holy array.” It is here that the one world order is divided into three as the nations destroy each other. (2Chr.20:22) And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (23)…every one helped to destroy another. The Lord, with His newly glorified saints, will fight against those nations in the Day of the Lord; they will face the winepress of the wrath of God. (Joel 3:11) Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. (12) Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. (13) Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.  This scenario is clearly set forth in Revelation. First, there is the harvest of the righteous. (Rev.14:13) And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them. (14) And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud [I saw] one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. (15) And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. (16) And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. This harvest of the fruitful includes the physically “dead in Christ” and also the dead-to-self in Christ “that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord.” All will receive their earth-transcending bodies at this time. Then, in the Day of the Lord, the harvest of the wicked will come, which includes the many who are called but not chosen for lack of fruit. (Rev.14:17) And another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. (19) And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great [winepress], of the wrath of God. (20) And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. This harvest includes those “without the city,” that is, the true spiritual city of God, whereas the natural city of Jerusalem will be half-taken and plundered (Zec.14:1-2) because it is mostly wicked. “The great [winepress], of the wrath of God” is the Day of the Lord and is detailed in much more depth in chapters 15 and 16 of our Hidden Manna book. The Lord with His saints executes this slaughter of the wicked with the sword of the spoken Word. (Rev.19:11) And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (14) And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white [and] pure. (15) And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. As we can see, the same story of the Tribulation leading to wrath is told many times in Revelation, but in different parables. For instance, the sixth and seventh seal judgments and the seventh trumpet judgment bring the Day of the Lord's wrath, and the bowls, or vials of wrath, are the Day of the Lord's wrath. (Rev.6:12) And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; (This is after the Tribulation when the great nuclear war darkens the sun and moon and the Lord comes for His saints.) (13) and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. The fig tree represents God's New Covenant people – Jews and Gentiles. The unripe figs are the people of God who have not borne fruit 30-, 60, and 100-fold and are therefore not picked but fall to the earth to incur the Day of the Lord's wrath. (14) And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (15) And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; (16) and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: (17) for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand? The unfruitful are destroyed in the wrath, just as the Jews who bore no fruit of the Gospel were destroyed in 70 A.D. In a clear type of the coming of the Lord with His saints, Jesus was on the Mount of Olives with His disciples. As He was about to return to Jerusalem through the eastern gate at the time of the Passover, He saw a fig tree that had not born fruit and cursed it “for ever.” (Mat.21:18) Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered. (19) And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. According to the Jews, the eastern gate is sealed until the coming of the Messiah. The Mount of Olives represents apostate Christianity, and the cursed fig tree represents those fruitless “Christians” who are rooted in it being reprobated. The timing of the judgment of the fig tree is seen in Zechariah 14:4-5 when the Mount of Olives is split in half, and then Jesus returns with His saints. As we have studied before, Passover is the time when the saints are being passed over by the flood, or winepress, of war because they are in the ark. There is no Passover for those who do not eat all of the Lamb and do not have the blood on their doorposts. Then the Lord picks His fruit as the ark lifts off without the fruitless, and they go to defend Jerusalem from the nations. In a type of this, in Matthew 21:9, Jesus rides triumphantly as King through the eastern gate as the multitudes cry, “Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” This was clearly a type of the Lord's coming through the sealed eastern gate in the very end, because Jesus quoted them in Matthew 23:39 when standing at the eastern gate, saying, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” So we see that shortly before the Messiah comes as King to defend Israel, He reprobates the unripe figs, which fall to the earth to incur the wrath of God. I would like to explain yet another parable that is found throughout the Scriptures concerning the falling away of the fruitless. The whole Church is identified by God as the sun, moon and stars. (Gen.37:9) And he (Joseph) dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. (10) And he told it to his father (Jacob or Israel), and to his brethren (the patriarchs); and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? (11) And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind. All of the body of Israel is identified here according to relationship as the sun, moon, or stars. The father, who is the head and a type of those who are capable of sowing the seed of Israel, is identified as the sun. The mother, who is a type of those who receive the seed and bring forth the fruit, is called the moon. The children, who are the most immature in mind and actions, are called the stars. These represent the three stages of Christian growth, of which Jesus told us in the parable of the sower. (Mat.13:23) And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. The more fruit of the Word or righteousness a person has, the greater the glory. As we walk in the faith, “it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal.2:20) and we grow into the image of Christ from glory to glory. (2Cor.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.  We are to grow into the last “glory,” which is described as the image of Christ, the Sun, in us. Paul spoke of the three different glories of the saints, which will be rewarded with three different spiritual bodies that they will receive. (1Cor.15:35) But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? (40) There are also celestial (heavenly) bodies, and bodies terrestrial (earthly): but the glory of the celestial is one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial is another. (41) There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. (42) So also is the resurrection of the dead…. According to Paul and the Holy Spirit, we will all have a sun, moon, or star glory new body in heaven. This is according to what stage we are in when it comes to manifesting the resurrection life of Christ. Everyone wants to know what determines which new body they will have. The short answer is that the glory that we walk in before death or rapture determines the glory of our eternal house or body. God “will render unto every man according to his works” (Rom.2:6). It literally says in 2 Corinthians 5:10 in the Greek and in the numeric pattern, “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each receive through the body, according to what he hath done, whether good or bad.” Notice that the reward is given “through the body” and what we do “good or bad” determines whether the glory of the new body will be a star, a moon, or a sun glory body. The Greek word for “judgment-seat” here means “footprint tribunal.” This means that we are going to be judged by how closely we walked in Christ's steps. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Remember that abiding in Christ is to abide in heavenly places. By the works of Jesus through us, we are growing in these progressive glories and putting on the clothing of our new spiritual body while still living in the old body. This is so that, when this body is gone, we do not become naked. (2Cor.5:1) For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. (2) For verily in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven: (3) if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. Our mortal life is to be swallowed by the life of Christ. Paul taught that by faith we are to spiritually put to death the members of the old man, which are his works. (Col.3:5) Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; (6) for which things' sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. Notice that those who fail to put off the old man will go into the “wrath of God,” just as the fallen stars or unripe figs. (8) But now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: (9) lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, (10) and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him.  We grow up in the image of Christ from star glory to moon glory to sun glory, or from 30- to 60- to 100-fold fruit, as we put off the old man's works and put on the new man's works. (Rom.13:12) The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light (that is star, moon and then sun light). (13) Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. We must cast off the works of darkness and put on Christ by putting on His works. Christ's works are “the garments of salvation” (Isa.61:10). However, the garment spotted by acts of flesh send many to fiery trials to burn up these evil works. (Jud.1:23) And some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 1Co.3:11-15 For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire. The true Bride is making herself ready by putting on the works of the bright garment of the glory of God. (Rev.19:7) Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (8) And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright (Greek: Lampros) [and] pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Notice that our “righteous acts” are the glorious garment.  Friends, don't believe the apostate gospel. God said, “I will give unto each one of you according to your works” (Rev.2:23). Those who say that they have faith but don't need works will not be saved. (Jas.2:14) What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? (17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. (18) Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from [thy] works, and I by my works will show thee [my] faith. (26) For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. Salvation is not by our works but by faith because it empowers us to do Christ's works. Every place the judgment is mentioned, God judges works because that is how He judges faith.             Let's look closer at the first stage of Christian growth, which is star glory. (Dan.12:3) And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. God told Abraham that his seed would be “as the stars of the heavens” (Gen.22:17). Paul said to the New Covenant Church: “They that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham” (Gal.3:7). As the stars sit in the heavens with the sun, so He “raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him (that is the Sun) in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus” (Eph.2:6). Notice that to be in “heavenly places” is to abide “in Christ.” Those who do not continue to abide in Christ do not bear fruit. (Joh.15:4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. (5)…He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. As we see, those who do not bear fruit do not continue to abide in heaven. (Rev.6:13) And the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. Like the fallen figs, the fallen stars represent the falling away of a portion of the spiritual seed of Abraham. According to 1 John 5:11, “God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” and that is the only place we can claim this gift.  (Joh.15:2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he (that is, the Father) taketh it away…. One of the most common ways God takes away these unfruitful “Christians” is to permit the wolves to carry them away. (Deu.13:1) If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, (2) and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (meaning false Jesuses), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; (3) thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  The false prophets come with deception to weed out the Church of those who do not love truth and purity. (2Thes.2:11) And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: (12) that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. It is the corporate False Prophet that “the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed” (Isa.9:15-16). The false prophet is the tail of the corporate dragon of which we are told that “his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth” (Rev.12:4). Obviously, if even one literal star falls to the earth, there would be no earth, so this has to be spiritual stars falling away. Notice that a third of the Christians, who are stars that are living at the time of the end, will be cast down from their heavenly position in Christ. This does not include merely the religious who are not born again. We have been told that the stars here are angels, but the false prophets certainly do not cast down angels, rather the apostates who believe their lies. These lukewarm, unfruitful “Christians” are rejected from the righteous harvest and fall to the earth to be part of the wicked harvest, “the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God.” In all the verses we have looked at, where the stars fall, there is not one where the sun or moon falls. Only stars are in danger of falling, for they have the least glory or the least fruit. According to Jesus' parable of the sower, the least that would make it into the kingdom is 30-fold fruit. Star glory saints do not all have the same glory, and those who do not have at least the 30-fold fruit will fall. (1Cor.15:41) …One star differeth from another star in glory. I believe a newborn Christian has been given 30-fold fruit, but many leave their “first love” and do not maintain their “first works” so that their lampstand is removed (Rev.2:4-5). They have the 30-fold glory with a new born-again spirit, but that glory becomes diminished by the “garment spotted by the flesh” and its works. They are born again and die again, which is what is meant by “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jud.1:12). We must overcome through faith, or we lose our position in Christ. (Rev.3:5) He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life…. From the rebirth of our spirit (30-fold), we are meant to continue taking the Promised Land of our soul (60-fold) and body (100-fold) until nothing of the old life remains. (Mat.13:33)…The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal (spirit, soul, and body), till it was all leavened. Instead, many live after the flesh so that even their spirits are not preserved. This is like the servant who was given one talent but brought forth no fruit because he hid it in the earth, and for this was cast forth into outer darkness. (1Thes.5:23) And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly (completely); and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Moon glory saints will not fall at the end, for they are 60-fold. Sun glory saints are 100- fold for they have come to maturity and manifested the Son to walk as Christ walked. We are all sons by faith, but those who truly walk in the faith of the Gospel will manifest their Sonship (2Cor.3:18). Besides the differences seen in Jacob's family between the star, moon, and sun glories, there are more. The Lord impressed in my spirit some of these differences. The stars are separate from one another because they have their own glory. We saw that glory is the righteousness of Christ manifested in us. Those who are immature in the Lord are self-righteous and it keeps them separated from one another. This is where the foolishness of denominationalism comes from. Those who are sectarian are star glory or, worse, just religious. However, the second stage of our maturity is the moon glory. We are told that the moon will be turned into blood before the Day of the Lord (Act.2:20). This is death to self, caused by the persecution through tribulation. The moon is united because it is dead, not having its own glory or self-righteousness to separate it as a body. It only reflects the light of the sun, as those who are dead to self only reflect the light of the Son. (Rom.6:5) For if we have become united with [him] in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of his resurrection. Notice that those who fully manifest moon glory will have sun glory. The third stage is the resurrection life of the Son because we once again have our own glory, but this time it is the glory of the sun. Of course, this is the manifestation of Sonship or “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27). We seek for this place in Him when the sun is straight up and we are fully walking in its light. (Pro.4:18) But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The perfect day is when there are no shadows of darkness and Christ, the Sun, is manifested in our life. (Mat.13:43) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father…. It is God's desire that we outgrow star glory to fill up the ranks of the moon and sun glory before Jesus comes. (Isa.30:26) Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.  At the end of the Tribulation, “the light of the sun shall be sevenfold” because a portion of the seven churches will have repented, and become sun glory. At this time, it will be “as the light of seven days” because they will manifest Sonship at the end of the tribulation on the seventh millennial day. Those who refuse to manifest the light in these three stages will degenerate and be spit out of the body of Christ in order to purify it. (Rev.3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. After these stars fall, the sun, moon, and remaining stars are darkened because they no longer share their light with the world. The time of evangelization is over and all of the elect are hidden in the ark or martyred and resurrected. (Isa.13:10) For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. God attributes character to the heavenly bodies because these are His saints, who will no longer share the light of the Gospel with an unrepentant world or its reprobate “Christians.” (Rev.9:20) And the rest of mankind…repented not of the works of their hands….  Let me share a few revelations with you that go along with this teaching.   Death to Self Leads to Resurrection Life G. M. - 1/16/23 (David's notes in red) It was a bright sunny day, and I was walking with someone on the sidewalk. (representing that the sun/Son shines upon us when we walk the narrow road.) It seemed to be on a college campus somewhere. (A college campus represents a place of higher learning.) There were quite a few other people gathered in small groups here and there along the way. It was a beautiful day, and everyone was happy and joyful. At the end of the sidewalk, there were a couple of glass doors going into what I thought was a building, but once inside, I felt that I was in a cave, as it was so dark. (I do not know who was walking with me, but I felt it was someone I knew.) (Jesus is walking with us as we walk the straight and narrow unto the death of our flesh nature represented by the cave. Jesus was buried in a cave after His death by the cross and so must we. There is a parallel between what happened to Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection and what is happening with the Man-child/Bride bodies.) This was not a large cave but seemed to be 30-40 feet long. (The Number 30 is considered the number of maturity and the number 40 represents a period of testing or trial.) The darkness was so dense and overwhelming. The idea of it being a cave never entered my mind before we entered through the glass doors. (We must all lose our fleshly life, which is against God, so that our spiritual life will rule. (Mic.7:7-9) But as for me, I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.) Once inside the doors (Jesus is the transparent Door. We enter the Kingdom only through Him and His resurrection life.) I got separated from the person who had been walking with me. (This reminds me of what Jesus cried out on His cross in (Mat.27:45-46) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Jesus felt separated, too, during His death experience.) It was very dark, so it was hard to recognize people as they just looked like shadows moving about. (When we are going through our death to self process, we become hard to recognize because we are shadows of our former selves.) I didn't want to stand in the path, so I moved up to the highest row of seating available, which was the third row.) (Jesus said after 3 days I will rise again. The three rows could also represent bearing the 30, 60-, and 100-fold fruit of Christ.) There were planks set into the steep bank of a hill that was very hard dirt. The ceiling of this area was barely above the highest seating space. I sat quietly waiting to hear the voice of the person who walked in with me so I could locate them and sit with them. When I awoke, I did not know what had happened to the person who walked in with me. (He is still there in spirit with us, even in our darkest moments. He promised He will never leave or forsake us.) … There were people scattered about sitting on the rows of planks, but the area was far from full. (The first fruits harvest is small. Few are taught the crucified life or Jesus' message of death to self.) I received by faith at random Jeremiah 4:6 for this dream. My finger was on the words, “flee for safety”. This chapter is very fitting for these days. (Jer.4:6) Set up a standard toward Zion (the Bride):    flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. (Those who are dead to self, like the first fruits Bride, are safe from judgment.) The Lord brought to my attention the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Thank you, Father, for the seed sown upon good ground, for those who hear the word and understand it; that they may bear much fruit and bring glory and honor to Your Name. In Jesus Name, Amen.   30-, 60- & 100-Fold Paths Anonymous. - 10/25/2007 (David's notes in red) I saw three different groups of believers (star glory: 30-fold; moon: 60-fold; sun: 100-fold) and we had to decide which pathway we all wanted to take. There was an extremely huge boulder or rock, like what you see in a mountain. (Representing Jesus and the Kingdom of God.) There were three pathways to choose from to go to the other side. The first was to take a pathway around the rock, which looked fairly flat, and on level sandy ground. This pathway looked off-white, exactly like the sand you see on a beach. (The easy way on the flesh is not the crucified life and may not bear fruit much beyond 30-fold or star glory. It is from this place that many will fall away. This may represent the born-again in spirit, but not completely crucified in the soul, life. Many avoid the fiery trials that burn up the flesh by not walking in the steps of Jesus. The garment for such an individual, if they did not fall away, would be off-white, reflecting their works. To many, the rock is too great to hope to walk on, reflecting their immature understanding of the Gospel and God's plan of recreating Christ in us. These choose the unstable, impure, off-white sand of man's traditions on which to stand.) The second path was to climb up that rock. The steps were carved out of the rock, and it was a steep and high climb. (This represents walking in the steps already set in stone by the Word, which is also standing on the rock of Christ's Word. This will bear more fruit even to 60-fold, or moon glory, but something important is not emphasized on this path.) The third path was to enter into a very narrow opening going into that rock and walk down steep steps, also carved out of the rock. (This is also standing on the rock in the steps of the Word. It suggests more the abiding in the cleft of the rock of safety by entering into Christ's suffering through death to self, spiritually beneath the earth. Through this method, we can transverse the fullness of moon glory and enter 100-fold or Sun glory, Christlikeness.) We were all outside that rock, looking at these 3 paths and deciding which pathway to take. This place was flourishing with grass and trees and was not barren. The pathway into the rock was directly in front of us. The pathway climbing up the rock was to my left (from the rock's perspective, it would have been right [those who walk more as sheep on Jesus' right]) and the pathway going around the rock was to my right (from the rock's perspective, it would have been left [those who walk more as goats on Jesus' left]). Both these were detours to the straight pathway into the rock. (This is God's perfect will -- His chosen path, which few will find.) We could view all the believers taking the different pathways. The vast majority turned to my right (the rock's left) because that way seemed bright, flat, and sure, which could be easily negotiated. (“There is a way that seemeth right unto man” but is really left unto God. Many are comfortable with the worldly “Christian” life where discipleship is considered unattainable and something that has passed away.) There were some turning to my left to climb the rock. Again, it was bright, and the steps seemed visibly carved out from the rock, though the ascent was very steep and the height was frightening. (This is the life of faith without the emphasis of the crucified life.) However, the pathway into the rock was not as visible as the pathway outside; it seemed the scariest. (Because it represents the self being swallowed up by the life of Christ through death to the old man and walking by faith.) I saw one believer from my church wearing white, calling me to follow her. Most took the pathway around the rock, whilst there were very few people who climbed on top of the rock or went into the rock. (It is always a few who take the best paths.) The believer from my church started climbing the rock. I did not follow her but went into the rock. (We cannot follow others' individual path or that of churches and religion, or denominations. God has a scriptural plan for each of us.) One could not see the steps before you -- you had to descend by faith, but as you descended it got easier, and I remember thinking that from the outside it looked like a difficult, narrow, dark, and unknown pathway, but when you walk by faith, God's grace is sufficient to hold your footing in the steep descent. I felt tremendous confidence and joy whilst going on my journey; it was not scary at all. (The more we die, the easier life becomes because we have more of Christ and less of us.) This path was not taken by most people, and the dream ended here. The two paths: the one to the right of the rock mountain and the one into the rock mountain. Both point out scriptural needs in our life and paths in which the most glorious will major. The easy path of star glory is the one from which the greatest falling away will come. (Rev.6:13) and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. When I shared this interpretation with [“Anonymous”] she had just received this confirmation from the Lord: “I too was told that this is the 30-fold pathway where a lot of people will fall”.   Climbing and Entering the Rock Mountain P. O. – 2015 (David's notes in red) P.O.'s introduction: I am typing this dream from memory, but that's not a problem because it was a very memorable experience. When I originally gave this dream and testimony in the assembly, I remember some of the verses the Father gave me at that time, but not all of them. At the time when I shared it with the brethren, I emphasized the part of the dream about 'being above it all', that (Eph.2:6) He raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus... and that we are (1:21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come... I emphasized that part for two reasons: First, because we were heavily coming against the chemtrails threat. Secondly, the part about entering the rock was very difficult to describe, so I gave it less emphasis than it merited. Here's the dream: I was climbing a rock that was also a mountain. (Jesus is the Rock and the mountain or Kingdom of God. Jesus is Mt. Zion into which the Bride will enter and be one with Him. On Mt. Zion is the presence of God, the Man-child David and the Bride. Climbing here, represents coming closer and closer to this goal by overcoming obstacles and hindrances to the Word in us. Climbing a mountain is, in many cases considered a place of safety and so it is in this case.) The ledge was narrow and close. (Mat.7:14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. (The way is as narrow as the obedience to the Word restrains our actions. Those whose actions are not conformed to the Word are not climbing this mountain.) There was one place on the ledge that I had just come from that had lots of pebbles, like loose debris. I could hear pebbles skittering off the edge, echoing, like they were going down, almost forever. I felt my heart kind of skip a beat. (I have known people who were climbing this mountain through faith but stumbled at the rock, being disobedient, and fell away. (Rom.9:30) What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith: (31) but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. (32) Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling; (33) even as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (Joh.6:28) They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (Eph.2:8) for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. Condemnation is generally the devil's way of bringing us under law to our own works, which brings no faith or fruit. God's way is to repent and believe, and He will give you grace to climb the mountain.) I thought briefly about turning back, but it seemed like a bad idea. (Heb.10:38) But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. (39) But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul. When I arrived at what seemed to be nearly the peak, I rested my back against the mountain, while my face looked skyward. I was so high that I was above the clouds. (Climbing Zion represents the height of obedience, which is also the height of sanctification and safety. (Psa.125:1) A Song of Ascents. They that trust in Jehovah Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever. (2) As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round about his people From this time forth and for evermore. (3) For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity. (4) Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good, And to them that are upright in their hearts. (5) But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel. (Psa.15:1) A Psalm of David. Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? (2) He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart; (3) He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; (4) In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah; He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; (5) He that putteth not out his money to interest, Nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (24:3) Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah? And who shall stand in his holy place? (4) He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto falsehood, And hath not sworn deceitfully. (5) He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (6) This is the generation of them that seek after him, That seek thy face, even Jacob. [Selah] Considering the many threats, temptations and obstacles that are ahead, we need to abide in Christ, the secret place of the Most High. (1Jn.2:24) As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. (2Jn.9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. Judgment is at the door; repent of sin against the Word and believe.) I never even saw any ground. It was all rock and sky. (This represents that worldly temptations are left behind. I am crucified with Christ.) I remember thinking, “Nothing can affect me here”. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. (Gal.5:24) And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. (Again, this was the part that I tried most to communicate to the brethren that night.) I was “in heavenly places” and “far above all rule, and authority, and power”, as the Word says. But then the 'twilight zone' part happened. I felt the urge to turn and sort of 'fall into' or embrace the rock face. (Mat.21:43) Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God ... shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. (44) And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces... I extended my arms out as I turned 180 degrees, as if I were going to hug something really huge. This was when it was as if the rock absorbed me. (The ultimate end of the climb of sanctification by the Word is to be one with God and to be one with our brethren in Him.) It was something like one of those old movies where a wall somehow opens up to reveal a secret door. Then, in the blink of an eye, the door and person disappear. In the movies, they've gone somewhere mysterious. This is like what happened. When this occurred, I thought, “Why do I want to go into this rock?” My natural mind wanted to tell me that it would be dark and uncomfortable. But that is what I wanted, and that is what happened. I embraced the rock and it was as if a secret chasm or door cracked open to take me in. (Joh.10:9) I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. (Mat.10:39) He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Joh.12:25) He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. End of dream. Final thought and prayer: The night that I shared this dream/testimony, I tried to demonstrate the last part to our group, failing miserably at the attempt to demonstrate a rock mountain absorbing a person. In our natural minds, this seems like a nightmare or a B-rated movie. But in the dream, it felt perfect and right. (Because this path brings us to the joy and peace of a cleansed conscience. It brings us to serve God because of the love of Him, rather than just fear of Him, which is “the beginning of wisdom” but not the end of it.) Father, thank You for giving this dream to us and helping us to understand what You are saying. Your Son is perfect and right. And we thank You for our being in Him. From Isaiah, I am reminded of a favorite 'rock' passage: (Isa.50:7) For the Lord Jehovah will help me; therefore have I not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. (8) He is near that justifieth me; who will content with me? let us stand up together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. (9) Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. (10) Who is among you that feareth Jehovah, that obeyeth the voice of his servant? he that walketh in darkness, and hath no light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and rely upon his God. Thank You that Jesus is our Rock and that we will never be put to shame. Because we are in Him, we can turn our faces like flint and never look back. And, lastly, (Job.13:15) Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope: Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him. Thank You, Father. We no longer live, but Christ the Rock lives in us. Amen.

One of the more pivotal chapters. The people of God have moved to kadesh barnea The Lord spoke to Moses saying send men to spy out cannan Deut 1:19 Go up take possession and do not fear nor be afraid, but the people want to send in spies. Moses said let's go take it but they want to check it out first Now in numbers 13 this is what is happening V8 God changes The name from God saves to Yahweh saves so he is now Joshua. V17 go see what the land is and what the people and land is like, warriors or fortified cities, or camps and weak people Go and spy out from the bottom to the top Cut cluster of grapes, need a pole to carry and Eschol means cluster George Whitfield with out amplification could preach and Benjamin Franklin figured out 24000 people could hear him when he preached: Everything that is needed to live here it is flowing with milk and honey and God is right.  This is the report but However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. - Numbers 13:28 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." - Numbers 13:29 All these people were Canaanite people and were descendants of Noah. God said he would punish them but was waiting on their sin to be full grown and He is going to use the Israelites to judge them 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it."31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." - Numbers 13:30-31 They saying this land devours its inhabitants means they are always at war and there are giants in the land. They say these are like the Nephilim. Josh believes these are the great and mighty people of Seth.  They believe the Nephilim survived the flood and we cannot win against them. Ch 14 The people wept because the went through the wilderness and now are at the promised land and it is over since we cannot go in and do what God says to do.  They say we no longer trust God anymore Moses and Aaron fall on their face and worship God since they reject God and their leadership   Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, "The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. - Numbers 14:7 The battle is between faith and fear.  Then all the congregation says to stone them with stones now But the glory of the Lord appeared int the tent 11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." - Numbers 14:11-12         In spite of God had done they still don't believe.. God says He will disinherit them, destroy them and make a nation of Moses       We cannot be paralyzed and live in fear of the obstacles that are in the way of God's plans How many times do we have to see in Scripture and our lives God doing his will in spite of the obstacles and yet we still don't believe We must believe no matter what.  Remember what God says to Joshua after Moses dies and He says be strong and courageous and do my will and you will have success God had proved His supernatural power to the Israelites many times since they left Egypt. How easily we forget when we focus on the wrong things. "The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God can't provide for us or the power of God protect us. If our daily prayer is, 'Thy will be done,' and if we walk in obedience to God's will, then what is there to complain about? A complaining spirit is evidence of an ungrateful heart and an unsurrendered will. By our grumbling, we're daring to say that we know more than God does about what's best for His people!" (Warren Wiersbe) They allowed their fear to steal their faith and trust in God. Instead of trusting they grumbled. They wanted to return to Egypt, where they were slaves. Their old life is what they knew, but it is what God freed them from, now they keep wanting to return.             Why do people return to their old life? What causes them to do this? Focusing on circumstances and relying on their own ability, instead of focusing and relying on God and trusting Him.       They keep looking back instead of pressing on forward. Lot's wife looked back longing for her old life in Sodom, what happened to her?         Philippians 3:12-17 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. Proverbs 26:11, As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. Instead of pressing on forward with the LORD, they kept wanting to return to their slavery, how foolish. Do the best to come up with the best we can conceive of God's greatness and then realize that it's infinitely greater than all we can ask or believe.. ATTEMPT great things for God and expect great results. God doesn't want our ability but our availability God was teaching the Israelites a basic lesson of the life of faith, namely, that the real power in the lives of God's people is God's power. As we trust and obey God, He releases His power through us. We are never adequate in ourselves, but God empowers the obedient and trusting. Jesus taught His disciples the same lesson when He multiplied the loaves and fishes— twice. 2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, Power of intercession prayer 13 But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. - Numbers 14:13-14                The failure of the Israelites grew out of unbelief (cf. Heb. 3:19). The majority failed to believe that God would give them the land of their enemies as He had promised.            "Like Pharaoh, they were hardening their hearts and ignoring God's clear command. Moses Intercedes              In verses 13-19 Moses intercedes again for the people. Similar to the last lesson, Moses appeals to the LORD's character and reputation. He repeated God's words back to Him-praying scripture. Not important that his name is great but God's glory is important Plead for God's grace Our prayers matter         "Here is a whole nation rescued from ruin by the effectual fervent prayer of one righteous man [cf. James 5:16]."            V17 Let your power be great This rebellion was a test for Moses, similar to the test that Abraham faced when God told him to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22) If He had actually done what He threatened to do, God could still have fulfilled His promises to Abraham, by destroying and dispossessing all the other living Israelites, and by sparing only Moses and his descendants. However, God could not have fulfilled the prophetic promises that He had given through Jacob (Gen. 49)—had He done so. There would have to be descendants of Judah, from whom a great ruler would come (Gen. 49:10), as well as some future for the other tribes.             Perhaps God meant that He would completely destroy that older generation of Israelites immediately, wiping them out in one blow, instead of gradually (cf. Exod. 32:10). Our sins can have irreversible consequences in our lives even though they are forgiven 20 Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word.21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. - Numbers 14:20-23 Children will inherit and will not be prey All but Joshua and Caleb will die in the desert and will not enter into His rest Leadership die immediately because they have the greater responsibility       This oath was fulfilled partially when Israel entered the Promised Land (cf. Josh. 2:9- 11), but it will be fulfilled completely when God consummates His dealings with Israel in the future.              The failure of the Israelites would not frustrate God's purpose to manifest His glory throughout the earth, through the seed of Abraham. Even though the present generation would die in the wilderness, Caleb (and Joshua, not mentioned here in v. 24 but in v. 30) would enter the Promised Land.          Though some take the number ten as a round number, the text does record ten times the Israelites tested God (v. 22) by complaining: At the Red Sea (Exod. 14:11-12) At Marah (Exod. 15:23) In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:2) In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:20) In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:27) At Rephidim (Exod. 17:1-2) At Horeb (Exod. 32) At Taberah (Num. 11:1-3) At Kibroth-hattaavah (Num. 11:4-34) At Kadesh (Num. 14:1-3) "… this passage intends to show that the people failed to inherit the Promised Land and hence died in the wilderness without inheriting the blessing, not so much for a specific act of disobedience or for fear of the battles that lay ahead, but rather for the simple fact of their unbelief. They failed to trust in God."                   Next the people repent, now we will go. It is too late at this point.  Is this not scary to us.  The Lord has every right to say no.  The Lord does not have to save any of us.  It is a privilege not a right. The lesson is don't sin, live in faith and trust Him Two things, don't presume on Gods grace Don't try to do what God only can do They were only 3 days away. They could have been on their way to conquer the land, but they refused. This section of text teaches us important lessons about inadequacy and adequacy. The 10 spies, who did not want the Israelites to enter the land, felt inadequate (cf. John 15:5). In this, they were being realistic. However, they should have compensated for their feelings of personal inadequacy, by reminding themselves of God's complete adequacy (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9; Luke 1:37; Matt. 19:26; Phil. 4:13). 1Sailhamer, p. 388.            God was teaching the Israelites a basic lesson of the life of faith, namely, that the real power in the lives of God's people is God's power. As we trust and obey God, He releases His power through us. We are never adequate in ourselves, but God empowers the obedient and trusting. Jesus taught His disciples the same lesson when He multiplied the loaves and fishes— twice. Joshua 14 Josh's one of his favorite scriptures Just whipped everyone and now Joshua says it is time to conquer the land, won the major battles.  Joshua and Caleb are 45 years older than everyone else.  Took five years to get to this place. Caleb says give me the mountains and the giants and I will show you what I SAID 45 years ago about GOD is true and He will win the battle The old name was for the leaders of these people and now it is the mountains of God 6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.' 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said." 13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war. - Joshua 14:6-15

6 Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.'[a] 10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.

Study Passage: Numbers 32Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them? 8 Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the LORD had given them. 10 And the LORD's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' 13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. 14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel! 15 For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the LORD for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the LORD; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord orders.”28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the LORD has said to your servants, we will do. 32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”33 And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34 And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair. 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Study Passage: Numbers 14:1-45Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people ofIsrael.11 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater andmightier than they.”13 But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.' 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.' 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”20 Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”26 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.' 35 I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the LORD. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed? 42 Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” 44 But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

Study Passage: Numbers 13:1-33The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. 17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

"And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe. For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them. For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance. As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land. Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war." Joshua 14

Our faith is not faith at all until it is put to the test! Without testing, without proving it, it's just something in the mind. Peter wrote, ‘...so that the TESTING OF YOUR FAITH, being more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ!' (1 Peter 1.6-7).  We cannot live from meeting to meeting, just talking and singing about the power of God, we've got to ‘make it happen'! God wants us to be men and women of ACTION, not passive, but people He can work through. There are three practical ways in which you can make the things of God happen in your life, so that you can fulfil His call, see His miracles, and become what God wants you to be. You need a faith that has been tested, a greater power in prayer, and you need simple obedience. 'But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.' Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” (Numbers 14.6-9)

Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.DEU.1:9 And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:DEU.1:10 The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.DEU.1:11 (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)DEU.1:12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?DEU.1:13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.DEU.1:14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.DEU.1:15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.DEU.1:16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.DEU.1:17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.DEU.1:18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.DEU.1:19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.DEU.1:20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.DEU.1:21 Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.DEU.1:22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.DEU.1:23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:DEU.1:24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.DEU.1:25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.DEU.1:26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:DEU.1:27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.DEU.1:28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.DEU.1:29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.DEU.1:30 The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;DEU.1:31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.DEU.1:32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,DEU.1:33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.DEU.1:34 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,DEU.1:35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers.DEU.1:36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.DEU.1:37 Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.DEU.1:38 But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.DEU.1:39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.DEU.1:40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.DEU.1:41 Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.DEU.1:42 And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them. Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.DEU.1:43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.DEU.1:44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.DEU.1:45 And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.DEU.1:46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.Chapter 2DEU.2:1 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.DEU.2:2 And the LORD spake unto me, saying,DEU.2:3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.DEU.2:4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:DEU.2:5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.DEU.2:6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.DEU.2:7 For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.Interdimensional Captain Recruitment BUY MY SUPERNATURAL NOVEL!https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Romance-Episode-1-ebook/dp/B07ZRJV6SHDOWNLOAD THE APP!fringeradionetwork.com DON BASHAM MINISTRIES 1,000,000,000 GIVE SEND GO:https://www.givesendgo.com/bashamPAYPAL:spiritforce01@gmail.comBITCOIN:3H4Z2X22DuVUjWPsXKPEsWZmT9c4hDmYvyVENMO:@faithbucksCASHAPP:$spiritforcebucksZelle:faithbucks@proton.mePATREON:Michael BashamHOME BASE SITE:faithbucks.com

2026년 성경통독 시리즈 (Bible Reading Plan Series) 06 2026년 2월 8일 레븐교회 주일예배 설교 (박기범 목사) Text: 민수기 (Numbers) 9:15-23, 14:5-9 Title: "주님의 임재로 By the Presence of the Lord" 민수기 (Numbers) 9:15-23 [새번역/ESV] 15 성막을 세우던 날, 구름이 성막, 곧 증거궤가 보관된 성막을 덮었다. 저녁에는 성막 위의 구름이 불처럼 보였으며, 아침까지 그렇게 계속되었다. On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 그것은 늘 그러하였다. 구름이 성막을 덮고 있었으며, 밤에는 그 구름이 불처럼 보였다. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. 17 구름이 성막 위로 걷혀 올라갈 때면, 이스라엘 자손은 그것을 보고 난 다음에 길을 떠났고, 구름이 내려와 머물면, 이스라엘 자손은 바로 그 자리에 진을 쳤다. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 이스라엘 자손은 이렇게 주님의 지시에 따라 길을 떠났고, 또한 주님의 지시에 따라 진을 쳤다. 구름이 성막 위에 머물러 있는 날 동안에는, 진에 머물렀다. At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 그 구름이 성막 위에 여러 날 동안 오래 머물면, 이스라엘 자손은 주님의 명을 지켜 길을 떠나지 않았다. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. 20 구름이 성막 위에 며칠만 머무를 때도 있었다. 그 때에는 그 때대로 주님의 지시에 따라서 진을 치고, 또 주님의 지시에 따라 길을 떠나곤 하였다. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. 21 구름이 저녁부터 아침까지만 머물러 있을 때도 있었다. 그럴 때에는 아침이 되어 구름이 걷혀 올라가면, 그들은 길을 떠났다. 낮이든지 밤이든지 구름만 걷혀 올라가면, 그들은 길을 떠났다. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 때로는 이틀이나 한 달이나 또는 몇 달씩 계속하여 구름이 성막 위에 머물러 있으면, 이스라엘 자손은 그 곳에 진을 친 채 길을 떠나지 않았다. 그들은 구름이 걷혀 올라가야만 길을 떠났다. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 이렇게 그들은 주님의 지시에 따라 진을 쳤고, 주님의 지시에 따라 길을 떠났다. 그들은, 주님께서 모세를 시켜 분부하신 대로, 주님의 명령을 지켰다. At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses. 민수기 (Numbers) 14:5-9 [새번역/ESV] 5 모세와 아론은 이스라엘 자손의 온 회중 앞에서 얼굴을 땅에 대고 엎드렸다. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 그러자 그 땅을 탐지하고 돌아온 이들 가운데서, 눈의 아들 여호수아와 여분네의 아들 갈렙이 슬픔에 겨워 자신들의 옷을 찢으며, And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 이스라엘 자손 온 회중에게 말하였다. "우리가 탐지하려고 두루 다녀 본 그 땅은 매우 좋은 땅입니다. and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 주님께서 우리를 사랑하신다면, 그 땅으로 우리를 인도하실 것입니다. 젖과 꿀이 흐르는 그 땅을 우리에게 주실 것입니다. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 다만 여러분은 주님을 거역하지만 마십시오. 여러분은 그 땅 백성을 두려워하지 마십시오. 그들은 우리의 밥입니다. 그들의 방어력은 사라졌습니다. 주님께서 우리와 함께 계시니, 그들을 두려워하지 마십시오." Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

Our Election in Christ (3) (audio) David Eells, 1/14/26 I'm going to continue to speak on our election in Christ and how God has chosen Israel, and who Israel is in the New Testament. In (1Co.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Everybody who abides in Christ is going to be made alive, so it's important for us to know what it means to be “in Christ.” Does it mean, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior”? It could be, but it might not be. Some people truly want Jesus to be their Savior. They are truly repenting and believing, while other people are merely parroting words. Did you know that the Bible says salvation and eternal life were not given to you? (Gal.3:16) Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. The promise that God gave to Abraham was only to Abraham and Christ. And the promise of eternal life was given to Christ; it was not given to us. The gift of eternal life is in Christ. God didn't give the gift of eternal life into your hand outside of Christ. He gave that gift in Christ and only if you are abiding in Christ do you have that gift. The “once saved, always saved” believers think that they have been given a gift of eternal life which is outside of Christ, but that's not Biblical. (1Jn.5:11) And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The eternal life that God gave us is in Jesus. The only way you can have it is to be in Jesus because the promise wasn't to you, it was to the seed of Abraham, “as of one.” That seed is Christ. (12) He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. Let's face it, some only have religion. Jesus said, (Joh.15:1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. No man is going to pluck you out of Jesus' hand; the Father is the Husbandman and He is the One Who is going to pluck up the plant. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away.... There are people whom we have considered to be Christians who are not Christians. They may have started out with Christ, but they have not come to Him. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. (5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch.... He is “cast forth” from where? He is “cast forth” from being in Christ. He said, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away.” If you are bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22,23; Ephesians 5:8-10), you are in Christ and have nothing to worry about. If you are not bearing fruit, it's because you are not abiding in Him. “To abide” means “to endure,” “to persist,” “to continue,” “to remain,” “to be steadfast.” To abide in Christ is to abide in His Word. It is to have ears to hear His Word (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9; Romans 11:8; etc.) (Joh.15:6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (8) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and [so] shall ye be my disciples. It's in bearing fruit that you are proven to be a disciple. You can come into Christ, but you won't stay there if you don't bear fruit. (2Jn.9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. The “once saved, always saved” crowd believes that after you step over the line, that's it, but Jesus said that if you don't bear fruit, you are not My disciple and you are going to be cast forth as a branch. The word translated “elect” and the word translated “chosen” are the exact same word. The Greek word eklektos is translated sometimes as “chosen” and sometimes as “elect.” It's many who are called but few who are chosen. Jesus speaks about the man who made it into the marriage feast, but didn't have on the wedding garment. (Mat.22:11) But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment: (In Rev 19:8 the wedding garment was “the righteous acts of the saints”, which also represents our fruit.) (12) and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. (13) Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few chosen. Those who are abiding in the Kingdom are the ones who are bearing fruit and are chosen, or eklektos, or “elect.” The elect are all called and once they are saved, they are always going to be saved, but “many are called.” Among the called, there are those who don't bear fruit and there are those who bear fruit. Those who bear fruit are chosen. God said in (Hos.11:1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. You say, “He was talking about Jesus.” No, He was primarily talking about the children of Israel and then it was used of Jesus. He called them out of Egypt and into the wilderness, and then He tried or tested them. Some bore fruit and went into the Promised Land, and those were the elect. Those who died in the wilderness, in type, had been called, but they were not the elect; they were not chosen. (Num.32:11) Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: (12) save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed the Lord. Joshua and Caleb bore fruit and were chosen. Here's a good example of this: (Rom.11:26) And so all Israel shall be saved.... Is that all of natural Israel? No, because (Rom.9:27) … If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved. So, who is “all Israel” who is going to be saved? (Rom.11:19) Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. The “branches” that were broken off are the natural Jews who would not believe. (20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Paul is talking about the Gentiles who are standing in the vine by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. So, where is unconditional eternal security?? (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (23) And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. In the New Testament, “all Israel” is those natural Jews who believe and those Gentiles who are grafted into the vine by their faith. All the people who were broken off for unbelief were not Israel, but all of true spiritual Israel is going to be saved. Look what Paul said about the end of the Jewish Covenant: (Rom.11:5) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant (This is speaking of a remnant of Jews.) according to the election of grace. (6) But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. (7) What then? that which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. He said a remnant of natural Israel was elect, but Israel as a whole did not obtain grace. The called who were not the elect were hardened and the elect obtained grace because they believed. This was at the end of the Jewish Covenant. Now we are coming to the end of the mostly Gentile Covenant, and today “Israel” is the Gentile church and the few Jews; I.e., all who are “circumcised in heart.” (Rom.11:7) What then? that which the “Israel of God”(As a type of this Church) seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. Is that Scriptural? Yes, because the Bible plainly says that the lukewarm are going to be spewed out of the body (Revelation 3:16) and there will be a great falling away (Revelation 12:4). Pagans can't fall away. Those people who fall away have to have been believers first, or they could not have fallen away, and the Lord is not coming until the falling away comes to purify the Church. (2Th.2:2) To the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand; (3) let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition who was reprobated. The same statement can be made of the Gentile era because the elect are going to obtain grace to bear fruit and the rest are going to be hardened. The rest are going to fall away, exactly as Jesus showed in the Parable of the Sower. This should really give you the fear of the Lord. By the faith that God has given us, we are responsible to take God's grace and put it to work in our lives. We are responsible for obeying what we see in the New Testament, not in “Church.” Everybody who abides in the vine, which is Jesus, whether it's the remnant of natural Israel or whether it's the remnant of the Gentiles, is true Israel. And “all Israel” shall be saved because all true Israel is the elect, regardless of race. At the end of the Jewish Covenant, Jesus came to prove who the elect remnant was among the Jews. Jesus said, (Joh.16:21) A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. (22) And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. Our personal man-child is born to us as the fruit of Christ being manifest through us to the world. All who exercise faith in the promises will bear His fruit, which looks like Him. In these days, the corporate Man-child body, in whom is the full manifestation of Jesus, is coming to prove who the first fruits elect remnant is in the Church, and the Man-child is going to use the same method that Jesus used to bring this nature to the Church. What was Jesus' method? (Mat.13:10) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? In other words, “Why are you saying things to them that are so hard to understand?” (11) And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given.... “Whosoever hath” what? Well, if we go back three verses, we'll find the answer: (9) He that hath ears, let him hear. It's like when something makes perfect sense to you, but when you try to explain it to other people, somehow they just can't understand what you're saying unless they have the gift of faith. You see, Jesus' method for separating the elect from the non-elect was to preach the Word and when He preached the Word, the elect understood because they had ears. (Mat.13:12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given (If you have ears, it's going to be given to you. Sometimes we do not hear the word of the Lord with the respect that we should have. God is speaking.), and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. People who don't have ears to hear are going to lose what understanding they do have. Remember what happened to the servant who was given the one talent? (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants (The Greek word there is doulous and it actually means “bondslaves.”), and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey… (24) And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; (25) and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own. (26) But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; (This servant had no ears; his knowledge was false. His Lord did scatter it, to him. He didn't realize that all was given to him by grace. It did not come by their works. Many think they own what they have.) (27) thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest (or fruit). The servant with the one talent didn't bring forth any fruit from what was given to him. The Lord took away the one talent from him and gave it to the servant who had the 10 talents. (Mat.25:28) Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents. (29) For unto every one that hath (ears) shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away. Again, a person who doesn't bear fruit is not “harkening,” which means “to hear and obey,” unto the voice of the Lord, and even what they do have is going to be taken away from them. Jesus told us, (Mat.10:34) Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. That “sword” separated the righteous from the wicked, and the wicked from their demons. That was a good thing because a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:21; 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). (Jer.48:10) Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Now, there are a lot of preachers who are not going to cut anyone with the Word; it's too easy to lose tithes that way and so they aren't going to step on anyone's feet. Your sword is supposed to separate. The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and it divides. (Heb.4:12) For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word divides the carnal from the spiritual. Jesus wasn't trying to explain things to people who didn't have ears to hear. Even if He had given it to them, as we've seen, they could not have kept it. (Luk.13:23) And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, (24) Strive to enter in by the narrow door (Many pass up the narrow door of grace until it is too late.): for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. (25) When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; (26) then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; (27) and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. Well, they were walking with Jesus, but they had not come to Him, just as Judas walked with Him and did miracles and signs but was an unrepentant thief until he couldn't turn back. Jesus warned us (Mat.7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. How could they do these miracles if He didn't “know” them? It's because Jesus gave them authority to do those works (Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 9:1). You see, “knowing about” someone is not the same as “knowing” someone. “Knowing you” is like the relationship Adam had with Eve. He knew Eve. This is a personal relationship with the Lord, like a husband knows his wife. “I never knew you” is what Jesus will say about a person who was doing the work of God, but was not giving good ground to the seed. Some people think they surely must be acceptable to God because they are doing the work of God. No, you can do the work of God and yet totally fail in your personal relationship with God. Personally, someone can be a total failure in their life of obedience to God, but they can still go cast out demons and do many mighty works. It's not gifts that open the door to the Kingdom, folks, it's fruit. He said that many are going to seek to enter in, but they will not be able. When the five foolish virgins came to the marriage feast after the door was shut, they called out, (Mat.25:11) … Lord, Lord, open to us. (12) But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Were they Christians? Yes, they were Christians and they did start out and seek to enter in, but they did not bear fruit. In a way, at the end of the Jewish Dispensation, the Lord was getting up to close the door, and Jesus was a part of God closing that door. Though all of those Jews, according to the Old Testament, were Covenant people, all but a remnant were rejected at that time, and God closed the door. Here we are at the end of the Gentile Covenant and the exact same thing is getting ready to happen again, which lets us know that we have to bear fruit. What's the difference between the called who don't bear fruit and the called who do bear fruit? The called who do bear fruit are the elect among the called because they abide in Christ by their faith, and therefore they receive more grace. Those who don't abide in Christ eventually lose even what grace they have. Hopefully, they will return when they receive the greater knowledge that is coming. Grace comes by faith. The only difference between those who bear fruit and those who don't bear fruit is that some walk by faith in the truth and some do not. There's no use in worrying, “Am I the elect or am I not the elect?” The only way you are going to prove that you are the elect is to walk by faith. You have that choice; everyone who is among the called has the choice to walk by faith or not to walk by faith. Why did Jesus rebuke His disciples for their unbelief? Did Jesus rebuke them because they couldn't walk by faith? Did He rebuke them because they weren't the elect? No, He rebuked them because they could walk by faith, but they were not walking by faith at that moment. He does the same with us sometimes when we are not walking by faith. But notice that they repented and He didn't remember their sins against them. (Joh.17:6) I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word. He said that they were obedient disciples. Jesus doesn't remember our sins against us, either, but He wants us to repent and walk by faith. So don't get caught up in, “Am I just called and not elect?” All you have to do is walk by faith because, if you walk by faith, you will bear fruit and you will be the elect. We are here in this wilderness to walk by faith and to prove that we are ‘Joshua and Caleb'. The Jews who convert to Christianity have no problem with predestination, calling and election because that's what they have been taught all of their lives. It's the Gentiles who have a problem with it because it's so foreign to their thinking. (Deu.7:6) For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. (7) The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples: (8) but because the Lord loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. There are answers here to some theological problems if you believe that history repeats. As Jesus said, (Mat.5:18) … Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. And Paul told us, (1Co.10:11) Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. One theological problem is all the prophecies we've heard about the coming great revivals because people feel that God has failed unless He converts a large number of humanity. We can see here, if God has failed in the New Testament, He certainly did fail the Old Testament, but God wasn't going after large numbers. In fact, He picked the fewest of all peoples to be His people. He was after quality and not quantity. Some people think that God is out to convert the people of the world, yet Jesus prophesied, (Mat.7:13) Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. (14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. Even though Jesus will “compel” many to come in, He didn't prophesy that great masses of humanity would be running into the Kingdom of Heaven over the course of time. Another theological problem for people is the classic question, “What about the heathens in deepest, darkest Africa? What is God going to do about them?” Well, we just saw that back in the days when God chose Israel and even all through the Old Testament, they were a small group of people compared to the rest of the world. If you had asked one of them that question, they would have replied, “What are you talking about? Don't you understand that God has chosen Israel?” And if you repeated your question, “Yes, but what about the heathens in the deepest, darkest Africa who have never heard about God?” They would have replied again, “Don't you understand? God has chosen Israel.” The Jews understood this. If you give people this answer today, they don't understand, but the Jews did understand because they were raised with the predestination doctrine. Now, I do have a couple of answers for this problem: one is election and the other is conscience. Let me point out that God said He was going to judge people according to their conscience, but first, I'd like to clarify something here. He's talking in this Scripture about Christians coming to God, as opposed to the Jews who were with God under the Law. And so He says, (Rom.2:15) In that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing [them]; (16) in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ. A person's conscience is either going to accuse or excuse them. We know this text is talking about Christians because they are the only ones “who show the work of the Law written in their hearts.” But the rest of the world is going to be judged according to conscience, too, and conscience won't put any of us in Heaven. Jesus said, (Mat.24:37) And as [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. If God did the same thing He did in the days of Noah, some would find grace and the rest would find justice. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). He was elect; he found grace and the rest found justice. God did no wrong for the rest had defiled their conscience they were born with. Remember what Jesus spoke in the Parable of the Husbandman, who went out at different hours and hired people to work in his vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). The people who were hired last worked for only one hour, while the rest of them worked through the heat of the day. When it came time to pay the people, the husbandman called the last first and paid them a shilling and then He paid everyone else a shilling. But those who were hired first were unhappy. (Mat.20:11) And when they received it, they murmured against the householder, (12) saying, These last have spent [but] one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. (13) But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling? (14) Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee. (15) Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good? That's the Lord's reasoning. God is never going to do less than justice, and in fact, God is almost always merciful. He doesn't have to be merciful, but at the least, He's always going to do justice. We've received God's grace, but we don't deserve it; it's a gift of God. When God judges, the world will receive righteous judgment (Acts 17:31), but true Christians will receive grace. Praise the Lord! So the answer to “What about the heathen in deepest, darkest Africa?” is that the heathen in Africa are going to be judged according to their conscience. Their conscience will either condemn them or excuse them. Everyone in the world has a conscience, but for some, their conscience has condemned them until it became quiet and just gave up condemning them. Their conscience finally became hardened, you see, because they rebelled against it. God has chosen the few and He's always chosen the weak among men in the next two verses. (1Co.1:25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: So we see that God is clearly speaking of calling weak men. Then the translators, who probably didn't consider themselves weak and foolish, added things in the text over and over in the next three verses, which they italicized, showing it was not in the original text. Clearly, God is not speaking of things but MEN. So when we read them without things but with minor corrections from the Numeric Pattern, the text fits together and makes sense. (27) But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things strong; (28) and the base things of the world, and the things despised, did God choose, [yea] and them things that are not, that he might bring to nought those things that are: (29) that no flesh should glory before God. Clearly, He chose weak and the base men so no one can brag. He wants to prove His power to save. He has always chosen small and weak Israel. Even in the New Testament, spiritual Israel, those who are after the same faith as Abraham, is still the only one who is chosen. (Psa.147:19) He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel. (20) He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. Not showing the nations His ordinances and statutes in the Old Testament is the equivalent of not giving someone “ears to hear” the Gospel in the New Testament. Jesus told the Jews in (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him... And (37) All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. God is not wrong by giving mercy to some and reaching out with the good news to bring them into the ark, no more than He was wrong when He brought those few into the ark in Noah's day. God is not wrong. And in many cases, God does not open the ears of people and He hardens hearts, and He hides things from “the wise and capable.” (Isa.45:15) Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. You may ask, “What's His method of hiding things?” Well, the devil is one. (2Co.4:3) And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish: (4) in whom the god of this world (The devil is the god of this world because the world copies and thus worships him.) hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]. The devil has permission to do this. Also, (Mat.11:25) At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding (This is speaking of the Pharisees, Sadducees and their students.), and didst reveal them unto babes: (26) yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. (27) All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal [him]. So it pleased the Father to hide some things, and in this text, He talks about hiding them even from religious people. There truly is a supernatural blindness on people. You've probably seen it when you try very simply to share the Gospel or a revelation from God with people, but somehow they just can't see it. And you look upon them almost in awe, wondering, “Why can't they see it? It's so simple.” Of course, it's simple to you because you have a gift they don't have. You have the gift of hearing.

Preached on Sunday the 14th of December, 2025.Numbers 14:1-11“Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?”Intro Music by Julius H. from Pixabay Outro Music by PianoAmor from Pixabay

Ultimate Reconciliation of All (1) (audio) David Eells – 12/10/25 I have found that the truth always motivates people to holiness, to turn loose of the world and run after God; but a lie always makes people comfortable where they are, and there are a lot of lies out there. People who like to make up their own gospel turn the grace of God into lasciviousness by choosing to believe that once saved is always saved. That means there's no use in taking any warning from the Lord seriously, since that false doctrine negates the possibility of being lost. These people are not motivated because they erroneously believe their “ticket's been punched.” Today, I'm going to speak to you about a doctrine that's in the church denominations called “ultimate reconciliation of all.” Many Unconditional Eternal Security people find this easy to fall into since in effect you cant be lost. Ultimate Reconciliationists believe there will come a time when the wicked, including the devil and his angels, in some cases, will come out of torment and be reconciled to God. This doctrine did not come from Christians but Unitarians and Universalists who brought it from England to the New England colonies in the 18th century. The fruit of this doctrine is the same as that of unconditional eternal security. If no one can ultimately be lost, why fear God or the warnings of Scripture? It destroys motivation to study and obey the Word of God or evangelize the lost and dying. Like the unconditional eternal security people, many of these will take the mark of the beast and are taking the spiritual mark now. What else would the devil have you believe? I have ministered in several churches that believed this. Generally, the people are very prideful and judgmental of those who do not have their “deep revelation”. They are forced to pick and choose verses in order to justify this doctrine, and it makes them disrespect the Word. I have debated many with this doctrine over the years, some on our live internet chat Bible study a few years ago. When they can't back it up with scriptures, they generally resort to insults. We who believe the Word just don't have “the revelation”. Reconciliationists say the Greek words for forever and ever mean “unto the age of the ages”, meaning when used of those in eternal punishment, it is only for a period of time after which everyone comes out of the lake of fire. They lie. “Unto the age of the ages” is only in one place. (Eph.3:21) unto him [be] the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever (unto the age of the ages) Amen. Here it says, “unto all generations unto the age of the ages”, which is only as long as men have children, clearly making it a period of time. In the four Greek manuscripts I have, which range from the oldest to the Received Text, the second-to-last Greek letter of “age” in this verse is an omicron, the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet, which makes this word singular, “Age”. In every other place, the second-to-last letter in the word “ages” is an alpha, the 1st letter of their alphabet, making this word plural, “Ages”. In every other case where “forever and ever” is the translation, “unto the ages of ages” is the literal wording, which has no end. The manuscripts and Bible Numerics prove this to be the case. (Rev.14:11) and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever (unto the ages of ages); and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name. There is no end to the fiery punishment. Many will receive the mark because of this false doctrine. That means that God would die if it were only a period of time. Notice in (Rev.15:7) And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. So if they are correct, using the same words, when these people come out of hell, God dies. If it were only a period of time in the following verses, the devil, beast, and false prophet would come out of the lake of fire at the end of that time. (Rev.20:10) And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Even though many Reconciliationists say they do not believe the devil will be saved, according to this doctrine, he has to be. If there is an end to his torment, God will die for the same phrase is used for the longevity of each. They say that “forever,” Greek: “aionios”, meaning “unto the ages”, is for a period of time, but the Kingdom will cease if that is true. We are told forever is without end. (Luk.1:33) and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Vines says this is a Greek Idiom; i.e., an expression whose meaning cannot be derived from the elements of the word. Idioms can always be explained by their usage in the text. If one said, “After he kicked the bucket, I went to the funeral”, you know that “kicked the bucket” means death. It is so with the Greek word for “for ever” or “eternal”. Forever is clearly set apart from a period of time in this verse: (Phm.15) For perhaps he was therefore parted [from thee] for a season, that thou shouldest have him for ever. Clearly “for ever” is far more than a period of time. They also say eternal, which is the same Greek word, “aionios”, meaning “unto the ages”, and has no end. (Joh.10:28) and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. Clearly the elect only are eternal and eternal is clearly set apart from a period of time in this verse: (2 Cor.4:18) while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal (temporary or for a season); but the things which are not seen are eternal. If eternal is only a period of time, then at the end of that period, the wicked come out of hell and God and the righteous die. (Mat.25:46) And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life. If “eternal” is only a period of time, then, according to this doctrine, God, the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God, the new body, etc., would come to an end; but God is also immortal, i.e., deathless (1 Timothy 6:16); the Holy Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14); the Kingdom is eternal (2 Peter 1:11); and the new body, which is also immortal, i.e., deathless, is eternal (1 Cor­inthians 15:52,53; 2 Corinthians 5:1). Here is the clincher: Those who do not have eternal life will “not see life”. (Joh.3:36) He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life (Greek: aionios; “unto the ages”); but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. We can't twist those words. “Not see life” clearly means never. Those who have eternal sin “never” get forgiveness. (Mar.3:29) but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. Once again, we can't twist those words. Reconciliationists use the following verse to claim that “eternal” has an end. (Rom.16:25) Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, (26) but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God. There is no end of eternity, just as God here is eternal, but there are points in eternity when things are manifested like the revelation of Christ here. From our point of view, eternity goes into the past and into the future. Something may be eternally future without being eternally past. For instance, we have eternal life because we entered into eternity. The spiritual man in Jesus is eternal for he came out of God. His flesh had a beginning for He was sown of God and born of Mary.  And even before that He was “the beginning of the creation of God” and “the first-born of all creation”. This was a point in eternity. When other terminology is used in the Word as we have seen, the Ultimate Reconciliationists are at a loss. (Isa.66:24) And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Clearly the wicked souls do not die for they are in eternal fire. (Job.5:6) How much less man, that is a worm! And the son of man, that is a worm! Which will not come out of fire. (Mar.9:47) ... it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; (48) where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Notice that using different words they will always be in fire. (Psa.49:19) He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light. Again using other words they will never see the light of truth. They also say, “everlasting” is a period of time, but as we can see, it has no end! (Jer.20:11) But Jehovah is with me as a mighty one [and] a terrible: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be utterly put to shame, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten. Everlasting here is clearly eternal. When I was younger, “Ultimate Reconciliation” was often called the “Restoration of All Things,” taken from the KJV. (Acts 3:21) whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things (Things is not in the original Greek.), whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been. Restoration here is “apokatastasis,” meaning “back in order”. Only God's people can go back to order because the rest never had order. Notice that when the Lord returns after the Tribulation, the “restoration of all” of His elect is completed. At that time, He is not restoring the wicked but destroying them. (Rev.19:15) And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. Even a thousand years later, when all the wicked are resurrected at the Great White Throne judgment, they are taken from hell and thrown in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-15). That makes it clear that “all” is all of the elect, not all people, as even the Jews understood. To the Jews, “all” meant all of the elect. It is the same today. All of the elect, but without racial distinction, classes or conditions of people, rather than just physical Jews. All Israel is all elect Jews and Gentiles who are grafted into the olive tree (Romans 11:19-24,26), not those who are broken off. Compare the “all” in Mark 1:5 and Luke 7:29-30, where “all” is clearly the elect. The “all” whom the Father gives to Jesus are the elect in John 17:6,9 and in John 6:37,45. We see the same thing when we look at John 8:2, Acts 22:15, 2 Corinthians 3:2 and 1 Corinthians 15:22. Compare Romans 12:3 and 2 Thessalonians 3:2. Read 1 Timothy 2:6, Colossians 3:11 and Matthew 20:28. Jesus came to save only all of His own (Isaiah 53:8,11; Luke 1:68,77; Romans 9:21). God is not wishing that any of His people perish (2 Peter 3:9). (Rom.9:11) For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Reconciliationists say that God unconditionally loves the whole world and could not fail to save it. They like to use this verse as proof. (Joh.3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. Yet, God clearly specifies what part of the world He loves here as “whosoever believeth”. Jesus disagreed with their interpretation of this verse. (Joh.14:21) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. (22) Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? (23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (Joh.15:10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (15:14) Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you. Here's even more proof from the Word: (Rom.9:13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (Psa.5:5) The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. (Psa.11:5) Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. (Pro.6:16-19) There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: (17) Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; (18) A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, (19) A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren. (Pro.8:17) I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. (Hos.9:15) All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters. Friends, we cannot make God's love a worldly love. God would not be love if He permitted the wicked into His Kingdom to leaven the whole lump. God does not dwell in time and can, therefore, love by faith the elect whom He foreknew and foreordained. (Rom.9:11) for [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (Psa. 11:5) Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. God's people who live in sin will prove themselves called but not chosen, and He will love them no more. (Hos.9:15) All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters. This is not traditional, but I hope I've made it clear. (1 Cor.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Ultimate reconciliationists use this verse to say that those in Adam, the whole natural man creation, and those in Christ, the whole spiritual man creation, are the same people, so therefore God will save all. However, the next verse narrows those “in Christ” to those who are His at His coming. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. As most know, when Jesus comes, He will eternally destroy the wicked who were obviously not in Him. (2 Thes.1:7) and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, (8) rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: (9) who shall suffer punishment, [even] eternal destruction from the face of the Lord....   PREDESTINED AND CHOSEN Let us see who the full measure of those in Christ are, and also if God ever planned to reconcile all of Adam's seed. “Predestine” means “to determine destiny before it happens”. “Foreordain”, which is the same Greek word, means “to ordain an event before it takes place”. (Eph.1:4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. You who are manifesting sonship by bearing fruit have been chosen and are being drawn by God. (Rom.8:29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained (predestined) [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. God foreknew and decreed all who come to the likeness of Jesus, but not the apostate. “Foreknew” here does not mean that He looked into the future and saw what we would be. “Foreknew” here means “to know before” and is not connected with actions or events, but persons. God knew these people before the foundation of the world because He does not dwell in time. God conceives and knows what He creates before He speaks it into existence, just as we conceive and design something first in our mind before we make it. “Knew” speaks of intimate knowledge; for instance, Adam knew Eve. Jesus will say to those who called Him Lord but do not do the will of the Father, (Mat.7:23) “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you (I.e.,from the foundation of the world): depart from me, ye that work iniquity”. To the foolish virgins who had not the oil of the Spirit, Jesus said, “I know you not”. The ones that God intimately knew He “foreordained” before the creation to be conformed to the image of Jesus. God is creating us through His gift of faith and grace and His Word in us. These are the people on the narrow road. This is grace. (Rom.8:30) and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. We see here that all who are foreordained will be called, justified, and glorified. They will not fall away but will bear the fruit of Christ. Are there others who are called but not foreordained? Let us see. (2 Tim.1:9) who saved us, and called us with a holy calling … Notice that only the saved are called. “Called” is from the Greek word “kaleo”, which means “to invite”. “Called” is an invitation given only to God's people (for more proof, read Hebrews 3:1; Hosea 11:1; 1 Timothy 6:11,12; Matthew 25:14; Romans 1:6,7) to partake of His heavenly benefits in Christ in order to bear fruit. Those who bear fruit 30-, 60-, or 100-fold will be proven to be the chosen, or picked. Naturally, if at harvest time you have no fruit, rotten fruit, or unripe fruit, you will not be picked. The called are the vineyard of God (Isaiah 5:7). The chosen are the much smaller percentage who bear fruit (verse 10). (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen (Greek: eklektos; “elect”). The “called” can fall, but the elect or chosen will not ultimately. (Hos.11:1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (2) The more [the prophets] called them, the more they went from them .... The Lord saved those who ate the lamb and were baptized in the Red Sea. He then tried them in the wilderness to see who would be a believer in the midst of trials, and only those entered the Promised Land. Jude warned the called of this very thing. (Jud.1) Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are called ... (5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Notice that the called were saved, but some did not continue in faith to bear fruit and were destroyed. Friends, God is not looking for what we loosely call “Christians”, but believers or disciples, as they were called. Jesus gave us very clear examples of His servants who are called but do not come and partake in order to bear fruit. Jesus shared a parable in which a king made a marriage feast for His son. (Mat.22:3) … and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden (Greek: “called”) to the marriage feast: and they would not come. They were full of excuses (a farm, merchandise, a new wife, etc.). (Mat.22:8) Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Even one who appeared to come did not have on a wedding garment, which implies putting on Christ (Romans 13:14) or putting on righteous acts (Revelation 19:8). (Mat.22:13) Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few chosen. A few of the called are chosen or elect because they bear fruit. (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants (Greek: “bondservants”), and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. Obviously, the man who went away was the Lord, and His bondservants are His people. Two of these example servants brought forth fruit of the talent given them (Matthew 25:20-22), but one buried his in the earth (used his talent for the earthly, Matthew 25:24,25). When our Lord returns, He will say, “And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” (Mat.25:30). The apostle Paul, who said of himself that he was called in Galatians 1:6, also said, “But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” (That's the Greek word for “reprobated”) (1 Cor.9:27). There is much more proof that the saved and the called can fall. Some good examples are 2 Peter 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:11,12; Hebrews 3:1,6,12,14, and Romans 11:1-7,19-23. Friend, you probably know if you are called, but are you chosen? You must be diligent in your walk of faith to prove this with fruit. (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election (“choosing”) sure: for if ye do these things (the attributes of Christ listed in verses 5-7), ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God, at the cross, has already given us everything that we need to bear fruit through faith. (3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. Faith in the promises through the midst of trials will give us the fruit. The called have the power and the opportunity. The called and the chosen, or foreordained, use the power by faith and take the opportunity. The only ones who will ultimately be with the Lord are identified in this verse. (Rev.17:14) These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they [also shall overcome] that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. Notice that the called who are chosen will be faithful. I did not make these verses up; they are the Word of God. Those who have eyes and ears will see and understand, but the rest will justify their religion and ignore the Scriptures. Before time and the future, God sovereignly spoke the end from the beginning, bringing these things into existence in time. Some would argue, “How could God make a promise to all of His called and then not keep it for those who do not bear fruit?” The answer is that every promise in the Bible is useless until someone walks by faith in it. Our part of the covenant is faith; God's part is power and salvation. We can break the covenant through unbelief. (Num.14:11) And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? (12) I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they. Notice that God is saying this to His own people who did not believe that He would disinherit them. Lest any believe that God cannot make a promise and then take it back when they do not walk in faith, pay attention to this: (Num.14:23) surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me see it. (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (34) and ye shall know my alienation (Hebrew: “revoking of my promise”). Unless we mix faith with God's promises, they are void. (Heb.4:2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they (God's people): but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. Many Israelites walked in sin and were disinherited and blotted out of God's book. (Exo.32:33) And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. The same is true of the Christians who do not overcome sin. Notice what the Lord said to the church. (Rev.3:5) He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life... They will be rejected from the body of Christ. (Rev.3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Many of God's people, Israel, were broken off because of unbelief, and Christians who were grafted in but do not walk by faith will be too. (Rom.11:20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Those who are still grafted in at the end are called “all Israel”… (26) and so all Israel shall be saved... Those who are still in the Book of Life, still grafted in, are the elect (Greek: “chosen”). (Rom.11:2) God did not cast off his people, which he foreknew ... (5) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election (Greek: “chosen”) of grace. A remnant is the ones who are left. Notice that they are foreknown and chosen. Sovereign God will have those who are truly His. Abiding in Christ is where salvation is. Some say God gave us the gift of eternal life so He cannot take it back. In Galatians 3:16, we are told, “To Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ”. So the promises were given to Christ, not to us individually. The only way the promises are ours is if we abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is bearing fruit (John 15:1-6), walking as he walked (1 John 2:3-6), believing the same teachings given by Jesus and the apostles (1 John 2:24; Jude 3; Matthew 28:20), not adding or subtracting from the Word (Revelation 22:18,19), not walking in sin (1 John 3:5,6), and keeping his commandments (1 John 3:24). In Christ is the only place we can claim the gift of eternal life. (1Jn.5:11) ... God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. God does not have to take His gift back; His people walk out of it. (1 Cor.6:18) ... Every sin that a man doeth is without the body ... When you walk in willful sin, you are not abiding in His body, for in him is no sin (1Jn.3:5). (6) Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not … For instance, fornication, whether spiritual or physical, takes away the members of Christ and makes them members of a harlot (1 Corinthians 6:15,18). Only Christ and those abiding in Him are chosen. (Eph. 1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world... Only Christ and those abiding in Him are going to heaven. (Joh.3:13) And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven... Jesus Christ is the Manna from heaven, the Word, Who takes up residence in those who love Him; this is the fruit that God is coming to choose. By this time, I am sure some are thinking that they do not measure up. We must first abide in Christ by faith accepting the gospel report that “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me” (Gal.2:20). Those who walk by faith that they are dead to sin and Christ now lives in them are accounted as righteous until God uses that faith to manifest righteousness in them. (Gal.3:6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Amen. Next, I'd like to share with you a couple of testimonies from our website of people who received the revelation of the error in their thinking concerning their own salvation.   Coming Judgment on the Lukewarm Sandy - 01/15/2014 I had a dream that thousands of demons entered my bedroom, then jumped on me while I was in bed, devouring my flesh. I was totally paralyzed. I repeatedly shouted out, “You must flee, in the name of Jesus!” These demons continued to attack me. There was total darkness -- no Jesus. It was HORRIFYING. I felt as though I was in the pits of hell, and this is where my soul is going if I don't change my ways. Then I was whisked away, and I was standing in front of a large cross. From the center of the cross, a bright light was shining. I heard the Lord say to me, “Come to the cross. I did not hear or respond to your cries because you are not abiding in Me. Horrific evil is here, and more is coming, and if you do not abide in Me, you will be devoured. I will not hear nor respond to your cries, if you do not abide in me, and you will not be able to fight off this evil in your own strength”.  Then I was whisked back to my bed, where the demons were devouring me again. I was once again paralyzed. I breathed on them, saying, “Jesus”, and they eventually all fled. I woke up with tears streaming down my face, crying out to the Lord. Now, here is what is so IRONIC: I considered myself to be a born-again, saved Christian! Over the past few years, I've started to walk in the ways of the world, thinking it is okay because ‘I know the Lord loves me; I am a good person and I am saved.' How many other Christians are thinking in the same way? How many other Christians are not truly saved? I turned away from Jesus in my walk. It was a slow and subtle turning away, convincing myself all along the way that I can walk my walk, give the Lord ‘courtesy prayer' and everything will be okay. I WAS SO WRONG.  Thank You, LORD, for Your warning, as horrifying as it was. Thank You, LORD, for giving me another chance to make You Lord of my life.   My Salvation and Deliverance from Satanic Music James Austin - 07/08/2008 When I was a child and up to the age of 15, I had gone to some Baptist and Methodist churches off and on. I had even been what I believed at the time to be saved and baptized. I never really placed importance in my salvation as most Christians at the time. I was scared about hell, so I thought if I got saved, then I would go to heaven and still do whatever I wanted. When I was about 16, I cared only about the world and gave God no attention at all. I was associating with people who weren't Christian and listening to music that wasn't Godly. I began to stop believing that there was a God and didn't care if He even existed. A year and a half ago, I was up late one night and I had nothing to do and I started thinking about life and the world and I felt a sudden loneliness and sadness, and I looked up and said, “God, if You are real and Your Word is true, then help me; I want to know the truth.” I don't think it was even two weeks and God led a brother I work with by the name of Nehemiah to me to inquire about carpooling with me. By this time, I had forgotten about what I had asked God. I was still listening to satanic music and living very worldly. The first week he rode with me to work, I didn't play any music because I began to feel ashamed and did not want people to know which music I listened to. At this time, I didn't know Nehemiah was a Christian. A few weeks later, someone else with whom we were carpooling informed me that Nehemiah was a Christian. Then I really felt low and inadequate to be around him. One day, I was looking at some space nebula and stuff, and I saw what looked like Jesus' face in one of these objects in space. Then I started thinking about God even more. I asked Nehemiah one day about it, and we began talking, and he told me some things the Bible spoke of. Then, after about two weeks of talking and debating with him, he led me to your website, and I started reading and listening to some of your stuff and became very fearful of where I was headed. That morning when I got home from work, I cried to God to forgive me and save me. I confessed to so many evil things I had done and wept, and then felt a peace come over me. I have been reading and listening to your programs and teachings ever since, and I feel the Holy Spirit every time I do. God began to work in me, and I bought your “Sovereign God” book and an ASV Bible. Now I have the New Testament on audio, and I only have the desire to listen to music that glorifies God, and I listen and read the Word of God. I have lost the desire to watch all TV programs because I can now see the sinful nature of TV and how TV glorifies sin. I believe God has saved me and He also healed me from plantar fasciitis (a painful tendon injury) by faith alone. Glory to God! God Bless you, brothers and sisters. I don't listen to evil music, and I feel better inside. God has really changed me. Thank you! I had sent an email about my wife a while ago, but I couldn't remember if I had ever given my testimony to you. My wife is still an unbeliever, but I continue to pray for her salvation. I believe that one day God, in some way, will also save her.

Clip of the Week-"Give Me This Mountain" Brother Glenn Copeland Bro. Glenn Copeland in 2012 at the Charleston Feast Meeting delivered “Give me this Mountain!” He preaches about the twelve spies that Moses sent to spy out the land of Canaan with an emphasis on Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Brother Jeff Price

CalebJoshua 14:6“Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.”King James Version (KJV)Message From Emmanuel is a weekly audio ministry of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Irvine, KY. We sincerely hope God blesses you as you listen!Follow us on Facebook: ebcky15Follow us on Twitter: ebckyCheckout our website! http://ebcky.com  Send us a textFollow us on Facebook: ebcky15Follow us on Twitter: ebckyCheckout our website! http://ebcky.com

These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.2 (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them;4 After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,6 The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.9 And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.11 (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.30 The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God,33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers.36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.38 But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.41 Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.42 And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them. Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.45 And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.JOS.14:2 By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.JOS.14:3 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.JOS.14:4 For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.JOS.14:5 As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.JOS.14:6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.JOS.14:7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.JOS.14:8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.JOS.14:9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.JOS.14:10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.JOS.14:11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.JOS.14:12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.JOS.14:13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.JOS.14:14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.JOS.14:15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.

This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.JOS.15:2 And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward:JOS.15:3 And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa:JOS.15:4 From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast.JOS.15:5 And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:JOS.15:6 And the border went up to Bethhogla, and passed along by the north of Betharabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben:JOS.15:7 And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of Enshemesh, and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel:JOS.15:8 And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:JOS.15:9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjathjearim:JOS.15:10 And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Bethshemesh, and passed on to Timnah:JOS.15:11 And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.JOS.15:12 And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.JOS.15:13 And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.JOS.15:14 And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.JOS.15:15 And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher.JOS.15:16 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.JOS.15:17 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.JOS.15:18 And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?JOS.15:19 Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.JOS.15:20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.JOS.15:21 And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,JOS.15:22 And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah,JOS.15:23 And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,JOS.15:24 Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,JOS.15:25 And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor,JOS.15:26 Amam, and Shema, and Moladah,JOS.15:27 And Hazargaddah, and Heshmon, and Bethpalet,JOS.15:28 And Hazarshual, and Beersheba, and Bizjothjah,JOS.15:29 Baalah, and Iim, and Azem,JOS.15:30 And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,JOS.15:31 And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,JOS.15:32 And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages:JOS.15:33 And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah,JOS.15:34 And Zanoah, and Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam,JOS.15:35 Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,JOS.15:36 And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages:JOS.15:37 Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad,JOS.15:38 And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,JOS.15:39 Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,JOS.15:40 And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish,JOS.15:41 And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:JOS.15:42 Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,JOS.15:43 And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,JOS.15:44 And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages:JOS.15:45 Ekron, with her towns and her villages:JOS.15:46 From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages:JOS.15:47 Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:JOS.15:48 And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,JOS.15:49 And Dannah, and Kirjathsannah, which is Debir,JOS.15:50 And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim,JOS.15:51 And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages:JOS.15:52 Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean,JOS.15:53 And Janum, and Bethtappuah, and Aphekah,JOS.15:54 And Humtah, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages:JOS.15:55 Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,JOS.15:56 And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,JOS.15:57 Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages:JOS.15:58 Halhul, Bethzur, and Gedor,JOS.15:59 And Maarath, and Bethanoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages:JOS.15:60 Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:JOS.15:61 In the wilderness, Betharabah, Middin, and Secacah,JOS.15:62 And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.JOS.15:63 As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.

Jos 14:6  Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea. Jos 14:7  Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Jos 14:8  Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. Jos 14:9  And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. Jos 14:10  And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. Jos 14:11  As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Jos 14:12  Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.

FEED YOUR FAITHHebrews 3:19 (GNB) – We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land (promise land),because they did not believe.Exodus 6:6–8 (NLT) – “‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you fromyour slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claimyou as my own people, and I will be your God… 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give toAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!' ”1. Delivered from Egypt…bondage & oppression2. Red Sea…baptized…old life is dead…new beginning3. Cloud by day…Fire by night…..Presence of God with them4. Manna…miracle provision…daily dependence5. Mt Sinai… place of instruction & preparation for the Promise LandExodus 23:20,27 (NIV) – See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and tobring you to the place I have prepared. 27 I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusionevery nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.Exodus 33:14 (NCV) – “I myself will go with you, and I will give you victory.”6. Kadesh…entrance to Promise Land10 Spies Report – the promise land is amazing…..BUT!!!Numbers 13:27–29 (NLT) – This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us toexplore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind offruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. Weeven saw giants there… 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amoriteslive in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast …”Caleb – speaks in faithNumbers 13:30 (NLT) – But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let's go atonce to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”10 Spies – speak in unbeliefNumbers 13:31–33 (NLT) – But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “Wecan't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report aboutthe land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone whogoes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there…Next to them wefelt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!”(NKJV) – we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”2 Corinthians‬Unbelief speaks – “we are going to die and God doesn't care”Numbers 14:1–4 (NLT) – Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt,or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. 3 “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only tohave us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be betterfor us to return to Egypt?” 4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let's choose a new leader and goback to Egypt!”Faith speaks - “God is with us, we can take the land”Numbers 14:6–9 (NLT) – Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Calebson of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveledthrough and explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safelyinto that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against theLord, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have noprotection, but the Lord is with us! Don't be afraid of them!”Results of Faith & Unbelief Unbelief Results – Entire generation did not enter promise land Faith Results – Only Joshua & Caleb entered Promise LandRomans 10:17 (NKJV) - faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Hebrews 4:2 (NASB) – but the word they heard did not benefit them, because they were not unitedwith those who listened with faith.Hebrews 2:1 (TPT) - it is so crucial that we be all the more engaged and attentive to the truths thatwe have heard so that we do not drift off course.Hebrews 3:12 (NKJV) – Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief indeparting from the living God.Romans‬Living by faith - simply believing what God said in his word…speaking it & acting on it.TWO THINGS HAPPEN WHEN WE FEED OUR FAITH1… WE WILL SEE THE PROMISES OF GOD FULFILLED IN OUR LIFE……BLESSED LIFE2… OUR BLESSED LIFE WILL BE A WITNESS TO THE WORLD

FEED YOUR FAITHHebrews 3:19 (GNB) – We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land (promise land),because they did not believe.Exodus 6:6–8 (NLT) – “‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you fromyour slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claimyou as my own people, and I will be your God… 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give toAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!' ”1. Delivered from Egypt…bondage & oppression2. Red Sea…baptized…old life is dead…new beginning3. Cloud by day…Fire by night…..Presence of God with them4. Manna…miracle provision…daily dependence5. Mt Sinai… place of instruction & preparation for the Promise LandExodus 23:20,27 (NIV) – See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and tobring you to the place I have prepared. 27 I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusionevery nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.Exodus 33:14 (NCV) – “I myself will go with you, and I will give you victory.”6. Kadesh…entrance to Promise Land10 Spies Report – the promise land is amazing…..BUT!!!Numbers 13:27–29 (NLT) – This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us toexplore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind offruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. Weeven saw giants there… 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amoriteslive in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast …”Caleb – speaks in faithNumbers 13:30 (NLT) – But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let's go atonce to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”10 Spies – speak in unbeliefNumbers 13:31–33 (NLT) – But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “Wecan't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report aboutthe land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone whogoes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there…Next to them wefelt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!”(NKJV) – we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”2 Corinthians‬Unbelief speaks – “we are going to die and God doesn't care”Numbers 14:1–4 (NLT) – Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt,or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. 3 “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only tohave us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be betterfor us to return to Egypt?” 4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let's choose a new leader and goback to Egypt!”Faith speaks - “God is with us, we can take the land”Numbers 14:6–9 (NLT) – Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Calebson of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveledthrough and explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safelyinto that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against theLord, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have noprotection, but the Lord is with us! Don't be afraid of them!”Results of Faith & Unbelief Unbelief Results – Entire generation did not enter promise land Faith Results – Only Joshua & Caleb entered Promise LandRomans 10:17 (NKJV) - faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Hebrews 4:2 (NASB) – but the word they heard did not benefit them, because they were not unitedwith those who listened with faith.Hebrews 2:1 (TPT) - it is so crucial that we be all the more engaged and attentive to the truths thatwe have heard so that we do not drift off course.Hebrews 3:12 (NKJV) – Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief indeparting from the living God.Romans‬Living by faith - simply believing what God said in his word…speaking it & acting on it.TWO THINGS HAPPEN WHEN WE FEED OUR FAITH1… WE WILL SEE THE PROMISES OF GOD FULFILLED IN OUR LIFE……BLESSED LIFE2… OUR BLESSED LIFE WILL BE A WITNESS TO THE WORLD

“He gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion amongst the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (also called Hebron). Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.”Joshua 15:13-14 WEB

Passage: Numbers 14:1–9 1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Song: Courage by Brandon Lake, Jacob Sooter, Lee Worley, and Tyler Roberts Lyrics: To face a life-long idol and burn it To open up my heart and let You search it To fall down on my knees in earnest God give us courage God give us courage To love the ones who openly condemn us To shine a light into the deepest darkness To leave behind my mask and truly worship God give us courage God give us courage Singing bolder bolder We come into Your presence singing Closer closer Let Heaven fill the earth with holy Fire fire Don't stop until our hearts are burning Bolder bolder now Holy courage breaking out To crucify my will in holy service To never bow even if it means the furnace To pledge my every breath ‘cause You deserve it God give us courage God give us courage Let the trembling heart be brave Let His ransomed people pray Watch the strongholds start to break At just the mention of His name Let the captives leave their chains Let the voiceless start to praise Watch the miracles take shape At just the mention of His name Singing bolder bolder We come into Your presence singing Closer closer Let heaven fill the earth with holy Fire fire Don't stop until our hearts are burning Bolder bolder We come into Your presence singing Closer closer Let heaven fill the earth with holy Fire fire Don't stop until our hearts are burning Bolder bolder now Holy courage breaking out Prayer: Write your blessed name, O Lord, upon my heart, there to remain so indelibly engraved, that no prosperity, no adversity shall ever move me from your love. Be to me a strong tower of defense, a comforter in tribulation, a deliverer in distress, a very present help in trouble, and a guide to heaven through the many temptations and dangers of this life. Amen. —Thomas à Kempis

For today’s installment of our 40 Days Meditation series, our brother Martin Steinbereithner provides commentary on Num 14:1-25. Listen below, download here, or search for Words from the Brothers on your favourite podcasting app. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” Num 14:1-25

For today’s installment of our 40 Days Meditation series, our brother Martin Steinbereithner provides commentary on Num 12:16-13:33. Listen below, download here, or search for Words from the Brothers on your favourite podcasting app. After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Num 12:16-13:33

Salvation of the Chosen (audio) David Eells, 2/16/25 I have declared the former things from old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass (Isa.48:3). Predict means to tell the future in advance. What the world calls predictions rarely come to pass. It seems they have a warped idea of what a prediction is. When God predicts the future, He declares it and then does it. Not only does God's Word show the future but also it brings it to pass. The worlds (Greek: “ages”) have been framed by the word of God (Heb.11:3). The word “framed” in this verse means “to make complete.” The history (or His-story) of all ages was completed before the beginning. (Isa.48:4) Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; (5) therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. He is a jealous God (Exo.20:5). He will not share His glory with the idol of self or an idol of man's creation (Isa.42:8). God receives glory from telling of His works hundreds or thousands of years beforehand. His works were finished from the foundation of the world (Heb.4:3). Because His works were finished from the foundation of the world, no one can say, “My might, my power, my god has done this.” It is important to God that we know He is sovereign. Our God has done something that no other “god” has done; He accurately tells the future long before it comes to pass. It is hard to live the Christian life without knowing that God is sovereign. Without this knowledge, we will not have the peace, rest, and the fear of God that we need in the midst of trials. We will always be wrestling with people and circumstances and trusting in our own strength, instead of seeing God's hand and trusting in His strength. (Hos.4:6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… (Isa.46:8) Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. (9) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I [am] God, and there is none like me; (10) declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not [yet] done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. God does all of His pleasure so that only His counsel comes to pass. The proof, that God is the only God, is that He declares the end from the beginning. All the prognosticators, psychics, seers, and stargazers of the devil have only come up with slightly better than random accuracy on the future because their lord is not sovereign. The devil does have an edge. He knows the prophetic Word better than we do, and he predicts what he plans to do, but God is sovereign and often overrules him. (Isa.46:11)… I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it. God is very self-willed. He has a right to be. His self is not corrupt, but ours is. He brings to pass what He desires because it is right. In the text, God is speaking of Cyrus, the pagan king of the Media-Persian Empire. God raised up Cyrus to destroy Babylon in order to set His people free from bondage. At that time, Cyrus had no idea that the Lord had put the desire in him to do exactly what He wanted. (Isa.44:28) That saith of Cyrus, [He is] my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. How can God be so sure that a man who has been a pagan all his life will do everything that will please Him? We see here that nothing or no one can resist God's good purpose for His people. God is sovereign over the future of the great empires of the world in order to deliver and prepare His people. (Isa.45:1) Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: (2) I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; (3) and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, the Lord, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. (4) For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. The Euphrates River passed through the city of Babylon. One of the gates spoken of here crossed in the Euphrates River to keep the enemy out. Cyrus by the help of God performed a monumental feat in diverting the Euphrates so that his army could enter the city beneath this gate. After they had entered the city, they discovered that the gates on either bank leading into the city had been left unlocked (by God, verses 1 and 2), which was strange, considering that the Babylonians were at war. After Cyrus conquered Babylon, the high priest showed him these prophecies and more that were written about him hundreds of years before he was born. The Jews say Cyrus was very impressed to see his name and works written in prophecy before the fact and became a believer in the God of Israel. God stated clearly that He was going to open those gates for Cyrus to do His Will. After hearing these revelations, Cyrus knew that God had empowered, planned, and made his way. Christian leaders have turned God into a mere prophet, claiming God sees into the future and then reveals it. Every type and shadow in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament to prove that God sits on the throne and One Mind rules over time and the future. One loose canon, would change everything. According to the law of geometric progression, one change at the beginning makes an immense change at the end. Chance or more than one in control could not possibly bring to pass what we see. The Armenian thinkers teach that God predestines and predicts by seeing into the future then tells us how the dice rolled. “Predestine” means “to determine destiny before it happens.” “Foreordain,” which is the same Greek word, means “to ordain an event before it takes place.” (Eph.1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. You who are manifesting sonship by bearing fruit have been chosen and are being drawn by God. (Rom.8:29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained (predestined) [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. God foreknew and decreed all who come to the likeness of Jesus, but not the apostate. “Foreknew” here does not mean He looked into the future and saw what would be. “Foreknew” here means, “to know before” and is not connected with actions or events, but persons. God knew these people before the foundation of the world because He does not dwell in time. God knows what He creates before He speaks it into existence just as we conceive and design something first in our mind before we make it. “Knew” speaks of intimate knowledge, for instance, Adam knew Eve. Jesus will say to those who called Him Lord but do not do the Will of the Father, (Mat.7:23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you (meaning, from the foundation of the world): depart from me, ye that work iniquity. To the foolish virgins without the oil of the Spirit, Jesus said, “I know you not.” The ones that God intimately knew He “foreordained” before the creation to be conformed to the image of Jesus. God creates us through His gift of faith and the Word in us; His people who are on the narrow road. This is grace. (Rom.8:30) And whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. This says all who are foreordained will be called, justified, and glorified. They will not fall away but will bear the fruit of Christ. Are there others who are called but not foreordained? (2Ti.1:9) Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling… Notice that only the saved are called. Called is from the Greek word kaleo, which means, “to invite.” Called is an invitation given only to God's people (more proof: Heb.3:1; Hos.11:1; 1Ti.6:11-12; Mat.25:14; Rom.1:6-7) to partake of his heavenly benefits in Christ in order to bear fruit. Those who bear fruit 30, 60, or 100-fold will be proven to be the chosen or picked. If at harvest time you have no fruit, rotten fruit, or unripe fruit, you will not be picked. The called are the vineyard of God (Isa.5:7). The chosen are the smaller percentage who bear fruit (Isa.5:10). (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen (Greek: eklektos, “elect”). The called can fall, but the elect or chosen will not. (Hos.11:1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (2) The more [the prophets] called them, the more they went from them…The Lord saved those that ate the lamb and were baptized in the Red Sea. He then tried them in the wilderness to see who would be a believer in the midst of trials, and only those entered the Promised Land. Jude warned the called of this very thing. (Jud.1:1) Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are called… (5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Notice that the called were saved, but some did not continue in faith and were destroyed. Friends, God is not looking for what we loosely call “Christians,” but believers or disciples, as they were called. Jesus gave us very clear examples of His servants who are called but do not come and partake in order to bear fruit. Jesus shared a parable in which a king made a marriage feast for His son. (Mat.22:3) And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden (Greek: “called”) to the marriage feast: and they would not come. They were full of excuses (a farm, merchandise, etc.). (Mat.22:8) Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Even one who appeared to come did not have on a wedding garment which implies putting on Christ (Rom.13:14) or putting on righteousness (Rev.19:8). (Mat.22:13) Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few chosen. A few of the called are chosen or elect because they bear fruit. (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants (Greek: “bondservants”), and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. Obviously, the man who went away was the Lord, and His bondservants are His people. Two of these example servants brought forth fruit of the talent given them (Mat.25:20-22), but one buried his in the earth (used his talent for the earthly, Mat.25:24-25). When our Lord returns, He will say, And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth (Mat.25:30). The apostle Paul, who said of himself that he was called in Galatians 1:15, also said, But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected (Greek: “reprobated”) (1Co.9:27). There is much more proof that the saved and the called can fall (2Pe.1:9-11; 1Ti.6:11-12; Heb.3:1,6,12,14; Rom.11:1-7,19-23). Friend, you probably know if you are called, but are you chosen? You must be diligent in your walk of faith to prove this. (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election (choosing) sure: for if ye do these things (the attributes of Christ, verses 5-7), ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. God at the cross has already given us everything that we need to bear fruit through faith. (2Pe.1:3) seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue. Faith in the promises in the midst of trials will give us the fruit. (2Pe.1:4) Whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. The called have the power and the opportunity. The called and the chosen, or foreordained, use the power by faith and take the opportunity. The only ones who will ultimately be with the Lord are identified in this verse. (Rev.17:14) These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they [also shall overcome] that arewith him, called and chosen and faithful. Notice that the called that are chosen will be faithful. I did not make these verses up; they are the Word of God. Those who have eyes and ears will see and understand, but the rest will justify their religion and ignore the Scriptures. Before time and the future, God sovereignly spoke the end from the beginning, bringing these things into existence in time. Some would argue, “How could God make a promise to all of His called and then not keep it for those who do not bear fruit?” Every promise in the Bible is useless until someone walks by faith in it. Our part of the covenant is faith; God's part is power and salvation. We can break the covenant through unbelief. (Num.14:11) And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? (12) I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they. Notice that God is saying to His own people who did not believe that He would disinherit them. Lest any believe that God cannot make a promise and then take it back when they do not walk in faith, pay attention to this: (Num.14:23) Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me see it. (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (34)… and ye shall know my alienation (Hebrew: “revoking of my promise”). Unless we mix faith with God's promises, they are void. (Heb.4:2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they (God's people): but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. The Israelites who walked in sin were disinherited and blotted out of God's book. (Exo.32:33) And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. The same is true of the Christians who do not overcome sin. Notice what the Lord said to the Church. (Rev.3:5) He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life…Those who do not overcome will be rejected from the body of Christ. (Rev.3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. God's people Israel were broken off because of unbelief, and Christians who were grafted in but do not walk by faith will be, too. (Rom.11:20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Those who are still grafted in at the end are called “all Israel.” (Rom.11:26) and so all Israel shall be saved… Those who are still in the book of life, still grafted in, are the elect (Greek: “chosen”). (Rom.11:2) God did not cast off his people which he foreknew… (5) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election (chosen) of grace. A remnant is those who are left. Notice they are foreknown and chosen. Sovereign God will have those who are truly His. Abiding in Christ is where salvation is. Some say God gave us the gift of eternal life so He cannot take it back. In Galatians 3:16, we are told, To Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. So the promises were given to Christ, not to us individually. The only way the promises are ours is if we abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is bearing fruit (Joh.15:1-6), walking as He walked (1Jn.2:3-6), believing the same teachings given by Jesus and the apostles (1Jn.2:24; Jud.1:3; Mat.28:20), not adding to or subtracting from the Word (Rev.22:18-19), not walking in sin (1Jn.3:5-6), and keeping His commandments (1Jn.3:24). In Christ is the only place we can claim the gift of eternal life. (1Jn.5:11)… God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. God does not have to take His gift back; His people walk out of it. (1Co.6:18)… Every sin that a man doeth is without the body…When you walk in willful sin, you are not abiding in His body for in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: (1Jn.3:5-6). For instance, fornication, spiritual or physical, takes away the members of Christ and makes them members of a harlot (1Co.6:15,18). Only Christ and those abiding in Him are chosen. (Eph. 1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world… Only Christ and those abiding in Him are going to heaven. (Joh.3:13) And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven…The manna from heaven, the Word Jesus Christ, who takes up residence in those who love Him, is the fruit that God is coming to choose. By this time, I am sure some are thinking that they do not measure up. We must first abide in Christ by faith accepting the Gospel report that I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me (Gal.2:20). Those who walk by faith that they are dead to sin and Christ now lives in them are accounted as righteous until God uses that faith to manifest righteousness in them. (Gal. 3:6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. God does not dwell in time, but eternity. He sees the beginning and the end at the same time, therefore, He can answer a prayer before we pray. We do not have to worry that we have waited too late to pray because He can have the answer coming long before we ask. (Isa.65:24) And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. I had a friend, who went to the local trade school, offer to take my broken washer for the students to work on. It was only going to cost me for parts. By faith, I told him to go ahead. He called back in a couple of days to say that he would be bringing it back and the cost was $90. My wife and I accounted that we only had $40. In a moment of inspiration, I pointed my finger at the mailbox and said, “$50 is coming in that box today.” In the mail that day was a letter from a brother in Maryland. (I had absolutely no foreknowledge of this incident.) He wrote, “It is after midnight, and I just cannot get to sleep until I obey God and write this check for $50.” I looked at the post date on the letter and discovered it had been lost in the mail for a whole month! Obviously, God had it found at just the right moment. He had it coming a month before I spoke those words of faith. He merely used me to bring to pass what He had already planned. I asked God to do something that I believe He may have changed time to accomplish. Many years ago, this very young girl made a mistake and tested pregnant. As I prayed about her situation, a thought came into my head and right out of my mouth. I asked the Lord to make this girl as though she were never pregnant. I believe that this did not come from my mind, but God's Spirit. Because of the way this prayer came, I received it as a confirmation from the Lord that it was the Will of God. Later, tests proved that she was not pregnant. I do not know what God did with the baby, but I am sure He is taking better care of it than that girl would have. Nothing is beyond God's ability to help us, unless it is beyond our faith. How can God change His mind when He knows and speaks the end in the beginning? Then changing your mind makes you a liar. (Isa.46:10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not [yet] done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. If He sees all from the beginning, why would He ever need to change His mind? God will not change what is written in His Word. (Psa.119:89) For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. His Word is likened unto a rock, immovable and unchangeable. However, God can change or delay what He speaks to you personally as a warning through prophets, dreams, visions, or His Spirit. When the Word ultimately comes to pass, it will be fulfilled as the Bible says it will. God gave us an example of this in the book of Jonah. Jonah cried and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jon.3:4). God told Jonah to preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee (Jon.3:2), so he did. He was not a false prophet. God spared Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, because they repented. This angered Jonah because Assyria was the mortal enemy of Israel and the prophets had already been prophesying that Assyria would conquer rebellious Israel. He wanted them to be destroyed for what he perceived was Israel's sake. Jonah knew that if he preached to Nineveh and they repented, God would not destroy them, so he fled. (Jon.4:1) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. (2) And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil. God spared Nineveh around 752 B.C. so that Assyria could conquer the northern ten tribes of Israel around 720 B.C. and then Judah around 701 B.C. Nineveh ultimately did fall around 612 B.C. God knew before He threatened Nineveh that He was going to spare them for the purpose of using them to chasten Israel. From Nineveh's perspective, they changed God's mind by repenting, but from God's perspective, He changed Nineveh's mind and fulfilled His plan from the beginning for them, which was to chasten Israel! Jonah's Hebrew word for “repentest” here is nacham meaning “to sigh” and by implication “to be sorry.” In itself, nacham does not admit evil doing, or even a change of mind, only sorrow. As Father, God must do many things that He sorrows over. When the Scriptures speak of God repenting, it is for our perspective because it appears to us that He changed His mind and did not do what He threatened. As a parent five times over, I have done this many times. The difference between God and us is, He plans and sees the delays and repentances from the beginning. (Num.23:19) God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent. (1Sa.15:29) And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent. Here is another thing that proves the sovereignty of God in time and the future, and that God plans delays or “repentances” beforehand. Israel and the United States share a unique identity. Each was entrusted with the Gospel in their respective time. From 887 B.C., Israel was at war every seventeen years for a period of fifteen cycles until 631 B.C. The United States also has been in a war every seventeen years for a period of fifteen cycles from the forming of the thirteen original states to Grenada in l983-l984. For both nations, in the sixth and tenth cycle there was no war. The only possible exceptions to the parallel are that Israel appears to have had a devastating famine in the forth cycle instead of a war and there seems to be no record for a war in their thirteenth cycle. The cycles could be more exact than our knowledge, but no sane person could think that this is chance. The repetitions of history clearly show that one mind is in control of past and future. Stay with me because I would like to encourage you about your family and loved ones who may be running after worldly desires and not yet saved. No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day (Joh.6:44). Some parents feel very guilty that, though they did the best they could, their children seem to be going the wrong way. The following teaching is not against those who have faithfully served the Lord from their youth but rather for those who feel that the Lord has passed them or their children by. Walk by faith for those wayward children, not sight. Believe in your prayers, expect miracles, but be patient. God has a plan that starts for them long before their salvation. Give some deep thought to this. It will free you from worry, strife, condemnation and self-effort to bring about God's will in them. They will have to be saved after tribulation and failure of their worldly expectations, as we were. Children who are raised knowing about the Lord are sometimes very self-righteous. They think they deserve what they have and do not understand grace. They will also have to see themselves as sinners in order to be the dirt that can receive the Word and bear the fruit of Jesus. God only saves sinners. We have all been one. This is a necessary revelation in order to appreciate the great value of salvation and to be saved by unmerited favor. I remember my oldest daughter when she was three years old going around our lost friends and relatives saying, “God does not like that.” She was quickly deflecting what we had taught her. We thought, “You little Pharisee.” Our heavenly Father has had many prodigal sons just as Jesus' parable shows, but that does not make Him a bad Father (Luk.15:11-32). In this parable, the “good” son who never left home was self-righteous, judgmental, and merciless. On the other hand, the younger son, who spent his inheritance on riotous living, realized his low estate and came to his father very humbly saying, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. (Luk.15:21). The once rebellious son now understood mercy and grace and was a much better man for it. Prophetically, the firstborn son who never left the Father was the righteous among Israel, but they did not understand grace. The younger, second son of the Father who fell away through the dark ages for 2,000 years is the Church, who is returning in these days to understand the grace of God. The Father said to these, Bring forth quickly the best robe (the robe of righteousness [Isa.61:10]), and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand (symbol of authority and of the Bride), and shoes on his feet (the walk of separation from the world) (Luk.15:22). The prodigal son will have more of everything than the first son. Those who have been sinners know their need of God, but many times, those who are raised as God's people do not. (Mat.21:28) But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in the vineyard. (29) And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went. (30) And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I [go], sir: and went not. (31) Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. (32) For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him. Many times, it is not the son who says he will go to work in the Father's vineyard who actually goes, but the son whose first inclination is to rebel. This rebel who comes to see himself as a sinner goes while the other son who feigns righteousness does not. Many career Christians are bored with the work of God and are distracted by the allure of the world. The publicans and harlots are so appreciative of a place in the kingdom that they throw their whole heart into it, willing to be servants rather than be served. They understand the great value of the gift of grace that is given them and their own unworthiness. In the last days of the Gentiles, it will be the same as it was in the last days of the Jews. There are many self-righteous “Christians” today who are not the creation that the Father desires. Those who have been raised in the church should humble themselves to the Word of God and not religion so that no man takes their crown (Rev.3:11). It appears Jesus had this in mind when He shared this parable. (Luk.18:9) And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought: (10) Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. (11) The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (12) I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. (13) But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. (14) I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified (Greek: “accounted righteous”) rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The self-righteous child who kept all the religious traditions was not accounted righteous while the poor sinner who was repenting of his unworthiness was. Jesus told the Pharisees that He had not come to call the righteous but the sinners. He was after those who knew they had been sinners to be His children. Look at the following verse carefully. (Rom.11:32) For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. God has designed that forgiven sinners become His sons. Those who have been disobedient have a great appreciation for mercy and grace and do not offend God quickly. God has subjected us to this fallen creation for the purpose of a higher creation. (Rom.8:20) For the creation was subjected to vanity (the fall and corruption), not of its own will, but by reason of him (God) who subjected it, in hope (Greek: “firm expectation”) (21) that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. He wants those who have been corrupt, as good soil is, to be delivered to appreciate Him. The children of God can only be created from the fallen creation, and God is the one who subjected them to it to humble them. The Scriptures show us our unfaithfulness and unworthiness so that we might have a reason to truly repent. (Gal.3:22) But the scriptures shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. God chose us to be saved in Christ before Adam even fell. (Eph.1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. He knew we would need a savior before the world was made and Adam fell. He knew the fall would happen, and He went ahead with the creation anyway. From this you can see that the fall was in His plan. Children who are raised with Christ many times take Him for granted and do not really understand grace as unmerited favor. God has a plan for them that may involve the temporary lifting of His grace that has been taken for granted. Do not fear this, or walk by sight, but continue to believe God for them. Peter was Jesus' little one whom He raised up to be a disciple. He self-confidently declared to the Lord that he would never be offended and deny Him but would go with Him to death in (Mat.26:33-35). God hates self-confidence but loves God-confidence. So how does God deal with this sin? (1Co.10:12) Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Failure is the best treatment for self-confidence. (Luk.22:31) Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: (32) but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren. (33) And he said unto him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death. (34) And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, until thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. Jesus prophesied failure for this proud man. Jesus, who had authority over Satan, did not forbid him from sifting Peter. Satan sifts to get what belongs to him. In this case, it was Peter's pride, self-righteousness, and self-confidence. What fell through the sieve was what God wanted, the humbled Peter. The sifted Peter who had “turned again” or been converted, could now establish the brethren. Before this failure, he would have been a good Pharisee. (Luk.7:40) And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon (the Pharisee, not Peter), I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Teacher, say on. (41) A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred shillings, and the other fifty. (42) When they had not [wherewith] to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most? (43) Simon answered and said, He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. (44) And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. (45) Thou gavest me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. (46) My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment. (47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loveth little. Big sinners make big saints, for they know the value of grace. According to the previous verses, God wants people who are forgiven of their many sins and saved by grace so that they love and appreciate Him much. This is the creation that He wants, not Adam before the fall. The creation that springs from the last Adam, Jesus Christ, is the ones who have fallen and then are saved by grace through faith. We need not worry about our children or loved ones becoming sinners, just “hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised.” We must gracefully sow seeds of truth, as we can, without frustrating them. They cannot be convinced without grace. God “worketh all things after the counsel of His will” and “a man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven,” and “no one comes unto the Son except the Father draw him.” God will do it when the time is right, and He will use our faith because “faith is the substance of things hoped for” (KJV). We can see why sometimes God does not save people until they are a little older and have tried the world and found it wanting. However, if you have faithfully served the Lord from your youth, you have a great reward. God can save anyone anytime He desires. It is important that we not try with our own works to save the lost but first honor God's sovereignty with our faith for Him to do it. (Joh.6:37) All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me… (44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him… Father will draw everyone that He chooses to Christ. God chooses us and gives us a desire to come to Him and only then do we choose Him. (Psa.65:4) Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee], That he may dwell in thy courts… God sometimes chooses the worst in our estimation. If God can save Paul or Mary Magdalene, who had seven demons, he can save those we believe for. Do you remember the conversion of Saul who persecuted the saints with a vengeance? (Act.9:3)… And suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven: (4) and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (5) And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he [said], I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. A monkey would get saved with such an experience, which was totally at the discretion of God. This same omnipotent God says, All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Mat.21:22). God uses His gift of faith in us to manifest the salvation of those He has chosen from the foundation of the world. Pray and thank God for those salvations. I can hear someone say, “Goody, we will believe God to save the devil; that will solve a lot of problems.” I do not think such faith would endure to the end since faith is a gift from God (Eph.2:8), to give or to take, and there is no precedent in the Scriptures for such a request. Besides that, the devil is needed in his job for which he would be totally unfit if he got saved. There is precedent for household salvation though (Act.11:14; 18:8). Paul and Silas offered this to the jailer. (Act.16:31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. They believed and were saved. (34)… with all his house, having believed in God. Peter preached this, too. (Act.2:39) For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. In Exodus 12:3, the lamb was slain for a household. Unbelieving family members are sanctified by our faith. (1Co.7:14) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the brother: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. Some object that God would be unrighteous to choose some and not others. We are too late for He has done just that. (Psa.147:19) He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel. (20) He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. God did not attempt to share His first covenant with any of the world but Israel. The New Testament He shares only with spiritual Israel. (Deu.7:6) For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. (7) The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples. God is not worried about multitudes, for He has chosen the least. He still only chooses little spiritual Israel on the narrow road. Abraham is the father of spiritual Israel, the Church: those who walk in the same gift of faith that Abraham walked in. (Gal.3:7) Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. Paul told the Gentile church at Rome that the people of all nations who believe the promise were Abraham's children in (Rom.4:16) For this cause [it is] of faith, that [it may be] according to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law (natural Israel), but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (17) (as it is written, A father of many nations [the Gentiles] have I made thee)… True, spiritual Israel believes the promises even now. (Rom.9:6)… For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: (7) neither, because they are Abraham's seed (naturally or physically), are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. (8) That is, it is not the children of the flesh (natural Israel) that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed. Those who believe the promises are born again children of the promises. These are Abraham's seed. A New Testament spiritual Jew is circumcised in heart, not flesh. (Rom.2:28) For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly (physical); neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: (29) but he is a Jew who is one inwardly (spiritual); and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter… Notice that a Jew now is not a physical Jew. A Jew now has the flesh cut off from his heart through the new birth. (Gal.6:15) For neither is circumcision (in the flesh) anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. (16) And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace [be] upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. The Israel of God are they who walk as new creatures. The unregenerate physical Jews who worship in synagogues are not Jews until they are born again through the New Testament. (Rev.2:9) I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they art not, but are a synagogue of Satan (the same in Rev.3:9). We were not Jews but now are in Spirit. (Rom.9:25) As he saith also in Hosea, I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved. (26) And it shall be, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, There shall they be called sons of the living God. We were not His people but are now beloved sons of God. (Rom.9:27) And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel (natural or physical), If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved. A remnant of natural Israel will be born again mostly after the elect Gentiles have been saved. (Rom.11:25)… A hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. “In part” here means that the line between Gentiles and Jews is not a sharp demarcation. Neither was it in the book of Acts. Jews are even now being saved more than ever. This is a sign that we are nearing the end of the times of the Gentiles. Most of the physical Jews will come in after the Gentiles. We who sought not after God were given the gift of faith to be spiritual New Testament Israel when natural Israel turned her back on God. (Rom.10:20) And Isaiah is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I became manifest unto them that asked not of me. God revealed himself to the Church who on their own neither knew nor sought Him. (21) But as to Israel he saith, All the day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. (Rom.11:7)…That which Israel (physical) seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election (chosen) obtained it, and the rest were hardened: (We see here that only the few chosen among the many called of Israel accepted Christ and the New Testament. The rest were reprobated.) (8) according as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day. In that day and in this, those who walk by faith are chosen from among the called to be the eternal people of the living God. Paul said “all Israel” is the physical Jews and Gentiles who are part of the olive tree by faith, not those who are broken off by unbelief (Rom.11:19-25). All have sinned and deserve destruction. Is God wrong for giving some mercy and grace and others justice? All deserve justice instead of unmerited favor.   Letter to a Prodigal Son Anonymous My Son, The Lord has chosen you as part of 3% of this world's population to be His own. I saw this in a vision I would like to tell you about. You are probably wondering, how could this be since I have been through hell? Hell is the best place to learn that you really want to live in heaven. I've loved you since you were a baby and I've known the Lord has too. Even your stubborn rebellion didn't change my mind or His. He has known you from before the foundation of the world. He has a special plan for your life that I would like to tell you about. You think, why would God love me since I have been so sinful? Jesus said, "Who loves much, he that has been forgiven of much or he that has been forgiven of little? Simon said, 'He that has been forgiven of much'". Jesus said that this answer is correct. Since you will be forgiven of much you are now capable now of loving Him the way He wants you to. You might ask, "If He loves me then why has he been so hard on me?" It is the devil who has been hard on you. He hates you and when he is through with you then you are like him, destroyed. God said, "His servants you are whom you obey". It's a simple matter to change Masters and Fathers. It happened to me when I was younger than you. I guess I wasn't quite as stubborn as you. :o) Once when you were younger you asked God to save you. You think He ignored you or forgot about that but He didn't. He was very glad and He took you very seriously but He also knew you were stubborn and would have to know the consequences of serving the devil before you would fear Him as your Father and serve Him. You are almost there. When you get there understand this about Him. He is seeking you and listening to you and if you make one step towards Him, He will be very happy to make ten towards you. You have His Word for that. Luke 15:1 Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing near unto him to hear him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. (Jesus is now seeking you out where you are.) 3 And he spake unto them this parable, saying, 4 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? (He is after you to save you.) 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (He will be very happy to receive you.) 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, [more] than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance. (Your heavenly Father and all of heaven will be happy at your turning to Him.) 8 Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of [thy] substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living. (What God gave you as a child you have now wasted.) 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. (Now you are just feeding the flesh and the children of the god of this world, Satan.) 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. (Its a hard road and you are near total death.) 17 But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger! (You are starving for the bread of His kingdom, the Word of God.) 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: (Just tell Him that you have sinned and you are sorry) 19 I am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of thy hired servants. (Tell Him that you know you are not worthy of Him but you will serve Him with His help.) 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. (You are far from Him but He sees you when you make a step towards Him and He will run to you in love.) 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (He will meet your needs for righteousness and authority.) 23 and bring the fatted calf, [and] kill it, and let us eat, and make merry: (He will feed you with the best.) 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. (He will give you His life.) And they began to be merry. (...And He will be very happy; more so than over those who are serving him now.) 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these things might be. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 But he was angry, and would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and [yet] thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. 32 But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive [again]; and [was] lost, and is found. Please think about this, son. Love, Dad

Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. (Philippians 2:16 NLT) Of all of the people who went into the various portions of the Promised Land that God had allotted to the Israelites, Caleb was the only one who successfully drove out all his enemies. And he did it at the age of eighty-five. Caleb had a strength that never waned because he had a love for God that never waned. Caleb went to Joshua and said, “So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said” (Joshua 14:12 NLT). He had asked for one of the most treacherous areas in the land, Hebron, which was known for its rugged terrain and fierce opponents. Yet the Bible goes on to say, “So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel” (verses 13–14 NLT). Maybe there is another reason Caleb wanted Hebron. The very word Hebron means “love, fellowship, communion.” This was the place where Abraham met with God face to face. That is what Caleb longed for. While others longed for Egypt, Caleb longed for Hebron. While others looked back, Caleb looked forward. And while others wanted to please themselves, Caleb wanted to please God. That is a key to finishing well. You’re always moving forward spiritually, seeking to grow spiritually, and never looking back. Anyone who is running a race knows that you can’t look back. It’s hard to run while you’re looking over your shoulder. You’ll tend to stumble over your own feet. If you want to finish well, then you have to keep looking forward. Don’t look over your shoulder, and don’t look behind you. Keep moving forward. Every day we should be seeking to grow stronger spiritually and grow more and more like Jesus. Corrie ten Boom was a great woman of God who went through incredible suffering in a Nazi extermination camp for hiding Jews in her home. She said, "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest." That is the key. Keep looking forward. As Hebrews 12:1–2 encourages us, “And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (NLT). Jesus Christ Himself is watching us. He is the one who will give us the strength to finish this race. People will let you down, and circumstances will disappoint you. Keep looking to Jesus. He is the one you need to finish the race for. Keep going. Run the race of life. Don’t give up. Don’t slow down. We need to keep our focus and remember what our objective is. Let’s finish well. Invest in evangelism in 2025! — Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Numbers 26:63-65,These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Okay, let's start this morning with something we tried a few weeks ago: if you are under 20 years old raise your hand, hold it high. Everybody get a good look at these hands.I'm gonna do something today I've never done before. This is a different kind of sermon — because I'm going to speak directly to those of you who raised your hand. This is a sermon to everyone under 20 years old — which means either Gen Z or Gen Alpha. I'm looking at you. I'm talking to you.And if that's not you, don't check out. Stay with me. Because I hope that what I say to the kids among us will be a model for our entire church. What I say won't do any good if all the rest of us don't get behind it. So we need the whole family here. This sermon is directed to the kids, but it's for everybody.And first, let me explain how I'm getting here from the text.The Second, New CensusChapter 26 is a census. It's just all numbers of the tribes of Israel, but it's an important point in the storyline of the Book of Numbers because this is the moment when the attention officially turns from the old generation to the new generation that has taken their place. And I want you to see this in the text. We just heard these verses read, but look again at verse 63. Everybody find Chapter 26, verse 63. This is referring to the second census, verse 63 says:These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. So there are two different censuses mentioned here.The first census, mentioned in verse 64, was in Numbers Chapter 1 and it took place in the wilderness of Sinai.The second census is the one here in chapter 26 and it took place in the plains of Moab, right on the edge of entering the Promised Land.The full count of the first census was 603,550.The full count of the second census was 601,730.So it's around the same number, but the thing we're supposed to see is that except for Joshua and Caleb, not a single person counted in that first census is still around for this second census. Because they all died under the judgment of God.There has been a full-out replacement here. And the text makes this clear. Verse 64 says that “not one of those” listed in the first census is listed in the second. Verse 65 repeats this: “Not one of them was left, except Caleb and Joshua.”So this is an all-new generation. And with the newness comes both hope and suspense: Could it be that this new generation, about to inherit the land, will trust God more than their parents did? Or, will they only repeat the failures of their fathers? Will the new generation be more faithful or less?Applied to Our DayAnd see, this is the kind of question, at this point in the story, that sparks our own reflection about our future generations. Historically, that's how many Christians have read this part of Numbers. This section of the story gets applied to our own day and we realize that …Unless Jesus comes back first, every generation will eventually become the older generation. (One day, for those of us who didn't raise our hands, our time here will be done and what is presently the younger generation will be leading the way.) So then — How are we preparing the younger generations to do that?Charles Spurgeon, our favorite 19th-century Baptist pastor, understood this two-way dynamic. He once wrote of Numbers 26, If we are now serving God [current generation], let us do so with intense earnestness, since only for a little while shall we have the opportunity to do so among men…. Live while you live. [And] at the same time, lay plans for influencing the rising generation. Lay yourself out to work while it is called today.And part of our work, non-hand-raisers, is to invest in the hand-raisers.And so that's what I want to do this morning. This is not a normal exegetical sermon. We don't find these points that I'm going to say directly from the text, but instead, with the text as a kind of foundation, I want to offer three encouragements to the rising generation. I have three commendations for you kids, and the first is this: 1. Get married and build a family.The most obvious thing about the census in chapter 26 that we're most likely to overlook is that these are all families. The word used is “clan” — a clan is a smaller unit under each tribe, and it's made up of a husband and wife who becomes a father and mother to sons and daughters. These are families that are listed here, and they exist because the people of Israel are doing what God commissioned mankind to do back in Genesis. In Genesis 1:28, God told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over [it]…”And that's been happening. Remember that's what made Israel so unpopular in Egypt. This people kept increasing! They kept multiplying, as God promised Abraham they would. God blessed the people of Israel as they were extending the first and most integral institution for human civilization, the family. It's not a political statement to say that the family is the foundation of human society. That's just a fact and it's been this way since the very beginning, and the Bible just assumes that we understand this, and most cultures always have. The family is special, and it starts with marriage. What is marriage? Well marriage is a covenant ordained by God where both a man and a woman promise to be a shelter for one another. And it's so significant that, like with other covenants in the Bible, there's a name-change. As one writer explains, the wife traditionally takes her husband's name, to show that she is bound to him, and the man takes a whole new title — the title of “husband” which means house-bound (see Wiley). The husband is bound to his wife and to what makes a house, and this is where we get to children. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes so-and-so with a baby carriage.”That's how it works, but I want to clarify something: when husbands and wives start to have children, they're not simply having children, but they're building a house. They're building a family.And again, families are special. Everyone everywhere gets that families are special — even in our highly individualistic culture and even where there's so much family brokenness. We all know the family is still special and so I want to encourage you, kids, to lean into the specialness of family. And I don't mean just the family you're part of now as a kid, but dream of building your own family one day.Now, I understand that marriage will come at different times for each of you, and that some of you may remain unmarried for life or experience a season of not-yet-married longer than you would hope, but exceptions aside, hear this: do not sideline marriage and family in pursuit of something you think is more important or that will make you happier. Melissa and I were watching a show the other night, and randomly one of the characters took a dig at marriage and said: “Show me a couple that has been married for 50 years and I'll show you someone who didn't accomplish anything in life.” And I threw a flag right away and said Wrong! That kind of thinking exists in the world and it is maliciously wrong!If you want to “accomplish” something that lasts, if you really want to make an impact, I tell you what I tell my sons: If you wanna change the world, do whatever Jesus says and love one woman with everything you've got for the rest of your life.What I'm saying is this: kids, one day, get married and build a family. Second encouragement:2. Double down and fill the gaps.Years ago, at a coffee shop close by where I lived, I met a man named Jack. He would come in the same day every week for a coffee and donut, and in a casual conversation I found out that Jack was a WWII veteran. So I asked him if I could meet and talk with him when he came in, which he let me do. And I really enjoyed getting to know Jack — he was this man from the Greatest Generation. He had seen so much life and yet he was present and engaged and he had great stories. But Jack was old, and months later he passed away. And after he died, his son sent me the eulogy he had written for him, and it was even more fascinating to get to learn more about this man who had become my friend for just a short period of time.And one of the things that stood out to me in the eulogy was a joke that his son made about Jack hating the music his children listened to when they were teenagers. Apparently his kids would crank up the radio and Jack couldn't stand to hear this new band his kids liked, and you know who the new band was? The Beatles.I read that and it occurred to me that Jack was so old. He was so old that there was a time in his life when The Beatles were too modern for him! And Jack did what is so classic for the older generations to do: he looked down on the younger generation.And this got my attention because the younger generation to him was the older generation to me. I didn't really have a dog in the fight, but it confirmed this two-way generational dynamic that's almost as old as the sun: Older generations tend to think the rising generation is in decline, and the rising generation tends to rebel against the older generation. One looks down their nose and the other rolls their eyes.That's the way it's always been in the world, but we should make it different in our church. And that really does start with those of us who did not raise our hands earlier. It is on us — the non-kids — to grow a church that is a haven of encouragement to the rising generation. Now that doesn't mean that we break our necks to entertain our kids and make this place like Disney World, but it does mean that we believe God is at work in our kids and we want them to know that God's joy is deeper than the universe. We are here because of God's joy and we are headed back to God's joy, and so we want to be God's smile to our children. That's for us, non-hand raisers, and it's a heart thing. The Example of PhinehasNow for you kids these days, let me tell you about Phinehas. The story of Phinehas comes in Chapter 25. We saw it last week. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar, the new high priest, which means he was the grandson of Aaron. The Bible doesn't tell us his age, but he was most likely a young adult, a teenager. And as the story goes in Chapter 25, there was rampant, high-handed sin and idolatry in Israel's camp, and Phinehas stepped up to stop it. He had great zeal for God! And God commended him for being jealous for God's glory and turning back God's wrath, but I think the lesson for you kids is that Phinehas doubled down on faithfulness and filled the gap where it was lacking. Pastor Mike Schumann showed us last week that Phinehas was just doing what God has said. He knew the first commandment, “You shall have not other gods before me.” And he knew his family was supposed to guard the sanctuary. So Phinehas knew what faithfulness meant, and he doubled down on it. Apparently his dad, Eleazar, wasn't doing what was needed (neither was anyone else of the 625,000 or so people who were there) so Phinehas said “I'll do it!” Except he didn't say anything because nobody was asking. He just grabbed a spear. He saw an opportunity where faithfulness was required and took the initiative to be faithful.So, rising generation, hand-raisers, look, you don't have to drift. That's what a lot of people say you're gonna do. But don't. There's no drifting here. There's no decline here. Phinehas is doubling down on what is good and right and true, and he's filling a gap where it is required. Kids, be a Phinehas!We want you to be more solid than we are.Which means we're admitting: we don't have it all figured out. We don't have a current well-calibrated sense of our future regret (also known as blind spots). We're trying our best, I promise that! I feel good about where we stand! We want to serve Jesus with our utmost for his highest! And as you seek to do the same, there will be things that you're going to be able to do better, so do them. Kids, look, one day it's going to be your turn to double down on faithfulness and fill the gaps where it's required. And I say this to you with confidence, because we believe God is at work in you. That brings me to the third encouragement…3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.At the end of Chapter 27, we read about when God told Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. God reminds Moses again that he's not going to enter the Promised Land, because of his unbelief in Chapter 20, and so Moses asks God to appoint a man to take his place. Israel needed a new leader for their new generation, and God chose Joshua.And it's fascinating how God describes Joshua. Chapter 27, verse 18: “So the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit…'”Was Joshua courageous? Yes. Was he a leader in faith? Of course.Did he have good training and experience? He did. But God doesn't mention any of those things here. He simply calls Joshua a man in whom is the Spirit.And so rising generation, let that be true of you. Listen, you're going to be good at so many things, but, you can do nothing of any lasting value apart from the Holy Spirit. You need the Holy Spirit. So be filled with him. Which will mean at least three things:1. Devotion to the BibleGod's work through his church is always a work by his Spirit and Word. That's been true of every movement of God in history. And the converse is also true: Show me a so-called church or place that belittles and sidelines the Bible, I'll show you a graveyard. And that's what some people have come to expect of churches. I've got a funny story for you. We recently heard what some of our Summit Avenue neighbors think of us. It was few months ago, one of our members was at a Summit Avenue neighborhood meeting, and he was standing with an older generation of men who didn't know he was part of our church, and one of the men said, “Yeah, it's something what's happened over there at that old church. That new congregation is one of those, you know … (and he wasn't sure exactly what to say but he goes) … they're all, you know, you know, they're all happy clappy.”You can call us “happy clappy” if you want to, or you could just say alive. Because that's what we are. We're alive, and it's because of the Word of God. We take this Book seriously. We care about this Book.And rising generation, hand-raisers, care about this Book even more. Read it and memorize it and sing it! Let it be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will be devoted to the Bible. And also, you'll have…2. Wisdom in this worldWe know it's a myth to say that wisdom comes with age, because that's not always the case. Now we hope that as we get older we get wiser, but it's not automatic … because wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord, and that means you don't have to wait for it until you get old. We learn this in the Book of Job. After Job's first three friends have their moments to speak, and each one is kinda missing the mark, there is a fourth friend, Elihu, who speaks up. He says that he's been holding his tongue and he waited last to speak because he was younger. He deferred to the older, which was polite, but then he says, it's not many years that teach wisdom, but it's the “breath of the Almighty that makes one understand” (Job 32:8).And the Book of James tells us, if you want wisdom, ask God (see James 1:5). Ask God for wisdom, rising generation!If you're filled with the Spirit and long to be wise,Ask it of God—he freely supplies.And this wisdom is not just general information about things, but it's the Spirit-empowered ability to apply biblical truth to everyday life. It's learning to see all of reality through the lens of Scripture, and then to act accordingly. This kind of wisdom is constant awareness that God is active in the world and we get to be part of what he's doing. If you're filled with the Spirit, you will be wise in this world. And being filled with the Spirit means, third…3. Loyalty to JesusAnd this is really the source of the previous two. When it comes to what you think about the Bible, the real question is what you think about Jesus. If you believe Jesus is who he claimed to be then he is right about everything he said, including what he said about Scripture, which was pretty amazing. Jesus taught that the Bible is true, infallible, and permanent and that it's ultimately about him. So if you take issue with any of those things, you're taking issue with Jesus — don't do that. When it comes to wisdom, we need wisdom because we're serious about following Jesus in this world, which can get complex at times and there's gonna be opposition. We need wisdom because we want his guidance in those details.So, rising generation, hand-raisers: it all comes back, honestly, to our love and loyalty to Jesus, and that is the central work of the Holy Spirit. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).It's the Holy Spirit's work in your life that makes you born again as a believer; it's the Spirit who binds you to Jesus by faith and makes his cross wonderful to you. And I really mean wonderful. Loyalty to Jesus is not a wooden adherence, but Jesus becomes your treasure. He is your good king, and his yoke is easy and his burden is light! It is your joy to say “Whatever you want Jesus! I'm yours.”See, this loyalty to Jesus, then, really means a deeper fellowship with Jesus by his Spirit, and that's what I want most for you.I pray that Jesus would become your all-consuming passion and your all-satisfying treasure … and that the Spirit would lead you every day to trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and fulfillment of all God's promises to you; that the Spirit would empower you to renounce Satan in all his temptations and schemes; and that the Spirit would help you to obey Jesus and follow him as your Lord, Savior, and Supreme Joy. The Spirit does that. And kids, may he do that in you!Could you do me a favor one more time? If you're under 20, raise your hand. Okay I'm looking at you. Receive this, I encourage you:Get married and build a family.Double down and fill the gaps.Be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's what brings us to the Table.The TableWe come each week to this Table to remember Jesus. We remember that he came to save us — he died in our place on the cross by his free and absolute grace. Hey, we don't deserve his goodness. He loves us because he loves us. And when we receive this bread and cup, we're resting in him. We are resting in his love for us. And so this table is for those who have trusted in Jesus.If you have not yet put your faith in Jesus, let the bread and cup pass, but don't let the invitation pass. This morning you can trust in Jesus. You too can rest in him. Just come to him in faith.

Hebrews 6:12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Joshua 14:6-156 Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.'[a]10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites. Theme for 2024: Strong & CourageousThe Importance of Finishing StrongExamples of Finishing Strong:1. Solomon's Example (1 Kings 3, 11)2. Caleb's Example (Joshua 14:6-15)             Remembering God's Promise               Persevering in God's Promise               Claiming God's Promise               Receiving God's Promise  Be Strong & Courageous Until the End!

'Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.' Numbers 13:17-20 'So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.' Only do not rebel against the Lord , nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.' Numbers 14:1-10

A Fake Christianity (2)   (audio)   David Eells 10/27/24   I'm going to continue to speak to you about a fake Christianity in the church. I've got some revelations to share of judgments coming to the fake church and a powerful Word at the end.      Babylon's Mega Church Destroyed   Garrett Crawford - 02/3/2007 (David's notes in red)   I took a nap for a few hours. During this nap I dreamt I was in a shopping mall; this was like a mega mall. As I was walking through it I saw all sorts of stores and restaurants. While I was in what seemed to be the food court, I saw a woman that was scantily clad standing in front of a restaurant entrance. I think this was a steak house, but I am not totally certain. It seemed her job was to entice people to come into the restaurant. (After much meditation on this I feel this is symbolic. The restaurant that served steak represents serving the flesh, and the harlot trying to entice people to come in is like the foolish woman in Proverbs 9:14-15 who sits at the door calling the simple to come in and sin with her.)   After the encounter with the woman in front of the restaurant something led me to go outside. I began riding a bike around the building and I was accompanied by another guy my age and he was on a bike as well. On one side of the mall, we came to this big, huge construction project. It was an addition to the mall, but it was a church! It was really big, 3 or 4 stories tall, which wasn't completely finished yet. While I was walking through it I saw a group of men that were standing around and admiring the uncompleted structure. They were going to be members of the church once it was built. They thought that this church was going to be the best thing ever. I questioned their discernment because building a church and connecting it to a mall seemed very wrong.   When I voiced my opinion on the matter they quickly scorned me and started making excuses why this was needed. I was really turned off by the idea of this church to say the least, but they seemed to love it and could not wait until it was open to the public. While I was standing in the unfinished building's nursery or children's room, I was given a vision. In an instant the scenery changed, the room I was standing in was finished, it had drywall, carpet, and the walls were freshly painted. I was shown how it would look when finished. I had the revelation at this time that around 3 months after being completed the whole church building would be destroyed by God. I was amazed at this revelation, probably because this was no small project, and all the work these men were doing was basically in vain, because they would only get about 3 months' use out of this church building.   (The mall represents the business of buying and selling in the new World Babylonish Religion that is being built. The enticing woman represents their tolerance teachings that appeal to the lusts of the flesh, which will draw in apostate Christianity. 2Pe.2:18 For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; 19 promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.   20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. 21 For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. The restaurant is where they feed appealing food, a fleshly, letter-understanding of the Word.   The church front on the mall is a way to trap the religious people into a system that is of the world. When their discernment was questioned by the real Church, meaning “called out ones”, they moved quickly to persecution as it will be. Garrett said that something led him to go outside where he rode a bicycle. This represents those who will inspect but depart from their religious system. The bicycle represents coming to a true balance. Rev.18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues:   5 for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Render unto her even as she rendered, and double [unto her] the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double. 7 How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. 8 Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judged her.   God will use the beast to destroy their Babylonish temple not long after it is completed whether this is a literal three months or three years. Rev.17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire.)      Jezebel Churches     Darrell Simer - 08/01/2008 (David and R.V.'s notes in red)   These following two dreams are connected and show the sad state of the Jezebel Church.      First dream   I see the beautiful young girl in her mid-20s, and she appears to be dressed in an old-fashioned Spanish or ballroom-type dress; she is dancing and doing spiritual battle and making proclamations. She has this long, elegant sword that she is dancing around with, to make her proclamations. I get right up to her and I notice the sword is made out of PLASTIC; it was just a toy. End of dream. (David: The Spirit in this dream seems to be saying that the making of proclamations in the church by the spirit of Jezebel is powerless; play acting. (R.V.: After reading the first dream the Lord spoke to me and said, “This is the present condition of the church that comes to Me day in and day out, and they think for their fancy outward appearance and knowledge of My word they can wield my Word and have the victory... I say unto them their words will fall at their feet and will not accomplish that which they speak, for with their mouth they speak great flowing, flowery words but they are void of My Spirit and anointing.”   Psa.5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue. Psa.59:7 Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, “Who hears?” 8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. Jer.9:7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I will refine them and assay them; For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people? 8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?” Isa.29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men”)   Second dream   I am sitting on the right side of the second row, up front in a church setting. This woman speaker is going over the announcements of the church events and then pulls out this paper, saying, “Someone else please read this”, and then hands it to this girl sitting in front of me. She sticks out her hand and says, “Oh! No, no, I don't want to stand up and read in front of all these people”. So the paper is placed in my hands. (R.V.: This body is out of order with its head as a woman. He has revealed to them their error but they do not want to turn: Rev.2:20 But I have [this] against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication (which is receiving the seed or word of the world), and to eat things sacrificed to idols (of man's religious organizations). 21 I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.   22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. The Word is the Word is the Word and He will not change it for anyone; passing the buck to someone else will not be an excuse. He revealed His will to the woman and how out of order she was. She decided to hand it to another woman, but He revealed the same thing to her. At this point they chose to hand off to a man.) (David: Isa.3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 1Ti.2:12 But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness.)   Back to Darrell's dream: I looked at her and said the same thing: “I don't want to stand up and read in front of all these people”. I turn to my wife (who's very knowledgeable with big words) and ask her if she will read it, she says, “No, it was handed to you. You read it”. (R.V.: The man wants to hand off to his wife but she knows her place and refuses to usurp his authority. This is a type of how the true body is to operate. 1Cor.11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.)   I don't want to read in front of everybody either, but I know it must be read, so I stand up to read it to the assembly and I notice the words are extremely long and most of the words I don't even know, much less try to pronounce. So I tell everyone, “Please bear with me and I will do my best at reading this”. I look at the paper and I tell everyone, “Say, if you all don't mind, I'm going to read it, but I'm going to use my prayer language”. (David: In other words, I am going to let the Spirit speak.) (R.V.: Rom.8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 1Cor.14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful”. When one prays in their spirit it bypasses the mind and allows one to pray without flesh and therefore not tainted by the mind and what it knows.)   All of a sudden the spirit of GOD comes upon me and instead of reading the paper I give a word of knowledge and sense I'm rebuking the entire assembly. I find myself listening to the words coming out of my own mouth and I am quoting scripture word for word. (David: If the anointed men will take their position by faith, the Word of the Lord will come forth from them and it won't just be a lifeless exercise.) (R.V.: This is a true dream from the Lord and it reveals the condition of the present-day church and the Jezebel it has turned into, and its pride of wanting to remain as it is and not turn or repent. This open rebuke is an end-of-the-hour cry of the Lord to His body to turn and repent or His hand of judgment is coming to her. He will put a hook in her jaw and take her to a place she wishes not to go and a fate that will shake her dry bones and harlotry to the core.)   Luk.13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”      Spiritual Earthquake for the Church     Sean Starr - circa 05/14/2012 (David's notes in red)   5/14 is a clue because this is when we had a spiritual earthquake at local UBM in 2011 and God separated some factious people from us. It appears this is coming to the whole church.   From an elevated view (a spiritual view) I looked down at an angle upon a big city at night. The city's many, very tall high-rise buildings were center point of my view. (The city could well represent Babylonish U.S.) I understood that there was going to be a great earthquake that would have devastating effects and great casualties. I had the sense that I had been repeating the warning, but if not, I was certainly heeding it, as it was my intention to keep my distance from ‘the strike zone.' (Come out from among them, saith the Lord.) It was also in the back of my mind as to the certainty of the warning - would this be another ‘Jonah prophecy' or Micah's 3rd call? (Would they heed the warning and escape judgment?)   The bull's-eye seemed to be the city's stadium, which was fixed a bit to the right of my position, or what I would understand to be the east side of the city. At the stadium there was a congregation of sorts. It strikes me now as a certain mega TV church, a ‘pay as you play, Sunday go to meeting', church. (A stadium is usually people from all over and could represent the US apostate church.) At my elevation I see Michael Boldea walk in front of me -- from right to left (or east to west) -- as though he had just come from the stadium. Shaking his head, dejected, frustrated and most notably exasperated, he spoke words to the effect of, ‘I told them... They won't listen. I told them.'   (The worldly church is not taking the warnings of judgment to repent so a great shaking is coming.) Heb.12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned [them] on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape] who turn away from him that [warneth] from heaven: 26 whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven.   The following verse is taken from the Numeric English New Testament because it shows rightly so that the word “things” was not in the original Greek here. 27 And this, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of the [things] shaken, as of [things] made, that those not shaken may remain. We have personally seen an example of this removal since 2011. Notice that the people who are shaken will be removed by it so that those who are not shaken will remain are not leavened. This is a spiritual earthquake made up of many tribulations that will cause a falling away from the Church because of disobedience to the Word. The Lord says that judgment begins there.   28 Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: 29 for our God is a consuming fire. And Father will burn up the wood, hay and stubble in our lives OR He will NOT have us in His Kingdom. This Kingdom is where He rules.)   It seemed like someone (from the stadium?) said to him, ‘Where are you going' or ‘Stay', to which he replied, ‘No. I'm going home to be with my family -- where it's safe.” (2Co.6:17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you... It is not safe among the apostates where judgment will fall but among the true disciples of Christ who walk in sanctification there is safety.   From my relatively fixed position, I watched and waited for a moment. It wasn't long before the earthquake came. The [religious] stadium was the epicenter. A report came quickly – ‘It was a 6.9'. That is a sizable quake, especially for a big city, but there were no (physical) deaths. Then I woke up. (We see in this dream that “a great earthquake that would have devastating effects and great casualties” but has “no (physical) deaths” must be spiritual casualties and devastating effects to the “pay as you play Sunday go-to meeting church” crowd that people like Michael warn about. A spiritual earthquake is a shifting of the earth of lives.   I suppose the judgments that are coming, like the economic collapse, natural earthquakes, war, martial law, loss of jobs and homes, loss of freedom, loss of political and spiritual influence in the U.S., while there is no pre-trib rapture, and disappointment in the failure of their prosperity doctrine, could well bring a lot of casualties as far as a falling away. Romans is the sixth book and the ninth chapter [i.e. a 6.9 quake] and it speaks of the falling away of the non-elect like a shifting of the earth, while the elect bear fruit. Whereas the first mention of 6:9 -- in Genesis -- is Noah being called out to build an ark to save his house from the flood. And the first mention in the New Testament, Matthew 6:9, is Jesus teaching His disciples to pray to the Father to be forgiven and delivered from evil.)   This is my first dream where a personal/family warning or admonition is not the focal point. I don't know the city, or Brother Michael Boldea. (I believe this is a personal family warning for the worldly Church to repent and humble itself and consider true discipleship before the greater falling away comes.)   This text was given to me concerning this: Isa.29:1 Ho Ariel (meaning: the lion of God), Ariel, the city where David encamped (Zion/Jerusalem)! add ye year to year; let the feasts come round (a time of coming judgments): 2 then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be unto me as Ariel. 3 And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with posted troops, and I will raise siege works against thee. (In the natural this was the Assyrian army encamped around Jerusalem which failed to conquer her. In the spirit this is the demon possessed beast people who war against Zion, the Bride.)  4 And thou shalt be brought down (or humbled), and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. (Zion will be crucified and humbled before God, which is good, but their adversaries will be destroyed.)     5 But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be in an instant suddenly. (In the natural, this was the 185,000 men who died of Sennacherib's army while warring against Zion. In the spirit, it is those who die spiritually warring against Zion.) 6 She shall be visited of Jehovah of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. (To burn the wood, hay and stubble so the gold and silver and precious stones may remain.)     7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. (They will vanish.) 8 And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. (Notice: Ariel is Zion, which the nations of the harlot and beast will seek to devour but will be greatly disappointed.)      Crucifying the Church in Tribulation   B.A. - 11/17/2012 (David's notes in red)   Jer.18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, (2) Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels. 4 And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.   I dreamed I was in a dungeon with six other women (I believe all these women represent the seven churches) and we were in fetters and chains. It reminded me of Paul and Silas: Act.16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them. I was trying my best to comfort these women and encourage them not to give up, but to have faith and trust in the Lord's promises and mercy. They asked me, “How can you be so positive? Look at this place; it's wet and damp and cold, and it stinks! They are probably going to starve us to death, as well!”   Wow! Talk about a tough crowd! But I knew this is what the Lord had been preparing me for these past several years. Don't listen to their bad report; remember Joshua and Caleb. They got to enter the Promised Land because they believed God! Num.14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes: 7 and they spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land. 8 If Jehovah delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 9 Only rebel not against Jehovah, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not.   And in Heb.3:7 Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-day if ye shall hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, Like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tried me by proving me, And saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was displeased with this generation, And said, They do always err in their heart: But they did not know my ways; 11 As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. 12 Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God.   I was praying in the spirit and praising God when I heard the large outer dungeon gates squeak open and two jailers came and released us from our bonds, and told us to come with them. We were taken up a spiral stone staircase that seemed to go on forever (coming out of the darkness into the light). Suddenly, we reached a landing and a door to my right sprang open and the jailers took us through the door. We found ourselves in a large dome-like room filled with a bright light. There was a red runner (the blood of Jesus) on the floor like you would see at the academy awards for the actors to walk on. Mat.26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins. There was a large man (Jesus) standing on the red runner with a vessel in one hand and a large, thick rod in the other. (The vessel is the flesh that must be broken and the rod is the rod of chastening that breaks it.) I stood praying for all of us, as I knew something was about to happen to us.   The man with the vessel and rod pointed at each one of us and lined us up. Then he commanded the first woman to come forward and stand before him. He dropped the vessel onto the floor and it broke into many pieces. He then ordered the woman to bend down and pick up all the pieces. As she bent down to pick up the pieces, the man took his staff and hit the woman across her back as hard as he could. I heard the woman's shoulder blade snap in half and she fell very hard onto the floor; the pieces of the vessel gouged into her flesh and blood gushed out of her body. She was not able to get up and the two jailers came and carried her away.   Then, he commanded the second woman to come forward. Again, the man dropped the vessel on the floor and it broke into many pieces and he commanded the woman to bend down and pick them up. Just as she bent down, the man took the rod and hit the woman as hard as he could on her back. Like the first woman, she fell to the floor onto the broken pieces. I did not hear any bones break and she did not appear to be bleeding as badly as the first woman. She was able to get up on one knee. The two jailers came over and carried her away. (Some may think this harsh but so is the tribulation on those who are not yet sanctified; it will be a crucifixion of self.)   This process went on and on with each woman. I noticed as each woman was called up, they seemed to be less and less injured. Then, it was my turn. (A quick read of Revelation 2 and 3 shows this breaking of the six churches, some more, some less in the coming tribulation.) The man looked at me and said, “Come and stand before me”. So I did. As I was walking toward this man, I was actually joyful and confident, as I knew his rod was not going to hurt me. I watched as he dropped the vessel onto the floor and then ordered me to bend down and pick up the pieces. So I bent down and then I saw the rod pass right through my body and to the floor with a bang. I thought, ‘Cool. Not even so much as a scratch. Thank you, Lord!' Then, as I reached down to pick up a piece of the vessel, it was instantly put back together right before my eyes, like it had never been broken; it was a perfect or perfected vessel.   You see, in this revelation, I had already gone to my cross; I was already dead to self. Gal.2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. (Revelation 3:7-13 shows that the Philadelphia Church will escape the hour of trial that would “try them that dwell upon the earth”, rather than “in Heavenly places in Christ”. This Church represents the Bride who, like the Shulammite in Song of Solomon, the Bride in Esther and the Bride in Psalm 45, will escape, being in the King's house on earth. This is no pre-trib rapture, for the Bride will raise up the virgins, as in these cases.)   B.A.'s note: I believe this to represent the condition of the seven churches. Some have not died to self at all and need a crucifixion. And some had died a little but still have a long way to go. The tribulation will perfect those who are willing to go to their cross for their crucifixion. We must lose our life in this world as it says in Mat.16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.      Church Oblivious to Judgment at Hand     C. L. Gregory - 07/28/2010 (David's notes in red)   A few days ago, God spoke a verse to me and since then it has led to other verses and thoughts, and they all consist of the last days and the state of the church and this nation.   Long story short, last night I was going to bed, when I asked the Lord to show me what He was trying to tell me and I believe I got my answer.   I dreamed I was driving at night up a road much similar to a rural area of a Tennessee mountain town. In the passenger side was my grandmother (why she was in the dream was beyond me). (Like old grandmother, the Church has been with us for many years. We may have been born there but left because there wasn't much life there.) As we drove, I noticed we approached a hill and there was a small gas station on the left side of the road, but what I saw farther up the road shook me with fear.   As I was nearing the very small station, I saw up the hill and over the top was a large mountain, a volcano, which was erupting but there was no sound, no thunder, no nothing. Imagine the night image of a volcano with a large mushroom cloud as flakes of ash are falling down. (A quiet, unheard of judgment from hell is in the direct path of the end-time fruit of the woman Church, represented by Gregory.)   I turned into the gas station and ran over to the woman attendant and told her to run, get away, for the volcano had erupted. (A warning to those who, like the “small” old Church, have only “a little power”, represented by the “very small gas station”. A few will escape when they hear the Word from people like Gregory.) What got me was my grandmother, old and wise in her years, was alert at first and was telling me advice about life and things, but then she fell asleep. (Many of those who only know the teachings of the old Church have fallen asleep and they are ignorant of the judgment that is coming.)   For some odd reason, I could not drive the car away, for only she could drive it, but she kept falling asleep, but I had to act quickly. (Those who are members of this old Church must awaken to escape on their own but we can help them by our strength through faith and prayer.) I picked my grandmother up into my arms. She still would not wake up, even though the danger was nearing us. In my spirit, I knew that the most dangerous event was the volcano's silence. As we left, I peered out of the mirror and the volcano was getting more violent. (We must repent, meaning turn around and escape, putting the judgment in our rear-view mirror.)   We finally made it to a shelter (Refuge in Christ and for some, in the TN mountains.), when my grandmother awoke, but the reality was, she could not warn the others before, for she had fallen asleep. We watched as the lava reached down alongside of the buildings and homes of every sort, which had been on the wall of the volcano and I said, within my dream, “Thousands will die from this tragic event, all because we could not and did not warn them”. (And because the rich and political powers have hidden these things from the public so that it is a quiet, fiery judgment coming upon the world. Many are caught in the deception of a false prosperity gospel and they have no spiritual discernment of the season we currently are in.)   Then the dream ended.   The meaning: It was earlier today, which I felt God speak to my spirit and revealed to me that the volcano I saw was an impending judgment that was about to come. My grandmother, I believe, represents the church: wise, old and established but has fallen asleep. The fact remained, I believe God was showing me that something IS coming and the church is so busy caught up into the cares of this life that it does not see the mountain before them which is about to blow, and when it does, they won't know it until AFTER it comes.   I believe wholeheartedly that there is something tragic coming on this nation, but the church, which should be praying, preaching the truth against sin and immorality, and warning the world of God's anger, is asleep.      It Is Judgment From the Father, Church!   Ellie McBride - 09/04/2008 (David's notes in red)   I dreamed I went to my parents' home. Upon arriving, I learned that their neighbor was having a party and that mom was at the neighbor's house. I walked next door to their neighbor's house and found my mom; she was drunk. So I escorted her home. (Ellie's mother is the old church, which is drunk on the world and not in touch with reality and not abiding in the Father's house.)   As I was leaving my parent's house I heard my mother cry out. I ran back to find my father was angry with her and had his hand raised to hit her with a silver-colored hanger in his hand. I immediately got between them and prevented him from hurting her. (The Father is angry with the church. A hanger is for clothes that are in a closet not being used. Rev.19:8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright [and] pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. It is misguided to try to save the church from the Father's chastening but by intercession on their behalf God could grant repentance and then deliverance that is needed.)   I decided to take my mother with me. As we were about to walk out the door I looked down at her and saw that her bottom lip was quivering like a child who knew she was in trouble and wanted to cry. (The church will experience grief for their rebellion when they find the Father is not pleased with them being stuck in their idolatrous ways.)   Then like a magnet she returned to my father's side, and I as well. She was looking up at him and appeared very sad and remorseful. I began to say to my father, “Look at her, Father, she is sorry; she is sorry”. “Forgive her, Father; forgive her”. Then he embraced her and the dream ended. (Oh, praise God! This appears to be a promise that through chastening the elect in the church will repent and be saved from further judgment. Repentance is necessary to withhold judgment.)      The Chosen Leave the Universal Church   Lisa C. - 03/20/2010 (David's notes in red)   My niece, Corin, told me of a dream she had a few days ago. She was going to meet a friend, Sarah, at a dance/prom. However, she was surprised when her grandmother dropped her off at a Catholic (meaning universal) church where she met Sarah. They heard the pope was about to be renounced. (My niece attends a Catholic school that her grandmother pays for. Also, she mentioned that she did not know the meaning of the word “renounced”.) (There are two applications to this dream. The Pope here represents the leadership of the Catholic Church in the natural but spiritually represents the corporate leadership of the universal, apostate “Christian” religion. This church is the mother of many protestant religions. After receiving this dream, the pope of that time was renounced by many for actions taken many years earlier when he was a priest. He was accused of enabling a pedophile priest to continue to molest children and some are leaving the Catholic church because of this. Likewise, many are about to leave the universal, apostate “Christian” religion after realizing they have been raped by their apostate leaders. Of late, 2024, the pope has spoken some reforms which are encouraging. Pray for Him.)   There were many people in the church. She saw the pope in his garments of white and gold; with the hat he normally wears, but she saw him holding two gold rods with his arms crossed like Pharaoh. (Like Pharaoh, the apostate leadership of the apostate church has held God's people in bondage long enough. It is time for Moses who was raised under Pharaoh to lead them out. More importantly, the apostate church will be renounced by multitudes of the elect who will come out to join the people of God in the wilderness tribulation.)   He told the people he was going to bless them with the Holy Spirit. When he did, she began to shake. (My niece was baptized in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues several weeks ago. She began to shake and fell out under the Spirit speaking in tongues.) She said that the shake in her dreams was a shake that she was forced to do. She said that her friend began laughing and that she told her friend she could not stop shaking and that it wasn't funny. She compared it to the first time she shook and said she knew the Holy Spirit was doing it but in her dream she could feel her body forcibly shake. (So we could pray this reformer pope would pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Years ago there was another pope who received the Holy Spirit and was a Charismatic pope playing the guitar in Charismatic services.)  2 (The Holy Spirit is going to forcibly shake His people in both the natural and spiritual Catholic church and they will come out from among them. Hos.11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. 2 The more [the prophets] called them, the more they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images ... 11 They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah.)   Then she turned and saw Oprah Winfrey drive up to the church in a black Hummer. She did not know why Oprah would come. (Oprah is a representative of a universal, generic god religion that is holding people captive, and she is also part of the child trafficking DS pedophiles whom people will renounce.)   A shaking will come to God's chosen people who are captive to the worldly churches and they will see the light and come out from among the multitudes who love not the truth of God's Word.      Turning to the Home Church   Jared Smith - 12/28/2008 (Thoughts in italics) (David's notes in red)   My dream started out like this: I was walking around the main, well-lit auditorium of the church I had attended for four years before I left last May. There was something different, though. There was no stage, no pulpit, no band, no choir and no musical instruments. There was just an auditorium. (When the church goes underground all of this will not be possible.) All around I saw groups of people, 8-10 in size, having their chairs circled around one another and sharing about the Lord and what He was doing in each of their individual lives. There were no leaders in the groups; everyone contributed his or her own testimony and part in the group discussion. The subjects of the multiple conversations would change at any given time and there would be polite interruptions here and there, at least from what I could overhear. I was in the presence of something amazing. I was in the presence of a mass home church gathering inside a once-popular traditional church auditorium.   Up until this part in the dream, I believe that I may have been in a place in time of the future. This time may be once the Man-child ministry is birthed as well as the Two Witnesses. What I mean is that the traditional everyday way we do church compared to the unpopular uncommon way of doing home church had taken a role reversal, where home church is now the most common and popular way. (This will come about during the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation to prepare for the second 3 ½ years when large gatherings will not be permitted for the beast will make war on the saints. The church will go underground. The five-fold ministry will travel from group to group although not altogether.)  As I was marveling at this magnificent and encouraging sight, I was walking away from the auditorium and made my way through the doors to the rear foyer. There was a door to my right that was a hallway running along the rear of the auditorium. I went through this door and noticed complete darkness, as there were no lights on. This was contradictory to the well-lit auditorium where the mass of the Body was fellowshipping. I noticed to the left of the hallway the silhouette of office doors that had light shining through. The light was not as bright as the main auditorium's lighting, but there was just enough to show that there were doors to those rooms. I began to walk down the hallway and entered one of those rooms. To my amazement, I saw the leader who was “over” me the four years I went to this church. He had a group around him, though not as large as the groups I saw in the main auditorium. This group was maybe three or four in size.   Let me pause here to share my thoughts. I believe that the well-lit auditorium and the fellowship that was taking place was the “new mainstream” Christianity that is going to happen during the Man-child and Two Witness ministry. The darkness that I sensed in the hallway was the lack of God's Spiritual Light and Blessing that many had followed because they could not accept the “new way” of Christianity. They continued in their traditional practices, and eventually became the outcast. Yes, there were spiritual principles still being preached, which may explain the small hints of light within the office rooms, but nothing of the magnitude (revelations, dreams, visions, prophecies) as in the main auditorium. (The Man-child and two witness ministries will be impromptu and unplanned gatherings as it was mostly in the bible. The powers that be are unable to plot against these meetings  The topic of discussion (of course the leader was running the show) was how to build a model train set. (In other words, let me tell you how the cars should follow in the leaders tracks.) I found the topic interesting in that I used to build model train set layouts with my dad back in the day, so I knew a little about how to build a layout and what materials were needed. I slowly made my way into the room and sat down, unnoticed to anyone. I sat there for a few minutes and listened to the conversation on how to build this model train set. After hearing what I heard, the group was planning things all wrong. The materials were not right. The amounts of materials were not right. The layout planning and blueprint were not right. What was going to be built based on this wrong planning was going to be a disaster. I felt led to speak up and try to correct the matter. I did so. I forget exactly what I said, but I was immediately corrected by the leader and was told to be quiet.   What is unusual about this is that my presence was not made known until I spoke up. In the same sense, we as Christians (Saints) need to profess and speak up to the traditional church and tell them of what is to come. Let our voices be heard and our presence be known, with boldness. This is the first time I was rejected and corrected by the leader at this point in the dream.     I obeyed, and rested against the back wall, again disappearing out of the conversation and what seemed to be the small group within the office room. I was ignored and then seemingly forgotten about. So the leader went on and on and kept on messing up the planning of the layout of the model train set. I endured and lasted only a few minutes, until the time that I HAD to speak up again. I did so. This time I received an even sterner rebuke and correction from the leader, saying I should shut up and not be heard.     Notice that I seemed to disappear from the conversation and even the group because my voice was not heard anymore. The next time you hear me say something, I immediately become known again, and corrected and rebuked as such. This was the second time I had been done so up until this point.    So I sat back AGAIN and this time I was somewhat irritated because of my lack of opportunity for my voice to be heard. These people and this leader were messing things up and I KNEW the right way to build a model train set, but yet they did not want to listen to me.   Use of the model train set as a metaphor of the truths we hold inside our hearts as Saints, preparing for the Tribulation, the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Man-child and Two Witness Ministries… We are silenced and looked upon as crazy when we talk about these truths to traditional go-to-church-on-Sunday-and-tithe Christians...    I could not hold it in any longer. I HAD to speak up yet again, but this time more than the other two times. I HAD to tell these people their method and process was all WRONG. I was going to tell them the RIGHT way, the way that would build a successful and beautiful model train set layout. I rose to speak, but this time, the leader knew of my presence before I spoke a single word. His eyes were filled with anger and rage, and he was about to give me the harshest of rebuke and corrections for interrupting HIS presentation and discussion... when all of a sudden these words came out of my mouth: “Before I am corrected and rebuked AGAIN...”   At the spoken word “AGAIN”, the entire group, as well as the leader, were silent and looking at me with their jaws dropped and having a sense of fear among them, as if, what is he going to say next? I guess one could associate this with the TRUE REVELATION of the real truth made known to a traditional church-going Christian, how one could be at awe and amazement and fear of having these truths being revealed to them.     At this point I had the floor. I spoke for a good while on the proper methods, procedures, materials and processes of building a beautiful, successful model train set layout. The group members were stunned at my knowledge of model train set layouts. They could do nothing but sit there motionless and listen to my words. The leader was disgusted, jealous that all the attention was taken away from him and that no one was listening to him. By the time I was done giving my presentation, I opened the door to exit the room. To my amazement, the three or four in the group followed me into the main auditorium. The leader was left in the little, dim office room alone. Before I left the room completely, I spoke directly to him and said, “And you, sir, are an ass!!!” Which is not my normal vocabulary. This was the end of my dream.   You may be wondering where the “ass” part comes in. I am reminded of a Scripture that was a prophecy in the Old Testament of the Messiah riding into the city atop a donkey's colt. An ass is a male donkey, very stubborn in his ways. In the same sense, the Messiah Jesus Christ will have “dominion” over the ass (old, stubborn, traditional way of church even in the End Times). Christ sits atop the old way and has dominion over it. Straight and narrow is the way unto the Kingdom of God. Enter in through the Door, which is Jesus.    Now, here are my final thoughts. Christ was denied three times by Peter during His crucifixion. I was denied three times by this leader during my attempt to show the truth. Once one breaks past the barrier of religious teachings and practices of the traditional church with boldness that can only come from the Spirit of God, it becomes easy to speak to traditional church-goers on the real truths the Bible shows. They will marvel at what you have to say, because it is contradictory to what they have been taught their entire church lives. It is truth. It is the Word of God. It is the coming of Christ in His Glory and the events that transpire prior to His coming. It will attract the hearts of the people who are hungry for God through this time to come.   The leader, who represents the old traditional church ways that survived through the time of the Man-child and Two Witness ministry to come, will be disgusted and jealous and will do everything to prevent the true Word of God from being preached. It is this ministry of old traditional ways that the Antichrist will use to deceive people when the Outpouring occurs. Be cautious and be alert to the enemy's attacks. This will be a major part of it, I believe.   (This is happening on a smaller scale now. We have been in contact with many home churches that are not satisfied with the status quo and are searching for themselves. This is great because they are discovering what the false elders are not gifted to discover -- THE WORDS OF GOD. But we are also encountering a problem that is not addressed in this dream. The groups who have no local elders are targeted by slick talkers anointed by false spirits to gain a following for their own ego. In some cases it is not hard to lead the young back to Babylon since they have not departed very far from its glitter. According to Paul, the five-fold ministry is needed for the perfecting of the saints. Just coming out and sitting in a close circle and sharing insights and experiences is not enough. The elders raised up by the two witnesses, which are disciples of the Man-child going forth two by two, will travel around to these underground groups to share a many gifted revelation they could not get in the nicolaitan pastor only church.    We do our best to fill the gap by Internet, broadcast, Podcasts, and YouTube, but it is not enough. We know the teachings are giving many people knowledge but wisdom is on a longer curve. Until it catches up, we are going to need many more elders. This, of course, is what God will raise up in the next move of anointed reformers spoken of. Ordaining elders is hard when you haven't enough personal contact to know them. This is where the stronger anointing will be more than enough to take up the slack. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Meanwhile, the saints who gather need to be praying for wisdom and discernment and not be quick to form their own governments, which the worldly gifted and domineering types always take advantage of. We don't want to copy the old system or we will be part of it. May our Father be with you.      Judgment of the Church   Dee Hoetmer - South Africa - 06/10/2008   I was pacing the floor, not willing to give forth this Word and the Lord gave me Ezekiel 33.   Ezekiel 33:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.   6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth. And warn them for me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; If thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.   9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: Turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, o house of Israel?   For the Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst for she desired not the truth in her innermost parts. She desired the trinkets and baubles of ministry, to be seen and heard and not that I be seen and heard. She desired to be looked up to instead of the cross looked upon; the sacrifice of My Son that would bring all to true righteousness, humility, compassion and truth if the work of My Son was truly understood by them. The work of redemption was completed on the cross and it is only as My children live a crucified life that they are fully sanctified and fit for My use. But those with a perverse spirit do their fleshly works from unclean hearts and call it MY Ministry?   I have allowed the perverse spirit in her midst to come into full bloom, so to speak, for now it will reap the full reward for such unclean works. The works of the flesh mingled with the moving on My Spirit; the mixture, the uncleanness of My church has become a stench in My nostrils and her cup of abominations has reached the Throne Room. Shall I then not recompense into her bosom all her unclean works? Should I stand by forever while the name of My Son is profaned?   Should I stand by when the harvest is ripe but all the while My church is full of abominations? No I will utterly destroy those of unclean hearts, with perverse spirits and make an utter end of their abominations! I will bring to an utter end all of her house and her perverse children and doctrines that they have spawned and spewed forth throughout the earth. I will make desolate the places where they thought they were fat and rich with the things of the spirit and the things of the world and uncover their skirts so that the world will see their shame.   1 Timothy 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.   I will make an utter end of those who have denied the wooing of My Spirit to came back to the ancient paths, I will make an utter end of her and her household who have chosen to remain unhealed due to their pride and self-love and I will bring judgment and correction to the many who have spurned and denied the words, My Words, through My true prophets.   A perverse spirit has long ruled in many of My churches and congregations and the cup is full of their vain imaginations, vain glorious ways and self-exaltation. The cup of My wrath is also full of their unjust judgments, harsh and critical ways both towards the true children of the Most High Lord and Father and towards those they esteem lesser than themselves. What a putrid stench reaches My very Throne Room. It is not only the sins of the world and their love of mammon that I came now to judge but also those of My own household who walk in the same spirit as the world.   Would I as Righteous Judge shake the Babylonian systems of the world and not shake My church who have become as the world? Will I judge one and not the other; but NO My Word says I will judge My own household first. I will uncover all the hidden things and expose you to the world for your hypocrisy, for your lack of love for the widows and orphans, for you have feathered your own nest first and given only the crumbs to the needy and the poor. You have exalted yourself and your ministry. Was not the ministry of My son to the wretched, the poor, the lepers and the outcasts of society? Did not He lay down His life for others?   Now you begin to see just how wretched, poor and naked you truly are. You have stored up treasures for yourself on earth and not in heaven. You gave not that cup of water to the beggar, you stopped not to dress the wounds of those bloodied and you did not stop to bind up the broken hearted. My true people are servants of even the most wretched and yet you wouldn't let the wretched into your churches for fear that they may stink up your pews.   Do you not see that you have become wretched, poor and naked while you thought of yourselves as blessed because you had no material need? You have been blinded by the prince of this world and although i have wooed you and wooed you, you have not answered. There is no fragrance of My Son emanating from many in My church but rather a stench of mixture and pride, of control and manipulation, of lust and greed. What has my son to do with any of these unclean things?   Repent o'mighty man, repent o‘mighty woman of all uncleanness, of all mixture in your lives for how will I judge and shake the earth and not judge those of my own household? The doctrines you have taught have made many under you teaching twice the sons of the devil than you are! They have become blinded by the prince of the air and know it not, for you have not taught them well. Humility is what I desire and not vain glory; mercy is what I require and not indiscriminate judgment; selflessness is what I require and not selfishness.   Do you not now see just how far you have left my word, for you have taken only portions of my word and made it doctrine but it is in the sum of my word that my whole truth lies! You have taken that which suits your flesh and made it the complete gospel and conveniently left out the scriptures that speak of humility, of not laying up treasures for yourselves on earth, of loving one another.   Did not Ananias and Sapphira think they could keep things hidden? Did not My Son call the religious leaders of His day a generation of vipers and filthy whited sepulchers and tell them they were of their father, the devil? Was not Jerusalem utterly destroyed? So why then do you think in your hearts that this is a false word from a false prophet? Repent and return to me with you whole hearts so that you may be spared from the coming judgments, the likes of which have never before been seen.   Mat.23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?   Mat.23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.   Act.5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.   Mat.23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold your house is left unto you desolate. 

Seek God's Grace and Mercy (2)   (audio) David Eells (9/11/24)  I have been constantly amazed at the grace and mercy God is giving a most unworthy world and its Christians. God has lessened the effects of true plague warnings of gifted men and women. Of true earthquake warnings confirmed many times. Of 13 attempts on the true President's life. Of conspiracies to bring down the grid. Of conspiracies of poisoning the air, water, food, etc. Of corrupting the DNA to turn men into animals, to name a few. I know it's not over yet but God has been lessening them all. There also is an invasion of the US of its enemies to do us harm and steal the election, orchestrated by the DS. Keep praying and believing. And Christians are not under the curse that Jesus bore.   About Prophecies, Dreams & Visions God speaks in prophecies; sometimes by utterances to our spirit or vocally to others and sometimes in dreams and visions, if they agree with the Word. There are five dreams in Matthew chapters one and two in which God spoke to give wisdom, direction, warning, and to fulfill prophecy. The Scriptural Law of First Mention dictates that this is the way God will continue to use these gifts. In Acts 2:17 we are told that in the last days God's Spirit would bring forth prophecy, dreams and visions, and who is man to say differently? Job 33:14-18 says that God speaks this way to open men's ears, seal their instructions, withdraw man's purpose, deliver him from pride, keep his soul from the pit, and keep him from perishing by the sword; "but man regardeth it not". Joseph and Daniel were great interpreters of dreams; most often dreams and visions need interpreting by the Spirit and in light of Scriptures. Some say that prophecy in any form no longer speaks of future events because Paul said it speaks "edification, exhortation, and consolation". Many years after Paul wrote that God gave "edification, exhortation, and consolation" in the Book of Revelation, which certainly speaks of future events.  Some say that God does not use dates in prophecies, dreams and visions. We would have to ignore the testimony of Scripture to believe this. God said to Noah that "yet seven days" the flood would come (Gen.7:4,10). God spoke the seventy weeks prophecy through Daniel. It dated the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah to die for us (Dan.9:24-27). Daniel also prophesied that from the middle of the tribulation when the continual burnt offering will be taken away there will be 1335 days until the resurrection (Dan.12:11-13).   God spoke through Joseph to the butler and the baker of Pharaoh that in "yet three days" their judgment from God would come. With Noah it was "yet forty days". Some prophecies mention "after two days" or "after six days", meaning after 2000-year days from the last Adam, Jesus, or 6000-year days from Adam. Sometimes the Scriptures say "on the third day" or "on the seventh day". These are dates that are certainly coming to pass. These and multitudes of other less famous prophecies prove that God speaks dates.  Can God delay a promised judgment after He has prophesied a date whether by dreams, visions or prophetic utterances? God will not change what is written in His Word. "Forever oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps.119:89). His Word is likened unto a rock, immovable and unchangeable. The Word is a sure prophecy. 2Pet.1:19 And we have the word of prophecy [made] more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. 21 For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.   Some say God can change what He says in His Word because it is not prophecy. Notice in the words "word of prophecy" and "prophecy of scripture" that all scripture was spoken and/or penned by a prophet and is prophecy. However, the Word reveals many delays in God's spoken judgments that were ordained by Him. Therefore, if He delays or changes the prophecies spoken in His Word to millions of people, He can do it with spoken or revealed prophecy today through prophets, dreams, visions or through His Spirit in many ways. In the case of a delay, when the Word ultimately comes to pass it will be fulfilled as, and when, the Bible says it will for the Bible chronicles many delays and deletes.   This was true of the many revelations of the destruction of America before the year 2000 and before the tribulation. This was a warning and threat that was not ultimately going to come to pass because the Scriptures clearly show that God delayed the judgment from before the tribulation to after the tribulation at the beginning of the day of wrath (see Judgment Delayed or the video, Fall of America; Rise of the Saints). Since this is so, we should spend a lot more time studying Scriptures than prophecies, whether they come by dreams, visions or prophetic utterances. Without a background in the Word we have no idea whether a prophecy is true or whether it is a warning or a sure future event.  Can God delay a promised judgment after He has prophesied a date? God gave us an example of this in the book of Jonah. Jonah "cried and said, yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jon.3:4). God had told Jonah to "preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" (2), so he did. He was not a false prophet. Because of this, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, repented and God spared them for about 64 more years. If, as God said through Job, dreams and visions are to keep man's soul from the pit, and to keep him from perishing by the sword, then the threat cannot come to pass when the right men turn. Sometimes in Scripture, God repented of a promised judgment when there was repentance (Joel 2:12-20). Micah prophesied the destruction of Zion, but the people repented and God changed His mind (Jer.26:18,19).   However, if we find that a person explains all of their prophecies, dreams or visions away with the excuse that they were delayed, we should suspect them. Delays are the exception in Scriptures and not the rule.  As we recently shared, God can delay judgment because of a cry for mercy. God showed visions of judgment three times to Amos but he sought mercy from the Lord, saying, "Forgive, I beseech thee: How shall Jacob stand? for he is small". God relented and delayed this judgment twice but the third time He refused to relent (Amos 7:1-9). Some people say, why would God so quickly appear to change His mind. "Appear" is the correct word to use here. God is looking for a reaction.   Isaiah prophesied death to Hezekiah saying, "Set thy house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live". Hezekiah then cried to the Lord and 15 years were added to his life. Look how quickly God appeared to change his mind after he got the result He knew He would get from before the foundation of the world. 2Ki.20:4 And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, 5 Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the prince of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of Jehovah. Some say God cannot change His prophecy so quickly but you see this is wrong.  Death has been prophesied to me two times, 15 years apart in my life. One of the verses given to me by faith at random was "thou shalt die, and not live", but I would not depart from the promise in the Word for healing and God preserved me. I then asked for another word by faith at random and got “I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of Jehovah.”  Was it a warning and not a prophecy?   Did God change His mind or did He just try me and get the desired result? God can try us in this way as He did with Abraham's command to sacrifice Isaac. Was this a false word to Abraham? Obviously not. The scriptures relate that God was trying him and he overcame, saying that he and Isaac would go to the mountain and return, believing that God was able to resurrect him to keep His promise of a seed to him.   Aaron interceded for God's people in the midst of judgment with incense (prayer) and the judgment stopped. Num.16:44 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. ... 47 And Aaron took as Moses spake, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Incense here represents the prayers of the saints. It seems that unless there is a threat of judgment, God's people will not seek Him for mercy and grace for others and for themselves. God says, "Ye have not because ye ask not" (Jas.4:2).   In Joel he prophesied of a great army he likened unto an army of locusts for multitudes that would ultimately invade Samaria and devastate the sinners of God's people. This was before the actual invasion of the Assyrians yet he spoke of it in present tense which was obviously a threat at the time. Joel.1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. ...  Joel.2:11 And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?  12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God?   Then there is a cry for the leadership to ask for mercy. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God? Then God answered and delayed temporarily this horrendous judgment and left a blessing. 18 Then was Jehovah jealous for his land, and had pity on his people. 19 And Jehovah answered and said unto his people, Behold, I will send you grain, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith...   He spoke of a time coming in the end time day of the Lord when they would never be a reproach again and the northern army would be destroyed. 19 ...I will no more make you a reproach among the nations; 20 but I will remove far off from you the northern [army], and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, its forepart into the eastern sea, and its hinder part into the western sea... Were the first one and a half chapters of Joel false because it did not happen at the time it was spoken? We should be careful because this is what some “Joel's” are being told today by some who love to judge by sight and have not heard from the Lord.  When a true prophetic warning is delayed or cancelled because of the mercy of God, sometimes the prophet or dreamer becomes angry because now they are persecuted as a false prophet. They should take heart because it happened with Jonah. Jon.4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3 Therefore now, O Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.   What God pointed out to Jonah was that mercifully sparing the lives of a multitude of ignorant people should come ahead of the pride and reputation of the prophet especially when Phl.2:5-7 says that we are to follow Jesus' lead in being made of no reputation. 11 and should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; …? People get mad when they pass on a prophecy to others and it doesn't come true. They sometimes retaliate against the one who prophesied or dreamed or had a vision. Their foolish egotistical pride would rather see millions die to prove their point than for them to be proven wrong. God is watching and trying these people who do not see their own evil.  In a parable in Luk.13:6-9 the husbandman, who is the Father, had given three years to the fig tree, representing His people, to bear fruit. When He found none, He gave command to "cut it down". Was this a false revelation since it did not come to pass? Obviously not. The vinedresser, who is the Son, interceded for one more year's delay, until he could dig about it, meaning break up its fallow ground by tribulation, and dung it with persecution. He said, "If it bears fruit then, well, but if not, thou shall cut it down". Notice that no man interceded here for this vast group of people called the fig tree but the Son of God. How many times does Jesus do this when we don't even know it.   If someone prophesies the same thing today many are quick to judge when they don't see what is going on behind the scenes. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. A similar example is in Exo.32:9 And Jehovah said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. Moses then interceded that God would not destroy Israel because of His promise to the fathers to save their seed.   Many today who have heard prophecies of judgments coming to certain places, pled with God to remember their children who He had promised would be saved. He hears our cries today for friends, relatives, and loved ones in the threatened areas.   God sware unto the forefathers that He would bring their seed to the Promised Land. Could He change His mind? Num.14:23 surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me see it... 30 surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. We see now that warnings given in prophecy do not have to come to pass if people will listen. We also see that promises will not come to pass if they will not listen.  Moses interceded that God would not cut Israel off for unbelief. Num.14:11 And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? 12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they. Moses reasoned that God would suffer disrepute among the nations if this happened and reminded Him of His mercy and God pardoned them. 20 And Jehovah said, I have pardoned according to thy word... How long did it take for God to change an absolutely positive statement? About eight verses.   Those who say God would never do this overnight or in hours should think again. One man stood in the breach and God delayed His wrath. Psa.106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, Had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, To turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy [them]. When God cannot find someone to pray because the warning has been given, He judges. Eze.22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them...   What could God do if millions, who have asked Him to save relatives, friends, and souls in a certain area, hold to their faith? Some would try to intimidate the prophets or dreamers because their revelations might not come to pass; because they would call them false prophets. It appears that Jonah was intimidated this way. What a terrible thing that people might not be warned because of the devil's threats. Back in our Numbers text God relented for the moment, but when they continued to ignore the Word in unbelief, He overthrew them in their wilderness tribulation.   Was this a false word unto Moses since it did not come to pass at the time? Obviously not, God has been merciful multitudes of times when men ask for favor. Jer.26:18 Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? did he not fear Jehovah, and entreat the favor of Jehovah, and Jehovah repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them?  These are but a very small portion of revelations given through faithful men that did not come to pass in the time they were spoken. Today when something like this happens people are quick to drag an Old Testament admonition out to condemn the prophet, dream, vision, word, etc. Deu.18:22 when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him. But you will notice that God neither condemned these prophets who heard and/or spoke His Word of warning or promise nor used any of these type admonitions on them. If He did there would be no such thing as a true prophet for they would all be stoned to death.   Notice that I used the word "warnings" because that is what many prophecies are and they do not have to come to pass in such an instance when the desired result is accomplished. Many have made themselves judges of prophecies who are not prophets themselves and do not have the word of knowledge, wisdom, or discernment. This is contrary to scripture. 1Cor.14:29 And let the prophets speak [by] two or three, and let the others discern. Notice that the other prophets are the ones commanded to judge for they have the gift. This is why people who do not know and have not heard from God should be quiet. 1Cor.4:5 Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God.  The brethren we have spoken of above who have brought God's true word that was delayed or deleted were not the kind of people who could be deceived. They were disciples of God and His doctrine. They were lovers of truth and the crucified life, denying themselves for the work of God. I have known people like this in our day who have prophesied or dreamed warnings that were put off because of mercy. This did not stop false judges in Biblical times from condemning every one of the prophetic instances we have spoken of and it won't stop them today.   This does not mean we are to accept a revelation because it comes from one we believe to be a good person but it does mean that we are not to judge when we don't know. Deception and false prophecies and dreams come to and for just the opposite kind of people. 2Th.2:10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. We will speak of this kind more below.  Some foolishly believe that God will always delay judgment through intercession. When the people continue to sin against God and man, even the most righteous of intercessors will not stop Him from destroying them. Eze.14:13 Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast; 14 though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah. 15 If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the beasts;   16 though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast; 18 though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only should be delivered themselves. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast; 20 though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.  Don't be deceived friends, for God's people who don't bear fruit there will come a great "falling away". The Lord ultimately is coming for the fruit, which is the spiritual man, not the carnal man. Our natural life is only the earth in which God has planted the seed of His Son, Who is the Word. Only He that came out of heaven will go back (Joh.3:3,13). Bearing fruit for those who walk by faith is no problem, but for those who confess Christ, while they refuse to believe His Word in order to bear fruit, there is destruction.   Jude 3 Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in privily, [even] they who were of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. "Lascivious" here means a license to do what they want. Those who think grace gives them this privilege will be destroyed. 5 Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.  Eventually, when men refuse to repent, God says not to pray for them anymore. Jer.7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear thee. 17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? Here it is again in 14:10 Thus saith Jehovah unto this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: therefore Jehovah doth not accept them; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11 And Jehovah said unto me, Pray not for this people for [their] good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.   To the true prophets, God says to stop asking Him to delay or have mercy. Eventually only the false prophets promise the wicked peace, safety and prosperity. 13 Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. 14 Then Jehovah said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake I unto them: they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their own heart. 15 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.  Dreams and visions can come from false prophets who imagine them in order to confirm themselves to the people. Jer.29:8 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith Jehovah. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart? 27 that think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgat my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? saith Jehovah.  Even false prophets are sent from God to try the righteous and separate the wicked from them. These sometimes can have prophecies or dreams that come to pass to see if you will depart from the Word. Deu.13:1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (Elohim [or “another Jesus”]), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.   4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. Even pagans can have true dreams for God's purposes of impressing them or giving them direction or showing us the future. It was so with Pharaoh's dream of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine (Gen.41:1-7). It was also true with Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the future of the one world order and image of the beast, which God's people worshipped (Dan.2:31-3:7).  Finally, brethren, pray for prophecies, dreams, visions, words of knowledge and wisdom from God. They will guide you through the coming tribulations and catastrophes. According to the Lord, the gift of prophecy will grow according to your faith to prophecy. Rom.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. We are not to judge someone else's faith for "If you have faith have it unto yourselves". The saints must be permitted to grow up and mature in their gift without being judged by those who don't understand this about New Testament prophecy.   The gift of prophecy also grows with maturity in knowledge. 1Cor.13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; (meaning part God and part us) 10 but when that which is perfect (mature or full grown) is come, that which is in part (us) shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. Notice from the beginning of our covenant many prophecies may be part us and part God. As we see here, this does not mean the one prophesying should be condemned for having part of their prophecy wrong any more than a child would be for acting immature. The fact that one part is wrong does not mean the rest is wrong.   Notice that these prophecies were permitted in the early church so that the immature could grow in their gift. Although permitted they were discerned for the sake of truth and those who heard. 1Cor.14:29 And let the prophets speak [by] two or three, and let the others discern.   1Cor.13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part... (Please listen to Prophesying in Part.) Why does knowledge have an effect on prophecy? Prophecy is not like the gift of tongues. When one speaks in tongues they have no idea what they are saying so their mind does not get involved and pollute the gift. With the gift of interpretation of tongues as well as prophecy there can be this pollution. Since the person understands what is being said, the mind can pollute the gift with immature thinking, false doctrines, and desires of the flesh. We are warned not to condemn someone who is seeking truth among us for having these faults but rather gracefully instruct them. (Rom.14:1-5) Those who judge the immature brethren's attempts to step out in faith and prophecy need to remember God's warning in Jas.2:13 For judgment [is] without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.  Probably no prophecies are perfect outside of the scriptures until "that which is perfect (mature or full grown) is come". The Lord has shown us that we are about to come to the time when the Man-child ministry will appear with the unleavened bread and the latter rain just as Jesus came but with the former rain. This will bring many to maturity because of the anointing and truth. This will quickly restore the five-fold ministry which is very feeble at this point. A person who is mature in the faith and doctrines of Scripture, as one who is in the office of true prophet must be, their prophecies are much more reliable. You see here that gifts of prophecy and knowledge are not judged as the office of a prophet was in the Old Covenant, so have mercy on those who are stepping out by faith.  Many have these gifts without holding the office, which is judged more strictly because of the greater anointing and maturity of the gift. Many who prophesy claim the office but should not. As we have seen in the Word, true prophets spoke things that did not come to pass because of God's mercy or His people's repentance. On the other hand, some are just proving themselves not to be prophets and/or not to be mature in faith and knowledge needed to support their gift. No condemnation intended.  Jesus said He always did what He saw of His Father. He constantly spoke in parables He saw from our Father. These parables offended the apostates and they did not understand them. Mat.13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. In dreams and visions, Father is still speaking in parables and they still hate them. Jesus took His disciples aside and privately explained the parables. Be a disciple of Jesus and you will understand. 

Confess Your Promises (audio) David Eells 8/28/24     Keeping God's commandment is not too hard if we understand the keys. Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off… 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. 5 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil. The key here is, if the Word is in our mouth and heart, we can do it. Pro.18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. The tongue has the power to give life, which makes it easy to keep His commandments. Speaking them into existence and agreeing with Him is the key.   Confirming the words so we can do them is the key. Deu 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. He goes on to talk about the blessings in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and the curses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. The blessings come to those who confirm the word. We are called to speak in agreement with God's Word, not add to it or take away from it, under penalty of a curse. Rev 22:18 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of this book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.   In James, we're told that the man is a perfect man who has control over the tongue. (Jas 3:2) For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. Now we see that, if a person can speak in agreement with God's Word, he will be able to obey because he will be able to bridle the whole body also. Speaking is a manifestation of faith. Faith without works is dead; it's unfruitful according to Jas 2:17. When we speak in agreement with the Word, we bring the power of God into the situation; otherwise, it is just dead religion. So, since our words can bring blessings and curses, we must, therefore, come into agreement with God's precious Word that we may receive the blessings.  Read it, speak it, and live.  Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say [so], Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary. We've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. It's absolutely necessary that our faith be completed with works, according to James 2. The tongue and what we say are the most common way that we fulfill our faith. Faith that is not spoken or acted upon is faith that will not bring you anything. So, if we say we've been redeemed, we had better be talking that way. Many people destroy the works of God with their tongue. Out of one side of their mouth they claim that they believe that they were redeemed, but out of the other side they speak against it and they destroy it.    Col 1:14 In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. The word “redemption” means “a release on payment of a ransom.” We owed a debt we couldn't pay and Jesus paid a debt He didn't owe. A ransom is a price that is paid to release someone who is under a curse or in bondage. We've been in bondage to the curse, the old man, the devil, the world, sickness and all the bad things that go along with that.   Yet, Jesus paid the price to set us free; He paid a ransom so the devil would no longer have authority over us because we have the forgiveness of our sins. A ransom, according to Scripture, is something that must be confessed according to Psalm 107:2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so... We have many opportunities to confess Him before men according to Matthew 10:32 so that He, as the High Priest of our confession, can have an offering and confess us before the Father and we in turn receive the promises.    It's not good enough to just loosely say, “I've been redeemed.” When we have the opportunity to profess and confess that redemption in the midst of our trials and don't do it, we are negating what we say we believe. We are not bringing the benefits of the Kingdom to bear upon our life or our circumstances. Redemption covers all of the curse. Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.   The curse of the Law in Deuteronomy 28 includes all of those negative things that happen to sinners. We see the curse all around us and even in our own life, until we exercise the authority that we have been given to come out from under it. Jesus paid the price, the penalty, for the curse that we would normally bear. We were redeemed. If we fail in our confession, we can renounce this, confess it to the Lord, and begin again.  Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say [so]…. Why? Because faith without works is dead according to Jas 2:17. When we get into a situation that involves a curse (something which most of Christianity considers to be quite normal), we should know that the normal Christian life is a life delivered from the power of the curse of sin.     We understand the truth of the Gospel, that the Lord paid for our sins and we've been forgiven of our sins; therefore, we are no longer under the curse. Jesus bore that curse for us. We're not supposed to bear it and it doesn't please the Father that we bear it because His Son suffered and died to bear it, and for nothing in most lives. But we will bear it, if we do not confess our redemption.    When you read the Bible confess those things you see you lack, as yours. Jesus said, According to your faith be it done unto you in Mat 8:13; 9:29. When we agree with God's Word, when we watch our heart and tongue, and even ask the Lord to keep our tongue, then God is able to help us confess in the midst of the situations and trials that we are redeemed. Psa 141:3 Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.  It doesn't matter what the curse is; we have been redeemed from it. Jesus paid the penalty and we don't have to live under it. We are supposed to agree with this and speak our redemption, which is that we've been redeemed from the power of sin and its curse according to Romans 6:18, 22. According to this Jesus “made you free from sin.” So He solved this problem. Do you confess that you still have a problem with sin after you have confessed it to him?   Or do you know that the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world in John 1:29? Do you know that God made reconciliation already and sin is not a problem for you any longer, since He's taken care of it? Now you are to reckon yourself dead unto sin, as the Lord commanded. Rom 6:11 Reckon (Consider it done) ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. (What will this do if we believe it?) 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:   Are you going to “let the redeemed of the Lord say so”? Are you going to confess your sins and then confess that you have been delivered and redeemed from the power of sin? Most Christians don't believe this because they have been taught otherwise. There are many aspects of our redemption that we need to confess before the Savior and High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14). Who then offers them as our sacrifice (Hebrews 13:15) before the Father. He has redeemed us out of all trouble. Psa 25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles. He has delivered us from the curse. How many troubles would we get out of, if we would just turn to God and confess His redemption? He has delivered us from all evil.    Gen 48:16 The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads... Jacob blessed Joseph's sons and this is our blessing, too. The apostle Paul said, The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, in 2Ti 4:18. Do you believe that this is God's plan? Most Christians believe their old life, which is their human nature. They believe that the normal Christian life is just to wait on the Lord to come and save them, but there is a battle to be won before this happens. A few believe in divine healing and a few in deliverance, yet redemption is deliverance from all evil and all of our enemies.   What can we identify as enemies? The flesh, the lusts of the flesh, the devil, principalities and powers, the world, the curse and so on. Luk 1:68 Blessed [be] the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people, 69 And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David 70 (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old), 71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To show mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, 74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.   That's what redemption paid for! Glory to God! Most Christians never receive the fullness of what's been paid for by Jesus Christ because they don't confess their full redemption shown in many promises. He has redeemed us from a life of vanity, foolishness and failure. 1Pe 1:18 Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers. We have been redeemed from our “vain manner of life,” a worthless and useless life. If you look at the life of the disciples, the apostles and Jesus, you will see a self-sacrificial life, not a life of materialism and pleasing self. They lived lives of sacrifice for others.    This was anything but a “vain manner of life.” Most people live, whether in peace and prosperity or not, a “vain manner of life,” given over to the corruption of the world. They ...strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel (Mat 23:24), making little things big and big things little. Important things are not important to them. What we need to do is confess that we have all of Christ. He was given to us as a gift. He now lives in us and we no longer live according to Paul's confession in Gal 2:20. We need to confess this before men, although I know it's a very unpopular thing to do, even before Christians.   But the Father has given us the life of Jesus through the reconciliation. Col 1:22 Yet now hath he reconciled (Or “exchanged”, meaning His life for ours.) in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreprovable before him: 23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. God gave the life of Jesus to us and took our lives and nailed them to the Cross.    Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies. We've been redeemed from destruction. If you look up the word “redeemed” or “redemption” in your Bible concordance, you will see how much has been provided.   The Lord Jesus has bought us out of bondage from the devil. The devil had his rights over us because we had sinned and we had no sacrifice, but now that we have a sacrifice, we must believe and confess the redemption that the Lord has given us so we can receive it. If we hold redemption only as a religious dogma and do not confess it with our mouth and accept it in our mind, then it's worthless.   Num 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 And wherefore doth the Lord bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And God replied… 28  Say unto them, As I live, saith Jehovah, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:  29  your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me.   The Israelites spoke this against the promises of God because the spies had come back from spying out the land and told of the giants there and spoke of themselves as grasshoppers before these great giants. These giants represent our flesh that most don't believe they can conquer. Also, we must not speak what destroys others faith. They saw the Land of the promises, milk and honey and luscious fruit for 40 days but all they thought and spoke of were the giants.   Now get this: We have a refuge land of promise given to us by promises in dreams, visions, Words, types etc. And also we have received the promises for all of our needs to be met. And it is all free to you… We are each individually responsible to exorcise faith to take the Land of promises so it is not “revoked” and we are “disinherited” and “die in the wilderness” as we shall see. (Beware you do not go to this land for selfish purposes as some have and died in sin there.) I asked the Lord why many have not received this already. He said, “because too many are not exorcising their own faith to receive these things.” I also have known people who were counting on my faith to be enough. We will see that God wants your faith to count for you and yours. I have done my job up to this point. I have consistently claimed Father would supply the funds “abundantly above all we can ask or think”. Father has shown that the Soloman anointed Man-child will soon take possession to build the Latter Rain kingdom. Now everyone has to believe for their piece of the pie and the Lord will decide for faith just as He did for the Jews.    Please let us agree in prayer and confess our faith for God's complete provision.    Father, we who know we are called to this and ask that you make the wilderness provision for our needs that is already provided be ours in Jesus name. We commit to think and speak in agreement with this fact now just as the Israelites were expected to do when they went to take their land of the promised provisions. In accordance with your command in Mar 11:23-24 we believe we have received this provision. We know that the double minded man will not receive from you. We ask that you keep our thoughts and tongue in agreement with this because of the reconciliation which gave us the mind of Christ when the mind of the flesh was crucified. We ask that if we ever waver you will give us a mind to repent and begin again our confession. Fill us with your Holy Spirit to empower us to hold fast to the confession of our hope that it waver not. Amen!     Also we represent the land and the giants represent the old man of the flesh resisting us, which most preachers say are unconquerable destroying the faith of many. They say that we should accept that we are only “sinners saved by grace,” but we were sinners and now we are saved by grace. And the truth is the Lord said we can take the giants down and in fact, He has already accomplished this. He has taken down the giants of doubt and unbelief too. He was righteously offended that they spoke against His promises but He gave them what they confessed.     Num 14:11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? 12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they. God can disinherit us from the promises He has given us if we do not personally believe, just as He did with them.   Num 14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me see it. Notice that He swore to give them the land but changed His mind because they did not keep their part of the covenant, which was faith. Jesus said, “Be it unto you according to your faith”, and “As you have believed so shall it be unto you.” Notice that He put the responsibility on you and your individual faith.   This can be more than just missing out on some benefits; it can also bring death! Remember their children didn't die and were not held responsible but they were. Num 14:28 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:    29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me. They spoke against the Lord and He was highly offended. When Jesus was on this earth and He heard a word of faith from anyone, He was so pleased that He gave the person their request and so it is now.   Only believers will take possession of their land and promises. Num14:30 Surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (Both faithful confessing believers) 34 After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, even forty days (The number of tribulation, which they had to go through because they did not believe.), for every day a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my alienation. So God said they had rejected His covenant and had come to know His “alienation,” which literally means “the revoking of His promise.” Why? It was because they refused to confess their redemption. In the midst of the fiery trial, they refused to say what God had done for them.    We must watch in our daily trials that we do not think and say the very opposite of what we should believe as Christians, which is that Jesus has provided everything for us and we received this for us by faith.   Isa 43:1-5 But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead. 4 Since thou hast been precious in my sight, and honorable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men in thy stead, and peoples instead of thy life.   Luk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people, 69 And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David 70 (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old), 71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To show mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, 74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.   Jesus gave us the key to meet all our needs in Mar 11:23-24 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain (of resistance), 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. (Jesus commanded every miracle before they happened.) 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them. “Received” is past tense in the original text because we are shown to believe we received everything at the Cross.     Notice we are to speak it and believe we have received the promises. In this text Jesus was preaching long before what science has discovered in Quantum Mechanics or Physics. That is that the smallest particle is able to transform into whatever we receive by faith, good or bad. Faith cannot be seen but it is described in the KJV as the “substance” of what you need.   Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I.e. While you have no evidence of what you need faith is the smallest particle or substance of it. Give God the substance. The whole creation was not made of physical things, but the spoken Word of God. Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear. And we are sons and daughters of God to walk in His steps.   Jesus showed us that the tiniest particle or seed of faith can turn into the largest tree of support for His people. Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast it out? 20 And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.   Mat 13:31 …The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof. We are likened to birds by Jesus so He is saying this that starts out as the “smallest particle” will grow huge to support His people.    Believe and speak what the promises of our future say. Jesus made you free from sin, as Romans 6:18 says. He set you free from the curse, as Galatians 3:13 says. He delivered you out of the power of darkness, as Colossians 1:13 says. He “will supply your every need” as Php 4:19 says. We individually need to speak and confess these needs as ours now in order to receive them.   I am reminded of a dream my wife had about getting rid of bad words that curse our fruit of Jesus in us. She was praying for a friend and had this very vivid dream; she saw her friend inspecting her own fruit tree, which represented herself. She saw fruit on the tree but there were worms in the fruit. She had a can of spray and was broadly spraying the entire tree; however, my wife told her friend that this wouldn't work.    Then my wife walked over to her and told her to spray each worm right in the mouth. She took the can from her friend and noticed that it now wasn't worms in the fruit, but little serpents, so my wife sprayed the can into each serpent's mouth to kill them. The thing that is ruining our fruit is the “little serpents” or demons that speak through our carnal nature, – those negative thoughts and words that come out of our mouth. The spray is speaking the good news of the promises which is the power to save us from these thoughts and words.    I remember when I had gathered my kids together and lectured them on why they shouldn't leave their shoes out on the front porch. I said, “I told you, if you leave your shoes out on the front porch, a dog can come and take one of those shoes off and then the other shoe is good for nothing.” Well, that is exactly what happened. A dog came and took one of their shoes and I realized that I was the one who made it happen. I had given the dog permission to come and take one of their shoes. To make a long story short, I told them to go out and look for the shoe but they couldn't find it.     So then I said, “Here's what we're going to do,” as I looked out the front window at the porch. “We're going to command that dog to bring back that shoe and put it back where he got it,” and that's just what we did. We didn't think about it anymore. The next day we just happened to be standing right by that window and I think it was my son who yelled out, “Look!” We all looked out the window and here comes this dog from around the back of the neighbor's house with the shoe in his mouth, and he dropped it on the porch. Of course, the kids and I were amazed. I spoke that thing and God brought it to pass. We have the power of destruction or creation in our mouth. We're sons of God and the Lord Jesus Christ lives in us.   He has given us authority in our words. Mat 18:18 Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We need to pay attention to what we say and be careful to agree with the promises of God. We are constantly binding and loosing by our words, which could be for good or bad. We don't want to bind God and loose the devil. Jesus “could not do many mighty works because of their unbelief.”     We each need to watch our thoughts and mouth because, in so many ways, we can bring a curse upon our life, upon our children and upon the people around us. Mar 11:12 And on the morrow, when they were come out from Bethany, he hungered. 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs. 14 And he answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit from thee henceforward forever.    And his disciples heard it. What do you think Jesus was talking about in this parable? Well, God's people are the fig tree and the next verses seem to imply that God was reprobating people even before they bore fruit because of unbelief, just like the actual fig tree. We have seen this happen to the faction in Jesus' day and ours. Faction and witchcraft took away all knowledge or respect of scripture which leaves them with no conscience. They are now dying in unbelief without fruit.    We have our opportunity to bear fruit and it has everything to do with what we say and do with the Word of God. We pray the prayer of faith for our children, and we should chasten them as the Word commands to cause them to fear judgment for their sin. If they don't fear your judgment, they will not fear God's judgment. Many times we get caught up with frustration and fear when we see them running after their flesh. We should, instead, be walking by faith for them and confessing their salvation by faith.     We need to not just broadly “spray the whole tree.” If we speak a word against our redemption, we need to deny that word and come against it. I think a good example of this is in Numbers. It speaks of a husband having the authority to disallow the words of his wife and children when they say things that bind their own soul, which the Bible calls a “rash utterance of her lips.”    Num 30:6 And if she be [married] to a husband, while her vows are upon her, or the rash utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul (this is speaking things that bind our soul; the very opposite of our redemption), 7 and her husband hear it, and hold his peace at her in the day that he heareth it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 8 But if her husband disallow her in the day that he heareth it, then he shall make void her vow which is upon her, and the rash utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul: and Lord will forgive her.    The same is said here of a father for his daughter. The father can deny and disallow what he sees and hears from his children, or he can just let it go and the Lord can hold them accountable for that. The one in authority here has the authority to let these words stand or to say no to things contrary to the Word. “No, we're not believing that for our child, or about our situation, or about our health. We're not accepting that.” Of course, it always has to be done with kindness, since it could cause some friction. God said, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you (Num 14:28).   It came quite naturally to them to say that they were afraid of the giants because they were not believing what God said and He was offended. We are in the same situation. Mar 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God (according to the Numeric pattern it is, “Have God's faith”.  This is because in the exchange He traded His faith for our unbelief. We see here that He is not talking about having faith in God, but about having God's faith inside of you. Some people may say that they don't have enough faith. First, they should stop saying that because it's not the truth and it can only hurt their faith. God has given to every one of us a measure of faith according to Romans 12:3. He also made reconciliation or exchange at the Cross, which gives us everything we need, including His faith.     Faith can be positive or faith can be negative. Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Most people, when they are not lying, are saying what they believe. We have to exercise faith for some things, while for other things we exercise faith quite naturally because it is our belief and it does come to pass.    Gal 6:7 … Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. How do we sow things in the New Testament? When the sower went forth to sow, how did he sow his seed? He sowed the spoken Word. He sowed a seed called “the Word” in the hearts of men. How did Jesus know if the centurion had faith? He wanted Jesus to heal his servant who was sick of the palsy and grievously tormented. Jesus said in Mat 8:7 ... I will come and heal him. 8 And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. How many times do you hear people say such a thing? Jesus knew by the fruit of the centurion's lips that he had faith. Jesus knew by his confession and then Jesus gave the centurion what he had confessed.    Do you think it is any different today? Jesus is waiting for us to confess our redemption, our reconciliation, and He is going to render to every man according to his works. Faith without works is dead. Jas.2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? 17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. 18 Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from [thy] works, and I by my works will show thee [my] faith.  

JYD is the gritty attitude to bear down and fight for the covenant God has made to his people Israel. Throughout the Bible, we see many Gentiles who stood with the people of God through turbulent times (they showed the JYD attitude). One man who is an exemplary model of standing with the nation of Israel and fighting for their covenant, is Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Examining the life of Caleb, and the character that he displays through the scriptures, inspires us to show the same tenacious loyalty to the God of the covenant, and the people of the covenant. We will demonstrate a JYD attitude to honor, carry, and fight to see all the promises made by the Lord to his people Israel. This is the "Junkyard Dog" heart that every Gentile who love Jesus needs to have inside of them.

download notes here: https://esm.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/08.03.24-.2024-Congregation-TM-Notes.pdf__________________________________________________________________________________________Torah Portion:פָּרָּ שַ ת מַ ּטֹות מַ סְ עֵיMattot/Massei“Tribes/Journeys”Numbers 30:2-36:13Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4Mark 11:12-23/ Luke 13:1-9Numbers 30:1,2 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes מטות of the childrenof Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD has commanded. Whena man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind his soul with abond, he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all thatproceeds out of his mouth.1 Chronicles 4:15-18 And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, Iru, Elah.And these are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, which Meredtook.Romans 1:22,23 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Andchanged the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like tocorruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

Joshua 14:13,14 – “So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb  the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.  Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he  followed the Lord God of Israel fully.”  Please note that the 1st part is in English, and the 2nd part is in Malayalam starting at 11:5 mark.Joshua chapter 14 -Joshua  was in the process of dividing the property in Canaan to the sons of Jacob. When it came to the land of Hebron, Joshua was not sure whom to give the land. Then Caleb, who was 85 years old, reminded Joshua about what happened 45 years ago during the time of Moses according to the book of Numbers chapter 13. According to the word of the Lord to Moses, Moses sent 12 heads of the tribes, that is, one head from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan.  Caleb was the head of the tribe of Judah.  Caleb did the 40 days' spy work successfully because he followed God fully.  Caleb gave an honest and sincere report of Canaan to Moses.  But those who went with Caleb were scared to go back to Canaan, and so they gave a very bad report saying that the people there were of huge size and that the land was not good for living. What happens when we are not honest with God and what are the benefits of being honest with God are discussed.    My name... Cicily at cicilysunny@gmail.com

Endure to Manifest Salvation (7)  (audio)  David Eells (7/24/24) I'm going to back up just a little bit where I spoke in part (6) about the promised land. Starting in (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: (If we believe and speak contrary to the Word we will not take our Promised Land.) (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. That's because Joshua and Caleb said in (Num.14:9) Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. They told the people, “Those giants are bread for us!” In type, those “giants” are the natural man who dwells in the Land of Promise. The spiritual man has to go in there to kill that giant and take his house, which is this body of our flesh.  And also in type, in the New Testament we are the “land.” It says in (Heb.6:7) For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. We're drinking the rain, which is the Word of God, and we do that to bring forth the fruit of God. But in that land there lives the carnal man, or “Canaanite,” who is the enemy that must be put to death. We are going to kill him and we're going to live in his house instead! As the inner man is being renewed, the outer man is decaying as it says in (2Co.4:16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. If the inner man is not being renewed, the outer man is not decaying.   For example, the Bible promises us divine health and you can avoid a lot sicknesses just by denying them the ability to take authority over you. You tell that sickness, “No! I don't permit it!” I'm not saying you can always deny it because you can't. If you've been willfully disobedient, a chastening is going to come upon you (Hebrews 10:26-27), but you are still supposed to accept what the Word of God says if you want to ultimately come out from under the curse. When judgment came upon the Israelites who sinned in the wilderness, God still told them to look at the serpent on the pole so that they would be healed. (Num.21:4) And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. This was the Manna, the Word which came down out of heaven.  (6) And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (7) And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.   Sometimes we think, “Well, I received this chastening because I've sinned, so I'm supposed to keep it.” No! You got it because you sinned, very possibly, but you're still not supposed to keep it! You will keep it, as long as the chastening is upon you, but your job is to correct your thoughts and words, not to consider how long it's going to take for God to chasten you out of your sin. That's the wrong thinking! That's not what the Bible tells us to do. We are to keep our eyes on the serpent on the pole. The way you should be thinking is, “My sin and my sickness were put upon Jesus who became sin and was cursed for me! I am delivered! I am set free from the power of darkness!” Jesus said in (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. “I've given you authority over all the power of the enemy”; that's what it says in the original manuscripts.   The King James has a mistranslation that reads, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” See, we have total authority over all the power of the enemy. Our authority is by faith in what Jesus did on the cross. It's true that between the time you believe and the time the healing or other deliverance is manifested, God may give you a chastening, but that's not what you're supposed to be thinking about. I've had people tell me, “Well, I'm being chastened for this, and I'm being chastened for that.” And I say to them, “That's fine, but you have to keep your eyes on the serpent on the pole.”   You know, the devil is a great deceiver and he'll tell you that you're never through being chastened. He'll tell you, “You have no choice. You're going to have to die with that.” No! That's not what we're commanded to see. This is what we believe and what we confess, in (1Pe.2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. He took our sins away! We don't have to struggle with them. Jesus “bare our sins in his body” on the cross and that's where our faith is supposed to be. We in (Rom.4:17) ... calleth the things that are not, as though they were, just as our father Abraham did. We also believe and confess Gal 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  Look at what happened when the Israelites fought with the Amorites, who were ruling over the Promised Land. The name “Amorite” means “Prominence” and the carnal man has been the prominent ruler of our promised land. It says in (Jos.10:8) And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thy hands; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. And by the power of God, that's when Joshua did the miracle of stopping the solar system so they could conquer the old man of the land. (Jos.10:5) Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it.   (12) Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. (13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. (14) And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. God did that so the Israelites could be avenged of their enemies and He'll go to extreme measures to enable you to be avenged of your enemies, too. But who is the enemy?   In type, there were five kings who ruled over the Promised Land and when we were lost in sin, the five “kings” that ruled over our Promised Land were the five senses. When you're ruled by your carnal senses, your actions are based on what you feel, see and hear. But Jesus didn't let His natural senses rule Him. You could slap Jesus on the cheek and He would turn the other one to you! He wasn't moved by what He felt, saw or heard. And that's the way sons are: sons are not moved by what they see, hear and feel with their natural senses; they're moved by the Word of God. If we're going to be sons, that's the way we have to be moved.   Continuing in (Jos.10:16) And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. The cave in the earth at Makkedah represents our mouth because our mouth is a cave in our earthly flesh. (Jos.10:17) And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah. (18) And Joshua said, Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: (19) but stay not ye; pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand. In other words, “Keep on putting to death the old man, but put great stones, representing the Word, at the mouth of the cave so that the five kings can't come out.” If you allow the natural senses to speak out of your mouth, they'll keep on ruling your land. Remember, if you add to the Word or take away from the Word, you're still under the curse because you're still ruled by the old man.   The Lord says in (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. And so they rolled great rocks to close the mouth of the cave and we know that the Rock is the Word of God. (2Sa.22:2) And he said, the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine; (3) God, my rock, in him will I take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; My Saviour, thou savest me from violence. Just like those rocks were to prevent these five kings from coming out, the Word of God should restrain you from speaking things that come to you through your natural senses and, instead, speak things that are in agreement with the Word.   Well, when the Israelites came back from pursuing their enemies, (Jos.10:22) Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth those five kings unto me out of the cave. (24) And it came to pass, when they brought forth those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the chiefs of the men of war that went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. I.e., They never permitted the kings to speak! (25) And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. (26) And afterward Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees.   (27) And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, unto this very day. Notice, the senses of the earthly body were buried with the flesh; they went from the earth and back to the earth. It says in (Joh.3:6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. And so those five kings, the five senses, weren't permitted to speak and they were hanged on a tree, which is what the Bible says about Jesus. When Jesus went to the cross, He put to death the five natural senses, in order that we could have our spiritual senses exercised to discern good from evil.   Now, “babes” don't have their senses exercised to discern good from evil because it's by using the Word of righteousness that we exercise our senses to discern good from evil. (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. What does it mean to “experience” the Word of righteousness? It means that we're not just “hearers” of the Word, but that we've become “doers” of the Word and you can't be a “doer” of something, if you haven't studied it.   Let's read (Act.17:11) Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. And (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The washing of the water of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26) will “exercise,” it will “fine-tune” our spiritual senses so that we will know good from evil. Jesus always spoke in agreement with the Word and He always saw things around Him through the eyes of the Spirit.   The same was true of David. When David was going to kill Goliath, he saw things totally different from all the other Israelites. All the other Israelites were looking at this giant, Goliath. He was all they could see and they were fearful! (1Sa.17:4) And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (5) And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. (6) And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders. (7) And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.   (8) And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. (9) If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. (10) And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. (11) And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. They didn't have any hope of running out there and conquering that giant, but that's not what David saw. What he saw was somebody who had come against God and, therefore, his authority was taken away.   David saw that Goliath had no power. He saw what Joshua and Caleb saw: “They're bread for us!” Our own giants are like that, too. They look so big, we think we just can't conquer them! Remember my vision where I saw myself in a war to take the land from giants? In this battle, I had captured one of the enemies and, in order to prevent him from speaking, I was holding him in a neck lock while walking down a trail. The Lord revealed to me that this enemy was my carnal man. Then, as we walked around a bend, we saw a giant standing by a campfire and, although I knew he was a giant, he actually was no larger than me. That's because a giant can be any enemy or obstacle that we perceive to be greater than us or our ability to take control of our life for God.   As we faced this giant, I momentarily released the neck lock and my enemy spoke to him. He said, “Bigger, bigger, bigger!” I knew that my enemy had the ability, by speaking, to make this giant much bigger, so I turned and karate-chopped him in the Adam's apple to keep him from speaking further. Then I said, “No! Smaller, smaller, smaller!” You see, if you permit the carnal man to speak about any adverse situation, he has the ability to make it worse. The flesh walks by sight, not by faith. On the other hand, the spiritual man has authority to speak to giants such as sins, sicknesses, curses and needs to make them smaller and smaller, until they do not exist. And that's it! If you make your giant bigger, he's bigger. If you let the old man speak out of your mouth, that giant will get bigger. But if you let the spiritual man speak according to faith, you'll say, “No! Smaller, smaller, smaller!” You'll whittle that giant right on down to size until he just disappears. Praise the Lord!  That's what David did. David was bold to speak according to what the spiritual man saw. (1Sa.17:37) And David said, God that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. (45) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.... And that's what he was doing. When you come in the name, it's because you accept the Word, you accept Christ as your head and you see things the way the Bible tells you to see things. David saw things Biblically! The rest of them were seeing by the flesh, by the carnal senses. (1Sa.17:45) … Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.   David spoke bold faith. (46) This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, (47) and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand. (49) And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.   If you've ever used a sling, you know that's a huge miracle because a sling is just about the most haphazard weapon out there. I practiced and practiced with one when I was a kid. And I got to where I could hit a barn and then I could hit a tree, but I'd never be able to hit any giant in the forehead without God! But God was with David for his bold confession. When you're slinging that thing, you have to turn loose of the tab at just the right place in the arc for the stone to turn loose and hit its target. And a sling is really much more powerful than a sling shot; it will sink a rock into something. The leverage that a sling gives you is powerful, but turning it loose at just the right trajectory so that it hits your target, that's a neat trick because you're aiming and releasing the stone only by feel, and in this case by God.   But David hit Goliath right in the forehead! The forehead is where the Bible says the “mark of the beast” is because that's the unrenewed mind of the beast. We go back a few verses to (1Sa.17:40) And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. Then in (49) And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone.... David took one stone out of the five stones that he picked up, which symbolized the five senses. The water had run over those stones until they were polished smooth and he picked up that one stone and hit that giant in the forehead. In type, David put to death “the mind of the flesh.” Then he went over there and finished the job. David cut off Goliath's head with Goliath's own sword and that's what we have to do with our giant.   So which “stone” did David use? He had all of his senses polished. Which of the five senses did he use? First he saw correctly. He saw things totally different than any of the rest of those Israelites, including Saul. David had the eyes of the Lord! He had the eyes of the Word! The eyes of the dove. And if you keep putting that Word in your heart, you'll have the eyes of the Lord and you'll see things the way He sees things. You will be able to speak the way He speaks. David spoke for the Lord when he said, “I come to you in the name.” And we know the word “name” means “nature, character and authority.” He was saying, “I come to you in the nature, character and authority of the Lord.”   (1Sa.17:45) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. What He spoke directed that stone. (46) This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.... He spoke it before it came to pass and then it came to pass.   Don't be afraid to speak something before you see it, before it comes to pass. Our flesh trembles to speak it before it comes to pass, but that's where you're going to see the great miracles! Agree with the Word of God and speak the end from the beginning, as God has taught us to do. Rom 10:9-10  because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: 10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Of course, the devil is going to tell you, “Oh, boy! If you say that and it doesn't come to pass, you're going to look like a fool.” But remember, (1Pe.2:6) Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (Rom.10:11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (Joe.2:27) And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame. Never!   So when the devil tells you, “You are going to be put to shame,” you tell him, “No! You're a liar because I trust in God.” Boldly confess as David did; “I'm not going to be put to shame.” “I will not serve this sin!” “I will not serve the devil!” “I will not be sick!” “I will not live under this curse!” We, first of all, need to make Jesus our head by agreeing with Him as it says in (Eph.4:15) But speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ. If we can do that, we can speak what we will and it will come to pass. (1Co.2:16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. When Jesus is our head, then we have the mind of Christ in us.  We are told in (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. That's all Peter wanted; in (Mat.14:25) And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking upon the sea. (26) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear. (27) But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (28) And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters. (29) And he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. Jesus said, “Come,” and the only thing Peter was walking on was the Word of God.   The devil is always going to tell you, “Oh, you can't do that” because you have this problem, or you have that problem, but you tell him, “You're a liar!” And then you just proceed to do it! Your faith must be acted upon as it says in (Jas.2:26) For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. When you believe the Word, act on it! For example, if you believe that you were healed, then you can do what you would be able to do, if you were healed! At one of our Bible studies, when a sister in the Lord was having back pain, I told her, “Bend over and touch your toes; you're healed!” When she bent over and touched her toes, when she acted by faith, she was healed because she acted by faith. And again, when you move on something by faith, the devil will tell you, “You're going to look like a fool.” No! That won't happen when you believe you have received as it says in (Mar.11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.   But don't act on something because so-and-so is doing it or because you want to impress somebody, or for any other reason but faith because nothing will bring the manifestation to pass but faith. In other words, you want the manifestation because the Word says it's yours and you believe what the Word says. And, by the way, you will never convince your whole mind to believe it. You may think because you have some contrary thoughts in there, that you're not believing. If you don't pay attention to those thoughts, you are not wavering. The devil will tell you, “Aha! See there, you have doubt!” But he put that thought there in the first place and, if you don't accept that thought, then you're not doubting. (Jas.1:14) But each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. The devil might give you a thought or your flesh might give you a thought, but you can reject it.   And you can act on the thoughts that come from God. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. You see, until our minds are totally renewed by the Word of God, we're still going to have these thoughts coming to us, but we don't have to accept them. We have the authority to say, “No!” It's just that simple. Now a lot of people will think in their minds, “I'm healed, I'm healed, I'm healed!” But if it just stops right there and it doesn't go any further, they may not see the manifestation of it. You have to act on your faith. Faith has to come out of your mouth, or faith has to be in your walk, but it has to be somewhere! There needs to be some form of action that goes with faith, before you will see it manifest. You may even have to do what Joshua did and boldly speak or take some other action, out in front of people. Some of the greatest miracles of God I've ever seen came through speaking bold faith right out in front of other people. Praise be to God!   

Endure to Manifest Salvation (6)  (audio)  David Eells (7/14/24)  I'm going to pick up where we left off in our last teaching about how our faith transforms us. I mentioned just briefly about the rewards. There's a difference of reward concerning sonship. Many have been taught that everybody gets the same reward, but that's contrary to the Scriptures. There's a difference of reward because every servant will not become a son. They may have been called, but they will not be chosen. Let's start in (Eze.46:16) Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince.... The “prince” was the High Priest in the Old Testament and it says in (Heb.4:14) Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Jesus Christ is our High Priest. (Eze.46:16) Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. (17) But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty.... The “year of liberty” is the Marriage Feast. The “year of liberty” to the Jews was when the land went back to the original owner and when the servants were set free.   As it says in (Lev.27:21) But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's. (25:54) And if he be not redeemed by these [means,] then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him. Those who were in bondage were set free and we have come to a debt jubilee in NESARA/GESARA. All of this earth is going back to its original owner and those servants who are manifesting sonship are going to be set free and be joint heirs with Jesus. (Eze.46:17) But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty (So if God gives this gift to an unprofitable servant, he's going to keep it only until the year of liberty.); then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.  See, He's going to take the talent away from the unprofitable servant who has the one talent and He's going to give it to His sons! His sons get the inheritance of all those other servants because the other servants didn't walk in faith and they didn't manifest Christ. The sons get the whole inheritance. We see this in (Eze.46:18) Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession. We are joint-heirs with Christ! We receive the same inheritance He receives!   God does what He says He's going to do. And a person who doesn't manifest fruit from the gift given to them by the Lord will have their gift taken away and given to those who have chosen sonship and are bearing fruit. There's a difference of reward for what we have loosely called “Christians.” First of all, there was the servant with the two talents and the servant with the five talents. That's a difference right there, but both of those people brought forth everything that they could bring forth and that's what God put in.   God has given you knowledge and understanding, and He's going to hold you responsible to do something with it. (Luk.12:48) ... And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more. God expects you to do something with what He gives you. It's not a heavy burden that He puts upon you. (Mat.11:28) Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. He said, “my burden is light,” because knowledge is the way to fruit. If you don't know what His promises are, then you can't set your faith on them and you certainly can't have them.   It says in (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. We see here the profitable servants become sons having been set free by the divine nature. See, you have to know what to reach out for. Some people are going to use the excuse, “Well, the preachers didn't teach me!” Or, “The preachers lied to me!” But Jesus said, (Joh.7:17) If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself. In other words, “If you do the will of the Father, you're going to know the teaching.” No one can stop you from getting the truth, if you really want to know God, because He will make sure that it gets through to you.   Those who stay in apostate religion, don't really seek for truth, and risk being cast out and losing their inheritance. (Pro.2:16) To deliver thee from the strange woman (This is the Harlot, Babylon.), Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words; (17) That forsaketh the friend of her youth (Jesus Christ), And forgetteth the covenant of her God: (18) For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead. And then He goes on to warn these people in (21) For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. (22) But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it. Remember the wedding guest who didn't have the wedding garment on? He came to the marriage feast but then he didn't get to stay. It's important to understand this because it really motivates you.   The Lord says in (Isa.65:8) Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all. He is talking about the apostate people of God. He's saying that there's a remnant of something good in their midst and that's why He's not going to destroy them all. (Isa.65:9) And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.  (Notice the servant doesn't inherit the land but dwells there for a while.) (10) And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor (This represents tribulation. The root word for “Achor” means “to afflict” or “trouble.”) a place for herds to lie down in for my people that have sought me. (11) But ye that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain (speaking of His Kingdom), that prepare a table for Fortune (These people are lusting after, and paying attention to the things of the world, prosperity.), and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny; (12) I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not. A brother, who is a friend of mine, asked, “Lord, what is going to happen to the carnal Christian?” And these were the Scriptures God gave him.   Another warning follows just a few verses later in (Isa.65:17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. So after God has created a new heaven and a new earth, (20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. We saw previously that a “child” and “servant” are the same. (Pro 29:21)  He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last.  Here we saw that the “bondservant of sin” and the “child” are the same. The servant is someone who hasn't entered into sonship, either through faith or through manifestation. And Isaiah says, “the sinner being a hundred years old.” Well, 100 is a tenth of the millennium, a tenth of 1000, and a lot of people under the Law are just doing business with God. They say, “I give God my 10 percent,” like the Israelites did in the Old Testament. But Jesus said we must renounce ownership of 100% to be a disciple.  But Paul said in (Gal.5:4) Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. We are free from the Law, we are free to follow the Spirit and, if we follow the Spirit, we will surpass anything that the Law says. Again, remember that the guest without the wedding garment was in the wedding feast and he did get to stay for a little while, but then he was cast out. I believe that's what this is talking about: (Isa.65:17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (18) But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem (the Bride) a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.   (20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. These bondservants of sin, who chose to remain children instead of believing and entering into sonship, will not be able to enter into the New Jerusalem Bride as it says in (Rev.21:27) And there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life. and (22:15) Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. These people will be cast forth from the city. There's a big difference of reward between those who do serve God and those who profess God but don't serve God. Everyone who has not believed on the only begotten Son of God is already judged, but the judgment is going to be in the “separating.” We see this in (Mat.13:24) Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: (25) but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares (which has small useless fruit) also among the wheat, and went away. (26) But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. (27) And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?   (28) And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? (29) But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. We're entering into the Kingdom right now and the separating the sheep from the goats is happening.   We know that we are sons of God through faith, but the Bible also teaches, (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God (The Greek word there is teknon or “child” and not huios, which is the word for “son.”) and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (3) And every one that hath this hope [set] on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Wow! That's a promise, isn't it? The Lord commanded us that, (Mat.5:48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. You know, it would have been ludicrous for Him to make a command like that, if He hadn't given us the power to bring it to pass!  Now see what Jesus said in (Joh.19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. And in (16:33) These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. “Be of good cheer ... it is finished ... I've overcome the world.” We are privileged to enter in by faith to what Jesus has already done. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.   The only thing that remains is for us to put our trust in God and enter into those works by faith. (Joh.6:28) They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. We must do the works of God, which is made possible when we, “believe on him whom he hath sent.” That's the Gospel! We just have to believe that what Jesus accomplished on the cross is ours! It's our gift and it covers it all!   What Jesus bought and paid for is that we would be sons of God, not just sons by faith, but sons by manifestation. (1Pe.1:15) But like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; (16) because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. (22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: (23) having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. You are progressively being saved in your soul through your obedience to the truth.   You can read this message of progressive salvation over and over in the Scriptures, but as the Bible also says, you have to be able to see your goal before you can reach it. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. We see the goal by faith! If you can see in the Scriptures what it is that God has provided for you, then you can reach out your faith to it and you will manifest the sonship that Jesus paid for you to have. Jesus is the progenitor of the new creation man. He's the Father of the sons of God. (This is not to be confused with the erroneous and dangerous Manifestation of the Sons of God or Joel's Army movements, which arose from the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s and are still being promoted today by apostate leaders.)   Throughout the Scriptures, we see a parallel with the adoption traditions of the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. As it says in (Pro.29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. They all had a tradition of adopting their servants and making them sons. A fictional example is the story of Ben Hur by Lew Wallace. Briefly, Ben Hur is sentenced to be a galley slave, but after he saves the life of the warship's commander, Arrius, he adopts Ben Hur and makes him a free citizen. Ben Hur becomes the heir of Arrius, who is a leader in the Roman government and, through his inheritance, Ben Hur gains the power and authority that he wants. Can you see that this is what God is doing with us?   God used the traditions of those cultures, or else He created the traditions of those cultures, so that we would understand what He was saying when He said He adopted servants and made them sons. Paul says this in (Rom.8:16) The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: (17) and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]. We can see where we are, but we also have to see where we are going. (Psa.119:105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path. Without the Word to show you where you are going, you have nothing to exercise faith in. God is showing us in the Scriptures that we are going toward sonship, which is why the Bible commands us to see Jesus in the mirror.   Most of the church says, “No, that's not possible!” But that's what the Bible commands us to do, whether they like it or believe it, or not! It's the Good News; it's the Gospel that we are to accept from the first moment of our salvation. From the very beginning, by faith we receive everything that God has provided for us, even before we see it manifested. That's why we say, “We are saved.” People don't realize what they are saying when they say, “I'm saved.” They don't understand that the Greek word soteria, which is the word translated as “saved,” incorporates total deliverance from the curse of sin and of death. Total deliverance! When people say, “I'm saved,” they're saying a word by faith. It's a deception to believe that you are saved by manifestation because then you have no reason to walk it out. We're told in (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We are progressively saved by working out our salvation.   We were baptized and then, as we let the water of the Word put to death the old man, that baptism is increasingly manifested in our life as we walk on with God. Baptism is an act of faith. God has given us the goal of sonship through faith in Jesus Christ. We accept it as a free gift and, as we keep on confessing sonship in the face of trials, troubles and tribulations, we will see the manifestation of sonship in us. It will be just as automatic as planting a natural seed in the ground. That seed comes up, it produces a plant and the plant bears fruit, according to the type of plant it is. God's seeds are just like that, too. You plant them in good soil hearts and they're going to come up, and they are going to bear the fruit of God.   Now it says in (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. What is it that keeps us from being led by the Spirit? Staying a child is to remain a servant and that will keep you from being led by the Spirit. (Gal.4:1) But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; (2) but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. The manifestation of sonship is coming in the lives of those people who will give up being children or servants.   Children or servants are in bondage as it says in (Gal.4:3) So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world. What is it that causes us to stay in bondage to the rudiments or principles of the world and not bear fruit? Walking by the carnal senses will keep us in bondage to the flesh, to the devil and to the world. Our biggest problem is walking by sight, by hearing, and by feeling. (1Co.13:11) When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. A son of God must give up walking by what is seen in the natural and start walking by the eyes of the Spirit.   And it says in (Heb.5:11) Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing. (12) For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. Notice that we're looking at two different sets of rudiments. We have the rudiments or first principles of the world and the rudiments of the first principles of God, but you can't stay in either one, if you're going to mature to bear fruit. “Babes” are in these rudiments.   (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men (or “perfect men”), [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. “Babes” are not experienced in the “word of righteousness” because they don't have their “senses exercised” to discern good from evil. “Babes” in the Lord walk according to the first principles of the Lord and they speak what comes to their mind through their natural senses. They can't experience the “word of righteousness” because they walk after their carnal mind. Their knowledge is not a knowledge of what Jesus meant when He said, (Mat.13:9) He that hath ears, let him hear, and (16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.   The people He was talking to all had physical eyes and ears, but Jesus was saying that the people who received His Word would be those who had spiritual eyes and ears. Your carnal mind is influenced by your natural senses and it assimilates the influences of your natural senses. That's why people who walk after their natural senses can't walk by faith. They can't see the wonderful works of God! And they will never see the manifestation of Jesus, if they don't walk by faith, because it's just not possible. Often, people will have faith in one area, yet not in other areas. All of God's promises are manifested through faith and that means faith must be in every area of our lives. We read in (1Jn.5:4) For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. Faith “is the victory” that overcomes the world. However, even babes can be justified by receiving sonship through faith. This means they are accounted righteous through faith, believing they have received.  “Babes” who walk by their natural senses, many times, do warfare that's carnal, but (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. This warfare must be accomplished, but it cannot be accomplished with your carnal senses! You are fighting an enemy that's unseen and you have to fight him with the unseen. We have to “call the things that are not, as though they were.” (Rom.4:17) ... even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Did you know that the things that are made are not made out of things that appear? We read this in (Heb.11:1) Now faith is assurance of [things] hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. (2) For therein the elders had witness borne to them. (3) By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.   The things that are seen are made out of faith! Sonship is made out of faith. So you can't war in the flesh; you can't war with the natural senses. We're taught in (2Co.10:4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), (5) casting down imaginations (or “reasonings”), and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Where do “reasonings” come from? Reasonings, or imaginations, come from what your carnal mind has assimilated through your natural senses or dead religion. But we're told in, (Rom.12:2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We're commanded to repent!   Again, “repent” is the Greek word metanoeo and it means “change your mind.” We must change our mind! We must not receive into our mind what is put there by the carnal senses. We have to receive what is put there by the spiritual senses, by the hearing of God, by the seeing of God. You have to change your mind to have any hope of Christ manifesting Christ in you. I don't say this to make anyone fear because sons of God are, first of all, sons of God through faith. You have to receive sonship through faith before you have it by manifestation and faith is accounted as righteousness. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.   There are people who preach the manifestation of sonship, but they leave out the Grace of God. See, until righteousness is manifested in you, faith stands in its place. By faith, we are sons of God now! And we're studying to know what a son of God looks like, so that when we look in the mirror, we can be transformed into the same image. Be careful that the Jesus in your mirror is the Jesus of the Bible. Paul warned us about those who received another Gospel, another spirit and another Jesus! (Gal.1:6) I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; (7) which is not another [gospel] only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. (9) As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.   Our Jesus has to look just like this Jesus! If not, you'll be transformed into a “Jesus” that is not the Jesus of the Bible and that's not the sonship of the Bible, either. I see it happen all the time! The fault here is people are somewhere in between assimilating through their natural senses and assimilating through their spiritual senses. We have to learn to see the way God teaches us to see and Jesus came to be our example of that. Now I'm sure a lot of people will say, “Well, yeah, that was just Jesus.” No, the Bible called Jesus a “sign.” (Isa.7:14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Luk.11:30) For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. Jesus came to be our example, our pattern, in everything He did. Paul said, (1Co.11:1) Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.   When Jesus was baptized, it was “to fulfil all righteousness.” (Mat.3:13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. In other words, “Here is what you need to do for the sake of righteousness.” He taught His disciples to do what He did. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked, so obviously, it must be possible for us to do that. And what we have to learn from Jesus is the way He wants us to walk. (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself.... This is the Sabbath rest of God!   There is a Sabbath! It says in (Heb.4:9) There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. (10) For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. The sabbath rest for the people of God is to cease from your works. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest.... If you believe the Word of God, it's going to cause you to cease from your own struggling, cease from your own works, cease from trying to be a son of God and, instead, to accept “sonship” as your gift! The Word of God is designed so that when we believe it, if we really do believe it, we have to stop trying to deliver ourselves. (1Pe.2:24) ... by whose stripes ye were healed, and, if you believe that, then you have to stop trying to heal yourself. If you believe that, then you are healed.   All the rest of the Bible is designed the same way; it's designed in the past tense. We have been made free from sin. (Rom.8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. See, you should never be anxious about your sin because the Bible says you've been made free from sin. (Col.1:13) Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. You have been made free from the power of darkness. Why is it always past tense? It's past tense so that when you believe it, you can enter into the rest. You automatically have to cease from all of your self-works. It's a privilege to do that; it's not a law. This is our opportunity to keep a New Testament “Sabbath unto the Lord” by ceasing from our own works.   Jesus kept a New Testament sabbath! (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself.... That seems strange, doesn't it? He said, “The Son,” and do you know why He said that? It was because He wasn't talking about just Himself. (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. Do you think He saw a vision of everything He was about to do? I don't think so, but He did have a vision of what the Father was doing.  One of the places He got it from was in Isaiah's prophecy about the anointing. (Isa.61:1) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound; (2) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (3) to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Jesus had a “vision”; He knew, He saw what the Father's attitude was toward those who accepted His Word. He knew His responsibility and He knew His ability!   And what we have to do is get a “vision” of, “Where does my responsibility start and where does my ability start?” You know, folks, it's big! It's real big! (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. That's what Jesus said and He meant it! We are the ones who are loosing what's coming into our lives. We sow a seed that brings forth a harvest in our lives. (Gal.6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.   We're creating our tomorrow right now! The Bible says, “What you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” And did you know that we can bind the devil and we can bind God? That's because God will not change His Word. (Mat.24:35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Psa.119:89) Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. He will not go beyond the boundaries He has set. A good example of that is what Jesus experienced in His own hometown. In (Mat.13:54) And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?   (55) Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? (56) And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? (57) And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. (58) And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Jesus Himself couldn't do many mighty works because of their unbelief! They had bound God! By our faith we loose God and we bind the devil. And by our unbelief we loose the devil and we bind God.   Jesus did those things that He saw of His Father and He said, (Joh.14:9) ... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.... Not because they were one and the same, but because He was the express image of the Father as it says in (Heb.1:3) Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. What Jesus believed, the Father believed; what Jesus said, the Father said.   You know it says in, (1Pe.4:11) if any man speaketh, [speaking] as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Col.3:17) And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. That means everything that we do, we do to represent Him. We can't do anything to represent ourselves. In word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. That is ceasing from your works. That is accepting a death-to-self, so that, (Gal.2:20) …it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.   This is what we must accept! It's a radical, death-to-self walk. I've heard some groups preach, “You must die to self. You must crucify yourself.” But you have been crucified with Christ! We are privileged to have been crucified with Christ. (Rom.6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. If you don't reckon yourself to be dead unto sin, then you will never become dead unto sin. If you don't believe that He bore all your sins, past, present and future, at the cross, then they'll never go away!   Jesus said that He only did those things that He saw of His Father. And we have to learn to do the things that we see of our Father, too, because He put these in the Bible for an example to us. If you see it in the world, that's not a good enough reason to copy it. If you see it in religion, that's certainly not a good enough reason to copy it. But He will honor His Word, if we do the things we see our Father doing! (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. (20) For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth (And you know, the same is still true for us.): and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel.   He also said in, (Joh.14:12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. So we know that Jesus is still talking to us. (Joh.5:21) For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. (22) For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son. By the way, it says in (Joh.20:23) Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained. “David, do you mean, God gave that authority to men?” Yes! The Pharisees rebuked Jesus because He had that authority and Jesus passed it on to His disciples, the sons of men.   (Joh.5:22) For neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son; (23) that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him. (24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. We pass out of death and into life by hearing the Word! We have to hear the Word in the midst of the circumstances and situations that come against us! We have to hear the Word because, if you hear the Word, you won't hear the flesh and you won't hear the devil.   When you hear the Word, you experience a spiritual resurrection from the dead and you pass out of death and into life. As it says in (Eph.2:1) And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins. And (Col.2:13) And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, [I say,] did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. We were dead and all around us are people who are dead! (Joh.5:25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. Notice: “and now is”. Jesus is not just talking about a physical resurrection of the dead but a spiritual one. He's talking about passing out of death and into life because you hear the Word!   When we hear the voice of the Son of God, we come up out of our graves; we come into resurrection life. The Word is the seed that's being sown by Him and that seed brings forth the fruit. The seed has all the power it needs to bring forth the fruit. All it needs is good earth for God to sow His Seed in and that's about all the natural man is good for; he's the dirt.   Next Jesus goes on to talk about the physical resurrection of the dead. He says in, (Joh.5:26) For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself: (27) and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. Notice, Jesus had to be a son of man in order to have the authority to execute judgment. Adam was given authority over the creation and now the “last Adam” has it. The Father gave this authority to the Son because the Son came down here in “the likeness of sinful flesh” and overcame, conquered and condemned sin in the flesh. We read this in (Rom.8:3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (4) that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.   (5) For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Jesus had the authority to judge because He overcame His flesh. (Rom.4:15) For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Do you know why the “old man” can't judge? It's because the old man is the one who's done all the sinning in the first place! He's guilty! (Rom.2:1) Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself.... If you judge others, you judge yourself. Our old man has no authority to judge, but the spiritual man in us has every authority to judge.   And in (1Co.2:14) Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man. The spiritual man judges all things and he's judged of no man because he has the mind of God. When the natural man is subject to the spiritual man there is no sin or its curse. Back to (Joh.5:28) Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, (29) and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. Do you know who's going to be resurrected to life? Only those who have been resurrected spiritually in this life are going to have the resurrection of life. You have to wonder about all those people who say that the whole Church is going to be raptured out. Wait a minute! Look what it says in (Eze.18:4) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. “The soul that sins, it shall die”; that's the Word and the Word cannot ever be broken (John 7:23).  And as we have seen those who attain to life will have star, moon and sun glory, bodies. Therefore, if anybody's going to fly away without dying, it's going to be those who have overcome because the soul that sins must die. So what they're talking about is not scripturally possible. We're here to go through trials, troubles and tribulations, in order to receive resurrection life, which is His life. We must lose our life to gain our life as Jesus said. We are constantly faced with making decisions. “Am I going to accept the Word?” Or “Am I going to do things my way? If we choose our way, if we choose to do things the way of the world, we separate ourselves from God. If we choose to accept the Word and do things according to the Word, we manifest more and more sonship. It's ludicrous to think that God would plant us here and pluck us up before we bear fruit! Nobody who wants a harvest picks the plant before it bears the fruit and nobody who wants a harvest pulls the seed out of the ground before it bears the plant. God doesn't do that, either, because He wants a harvest.  The reason we study the Scriptures is so that we will have spiritual eyes and spiritual ears. Jesus said, (Joh.5:30) I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. The Lord only did those things that He heard and saw of the Father. We want spiritual eyes and spiritual ears so that we'll no longer be “babes,” but we'll be able to experience the “word of righteousness.” (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. The Scriptures are called the “word of righteousness” because justification is through faith in the Word.   “Justification” means “accounted righteous,” so when you speak faith and you walk by faith, God will count you as righteous, just as He did Abraham in (Gen.15:6) And he believed in the Lord; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. He counted Abraham as righteous and it didn't have anything to do with salvation. It had to do with the fact that Abraham believed what God said. That covers everything, not just what we normally think of as salvation. God said Abraham was righteous; He called Abraham His friend because he believed what He said. (Jas.2:23) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.   God reckons righteousness the same way today. There are a lot of God's people who have no eyes or ears because they are not hearing what God says. (Joh.8:47) He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God. The righteous are those who hear what He says. Jesus was talking to religious people, those Jews who had believed Him (John 8:31), and He told them that! If we are, ultimately, the elect of God, we will find out. Do you know why? It's because we are going to hear God's Word! People who won't listen to you when you try to gracefully give them the Word of God either aren't being drawn by God at that time or they're not children of God.  “He that is of God hears the words of God.” Jesus gave us this example. He didn't do anything but what He heard and saw, and that's what babes do, too. The problem is that sometimes babes are using the wrong eyes and ears, and so they are without experience of the Word of righteousness. Speaking faith, which is “calling those things that are not, as though they were” (Romans 4:17), is a Word of righteousness. God has done everything from the beginning this way. He didn't create the world in any other way, but this way. It says in (Isa.46:9) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; (10) declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. God speaks the end from the beginning and it comes to pass. We are in training to be sons who do this.  Now He's teaching us, as sons and daughters, to do the same thing, but you won't be able to do that, if you're paying attention to your natural eyes and your natural ears. You will always be inexperienced in the Word of righteousness. You will always be a babe, unless you begin to say the things the Bible says you should say. You will always be a babe, unless you begin to see the way the Bible commands you to see. And we need to be reminded of how the Scriptures tell us to see because it's so easy to slip back to seeing in the natural. Do you know what happens when you walk in the natural? You become worried and anxious, you become troubled because you're not seeing come to pass what's in the Scriptures. You start thinking, “It will never come to pass.” Well, it will never come to pass, unless you have spiritual eyes.   You have to see the way God tells you to see. And He tells us, (2Pe.1:2) Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (So, the more you know about God, the more grace and peace you're going to have, but then he goes on.); (3) seeing.... You're not going to have grace and peace without being able to see this! (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted (Notice this is past tense; it's already done.) unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue. If you can see that His divine power has already granted us everything that pertains to life and godliness, you can have it! If you can't see that, then you can't have it! Grace comes from being able to see this way.   Jesus was always bold to speak things before they came to pass, and you've probably never seen a miracle that you didn't speak first, before it came to pass. The biggest miracles that I've ever seen were bold statements of faith right out in front of everybody! Look at this in (Jos.10:12) Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. (13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.   (14) And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. Joshua stopped the whole solar system! He spoke it right out in front of everybody. That sounds like something a fool would do, doesn't it? But the Bible says that no one who puts their trust in Him will ever be put to shame. (Rom.10:11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. If you're going to see miracles, you may have to step out there and look like a fool.   I'm not talking about saying things that you don't see; I'm talking about things that you do see. That “seeing” could be something that you see in the Word of God or it could be something that you've received in a dream or a vision from the Lord, or it could be a Word of knowledge or a Word of wisdom from the Lord. “Seeing” can come many ways and one foundational “seeing” is that God has already given you everything that pertains to life and godliness! He's telling you this is what you must see, if you're going to have it. You can't be what Peter describes as near-sighted. First he lists all the Christ-like virtues: (2Pe.1:5) Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge;   (6) and in [your] knowledge self-control; and in [your] self-control patience; and in [your] patience godliness; (7) and in [your] godliness brotherly kindness; and in [your] brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he tells you, (9) For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. So a near-sighted person is someone who sees with their natural eyes, not their spiritual eyes; and you can't have these gifts, these virtues of Jesus Christ, if you're near-sighted. (Jas.1:23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. Someone who sees their natural face in the mirror becomes a hearer of the Word, but not a doer of the Word.   This is how we're told to see, in (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. We have to see Jesus in the mirror by faith! We have to see Him with spiritual eyes and call the things that are not as though they were because the way that God does His work is through our faith. (1Co.1:26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called:] Notice that God is speaking of people here not “things”, which is not numeric in the following text.) (27) but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; (28) and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are: (29) that no flesh should glory before God.  God chose the things that “are not” to bring to nothing the “things that are.” What are “the things that are”? It's the curse! What are “the things that are not”? It's what Jesus accomplished on the cross! He gave us sonship at the cross, but it is not yet manifested! (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. If you don't see Him as He is, you can't be like Him. We study the Scriptures so that we get a vision of Christ and we see Him as He is. He had a vision of His Father; that's why He did what He did. We study the Scriptures to get a vision of Christ so that we can do what He did, live what He lived, be what He was!   Of course, most of the Church says, “No! It's not possible!” But those people say that because they are only counting upon their own strength and they don't count upon the promise of the Word of God, which is backed up by God's strength. If God says, (Mat.5:48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, you can have faith in Him and He will do it in you. Now, I agree that “perfect” is different for every one of us. The Greek word here for “perfect” is teleios, which is the same word for “mature.” God is maturing each one of us to do a different job in His Kingdom, so we are not going to look alike. The Bible clearly states that we're supposed to be growing into the fullness of Christ. In (Eph.4:13) Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That's what we are supposed to reach; that's God's promise to us.   Now the bad report preachers are like the spies who went into the Promised Land and said, “Nope! We can't take it! We just have to settle for where we are! We can't overcome sin. We are always going to be sinners!” (Num.13:31) But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. (32) And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. (33) And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.   They, and everyone who believed them, died of the plague in the wilderness. They didn't go into the Promised Land because they brought a bad report! (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.   That's because Joshua and Caleb said, (Num.14:9) Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. They told the people, “Those giants are bread for us!” If they're “bread” for you, that must mean you're supposed to eat them and they'll cause you to grow, right? Yes! That's what it's all about! In type, those “giants” are the natural man who dwells in the Land of Promise. The spiritual man has to go in there to kill that giant and take his house, which is this body of our flesh.   God bless you Saints! I suggest that you meditate on this teaching to give roots to it. It is very important.

6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: "You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.' 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said." 13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.   The first lesson we learned from the twelve tribes receiving their inheritance, is from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. We don't want to become borderline believers. Now, in Joshua 14:6-14 we notice our second lesson which is, we should be encouraged in our pilgrim journey because no matter how long we must wait our inheritance is still available!   We were introduced to Caleb back in Numbers 13 when he was asked by Moses to be one of the twelve spies to go into Canaan at Kadesh Barnea some forty-five years earlier. Only he and Joshua had given a good report by faith, that even though there were giants in the land the Lord would be with them, and they could conquer it.    Since Caleb belonged to the tribe of Judah (Num. 13:30), and had been one of the two faithful spies, he received his inheritance first. Joshua, the other faithful spy, was the last to receive his inheritance (Josh. 19:49-51). In Joshua 14, Caleb reminded his friend Joshua of the promise Moses had made to them forty-five years before (Num. 14:24, 30; Deut. 1:34-36), that they would survive the years of wandering and receive their inheritance in the land. This promise gave Joshua and Caleb joy and courage as they endured years of wandering and waiting.   Can you imagine having to wait forty-five years because of someone else's sin?  Yet, Joshua and Caleb never gave up and were encouraged on their pilgrim journey even in the difficult years in the wilderness because of the promise of the inheritance that had been made to them! My friend, we should be encouraged especially since we have already received our inheritance in Christ and can claim "every spiritual blessing" (Eph. 1:3,).   Caleb was eighty-five years old, but he didn't look for an easy task, suited to an "old man." He asked Joshua for mountains to climb and giants to conquer! His strength was in the Lord, and he knew that God would never fail him. The secret of Caleb's life is found in a phrase that's repeated six times in Scripture: "he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel" (Josh. 14:14; also see Num. 14:24; 32:12; Deut. 1:36; Josh. 14:8-9). Caleb was an overcomer because he had faith in the Lord (1 John 5:4).   Since we also have a glorious inheritance before us (1 Peter 1:3-6), we should be encouraged and keep looking up! The best is yet to come!   God bless!

Pastor John Ryan Cantu brings this week's message, “What Are You Doing There?” Key Verse: Deuteronomy 1:19–40 NLT ““Then, just as the Lord our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea, I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God is giving us. Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be discouraged!' “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let's send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.' “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the Lord our God has given us is indeed a good land.' “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That's why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”' “But I said to you, ‘Don't be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.' “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. “When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.' “And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land! Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it. I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it. As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.'” Sermon Topics: Fear, Obedience, Trust Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Welcome 02:34 - Deuteronomy 1.19–40 NLT 05:58 - What Are You Doing There?

Endure to Manifest Salvation (1) (audio) David Eells 5/29/24 This is one of the most important teachings to bearing the fruit of Salvation. Many do not understand the progression of salvation, but we must continue in real faith to bear the fruit of Christ in our soul to manifest salvation. (1Pe.1:9) receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Notice the fullness of salvation is the end of our faith, not the beginning.  A large number of people believe that once we enter the Kingdom by faith, that's all there is to it, but the Bible says we stand by faith. That means you have to continue to stand in faith. Otherwise, according to what the Scripture says, you will be broken off. (Rom.11:19) Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. (20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.   (23) And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. You see, it's enduring in your faith to the end that manifests salvation. (Mat.24:13) But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. In speaking about the time when God broke off the Jews, Paul made the statement, (Rom.11:7) What then? that which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. God called His children out of Egypt, but we see in (Jud.5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.   They did not endure in their faith. He saved them, but then He broke them off when they did not believe. I'm afraid that there are a lot of Christians today who think they are saved because they stepped over some line back there somewhere and now they call themselves “Christians.” There is no line! When you step into the Kingdom, you stand by faith. You continuously stand by faith and, if you don't, you can be broken off.   At the time Jesus came, they were coming to the end of the Jewish dispensation, when God was going to open the door to the Gentiles. Do you know what God did to the Jews then? What He did was, “the election obtained it and the rest were hardened.” There are only two kinds of God's people: the “called” and the “elect.” All of the elect are called, but not all of the called are elect. “Chosen” is the Greek word eklektos, which is the same word as “elect.” (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. You see, many receive the invitation to partake of Christ, but only those who bear fruit are going to be chosen. The Bible says the elect of the Jews obtained it and the rest were hardened.   We are now coming to the end of the Gentile dispensation in the Tribulation and God is going to do the same thing He did before, only this time the elect of the Gentiles are going to obtain salvation and the rest are going to be hardened when God turns back to the Jewish remnant. (Rom.11:8) According as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day. (9) And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them: (10) Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, And bow thou down their back always. And these same people who were hardened were the people whom God used to persecute His “elect,” His “chosen,” His “called” Gentiles.   There is a great persecution coming upon the people of God and it is going to come from what has loosely been called “the people of God.” It will come from people who have hardened hearts who have been called, but they have refused to “walk in the light” of God's Word. (1Jn.1:17) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. They are caught up in religious spirits and in religion. They're even going to think that they're doing God a favor when they persecute those who truly follow the Lord. But we have to stand by faith. If we don't stand by faith, we can be broken off.   Do you know what faith is? (Heb.11:1) Now faith is assurance (i.e., the assurance is that you have received the substance of what you ask) of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. We say that we are saved and it is true that we are saved by faith. But when the Bible says you are saved by faith, it means you are receiving something that you don't yet see. You may think, “I've received God's Spirit so obviously, I'm saved!” No! You are not saved because you received God's Spirit. You are saved because you are believing in what the sacrifice of Jesus accomplished for you and you are following God's Spirit. That's why you are saved!   Some people are very deceived thinking because they received God's Spirit, they are a ‘shoo-in' for the Kingdom. Well, that's not what Scripture says. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. You see, receiving God's Spirit does not make you a shoo-in. There are two sides to salvation. We receive it in our spirit instantly by faith, but we receive it in our soul progressively by manifestation. What we receive by faith in the beginning is going to be manifested as we walk in it and as we stand by faith.   What's the substance that this born-again soul is made of? (Jas.1:21) Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted (meaning “inborn” or “ingrafted”) word, which is able to save your souls. The born-again soul is made from obedience to the Word. That means it's made from Jesus Christ. He is the Word! Doesn't this put a lot of importance on the Word? It certainly does! (Heb.11:1 KJV) Faith is the substance (i.e., the assurance that you have what you asked for) of the thing hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith in the Word is important. The Word is the seed of God that brings forth the fruit, which is able to save your souls. If you take that away, where is the ability for your soul to be saved?   People are deceived about what salvation is and they are losing their souls because they are not running the race. This is a race! (1Co.9:24) Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. (2Ti.4:7) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. To win this race we must have “kept the faith”. We are not running against one another, but we are running against a clock and we've been given a certain amount of time to bear fruit. Father gave the fig tree three years to bear fruit, Jesus asked for one more year in Luk 13:7-9.  If we waste that time, we will be what the Bible calls “unprofitable servants.” (Luk.17:7) But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat;    (8) and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? (9) Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded? (10) Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do. There are many who are content to just be running down the clock. They are not running, but the clock is running down and their time is running out.   Jesus taught us, (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. When you pray, believe you have received. God does everything that way! We pray for salvation and we believe we have received. But, if you don't endure in that faith until you see it manifest, do you ever receive it? No! Jesus said, (Mat.10:22) ... He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.   We say that we are saved, but too many people don't understand what the term “saved” really means. “Saved” (Greek: Sozo) is very encompassing. With scriptures it means deliverance from sin and deliverance from the curse of sin and of death. (Rom.8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. It's pretty audacious to say “I am saved” at the very beginning, when you haven't even started walking in salvation, but that's what Jesus told us to do. (Mar.11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them.   Jesus in us is salvation. So at the very beginning, we claim our salvation. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. We claim all of that at the very beginning, but we must endure in faith, standing in Christ, to see the manifestation. Many people don't understand this, so they just sit down and they don't run the race. (Gal.5:7) Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth?  There is a race to be run and there is an enemy to be fought, and there is a battle to be won. If a person doesn't understand that, because of ignorance of the Word, they are not going to get very far. They're not going to bear fruit. They're going to end up with a hard heart and they'll turn away from God, especially in these days, because we are coming to the time of a spewing-out of the Gentiles who have not born fruit. God's salvation was not given to us. God's salvation, God's promise through Abraham, was given to “the seed.” (Gal.3:16) Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. The promise was spoken to Christ. Well, then how do we manifest God's salvation? Jesus said in, (Joh.15:1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. (5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.   If we abide in Jesus, we bear much fruit, but if we don't abide in Him, we will wither as a branch! So, if God's salvation is in Christ, we must abide in Christ to have it. How do we abide in Christ? First of all, you abide in Christ by faith. You accept His deliverance by faith. You accept His salvation by faith and that faith is accounted to you for righteousness because you believed God. Understand, it is not manifest righteousness, but it is accounted to you, it is attributed to you, as righteousness. You are counted as “righteous” and that means “justified.” (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. You are accounted as righteous because of your faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, but then, as you walk with your faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, your salvation will start being manifested by God.   It will come down into the “seeing realm,” into the “physical realm.” It's not just in the faith realm anymore. “Faith” is believing for something that you don't see and “manifestation” is when now you are seeing it and abiding in Christ. You have salvation! (1Jn.5:11) And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. See where the life is? (12) He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. This is why we must abide in Jesus. To abide in Jesus is to abide in salvation. It is to stand by faith and, if you don't stand by faith, you have no guarantee from the Word of God.   (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We need to be careful to seek out our own salvation with “fear and trembling.” (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. Out of all those whom God called out of Egypt, many fell in the wilderness, but Joshua and Caleb are a “type” of all of those who enter into the Promised Land because they endured in their faith. (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears (of unbelief), so will I do to you: (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me,   (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein (some say God can't break His Word. It is unbelief that breaks the covenant.), save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (36) And the men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land, (37) even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before Jehovah. (38) But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men that went to spy out the land. Today God is bringing many sons into the Kingdom and every single one of them is enduring in their faith and walking by faith. Our faith must grow and we must continually put the Word into our hearts to know what to exercise faith in.   The point is, we have to continue in the faith. (1Co.6:18) ... Every sin that a man doeth is without the body.... When you abide in Christ, you are abiding in righteousness. God's purpose is to deliver us from walking in sin and to cause us to be “dressed up” of Jesus Christ. (Rom.13:14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. That is salvation! We claim salvation now, but to the extent we don't see it, to the extent we don't walk in the faith of Jesus Christ, to that extent it has not yet manifested. We are claiming something that we don't yet see.   There are many people who are resting in the flesh, but while you rest in the flesh, you don't bear fruit. And the “unprofitable servant,” the one who doesn't bear fruit, the one who doesn't do something with the “talent” that God gave him, is going to be cast forth into outer darkness. (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants, (The Lord's servants are not lost people.) and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. The first two servants of the Lord traded with their talents and doubled what their Lord entrusted to them.   (Mat.25:18) But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. (19) Now after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. And their Lord was pleased with the first two, but he wasn't pleased with the last servant. (Mat.25:24) And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; (25) and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.   (26) But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter ... (30) And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. It's very important for people to understand that salvation is progressive because it motivates you to go on and not to sit down and rest in the flesh.   So with that in mind, let's look at what the Bible has to say about our progressive salvation. (Act.15:11) But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they. I dare say that there are many churches where, if you stood up and you quoted this verse, they would correct you. They would say, “No, we are saved!” They would rebuke you to your face. Well then, what's the difference between their “are saved” and Peter's “shall be saved”? The difference is that now we are talking about the manifestation of salvation in our life, not just receiving it by faith. There are as many verses in the Bible that point this out as there are verses that tell you to claim salvation by faith.   (Act.15:12) And all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened. If you said this today in church, they wouldn't keep silent and they wouldn't listen. They would insist, “We are saved! We don't have to worry about our salvation!” These people are “resting in the flesh,” but let me tell you, we do have to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”. And the Bible says God can break you off, if you don't stand by faith. (Rom.11:20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, (How do you get broken off of the Olive Tree if you were never in it?) and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.   Well, let's not get scared out of our faith, but let's have enough respect for God to do what we were put here for. Paul called it a “race.” We were put here to run a race and we are racing against time! (1Co.15:1) Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel (the Good News) which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, (2) by which also ye are being saved.... That is what it says in the original and in the numeric pattern, you are “being saved.”   Now, notice this next word. You should circle this next word. It says, “If.” (1Co.15:2) By which also ye are being saved, if ye hold fast with what word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. Notice it is the “word I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.” If we do not hold fast to the original Word, we believed in vain. It can be a waste of time, unless you “hold fast” to the Word that was once preached unto the saints.   (Jud.3) Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. We are to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Some Bible versions add “once for all,” but “for all” was not in the original and the numeric pattern verifies the correct wording here. The faith that works which we must have, is the faith that is in agreement with this Word, not the modern “faith” that we are hearing so much of. Paul says you are being saved “if" you hold fast to this Word.   Let me show you something else about this reconciliation, which was made at Calvary almost 2000 years ago. (Col.1:21) And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, (22) yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: (23) if.... There's that conditional word “if” again! We've been told that we're the Church, the spotless and blemishless Bride ready to meet the Lord, but does it say that here? No! (Col.1:22) … to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: (23) if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.   He was saying, “Now you are reconciled through the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you without blemish and unreproveable, if you continue in the faith of the original Gospel.” The apostle Paul is not telling them that they are spotless and blemishless; he is telling them that this is the process, this is what God is doing. They were spotless and blemishless by faith, but they were not by manifestation. God's faith is a means to an end. What good is faith, if it doesn't change people? Faith is a means to bring you to His deliverance, His manifestation, His Christ-likeness. You've wasted your time, if you come to the end of this life with what you have called “faith” and there have been no works from it!  (Jas.2:20 KJV) But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? It's barren, it's incomplete, as the Bible says. Real faith changes you and it changes things. There is an “if” in this reconciliation and there is an “if” in this salvation. That “if” depends on our continuing in the faith of this Word. We cannot trust in the unbalanced doctrines of men! Some teach salvation by our own works and we are saved by works, but it is the works of God through us because we have faith. Some teach that salvation has all been accomplished by manifestation and that we don't have to do anything to work it out. Both errors will destroy you!   Our main purpose here, according to the Book of Acts, is to search after God. (Act.17:24) The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (25) neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (26) and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined [their] appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; (27) that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: (28) for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. We are to pursue after God “if perchance we might find him.”  He is the Word, not men's shortcuts, like just accept Jesus, no it's Repent and Believe the Word. (Heb.12:14) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord. “Sanctification” is the separation from worldliness, separation from sin unto God. First, you have to be separated from sin by faith because faith is accounted as righteousness. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. We are reckoned righteous by our faith and, second, by manifestation. Being reckoned righteous by faith is the means to the end. God's purpose is not fulfilled in the reckoning; God's purpose is fulfilled in the manifestation. (1Th.5:23) And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly (“completely”); and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Do you think it's possible for God to do that? Well, it wouldn't be a very smart prayer for Paul to pray, if it were not possible. There are many people nowadays who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness because they don't want to believe that sanctification is even possible. They think you only need to be forgiven, but he says, “sanctify you completely” and “may your spirit, soul and body be preserved entire, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” You can see the progression that God wants: first spirit, then soul and then body; this is His plan. God's plan is that you have to bear fruit in the area of the soul to get the new body.   (1Co.3:16) Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (17) If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. We have to take care of this temple and you will not be able to take care of it, except through faith. You can sometimes defile your body in ways that you don't even know. For example, you can't find a verse that says, “Thou shalt not smoke,” but the Bible says, if you destroy the body, God will destroy you.   (Heb.2:2) For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; (3) how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? In other words, if you get cancer of the lungs because you smoked, then you destroyed your own body and what does God say He's going to do about it?  Of course we can repent and believe for healing. By the way, why do we have doctors, at least in the permissive will of God? It's because people don't believe and He doesn't always want them to die until they have every chance to believe. And He permits things in this world to happen on a natural level, in order to bring us to a spiritual understanding. God's method of salvation and healing is always through faith in what Jesus did. It's looking back at the cross, it's always in the past. For example, do you know why we are healthy? We've been given a gift of health because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. He took the “stripes” so that we could be healthy. Jesus gave you His healthy body and He took your unhealthy body. He made an exchange.   The Greek word katallasso means an “exchange” or “reconciliation,” and it was made at the cross. Jesus gave you His blessing and took your curses. He gave you His sinlessness and took your sins. There was a total exchange made at the cross. So how do we receive His salvation? How do we come to manifest it? Salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ, not our own works. You're not going to keep that body healthy by your wisdom about how many chemicals and how many herbs you can put into it. Your body is healthy because Jesus gave you health at the cross. If you think that by your works you can keep that body healthy, you're in for a rude awakening because it doesn't matter how many chemicals and herbs you put into it, you will fail in your witchcraft.   That's what the Bible says medicine and drugs are (Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21; Revelation 18:23). The Greek word is pharmakeia and it's where our word “pharmaceuticals” comes from. No, God's salvation will not be by works. God's salvation is free. If it's not free, it's not grace! It's unmerited favor and that means you cannot earn it. But you do have to earn all that money you pay for those supplements. It comes hard by the sweat of the brow, but God's salvation is all free and that's why it's through faith and not through works. Salvation for the body, salvation for the soul and salvation for the spirit comes through your faith; it's free. If it costs anything, that's not God's method.   God's salvation is also past tense, so it cannot be accomplished through your works. See, you were healed. (1Pe.2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. If you were healed, then you are healed. If you are healed, then you cannot be looking for healing through any works of man. If you are looking for healing, you don't believe that you were healed. It's so simple! All the deliverance of God was done at the cross and, if you continue in your works trying to deliver yourself, you're proving that you don't believe the Bible because the Bible says it was done.   God's salvation is free for the spirit, for the soul and for the body. There's nothing but failure in our own attempts to save ourselves. It doesn't matter if you're trying to save your soul or whether you are trying to save your body. It's ultimately going to end in failure and God will make sure that it ends in failure. He's not going to let you save yourself. He's going to make sure that all of your efforts to make yourself healthy, to make yourself saved from sin or to deliver yourself from the curse, whatever it might be, He's going to make sure it fails. Not only do you have the devil against you when you try by your own works to provide your own salvation, you have God against you on that count!  All we need is faith in the promises. It's free. (Rom.13:11) And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we [first] believed. Did you notice that? In other words, “The manifestation of salvation is closer to us now than when we first believed.” If you say, “I thought we were saved,” yes, you were saved by faith, but we do not receive it by manifestation when we first believe. People who don't understand that are in a dangerous position and they're in an ignorant church, too. They should probably get out of there and start reading their Bible for themselves. (Rom.13:12) The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.   We've been given authority to do this because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross. The only thing that can stop us is unbelief. Salvation is putting on the “armor of light” and the next verse explains it this way: (Rom.13:13) Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. See, “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ” is what he calls walking, according to verse 13. The closer you get to walking like that, the closer you are getting to salvation. We are here to conquer sin! We are here to overcome! There are no promises to people who do not overcome.   The promises of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are to the overcomers, and Jesus said, (Joh.16:33) ... In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. He has already overcome! The devil, flesh and sin have all been conquered at the cross and all we have to do is believe we have received His salvation and walk in it. Some people think that they don't have to overcome. They think, “Every time I sin, I can just ask for forgiveness and be forgiven,” but that's being an unprofitable servant. We can overcome sin because the power has been given and the sacrifice is there. (Heb.10:14) For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.   (1Co.1:18) For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. Some Bibles have a footnote on this one that reads, “For the word of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That's the version that should be in the text because that's the one that has the numeric pattern; the other one has no numeric pattern. We are “being saved” by faith and we are “being saved” by manifestation. It's important for us to understand that we are being saved. (2Co.2:15) For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are being saved, and in them that are perishing.... Most Bible versions have “are saved” and “them that perish,” but the Nestle's Text, which is made up of the three most ancient manuscripts, has “are being saved” and “them that are perishing.”  = (2Co.2:16) to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? Did you know that you can be in the process of “being saved,” but then you can end up by being “perishing”? The Bible talks about those who walk in their willfulness until they are twice-dead and plucked-up by the roots. (Jud.12) These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds (Has no numeric pattern) that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. They started out in regeneration and ended up in degeneration.   See, you can reverse the process. Some people don't think that's possible, but, (Rom.8:12) So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: (13) for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. If you walk after the flesh, you must die. Jesus came to give us life, but you go right back to death. You go right back to the old prison that you came out of. He came to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18), but you would rather be bound! So let's continue in the faith and believe what God has provided for us in Christ! 

Numbers 14:6-10 6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." 10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.   We are looking at the early life of Joshua as he is being prepared to be the next leader of Israel to take the nation into the Promise Land. For us, the Promise Land is the place in our Christian lives where we experience daily victory by faith in our great Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ! We first met Joshua as a slave in Egypt. In Exodus 17, we find that he is a soldier leading the army of Israel against the Amalekites. Next in Exodus 24:13, Joshua is called Moses' servant (Joshua 1:1). Today we meet Joshua as a spy in Numbers 13-14.   After the exodus from Egypt, he people of Israel spent their first eleven months near Mt. Sinai receiving the Law and building the tabernacle. Then they travel to Kadesh Barnea, on the border of the Promised Land, where God commanded Moses to appoint twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb were among them (Num. 13). After forty days of investigating the land, the spies returned to Moses and first reported that the land was indeed a good one (Numbers 13:25-29).   But ten of the spies began to discourage the people by saying that Israel wasn't strong enough to overcome the enemy. They gave and evil report of unbelief saying that it was “a land that devours it inhabitants… there are giants in the land and were like grasshoppers in their sight”. But two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, encouraged the people to trust God and move into the land. Sadly, the people listened to the faithless ten spies. It was this act of unbelief and rebellion that delayed the conquest of the land for forty years.   This crisis revealed some fine leadership qualities in Joshua. He was not blind to the realities of the situation, but he didn't allow the problems and difficulties to rob him of his faith in God. The ten spies looked at God through the difficulties, while Joshua and Caleb looked at the difficulties through what they knew about God. Knowing he was right, Joshua wasn't afraid to stand up against the majority. He, Moses, and Caleb stood alone and risked their lives in so doing; but God stood with them. Joshua was a man of faith, which gave him courage, conviction, and patience.   Think of the years of blessing in the Promised Land that Joshua forfeited because the people had no faith in God! But Joshua patiently stayed with Moses and did his job, knowing that one day he and Caleb would get their promised inheritance (Num. 14:1-9). Leaders must know not only how to win victories but also how to accept defeats.   I love how Joshua reported that the giants would be “bread” for them (Numbers 14:9). God means for the difficulties and giants we face in our spiritual journey to nourish us and build up our faith and our trust in Him!   Today, we can either focus on the giants we face, or the great God we can trust! Which will it be for you!   God bless!

Joshua 14:6 - 15Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.'  And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.  I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.  Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war. Sermon Questions:1. What are some of the deep questions that persist in your heart?2. How do belonging, the future, your daily experience worry you?3. What are some ways you've tried to answer or silence those deep questions?4. How is Jesus' life, death, and resurrection for you a trustworthy answer?5. How can you engage with The Word of God (Jesus) in times of deep questions?

The Word is Our New DNA (audio) David Eells – 4/14/24 Is God your Father? If so you have His DNA. Jesus is the Word made flesh as we must be. His Word manifested in you to the extent you are ruled by it is His DNA. Scientists say, “DNA contains the instructions necessary for life.” Sound familiar? Our Fathers Word is His spiritual DNA. Below are Notes by Deb Horton of an article which reports that science has finally acknowledged that words have physical power. After removing all the New Age gobbledygook, the article acknowledges that Russian scientists have discovered that spoken words alone can and do reprogram DNA. So, the tongue conquers the curse or the tongue can bring the curse. Key points quoted from the article, which is translated from German, so the terminology will sound a little strange in English (Deborah's comments in parentheses) (David's in red): DNA can be influenced and reprogrammed by words and frequencies WITHOUT cutting out and replacing single genes. (Father didn't use this method of man.) The Russian linguists found that the genetic code, especially in the apparently useless 90% (which has been (falsely) called "junk DNA"), follows the same rules as all our human languages...(and that) human languages ... are a reflection of our inherent DNA. (So changing our Words changes our DNA. At Babel languages were confused which separated people by DNA.) One can simply use words and sentences of the human language ... to influence genetic information! This, too, was experimentally proven! Living DNA substance (in living tissue, not in vitro) will always react to language-modulated laser rays and even to radio waves, if the proper frequencies are being used. This finally and scientifically explains why affirmations ... (can) repair genetic defects. (Changing our affirmations to agree with the Word changes our DNA.) ...our body is programmable by language, words and thought. This has now been scientifically proven and explained....The individual person must work on the inner processes (i.e., casting down every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God) and maturity in order to establish a conscious communication with the DNA. The Russian scientists also found out that our (fallen Adamic) DNA can cause disturbing patterns ....Stress, worries or a hyperactive intellect prevent (or) distort the communication (and) make it useless. (Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.) An ordered group consciousness creates order in its whole surroundings! When a great number of people get together very closely, potentials of violence also dissolve. (Who can be closer than the true church? We are a “chosen generation”) Researchers think that if humans with full individuality would regain group consciousness (We are one in Christ if we abide in Him.), they would have a god-like power to create, alter and shape things on Earth! (That would be when two or more of you agree on the Words of Christ it shall be done by our Father. One will chase a thousand and two ten thousand.) AND humanity is collectively moving toward such a group consciousness of the new kind. (This part is new age nonsense. Little do they know that the beginning of such a movement in our time will be the corporate Man-child Body of believers and then the corporate Bride body who follows them.) They said that when "healers" were photographed during healing sessions, they appeared as fields of light. (The Word said, He was the Light that lighteth every man.) The Neuroscience Behind Our Words OPINION Posted August 8th, 2019 | Category: BRM Capability, Business Relationship Management Research, Professional Development | Contributed by Lindsey Horton     Sticks and Stones “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This phrase is reminiscent of childhood recess when we didn't want others to know how hurtful their words truly were. However, the belief that physical injury is more painful than psychological or emotional injury is not necessarily true. Scientific studies actually show that positive and negative words not only affect us on a deep psychological level, but they have a significant impact on the outcome of our lives.     Words Can Hurt Me In their neuroscience experiment, “Do Words Hurt?”, Maria Richter and collaborating scientists monitored subjects' brain responses to auditory and imagined negative words. During this process, they discovered painful or negative words increase Implicit Processing (IMP) within the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC). Put frankly, their study proved that negative words release stress and anxiety-inducing hormones in subjects. Additionally, a study found increased levels of anxiety in children associated with higher rates of negative self-talk. According to the study's abstract. (Speak the promises to your children to put faith in them.) “These results suggest negative self-talk plays a role in the generation or maintenance of anxiety in normal children.” Ultimately, negative words, whether spoken, heard, or thought, not only cause situational stress, but also contribute to long-term anxiety. (And health problems.) Naturally, the recognition that holding negative thoughts in our mind is enough to induce stress and anxiety hormones begs the question, “What effect do positive thoughts have?” In their jointly written book, Words Can Change Your Brain, Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist at Thomas Jefferson University, and Mark Robert Waldman, a communications expert state, “a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.” Furthermore, according to these two experts in their field, exercising positive thoughts can quite literally change one's reality. “By holding a positive and optimistic [word] in your mind, you stimulate frontal lobe activity. This area includes specific language centers that connect directly to the motor cortex responsible for moving you into action. And as our research has shown, the longer you concentrate on positive words, the more you begin to affect other areas of the brain.”     ~Newburg, Waldman Over time, given sustained positive thought, functions in the parietal lobe start to change. Consequently, this changes our perception of the self and those around us. (For instance Rejection is passed on to spouses and children when one is critical and judgmental of them.) Essentially, holding a positive view of ourselves helps train our brain to see the good in others. Thus, by exercising consistent positive thoughts and speech, we not only change our self-perception, but how we perceive the world around us. Ultimately, this grants us the ability to shape our reality and change the world for the better. Evidently, as humans, our thought patterns directly shape our perception of the world and those around us. Our thoughts become our words, and therefore our language. This holds true for humans individually, as well as organizationally. A strong company culture is one derived from a shared positive language based on organizational core values. As BRMs, we know that relationships lie at the core of our role, and that language shapes our human interactions. So, how can we make a shift in the language we use in our daily work lives to reduce the negative associations with traditional “corporate lingo”? (This is true of a business or Church or individuals.)     David's Teaching When we concentrate on the Good News of the promises our DNA is changed. This happens when we think those words, hear them, or speak them. Rom 1:16-17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  17  For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. Faith has a positive effect in turning our DNA into His. That puts the power of creation in our minds and mouth. Jesus gave us the inheritance of His DNA. He is called the “Father of Eternity”. Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Everlasting Father is also translated “Father of Eternity.”) The seed He sows makes us eternal for we receive His DNA. In the parable of the sower in Mat. 13, Jesus sowed the seed of His Word in the hearts of men. In some places in the larger text the word seed is translated from “sperma”. So, we see that it is His life's blood that He is sowing in us and He is our spiritual Father. Since this is true, we have inherited His DNA. We see in that text how many fall short of this regeneration through distractions and polutions of the seed of the Word, Jesus' DNA. Mat 13:19-25  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side.  20  And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;  21  yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth.  22  And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  23  And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  24  Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed (Greek: Sperma) in his field:  25  but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. What scientists have discovered is being changed by the man-made plague is the DNA by creating an extra helix. This is creating trans-humans. Part beast and part human are like the mixed multitude who came out of Egypt with the Jews. The people who stay this way are definitely lukewarm members of the Beast body to be spewed out of Christ's body. Those who believe the Gospel will be delivered as their beastly flesh is being crucified. Through faith in God's Word we are delivered from this curse and that is what the positive affirmation in Gal. 3:13 tells us. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. So, in effect, He exchanged our cursed life for His blessed life through us affirming His Word / DNA. This exchange is called reconciliation, translated from the Greek word, “Katallasso”. In context, this means the exchange of Christ's life (DNA) for ours. Col. 1:21-23  And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, 22 yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him (with Jesus' DNA): 23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. This reconciliation is made possible when we like Paul believe and confess the promise that we don't live anymore Christ lives in us. Gal. 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me (Jesus' DNA): and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. So, since it is Christ living in us, we have His DNA.  Paul explains how enlightened saints exchange their DNA for the Lord's through thinking, believing and speaking 2Co. 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory (Jesus' DNA), even as from the Lord the Spirit. When we partake of the bread and wine at the Lord's supper, we, by faith, are partaking of His body and blood and we have His life in ourselves, which incorporates His DNA. Since Jesus is the “Word made flesh”, when we spiritually digest His Word, so that it becomes a part of our thinking and speech, we are partaking of His DNA.  Joh. 6:53-57 Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life (Jesus' DNA) in yourselves. 54 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath (His DNA) eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. (Notice, eating His flesh and drinking His blood gives us His life, which incorporates His DNA.) The life of the flesh is in the blood of Jesus and His body.  Lev. 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood (Jesus' DNA); and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life (Jesus' DNA). When we were born of the flesh of our fallen parents, our DNA was corrupt and became more so as we grew in sin. When we partake of Christ's DNA through faith we begin to reverse this process. This begins with a born again spirit and continues to take over the soul through our obedience to the truth. We were told that the Lord would return in these last days as the latter rain on this morning of the third day. Hos. 6:1-3 Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up (Jesus' DNA) and we shall live (Jesus' DNA) before him. 3 And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. (He will on the morning of the third thousand year day from the advent of Jesus. We were promised in these last days, when the former and latter rain of the Spirit of God is poured out, there will be a restoration of all the years of degeneration. Joel 2:23-26 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month.  24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you (Representing the curse which Jesus bore). 26 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame. We had a wonderful dream that Tiannah shared with us about restored DNA. In the dream she visited us (She is coming now) and said that, “David looked so very young. ...His skin was completely clear, no wrinkles or blemishes and everything was physically perfect…I turned and looked to my other side and I saw Vanessa Weeks …she too, looked so young and ageless, with perfect skin. Her skin was more beautiful than any skin I have ever seen…Eve also looked so young and ageless. There were no wrinkles or anything, and her skin was just pure.”  The angels also told us about our DNA restoration when David asked, “What does the coming restoration involve personally? 30 years younger?” The angel Jeruel said, “Restoration on a DNA cellular level. Faith and power will be imputed to receive healing and restoration. It will be complete restoration not partial. The first fruits are first. They will be the trail blazers. There will be a mighty supernatural outpouring of spiritual restoration; of closeness to God through His Holy Spirit.” When we look in the mirror, and by faith see Jesus' reflection, we are expecting His DNA to be manifested in our bodies.  So, it's ours NOW by faith and we know that there is coming a wonderful manifestation of Christ in us. But we need to believe it now and when we realize this, it can go a long way towards overcoming the temptations to act on the symptoms of sickness that we experience. God is preparing us to be immune to the judgments of this world by filling us with His promises and renewing our minds with His Word (Jesus' DNA). (Rom. 12:2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Jesus told us in, (Luk. 21:25) And there shall be signs in the sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows. You can see the “roaring of the sea and the billows” as being the anger of the nations against one another, because the Bible tells us in Revelation 17:15 that the “waters” represent peoples, nations, and tongues.  Obviously, the things that nations are exporting around the world, such as terrorism and anarchy and so on, are making a lot of people fearful. (26) Men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.  What is this “expectation”? Depopulation by war, disease, famine, The approach of Planet X/Nibiru will be seen. It's also in general, believing in the curse. It's believing these things are all a threat to you, and seeing in your imagination all the terrible things that could happen to you because of them. That's why we're told to cast down vain imaginations. The devil prepares us to fail through our fallen imaginations.  Again, people aren't dying because of the curse. The Lord bore the curse. Gal 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:  They're dying because of unbelief in the sacrifice and fear, which looses the curse. Faith in the promises binds the curse. In every instance where you're put into a position of being threatened, remember that the devil and his army, his angels, see in both the spirit realm and in the physical realm. They coordinate their attacks on you to coincide with the things that you see with your eyes or the things you hear with your ears or, especially, the imaginations in your mind about the things that could happen. They will pounce on you so that you are struck, suddenly, with this temptation to fear.  You know, we think in pictures and the devil will take you over with those pictures. He will put fear in you exactly as this verse is talking about here. You need to stop immediately and make war on him when he attacks you with these things or he will just take you away, and then you will be at the mercy of the judgments that are around you. We've seen from the Scriptures, very plainly, that Jesus bore the whole curse upon Himself when He was upon the Cross (Galatians 3:13). We've also seen in, (Rom.10:10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  We need to confess Psalm 91 in the midst of the trouble, when there's an opportunity for us to give the devil authority to take us away, the Gospel is the power of God to save the one who believes it (Romans 1:16). In the midst of the trouble, you make your confession because faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Whenever your actions are totally contrary to faith, the devil takes that as his authority. Jesus told us, (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  So, the devil is going to make war on the saints with the judgments that are coming upon the world. And most people don't know that those judgments are coming upon the world, not to hurt the saints, but to deliver the saints, because these judgments are going to separate the wheat from the tares. They will be a Passover of those with the blood, Jesus' DNA, to destroy the wicked as it was with the Egyptians. I want to share with you a revelation from Dimitru Duduman that fits exactly what we're talking about here. This vision was given to Dimitru in May of 1993 when he was living in Oregon. It describes our rights in Christ and how the Blood of Jesus' DNA is applied through casting down fear and doubt and speaking the promise, which is, of course, our Sword of the Spirit.  He said, “It was getting dark. Then, suddenly, it turned pitch black. It's interesting that we can look around us right now and see that it's starting to get dark. People are mentioning to me that they're seeing many things that they've never seen before. They're seeing Christians, lukewarm Christians, turn toward darkness, and governments that have been taken over by the beast. He said, It was as if the whole world had gone dark at that moment. We are on the verge of that darkness coming. It will be great tribulation and we need to be ready for it. We need to not waste our time and dilute or corrupt the Word as Jesus' DNA. We need to have our armor on.  Dumitru went on to say, All the people were in a frenzy. They became disoriented, and some were even screaming. That sounds exactly like the verse we just read in Luke 21. These are the recorded symptoms of the effects on the minds of those experiencing Planet X. He said, After some time, we heard the sound of an army approaching. This is talking about the devil's army, multitudes of demon spirits that make war on the saints and also inhabit men, who physically make war on the saints. We call that body the “beast.”  He said, Soon, we saw them coming out of the black mist. All were dressed in black, except for one. That one seemed to be their leader. He was dressed in a red robe with a thick, black belt over his waist. On his head, he had a sign. As I looked, I saw that in his hand, he held the same kind of sharp spear as everyone else in his army. He exclaimed, “I am Lucifer, I am the king of this world. I've come to make war against the Christians.” This war is about to start. The darkness is covering the earth.  It looked as though all the Christians were huddled together in one big group. Some began to cry when they heard this. Others began to tremble, while some just stood, without saying anything. What is this that's already happening to God's people in this revelation? It's Satan's warfare against them. They're crying, they're trembling, they're fearful because of the threat they can see. What is the devil's army? It's those spirits that attack your mind, spirits such as fear and doubt and grief and condemnation and lust and hatred and unforgiveness and rejection and addictions of different kinds and occultic things and thefts and lying and on and on… Everybody has trials with these spirits making war against them as the spirits seek to bring them under their control to destroy them.  Praise the Lord that we've been delivered of this by Jesus Christ! All the promises that are given to us in the Word of God are what we can use as our Sword to set each other free. Well, when they saw Satan's army coming in great force, many people trembled and were fearful, but some didn't do anything because they weren't moved by what they saw.  Lucifer continued to speak. “All of those that want to fight against my army, and think they can be victorious, go to the right…” Obviously, that's where Jesus put the sheep; on His right. If you're not convinced that you can be victorious against Satan's army, it's because you don't have enough of the Word of God in your mind to really do warfare with him. We have to have on that “helmet of salvation” which protects our mind in the battle (Ephesians 6:17). We have to have the knowledge of the fact that we are protected, we are delivered, it is finished, Jesus has overcome the world, and the only thing left is for us to enter into those works that were finished from the foundation of the world (Hebrews chapters 3 and 4).  How do we do that? We enter into those works by faith. Everything that Jesus did, the body of Christ is going to do. Joh 14:12-13  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.  13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Jesus had victory, He knew he could conquer Satan. Satan trembled before Him, because Jesus knew Who He was. He was a Son of God. He is the only begotten Son of God, in Whom we, too, are sons through rebirth. Jesus said, (Joh. 20:21) … Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. If you know who you are, and you know what God says about you, the devil trembles before you, but he can convince a lot of people who justify themselves and are not really believers of the Word of God.  So the devil said, “All of those that want to fight against my army, and think they can be victorious, go to the right, and those that fear me, go to the left.” Why does God permit this war? He is permitting this war to separate the sheep from the goats. In these end times, the Lord says that He is going to spew the lukewarm out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16). He's not going to have any fence riders; you're going to be in either one camp or the other. This warfare of the devil against the Church is going to bring the separation, and notice what he says next. Only about a quarter of the group stepped to the right. That means three-quarters of what were called “Christians” in this revelation were no threat to the devil, and he was going to conquer them.  All the others went to the left. That was three-quarters of them went to the left because of fear. Those of them who knew they would be victorious over Satan were only a quarter of the Christians, and I don't think that is really a stretch at all. Even today, there are very few people that are actually chasing Satan, and the rest are all being chased by him, which is exactly what the Bible tells us. (Luk. 11:21) When the strong [man] (Satan) fully armed guardeth his own court, his goods are in peace: (22) but when a stronger than he (Jesus) shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him his whole armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (23) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. So to those who know the truth Satan is a wimp. To those who don't know it he is their lord. Then, Lucifer ordered his army, “Destroy those on the right.” The army began to advance and quickly surround the Christians on the right. (Remember that's the smaller group, the one-quarter who are not afraid.) And as they began to close in on us, a powerful light appeared, and encircled us. Then, the angel of the Lord spoke, “Take out your Swords and fight! Defend yourselves! Be victorious over the enemy.” “What swords?” a man in the group asked. “The Word of the Lord is your Sword,” the angel answered. Yes, take out your Sword and fight and be victorious over the enemy. The devil can do nothing against it; there is no weapon that he can use to defend against your Sword, which is the Word of God in your heart, the DNA of Jesus. It is the true Word of God. It cannot be denied. It will fulfill the purpose that God sent it for, but we have to use our sword. Luk 1:37  For no word from God shall be void of power. Here is a word just below this one that gives power over the enemy. Luk 1:67-75 ASV  And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,  68  Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,  69  And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David  70  (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),  71  Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;  72  To show mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant;  73  The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,  74  To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear,  75  In holiness and righteousness before him all our days. You may have all the knowledge that you need but you won't be able to even hear it in the midst of this emotion of fear that has come upon you. So stop and make war. The devil can't stand before you if you use your Sword. You don't necessarily have to quote the Word of God to conquer the devil, but you do have to agree with the Word of God to conquer the devil. You have to know what the Word of God says in order to speak in agreement with the Word of God, so if you're not sure about what the Scriptures say, you need to spend more time in the Word.)  Let's continue with Dumitru's revelation. When we understood what the angel meant, we began to quote verses from the Bible. Then, suddenly, as if we were one voice, we began to sing a song. (That's the thing about songs; they bring people into one accord, and there's power in agreement. Jesus promised us, (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. (20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.  What happens when there are more than two or three of you in agreement? (Deu. 32:30) How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had delivered them up? One will chase a thousand and two will chase ten thousand; that's multiplied power, so it's a blessing for us to be in agreement with each other and with the Word of God. That's why God has given us His Word. Of course, it does no good if you're in agreement with a lot of apostates because no matter how large a group they might be, you still will have no power.  The devil is going to show us this in Dumitru's revelation. He's going to conquer these people. The devil wants to make war, and he wants to take out the people who are a threat to him. He'd like to take out their physical life and he'd like to take out their spiritual life, because they're doing him damage. He will make war on you but he's not able to do anything that God doesn't permit him to do. You see, God permits the devil to come try us in order to build our faith. Faith is like a muscle. If your faith isn't tried, it's not going to get stronger. We go through things to try our faith, and in the process, we also learn how to quickly pull out our Sword and use it to conquer the enemy.)  Back to Dimitru: So the smaller group began to quote verses from the Bible and they began to sing a song. Our voices thundered so loudly that the dark army began to retreat. (These are the people on the right. These are the sheep with Jesus' DNA.) The enemy did not have the courage to come against us anymore. Lucifer, filled with rage, turned to those on the left. (Those on the left are the three-quarters majority of the Christians.) “You, who all of your life have been trying to please two masters, because you could not stand against me, I have the power to destroy you.” That is true. He's been given that power to destroy people who are in unbelief and, in these end times, we have very little time left to learn to walk in the Kingdom of God.  Satan's going to be cast down. He knows he has a short time left (Revelation 12:9,12). He's going to fight furiously. He and his army and the people whom they inhabit are going to come against us with great fury, but we have a weapon that they can't resist. The problem is that far too many of God's people don't use that weapon; they don't use the promises of the Word of God. The Word is our Sword and the demons cannot stand up to that. We see here that those people who, all their life, tried to serve two masters, had no protection. They tried to serve both self and the Lord; they were double-minded (James 1:7-8). They were found to be lukewarm and there was no protection for these people (Revelation 3:16).  We need to get our armor on, we need to be on fire for God, and we need to learn to fight. (Eph. 6:10) Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].  (13) Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (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, Jesus' DNA. In this revelation, when Lucifer said, “I have the power to destroy you,” who gave him that power? The back slidden Church did. They are the ones who have been given authority on earth to bind or to loose, and here they have loosed Satan because of their unbelief, their double-mindedness, and their lukewarmness.) He then ordered his army to attack. It was a total massacre. The ones on the left could not defend themselves. (Could you imagine that three-quarters of Christianity could not defend themselves right now? It seems fairly obvious. “Many are called but few are chosen.”  One by one, they all fell. This killing seemed to go on for a long time (I believe that this killing is not just physical, but spiritual, because many of these people are going to lose their eternal life like the faction who lost both.), and after a while, we could actually smell the stench of the dead. “Why could they not be protected also?” someone asked. The angel answered, “Because all their lives, they have been lukewarm. Because of their hypocrisy, the true church has been blasphemed.” (Speaking, of course, of the quarter who went to the right, the sheep. They have been blasphemed. They have been accused by the world because of the hypocrisy of the false church, the three-quarters of the people who went to the left.) “They have brought disrespect to the Word of God.” (It's true; today we see people just scoff at the Word of God. Even “Christians” scoff at the Word of God.  In the midst of a trial, you may share the Word of God with them but they'll choose to cling to the idol, the stronghold in their mind. They'll choose their idol instead of (2Co. 10:5) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Satan has been able to set-up a stronghold in their mind because they're worshiping false gods. They have a false Jesus, as Paul said. (2Co. 11:4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with [him]. That false Jesus can't save you because he's not the Word of God.  The true Jesus is the Word of God; the true Jesus is our Sword. He can save. He will save all those who respect Him. All through the Old Testament, God warns us about the danger of worshiping idols, like religions and their preachers. It's sad that so many Christians today worship a Jesus that does not exist. Their “Jesus” is nothing more than demons (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20) that they have set up as their idols and they will not save. Satan does not cast out Satan, as Jesus told the Pharisees. (Mat. 12:26) … Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: (26) and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?  If you are following, worshiping, and putting your faith in a false Jesus, he will not save you. “Anti-Christ” means not only “against Christ,” but also “in the place of Christ.” The devil likes to replace the real Jesus with a false Jesus because that way, when you put your trust in him, he will fail you. And this is what's going to happen in the days to come, according to Dimitru's dream. Three-quarters of the church is going to have their false “Jesus” fail them.  God explained to me that He does not answer when you trust in a false Jesus because then you would be giving credit to your false Jesus, and other people would trust in him too. When that happens, and when their false Jesus fails to save them, people blame God. They complain, “But I believed!” No, they didn't believe because their faith was in a false Jesus who couldn't save. Satan will never cast out Satan.  The angel went on to say of those who were killed by Lucifer's army, “They were not clean.” You have no authority to swing the Sword unless you're “clean,” unless your conscience is not condemning you. (1Jn. 3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; (22) and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.  The devil conquers those people who are walking in sin and rebellion and defilement. Even though they intellectually know all about faith and how it works, they're not able to use faith. It takes faith to swing the Sword. If you are unholy, the devil will pick that point of uncleanness to jump on you and condemn you so that you can't have faith. You will have fear instead. This is faith in reverse and an invitation to Satan to take you down. You can give-in to the temptations of fear and doubt that the devil fires at you in the midst of the fiery trial, or you can fight. Be sure to confess your sins so that the devil can't use condemnation against you. 1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Then you can swing your Sword with bold faith and you will win. 1Jn 3:21-22  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God;  22  and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. 2Ti. 1:7 For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.  The word translated as “discipline” comes from the Greek sóphrón meaning “of sound mind; self-controlled; balanced.” Any fear that comes against you is from the devil; it's not from God. Jesus told us that we should fear only God (Matthew 10:28). The fear of the Lord is good, because every child should fear that their father will spank them if they're going in the wrong direction. In that way, we should always fear God, but the Lord isn't going to lead you by fear all the time, and if you feel that way, you're probably being moved by the devil.  Scripture tells us, (Rom.8:15) For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Since God's method of leading His children is not fear, whenever fear comes upon you, you need to make war against it immediately. You need to stop whatever you're doing and cast down the thoughts that the devil is putting in your mind. Cast down those pictures that the devil is putting in your mind, and make war against that spirit, because otherwise he will conquer you.  Back to Dimitru: As we continued to look, we saw the sun coming over the horizon. I think that represents the coming of the Lord. The black clouds began to break up, then they disappeared. Only one was left, the one on which Lucifer and his army stood. Lucifer looked at me, shaking his fist, and said, “I will destroy you, even if I have to throw my spear at you from here.” Then that cloud disappeared. …The first thought that came to my mind as I awoke was that this had been the last fight of the devil against the church. If we remain faithful, we will be victorious. Yes! Amen.  So get ready, saints! Put on your armor, because this battle, the last war against the Church, is coming at us right now. (Rev. 13:1) … And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns, and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. (7) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. The “beast” that's warring with the saints here is made up of all the fleshly vessels whom this army from the pit is going to inhabit.  This awesome revelation from Dimitru shows us very clearly that if you don't walk holy before God, your faith is going to fail you. (1Jn. 3:19) Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him (You have to have this assurance in your heart if you're going to do battle with the devil. He knows everything about you.): (20) because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. If you're condemned by what you know about yourself, just think what God knows about you (Psalm 139:1-24). However, if you're walking with the Lord by faith, it's only the things that you know about, but don't do, that He holds against you. It's not the things that you don't know. (Jas. 4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  Of course, if you're walking in rebellion against the Lord then your sins are not covered. (Heb. 10:26) For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. In that case, you have no assurance in your heart, so the first time you get into trouble and you try to swing your Sword, the devil's going to jump on you like a mad dog. He's going to remind you of all of your sins and then you're not going to have any faith. (1Jn. 3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; (22) and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.  You know, we all have people who depend upon us: friends, relatives, people for whom we've prayed, children who are our responsibility. Scripture says, (Rom. 14:7) For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. The Lord wants to use us to save others and the day is coming when God is going to need you as a vessel of honor in the midst of many people. He is going to need you to save, to deliver, to bring the Gospel, and so on.  Now, more than ever before in history, we need to repent and be sanctified. We need to walk holy before the Lord. The Bible says, (Rom. 6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. You see, the Lord has already delivered us by faith, and He uses our faith to manifestly deliver us. He uses the Word of God in our mouth (Jesus' DNA), which is our confession, to manifestly deliver us and others from the power of sin.  God is the One (Col. 1:13) who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. It happened at the Cross, and we need to confess it, but we won't be able to confess it in the midst of the fiery trial if we're walking in willful disobedience. We won't have any faith to swing our Swords. (Psa. 91:7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; [But] it shall not come nigh thee.  He's talking about the person who is not afraid, the person who is in the secret place of the Most High because of their faith. He's talking about the person who is confessing that faith, the faith of Psalm 91. When He says, “A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand,” do you suppose that some of those are Christians? Yes, I guarantee at least some of these people are what we call “Christians,” and it's sad. The Lord cries when this happens, and we do, too. A multitude of people, obviously, are not prepared for what's about to come, but God can use your witness to them. You can share the true Gospel with many people who don't know the true, full Gospel. Other people have rejected the full Gospel and they are not prepared to swing their Sword at all. Pray for them. Remember that someone in the revelation had to ask, “What swords?” Before you go to battle, you ought to know what your Sword is, you ought to know how to swing it, and you ought to be experienced in using it, because (Rom. 1:17) … the righteous shall live by faith. We don't have any choice. The devil's not going to ask us if we want to make war with him; he's already making war with us. The people who are abiding in the secret place of the Most High, which is Jesus Christ, are full of Jesus' DNA and are ready to swing the Sword. They have repented of and confessed their sins, therefore they can be bold in their faith.  I've heard people say, usually from among the non-Spirit-filled groups, that Psalm 91 is for the Millennium or something silly like that, as if it's not true for us right now. Well, if you believe that, you have no Sword. You're going to be in the three-quarters group that goes to the left and is whipped by Satan in the end times. If you don't believe in the full Gospel and the power of the Spirit of God, how can you escape?  If you don't believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the promises of the Word of God, how can you escape? How can you escape “the pestilence that walketh in darkness” or “the destruction that wasteth at noonday”? Do you know enough of the Word of God, having Jesus' DNA, to know that it's your right to escape these things? If you don't, you're not going to escape.  Jesus said, (Mat.9:29) … According to your faith be it done unto you, and (Mat.8:13) … As thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee. Jesus saw the faith. (Mat.9:2) And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. (3) And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. (4) And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? (5) For which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk? (6) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, and go up unto thy house. (7) And he arose, and departed to his house. (8) But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority unto men.  He had the authority to administer the blessing when He saw the faith. The faith He saw was in actions, it wasn't just words, it wasn't just theology in somebody's head. He saw the actions, (Rom. 10:10) for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Get prepared, saints. The war is coming. It's not going to wait on you. It's not going to wait on me. It's coming. It will be on time.  If, as Joshua and Caleb, you don't believe the bad report but speak in agreement with the Word of God (Numbers 14:6-8), you will be like those people who did not worry about the giants. (Num. 14:9) Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land (This is speaking of the giants in the Promised Land.); for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. You'll be among those people who make it through the wilderness. You'll be among those people who enter into the Promised Land in your body. That's what they did.  (Num.14:30) Surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. The rest did not; they died out there in that wilderness because of their murmuring, their complaining, and their unbelief (Numbers 14:28-32).  They were constantly being tried by the devil. They constantly heard his horror stories in their head about what would happen to them because they couldn't see any water or other supply around them. The devil was constantly making war in their minds and he was beating them up badly. We're going to the same place. The Lord calls it the “wilderness” but it's also called the “Tribulation.” That's where war is going to be made on the saints, and that's where a separation is going to be made.  That's where a separation of the hot from the lukewarm and the cold, the sheep from the goats, and the wheat from the tares, is going to be made. (Psa.91:7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; [But] it shall not (Let me repeat that in case you missed what it says, it shall not. And here it is again, just to be sure you read it correctly, it shall not come nigh thee.)  What makes the difference between those who are taken out and those who remain? Well, it's something that we shouldn't leave out. (Heb. 4:1) Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. The Lord is telling us to fear that we're not appropriating all the promises of God, all of the Word of God, because God created this DNA to be our defense. (2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us… Not just “good tidings” but awesome tidings! There are promises for any problem, and there are even promises that cover everything, such as (Mar. 11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them.  So, if you can't remember one that fits your particular problem, Jesus gave us those “catch-all” promises you can use. (Heb. 4:2) For indeed we have had good tidings (That's the Gospel, the Good News.) 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.  It does you no good to go to Sunday school; it does you no good to read your Bible unless you're going to exercise faith in what you're reading, and it doesn't matter if your church is in agreement or not. Don't leave out one promise as your promise; take each promise as if it's been made personally to you because any promise you leave out is a Sword you're not using and its part of the DNA. That's “sitting” on your Sword. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  The works of God have already been finished. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). As soon as God spoke it, it was so. He spoke the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). He ordained a Savior before Adam ever fell. The whole plan was spoken into existence and nothing could stop it. It was so, just because God said it, and everything that we see now that's coming to pass, is coming to pass because God said it. “The works were finished from the foundation of the world.”  Whose works do you want to enter into? You can enter into God's works through faith in His promises. You can be a vessel of honor. You can be a vessel who is in that one-quarter of Christians that knows they can conquer Satan. Or, you can be in the three-quarters of Christians that are lukewarm, that have their idolatrous religion but no Sword. They don't believe in the full Gospel, which you're going to need to make it through what's coming upon the earth. They don't believe in the in-filling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of the gifts (Romans 11:29,12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11,27-29; 1 Corinthians 14:1) so they're not empowered to walk as He walked with His DNA where they need to go.  You know, when we enter into His rest, we enter into a rest from our enemies because they're dead; Jesus gave us total victory over them. Jesus said, (Mat.28:18) … All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. That doesn't leave any authority for the devil. Then He turned to His disciples and He delegated that authority to them. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (19) Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. (Joh.20:21) Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.  Jesus had authority, and He spoke it, and the devils trembled. That same Jesus lives in you. To the extent that you humble yourself to the Word of God, and you believe the Word, and you're becoming the Word made flesh, to that extent Jesus' DNA lives in you. All you have to do is cooperate with Him. (Amo.3:3) Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? If you want that same Jesus to live in you, to conquer your enemies, to speak out of you, to swing the Sword and to do the works, then you have to come into agreement with Him. When you read the Word of God, repent, change your mind and believe what it says. We have to agree with it so that we don't restrain it from coming out of us.  If you're uncomfortable confessing anything that's in the Word of God, if you're uncomfortable repeating it, this is how you know you've been taken captive by false religion and false doctrine. If some of the Word of God is not comfortable in your mouth, then naturally you're not going to let it flow out of you, for how “shall two walk together, except they have agreed?” God warned His people about bringing forth “strange children” that don't look like their Father (Hosea 5:7).  The problem is with us, it's not with God. Being a Christian is being very peculiar, very contrary, to the world. They're total opposites. If you want to please the world, you can't be a Christian. If you don't want to be sanctified from the ways of the world, you can't be a Christian. You can call yourself a “Christian,” but you can't be one, because “Christian” means “Christ-like” and they crucified Him. We have to be willing to lose our life in order to gain our life (Luke 17:33). We have to be willing to be seen as different, even “peculiar.” (1Pe. 2:9 KJV) But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Jesus said there are just two men in the earth: Christ and anti-Christ (Matthew 24:40-41). There are only two corporate bodies in this earth. There's not going to be anyone left in the middle because God calls that being “lukewarm.” (Rev. 3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. You have to make up your mind. Are you going to lose your life in order to gain your life? (2Co. 4:16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. As you lose ground to the old man of self, you give ground to the spiritual man, (Col. 1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Jesus is not going to have any trouble with this warfare that's coming, and Jesus in you by His DNA is not going to have any trouble, either, but how “Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?” We have to come into agreement with Him. We have to read the Word, and when we read the Word, we have to decide, “I don't care what some man says; I agree with what this says.” Then it becomes comfortable for you to speak all of the Word of God, but there are so many people, so many who can't do that. They may read the Word of God, but instead of coming into agreement, they deliberately jump over anything that makes them uncomfortable. They've been taken captive and they need to repent.  When you read the Word of God, as the Lord told me many years ago, “Don't eat like a hog; eat like a cow.” Cows are ruminants. That means a cow chews its food, then brings it back up and chews it again, brings it back up and chews it again. With a hog, it just goes right in one end and right out the other end. It doesn't even get digested. This Word has to be a part of us. We must meditate on it. (Psa.1:2) But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And on his law doth he meditate day and night. We want to be disciples of Jesus. We want to learn to walk in His steps. When that Word just comes flowing out of you like a river of living water, look out devil! There isn't anything he can do against that.  Jesus told His disciples, (Joh. 14:12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. And, (Joh. 7:38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. (39) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet [given]; because Jesus was not yet glorified. He also said in (Joh. 6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.  When your words agree with His words, your words are His Spirit. The Lord recreates in us His Spirit by His Words, and we're able to recreate Jesus by speaking His words. We're supposed to sow the same seed that He sowed, that His disciples sowed, that His apostles sowed because He is the Father of eternity. We're supposed to sow the Word of God. Never depart from the Word of God. God's people must learn that religion crumbles in the face of adversity. Religion is no defense against what's coming. Satan laughs at it. The leaders of it in Jesus day were from beneath and of their father the devil. Throughout history, the merely religious have crumbled before the advances of the devil. There is no defense but the Word of God. No helmet, no sword, no shield, but the Word of God. Use Psalm 91 like a Helmet, Sword, and Shield because it's a defense. It's called “The Soldier's Psalm” because so many soldiers have been saved by claiming it. You are a soldier for the Lord, so don't let anybody talk you out of Psalm 91. It's saved many lives and it's for today. It's a part of the blessings of God for the faithful.  The demons administer the curse of sin and death. (Luk. 10:17) And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. (Wouldn't it be great if all Christians learned that lesson?) (18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from the heaven. He was talking about exactly what they were doing. He and His disciples were casting Satan down. (19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. (20) Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.  Some people think Jesus used “over all the power of the enemy” a little too loosely but no, He means exactly what He says, and we have to learn to exercise this authority. “Authority” is “the right to use God's power or restrain the devil's power.” I'd rather have that kind of authority than personal fleshly power. In fact, you can even have authority to use the devil's power.  The apostle Paul did that several times (1 Corinthians 5:3-5; 1 Timothy 1:18-20). He turned people over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh so that the spirit would be saved in the day of the Lord. He used the devil's power, and the devil couldn't resist him. The devil had to do what Paul told him to do. It's the same today. Jesus said, “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth … Go ye, therefore…” He delegated that authority to His disciples to go and to use His power. You have the authority to use God's power. That's what the Word is all about.  You can be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2), but someone whose mind is not renewed is not trustworthy. If they had power, they would do foolish things. However, when we repent and we accept the Word of God as our Word, our thought, our belief, that puts us in agreement with Jesus. When we're in agreement with Jesus, then we can walk together and Jesus can do works through us. (Mat. 11:29) Take my yoke (That's the Greek word zugos derived from zygós and it's “something that unites or joins two elements to work together as one unit.”) upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. “Take my yoke,”  Jesus said to yoke yourself to Him. And so He says in, (Luk. 10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. Nothing shall hurt you. Oh, praise God! Believe that! Meditate on that! Rejoice in that!

Your words have tremendous power to influence the course of your life.    Jesus teaches it this way. In Matthew 15, the Pharisees are arguing with Jesus because he and his disciples eat food that is considered “unclean” by Jewish law.  Jesus explains to them, “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him ‘unclean'... But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.'  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.  These are what make a man ‘unclean'” (Matt 15:11-19).   Jesus has connected three things here: thoughts, words, and actions.  They go in that order: your thoughts are seeds, and they get planted in the “soil” of your heart.  They don't necessarily change the environment right away, but when that seed has been planted, it will germinate, and will spring up and become a tree, which will eventually bear fruit.  So you'd better be careful what you're planting.   Round and Round We Go   When I was in my early 20s, I realized my life was on a merry-go-round.  I was living essentially the same story over and over again.  The names and details might change, but the characters and circumstances were basically consistent.  I wrestled with this for years; I had an intuitive sense that it was a spiritual principle somehow (because everyone's story seemed to repeat itself, not just mine!), but I could not for the life of me figure out why.    I was 25 when I finally understood (and wondered why it had taken me so long, because it seemed so blatantly obvious in retrospect).  In all of those iterations of the same story, there was only one common denominator: me.  I realized that my beliefs were essentially, “My life will always be this way.  I will never get out of this cycle.  I will always repeat this pattern.”  I bitterly said something to this effect every time I told my tale of woe to a sympathetic friend.  I wrote about it every day in my journal.  I prayed about it every day to God - but despite the biblical promises that God had something better for me, I never actually believed what God said my future held.  Instead, I told Him that my future would be exactly the same as my past.  I gained a twisted sense of satisfaction by complaining, little knowing that my words were actually prophetic. I was planting seeds, and those seeds were bearing fruit - unfortunately, the fruit they bore was exactly the same fruit I was already harvesting in my life.  Instead of recognizing this and changing what I planted, I'd cut open that fruit, pull out the seeds, and plant them right back in the soil of my heart.  For years.   Jesus compares the Word of God to a seed in the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-23).  When it falls on good soil and isn't choked out by the cares of this life and deceitfulness of wealth, Jesus said that seed will germinate, sprout and bear fruit - thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold.  But this process is indifferent: your heart will grow whatever you plant in it, whether the seed is good or bad. “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit... For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:33-34; Luke 6:43-45).   Guard Your Heart   The first five books of the Bible contain extremely detailed laws that the Jews had to abide by in order to be “right” with God.  The Pharisees had even added hundreds of additional laws of their own by the time Jesus showed up.  But their laws were all about external actions.  Jesus' laws went much deeper - his dealt not just with wrong actions, but with the wrong thinking that eventually produced wrong actions (Matt 5).  Jesus said it's not enough to not commit murder - don't even think about murder.  It's not enough not to commit adultery - don't even look at a woman lustfully.  What's he saying?  Guard your heart.  He knows that the heart will grow whatever you plant in it.  The thought will eventually produce the words, and the words will eventually produce the actions.   Because the heart grows whatever you plant in it, before anything else you have to start with Solomon's famous advice: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov 4:23).    So be vigilant about what you plant in your heart.  Solomon talks about this a lot:   “Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.  Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart” (Prov 7:1-3). “A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction” (Prov 16:23). “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out” (Prov 18:15). “Apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips” (Prov 22:17-18). “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov 23:7).   Guard Your Mouth   If your thinking is right, then your speaking will be right automatically. But what if both your thinking and your speaking are already wrong?   In the midst of my “merry-go-round,” I don't know if I could have changed what I said about my future.  The habit was too entrenched by then... but at least I could have kept my mouth shut!   In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel visits Zechariah and tells him that his elderly and barren wife Elizabeth would bear him a son (who would become John the Baptist).  But Zechariah did not respond to this statement in faith (as Mary did when she received a similar prophecy that she would become pregnant with Jesus, even though she was a virgin). Instead, Zechariah said, “How can I be sure of this?  I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1:18).  The angel's reply is disapproving: “I am Gabriel.  I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”  But then he adds something interesting: “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time” (Luke 1:20).    This wasn't just a punishment; the angel said this for a very good reason.  Zechariah didn't believe God's word, and the angel knew that he would continue to speak his doubts, for nine months.  Could that have stopped John's birth, had Zechariah's mouth gone unchecked?  Another story from the Old Testament suggests that it might have.   An Evil Report    The Israelite spies told the rest of the Israelites after exploring Canaan, “We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are... We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:31-33).  Objectively, this report was true: the spies reported what they saw.  There were giants in the land, and their cities were fortified and very powerful.  The Israelites, on the other hand, were a nomadic band of former slaves who had never fought a battle in their lives, and apparently they were a lot smaller than the Canaanites.  But God called this an “evil report” (13:32), because it disagreed with what He said.  He told the Israelites that He was giving them the land (Deuteronomy 1:29-31), so the size and might of the inhabitants was irrelevant.    What happened?  The Israelites had been complaining ever since Moses had led them out of Egypt and out of slavery that they would die in the wilderness.  After their disobedience and unbelief, God says, “I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall” (Numbers 14:28-29).  Not one of those Israelites who spread that evil report got to experience God's Promised Land.   So an evil report is anything that disagrees with what God says, even when it accurately describes the current situation.  When you're tempted to say what you see instead of what God says, Solomon advises you to hold your tongue. Speak only what agrees with God's word, and if you can't do that, then at least keep your mouth shut!   “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint” (Prov 17:27). “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue” (Prov 17:28). “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (Prov 13:3). “Do you see a man who speaks in haste?  There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov 29:20). “A chattering fool comes to ruin” (Prov 10:10). “A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul” (Prov 18:7). “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity” (Prov 21:23).   Speak Life, Not Death   If the best you can do is hold your tongue, you do well.  But if instead you use your tongue to say what God says about the situation, you do much better!  We can plant the Word of God in our hearts as a seed, instead of a faithless, evil report.  It won't change the way we think overnight, but eventually that seed will become a tree, and the tree will bear fruit, and the fruit will influence the direction of our lives.  We can “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s]” (Romans 12:2).   “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them” (Prov 12:6). “From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him” (Prov 12:14). “From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things” (Prov 13:2). “From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied” (Prov 18:20). “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:37). “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov 18:21).   Back to the story of the Israelite spies: all of the Israelites spread an evil report except two, Joshua and Caleb.  After the rest of the spies' resoundingly negative report, Caleb countered them and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30).  In response, God said, “Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun” (Numbers 14:30).  Joshua went on to become Moses' successor, and Caleb was the only other member of the Israelite community over the age of 20 at the time of the exploration who got to go in to the Promised Land.  They got what they said.   Solomon said the tongue has the power of life and death.  Another famous place in the Bible that uses this same phrase is Deuteronomy 30.  Here, God says, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him” (Deut 30:19-20).    Our tongues have the power of blessing us by speaking God's word (leading to life), or of cursing us by speaking what is contrary to God's word (leading to death).  God says the choice is up to us - but He recommends that we choose life. 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"Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the LORD, the God of Israel." Joshua 14:14 Listen on harvest.org --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org . A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With family: 1 Chronicles 5–6; Hebrews 10 1 Chronicles 5–6 (Listen) Descendants of Reuben 5 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; 2 though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), 3 the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser1 king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. 7 And his kinsmen by their clans, when the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 and Bela the son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. 9 He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied in the land of Gilead. 10 And in the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead. Descendants of Gad 11 The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah: 12 Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 13 And their kinsmen according to their fathers' houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. 14 These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers' houses, 16 and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon to their limits. 17 All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. 18 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 And when they prevailed2 over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him. 21 They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. 22 For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived in their place until the exile. The Half-Tribe of Manasseh 23 The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. 24 These were the heads of their fathers' houses: Epher,3 Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses. 25 But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day. 4 Descendants of Levi 6 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3 The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4 Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, 5 Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, 6 Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, 7 Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 8 Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, 9 Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, 10 and Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). 11 Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 12 Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum, 13 Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, 14 Azariah fathered Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; 15 and Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. 16 5 The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17 And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. 20 Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. 22 The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25 The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, 26 Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28 The sons of Samuel: Joel6 his firstborn, the second Abijah.7 29 The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son. 31 These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. 32 They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. 33 These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of Samuel, 34 son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, 35 son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, 36 son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, 37 son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, 38 son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; 39 and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, 40 son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, 41 son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, 42 son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, 43 son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. 44 On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, 45 son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, 46 son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, 47 son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. 48 And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God. 49 But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50 These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. 54 These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, 55 to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, 56 but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57 To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 58 Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 59 Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands; 60 and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon,8 Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen. 61 To the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. 62 To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan. 63 To the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 64 So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands. 65 They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities that are mentioned by name. 66 And some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim. 67 They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 68 Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, 69 Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, 70 and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites. 71 To the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands; 72 and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 73 Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands; 74 out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 75 Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands; 76 and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. 77 To the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands, 78 and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, 79 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; 80 and out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 81 Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands. Footnotes [1] 5:6 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser; also verse 26 [2] 5:20 Or they were helped to prevail [3] 5:24 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew and Epher [4] 5:26 Ch 5:27 in Hebrew [5] 6:16 Ch 6:1 in Hebrew [6] 6:28 Septuagint, Syriac (compare verse 33 and 1 Samuel 8:2); Hebrew lacks Joel [7] 6:28 Hebrew and Abijah [8] 6:60 Septuagint, Syriac (compare Joshua 21:17); Hebrew lacks Gibeon (ESV) Hebrews 10 (Listen) Christ's Sacrifice Once for All 10 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ1 came into the world, he said,   “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,    but a body have you prepared for me;6   in burnt offerings and sin offerings    you have taken no pleasure.7   Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,    as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'” 8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ2 had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16   “This is the covenant that I will make with them    after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws on their hearts,    and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds,   “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. The Full Assurance of Faith 19 Therefore, brothers,3 since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,   “Yet a little while,    and the coming one will come and will not delay;38   but my righteous one shall live by faith,    and if he shrinks back,  my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Footnotes [1] 10:5 Greek he [2] 10:12 Greek this one [3] 10:19 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Psalms 148–150; Amos 4 Psalms 148–150 (Listen) Praise the Name of the Lord 148   Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD from the heavens;    praise him in the heights!2   Praise him, all his angels;    praise him, all his hosts! 3   Praise him, sun and moon,    praise him, all you shining stars!4   Praise him, you highest heavens,    and you waters above the heavens! 5   Let them praise the name of the LORD!    For he commanded and they were created.6   And he established them forever and ever;    he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.1 7   Praise the LORD from the earth,    you great sea creatures and all deeps,8   fire and hail, snow and mist,    stormy wind fulfilling his word! 9   Mountains and all hills,    fruit trees and all cedars!10   Beasts and all livestock,    creeping things and flying birds! 11   Kings of the earth and all peoples,    princes and all rulers of the earth!12   Young men and maidens together,    old men and children! 13   Let them praise the name of the LORD,    for his name alone is exalted;    his majesty is above earth and heaven.14   He has raised up a horn for his people,    praise for all his saints,    for the people of Israel who are near to him.  Praise the LORD! Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! Let Everything Praise the Lord 150   Praise the LORD!  Praise God in his sanctuary;    praise him in his mighty heavens!22   Praise him for his mighty deeds;    praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3   Praise him with trumpet sound;    praise him with lute and harp!4   Praise him with tambourine and dance;    praise him with strings and pipe!5   Praise him with sounding cymbals;    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!6   Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 148:6 Or it shall not be transgressed [2] 150:1 Hebrew expanse (compare Genesis 1:6–8) (ESV) Amos 4 (Listen) 4   “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,    who are on the mountain of Samaria,  who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,    who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!'

Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 6 1 Chronicles 6 (Listen) Descendants of Levi 6 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3 The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4 Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, 5 Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, 6 Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, 7 Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 8 Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, 9 Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, 10 and Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). 11 Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 12 Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum, 13 Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, 14 Azariah fathered Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; 15 and Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. 16 1 The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17 And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. 20 Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. 22 The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25 The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, 26 Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28 The sons of Samuel: Joel2 his firstborn, the second Abijah.3 29 The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son. 31 These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. 32 They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. 33 These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of Samuel, 34 son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, 35 son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, 36 son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, 37 son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, 38 son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; 39 and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, 40 son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, 41 son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, 42 son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, 43 son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. 44 On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, 45 son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, 46 son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, 47 son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. 48 And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God. 49 But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50 These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. 54 These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, 55 to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, 56 but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57 To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 58 Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 59 Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands; 60 and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon,4 Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen. 61 To the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. 62 To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan. 63 To the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 64 So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands. 65 They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities that are mentioned by name. 66 And some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim. 67 They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 68 Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, 69 Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, 70 and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites. 71 To the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands; 72 and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 73 Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands; 74 out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 75 Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands; 76 and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. 77 To the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands, 78 and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, 79 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; 80 and out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 81 Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands. Footnotes [1] 6:16 Ch 6:1 in Hebrew [2] 6:28 Septuagint, Syriac (compare verse 33 and 1 Samuel 8:2); Hebrew lacks Joel [3] 6:28 Hebrew and Abijah [4] 6:60 Septuagint, Syriac (compare Joshua 21:17); Hebrew lacks Gibeon (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 4 Psalm 4 (Listen) Answer Me When I Call To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. 4   Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!    You have given me relief when I was in distress.    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 2   O men,1 how long shall my honor be turned into shame?    How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah3   But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;    the LORD hears when I call to him. 4   Be angry,2 and do not sin;    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah5   Offer right sacrifices,    and put your trust in the LORD. 6   There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?    Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”7   You have put more joy in my heart    than they have when their grain and wine abound. 8   In peace I will both lie down and sleep;    for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Footnotes [1] 4:2 Or O men of rank [2] 4:4 Or Be agitated (ESV) New Testament: Matthew 6 Matthew 6 (Listen) Giving to the Needy 6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The Lord's Prayer 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:   “Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name.110   Your kingdom come,  your will be done,2    on earth as it is in heaven.11   Give us this day our daily bread,312   and forgive us our debts,    as we also have forgiven our debtors.13   And lead us not into temptation,    but deliver us from evil.4 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Fasting 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Lay Up Treasures in Heaven 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust5 destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.6 Do Not Be Anxious 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Footnotes [1] 6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence [2] 6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done [3] 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow [4] 6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen [5] 6:19 Or worm; also verse 20 [6] 6:24 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions [7] 6:27 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters (ESV)