Podcasts about Tarshish

A @Christadelphians Video: [Inspiring] In this thought-provoking and outstanding presentation, Brother Carl Parry delivers a revealing expositional study on the prophetic landscape of our times. With a focus on the tumultuous events unfolding in Europe and Russia, we delve into the Scriptures to understand how current geopolitical shifts align with the divine plan. This is a wonderful and insightful session that connects the dots between Daniel's prophecies, the turmoil in Ukraine, and the emerging alliances that set the stage for the return of our Lord. Join us as we navigate these distressing yet hope-filled times.**Chapters:**00:00 - Introduction03:04 - Setting the Prophetic Stage: Daniel 2 & Ezekiel 3804:00 - The Impact of the Ukrainian War on Russia08:57 - Russia's Military Strategy and the Shadow War15:47 - NATO's Dilemma and European Tensions24:44 - The Geopolitical Fracture of Europe30:17 - The EU, NATO, and the Undivided Roman Empire38:12 - The Frog Spirits of Revelation 16 and Rising Anti-Semitism44:55 - The Three Centers: The Beast, The False Prophet, and The Dragon47:47 - Tarshish and Her Young Lions: Britain, America, and Australia51:45 - A World in Perplexity and Our Call to Look Up58:53 - Conclusion: Our Redemption Draweth Nigh**Bible Verse References:**

Do You Realize Who Lives Inside You? Acts 2:38 “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.  And you will receive the Holy Spirit.” I think when most of us read this, we focus on the repent and be baptized part of this verse.  Repentance is so important, and it is something that we can read about all throughout the Bible.  God is always calling His people to repentance, and sometimes they repented and other times they did not.  In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, they were a wicked people and they refused to repent.  God sent fire down to destroy the towns.  However, when God sent Jonah to Ninevah to tell them they needed to repent, they did, and God saved them.   Did you know that Jonah was angry at God for saving Nineveh?  We read in Jonah 4:1-2, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.  And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is it not this what I have 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.”  Jonah ran from the Lord when the Lord asked him to go to Ninevah.  I had always thought he ran from the Lord because he was afraid of the people in Ninevah.  However, this verse says that he ran because he knew God would have mercy on them, and he didn't want them to be saved. This is a somewhat common thing for us to do.  Maybe not running from the Lord, but definitely wishing people would get what they deserve.  Have you ever wished that someone got what they deserved?  Have you ever seen a car speed by you, or weave in and out of traffic, and think to yourself, “I hope there is a cop ahead.” Or do you see someone cut in line and hope that someone notices and that they get kicked out of the line?  Why do we do this?  Why do we wish ill on other people?  Maybe you are thinking that you are justified in thinking that you want the driver to get pulled over because you want them to learn their lesson and drive better.  But, what if they did get pulled over and they just got a warning, would you be ok with that? Sometimes we can do this with our kids as well.  Jonah felt that these people needed to be punished, and he knew that God would have mercy on them.  Sometimes, we can default to the thinking that when our children do something wrong, they need to be punished, and maybe that is true sometimes.  But do we take the time to think about the situation first?  Do we even consider giving them mercy?  Sometimes our children need our mercy.  Sometimes they messed up, did something they weren't supposed to do, and they know it was wrong.  They are truly sorry, and they learned a lesson from it.  Times like these are times when we should consider mercy.  Sometimes we think our kids will only learn if we punish them; however, I think they can learn a lot from mercy as well. As I said earlier, we tend to focus on the first part of this verse, Repent and be baptized.  However, I wonder how many of you also think of the ending of the verse?  How many of you truly know what it means?  The verse ends with, “and you will receive the Holy Spirit.”  I am not sure that everyone, or even most people, knows how powerful a statement that is.  Did you know that the power of the Holy Spirit is what raised Jesus from the dead?  Did you know that the same power resides in you?  Romans 8:11 "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” When you are baptized, you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that when you are baptized, you receive the Holy Spirit.  If you are Catholic, then you receive the Holy Spirit again when you are confirmed.  This is all amazing to me.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me.  I just can't get over that.  I think if we all knew the power that we had through the Holy Spirit and then used that power for good, the world wouldn't know what was going on.  Jesus said in John 14:12-14, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Did you catch that?  Jesus said we will do greater works than He if we believe.  This is only possible because of the Holy Spirit.  We have the Holy Spirit inside of us; we just need to call on Him.   We need to believe in Jesus and believe when He tells us that He sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us.  The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.  That same spirit lives in you.  What are you going to do with it?  Are you going to just sit around and let all that power pass you by, or are you going to use your newfound power for good?  Who do you know that could use some extra blessings?  I am sure that I have talked before about how important repentance is, and yet this will likely not be the last time you hear me talk about it.  Repentance is so important for so many reasons.  This verse just mentions one of the many: if you repent and are baptized, you will receive the Holy Spirit.  Now, after talking for a bit about how awesome the Holy Spirit is, wouldn't you do anything to be close to Him? Most, if not all, of you listening already have the Holy Spirit inside of you.  Call upon Him, and you will see how powerful He is.  Don't be afraid to talk with Him and ask Him for things.  That is why God sent Him to us, to help us.  Anything that happens as a result of the Holy Spirit glorifies God.  Jesus is with the Father, so when we ask God for things in Jesus' name, the Holy Spirit comes through for us, and the results glorify the Lord.  It is a win-win for everyone.  One of the easiest prayers to remember, and yet one of the most powerful, is, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”  When you ask, God answers.  Anytime you are in need of a little assistance, or even a lot of assistance, pray, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”  I truly feel you will be surprised at all the ways He comes through for you.   Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, I ask that you send the Holy Spirit to everyone listening to this podcast. Lord, we ask that you open our eyes to how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. Lord, we ask that you remind us to call on the Holy Spirit when we forget. Lord, we are so very thankful that you sent down the Holy Spirit to guide us in your ways.  Lord, help us to see the places in our lives where we need to repent, and then give us the courage to do so. We want to receive the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus. We are open to it. Lord God, you are amazing. We are so very thankful for all you do for us.  We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will, and in Jesus' holy name, amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. This month in Mentoring, we're talking about the Father's love. One of the things we discussed this week is how many of us know God loves us intellectually, but still struggle to believe it personally. We talked about how the Father's love isn't something we achieve—it's something we receive. If you've ever felt like you have to earn God's love, prove your worth, or get your act together before approaching Him, I think this series could really encourage you. You can find the link to join in the show notes. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday! Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today's Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “You may not see the light within you. I do. So if I can lift it up, the light within you, I can draw others to myself. My heart yearns for all of my children and all of my creation. Walk confidently in the plan of your life. I am your Father.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Share a commentGod tells Jonah to get up and go preach to Nineveh, and Jonah does what many of us do when obedience feels impossible: he runs. The command is simple and unmistakable, but it's also unsettling, uncomfortable, and risky. That tension launches a deeper look at God's will and why clarity doesn't always produce compliance.We dig into what Nineveh really was: the capital of Assyria, infamous for violence, cruelty, and spiritual darkness. When you understand the historical reputation of Nineveh, Jonah's resistance stops looking like a childish tantrum and starts looking like raw dread and moral outrage. God doesn't soften the assignment or pretend it will be safe. He names the wickedness and still says, go speak.Then we follow Jonah down to the docks and out toward Tarshish, the farthest opposite direction he can find, and we draw out three lessons that hit home today: disobedience always points you the wrong way, it costs more than you planned, and the “perfect timing” that makes sin feel easy can be part of the trap. We also connect Jonah's three imperatives to the many imperatives of Christian life like following Christ, speaking truth, giving generously, and staying alert.If you've ever tried to outrun a hard calling, this will feel uncomfortably familiar. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge toward obedience, and leave a review with the hardest “go” you've ever been asked to say yes to. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/Support the show

“Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.’” (Jonah 3:1–2 NLT) Most believers have reasons not to evangelize. Some of these reasons might even seem compelling or legitimate. “I don’t want to make the friendship weird or awkward.” “I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer people’s questions.” “I don’t want to become a person that other people avoid.” The Old Testament prophet Jonah had some pretty compelling reasons not to evangelize. At least, he thought they were compelling. He’d been given an assignment that no prophet in his day would have been excited about. God had called him to preach His Word in Nineveh, which was one of the most wicked cities on earth. The Ninevites were the enemies of Israel. Other prophets had warned Israel that one day the Assyrians would overtake them, and Nineveh just happened to be the capital of Assyria. Jonah likely reasoned, “Wait a second! If I go and preach to them, they might repent. And if they repent, then God will spare them, and they will conquer us. But if I don’t preach to them, they won’t repent, and God will judge them. That will be one less enemy we have to deal with.” So, Jonah tried to go in the opposite direction. He went down to Joppa, boarded a ship, and set sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had remembered the words of David, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (Psalm 139:7 NLT). You probably know the rest of the story. God sent a great storm that threatened the lives of everyone aboard the vessel. Jonah admitted that he was the cause of the storm and was tossed overboard: “The LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17 NLT). Jonah repented, and the great fish—likely a whale—vomited him up on shore. “Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you’” (Jonah 3:1–2 NLT). This time, Jonah did what God had called him to do. God helped him recognize what all believers need to understand: The work of evangelism is far more important and pressing than any discomfort we may experience or any objections we may have. We’ve been called to share the gospel, even with people we may not like. Nonbelievers aren’t the enemy; they’ve been taken captive by the god of this world to do what he wants them to do (see 2 Timothy 2:26). Until the end of our lives or until the Lord returns, our job is to reach them with the Good News of Christ. Let’s embrace the work God’s given us so that others may experience His forgiveness, salvation, and love. Reflection question: What seemingly compelling reasons might keep you from sharing the gospel? The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details. — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share a commentGod tells Jonah to get up and go preach to Nineveh, and Jonah does what many of us do when obedience feels impossible: he runs. The command is simple and unmistakable, but it's also unsettling, uncomfortable, and risky. That tension launches a deeper look at God's will and why clarity doesn't always produce compliance.We dig into what Nineveh really was: the capital of Assyria, infamous for violence, cruelty, and spiritual darkness. When you understand the historical reputation of Nineveh, Jonah's resistance stops looking like a childish tantrum and starts looking like raw dread and moral outrage. God doesn't soften the assignment or pretend it will be safe. He names the wickedness and still says, go speak.Then we follow Jonah down to the docks and out toward Tarshish, the farthest opposite direction he can find, and we draw out three lessons that hit home today: disobedience always points you the wrong way, it costs more than you planned, and the “perfect timing” that makes sin feel easy can be part of the trap. We also connect Jonah's three imperatives to the many imperatives of Christian life like following Christ, speaking truth, giving generously, and staying alert.If you've ever tried to outrun a hard calling, this will feel uncomfortably familiar. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge toward obedience, and leave a review with the hardest “go” you've ever been asked to say yes to. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/Support the show

Throughout this week, President Trump repeatedly called for 6 Arab States to join the Abraham Accords, stating it was mandatory. The US administration repeatedly insisted Iran will not get a nuclear weapon to destroy Israel with, which is in keeping with Bible Prophecy. The US is pushing to have the Gulf Nations join Israel in creating an unprecedented age of peace and prosperity in the region.  This is what the Bible indicates will ultimately be achieved:  Iran will survive to fight again, the Gulf States will form an alliance with the Merchant Powers of Tarshish, and peace will come to the region with the associated prosperity.  

What is enough? How do you know when you have enough? Is the answer: “Just a little more . . .”? If so, you're not alone, but you're also on a dangerous road. From the rich fool who built bigger barns to the algorithm that lives in our pocket, something has always been working to convince us that the next thing is the thing that will finally make us secure. But Jesus names a deeper truth: greed isn't really about money at all. It's about where we go for safety, and whether we trust our stuff or our Father to be the ground beneath our feet. Greed Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | May 31, 2026 Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. This Sunday we're exploring:The rich fool of Luke 12 and how building a bigger barn was a dangerous replacement for the work only God can doHow the algorithm and our social media networks form us every day into people who can never quite be satisfiedGreed as a trust problem: the quiet transfer of our security from God to the things in our closets or our bank accountsWhy the offering plate is one of the most counter-cultural things we do — and how the practice of charity and generosity is an important way we take the offramp from greed back onto the narrow road that leads to abundant life Like what you hear? We'd love to know.At South Run, we read every message personally. Whether you have a question, want to share how God is moving in your life, or are thinking about visiting in person, this is the place to start. If you click the link below, Pastor Eric will personally reach out to you. Listening online? Let us know. Sermon Transcript South Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VAPastor Eric GilchrestMark 3:1–6; Matthew 5:21–22; Exodus 34:6–9; Jonah 4May 10, 2026 — Mother's DayThis is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Pastor Eric Gilchrest preaches on anger and wrath as part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series on the seven deadly sins. Drawing from Mark 3, Genesis 4, Exodus 34, Jonah 4, and Matthew 5, this sermon takes the congregation on a biblical tour of what Scripture says about anger — the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger, what Jesus' own anger reveals about the nature of God, and how to keep the fire in the fireplace. Announcements: Bridge Walkers and a Joint Service on May 31stGood morning, friends. It's good to be with you. Before we get started, there's just a couple things I want to say. There's something that I haven't alerted you to yet, but this is as good a time as any. So a few weeks ago, right before Easter, I was invited into a group of pastors who met over the course of two days, and there was an evening together. We stayed at a hotel. There was a grant connected to it. And it was a group of white pastors and a group of black pastors in the area here, in the Virginia, D.C., Maryland area. And the hope of this — it's a group called Bridge Walkers, which gets its name from the walk from Selma to Montgomery back in the 60s. And as somebody who lived right outside of Selma in Marion, Alabama, I know the scene well. In fact, I was there at the 50th anniversary of it in 2013, and it was a really powerful event. And so the meeting was one that I definitely wanted to participate in. And as we gathered together, we had some really frank discussions about race in the United States and in the church, and how we can be, as a church, agents of reconciliation.And so the fruit of this and the hope of where this all goes is for our churches of these pastors to do some things together over the coming year or two. And so the first of these is coming up May 31st, which happens to be the exact same day as the picnic. I did not get to pick this, it just kind of happened this way, which is in part why we are holding the picnic immediately after the service. And Jeff was right. I will be dressed for the part, and I need you to be dressed for the part too. The picnic will be fun. We'll have games. We'll drag stuff out. But then we wanted to give enough time for those of you who would like to attend this service to get home, maybe take a nap, or do whatever you do on your Sunday afternoons. And then at 6 p.m., it's up in Glen Arden, Maryland, we will have the first of these services together. I don't know what to expect, but I do expect that God will move, and I expect the Holy Spirit to be present, and I expect some of our preconceived notions to be challenged. I expect transformation is always beckoning us, and I am deeply hopeful for what might come out of this. So put that on your calendar. This is May 31st, just right around the corner, and it is 6 p.m. that evening.Happy Mother's Day: A Childhood Binder and a Mom Who Saw All of YouToday is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers and the spiritual mothers in the room. I was trying to think of what to say at this point, and what came to mind was a collection of photos that I found from my childhood that my mom had gathered together. It was one of those binders that back in the 1998 time frame when I graduated from high school, that people would put photos into and they'd put words about what was happening at that time. And my mom was way into this. And so she chronicled my whole childhood from zero to 18 and then presented me with this big binder. And now as a father of an 18-year-old, I think about that a little differently.And I think about what it means to be a dad, only because I can't think about what it means to be a mom, because I'm not one. But I know this much on the receiving end of it all. I had a wonderful mom who looked after me in ways that I don't think I'll ever be able to fully appreciate. She saw every last bit of me and who I was, and she was there every step of the way, even if I didn't realize it. And so for all the moms in the room, I am grateful. We are all grateful. And for those of us who have moms who are still alive, may we reach out to them today and give them the thanks that they deserve.Let's begin with some prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray a special prayer of blessing over the mothers in this room today. Lord, the kind of love that you call us into, that agape love, a self-giving kind of love, I can think of no better human example than what mothers do on a day-to-day basis for their children. And so, God, may we all aspire to that. We give you thanks for them, and we give you praise for that kind of love, and may we be drawn into being those kinds of people too. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.The Jesus Way Series: Vanity, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Today's Stop — Anger All right, we are — if you don't know — we are on a road together, a path, right? And this began a few weeks ago. Well, I mean, it kind of began a long time ago, but we're on this transformation kick. But then since Easter, we've been walking in these two ways. And I've been trying to show you that there is this narrow way, right? It's the way that Jesus is drawing us into. It's narrow because fewer people choose it. It's a little hard. There's more friction to it. It requires something of you to be on it. But it is the way to life and to fullness of life and to eternal life. And this is what Jesus is trying to get us to do. But then there is this other way. There's this broad way. It's bigger and wider, and it's much easier to find yourself on it. And it's marked by a number of things. And so two weeks ago, we talked about vanity as one of the markers of this way. And it's easy to just kind of slide into vanity. And then today, we're talking about the broad way again. And I want to talk about anger. And I know it's Mother's Day. So apologies ahead of time for this. I do want you to know there was a toss-up between this and gluttony. And so I put gluttony on Father's Day. So, you know, you can get ready for that too. And I'll say, all of the analogies are aimed at the men in the room today. So all the stories — you know, like I'm looking at guys here — women, you get the day off. So you're welcome. All right, so just clarify a couple things up front. I originally had the name wrath for this sermon, and I was afraid that it might draw up like the wrong image for you. But here's the truth of the matter. The word anger and the word wrath — actually, it's the same thing. The roots of these are the same, like the down deep parts of it. They're just two different words for the same thing. The goal of what I want to accomplish in this sermon today is to really lean into the middle section of this rotten tree that stands before you. We've already touched on vanity, the far left, and we'll get to each of these branches at some point over the weeks here. And then just to remind you, at the base of all of this is your pride and your ego. It's kind of the thing that is the last thing that will die in this earth, right? Because if you could just simply root that part out, then it would take care of the rest. But pride is much trickier than simply just plucking it out like a weed. It has roots that go much deeper than you or I can really frankly imagine. So today we're just focusing on the middle one. We're talking about wrath or anger. And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. Maybe I enjoy it too much. I'm realizing this right now as I said that. I have like a thousand things I want to tell you, and I will only tell you maybe ten of those. And so if you think to yourself, well, Pastor Eric, I wish you had talked about this — I probably could have and maybe should have. But I'm glad that you're leaning in and you're really digging into what you need to know about anger and wrath. Also, it's a pitch to come to Sunday morning Bible study where we do go deeper for a whole hour on this topic. The goal of the sermon is, with the theme of roads and ways and all, to take you on a tour — like a driving tour of your Bible — and the things that it has to say about anger. Think of it this way. We've got a few key destinations I'm trying to get us to. And then as we go to those destinations, there's like bathroom stops I want to point us at, or maybe just a couple things that you should have in your view as we head to these main stops. First Stop — Mark 3:1–6: Jesus Gets Angry in the Synagogue The first stop is the one we read already, which is Mark chapter 3. And so I'd encourage you, please, open your scriptures, open your Bibles to Mark chapter 3 as we dig into what Jesus demonstrates for us about anger. Mark 3:1 to 6. Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, come over here. And then he said to the Pharisees, he said, is it lawful? Does the law permit? Does your Bible tell me that it's okay to do good or harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill it? He's asking them, how do you read your Bible? What's the right thing to do here? But they were silent.And then he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand. And he said, I'm going to teach you how to read your Bible. And I'm going to teach you what it looks like to keep the Sabbath. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and they immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him how to destroy him.There are two angry parties here. Jesus gets angry and clearly the Pharisees do as well as they seek to destroy him by the end. There are just a few things that I want to point to in this passage that will become important. And the goal as we make these stops on this journey together is to maybe build up a case of the kinds of things we can say about anger based on what we find in our scriptures. The first would be simply that Jesus does get angry. And it's actually okay for you to be angry too sometimes — with a huge caveat around it. Because anger is actually one — it's the only sin on the list of the seven deadly sins — that it's okay to, we'll say, participate in when it's not a sin. The sin looks a whole lot like the not-sin. It's the only one that looks like this. Knowing how to distinguish between the sinful version of anger and the righteous version of anger, it takes wisdom and it takes maturity. I don't recommend it to the littlest ones among us. It's a little bit like holding a knife. Like, you want to teach someone how to do this and to train them well, or they're going to do what? They're going to cut someone, maybe themselves. And anger is much the same way. And we need to learn how to use it in a controlled manner.But Jesus does get angry. And then I'll say this about his anger. If you read closely, what is he angry at? It's actually remarkably precise here in Mark. He's angry at their hardness of heart. He's not precisely angry at them, just generally, as if Pharisees are awful people or something like this. No, he's angry at something specific. The object that he's directing his anger at is their hardness. There's something in them. And he says there's something really wrong with that. And it provokes some anger in him.The other thing I'd say is that his anger is connected to justice, which is what anger is always connected to, by the way. Usually — well, actually both in the righteous form and the unrighteous form. When something's gone wrong in the world, righteous anger says, something's wrong with the world, and I want to fix it. When anger is unrighteous, usually you're saying, something's wrong with my world, and I want to fix that. The last thing I'd say about this passage is maybe the most important of them all, which is that if you really look closely at verse 5 there, it says this: he looked around at them with anger, grieved. Two emotions are sitting together — anger and grief. Anger and grief. How does one have anger and grief sitting side by side? Well, the only way is if you manage to find empathy for the one you are angry with. It's when moms and dads say it — and I promise they mean it, kids — when they say, this is harder for me than for you. Well, they mostly mean it. I feel grief over having to discipline. I feel grief because I want your world to be right. And Jesus here is feeling grief for the Pharisees, saying, I wish your hearts were not so hard. I could teach you a better way. I could teach you a way to life.Thumos and Orge: Two Greek Words for Anger in the New TestamentAll right, let's keep going on our journey here. Actually, let me pause one more minute. This is a good opportunity to introduce two words that appear in our New Testament. Both of them are words for anger, and they are thumos and orge. It's a hard G. We're still talking about the sin of anger here. Thumos and orge.I want you to think about anger as a fire. This is the metaphor for anger often. And fire, much like a knife, is something that can do damage or it can do good. Thumos is the damaging kind. It flames up quickly. It's the road rage. It's somebody getting upset, right? And it's named specifically in Galatians 5:20 and Ephesians 4:31, if you want to look those up. Galatians 5:20 is right next to the fruit of the Spirit. You know the fruit of the Spirit? These are the ones we love to talk about. But there's the fruit of the flesh right before it. And in this fruit of the flesh is thumos. It's that anger that rages up, right? This is what we're trying to avoid.But the one next to it is orge. And orge — sometimes it is unrighteous anger, it's not always righteous — but it is a controlled anger. It has some measure of control around it, as I say, a controlled burn, right? There are times where if there's a fire in your fireplace, that's a great thing, and it's controlled. But if that fire jumps out of your fireplace and is uncontrolled and creeps up the walls, now we've got a different kind of problem. Our goal today is to learn how to keep that fire in the fireplace.Pit Stop — Genesis 4:3–7: Cain's Anger and the Sin Crouching at the Door All right, we'll move on. We need to take a quick pit stop, however, on this journey and look at Genesis chapter 4, verses 3 to 7. This is the famous story of Cain and Abel. You probably know what happens to Abel and then maybe to Cain. Cain murders his brother. But before he does, we read a little bit about how this gets set up.In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain and his offering, he did not And so what happens? Well, Cain was very angry, and here we see the burning starts, right? The fire begins to burn. And Cain's face fell, and the Lord said to Cain — the question you should be asking yourself this morning — which is, why are you angry? Why are you angry? When you get angry, why? What is under that for you? It's a very good question. And why has your face fallen? And then he says — God says to him — if you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you do not do well, and here's the key, "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must master it."And what is the sin here? The sin is anger, and it's burning in him. And he says, you must master it, you must keep this in the fireplace. And if you don't keep this in the fireplace, it's going to destroy everything. We know exactly what happens. The sin that was crouching does what? It leaps out of that fireplace, and Cain kills his brother. And we have the first murder in all of Scripture.Murder is a terrible sin. It's actually not one of the deadly sins, is it? It's not one of the seven. Because underneath murder — and Jesus teaches us this in Matthew 5 — underneath murder sits the thing that's in our heart. We call that anger. Second Stop — Exodus 34:6–9: God Reveals His Nature as Slow to AngerAll right, the next stop on our tour is Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 to 9. I would encourage you, go ahead and pull your Bibles there now. Exodus 34:6–9. This is where Moses is up on the mount, Mount Sinai. He's getting the Ten Commandments. But in this very important scene, God reveals his nature to him. And he tells us, and he reports to us, what kind of God he is.And I'll say God is angry at times. God can have wrath. I do not deny this, and I don't want to even diminish this in any way. But I'd encourage you as we read through this to recognize a very important fact — that even for God, maybe especially for God, who is perfection and the thing that we are trying to strive for — God's wrath and anger flows from his love. Love is the primary, and out of that flows his anger. You might wonder, well, Eric, how in the world does that work? That doesn't seem obvious to me at all. But I would point us back to maybe Mother's Day or the fathers in the room. When you get angry as a parent, like in a good way, a good angry, when you see your child being hurt by somebody and that mama bear rage wells up — why? Because you want to protect your child. An injustice has happened or is about to happen and you want to protect them. God is not dissimilar. He knows what is good for us. He knows when the world is off kilter. He knows when you are off kilter. And he knows that when it is and when you are, that this is destructive to you. And he wants to save you from your destruction. And we call this anger. And it's him maybe punishing or reaching out and trying to fix the situation. And sometimes — and parents know this — the discipline requires something harsh.So it goes like this in verse 6. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed. And this is what the Lord is saying about himself. "The Lord, Yahweh" — and he says it twice, Yahweh, Yahweh — "I am a God who is merciful and gracious, and I'm slow to anger." And there it is, right? I'm not quick to anger. I am slow to anger. I am gracious. I'm merciful. I'm slow to anger. I abound in this. The word here is hesed. It's a steadfast love. It is a love that never quits. It is like a mother's love — like, you can do all kinds of things, but your mom is just going to love you throughout and throughout and throughout. And this is what God is saying of his very self, that he has this kind of hesed love, a steadfast love, of faithfulness. And he keeps steadfast love for thousands. And more than that, he's forgiving. And he forgives all the kinds of words for sin that appear in your Old Testament. Sometimes we call it iniquity, sometimes transgression, and sometimes sin. And he says, I'm willing to forgive all of these things. He then does go into the fact that he is a just God, and there needs to be justice. And so he says he doesn't clear the guilty just by virtue of wiping it away. And he, in fact — and this needs some explanation, and fortunately this is going to have to wait for another day — he visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children so that the third and the fourth generation, they sometimes feel the effects of the father's sin. I think you know this to be true just if you look through your family history and you think about your father and his father and his father and the ways in which their failures have a way of creeping through a family line. I think that's what God is teaching us here.And so Moses quickly bows his head toward the earth and he worshiped and he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, oh Lord, please let this God — let you, God, the one who is merciful and slow to anger — that is the God we need in our midst. Because we're a stiff-necked people and we need you to pardon our iniquity."This is a remarkable passage in its historical context. There are lots of gods in the ancient world, if you don't know. There's a group that's praying to a God named Asherah at this point. And that God happens to be really good at fertility matters. Or there's the folks who are crying out to Baal. And Baal is one of these like really fickle gods who may get angry with you and then doesn't. And you never know who you're going to get with Baal. Or if you fast forward in time, you might get the God of Mars, who is the God of war. And that's the God you're going to meet in the pages of history.But this God, Yahweh, is unlike all the other gods. There is no other God named in history, certainly at this point, who describes himself in the ways that our God describes himself. This description literally changes the course of history. Because we should look to our God, to this God, and say to ourselves, thanks be to God that you are the God who is all of these things, and especially the God who is slow to anger.This passage is, again, as I said, one of the most important in all of the Old Testament, and we know this with certainty because — I've just got a couple here, Psalm 30 and Micah 7 — but you could do a Google search later on how many passages from the Bible as a whole, but especially our Old Testament, appeal to and quote from Exodus 34, and you'll be amazed. The Bible repeats this part of the Bible over and over and over again. Psalm 103, Nehemiah 9, Psalm 86, Joel 2 — or the next stop on our journey, Jonah chapter 4.Third Stop — Jonah 4: HOT Anger and Everything Jonah Gets WrongLet's turn there together. Jonah chapter 4. Jonah is a troubled prophet. I would encourage you, whatever you do, do not look to Jonah as an exemplar. He will let you down. Jonah is one of these — actually he's the only prophet who I can really say that about. The whole book is an upside-down prophet. He's not doing what he should be doing, and he's doing what he should not be doing, and we see this ever so clearly in chapter 4 here.We'll read it. For the sake of time, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time in it, but what we see is an angry prophet. Now, prophets are actually often angry. You should know this. The other prophets are too. They're just angry, typically in the righteous kind of way, because again, if justice is the name of the game for anger — the prophets are looking out and they're seeing injustice and unrighteousness everywhere. And they're shouting at their people, you got to fix this. And they're angry with them. And they say, the world's not right, and it should be. And you need to be doing something about it. Jonah is angry as well, much like the prophets. But he is, we'll say, more self-centered than he should be. And so it goes like this. If you don't know the story of Jonah, the lead up to this point is that he has taken his word of disaster to the Ninevites, and he has said, you need to repent. And they said, okay, we will. And they did. And then God relents, and he does not destroy them. And Jonah is not pleased with this. Chapter 4, starting in verse 1: "It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." There you go. It's just kind of on the face of it. He's displeased. He's angry. What's he angry about? That God was the merciful God. He wanted the war God, the wrath God. He wanted Mars. He wanted Baal. But instead, he got Yahweh. And he prayed to the Lord. And he said, "Oh Yahweh, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish." If you don't know that part of the story, he didn't even want to go to Nineveh at all, and so he fled. And so he says, this is why I left. I didn't want to come here. And then he just says it outright. "I knew you were a gracious God. You were merciful. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster." He said, this is why I didn't want to come. I was looking for Mars. I was looking for the God of war. I wanted you to come in and destroy this whole place. And I knew, I knew you wouldn't do it.Jonah's upset. Does he have a righteous anger? Let's all say it together. No. No, he doesn't. He's showing us all the wrong ways. And he goes on: "Therefore now, Lord, please take my life from me." Twice he's going to ask for this — "for it's better for me to die than to live." And then God asks him the same question, or a similar question to the one Cain gets, right? Do you do well to be angry? Again, the question maybe you're being asked right now. Do you do well to be angry? And Jonah went out of the city, and he sits east of the city, makes a booth for himself there. He sat under the shade till he should see what would become of the city. And the Lord God appointed a plant to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head to save him from the discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of this plant. But when dawn came the next day, God appoints a worm that attacks the plant and it withers. And 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 again he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live. And God asks another time, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And Jonah says, yes. Wrong answer, Jonah. But he says, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said — and here's the convicting part — he says, you're angry about all the wrong things. Your anger is an unrighteous anger. You're targeting the wrong targets. You are not upset about what I get upset about. Your anger is self-serving. This is what he's saying when he says in verse 10: "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. But shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh, a great city in which there are more than 120,000 souls? Shouldn't I care about that? Shouldn't I have pity on those people? And shouldn't you too, Jonah?"And then the story ends very abruptly. It's kind of one of these where you feel like maybe there's a missing chapter somewhere and someday we'll uncover it. But for today, this is what we get.Diagnosing Your Anger: The HOT Framework — Wrong Heat, Wrong Object, Wrong TimingThere's a few things from this that I want to kind of put into your cap to maybe help you remember something about anger that will help you diagnose it later on. I'm calling this HOT — H-O-T — hot, Jonah's hot anger. So there's the wrong heat, which is to say the wrong heat level. He gets too angry about the wrong things. His anger is the wrong intensity — he gets so angry about this plant. But he's not angry about the right things with regard to the people. And then the wrong object, right? The wrong object of his anger. So he's angry not about what is just or unjust. He's instead angry at God. He's angry at God's mercy and ultimately at the loss of this plant. He's very interested in this plant. And then lastly, the timing of it all is wrong. He stays angry for too long and it burns for too long. He's still upset about leaving Tarshish. He brings that back up, right? That was sitting somewhere in his heart that he didn't even want to go at all. And so he's mad at God for taking him out of Tarshish and his own land and heading over to Nineveh. And he's holding this grudge.But all of this speaks something to your anger and my anger, which is sometimes our anger is too hot for the situation. And when the kid spills the milk at the table and you blow up — is that the right heat level? No. No, it's not. The object of our anger — maybe you do blow up at the table, Dad. And you get angry with the kid in that moment. But that's not even the object of your anger. You're angry from work earlier that day where your boss said something to you that you didn't like. And now you're upset generally speaking, and then when the kid spills the milk, you yell at him. That is not the object of your anger. Don't take it out on him. Or the timing of it all — maybe you've been holding this grudge for years, and you've just been gathering it over time. This is why we need to forgive, and we need to reduce our resentments. And if we are going to walk this Jesus way, the way that leads to life, it is going to require some wisdom around all three of these things. Final Stop — Matthew 5:21–22: Jesus on Anger, Murder, and What's Sitting in Your HeartAll right, one more stop on the way. This one's Matthew 5:21 and 22. This is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This is perhaps the passage maybe I should have preached from, so I am. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry" — and there Jesus is just calling it out for us, even if you've got anger in your heart — "will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire."There's a lot in this passage. A lot can be said, so I'll just keep it simple. If anger is sitting at the root of this and it's sitting in our hearts, there are any number of fruit that can come out of that anger. Sometimes it's murder. I hope that's not the case for any of us. But sometimes it's just calling someone, you fool, you idiot. Or maybe it's just the rolling of your eyes at that person you think is an idiot. Or maybe it's you online. Maybe it's what you're saying in the comment box, right? To say, you don't know what you're talking about. And it's a self-righteous kind of anger. And it sits there and it burns.And here's what I'd say about all this. There is a destruction that is happening. Jesus calls this the way of destruction for a reason. Because you are aiming at God, believe it or not, when your anger is unrighteous. Because you are saying, the world is not as it should be, and I don't trust God to fix it. So I am going to fix it myself. And then the damage you're doing is all around you too. This one's a little more obvious — if you walk through the world and you're an angry person, constantly throwing barbs at other people, you are affecting them. You are changing the climate of the room when you just simply walk into it. But then also, what may be missed is that you — you are destroying yourself from the inside out.And it may actually feel good to be angry. I learned this. I didn't realize. I am a non-confrontational person by nature. I don't like conflict. But I have learned over the years some people love conflict. They actually like the fight. To them, it feels good. It feels like you're alive. But what's happening in that situation, and really any situation where anger is burning within you, is that from the inside out, you are being hollowed out. Three Antidotes to Anger: Soft Answers, Lament, and HopeThere are some antidotes to anger, and I will keep these brief, and three. One, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath. Jesus teaches us the gentle way, the gentleness, gentle startups. This is always the first step forward. Anger might come way down the road, right? But you need to be slow to it. Number two, lament. Learn to grieve like Jesus grieves in Mark 3. Learn to grieve even alongside your anger. And I would encourage us mere mortals — unlike Jesus, us mere mortals — we should probably start with grief and allow the anger to follow, because it's going to be a much more trustworthy form of anger if we do. And the last thing is hope. Hope. You see, the angry person, as they rage at God — Jonah, as he rages at God — ultimately is saying, I don't trust you, God. I don't trust your way to be the right way. But we need to be people of hope and people of faith who trust that even though it seems like the world is all cattywampus — and it is, like it's all upside down — we hope and we trust that the God of the universe is fixing all the things. And we play our part. And we live as people who expect the unrighteous to receive their due reward and for the wrongs to be made right again. And that we only have control over ourselves and our hearts. And so we better take control of them, lest that fire jump out of the fireplace and begin to burn the house down all around us. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you are a passionate God. We are to be passionate people. And some of the angriest among us can show us something about what it means to have passion. But God, it can be dangerous to hold that fire. And so, Lord, we ask for your wisdom. We ask for people who will gather around us and be honest with us about the nature of our anger — whether it's the slow-burning anger that leaps out of the fireplace eventually, or whether it's the kind that just flares up all the time. God, you are teaching us a better way, a narrow way, a way that leads to life. May we walk with you down that. Lord, we pray this in your holy name. Amen.‍ ‍South Run Baptist Church | 8712 Selger Drive, Springfield, VA 22153 | Sunday Worship at 11am Serving Springfield, Burke, West Springfield, Lorton, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, and Franconia, Virginia. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

A @Christadelphians Video: [Inspiring]In this outstanding and thought-provoking episode of the Watchman Report, we delve into a major geopolitical shift that is quietly reshaping the world order: Europe's move towards strategic independence from America. As headlines from February 2026 report that European leaders are preparing for a future without the US as its ultimate security guarantor, we ask the question—what does this mean for the student of Bible prophecy?This is an insightful and revealing exposition of Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 17, exploring how current events are aligning with the prophetic stage. We examine the ancient nations of Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Gomer, using the historical writings of Josephus to identify them with modern-day Russia and Europe. The video lays out a wonderful, scriptural framework showing how a Russian-led European confederacy is set to emerge in the latter days, standing apart from the Anglo-Saxon maritime powers of Tarshish (Britain) and her young lions (the United States).Join us for this inspirational study as we connect the dots between today's headlines and the sure word of prophecy, pointing towards the ultimate intervention of God and the establishment of His Kingdom.*Chapters:*00:00 - Introduction: The Shifting Alliances in Europe01:52 - News Headlines: Europe Prepares for Life Without US Backing03:26 - The Prophetic Significance: Ezekiel 38 and the Latter Days04:55 - Identifying the Nations: Josephus and the Scythians07:00 - The Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: The Russian Connection08:39 - Gomer and his Bands: Identifying Western Europe09:52 - Revelation 17: The Ten Kings and European Unity11:25 - The Merchants of Tarshish: Britain, America, and the Young Lions13:28 - The Direction of Travel: Setting the Stage for Prophecy15:05 - Conclusion: Moving Towards God's Kingdom*Bible Verses Referenced:*

Lakeway Baptist Church

Lakeway Baptist Church

A couple of weeks ago, many of the people of this Island went out to vote in the local elections. Local elections are typically a fairly boring part of politics, where local councillors are chosen across different regions of the country. Often, the party in power does badly, as people use their vote to voice frustration at the direction of government in Westminster. However, this year, the local elections were different. The reason they were different, was largely because of the meteoric rise of one man: Nigel Farage. 

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   • • • Psalm 103:8-12 ESV 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.   • • • "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." -A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy   • • • 1. Mercy of God defined.   • • • The mercy of God is “the divine goodness exercised towards the wretched and the guilty, in harmony with truth and justice. The plan by which God is enabled to show saving mercy to men, for Christ's sake, is the most consummate work of infinite wisdom and love. (ATS Bible Dictionary, 1859)   • • • Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. -Jen Wilkins, In His Image   • • • 2. Mercy of God demonstrated.   • • • The Consistent Mercy of God Lamentations 3:22-23 Deuteronomy 4:31 Jonah 3:10-4:2 Through the Life of Jesus John 8:4-11 In the Forgiveness of Sins Psalm 51:1 Proverbs 28:13 NLT   • • • Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   • • • Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.   • • • Jonah 3:10 ESV 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.   • • • Jonah 4:1-2 ESV 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 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.   • • • John 8:4-11 ESV 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]   • • • Psalm 51:1-2 ESV 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!   • • • Proverbs 28:13 NLT 13 People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.   • • • 3. Responding to the Mercy of God.   • • • Embrace the Reality of His Mercy Experiencing God's mercy begins with recognizing your genuine need for it. Hebrews 2:16-17 Hebrews 4:16 Reflect God's Mercy to Others The soul that has truly experienced the mercy of God will be merciful like him, compassionate to the wretched, and forgiving towards all. (ATS Bible Dictionary, 1859) Luke 6:35-36 Matthew 5:7   • • • Hebrews 2:16-17 NLT 16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.   • • • Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.   • • • Luke 6:35-36 ESV 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.   • • • Matthew 5:7 ESV 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.   • • • Application: Reflect God's image by showing mercy to others just as God has shown mercy to us.

What happens when you realize you've been running in the wrong direction? Pastor Dave opens with a relatable truth about ignoring instructions—from furniture assembly to life itself—but this isn't about missing screws. Jonah, God's reluctant messenger, fled from divine assignment to confront Nineveh's wickedness, boarding a ship to escape the inescapable. When storms arose, Jonah slept while others suffered, embodying the uncomfortable reality that sometimes we're the source of chaos in our own lives. Pastor Dave's piercing insight cuts through excuses: "Maybe you're in a storm because you haven't obeyed" and "99% obedience is still 100% disobedience." Even when we think we've run too far, God's gifts remain irrevocable—He knew our failures before calling us and prepared rescue vehicles we didn't expect. Sometimes the whale that swallows us isn't punishment but salvation, God's uncomfortable mercy bringing us back to purpose. The safest place isn't always the most comfortable; it's wherever God positions us for restoration. Today is your moment to stop running, throw the disobedience overboard, and return to the mission God prepared before you were born—your calling still stands.Jonah 1: 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”Vs 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.Vs 4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.Vs 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.Vs 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.Vs 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”Vs 12  And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”Vs 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.”.Vs 15  So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its ragingVs 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.Vs 17  Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Prepare for the Man-Child Birth (1) (audio) David Eells, 5/17/26 Let me begin with this Word to be ready for this manifestation of the Man-Child birth and the work to follow. A Quick Change Anonymous 6/21/23 (David's notes in red) “There will be a quick change coming soon and more of My Son will be manifesting through you and those who choose ALL of Me. I am increasing and quickly, be ready each moment. LET GO OF EVERYTHING that is NOT Me. Let go of ALL doubt and unbelief. Let go of all carnal and worldly thinking. Everything you think you know and what you know is changing into Me. You will begin to not recognize yourself, but you will see Me in you (and our other Brethren). Completely in unity in Me you will soon be, closer and closer each moment, becoming one together fully in Christ. Time is now. Stop thinking and looking to the future (planning the future) or past but focus on each moment you are in now. I Am now. Time is now. My Son focused on this moment. His Mind was and is on all of you. Let go of all the distractions that stop you from bathing in My presence. Let go of all those little sins you think are hidden; I see all, and I want all evil out of you. No evil is in My Son, as there will be no evil in His Bride, now and for eternity. Time is ticking and passing more quickly than you think; things will start proceeding more rapidly. In an instance, I will be; don't look back. Let go of all your carnal desires, senses, and interests in this world. Face Me only. Look to Me. Think of Me. Communion with Me every moment. I Am in you and for you and everything is from Me. Look to Me and you will keep my peace, my joy and my pleasure that is beyond anything in the natural. I am coming sooner, get ready now. Don't miss out on the things I have for you. Each minute and second, I have a gift for you, and when you aren't in Me, you miss out on what I wanted to give you. Don't look away or to the enemy. Only Me. I Am coming and am already here; look and see”. (I sense that this is going to be coming and happening quicker than we expect.)   Enter Ye in By the Narrow Gate B. A. - 07/25/2011 (David's notes in red) I had just finished my morning prayers and was getting out of bed when I received a word from the Holy Spirit: “If you think the body scanners and pat-downs at the airports are bad, wait until you see the searches I will be doing with My body!” I sat back down on the bed as this took me by surprise. After a few minutes, I got up, dressed, and went down by the lake to meditate on this word. As I was sitting there, I got a vision: I was inside a huge megachurch filled with people. It looked like a football stadium. (In a larger sense, the stadium is the body of Christ. In a smaller sense, it is UBM.) I saw a man dressed as a shepherd who was speaking from a podium to the people. (This is a type of the “one shepherd,” Jesus, ministering in the man-child to the “one flock.”) I couldn't figure out why I was there. I felt like an ant inside this place, as it was so big. I was pondering why I was there when suddenly I saw a bright light coming down from the high ceiling. I watched as the light came down and went through the crowd. (The light is the Word that “came down out of heaven” to give us rebirth in the image of Jesus.) Suddenly, it stopped and hovered over someone down toward the front. At this time, two ushers came and escorted that individual from the building. This happened several more times. I was surprised that no one else seemed to notice what was going on. (Many don't understand the opportunity we have to humble ourselves to the Word and be like Him and love Him.) This bright beam of light seemed to be working its way from the front of the building toward the back, to where I was seated. (The geometric progression of the Word being passed on from person to person.) Then, just like the others, this beam of light came down and hovered over me and the two ushers came and escorted me out of the building. (This represents being born of the mother, as the bride was in Song of Solomon.) As I got outside, I saw the others who had gone out before me. They were all standing together in a group and were hugging each other. As I drew near to them, they came up and started hugging me and shouting, “We've been chosen! We've been chosen!” That was the end of the vision. (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. (The Bride is being chosen before the tribulation because that is the seven-day Marriage Feast when the groom feasts with the bride over the bread/word and wine/nature of Jesus Christ.) Just as I was getting up to go back into the house, I received another word from the Holy Spirit: “Strive to enter in by the narrow gate.” (Luk.13:24) Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. (Mat.7:13) Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. (14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. I believe the Lord was giving me a warning. I believe the Lord is taking what is going on in the natural to prepare His body for the spiritual. Those body scanners and pat-downs at the airport are very revealing and humbling. I believe the Lord is warning us that that's nothing compared to the BODY (God's people) search He is going to do to His people. (Anything illegal, according to the Word, will not pass. Unforgiveness, lust, pride, rebellion, etc. won't fly.) I believe this message is for the first-fruits (Man-child and Bride). The Lord gave me more word this morning. The Lord told me He was searching HIS people and that He has been giving them a series of pop quizzes leading up to the final test for the first-fruits. If we can't pass the series of quizzes, we have no chance of passing the BIG TEST! These quizzes are to test the body to see where they stand spiritually. How will we as the body be able to function when situations get much tougher, as world events become more extreme? We are being sifted! (If one cannot prove to live in the love and nature of Jesus in the small tests, they could never conquer the big tests that are coming.) Also, I believe the Lord is telling the body to “GET REAL” with their hearts. Anyone holding on to any unforgiveness or unconfessed or hidden sin will not make the cut. Love each other from the heart, brothers and sisters. It is a HUGE blessing to be in the first-fruits. We are not to be concerned about our specific place within the body; it's the Lord's decision and His alone to place each and every one of us in the position He has chosen for us. We do not appoint ourselves to positions as many do.   Birthing the Man-child and Under Attack Warren Edwards - 09/21/2009 (David's notes in red) In a dream, I was with a woman who was about to give birth. We were alone in a birthing room. There was great commotion outside. When the woman was just about ready to give birth, two people who were outside the room burst in and said we were about to be overcome and that we would have to leave. (The beast threat against the church will be great at the time God births His Man-child in them and to lead them.) We were in another room just like the first room; the only difference was that now the woman who was to give birth looked more pregnant than before, and I was aware that the two men who were outside were there to protect us from the people trying to attack us. Just as the woman was ready again, they burst into the room and said again that we were about to be overcome and had to move, so we moved again. (The church will be running from the devil, instead of after the devil, before this leadership arrives.) We were in the same type of room again, with the same commotion outside. The woman was larger with child than ever and looked as though she would burst because she was so big. I became aware that I was not protecting the woman but was to protect the child she carried. The men burst into the room again and said again that we were about to be overcome and we had to move. They had weapons in their hands; one carried a fence post (which is for separating us from beasts-- symbolizing sanctification from the flesh) and the other a piece of steel tube (which is a vessel for the water of the Word to flow through). Sanctification is necessary for us to be a channel for the spoken Word, which is our sword of the Spirit. Some only know the word through the colored glasses their preachers give them. Know and experience the word through the Holy Spirit.) I noticed the weapons bore no marks of use, and I became angry. I asked the men why they had not used their weapons against the enemy. They argued the enemy was too strong and insisted that we leave before we were overcome. (Unsanctification, doubt and the lack of the knowledge of authority makes God's people cower before the enemy.) Very angry, I lifted my hands and spoke; the enemy was immediately quieted and fell. The men who were protecting the woman fell silent and had an expression of fear on their faces. They just moved out of the way; they were not hurt. The woman gave birth. The child and I were taken away in the spirit. End of dream. This is the story of the dragon beast in Rev,12, awaiting the birth of the Man-child, in order to devour it before it is caught up to the throne of authority. Care has been given to some to birth this Man-child, who are also to be members of it. (Rev.12:1) And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. 3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. 4 And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven (This falling away of the stars God said were Abraham's seed is the danger.), and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child (And this is the other threat spoken of.). 5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. I, David, had a dream or vision, many years ago, about birthing the Man-child from a dying religious system. My notes are in red: I was standing on top of a mountain (representing the kingdom of God) and looking down the mountainside. I saw a construction crew coming up the mountainside, putting up the big metal power poles for high voltage power lines. (Bringing the latter rain power of God to come as Christ in us.) Then I looked down beside me on the ground and noticed a very old, emaciated cow lying there. It looked as though it was about to die. Next to it was a very large baby boy that I knew had been born from that cow. Next, I saw a front-end loader come and scoop up the cow and carry it away. (Moving the old, dead system out of the way of the power coming through the Man-child as it was in Jesus' day.) I picked up the baby and walked over and got on an escalator. (Resting and being caught up to the throne of God's authority to use power.) As we were going up, I noticed a woman next to me with a normal-sized baby. Looking at my baby, she said, “That looks like a real baby boy”. Watching the front-end loader carry away the cow, I said, “Yeah, I wonder how that's possible”. Then the scene changed and I was walking into a ministers' conference. All the famous religious leaders were there. A famous minister whom we all know walked over and handed me some papers. (The Lord showed me that he represented a generation of Saul ministers who were ceding their authority to the Man-child.) Then the Lord said to me, “This is his propaganda about what he has accomplished”. Judy Miller also had a dream on 12/10/08, which we called Christian Snipers, where I was under attack while trying to deliver the Man-child. Here is the shortened version: I have never, to the best of my recollection, dreamed about someone I never met. But I can't seem to get it off my mind. Since this dream was about David, I thought it might be something he would understand. He and I and a woman who could have been his wife, but I never saw her, were in a big, empty room like a cafeteria. (The cafeteria is where food is served, so I believe this has something to do with our teachings that we feed the saints.) There was only one table, which was standing on its end in this empty room. It was one of those really heavy tables that takes two people to move. David and the woman were on the underside of this table and he was delivering a baby from her. (Delivering the baby “under the table” symbolizes being out of public view. Some people pay no attention to the fact that some Davids work very hard at delivering the individual and corporate fruit of Christ from the woman church behind the scenes.) I was on the topside digging a bullet out of David's back. (The top side of the table represents being in public. David was shot from the direction of the public and Judy removed the slug in public. Sniping at Davids in public is the work of those who have critical, factious spirits and do not care what they do day and night to serve the saints. Those who have wisdom of the Word should publicly but gracefully correct slander, backbiting, gossip and criticism, as Judy was symbolically doing here. (Psa.11:2) For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.)  How I was doing this through the table, I don't know. But the strange thing was this: He never seemed to notice he had a bullet in his back; he didn't acknowledge any pain while I was digging it out. He actually never said anything during this whole thing, but seemed to be concentrating on delivering this baby. (The most important thing is delivering the baby. I get bullets in the back without me knowing it all the time because some don't speak to your face “alone”, as Jesus demands in Mat.18:15, but go to the public, which is reserved for the third step in verse 17 and only when there is sin. Some who are overcome by critical, factious spirits and selfish ambition receive accusations against elders [1Ti.5:19] in their minds or from others for the purpose of separating brethren unto themselves.) I finally managed to get the bullet out of his back, and I held it up to the light and it glittered on the brass when the light hit it, and I just smiled; that was the end of the dream. (The glitter on the slug speaks of putting on a public display to impress men, since that is the way glitter is used. Public persecution has come against our ministry and, sadly, sometimes it is from within, as it was with Jesus. Some like to magnify themselves at others' expense.)   Jesus Is Again Coming in Humility June Johnson - 07/29/2008 (David's notes in red) In a very vivid dream, I saw a donkey in the middle of a road with a baby on its back. It is Jesus birthed in the end-time corporate Man-child, whose beastly flesh is in servitude and humility by God's grace. (Mat.21:5) Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass. Jesus is coming as the latter rain on this morning of the third thousand-year day. (Hos.6:2) After two days (2000 years) will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. (3) And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning (of the third thousand year day,); and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. He will anoint the first-fruits man-child with the latter rain first, as it was with Jesus in the former rain. The Jews expected Him to come as a reigning king over their enemies, as the Christians do today. But the enemy wasn't the Romans but the devil, sin, and the flesh. “The things that have been are the things that will be”. Instead, He will come once again in the form of humble servants before coming personally. I then heard a car coming and thought to myself that I had to get the baby out of the road before the car came closer. The dragon will seek to destroy the corporate Man-child, as with Jesus, Moses, Joseph, David, etc, but he will be anointed with authority to rule from the throne, as they were. (Rev.12:4) And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child. (5) And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (6) And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. The donkey then knelt down and I grabbed the baby and ran. End of dream. Jesus will come wherever the beastly flesh is in submission. Others will partake of the Spirit of Christ in them. The fruit of Christ will be served to God's people through a humble, fleshly body.   Jesus Is Coming in His People Jan from Alaska - 02/04/2009 (David's notes in red) I got several confirmations during the day that this was from the Lord, and I don't want to miss any message in it. I'm standing just outside an open doorway that leads into a bedroom in the heart of the house. I'm told or asked by someone high above me (literally high over my head in the Spirit) to go to this woman to midwife her having a baby and the baby is Jesus. I walk into the room, and it's flooded with bright light, with a great light on her. She is ruddy in complexion, and I can see only her body from the base of her neck down. She's young --15-18, small, naked, alone in the room, and up on her elbows pushing in agony with the birth. She's in the end stage of delivery as the baby has already dropped into the birth canal, and she barely looks pregnant. I go over and put my hand on her stomach to comfort her and not so much to guide the baby, as to feel the baby. I have great compassion for her pain. Then I walk to the end of the bed, and I see the baby's head has already burst through the canal and the top of His head, which is snow white, is exposed (the revelation of Christ as head.) (Song of Solomon 5:8-10 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand). I'm excited with happiness, but I stay focused, talk comfort to her, and watch as the baby is born into my arms (and He is very ruddy). (The man-child David was said to be ruddy.) I hold the baby to my chest and run down a narrow hallway toward the front (future? outer court?) of the house, where I know a lot of people are waiting to hear He's been born. I'm crying and laughing because I'm so happy I got to witness this, that Jesus has come! (With the latter rain anointing for the whole man-child reformer body.) Baby Jesus, who is very red and physically very strong (Rev.12:10) Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ), leans over and takes my left index finger into His mouth and bites down and I realize He has a full set of very white adult teeth (Gen.49:9) Judah is a lion's cub; (12) His (Judah's) eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.). “Left hand” means “hiding place”; “place of covering”. “Index finger”, or “forefinger,” means “the finger of God”; i.e., “power of God”. I awoke crying and praising God, overcome with joy of it all. This dream may be a confirmation or continuation of a dream I had two weeks ago in which I was looking at the Word and in red letters I read: Tell of your Master and of His coming... (Gen.49:1) And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days. ... (8) Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. (9) Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? (10)(This verse was given by faith at random to us when we asked what spiritual tribe are we from?) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come: (Hebrew: peace giver. From Assyrian: prince, ruler) And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. (11) Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass's colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes: (12) His eyes shall be red with wine, And his teeth white with milk. A word I received at this same time: (Isa.33:10) Now will I arise, saith Jehovah; now will I lift up myself; now will I be exalted. Jesus came as a baby with the former rain ministry and passed this on to the Woman Church, who were called “Christians” because Jesus lived in them. Now history must repeat, as Ecc.1:9 says: “That which hath been is that which shall be”. Jesus said He would return again as a Man-child born to the woman Church. (Joh.16:19) Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? (20) Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (21) A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. (22) And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. (He will come manifested in His corporate end-time Man-child reformer body.) (Rev.12:5) And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (6) And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (He will come through the Latter Rain anointing after two thousand-year days on the morning of the third thousand.) (Hos.6:2) After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. (3) And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. Then this anointing will be spread throughout the elect Church, as history repeats. And then He will come in the clouds of His heavenly people.   The David Ministry Is Born Eve Brast - 11/11/2013 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that my husband and I had a fourth son. (In real life, we have three sons: Noah, 16; Elijah, 11; Josiah, 8.) I had just given birth to this fourth son. I was wondering where my husband was in the dream because he was not present for the birth. My older two sons were nearby, but it was my son Josiah who was present for the birth. He was standing at my right hand and admiring the new baby boy with me. (I have learned that the birth of the Man-child is different from the birth of the Man-child ministry. In Jesus' life, there were 30 years between these two. It was that way with Joseph, David and Moses, as types of the Man-child. They all had a pre-anointing life and service to God. But when the anointing came, the real ministry began.) I had wrapped him in a white blanket and was holding his head with his right cheek against my heart. I was talking to Josiah and exclaiming, “He looks just like Elijah when Elijah was born, only he has richer, thicker hair!” (My son Elijah was born in November, the 11th month of the year (And he is at the time of this dream 11 years old), and Father gave me this dream on 11/11/13.) (11 has been a number of manifest judgment on the wicked but also deliverance and blessing for the righteous. This is what comes with the Man-child ministry of the white horse rider.) I started quoting Bible scriptures to this new baby, as he rested on my heart. I didn't know where these verses were located in the Word, but every verse I quoted to him, he would quote them right back to me in a soft, quiet, gentleman's voice! And then he would add where that verse was located in the Word. I discovered that most of the verses I was quoting to him were in the book of James! (What we see here is the Man-child ministry being birthed into the world. Though they are small in size and number, they will manifest the supernatural knowledge and nature of the Word made flesh.) Josiah and I were looking and smiling at the new baby, and I was saying, “Isn't he so precious? He is so sweet! We are going to name him David. I've always loved that name”. Then I woke up. (The anointed David ministers are now coming onto the scene.) I asked Father for scriptures for this dream and received: (Ecc.7:1) A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth. (This ministry will have gone through birth, death and resurrection to the latter rain anointing to manifest the name of Jesus.) (Luk.24:50) And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. (He led them to the House of Bread and blessed them.) (Mat.11:27) All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him. My finger landed on the words “to reveal him”. (The manifest sons will be revealed by the Lord, and they will reveal the Lord.) Then I asked for a word concerning me in this dream, and my finger landed on (Mat.1:21) And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. My finger was on the words, “And she shall bring forth a son”. Amazing! (Word received by random by faith in God.)   “The Armies of God March Soon” Eve Brast - 10/08/2011 (David's notes in red) The Father gave me a dream on 9/22/11, two days after the vision He gave me of the birth of Isaac in Abraham's tent dream. (This was the birth of the Man-child, who, as David, will lead the Lord's earthly army into battle against the spiritual Philistines and their demon gods. I share this dream below.) Eve said, I'm sending it now because last night I was lamenting to the Father how pronounced the separation is becoming between myself and friends and loved ones who love the world more than the truth of the Word and discipleship. It seems to have become extremely pronounced recently. I was asking the Father to speak to me concerning this, and when I opened my Bible my finger was on: (Psa.18:29) For by thee I run upon a troop: And by my God do I leap over a wall. (The Lord's power and anointing will enable us to leap over walls of separation and battle for souls in bondage, but we must have our armor and be led by our General.) I went on to read the entire text of Psalm 18, which answered my questions perfectly and gave me comfort. I knew instantly after reading this that it was time to send this dream. Dream - 09/22/2011 I saw myself standing in the driveway in front of my grandmother's old house (Eve, as a type of the bride of the last Adam, is a part of the house of the ancient Church and Word before the falling away. Contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.) that house I grew up in on Lago Vista Street (meaning “Lake View”). I was facing west, looking across the pond. The sun was disappearing over the horizon. There was just enough light left to make out the scene. (A time of darkness coming on the world, but the waters of the Word are always before the Bride's face.) I was dressed in silver-polished armor with gold trim (armor that reflects the Sun or Son and blinds the enemy). My hair had turned blonde. (Hair represents submission to our husband. Blond hair represents submission to the Sun [Son] -- 1 Corinthians 11) The wind started to gust (false winds of doctrines) out of the north (the beast), blowing the dead leaves that had fallen from the trees and what seemed like dead grass clippings over me. (Coming in contact with those who are falling away to their flesh, for Peter said, “All flesh is as grass”.) I heard a voice from the south (God's army) say, “The armies of God march soon! “ I became concerned and started to panic because my armor had some missing pieces, like pieces of a puzzle. There was no time left to go back into my grandmother's house (representing the ancient original church), where the rest of the pieces were located, and find them. (The armor can only be found in the original Church of the Word.) At that moment, I cried out to the Father, “Help me, Father! I don't know what to do! “ I knew that if I went back inside, I would miss the deployment of troops, and that if I went into battle like I was (missing some armor) I could be wounded. (Effectual fervent prayer to the Father can finish up the armor. Many are taken out even now because they had no armor.) Suddenly, the missing pieces started appearing from above me and attaching themselves in their proper places on my armor suit, completing it for the march and the battle. (All need to pray to complete the armor so they are not taken out in the coming darkness and association with the dead around us. (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. (13) Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (18) with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.) When I asked the Father for scripture for this dream back on September 22nd, I opened my Bible and my finger was on: (2Ch.33:14) Now after this he built an outer wall to the City of David, on the West side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish gate; and he compassed Ophel with it, and raised it up to a very great height: and he put captains in all the fortified cities. This was after King Manasseh in verse 13 had repented to God, and God brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. (And he was preparing for war, coming against the city of David by putting on its armor.) I asked for another scripture to expand the meaning of this dream to me and when I opened my eyes, my finger was on: (Joh.8:56) Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. (Abraham fought for the people taken captive by the kings of Canaan's land, the beast.) This amazed me because it connected the previous vision the Father gave me two nights before with this current dream! God is so awesome and faithful to show us what He is doing! Dream - 10/08/11 I was flying through space inside our inner solar system toward the sun, and as I was coming up, I saw Mercury, Venus, and Earth. Mercury and Earth were in alignment and Venus was extremely close to coming into perfect alignment with them. (Eve didn't know this, but these planets were in perfect alignment, or very close to perfect alignment, from October 31 until November 15.) I was brought in closer, and all my attention was placed on Venus. As I was waking up, I heard a voice say, “And He shall be given a rod and a staff with which to rule over the sons of men”. (Could this be hinting at the anointing? We'll see. The rod represents chastening and the staff restraint and guidance. The alignments of Earth, Mercury and Venus can actually be seen as a type of a rod. The rod and the staff are the instruments of the Shepherd Who is coming in His Man-child to be the General for His troops. (Rev.22:16) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star [Venus]. Jesus is the root that brought forth the branch of David and He is in the Branch -- Jeremiah 23 & 33.) The scriptures that were given to me for this dream were (Eze.40:6) Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the East, and went up the steps thereof: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad: and the other threshold one reed broad. (Jesus is coming through the Eastern Gate into the temple of His people. He is measuring the Way through which He comes and many will not measure up. (Joh.14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.) (Jer.30:17) For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds saith Jehovah, because they have called thee an outcast, saying, It is Zion whom no man seeketh after. (Then Zion, the bride, will be sought out and restored.) With love for all my brethren. Be encouraged and strengthened in the Lord.   Promised Seed Brings in Multitudes Eve Brast - 09/20/2011 (David's notes in red) On 9/20/11, before going to bed, I was out on my porch facing the east toward a fantastic lightning show that was occurring in the storm clouds. It was completely silent with no thunder at all, which is unusual. In my imagination, I saw the angel, Michael, and his angels fighting against Satan and his forces of darkness in the heavens, and Satan being cast down to the Earth. I felt in my spirit to pray against the forces of darkness that are coming against the saints of God. (Rev.12:10) And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. (11) And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death. This casting down of Satan will be for the purpose of persecuting the woman church and driving her into the safety of the wilderness for 3 1/2 years, as in Revelation 12:13-14, to be trained by the Man-child in verses 5-6. After this, I went to lie down, but before I could fall asleep, the Father gave me a vision. I (Eve, the bride of Adam/Jesus) was standing on the corner of an angled portion of the roof of Herod's temple, which was over some pillars and steps. In the vision, this is where Satan had taken Jesus during His time of testing. (The Bride is being tested by Satan to see who will overcome by faith in the blood, the words of their testimony and sacrificing their life.) I was looking down and observing a scene. At my left, crouching down and observing the scene was Satan. He was dressed in a solid black hooded robe, and all I could see were his gray and bony hands with sharp, pointed nails. My attention returned to the scene below. (Satan hides in the darkness of wicked men, the seven-headed, 10-horned dragon body of lost humanity, so that men do not perceive this to be a trial from him. Men are tempted to wrestle with flesh and blood in this way.) Abraham had pitched his tent on the cobblestones in front of the steps of the temple and was pacing outside the tent like an expectant father. (Abraham means “father of a multitude”. He is the father of the faithful and represents our Father in Heaven.) I was able to see right through the top of the tent, and I could see Sarah, who was old and gray-headed, giving birth to Isaac with the assistance of three handmaids. She gave birth to him with great ease. (Our Father sowed the seed of the Word in Sarah, meaning “princess”, who represents the Bride who has not brought forth the seed of man. As with Sarah, the Bride is in the midst of the Church, who is now in old age. She is bringing forth the promised Man-child seed of Father Abraham, through whom he will be the “father of a multitude” from all nations.) Then I saw Abraham hurry into the tent as soon as Isaac was delivered, and he held the baby up to the heavens toward the Father in praise and dedication. (The gift from God through whom He will begin the latter rain revival to bring in the multitudes.) As soon as Isaac was born, Satan, still crouched on my left, started to pound his right fist down upon his left palm and scream twice, “We've lost them! We've lost them!” (As sure as this child will be born, Satan will lose the multitudes who were captive to him. YOU LOST THEM 2000 YEARS AGO, SATAN!!! LOL!!!) This is when the vision ended, and I became aware that I was in my bed trying to go to sleep. I looked this up in (Heb.11:11) By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted Him faithful who had promised ... (18) even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. (In Isaac was and is in type the seed of all future generations. He begat the one whose seed was the 12 patriarchs, just as Jesus did and just as the Man-child will spiritually.) When I asked the Father for some verses, my finger was on (Pro.18:20) A man's belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; with the increase of his lips shall he be satisfied. (The spoken word will bring forth the multitudes, like the commands through Moses to Pharaoh) Also (Isa.66:19) And I will set a sign among them and I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame neither have seen my glory: and they shall declare my glory among the nations. (The “sign” here is the Man-child Emanuel, meaning “God with us” prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and Luke 2:10-12,34. He will send those who escape the beast to the nations to declare the fame of the Lord.) Praise the Lord that Satan has already been defeated! Be encouraged, brethren.   Birthing of the Man-child and Bride's Fruit and the Beginning of Great Judgment Eve Brast - 11/18/21 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that I was in an old military-style fort with UBM. The entire perimeter or outer wall doubled as living quarters and storage rooms. The interior courtyard area was open. We were gathering supplies in preparation for an imminent, massive judgment from God in the form of a thick blanket of darkness that was heading towards the fort.) (At this time we know of one possibility of an imminent judgment, in that the DS has prepared more deadly plagues to unleash upon the global population. This judgment could also represent the beginning of the 7-year tribulation when the Man-child is born.) The judgment was fast approaching, coming from my right in the form of an oppressive darkness that was blanketing the earth. I knew that many people would die from this judgment in the dream. (The vaccine deaths multiplied quickly. We know the DS has another ‘Plandemic' worse than COVID's vax. As this was coming upon the world, I was simultaneously standing on a large wooden deck where I was in active labor to give birth to twins, a boy and a girl, even though I did not outwardly look pregnant. I had a vision of them coming through the birth canal side by side, the boy on the right and the girl at his left. They were being born in an upright position, or what they call breech, which is “feet first.” (This represents the fruit of Christ in the Man-child and the Bride coming to maturity and being born ready to walk in the steps of Jesus through the 7-year Tribulation period that is quickly approaching.) While I was laboring to bring them forth, I would squat down and try with all my might to push them out, but because they were being born at the same time, I could not birth them in my own strength, and I was becoming tired. Then the knowledge of the Holy Spirit came to me to “just stand and relax.” When I did this, they were born smoothly and with ease on their own. Then I woke up. (Through faith and rest of God, the Bride will bear her own fruit and that of the Man-child.) Missy got this text by faith at random for the morning prayer meeting on 11/18/21 and she thought it went with this dream, 2Ch.6:4-11, And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it, saying, 5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel: 6 but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. 7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. 8 But Jehovah said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart: 9 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. 10 And Jehovah hath performed his word that he spake; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and have built the house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. 11 And there have I set the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with the children of Israel. (This parable represents the two stages of the Man-child ministry: David, a warrior, and Solomon, meaning peaceful. The son of David, Solomon, [peaceful], which the Man-child Jesus, the prince of peace, was also called. This fruit of David, representing Christ in him, will build the house and not his old man. David was a man of war, but his fruit, Solomon, was the prince of peace to build the temple. David provided the materials for the Temple and his son, or fruit built it.)   She was Delivered of a Son; a Man-child Alenna Timoshchuk - 12/2/21 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was at my sister Lidiya's house and I took a shower in her bathroom. After I finished showering, I lay down on her bed to take a nap. (I've recently repented of some idols the Lord showed me were still in my life, and I believe the shower represents the washing away of my sins and this repentance and cleansing that I had just gone through in the Lord, and now that I am made pure by Him, I have entered into His rest.) In the dream, as I closed my eyes, I immediately started seeing a vision in animated form. I saw a large old-fashioned church building made of gray stone. (The old-fashioned church represents the original church, and the stone represents Jesus, Who is the Rock and foundation of the Church.) Then it was as if I was standing in the back of the church and could see everything happening inside. I saw rows of pews with people in them; they were all facing the front, where you'd normally see the preacher behind a pulpit. (I believe these people are the ones eagerly waiting for the Man-child, and they have their eyes forward, focused on Jesus Christ.) (The Nicolaitans put one man over the sheep of the congregation who lords his position over them, but Jesus did not intend it to be so for His disciples. The Man-child will restore the original 5-fold ministries of leadership and accountability in the Church government. Mat.20:25-28 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; 27 and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: 28 even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.) Instead of a preacher, a woman was standing there. She was dressed in beautiful garments in various hues of blue. The way she was dressed reminded me of the pictures I'd see of Mary with the baby Jesus. (This represents the woman of Revelation 12 who gives birth to the corporate body of the Man-child just as Mary gave birth to Jesus in His individual body 2,000 years ago. Mary was the bride of the Lord to bring forth the Man-child, Jesus, by the seed of the Holy Spirit.) She lay down on a table that was behind her, and I saw that she was pregnant, and I could see the shadow of a baby inside her belly. She started pushing and gave birth to a baby boy. When the baby came out, everyone in the church jumped up and started rejoicing and hugging each other. The Man-child will be born out of the Bride body.) The woman was looking at everyone with a huge smile on her face. That was when I noticed a gold crown on her head and a long blue veil covering her blonde hair. (I believe the woman looked like pictures I saw of Mary because she is the parallel of the one who births Jesus Christ in our day and the woman from whom the Man-child will come. She was clothed in beautiful hues of blue, representing heavenly colors, and her veil is her submission to Christ. The crown is the glory she will have in heaven because she represents the Bride.) (Joh.16:19-22) Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. (Represented by the “huge smile” she had on her face.) 22 And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. The corporate Man-child reformer David ministry in whom Jesus lives by Word and Spirit is about to be born. In the night that Cyrus, as Trump, conquered Babylon, Daniel, as a type of the Man-child, was promoted as a ruler of the Kingdom. We are close to the Man-child's anointing to rule.) After their moment of rejoicing, everyone went to the front of the church and exited out a side door. (I believe there will be great rejoicing for those waiting for the Man-child, and they all walked out of the church when he was born because they are going to spread the true gospel.) (These are the modern-day disciples of Christ who are going forth as the first disciples did.) The church was now empty, and I saw a man appear in front of the church, where he sat down on the steps of the stage. He wore clothes that resembled royalty; the colors of red and white, with a gold crown on his head. He had light brown hair, and his expression looked sorrowful. (I believe the man represented Jesus in the Man-child. The red and white symbolize the blood sacrifice and purity of Jesus, and the gold crown is also the glory he has been given by the Father in heaven for his obedience and sacrifice. I believe his expression was sorrowful because he feels his Father's sorrow over the people that have fallen away.) Then I heard a voice fill the whole room, and I knew it was the Father speaking to him. I can't remember the exact words our Father was saying, but I remember the idea of it, so I will just put it in my own words. He told the man that His people have been on the fence for too long, worshipping Him and mammon. The time has come for them to make a choice, for very soon they will be judged and many, many deaths are going to start occurring. (In the natural many will die because of the graphene oxide and spike protein, which is sprayed and/or in vaccinated people. Spiritually, there will also be a falling away. See our book Escape the Falling Away. These are the rebellious and lukewarm that the Lord will spew out of His mouth. Rev.3:16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.) He told him to go out and warn his people because the time has drawn very near. (I believe Father is showing me here that the Man-child is coming very, very soon, but for those who are not living in the Spirit, but after the flesh, a very difficult time is also very near. We need to intercede for them in prayer and warn them to repent and draw nigh unto the Lord. We also must give up our idols and worship our one true God.) The man jumped up with a determined expression on his face and went out the side door to do as the Father had told him. Then the vision ended in the dream, and I opened my eyes. (When the Man-child is anointed and sent forth by the Father, He will have power to complete all that He is sent to do.) ...I stepped outside onto the back porch to clear my mind so that I could write down the vision. My brother Leo came out and started the grill because he was going to grill some meat… (Leo represents the Lion of Judah, Jesus, who is solely focused on crucifying our flesh in the fiery trial.) Then something started happening in the sky. I saw clouds forming in lines very quickly, and it looked like the lines were being sprayed into the sky. The way they formed was very interesting. It started as a line that would turn into a 45-degree angle, ultimately forming a triangle. (This likely represents the 'all-seeing eye' within the triangular-shaped pyramid representing the Illuminati at the head of the DS. They are Luciferians and eugenicists, and they are de-populating the global population through their chemtrail spraying programs and vaccines.) As soon as the triangle was formed, the cloud would turn black and another would form connecting to the point of the other triangle and it was making lines across the sky that just looked like a bunch of black triangles. (It could be that these large black triangular crafts are TR3B antigravity, noiseless, extremely fast, U.S. aircraft black ops spraying plagues, vax, mapping, spying, etc.) It was very fast. I stepped off the porch and lay down in the grass to try to see what was happening more clearly. (Lying on top of the grass represents conquering the flesh of our old nature. The Bible says, “All flesh is as grass…” This allows us to have spiritual discernment and to see things more clearly.) I asked my brother, “Could these possibly be natural?” (The triangle with the all-seeing eye represents the leadership of the DS and is forming lines across the sky, which we call chemtrails that can spray plagues, vax, etc.) I never heard his reply because as soon as I asked that question, a robot jumped onto my face and started attacking me. I was wrestling with him and managed to push him off, and I jumped up. (Representing their chemtrail spraying, the nano-bot technology that has been discovered in the vaccines attacking the people by deoxygenating their blood, thereby making it feel like it's hard to breathe.) At first, I thought it was some kind of futuristic delivery robot. It had black, white and blue colors. The robot started coming at me again when I saw many more robots falling out of the sky into the backyard, and they were all chasing me. (This nanotechnology is capable of being aerosolized and sprayed upon large groups of people at one time.)(We are not under this curse, which Jesus bore, Gal.3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. We are under Psalm 91 where we are taught how to escape this. Psa.91:2-3 I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust. 3 For he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the deadly pestilence… 9 For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge! Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.) I looked back at my brother, wanting to ask for his help, but he was just focused on grilling the meat. (In the midst of tribulations, we must focus on the sacrifice of our flesh in the fiery trial.) I started running around the backyard trying to climb on trees and fences, but they would follow me wherever I went. (Because they are in the air.) It seemed as if they were angry at me for being on the grass. (With the flesh under our feet, the demons are threatened and will attack us by every means and distraction they can muster.) Finally, I ran back onto the porch (where Leo was sacrificing the flesh.) and all of the robots disappeared. (We must stay on the porch with Leo, the Lion of Judah. There is safety from our enemies when we abide in Christ and the crucified life.) Then the scene changed again, and I saw a couple sitting in a pool filled with water. The woman was very heavily pregnant, and I could tell that she was due to give birth soon. There was a midwife on the side of the pool, instructing her so that she could give birth without tearing. Then I woke up. (Staying in the water of the Word makes giving birth to the fruit of Christ possible and easier.)   UBM Born Again M. L. - 07/01/2013 (David's notes in red) I dreamt of a bombed building. I do not know what building or where it was. And I only saw a few yards ahead of me. (UBM was attacked by spiritual terrorists to separate the unclean from us, as has been prophesied for years. But also, this process has been going on around the world, as has been reported to us.) The enemy had moved on, and there was a total absence of fear. UBM had come together to rebuild. Our focus was that we had a job to do: cleaning away debris and rebuilding this place. (Cleaning away the old unregenerate of UBM and bringing forth the new, like the lunar eclipse of Michael Campbell's dream, where there was an eclipse and the first sliver of the new moon was much brighter than the whole moon had been before the eclipse.) Sometimes I only saw feet and legs and sometimes up to the shoulders, or saw people from the back. The most amazing thing was that I noticed people we knew from our former church who were working with us. They had come out to help, and it seemed so good to see them being freed. I saw some of the faces of our former leadership and others. This is a text we received before for this: (Zec.1:17) Cry yet again, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity; and Jehovah shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. (18) And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, four horns. (19) And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. (20) And Jehovah showed me four smiths. (21) Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head; but these are come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.) My husband and I were observing this, and I had the knowing that members of our local UBM were there. I felt that close-knit communion that we have -- a unity I've never felt before. (This unity and love is increasingly happening.) I saw a person carry a five-gallon white bucket in each hand and go toward a corner of the room. The wall did not exist; only the two two-foot sections that formed the corners remained. Each of the walls was like this around the building. (Walls between groups are passing away; only the cornerstone of Christ will remain. UBM will be without walls, with room for many more people; a great revival. This is the text the Lord spoke to me that we have received before about UBM: (Zec.2:3) And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, (4) and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle therein. (5) For I, saith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her. (6) Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, saith Jehovah; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, saith Jehovah. We must flee now from the Babylonish beast nature and captivity if we are to be safe. (7) Ho Zion, escape, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. (8) For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the nations which plundered you [these who brought down the walls]; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. (9) For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them [they will be returned]; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me. (10) Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. As the old die, the new come in with the Lord. (11) And many nations shall join themselves to Jehovah in that day [the nations or Gentiles join Zion's daughter, the Bride, in these days as a great revival], and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me unto thee. (12) And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. (13) Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah; for he is waked up out of his holy habitation [to fight for Zion].) The man with the buckets bent to his knees and started scooping up pieces of debris with his hands, then dropping the cement chunks and wood into the bucket. (Cleaning out the old to make room for the new.) A few moments later, I saw another pair of hands helping him. This was happening all through this room (UBM), and I knew that it was happening in the rest of the building (or house of God) also. Then I saw a very kind older man with a beard and collar-length gray hair sitting down at a makeshift table, and I thought I had seen him before. (Likely the Man-child.) It was made from broken pieces of brick (cement block) and a flat old board about 12-14 inches wide. The length was long enough to go across the bricks that support it. (A wilderness setting.) On the board, he had a piece of paper and some kind of list. It may have been job assignments, I'm not sure. Two people had left after talking to him and seemed excited. (UBMers coming into their individual ministries to compliment others' gifts.) There was a lightness in the air and even though there was a lot to do, everyone was pulling together and with much joy. (Like the new birth, there will be much joy and excitement in UBM and other faithful ministries which God will join together. We will be one flock with one Shepherd, as Jesus said.) I received this concerning the rebuilding of UBM: (Hag.2:1) In the seventh [month], in the one and twentieth [day] of the month, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying, (2) Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying, (3) Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing? (4) Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith Jehovah; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest (two Man-child types); and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith Jehovah, and work: for I am with you, saith Jehovah of hosts, (5) [according to] the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit abode among you: fear ye not. (6) For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) and I will shake all nations; and the precious things (Heb. “desire”, i.e. The Lord) of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts. (9) The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts.

The Battle of Gog and Magog Ezekiel 38:1-3 “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” This chosen text from the opening verses of Ezekiel chapter 38 serves as the foundation for our exposition of the battle of Gog and Magog. The prophecy spans Ezekiel 38 and 39, two chapters that form a unified oracle delivered by the prophet during the Babylonian exile. Ezekiel, whose name means “God strengthens,” was a priest carried into captivity in 597 B.C. alongside King Jehoiachin. His ministry, spanning roughly 593 to 571 B.C., addressed both the judgment upon Judah and the future restoration of God's people.    In these chapters, the Lord shifts from messages of immediate hope and restoration (as seen in Ezekiel 36–37) to a dramatic foretelling of an end-times invasion that will demonstrate His sovereign power over the nations.    The prophecy is set explicitly “in the latter years” and “latter days” (Ezekiel 38:8, 16), pointing to a future period when Israel has been regathered to her land.   By historical geography and biblical genealogy, we understand and believe Gog to be the leader of Russia and Magog as the country itself—Russia. This aligns with a careful reading of the ancient names in light of biblical genealogy, historical geography, and etymological connections preserved in early sources.    The prophecy is not vague symbolism but a specific geopolitical forecast involving a northern power and its allies descending upon a restored Israel.  The structure of the prophecy unfolds in clear stages. Here are the pertinent details presented as bullet points in the order they appear in the biblical text, each accompanied by its primary scripture reference: The divine summons to prophesy against Gog of Magog: The Lord commands Ezekiel to set his face against “Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” and to declare God's opposition (Ezekiel 38:1-3).   God's sovereign control over the invasion force: The Lord declares He will “turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,” drawing forth Gog and his vast army of horses, horsemen, and fully armed troops (Ezekiel 38:4).   The composition of the multinational coalition: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya join with shield and helmet; Gomer and the house of Togarmah from the north quarters come with all their bands, along with “many people” (Ezekiel 38:5-6).   • The command to prepare for battle: Gog and his company are told to be prepared and to act as a guard for the assembled forces (Ezekiel 38:7). The precise timing of the invasion: “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them” (Ezekiel 38:8).   The nature and scale of the assault: The invaders ascend “like a storm” and cover the land “like a cloud,” with Gog and all his bands and many people (Ezekiel 38:9).   The evil thought that motivates the attack: At that time, thoughts will arise in Gog's mind: “I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey…” (Ezekiel 38:10-12).   • The inquiry of observing nations: Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish with their young lions question the invaders' intent to seize spoil, silver, gold, cattle, and goods (Ezekiel 38:13). The confirmation of Israel's security at the time of attack: When God's people Israel dwell safely, Gog will know it (Ezekiel 38:14).   The geographic origin and military character of the force: Gog comes “from thy place out of the north parts,” with many people riding upon horses—a great company and a mighty army (Ezekiel 38:15).   • The divine purpose behind the invasion: God Himself brings Gog against His land so that “the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes” (Ezekiel 38:16). The ancient prophetic witness: God asks whether Gog is the one spoken of “in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel” (Ezekiel 38:17).   The unleashing of divine fury: When Gog comes against the land of Israel, God's fury rises; a great shaking occurs in the land (Ezekiel 38:18-19).   • The cosmic and terrestrial convulsions: All creatures shake at God's presence; mountains are thrown down, steep places fall, and every wall collapses (Ezekiel 38:20). Internal chaos and supernatural judgments: God calls for a sword against Gog throughout the mountains; every man's sword turns against his brother; pestilence, blood, overflowing rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone fall upon the invaders (Ezekiel 38:21-22).   The magnification of God's name: Through these acts, God magnifies and sanctifies Himself so that many nations know “that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23).     Turning to Ezekiel 39, the prophecy continues without break, detailing the complete destruction and its aftermath:   The repeated address and partial decimation: God again declares Himself against Gog and will turn him back, leaving only a sixth part, bringing him upon the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 39:1-2).   The disarmament and slaughter of the army: God smites the bow from Gog's left hand and causes arrows to fall from his right; Gog and all his bands fall upon the mountains of Israel and are given to ravenous birds and beasts (Ezekiel 39:3-5).   Fire sent upon Magog and the isles: God sends fire on Magog and those dwelling carelessly in the isles (Ezekiel 39:6).   The sanctification of God's holy name in Israel: The Lord makes His name known in the midst of Israel and prevents further pollution; the heathen know He is “the Holy One in Israel” (Ezekiel 39:7).   The declaration that the day has come: “Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken” (Ezekiel 39:8).     The seven-year burning of weapons: Israel's inhabitants burn the shields, bucklers, bows, arrows, handstaves, and spears for seven years, using no wood from field or forest (Ezekiel 39:9-10).   The burial of the multitude: Gog and his multitude receive a place of graves in Israel—the valley of the passengers east of the sea, called the valley of Hamon-gog; it stops the noses of passersby (Ezekiel 39:11).   The seven-month cleansing process: The house of Israel buries them for seven months to cleanse the land; all the people participate, and men are employed continually to search and bury remains; a city is named Hamonah (Ezekiel 39:12-16).   The call to the great sacrificial feast: God commands every fowl and beast to assemble for a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the mighty, princes, rams, lambs, goats, bullocks, horses, chariots, and mighty men (Ezekiel 39:17-20).   The global recognition of God's glory: Through this judgment, God sets His glory among the heathen; the house of Israel knows He is the Lord their God from that day forward (Ezekiel 39:21-22).   The explanation to the nations: The heathen learn that Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, but God now hides His face no longer and pours out His Spirit upon the house of Israel (Ezekiel 39:23-29).     This ordered sequence reveals a meticulously orchestrated drama in which human aggression serves divine purpose. Let us now develop these details more fully, verse by verse and concept by concept, so that the exposition remains clear yet grounded in scholarly observation.   The opening command in Ezekiel 38:1-3 is striking in its directness. The Hebrew phrase “set thy face against” (sim paneyka) is a technical prophetic expression used elsewhere in Ezekiel to denote focused opposition (see Ezekiel 4:3; 6:2).    Gog is not merely a title but the personal name of the leader; Magog is the land—identified here as Russia. Scholarly support for this draws first from Genesis 10:2, where Magog appears in the Table of Nations as a son of Japheth.      The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus explicitly links the descendants of Magog to the Scythians, a fierce nomadic people inhabiting the region north of the Black Sea and Caucasus Mountains—the very territory that became southern Russia.    Early Greek writers such as Hesiod (7th century B.C.) made the same identification. The phrase “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” further specifies the geographic origin.    The Hebrew “nasi rosh” is best rendered “prince of Rosh,” where “Rosh” is widely understood by many expositors as an ancient designation for the people who later became known as Russians (the name “Rus” appearing in 10th-century sources). Meshech and Tubal, also Japhethite descendants, are associated with regions that later developed into areas around Moscow and Tobolsk.    Thus, the leader Gog emerges from the far northern power of Russia, heading a coalition that includes ancient names now corresponding to modern Iran (Persia), parts of Africa (Ethiopia/Cush and Libya/Put), and northern allies (Gomer and Togarmah, often linked to regions in modern Turkey).     God's control is absolute: “I will put hooks into thy jaws” (Ezekiel 38:4).    This vivid metaphor, drawn from ancient Assyrian and Egyptian practices of leading captives with hooks through the lip or nose, underscores that even the most powerful ruler moves only at the sovereign direction of the Lord.  The army is described with military precision—horses, horsemen, bucklers, shields, swords—reflecting the cavalry-heavy forces of ancient northern steppe peoples, yet the language accommodates any future mechanized equivalent. The coalition's preparation (Ezekiel 38:7) is ironic; they ready themselves, yet they are merely instruments.   The timing is critical and repeated for emphasis: “in the latter years” and “latter days” (Ezekiel 38:8, 16).    Israel must first be “brought back from the sword” and “gathered out of many people” to dwell “safely” on the mountains once waste (Ezekiel 38:8).    This regathering, described in Ezekiel 36–37 as a national resurrection, has its modern counterpart in the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral land. At that moment of apparent security—unwalled villages, no bars or gates (Ezekiel 38:11)—Gog conceives an “evil thought” of plunder.    The motive is economic and strategic: spoil, prey, cattle, goods, silver, and gold (Ezekiel 38:12-13). Observing merchant nations (Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish) question but do not intervene, highlighting the isolation of the attack.   The invasion route is unmistakable: “out of the north parts” (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:2). In biblical geography, “the north” (tsaphon) frequently denotes the direction of ultimate threat (Jeremiah 1:14; 4:6), and from Israel's perspective, the extreme north aligns precisely with Russia's latitude. The force is massive—“a cloud to cover the land” (Ezekiel 38:9, 16)—emphasizing overwhelming numbers.   Yet the true actor is the Lord Himself. He brings Gog against His land precisely “that the heathen may know me” (Ezekiel 38:16). The prophecy echoes earlier oracles (Ezekiel 38:17), indicating this event fulfills long-standing warnings. When the attack begins, divine fury erupts (Ezekiel 38:18).      The “great shaking” (ra'ash) is both literal earthquake and cosmic upheaval (Ezekiel 38:19-20), reminiscent of theophanies at Sinai and in the prophets. Internal confusion turns the invaders' weapons against themselves (Ezekiel 38:21), while supernatural plagues—pestilence, blood, rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone—complete the rout (Ezekiel 38:22). The purpose is unambiguous: “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations” (Ezekiel 38:23).   Chapter 39 intensifies the judgment. Only a sixth part survives the initial onslaught (Ezekiel 39:2). The army falls on Israel's mountains and open field, becoming food for birds and beasts—a reversal of the sacrificial imagery used against Israel earlier in the book (Ezekiel 39:4-5). Fire falls on Magog itself and the “isles” (coastal or distant lands), signaling global repercussions (Ezekiel 39:6). Israel's seven-year burning of weapons (Ezekiel 39:9-10) and seven-month burial operation (Ezekiel 39:11-16) portray the totality of victory and the thorough cleansing of the land. The valley of Hamon-gog (“the multitude of Gog”) and the city Hamonah become monuments to the defeat. The great sacrificial feast (Ezekiel 39:17-20) echoes the language of Isaiah 34 and Revelation 19, portraying the invaders' destruction as a divine banquet for creation.   The theological climax is restoration and recognition. Israel knows the Lord is their God from that day forward (Ezekiel 39:22), and the nations understand the reason for past captivity and the reality of present divine intervention (Ezekiel 39:23-29). The outpouring of the Spirit seals the renewal.   In summary, this prophecy reveals the Lord's absolute sovereignty over history. A Russian-led coalition, drawn irresistibly southward in the latter days against a restored and apparently secure Israel, meets catastrophic judgment on the mountains of Israel. The event is not the final battle of history (that occurs later, after a thousand years, in Revelation 20:7-9), but a distinct pre-millennial demonstration that the God of Israel alone is Lord.    The details—names, geography, timing, motives, and judgments—cohere with remarkable precision when read in their plain, grammatical-historical sense. The prophecy calls every reader to recognize the God who controls nations, judges evil, and restores His people.        It stands as both warning and comfort: no alliance, however vast or northerly, can thwart the purposes of the Almighty.

Anger is the one vice that almost always believes it's a virtue. We rage, we seethe, we simmer — and we're usually convinced we're completely justified. This Sunday we're taking a road trip through Scripture to look honestly at the fire inside us: what it's telling us, where it goes wrong, and what it looks like when it burns the way God intended. Anger Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | May 10, 2026 Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. This Sunday we're exploring:Why the object of our anger tells us more about ourselves than the thing we're angry about When anger is righteous and when it is not, and how to tell the differenceWhat the Bible actually says about God's anger, and why the God who is "slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love" is not the same God many of us grew up fearingThe “HOT” diagnostic — three questions to ask when the fire rises: is the Heat of my anger proportionate, is the Object of my anger right, and is the the Time I've held onto anger appropriate?How social media has industrialized anger as a commodity to be bought and soldWe're exploring the following passages: Mark 3:1–6 · Genesis 4:3–7 · Exodus 34:6 · Psalm 30:5 · Micah 7:18 · Jonah 4:1–9 · Nehemiah 5:6–7 · Proverbs 16:32 · Matthew 5:21–22 · 1 John 3:15 · Ephesians 4:26–27 · Psalm 4:4 · James 1:19–20 · Romans 12:19 Like what you hear? We'd love to know.At South Run, we read every message personally. Whether you have a question, want to share how God is moving in your life, or are thinking about visiting in person, this is the place to start. If you click the link below, Pastor Eric will personally reach out to you. Listening online? Let us know. Sermon Transcript South Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VAPastor Eric GilchrestMark 3:1–6; Matthew 5:21–22; Exodus 34:6–9; Jonah 4May 10, 2026 — Mother's DayThis is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Pastor Eric Gilchrest preaches on anger and wrath as part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series on the seven deadly sins. Drawing from Mark 3, Genesis 4, Exodus 34, Jonah 4, and Matthew 5, this sermon takes the congregation on a biblical tour of what Scripture says about anger — the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger, what Jesus' own anger reveals about the nature of God, and how to keep the fire in the fireplace. Announcements: Bridge Walkers and a Joint Service on May 31stGood morning, friends. It's good to be with you. Before we get started, there's just a couple things I want to say. There's something that I haven't alerted you to yet, but this is as good a time as any. So a few weeks ago, right before Easter, I was invited into a group of pastors who met over the course of two days, and there was an evening together. We stayed at a hotel. There was a grant connected to it. And it was a group of white pastors and a group of black pastors in the area here, in the Virginia, D.C., Maryland area. And the hope of this — it's a group called Bridge Walkers, which gets its name from the walk from Selma to Montgomery back in the 60s. And as somebody who lived right outside of Selma in Marion, Alabama, I know the scene well. In fact, I was there at the 50th anniversary of it in 2013, and it was a really powerful event. And so the meeting was one that I definitely wanted to participate in. And as we gathered together, we had some really frank discussions about race in the United States and in the church, and how we can be, as a church, agents of reconciliation.And so the fruit of this and the hope of where this all goes is for our churches of these pastors to do some things together over the coming year or two. And so the first of these is coming up May 31st, which happens to be the exact same day as the picnic. I did not get to pick this, it just kind of happened this way, which is in part why we are holding the picnic immediately after the service. And Jeff was right. I will be dressed for the part, and I need you to be dressed for the part too. The picnic will be fun. We'll have games. We'll drag stuff out. But then we wanted to give enough time for those of you who would like to attend this service to get home, maybe take a nap, or do whatever you do on your Sunday afternoons. And then at 6 p.m., it's up in Glen Arden, Maryland, we will have the first of these services together. I don't know what to expect, but I do expect that God will move, and I expect the Holy Spirit to be present, and I expect some of our preconceived notions to be challenged. I expect transformation is always beckoning us, and I am deeply hopeful for what might come out of this. So put that on your calendar. This is May 31st, just right around the corner, and it is 6 p.m. that evening.Happy Mother's Day: A Childhood Binder and a Mom Who Saw All of YouToday is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers and the spiritual mothers in the room. I was trying to think of what to say at this point, and what came to mind was a collection of photos that I found from my childhood that my mom had gathered together. It was one of those binders that back in the 1998 time frame when I graduated from high school, that people would put photos into and they'd put words about what was happening at that time. And my mom was way into this. And so she chronicled my whole childhood from zero to 18 and then presented me with this big binder. And now as a father of an 18-year-old, I think about that a little differently.And I think about what it means to be a dad, only because I can't think about what it means to be a mom, because I'm not one. But I know this much on the receiving end of it all. I had a wonderful mom who looked after me in ways that I don't think I'll ever be able to fully appreciate. She saw every last bit of me and who I was, and she was there every step of the way, even if I didn't realize it. And so for all the moms in the room, I am grateful. We are all grateful. And for those of us who have moms who are still alive, may we reach out to them today and give them the thanks that they deserve.Let's begin with some prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray a special prayer of blessing over the mothers in this room today. Lord, the kind of love that you call us into, that agape love, a self-giving kind of love, I can think of no better human example than what mothers do on a day-to-day basis for their children. And so, God, may we all aspire to that. We give you thanks for them, and we give you praise for that kind of love, and may we be drawn into being those kinds of people too. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.The Jesus Way Series: Vanity, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Today's Stop — Anger All right, we are — if you don't know — we are on a road together, a path, right? And this began a few weeks ago. Well, I mean, it kind of began a long time ago, but we're on this transformation kick. But then since Easter, we've been walking in these two ways. And I've been trying to show you that there is this narrow way, right? It's the way that Jesus is drawing us into. It's narrow because fewer people choose it. It's a little hard. There's more friction to it. It requires something of you to be on it. But it is the way to life and to fullness of life and to eternal life. And this is what Jesus is trying to get us to do. But then there is this other way. There's this broad way. It's bigger and wider, and it's much easier to find yourself on it. And it's marked by a number of things. And so two weeks ago, we talked about vanity as one of the markers of this way. And it's easy to just kind of slide into vanity. And then today, we're talking about the broad way again. And I want to talk about anger. And I know it's Mother's Day. So apologies ahead of time for this. I do want you to know there was a toss-up between this and gluttony. And so I put gluttony on Father's Day. So, you know, you can get ready for that too. And I'll say, all of the analogies are aimed at the men in the room today. So all the stories — you know, like I'm looking at guys here — women, you get the day off. So you're welcome. All right, so just clarify a couple things up front. I originally had the name wrath for this sermon, and I was afraid that it might draw up like the wrong image for you. But here's the truth of the matter. The word anger and the word wrath — actually, it's the same thing. The roots of these are the same, like the down deep parts of it. They're just two different words for the same thing. The goal of what I want to accomplish in this sermon today is to really lean into the middle section of this rotten tree that stands before you. We've already touched on vanity, the far left, and we'll get to each of these branches at some point over the weeks here. And then just to remind you, at the base of all of this is your pride and your ego. It's kind of the thing that is the last thing that will die in this earth, right? Because if you could just simply root that part out, then it would take care of the rest. But pride is much trickier than simply just plucking it out like a weed. It has roots that go much deeper than you or I can really frankly imagine. So today we're just focusing on the middle one. We're talking about wrath or anger. And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. Maybe I enjoy it too much. I'm realizing this right now as I said that. I have like a thousand things I want to tell you, and I will only tell you maybe ten of those. And so if you think to yourself, well, Pastor Eric, I wish you had talked about this — I probably could have and maybe should have. But I'm glad that you're leaning in and you're really digging into what you need to know about anger and wrath. Also, it's a pitch to come to Sunday morning Bible study where we do go deeper for a whole hour on this topic. The goal of the sermon is, with the theme of roads and ways and all, to take you on a tour — like a driving tour of your Bible — and the things that it has to say about anger. Think of it this way. We've got a few key destinations I'm trying to get us to. And then as we go to those destinations, there's like bathroom stops I want to point us at, or maybe just a couple things that you should have in your view as we head to these main stops. First Stop — Mark 3:1–6: Jesus Gets Angry in the Synagogue The first stop is the one we read already, which is Mark chapter 3. And so I'd encourage you, please, open your scriptures, open your Bibles to Mark chapter 3 as we dig into what Jesus demonstrates for us about anger. Mark 3:1 to 6. Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, come over here. And then he said to the Pharisees, he said, is it lawful? Does the law permit? Does your Bible tell me that it's okay to do good or harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill it? He's asking them, how do you read your Bible? What's the right thing to do here? But they were silent.And then he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand. And he said, I'm going to teach you how to read your Bible. And I'm going to teach you what it looks like to keep the Sabbath. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and they immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him how to destroy him.There are two angry parties here. Jesus gets angry and clearly the Pharisees do as well as they seek to destroy him by the end. There are just a few things that I want to point to in this passage that will become important. And the goal as we make these stops on this journey together is to maybe build up a case of the kinds of things we can say about anger based on what we find in our scriptures. The first would be simply that Jesus does get angry. And it's actually okay for you to be angry too sometimes — with a huge caveat around it. Because anger is actually one — it's the only sin on the list of the seven deadly sins — that it's okay to, we'll say, participate in when it's not a sin. The sin looks a whole lot like the not-sin. It's the only one that looks like this. Knowing how to distinguish between the sinful version of anger and the righteous version of anger, it takes wisdom and it takes maturity. I don't recommend it to the littlest ones among us. It's a little bit like holding a knife. Like, you want to teach someone how to do this and to train them well, or they're going to do what? They're going to cut someone, maybe themselves. And anger is much the same way. And we need to learn how to use it in a controlled manner.But Jesus does get angry. And then I'll say this about his anger. If you read closely, what is he angry at? It's actually remarkably precise here in Mark. He's angry at their hardness of heart. He's not precisely angry at them, just generally, as if Pharisees are awful people or something like this. No, he's angry at something specific. The object that he's directing his anger at is their hardness. There's something in them. And he says there's something really wrong with that. And it provokes some anger in him.The other thing I'd say is that his anger is connected to justice, which is what anger is always connected to, by the way. Usually — well, actually both in the righteous form and the unrighteous form. When something's gone wrong in the world, righteous anger says, something's wrong with the world, and I want to fix it. When anger is unrighteous, usually you're saying, something's wrong with my world, and I want to fix that. The last thing I'd say about this passage is maybe the most important of them all, which is that if you really look closely at verse 5 there, it says this: he looked around at them with anger, grieved. Two emotions are sitting together — anger and grief. Anger and grief. How does one have anger and grief sitting side by side? Well, the only way is if you manage to find empathy for the one you are angry with. It's when moms and dads say it — and I promise they mean it, kids — when they say, this is harder for me than for you. Well, they mostly mean it. I feel grief over having to discipline. I feel grief because I want your world to be right. And Jesus here is feeling grief for the Pharisees, saying, I wish your hearts were not so hard. I could teach you a better way. I could teach you a way to life.Thumos and Orge: Two Greek Words for Anger in the New TestamentAll right, let's keep going on our journey here. Actually, let me pause one more minute. This is a good opportunity to introduce two words that appear in our New Testament. Both of them are words for anger, and they are thumos and orge. It's a hard G. We're still talking about the sin of anger here. Thumos and orge.I want you to think about anger as a fire. This is the metaphor for anger often. And fire, much like a knife, is something that can do damage or it can do good. Thumos is the damaging kind. It flames up quickly. It's the road rage. It's somebody getting upset, right? And it's named specifically in Galatians 5:20 and Ephesians 4:31, if you want to look those up. Galatians 5:20 is right next to the fruit of the Spirit. You know the fruit of the Spirit? These are the ones we love to talk about. But there's the fruit of the flesh right before it. And in this fruit of the flesh is thumos. It's that anger that rages up, right? This is what we're trying to avoid.But the one next to it is orge. And orge — sometimes it is unrighteous anger, it's not always righteous — but it is a controlled anger. It has some measure of control around it, as I say, a controlled burn, right? There are times where if there's a fire in your fireplace, that's a great thing, and it's controlled. But if that fire jumps out of your fireplace and is uncontrolled and creeps up the walls, now we've got a different kind of problem. Our goal today is to learn how to keep that fire in the fireplace.Pit Stop — Genesis 4:3–7: Cain's Anger and the Sin Crouching at the Door All right, we'll move on. We need to take a quick pit stop, however, on this journey and look at Genesis chapter 4, verses 3 to 7. This is the famous story of Cain and Abel. You probably know what happens to Abel and then maybe to Cain. Cain murders his brother. But before he does, we read a little bit about how this gets set up.In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain and his offering, he did not And so what happens? Well, Cain was very angry, and here we see the burning starts, right? The fire begins to burn. And Cain's face fell, and the Lord said to Cain — the question you should be asking yourself this morning — which is, why are you angry? Why are you angry? When you get angry, why? What is under that for you? It's a very good question. And why has your face fallen? And then he says — God says to him — if you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you do not do well, and here's the key, "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must master it."And what is the sin here? The sin is anger, and it's burning in him. And he says, you must master it, you must keep this in the fireplace. And if you don't keep this in the fireplace, it's going to destroy everything. We know exactly what happens. The sin that was crouching does what? It leaps out of that fireplace, and Cain kills his brother. And we have the first murder in all of Scripture.Murder is a terrible sin. It's actually not one of the deadly sins, is it? It's not one of the seven. Because underneath murder — and Jesus teaches us this in Matthew 5 — underneath murder sits the thing that's in our heart. We call that anger. Second Stop — Exodus 34:6–9: God Reveals His Nature as Slow to AngerAll right, the next stop on our tour is Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 to 9. I would encourage you, go ahead and pull your Bibles there now. Exodus 34:6–9. This is where Moses is up on the mount, Mount Sinai. He's getting the Ten Commandments. But in this very important scene, God reveals his nature to him. And he tells us, and he reports to us, what kind of God he is.And I'll say God is angry at times. God can have wrath. I do not deny this, and I don't want to even diminish this in any way. But I'd encourage you as we read through this to recognize a very important fact — that even for God, maybe especially for God, who is perfection and the thing that we are trying to strive for — God's wrath and anger flows from his love. Love is the primary, and out of that flows his anger. You might wonder, well, Eric, how in the world does that work? That doesn't seem obvious to me at all. But I would point us back to maybe Mother's Day or the fathers in the room. When you get angry as a parent, like in a good way, a good angry, when you see your child being hurt by somebody and that mama bear rage wells up — why? Because you want to protect your child. An injustice has happened or is about to happen and you want to protect them. God is not dissimilar. He knows what is good for us. He knows when the world is off kilter. He knows when you are off kilter. And he knows that when it is and when you are, that this is destructive to you. And he wants to save you from your destruction. And we call this anger. And it's him maybe punishing or reaching out and trying to fix the situation. And sometimes — and parents know this — the discipline requires something harsh.So it goes like this in verse 6. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed. And this is what the Lord is saying about himself. "The Lord, Yahweh" — and he says it twice, Yahweh, Yahweh — "I am a God who is merciful and gracious, and I'm slow to anger." And there it is, right? I'm not quick to anger. I am slow to anger. I am gracious. I'm merciful. I'm slow to anger. I abound in this. The word here is hesed. It's a steadfast love. It is a love that never quits. It is like a mother's love — like, you can do all kinds of things, but your mom is just going to love you throughout and throughout and throughout. And this is what God is saying of his very self, that he has this kind of hesed love, a steadfast love, of faithfulness. And he keeps steadfast love for thousands. And more than that, he's forgiving. And he forgives all the kinds of words for sin that appear in your Old Testament. Sometimes we call it iniquity, sometimes transgression, and sometimes sin. And he says, I'm willing to forgive all of these things. He then does go into the fact that he is a just God, and there needs to be justice. And so he says he doesn't clear the guilty just by virtue of wiping it away. And he, in fact — and this needs some explanation, and fortunately this is going to have to wait for another day — he visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children so that the third and the fourth generation, they sometimes feel the effects of the father's sin. I think you know this to be true just if you look through your family history and you think about your father and his father and his father and the ways in which their failures have a way of creeping through a family line. I think that's what God is teaching us here.And so Moses quickly bows his head toward the earth and he worshiped and he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, oh Lord, please let this God — let you, God, the one who is merciful and slow to anger — that is the God we need in our midst. Because we're a stiff-necked people and we need you to pardon our iniquity."This is a remarkable passage in its historical context. There are lots of gods in the ancient world, if you don't know. There's a group that's praying to a God named Asherah at this point. And that God happens to be really good at fertility matters. Or there's the folks who are crying out to Baal. And Baal is one of these like really fickle gods who may get angry with you and then doesn't. And you never know who you're going to get with Baal. Or if you fast forward in time, you might get the God of Mars, who is the God of war. And that's the God you're going to meet in the pages of history.But this God, Yahweh, is unlike all the other gods. There is no other God named in history, certainly at this point, who describes himself in the ways that our God describes himself. This description literally changes the course of history. Because we should look to our God, to this God, and say to ourselves, thanks be to God that you are the God who is all of these things, and especially the God who is slow to anger.This passage is, again, as I said, one of the most important in all of the Old Testament, and we know this with certainty because — I've just got a couple here, Psalm 30 and Micah 7 — but you could do a Google search later on how many passages from the Bible as a whole, but especially our Old Testament, appeal to and quote from Exodus 34, and you'll be amazed. The Bible repeats this part of the Bible over and over and over again. Psalm 103, Nehemiah 9, Psalm 86, Joel 2 — or the next stop on our journey, Jonah chapter 4.Third Stop — Jonah 4: HOT Anger and Everything Jonah Gets WrongLet's turn there together. Jonah chapter 4. Jonah is a troubled prophet. I would encourage you, whatever you do, do not look to Jonah as an exemplar. He will let you down. Jonah is one of these — actually he's the only prophet who I can really say that about. The whole book is an upside-down prophet. He's not doing what he should be doing, and he's doing what he should not be doing, and we see this ever so clearly in chapter 4 here.We'll read it. For the sake of time, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time in it, but what we see is an angry prophet. Now, prophets are actually often angry. You should know this. The other prophets are too. They're just angry, typically in the righteous kind of way, because again, if justice is the name of the game for anger — the prophets are looking out and they're seeing injustice and unrighteousness everywhere. And they're shouting at their people, you got to fix this. And they're angry with them. And they say, the world's not right, and it should be. And you need to be doing something about it. Jonah is angry as well, much like the prophets. But he is, we'll say, more self-centered than he should be. And so it goes like this. If you don't know the story of Jonah, the lead up to this point is that he has taken his word of disaster to the Ninevites, and he has said, you need to repent. And they said, okay, we will. And they did. And then God relents, and he does not destroy them. And Jonah is not pleased with this. Chapter 4, starting in verse 1: "It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." There you go. It's just kind of on the face of it. He's displeased. He's angry. What's he angry about? That God was the merciful God. He wanted the war God, the wrath God. He wanted Mars. He wanted Baal. But instead, he got Yahweh. And he prayed to the Lord. And he said, "Oh Yahweh, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish." If you don't know that part of the story, he didn't even want to go to Nineveh at all, and so he fled. And so he says, this is why I left. I didn't want to come here. And then he just says it outright. "I knew you were a gracious God. You were merciful. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster." He said, this is why I didn't want to come. I was looking for Mars. I was looking for the God of war. I wanted you to come in and destroy this whole place. And I knew, I knew you wouldn't do it.Jonah's upset. Does he have a righteous anger? Let's all say it together. No. No, he doesn't. He's showing us all the wrong ways. And he goes on: "Therefore now, Lord, please take my life from me." Twice he's going to ask for this — "for it's better for me to die than to live." And then God asks him the same question, or a similar question to the one Cain gets, right? Do you do well to be angry? Again, the question maybe you're being asked right now. Do you do well to be angry? And Jonah went out of the city, and he sits east of the city, makes a booth for himself there. He sat under the shade till he should see what would become of the city. And the Lord God appointed a plant to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head to save him from the discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of this plant. But when dawn came the next day, God appoints a worm that attacks the plant and it withers. And 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 again he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live. And God asks another time, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And Jonah says, yes. Wrong answer, Jonah. But he says, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said — and here's the convicting part — he says, you're angry about all the wrong things. Your anger is an unrighteous anger. You're targeting the wrong targets. You are not upset about what I get upset about. Your anger is self-serving. This is what he's saying when he says in verse 10: "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. But shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh, a great city in which there are more than 120,000 souls? Shouldn't I care about that? Shouldn't I have pity on those people? And shouldn't you too, Jonah?"And then the story ends very abruptly. It's kind of one of these where you feel like maybe there's a missing chapter somewhere and someday we'll uncover it. But for today, this is what we get.Diagnosing Your Anger: The HOT Framework — Wrong Heat, Wrong Object, Wrong TimingThere's a few things from this that I want to kind of put into your cap to maybe help you remember something about anger that will help you diagnose it later on. I'm calling this HOT — H-O-T — hot, Jonah's hot anger. So there's the wrong heat, which is to say the wrong heat level. He gets too angry about the wrong things. His anger is the wrong intensity — he gets so angry about this plant. But he's not angry about the right things with regard to the people. And then the wrong object, right? The wrong object of his anger. So he's angry not about what is just or unjust. He's instead angry at God. He's angry at God's mercy and ultimately at the loss of this plant. He's very interested in this plant. And then lastly, the timing of it all is wrong. He stays angry for too long and it burns for too long. He's still upset about leaving Tarshish. He brings that back up, right? That was sitting somewhere in his heart that he didn't even want to go at all. And so he's mad at God for taking him out of Tarshish and his own land and heading over to Nineveh. And he's holding this grudge.But all of this speaks something to your anger and my anger, which is sometimes our anger is too hot for the situation. And when the kid spills the milk at the table and you blow up — is that the right heat level? No. No, it's not. The object of our anger — maybe you do blow up at the table, Dad. And you get angry with the kid in that moment. But that's not even the object of your anger. You're angry from work earlier that day where your boss said something to you that you didn't like. And now you're upset generally speaking, and then when the kid spills the milk, you yell at him. That is not the object of your anger. Don't take it out on him. Or the timing of it all — maybe you've been holding this grudge for years, and you've just been gathering it over time. This is why we need to forgive, and we need to reduce our resentments. And if we are going to walk this Jesus way, the way that leads to life, it is going to require some wisdom around all three of these things. Final Stop — Matthew 5:21–22: Jesus on Anger, Murder, and What's Sitting in Your HeartAll right, one more stop on the way. This one's Matthew 5:21 and 22. This is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This is perhaps the passage maybe I should have preached from, so I am. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry" — and there Jesus is just calling it out for us, even if you've got anger in your heart — "will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire."There's a lot in this passage. A lot can be said, so I'll just keep it simple. If anger is sitting at the root of this and it's sitting in our hearts, there are any number of fruit that can come out of that anger. Sometimes it's murder. I hope that's not the case for any of us. But sometimes it's just calling someone, you fool, you idiot. Or maybe it's just the rolling of your eyes at that person you think is an idiot. Or maybe it's you online. Maybe it's what you're saying in the comment box, right? To say, you don't know what you're talking about. And it's a self-righteous kind of anger. And it sits there and it burns.And here's what I'd say about all this. There is a destruction that is happening. Jesus calls this the way of destruction for a reason. Because you are aiming at God, believe it or not, when your anger is unrighteous. Because you are saying, the world is not as it should be, and I don't trust God to fix it. So I am going to fix it myself. And then the damage you're doing is all around you too. This one's a little more obvious — if you walk through the world and you're an angry person, constantly throwing barbs at other people, you are affecting them. You are changing the climate of the room when you just simply walk into it. But then also, what may be missed is that you — you are destroying yourself from the inside out.And it may actually feel good to be angry. I learned this. I didn't realize. I am a non-confrontational person by nature. I don't like conflict. But I have learned over the years some people love conflict. They actually like the fight. To them, it feels good. It feels like you're alive. But what's happening in that situation, and really any situation where anger is burning within you, is that from the inside out, you are being hollowed out. Three Antidotes to Anger: Soft Answers, Lament, and HopeThere are some antidotes to anger, and I will keep these brief, and three. One, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath. Jesus teaches us the gentle way, the gentleness, gentle startups. This is always the first step forward. Anger might come way down the road, right? But you need to be slow to it. Number two, lament. Learn to grieve like Jesus grieves in Mark 3. Learn to grieve even alongside your anger. And I would encourage us mere mortals — unlike Jesus, us mere mortals — we should probably start with grief and allow the anger to follow, because it's going to be a much more trustworthy form of anger if we do. And the last thing is hope. Hope. You see, the angry person, as they rage at God — Jonah, as he rages at God — ultimately is saying, I don't trust you, God. I don't trust your way to be the right way. But we need to be people of hope and people of faith who trust that even though it seems like the world is all cattywampus — and it is, like it's all upside down — we hope and we trust that the God of the universe is fixing all the things. And we play our part. And we live as people who expect the unrighteous to receive their due reward and for the wrongs to be made right again. And that we only have control over ourselves and our hearts. And so we better take control of them, lest that fire jump out of the fireplace and begin to burn the house down all around us. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you are a passionate God. We are to be passionate people. And some of the angriest among us can show us something about what it means to have passion. But God, it can be dangerous to hold that fire. And so, Lord, we ask for your wisdom. We ask for people who will gather around us and be honest with us about the nature of our anger — whether it's the slow-burning anger that leaps out of the fireplace eventually, or whether it's the kind that just flares up all the time. God, you are teaching us a better way, a narrow way, a way that leads to life. May we walk with you down that. Lord, we pray this in your holy name. Amen.‍ ‍South Run Baptist Church | 8712 Selger Drive, Springfield, VA 22153 | Sunday Worship at 11am Serving Springfield, Burke, West Springfield, Lorton, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, and Franconia, Virginia. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish

It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,6 And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.35 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber.37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

After setting the historical scene (Ninevah, Tarshish, etc.) Zack explains how Jonah 1 teaches us that God loves the ninety-nine as well as the one -- and, through Jonah, shows us the lengths to which He will go to reach the one.

Hello and welcome to another Bible in the News.This week the world watched a remarkable scene: King Charles III addressing the United States Congress during his state visit to America. Nearly 250 years after American independence, a British monarch stood before American lawmakers and celebrated not division, but deep and enduring unity.For Bible students, the moment was striking - for in Ezekiel 38:13 we read:“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil?”This prophetically places a nation called Tarshish, in the latter days (after Israel has been regathered to their land - Ezekiel 38:8), when a group of nations headed up by a character called Gog comes down against the mountains of Israel. When this event happens, the prophecies tell us it will herold the return of Jesus Christ to the earth who will establish God’s Kingdom.If Tarshish is Britain, then one of her clearest young lions is America. And this enduring bond is what we are witnessing this week - a sure sign of our times. 

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.2 And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,4 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.5 And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.7 Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.10 And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.11 And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the Lord, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;14 Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.15 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.16 And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.18 And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays:19 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.20 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.22 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.24 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.26 And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.28 And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

Jonah didn't run toward God's calling—he ran the other way. Sent to Nineveh, he fled to Joppa, boarded a ship for Tarshish, and ended up in the last place he expected: the belly of a great fish. Yet in that dark, desperate place, Jonah did one thing right—he prayed with everything he had. In today's episode of the MY Devotional Podcast, Dr. Michael Youssef invites you into Jonah 2:1–6, a prayer for anyone who feels trapped by a storm—whether that storm was caused by disobedience or came through no fault of your own. Dr. Youssef highlights a crucial detail: Jonah didn't improvise empty words—he prayed the Scriptures back to God, echoing God's promises (especially from the Psalms) when he didn't know how, when, or even if deliverance would come. This devotional will encourage you to: pray God's promises when your emotions are overwhelming, trust God's sovereign rescue even when you can't see a way out, and remember this hope-filled Truth: even if we forsake God, He never forsakes His people. Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your steadfast love and forgiveness. Because of Your grace and mercy, I can face any storm, for I know You are with me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.  Scripture Focus: “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit” (Jonah 2:6).  *This devotional adapted from Life-Changing Prayers by Michael Youssef © 2018. Published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI. Used by permission. Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef's sermon Biblical Compassion, Part 3: LISTEN NOW The voice you hear on the MY Devotional podcast is digitally generated with Dr. Youssef's permission. If today's devotional stirred a question, burden, or need for prayer, you don't have to walk through it alone.

Send us Fan MailThe devotion for today, Tuesday, April 14, 2026 was written by Logan Alexander Johnson and is narrated by Jay Williams. Today's Words of Inspiration come from Jonah 1:1-5One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer.” But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get. But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering. Support the show

If there is any story in the Bible that shows the lengths a human will go to stay in control, do his own will, and avoid God, it's the story of Jonah. It's funny how over the years we have made this entire book to be all about the apparent bad thing of getting swallowed by a whale, when in reality the whale was sent by God to save the man from self-destruction. That metaphor can be used a lot in all of our lives.Listen to Jonah 1:1-4 …One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer.” But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get. But God sent a huge storm … (MSG) Okay, yes, God sent a huge storm, but didn't Jonah actually bring the storm on himself?Let that sink in for a moment.Of course, there are bad things that happen to us that are no fault at all of our own. But then, if we are going to be honest, how many storms do we need to admit we started or had a hand in starting?Back to the story, I guess sitting in the digestive juices of a whale causes you to re-think your choices, huh?Listen to just one chapter later …I was as far down as a body can go, and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive, O God, my God! When my life was slipping away, I remembered God, And my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your Holy Temple. Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I'm worshiping you, God, calling out in thanksgiving! And I'll do what I promised I'd do! Salvation belongs to God!” Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore. (Jonah 2:6-10 MSG) Is this story a reminder of any situation in your own life? Maybe one from years ago or one you are in right now? So, are you on the ship … in the whale … or standing on the beach, wiping the vomit off?When we find ourselves out of control, and can even point fingers at other's poor choices, all we can do is what we can do about ourselves. We have to ask, what part of this do I need to own? And then, we have to learn to recognize that even when a situation may stink, God brought it to us for a reason to get us where He wants us to go. Because He loves us, wants to save us, and He is the One in control.Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, help me to not run from You, no matter what life brings, to accept that You are in control of me and You love me—always.” As above, so below.”

Some WW2 historical backdrop for context of today's political landscape. Heaven Is God's Throne 1 ¶ This is what the LORD says, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where, then, is a house that you could build for Me? And where will My resting place be? 2 “For all these things My hand has made, So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look [graciously], To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands. Hypocrisy Rebuked 3 ¶ “He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine's blood; He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol. Such people have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their repulsive acts; 4 So I will choose their punishments, And will bring the things they dread upon them Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen or obey. But they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.” 5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble [with awe-filled reverence] at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My Name's sake, Have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.' But they will be put to shame. 6 “The sound of an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the LORD, providing retribution to His enemies. 7 ¶ “Before she (Zion) was in labor, she gave birth; Before her labor pain came, she gave birth to a boy. 8 “Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land fnbe born in one day? Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment? As soon as Zion was in labor, she also brought forth her sons. 9 “Shall I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God. Joy in Jerusalem's Future 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her, 11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may drink deeply and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” 12 For the LORD says this, “Behold, I extend peace to her (Jerusalem) like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and [playfully] rocked on her knees. 13 “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” 14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice; Your bones will flourish like new grass. And the [powerful] hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, But His indignation will be toward His enemies. 15 For indeed, the LORD will come in fire And His chariots will be like the stormy wind, To render His anger with rage, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all mankind, And those slain by the LORD will be many. 17 “Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols], Following after fnone in the center, Who eat swine's flesh, fndetestable things and mice, Will come to an end together,” says the LORD. 18 ¶ “For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory. 19 “I will set up a [miraculous] sign among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations: Tarshish, Pul (Put), Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant islands and coastlands that have not heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare and proclaim My glory among the nations. 20 “Then they shall bring all your countrymen (children of Israel) from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels—to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 “I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says the LORD. 22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will remain and endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will remain and endure. 23 “And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon And from Sabbath to Sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down and worship before Me,” says the LORD. 24 “Then they will go forth and look Upon the dead bodies of the [rebellious] men Who have transgressed against Me; For their worm (maggot) will not die, And their fire will not go out; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.” See the AMP Preface AMP Footnotes

Heaven Is God's Throne 1 ¶ This is what the LORD says, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where, then, is a house that you could build for Me? And where will My resting place be? 2 “For all these things My hand has made, So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look [graciously], To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands. Hypocrisy Rebuked 3 ¶ “He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine's blood; He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol. Such people have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their repulsive acts; 4 So I will choose their punishments, And will bring the things they dread upon them Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen or obey. But they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.” 5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble [with awe-filled reverence] at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My Name's sake, Have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.' But they will be put to shame. 6 “The sound of an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the LORD, providing retribution to His enemies. 7 ¶ “Before she (Zion) was in labor, she gave birth; Before her labor pain came, she gave birth to a boy. 8 “Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land fnbe born in one day? Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment? As soon as Zion was in labor, she also brought forth her sons. 9 “Shall I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God. Joy in Jerusalem's Future 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her, 11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may drink deeply and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” 12 For the LORD says this, “Behold, I extend peace to her (Jerusalem) like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and [playfully] rocked on her knees. 13 “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” 14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice; Your bones will flourish like new grass. And the [powerful] hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, But His indignation will be toward His enemies. 15 For indeed, the LORD will come in fire And His chariots will be like the stormy wind, To render His anger with rage, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all mankind, And those slain by the LORD will be many. 17 “Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols], Following after fnone in the center, Who eat swine's flesh, fndetestable things and mice, Will come to an end together,” says the LORD. 18 ¶ “For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory. 19 “I will set up a [miraculous] sign among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations: Tarshish, Pul (Put), Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant islands and coastlands that have not heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare and proclaim My glory among the nations. 20 “Then they shall bring all your countrymen (children of Israel) from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels—to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 “I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says the LORD. 22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will remain and endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will remain and endure. 23 “And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon And from Sabbath to Sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down and worship before Me,” says the LORD. 24 “Then they will go forth and look Upon the dead bodies of the [rebellious] men Who have transgressed against Me; For their worm (maggot) will not die, And their fire will not go out; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.” See the AMP Preface AMP Footnotes

Share a commentEver chased a good plan that kept slipping away? We explore the ache and the gift of divine redirection through three intertwined journeys: Paul's long road to Rome and dream of Spain, Jonah's sprint toward Tarshish, and Dr. Charles McCoy's stunning decision to sell everything at seventy-two and fly to Bombay on a one-way ticket. What begins as a study in delay turns into a portrait of grace that doesn't rubber-stamp our maps but reshapes our hearts.We walk through Paul's confession in Romans 15—years of longing, constant hindrance, and a vision for the “ends of the earth.” Spain symbolized the horizon of the Great Commission, yet Paul reached Rome in chains, not triumph. Side by side with Jonah, the contrast is sharp: one runs from calling, the other runs to it—and God says no to both. Not to punish, but to redeem and redirect. Along the way, we confront our assumptions about “approved” plans, learning that God doesn't make last-minute adjustments; he unfolds eternal purposes that invite surrender over certainty.Then we meet Dr. McCoy, forced into retirement yet unwilling to retire his calling. With lost luggage and a scrap of an address, he knocks on the door of Bombay's mayor and finds a room full of leaders waiting to hear his story. That moment sparks sixteen years of open doors across India and beyond, proving that age, scarcity, and setback don't disqualify a life on mission. The thread through it all is simple and searching: when the ship to Spain never sails, will we still sail with the Savior? Listen for perspective that blends Scripture, history, and lived courage—designed to help you hold your plans loosely, your purpose firmly, and your faith steadily. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show._____Stephen's latest book, Legacies of Light, Volume 2, is our gift for your special donation to our ministry. Follow this link for information or to donate:https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/legaciesSupport the show

Share a commentEver chased a good plan that kept slipping away? We explore the ache and the gift of divine redirection through three intertwined journeys: Paul's long road to Rome and dream of Spain, Jonah's sprint toward Tarshish, and Dr. Charles McCoy's stunning decision to sell everything at seventy-two and fly to Bombay on a one-way ticket. What begins as a study in delay turns into a portrait of grace that doesn't rubber-stamp our maps but reshapes our hearts.We walk through Paul's confession in Romans 15—years of longing, constant hindrance, and a vision for the “ends of the earth.” Spain symbolized the horizon of the Great Commission, yet Paul reached Rome in chains, not triumph. Side by side with Jonah, the contrast is sharp: one runs from calling, the other runs to it—and God says no to both. Not to punish, but to redeem and redirect. Along the way, we confront our assumptions about “approved” plans, learning that God doesn't make last-minute adjustments; he unfolds eternal purposes that invite surrender over certainty.Then we meet Dr. McCoy, forced into retirement yet unwilling to retire his calling. With lost luggage and a scrap of an address, he knocks on the door of Bombay's mayor and finds a room full of leaders waiting to hear his story. That moment sparks sixteen years of open doors across India and beyond, proving that age, scarcity, and setback don't disqualify a life on mission. The thread through it all is simple and searching: when the ship to Spain never sails, will we still sail with the Savior? Listen for perspective that blends Scripture, history, and lived courage—designed to help you hold your plans loosely, your purpose firmly, and your faith steadily. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show._____Stephen's latest book, Legacies of Light, Volume 2, is our gift for your special donation to our ministry. Follow this link for information or to donate:https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/legaciesSupport the show

Introduction: Jonah’s Disobedience The message is not just for the regular attendees but for anyone who will hear it. Example: Brother Mickey Roddy mentioned family members in two different states listening to the service online. The message serves as a reminder and a warning, urging listeners to get right with God. The sermon’s title is “Down to Joppa.” Understanding the geography is crucial to understanding Jonah’s situation. Jonah lived in Gethsemane, near Jerusalem and the temple. Jonah decided to leave the presence of the Lord, which is a terrifying prospect. Pastor Tommy emphasizes the importance of God’s presence and the fear of being without it. Pastor Tommy acknowledges personal struggles to stay right with God. Jonah’s Decision to Flee Deciding to walk away from the presence of the Lord is the worst decision one can make. The presence of the Lord is constant and provides guidance. Jonah lived close to Jerusalem, near the Mediterranean Sea. Nineveh was about 500-550 miles northeast of Jerusalem, a three-day journey (60 miles) within the city. Jonah chose to flee to Joppa (about 50 miles away) to get a boat instead of going to Nineveh. The devil can convince people to flee from God’s presence. The Consequences of Leaving God’s Presence Leaving the presence of the Lord opens one’s life to negative experiences. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. There will be times when one must decide to stand for God, even if it’s difficult. One can never truly get away from God. When standing with God, His presence guides forward. Fleeing from God involves leaving behind the church, God’s people, and family. The devil can interrupt one’s whole life after turning away from God. Many people have gone down to Joppa and found it empty and sinful. Even on a boat, one cannot escape God’s presence. Jonah’s Motivation and the Inevitability of God’s Presence Jonah didn’t like Nineveh or the Assyrians and thought they would be spared if he preached to them. Turning against God’s will requires prayer and introspection. God wants people to stay in His presence. Joppa was a short journey away, but Jonah’s decision led him to go further down. Jonah paid for a boat to Tarshish, 2,500 miles away in Spain, thinking he could escape God’s commission. Turning one’s back on God leads to a downward path with no remedy or mercy. It’s important to stay in the presence of the Lord. The Downward Spiral and the Storm Pastor Tommy knows people who have left the presence of the Lord and sought other solutions. Flesh is inclined to run from God. Leaving God leads to paying the price to ride the devil’s boat. Jonah went down into the boat, trying to hide, but God knows everyone’s direction. The Lord sent a great wind and tempest, exposing those who leave His presence to life’s storms without comfort. The presence of the Lord is worth more than anything. Even in storms, Jesus can calm them. Spiritual Sleep and Divine Intervention Many people are spiritually asleep, trying to forget God and their past fellowship. Storms will wake them up. Jonah fell asleep, but the men on the boat cast lots to find the cause of the storm, and the lot fell on Jonah. King David’s story is referenced as an example of straying from God’s presence and facing consequences. David stayed home instead of going to battle. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. The prophet Nathan confronted David with a story, revealing his sin. One cannot escape the presence of the Lord, who will open their eyes. Jonah’s Confession and the Whale Jonah confessed that he was the reason for the storm. Honesty about sins is crucial. Jonah suggested being thrown overboard to stop the storm, hoping to escape God. God can take away the hope of death. Turning back to where one left God is necessary for improvement. God prepared a great fish (whale) to swallow Jonah. There is always a lower point than one imagines. In the house of God, there is firm footing. The Depths of Despair and the Cry for Help Jonah went to the bottom of the mountains, feeling trapped in the belly of hell. Jesus believed the story of Jonah. Jonah cried out from the belly of hell due to his affliction. It all started when he walked away from the presence of the Lord. People walk away from God for far less. One doesn’t know how far down it is when they leave God’s presence. Jonah thought he would be in the fish’s belly forever. Tears of affliction and sorrow will come when one goes away from God. Turning Back to God Jonah realized God wasn’t giving up on him and would keep him alive in the whale’s belly as long as he was rebellious. He decided to look toward God’s holy temple. God began to move in Jonah’s life when Jonah began to seek God again. One can be in church and still run from the presence of the Lord. There is a father for the child of God. Lost people come to church and then go back to their old ways because they never got changed. How can someone who has experienced the presence of God decide to run from that? The flesh is more powerful than one thinks. Jonah was in a bad spot when he began to look up. Then he was brought up. His prayer went up. He got prayed up. One needs to do business with God to get back on the right track. Turn around, look up, pray up, get ready, and start calling on God. He’ll start lifting you out of where you’re at. Jonah got prayed up in the belly of the whale. Repentance and Restoration Jonah was willing to sacrifice, finally willing to do what God said. The worst thing one can do is turn their back on God. One’s life will crash and end in a nasty mess. God never let Jonah out until he got right. One won’t get out from under the hand of God until they get right if they are His. Jonah got spit up. Jonah was spit out near Jerusalem, back where he started. Jonah still had the same journey to Nineveh that he had when he left. He was just many days behind. Final Exhortations and Conclusion Do not turn your back on the presence of the Lord. It will cost you more, and you will regret it. One doesn’t have to go that way. Jonah hit the ground running and had to go 500 miles. Jonah preached, and the people repented. God had mercy on him and spared that great city. The message is for those who are going down to Joppa. They need to recognize that they have to get out of there and get back to God. They cannot continue on this downward path away from the presence. The book of Jonah is a sad story, but it doesn’t have to be your story. All may have a Jonah-like experience. One may end up in a spot that they can’t get out of. They will have to reckon with God in the end. Get right with God tonight. Let God teach what’s He. Get right with Him and quit going down that wrong and downward path. Flee to Him. Obey God. He’ll make all the difference in your life.

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa.” — Jonah 1:3 Instead of going to Nineveh to preach the Word, as God bade him, Jonah disliked the work, and went down to Joppa to escape from it. There are occasions when God's servants shrink […]

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.4 But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

We begin a five-week journey through the book of Jonah—a story not ultimately about a storm, a fish, or a city, but about a merciful God who pursues resistant hearts. In this opening message, we see how subtle disobedience, misplaced comfort, and misunderstood grace can lead us to run from God's call. Yet even in our rebellion, God's pursuing mercy meets us—sometimes through the storm.Are you sailing toward your own Tarshish, or surrendering to the King who loves you too much to let you run?Mission Church — www.missionlasvegas.com

Big Idea: It takes a strong center to stand tall under pressure from every side.Esther 1:10-22I. The Queen takes a stand for purityEsther 1:10-12On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from the wine, Ahasuerus commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—the seven eunuchs who personally served him—to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, because she was very beautiful. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command that was delivered by his eunuchs. The king became furious and his anger burned within him.II. The King's feelings get hurt   Esther 1:13-15The king consulted the wise men who understood the times, for it was his normal procedure to confer with experts in law and justice. The most trusted ones were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. They were the seven officials of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and occupied the highest positions in the kingdom. The king asked, “According to the law, what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey King Ahasuerus's command that was delivered by the eunuchs?”III. The bad advice born out of selfish fear  Esther 1:16-18Memucan said in the presence of the king and his officials, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the officials and the peoples who are in every one of King Ahasuerus's provinces. For the queen's action will become public knowledge to all the women and cause them to despise their husbands and say, ‘King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti brought before him, but she did not come.' Before this day is over, the noble women of Persia and Media who hear about the queen's act will say the same thing to all the king's officials, resulting in more contempt and fury.IV. The law takes center stage     Esther 1:19-22“If it meets the king's approval, he should personally issue a royal decree. Let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be revoked: Vashti is not to enter King Ahasuerus's presence, and her royal position is to be given to another woman who is more worthy than she. The decree the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom, so all women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least.” The king and his counselors approved the proposal, and he followed Memucan's advice. He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language, that every man should be master of his own house and speak in the language of his own people.Next Steps: Believe: Today, I surrender to the real King of my soul.Become: Today, I will trust God's hand even when it's scary.Be Sent: I will take a stand against evil this week.Growth Group Questions: What pressure were you under last week? How well did you stand up to it?Do you ever feel punished for doing the right thing in God's sight?How do you respond when doing what the culture expects of you violates what God expects of you?Who in our society pressures women, like in Vashti's day?How can you support someone who is currently under a lot of peer pressure?How can the people in this group help you find the courage to stand strong when under pressure to compromise your faith?Pray for the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to stand against evil this week.

Fr. Matthias Shehad explores the story of Jonah the prophet, emphasizing Jonah's humanity and his struggle with obedience and compassion. He explains how Jonah's rebellion reveals the challenge of accepting God's will, especially when it involves showing mercy to enemies like the Ninevites. Fr. Matthias highlights that God's call to serve benefits both others and the one who serves, fostering growth, patience, and humility. The talk delves into Jonah's attempt to flee God's command by sailing to Tarshish, illustrating the futility of trying to escape God's presence. Fr. Matthias draws parallels between Jonah's experience and common human tendencies to avoid repentance, face distractions, and resist God's guidance. He also underscores God's patient and loving approach to Jonah's disobedience, using life's circumstances to teach and correct without immediate judgment. By examining divine sovereignty over creation, Fr. Matthias contrasts the obedience of nature with human resistance, encouraging listeners to embrace God's will with trust instead of irrational rebellion. This teaching invites reflection on personal struggles with sin, obedience, and the experience of God's mercy and correction. Subscribe to us on YouTube https://youtube.com/stpaulhouston Like us on Facebook https://facebook.com/saintpaulhouston Follow us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/stpaulhouston Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/stpaulhouston Visit our website for schedules and to join the mailing list https://stpaulhouston.org

Jonah 4: 1-11But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 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. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”5 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. 6 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. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 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.” 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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?”

 In this uncompromising teaching, Jacob Prasch expounds Revelation 13 and the doctrine of Antichrist by tracing its biblical patterns across both Testaments, exposing how deception precedes domination. He explains that before the mark, the image, or 666, Antichrist first comes as a counterfeit savior—working signs and wonders, promoting a false humanitarianism, and advancing a social gospel that sidelines repentance and the cross. Drawing parallels with Judas Iscariot as the “son of perdition,” Prasch shows how Antichrist infiltrates from within, masquerading as compassion while pursuing power, money, and control. He then follows the repeated biblical appearance of 666 through Solomon, commerce, gold, and global trade—especially its connection to Tarshish, which he presents as a prophetic symbol of economic alliance, compromise, and rebellion against God's will. Applying these patterns to modern ecumenism, celebrity Christianity, unbiblical worship, and political-religious convergence, Prasch warns that the apostate church is already “setting sail.” His sobering conclusion is both a warning and a prayer: discern the signs, refuse ungodly alliances, stand on Scripture illuminated by the Holy Spirit—and ask God, in mercy, to sink the ship before it reaches Tarshish. 

Scripture:Jonah 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.Jonah 3:6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?, King James VersionTo

Central Christian Church is a non-denominational church in Wichita, KS. We are happy to share the teaching of our pastors and friends with you through this podcast. If you have any questions or want to know more about us, visit https://www.ccc.org/   Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49554835 Jonah 1:1-3

Saturday, 17 January 2026   And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. Matthew 15:39   Note: You can listen to today's commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)   You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).   “And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat, and He came to the borders of Magdala” (CG).   In the previous verse, it was noted that there were four thousand men, besides women and children, who comprised the multitudes Jesus fed. With that portion of the narrative complete, and to close out the chapter, Matthew next notes, “And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat.”   They have been on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. With this cycle of attending to a Gentile woman in the allotments of Tyre and Sidon noted, followed by a time in the Gentile-led eastern regions near the Decapolis completed, He got into a boat, “and He came to the borders of Magdala.”   This is a location not named this way anywhere else in Scripture. Some manuscripts note the location as Magadan, meaning Megiddo, but that is incorrect based on Matthew 16:5, which notes they are still in the region of the lake. Rather, the town Magdala in Hebrew is Migdal-el, Tower of God, a city of Naphtali recorded in Joshua 19:38.   This is also known as Al-Majdal (Mejdel) on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. Mark 8:10 notes that when they got in the boat, they came to the allotments of Dalmanutha. Saying it this way, there is no contradiction to be found. Just as Jesus went to the “allotments” of Tyre and Sidon, meaning the surrounding areas, in Matthew 15:21, so they went to Magdala in the allotments, meaning the surrounding areas, of Dalmanutha.   Life application: Chapter 15 of Matthew gives a picture of what is going on in the world from the time Jesus fulfilled the law until the rapture. The verses, though literally occurring at the time of Jesus, point to truths after the completion of Jesus' ministry. The New Covenant is now what God is doing in the world. Israel as a whole, however, rejected that.   Though they no longer observe the Law of Moses, they remain bound to it. During this dispensation, they are spiritually led by rabbis, both in their writings in the Talmud as well as in their cultural and religious life.   These are reflected by the scribes and Pharisees who came from Jerusalem (verse 1) to challenge Jesus. Paul explains in Galatians 4:21-31 that the earthly Jerusalem reflects them and their teaching. The main point for now says –   “But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:23-26   In verses 2-9, Jesus explains the state of Israel at this time, living by the laws of men rather than by the law of God. After the introduction of the New Covenant, the law of God is not the Law of Moses. Rather, that is fulfilled.   At this time, religious Israel draws near to the Lord with their lips, but their hearts, because of their rejection of Jesus, are far away from Him.   In verse 11, Jesus stated that what goes into the mouth does not defile. Rather, what comes out of it does. Though that was a truth concerning the traditions of these elders, it is a truth that is spiritually seen in Israel to this day. They refuse to proclaim Jesus.   This is their defilement. But what does Paul say concerning this? In Romans 10, he says –   “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:8-13   The only thing that can cleanse a person from sin is Jesus. Anything else, meaning any other proclamation, defiles that person. As such, Jesus says in verse 14 to let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind, and both will fall into a pit.   In verse 15, Jesus reexplained to dull Peter (later, the Apostle to the Jews) the matter of the heart and what it is that causes defilement. While Israel remains in their state of defilement because of their oral proclamations, something else takes place. This is seen in verse 21, where Jesus “went out from there,” meaning from the Jewish people to the allotments of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile area.   Tyre (Hebrew: Tsor) signifies Rock. While Israel abandoned their Rock, the Gentiles received Him. That this is speaking of Christ is seen, for example, in Deuteronomy 32:32, where it says, “For their rock is not like our Rock.” There are those who are confident in their rock (tsur), and yet their rock is not the Lord who is the Rock (tsur).   Sidon (Hebrew: Tsidon) signifies Fishery. It is a place for catching fish. Everyone is like a fish. When Jesus said to Simon and Andrew that they would be fishers of men, He meant that men are like fish to be caught.   While in this area (verse 22), a Canaanite woman came to Jesus and begged for compassion for her demon-possessed daughter. Canaan signifies Humbled, Humiliated, or even Subdued. She pictures those of faith who have humbled themselves before the word of Christ.   The issue is the daughter. In Scripture, a son or a daughter is representative of the state of something. A “son of death,” for example, is a person deserving of death. That is his state. A daughter, in this case, is the state of a group of people, such as “daughter of Jerusalem,” “daughter of Tarshish,” etc. What is the state of the Daughter of the Humbled who are also Gentiles?   Jesus said in verse 24 that He had come “if not to the sheep, the ‘having been lost' – House Israel.” Despite there being a New Covenant, with whom was that covenant made? The answer is found in both Jeremiah and Hebrews –   “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” Jeremiah 31:31   The early church did not understand that the word was to go to the Gentiles. That is a major subject found in Acts. It is representative of the disciples' comments found previously in verse 23 when they told Jesus to dismiss her.   It literally took an act of God to get them to see that the New Covenant included Gentiles, first with the Ethiopian eunuch and then the house of Cornelius. Jesus' calling, though, to redeem the House of Judah and Israel, is inclusive of the Gentiles of faith, as seen in this account. It is something prophesied in Isaiah 49:6, but which is revealed in typology here.   The woman was told that it wasn't “good to take the children's bread and cast to the puppies.” In the Bible, dogs represent Gentiles. That is seen in the Caleb series of sermons. Caleb, kalev, is from kelev, dog. It is also seen in the account of Gideon and his men, who lapped like dogs, a typological picture dealing with the Gentiles.   The woman didn't argue Jesus' point. Instead, she noted that “even the puppies – he eats from the crumbs, the ‘falling from their master's table.” Jesus thus remarked concerning her great faith, something evidenced in the Gentile world. At that time, it noted the child was cured. Salvation, in fact, is also directed to the Gentiles. They are brought into the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12).   From there, verse 29 said of Jesus that “He went near the Sea of the Galilee, and having ascended to the mountain, He sat there.” The Galilee has previously been explained as “the Liberty.” It is a picture of freedom from sin. As sin stems from a violation of law, it ultimately signifies freedom from law.   A mountain in the Bible represents a lot of something gathered. In typology, it is synonymous with a large but centralized group of people. Though it is only stated in Mark, the last area noted was the Decapolis, a Gentile controlled area.   Thus, this is typologically referring to a large but centralized group (meaning under Jesus) of Gentile people. The Canaanite woman already established that, but this is an extension of the thought, explaining the result of the dispensation of the Gentiles. In other words, “What will happen in the world once it is established that Gentiles are to be included in the New Covenant?”   In verses 30 and 31, multitudes came to Jesus for healing, so many that they were strewn about Him. It is reflective of the broken Gentile world coming to Christ for healing and salvation. As many came, He healed them so that “they glorified the God of Israel.”   As noted at that time, the term is unique in the New Testament. It suggested the presence of Gentiles on the mountain, but it typologically asserts this fact. Paul's ministry literally shouts out the parallel to this thought in Matthew –   “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” Acts 19:11, 12   Was the God of Israel glorified through this? The answer is found in Romans –   “Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: ‘For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.'” Romans 15:8, 9   And...   “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Romans 15:18, 19   In verses 32-38, the feeding of the four thousand is recorded. Jesus said they had been with Him three days. In Scripture, three “stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire. ... Hence the number three points us to what is real, essential, perfect, substantial, complete, and Divine.” Bullinger   The time these people have been with Jesus speaks of a divine fullness, something reflected in Romans 11:25, “that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” It goes right back to the state of Israel, noted in Matthew 15:14, where the blind are leading the blind.   While Israel is blinded, the blind of the Gentiles (Matthew 15:31) are brought to sight. The miracle of the bread (think of Jesus, the Bread of Life) and fish (a word which signifies “increase” in Hebrew) speaks of the immense harvest. There were seven loaves, the number of spiritual perfection, and a few tiddlers. However, they were enough to feed the multitude of four thousand. The number is a product of four and tens.   Four is the number of material creation, the world number. It speaks of the entirety of the world hearing the gospel, just as Jesus said it would. Ten is the number where nothing is wanting, and the whole cycle is complete. The entire world of the Gentiles will be evangelized before the end comes.   To demonstrate the immense harvest that will be realized in the church age, the baskets of fragments were collected, totaling seven large baskets. Notice the difference from the feeding of the five thousand –   “And they ate all, and they gorged, and they lifted the superabounding pieces – twelve handbaskets full. 21And those eating, they were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”   “And they ate all, and they gorged, and the superabounding of the fragments they lifted – seven hampers full. 38And those eating, they were four thousand men, besides women and children.”   Whereas a remnant of the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the twelve small handbaskets (Greek: kophinos) was collected, there will be an immense harvest of the seven churches (as defined in Revelation 2 & 3), represented by the seven large hampers (Greek: spuris).   The chapter ended with a location only mentioned here in Scripture, saying of Jesus, “And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat, and He came to the borders of Magdala.”   The town Magdala in Hebrew is Migdal-el, Tower of God, a city of Naphtali recorded in Joshua 19:38. Migdal El is contrasted to the tower of man, meaning Babel and all that accompanies her. Thus, this is implicitly a picture of the ending of the church age, where believers are delivered from the Babylon of the end times recorded in Revelation.   To understand why these conclusions have been made, one should refer to the descriptions of these locations found in the Old Testament sermons given by the Superior Word. Each location, number, or other reference has been drawn from the information already recorded there. Thus, the typology is not new. It has already been seen and has been reused without change, confirming that this analysis of Matthew 15 is sound.   Lord God, Your word is beyond amazing. It is a lifeline for the soul caught in despair. It is a treasure for the seeker of riches. It is a guide for the path of our lives. And Lord, it is so much more. It is so glorious to enter into its pages and find rest for our souls in the Person of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Thank You for this precious word. Amen. Matthew 15   15 Then they came to Jesus from Jerusalem, scribes and Pharisees, saying, 2“Through what – Your disciples, they sidestep the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they may eat bread.”   3And answering, He said, to them, “Through what – also you, you sidestep the ‘God's commandment' through your tradition? 4For God, He enjoined, saying, ‘You honor your father and your mother,' and the ‘disparaging father or mother,' death – he expires!' 5And you, you say, ‘Whoever, he should say to father or mother, “Gift – whatever if from me you should benefit.”' 6And no, not he should honor his father or his mother. And you invalidated God's commandment through your tradition. 7Hypocrites! Well, Isaiah, he prophesied concerning you, saying,   8‘He neared Me, this people – the mouth, And the lips – he honors Me, And their heart, it distances far from Me. 9And vainly they revere Me,  Teaching instructions – men's injunctions.'”   10And having summoned the crowd, He said to them, “You hear and comprehend! 11Not the ‘entering into the mouth' it profanes the man, but the ‘proceeding from the mouth,' this, it profanes the man.”   12Then His disciples, having come near, they said to Him, “You have known that the Pharisees, having heard the saying, they stumbled!” 13And having answered, He said, “Every planting that not He planted, My heavenly Father, it will be uprooted. 14You leave them! They are blind, blind-conductors. And blind, if they should conduct, both – they will fall into a pit.”   15And Peter, having answered, he said to Him, “You expound to us this parable.”   16And Jesus, He said, “And yet, you, you are unintelligent! 17Not yet you grasp that all, the ‘entering into the mouth,' into the stomach it contains, and into the john it ejects? 18And those proceeding from the mouth, it comes from the heart, and those, it commonizes the man. 19For from the heart, they come: evil meanderings, murders, adulteries, harlotries, thefts, false-witnessings, blasphemies. 20These, they are, the ‘defiling the man,' but to eat with unwashed hands, not it defiles the man.”   21And having departed thence, Jesus, He withdrew to the allotments – Tyre and Sidon. 22And you behold! A Canaanite woman from those same borders, having come, she cried to Him, saying, “You compassionate me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter, she is demon possessed-badly.”   23And He answered not a word.   And having approached, His disciples, they entreated Him, saying, “You dismiss her! For she cries after us.”   24And answering, He said, “Not, I was sent, if not to the sheep, the ‘having been lost' – House Israel.”   25And having come, she worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, You rush-relieve me!”   26And answering, He said, “It is not good to take the children's bread and cast to the puppies.”   27And she said, “Yes, Lord. And even the puppies – he eats from the crumbs, the ‘falling from their master's table.'”   28Then, Jesus answering, He said to her, “O! Woman, your faith is great! It become to you as you determine.” And she's cured, her daughter, from that hour.   29And having departed thence, Jesus, He went near the Sea of the Galilee, and having ascended to the mountain, He sat there. 30And they came to Him, great crowds, having with them lame, cripples, blind, mutes, and others – many, and they strewed them near Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31So too, the crowds marveled, seeing mutes speaking, cripples healthy, lame walking, and blind seeing, and they glorified the God of Israel.   32And Jesus, having summoned His disciples, He said, “I gut-wrench upon the crowd because already three days they bivouac with Me, and naught they have that they may eat. And I wish not to dismiss them unfed, not lest they should collapse in the way.”   33And the disciples, they say to Him, “Whence to us in solitude – loaves so many as to gorge a crowd so vast?”   34And He says to them, Jesus, “How many loaves do you have?”   And they said, “Seven, and a few tiddlers.”   35And He ordered the crowds to sit upon the ground. 36And having taken the seven loaves and the fish, and having thanked, He broke, and He gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. 37And they ate, all, and they gorged, and the superabounding of the fragments they lifted – seven hampers full. 38And those eating, they were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat, and He came to the borders of Magdala.

Everything in the book of Jonah has been swimming toward this end: the reason why Jonah attempted to flee to Tarshish, why he resisted going to Nineveh, and now why he is angry at God. And the reason may surprise you … Jonah is frustrated that God is too good, too merciful, too loving. In this study, we examine Jonah 4:1–4 and Jonah's anger, the reason behind it, and what it all means for our lives today.------------» Take these studies deeper and be discipled in person by Nathan, Eric, Leslie, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/» For more information about Daily Thunder and the ministry of Ellerslie Mission Society, please visit: https://ellerslie.com/daily» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/» Discover more Christ-centered teaching and resources from Nathan Johnson that will help you grow spiritually by checking out his website at: https://deeperchristian.com/

Spending decisions aren't just financial—they reveal what, and whom, we value. That was the central insight Dr. Kelly Rush shared in today's conversation on Faith & Finance, where she unpacked the Old Testament story of Jonah through the lens of money and stewardship.Dr. Rush, Professor of Finance and Financial Planning at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, explained that Jonah's story isn't only about a prophet running from God. It's also a revealing case study in how financial choices often mirror the condition of the heart. Her core conviction is simple but challenging: every spending decision is a spiritual decision.According to Dr. Rush, money functions like a mirror. It reflects what we care about, what we trust, and what direction our hearts are moving. That principle, she noted, is woven throughout Scripture—and Jonah provides a surprisingly clear example.Many readers miss the fact that money appears twice in Jonah's short book. The first instance comes right at the beginning. When God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah runs in the opposite direction. Scripture tells us that he paid the fare to board a ship to Tarshish. Dr. Rush noted that this is one of the few passages in the Bible where the cost of travel is explicitly mentioned. The detail matters. Jonah didn't just flee spiritually—he financed his rebellion. Running from God came at a financial cost.That decision didn't affect Jonah alone. When God sent a storm, the sailors were forced to throw their valuable cargo overboard to save their lives. Dr. Rush emphasized that poor stewardship rarely stays contained. Our financial and spiritual misalignment often impacts others—families, churches, workplaces, and communities. At the same time, she noted, faithful stewardship creates ripple effects of blessing.The story then turns. In Jonah chapter two, inside the fish, Jonah repents. He cries out to God and vows obedience. This time, Dr. Rush explained, Jonah's “payment” isn't money but repentance and follow-through. When Jonah's heart is realigned, his response changes as well. Repentance redirects both priorities and spending.Dr. Rush connected that pattern to modern life. Faithful follow-through today, she said, looks like honoring a budget, keeping commitments to generosity, giving as worship rather than obligation, and acting with honesty and integrity in saving, investing, and repaying debt. These practices aren't merely financial—they're spiritual expressions of trust and obedience.Budgets, Dr. Rush explained, tell a story. They put dollars and cents to what we prioritize and reveal whether we're seeking God's Kingdom or quietly running from Him. That can be uncomfortable—but it's also hopeful. Jonah's story is full of second chances. God didn't give up on Jonah, and financial mistakes don't disqualify us either.Dr. Rush closed with a practical starting point: begin with prayer, intentionally place generosity at the top of the budget, invite wise counsel, and remember that spending decisions are always spiritual decisions. Money tells a story—but by God's grace, it can be a story shaped for His glory.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:When I think of investing, I think of putting money into something that helps it grow. If I buy a stock that doesn't pay dividends, it can feel more like a speculative bet—just hoping the price goes up. Even if I'm a passive investor and don't benefit until I sell, does owning that stock actually help the company grow in a meaningful way, making it more of an actual investment rather than a bet?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Epiphany Old Testament: Isaiah 60:1-6 1Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms. 5Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 1 Give the King your justice, O God, *       and your righteousness to the King's Son; 2 That he may rule your people righteously *      and the poor with justice; 3 That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *      and the little hills bring righteousness. 4 He shall defend the needy among the people; *      he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor. 5 He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *      from one generation to another. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *      like showers that water the earth. 7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; *      there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall                             be no more. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *        and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts. 11 All kings shall bow down before him, *       and all the nations do him service. 12 For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *       and the oppressed who has no helper. 13 He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *       he shall preserve the lives of the needy. 14 He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, *       and dear shall their blood be in his sight. Epistle: Ephesians 3:1-12 1This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, 3and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; 10so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Send us a textJonah had one job: Preach to the city of Nineveh. He paid for a one-way trip to Tarshish, about as far from Nineveh as you could get. But God had a way of getting His wayward prophet going the right way. Pick up your Bible or phone and turn to Jonah 4 to hear the story.This episode is based on the God's Word for Life, Winter 2025–2026, Adult Lesson Guide entitled, "The Prophet Jonah" (January 4, 2026).Find an Apostolic church that preaches this glorious gospel and our response at UPCI.orgThis episode is produced by the Pentecostal Resources Group and is hosted by LJ Harry. To order resources of the God's Word for Life curriculum, visitPentecostalPublishing.com and PentecostalResourcesGroup.com. Share your God's Word for Life stories with me at pphcurriculum@upci.org.

Jonah 2025 Jonah 1:1 NIV   1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:     Jonah 1:2-3 NIV   2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.     Psalm 139:7-12 NIV   Where can I go from your Spirit?   Where can I flee from your presence?   8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.   9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,   if I settle on the far side of the sea,   10 even there your hand will guide me,   your right hand will hold me fast.   11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me   and the light become night around me,"   12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;   the night will shine like the day,   for darkness is as light to you.       Jonah 1:4-17 NIV   4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.   And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish."   7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" 9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."   10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" 12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, "Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased." 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.   17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.       Jonah 2:1-10 NIV   2 1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:   "In my distress I called to the Lord,   and he answered me.   From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,   and you listened to my cry.   3 You hurled me into the depths,   into the very heart of the seas,   and the currents swirled about me;   all your waves and breakers   swept over me.   4 I said, 'I have been banished   from your sight;   yet I will look again   toward your holy temple.'   5 The engulfing waters threatened me,   the deep surrounded me;   seaweed was wrapped around my head.   6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;   the earth beneath barred me in forever.   But you, Lord my God,   brought my life up from the pit.   7 "When my life was ebbing away,   I remembered you, Lord,   and my prayer rose to you,   to your holy temple.   8 "Those who cling to worthless idols   turn away from God's love for them.   9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,   will sacrifice to you.   What I have vowed I will make good.   I will say, 'Salvation comes from the Lord.'"   10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.       Jonah 3:1-5 NIV   3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."   3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. YAY! Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city, proclaiming, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown."   5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.       Jonah 3:6-10 NIV   6 When Jonah's warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.   7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:   "By the decree of the king and his nobles:   Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."   10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.       Jonah 4:1-3 NIV   4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, "Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."       Jonah 4:4-11 NIV   4 But the Lord replied, "Is it right for you to be angry?"   5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."   9 But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?"   "It is," he said. "And I'm so angry I wish I were dead."   10 But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?"      

Jonah 1:1–3, 11-12[1] Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” [3] But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. (ESV)[11] Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. [12] He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” (ESV)

Isaiah 60 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house. 8 Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows? 9 For the coastlands shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from afar, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful. 10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. 11 Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 14 The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. 16 You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. 18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. 21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. 22 The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.

1. His Rebellion2. His Affliction3. His MissionToday's sermon explored the life of Jonah and the consequences of running from God's calling. Through Jonah's journey—from his rebellion and flight to Tarshish, through his affliction in the belly of the fish, to his eventual mission in Nineveh—we saw how sin always costs us more than we want to pay and takes us farther than we want to go. Yet we also witnessed God's incredible mercy, not only toward the wicked people of Nineveh, but also toward His rebellious servant. This message challenges us to examine our own lives: Are we sleeping while storms rage around us? Are we running from God's clear calling? And do we care more about our own comfort than the eternal destiny of lost souls?Takeaways:- God's call is clear and direct, but obedience is our choice. Just as God told Jonah to "Arise, go to Nineveh," He has called each of us with a higher purpose. We must ask ourselves: Who has chartered our course? Are we sailing toward God's priorities or our own?- Running from God always leads downward, and sin will cost us. Jonah paid the fare, went down into the ship, and descended into the belly of the fish. When we rebel against God's calling, we always go down—spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. The good news is that God's mercies are new every morning, and He is the God of second chances.- Our concern for souls should outweigh our concern for comfort. Jonah cared more about a plant that gave him shade than 120,000 people who escaped eternal judgment. We must examine our hearts: Do we have urgency to reach the lost and lonely with the message of hope, or are we more focused on our own convenience and comfort?As we move forward this week, let's commit to listening to God's voice, responding to His calling with urgency, and extending His love and mercy to those around us who desperately need to hear the Gospel.

1. His Rebellion2. His Affliction3. His MissionToday's sermon explored the life of Jonah and the consequences of running from God's calling. Through Jonah's journey—from his rebellion and flight to Tarshish, through his affliction in the belly of the fish, to his eventual mission in Nineveh—we saw how sin always costs us more than we want to pay and takes us farther than we want to go. Yet we also witnessed God's incredible mercy, not only toward the wicked people of Nineveh, but also toward His rebellious servant. This message challenges us to examine our own lives: Are we sleeping while storms rage around us? Are we running from God's clear calling? And do we care more about our own comfort than the eternal destiny of lost souls?Takeaways:- God's call is clear and direct, but obedience is our choice. Just as God told Jonah to "Arise, go to Nineveh," He has called each of us with a higher purpose. We must ask ourselves: Who has chartered our course? Are we sailing toward God's priorities or our own?- Running from God always leads downward, and sin will cost us. Jonah paid the fare, went down into the ship, and descended into the belly of the fish. When we rebel against God's calling, we always go down—spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. The good news is that God's mercies are new every morning, and He is the God of second chances.- Our concern for souls should outweigh our concern for comfort. Jonah cared more about a plant that gave him shade than 120,000 people who escaped eternal judgment. We must examine our hearts: Do we have urgency to reach the lost and lonely with the message of hope, or are we more focused on our own convenience and comfort?As we move forward this week, let's commit to listening to God's voice, responding to His calling with urgency, and extending His love and mercy to those around us who desperately need to hear the Gospel.

Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying that God does not let His children sin successfully. As Jonah flees from the command and commission of God, we see the pursuit of God's mercy upon Jonah through difficulty, trial, and hardship. As the storm rages and the sailors are about to die, the unexpected occurs, everything turns upside down, and God's mercy is seen even on a grander scale. In this study from Jonah 1:4–17, we examine Jonah's flee to Tarshish, the great storm he experienced, and the wondrous mercy God had upon both Jonah and on the pagan sailors. ------------» Take these studies deeper and be discipled in person by Nathan, Eric, Leslie, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/» For more information about Daily Thunder and the ministry of Ellerslie Mission Society, please visit: https://ellerslie.com/daily» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/» Discover more Christ-centered teaching and resources from Nathan Johnson that will help you grow spiritually by checking out his website at: https://deeperchristian.com/

PLEASE DON'T BE SHADY