Podcasts about whatever god

LEAVE IT BEHIND | MOVE: Faith Takes Action (3)You cannot move freely into what God has ahead while carrying everything from behind.In the third message of MOVE: Faith Takes Action, we discover that sometimes moving forward with God requires us to release what was never meant to go with us.Hebrews 12:1–2 tells us to strip off every unnecessary weight, throw aside what entangles us, and run the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus.Before we can run forward, sometimes we have to let go.IN THIS MESSAGE:1. Not Everything You Can Carry Should Be CarriedThe question isn't only, “Is this wrong?” We also need to ask:“Is this helping me become who God is calling me to be?”Some things may be permissible but still become weights that hinder our walk with God.2. Stop Excusing What God Is Asking You to ReleaseSometimes the weight isn't something someone did to us. Sometimes it's something we keep choosing.Proverbs 28:13 teaches us to confess and forsake what God is asking us to leave behind.Ephesians 4:22–24 shows us the movement: put off the old, renew your mind, and put on the new.God's grace doesn't give us permission to stay stuck. His grace empowers us to change.3. Decide Which Direction You're LookingPaul said in Philippians 3:13–14 that he was forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward toward what lies ahead.Your past does not have authority over your future.So ask the Holy Spirit:“What am I not taking with me?”Maybe it's fear, offense, comparison, shame, people pleasing, an unhealthy relationship, a destructive habit, negative thinking, or the need for everyone's approval.Whatever God reveals, don't just acknowledge it.Take action.Forgive. Set the boundary. Change the pattern. Replace negative thoughts with God's Word. Confess and forsake what needs to go.Make the decision:“This does not get to go where God is taking me.”MOVE: FAITH TAKES ACTIONTAKE THE STEP. When God speaks—MOVE.KEEP MOVING. When your feelings change—stay faithful.LEAVE IT BEHIND. When yesterday tries to weigh down tomorrow—let it go.We're not going backward. We're not staying stuck. We're not carrying unnecessary weight.We're looking to Jesus.Take the step. Keep moving. Leave it behind.Wherever Jesus leads—WE WILL MOVE.

What dream has God placed in your heart—and what's standing in the way?In the final week of our 50 Days of Transformation, we explore our vocational life—not simply our job or career, but the deeper calling and purpose God has placed within us.Through the story of David and Goliath, we discover that the biggest giants we face aren't always the ones in front of us. Sometimes they are delay, discouragement, disapproval and doubt.David shows us another way. He remembered God's faithfulness, used what God had already placed in his hands, refused to be defined by the voices of the naysayers, and stepped forward expecting God to act.Whatever God has placed in your heart, the presence of giants doesn't mean the dream is over.Remember what God has done.Use what God has given you.Ignore the naysayers.Expect God to act.The 50 Days of Transformation may be concluding—but our transformation is just beginning.Sermon notes: https://www.michurch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/50-Days-of-Transformation-Week-8-My-Vocational-Life-Notes.pdfTo support the ministry of Melbourne Inclusive Church go to: www.michurch.org.au/give Melbourne Inclusive Church boldly and proudly proclaims Christ's equal love for all people regardless of their ability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, age, gender, race, ethnicity, or culture. Melbourne Inclusive Church is part of the EMI Global family of churches.

God Empowers the Weak (3) (audio) David Eells, 9/13/26 Let me share a testimony with you. Back when I was in the world, I had a deficiency that was passed on to me from my daddy. His daddy had this really bad sinus problem. My daddy used to pack around this bottle of Neo-Synephrine. It opened up the sinuses, and he carried it year-round. Growing up, I had the same problem. My sinuses would close up, and so I used that stuff to open up my breathing, but eventually it will eat the lining right out of your nose, and then I would have to use it even more. Well, when I saw that Jesus healed me at the cross, I threw that bottle away. God healed my nose then and it hasn't stopped up to this day. That was in my low twenties when I threw that bottle out by faith. And I've had head colds since then, but my nostrils haven't stopped up. When I threw that bottle out, that honored God so much that He just took it out. I used to have a natural problem with colds and sinuses, chest congestion, and all that left. The doctors gave me so much penicillin that it no longer worked for me.  Then I caught on to vitamin C, and I started taking it, and let me tell you, it did twice the good that the drugs and Neo-Synephrine had done. I saw it worked so much better than the shots, medicine, and stuff, but when I found out what Jesus did for me, I stopped taking vitamin C and I got deliverance from the whole curse of colds, congestion and sinuses. Even though the vitamin C worked better than the drugs because my system totally just was ignoring them by that point, I threw the vitamin C out, too. When I'd get a cold back then, and we'd have orange juice in the ice box, God would say, “Don't drink any of that; just totally avoid it.” He wanted to prove to me that the deliverance I was getting was from Him; it didn't have anything to do with vitamin C. Listen, I got delivered of something I had all of my life to that point. It was so bad that the infection would get in my inner ears, then my eardrums would burst, and I had fluid draining out of my ears. When God delivered me, I threw out the Neo-Synephrine, and I threw out the drugs and the vitamin C; I got total deliverance from that. It's no longer a problem.  So, what is it to walk by faith? We can pick up parts of walking by faith by looking at one another, but we need to get an image of what God's faith is. Look at Mark 11:22. Most versions read, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” But in the original version, it says, “Have God's faith” and the Numeric Bible says that, too. I thought about that, and I felt like the Lord told me that God's faith is not the faith of man in God, but the faith of God inside of man. It's hard for us to work up enough faith in God, but it's our right and privilege from the Scriptures to have God's faith in us, which is what salvation is all about. (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. And you know it's our right because that's what Jesus did. He made reconciliation. Reconciliation is an exchange. Jesus took our unbelief; He put it on the cross along with the curse and He gave us His faith. We have to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin (Romans 6:11). Self is the unbeliever, but your spiritual man is not able to walk in unbelief because he is born again. He's born of God. The problem is our old carnal man gets in the way. From the time we are children, our carnal man is being trained to be our savior, to be a grown-up, but Jesus taught us that we have to become as children, or we won't enter into the Kingdom with its benefits. Now, we know that we're entering into the Kingdom because Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luk.17:21) and some translations say “among you” instead of “within you.” Both are true.  So we are entering into the Kingdom, but we can't enter into the Kingdom without being a child. And that means we are weak. That's not a grown-up, right? The qualities the world calls “grown-up” are not considered to be qualities in the Kingdom of Heaven. Casting all our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7) and putting our total trust in Him to be our supplier (Genesis 17:1), our Savior (Ephesians 5:23), our Healer (Exodus 15:26) – these things please God. (Heb.11:6) Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. So what we need is what He says in Mark 11:22. We need to “have God's faith” in us.  When you get a picture of Jesus, you may get a picture of a faith that you don't have by manifestation. Let me say that you can have that faith. The Bible says, We all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory…. (2Co.3:18). You have to see it as an accomplished fact. You have to see the fact that Jesus has already given you everything that He is, and that includes His faith (Romans 5:10,11). And that's the way faith works. It speaks the end from the beginning. It calleth the things that are not, as though they were (Rom.4:17).  When we look in the mirror and we are to see Jesus. The Bible promises us that for this we'll be transformed into that image, from glory to glory, so we need to get a picture of His faith because that's our faith. It is the faith of God inside of man, not the faith of man in God, because the carnal man has no ability to walk in faith. We try and try to work faith up in ourselves, and that is the faith of man in God. But the faith of God inside of man is the Father's free gift given to us by grace. It's by grace we are drawn to the Father; that's His gift to us. And He will keep us in the same faith He put in us to cause us to come to Him at the beginning, if we continue to walk in that faith. He's given us the faith that we need. He's given “us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2Pe.1:3). He's given us all things. His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (3) and faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith…. “Have you been saved” is what it says in the original and that's what the Numeric says and that's what the Nestles Text says. I believe the Received Text says that, too. “By grace have ye been saved through faith.” Faith always looks back. Faith believes you have received. It's always past tense. Hope is future tense. Hope is looking forward to something, confident that you will receive something, a firm expectation. Strong's says the Greek word elpis, meaning “hope,” is “a favorable or confident expectation.” But faith is looking back at something, not forward to something. It's something that you have already received. It's calling “the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17). So whatever salvation is, whatever salvation incorporates, it comes by grace through faith and it comes by looking back. And since our salvation is past tense, it makes being weak of primary importance. If you obey the Word of God, if you obey the principles of Jesus, you will be weak in yourself. You will cease from your struggling to save yourself in situations; you will enter into the sabbath and cease from your works so that God can do His.  Some time back, I ran into this one woman in Louisiana. She had been to “who's who” in the healing circuit. She had gone to everybody. She had two very large, inoperable tumors, and she gave me a list of all the people she had gone to. She said, “David, I just don't understand why I haven't been healed.” And I said, “Well, I believe the reason just came out of your mouth as to why you haven't been healed. You're looking forward to healing and the Bible teaches us to look back at healing, for by His stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) Faith is always in the past. The sacrifice of Jesus was at the beginning of this Testament so that we would always look back and accept what was done there, accept it as ours, because it is past tense. If we accept it as past tense and done, then it causes us to be weak because it causes us to cease from our works and we enter into the sabbath rest. If you believe it's done, then you don't have to keep working to try to bring it to pass. If it's in the future, you'll never know what method God wants to use to bring it to pass, but since it's in the past, you can accept it as a free gift. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…. So we do have works to do; only they're not our works, they're the works of God. Whatever God's work is between here and the manifestation, our work is to believe what the Bible says, and the Bible says, “by whose stripes ye were healed” (1Pe.2:24). We should never be moved away from that for any reason that would say, “Maybe not, maybe not in this case,” because we'll never be able to have faith if we're not convinced that what the Bible says is true about our healing. See, Jesus came to reveal the Will of the Father and He did that by healing everyone who came to Him. Our problem is that we can't come to Jesus physically and touch Him, but we can all come to Him by faith. We can confess our sins that we may be healed. (Jas.5:16) Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. We have the ability to get things out of the way that would hinder healing. So we confess our sins that we may be healed, as the Bible says, and then we can “touch” Jesus by faith. He healed everyone who came to Him. He came to show us the way and to be an example. Everybody who came to Jesus was healed, so why isn't everybody healed today? The number one reason is that it's not being taught that by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). You, as a Christian, were healed. This is not something you have to look forward to. That's hope. See, that's the problem with many Christians – they're looking forward to something that they need to be looking back to. We were all healed at the cross. And we enter into that by ceasing from our own thinking and our own reasoning and saying, “God, I repent. Your Word is true.” What does it mean to “repent”? It means to “change your mind.” The Word is true. If it says by His stripes you were healed, then change your mind; you were healed.  What we need to understand here is this word “salvation,” or in Greek, sozo. The Scripture says, “for by grace have ye been saved through faith” (Eph.2:8). Now, I point out to you that faith is past tense. It's always believing for something that you've received. When you pray, Jesus said, “believe you have received and you shall have it” (Mark 11:24). That's the way that faith works. That identifies how our salvation is going to come, our sozo, our “saved,” is going to come. Grace is another thing that identifies God's method for bringing you sozo, “salvation,” “saved.” Let's look carefully at this example. (Rom.4:4) Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. It says, if it's grace, it's not your works. If it's grace, you have to cease from your works. See, many people are seeking healing and deliverance because they have hope. But hope will not get you either. Faith will. If you have to work for it, or pay for it, if you have to earn it, it's not something that's coming through grace because “grace” is “unmerited favor.” Much of the church is caught up in their own works. They say, “You're not saved by your works,” but they believe that only refers to their soul. When the Bible talks about salvation in other areas, like “deliverance” or sozo, “saved” in other areas, it's, “Oh, well, no; now God does it this way.” So they continue in their own works. He says here, “To him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.” In other words, God would owe it to you if you could work it up in yourself. But it's not grace if you have to work for it because God would owe it to you. It would be a debt. He refuses to cooperate with you in that. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. Notice: “to him that worketh not…” Grace comes “to him that worketh not.” Here's another example. (Rom.11:6) But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. Whatever salvation is, salvation is very big. It's much bigger than your soul going to Heaven when you die. Salvation is here and now. Salvation covers everything that Jesus did on the cross. It covers everything having to do with the curse of sin and of death. We've been delivered from the curse of sin and of death (Romans 8:2), and that's what salvation is all about. But if any part of that salvation is by works, then that's not salvation through grace. There are salvations out there that are not God's method for His people. The world always wants to be your savior. The arm of the flesh always wants to be your savior. I.e.,“Let me do it my way, Lord. I know how to take care of myself. I'll do it.” The worldly ways of deliverance don't cause us to grow closer to God; they don't cause us to manifest Christ, nor do they cause us to grow in faith. They are salvations that are of the world. When the children of Israel were brought out into the wilderness, they wanted to run back to Egypt for their salvation (Exodus 16:3). They said, “Let's go back to the flesh-pots.” God said in effect, “No, you stay in the wilderness. Your salvation is coming out of Heaven.” But they continued to murmur. “Well, we would rather have Egypt's salvation; it's easier on the flesh; it's not so much of a trial. Let's go back to Egypt.” Every time the Israelites got into a tight spot, every time they lacked water, or food, or whatever, God put them in that spot. He brought them there, and He put them there so that they would come to the end of themselves and put their trust in Him. Instead, they kept crying, “Let's go back and get Egypt's salvation.” Egypt had a salvation. The world has a salvation for you; it has a deliverance, but it's not an eternal deliverance, and the end is always a curse. The Bible says, “Cursed is he who trusts in man, in the arm of the flesh” (Jeremiah 17:5). Maybe you don't see it, but in some way, whenever the world saves you, there's always a curse in it. Maybe you don't see it yet, but there's one there. When Christ saves you, it is eternal. It causes you to grow in faith. It causes you to grow in manifesting Him. It's an affront to Him to think that you can pay for His benefits. You remember when Peter and John were praying for people and they were receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15,17), that Simon the magician also received the Holy Spirit, but he wanted to pay Peter and John for this ability. (Act.8:20) But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money. (21) Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God. Simon wanted this gift to be able to lay hands on people to impart the Holy Spirit. That's all he wanted, but we need to see that the principle here covers much more than just this gift of imparting the Holy Spirit. Peter said, “Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money”; in other words, it's not something that you can earn or ever pay for. The gift of God doesn't come through your ability, nor does it come through your earning it. You cannot pay for it. It has to be free. Do you know what happens when you go and pay for the world's salvation and call that God? Because it's not God; it's going back to Egypt. You get an answer and you may grow, too, but you grow in the world; you don't grow in God. You see, the Lord explained something to me about the image of the beast. The image of the beast is being manifested in this world right now. I'm not going to deny what anybody else has to say about the image of the beast in the future, but the Bible says that Christ was the image of God (Hebrews 1:3) and that His Body is made up of saviors. The Bible even says, “and saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau” (Oba.21). “Saviors” is plural. God's body is made up of people (1 Corinthians 12:27) whom He has gifted in different gifts (1 Corinthians 12,13,14) to enable them to do the work of Jesus in this earth, works that Jesus wanted done: of deliverance, of saving, of healing, of providing. But, you know what? First of all, God's administering these gifts through Spirit-filled believers. Don't twist the Word, as many Christians do, and say, “Well, now God administers these gifts through pagans.” No. Not so. Although God can give you many gifts through pagans, and although the Holy Spirit does not have to go through a man, these particular gifts He's talking about only come through Spirit-filled believers. None of these gifts can be bought. If you have to buy it, or pay for something that you call “God's salvation,” it's not grace and faith. Grace and faith cause you to be weak; it causes you to cease from your trusting in Egypt and in the ways of the world. God's gift is free. You can't pay for it, you can't earn it, you can't be good enough for it. It comes by faith. Faith is believing you have received. When you believe you have received, it causes you to stop seeking it. Stop and think about it. If you believe you have received healing, are you going to keep running after it? No, because faith always cuts off the works and the methods of men. When you believe you have received, you can rest; you can cease from your works; you can enter into rest. Everything can come from God that way. Everything will come from God that way. It's the most perfect way to receive from God. You say, “Well, doesn't God keep Egypt going?” Sure He does, but God wants Egypt for the Egyptians. God has planned the wilderness for Christians. Does God give strength to Egypt to keep running? Of course. (Act.17:28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being…. He gives you your very breath. The world gets its breath from God, but the world is not God's method for Christians.  God's method for Christians is receiving every salvation that comes from Christ through grace and faith. That's His method. It is offensive to God to think that you would want to buy from Him any gift that He has already given to you. He has chosen it to be a gift. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God. Note the word translated “saved” here is the word sozo. “For by grace have ye been saved,” Sozo. That word is used over and over in the Scriptures. If we can find the places where this word is used, then every place this word is used, it should come by grace through faith. That means not of your works. A free gift of God; exercising faith in God. That's what pure faith is. That is what God's faith in man is. The other is not real faith and fails us. I want to give you an example of what salvation encompasses, one probably every Christian would agree on. This was the sinful woman who anointed Jesus, and Jesus pronounced her forgiven of sins. (Luk.7:47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loveth little. (48) And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. (49) And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? (50) And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Now I believe everybody who is a Christian would agree with me that forgiveness of sins is salvation, and it comes by grace through faith. As we look at some of the other places where the same word, sozo, is used, you may question whether that salvation still comes by grace through faith, but I can assure you, any kind of salvation that comes from God is a free gift that comes by grace through faith. Wherever this word is used, it fits into Ephesians 2:8. Everywhere it fits in there, no matter what we identify as being this salvation. I once asked a Greek man, who spoke Greek as his native language, “What does the word soteria mean to you?” Soteria is the noun of sozo in the Greek and is the word in the Scriptures for “salvation.” He said, “Well, it means to us Greeks, ‘all of your needs supplied like a little baby; all of your needs supplied.'” See, we have such a very narrow idea of what salvation is. Most of the churches that we've been raised in have taught us that salvation is only getting to go to Heaven when this life is over. But when we look at that word and identify it in the Scriptures, we find out it's very big, very broad, and that every bit of it is incorporated in these promises concerning being saved. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith…. This woman, to whom Jesus said, “thy faith hath saved thee,” was saved by grace through faith. This was where her sozo came from. All her needs were supplied like a little baby. A little baby needs all his needs supplied. We have to come to Jesus as a child, in need of our needs being supplied. Adults are used to going out and supplying their own needs; they're used to taking care of themselves, but God desires this sozo kind of relationship with us. He desires that we would keep the sabbath, cease from our works, and enter into the rest through faith in the promises of God, as the Bible says. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, that's a broad promise, but salvation is very big.  Let me give you another example of this word, sozo, and let's see if “by grace have you been saved through faith” still applies. This is the story of the 10 lepers. Remember the one leper who returned and gave glory to God (Luke 17:15)? Here's what Jesus told him: (Luk.17:19) And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. And the word for “made thee whole” here is the word sozo, “saved.” “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” What the leper received from God can only be obtained in the wilderness, not in Egypt. Sometimes there is a salvation in Egypt, but just like the mark of the beast, there are two marks. There is a mark of the beast, and there is the mark of God. Exodus 13:16, speaks about the mark of God on the forehead and on the back of the hand, and the mark of God was to have the Word of God. The Israelites would write the Word of God, put them in these little boxes, and then they'd tie them right across their forehead and put them on the back of their hand (Deuteronomy 11:18). But, guess what? The corresponding verse in Revelation 13:16 talks about the mark of the beast. So, if it's the Word of God being manifested in your mind and in your works, that's the mark of God. In contrast, the mark of the beast can be the word of the flesh, the word of the devil, the word of the world, the thinking of the world being manifest, the mind of flesh being manifested in your mind and in your works. That might be just a spiritual revelation of it, but accept it because it's still Scriptural.  See, if we walk after our own thinking and after our own works, it's because we're trusting in our own ability. We're not walking by faith in Jesus, and your mind is not being renewed by the Word of God. You walk as a beast. I don't care if you walk in church; you still walk as a beast if you walk after the mind of the flesh and if your salvation comes from the world. So we have the image of the beast being manifested in the world, while the image of Christ is being manifested in the Church. Christ's Body is made up of people, each of whom has been given gifts to serve the rest of the Body. Do you know the world is made up the same way? Jesus said there are only two men in the earth (Matthew 24:40) – there's Christ and there's antichrist. The world works the same way. The only difference is that the saviors who make up the image of the beast want to save you from Christ's salvation, and Christ wants to save you from their salvation. His salvation is free. Theirs is not free; theirs is very costly. The Lord has a better way. He showed it to us in the Gospels. What Jesus gave in His provision was free; it didn't come through the works of man, the ability of man, or man's money. When you have to pay for it, believe me, that's not salvation by grace through faith. This leper found that out. What did he have to pay for this sozo? He received a sozo that came by grace through faith. You know, a third example can be found in the story of the blind man. (Luk.18:38) And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. (40) And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, (41) What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. (42) And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. Sozo, “saved.” “Thy faith hath saved thee.” That's what He's talking about that saves you. Salvation covers healing, and it's always covered healing, even in the Old Testament. The word right here is sozo. It's “saved.” The leper was “saved” of his leprosy. The blind man was “saved” of his blindness. See, they've translated the same word different ways. They've translated it “saved”; they've translated it “made whole,” but the original word is still only one word; it's the same word. I have the three most ancient manuscripts, and it's the word sozo. Sozo is the word in the Scriptures for “saved.” Everywhere Scripture uses the word “saved” in talking about our eternal salvation, it's the word sozo. We see now it's also used for healing, which tells us that healing is involved. Remember, Jesus came to deliver us from the curse of sin and of death (Romans 8:2). Sin brought death. What was incorporated in death? Sickness, disease, everything else was incorporated in death.  Our salvation is double; it's dual. It saves us not only from sin, but it saves us from the penalty for sin. What is the penalty for sin? The curse. In Deuteronomy 28, God expounded the penalty for sin and He gave us the curse there. When you go back and read it, you'll find out that the curse covers not only sickness, but everything detrimental that ever happened to man because of his sin. Everything that came against man from the beginning because of his sin is a part of the curse. And you know what? Jesus became accursed for us that we might have Abraham's blessings. He became a curse on that cross. Everybody who's put on a cross is accursed (Galatians 3:13). What Jesus bore was not only the sin; it was the curse for that sin. Why would God say, “I'm going to take away your sin,” but not take away the curse? So now we see this word, sozo covers all of that. It covers not only the sin, but also the curse. We've just looked at three people who were delivered of the curse of sin, and they were delivered of it because it was by grace through faith. Let me give you yet another example to show you the difference between God's salvation and the world's salvation. Let's not change the Scriptures. What we see in Jesus is still the truth. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is our Salvation. What He did, was to prove to us what He wanted to do. What He did in the Gospels, He does today to everybody who believes. The Gospel is the power of God to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). What's the Gospel? It's the Good News. It's the promises of God. And it doesn't matter if you're a “Christian.” What matters is: are you a believer? Do you believe what the Gospel says? There are Christians who are unbelieving Christians because they only believe what they want to believe. We have to believe in the Jesus of the Bible and that He really is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus still heals everybody who comes to Him. Let's not make up another Jesus. Paul talked about those who would come to you with another Jesus. No, we don't need another Jesus. We need this Jesus. The problem is not with God. People blame the problem on God. The problem is not with God because God has already healed you. It's not a matter of God deciding whom He's going to heal and whom He's not going to heal. That's not what the Bible says.  The Bible says that by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). This is your decision to make. (Rom.1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation (soteria) to every one that believeth…. Look, the condition is on you believing. The condition is not whether God wants to heal you. The Bible says all of the promises of God are “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Don't believe the people who say, “Sometimes it's ‘no.'” No, all the promises of God are “yes,” and through him is the Amen (2Co.1:20). That means “the so be it.” That means it will come to pass through Him. What we have to do is renew our mind and get back to the real Jesus. The real Jesus of salvation covers your body and your circumstances. Now let's look at this example. (Luk.8:43) And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians…. You know what? She was trying to buy salvation here. She was trying to buy sozo. The word “saved” is used in this text. She was trying to buy it. This is not God's method for you to receive it. God's method for you to receive this comes the same way as it did in the Scriptures: through the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18) and the confession of faith (Romans 10:10). That's His method. You know why? Because it excludes all of man's glorying in it. Nobody but God can take credit when you do it God's way. (Jas.5:14) Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up … This doesn't say it “would” or it “might”; this says it “shall” raise them up. The Bible says if any two of you agree as touching anything, it shall be done (Matthew 18:19), and I consider that to mean the person being prayed for and the person doing the praying. That's two, right?  Let's continue with our example. (Luk.8:43) And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed of any. Some of you have been there. I've been there, too, only to find out that God gave it freely when I gave up. God gave it freely. Look at this same story in Mark. (Mar.5:25) And a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, (26) and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse … I just wanted to point that out to you: she spent all that she had. She came to the end of herself. I've been there. You don't have to try everything but God. You can start out with God. God is faithful. He is faithful Who promised (Hebrews 10:23). He will not fail you. There is no “maybe.” You can't exercise faith if you think, “Maybe God will, maybe He won't.” The Bible doesn't say “maybe” He will, “maybe” He won't. It says He's already done it. When this woman was healed, it didn't have anything to do with Jesus' faith because she came up and touched Him, but Jesus didn't know it until after it was all over. I do want to make a point here, though. This salvation she had been looking for was not sozo because it was not grace through faith. It was not. Why? Because if it's grace, it's no more works. If it's a gift of God, you can't pay for it. And if it's faith, it's past tense. She was looking for it in the future. She sought to receive it. But if it's faith, she was looking the wrong way, just like this lady I told you about who had those two tumors. I told her, “Turn around and look the other way; you're looking the wrong way.” That's when God gave this to me, this thought of “You're looking the wrong way. Turn around and look at the cross.” When the serpent on the pole was raised up in the wilderness, everybody who got their eyes on that serpent on the pole was healed (Numbers 21:9). You had to get your eyes off the snakebite and on the serpent on the pole to be healed. I told her, “Turn around and look at the cross. That's where your healing happened. You're looking in the future.” Tomorrow never comes. Faith never works that way. Faith believes that you have received (Mark 11:24). Faith turns around and looks back at the cross because the Bible says, by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). Your healing is certain. It was accomplished at the cross. Reconciliation was accomplished (Colossians 1:20). What is that? Exchange. At the cross, Jesus gave you His healthy body and He took your old, unhealthy one. He gave you His clean, pure soul, and He took your old, unclean one. He gave you His righteousness and His blessings, and He took away your unrighteousness and your cursings. The exchange was made. This is how faith works. (2Co.5:17) Wherefore if any man is in Christ, [he is] a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. Now our old things have become new. What are we? New creations. New creatures in Christ. This is how faith works. Faith sees the end from the beginning; faith accepts it, grasps it; and faith holds on to it. That's why this particular method is God's method. You ask, “Can God do it?” Sure. God keeps all the Egyptians alive until they come to know Jesus. Do you understand that when we come out of Egypt and go into the wilderness, we still need “Egyptology” to come out of us? Yes! When we come out of Egypt and go into the wilderness, we need to be delivered of Egypt. I'm not talking Law here; I'm talking about a privilege. It is our privilege to accept our salvation in Jesus Christ as an accomplished fact and what I'm telling you is just how big the salvation is. (Luk.8:43) And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed of any, (44) came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately the issue of her blood stanched. (45) And Jesus said, Who is it that touched me? And when all denied, Peter said, and they that were with him, Master, the multitudes press thee and crush [thee]. (46) But Jesus said, Some one did touch me; for I perceived that power had gone forth from me. By the way, I know the King James says “virtue” here, but the word is “power”; it's dunamis. In fact, the King James does translate it “power” in other places in the Bible, like in Luke 10:19. The word “power” there is the word dunamis. So it was power that came out of Jesus, but if it was power that came out of Jesus, it didn't have anything to do with His faith. In this particular case, all that was necessary was for this woman to touch Him by faith. It wasn't a matter of Jesus making up His mind whether to heal this woman or not.  Jesus never turned anybody away anyway and He's not going to tell you “no.” In fact, if there's a “no,” the “no” is going to be in you; it's not going to be in Him. Our problem is we listen to the devil; we listen to the flesh. We don't listen to the Bible. Confess your sins and believe. That's all you have to do. Now, if you have willful disobedience in your life, it will come between you and healing because you won't have faith toward God. The Bible says, “if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God” (1Jn.3:21). That's why you have to confess your sins to get them out of your way. But Jesus always said, “Yes.” Do you think that there were some of those people who came to Jesus who needed something worked out in their lives? I guarantee you that all of those people who came to Jesus had something that needed working out in their lives, but that didn't stop Jesus from healing. You know what did stop Jesus from healing some? When He went to His own hometown, their unbelief stopped Him. He could not. It doesn't say He would not. (Mat.13:58) And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Now, we need to have the faith of God in us. This salvation has been accomplished. It's not a matter of you asking Him to accomplish it; “it is finished” (Joh.19:30). I have overcome the world (16:33). This is not a matter of Jesus doing something in the future. Ask Him, “Will You do it?” He'll tell you just what the Bible says. “I did it.” He won't say, “I will do it.” He never says that. The Bible doesn't say that. He's always going to agree with the Word. He won't tell you something contrary to the Word. I knew a man one time who was asking God to heal his wife of cancer, and God told him, “She's healed.” You know what? His wife died. He was sure God told him that she was healed, and he was angry with God. I said, “Bud, God told you exactly what the Bible says. He's not going to disagree with His Word. The problem is, do you agree with His Word? He's going to tell you to believe the Bible every time. He's going to tell you, ‘You are healed.' By his stripes you were healed. What else is He going to say? Are you going to ask Him to tell you something besides what the Bible says? He's only going to tell you what the Bible says.” I know calling “the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17) appears like a lie to the world, but it's not a lie because you're in agreement with the Scriptures. You agree with God Almighty, the One Who does not dwell in time, and what He says goes. (Rom.3:4) … Let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. Now, when you come under the judgment of the curse, what you need is justification. Justification is God calling you righteous. And He calls you righteous when you come under the curse, if you agree with the Bible concerning what Jesus did about the curse. Can you agree with the Bible about what Jesus did for you? He became accursed for you so that you could have the blessings of Abraham. (Isa.53:5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Do you agree with the Bible? See, if you're not agreeing with the Bible, you're going to consider, “Well, I need this.” Or “I'll have to handle it. The crucifixion of Jesus was not enough, I'll have to handle a little bit of it myself.” The worldly teachers will convince you of that, and you will be a double-minded person because you are not agreeing with God's Word. Jesus only preached to those people who had eyes to see and ears to hear (Matthew 13:9-11). He wasn't talking about the physical eyes and ears; they all had them. He meant spiritual eyes and ears. (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness…. Do you see that? Do you see with your spiritual eyes that God has already given you everything that pertains unto life? It's not a matter of Him accomplishing it. He did that almost 2000 years ago. Now the problem is, are you going to agree with Him? Two can't walk together except they be agreed (Amos 3:3). You can't walk with Jesus except to the extent you agree with Him. Now, how are you going to agree with Him? I told Bud, “The Lord told you what the Bible says. The problem is you didn't believe in it. You were waiting to see something first. That is not the way faith works. Faith accepts it as a fact before seeing it. If you walk by faith, you'll see it, but if you walk by sight, you'll never see it because that's not the way it works. That's not faith. Faith is looking back at the cross.” So, Bud was angry at God because God didn't do what He said He was going to do. But it wasn't God's fault. See, we enter into the Covenant. The Bible says that the Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom.1:16). Listen, the power of God has already accomplished everything. What He's done is already accomplished. Your part is to enter into that Covenant by your faith. That's what brings it to pass. God's part is sure; it is finished, and it is final. Now we enter into our part of it by faith. That's our part of keeping the Covenant. When the disciples asked Jesus, “what must we do, that we may work the works of God?” (Joh.6:28), He said just one thing: “believe on him whom he hath sent” (29). All we have to do to do the works of God, whatever they are, is “believe on him whom he hath sent.” Does everybody have to die under the curse? Does everybody have to leave this life under the curse? The world has taken for granted that you're going to die of something. Do you have to die under the curse, or can you keep believing all the way up to the end, until you leave this life? Has everybody died of the curse? No, they did not. In fact, I have some books describing people who died on their deathbeds, and there was absolutely no pain in their bodies, and they couldn't find anything wrong with them; they just went to be with the Lord. This is not to condemn the ones who do die, but we have to get our sight and our vision on Jesus. You can't go somewhere that you can't see, you know. The Bible says, if you can see Jesus in the mirror, you can go there. Of course, everybody's not going to go there to the same extent. Look, one person received one talent, another two and another five (Matthew 25:14-30). Everybody doesn't get the same gift. Everybody doesn't manifest the same fruit, do they? There's 30-, 60- and 100-fold fruit (Matthew 13:8,23). Do you want to enter into only what you see other people entering into, or do you want to enter into everything that God has for you? That's the point. We're supposed to be looking at Jesus, not looking at our neighbor. Get your eyes on Jesus. He'll show you what you can enter into. God is going to do a special thing in these days. Did you know that He's going to do something He's never done before? The Bible says He's coming “to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day” (2Th.1:10). Oh, glory to God! The apostle Paul said there was a day in the future when his words would finally be believed and that Jesus would be glorified in those people in that day because they did believe that word.  You know, God gives grace for us to enter into believing just as much as we can believe. God gives grace for us to reach out to places people have never reached out to. In this day there is more grace to believe more than there's ever been. Do you understand what that verse says? He said, “in that day.” Paul was saying that they weren't believing it in his day, but that's what we're seeking right now. We don't want to stop with what religion has accepted; we want to go on and get everything God has given us. (Eph.2:8) By grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. That's one work. Now, here's another work: (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…. The first is talking about your work, the work of the flesh, the efforts of man, the efforts of self, the buying of God's gift, all those things. The second is talking about God's work. So let's just use healing again as a “for instance” because we're talking about it already. Do you know what? When you have faith that Jesus healed you, which is the only one that's a Scriptural faith, that faith is going to be walked out by your feet; it's going to come out of your mouth; it's going to be seen in your actions. That is a work that comes from faith. You know what the other work is? It's a work that comes before faith. Works of the flesh come before faith; works of God come after faith. When you believe, you're able to walk just like you received, and do you know what happens when you do that? You do what the 10 lepers did. Jesus said to them, “go and show yourselves unto the priests” (Luk.17:14). Well, they understood that because in the Law of Moses, when a person was healed of leprosy, he went to show himself to the priests. Then the priest inspected the person and took his turtle dove and gave his offering. But these lepers went to show themselves to the priests before their healing was manifested. Their walk was a walk of faith. But the way of the world would stand right there and say, “Well, I'm not healed.” Those lepers would look at themselves and say, “Well, I'm not healed yet. It's not the time to go show myself to the priest.” That's a carnal walk. That's walking by sight and not walking by faith. So there is a work that follows faith. Faith without works is dead. If you believe that you're healed, let me hear it come out of your mouth and let me see it in your feet. And if you believe that Jesus delivered you from sin, let's see that come out of your mouth and see it in your feet. Do you understand? When you believe something, your actions have to agree with that belief. Faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself (Jas.2:17), or it's incomplete. It's not real faith until it's put into works that agree with what the Bible says. But the world says, “I can see you're not healed,” but your feet keep on saying, “I'm healed. Look at me walk,” because your works are going to agree with faith. So if you're just healed by faith, you know you're not healed by manifestation. As long as you're healed by faith, you're believing for something that you don't yet see. That's the way faith works. And if you don't do it there, you'll never see it by manifestation. We have to repent of our worldly thinking. We have to repent of our Babylonish doctrine that's been given to us. We must change our minds, and we say, “God, You're right.” You have to say that before you can enter into it. (Rom.3:4) Let God be found true, but every man a liar…. Justification comes from agreeing with God. Agree with God; even if you're failing, agree with God. God's not going to condemn anyone. You don't condemn your child if your child is a toddler and stumbles and falls. There's no way you would condemn that child because that's the way they learn to walk. That's the way children are. They don't always get it right the first time. Now, as they get older and they're stumbling, you start asking what's wrong with them. So when we start out on a faith walk, we stumble and fall, but we get up. If you don't get up, you're not overcoming. You get up, you walk a little farther, you stumble, you walk a little farther. Every time you get up, you're walking farther, and you keep going. But if you decide, “I'm just going to sit right here because it's too dangerous to stand up,” then you're going to be an unprofitable servant (Matthew 25:30) because you've been given knowledge and you're doing nothing with it. Remember, it's God's faith inside of you; it's not your faith in Him. You'll fail as long as it's just your faith in Him. It's God's faith inside of you. Remember that God has given you His faith. Accept it as a gift. Reconciliation has given you this gift. Unbelief was taken away from you at the cross. Did you know that? All your sins were put on that cross, including the one that's at the foundation of every sin – unbelief. But that's at the cross, and you've been delivered. The Bible says, “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin” (Rom.6:11). That means to reckon your old unbelieving self to be dead and gone. “I'm delivered from unbelief.” Do you understand? That's not a confession of faith in yourself; that's a confession of faith in God. We are new (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have been made free from sin (Romans 6:22). You're free from unbelief. Believe and accept it.  Don't get anxious when you fail God because of your unbelief, and don't let anybody put a guilt trip on you. Don't let anybody put you under the Law to do what they expect. Don't be moved by peer pressure because somebody else has faith. Don't look at any of that. Get your eyes on Jesus. He will give you the faith that you need to do these things. It's His free gift to you. You don't have to be anxious or try to work it up yourself. You can't pick yourself up off the floor by your bootstraps. It's just not possible. It has to come from the outside in. It's nothing that you can do from the inside out. So don't be condemned if you're not able to do everything that you see Jesus do or that you see others do. Don't worry about it. It's God Who started the good work in you, and it's He Who's going to finish it (Philippians 1:6). The people who put others under legalism cause a lot of people hurt. This is wrong. And I'll tell you what, they ultimately get hurt, too, because what you sow, you reap (Galatians 6:7) and you can't sow that legalistic thing without it coming back on you. You can't judge others without being judged (Romans 14:4). I'm just offering you the knowledge. I'm trying to put the picture of Jesus there in front of you. Look at Jesus and you'll be transformed into that image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). Don't look at any religion or put another Jesus up there because, believe me, you can be transformed into any Jesus. Religions do it all the time. The only Jesus we want to reflect is the One the Father sent. Look in your Bible. The only way you'll see the true Jesus is to look in this Book. Look at Him. This is Jesus. He's the same. He hasn't changed. Men try to change Him; they have made a comfortable Jesus. One that the flesh could be comfortable with, a Jesus that wouldn't bring you through any kind of a trial of your faith. It's easy to have the Jesus that religion has. Let's look at the Jesus in the Bible. I tell you the reason we're not seeing the works of Jesus on this earth; it's because they've made another Jesus and they're being transformed into that image from glory to glory. That's the problem. Let's get back to the Word and believe it. Jesus sent His disciples out to do the same things He did. How can you do the same things He did unless you agree with Him? So now let's read the rest of the story from where Jesus perceived that power, sozo, went forth from Him. I really want to get beyond healings being included in salvation because I believe a lot of people already understand that, and I want to show you how broad salvation is. And it's all going to come by grace through faith. All of it. The rest of it, let me tell you, is man's works. (Luk.8:47) And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people for what cause she touched him, and how she was healed immediately. (48) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath (my Bible says “made thee whole,” but the word there is sozo) saved thee; go in peace. He saved her. This is a part of salvation. She was saved. Remember, she sought the physicians.  The Bible clearly shows you the difference between seeking deliverance from the physicians and seeking it from Jesus. (2Ch.16:12) And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. (13) And Asa slept with his fathers…. The Scripture makes a difference between seeking the salvation that normally comes from the world and the salvation that comes from God. Now, did you know that those Jews received their healing from God for many, many years. They started being drawn away from that when Solomon brought in all of his pagan wives, who brought the physicians into Israel. Up until that time, they got their healing from God. And when they went to Babylon, they started falling into many of the things of the world that weren't Scriptural. And the word in Scripture for “healing by the use of medicine” is the word pharmakia – just what we use today. Pharmakia is the word for “sorcery” or “witchcraft,” depending on which Bible you have, and is where we get our word “pharmacy.” Jesus has a better way, and it won't cost you anything, and believe me, you'll get out of so much trouble. If you live a life of the carnal Christian, by the end of your life you will have spent a lot of money on Egypt. But I tell you, God will get you out of that; it's His free gift. Don't say, “I have to do this.” No, it is a privilege. God gives you a privilege. You don't earn it; He's given it to you freely. This is His sozo. This is a part of His deliverance.  Years ago, way back at the beginning of our Christian walk, my wife, Mary, and I were riding motorcycles up in Mississippi. And this was a real hilly area. We were on two dirt bikes, and this was new territory to us, so it was kind of crazy what we did. We were each on a bike and we came over this hill, and she turned one way, and I turned another way. Well, on her side it was almost a cliff. It just went nearly straight down. And I heard her screaming all the way to the bottom of that hill, “MOMMAAA!” And she was mashing the foot peg as hard as she could, but I don't think she ever mashed on the brake because I never saw the wheels skid or anything. I mean, she was flying when she hit the bottom of that hill. It was painful for me to watch. I saw her bounce off a few trees, and I went down in there and scraped her off those trees and put her on the back of my bike. And then I took her out of there and got her to a hospital. This was during the same time that Mary was taking some medicine to try to clear up an infection, so the doctors were talking about operating on her kidneys. But a friend of ours told us about the promises in the Scriptures about healing, and we went to this church that believed in healing. So she went down in front of the church, and they prayed over her. Well, nothing physical happened. We went home, and it was probably a week or two later when she was meditating and thinking on it all, and the Lord spoke to her. And you know what He said? He said, “If you believe that I have healed you, why are you taking all that medicine?” Because the Bible says, ‘He has healed you'. And you know what? When Mary ran into the bathroom and started pouring her medicine down the commode because of that voice of the Lord, she was instantly healed. And not only was she healed of the kidney problem from hitting the tree, but she was healed from a natural kidney deficiency that she'd had since she was a little girl. She was healed of always having infections. God did a miracle. He did it freely. The doctors were going to charge us an awful lot to do that, but God did it for free.  God will ask you the same thing one day. He says, “If you believe that I have healed you …” God expects us to believe, not because of what we see or feel, but because He expects us to believe what the Scripture says. We need no other grounds. Peter stepped out of the boat because of what Jesus said. “Bid me to come unto you, Lord” (Matthew 14:28). And when Jesus said, “Come,” that's all Peter needed to step out (Matthew 14:29). All Peter needed was the Word of God, and he stepped out on that Word and the water held him up.  If you're walking by sight, you'll never be able to walk where we're talking about walking because you're calling the things that are as though they are, instead of calling the things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). God chose the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are (1 Corinthians 1:28). Think about it again now. God chose the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are. How does He do that? What are the things that are not? The promise. “By His stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24), when you look at yourselves and say, “Well, I don't see myself healed. I still feel sick. I still look sick.” See, the things that are not, are these promises that are not manifested yet. So how do you translate that into this present physical time? It's very simple. We do it the way the Bible tells us to: by calling “the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17). Please understand. If God chose the things that “are not” to bring to nothing the things “that are,” then He did not choose the things “that are” to bring to nothing the things “that are.” Did you get that? Read it again. He chose the things that “are not” to do away with the things “that are.” What are the things “that are”? The curse. What are the things that “are not”? The promise. Don't say, “God chose this method” or “He chose that method,” when you're talking about the things that are, because the Bible says He chose the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. That's the promise. When you don't see the promise, and you say, “Well, now God chooses doctors or lawyers or bankers or going in debt,” etc., if you say that God uses or chooses the things “that are” to bring about the promise, you're contrary to the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, the men of God used faith to bring to pass everything.  Do you understand what I'm saying? The world will tell you, because it's very convenient or comfortable for them, they'll say, “Well, now God uses this method, now God uses that...” No, He doesn't use “now methods”. That's not Scriptural. He uses the things that are not. He still uses the things that are not. Jesus doesn't have to heal you because He already healed you. You can prove it for yourself. Find one place in the Scripture, find just one place, where anybody who ministered healing to anybody else stopped and prayed and asked God to heal somebody. Find it. They didn't do it, and do you know why? Because it was already an accomplished fact. You know what they did? “Be healed in the Name of Jesus.” They laid hands and they commanded them to be healed. They commanded healing in the authority of God. “As the Father sent me, so send I you,” Jesus said (John 20:21). So we do the same thing Jesus did: We command healing in the name of Jesus. The reason we can do that is that there shouldn't be any question in our mind that it's already an accomplished fact. None of the disciples in the Book of Acts ever stopped and prayed, “Lord, will You heal this person?”  Now God gave us conditions. He said, for instance, it's “the children's bread” (Matthew 15:26). That's for us. He called deliverance from demons and healing the children's bread. It's ours. Is God ever going to deny the children their bread? No. May they go hungry? They might go hungry but it won't be because He's denying them their bread. That woman who was not one of the children, she said, “Well, even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table” (Matthew 15:27). She exercised faith. She proved herself to be a believer. I'm not saying that God can't do more than what it says in the Scripture. He won't do less, but I'm not saying He can't do more.  When Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Melita (Acts 28:1), it didn't say anybody there believed him, but he prayed for the sick, and God healed them (Acts 28:8,9). He prayed for a bunch of pagans, and you have to get God's permission to do that because Jesus said it's not right to cast the children's bread to the dogs. You have to get God's permission to do that. He might give it to you. He might do it as a witness. He may do it as an evangelistic tool. He may do it for those reasons, but He doesn't have to because you can't hold Him to any Scripture for that. The Bible says it's the children's bread. You may question, “What about the mercy ships and the mercy planes that have doctors and nurses specialized in a lot of the surgeries they do for cleft palates and so on?” Well, is it using the things that are or using the things that are not? I'm sure not going to condemn them, but let's get our eyes just on Jesus and look at His perfect way and His perfect Will. Did you ever see Jesus doing that? No. Did you ever see any of His disciples doing that? No. Wasn't Luke a physician? Maybe. Did you ever see him practicing that? No. Not after he came to Christ; you don't see him practicing that. So we don't have an example; we don't have a foundation to do it that way. I'm not condemning them; I'm not going to come against them. I'm just trying to get back to the Scriptures. I'm just trying to get back to God's method, God's way. You can make a mistake trusting in man and it can be dangerous because man can surely fail you. But it's never dangerous to trust in God. He never fails. He's never failed to heal me in almost 57 years, and I've gotten in some places where I needed healing. I've had broken bones; I've had cancer and He's healed me every time. God has never failed me. It didn't matter if it was a cold or a hangnail. It doesn't make any difference. You see, it doesn't matter how big it is. Jesus knew that He had the authority of the Father to come against all the works of the devil and destroy them. And that's the very same authority He gave us.

What if the conflict happening around you is revealing a deeper conflict happening within you?In “The War Within,” Pastor Chris Zauner continues Week 7 of our “Show Me Your Faith” series through the book of James, teaching from James 4:1–12 about the desires, passions, pride, and divided loyalties that can quietly wage war inside our hearts.James asks a confronting question: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” His answer points us beyond our circumstances and relationships and toward something deeper—the desires within us that have moved from simple wants to demands.In this message, Pastor Chris challenges us to stop merely managing the conflicts around us and begin allowing God to transform what is happening inside us.You'll discover why:• The wars around us often reveal the war within us• A desire becomes dangerous when it becomes a demand• Conflict can function like a dashboard warning light, revealing deeper heart issues• Prayer is not about getting God aligned with our desires, but aligning our desires with God• Friendship with the world competes with wholehearted surrender to Jesus• Pride fights for control, while humility trusts God• We cannot resist the devil while refusing to submit to God• Repentance is not self-hatred—it is coming home to the Father• True freedom begins when we surrender the throne of our lives to JesusJames gives a strong warning about pride, selfish ambition, worldly desires, and divided allegiance—but he also gives us incredible hope:“But He gives more grace.” — James 4:6No matter how much pride, insecurity, anger, selfishness, failure, or sin is uncovered in us, God's grace is greater.Jesus did not come simply to help us manage our behavior. He came to take the rightful throne of our hearts.Maybe the greatest victory God wants to give you isn't victory over another person, circumstance, or conflict. Maybe He wants to give you victory over the thing that has been ruling you.The war within ends when the rightful King gets the throne.As you watch, ask the Holy Spirit:“What in me needs to surrender?”Approval?Control?Comfort?Recognition?Success?A relationship?An offense?The need to be right?Whatever God reveals, remember the promise of James:“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” — James 4:8God gives more grace.

Whatever God is calling you to do in entrepreneurship, He does not want you to play it safe. Playing it safe means avoiding risk because you are afraid of losing something. But if your plan guarantees that you cannot lose, it also prevents you from winning. Following God's entrepreneurial calling requires you to go after it wholeheartedly, even when something is at risk. Faith does not eliminate risk. It gives you the courage to obey God despite the risk. You cannot fully pursue what God has called you to do while always choosing the safest path. __________ Luke 19:12-26 MSG __________ Partner with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/partner Connect with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com __________    

Today's Promise: 1 Thessalonians 5:24 What has God called you to do? Maybe He has placed a dream, a passion, or a specific purpose in your heart, but you wonder if you have what it takes to see it through. Today's promise reminds us that the God who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.   Throughout Scripture, we see God faithfully fulfilling what He promised. He kept His promise to Abraham, delivered Israel through Moses, and empowered the disciples to take the Gospel to the world. And He hasn't changed.   BillGod is faithful to complete the work He has begun in your life. He will give you the strength, wisdom, and endurance you need to fulfill His call. You have a part to play, but ultimately, God is the One who brings it to pass.   Whatever God has called you to do, you can trust Him. He is faithful, and He will do it.

Pastor Aaron Grijalva | Giants SeriesDrawing from the life of Noah, this message explores what it truly means to listen to God and respond with immediate, radical obedience. It unpacks the timeline of God's commands while exposing the three major obstacles—fear, misunderstanding, and pride—that often lead to delayed or partial obedience. Learn how stepping out in faith before having all the answers unlocks divine understanding and transforms not just your life, but the lives of those around you.

Often times we see other people who seem to have become successful and be blessed in many ways and we either get jealous or we come up with reasons why God won't do the same for us. God may hold back monetary blessing because we wouldn't be able to handle it, or He may be waiting to pour it out but we have to be willing to receive it. Whatever God has for us, we must be content and give Him glory.

Often times we see other people who seem to have become successful and be blessed in many ways and we either get jealous or we come up with reasons why God won't do the same for us. God may hold back monetary blessing because we wouldn't be able to handle it, or He may be waiting to pour it out but we have to be willing to receive it. Whatever God has for us, we must be content and give Him glory. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/640/29?v=20251111

Whatever God does is essential and right. And as he is declared to impute righteousness to the blessed, it must be essential and right; nor can a man be safe without it. Paul knew this right well, and therefore he "suffered the loss of all things, and counted them but dung, that he might win Christ, and be found in him, not having his own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith," Phi 3.8-9. Namely, it is Christ's righteousness imputed to us, which is wrought by God the Son, given by God the Father, revealed by God the Spirit, and received by faith as the soul's justifying dress.

We're all building something. Whether it's our faith, our health, our relationships, our careers — life is a constant building process. And in that process, obstacles are inevitable. Nehemiah knew this well. Facing broken walls, hostile enemies, and an intimidating king, he did something powerful before he did anything else:He prayed.For four months, Nehemiah prayed and planned before he ever took a single step toward rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. And when God finally opened the door, Nehemiah recognized it wasn't his own strength or strategy that made it possible — it was the gracious hand of God."The king granted my requests, for the gracious hand of my God was on me." — Nehemiah 2:8What walls are broken in our lives today? What rubble are we staring at, wondering if restoration is even possible?Here's the truth the gospel declares: Jesus is the greater Nehemiah. He didn't come to restore broken walls — He came to restore broken souls. And His resurrecting hands can bring dead things back to life again. Whatever God is calling us to build, we can trust that He will strengthen our hands to accomplish His plans.

If you're faithful with little, God can trust you with much. But growth requires more than wanting the next level—it requires obedience, courage, and consistent action. Sometimes God will ask you to do something beyond your current ability and beyond your current identity. That's where growth happens. You may not know how to do it. You may feel unqualified. You may want to procrastinate or run. But faith says, “I don't know how yet, but I'll figure it out.” The next level may require your current identity to die so God can develop something greater in you. Whatever God is asking you to do, don't hide from it. Be faithful. Be deliberate. Be consistent. Keep obeying. Your obedience may be the key that unlocks what comes next. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. To see more, be sure to subscribe to the podcast at

Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 21, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah 21 For Bible in Ten – By DH – 9th August 2026 Matthew 21, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah 21 1 The Greater Son of David and the End of Vanity Matthew 21 presents Jesus Christ as the rightful King, the rejected Son, and the only secure foundation for man. Ecclesiastes gives a remarkable companion to this chapter because it begins with another “son of David, king in Jerusalem.” That king searched through wisdom, pleasure, wealth, achievement, labour, and human experience, yet repeatedly concluded: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Matthew 21 presents the greater Son of David entering the same city. Solomon could describe the problem of life under the sun, but he could not remove it. He saw that wisdom could not defeat death, wealth could not endure, pleasure could not satisfy permanently, and human labour could not produce lasting gain. Jesus came not merely to describe the problem, but to solve it. Solomon observed the curse. Christ came to bear it. Solomon saw that all men die. Christ came to lay down His life and take it again. Solomon searched for lasting meaning. Christ is the One in whom lasting meaning is found. 2 What Profit Is There? Ecclesiastes repeatedly asks what lasting profit man receives from all his labour. Matthew 21 applies that question powerfully to religion. The temple was full of activity: sacrifices, money changing, worship, teaching, and ceremony. Yet when the One to whom the entire system pointed entered the temple, its leaders rejected Him. What profit is there in maintaining the shadow while rejecting the substance? The temple could demonstrate the need for cleansing, but it could not finally cleanse man from sin. The sacrifices pointed toward atonement, but they could not complete it. Jesus is the reality toward which they pointed. Religion without Christ becomes another form of vanity. 3 Empty Words Before God Ecclesiastes warns: “Draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools.” It also warns against careless words and vows before God. That connects directly with Jesus' parable of the two sons. One said he would obey, but did not. The other initially refused, but later repented and obeyed. The religious leaders possessed the language of obedience, yet they rejected Christ. Tax collectors and harlots had openly lived in disobedience, yet when they believed, they entered the kingdom before them. Profession without faith is empty. Words without obedience are vanity. The true question is whether a person receives the Son. 4 A Time to Plant and a Time to Uproot Ecclesiastes says: “A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted.” This provides a fitting background to the fig tree and vineyard of Matthew 21. God had planted Israel and entrusted them with covenant privilege. But stewardship was intended to produce fruit. The fig tree had leaves, but no fruit. The vinedressers wanted the vineyard, but rejected the owner's servants and finally his son. They treated stewardship as ownership. Matthew 21 therefore marks an appointed time of accountability. There had been a time to plant. Now there was a time for fruit to be examined. The leaders could not make their stewardship permanent simply because they wished to retain it. What God appoints, He also has authority to remove. 5 What God Does Endures One of the strongest connections with Ecclesiastes is this: “Whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.” This points beautifully toward the sufficiency of Christ. The religious system had accumulated ceremonies, traditions, authority, and outward forms, but salvation would not come through adding more. God's work in Christ would be complete. Jesus is the fulfilment of the law. He is the true Sacrifice. He is the rejected Stone who becomes the chief cornerstone. Nothing can be added to His work. Nothing can improve it. Nothing needs to complete it. Human works pass away. God's work in Christ endures forever. 6 Isaiah 21 — Human Glory Falls Isaiah 21 adds a solemn supporting witness: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” Babylon appeared powerful and secure, yet its strength, wealth, and idols could not prevent the judgment appointed by God. Ecclesiastes teaches that earthly greatness is temporary. Isaiah 21 demonstrates it. Matthew 21 applies the same warning to religious privilege. The leaders of Jerusalem trusted in their position, their temple, and their authority. But no system is secure when it rejects the Son. Isaiah 21 also asks: “Watchman, what of the night?” The answer comes: “The morning comes, and also the night.” The morning had come to Jerusalem because the King had arrived. But for those who rejected Him, night was also approaching. And finally, section 7 — The Pattern of the Number Twenty-One There is a beautiful pattern surrounding the number 21. W. Bullinger notes that twenty-one is three times seven, presenting the thought of Divine completion in relation to spiritual perfection. This gives an interesting framework to these three passages. Ecclesiastes is book 21. It demonstrates that man cannot attain lasting completeness through anything “under the sun.” Isaiah 21 shows that even the greatest human power cannot make itself permanent: Babylon falls at the appointed word of God. Then Matthew 21 presents the answer in a Person. What man cannot attain, and what human power cannot preserve, God provides in Christ. Ecclesiastes asks: What truly lasts? Isaiah 21 answers: not the glory of man. Matthew 21 answers: Jesus Christ. Thus the pattern of twenty-one does not glorify human perfection. It directs us instead to the perfection and permanence of what God has accomplished in His Son. Man searches. Man builds. Both come to an end. But God sends His Son. And in Him is the enduring answer. Life Application Ecclesiastes warns us not to seek permanence in temporary things. Isaiah 21 reminds us that even the greatest human powers eventually fall. Matthew 21 directs us instead to Christ. Religion, wisdom, wealth, achievement, and position cannot reconcile us to God. Jesus alone can. Therefore, our confidence must rest not in what man can build, achieve, or preserve, but in what God has accomplished through His Son. Christ alone is the secure and eternal foundation.   Prayer Lord God, thank You for showing us the emptiness of trusting in things that cannot endure. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ, the greater Son of David, the true King, and the everlasting cornerstone. Keep us from empty religion and misplaced confidence. May our faith rest entirely in Christ and in the work You have completed through Him. To You be all glory forever. Amen.

Recorded Sunday, 09 August, 2026, 10:00 am.Moses felt inadequate, doubtful and reluctant when God called him, but God continually reassured him, “I will be with you.” His story reminds us that God is not limited by our weakness, insecurity or lack of ability, because His power is made evident when we step out in faith and obedience. Whatever God is calling us to do, we can move forward with confidence knowing that His presence goes with us.

Our “YES” opens the door for Him to do what only He can. It's not about our ability, our resources, or our understanding. It's about our willingness to trust and obey Him. Whatever God is asking of you, trust that your obedience will be met with His power. Take the step and watch Him do the impossible.

We're excited to share that this week is our 35th Anniversary Walk With The King Summer Fund Drive! From Monday to Friday this week, we're inviting you to come alongside us in reaching our fundraising goal of $5,000. To help us get their, please visit walkwiththeking.org/donate. Thank you!To believe involves a commitment of each area of life to Christ. Whatever God is asking you to do, do it. Broadcast #7138To help support this podcast, please visit walkwiththeking.org/donate and select "Podcast" from the dropdown menuA transcript of this broadcast is available on our website here. To hear more from Bob Cook, you can find Walk With The King on Facebook or Instagram.

Maybe you’re living out a story that doesn’t look like you imagined. You had dreams, you had desires, you had plans … and your life seems to have fallen flat. You’ve been left wanting – left waiting – left wondering. When will things change for you? How much longer do you have to wait? What if what you want will never happen? Then what? Will you just be miserable? Or what if it does change? What if your waiting is over. What if the very thing you’ve always wanted is on it’s way to you now, it’s literally happening. Then what? Will you finally be happy? One thing I know for sure – we’re in a continual pursuit of what we think will make us happy, and that mark constantly moves. Most of us literally woke up surrounded by answers to the very prayers we once prayed. Yet we didn’t wake up feeling like we have it all. The mark moved. The distant land of happiness is still just out of your reach. But you tell yourself when you finally get there life will be so good. It’s almost like the end of the rainbow. It looks like it’s just right over there. Like you can walk right to it. But when you get there, the end of the rainbow has moved on you, so you never quite arrive. Within our Bible is the story of a woman who waited well. A woman who was brutally honest with God instead of faking her way through it. And a woman who finally got what she wanted and shows us precisely what to do then. That woman is Hannah. Her story is found in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. Hannah was married to a man with one of those really hard to pronounce names, so we will just call him E. E had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was the one E really loved, but Peninnah was the one who had given him children. Verse 5 says, “The Lord had closed her womb.” Why wasn’t she able to have children? It’s actually very clear. The Lord had closed her womb. Now of course to us that doesn’t seem fair. Why? That’s what Hannah was asking as well. And guess what? God didn’t fault her for asking. He doesn’t find fault in our asking either. You can ask God why. Why are you left waiting? Why has your life turned in a direction you would have never asked for? What do you have to do to get this to change for you? Here’s what I notice in these stories in our Bible – if our questioning is directed to God, it is always handled with care and powerful resolve. God always makes a way, or He reveals how His way is for a greater purpose. It’s never left unresolved. He answers. But the issue becomes when we’re turning to anyone or anything other than God for solutions to our problems. In your wait – in your struggle – in your trial – who are you bringing your questioning to? Where are you going when you are seeking? Those self-help books are not your answer. That relationship isn’t your answer. That promotion isn’t your answer. That number on the scale isn’t your answer. That next accomplishment isn’t your answer. Your answer is God. Hannah could have become bitter. She could have become resentful. She could have given up on God altogether. Instead, she ran to Him. At this time in history, once a year you could go up where the priest was and offer a sacrifice and worship the Lord. Yes, just once a year. Every year when Hannah would go to worship the Lord, there E’s other wife would be as well. And there, Peninnah, the wife with children, would poke at her. Verses 6-7, “Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” Every time Hannah went to worship God, she was only reminded of what she didn’t have. Reminded of what she wanted but still lacked. Reminded of her struggle, her short-coming, and her future that looked nothing like she had imagined. Year after year. Prayer after prayer. Disappointment after disappointment. But you know what she didn’t stop doing – she didn’t stop going to worship God. She didn’t sit in her hurt, wallow in her disappointment, and give up on God. She kept going to worship. Even when this awful woman would be there. Even when she was reminded of what she didn’t have. SHE KEPT GOING TO GOD. Girl, whatever you’re waiting on, you keep going to God. Don’t let anyone discourage you. Don’t let anyone or anything get in your way of going to God. Now, this part of the story shows us our most important move. Verse 10, “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.” She didn’t hold it in. She didn’t pretend like she was okay. She let it all out. She was desperate before the Lord. Jamie Macdonald has a song called Desperate. Girl, cry out those words to God if you’re waiting for him. Don’t hold it in. Don’t pretend like you’re okay when you’re not. I’m at the end of myself and I’m Tired, I’ve tried all that I know to do Right now it’s just by a thread but I’m I’m hanging on to you I’m running out of hope I need a miracle And if I ever needed you, it’s right now Oh God, I’m desperate Down on my knees Send help from heaven ‘Cause that’s what I need Redeem this wreckage Restore my peace I’m not asking, I’m begging Lord, come through for me I need heaven and I’m Desperate Get desperate before God. Hannah was so desperate before God, praying, begging, crying, the priest thought she was drunk. No, Hannah wasn’t drunk, she was desperate. Girl, let yourself be desperate for God. Stop trying to hold it all together. Stop pretending you’re okay. Stop with the facade. Get real before the Lord. If you’re not fine, stop saying you are. Somewhere along the way we’ve gotten the idea that faith means pretending we’re fine. Hannah would disagree. Faith isn’t pretending you’re okay. Faith is bringing your honest heart before a faithful God. God can handle your questions. He can handle your tears. He can handle your disappointment. He’s not intimidated by any of it. And perhaps this is what you need to hear today—you don’t have to fake contentment while you’re waiting. God isn’t asking you to pretend you don’t care. He’s asking you to bring what you care about to Him. Notice what happened after Hannah prayed. She didn’t immediately become pregnant. Her circumstances hadn’t changed. God hadn’t yet answered her prayer. But here’s what she did after she cried out to the Lord – verse 18, “She went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” Something shifted in Hannah. She no longer carried this burden. She had left this in the hands of God. Let me tell you something—whatever you’re waiting on, whatever you’re hoping for, whatever you’re desperate for—it is perfectly held in the hands of God. PUT IT THERE. And when you do, your circumstances may not change immediately, but you can feel different. You can feel lighter. You can live better. At that point, nothing had changed, but Hannah had. She walked into God’s presence carrying her burden, and she walked out having left it there. I wonder if that’s what God is inviting some of us to do today—not to stop wanting what we want, but to stop carrying what He has invited us to surrender. You don’t have to know what God is going to do next. You simply have to know where to go while you’re waiting. Go to Him. So how does the story end? Well, it’s easy to say the story ends with God giving Hannah what she had begged Him for. Verse 20 says, “So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him.'” The end of the rainbow? No. This isn’t the end. Let me tell you what Hannah did after she got what she had waited for so long. Let me tell you what she did when the Lord answered and her story changed. Verse 27, Hannah goes to worship the Lord and she once again prays, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I GIVE HIM TO THE LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” In chapter 2, her prayer continues, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. I delight in your deliverance.” Who is Hannah worshiping? The Lord. And here’s where we often mess up—God gives us what we asked for, our prayers are answered, we’re living in His blessing, and that thing becomes our god. Our focus shifts to what God gave us instead of the God who gave it to us. Whatever God does for you, make sure you give it back to Him. Don’t let your blessing take the place of the Blessor. And maybe that’s been God’s invitation all along. When you don’t have it—trust Him. When you’re waiting—trust Him. When He says no—trust Him. When He says not yet—trust Him. And when He says yes—trust Him still. Hannah teaches us that contentment isn’t found in finally getting what you’ve always wanted. If it were, she would have ended her story in chapter 1 holding Samuel in her arms. Instead, she begins chapter 2 with her hands lifted in worship. Her greatest joy wasn’t that she had a son. Her greatest joy was that she had her God. Perhaps that’s the secret of contentment. It’s not found in getting the life you imagined. It’s found in knowing the God who is writing your story. Whether you’re in chapter 1 weeping bitterly or chapter 2 singing joyfully, He is still worthy. He is still good. And He is still enough. So bring Him your waiting. Bring Him your questions. Bring Him your disappointments. Bring Him your answered prayers. Put it all in His hands and leave it there. Because the greatest gift God will ever give you isn’t what comes from His hand—it’s His hand itself. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Wednesday Evening- Pastor Larson- Joshua 1:1-9

Paul said "I can do all things through Christ." Whatever God has for you His grace and abilities are enough. He will never lead you to do what His provisions and abilities are not able to bring you though it. I have often said, "If God has brought you to it He will bring you through it,"

This week, we close out this series turning to Rebekah. God asked Rebekah a simple question - "Will you go?" and that same question is extended to us all today. Whatever God is placing in front of you, the God who invites you is also the God who goes with you.

God is not only able but also willing, eager, and ready to save, heal, deliver, and perform miracles. There is no reluctance or hesitation on the side of God to perform and give you whatever miracles you desire. Whatever God has promised in His Word, He is willing and eager to perform and fulfill it in your life. This inspiring teaching will prepare your mind to receive the miracles you desire from God.

Watch the Devotion Based on Numbers 27:15-23 Relieved of Duty, Not Relieved of Grace “Because of your insubordination I am relieving you of command.”   Those are words that no one wants to hear, and yet these are the very words the Lord spoke to his servant leader Moses. Moses had led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness for 40 years and was about to lead the people into the Promised Land. But God stopped him short. The reason? “You disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes” (Numbers 27:14).   God led Moses to the top of a mountain so he could see the Promised Land and then he died and God buried him.    I'm certain you know someone who has been relieved of duty, lost command, demoted, received a reduction in rank because of a violation of policy, poor performance, or loss of confidence in their ability to lead. Maybe that's you. And like Moses, there are reminders of that failure always before you. How does that make you feel? Worthless? Full of regret? Full of guilt? You are not alone.       Before Moses died, the LORD commanded him to lay his hands on his successor and commission him to lead. And he led well. His name? Joshua. In the Hebrew Yeshua. In the Greek language Jesus: a name that means – the one who saves. Yes, God provided another leader to shepherd his people – a picture of what the perfect Good Shepherd would one day do for Moses. God's imperfect servant leader could cling to the promise of the perfect servant leader and know his sins were forgiven. Moses could die in peace knowing his God had made all things right.       Whatever it is you failed to do in your job, whatever consequences you suffered for it, believe this: Jesus was and is the perfect leader, and the perfect subordinate, the perfect servant of all, the perfect shepherd for all, and that includes you and me.   As shepherd he looks at people like you and me, and doesn't shake his head, groan and say, “Not again!” Instead, he looks on you and me with compassion. His heart goes out to us, because he sees people, sinners, sheep who need a shepherd, and he comes to you and to me and offers his holy, perfect, selfless, sacrificial life and says, “Here, this is yours. You are righteous in my sight.”   Whatever God has called you to do right now, go and do it. Go with confidence. Believe that your sin is covered by Jesus. Go with confidence knowing that Jesus goes before you as a shepherd leads his sheep.   Prayer: This weekend as the US Army celebrates its 251st birthday we pause to thank you for this branch of our armed forces that has stood ready to protect our nation and its people and defend its values. Raise up more men and women willing to serve with loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Through the sacrifice of our US Army may we continue to enjoy and practice the freedoms of this great country. In your name, Lord Jesus, I pray it. Amen.        Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Note: Scripture reading footnotes are clickable only in the web version.

Just before Jesus went to the cross, He made a prediction that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, not one stone left upon another. In 70 A.D., the Romans destroyed the temple, fulfilling Jesus' prophecy to the T. Today, Pastor Richard wants you to know that the Word of God NEVER fails. Whatever God says in His Word will come to pass. God loves you, and you can trust that as He said, when you believe in Christ, you will be saved.

Whatever God has called you to do, he has given you an abundance of time to accomplish it. We serve a God of abundance, which includes time abundance. Let's endeavor to remove the mindset of time scarcity and see time the way God sees it — abundantly and more than enough to complete our calling.     __________ Genesis 1:3–5 KJV, Genesis 1:14–16 KJV, Genesis 1:26 KJV, 2 Peter 3:8 KJV, Joshua 10:12–14 KJV, Joel 2:25 KJV, Joshua 14:10–11 NLT, Psalm 103:5 KJV, 2 Kings 20:1–6 KJV __________ Partner with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/partner Connect with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com Leave a Comment: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/comments __________    

Hers is the greatest motherhood story of all time. You know who she is.Magnificent Mary!Her story has been told many times, but how grateful we are that it's recorded in Scripture. Whatever God's reasons for choosing this particular woman to give birth to Jesus, we know that she must have loved the Lord with all her heart.And just think how her head and heart must have been spinning when the angel visited her and told her the special job God was going to give her!Luke 1:46–48 says, “And Mary said: “‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.'”We know little about her beyond that, although we are given some fascinating details: she socialized with her Son, as we see at the wedding in Cana.And of course, she was with Him at His death. No mother should have to endure that, but Mary was very strong. Her toughness and love ring like a bell through time. We remember her way of finding patience and faith.Maybe the most amazing thing about her is that God trusted Mary with an initial secret that would have floored most people!She handled it, though. The mother of our Lord was ready when her time came.Let's pray.Lord, the mother of Jesus shows us an eternal love. It is also a mystery of sorts for us, but we know that this amazing mother is experiencing supernatural joy, forever! In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15. 

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 21st of April, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to Jeremiah 1:5 (Amplified Version): “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Yes, we are talking about a calling. Then we go straight to the Book of Acts 13:2: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.” Being set apart for a particular work by the Holy Spirit. I want to make something very clear this morning, my dear friend. A calling is not a good idea, a calling comes from God Himself. It is an important work. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the meaning of the word “commission”. It is an instruction. It is not something you have decided you will do because things are not working out for you in your employment or in the country you are staying in, or maybe even in your marriage. No, you have to work through things. A calling is specifically from God for a purpose, and by the way, it doesn't always go easy, so don't think “I will just go and serve the Lord and that will be much easier than doing the job as a representative in some company or working in some construction work or mining. Whatever God has put you to, don't try and run away from it. A calling comes from God. Now, I want to tell you a beautiful little story that I heard from my producer just the other day. He and his wife and family went up to Lesotho to do an outreach, and while they were sitting there quietly, a young man told this story. He said he was working in South Africa, and one day he turned on the TV and there was Angus Buchan talking about serving the Lord. He was not serving the Lord at the time. He said it was the first time he saw a preacher crying on the television. I was probably quite overwhelmed - that happens quite often, especially these days - and told the story about how God had changed his life and called him, and he got on his knees in front of the television and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. He then left his secular work, went back to Lesotho and started ministering to the shepherds. And of course, my producer and his family were sitting there and they were absolutely shocked because he was telling them clearly, how he was called for a particular work by the Holy Spirit, and now he was a fully fledged pastor and ministering to other people.Today, make sure the calling comes from God. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.

Have you ever found yourself refreshing a weather app every thirty seconds, not really because you need the forecast, but because it's the one small thing that feels like it's within your control? That impulse — the frantic grasping for something, anything, to manage when life feels like it's spinning — is one most of us know all too well. We pile up commitments, carry the needs of everyone around us, hold ourselves to impossible standards, and then wonder why we are running on empty. Here is the truth that changes everything: we were never meant to be sufficient on our own. 2 Corinthians 3:5 doesn't whisper it — it declares it plainly. Our sufficiency is from God. Not partly from God after we've done our best. Not from God as a backup plan when we've exhausted ourselves. From God, entirely and always. The control we grasp for so desperately was never ours to hold, which means we are free to release it. Free to stop spinning our wheels and striving and wearing ourselves down to nothing. Free to rest — really rest — in the strength of a Savior who holds every detail of every day in His perfectly sufficient hands. Whatever is looming around you right now, whatever feels like it's all up to you, it isn't. And that is not a reason for despair. It is the most relieving news in the world. Today's Bible Verse "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." — 2 Corinthians 3:5 Ponder Today The impulse to control is often a sign that we have forgotten where our strength actually comes from — and returning to that truth is the first step toward real rest. We were never designed to be self-sufficient — our limitations are not a personal failure, they are an invitation to lean into the God who is more than enough. Striving and stressing wear us down to nothing, but when we acknowledge that God is our source of strength, we are released from the exhausting burden of holding it all together ourselves. Whatever God wants will ultimately prevail — which means our frantic attempts to control outcomes are not only exhausting, they are unnecessary. Today's Prayer: Father God, You are my all-sufficient Savior, and You care perfectly for every detail of every one of my days. I confess my tendency to grasp for control, to run ahead in my own strength rather than resting in Yours. My capacity is limited, and my striving wears me down. Help me remember that You are the One who holds all power, that You are the source of my strength, and that You will supply exactly what I need — always. Help me resist control and rest in Your sufficiency. I praise You for the power that fills every gap and the peace that fills my soul. In Jesus' name, Amen. Enjoy Today's Prayer? If this episode encouraged you, we'd love to stay connected! Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and faith-filled content delivered straight to your inbox. Don't miss an episode — subscribe and share with someone who needs encouragement today. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Legacy Audio Archive

Legacy Audio Archive

This is tge 35th Anniversary of Beneath The Grief Ministries. Counseling Services came on later as tge ministry began to grow. I recall the day the day was birthed by a special person. I also recalled the day I stepped into that Christian office. The counselor gave me a card. recall getting a call from the Director offering to supervise me upon receipt of a masters. I recall saying in the car about my desires upon growing up. These areas Inam grateful and others as well. These testimonies need be talked about giving God the glory. Whatever God has for you, he will make it all possible. You may not even know it. Testify and be GRATEFUL ! Let's talk about it.

Today, Pastor Jack teaches that we are all called out of spiritual darkness and into the light of Christ. Whatever God speaks to us in the light, we must not forget when the dark time comes.

"I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him." Ecclesiastes 3:14  

Faith often requires moving before you feel ready. Whatever God is calling you to begin or release, take the step — He is with you, steadying every move.

“I will never leave thee.” — Hebrews 13:5 No promise is of private interpretation. Whatever God has said to any one saint, He has said to all. When He opens a well for one, it is that all may drink. When He openeth a granary-door to give out food, there may be some one starving […]

Send a textEcclesiastes 3:1-15Pastor Ben Killerlain

This month, Molly and Cynthia explore trust and the Holy Spirit with Father Anthony Messeh, author of Whatever, God.

 Pastor Dawn and the Elders of Liberty ministered by the Holy Spirit with Pastor Randy Rye and the team from Canada. The Liberty worship team ministered to the Lord and released faith into the atmosphere, as we made music in our hearts the whole time. We experienced the fire and freedom of the Holy Spirit touching many people's lives and bringing the transformation that only God can give. There were layers of Holy Spirit fire, as many people were prayed for even several times, falling down under the fire and glory of God. Whatever God says, just do it!  Holy Spirit was saying to us, “Just BE in My Presence and let Me do it in you and through you.” We experienced the glory of God today and we are longing for MORE!

January 12-18Today are we going back to the beginning, to cosmic explosions and brilliant flashes of light and creation that is primordial, at the very core of our existence. We have four accounts of it, in Genesis, Moses, Abraham, and in the temple. Those who attend the temple have their minds drawn back to creation continually, and we might wonder as Latter-day Saints why we are shown the creation so often. We'll talk about why it matters so much today.

Moving beyond the world of "oughts" and "shoulds," we discover the transformative power of saying "I will" to God. The determination to fulfill our sacred pledges stands at the heart of authentic faith, creating a testimony that impacts not just our lives, but those around us.The Psalmist declares, "I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people" (Psalm 116:17-18), showing us that our commitments aren't meant to be private matters, but powerful witnesses. Throughout Scripture, we find God's people making bold declarations—"I will give thanks," "I will sing," "I will fear no evil," "I will walk in your truth." These aren't casual statements but expressions of holy determination that shape their stories.What's your pledge to God? Perhaps it's "I will trust you in this difficult season" or "I will teach my kids your word" or "I will praise you in the valleys." Whatever God impresses on your heart becomes not just a personal commitment but a living testimony. When we fall short—as we all do—God doesn't demand perfection but invites us back to devotion, allowing His grace to sustain our "I will" statements.This devotion-driven discipleship forms the foundation of a life transformed by Scripture. We seek God in His Word, finding those verses that speak deeply to our hearts, and then we speak those truths to others. Our personal pledges become the bridge between our devotional life and our discipleship influence.As we conclude this series on finding life verses that shape our story, remember to look for the promises, prayers, purposes, praises, and pledges in Scripture that God can use to transform your journey. Don't settle for good intentions—rise up with strength and say "I will" to the Lord, allowing His Word to shape your story every day for the rest of your life.______________________The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media. Family Disciple Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, and all donations are tax deductible. More information, blogs, statement of faith and contact info can be found at familydiscipleme.org

“The people who were standing nearby said, ‘See how much he loved him!’” (John 11:36 NLT) Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were siblings and friends of Jesus. When Lazarus got deathly ill, Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus: “Lord, your dear friend is very sick” (John 11:3 NLT). Theirs is a story of hope, although that’s not immediately apparent in the biblical narrative. In our last devotion, we saw that the first takeaway from the story is that life involves pain, sorrow, and death. The second takeaway is spelled out by Lazarus’ mourners in verse 36: “See how much he loved him!” (NLT). The Lord loves us. God describes His love in Jeremiah 31:3: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (NLT). Whatever God does or allows to happen in our lives is motivated by His everlasting love for us. Mary and Martha knew that Jesus loved them—and that He loved Lazarus. That’s why they sent for Him. They reacted perfectly when crisis hit. They took their troubles to Jesus. Look at the basis for their appeal. They didn’t say, “Lord, You owe us. We fed You. You and Your friends crashed at our house.” They didn’t base their appeal on their love for Him; they based it on His love for them: “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” Our love is fickle; it fluctuates. The Lord’s love for us never changes. John 11:5–­6 reveals Jesus’ response to Mary and Martha’s message. “So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days” (NLT). When Jesus finally arrived, things were bleak. Lazarus was no longer sick; he was dead—and had been for four days. His body was decomposing. Not only did Jesus not heal His friend, but He also missed the funeral. If that seems like a less-than-loving response, it’s because we can’t grasp the depth of the Lord’s love. Jesus wanted Mary and Martha to see the bigger picture. He wanted them to understand that because they trusted in Him, death was no longer their enemy. He wanted them to embrace the hope of resurrection. Neither Martha nor Mary could see the big picture at first, so they focused on the smaller picture—on what seemed like Jesus’ callous disregard. Both sisters confronted Jesus with the words, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (verses 21, 32 NLT). Again, they took their problems to Jesus. And that’s what you need to do when suffering and trials come your way. Some people say, “Don’t ever ask God why.” I say ask God “why” as much as you want. Just don’t always expect an answer. Be honest with Him when you pray. Say, “God, I’m not happy right now. I don’t understand this. I’m hurting. This doesn’t make sense. Why did You let this happen?” Jesus Himself said from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46 NLT). In the end, though, we live on promises, not explanations. Along with asking “why,” we should ask “what”—as in, what am I supposed to do? The answer is, turn to the Lord with your pain and grief because He loves you. Reflection question: When do you need to be reminded of God’s love for you? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" 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.

In today's episode, Pastors Katie shares from our Sunday morning service (10/5/25) about being obedient to The Lord in what He has called YOU to do! We all have our own ideas and plans for how things should go, but do we consider God's plans and what He wants us to do? The Bible says that His thoughts are HIGHER and His ways are GREATER. When you desire God's plan for your life and are choosing to seek Him in all things, you WILL find Him! NEW EPISODES every Monday & Friday @ Noon.https://www.facebook.com/TheRiverOfTriCities/https://www.youtube.com/@TheRiverofTriCitiesChurchhttps://www.instagram.com/rivertcchurch/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/thelastdayspodcast/?hl=en

In today's episode, Pastors Todd comes to us from Helsinki, Finland at The River Church Finland! (10/5/25) Sharing on what it means to be obedient to The Lord and how the plan that God has for you will bring you into the perfect will and position for God to use you purposely!God has given you skills, talents, and dreams to bring forth the life and destiny that He has for you. When you commit your ways to The Lord, He will prosper you in ways that only He can do! NEW EPISODES every Monday & Friday @ Noon.https://www.facebook.com/TheRiverOfTriCities/https://www.youtube.com/@TheRiverofTriCitiesChurchhttps://www.instagram.com/rivertcchurch/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/thelastdayspodcast/?hl=en

This week on the podcast, we meet Justin Knoop—a husband, father of four, and the heart behind the Blessing Boys. What began as a small lawn care business grew into a mission to serve others, inspire his sons, and transform lives one yard at a time. Later in the episode, we’ll hear from Tricia Goyer—an author, speaker, podcaster, and homeschooling mom whose journey has taken her from teen pregnancy to building a family of ten through adoption and foster care. Along the way, Tricia discovered that it’s not about doing more, but about noticing what matters most. Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Gary Sinise Upcoming interview: Monique Rodriguez Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith on UPTV Justin Knoop Blessing Boys Tricia Goyer Psalm 22:6 Psalm 40:2 www.triciagoyer.com Faith That Sticks: 5 Real-Life Ways to Disciple Your Preteen Interview Quotes: “There was a search in my heart for purpose, for fulfillment. I spent a lot of my teenage years and even into my twenties just searching to fill that void. I think eventually it led me to where I am today, but it took me a long time to figure out what that purpose was that I was searching for.” - Justin Knoop “My sons were getting into this phase of life where I needed to start thinking about what it meant to begin to set an example for them. So what I did was I set aside Fridays—one day a week—for me and my sons to actually go out and serve the community.” - Justin Knoop “I think we can get caught up in our own lives and what’s going on in our family and our home and forget that there’s a world out there that needs us. What we teach our kids is that your purpose in life—outside of being in relationship with God—is to bring value to others.” - Justin Knoop “Yes, we have different hobbies and things that we do, but we want to pour the majority of our time into things that impact people around us. We’re not just about cutting grass and overgrown yards. We’re really after changing lives and impacting people.” - Justin Knoop “I realized through God, through prayer, through sitting before Him crying because I was so overwhelmed, that He already created [my children] as unique human beings with a purpose and I didn’t need to pour everything into them. I just needed to follow the purpose that God had given them.” - Tricia Goyer “I think it really takes almost becoming students of our kids and seeing what God already put in them—the calling that He has on their lives—and really focusing on who God created each individual to be. And then going before God, sitting quietly before Him, praying for our kids, and asking Him to open the door that we can help them walk through.” - Tricia Goyer “If we are listening—if we’re sitting around, driving, taking a walk around the block—if we’re there and listening to [our children], that’s when the big things come out, that’s when the questions happen.” - Tricia Goyer “If we’re waiting for our kids to be adults before we have meaningful conversations with them, it is too late. We need to build that, and pre-teens is the perfect little window where they still think it’s really cool to go get a smoothie and talk, and we can use that time to pour into our kids.” - Tricia Goyer “So many times we wonder how things are going to work out. Whatever God has called us to, we’re trying to see the end, and all we see is obstacle, obstacle, obstacle. I think that’s just a reminder that if God calls us to something, He is faithful and He’s going to be there.” - Tricia Goyer ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7 Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY ________________________ Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Friends, The impact that Charlie Kirk has had on many lives in his short 31 is years is nothing short of astonishing. He lived boldly for Jesus, walked in his calling, and stayed the course.  Let his death not be in vain, but may we all be inspired and step into our God given calling, living Boldy for Jesus.  We are not promised tomorrow, let's not put off for tomorrow what we can do today. We don't know the number of our days, Let's make them count.  What is God calling you to do? Each of our paths will look different but it's for certain that God has a specific purpose for our life. Whatever God has put on your heart, don't delay any longer. The world needs you. Don't let fear of man, fear of the unknow or perfectionism stop or delay you any longer. God equips the called, He will give you everything you need.  If you need prayer, send me a message or email. I would be honored to pray with you.    Ephesians 4:11-16 ✝️   New International Version 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Connect With ME:

Deep down, all of us want to please God. To do that, we often give of ourselves: our time, our efforts, or our money. We can give all we have and more, but if what we give is not what God wants, what have we accomplished? Is it possible to give too much? When we try to impress God or outdo our neighbors, we may have given too much. The Old Testament is particular about sacrifices. It defines certain animals, in an exact condition, for each type of offering. The law also had allowances for those who could not afford a bull or a ram, to use a dove or a pigeon in place of the more expensive animal. God provided a way for each person to offer and accept an acceptable sacrifice for their sins. Sometimes we try to bargain with God by giving something else in place of the sacrifice He asks of us. It is not about the quantity. It is about the quality. God has no need for our wealth; He is asking a sacrifice from us to demonstrate our reliance on Him. God knows what we can bring. He is not asking us to outdo our neighbor; He is asking us to outdo ourselves. Whatever God is asking of us is what we should give. We should not question what He wants, or how He wants it. God is not trying to trick us. All we have to do is be pleasing to the Lord. Are we pleasing God when we do what he didn't ask us to do? What about the opposite situation? What if we won't give God what He asks? We offer too little when we only offer some. To obey is better than sacrifice. When we only obey part of what God asks, we have rejected all of God. God has shown what He wants from us. If we give more, it is not pleasing to Him, and if we give less, it is a sin. We must find a balance between giving too much and withholding what is required.

Deep down, all of us want to please God. To do that, we often give of ourselves: our time, our efforts, or our money. We can give all we have and more, but if what we give is not what God wants, what have we accomplished? Is it possible to give too much? When we try to impress God or outdo our neighbors, we may have given too much. The Old Testament is particular about sacrifices. It defines certain animals, in an exact condition, for each type of offering. The law also had allowances for those who could not afford a bull or a ram, to use a dove or a pigeon in place of the more expensive animal. God provided a way for each person to offer and accept an acceptable sacrifice for their sins. Sometimes we try to bargain with God by giving something else in place of the sacrifice He asks of us. It is not about the quantity. It is about the quality. God has no need for our wealth; He is asking a sacrifice from us to demonstrate our reliance on Him. God knows what we can bring. He is not asking us to outdo our neighbor; He is asking us to outdo ourselves. Whatever God is asking of us is what we should give. We should not question what He wants, or how He wants it. God is not trying to trick us. All we have to do is be pleasing to the Lord. Are we pleasing God when we do what he didn't ask us to do? What about the opposite situation? What if we won't give God what He asks? We offer too little when we only offer some. To obey is better than sacrifice. When we only obey part of what God asks, we have rejected all of God. God has shown what He wants from us. If we give more, it is not pleasing to Him, and if we give less, it is a sin. We must find a balance between giving too much and withholding what is required.

Deep down, all of us want to please God. To do that, we often give of ourselves: our time, our efforts, or our money. We can give all we have and more, but if what we give is not what God wants, what have we accomplished? Is it possible to give too much? When we try to impress God or outdo our neighbors, we may have given too much. The Old Testament is particular about sacrifices. It defines certain animals, in an exact condition, for each type of offering. The law also had allowances for those who could not afford a bull or a ram, to use a dove or a pigeon in place of the more expensive animal. God provided a way for each person to offer and accept an acceptable sacrifice for their sins. Sometimes we try to bargain with God by giving something else in place of the sacrifice He asks of us. It is not about the quantity. It is about the quality. God has no need for our wealth; He is asking a sacrifice from us to demonstrate our reliance on Him. God knows what we can bring. He is not asking us to outdo our neighbor; He is asking us to outdo ourselves. Whatever God is asking of us is what we should give. We should not question what He wants, or how He wants it. God is not trying to trick us. All we have to do is be pleasing to the Lord. Are we pleasing God when we do what he didn't ask us to do? What about the opposite situation? What if we won't give God what He asks? We offer too little when we only offer some. To obey is better than sacrifice. When we only obey part of what God asks, we have rejected all of God. God has shown what He wants from us. If we give more, it is not pleasing to Him, and if we give less, it is a sin. We must find a balance between giving too much and withholding what is required.

Deep down, all of us want to please God. To do that, we often give of ourselves: our time, our efforts, or our money. We can give all we have and more, but if what we give is not what God wants, what have we accomplished? Is it possible to give too much? When we try to impress God or outdo our neighbors, we may have given too much. The Old Testament is particular about sacrifices. It defines certain animals, in an exact condition, for each type of offering. The law also had allowances for those who could not afford a bull or a ram, to use a dove or a pigeon in place of the more expensive animal. God provided a way for each person to offer and accept an acceptable sacrifice for their sins. Sometimes we try to bargain with God by giving something else in place of the sacrifice He asks of us. It is not about the quantity. It is about the quality. God has no need for our wealth; He is asking a sacrifice from us to demonstrate our reliance on Him. God knows what we can bring. He is not asking us to outdo our neighbor; He is asking us to outdo ourselves. Whatever God is asking of us is what we should give. We should not question what He wants, or how He wants it. God is not trying to trick us. All we have to do is be pleasing to the Lord. Are we pleasing God when we do what he didn't ask us to do? What about the opposite situation? What if we won't give God what He asks? We offer too little when we only offer some. To obey is better than sacrifice. When we only obey part of what God asks, we have rejected all of God. God has shown what He wants from us. If we give more, it is not pleasing to Him, and if we give less, it is a sin. We must find a balance between giving too much and withholding what is required.

Guest Bio: Jena Holliday is the author of Sacred Creativity and a full-time artist, author, entrepreneur, and storyteller. She is the creator and owner of Spoonful of Faith, an illustration and design studio. With just a bit of faith, she walked away from her mainstream marketing job to embrace her passion for art. What started as a hobby eventually evolved into a full-time commitment to spread kindness and hope through her artwork and words. That commitment blossomed into a blog and shop, aptly named Spoonful of Faith, and has thus become not only a successful business but a cultural beacon. Jena has been featured on Good Morning America, Ebony, Essence, People, Nylon, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Artful Living, and many more prominent outlets.     Show Summary: What gifts do you think God has blessed you with? Do you see creativity in your gifts? Oftentimes we neglect to notice the diverse ways that God has blessed each of us with creativity. It does not always have to be writing, drawing, painting, or doing a craft. Jena Holliday has found that being creative can grant us a different type of connection with the Lord. Join hosts Elisa Morgan and Eryn Eddy Adkins as they learn about sacred creativity with Jena during this God Hears Her conversation.    Notes and Quotes:   “Why are you asking everyone else where to go, who to be, and what do except the One who created you?” —Jena Holliday  “God didn't make a mistake when He made us who we are. It wasn't by chance; it wasn't a coincidence. It was on purpose. That really helped me to step into the fullness of the voice that the Lord had given me.” —Jena Holliday  “What I have learned is that there is a hunger to see the different ways that the image of God is reflected on the earth. It's cool to be in this position as an artist and illustrator because I have the unique role of creating something in a visual way that doesn't require words. It was always important to me that I showcase different women and different images and illustrations of people because I wanted them to feel seen. I wanted people to know that they were loved, heard, and that their stories matter.” —Jena Holliday  “You should use [your gift] as a way to honor the Gift Giver, the One who has given it to you. We all have a corner of this earth where we get to use our gifts. Whatever God does to multiply it, that's Him—that's not on us. That's not our responsibility.” —Jena Holliday  “If you have something that God has given you and it's still neatly wrapped in a box, I think that's an invitation to open it up, spend a little time with it, and see what He does with it.” —Jena Holliday  “Everyone should take the risk to use the gifts that God has given them.” —Jena Holliday  “The way that Jesus loves us is so deep is that He will come after you. He will come find you again and guide you back to where He would like you to be and you get to keep walking forward together.” —Jena Holliday      Related Episodes:  Ep 141: Rethinking Creativity with Rachel Marie Kang: https://godhearsher.org/podcast/rethinking-creativity/  Ep 163: Mindful Creativity with Anh Lin: https://godhearsher.org/podcast/mindful-creativity/    Links:   Jena's book Sacred Creativity: https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Creativity-Inspiration-Reclaim-God-Given/dp/0593581474  Jena Holliday's Website: https://www.spoonfuloffaith.com/  Jena's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspoonfuloffaith/  God Hears Her website: https://go.odb.org/ghh191   Watch the episode on the God Hears Her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GodHearsHerODBM  God Hears Her email sign-up: https://go.odb.org/ghh-sign-upsfmc191   Subscribe on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/god-hears-her-podcast/id1511046507?utm_source=applemusic&utm_medium=godhearsher&utm_campaign=podcast  Shop God Hears Her books and resources: https://go.odb.org/ghh-shop191   Elisa's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisamorganauthor/  Eryn's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eryneddy/  Vivian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivmabuni/  Our Daily Bread Ministries website: https://go.odb.org/odbm191