Podcasts about lord god

Sunday, 14 September 2025   But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13:8   “And others, it fell upon the good earth, and it gave fruit. Some, indeed, hundred, and some sixty, and some thirty” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus explained that when seed fell among the thorns, the thorns sprang up and choked them. He next says, “And others, it fell upon the good earth, and it gave fruit.”   The Greek includes the definite article, “the good earth.” The implication is that there is, in fact, good earth. When the seed is scattered, some of it is lost to the various places previously identified, but some of it will land in earth that is properly suited for the intended purpose of the sower, which is to produce a harvest.   The words assure Jesus' hearers that God has provided good earth for this to come about. It is up to the one looking to obtain a harvest to select the right field, prepare it accordingly, and then begin sowing.   Though there is good soil, effort is required to obtain the harvest. Thus, there is the provision of God and the labor of the sower uniting to gain the benefit of the soil. When these are harmoniously combined, the result is “Some, indeed, hundred, and some sixty, and some thirty.”   Each of these numbers is used for the first time: hekaton (100), hexékonta (sixty), and triakonta (thirty). The latter two are formed as decades of the words hex (six) and treis (three).   Jesus' words are a general statement about the various grains that are sown and the quality of the good earth into which it is sown. As such, the numbers should not be pressed when Jesus explains the parable. He is simply providing an example of how things will work when the seed is sown into good soil.   To obtain a hundredfold is not something that was considered impossible. Centuries earlier, the record of Isaac's life says –   “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.” Genesis 26:12-14   Life application: Normally, one will get out of his efforts what he puts into them. This isn't always true because there can be catastrophes that sweep away one's efforts. For example, someone may plant papayas around his property. Those plants that are in good soil, have proper sunlight, and have abundant water will produce fruit.   Others that are out of the sun may not be productive. And because papayas need sufficient water, others may have the buds fall off or produce really deficient fruit if not kept properly watered. This is to be expected when someone tries various spots on his property for planting them.   The ones that meet all the right conditions may produce a large harvest. However, just as the harvest is almost ready (I mean, within days), a hurricane (we'll call it Hurricane Helene) comes through the area and floods the property with saltwater from the nearby gulf. That fruit will be ruined because of the saltwater. The plant is likely to be blown over by the wind, too.   Such things can happen, and one has to ask himself whether it is worth the risk of planting fruit trees at all. For certain, there will be no fruit if one doesn't try. In other words, life is a risk. It takes getting up and working in order to produce a harvest.   Fruit trees abound in the world, but when they are in uncleared areas, they generally are not as productive as they will be when land is cleared, prepared, and the trees are planted in optimum conditions. Sometimes, several years of experimenting may take place before any results are realized.   Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” Eventually, he made a lightbulb that works and lasts. How willing are you to make the effort to learn biblical languages, learn to share the gospel, or excel at playing music (which includes playing at church on Sunday morning)?   We will never have results if we don't get to work. God has given us the time, place, and ability to make things happen. So get up, pray about what you intend to do, asking God to bless your efforts, and then get to work.   If a hurricane (this time we'll call it Milton) comes through and destroys your efforts, you have more choices to make. Pray that God will lead you in the right decisions to continue to glorify Him.   Lord God, may our actions and words be directed first and foremost to Your glory. Only when that is the case, may we then produce the right results that will cause our efforts to multiply. Keep us from thoughts of abundance without effort unless the glory is directed to You. Whether we reap a harvest with a lot of effort or without it, may we acknowledge You as the reason it came about. Amen.

Let God Align Your Life—What Comes Next Will Amaze You | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start The DaySUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTubeX / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

Saturday, 13 September 2025   And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Matthew 13:7   “And others, it fell upon the thorns, and they ascended, the thorns, and they choked them” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus described how the seed that fell on the rock-like areas scorched and withered. He now turns to another category, saying, “And others, it fell upon the thorns.”   Thorns in Israel are about as bad as they get. They are everywhere, and they come in a seemingly unlimited number of torturous varieties. When God cursed the earth and said that it would produce thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18), it seems He was specifically highlighting this promised curse in the land of Israel.   Everyone listening would understand His words. The sower is out spreading seed. As he does, some of it falls on the uncleared area where thorns had not been fully removed through burning or tilling. They may not be evident if the tops were burned off, but the roots remained because they weren't in the main part of the field that was fully tilled and cleared.   Leaving thorns around a field can have a positive purpose, such as keeping out unwanted creatures, but once the seed falls into such an area, there is no going back and picking it out. It is there for the duration. Once cast there, Jesus says, “and they ascended, the thorns, and they choked them.”   Like dominant plants in any area, those that are hardiest will overcome those that are not. Thorns don't need much water to thrive. They get started early, and when the rains come, they are already prepared to speedily grow beyond whatever else is in the soil. As such, the grain cannot compete against the thorns, and they become choked out, never reaching maturity. Vincent's Word Studies notes the words of Ovid that closely match Jesus' words of these past verses –   "Now the too ardent sun, vow furious showers, With baleful stars and bitter winds combine The crop to ravage; while the greedy fowl Snatch the strewn seeds; and grass with stubborn roots, And thorn and darnel plague the ripening grain." Metamorphoses   Life application: If you go to Israel on a vacation, business trip, tour, or whatever, be sure to have long pants and appropriate shoes if you plan on going for walks in the fields or mountains.   There are thornbushes, thistles, scratchy weeds, etc., all over the place. One can have a jillion lacerations after a short walk through an area that was not cleared. Many of these look innocuous until you step into them. Once you do, it is painful just trying to back out.   This is true throughout the world. The curse that was pronounced at the beginning has continued to be proven true throughout human history. In Israel, a land that is still being reclaimed after two thousand years of inactivity due to the curses of the law being brought to bear against the people for rejecting Jesus, every hill that remains unoccupied bears a reminder of the curse.   Slowly, Israel is subduing these areas and rebuilding towns and villages in the wilderness. Where they haven't, the walk may appear beautiful and an exciting challenge when viewed from a distance, but once you get into the area, you may find yourself wishing you had gone to Tahiti or even to North Korea... anywhere but the painful hill you are walking on.   So be careful if you go. If you remember to avoid such pitfalls, you should probably have a great adventure as you enjoy the land where Jesus walked.   Lord God, it will be really great when we are given a new place to set our feet, one without thorns, thistles, poison ivy, and harmful critters. Violating one law brought about all of this and so much more. But we know that through the grace of Jesus Christ, what we willnow experience will be more wonderful than we can imagine. Thank You for this sure hope we possess. Amen.  

26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,In mense autem sexto, missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David : et nomen virginis Maria. 28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.Et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit : Ave gratia plena : Dominus tecum : benedicta tu in mulieribus. 29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.Quae cum audisset, turbata est in sermone ejus, et cogitabat qualis esset ista salutatio. 30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.Et ait angelus ei : Ne timeas, Maria : invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum. 31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.Ecce concipies in utero, et paries filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum : 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.hic erit magnus, et Filius Altissimi vocabitur, et dabit illi Dominus Deus sedem David patris ejus : et regnabit in domo Jacob in aeternum, 33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end.et regni ejus non erit finis. 34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?Dixit autem Maria ad angelum : Quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? 35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.Et respondens angelus dixit ei : Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. 36 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:Et ecce Elisabeth cognata tua, et ipsa concepit filium in senectute sua : et hic mensis sextus est illi, quae vocatur sterilis : 37 Because no word shall be impossible with God.quia non erit impossibile apud Deum omne verbum. 38 And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.Dixit autem Maria : Ecce ancilla Domini : fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Et discessit ab illa angelusThe great victory, which John Sobieski, king of Poland, gained against the Turks under the walls of Vienna, caused the Pope Innocent XI to make this Feast obligatory throughout the whole Wester Church as a yearly act of thanksgiving for the deliverance of Christian Europe.

Don't Chase Blessings—Press Into God's Word and Blessings Chase You | Blessed Daily Effective PrayerSUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTubeX / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 11th of September, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in Psalm 81:10. The Lord says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Then we go to Jeremiah 1:6: “Then I said “Ah, Lord God! Behold I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”God equips the men and women that He calls to do His work for Him. I don't often give a Thought For Today a title, but today I believe the Lord wants me to do that, and we would call this particular Thought For Today, “Speak Up”. Like never before, we need to, as believers, speak up. We need to tell people about Jesus Christ. That's exactly what happened with Moses. The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go. He said, “But I can't speak. I am not a man of eloquent speech.” He had a stutter; he couldn't speak properly, but the Lord said that He would give him the ability to speak and what a statesman he became! Many people say the greatest statesman that has ever walked on the earth was Moses, greater than any president of any country, because he opened his mouth and God filled it.The key for you and me is found in John 15:7, which says:”If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” It's God's words in our mouths that will do the job. We are only a conduit pipe. That's all we are, and the Lord uses us and speaks through us.Robert Murray McShane, that wonderful Scottish preacher. A young man who died at the age of about 29 years old. He said, ”Rather than have been an instrument of the Lord, all I was, was an adoring spectator.” I can tell you and confirm that. Many a time I've stood on the platform and looked out at a massive crowd of tens of thousands of people and I felt myself standing next to myself, if that makes any sense, and God speaking through me. The first sermon I ever preached in my life was in the main street of Greytown. I had prepared that message for about six weeks. I stood up there for the first time in my life. The minister was standing next to me. He said, ”Don't worry, Angus, if you can't finish it off, I'll do it for you.” But he didn't have to. I opened my Bible, page one, said good morning to everybody, and I turned over page one and there was nothing there! I had left the notes somewhere. I had lost them and I had page fifteen (which was the benediction). That was the day that the Lord said, ”Are you going to do this by faith or not?” Well, I said, ”Yes Lord, by faith.” And the rest is history. Today, remember if God has called you, He will equip you.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

Our Ezekiel reading (ch.7)  is initially about the disaster coming on the people still living in Jerusalem.  Ezekiel was a priest and is among those taken into captivity (ch.1 v.1) some years before Jerusalem is destroyed. Those taken away are earnestly hoping to return to the land of their birth, but God gives Ezekiel only bad news for them.Indeed the words he is inspired to write appear to have an application beyond the destruction of Jerusalem at that time – and we know there was a great and terrible destruction, including its' Temple, after the time of Jesus, which he prophesied and which we will read later this month.  Yet the language of God to Ezekiel is such that we can see a potential application to events in these final days, for more and more are turning their minds away from any belief in a Creator of any kind!  Contemplate God's attitude here and now and the potential for his actions!So many are living totally for the moment, for opportunities to follow fleshly desires each day. Note some of the words of the LORD that come to Ezekiel, “Now the end is upon you, I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations, my eye will not spare you … I will punish you for your ways … Thus says the Lord GOD; Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes. An end has come; the end has come …” [v.3-6]This language is so emphatic that we are convinced it has a wider application than the impending news about the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple.  God's words through Ezekiel are repeated with emphasis in v.10-11; “Behold it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has budded. Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness.  None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth …”    The abundance of Jerusalem had already been dissipated by previous conquests, so this is surely looking to more than the immediate situation.When we came to our Luke reading (ch.4) we noted in the preaching of John the Baptist words which have also not yet been fulfilled! They are about the work of the Messiah, that “his winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” [v.17] That has not happened – yet.   Long range prophecies are a feature of God's word!  What shocks await our world!? God says, “I will punish you for all your abominations  … disaster after disaster, behold it comes.”It was 12 years ago TODAY that the massive twin towers collapsed in New York!  How long before tomorrow?  Are you ready for tomorrow?  We will all need “the strength that God supplies” – read 1 Peter 4 v.7-11..

Did you know that the Lord God only approved of two kinds of altars?In this episode, Dr. Bruce Becker examines the natural altars on which sacrifices were made to the one, true God in the Old Testament.If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part of your week, would you consider helping us with your support? Thank you!

Lord God, be my refuge and my strengthSt. Helena Ministries is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Your donations may be tax-deductibleSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Gideon's Offering – This story is crafted from Judges 6:19-25 where Only the Angle who is visiting him makes it clear that he is the Valiant Warrior who will fight and remove the Midianite Army by himself, with the help of the Lord God. To find out how you can support this ministry by visiting our website at https://lizardtracks.net. My stories can be found on your favorite podcast, App, or Alexa, search for Podcast Lizard Tracks.

When You Let God Reign, Everything Falls Into Place | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your DaySUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTubeX / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body and refocus your mind to experience the reality of God's presence. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  Genesis 2:7 NIV “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Acts 17:25 NIV “He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” John 20:21-22 NIV Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” A Shorter Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ ... have mercy on me.” The earliest attested references to a form of the Jesus Prayer appear in a letter traditionally attributed to John Chrysostom (AD 407). In a “Letter to an Abbot,” John Chrysostom makes mention of using "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy" (and also the plural variant "…have mercy on us") as a form of unceasing prayer. Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. 

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body and refocus your mind to experience the reality of God's presence. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  Genesis 2:7 NIV “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Acts 17:25 NIV “He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” John 20:21-22 NIV Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” A Shorter Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ ... have mercy on me.” The earliest attested references to a form of the Jesus Prayer appear in a letter traditionally attributed to John Chrysostom (AD 407). In a “Letter to an Abbot,” John Chrysostom makes mention of using "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy" (and also the plural variant "…have mercy on us") as a form of unceasing prayer. Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. 

Tuesday, 9 September 2025   Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. Matthew 13:3   “And He spoke to them, many in parables, saying, ‘You behold! He went out, ‘the sowing' to sow'” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus got into a boat and sat while the multitudes stood on the shore. Next, Matthew records, “And He spoke to them, many in parables.”   There is a new word in Scripture, parabole, a parable. It is derived from para, near, and ballo, to cast. Thus, it signifies to throw alongside. Therefore, it signifies to liken or compare. Using a parable, then, is to state something in a way that is comparable to something else.   Of parables, HELPS Word Studies says they are “a teaching aid cast alongside the truth being taught. This casts additional light by using an arresting or familiar analogy, (which is often fictitious or metaphorical, but not necessarily).” The Topical Lexicon says –   “Fifty times in the Greek New Testament, the word clusters around the ministry of Jesus Christ and appears twice in Hebrews. A parable is more than an illustrative story; it is a spiritual gem embedded in earthy language, inviting faith‐filled listeners to dig for meaning while veiling truth from the hard-hearted.”   As can be seen, the importance of this literary device is not to be underestimated. Jesus will convey truths through these simple but also deep teachings to inform God's people. They are words to guide them in understanding the workings of God in redemptive history. Understanding this, He begins His first parable of Matthew, “saying, ‘You behold! He went out, ‘the sowing' to sow.'”   In the Greek, the locative verb (he went out) is first, laying stress on the act. After that, the one who went out is then described as “the sowing.” The meaning is, a person who is set to sow in the fields. The implication is that the ground has been cleared and plowed. Thus, it is ready to receive the seed that will become the next crop.   Life application:  Jesus' parables are given to make a comparison between two separate things that have a common application. Those separate things are the natural world in which life takes place for humanity, or at least is understood by humanity, and the spiritual realm in which God's workings take place.   This spiritual realm can be worked out in various ways, such as human reaction to something that occurs, angels working behind the scenes to accomplish tasks, Jesus the Messiah fulfilling His ministry or guiding the effects of His ministry, the working of the Spirit of God, etc.   The fact that a parable is used to describe spiritual things by using common earthly/human events shows that the two concepts are not disparate at all. Rather, when a topic is chosen, such as a sower sowing seed, there will be something in the spiritual realm that somehow mirrors what is going on there.   With only a few words of the parable revealed so far, we can consider what it means for a sower to sow. As noted, there is a person going out from one place to another. At the time of Jesus' incarnation, He did just that. A sower will sow when the ground is prepared for receiving grain. The time of the law, the word of the prophets, the span of Israel's existence, and so forth, all were used to prepare the people for His coming.   A sower will obviously have seed to sow. There is a spiritual dynamic of sowing that will take place, intended to bring about a result. Seed, zera in Hebrew, is that which is used to bear more fruit like the one it came from. The word is from zara, to sow (with the implication of producing), exactly what the sower is there to do.   A sower's seed will be in a bag. The seed will have been kept safely away from things that could harm it until it is ready to be sown. At the time of Jesus, a sower scattered his seed by hand, the symbol of authority and power. The seed will be cast by the action of the arm. The arm, zeroa, speaks of power and exertion but also of effective reach.   Notice the intimate connection between the three words. The basic verb zara (to sow) leads to the nouns zera, seed, and zeroa, arm (for scattering seed). Jesus is beginning His first parable with a thought that goes back to the first page of Scripture, where seed is noted several times, beginning with these words –   “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields (zara) seed (zera), and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed (zera) is in itself, on the earth'; and it was so.” Genesis 1:11   The next time seed is mentioned after Genesis 1 is in Genesis 3 –   “So the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed (zera) and her Seed (zera); He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.'” Genesis 3:14, 15   As all seed reproduces after its own kind, what will this Seed of the woman be? There is a physical reality being spoken of to reveal corresponding spiritual truths. Pay attention to what Jesus is saying in His parables. Think about what Scripture says about things as you open the word each day. God is telling us a story of what He is doing in a world that He created for us to understand Him and His ways, and all of it is centered on what He is doing through Jesus Christ.   Lord God, give us wisdom and understanding in Your word. May our pursuit of it bear much fruit in our lives as we seek out the details of this wonderful story of redemption and restoration. Thank You for Your word that tells us of Jesus, and thank You for Jesus, our great Lord and Savior. Amen.

This message takes us through Exodus 34:1–10, exploring God's self-revelation—"The Lord, the Lord God"—as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in goodness and truth, and forgiving sin. The episode explains how forgiveness is offered by God to the repentant, how generational consequences follow ongoing sin, and how Jesus confirms God's mercy; it closes with an invitation to repent and trust Christ.

Send us a textI'm Fine King Ahab told his wife Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophets of Baal to death.  She sent a message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don't do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets.”  // Elijah was afraid and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah.  Leaving the servant there, Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It's too much, Lord,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!”  There he went into a cave to spend the night. Suddenly the Lord spoke to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”  He answered, “Lord God Almighty, I have always served you—you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left—and they are trying to kill me!” 1 Kings 19:9-10What happens when you allow Offense to take root?You Take Responsibility For a Battle That isn't Yours.2.  Your Thinking Gets Out Of balance.Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.  Ecclesiastes 4:6 NIV3.  You isolate Yourself In A Cave. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”         Genesis 2:18 NIV4.   You Let The Noise Around You overpower God's Voice.“Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain,” the Lord said to him. Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was a fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice.  When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” He answered, “Lord God Almighty, I have always served you—you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left—and they are trying to kill me.” 1 Kings 19:11-14 5.   You Start Believing The lies  You Tell Yourself.And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise… Then the God of peace will be with you.                           Philippians 4:8-9 NLT6.   You forfeit The Role God Has Given YouThe Lord said, “Return to the wilderness near Damascus, then enter the city and anoint Hazael as king of Syria; anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 1 Kings 19:15-16Discussion Questions:Growing up, how did your family handle payback? (Examples: siblings getting even, playful revenge, or getting even.) Thank you for listening to the Relate Community Church podcast! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. If today's message spoke to you, share it with a friend or leave us a review to help spread the word. To learn more about Relate Community Church, visit us at www.relatecommunity.com. You are always welcome here, and remember—you are loved

Monday, 8 September 2025   And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Matthew 13:2   “And they gathered to Him, great crowds, so too He, having in-stepped into the boat, sat. And all the crowd, they had stood on the beach” (CG).   In the previous verse, Chapter 13 began with Jesus going out of the house He was in and sitting by the sea. Next, Matthew records, “And they gathered to Him, great crowds.”   The miracles and teachings of Jesus were of great interest to the people. Therefore, anytime He was in an open area, people would naturally flock to Him. In this case, such great crowds began to surround Him that Matthew next records, “so too He, having in-stepped into the boat, sat.”   Some texts omit the definite article, saying “a boat.” Either way, there was a boat available at the particular location, and so He got in and sat down. This would allow more people to hear and see Him without overcrowding.   Although the exact spot is unknown, there are places along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee where the land makes a U-shaped formation. In such an area, the number of people who could see and hear Him would increase even more. They could almost encircle Him and listen. Whether this was the case or not at this time, the nature of the shore itself can be determined from the next words, which say, “And all the crowd, they had stood on the beach.”   Here is a new word, aigialos, a beach. It is derived from aisso, to rush, and hals, salt. Although the Sea of Galilee is not a saltwater sea, the idea is that the beach is like one found on a salty sea, where the waters rush upon it. This is likely a beach with sand or small pebbles.   In the immediate area, there are shores with large stones, smaller stones, pebbles, and sand. Some are mixed with large stones leading up to the beach and then small slivers of beach that meet the sea, or vice versa. Doing an image search or watching videos about the area, such as the one at this link, will give a sense of what the shoreline looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifTro5uRaT8   Life application: When you gather at church, what is your intent for doing so? The people of Israel surely had various ideas for going out to hear Jesus. Some were probably interested in seeing a miracle. Some may have wanted to hear the wisdom that overflowed from His teachings. There may have been some checking to see if He crossed every t and dotted every i in relation to the law.   Other people may have simply wanted to be close to the increasingly famous Teacher, making that a point of boasting when they talked to their friends, “Oh my, I got to sit in the front row, just feet away from Him!”   Today, people go to churches for such varied reasons as well. If you go each week to see a miracle, healing, or people speaking tongues, that will explain what you think the purpose of church is. If you are going to sit near a famous pastor, that will explain something about you.   Maybe you go because you want to challenge everything you hear, thus showing how much more you know about the sermon subject than the pastor. Each person's reason for going to a church will be a little bit different because we are all individuals with our own wants, desires, and thoughts about religion.   Consider yourself and what motivates you. Next, consider what you think God would want you to focus on. Does what you want match what you think God would want for you? A few points are certain. God wants to be recognized for who He is, meaning His being, such as what He is like, what His attributes are, and why He has done things the way He has done them.   When we ask people about such things, they are happy to respond because you are showing an interest in them. God wants you to be interested in Him. God also wants you to know His word. It is the word of God that most poignantly reveals Him to us. It is a testament that details creation, spans human history, explains why things are the way they are, and so forth.   God also wants you to see Jesus. His word tells us this explicitly, such as in Hebrews 12:2. However, according to Jesus, it does so in other ways as well. He said this a couple of times in John 5. In reading the Bible, we can find Jesus typologically, pictorially, and in other ways.   So, when you go to church, you should be pursuing these avenues of knowing God. If the church you attend is not doing this, your time in church is misdirected. Be sure to compare if what you do in your pursuit of Christianity is actually based on what Christianity is about.   Read the word, know what it says, and be willing to continue to learn more as you attend a church that explores the many facets of God and His interaction with His creation, especially in relation to Jesus Christ.   Lord God, may our priorities be aligned with Yours more and more each day. Help us to focus on You, and on Your word. May we make a concerted effort to have a closer and more personal relationship with You at all times. Help us in this, O God. Amen.  

Class 3 from this series was used in GCT Episode 364.

Genesis 3:15 [15] I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (ESV) Slide 2 Genesis 12:3 [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (ESV) Slide 3 2 Samuel 7:12–16 [12] When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, [15] but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'” (ESV) Slide 4 Isaiah 7:14 [14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (ESV) Slide 5 Isaiah 9:6–7 [6] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (ESV) Slide 6 Isaiah 53:3–12 [3] He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. [5] But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. [8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? [9] And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. [10] Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. [11] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. [12] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (ESV) Slide 7 Ezekiel 34:23–24 [23] And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. [24] And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. (ESV) Slide 8 Jeremiah 31:31–34 The New Covenant [31] “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, [32] not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. [33] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (ESV) Slide 9 Ezekiel 36:26–27 [26] And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (ESV) Slide 10 Luke 1:26–35 Birth of Jesus Foretold [26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” [34] And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” [35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. (ESV) Slide 11 Luke 22:14–20 Institution of the Lord's Supper [14] And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. [15] And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. [16] For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” [17] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. [18] For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” [19] And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [20] And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (ESV) Slide 12 John 3:16–17 [16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (ESV) Slide 13 John 10:10–16 [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (ESV) Slide 14 John 14:25–27 [25] “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. [26] But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (ESV) Slide 15 - Remove 2 Peter 1:3–4 Confirm Your Calling and Election [3] His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (ESV) Slide 16 Romans 5:6–11 [6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [11] More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV) Slide 18 Romans 8:1 [1] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (ESV) Slide 19 Romans 8:15–17 [15] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV) Slide 20 Romans 10:9–13 [9] because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [11] For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” [12] For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. [13] For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Slide 21 Galatians 3:7–9 [7] Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. [8] And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” [9] So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (ESV) Slide 22 Colossians 1:13 [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, (ESV) Slide 23 1 Peter 2:9–10 [9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (ESV) Slide 24 1 Peter 2:22–25 [22] He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. [23] When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. [24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. [25] For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (ESV) Slide 25 Revelation 21:1–5 [1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” [5] And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (ESV) Slide 26 Revelation 22:1–5 [1] Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb [2] through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [3] No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. [4] They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. [5] And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (ESV) Slide 27 Revelation 22:12–16 [12] “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. [13] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” [14] Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. [15] Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. [16] “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (ESV)

Power Up2 King 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. 16 LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. 17 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, 18 and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. 20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake., King James VersionIn this episode, we are seeking the Lord on behalf of several right now issues that we are facing on this earth. We are praying for our children, our parents, our loved ones that are suffering with sicknesses, and we are lifting up our leaders. Thank you for being a supporter of this podcast as I grow and learn things will become more like previous episodes, but I do not want to delay the podcast while I learn how to use the new format. Thank you for all of your support. Thank you for your shares. Thank you for joining your faith with my faith so that we can see God move upon the face of the earth if you have a prayer request, you can text 843-790-4229 or submit it by email to seeingwithoutseeing2020@gmail.com. Please put prayer request in the subject line. That email address can be used on Zelle and PayPal. If you desire to sow a seed, you can do that also on cash app at $seeingwithoutseeing. Thank you once again for your support please share this and believe God with us as we seek God.

Message regarding how we as Believers have a need for the LORD GOD's discernment to help expose any wickedness we may have within. Scriptural Reference: Psalms 139:23-24

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Sunday, 7 September 2025   On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. Matthew 13:1   “And in that day, Jesus, having departed from the house, He sat by the sea” (CG).   In the previous verse, Chapter 12 finished with Jesus saying that whoever does the will of His Father in heaven is His brother and sister and mother. Chapter 13 now begins with, “And in that day.”   Such words as this will have various meanings based on the context. For example, the Lord may say, “In that day, I will rescue Israel.” Or we may read of the “Day of the Lord.” Such days actually reflect past or future events or extended periods of time. The same terminology is used in English as well.   However, there is no need to assume anything other than a literal rendering of the word here. Therefore, it is either referring to the previous verses or to something coming in the verses ahead. The most obvious and likely meaning is the day on which He had already been speaking. That this is likely is seen in the next words, where it says, “Jesus, having departed from the house.”   Jesus was specifically noted as being inside based on the words of Matthew 12:46 –   “While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.”   Noting His mother and brothers were outside means that He was inside. Now, having departed from that house, it next says, “He sat by the sea.”   This is the Sea of Galilee. The narrative is preparing to enter into more words from Jesus by introducing the location and circumstances.   Life application: Because Jesus was in a house, only a certain number of people could hear His words. That is clearly evidenced by the fact that His mother and brothers wanted to speak with Him. He was engaging the scribes and Pharisees in one setting. Even though His words are recorded now for all to know what went on in the house, at the time, what He said was not heard by the people.   However, Jesus' heading out and sitting by the sea is a purposeful decision to allow His coming words to be heard and considered by many more people. As you read the gospels, think about what is going on in the surrounding context.   Jesus walks in various locations at various times. If the name of the location is given, it is certain that particular information is being provided to understand a greater picture. It is as if His very movements are forming a picture for us to consider.   Likewise, when He says something, it is quite possible that His words are fulfilling other pictures from the Old Testament Scriptures. For example, Jesus said, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33).   In that sentence, Jesus equates Himself to the manna given to Israel in the wilderness. That is explained more fully in the surrounding words. But Jesus also noted that He comes down from heaven. In Hebrew, the word yarad, to descend, is used. It is where the name Jordan, or in Hebrew yarden, is derived.   In studying the uses of yarden in the Old Testament, amazing pictures of Christ, the Descender, will be seen. The very topography of the land of Israel is noted in Scripture to tell us greater stories of Jesus, His work, and how it applies to His people.   But typology can be manipulated. It is easy to “make anything say anything” and claim that is what the Bible is saying. So be careful as you read the word and make conclusions about things you read. Also, be careful about how people present typology.   Something may sound right, but be completely wrong. There must be a reasonable connection to what is being said, and the typological representations must be consistently used. If they are properly searched out and presented, truly amazing stories of God's redemptive plans will shine through.   Consider what God is telling you, both on the surface and how it points to Jesus. This is what Jesus told us would be the case as we read this precious word –   “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39   Lord God, what an intricate and amazing word You have given us. There are many levels of information being conveyed to us all at the same time. Your word is a marvel and a delight for our minds to consider, wonder at, and rejoice in. Thank You for this precious word. Amen.  

Joshua 12-13 reveals a profound spiritual reality that directly applies to our lives today - living in the tension between the 'already' and 'not yet' of God's promises. The Israelites had experienced remarkable victories, with 31 kings defeated as testimony to God's faithfulness. Yet despite occupying the Promised Land, enemies still remained within their borders, requiring ongoing vigilance and action. This mirrors our experience as Christians. We've been justified by faith, adopted as God's children, and sealed with the Holy Spirit - our salvation is secure. However, we still battle against sin, temptation, and spiritual enemies in this fallen world. We often prove faithful during major crises but stumble in the daily grind of faith, losing ground not through dramatic falls but through subtle compromises and gradual shifts in our vigilance. The chapters remind us that our true inheritance isn't in material possessions but in God Himself. Just as the Levites received 'the Lord God of Israel' as their inheritance, we find our ultimate security not in what we possess, but in who possesses us. When facing new battles, we must remember past victories as evidence of God's faithfulness. Whether in abundance or lack, health or sickness, our portion in the Lord remains secure - nothing can separate us from His love or steal our true treasure.

Study Passage: Isaiah 40Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? 14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? 19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. 20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. 21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

9/7/2025 Jeremiah 1 Are You A Jeremiah? Intro: Jeremiah was one man against a whole nation. He was inexperienced, afraid, uncertain and unlearned….but He knew the Lord God and the Lord God knew Him. That made Him an unbeatable army of ONE plus THE ONE Lord God almighty! You have all the hoards of hell against you the moment that you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ! Don't compromise because you have opposition. Don't quit because a few people are against you…..IF you are walking in God's word and with Jesus Christ in prayer and in truth…you are an army of ONE!

Saturday, 6 September 2025   For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:50   “For whoever, if he should do the determination of My Father, the ‘in heavens,' he – he is – My brother and sister and mother” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus extended His hand toward the disciples and exclaimed, “Here are My mother and My brothers!” In order to explain that, He next says, “For whoever, if he should do the determination of My Father, the ‘in heavens.'”   Jesus sets the parameters for whom He is referring from the previous verse, explaining what He meant. But what is the “determination of My Father” that He is referring to? The answer to the thought is found in John 6 –   “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' 29 Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.'” John 6:26   This explains what Jesus is referring to. Jesus is not (by a long shot) telling His hearers that they must observe the Law of Moses. That is what Jesus came to fulfill. He is not telling us that He is kin to the stock of Israel and that we must bless them to receive a blessing, even if His literal descent is from Israel. He does not say that those who have big churches full of wealthy congregants are His family.   The famous, beautiful, athletic, politically connected, royalty, etc., are excluded without believing in Jesus. Cutting out all categories of people, Jesus identifies those whom He is referring to as those doing “the ‘determination of'” His Father. To exactingly identify them, He next closes out Matthew 12, emphatically saying, “he – he is – My brother and sister and mother.”   Genealogy is excluded. This is why Paul says –    “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29   Paul further says –   “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:20, 21   It is true that at the time of Jesus' ministry, those of Israel who were under the law were expected to observe the law. Nobody should dispute that. But Jesus' words in John 6, as explained by Paul and the other apostles in the epistles, tell us that we are to have faith in the works of the Son. His works include sinless perfection in His life before the law, His death in fulfillment of it, and His resurrection, which proved that it was so. Belief in this is what God expects of His people. This is the good news of Jesus Christ.   Life application: To cut out much of the theological error that rushes your way from the pulpit, computer, TV screen, etc., remember what God is doing in the world as explained in Scripture. God has a plan of redemption set forth to restore humanity to Himself.   That plan of redemption is based on the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. This plan, centered on His Son, is often co-opted by those who want to control others in various ways. At the time of the early church, it was Judaizers coming in and trusting in the flesh, boasting over those they circumcised.   As the church developed, various cults and sects have arisen to pull people away from the gospel. Eventually, the church became such a large and powerful entity that it exalted itself and its doctrines above the simple gospel. Because of this, the reformation occurred.   In America, a nation that allows freedom of religion, people took advantage of others by proclaiming aberrant ideas through a manipulation of Scripture. Sometimes, there is the exalting of a particular version of Scripture, not Jesus, who is the focus of that Scripture, as a supposed necessary condition for salvation.   Today, unconditionally supporting Israel, a nation that has rejected Jesus at this point, is said to be a necessary condition for receiving God's blessing. In fact, this false teaching is explicitly taught by many supposed Jesus-centered ministries. It is Jesus, not a person, Bible version, nation, or denomination, who brings salvation.   When should believers support a church? The answer is when that church proclaims the gospel. When should believers exalt a people group or nation? The answer is when that nation exalts Jesus Christ. Israel, as a nation, has not yet done this. But unlike other nations, they are explicitly prophesied as someday doing so. For this reason, prayers for them should be raised to God that His will be done in this rebellious group of people.   At the same time, we should be willing to evangelize and pray for all people, telling them about the saving message of Jesus Christ. This alone will bring people to a right relationship with God.   “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” Acts 15:8-11   Lord God, thank You for the simple gospel of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Help us to have our priorities right, clearly thinking through what it means to be in a right standing before You. Your word tells us what it is! It is through faith in Him and what He has done. Yes, thank You for this simple gospel. Amen. Matthew 12   12 In that time, Jesus, He went – the Sabbaths – through the grainfields, and His disciples, they hungered, and they began to pluck kernels and eat. 2 And the Pharisees, having seen, they said to Him, “You behold! Your disciples, they do what it permits not to do in Sabbath.” 3 And He said to them, “Not you read what he did, David, when he hungered, he and those with him? 4 How he entered into the house of God and the bread ‘the before-setting' they ate, which not it is being permitted him to eat, nor those with him, if not the priests only? 5 Or not you read in the law that, the Sabbaths, the priests in the temple the Sabbath profane, and they are guiltless? 6 And I say to you that the temple – greater, it is here. 7 And if you had known what it is, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' not you condemned the guiltless. 8 For Lord, He is – even of the Sabbath – the Son of Man.”   9 And having departed thence, He went into their synagogue. 10 And, you behold! Man, he is, having a withered hand. And they queried Him, saying, ‘If it permits, the Sabbaths, to cure?' That they should accuse Him.   11 And He said to them, “What man, he will be from you, who he will have one sheep, and if this, it should fall into a pit on the Sabbaths, not he will seize it and he will raise it? 12 Therefore, how much man – he excels a sheep! So too, it permits – the Sabbaths – to do good.” 13 Then He says to the man, ‘You outstretch your hand.' And he outstretched it, and it reconstituted, healthy as the other. 14 And the Pharisees, they took counsel against Him, having gone out, how they might kill Him.   15 And Jesus, having known, He withdrew thence. And they followed Him, great crowds. And He cured them all. 16 And He admonished them that not they should make Him apparent. 17 That it should be fulfilled, the ‘having been spoken' through Isaiah the prophet, saying:   18 “You behold! My Servant whom I chose, My beloved in whom it approved, My soul, I will place My Spirit upon Him, And judgment to the Gentiles, He will proclaim. 19 Not He will wrangle, nor He will clamor, Nor anyone – he will hear in the streets His voice. 20 A reed, being battered, not He will break, And flax being smoldered, not He will extinguish, Until if He ejects judgment into victory. 21 And in His name, Gentiles, they will hope.”   22 Then he was brought to Him ‘being demon possessed,' blind and mute, and He cured him, so the blind and mute speak and see. 23 And they were astounded, all the crowds. And they said, “Not any, this, He is the Son of David?”   24 And the Pharisees, having heard, they said, “This, not He ejects the demons if not in Beelzebul, prince of the demons.” 25 And Jesus, having known their thoughts, He said to them, “Every kingdom, having divided against itself, it desolates, and every city or house having divided against itself, not it will stand. 26 And if the Satan, he ejects the Satan, he divided upon himself. How then, it will stand, his kingdom? 27 And if I, I eject demons in Beelzebul, your sons – in whom do they eject? Through this they, they will be your judges. 28 And if in God's Spirit I, I eject the demons, then it preceded upon you, the ‘God's kingdom.' 29 Or how, any, he can enter into the house of the strong and his goods through-seize, if not first he should bind the strong? And then, his house he will through-seize. 30 The ‘not being with Me,' he is against me. And the ‘not gathering with Me,' he scatters.   31 Through this, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy, it will be forgiven men, but the ‘Spirit blasphemy' not it will be forgiven men. 32 And whoever if he should speak a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever, if he should speak against the Holy Spirit, not it will be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in the coming.   33 Either you make the tree good and the fruit of it good, or you make the tree rotten and the fruit of it rotten. For from the fruit, the tree – it is known. 34 Viper's offspring! You can, how, speak good – being evil? For from the surplus of the heart, the mouth, it speaks.  35 The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects good, and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects evil. 36 And I say to you that every inactive utterance that if they will speak, men, they will render a word about it in judgment day. 37 For from your words, you will be justified, and from your words, you will be condemned.”   38 Then, they answered, some of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, “Teacher, we desire to see a sign from You.” 39 And having answered, He said to them, “Generation – evil and adulteress – it seeks a sign, and not it will be given it, if not the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For just as Jonah, he was in the lunker's belly three days and three nights, thus He will be, the Son of Man, in the earth's heart three days and three nights. 41 Men, Nineveh, they will arise in the judgment with this generation and they will sentence it, for they reconsidered at the proclamation of Jonah. And you behold! Jonah's greater is here! 42 Queen, south, she will arise in the judgment with this generation and she will sentence it, for she came from the extremities of the land to hear Solomon's wisdom. And you behold! Solomon's greater is here.   43 And when the unclean spirit, it departs from the man, it traverses through waterless spots seeking rest, and it finds not. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house whence I departed.' And having come, it finds ‘holidaying,' having been swept and having been arranged. 45 Then it traverses, and it takes with itself seven other spirits, itself eviler, and having entered, it dwells there. And the last of that man, it becomes worse than the first. Thus it will be also – this evil generation.”   46 And He yet speaking to the crowds, you behold, His mother and His brothers had stood without seeking to speak to Him. 47 And, he said, someone to Him, “You behold! Your mother and Your brothers, they have stood without seeking to speak to You.” 48 And answering, He said to the ‘telling Him', “Who, she is, My mother, and who, they are, My brothers?” 49 And having extended His hand to His disciples, He said, “You behold! My mother and My brothers. 50 For whoever, if he should do the determination of My Father, the ‘in heavens,' he – he is – My brother and sister and mother.”

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In our last episode, the Lord God turned away the messengers of King Sennacherib of Assyria and his armies, sending his angel to strike down 185,000 in their camp. Sometime during those days of the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah became terminally ill. After Isaiah prophesies that his illness will end in death, Hezekiah prays to the Lord and the Lord hears, granting him another 15 years of life. It's not long, however, before Hezekiah gets cocky and shows off his sweet digs to his neighbors, the Babylonians. Of course, we know that won't end well. Isaiah tells Hezekiah that some of his descendants will be taken captive to Babylon, but that matter much to Hezekiah; he's just glad it won't happen during his lifetime.Isaiah 38 - 1:10 . Isaiah 39 - 6:29 . 2 Kings 20 - 8:52 . 2 Chronicles 32:20 - 13:59 . Psalm 148 - 17:24 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Friday, 5 September 2025   And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! Matthew 12:49   “And having extended His hand to His disciples, He said, ‘You behold! My mother and My brothers'” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus rhetorically questioned who His mother and His brothers are. Having so questioned, He immediately provides the response, “And having extended His hand to His disciples.”   One can see Matthew, along with the others, observing His actions and probably feeling overwhelmed by the coming words. Noting that He extended His hand provides a warm and graphic gesture described by eyewitness testimony. Upon extending His hand, “He said, ‘You behold! My mother and My brothers.'”   The words do not exclude Mary and His brothers. They simply make a point that trying to pin down a family relationship based on blood or genealogy as an exceptional excuse to either a right-standing with the Lord or some type of added holiness based on near kinship is an invalid proposition.   Rather, those who are considered nearest of all to the Redeemer are those who will be described in the next verse. When thinking this through, one can see that the cult of Mary, which has so grotesquely permeated the Roman Catholic Church, is completely excluded by Jesus' words in this verse. It is an aberrant teaching that completely misdirects people from what God intends for us to focus on.   Life application: The church has gone through much misdirection, many redirections, and constant ups and downs since its inception. There have always been groups, sects, cults, and aberrant offshoots that claim to be the true way in relation to what Christ offers. For example, the Roman Catholic Church claims to be the true church. Baptism in it supposedly leads to a right relationship with God.   Jehovah's Witnesses claim that they alone are following the proper path that was restored after eons of apostasy. The same is true with Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, the Church of Christ, and on and on and on (and on). So many supposedly lay claim to the truth as if they alone possess what the Savior offers freely to the whole world.   An example of this, and one that both started with the early church and that has also arisen in modern times, is refuted by Jesus' words in this and the surrounding verses. It is the cult of the Judaizer, which today is most prominently known as Hebrew Roots.   Everything Jewish is exalted. Being Jewish implies a special connection to the Messiah. People who fit this condition are exalted, not because they have any special qualifications, abilities, or biblical understanding, but simply because they are Jewish.   So much is this the case that some teachers claim to be of Jewish descent even though they don't have any genealogical ties to the Jewish people. However, they know that by making the claim, people will follow their teachings, cling to them as if they have a special connection to the Messiah, and fawn over them as if they were rock stars.   People in Israel hear about how profitable it is to be a Christian teacher or singer and work feverishly to establish themselves as sound, responsible, Messiah-loving servants. Unfortunately, innumerable people are duped by such people because they have failed to know Scripture.   They get sucked into law observance in various degrees and spend their lives trying to measure up to impossible standards set by theological quacks when the avenue to salvation has already been paved by Jesus. It is through faith in Him and what He has done that leads the lost soul back to God. Nothing else will do.   If someone has Jewish blood, speaks Hebrew, or was born in Israel, Jesus would say, “So what!” if their teaching is unsound. He expects us to follow Scripture because Scripture reveals Him to us. Don't waste your time following such people. Read your Bible and follow Jesus!   Lord God, help us to think properly about our standing with You. The gospels have been recorded to show us that Jesus is the Messiah, that He fulfilled the prophecies that speak of His coming, and that He fulfilled the law that stood against the people. In His fulfillment of it, restoration through what He has done is available. May we remember this and cling to JESUS! Amen.  

The root word of Christianity is Christ.  Jesus Christ is the Basis for Christianity.  What separates our beliefs from those of the other religions?  It is how we settle the question of what we are going to do with this man we call Christ.  When you peel away all of the doctrines and theology what you have left of Christianity is the works of Christ.  His sinless life and finished work on Calvary paid the price for our salvation.  All we have to do is believe in Him and receive His forgiveness for our sins.  What makes Him different from gods of all of the other religions?  Christ's victory over sin, death and the grave.  The object of all other religions lies lifeless and dead, but our God, Jesus, is alive and well.  Join us in this broadcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim discusses the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Do you want to connect with Kim and Erika? Visit us on our website, on Facebook, or on Instagram.  Mentioned in this Episode Luke 2:11 – "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A11&version=KJV  John 1:29 – "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A29&version=KJV  Matthew 7:7 – "Ask, and it shall be given you..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A7&version=KJV  Jeremiah 33:3 – "Call unto me, and I will answer thee..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+33%3A3&version=KJV  Isaiah 9:7 – "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+9%3A7&version=KJV  Luke 1:32–33 – "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A32-33&version=KJV  Micah 5:2 – "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah... out of thee shall he come forth..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Micah+5%3A2&version=KJV  Luke 2:4–7 – Jesus' birth in Bethlehem www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A4-7&version=KJV  Isaiah 7:14 – "Behold, a virgin shall conceive..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+7%3A14&version=KJV  Luke 1:26–31 – The angel Gabriel visits Mary www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-31&version=KJV  Psalms 2:7 – "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+2%3A7&version=KJV  Matthew 3:17 – "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A17&version=KJV  John 3:16 – "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A16&version=KJV  Isaiah 61:1–2 – "He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+61%3A1-2&version=KJV  Luke 4:18–19 – Jesus reads the scroll in the synagogue www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A18-19&version=KJV  1 Peter 5:7 – "Casting all your care upon him..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+5%3A7&version=KJV  Isaiah 53:5 – "But he was wounded for our transgressions..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+53%3A5&version=KJV  Romans 5:6,8 – "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A6%2C8&version=KJV  Psalms 109:4 – "For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+109%3A4&version=KJV  Luke 23:34 – "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A34&version=KJV  Did you enjoy this podcast? Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can listen to us on all major podcasting platforms like Apple Podcasts,  Spotify,  Google Podcasts,  YouTube, and Podbean. Check out Kim's latest Bible Bit book on Amazon! Do you want to bring Kim Miller to your church, upcoming retreat, or conference? Contact us! This podcast is brought to you by Woman at the Well Ministries and is supported by our faithful listeners. To support this podcast, please visit our support page. 

Today's Uncertainties Call for a Deepening Personal Relationship with God Through Prayer, Fasting, and Listening MESSAGE SUMMARY: There are times when you need clarity, understanding, knowledge, and insights from the Lord about the specific issues that you are facing. The Lord will speak to you, but sometimes it takes your listening and fasting to hear Him. For example, when Joel received a Word when the land was to be destroyed, he called a fast (i.e. Joel 1:14): “Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.”. Some things you are facing in your life must be dealt with by both prayer and fasting. Fasting releases a spiritual power – in your weakness, God is made strong in your life. Daniel's prayer, from Daniel 9:3-5, provides a context for asking direction from God: “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.'". After Jesus responded to the Apostles request of “teach us to pray” by providing the “Lord's Prayer”, Jesus instructed the Apostles and us, in Matthew 6:17-18, how to fast: “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 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.". Our fasting will be rewarded as a deepening link to God in our personal relationship with Him.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Resentment. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Compassion. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Joel 1:13-16; Matthew 6:16; Daniel 9:3-7; Psalms 114:1-8. WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Crumbs From The Table ” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

The readings from today's chapters are near perfect parallels, with only minor differentiations between them. After hearing the report about the royal messenger who insulted the Lord God and the people of Judah, Hezekiah immediately expresses a sense of mourning and loss by covering himself in sackcloth and ashes. He sends directly for Isaiah, who reports that the Lord will soon turn them around. After a second threat spoken from the Assyrian spokesman, Hezekiah heads to the temple and prays to God. Isaiah, who apparently is elsewhere, sends a message of hope from the Lord to Hezekiah, promising that Assyria will go back the way they came.Isaiah 37 - 1:07 . 2 Kings 19 - 10:44 . Psalm 147 - 19:27 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Thursday, 4 September 2025   But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” Matthew 12:48   “And answering, He said to the ‘telling Him', ‘Who, she is, My mother, and who, they are, My brothers?'” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were outside seeking to speak with Him. Matthew next records, “And answering, He said to the ‘telling Him', ‘Who, she is, My mother, and who, they are, My brothers?'”   The words seem curiously distant, as if Jesus is removing Himself from the family relationship He was born into. This is not the case. It needs to be remembered who He has been speaking to. Earlier, it said –   “And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?' 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.'” Matthew 12:23, 24   Since then, He has been speaking to them concerning their accusation, carefully refuting it. It said in verse 46, “While He was still talking to the multitudes...” This tells us that it has been an ongoing speech. The scribes and Pharisees had accused Jesus not only of not being the Messiah (the Son of David), but that He was in league with the devil.   Therefore, in being presented with the note of His mother and brothers coming to speak to Him, He is taking the opportunity to further refute the accusation of the Pharisees. That will be seen in verse 12:50 as the chapter closes out.   Life application: Various charges against both Jesus and Mary have been made because of the words in the se final verses of the chapter. Some may accuse Jesus of not living in accordance with the command to honor His mother according to the law. Such an accusation is unfounded. The gospels bear witness to His concern for her, even to His dying words on the cross.   Likewise, there are those who take Jesus' words to extremes, not even hinted at concerning Mary. Without addressing their inane comments directly due to their ridiculous nature, the reason for their words comes back to contempt for Roman Catholicism's inexcusable fixation on Mary in other ways.   Because of RCC doctrine, and in order to start a tit for tat war of words, Mary as a person is purposefully diminished and disparaged. This intentional poking serves no purpose except to stir up animosity between parties. If there was any substance to what they were saying, they would include the brothers of Jesus in their comments as well.   The words Jesus conveys, when properly understood, are exactly how the Savior of the world would be expected to respond. They form another strong contradiction to the accusations of the scribes and Pharisees. They also support the notion that those who are in a right standing with God are not those who trust in their own merits, like these accusers. Rather, they will reveal those who are favored by the Messiah in the redemptive process that God has set forth.   Lord God, thank You for the wisdom that is carefully revealed in Your word that can, if we analyze it properly, impart that wisdom to us as well. May we carefully consider Scripture as Your word, intended to build us up in the knowledge of who You are and what You are doing in the world as You guide us back to Yourself. Amen.  

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This 8/24/25 sermon by Mike Gowens is based on Isaiah 56:8. The Lord God, like a good Shepherd, gathers those considered by the world to be misfits and undesirables to Himself. His followers are poor and afflicted people who, among the great, are unfit to shine. Truly, the gospel of grace is the only message that will suit the sensible sinner's case.

The Key of David — 10 Things You Need to Know • Friday Service To support this ministry: www.ToddCoconato.com/give Website: www.PastorTodd.org Isaiah 22:22 (NKJV): “The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open.” Revelation 3:7 (NKJV): “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.”'” John 14:6 (NKJV): “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'” Revelation 3:8 (NKJV): “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” 2 Samuel 7:12–13 (NKJV): “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Luke 1:32–33 (NKJV): “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Matthew 16:19 (NKJV): “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Revelation 1:18 (NKJV): “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Romans 8:17 (NKJV): “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Ephesians 2:6 (NKJV): “And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Isaiah 22:20–22 (NKJV): “Then it shall be in that day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open.” Psalm 24:7–10 (NKJV): “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.” Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV): “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Amos 9:11–12 (NKJV): “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does this thing.” Acts 15:15–17 (NKJV): “And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things.'” Matthew 25:10–12 (NKJV): “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'” Revelation 20:4 (NKJV): “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Colossians 4:3 (NKJV): “Meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains.” James 4:7 (NKJV): “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Diana introduces Randy Goodwin, a deliverance minister with over 20 years of experience in helping survivors of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) and occult practices find freedom and healing through Jesus Christ. Diana and Randy discuss the complex nature of SRA, how individuals get involved, and the spiritual warfare involved in the healing process. Randy emphasizes the importance of sincerity and free will in seeking deliverance, while sharing insights on the tactics of the enemy and the transformative power of prayer and scripture. The episode also highlights the significance of professional counseling and offers resources for those looking to break free from the spiritual bondage of SRA. 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast 00:45  753 Academy 01:43 Introducing the Series on Cults 03:23 Meet Randy Goodwin: Deliverance Minister 03:57 Randy's Journey into Deliverance Ministry 08:20 Understanding the Occult and SRA 11:49 The Impact of Media and Programming 16:03 Hope and Deliverance for SRA Victims 18:51 The Process of Deliverance 22:35 Critique of a Podcast on Demon Possession 23:11 Pentecostal Perspectives on Demons 24:04 The Deceptive Nature of the Enemy 27:10 Prayers for Protection and Sincerity in Faith 29:17 The Importance of Sincere Repentance 31:59 Healing from Trauma through Faith 35:32 Resources for SRA Survivors 38:17 Final Thoughts and Encouragement Bio: Randy Goodwins deliverance ministry, SRA Survivor ministry has helped people suffering from the effects of SRA Survivors, witchcraft, deprogramming, trafficking survivors, the occult, rejection, depression, physical illnesses, molestation, verbal and emotional abuse, pain/trauma, DID/MPD, schizophrenia, voices (Dissociate Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder/MPD/DID/BPD/ADHD/OCD/CDD) and many more. I help SRA survivors and those in the Occult get free and serve Christ.  Email deliverancenw@gmail.com website https://randygoodwin.org/ Link Tree Website: https://dswministries.org Subscribe to the podcast: https://dswministries.org/subscribe-to-podcast/ Social media links: Join our Private Wounds of the Faithful FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1603903730020136 Twitter: https://twitter.com/DswMinistries YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgIpWVQCmjqog0PMK4khDw/playlists Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dswministries/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DSW-Ministries-230135337033879 Keep in touch with me! Email subscribe to get my handpicked list of the best resources for abuse survivors! https://thoughtful-composer-4268.ck.page #abuse #trauma Affiliate links: Our Sponsor: 753 Academy: https://www.753academy.com/ Can't travel to The Holy Land right now? The next best thing is Walking The Bible Lands! Get a free video sample of the Bible lands here! https://www.walkingthebiblelands.com/a/18410/hN8u6LQP An easy way to help my ministry: https://dswministries.org/product/buy-me-a-cup-of-tea/ A donation link: https://dswministries.org/donate/   Randy Goodwin  [00:00:00] Welcome to the Wounds of the Faithful Podcast, brought to you by DSW Ministries. Your host is singer songwriter, speaker and domestic violence advocate, Diana Winkler. She is passionate about helping survivors in the church heal from domestic violence and abuse and trauma. This podcast is not a substitute for professional counseling or qualified medical help. Now here is Diana. Hello everyone. Welcome to the podcast. We do have a great guest for you, as always for you. I'm very grateful that you are here today with me. I'm also thankful for our sponsor 7 5 3 Academy that we have here in the local Phoenix area. Their mission statement is we create the capability to deal with anything life may [00:01:00] bring. We believe in life, success, and good health. We believe students that learn the 7, 5 3 philosophy through self-defense training, gain the perseverance to overcome any challenge in life while strengthening the body, mind, and spirit. Our academy is a supportive and inclusive environment where we provide the training for what comes next. So that is click on the link in the show notes for more information, 7 5 3 academy.com. Their email is info at 7 5 3 academy.com . And tell Coach Eric and Coach David that I sent you. So now onto show. I am going to be doing a series on cults, and thought that I would start with Randy Goodwin, who reached out to be a part of the show. So I will say that SRA is Satanic ritual abuse. Randy [00:02:00] Goodwin is a deliverance minister specializing in SRA trauma, SRA survivor therapy, survivor resources, occult deliverance deprogramming, and a deliverance prayer. Those who have suffered from spiritual bondage. With over 20 years of experience in ministry, Randy has helped hundreds of SRA survivors, traffic survivors, and individuals seeking OC cult freedom, while lasting freedom from spiritual abuse. His approach is rooted in the belief that Jesus Christ has the power to break every chain and set people free. From the spiritual warfare, holding them back through personalized counseling. So, needless to say, this is going to be a dark episode. So be mindful of that. We're gonna define what an, what the occult is, mind [00:03:00] control, trafficking, and how to get out of all that. So I won't delay it any further. I hope that this episode is informative and helps. If not you, then somebody you love, to be free of occult practices. So here's my conversation with Randy Goodwin. Please welcome my guest today, Randy Goodwin. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it. And, we're gonna do our best here to get what we need across and hopefully we can help somebody in the process. Yes, absolutely. I already gave the warning about this is going to be about a dark topic, the occult, to be sensitive about. If that is your background and might trigger you, then maybe come back later if you need to or take a break. Randy, let's talk a little bit [00:04:00] about your background and how you got into this line of work, because we don't grow up saying, oh, I wanna be a cult d programmer. You know what I mean? I had pretty much a normal life like everybody else did. You know, you go through teens, you get rebellious, you go off and do this and do that. And so you fast forward into my adult life and at the end, I don't wanna say the end of my adult life, but, about eight years ago, I just got to the point where I knew I had stuff in me. And what I mean by stuff, I knew I had demons. 'cause otherwise you wouldn't be doing this, you wouldn't be doing that. This wouldn't be happening. And, you know, I got a laundry list, right? Mm-hmm. Okay. And so the. Best [00:05:00] thing you can do at that point, if you really want to be free, the starting place, if you really want God to come, the first thing that everybody has to do is just get on your knees with a humble heart and a true humble heart. You're not just saying, God, help me. Alright, then go off and get a cheeseburger. You gotta really be serious. Seek the Lord and you shall find him. Knock and the door shall be open. So how hard are you gonna knock? How hard are you gonna seek? Well, I was serious. I really was. And I told God I was. And so now after you say that to God, now we're gonna see what your actions are gonna do to see if you really mean it right. Yes. Yeah, exactly. So I sought out [00:06:00] people to help me sought out. A lot of people, talked to, a lot of people, finally got connected, you know, to a few people, and I had things removed from me. And let me tell you, when you get things removed from you, it feels like this. Ah, yes. Just, I just feel lighter, you know, you can just feel the lightness come off you, the heaviness, and you become mm-hmm. You become lighter. And so here's what's totally cool. Once this stuff left, you know how we walk, how the scriptures say we have blinders on our eyes. And we can't see because we might have a log or something. So you can't really, yeah, you can't talk to anybody else. 'cause you got this, you know, the entire house on your eye. Right. Not just one log the entire house. So, but once you get some of this stuff lifted [00:07:00] and the blinders removed, you can see a little more clearly. Mm-hmm. And that's what happened to me. Some blinders came off and anybody listening, that's exactly what can happen to you too. 'cause God wants that to happen to you. So these, some blinders came off me and I just sat there and I go, okay, I get it now. Okay. I can see what you're telling me. Wow. It took this, this long for me to hear you to say that one little sentence. Yeah, that's right. It has been so. You know, then I just knew that, I knew in my knower, this is how I wanna make other people feel. And so I just went down the path I've never looked back and this is what I'm supposed to do. And God has taken me into a certain little area where he wants me to stay. That's how I got into it. That's what motivates me. And this is why I do it. 'cause I want other people to feel this way too. Absolutely. It all starts with our, humble [00:08:00] heart. And then being serious, you gotta be serious. Mm-hmm. And if you have to seek out certain people. Yeah, then it's okay. And God will connect you to the correct person. So I wanted to ask, for our, listeners, some different terminologies. Maybe they won't be so familiar with. What is the occult actually and Satanic ritual abuse and how do you actually get involved with something like that? Are there like gateways to satanic abuse? So, SRA is short for Satanic ritual abuse and the occult and satanic ritual abuse kind of go hand in hand. It's like a hand in glove because everybody that's in. And they're involved in an SRA scenario, then they are highly involved in the occult. For one, [00:09:00] you're born into the family. You just don't decide. One day I think I wanna be an SRAs, survivor, so you pick up the yellow pages. No, you're born into this and you're chosen, you're given over even before you're, even before you're conceived. And when you're, conceived, there's certain things that happen within the mother's womb where they amplify this, concreteness to make you in this circle. And then when you're born, you're born with these entities. Here's the thing, it's not their fault. They're victims. Mm-hmm. I always say this, if the enemy can, he will. He's looking for, he's just looking for an opportunity. I don't leave, I don't like the word of legal right. Or open doors, you know, we all use those terms, which there, there's truth in those terms. But I like the word opportunity. The enemy's an opportunist. If he can find a way, he will find a way. And in, in a family, [00:10:00] in an SRA family, there's always a coven involved and there's certain, people within the family who are in this coven, the parents and the grandparents. And there'll be a bunch of, other people involved also. And all these other people will, throughout this victims life where they will ensure their, instability and ensure the fragmentation of that individual. And once they can do that, then it's really difficult for that individual to get free. Not impossible, but difficult. So the occult and the Satanic ritual abuse, they go hand in hand. They're like a hand in the glove because they're, they feed off of each [00:11:00] other and it's usually like a satanist family. And these families can go way, way back. It's just, they did it, parents did it, their parents did it, and so on and so forth. And it's just what they do and their motivation for doing this is all pure selfishness. Of course, it's, it's all about power because when they can inflict things on an individual entities can come into that individual, which they get higher ranking entities into them, which brings them up in the rankings in the occult, makes 'em a little stronger in, you know, Satan's army. And that's their motivation. Mm. Sad but true. That's kind of the, just of the whole thing, you know? Uh, so you are about the same age, it looks like, and you remember back in the eighties, the satanic panic and that, the church would [00:12:00] claim that, if you go trick or treating or you watch certain things, or you have cabbage patch dolls or you watch the Smurfs, that mm-hmm. That, that is all a gateway into the occult and Satan having power over you. And do you remember that time period? And is there any legitimacy to that? I remember that time period, and I remember the time period before that. Yeah. Okay. So there's a lot of legitimacy to that. And it's no different than it is today. Remember when, TV first started? They call 'em a television program. Well, it is a program. It's a program to program you. And that's where they got that term from. You get a lot of cartoons, and of course we know about all the, you know, the bad movies that are out there, all the, you know, the right horror movies or [00:13:00] slasher films or whatever. Yeah. We know there's all kinds of stuff in those. Okay. That's a given. But you could get even cartoons. If we can get you at a young age, then we can make you go off course. And if you go off course, then you're not gonna serve the truer God and Father when you get older. And if we can still instill something into the, the child's brain while they're sitting in front of the TV set, like very common today, then we can make that child go off course. And that's what they wanna do. And there's actual, programs that are written into these cartoons that do that. And it comes, from the ruling families and the people that control all the media. So there are some people that would probably fall for that type of programming, but others may not. Is there? Well, what it does, is just everything, is like line upon line and once one thing happens, it makes you just a little bit numb, just a tiny, tiny, tiny bit. [00:14:00] Then it keeps compounding and keeps compounding, and you do this year after year after year, and then the next thing you know, you're, you're off course. If the enemy can get you just see, like right now, if you can just get you just looking like this, just slightly off, he has success and so that's what the enemy wants and with the cartoons. And even like all the Marvel comics, all of them, every one of them, they're all based upon, demons. When those programs that they're actually written, that coded information will actually go into your brain and your brain will get a code inside it. And now your computer holds that information maybe a little deep, but it's just, it's just a way the enemy can make you go off course. Mm-hmm. And that's, we don't want that. And with SRA people, all of the, things that they have to [00:15:00] endure and all this stuff, it's a way to fragment them. And fragment their soul into all these parts. And basically it creates, inside them, it creates a web undetectable by most people. And most deliverance people will just chase and chase and chase, and then let's go around the same mountain and these people will never get free. Yeah. So that's the just of an SRA individual. You're gonna see a, you're gonna see an SRA person like, they'll be in grade school, they're gonna go to school, they're gonna attend school, and they'll get decent grades. Nobody will ever know anything else. It's a nice person, people like that person. But when they go home, things change. Now they have to endure and experience and go through all of this stuff that the family, gives them to separate all this stuff in their [00:16:00] soul, Now where does, the gospel come in, into play there? For example, if you were saved early in life, does that give you a protection against the occult influences? It does. But if you're born into one of these families, you're already given over. You've already crossed the line. Okay. But here's one good thing your free will is never 100% captured. Yeah. Well that's good. One, it's never 100% captured. Your free will. I mean, you may have all kinds of fear, pressure, threats, all this kind of stuff. And they may seem like they're just mountains, but your free will is still intact. You still can choose. Now, like I said, for an SRA person, it's super hard. Yeah, it's super hard to come out of this. But is it impossible? No, nothing's impossible with God. So you just take a [00:17:00] normal person like you were saying, and you raise up a child in the ways they should go, and when they're old, they won't depart from this. And you can pray, you can protect. But when we expose ourselves or we're standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, or we're somewhere where, okay, I shouldn't be here. But you stay anyway. Okay. Just out of embarrassment or whatever. Okay, now Mr. Opportunity pops up and if he can, he will. I always go back to that. You never underestimate the enemies lying capabilities. Right? He's had, we don't know how many years back to Adam and Eve, nobody knows exactly. I don't know how many thousands of years that was, but he's had that many thousands of years to learn human behavior. Yeah. Learn how we think, decide all these things. So he's learned a lot on how to be cunning and deceitful. It's really [00:18:00] important to make sure, you know, that we pray for our children every day. Yeah. And we put on the whole armor of God on ourselves, on our children every day. Especially in these times. Mm-hmm. I mean, these are so vulnerable times. And I say, never let your kids outta your sight. Ever. Not now. Yeah. Yeah. But there, there is hope for those generational curses that you've mentioned. There is a way of escape, and you do have a choice. There is. Even though all these things happen. You know, the SRA individual still can seek out help. I didn't say it was easy 'cause there's a lot of fear, there's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of threats, and so on and so on. But, if they want it bad enough, they will. So you walk us through, maybe somebody that you've helped, like what does that process look like to [00:19:00] where the person is reaching out for help? What is the spark there, and then how do you walk them through the way of escape how to get out of this thing? So, when I'm first contacted, I'll just send a quick email back. Do you feel you're an SRA. A person or someone that was raised in the occult, something like that. And they'll say yes. Then I'll say, okay, let's just meet just for a chat. Just, this is not a session, just a meet and greet. Mm-hmm. And I'm just gonna ask 'em a couple questions. I'm gonna see where they are, I'm gonna see how serious they are, and I wanna see if they're just there to kick the tires or if they're really serious. Mm-hmm. And motivated. You'd be surprised. Most people are just tire kickers really. They're just interested, weird stuff. They're just, yeah. They're just interested, you [00:20:00] know? It's very, very few that wanna stick with it and have the tenacity to follow through. So when I do get somebody. That's serious. Let's say, they are an SRA survivor, then we have specific prayers that we are gonna start with that it's gonna break things all the way back from the very start in very specific prayers. 'cause the Bible tells us to be specific in our prayers. Yes. So I have very specific prayers, and of course we're gonna do some renunciations and we're gonna do some basic things. Normally I'll spend about an hour-ish each time I meet with someone. And then we're gonna go in there because in an SA person, there is programming and this is what keeps all the trauma and all the stuff keeps it intact and it keeps it [00:21:00] hidden. There's hermetic seals over it, and a hermetic seal is like saran wrap over an incident or a ritual or vow oath and ceremony and all that stuff. They hermetically seal it so you can't see it. Can't find it. So we remove those and this programming that's involved in SRA people and those in the occult satanist families and all there's, things that are built that they create inside their soul and inside their mind. And it's layered. Once you pull that main string, then it all comes tumbling down and. Within two to four months, I can get somebody pretty well cleaned out. Doesn't take years to do this really doesn't take years. No, it's interesting. Yeah. I know most deliverance people will chase the traumas and the wounds and try to get those hell healed [00:22:00] up. That's great, but it's not going to, for an SRA survivor, it's not going to get them free. You'd just be going around the mountain like that. You have to get rid of that programming out of there. And so that's what we will do. Mm-hmm. And so, yeah, the main thing is they have to be serious. have to be serious, and they have to be motivated. Then, you know, and with that, then we can move forward. Then we can, you know, get 'em cleaned out. Yeah. Throughout when Jesus was on the earth, people don't realize that he cast out demons a lot in the Bible. He did. I did. I was listening to a podcast, one that I really like. I won't say who it is, but mm-hmm. Ian, this guest did this whole story about demon possession and they left out completely Bible resources and what Jesus had done completely. And I sent him an email and I'm like, you really didn't do your research. You didn't even mention Jesus or all the [00:23:00] demons that he cast out and everything that went with that in the gospels. Jesus had encounters with demons all the time, and they had to obey. He did. He did. I get a lot of flack from the Pentecostals. Him right in the eyes. Okay. But he spoke to Satan while he is looking at Peter right in the eyes. And he said, get behind me Satan. Yeah. I wanna hear what the Pentecostal said. What were they saying to you? Okay. So, uh, the Pentecostal side were, are all about, quickly screaming and yelling, speaking in tongues and, going right after demons and all that. Yeah. They're a little, guess bringing attention to the demons. There's a demon behind every bush and Yeah. Something like that. And [00:24:00] they're very, quick to move, quick to speak, quick to act. And, but like I said, you have to remember the enemy is very cunning. I don't think we give the enemy enough credit for how deceptive and how, much of a liar he is because he's the father of all lies. Mm-hmm. That means he's, uh, that he's, no, no one better than him. You're not gonna outdo the guy. He wrote the book on lying. Yeah. Yeah. So, and then there's Jesus, and then there's Jesus who does water on water. Who does trample out those lies? He does. He removes 'em all. And the greatest gift of all is love. Mm-hmm. Uh, 'cause perfect love casts out all fear. And when there's perfect love in an individual, there's no fear in that individual. And fear is the basis. It's one of the number one things that the enemy uses [00:25:00] to deceive anybody. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. If he can just get in there in any way, any opportunity to deceive, he will. If he can. Well, look at the news now. All you have to do is watch the news, which is designed to induce fear in people and get people upset, even if it's, whether it's true or not depends on who you listen to. But I've seen that in my own home. Like they're freaking out. It's like, now hold on a minute. Calm down. Yeah. And it doesn't matter. Yeah. It doesn't matter if you're Republican or a Democrat. There's Right, there's still things that are said that you could be frightened from Yes. Yes. And that is definitely the enemy doing that behind the scenes. Yeah. Our enemy is not the person in front of us, it's the behind the scenes. Of course. A hundred percent. And the enemy will when he can get something in our soul. It all works in your [00:26:00] subconscious, and that's 90% of your brain. You know, we're talking right now in our 10% from the prefrontal cortex, but the 90% is where the enemy sets up camp. And he gets in there and hides. And if he has an opportunity to come in, he's gonna go in there hide and then try to camouflage it, you know, build things around it so you can't find it. So, let's just say somebody has a recurring dream, bad dream every once in a while. And it might be the same, might not be the same exact dream, but it sure could be, it could be, uh, centered around a theme. If you're having these dreams, you know, you know what I'm talking about? Yeah. I dream about work almost every night. Okay. Maybe you could tell me what that means. Well, there could be some things , if you have a bad dream that comes up, there could be something that got in there that's [00:27:00] making, this bad dream come up. And when you're sleeping and the, during your subconscious, you know, the enemy can really attack you. There. Here's what I do personally every night, and I would encourage everybody to do this before you go to sleep. If you're married and you're a husband, that the husband should pray this prayer. If you're not married and you're the wife, then of course the wife should pray the prayer. Well, you wouldn't be a wife 'cause you wouldn't be married. You pray. Heavenly Father, I put the blood of Jesus over my entire soul, over my wife's soul and over my kids' soul as we sleep tonight and give us sweet sleep in Jesus' name and I'll praise you. That's what I pray every night that would encourage everybody to pray that prayer. Yeah, because it does help. It does. And then [00:28:00] after that, you pray this, say true Lord God. And Father, when I wake, I put the word of God before me and my family. For the entire day in Jesus name. So you are already putting out the word before you, before you even get up. Yeah. And those aren't very long prayers. I mean, doesn't take, they're not long prayers, doesn't take much. You see, that's a whole nother thing. Jesus talked to the Pharisees, you know, these are guys that are scholars. They knew of the first five books of the Bible, probably by heart. Yes. Okay. But we have to know him. And when we have that, we have that relationship with Christ. We can communicate, you know, as talking to our daddy, talking to our Heavenly Father. So if you really mean with your prayer, if you mean it, you don't have to have a lofty [00:29:00] prayer. You just have to be sincere. You have to be sincere. And you know what, when you're praying to God, hate to break it to you guys, but he knows if you're sincere or not. Yeah, absolutely. He knows if we're sincere, there's no, there's no cut in that one. Yeah. That's go, goes back to salvation when we get saved, because I came from a denomination that had altar calls all the time and you know, you think you were saved and then they have, you come up to the altar and pray to get saved, but they're just going through the motions because somebody told 'em to go up there and pray, or somebody gave them a guilt trip. They're going up there and they're, they aren't sincere. They don't know what they're doing up there. I was a missionary for 13 years, so Oh, wow. I'm familiar with knocking on doors and just pray this prayer repeat after me, [00:30:00] and they would just repeat after me, just so they'd get the door shut. And so I would leave. It goes back to salvation. You don't have to say some big fancy, long prayer. It's just the sincerity of your heart that you wanna be saved and you want Jesus to come into your life and, understand he died for you. And, absolutely. Yeah. We need him. Amen. And when I was talking about, SRA, people still have a free will. Mm-hmm. They, they still can reach out for help. That same principle stands true from what you just said. You go up for an altar call. Okay. We're gonna repeat a sentence. Okay. Great. repent. Jesus said, repent and follow me. Yep. Those are the two things he asked. Just repent and follow me. Yeah. Those two things. So if you're truly sincere about your altar call and your repentance, then [00:31:00] your life is gonna show it from that moment forward. And that's what Jesus means. Follow me. It's gonna hit you and you're gonna go, your life is just gonna start changing. It's gonna hit way down, and it's gonna mean something like it never has meant before. Amen to that. Yeah. Yeah. And so it. Our free will stands intact just for that simple out to call. Also, you know, I gave my life to Christ when I was 14 years old and it was a death of my grandmother. And I was just, really close to my grandmother and she passed and I just felt all alone. Aw. And there I was and I started bawling. I felt alone and afraid. I cried out to the Lord right then and there, and I asked him to come into my life and I meant it. Well, thanks. Yeah. And here I am, just a young man and I still mean it. Yeah. I was saved when I was 13, oh, nice. Got saved early in life, thankfully. Yeah. This [00:32:00] free will choice that we have. No matter what you've gone through in life, you might be somebody that, let's say you had a one time event violation from a family member. Well, that causes trauma. Yes. And that causes a forever bad memory and a thought that gets really lodged deep inside, you know? And you might feel, I just can't get past this. This is just too big for me to get past. I've prayed and prayed and prayed, and it just doesn't go away. Well, Jesus can, I know you've probably heard this a million times, but if Jesus. Is allowed to that spot, then he can get that healed. Mm-hmm. If, if he's allowed, I go back to our free will choice if we allow him to do that. And not just pray a prayer, not [00:33:00] just, read a prayer. We have to submit to him and his, perfect will. And he can touch that and he can heal it. Once Jesus touches, uh, wound, like maybe like a one time event, you're still gonna remember it. Okay. You're still gonna remember the event, but it's just not gonna like sting. Hurt like it did. Right. And that's where the enemy lives is on all the emotions and the feelings. That's what he attaches to. And Jesus can take away the enemy from those feelings and emotions if we, if we allow him. Mm-hmm. That's, that's pretty hard sometimes though, yeah. We experienced something like that. A one time trauma or maybe a series of, of things, you know, you lived a, a normal life, but we had a, I don't know, a bad neighbor or a bad relative or some [00:34:00] or something. Getting past that. Now you're an adult. It can be humbling, to. You know, cry out to the father or even tell somebody else about it and talk to 'em about it. And that would make you a victim if you did experience that. But see, here's, here's the thing about being a victim and being perpetrated upon. Being perpetrated makes you a victim, but there was still sin involved. The scriptures tell us to confess our sin one to another, so Jesus. Can heal us. And that's really, see it's easy to do to God, say, oh Lord, forgive me of all my sin. But you know what, it's hard to tell what happened to another person Yeah. This happened, five years ago or 20 years ago, and I need to share it with somebody. That's hard. That's hard to do. Yes. That can seem like a mountain. Wouldn't, wouldn't you agree? Oh yeah. I've got that through my mending, the soul groups. [00:35:00] It's humbling to be the first person that they share that with, and they're scared to death and they've never told a soul and, right. Yeah. Is, definitely, is very hard. But the, the scriptures tell us that's what we need to do. But when we're with another human being, that's very humbling. Mm-hmm. But there's something very, refreshing about it once you tell somebody what happened. Yeah. Yes. It's therapeutic. Very, very. Yeah. For those that are maybe listening and they've been in the occult, or they have a family member in the occult and they are serious about getting free, like, oh, listen, there's somebody here that can help me. Uh, what resources do you have for the listeners? Just go to my website, randy goodwin.org, and you can contact me through there. So do you go through [00:36:00] a course or is it one-on-one coaching? What does that look like? Okay, so you're gonna contact me and then we are gonna meet, we're gonna meet one-on-one and just over the internet just like this. And it's all private. And sessions are gonna be about an hour, hour and a half spaced out, about one week apart. No closer than that because we need a time to reboot. Yeah, because Yeah. And the tube to all that stuff that you talked about. Yeah. Yeah. 'cause we're gonna get into it. We we're gonna get into way more than you and I have even discussed here. Oh, yeah. Way more. And we're, I, we move fast, very fast. I use broad, uh, brush strokes and, but if you're, truly serious, then yes, I can help you. , Of course, they're all asking, is there a cost involved with this? On the website, I do ask for a donation. Here's what's interesting. I have a daughter [00:37:00] who gets social security, okay? So she lives on social security. So she asked me the other day, she goes, dad, um, I wanna give, you know, to my church for a tithe and stuff, but I don't have any money. I'm flat broke. I go, that's not true. You do have something. Do you have 10 cents in your pocket? Yeah. Okay. Then you do have something to give. you have 5 cents? Yeah, I do. Okay, then don't tell me you're broke. You have something to give. You can give something. And by giving something, it puts you into the mix. You're involved. 'cause a money rep, money represents a part of our life. Sure. And when we're put a part of our life into the process, it makes all the difference. I absolutely. I forget you have a book. I have a book, it's Mind Control programming and SRA Survivors. And [00:38:00] it's on Amazon. You just type my name in Randy Goodwin. You can find it. It's on Amazon. Yeah. So that might be a helpful resource also. Anything you'd like to end with, something encouraging for our listeners, something practical. I'd just like to reinforce the fact that if you are an SRA survivor or even if you've had some trauma in your life, then you do have a free will choice. You still have that. It just depends how bad you want to fight through it and get free. That's all up to you. It just like coming to Christ. God's not gonna make you come to him and follow the Lord. It's up to you. You can get free. oh folks, reach out to Randy and his book and, for his sessions if that's gonna help you or a family member. And, thanks so much for coming [00:39:00] on the show. I sure appreciate it. This has been a great conversation, Randy. Thank you so much for having me. And I appreciate your time and all your efforts that you put into your show. Oh, God bless you. God bless you. Thank you for listening to the Wounds of the Faithful Podcast. If this episode has been helpful to you, please hit the subscribe button and tell a friend. You could connect with us at DSW Ministries dot org where you'll find our blog, along with our Facebook, Twitter, and our YouTube channel links. Hope to see you next week.    

Wednesday, 3 September 2025   Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” Matthew 12:47   “And, he said, someone to Him, ‘You behold! Your mother and your brothers, they have stood without seeking to speak to You.'” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus' mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Now, it says, “And, he said, someone to Him, ‘You behold! Your mother and your brothers, they have stood without seeking to speak to You.'”   This verse is lacking in several ancient texts. Some claim it is an insertion to bridge the thoughts of verse 12:46 and 12:48. The main contents are close to those of the previous verse, but this verse more poignantly ties the brothers with Mary.   In other words, it would be easier to say that verse 12:46 could refer to Mary and some other close relatives who are not necessarily sons of Mary. However, when someone speaks to Jesus of Mary and the brothers in the same breath, it heavily implies that they are of the same intimate family.   As such, it seems likely that rather than being an inserted bridge, the words belong in the text and were dropped out for some unstated reason. The “perpetual virginity of Mary” was introduced into Christian lore early on, being found in the late second-century text known as the Protoevangelium of James, a book never canonized.   This early distraction from the admonition to seek Jesus as the point and purpose of Scripture soon blossomed and has become a source of real apostasy within the church.   Life application: Mary is mentioned only a few times in Scripture. When she is, it is always in relation to the Person of Jesus, even if He is not directly mentioned. The last time she is mentioned is in Acts 1:14, noting her among the other believers. Even then, she is called “the mother of Jesus.”   Someone had to be the mother of Jesus in order for Jesus to be incarnated. Mary was selected because she fit the ancient prophecies about Jesus. For example, she was a virgin, she was betrothed to Joseph, whose registry was Bethlehem, and who later returned to Nazareth, etc. Each of these things was necessary to bring about the fulfillment of prophecies that refer to Jesus. Mary's role in them, though necessary, was incidental to this fact.   When evaluating Scripture, we are to search for Jesus. Studying the Bible to find clues about the “other world,” as many do, is mentally exciting but ultimately a waste of time. And yet, it is studies, videos, and TV shows about this type of thing that enraptures many. It brings fame and a lot of money, but it serves no purpose in glorifying God.   If one is not looking for Jesus, what He has done, or how it bears on the lives of His people, that time in the Bible was not properly focused. This doesn't mean we shouldn't know about things that are mentioned concerning side issues, but that those things should not be our main line of focus.   Teachings about wealth, abundant life, being prosperous, etc., are self-centered. Teachings about extra-worldly encounters with angels or UFOs, or the different levels of heaven, are misguided or even entirely incorrect. Those who constantly pursue end times prophecy have an unsound fixation that misdirects their thoughts away from Jesus.   The list of such things goes on and on. Why is this? It is because what should be man's highest desire and goal, that of intimately knowing and fellowshipping with God, is not our normal priority. We should actively remind ourselves from day to day to change that and seek the Lord first in all things. In doing this, our priorities will be properly aligned.   Lord God, may our greatest desire be a close relationship with You. May our hearts seek You through Your word, searching for Jesus who has made the bridge back to You possible. Open our eyes as we read Your word, revealing Him and His greatness as we are drawn into Your very presence through Him. Amen.  

Introduction: When my Father and I are in a good place… (Matthew 7:7–12) I ASK, knowing my Father's GENEROSITY. (Matt 7:7–8) James 4:2c – […] You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:2c–3 – […] You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. I TRUST, knowing my Father's CARE. (Matt 7:9–11) I LOVE, knowing my Father's LOVE. (Matt 7:12) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 7:7-12What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What are you personally afraid to ask the Father right now?Share a time when you were disappointed in the moment, but now look back and praise God for not giving you what you wanted.What is your biggest challenge in treating others as you want to be treated?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Good morning.My name is Justin Cady. If we haven't met yet, I serve as one of the elders here at Harvest andas we prepare to get into God's word, I'm going to ask that you would pray for me toclearly and accurately communicate and I will pray for you to have hearts to receive. So let's pray.In Jesus' name, amen.If you have your Bibles, you can open them to Matthew chapter 7 andwe're continuing our journey this year through the Sermon on the Mount, but before we get there, I want to ask you.Can you remember a situation ever where you needed to call your dad for help?I'm blessed that by God's grace, I've always been able to go to my dad when I'm in a jam and in God's providence,He blessed my dad with a son who often got into jams.So I thought back, way back, to the first jam that I can remember. I was around five years old.I was playing Nintendo and I made it to the end of a Super Mario Brothers castle, but I couldn't defeat the boss.So I thought, I'll just ask my dad.But he was at work, so I paused the game andI closed the cabinet over the TV. In the 90s, we all put our TVs behind doors, right?And I thought what I was just going to leave it on all day and then when he got home, he could help me.But my mom found it. She didn't agree with my leave the TV on all day plan.So, but I know given the chance, I have complete confidence he would have delivered.Another jam later in life when I was a teenager with a driver's license.One year, we were just getting back from family vacation that very evening.And some of my friends were getting together for a back-to-school pool party.And my parents try to tell me, look, it's getting late, you're only going to be there for a little bit.Are you sure it's a good idea to go out there?But of course, I had to go.Now, not only am I old enough that I was playing the original Nintendo,I'm also old enough to have been operating a motor vehicle before the age of Google Maps.So as I was heading out to this party, I got lost.And while doing a three-point turn on some random street out in Murraysville, I slid my car over the curb.So I had to call my dad, who that day had packed us all up and drove us all home from the beachand explained that my car is now hanging halfway over the curb, stuck into somebody's downslope driveway.Dad, what do I do?Has anyone ever had to make a call like that?Or dads, have you ever received a call like that?At another decade or so, and I had to call my dad about a different car problem.Michelle and I were buying our first cars, a married couple, and I, knowing absolutely nothing about cars,I was totally panicked that we were going to buy a lemon or we're going to way overpay,or who knows what I'm going to get fleeced into.So in my panic, I called my dad.And I said, "Dad, could you come with me to negotiate on the car?"And he could have rightfully said, "You're on your own, son."But he came to help.And don't worry, that was a very long time ago, and since then I've purchased my vehicles all by myself.But I share those few examples to point out the reason that I always saw my dad's helpand the reason that he always gave it to me.Our relationship.The reason is our relationship.He is my father and I am his son.And my dad and I have always been in a good place.And I realize how blessed I am to be able to say that.And because of that relationship, I could always and did always ask my dad for whatever help I needed.I called to ask him for help yesterday.But for the moment, I want us to shift our view from earthly fathers to our relationship with our heavenly father.The Bible tells us that believers can address God as father because through Jesus we become children of God, amen?But if we didn't talk to our heavenly father for years, would our relationship be the same?And I'm not talking about a salvation issue.Once you are his child, that's that.I'm just saying, if you never spend time together or you never ask him for help, or you never trust anything he said,or you never listened to anything he tells you to do, what would that say about your relationship?You wouldn't say it's great, right?In that regard, how is your relationship with your heavenly father?Would you say that you're in a good place?Now, careful listeners this month might be wondering, our series the past few weeks has been about our heart towards the world.So in the last couple weeks we've talked about money, worry, judging others.What does my relationship with my father or asking of my father, what does that have to do with my heart towards the world?Well, it might seem like Jesus is taking a sudden turn at the start of this passage,but we're going to see how your relationship with your heavenly father, it absolutely affectsyour relationship and how you also ask him and approach him when you're in a jam.It absolutely affects your relationships with other people.So on your outline today, when my father and I are in a good place,number one, I ask, knowing my father's generosity.So in Pastor Jeff Sermon last week, if you were here, you know we saw a lot.We saw twigs and logs. We saw hogs and dogs.But primarily we saw Jesus telling us, do not do these things.This week we're going to see him telling us, do these things.And the week before last we studied Jesus speaking of the father's provision.If you remember him talking, Jesus talking about feeding the birds and clothing the flowers.We'll see some parallels to that today, but well, that section of Jesus teaching focused on worry.This passage starts out with a different focus. It's an invitation.So Matthew seven starting in verse seven, Jesus says, ask and it will be given to you.Seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.Let's stop there.We see in verse seven, Jesus is inviting his followers to ask and we'll see in the following verses.He's talking about asking the father. So ask, seek, knock. All of these are referring to asking the father in prayer, asking continually according to the original language.And the repetition here emphasizes, we're not talking about half hearted by the way prayers.We're talking about passionate, all of me prayer.But you might be thinking, why does Jesus even tell us to ask?Because doesn't God already know what we need even before we ask him?And yes, he absolutely knows Matthew six, eight tells us that.But our heavenly father desires relationship.And here Jesus invites us into the same relationship he has with the father.Throughout Jesus ministry, we see him asking of the father, don't we?And again, through Jesus, we become children of God.And while inviting his followers to ask their father, Jesus gives encouragement that those who ask what receive verse eight for everyone who asks receives the one who seeks.Finds the one who knocks, it will be opened.But what does Jesus mean by that exactly?Because that might sound like Jesus is handing us a blank check, right?Ask for anything and it shows up like a supernatural prime day.And listen, sometimes it is like that. Amen.Sometimes God shows up and immediately answers prayer, just how we asked.And we stand there with our jaws on the floor like, what just happened?I've seen that as a church. We have seen that.But have you ever asked God for something and not received it?Or at least not yet.Yeah, that happens too.But if Jesus said everyone who asks receives, why does that happen?Now, we could spend a lot of time digging into that.Honestly, it's something we cannot fully understand this side of heaven.But scripture does give us some reasons that we do know.So why don't I get what I asked for?Number one, I don't ask.I don't ask.James four.Starting in verse two, the end of verse two tells us you do not have because you do not ask.Now it could be because you get so busy with other stuff.You don't spend time in prayer seeking the Lord wholeheartedly bringing your request before him.Or this is a big one.Sometimes we don't ask because of pride.I got this God. I'll let you know if I need you.Now, we probably don't say those words, but our actions do.We try to do whatever it is on our own without prayer.We try to fix it ourselves, whatever it is without seeking him.I mean, why does Jesus even have to tell us to ask?Pride because in our pride, we forget our need for God.And not just physical or material needs.We forget our spiritual needs.A struggle with a particular sin or an area where we need to grow like in patience or in wisdom, in joy.What about asking the Lord to equip us for all of Jesus instructions in this sermon?I don't mean today's sermon. I mean the whole sermon on the Mount.Do we ask our Father to help us be better disciples?Now, to clarify, physical and material needs are important.100% ask for them.Don't mishear me on that. It's a both and.But for all of the above, we don't ask.Another reason that we don't ask, we're afraid of the answer.We don't ask because we're afraid of being disappointed.So what are you afraid to ask God for right now?A health issue you've been dealing with for a long time?A lost family member that keeps making destructive decisions no matter how many times you try to help.A goal or a desire or something in your life that always seems like it's just out of reach.Think about it for a second.What are you afraid to ask God for right now?Now, we're going to get more into disappointment in a moment, but how would Jesus respond to you not asking out of fear?Based on this passage, he would say, ask whatever it is, bring it to your father.Why don't I get what I asked for?Number one, I don't ask. Number two, I ask wrongly.James continues, you do not have because you do not ask.You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.Okay, so first you don't ask, but when you do ask, do you ask wrongly?Now, in this context, wrongly means selfishly or sinfully.Like, Father, I'm asking for a Ferrari.I am seeking a Ferrari.I am knocking on the door of the Ferrari dealership.Now, God is certainly capable of that, but why?Is there any purpose beyond my passions?I hope you see what I mean.There's nothing wrong with owning that whip.It's about the heart.Is my request just for my glory?Instead of asking things so we can impress people or keep up with people,we should pray for God to get the glory in all things.God, will you bring healing to this person so that your name may be glorifiedbecause you're doing the healing?God, will you provide a new church building so that your name may be glorifiedbecause you're doing the providing?God, will you free my brother and sister, brother or sister from addictionso that your name may be glorified because only in you can they experience true freedom?Now, I'm not trying to prescribe exact words.I'm just saying our hearts should desire his glory instead of our own.Why don't I get what I asked for?Those are just two reasons.The point is we interpret Jesus' words here knowing he's not a Christian.Knowing he's not fully explaining all the details of God's provision in this passage.We understand from the rest of the New Testament that God is not a vending machine.If this was the only teaching in the whole Bible on prayer, then we might think he was,but Jesus is talking about one aspect of prayer.He's telling us we should have hearts that go to our Father and ask.He is inviting us to ask, knowing that there's no limit to our Father's generosity.Our Father wants to give to his children,but the answer we receive is not always the one that we expected.Why don't I get what I asked for?The hard truth is sometimes what we ask for is not what he wants for us.Our call is to maintain total confidence in our Father regardless of the answer,because point number two on your outline today,when my Father and I are in a good place, I trust knowing my Father's care.Let's continue looking at Jesus' words.We're going to pick it up in verse nine.It says,So Jesus paints a picture to help us understand more deeply.And there are some details we don't want to miss.Like in verse nine,if his son asks him for bread, we'll give him a stone.If you're hungry, what good is a stone?It's worthless.It does nothing.Or if you're verse 10,if he asks for a fish, we'll give him a serpent.If you're hungry, what good is a serpent?It's worse than worthless.It's harmful, right?Jesus is saying, and I'm paraphrasing,even you evil humans know these responses would be insane.So how will your Father in heaven, who is truly good in a way we never can be,how will he respond when we ask him?And that's the point.We can trust our Father because of who he is.He is a Father who cares for his children.Back in college, my friend Jesse and I would play pick-up hockey at the school ice rink.And hockey being a sport with a ton of equipment,they had lockers at the rink that you could rentso you didn't have to lug all of your stuff back and forth.So one day I was sitting in class and I got a text message from Jessewith these exact words,"Give me your hockey locker combination.Don't question me."Now, in that moment, I had a choicebecause college age males sometimes build friendship through destructive pranks.But I chose to trust, and I sent back the combo.And he did not prank me that time.As I later found out, as a birthday present, he grabbed my skates,took them to get sharpened, retaped my stick, stuff like that.It was very nice.But the point is, I responded to that textwithout knowing why he needed to get in the lockeror what he was going to do.I didn't know what to expect.But because of our friendship, I trusted him.Do we trust God like that?Do we trust our Father not because he tells us exactly what's going to happen,but because of who he is?Because our relationship is in a good place.Or let me ask in a different way.What do you expect from God?At times, especially around hard times,I think we expect stones and serpents.Again, we might not say it like that.We say things like, "Of course it would happen this way!That's how it always works out for me!"And that's because our expectations can be influenced by relationships with people.We don't trust God to give good gifts because we've been hurt by human relationships.Human fathers are not perfect fathers.Human friends are not perfect friends.Trust gets broken.You might say, "Justin, you don't get my situation.My life has been full of disappointment.Things have not turned out how I expected at all."And you're right.I have not walked in your shoes.I don't know your situation.And I cannot speak to your disappointment.But I know my Father.And He tells us to ask and to expect good things from Him.Because He cares for us as a Father cares for His children.So will hard times come?Oh yeah.Jesus tells us that elsewhere.And you won't always understand why.But here He tells you to trust your Heavenly Father.Trust Him regardless of what you expect and regardless of what you ask for.Because sometimes we ask for the wrong things and that's okay.What do I mean?We ask God for that house or that job or that anything.And we can and should freely ask for all of that because praise God,He does not always give us what we ask for.If my kids ask me to have dessert for all three meals,I'm not going to give them what they asked for.And I do that because I care for them, right?In the same way we can't see sometimes what that house or that jobor that whatever it is will ultimately do to us, but He can.So we trust Him to give good gifts.And we don't have to worry even about getting our request exactly right.So continually ask and totally trust.I know just continually ask and totally trust.It is incredibly difficult for us to do that.But do you trust Him?Is your relationship with Him in a good place?Because now we're going to see how that relationship affects our relationships on Earth too.When my father and I are in a good place,point number three, I love knowing my father's love.So we've been talking again about our heart towards the Father,but what about our heart towards the world?Let's read our last verse for today, Matthew chapter seven verse 12.It says, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,for this is the law and the prophets."Now we know this as what rule?That's right.This is commonly labeled the golden rule, just like Grandma taught in Sunday school.This is how Jesus wants us to love, humbling ourselvesand doing what we would wish to others.Now verse 12 opens with a "so"and I believe this is another instance of Jesus' logical progressionthat we've seen in the Sermon on the Mount.He is connecting this verse to the verses that we just read.But how does Ask Seek Knock connect to Do unto Others?Again, our relationship with our Father influences our relationships with people.Jot down 1 John 419, it says, "We love because he first loved us."Understanding the Father's love for us is what motivates us to love.Now Jesus is also here pointing back to the entire Sermon on the Mount as in,so based on all of that, love others this way.I mean think back throughout the year, back in the Beatitudes,remember when we had all the congratulations balloons up here,to anger, adultery, retaliation,and on and on, so much of our study this year was about our relationships with others.And that all lands here.Verse 12 again, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you,do also to them for this is the law and the prophets."This verse summarizes Jesus' teaching on discipleship from the Sermon on the Mount,but as if that wasn't enough, Jesus says this statement is the law and the prophets.Now many might notice that the greatest commandment,"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,"is not here because again Jesus is speaking of human to human interaction.But even limiting it to the scope of human relationships,think about how much is in the Old Testament law,how much is in the books of the prophets that were sent to Israel.Jesus is saying all of that is right here.How?Jesus is talking about the heart of the law rather than the letter of the law.The golden rule is the law and the prophets for one because Jesus says it is.That's enough, right?But if we want to totally lawyer it out,Jesus is saying this is the heart behind everything else in the law.It's the foundation.This is the ethics of Christianity compressed to a single statement.So the question to us is then, how do we do that?And I know what we're all thinking, "I already do that.I always treat others the way that I want to be treated."Let's think about that for a minute.When you're at work, do you always treat everyone with the attitude that you would like directed back at you?What about marriage?When there's a disagreement, do you handle yourself the way that you would want when you are wrong and you will be wrong?What about with family or our friend who just pushes your buttons every time you're together?Would your response be what you wanted if the roles were flipped?In church, I saved this one for last.When you are driving a car,do you consistently treat others with the same patience, understanding,and a benefit of the doubt that you want to receive as a driver?You're like, "What is this guy's deal with cars?"With just a little self-examination, we can see how far off we often are.And the standard is actually even higher than we might realize,because especially with the people that frustrate us, we set the bar at not hurting them.But look at what Jesus said, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them."That is a higher bar than just not hurting.Jesus says, "Do. Take action. Actively put their needs ahead of yours."That is hard.It's also hard to come up with examples for something that affects basically everything we do,but we want to merge into traffic when we're behind schedule, right?So let others in when you see them trying to merge.I promise that's the last driving example.Or what would you want when you're in a stressful season?A card in the mail, meeting for coffee, bringing a meal or a tub of ice cream?When you know that someone is going through a stressful season of their own,take whatever it is to them.Or we want others to listen to us when we have something to say or just get off our chest, don't we?So listen to others instead of just waiting for your chance to say something.It's so difficult to live out things like that.So how can we love like Jesus commands?A few years ago, we had some people over for dinner, just low-key hanging out,and we were cleaning up afterwards and I was doing the dishes.And one guest asked me, "Why do you do the dishes?"I said, "I don't know, I just do the dishes to help out."And he asked, "Did your dad do the dishes?"And I thought back and answered, "Yeah, my dad did the dishes quite a bit growing up. He still does."And this guest said, "You do the dishes because your dad did the dishes."And that whole conversation was 20 seconds, but it's stuck with me ever since, because he's right.There are so many things in my life that I do as a father, as a husband, as a man, because that's what my dad did.So how can we love like Jesus commands?Because that's what our dad did.He loves us, and he proved that by sending his son.Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and gave us the right to become children of God.Through his death and resurrection, we can have a relationship with our father.God's love for us is not in question, yet so often our love for others is.But when we truly know the love of our father, how can we do anything else?Or in the language of this verse, in our hearts, we wish nothing more than to be loved, so we must do that unto others.So as we prepare to close for today, how is your relationship with God the Father?Maybe you're thinking, what if he and I are not in a good place?What if I don't have a relationship with God at all?If that's you, remember, God desires relationship, and Jesus made that possible.The Bible says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.So repent, turn from your sin, and start a relationship with him today.And if you already have a relationship, but it's not in a good place, open the lines of communication to get it there.Now of course we cannot do any of this on our own, so we ask, seek, knock for help.Actually, let's go in reverse.We know we have to love, and we can't do it by ourselves, so do you trust in the care of your heavenly Father?Then he invites you to ask him.Let's pray together.Our heavenly Father, we come before you and follow Jesus' command to ask.We ask you for help, Lord God.We know that all of the things that we talked about today that we read from your Word, we can't do on our own power.We need you, God.We need you for the very breath we breathe.So I pray, God, that you would give us a renewed focus on deepening our relationship with you, Lord God.And I pray that as we are filled with your love, we would pour that out to others.God, in all the things that we ask, in all the things that we do in our lives as individuals and that we do as a church, Lord God, may you be glorified.We thank you and praise you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Free Podcast Downloads God's desire is to dwell with His people. The basic restoration of God's plan is eternal, unbroken fellowship with His people. The Bible makes it clear that God longs to dwell with His people; it is not a side note or unimportant issue. From the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation, the Lord continually moves towards us. God's desire is to be close, to live among us, and to restore what was lost through sin. The Lord uses the word “dwell with.” We need to understand that in modern terms, “dwelling with” means relationship and fellowship. In the beginning of the Bible, we can see that God dwelt with Adam and Eve. They knew the Lord in a personal way; they walked with Him and talked with Him. Even after they sinned and were trying to hide from God, God was there waiting for them to come to Him. Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” At the end of the Bible, we see the conclusion to the story of redemption and restoration of fellowship. Revelation 21:3, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.” God Himself will be with them and be their God.”What a beautiful picture of the Tabernacle, God's dwelling place, being in His people. 

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You Thought Nothing Was Happening… But God Was Setting It All Up | Blessed Daily Effective PrayerSUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer™ Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright Daily Effective Prayer™ SUPPORT THE MINISTRY:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTubeX / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

Jonah 4English Standard VersionBut it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Genesis 3:8 ESVAnd they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Luke 5:17 KJVAnd it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Luke 5:18 NASB1995And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.   Luke 5:19 NASB1995But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.   Luke 5:20 NASB1995Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”  Luke 5:21 NASB1995The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”  Luke 5:22-24 NASB1995But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, ‘Get up and walk'? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”   Luke 5:25-26 NASB1995Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.” Isaiah 40:31 KJVBut they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Luke 24:28-33 ESVSo they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. hey said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 & St. Luke 18:9-14 by William Klock “Two men went up to the temple to pray,” Jesus said.  The temple was the place where heaven and earth met.  The place where men and women could go to be in the presence of God.  Twice a day the priests would lead the people in prayers, at nine in the morning and at three in the afternoon, but people could go any time to pray. On this day, two men climbed the steps to the temple courts to pray.  “One,” Jesus said, “was a Pharisee.”  A Jew could pray anywhere—at home, wherever.  But if anyone was going to go out of their way to pray at the temple, it was going to be a Pharisee.  The temple was everything to them.  They weren't priests, but they lived their lives as if they were.  So it was natural for a Pharisee to go to the temple to pray. But there were two men this day, Jesus said, who went up to the temple.  “The other was a tax collector.”  If there was a polar opposite of the Pharisee, it was the tax collector.  The Pharisees were devoted to God's covenant and to his law.  They kept every last jot and tittle of it.  But the tax collectors.  When Jesus mentioned a tax collector, his whole audience recoiled.  They were the worst of the worst.  There were “sinners”—that means Jews who made lifestyle that rejected God's covenant with them—but then there were tax collectors.  They were a special kind of sinner.  The scum of the earth.  They got rich sucking up to the gentile dogs while swindling their own people. I expect that as Jesus described these two men, everyone had a similar mental picture.  The Pharisee, dignified, wearing his fine clothes, making his way confidently up the steps to the temple complex, and striding just as confidently through the outer courts.  Everyone knew him, everyone he passed greeted him respectfully as he made his way through the various gates and colonnades, further and further into the temple complex.  But then the tax collector.  Maybe it took him three times to make it up those steps, because twice he turned around, overwhelmed by guilt and shame.  And on the far side of the court of the Gentiles, the soreg, the low wall that marked the boundary between the pure and impure, made him pause.  He didn't belong on the other side.  But he'd already spent weeks tracking down the people he'd fleeced and making restitution to them.  There was no going back.  So he steeled himself and passed through, head down, trying to look unobtrusive, because he knew—he just knew—that everyone recognised him.  And he went to one of the men selling lambs.  And he picked one out, paid for it, took it in his arms—he wasn't used to handling animals—and he got in line in the courtyard outside the sanctuary, waiting for a priest as the lamb struggled.  And finally, a priest motioned him toward the altar.  He presented the lamb, his sin offering, and as the priest held it, the tax collector laid his hands on it and slit its throat.  And the priest collected the blood and poured it out at the base of the altar, then butchered the little lamb and burned its fat.  Now he was pure.  But there was still more to do.  The tax collector went back out to the outer court and this time he bought a ram for a guilt offering.  And a servant helped him with the ram as he, again, went back to stand in line for a priest.  And, again, he placed his hands on the ram as the priest held it.  And he killed it, and as with the lamb, the blood was poured out and the fat was burned.  And his guilt was expiated.  And now he could go and pray.  And there he saw the Pharisee.  The Pharisee had seen him, too.  The Pharisee had seen him all along.  As he'd chatted with a friend, the Pharisee had seen the tax collector buy his lamb.  And he'd seem him again as he bought his ram.  As he stood there praying, he'd seen the sacrifice.  God may have forgiven the tax collector, but the Pharisee sure didn't see him that way.  He took a smug look back at the tax collector and, Jesus says, “he prayed in this way to himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: greedy, unjust, immoral, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week.  I give tithes of all that I get.'” And the tax collector.  Jesus says he “stood a long way off, not even wanting to lift his eyes to heaven.  He beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am.'”  He'd gone through the formal actions of forgiveness, but he knew that mere formalism would never see him reconciled to God.  And so, after offering his sacrifices, he knelt humbly and prayed the words of Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God—the psalm goes on—according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions.”  He knew.  God isn't a vending machine.  Offering a lamb isn't like pushing B4 and absolution drops into the slot for you to take.  He knew the words of the psalm.  David went on to sing, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  And so the tax collector knelt—and without any presumption—threw himself on the grace of God.  And, as Jesus has said elsewhere, all of heaven rejoiced over this repentant sinner—even as the Pharisee scowled at him. And Jesus said to the people, “Let me tell you, he—the tax collector—was the one who went back to his home vindicated by God, not the other.”  That had to make some people angry.  It was one thing to grant—even if a little grudgingly—that there was something good about a repentant tax collector.  Okay, he offered his lamb and his ram and his contrition was obviously real.  But dissing the Pharisee?  That was too much.  But you see, this is exactly why Jesus told this story.  Luke introduces this episode saying, “Jesus told this next parable against those who trusted in their own righteous standing and despised others.”  And so Jesus explains: “Don't you see?  People who exalt themselves will be humbled, and people who humble themselves will be exalted.” Going to the temple, standing before the Lord, and singing out a litany of your own pious greatness—that's not pleasing to the Lord.  That's a good way to find yourself humbled on the last day.  And having this in mind that makes this bigger than the Pharisees.  Maybe they were the worst offenders, but Jesus gets to the heart of Israel's problem and exposes it.  They knew they were “in”.  They knew that when the Day of the Lord came, judgement would fall on everyone else and that they would be vindicated and go on to live in his presence in the age to come, they knew this because they faithfully bore all the markers of God's covenant.  They were circumcised, they kept the sabbath, and they ate the right foods—they kept God's law.  That meant they were righteous…or so they thought.  But Jesus sort of asks here: “Where is your heart?” This is what the prophets had been asking Israel—and warning her about—for centuries.  Reminding the people that formalism doesn't cut it.  Yes, God required sacrifices.  He'd given them a law.  But obedience was supposed flow from a humble heart overflowing with gratitude for God's grace.  It was supposed to be rooted in faith—faith in a God who had called a childless pagan named Abram and blessed him beyond anything he deserved; faith in a God who called a sorry and miserable group of slaves out of Egypt and blessed them beyond anything they deserved.  But Israel got complacent, and comfortable, and forgot the source of her blessings.  Instead of trusting God, she trusted in horses and chariots and kings—and even foreign gods.  She thought mere formalism would satisfy God's requirement for holiness.  And her heart became hard, idolatrous, and self-righteous.  So for all their love of torah, the hearts of the Pharisees were far from God—and in that, they represented most of the people in Israel.  They exalted themselves and presumed upon God, when they should have been humble before him, thanking him for his grace.  When judgement day came, they were ready to sing that litany of their righteousness: We're not like other people.  We fast and we tithe.  We're circumcised and we keep the sabbath.  And God would high-five them and the invite them along to go smite the sinners and tax collectors and gentiles.  Their hearts will filled with pride, not faith. Habakkuk was one of those prophets that had warned Israel in the days before the exile.  “Look at the proud!” he said, “His spirit is presumptuous and is not right, but the righteous shall live by faith.”  Pride and faith, Brothers and Sisters, are polar opposites. Habakkuk looked around him lamented to the Lord: O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. (Habakkuk 1:1-4) Wickedness, idolatry, injustice—pride.  Judah no longer trusted in the Lord and it showed.  The heart of the people was far from God and those who were humble, who did lean on his grace were trampled under foot.  And Habakkuk knew it couldn't go on like this forever.  He knew the Lord's judgement on a wicked and faithless and proud people had to come soon.  And so he cried out to the Lord and the Lord assured him: “The righteous shall live by faith.”  In other words, the righteous will live the way they always do, regardless of circumstances: by faith in the grace and mercy and goodness of God—not in pride, but by faith.   Pride is insidious.  It can take any form in order to push out faith.  The Pharisees were, in most ways, so close—but in them pride twisted faith itself.  I wonder what Habakkuk would think of our world.  We now have a whole season devoted to pride.  At first it was a month, but now it just seems to go on and on: Pridetide, the unholy parody of Trinitytide.  At least the Pharisees were prideful for their good works.  Today, the wicked and perverted announce their sins with pride and their “ally” lackies signal their virtue as loudly as possible.  And the wealthy and the powerful, governments and corporation and businesses big and small join in the litany of pride and woe to anyone who dares to dissent and on whom the scorn and wrath of the Pride Pharisees falls.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  The proud are always convinced of their own righteousness and standing before God. And yet Jesus told so many stories in which the proud—so sure of their righteous standing—ended up finding themselves in the outer darkness, weeping and gnashing their teeth, while the tax collectors and sinners—having discovered the mercy and grace of God, having repented in faith—found themselves welcomed into the feast.  Again, pride and faith are polar opposites, mutually exclusive. And I think this is why the church, for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, has coupled this Gospel about the Pharisee and the tax collector with St. Paul's affirmation of faith at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15.  He begins with the gospel, with the good news about Jesus.  He writes: “Let me remind you, Brother [and Sisters], about the good news which I announced to you.”  I love the way it works in Greek.  Paul talks about the gospel that he gospelled to them.  The gospel is the best news ever.  It's the news that changes everything.  It's the news that dispels—or, at any rate, it should dispel—any ideas we have about being proud of ourselves.  Because Paul goes on and says, “You received this good news, and you're standing firm on it, and you are saved through it, if you hold fast the message I announced—I gospelled—to you.  Unless it was for nothing that you believed.” These were men and women who had stood on all sorts of things.  Some of them were Jews and once they had stood on that: on their circumcision, on their sabbath keeping, on their general keeping of torah.  Some of them were Gentiles.  They'd stood on their pagan gods, or on the emperor, or on their philosophies.  But then Paul came and he gospelled the gospel.  He announced the good news and it changed everything.  Or, at least it did for a time.  And then pride started creeping back in.  It's insidious.  And as pride crept in, it pushed faith in the good news out.  And Paul says of that good news: “What I handed on to you at the beginning, you see, was what I received, namely this: The Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, then he was seen by over five hundred brothers and sisters all at once, most of whom are still with us, though some fell asleep, then he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.” The good news is that Jesus died and Jesus was raised and that it happened just as God had promised in the scriptures.  Jesus led his people in a new exodus and in that exodus he revealed God's mercy and grace and God's power and might and glory.  He revealed God's faithfulness to his promises.  In Jesus' death sins are forgiven and in his resurrection the life of God, his new creation began.  If the exodus from Egypt and all it revealed about God and its annual remembrance every year in the Passover could dispel Israel's pride and fill the people with faith in their God, how much more should this new exodus from sin and death dispel our pride and bring us humbly in faith to God through Jesus?  If we will only believe and trust. That was Paul's problem.  He was filled with pride.  He refused and refused and refused.  He persecuted the church.  But as a testimony to the patient grace of God, Paul goes on.  He writes, “And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared even to me.”  It's hard to say exactly what he means here when he says “untimely born”.  The word in question is only used this one time in the New Testament, but it refers to a premature birth.  It could be a miscarriage or premature birth where the baby lives, but it could also refer to a child monstrously deformed by having been born premature.  It may be that some people in Corinth who didn't like Paul called him a monster because of his appearance and Paul is humble owning the accusation.  But the key thing, what Paul's getting at is the risen Jesus—not just a vision of Jesus but the real, live living Jesus—appeared to him last of all and Paul wants to stress that he didn't deserve it.  “I'm the least of the apostles,” he writes.  “In fact, I don't really deserve to be called ‘apostle' at all, because I persecuted God's church.  But I am what I am because of God's grace, and his grace to me wasn't wasted.” Paul has been the epitome of the proud Pharisee.  And then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and every last bit of his pride came crashing down around him.  Seeing Jesus alive was the proof that the gospel was true and if the gospel was true, none of the things in which Paul had prided himself mattered any more.  The only thing that mattered was faith—faith in Jesus the Messiah who died and rose again.  Paul knew he didn't deserve that vision of Jesus.  He didn't deserve the grace of God.  But there it was.  God had given his son to die, so that Paul, the proud Pharisee could live.  And ditto for everyone in the church in Corinth.  God gave his son to die so that those other Jews there could live.  He gave his son to die so that soldier proud of his devotion to Caesar or the prostitute proud of her devotion Aphrodite or the witch proud of her magic or the philosopher proud of his philosophy could live.  Each one of them, confronted with the gospel had their pride dispelled and that same gospel filled them with faith in the living God and his son who died and rose again.  And forever after they came to him in humility to fall on his grace and to praise him for his merciful lovingkindness.  Even Paul, after all he accomplished as a missionary apostle, writes to them: “I am what I am because of the grace of God, and his grace to me wasn't wasted.  On the contrary, I worked harder than all of them—though it wasn't me, but God's grace which was within me.  So whether it was me or them, that was the way we announced it, and that was the way you believed.”  Paul won't even take credit for what had happened in Corinth as a result of the gospel being preached.  It wasn't Paul's skill or his reasoning or his apologetics.  It was the grace of God. Brothers and Sisters, be captivated by the grace of God on display at the cross.  There God displayed his glory and that glory ought to dispel every last bit of pride we have—whatever it is we take pride in.  The gospel shines so brightly, it exposes the things in which we take pride as filthy rags in comparison.  And when pride is gone, then the gospel—this good news of God's saving grace, this good news about the God who humbled himself to take our form and to die for us so that we, his enemies can be his friends again, good news of the god who gave his own life to forgive our sins, that good news ought to fill us with faith overflowing.  So Brothers and Sisters, hear the good news about Jesus this morning.  How he died and rose again for you.  Not because you are so great, but because he loves you—his precious creation so much—hear that good news in the scriptures and in the liturgy and when you come to his Table.  Let it dispel all pride; be humbled by the gospel, and be filled instead with faith.  In the midst of a broken word, faith in the living God will begin to set things to rights, not pride in ourselves.  Faith in the living God, not pride in ourselves, is our real and lasting source of hope. Let's pray: Lord God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Saturday, 30 August 2025   “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Matthew 12:43   “And when the unclean spirit, it departs from the man, it traverses through waterless spots seeking rest, and it finds not” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus spoke of the coming of the queen of the South rising up in judgment and condemning those of Israel in that generation, noting that One greater than Solomon was there. With that complete, a new thought begins with, “And when the unclean spirit, it departs from the man.”   There are various ideas about the interpretation of the words of this parable. However, a few clues help direct the analysis. In verse 12:38, the scribes and Pharisees had asked for a sign. Jesus' response noted that a generation, evil and adulteress, sought a sign. A second clue is that in verse 12:45, He will say that it will also be as “this evil generation.”   Therefore, the words apply to those He is speaking to, referring to their inherent evil. Therefore, “the man” is referring to them. He has an unclean spirit. If Jesus were to give a sign to them, oh boy! They would see it and accept the sign as some type of sure proof that He was their Messiah, as if they were free of their evil state.   While they are basking in this condition, Jesus says of the unclean spirit that “it traverses through waterless spots.”   In these few words are three newly introduced words. The first is dierchomai. It is derived from dia, through, and erchomai, to come or go. Thus, it refers to passing through an area. A single word that suits would be traverse.   Next is anudros, it is from hudor water (think of hydrate), which is prefixed by the negative particle a. Thus, it signifies “no water,” or “waterless.” The third is topos, a spot or location. One can immediately see the etymological ancestor of topology, topographic, etc. This unclean spirit is out in arid places “seeking rest.”   The obvious meaning is that it had a home in the man. It then left the man and went searching for a new place to settle down. However, men don't frequent arid places unless they have a purpose for being there. A man with a purpose is not a suitable place for an unclean spirit because the man is focused on his business.   But such an unclean spirit needs a person who is not clearly focused. He needs someone whose ears are easily tickled and who is swayed by goofy videos on YouTube that have nothing to do with proper theology. Instead, he wants sensationalism, just like those speaking to Jesus wanted a sign to excite their minds and stimulate their otherwise dull lives. This unclean spirit has looked for a suitable place, “and it finds not.”   There are either no bodies at all in the arid places, or those who are there have brought their own water and are satisfied with their pursuits, being actively employed in a life activity that would make them unsuitable to infest. Such was the case with John the Baptist –   “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.”' 4 Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” Matthew 3:1-6   Life application: As noted above, unclean spirits revel in those who are not grounded in life's proper pursuits and activities. When humanity gets out of focus with what has been instilled in it by the Creator, unclean spirits find easy targets to infest and inflict them.   This is why larger cities inevitably fill with people who appear absolutely immoral and even demonic. In large cities, people migrate away from hard work and industry and turn towards social programs, easy access to easy lifestyles, attraction to sensationalism, etc.   There is an increasing hunger for things that replace the idea of a Creator God who holds man accountable for their actions. It is why cities normally shift towards left-leaning ideology. For example, abortion becomes common because lovers multiply. Because of this, consequences for affairs only get in the way of more affairs.   People gravitate towards what is fascinating, miraculous, etc. A magician can set up on the corner of a busy avenue and impress the people with tricks that are unexplainable to the masses. People think they possess special powers and abilities.   The newest Nephilim video on YouTube will score a million view, but the sound preacher who carefully explains biblical doctrines may get no views at all. Jesus refused to give a sign because He would have been appealing to the masses' desire for that which is sensational.   Stay away from this type of thinking. Focus on what is right, sound, and proper. Just because something sounds exceptional does not mean it is. The magician's tricks are always explainable. When they are revealed, people say, “Duh! I see now.” And then, they go looking for another magician to tease their senses.   Lord God, help us to think clearly and logically as we view the world around us. Help us to not get caught up in sensationalism and hype, but to pursue a path of hard work, careful and circumspect conduct, and – above all – a close and personal walk with You. Amen.  

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Prayers DELAYED Are Not Prayers DENIED—Trust God's Timing | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your Day With GodSUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer™ Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright Daily Effective Prayer™ SUPPORT THE MINISTRY:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTubeX / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

YOUR MIRACLE IS IN MOTION—Trust God and Watch Him Work | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your Day With GodSUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer™ Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright Daily Effective Prayer™ SUPPORT THE MINISTRY:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTubeX / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™