Podcasts about your will

Send us a textGood morning! Thank you for taking a few minutes to listen. If you are interested in the Daily Bible Devotional, you can find it at the links below:Amazon - (paperback, hardcover, and Kindle)Spiritbuilding.com - (premium quality paperback)Youtube Video Introducing the ContentFeel free to reach out with any questions: emersonk78@me.comJohn 3 Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, comes to Jesus by night to proclaim his belief. Jesus states that a man must be born again of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus struggles to understand this concept. Jesus continues by announcing Himself to be the Son of God and stating that He is sent by God as the saving Light of the world and that He will “be lifted up” on the cross so that all who believe might be saved. John the Baptist spreads this message, baptizing those who come to him with open, repentant hearts. He states openly that Jesus is greater than him, the Son of God from heaven, and that all who believe in Jesus and obey Him will be saved for all eternity.    Salvation is only possible through Jesus Christ. He has come from heaven to show us the way. He was lifted up in death to become the payment for sin. Jesus is the Light of God, the hope of restoration in this world of darkness. We must believe in Him to be saved. This means “practicing the truth” and a willingness to “obey the Son.” We must be born again in water to be renewed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was baptizing people, as was John the Baptist. But baptism is only the beginning. Nicodemus struggled to understand and to change his life to follow Jesus. We must humbly decrease and let Christ increase and rule our lives.  Generous God, thank You for the Light from heaven that shines in the darkness. We believe that Your Son is our hope and Savior and that He sacrificed His own life to save us from our sins. Father, we may not always understand all that He teaches, but we pray to have hearts that always believe and humbly obey all that we know He is teaching us to do. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit received at baptism. We will commit to obeying Your Son, the One who speaks Your Will and continually gives the Spirit without measure.  Thought Questions: -       Nicodemus struggled to understand Jesus' teaching on being born again. What do you do when Christ's teachings challenge you? -       How did God prove His love for the world? What should your daily and ongoing response be to this demonstration of love?  -       John the Baptist understands that he must decrease, and Jesus must increase. What does that process look like in your life?

Return of the Man-Child (5)  (audio)  David Eells – 4/2/25  We've been exploring what it means that everything that happened in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts is going to happen again, except it will be on a worldwide scale, and the cast of characters will be multiplied. So we've been looking at the characters to see what they will do in their corporate bodies in our day. We need prayer.   Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask You to be with us this day, to open our understanding, to lead us, to guide us, to give words of wisdom and knowledge that will reveal Your Will to us. Thank You so much, Father. You are our guide, our wisdom, and we thank You so much for leading us in this Bible study. Amen  Let's back up to where we left off. We saw that Herod, as a type of the Beast, was attempting to destroy the Man-child and actually did murder many “man-children” in Bethlehem (which means “the house of food”). We also saw that, as a type and shadow, the Lord told us, A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted because they are not (Mat.2:18). When we were looking at the text in Jeremiah 31:15-20, the words “they are not” did not mean physical death. It meant spiritual death because Rachel's children had been taken into Babylonish captivity. They were in bondage to the Beast, and they were not serving God but serving the Beast. The Beast was their head and ruler; it was ruling over them. (Rom.8:13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. So spiritual death is definitely what is being pointed out here in this text. There was no physical death involved in the original text of Jeremiah. It's very interesting that, in all of our lives, the Beast has to die. If it does not die, we are not free to follow the Lord.  The very next two verses give us more clues. (Mat.2:19) But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, (20) Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child's life. Notice again the word “they,” meaning more than one person. That may point to the fact that Herod represents in our day a corporate body, but we know from this that Jesus was ready to come out of His wilderness and start His ministry when Herod, the Beast who ruled, was dead. I believe that's a type and shadow for us in our day.   It goes on to say, And he arose and took the young child (Note that He is still being called a “young child,” the same as He was called when the wise men came.) and his mother, and came into the land of Israel (Mat.2:21). He had to come out of His wilderness to do that. He came from Egypt, a type of the world, through the Sinai Peninsula and the wilderness there, and into the land of Israel. And Jesus was coming out of His wilderness from Chapter 4:1 on down, where He came from His personal wilderness to His ministry. This may be the exact same type. We noticed that Moses, David, and Jesus all had a perfect parallel.   (Mat.2:22) But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned [of God] in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee, (23) and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that he should be called a Nazarene. This is rather interesting. We've seen many revelations about a baby being born in a type of the Man-child, yet the baby was born very mature and alert and grew up very quickly. We've seen quite a few of those and I think we see in this text that this is true. It refers to a “young child” in verse 21, and it's still talking about that young child for the next two verses.  But immediately following this, it says, And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea (Mat.3:1). That's intriguing; what happened to all those years in between? John the Baptist was only six months older than Jesus, so in Matthew 3:1, Jesus had to be almost 30 years old. You could not start your public ministry to the congregation until you were 30. That was the law. The text jumps from Jesus as a young child all the way to “in those days” with John the Baptist starting his ministry at age 30, and it makes you think, “Well, that Man-child must have grown-up very quickly.” Do you suppose this was a type and shadow of what is going to happen in our day? That the Man-child will be birthed and then immediately be caught up to the throne? In Revelation 12:5, the baby was born and then he was caught up to the throne of God; then he was leading the woman through the wilderness, which appears pretty fast. Clearly, God is shortening the time span that it takes because we don't have a lot of time for Jesus in the Man-child to grow up.  At any rate, John the Baptist's ministry was very short, starting when he was 30 years old. Six months later, Jesus was anointed to preach the Isaiah 61 anointing message, and He was 30 years old, so Matthew 3 is actually between when John the Baptist began his ministry and when Jesus began His. (Mat.3:1) And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, (2) Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That was proven by the great signs and wonders that God did in the midst of them, to show them that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. In other words, the Kingdom where God rules and where He reigns over the curse, over the devil, and over the flesh was at hand. It's obvious where the Kingdom of God rules because He does signs and wonders.  John the Baptist had a relatively simple ministry, which was the preaching of repentance. It did not seem that he ever went into much deep doctrine. He preached, “turning from your sins,” yet he had a very anointed ministry and he was, according to Jesus, the greatest of the Old Testament teachers “born of women” (Matthew 11:7). Jesus also said he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Mat.11:11), meaning John the Baptist was the greatest of the old order ministers before the former rain came. Jesus came with the former rain, and that brought the Kingdom. So John was the greatest born of women up until that time.  I believe that we have just such a corporate body of preachers coming right now, who will probably be considered the greatest from among the former rain, before the latter rain comes, because now the former rain is the old order and we're coming to the latter rain. Some of you are seeing this program down the road, and all this is history, but at the point we are now, this revival is starting with the John the Baptist ministry and is yet to happen. We're on the very brink of it, and it is going to be a corporate body of people around the world who are coming to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. (Mat.3:3) For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. Obviously, without repentance, you cannot do that. If you want the Lord to live in you, it will not happen without repentance. John the Baptist was preparing hearts to receive the Lord Jesus and to receive the Man-child in our day. History is repeating.  (Mat.3:4) Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan. This sounds like a great revival, doesn't it? I did learn that “all” was not all because the Lord said that the Pharisees and the Sadducees rejected for themselves the counsel of John, being not baptized of him (Luk.7:30). So “all” here means all of the elect, not all of the people. The Jews understood that very well because they believed in election. They believed that they were the elect people, the “chosen” (which is the same word, eklektos), people of God, and that God did not choose anyone outside of them.  Well, it's still the same today. (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. God does call “many” unto Him, but not all are called, and of those whom He calls, He still chooses only those who bear fruit. The first thing people need is repentance, and I believe that we will see this preaching of repentance through some very anointed men of God, men who have the former rain anointing. And it's going to start a great revival, as in this passage where you see people coming out of their “churches” and going into the wilderness to meet John. (Mat.3:6) And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. That's a good sign of repentance, when people confess their sins. Every great revival starts out that way, and a great anointing falls on people to be grieved over their sinfulness and to repent and confess their sins.  (Mat.3:7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? John was very hard on their preachers, wasn't he? That got him in a lot of trouble – and Jesus, as well. No doubt that the same exact thing is going to happen in our day because the leadership of the churches has been leading them astray for a long, long time. (Mat.3:8) Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: (9) and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Notice that it says we are to bring forth fruits. It hasn't been very long since I was confronted by a preacher who told me that he had repented of various abominable things that he was doing. He said that he had gone to God and asked God to forgive him, and he was forgiven. I said, “Well, that's fine, but that's not repentance because repentance is changing, and you're still in the middle of a crime spree.” So you have to change your mind because that's what “repentance” means; it means “to turn and go the other way.” That preacher didn't know what repentance was because he was not doing it. That's what John is saying here: “Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.” There has to be fruit of repentance.  There has to be fruit showing in your actions that you are changing your mind, and John demanded that, even of these religious leaders. Obviously, some of them put on a show for the people. (Mat.3:10) And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees … Amen! That was true in John's ministry, and it will be true in ministries today, that the axe is at the root of the trees. By Matthew 13, Jesus was saying that those religious leaders were reprobated, saying, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given (Mat.13:11); and that He had blinded their eyes (Matthew 13:13). (Mat.3:10) And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  (Mat.3:11) I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and [in] fire. And Jesus did just that; He brought the baptism of the Holy Spirit and was the first one of the former rain to receive, according to type, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In fact, He received it in the verses immediately following these that we're studying. (Mat.3:12) Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor (The fan was used to blow away the chaff, which was useless, and to leave the heavier grain, which is the fruit that God was after.); and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. The chaff represents the old man, the carnal man, the fiery trials that we go through to burn up the old man and leave nothing but the spiritual man. Notice that John preached to “make His paths straight” and here Jesus is cleansing the people.  There is a text that speaks of this differently. (Mal.3:1) Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple (That represented Jesus, but it also represents the Manchild because this is a repetition of history. The word “temple” here means His body. (Heb.10:5) A body didst thou prepare for me.); and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. (Mal.3:2) But who can abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire (That is the fire to burn up the chaff.), and like fullers' soap: (3) and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi. Remember, the sons of Levi were the only ones who did not bow to the golden calf, the image of the Beast. They were the true ministers of the sanctuary.  He also said that He had called us to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6), so really all of God's true people are priests because we have an offering of fire to bring forth and we present our bodies as a living sacrifice on that altar of the fiery trial. That is the crucified life. That is what Jesus called taking up your cross and following Him, for you to be His disciple (Matthew 16:24). (Mal.3:3) And he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto the Lord offerings in righteousness. (4) Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. For our day, He's talking about New Testament spiritual Judah and Israel and the New Jerusalem.   (Mal.3:5) And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner [from his right,] and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. God is going to judge quickly those hanging around His people who are walking in their sinfulness. He will be very protective of His holy Church in these days with Ananias and Sapphira-like judgments on people trying to sneak in, acting as though they are Christians while they are not. So far, it's been difficult to keep that from happening, but the Lord says that He will put an end to it. Praise God! He is going to have a holy Church.  (Mat.3:13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. Obviously, we need to be baptized, or put to death, by the washing of the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26), a crucifixion of the old man, which is what it's all about. It behooves us to do this. Jesus went through this before He came to His anointing, which is very important. (Mat.3:16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; (17) and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Jesus was baptized in the Spirit here; He was anointed in order to start His ministry.   And we're also told this in (Luk.1:31) Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (33) and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. So Jesus came to be anointed to take David's throne. That's what this anointing was about; it was the king's anointing. All the kings received this anointing when they took their position. Right after Jesus was filled with the Spirit and before going into His wilderness, it says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor (Luk.4:18). Jesus was 30 years old when this happened. This anointing of the Spirit started His public ministry and goes right along with history.  Joseph was 30 years old, according to Genesis 41:46, when he stood before Pharaoh and received the kingdom, and David was 30 years old when he began his ministry, which is very interesting. All these types of the Man-child were 30 years old. (2Sa.5:3) So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. (4) David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. Forty is the number of tribulation. (5) In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. Jesus came to sit on David's throne. Jesus was anointed King of kings and He reigned over the true tribes of Israel. The apostate tribes did not recognize Him, but the true tribes did. Those who were born of God recognized Him immediately. He merely walked by His disciples and said, “Come, follow Me,” and they dropped their nets, left their business, left everything, and walked after Him. Now that's a strong calling! They just followed Him.  Well, what was the first thing that David did after he was anointed? (2Sa.5:6) And the king and his men went to Jerusalem … It wasn't called Jerusalem then. (1Ch.11:4) And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. It wasn't called Jerusalem until they conquered it. (2Sa.5:6) And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites (which means “to trample down” or “trodden under foot”), the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither. Jerusalem had to be conquered before it could be called Jerusalem, before it could be Zion. It was in the hands of the pagans, in the hands of the old man, the Jebusite. We know from Revelation that Jerusalem is the Bride, but she did not start out as the Bride; she started out as a pagan, as an unbeliever, and was converted and became the Bride. Jerusalem, before David conquered it, was Jebus.  David's job was to take Jerusalem, to show his men how to conquer and take Jerusalem. With the coming of the Man-child ministry, which is also a Davidic ministry, the first thing that's going to happen is that they'll be conquering Jebus. They're going to raise up Jerusalem again – not old Jerusalem; they're going to raise up New Jerusalem. Paul spoke about it in Hebrews 12, but then there was a great falling away, and this place represented holiness, the place of safety, the Bride. It represented the only place the Beast could not conquer, and it represented the Philadelphia church because it was the only one that escaped the hour of trial from the Beast kingdom. Here, we see that the Jebusites were telling David, “You'd better get rid of the blind and the lame, or you can't come here.” In other words, nobody who is blind and lame can take Zion. It represents the Bride, who is not blind and lame. She is spotless and blemishless because she has overcome some things, especially being lame, which represents being crippled or not being able to walk right with the Lord. And she has overcome being blind, which represents not being able to see, understand, or discern the truths of God.  So they said, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither (2Sa.5:6). You know, some people do not think it's possible and, in fact, there are a lot of preachers right now who are saying that it's not possible for you to be an overcomer. They say that you just have to settle for being “a sinner saved by grace.” The old man does not think that it's possible for you to conquer him and have this place become Zion, the holy city. (2Sa.5:7) Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. (8) And David said on that day, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [smite] the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul … The lame and the blind represent the apostates. Of course, the Jebusite represents the old man, and David and his men represent the spiritual man who must conquer Zion. We've been called to do that, and David is telling them that the way to do it is to “get up to the watercourse and smite the lame and the blind.” Put to death the old apostasy in your life. Two rivers fed Jerusalem, and David's men used those rivers to get into Jerusalem.  The place of the watercourses was where the water drained out of Jerusalem, akin to the sewer system. Instead of scaling the walls, they could go up the sewer. They probably smelled pretty bad by the time they got in there to take their sword and go to work, but that's what he was saying. Though most of this was probably river water, they still had to go against the current that was coming out of Jebus, so they were “going against the flow,” so to speak. And that's the way it is with us. Everything we do is contrary to the world: what they think is the right way, we think is the wrong way; what they think is up, we think is down. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us. At any rate, David was teaching them that the way to conquer the city and the lame and the blind was through the water. (2Sa.5:8) … Wherefore they say, There are the blind and the lame; he cannot come into the house.  (2Sa.5:9) And David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. He is talking about the ramparts of Jerusalem, so David built Jerusalem. He was the one who started building the “New Jerusalem” at that point. Jesus was doing the same thing. What Paul described with, ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb.12:22) … and to the spirits of just men made perfect (23), was what Jesus was building. I've shared with you a revelation the Lord gave me many years ago, where He showed me the tower in the midst of what was depicted as the New Jerusalem and He was giving it to me, revealing to me that my ministry was to build this tower. I found that Micah 4:8 spoke of Jerusalem as “the tower of the flock,” and it was the kind of tower that they actually built in those days in the midst of those cities to preserve them from invading beast armies. Jerusalem was just that; it was a place of safety where, if beasts invaded, whether from Babylon or Assyria, the people could flee into the broad walls and be protected.  David was building the tower of the flock here. (2Sa.5:10) And David waxed greater and greater; for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. I have found this language referring to only two people in the Scriptures, where it says, “waxed greater and greater.” It spoke of David, and it spoke of Mordecai, whose name means “little man” or “man-child.” Mordecai was the same type as David; both of them were the Man-child. Mordecai's job was to raise up the Bride, Esther, and save the people of God from the Beast, Haman. Basically, this is the same thing that David did. He raised up the Bride, Jerusalem, and defended the people from one of the Beasts, the Philistines. David's first job was to conquer the Jebusites and take their city away.  In thinking about this, I'd like to share with you a revelation we received concerning the same thing. This is Pamela Orr's revelation, and she received it in January 2010. My notes are in parentheses.  In a dream, I was in a house that is safe and secure. I have no desire or plans to leave this house. (Pamela is a part of our broader UBM Fellowship safe-house, but also, I believe that this is referring to Zion, and she had no plans to leave.) To my amazement, though, there are people leaving. … I'm given to know that there are many who do not return. (This is necessary because the sons of perdition and the Jezebels and the rest of the tares who have come in amongst God's people cannot be a part of this Zion, as I will show you shortly. The only people who entered Zion were the ones who conquered the lame and the blind, and it became Zion, the holy city, because they were the only people there. The Jebusites were driven out. The carnal Jebusites are leaving Jebus so that it may become Zion. They're being conquered. Zion is the Bride. Praise the Lord!   I remember her brother Mark Fritz, who is a part of our fellowship, asked the Lord when he first met us about the church he was currently attending. God answered that it was Pergamum, which was the third church of Revelation that was caught up in the Nicolaitan error. So Mark asked the Lord about UBM, and the Lord said, “The sixth church.” So he counted and found out that the sixth church was the Philadelphia church, which is the Bride, the one that escapes the hour of trial under the dominion of the Beast, and the name means “the love of the brethren.”)  There are locks on this house, a whole row of them, probably seven or more, but I didn't count them. (This is a very secure place, like Zion, which was called “the stronghold of Zion.” We're all supposed to be climbing Mount Zion to enter into the presence of the King. The throne is on Mount Zion; the Temple is on Mount Zion; His presence is there.) These locks are high up in the wall. We can't touch them or tamper with them; they are a fixture of the house. (The key to enter is high up with God. It is not with man.) Some, if not all, of these locks are specific to profiles. For example, there is the ‘age 18-and-over' lock. I'm given to know that when a certain lock turns over, then no one fitting this profile will ever again be allowed to enter the house. (I thought about that and felt that the Lord was saying that God gives more grace to the immature and innocent. He does not impute iniquity to them, but the further they go in their walk, the more they are held accountable. (Luk.12:48) to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required, so when people become accountable and they do not walk in their accountability, then they will be out of there. They will not have a position in that house.)  As I watch these locks turn, as if of their own accord, I realize that when the final lock has been turned, no one else will be allowed to enter. (That's the way it is with spiritual Zion, folks. Many years ago, I saw in a vision our ministry starting in Pensacola as a Zion, the Tower of the Flock, the Bride. I know that this is going on around the world with people who are desiring earnestly to be obedient to the Scriptures, live the crucified life before their Lord, and walk in the grace of God. (Mic.4:8) And thou, O tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come … When David took Jebus and it became the stronghold of Zion, the City of David, that was their stronghold. That was where the dominion started, right there. It said the former dominion was going to return to Zion, the Tower of the Flock, the Kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Note that the former dominion is not going to return to Jerusalem, but it's going to return to the daughter of Jerusalem or, in other words, to New Jerusalem. God is once again, in our day, going to raise up a David who will raise up Zion once more as the stronghold, the Bride.)  (In this New Jerusalem Zion, the wicked were not allowed, as Scripture says. (Isa.52:1) Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion (So it is coming to its former dominion.); put on thy beautiful garments (These garments are righteousness, purity and holiness.), O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. A New Jerusalem is started that does not allow any of the wicked. You can only do that with a spiritual city. In any physical city, you're going to have all kinds of people there, some of them good, some of them bad. But in this spiritual city, there will not be anybody unclean. That's what these locks are all about; they're to find out who is walking in purity and to keep out the rest. As I said, with knowledge comes responsibility, so the further you go, the more that's expected of you. When David first became king as a type of the Man-child, he taught his overcomers how to take the stronghold of Jebus from the Jebusites, representing the old man. Then Jebus became Zion, the City of David, a type of the Bride following the Man-child at the beginning of the Tribulation.)  (Father is cleaning house and will keep the evil ones out of His safe-house. Praise the Lord! As John said, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom (Joh.3:29). Soon, many, by their own evil nature, will not want to associate with the righteous for fear of alienating their Beast associations. God is separating here, and He is going to make His heavenly Zion a place where only the righteous will want to go. They will have had to conquer the lame and the blind to get there. They will have had to overcome. David's mighty men were sent by David to take Zion, and they took it. Jesus did the same thing with the disciples He raised up, who were His mighty men. Praise God!)  Speaking of entering this safe-house, people are entering. (The righteous are entering because they are the only ones who can come into this safe-house, the New Jerusalem.) Others are trying to enter, but the “bad guys” don't seem to make it past the door. (Praise the Lord! That is awesome. This is just like Ananias and Sapphira; they tried to enter, but God took them out.) And each bad guy gets done-in by the next bad guy. The bad guys get progressively worse, too. (2 Timothy 3 speaks about how bad the Church is going to get in our day. Verses 1 through 6 are pretty rough, and then it says, But evil men and impostors (KJV: “seducers”) shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2Ti.3:13). This is true in the Church today because that's what he was referring to. He wasn't talking about the world.) The second-to-last bad guy is sort of a handicapped or perverted or dwarflike individual with short little legs like tree trunks. (Here is a perverted dwarf. I see one thing here, spiritually speaking: those who do not measure up to the stature of the fruit of Christ are not going to be permitted in Zion.)  This is where it gets awful. The final bad guy (the Beast) begins to compress, squeeze, or fold this dwarf-like individual until he murders him. (Spiritually speaking, those who have not yet experienced the crucified life will have help from the Beast to go to their cross and to manifest death-to-self. Those who do not measure up will need crucifixion in the world. How do we grow up into Christ? Jesus said, He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it (Mat.10:39). You do not gain your life unless you lose your life, so growing up is a matter of the crucified life. If we do not accept it, we cannot grow up. If we do not accept it, we cannot put away the blindness and the lameness and cannot expect to go into Zion. Remember, we are told, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean (Isa.52:1).) The evil nature of this final bad guy was beyond description. (That is the Beast.) I can only say that I could almost feel this individual's sick joy and satisfaction in pressing the life out of the other poor sucker. (She is talking about the apostate Christians, I believe. Many of the apostate Christians are going to be saved because of the crucifixion that the Lord puts them in. His fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and … the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire (Mat.3:12), but He will have something in the midst of that which will be holy and precious.)   (Not everyone will be sanctified. Some people just get worse in tribulation. One thing that helps people to be able to come to Zion in the midst of tribulation is to know what God is doing. He is doing something for them. He is putting to death their old flesh, which cannot enter the Kingdom. By the Word of God, you learn how to cooperate with God, and then you see that this is a victory, not a failure. If the Church receives a lot of this prosperity doctrine and they do not believe that they are ever going to go through anything, any trouble, any tribulation, then these things come upon them as a shock, and they think that God has forsaken them. They are tempted to fall, and many do. So there has to be knowledge for the people to understand that God is doing a good thing with them and that they need to go through this, that they're privileged to go through this, and that they can have eternal life in the Kingdom. That's what the Man-child is coming to do; that's what Jesus came to do. Spiritually speaking, that's what David was doing. He was teaching men how to overcome the blind and the lame, teaching them how to take Jebus.) Even though I was horrified and sickened at the depravity, I was still safe in the (UBM) house. (Praise the Lord! Because God has a safe-house. He really does! I know that many people think that this is heresy, but that's not true. God has His safe-house.)  This same story is in 1 Chronicles. (1Ch.11:4) And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. (5) And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. (6) And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief. (7) And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David. (8) And he built the city round about, from Millo even round about; and Joab repaired the rest of the city. (9) And David waxed greater and greater; for the Lord of hosts was with him.  Yes, and what was the next thing David did? He brought the Ark of the Covenant. (1Ch.13:3) And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we sought not unto it in the days of Saul. The Israelites had been following after the flesh of Saul. That's why they got destroyed, and that's why Saul died. But David said, “No, we have to follow the Ark of the Covenant.” (1Ch.15:1) And [David] made him houses in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. The word for “tent” is the same word for “tabernacle.” (2) Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites … Absolutely! Who else can carry the presence of God but the priests of God who have offered their bodies as living sacrifices? They are the ones who are holy; they are the ones who are the temple of God.  If you read further, it says, And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it (1Ch.16:1). We know that God said He was going to raise up again this tabernacle. (Act.15:14) Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. (15) And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, (16) After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: (17) That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called. So now we're talking about raising up a tabernacle of David, which represents the portable temple, for the wilderness, but also the portable temple of the Church. Once again, we see that there is a David coming for the Church, and that's the Lord Jesus Himself, Who is the Son of David, Who was sitting upon His throne.  But the Bible also says, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel (Jer.33:17). There is a body in whom the Lord Jesus comes. The Son of Man came in the son of David 2000 years ago, and the Son of Man is coming in a spiritual Son of David today, a corporate Body called the Man-child ministry. Jesus is going to minister to His people, to raise up, once again, the Bride, the New Jerusalem. “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom,” as John said when he pointed at Jesus. He will raise up the Bride, the New Jerusalem, which is protected from the Assyrian Beast. When the Beast tried to conquer Jerusalem, God killed 185,000 of them and they left it alone (2 Kings 19:35). Folks, I tell you, the same thing is going to happen again. God is going to protect His Bride.  For instance, in the Book of Esther, there was the Bride, and there were also the people who were threatened by the Beast. Haman, the Beast, had been given authority to destroy the people of God (Esther 2:10-11), but Mordecai and Esther had been given authority to save the people of God (Esther 8:8). There were two contrary commands given, but they have their purpose and that is to make us decide whom we are going to serve, the Lord or the Beast.  Rachel's children fell into captivity of the Beast, and they were counted as dead, like the parable in Matthew 2:18, of the children of Bethlehem. It physically happened, but it was also a parable of things to come. In our day, many people are going to follow the Beast. They will take the mark of the Beast, which is a sign of his ownership, and these people will die. They will not bear the fruit of the Man-child, as Jesus did. Once again, we see that God is just going to repeat history, and Matthew 2 is going to be fulfilled, as well as Matthew 3. All the types of the Man-child are running in perfect parallel. Joseph was 30 years old, Jesus was 30 years old and David was 30 years old when they started their ministries, and they basically had the same job to do. It was shown in a slightly different parable each time, but it was the same job to be done.  Now the Man-child ministry is spiritually going to be 30 and it's going to start by building the New Jerusalem. Praise be to God! First, however, the Jebusites have to lose their grip and be conquered. And we need to know how to conquer this old man so that we can scale the heights of the City of God, the mountain of His holiness, and enter into His Presence. That is what the Word will do, and that is what the new anointed leadership is going to do for us. They are to teach us how to cooperate with God's work in our lives and be happy about it. Let's face it: if you don't know what God is doing, you're not happy about it. As soon as you get revelation, you can enjoy going through tribulation because you know that the Lord is getting you ready for His Kingdom, the manifestation of eternal life. Praise God!  Father, we thank You, in Jesus' name. Please open our eyes and make us joyful in cooperating with You in this process of sanctification, in becoming that holy, spotless, and blemishless Bride that You always wanted. Thank You, Father, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Is The Way - Humility To Glory (5)  (audio)  David Eells – 3/30/25  I'm going to continue with our study on Jesus is the Way – Humility to Glory and talk with you today about who and what is blessed of God and what it truly means to be blessed.   Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask that You open our understanding. Help us, Lord, to retain the things that You say to us. We need the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrance everything, Lord, to protect us, to guide us, and to give us wisdom in the days to come. We hold fast to that promise because we need so much, Lord, that Your Spirit will bring these things to our remembrance again. Thank You, Lord, for blessing our minds. We know that our minds were created to be much more useful than they have been under the curse. We also know that according to Galatians 3:13, Jesus bore the curse for us and, therefore, Lord, we know that You're working to restore our minds today. We thank You for that, Lord. Father, we want to understand what Jesus did for us. We want to be able to exercise faith in Your Will. And in order to know Your Will, we need to have knowledge, Lord, so we ask You to open our knowledge and give us understanding, in Jesus' Name. Thank You, Father! Praise You, God!   Now some people may be wondering, “David, what does that word ‘blessed' actually mean? What is it to be ‘blessed?'” So let's go first to Deuteronomy 28 because the first 14 verses speak of that, and we can translate these into what they mean for us in our day.   (Deu.28:1) And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God (“Hearken” there is the Hebrew shama meaning “to hear and obey.” Not just be hearers of the Word but be doers of the Word {James 1:22}.), to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day (We know that the Lord has given us commandments in our Covenant, too. We need to be diligent to study them and obey them, and we know that by faith, God's Grace gives us power to do just that.), that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. This not talking about our physical nation where we live; this is talking about our spiritual nation. We are the nation of Israel. We who have been born again and believe in the sacrifice of Christ, according to Romans 11, have been grafted into the olive tree called “all Israel.” So we are Israel, not physical Israel, but spiritual Israel.     (Deu.28:2) And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (3) Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. (5) Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. That was very important to them in those days, and this could translate into a few different things for us today, but basically, this was their livelihood and their food.    (Deu.28:6) Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (So whether you're coming or whether you're going, meaning just about everywhere you are, you're going to be blessed.) (7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee… Now, we know that our enemies are both natural and spiritual, and Paul tells us this in (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. The Lord has promised us victory if we will “hearken” diligently unto His Voice, meaning if we will keep His commandments.     (Deu.28:7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. In the midst of the trial, “hearken” unto the Word. Accept the good report, and the devil won't know what to do with you, and neither will your physical enemies (Numbers 13:30). Our physical enemies come against us as persecutions and a matter of crucifixion, so the best thing to do is lay down your life. Stop trying to save yourself by man's methods. Put your trust in the Lord and “hearken diligently” unto His Word.    (Deu.28:8) The Lord will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (9) The Lord will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. (10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. Wow! That certainly doesn't sound anything like Psalm 2, where we are told all the nations are going to come against God and against His people. Let's look at that.     (Psa.2:1) Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed, [saying,] (3) Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. And it's a far cry from what Jesus said in (Mat.24:9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. Instead, the Lord says the nations will fear you if you hearken unto His Voice.     (Deu.28:11) And the Lord will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. (12) The Lord will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. That's certainly contrary to what a majority of people believe about the Will of the Lord nowadays: “thou shalt not borrow.” The Lord says you'll lend, but you won't borrow, and that's part of the blessing, saints. If you hearken unto His Voice and believe what He says, He will provide your needs.     (Deu.28:13) And the Lord will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them,] (14) and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. “Other gods” there is the word elohim, and many, many people today choose to follow another “Jesus” of their own making.  Paul complained about that even back in his day, didn't he? (2Co.11:3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. (4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, [or] if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with [him]. And if we follow after something other than the commands of God, He's not making any promises about blessing here. The blessing comes from our finding the Will of God in the Word and then walking in it through faith.    So who is it that receives the blessing of God? Let me remind you of the text we were studying last time in Matthew 5. (Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying … (4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Evidently, the people who are obedient “to the Lord thy God,” who do His Will, and seek to be submissive to His commandments, are a people that mourn. Now how could that be? In what way is mourning righteous and just? The thought that comes to my mind is that the first thing we need to mourn about is our own life. As David said, “I will not be satisfied until I awake in thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). The first thing we have to mourn about is not manifesting the Life of Christ.   James also speaks about this. (Jas.4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Grace is all we need to walk with the Lord. We've learned that grace is His favor in our life; His favor makes us able. He's putting in us the desires that we need and giving us the power that we need. Grace is all we need, and God says He gives it to the humble.     (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. In whatever ways the Lord reveals to us that we're walking contrary to His commandments, that we're not hearkening unto His Voice, that we're not representing Jesus Christ to the world as true Christians, we have something to mourn about. And it should be grievous to us to not walk in His Steps because that's what it is to “abide in Christ” (1 John 2:27- 28; 2 John 1:9; etc.). It should be grievous to us to be anything contrary to the Will of God.    Of course, repentance always precedes faith. Faith alone won't overcome our own lack of repentance, and repentance is what mourning is all about. However, after we mourn what the Lord shows us about ourselves, we need to be careful not to spend too much time in condemnation. We confess our sin to the Lord, He forgives us, and then He cleanses us from it. (1 John 1:9) We need to go from there to faith. We need to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God (Romans 6:11). So you repent and you mourn because of what the Lord shows you in your life, but He doesn't reveal everything all at once, or He would overwhelm us with grief. Thank God, it's “line upon line; here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). Otherwise, we probably would never come to faith because we would be overcome with condemnation. So He's very merciful. He leads us through our promised land to conquer one enemy at a time.     This reminds me of a vision my wife received in which she and her sister were standing underneath an apple tree, and worms were hanging out of the apples, just eating away at them. So my sister-in-law got a can of pesticide spray and started broadcasting it over the whole tree, but my wife said, “No, that won't work.” She took the can from her sister and told her, “This is how you do it.” She sprayed each one of those worms in the mouth, and as she did that, she realized that they were all little serpents, not worms. And, of course, that's what we have to do. We attack these things one at a time as the Lord shows them to us, and the first thing we have to change is our mouth as we're told in (Rom.10:10) for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We have to put that wickedness to death. We have to use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).    And what does God promise us if we humble ourselves in His sight, if we cleanse our hands and are afflicted and mourn concerning this problem, and turn our laughter into mourning? He says that He will exalt you. Humbling ourselves is the first step. Yes, we can be grieved over other people's sins, and there's a place for that, but first, we need to get the board out of our own eye, so we can see clearly to get the mote out of our brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41-42). Certainly, we can cry out to the Lord to give us the grace to humble ourselves, because working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure is something that comes from Him, too (Philippians 2:13). It's not a case of picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. We're not deceiving God by mourning over something that we don't feel. He knows if our repentance is sincere or not. The Lord wants to give us a conviction of sin. He wants to put that mourning in our hearts concerning sin. He wants us to hate sin as He hates sin (Psalms 1:5,5:5-6; Romans 1:29- 32; etc.)     Needless to say, there is a place of mourning because of the persecutions and the tribulations that come upon us through the wicked people around us. Jesus told us in (Luk.6:21) Blessed [are] ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are] ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. (22) Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company,] and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. We don't see that as a blessing, but it's listed here as one of God's blessings because when we're hated of the world, that means we're loved of God. If we weep because of what we're giving up in the natural, because of persecutions that we're suffering and enduring for Christ's sake, persecutions that we endure because of the crucified life, this is good.  The Lord is going to bless us for this.   Going on, He says (Luk.6:23) Rejoice in that day, and leap [for joy]: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luk.6:24) But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (25) Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe [unto you,] ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. It's better to weep and mourn now, while the world is rejoicing, while the world's been given the high hand, so to speak.     We're heading into a time when, other than the judgments that are falling upon them, the world is going to think they have everything going their way. They will be given authority over the saints to bring them to their crosses. You and I are going to be hated; we're going to be ostracized. They will cast out our names as evil, and God says we can certainly mourn over that, but He also says to rejoice because your names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12,15; etc.) and your reward is great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Hallelujah!    (Luk.6:26) Woe [unto you,] when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. There is a time coming of much weeping and mourning, but He also commanded us in the midst of that to rejoice and leap for joy because, when the world hates you, that means God loves you. You're on His side, and you're on your way to His Kingdom. When we're loved of the world, and we love the world, then we're departing from God.     Let's look at another good example of what God considers to be righteous mourning. (2Pe.2:6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly (God's judgment is coming upon the wicked, but, at the same time, He will save those who are His.); (7) and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked… If we're not grieved by and mourning over the wicked life of the people around us, it's because we don't have the conviction of God in our hearts. The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem. (Luk.19:41) And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, (42) saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. He was grieved at the hardness of heart in the people to not receive His Words from the Father.     It's right for us to be grieved because of the people around us who won't listen, won't submit to God, and who won't be convicted of sin, just as Lot was “sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked.” “Lasciviousness” is their license to “unbridled sensuality and excess.” Basically, it's their license to do what they want to do, and even among Christians, this is common. Their doctrines that promote lasciviousness and permit a person to live any way they want to live while still thinking that they are a disciple of Christ and are going to heaven are common. This is a strong delusion among major portions of Christianity, and it's just not the Truth. It's a deception that comes to people who are living after their own lusts and being bribed by self-will to please their flesh. Lot was sore distressed seeing this in the people around him, and we should be grieved today over people who call themselves “Christians” yet who walk in this way with the Lord.    (2Pe.2:7) And delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (8) (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): (9) the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment… That is so true! People wonder why they're living under a curse, and it's because they have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4).     They're living the way they want to live, and they're paying the penalty for their unrighteousness because the blessings come upon the people that “hearken to,” that “hear and obey,” the “voice of the Lord thy God.” The blessings come upon the people who are diligent to keep His commandments. This should be highly motivating for us to get into the Word to find out what the Will of God is and come out from under the curse. Yet, sadly, multitudes of people have insulated themselves with lascivious doctrines that permit them to live the way they want.    We know that Jesus wasn't talking about what we loosely call “Christians”; He was talking about “disciples,” which means “learners and followers.” We need to lead people into discipleship, but if they desire to live in the lusts of their flesh, they will believe and promote these flesh-pleasing doctrines. And I tell you, the “Lots” in this world will be grieved. They will mourn. They will be distressed over these kinds of things. The text says that it “vexed [his] righteous soul,” but the Greek basanizó translated as “vexed” is actually “tormented, tortured.” It tormented Lot's soul to see the “lascivious life of the wicked.”     The lasciviousness being spoken about here is not referring to the wicked because we know that's how the wicked live. It's talking about those who are promoting the lifestyle among Christians, and the rest of the text agrees with that. (2Pe.2:9) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; (10) but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion… The Numeric Bible states the word here for “dominion” is “lordship.” These people “that walk after the flesh” despise anybody ruling over their lives. They just want to do what they want to do, which is why they despise dominion, whether it be the dominion of those whom God has sent to be leaders or the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They would rather make up their own mind about what the Scripture says and their own “Jesus” that smiles upon their lifestyle.    (2Pe.2:10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: (11) whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. These self-righteous people, here, are the ones that are going to persecute the saints. They're self-righteous in their religion, and they rail at people who are dignities. The Greek word dóksa, translated there as “dignities,” actually means “glories; majesties; brightness.”     And who are the glories being spoken of here? (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. As we manifest Christ to a greater and greater degree, we grow from glory to glory: from star glory to moon glory, to sun glory. Paul pointed out the three different bodies that are given to the people who manifest the different glories (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). We grow into these glories, and the closer you get to Christ and manifest His life, the more that religious people will rail at you and come against you. But remember this: the fact that some people hate you is a good sign, and the Lord says to “leap for joy.”     (2Pe.2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, (13) suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you… Some people are actually trying to deceive us. They're “pretend Christians.” They live in the world because they love the world, but they like to “talk the talk” when they're among Christians. They're sons of perdition hidden in the midst (John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) whom the Lord is going to reveal for what they truly are.     And they love the hire of wrong-doing because they've been bribed by their flesh, which they love to please. (2Pe.2:13) Suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; (14) having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; (15) forsaking the right way (We can see here that he's talking about people who profess Christianity.), they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing… Yes, just as Balaam did, these people love the pay, love the advantage gained by wrong-doing.    So, whom did Jesus cry over? It was God's people because they wouldn't come to Him (Luke 19:41). He grieved over them, saying, (Luk.13:34) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen [gathereth] her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Much of our grief, too, is for Christians. It's for lost loved ones that we've prayed for to come into the Kingdom. It's like the grief that Lot felt about the people being led astray around him. If we have a holy heart and we are seeking to be pleasing unto the Lord, then we will be convicted by the Word of God, and we will feel the same thing.     (2Pe.2:15) Forsaking the right way they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; (16) but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. (17) These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. (18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error… That's very true. Many so-called “pastors” preach wonderful words, but they're enticing people with lascivious doctrines. They're full of greed for tithes and offerings, but they're just filling churches with tares, as Peter says. (2Pe.2:3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.    We've studied and taught a lot about sanctification. We've been given warnings that there is a great falling away coming for those who are enticed away by lasciviousness (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1). Nothing will be able to stand above the water in the flood that's coming except for those that are righteous. They are walking with the Lord, and they have grace and faith. Nothing else is going to preserve God's people in the days to come.    (2Pe.2:18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; (19) promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. Multitudes of Christians are in bondage in Babylon! They may think that, through their knowledge of Christ, they've come out of the world and they've escaped the corruption in the world, but in reality, they've just been brought into bondage again with something that is not Christianity.     (2Pe.2:20) For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. When people come back into bondage and they stay there, they become worse than the people in the world. They still walk in wickedness, yet they justify themselves because now they're self-righteous. They have knowledge but they're rejecting that knowledge. They're worse in God's eyes than the people in the world, and they're going to suffer greatly.     (2Pe.2:21) For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it (So these people have knowledge.), to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. When somebody has knowledge and yet they continue to do the things that are contrary to that knowledge, they're a deceiver. We just read, “their deceivings while they feast with you” (2 Peter 2:12). These people are deceivers, and the Bible says, (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.    (2Pe.2:22) It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. This is heartbreaking! Great judgments are coming to the nations soon, and it's going to take away multitudes of people who consider themselves to be Christian. And because they don't have the mark of God, multitudes of Christians are going to take the mark of the beast.     (Rev.13:16) And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; (17) and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, [even] the name of the beast or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. However, we also see the people that have the mark of God in (Rev.14:1) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.     Ezekiel also talks about God judging who is righteous and who is not righteous, based on whether they mourned and were grieved over the ungodliness that they saw around them. Let's look at that text first. (Eze.9:4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Again, we see this is not talking about the sin in the world, but the sin in the church. And the people that are marked in the forehead because they “sigh and cry over all the abominations,” are the people that are going to escape the wrath of God, the judgment of God, that's coming.     Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 repeatedly mention the “abomination” and the “desolation,” all leading up to chapter 9 and the mark of God. In chapter 8, we even see the image of the beast. And notice, when we read these chapters, how we don't find the theology that we hear in Christianity nowadays. In every case, the “abomination of desolation” described is God's people walking in the flesh in the Temple. They are the flesh man, and they are the beast ruling in the Temple of God. This is what God calls an “abomination.” And what does He give them for that? Desolation. The holy people of God grieve for them; they grieve for these people who walk abominably before the Lord.    (Eze.8:1) And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month]… Notice that these chapters are leading up to a time that's identified with six-six, and in the next chapter, six men come with their slaughter weapons in hand. That's six-six-six. And what does this identify? It identifies the end time, the time of the beast, the time of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Now remember, in the New Testament there is no temple made with hands that God is interested in or concerned about being holy (Job 4:19; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; etc.) It's the Temple “made without hands” that God requires and expects to be holy (Acts 7:48; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 9:11; etc.), and this is the only temple that can have an abomination of desolation.   Only the Temple of the Body of Christ can have an abomination that “maketh desolate,” because every other temple out there is desolate. God has departed from them. He will never again dwell in temples made with hands, and so they are desolate (Acts 17:24). But we are the New Testament temple; we can become desolate, “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jude 1:12). That's the temple we need to be concerned about.     Paul told us, (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. And Peter exhorted, (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It should be the Lord Jesus Christ Who lives in us and Who manifests His holy Life in us.     Returning to our text in Ezekiel, God asks him (Eze.8:6) … Son of man, seest thou what they do? (All throughout these texts, it's always “what they do” and that's the abomination.) even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here (So the “beast” in the Temple is the corporate body of these people that walk in the flesh and are in rebellion against God.), that I should go far off from my sanctuary? (Or, in other words, “leave it desolate.”) but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations. (7) And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.     (8) Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door. (9) And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here. (10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts… This is just as Solomon said in (Ecc.3:18) … It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.    Peter was given the same revelation. (Acts 10:11) And he (This is Peter.) beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: (12) wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven. (13) And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (14) But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. (15) And a voice [came] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. Then Peter was given the understanding that God was speaking to him of the Gentiles, because all lost people are beasts, and so he preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his family (Acts 10:34-48). So we can see clearly from these texts that the “abominable beasts” in the Temple of God are these people who walk in the flesh.    Back to (Eze.8:10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. (11) And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand… Those 70 men are the Sanhedrin. They were the corporate body of the false prophet that ruled over the people of God in Jesus' day, and God calls this the “abomination.” (12) Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? (There's the image of the beast in the Temple.) for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the land. (13) He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do. Again, notice there is no individual man.     There is a corporate body committing these abominations that make desolate, and that body is not only the priests; it's also the people. (Eze.8:14) Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. (Tammuz was a false “Jesus” worshiped by Babylon. God is saying that in the midst of the Temple are those who worship “another Jesus” {2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6}.) (15) Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen [this,] O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these. Well, this chapter goes on to speak of abomination after abomination, all committed by the people of God in rebellion against the worship of the true God. In their idolatry, they were creating gods after their own liking and in their own image.    (Eze.9:1) Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. (2) And behold, six men… That's the third six. This represents the beast, and all throughout history, the Lord has given the beast charge over God's people when they were in rebellion. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome each had authority over God's people in their day. Today we have a revival of Rome and, just as the Lord gave those earlier beasts authority over His people, He is going to do that again because the beast is in the Temple and there has to come a desolation.   In 70A.D. God brought the Roman armies into Jerusalem to slaughter those who hadn't already slaughtered each other. Multitudes of the Jews were so full of the beast that they were killing each other off, and when the Romans came into Jerusalem, they just finished the job. [Editor's Note: Referenced from The Works of Josephus, translated by William Whiston, Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.] But, once again, it was the corporate body of the wicked in the Temple that was an abomination to God, and so He destroyed both them and their Temple.    (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand… The Hebrew word for “slaughter weapon” is also translated “battle-ax,” and who does God call His “battle-ax”? Let's look at that. (Isa.10:5) Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! (6) I will send him against a profane nation (This is Israel.), and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (7) Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few… (Well, the Assyrian beast thought this was their great idea to plunder Israel, but God says, “No, no, I put it in their hearts,” and He called these people His “ax.”) (15) Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?… The Assyrians thought it was by their own might, but God says, “No, I gave you the strength to do this, and I sent you against these vain, abominable people, to judge them and bring them to their cross and, hopefully, to repentance.”     Truly, we're going to see a repetition of history come upon us in our day, although people with their lascivious doctrines teach that this is something which is only going to happen to little Israel far away from them. They refuse to understand that Christians are New Testament spiritual Israel. They are blind to the corporate beast body coming upon Christianity.     (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen… I believe this is Jesus in the Man-child. Revelation 12 tells us the man-child ministry is coming in the end times, and it's coming again like Moses, like Jesus, to show God's people the correct way. What the Man-child teaches is going to separate the sheep from the goats. It's going to define who is going to be judged and who is not going to be judged.     (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. (3) And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn by his side. (4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem (So notice that He is not bringing judgment upon the world. He's bringing judgment upon God's house, upon those who profess to be His people.), and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Does it grieve you that God's people have been so led astray, so deceived by their leadership, and so lured into sin by their own self-will? Now listen, nobody can be deceived by another man if they don't first have a lust to live in that way and accept these false and lascivious doctrines.    People are going to be self-deluded and self-deceived because, just like Balaam, they love the hire of wrong-doing. They love to please their old flesh. And they're being bribed by the flesh to accept a doctrine, a teaching, a lifestyle that is permitting the old man to live. Saints, we're here to live the crucified life (Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:27; Hebrews 13:13), and if we don't lose our life, we won't gain our life (Matthew 16:26; Luke 9:25).    (Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite… He is speaking to the beast here, the six men. Six is the number of the beast, and six is the number of man. In fact, the sixth chapter of the sixth verse of the sixth book in the New Testament talks about the old man. (Rom.6:6) Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [him,] that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.    (Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; (6) slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark … Now the mark being spoken of here is the mark of the Lord, and it identifies those who are members of the body of Christ, just as the mark of the Beast identifies those who are members of the body of the Beast. Jesus said there are only two men in the earth, Christ and anti-Christ (Matthew 24:40; Luke 17:36). The truth is that people love to identify themselves as “Christian”, but these marks will prove in the coming days who really are Christians and who are not.     (Eze.9:6) Slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house. (In other words, they've lived longer, and they know more, so they're more guilty than anyone else.) (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. Great destruction is coming against Christianity because it doesn't reflect what was given to us through Jesus Christ. We are to (Jud.1:3) … contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. The faith of our day won't count because religion has turned people away, through their own lustful desires, from true discipleship. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. “Discipleship” is walking in the Master's Steps, and that means a disciple studies their Master to walk as He walked.    (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city. (Eze.9:8) And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem? Well, we know this is coming again because it says in (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. The Israelites were types and shadows of the end time, and a great falling away will happen just as the Bible says (2 Thessalonians 2). And notice this is old Jerusalem receiving judgment. This is the old city and the people that belonged to it. This is not born-again Jerusalem.    Then in (Eze.10:2) And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling [wheels], even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city… In other words, he brings judgment. The Man-child ministry is coming to bring judgment upon the city of God. These judgments are going to cleanse it of the goats and cleanse it of the tares. The Lord Jesus Himself spoke words that separated the goats from the sheep, separated the wheat from the tares. His Words brought judgment in His day, and the ministry of the Manchild will do the same in these days, but the people that will escape are the people who have been, and are going to mourn. They are the ones that are blessed, according to Jesus. While the world is rejoicing, they will mourn because of the great wrath and the judgment of God upon the people that call themselves “Christians.” They will mourn because of the great falling away of the people who had no faith.     We need to see and understand that the judgment that's coming is going to prove who has faith and who does not have faith. The judgment that's coming is going to prove who is a believer and who is not a believer. The wilderness tribulation for Israel was to prove whether they had faith or not. And, of course, Joshua and Caleb, who had faith, went to the Promised Land (Numbers 32:12). They didn't have to die in the wilderness because they had faith. They believed in the Lord. They spoke His Word, and they didn't die like the men who spoke the bad report, they spoke against the Lord and died in the wilderness (Numbers 26:65). Once again, today we are coming to a “wilderness” that God is going to use to prove who is truly of Him and who is not. The Word of God is going to separate the sheep from the goats. We need to put the Word in our hearts so that we have the conviction of Jesus Christ, so that sin is sinful to us, so that the rebellion of rebellious people grieves us.     Father, in the Name of Jesus, we're asking You, Lord, that You convict those “Christians” who have created a religion and a doctrine that pleases them because they don't have to give up anything. They don't believe they have to live a sacrificial life; they don't have to deny themselves; they don't have to take up their cross. Lord, we ask that You convict them mightily and that You bring them to You, Father, in the Name of Jesus. Thank You so much, Lord. Amen.  Now, I'd like to share some other scriptures about the blessings that will come from the Lord for those who have mourned, as we've been discussing. When the Man-child ministry begins, Jesus is coming with His reward!  Zion, the Bride, has gone through their time of mourning and warfare to get rid of their sins and their enemies within. To get rid of the leaven. Jer.9:17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come: 18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings. 20 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. 21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.     23 Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. 25 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, (All of the faction) and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.    Zec.12:10-11 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.  Psa.35:11-17 Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not. 12 They reward me evil for good, To the bereaving of my soul. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom. 14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother. 15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; They did tear me, and ceased not: 16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed upon me with their teeth. 17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, My darling from the lions.  The sorrow of persecution and crucifixion is now turning into joy for those of the remnant Bride. Est.4:1-3 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2 and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.   Est.9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, 22 as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. (Down goes the DS and religious factions.) Isa.40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.    Psa 30:2 O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Like Joseph, who came out of prison to the lies that were told about him by the harlot, to rule and preserve the people through the tribulation famine.)    4 Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning. (Here is the joyful saints again) 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. (But through much tribulation shall we enter the Kingdom) 7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face (As in the crucifixion of Jesus the Man-child type.); I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication: 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper. (Been there)    11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. (Joy of the David's and the Bride.)    Joh.16:20-24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (Because Jesus was crucified), but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (Because He is coming again in the Man-child reformers.) 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow (This is the Woman Church in Revelation 12 in our day.), because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again (in the Man-child reformers of Rev.12), and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. 24 Hitherto (Meaning until this time) have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.    Psa.30:1-12 A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. (Representing the true house of God, not that of Babylonish captivity) A Psalm of David. I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. (This is the David Man-child but also Joseph the Man-child was resurrected from prison, like Jesus the Man-child was, to rule those who lied about him.)  Isa.61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified…  6 But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 Instead of your shame ye shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed.  10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.     Isa.51:3 For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.  Isa 51:11 And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: …    Isa.57:15-18 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made. 17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.      Isa.66:10-14 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.    Isa.12:1-6 And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. 6 Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.    Rev.21:2-4 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. 

Send us a textINTRODUCTION:In this powerful and transformative episode of the Sex, Drugs, and Jesus podcast, host De'Vannon Seráphino shares a deeply personal and spiritual experience he had recently. He recounts being visited by Archangel Michael and the Holy Trinity, detailing their interactions, messages, and the cosmic insights they imparted. De'Vannon describes a night filled with spiritual warfare, being surrounded by witches, wizards, and warlocks, and the support he received from the Holy Ghost in overcoming these challenges. He also delves into themes of personal worship, the nature of God, and the importance of steadfast faith. This episode is a compelling testament to the power of divine intervention and the transformative power of unwavering belief in God.Playlists: https://music.apple.com/profile/DeVannonSeraphinoWebsite: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.comINCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to):·      Divine Visitation.·      Divine Family.·      The Simplicity of the Trinity.·      Do Not Pray to Angels.·      God is What is so Attractive About New York.·      Spiritual Battle is a Test of Your Will. CONNECT WITH DE'VANNON SERÁPHINO:TikTok: https://shorturl.at/nqyJ4YouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCMLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannonEmail: SDJPodcastNewYork@Gmail.comThanks for listening!!! Please follow us on YouTube + TikTok @SexDrugsAndJesusPodcast

Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven

GOD's Perfect WILL, Your Will or The enemy's Will

When we are wronged, we have the opportunity to either pursue justice toward retribution or justice toward reconciliation.  This is what Paul, carried along by the Holy Spirit, was writing about in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21.  The Finished Work of Jesus has reconciled us to the Lord and empowered us to pursue reconciliation with others--in doing do, we live our lives according the Jesus' prayer, "Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."  

What is the Ego?The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the “will” that sees the Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which it is denied. The ego is the “proof” that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and what opposes God alone is true.The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All, in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a victor over God Himself. And in its terrible autonomy it “sees” the Will of God has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment, and trembles at the figures in its dreams; its enemies, who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by attacking them.The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of God, when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering, when he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt, of hatred and attack, when all there is surrounding him is everlasting peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed, in deepest silence and tranquility?To know reality is not to see the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its darkened shrine, and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers prepare to die.Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light; the altar to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling place, His joy, His love, completely His, completely one with Him.LESSON 331There Is No Conflict, For My Will Is Yours.How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself? There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal truth. There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is one, and that we share it. Let us look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God. Amen.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

What is the Ego?The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the “will” that sees the Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which it is denied. The ego is the “proof” that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and what opposes God alone is true.The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All, in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a victor over God Himself. And in its terrible autonomy it “sees” the Will of God has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment, and trembles at the figures in its dreams; its enemies, who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by attacking them.The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of God, when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering, when he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt, of hatred and attack, when all there is surrounding him is everlasting peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed, in deepest silence and tranquility?To know reality is not to see the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its darkened shrine, and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers prepare to die.Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light; the altar to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling place, His joy, His love, completely His, completely one with Him.LESSON 331There Is No Conflict, For My Will Is Yours.How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself? There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal truth. There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is one, and that we share it. Let us look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God. Amen.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 329I Have Already Chosen What You Will.Father, I thought I wandered from Your Will, defied it, broke its laws, and interposed a second will more powerful than Yours. Yet what I am in truth is but Your Will, extended and extending. This am I, and this will never change. As You are One, so am I one with You. And this I chose in my creation, where my will became forever one with Yours. That choice was made for all eternity. It cannot change, and be in opposition to itself. Father, my will is Yours. And I am safe, untroubled and serene, in endless joy, because it is Your Will that it be so.Today we will accept our union with each other and our Source. We have no will apart from His, and all of us are one because His Will is shared by all of us. Through it we recognize that we are one. Through it we find our way at last to God.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 328I Choose The Second Place To Gain The First.What seems to be the second place is first, for all things we perceive are upside down until we listen to the Voice for God. It seems that we will gain autonomy but by our striving to be separate, and that our independence from the rest of God's creation is the way in which salvation is obtained. Yet all we find is sickness, suffering and loss and death. This is not what our Father wills for us, nor is there any second to His Will. To join with His is but to find our own. And since our will is His, it is to Him that we must go to recognize our will.There is no will but Yours. And I am glad that nothing I imagine contradicts what You would have me be. It is Your Will that I be wholly safe, eternally at peace. And happily I share that Will which You, my Father, gave as part of me.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 326I Am Forever An Effect Of God.Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide. And all Your attributes abide in me, because it is Your Will to have a Son so like his Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as it is in Heaven, so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather Your effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will vanish, and all separate thoughts unite in glory as the Son of God.Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then, forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

SON 326I Am Forever An Effect Of God.Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide. And all Your attributes abide in me, because it is Your Will to have a Son so like his Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as it is in Heaven, so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather Your effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will vanish, and all separate thoughts unite in glory as the Son of God.Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then, forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

Is it a verse we memorize and pray, or a guide to pour out our hearts in prayer? Matthew 6:9-15, Matthew 7:9-11, James 1:13

LESSON 320My Father Gives All Power Unto Me.The Son of God is limitless. There are no limits on his strength, his peace, his joy, nor any attributes his Father gave in his creation. What he wills with his Creator and Redeemer must be done. His holy will can never be denied, because his Father shines upon his mind, and lays before it all the strength and love in earth and Heaven. I am he to whom all this is given. I am he in whom the power of my Father's Will abides.Your Will can do all things in me, and then extend to all the world as well through me. There is no limit on Your Will. And so all power has been given to Your Son.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 319I Came For The Salvation Of The World.Here is a thought from which all arrogance has been removed, and only truth remains. For arrogance opposes truth. But when there is no arrogance the truth will come immediately, and fill up the space the ego left unoccupied by lies. Only the ego can be limited, and therefore it must seek for aims which are curtailed and limiting. The ego thinks that what one gains, totality must lose. And yet it is the Will of God I learn that what one gains is given unto all.Father, Your Will is total. And the goal which stems from it shares its totality. What aim but the salvation of the world could You have given me? And what but this could be the Will my Self has shared with You?- Jesus Christ in ACIM

In this episode, entrepreneur and bestselling author Josh Kaufman reveals the secrets to running a successful creator business as a solo entrepreneur.Josh shares his insights on leveraging AI and smart systems to accomplish the work of an entire team while maintaining work-life balance.Learn practical strategies for working efficiently, understanding your audience, and building a business that serves your goals.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:22 How to Protect Your Time as a Solo Entrepreneur02:17 How Fewer Income Streams Can Lead to More Profit03:56 Knowing When to Say No to Growth in Business16:04 How to Identify and Leverage Your Core Value18:13 How to Scale Your Business Without Hiring a Team20:15 Point of Market Entry Strategy for Entrepreneurs24:43 How to Build Sustainable Search Traffic Without a Team27:48 Solo Creator Marketing Strategies That Work28:51 The Essential Tools for Automating Your Solo Business31:40 How to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Business Systems35:49 A Practical Guide to Using AI for Business Research43:53 Why Human Judgment Becomes More Crucial with Automation45:42 How to Monetize Your Audio Content and Maximize Profits50:34 Why Audio Should Be Your Primary Content Format52:02 How to Use Psychology Principles to Grow Your Business54:37 Closing ThoughtsIf you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave us a review. We read every single one.Learn more about The Nathan Barry Show: https://nathanbarry.com/showFollow Nathan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry/ X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry Website: https://nathanbarry.com/ Follow Josh Kaufman:Website: https://joshkaufman.net/ X: https://twitter.com/joshkaufmanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshkaufmanauthor/ Featured in this episode: Audible: https://www.audible.com The Personal MBA (Book): https://personalmba.com/ SavvyCal: https://www.savvycal.com Kevin Kelly: https://www.kk.org Claude (AI): https://claude.ai/ GPT: https://chat.openai.com/ Google's Notebook LM: https://notebooklm.google/ Kit: https://www.kit.com Tim Ferriss: https://www.tim.blog Ryan Holiday: https://www.ryanholiday.net Influence by Robert Cialdini: https://www.influenceatwork.com  Highlights:07:15 Diminishing Returns of Additional Dollars 10:00 What Are You Optimizing For? 16:04 Core Production Function 31:34 Conforming the World to Your Will 38:20 How Nathan and Kit Use AI

LESSON 312I See All Things As I Would Have Them Be.Perception follows judgment. Having judged, we therefore see what we would look upon. For sight can merely serve to offer us what we would have. It is impossible to overlook what we would see, and fail to see what we have chosen to behold. How surely, therefore, must the real world come to greet the holy sight of anyone who takes the Holy Spirit's purpose as his goal for seeing. And he cannot fail to look upon what Christ would have him see, and share Christ's Love for what he looks upon.I have no purpose for today except to look upon a liberated world, set free from all the judgments I have made. Father, this is Your Will for me today, and therefore it must be my goal as well.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 307Conflicting Wishes Cannot Be My Will.Father, Your Will is mine, and only that. There is no other will for me to have. Let me not try to make another will, for it is senseless and will cause me pain. Your Will alone can bring me happiness, and only Yours exists. If I would have what only You can give, I must accept Your Will for me, and enter into peace where conflict is impossible, Your Son is one with You in being and in will, and nothing contradicts the holy truth that I remain as You created me.And with this prayer we enter silently into a state where conflict cannot come, because we join our holy will with God's, in recognition that they are the same.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 305There Is A Peace That Christ Bestows On Us.Who uses but Christ's vision finds a peace so deep and quiet, undisturbable and wholly changeless, that the world contains no counterpart. Comparisons are still before this peace. And all the world departs in silence as this peace envelops it, and gently carries it to truth, no more to be the home of fear. For love has come, and healed the world by giving it Christ's peace.Father, the peace of Christ is given us, because it is Your Will that we be saved. Help us today but to accept Your gift, and judge it not. For it has come to us to save us from our judgment on ourselves.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

In this episode of Warrior's Walk, we dive into "How to Eliminate Distractions and Stay Focused in Prayer." If you've ever struggled to stay focused while praying, this episode is for you! We explore practical strategies like praying Scripture, using prayer acrostics like P.R.A.Y., TACOS, and ACTS, and the importance of finding a quiet place to pray. We also unpack the Lord's Prayer, breaking down each part for deeper understanding: Adoration: "Hallowed be Your Name." Consecration: "Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done." Supplication: "Give us today our daily bread." Intercession: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Protection: "Lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil." Plus, we discuss the power of journaling in your prayer life and how to maintain a consistent, focused prayer habit. Tune in now to discover tools and techniques that will revolutionize your prayer life and help you eliminate distractions for good!

LESSON 299Eternal Holiness Abides In Me.My holiness is far beyond my own ability to understand or know. Yet God, my Father, Who created it, acknowledges my holiness as His. Our Will, together, understands it. And our Will, together, knows that it is so.Father, my holiness is not of me. It is not mine to be destroyed by sin. It is not mine to suffer from attack. Illusions can obscure it, but can not put out its radiance, nor dim its light. It stands forever perfect and untouched. In it are all things healed, for they remain as You created them. And I can know my holiness. For Holiness Itself created me, and I can know my Source because it is Your Will that You be known.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 290My Present Happiness Is All I See.Unless I look upon what is not there, my present happiness is all I see. Eyes that begin to open see at last. And I would have Christ's vision come to me this very day. What I perceive without God's Own Correction for the sight I made is frightening and painful to behold. Yet I would not allow my mind to be deceived by the belief the dream I made is real an instant longer. This the day I seek my present happiness, and look on nothing else except the thing I seek.With this resolve I come to You, and ask Your strength to hold me up today, while I but seek to do Your Will. You cannot fail to hear me, Father. What I ask have You already given me. And I am sure that I will see my happiness today.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 272How Can Illusions Satisfy God's Son?.Father, the truth belongs to me. My home is set in Heaven by Your Will and mine. Can dreams content me? Can illusions bring me happiness? What but Your memory can satisfy Your Son? I will accept no less than You have given me. I am surrounded by Your Love, forever still, forever gentle and forever safe. God's Son must be as You created him.Today we pass illusions by. And if we hear temptation call to us to stay and linger in a dream, we turn aside and ask ourselves if we, the Sons of God, could be content with dreams, when Heaven can be chosen just as easily as hell, and love will happily replace all fear.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 254Let Every Voice But God's Be Still In Me.Father, today I would but hear Your Voice. In deepest silence I would come to You, to hear Your Voice and to receive Your Word. I have no prayer but this: I come to You to ask You for the truth. And truth is but Your Will, which I would share with You today.Today we let no ego thoughts direct our words or actions. When such thoughts occur, we quietly step back and look at them, and then we let them go. We do not want what they would bring with them. And so we do not choose to keep them. They are silent now. And in the stillness, hallowed by His Love, God speaks to us and tells us of our will, as we have chosen to remember Him.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 253My Self Is Ruler Of The Universe.It is impossible that anything should come to me unbidden by myself. Even in this world, it is I who rule my destiny. What happens is what I desire. What does not occur is what I do not want to happen. This must I accept. For thus am I led past this world to my creations, children of my will, in Heaven where my holy Self abides with them and Him Who has created me.You are the Self Whom You created Son, creating like Yourself and one with You. My Self, Which rules the universe, is but Your Will in perfect union with my own, which can but offer glad assent to Yours, that it may be extended to Itself.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 246To Love My Father Is To Love His Son.Let me not think that I can find the way to God, if I have hatred in my heart. Let me not try to hurt God's Son, and think that I can know his Father or my Self. Let me not fail to recognize myself, and still believe that my awareness can contain my Father, or my mind conceive of all the love my Father has for me, and all the love which I return to Him.I will accept the way You choose for me to come to You, my Father. For in that will I succeed, because it is Your Will. And I would recognize that what You will is what I will as well, and only that. And so I choose to love Your Son. Amen.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 245Your Peace Is With Me, Father. I Am Safe.Your peace surrounds me, Father. Where I go, Your peace goes there with me. It sheds its light on everyone I meet. I bring it to the desolate and lonely and afraid. I give Your peace to those who suffer pain, or grieve for loss, or think they are bereft of hope and happiness. Send them to me, my Father. Let me bring Your peace with me. For I would save Your Son, as is Your Will, that I may come to recognize my Self.And so we go in peace. To all the world we give the message that we have received. And thus we come to hear the Voice for God, Who speaks to us as we relate His Word; Whose Love we recognize because we share the Word that He has given unto us.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 233I Give My Life To God To Guide Today.Father, I give You all my thoughts today. I would have none of mine. In place of them, give me Your Own. I give You all my acts as well, that I may do Your Will instead of seeking goals which cannot be obtained, and wasting time in vain imaginings. Today I come to You. I will step back and merely follow You. Be You the Guide, and I the follower who questions not the wisdom of the Infinite, nor Love whose tenderness I cannot comprehend, but which is yet Your perfect gift to me.Today we have one Guide to lead us on. And as we walk together, we will give this day to Him with no reserve at all. This is His day. And so it is a day of countless gifts and mercies unto us.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 230Now Will I Seek And Find The Peace Of God.In peace I was created. And in peace do I remain. It is not given me to change my Self. How merciful is God my Father, that when He created me He gave me peace forever. Now I ask but to be what I am. And can this be denied me, when it is forever true?Father, I seek the peace You gave as mine in my creation. What was given then must be here now, for my creation was apart from time, and still remains beyond all change. The peace in which Your Son was born into Your Mind is shining there unchanged. I am as You created me. I need but call on You to find the peace You gave. It is Your Will that gave it to Your Son.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

Part IIIntroductionWords will mean little now. We use them but as guides on which we do not now depend. For now we seek direct experience of truth alone. The lessons that remain are merely introductions to the times in which we leave the world of pain, and go to enter peace. Now we begin to reach the goal this course has set, and find the end toward which our practicing was always geared.Now we attempt to let the exercise be merely a beginning. For we wait in quiet expectation for our God and Father. He has promised He will take the final step Himself. And we are sure His promises are kept. We have come far along the road, and now we wait for Him. We will continue spending time with Him each morning and at night, as long as makes us happy. We will not consider time a matter of duration now. We use as much as we will need for the result that we desire. Nor will we forget our hourly remembrance in between, calling to God when we have need of Him as we are tempted to forget our goal.We will continue with a central thought for all the days to come, and we will use that thought to introduce our times of rest, and calm our minds at need. Yet we will not content ourselves with simple practicing in the remaining holy instants which conclude the year that we have given God. We say some simple words of welcome, and expect our Father to reveal Himself, as He has promised. We have called on Him, and He has promised that His Son will not remain unanswered when he calls His Name.Now do we come to Him with but His Word upon our minds and hearts, and wait for Him to take the step to us that He has told us, through His Voice, He would not fail to take when we invited him. He has not left His Son in all his madness, nor betrayed His trust in Him. Has not His faithfulness earned Him the invitation that He seeks to make us happy? We will offer it, and it will be accepted. So our times with Him will now be spent. We say the words of invitation that His Voice suggests, and then we wait for Him to come to us.Now is the time of prophecy fulfilled. Now are all ancient promises upheld and fully kept. No step remains for time to separate from its accomplishment. For now we cannot fail. Sit silently and wait upon your Father. He has willed to come to you when you have recognized it is your will He do so. And you could have never come this far unless you saw, however dimly, that it is your will.I am so close to you we cannot fail. Father, we give these holy times to You, in gratitude to Him Who taught us how to leave the world of sorrow in exchange for its replacement, given us by You. We look not backward now. We look ahead, and fix our eyes upon the journey's end. Accept these little gifts of thanks from us, as through Christ's vision we behold a world beyond the one we made, and take that world to be the full replacement of our own.And now we wait in silence, unafraid and certain of Your coming. We have sought to find our way by following the Guide You sent to us. We did not know the way, but You did not forget us. And we know that You will not forget us now. We ask but that Your ancient promises be kept which are Your Will to keep. We will with You in asking this. The Father and the Son, Whose holy Will created all that is, can fail in nothing. In this certainty, we undertake these last few steps to You, and rest in confidence upon Your Love, which will not fail the Son who calls to You.And so we start upon the final part of this one holy year, which we have spent together in the search for truth and God, Who is its one Creator. We have found the way He chose for us, and made the choice to follow it as He would have us go. His Hand has held us up. His Thoughts have lit the darkness of our minds. His Love has called to us unceasingly since time began.We had a wish that God would fail to have the Son whom He created for Himself. We wanted God to change Himself, and be what we would make of Him. And we believed that our insane desires were the truth. Now we are glad that this is all undone, and we no longer think illusions true. The memory of God is shimmering across the wide horizons of our minds. A moment more, and it will rise again. A moment more, and we who are God's Sons are safely home, where He would have us be.Now is the need for practice almost done. For in this final section, we will come to understand that we need only call to God, and all temptations disappear. Instead of words, we need but feel His Love. Instead of prayers, we need but call His Name. Instead of judging, we need but be still and let all things be healed. We will accept the way God's plan will end, as we received the way it started. Now it is complete. This year has brought us to eternity.One further use for words we still retain. From time to time, instructions on a theme of special relevance will intersperse our daily lessons and the periods of wordless, deep experience which should come afterwards. These special thoughts should be reviewed each day, each one of them to be continued till the next is given you. They should be slowly read and thought about a little while, preceding one of the holy and blessed instants in the day. We give the first of these instructions now.What is Forgiveness?Forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no sin. And in that view are all your sins forgiven. What is sin, except a false idea about God's Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets it go. What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God.An unforgiving thought is one which makes a judgment that it will not raise to doubt, although it is not true. The mind is closed, and will not be released. The thought protects projection, tightening its chains, so that distortions are more veiled and more obscure; less easily accessible to doubt, and further kept from reason. What can come between a fixed projection and the aim that it has chosen as its wanted goal?An unforgiving thought does many things. In frantic action it pursues its goal, twisting and overturning what it sees as interfering with its chosen path. Distortion is its purpose, and the means by which it would accomplish it as well. It sets about its furious attempts to smash reality, without concern for anything that would appear to pose a contradiction to its point of view.Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. He who would not forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.Do nothing, then, and let forgiveness show you what to do, through Him Who is your Guide, your Savior and Protector, strong in hope, and certain of your ultimate success. He has forgiven you already, for such is His function, given Him by God. Now must you share His function, and forgive whom He has saved, whose sinlessness He sees, and whom He honors as the Son of God.LESSON 221Peace To My Mind. Let All My Thoughts Be Still.Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can give. I come in silence. In the quiet of my heart, the deep recesses of my mind, I wait and listen for Your Voice. My Father, speak to me today. I come to hear Your Voice in silence and in certainty and love, sure You will hear my call and answer me.Now do we wait in quiet. God is here, because we wait together. I am sure that He will speak to you, and you will hear. Accept my confidence, for it is yours. Our minds are joined. We wait with one intent; to hear our Father's answer to our call, to let our thoughts be still and find His peace, to hear Him speak to us of what we are, and to reveal Himself unto His Son.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

LESSON 189 Feel The Love Of God Within Me Now.There is a light in you the world cannot perceive. And with its eyes you will not see this light, for you are blinded by the world. Yet you have eyes to see it. It is there for you to look upon. It was not placed in you to be kept hidden from your sight. This light is a reflection of the thought we practice now. To feel the Love of God within you is to see the world anew, shining in innocence, alive with hope, and blessed with perfect charity and love.Who could feel fear in such a world as this? It welcomes you, rejoices that you came, and sings your praises as it keeps you safe from every form of danger and of pain. It offers you a warm and gentle home in which to stay a while. It blesses you throughout the day, and watches through the night as silent guardian of your holy sleep. It sees salvation in you, and protects the light in you, in which it sees its own. It offers you its flowers and its snow, in thankfulness for your benevolence.This is the world the Love of God reveals. It is so different from the world you see through darkened eyes of malice and of fear, that one belies the other. Only one can be perceived at all. The other one is wholly meaningless. A world in which forgiveness shines on everything, and peace offers its gentle light to everyone, is inconceivable to those who see a world of hatred rising from attack, poised to avenge, to murder and destroy.Yet is the world of hatred equally unseen and inconceivable to those who feel God's Love in them. Their world reflects the quietness and peace that shines in them; the gentleness and innocence they see surrounding them; the joy with which they look out from the endless wells of joy within. What they have felt in them they look upon, and see its sure reflection everywhere.What would you see? The choice is given you. But learn and do not let your mind forget this law of seeing: You will look upon that which you feel within. If hatred finds a place within your heart, you will perceive a fearful world, held cruelly in death's sharp-pointed, bony fingers. If you feel the Love of God within you, you will look out on a world of mercy and of love.Today we pass illusions, as we seek to reach to what is true in us, and feel its all-embracing tenderness, its Love which knows us perfect as itself, its sight which is the gift its Love bestows on us. We learn the way today. It is as sure as Love itself, to which it carries us. For its simplicity avoids the snares the foolish convolutions of the world's apparent reasoning but serve to hide.Simply do this: Be still, and lay aside all thoughts of what you are and what God is; all concepts you have learned about the world; all images you hold about yourself. Empty your mind of everything it thinks is either true or false, or good or bad, of every thought it judges worthy, and all the ideas of which it is ashamed. Hold onto nothing. Do not bring with you one thought the past has taught, nor one belief you ever learned before from anything. Forget this world, forget this course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God.Is it not He Who knows the way to you? You need not know the way to Him. Your part is simply to allow all obstacles that you have interposed between the Son and God the Father to be quietly removed forever. God will do His part in joyful and immediate response. Ask and receive. But do not make demands, nor point the road to God by which He should appear to you. The way to reach Him is merely to let Him be. For in that way is your reality proclaimed as well.And so today we do not choose the way in which we go to Him. But we do choose to let Him come. And with this choice we rest. And in our quiet hearts and open minds, His Love will blaze its pathway of itself. What has not been denied is surely there, if it be true and can be surely reached. God knows His Son, and knows the way to him. He does not need His Son to show Him how to find His way. Through every opened door His Love shines outward from its home within, and lightens up the world in innocence.Father, we do not know the way to You. But we have called, and You have answered us. We will not interfere. Salvation's ways are not our own, for they belong to You. And it is unto You we look for them. Our hands are open to receive Your gifts. We have no thoughts we think apart from You, and cherish no beliefs of what we are, or Who created us. Yours is the way that we would find and follow. And we ask but that Your Will, which is our own as well, be done in us and in the world, that it become a part of Heaven now. Amen.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

How Free is Your Will? (Romans 3:11) by Sun Valley Church

LESSON 163There Is No Death. The Son Of God Is Free.Death is a thought that takes on many forms, often unrecognized. It may appear as sadness, fear, anxiety or doubt; as anger, faithlessness and lack of trust; concern for bodies, envy, and all forms in which the wish to be as you are not may come to tempt you. All such thoughts are but reflections of the worshipping of death as savior and as giver of release.Embodiment of fear, the host of sin, god of the guilty and the lord of all illusions and deceptions, does the thought of death seem mighty. For it seems to hold all living things within its withered hand; all hopes and wishes in its blighting grasp; all goals perceived but in its sightless eyes. The frail, the helpless and the sick bow down before its image, thinking it alone is real, inevitable, worthy of their trust. For it alone will surely come.All things but death are seen to be unsure, too quickly lost however hard to gain, uncertain in their outcome, apt to fail the hopes they once engendered, and to leave the taste of dust and ashes in their wake, in place of aspirations and of dreams. But death is counted on. For it will come with certain footsteps when the time has come for its arrival. It will never fail to take all life as hostage to itself.Would you bow down to idols such as this? Here is the strength and might of God Himself perceived within an idol made of dust. Here is the opposite of God proclaimed as lord of all creation, stronger than God's Will for life, the endlessness of love and Heaven's perfect, changeless constancy. Here is the Will of Father and of Son defeated finally, and laid to rest beneath the headstone death has placed upon the body of the holy Son of God.Unholy in defeat, he has become what death would have him be. His epitaph, which death itself has written, gives no name to him, for he has passed to dust. It says but this: “Here lies a witness God is dead.” And this it writes again and still again, while all the while its worshippers agree, and kneeling down with foreheads to the ground, they whisper fearfully that it is so.It is impossible to worship death in any form, and still select a few you would not cherish and would yet avoid, while still believing in the rest. For death is total. Either all things die, or else they live and cannot die. No compromise is possible. For here again we see an obvious position, which we must accept if we be sane; what contradicts one thought entirely can not be true, unless its opposite is proven false.The idea of the death of God is so preposterous that even the insane have difficulty in believing it. For it implies that God was once alive and somehow perished; killed, apparently, by those who did not want Him to survive. Their stronger will could triumph over His, and so eternal life gave way to death. And with the Father died the Son as well.Death's worshippers may be afraid. And yet, can thoughts like these be fearful? If they saw that it is only this which they believe, they would be instantly released. And you will show them this today. There is no death, and we renounce it now in every form, for their salvation and our own as well. God made not death. Whatever form it takes must therefore be illusion. This the stand we take today. And it is given us to look past death, and see the life beyond.Our Father, bless our eyes today. We are Your messengers, and we would look upon the glorious reflection of Your Love which shines in everything. We live and move in You alone. We are not separate from Your eternal life. There is no death, for death is not Your Will. And we abide where You have placed us, in the life we share with You and with all living things, to be like You and part of You forever. We accept Your Thoughts as ours, and our will is one with Yours eternally. Amen.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

Teach me to do Your Will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. —Psalm 143:10 Each day we have an opportunity to surrender to God all of our burdens and heavy loads. I hope this playlist leads you to His Presence and reminds you of His grace

ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮੰਦਰੁ ਤਨੁ ਵੇਸ ਕਲੰਦਰੁ ਘਟ ਹੀ ਤੀਰਥਿ ਨਾਵਾ ॥ ਏਕੁ ਸਬਦੁ ਮੇਰੈ ਪ੍ਰਾਨਿ ਬਸਤੁ ਹੈ ਬਾਹੁੜਿ ਜਨਮਿ ਨ ਆਵਾ ॥੧॥ ਮਨੁ ਬੇਧਿਆ ਦਇਆਲ ਸੇਤੀ ਮੇਰੀ ਮਾਈ ॥ ਕਉਣੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਪੀਰ ਪਰਾਈ ॥ ਹਮ ਨਾਹੀ ਚਿੰਤ ਪਰਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ਅਗਮ ਅਗੋਚਰ ਅਲਖ ਅਪਾਰਾ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਕਰਹੁ ਹਮਾਰੀ ॥ ਜਲਿ ਥਲਿ ਮਹੀਅਲਿ ਭਰਿਪੁਰਿ ਲੀਣਾ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰੀ ॥੨॥ ਸਿਖ ਮਤਿ ਸਭ ਬੁਧਿ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰੀ ਮੰਦਿਰ ਛਾਵਾ ਤੇਰੇ ॥ ਤੁਝ ਬਿਨੁ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੇਰੇ ਸਾਹਿਬਾ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵਾ ਨਿਤ ਤੇਰੇ ॥੩॥ ਜੀਅ ਜੰਤ ਸਭਿ ਸਰਣਿ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰੀ ਸਰਬ ਚਿੰਤ ਤੁਧੁ ਪਾਸੇ ॥ ਜੋ ਤੁਧੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋਈ ਚੰਗਾ ਇਕ ਨਾਨਕ ਕੀ ਅਰਦਾਸੇ ॥੪॥੨॥ BILAAWAL, FIRST MEHL: My mind is the temple, and my body is the simple cloth of the humble seeker; deep within my heart, I bathe at the sacred shrine. The One Word of the Shabad abides within my mind; I shall not come to be born again. || 1 || My mind is pierced through by the Merciful Lord, O my mother! Who can know the pain of another? I think of none other than the Lord. || 1 || Pause || O Lord, inaccessible, unfathomable, invisible and infinite: please, take care of me! In the water, on the land and in sky, You are totally pervading. Your Light is in each and every heart. || 2 || All teachings, instructions and understandings are Yours; the mansions and sanctuaries are Yours as well. Without You, I know no other, O my Lord and Master; I continually sing Your Glorious Praises. || 3 || All beings and creatures seek the Protection of Your Sanctuary; all thought of their care rests with You. That which pleases Your Will is good; this alone is Nanak's prayer. || 4 || 2 || ਅਰਥ: ਹੇ ਮੇਰੀ ਮਾਂ! ਮੇਰਾ) ਮਨ ਦਇਆ-ਦੇ-ਘਰ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ (ਦੇ ਚਰਨਾਂ) ਵਿਚ ਵਿੱਝ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਮੈਂ (ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾ) ਕਿਸੇ ਹੋਰ ਦੀ ਆਸ ਨਹੀਂ ਰੱਖਦਾ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਯਕੀਨ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ਕਿ (ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾ) ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰ ਕਿਸੇ ਦੂਜੇ ਦਾ ਦੁੱਖ-ਦਰਦ ਸਮਝ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਕਦਾ।੧।ਰਹਾਉ। ਮੇਰਾ ਮਨ (ਪ੍ਰਭੂ-ਦੇਵ ਦੇ ਰਹਿਣ ਲਈ) ਮੰਦਰ (ਬਣ ਗਿਆ) ਹੈ, ਮੇਰਾ ਸਰੀਰ (ਭਾਵ, ਮੇਰਾ ਹਰੇਕ ਗਿਆਨ-ਇੰਦ੍ਰਾ ਮੰਦਰ ਦੀ ਜਾਤ੍ਰਾ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ) ਰਮਤਾ ਸਾਧੂ ਬਣ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ (ਭਾਵ, ਮੇਰੇ ਗਿਆਨ-ਇੰਦ੍ਰੇ ਬਾਹਰ ਭਟਕਣ ਦੇ ਥਾਂ ਅੰਦਰ-ਵੱਸਦੇ ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਵਲ ਪਰਤ ਪਏ ਹਨ) , ਹੁਣ ਮੈਂ ਹਿਰਦੇ-ਤੀਰਥ ਉਤੇ ਹੀ ਇਸ਼ਨਾਨ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ। ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਦੀ ਸਿਫ਼ਤਿ-ਸਾਲਾਹ ਦਾ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਮੇਰੀ ਜਿੰਦ ਵਿਚ ਟਿਕ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ (ਮੇਰੀ ਜਿੰਦ ਦਾ ਆਸਰਾ ਬਣ ਗਿਆ। ਇਸ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਯਕੀਨ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ਕਿ) ਮੈਂ ਮੁੜ ਜਨਮ ਵਿਚ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਵਾਂਗਾ।੧। ਹੇ ਅਪਹੁੰਚ! ਹੇ ਅਗੋਚਰ! ਹੇ ਅਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟ! ਹੇ ਬੇਅੰਤ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ! ਤੂੰ ਹੀ ਸਾਡੀ ਸਭ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਦੀ ਸੰਭਾਲ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈਂ। ਤੂੰ ਜਲ ਵਿਚ, ਧਰਤੀ ਵਿਚ, ਆਕਾਸ਼ ਵਿਚ ਹਰ ਥਾਂ ਨਕਾਨਕ ਵਿਆਪਕ ਹੈਂ, ਹਰੇਕ (ਜੀਵ ਦੇ) ਹਿਰਦੇ ਵਿਚ ਤੇਰੀ ਜੋਤਿ ਮੌਜੂਦ ਹੈ।੨। ਹੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਮਾਲਕ-ਪ੍ਰਭੂ! ਸਭ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਮਨ ਤੇ ਸਰੀਰ ਤੇਰੇ ਹੀ ਰਚੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ, ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਅਕਲ ਸਮਝ ਸਭ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਤੈਥੋਂ ਹੀ ਮਿਲਦੀ ਹੈ। ਤੇਰੇ ਬਰਾਬਰ ਦਾ ਮੈਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਹੋਰ ਨੂੰ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦਾ। ਮੈਂ ਨਿਤ ਤੇਰੇ ਹੀ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ।੩। ਸਾਰੇ ਜੀਵ ਜੰਤ ਤੇਰੇ ਹੀ ਆਸਰੇ ਹਨ, ਤੈਨੂੰ ਹੀ ਸਭ ਦੀ ਸੰਭਾਲ ਦਾ ਫ਼ਿਕਰ ਹੈ। ਨਾਨਕ ਦੀ (ਤੇਰੇ ਦਰ ਤੇ) ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਇਹੀ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਜੋ ਤੇਰੀ ਰਜ਼ਾ ਹੋਵੇ ਉਹ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਚੰਗੀ ਲੱਗੇ (ਮੈਂ ਸਦਾ ਤੇਰੀ ਰਜ਼ਾ ਵਿਚ ਰਾਜ਼ੀ ਰਹਾਂ) ।੪।੨। --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gsjhampur/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gsjhampur/support

AASAA, FOURTH MEHL, CHHANT: My Lord of the Universe is great, unapproachable, unfathomable, primal, immaculate and formless. His condition cannot be described; His Glorious Greatness is immeasurable. My Lord of the Universe is invisible and infinite. The Lord of the Universe is invisible, infinite and unlimited. He Himself knows Himself. What should these poor creatures say? How can they speak of and describe You? That Gurmukh who is blessed by Your Glance of Grace contemplates You. My Lord of the Universe is great, unapproachable, unfathomable, primal, immaculate and formless. || 1 || You, O Lord, O Primal Being, are the Limitless Creator; Your limits cannot be found. You are pervading and permeating each and every heart, everywhere, You are contained in all. Within the heart is the Transcendent, Supreme Lord God, whose limits cannot be found. He has no form or shape; He is unseen and unknown. The Gurmukh sees the unseen Lord. He remains in continual ecstasy, day and night, and is spontaneously absorbed into the Naam. You, O Lord, O Primal Being, are the Limitless Creator; Your limits cannot be found. || 2 || You are the True, Transcendent Lord, forever imperishable. The Lord, Har, Har, is the treasure of virtue. The Lord God, Har, Har, is the One and only; there is no other at all. You Yourself are the all-knowing Lord. You are the all-knowing Lord, the most exalted and auspicious; there is no other as great as You. The Word of Your Shabad is pervading in all; whatever You do, comes to pass. The One Lord God is permeating all; the Gurmukh comes to understand the Lords Name. You are the True, Transcendent Lord, forever imperishable. The Lord, Har, Har, is the treasure of virtue. || 3 || You are the Creator of all, and all greatness is Yours. As it pleases Your Will, so do we act. As it pleases Your Will, so do we act. All are merged into Your Shabad. When it pleases Your Will, we obtain greatness through Your Shabad. The Gurmukh obtains wisdom, and eliminates his self-conceit, and remains absorbed in the Shabad. The Gurmukh obtains Your incomprehensible Shabad; O Nanak, he remains merged in the Naam. You are the Creator of all, and all greatness is Yours. As it pleases Your Will, so do we act. || 4 || 7 || 1 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gsjhampur/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gsjhampur/support

Your Will be Done by park city church

It's safe to say we have all experienced the hills and valleys of life. Some hills are higher than others just like some valleys are deeper. One of those deep places, for me, was over ten years ago. I'll set the scene a bit… In January of 2013, I won the title of Miss Arkansa USA. While the accomplishment itself was a high point, it was mixed with a complicated backdrop. For months leading up to the competition, I had been trying to extricate myself from a years-long abusive relationship. Once I won the title, the grip there only got tighter. I worked hard to disentangle from it though, eventually able to give my full focus to my new job for the year.  So fast forward towards the end of my year as Miss Arkansas. I actually ended up dating a really fun, really good guy. After years in a controlling, toxic relationship, it was a BREATH of fresh air. I went from feeling like I lived under someones thumb to finally feeling like I was in a ‘normal' happy relationship. Like the kind all my other girlfriends were in! As you can imagine, I was heartbroken when he decided to break it off. Now, mind you, I was also really thankful for his honesty. Like I said, he was a good guy and he did the right thing. In fact, the whole time we were dating, my only prayer had been “I want YOUR WILL GOD, and not my own.” I seriously remember walking or working out daily with that one prayer on repeat as I power walked the trails or lifted at the gym. So, when he ended it, I knew it was right. As sad as I was. I also knew I had peace because I had been asking God's will over my own. And so it had to be. To this day, I still think of this as one of my loneliest valleys. Single, alone, broken, and totally dependent on God. In fact,  I would walk and pray. I would pour over a handful of promises in psalms. At this point in my life, I read the Bible but I wasn't in the Word every day except in hard moments. And that same prayer was still in the background on repeat…God, YOUR WILL. Not my own.  It was like I innately knew that the guidepost to my life had shifted because, for the first time ever… I surrendered fully my life to God's plan for me. I knew He had one. I read the Bible and went to church. But it wasn't until I had to come to the end of myself and trying my own way..that I finally surrendered it over. That prayer, “I want YOUR WILL, GOD. Not my own.” I meant it with all my heart. I began praying it after that horrible relationship. I began praying it because I knew I was the one who got myself into that mess and moving forward I genuinely wanted God to take the reins. I prayed it through the ‘happy relationship' even knowing it could end in heartbreak. And it did. But I never let that prayer go. I STILL KNEW. I STILL BELIEVED God's will for my life was better than one I could achieve on my own.  I feel like y'all probably know the rest of the story… the part where Shay and I meet. I was deeply settled into my single girl, me-and-jesus and nobody else season. I loved it. I didn't want to leave the peace of living in His will.. But, as it turns out, Shay was part of that good and perfect plan. I'm so thankful I held onto that prayer. I'm so thankful I surrendered my own will for my life in my early 20's. I'm so glad I didn't fight it. Or harden my heart. Or search for my value in another relationship. I'm SO glad in those dark days, I surrendered it all to find freedom and worth and identity in just being God's daughter. God's will was better than my own and His will is better than yours, too. God's word is true. Once you surrender it all to Him, you'll find peace. Peace beyond understanding. As Ephesians so beautifully says: “the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.” And so it will. My story won't be yours. But I promise, yours will have some mountains and valley's too. And it will also hold opportunities for surrender. 

A powerful message by Pastor Vic Deodat on how the Lord came to clear the way for us to have life and have it more abundantly. How the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome Satan, his demons and the things of this world in order to have an abundant life. But, we fail to activate this power by not surrendering to the Lord in continual prayers, yielding to Him and His ways, while turning away from the ways of the flesh.  The Holy Spirit lives in us, but are we living in Him?  He touches on the gifts of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit of God, and explains why it is important to exercise the gift of tongues. He challenges us to daily turn from the flesh and surrender to the Lord in prayer, as His spirit overflows in us and through us. Let God arise, and his gifts be released in us as we grow in the Fruit of His Spirit. Let our lives be centered on Jesus, on the Holy Spirit, on the Word of God, and NOT what is out there.  Where is your soul? Your mind? Your Heart? Your Will? And, your Emotions? February 18, 2024

We Need To Check Ourselves (3)  (audio)  David Eells 1/17/24  Manifesting Christ In Us Through Suffering  David Eells   Many have been going through suffering and the Church is about to go through great suffering. We need to learn how to handle suffering because it's one of God's greatest tools for bringing about the righteousness of Christ in us. (1Pe.2:18) Servants, [be] in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward (or “unreasonable”). (19) For this is acceptable (Greek: “grace”), if for conscience toward God a man endureth griefs, suffering wrongfully. It's alright with God for you to endure griefs and suffer wrongfully because of the fruit you will bear.   (1Pe.2:20) For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted [for it,] (There's no reward for that, is there?) ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it,] ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable (Greek: “grace”) with God. (21) For hereunto were ye called (In other words, you have been called to suffer for doing right.): because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: (22) who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (23) who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously. So Jesus left it all in the Hands of His Father. When He suffered, He didn't threaten.   When you suffer is when your lowest, most base instincts rise up and especially when you're suffering at the hands of another person. All kinds of pride and anger and rebellion come up in your heart. And it happens in circumstances, too. You become angry at circumstances and you sometimes even become angry at inanimate objects or you can get angry when there's nobody else involved except God for it all comes from Him. Suffering has a way of bringing out our basest instincts. God is bringing us through suffering because of the lusts of our flesh and just as our example, Christ, suffered for doing good, we are to suffer for doing good, too. (1Pe.3:14) But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, [blessed are ye:] and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; (15) but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord….   You know, your first temptation when you suffer at the hands of a person or circumstance is not to make “Christ as Lord” in your heart. It's every other fleshly desire that comes up first. But Jesus “committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously” when He was suffering. In other words, He wasn't thinking of taking vengeance; He wasn't falling into the flesh; He was leaving it up to God. And Peter tells you the same thing, to “sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord.”   (1Pe.4:1) Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind…. Do you have a mind like that? Not naturally. Our mind is to run from any kind of suffering in the flesh, isn't it? Our mind is to avoid it at all cost. You know, the thing we need the most, the thing we run from the most, is suffering. Christians in America especially need suffering and suffering is coming. It's coming because God wills it and it's coming because people need to be delivered from their selfish interests, their self-centeredness. Suffering has a way of delivering you from self-centeredness.   (1Pe.4:1) Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. When your flesh is suffering, it's because it's not getting its way. When it's not getting its way, it's because you're not sinning. It's so simple, isn't it? When the old man's not getting his way, you're not sinning and so we're called to suffer in the flesh. Jesus left us an example to suffer in the flesh. We want to avoid it, yet suffering is our most precious friend. Why? (2) That ye no longer should live the rest of your time in flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.   We need suffering so that we can live the rest of our life free from the bondage of the flesh, as a servant of Jesus. That's why we need suffering in the flesh. When we understand God's purposes in suffering, that makes it a lot easier to endure. And, when we see the purpose behind it, we're not so deceived by Satan into wrestling with flesh and blood, or into blaming, or into anger, or whatever.   (1Pe.4:12) Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you…. When we fall into the midst of suffering, we think it's strange. We think there's something not quite right about it, but we need to change our mind about that. We need to have the mind that was in Christ; we need to expect that we're going to suffer for the name of Christ. What I mean by “suffer for the name of Christ” is suffering so that His nature and character, which is what “name” means, can be manifested in us. And it comes upon you to prove you, perfect you and purify you. (1Pe.4:12) Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you: (13) but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. If you can manage to rejoice in the midst of suffering, it will be a lot easier.   As the Bible commands us in (Rom.5:3)… we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness (“perseverance”); (4) and stedfastness, approvedness (“character”); and approvedness, hope. All these things come from rejoicing in tribulation. We're told in (1Pe 4:14) If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; because the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you. This is what suffering is all about: to bring about the revelation, or revealing, or the manifestation, of the glory of God in us.   Peter goes on to say in (19) Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. We're like the clay in the Creator's hands (Romans 9:21) when we do this. It says “Creator” for a purpose because that's how God creates in us the righteousness of Christ.   But suffering can be wasted for he said that in the midst of suffering or a trial, we need to commit our soul in well-doing; meaning doing what is right in the midst of that trial. Otherwise, we can be wasting the suffering. The suffering is coming upon us for a reason and the reason is to refine us and to bring about the righteousness of Christ in us. One thing we don't want to do is waste any suffering because we don't want to go through it again. We need to make it all useful in God's Kingdom and the way to make it useful is to commit our soul in well-doing in the midst of it. We can't stop the suffering but we can do what's right in the middle of it.   (1Pe.5:8) Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (9) whom withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world. The world suffers with the same things we suffer with, but here's the difference: (10) And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you. God's promise is that He will perfect us through suffering. If we look on suffering as God's method of perfecting us, that makes it much easier to take, doesn't it? And it also makes us not so willing to run away from it.   If we have a mind to please the Lord in the midst of suffering, if we have a mind to live Godly, first of all, we're going to suffer. (2Ti.3:12) Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Persecution is just one area of suffering. Those who desire to live godly are going to suffer because it's God's method of deliverance and setting us free.   I remember a guy from when I used to work at Exxon years ago, back before I was a Christian. He was a tool man in one of the tool trailers that they hauled over to turnarounds. Whenever they were overhauling a section of the plant, they would pull one of these big tool trailers over there and they would station a man in the trailer who would give out tools. And this one particular man really stuck in my mind because I never could understand him before I became a Christian.   He was disliked throughout the plant and it wasn't because he was evil. He was one of the most diligent worker at that time I had seen. He was righteous; he would actually check the tools out, since they had to keep records, so that the plant would be sure to get their tools back. Otherwise, if they just gave you the tool, you might take it home with you. And a lot of people did. And I did it myself, too, in those days. (I actually brought my set of tools back years later after I came to the Lord.)   Anyway, this guy's name was Major Pace. I'll never forget him. He was just so diligent. You couldn't get the guy to be emotional one way or the other. You couldn't get him to laugh, but you couldn't get him to cry and he never cursed. He never told ugly jokes like the rest of the guys. He was just diligent in doing his job. If you needed something, he'd run back there and get it, and he'd put it in your hands. He was as quick as he could be and did his job right. But everybody disliked him.   When we'd go up to the tool trailer and we'd see Major Pace stick his hand out for the tool, we would cuss because everyone wanted to get their tools for keeps. Everybody cursed the poor guy and I'm sure he heard people do it. I wondered as I studied this guy, even while I was still a heathen, “What makes this guy tick? He's so diligent and what he does is right.” I never heard him cuss. I never heard him say anything about the Lord, but he did things right and he suffered for doing things right. He suffered the loss of friendship among the people for doing things right.   One day, I found out, I think, what made Major Pace that way and, besides, I have a sneaking hunch that he was a Christian. I learned that when he left work he went home to an invalid wife. He spent the rest of his day cleaning his house, doing things that needed to be done, taking care of his wife who couldn't walk or even get out of bed. And he did this year after year. He suffered in this way for many years and I suspect that suffering put such peace in him that he didn't mind if people didn't like him, as long as he was doing what was right for the Lord.  Of course, as a heathen, I couldn't understand what made the man tick. What would drive a man to do what was right when everyone hated him for it? It was suffering; I'm convinced it was suffering.   Why do you think the Lord tells us to “resist not him that is evil” (Mat.5:39)? I'll tell you what, if you do that, you'll suffer, won't you? You'll suffer internally and you'll suffer externally. First of all, you'll suffer internally because when you “resist not him that is evil,” every lust of your flesh is going to rise up on the inside of you. You know what I'm talking about; it happens, doesn't it? You suffer. You suffer on the inside and you'll even suffer on the outside. For example, I've had people rebuke me because I wouldn't do something to somebody that they thought I should've done as payback. People were really angry with me and fell out with me, not wanting to talk to me anymore.   You'll suffer when you “resist not him that is evil.” God designed His commandments and His principles so that they'd cause you to suffer. If you obey God's Word and sanctify in your heart Christ as Lord in the midst of that suffering, you are going to bear the pain of that in your flesh; you're going to feel it in your flesh.   The Christian church has made a big thing out of martyrdom and rightly so because martyrdom is a big thing. But what do you think is greater: to have a sudden end of your life for standing up for Jesus or to go through a slow process of death because you're continually standing up for Jesus? For example, faithfully bearing with some unthankful, obnoxious people for years. You know what that brings? A slow death. It is suffering that brings death. Or how about an abusive husband? You put up with that for years and you stayed faithful to the Lord in that. Well, that suffering is going to bring about a death in you.   Or it can be a nagging wife, or obnoxious neighbors, or fellow workers, factious people who abuse all around them with slander, etc.,. That's your opportunity right there. It can be circumstances that keep coming against you causing frustrations to rise up. That's your opportunity. That suffering has come in order to work Christ in you, in order to bring the glory of God in you. That's what it's all about.   God has designed everything, even sickness. The Lord also designed healing!  But we don't have to take redemption at the expense of suffering and we don't have to take suffering at the expense of redemption because they work hand-in-hand. You may have faith that God has healed you at Calvary and between here and when your healing manifests, there may be some suffering. It's during that suffering where you'll have a chance to deny or accept Christ and His ways. You can patiently take suffering, rejoicing like the Scripture tells you, or you can fail in it, all the time believing that you're healed. And if you believe that you're healed, healing is going to come. It may happen in days, hours, immediately, or it may take years but God still expects you to confess what the Word says while you're suffering.  Don't waste the suffering that you go through on self-pity, or animosity, or anger, or rebellion. Especially don't waste the suffering that you go through with rebellion. When Jesus was going to the cross, He said in (Luk.22:42) Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done”. The cup of what? The cup of suffering at the hands of the wicked. Jesus wasn't going to take it away or run from it. But He said, “Father, if it's Your Will, take it away.”   And we know it wasn't God's Will to take away His cup of suffering. Jesus went through it patiently. He didn't stand up for Himself. (1Pe.2:23) when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously.  He just put Himself in Father's Hands and He suffered patiently. That's suffering that's not wasted. Suffering that's wasted is if you act in the flesh in the midst of it. It's wasted because it's just coming around again.  We need to have the mind of Christ. (1Pe.4:1) Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. (1Jn.1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So you get a cleansing either way. If you're humble enough to confess your sins, He is faithful enough to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. You're going to get your cleansing; have faith in that.   You cannot waste suffering in depression and self-pity, if you're rejoicing. You can't do both at the same time; that's why He commands you to rejoice in the midst of suffering and He says to give thanks. And if you realize what suffering is for, then you can give thanks because it is for your perfecting. Jesus became perfect through the things that He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).   (1Jn.3:16) Hereby know we love (agape), because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. This is your old life, it's the lusts of the flesh. This is your anger, your resentment, your rebellion, etc. This is what you're laying down and this is agape. It is agape to lay that down. It says, “Hereby we know love (agape), because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Agape love is to lay down our life. Agape is the opposite of the flesh-life. Love is the opposite of the flesh-life. The Bible says in  (1Jn.4:7) beloved, let us love (agape) one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten (born) of God, and knoweth God”. You must be born of God to have Agape Love. If you don't agape, you don't know God.   What is this agape? Well, first of all, this agape is God. (1Jn.4:8) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Agape is God. Now let me show you what else agape is. (1Jn.5:3) For this is the love (agape) of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. Agape is God and it's obeying the Word. Who is the Word? God. Obedience to the Word, submission to the Word, that is love. That is agape love. Agape is different from the other two common types of love: eros which is sexual love and philos which is a friendship-kind of love.   Both of those are contingent upon other people's activity toward you, but agape is not. It's only contingent upon the life of Christ on the inside of you. You can agape somebody who doesn't even like you. Agape is not emotion. Sexual love and friendship love can be emotion and emotions are very unstable. But agape is not emotion. Don't worry about feeling really emotional about loving God. He has commanded you to agape Him and agape is obedience to the Word. Jesus said in (Joh.14:15) if ye love (agape) me, ye will keep my commandments”. And He also said in (23) if a man love (agape) me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him.   Agape is the only love that you have to learn. You have to learn to obey God, so you learn agape. Agape is bringing your old man to the cross; it's laying down your life for other people; it's giving up your self-centeredness (1 John 3:16). All that is agape.   You understand now why Peter couldn't give what the Lord wanted him to give in John 21:16 when the Lord asks Peter, “lovest thou me?” The Lord was asking, “Do you agape me, Peter?” Now think about it. Peter had just come through the biggest failure in his life, or at least he thought so, because he denied the Lord three times (John 18:27). He failed completely to obey, to humble himself to what was right. And after this failure, the Lord asks Peter in (Joh.21:15) Simon, [son] of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo meaning “friendship”) thee.   Peter knew that he couldn't confess to being obedient, to loving the Lord enough to be obedient to what was right because he had just failed the Lord. And I'm sure he was having to overcome this weakness in himself; he had lost his self-confidence. I'll bet before he lost his self-confidence that he would've said, “Oh, yes, Lord, I agape you.” In fact, in a way, he did. He said in (Mat.26:35) even if I must die with thee, [yet] will I not deny thee. He believed that he could obey of himself, but after that, he lost all of his self-confidence and he wasn't even willing to speak the word “agape.”   The Lord asked him three times, “Do you agape me?” But Peter said, “I phileo You,” and it grieved Peter. Why do you think Peter was so grieved? He was feeling condemnation by the fact that he knew he couldn't; he knew he hadn't been able to agape the Lord. Peter was learning through suffering to agape. We become perfect. Perfect is obeying the Word, isn't it? And perfect is agape. We learn to agape by obeying the Word through suffering. Agape comes from the inner nature of the spiritual man and it is conquering the carnal man; it is giving up your life (1 John 3:16). Suffering brings about this agape love. Agape is the nature; it is the way of God's Kingdom. If that is God and what we're looking for is godliness, then we can't help but be, as an end result, agape. We can't help but be love.   When Paul described agape, he said it's more important than speaking in tongues, more important than knowledge, more important than faith. In fact, he said if you had these things but didn't have love, you were nothing. (1Co.13:1) If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. (2) And if I have [the gift of] prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (3) And if I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.   The end result of everything that God wants to do in you is agape. He said in (1Co.13:13) but now abideth faith, hope, love, these three: and the greatest of these is love. The most important thing that's going to get you into God's Kingdom, is love. (1Co.13:4) Love suffereth long (How do you get longsuffering? That's right, you suffer a long time. You get longsuffering by going through a lot of suffering with people and circumstances. There's no other way.), [and] is kind; love envieth not (Why? Because self is the opposite of agape.); love vaunteth not itself (In other words, it doesn't put itself forward; it's not self-centered or egotistical.), is not puffed up, (5) doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked…   How do you stop being provoked? You believe Jesus bore that sin on the cross so you would have power over it. That may be the end of it. But also you may become hardened to being provoked by having an opportunity over and over again to be provoked and denying it. You may suffer with it until you give it up. You may overcome by degrees; this failure is not as bad as the last failure. And overcoming is that way sometimes. But suffering can last for years, if you jump out of the fire, if you aren't like Ephraim, a cake unturned (Hosea 7:8). The quickest way is to walk and talk by faith while you stay in the fire. All who desire to please the Lord and are willing to suffer are going to overcome. “Believe you have received everything” Mark 11:24, as Jesus said, but even then it's not always manifested overnight. Suffering is necessary to crucify the flesh; that's why we cannot escape it. Here is some crucifying words. Love in (1Co.13:5) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; (6) rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; (7) beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (8) Love never faileth…. Love for God and man motivates us to crucify the self-life.   Love is obeying the Word of God; this is love. Agape is not the mushy feelings of eros or phileo; agape is mostly obeying. Feelings will come later. If you want emotional feelings toward God, well, then, agape Him. Your emotions more subject to the flesh than they are to the Spirit. You just keep following the Lord and the Lord will bring your emotions to serve Him, but it doesn't always happen at the first but it will. Obey first; let the emotions follow the Spirit.   What does he mean by “believeth all things”? I guess it's not being willing to think the worst of someone. You can always believe for people and try to think that somebody has a good motive for what they're doing. It's easier to think that than to always think the worst because you're going to deal falsely with people if you always think the worst of them. You're not going to be able to believe for them and turn the other cheek.   It's best just to “think on these things.” (Php.4:8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Paul says it is better to just “think on these things” because you can deal with people like that. If you're meditating on what is evil about them, you're going to fail in your reaction to who they are.  Love in 1Co 13:5  doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;    Eternal Relationship  Anonymous 3/28/23  I was in prayer and heard the following:  Do You forgive Me? Look past everyone and everything, and I Am. (Our perspective is beyond the superficial, to the eternal treasures beneath, to the Source and Creator of All.) When you don't forgive someone, or when you have regret for something in your past. Have you forgiven sins, or are you wishing your life had been different? Then you are shaming Me. You aren't forgiving Me when you do this. (Unforgiveness leads to separation from God.) I Am behind everything, and I am the Creator of all and I have written all. I know more than you could ever understand and My ways are greater than yours. Isa 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  I perfectly and intricately designed each and every aspect of your entire life and existence, the good and the bad. Joh 3:27 ASV  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. Nothing I do is evil as I Am Love, but I created the evil out of Love. (The contrast of the two, shows how Perfect and Awesome our God is!) Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.   Trust Me and forgive Me. When you don't forgive anyone or anything, you are rebelling against Me. 1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.   Just like Lucifer. Do you really think you can live without me? I know you know that you can't, so, forgive Me. If you don't forgive Me, I can't forgive you. And I have already done everything for you, I paid the price for you, and you will forever eternally be grateful for all I have done, and everything you have gone through. (Including all evil and suffering.)  All the evil and hurt you have experienced, seen and known about, hurts Me more than it hurts you. (Isaiah 53) But focus on Me and My goodness. I had to create and allow the evil so that you could appreciate Me forever, and so you could see how good I Am. (Also evil in you reaps evil, a cause for repentance. Evil chastens evil and causes us to count the cost.)  This is not just for you, but for all of My creation. That all My creation could see My grace, My Mercy, My eternal Love. (Through you as a testimony.)  My ways are much higher than yours and I know that you will forever be grateful. All the evil is to humble you and for you to lean on Me 100% as only I can help you and heal you and save you, and I have already done these things, but you need to believe and receive My finished works. In praising and thanking Me, you receive your greatest joy, and heart's desire, and any other pleasure outside of Me is false and not true and not eternal. Ecc 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.   Look at the fallen angels, they have no real pleasure, no peace, no satisfaction, no joy, they have nothing without Me. They had to be let go (because of rebellion) for you to fully appreciate Me and receive Me and praise Me and to see that I Am all Good and there is no one else. You will understand more overtime, the more you open to Me, the more understanding you receive.   But right now, you need to forgive Me in full for everything. To all people who have ever hurt you and all the people doing evil out there, I say, forgive Me. All the past regret you have from your old life and all the mistakes and failures you make, in forgiving yourself, you forgive Me. For you will have complete freedom and completeness in Joy when you forgive Me. I have been with you for your whole existence, through the good and evil, I have been there with my hand on your shoulder. I know all the pain and suffering you have endured, only I understand. But I only know the freedom and satisfaction you can and will have when you let go and completely forgive Me. Let Me search your heart and let Me reveal and open your eyes to the full truth, which I can only do when you allow it.  I can only show you and allow you to understand what you allow Me too. I want to manifest the complete 100% deliverance and cleansing and sanctification from all evil, which the price has already been paid for. You all are one in Me now and for eternity. Let go of all the things that are hindering you from being one with Me and My people. Everyone here with Me is one and I desire for ALL (I felt “all” meant 100%) of you to be with Me in full.   I desire to manifest my Holy Kingdom through you in full, not part, while on earth. Let Me. Allow Me. Ask Me to help you, ask Me for grace, ask Me to help you rest in My finished works. (Who could do better than the Creator of all?)  You have not because you ask not. You think you cannot hear or see Me now because of doubt and unbelief. But I Am always speaking to you. I desire to talk to you more than you speak to the closest person to you.   Who do you speak to the most? Is it your spouse or best friend? I Am your eternal husband and your eternal best friend. Talk with Me more, commune with Me more. I desire to do everything with you little and small. I created you for me every moment not just for a certain period of time each day, but for every moment of your breath.   I am your breath. Include me in everything, in the physical things and in the spiritual and in your mind. (When I take a walk down the mountain I ask my Father and His glorious Son to go with me and they do and they say because they are in me.) Let your mind stay on me. The devils will do anything to take your mind off Me. Stay focused on Me. When you realize you are thinking of something else, think on Me. (Mat 6:24 No one can serve two lords: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.)  I will always take care of all your needs, stop trying to do it yourself and in your own way. Get out of your familiar physical routines and let Me take control of your day. When you include Me in your day and seek Me and allow Me to take care of your needs, you will have a greater joy and peace and greater communion with Me than you have every experienced. Every day that you receive more of Me, will get more wonderful physically and spiritually than you could currently comprehend. There is so much I desire to show you and do with you each day, now and forever, but allow Me.   Come to Me for your daily bread and if you are hungry press into Me for more, I want to give you more. But I can only do what you allow Me too. Forgive Me and let Me do it and let Me live through you, My way. When you don't let Me manifest through you it is because you don't forgive Me. Let go of the evil and hurt that you are holding on to.   Allow Me to open your eyes to hidden rebellion, only I can heal and restore your soul, only I can put you back together in whole and fullness. I Am Life. Forgive Me My child, My son, My eternal wife, My friend; it is only you and I for all eternity. You and Me forever. I Am in all and through all eternal. Only My Spirit will be and already is. Forgive Me and commune with Me each moment, in the physical and spiritual. I love you beyond understanding and beyond words. Accept My Love and forgive Me. I Am all. (Joh 3:13  And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven...) 

When there is excitement in your life, your heart begins to beat faster. This is a natural reaction. For that reason, it is good to ponder whether your heart ever beats for God? Do you allow yourself to become caught up in a holy awe of the presence of God? Do you become excited about the mission that God has given you? And, if so, do you ever find that your heart beats faster as you ponder the great mysteries of His love and Mercy? Your whole being must react to the majesty and splendor of our glorious God (See Diary #1728).Try this simple examination today. Ponder the last time that you truly became excited over God and His holy Will. Was your excitement something that affected you so much that even your heart began to beat faster? Though this may not be an infallible sign of the presence of God in your life, it may reveal much more than you realize.Lord, I desire that my heart beat for You every day. May I experience the joy and excitement of Your perfect glory and desire with my mind, spirit and even body, the fulfillment of Your Will. I love You, dear Lord. May my heart beat for You with great intensity and love. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

What is it that has the power to steal away the peace and calm of your heart? What if you were insulted, ridiculed, falsely judged, imprisoned, beaten or even killed? Would any of these rob the peace of God in your heart? Only if you let it. It is essential that you know and believe with firm faith that nothing can steal the peace of your heart unless you let it. Your goal must be to be free from everything in this world. You must be detached from all riches, honors, respect, fear and everything. If you are fully detached then you are free to be fully attached to Christ and no matter what comes your way, no matter what happens to you, your single attachment to our Lord and His Will, can never be taken away from you unless you let it (See Diary #1685).Reflect upon the things that have taken away your peace in the past. Identifying these will help you realize what it is that you are attached to in an unhealthy way. If, for example, public ridicule has stolen your peace, then you are too attached to your reputation. If poverty has left you depressed, then you are too attached to money. If the rejection of a friend or family member has turned you to anger, then you were too attached to this person. This list could go on and on. Though the spiritual goal of total detachment may be very hard to understand and even harder to accept, do not dismiss it too quickly. Reflect upon attachments you have, even to apparent good things. Realize that if the one attachment you have is to God, all good things will follow.Lord, I choose You and Your Will as my one possession in life. All else is passing and all else can be lost in an instant. But You, oh Lord, are eternal and You can never be taken away if I choose You. I love You, dear Lord, help me to remain firmly attached to You and Your Will. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

It's amazing to consider two facts side by side. First, consider that Saint Faustina heard Jesus tell her, over and over, that He desired that the Feast of Divine Mercy be promulgated and celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter every year. How was this lowly cloistered nun to accomplish such a task for the universal Church? Second, when St. John Paul II canonized Saint Faustina on Divine Mercy Sunday, 2000, our Holy Father promulgated that the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday was to become a universal feast of the Church. God spoke this to the heart of Saint Faustina in silence and solitude over and over from 1931-1938. Just over sixty years later, it came to be (See Diary #1680).Reflect upon the fact that God often calls you to do far more than you could ever imagine doing on your own. If you are attentive to His clear gentle Voice, and if you heed His commands, you will begin to discover that the Lord will do amazing things through your life. They may not be extraordinarily public and noticeable by all, but they will be far more than you ever thought possible. Do not be amazed at God's Will for your life and do not hesitate to believe what He calls you to do. Say “Yes” and leave the rest to Him. Lord, to whatever You call me I say “Yes.” If Your Will is that I live a quiet hidden life, offering my daily duties as a sacrifice to You, I say “Yes.” If it is Your Will that my life become very public and that You use me in this way for the good of the Church, then I say “Yes.” Lord, my life is Yours, do with me what You will. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

What is the ego?The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the "will" that sees the Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which it is denied. The ego is the "proof" that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and what opposes God alone is true. The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All, in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a victor over God Himself. And in its terrible autonomy it "sees" the Will of God has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment, and trembles at the figures in its dreams; its enemies, who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by attacking them. The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of God, when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering, when he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt, of hatred and attack, when all there is surrounding him is everlasting peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed, in deepest silence and tranquility? To know reality is not to see the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its darkened shrine, and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers prepare to die. Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light; the altar to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling place, His joy, His love, completely His, completely one with Him. . There is no conflict, for my will is Yours. How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself? There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal truth. There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours. Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is one, and that we share it. Let us look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God. Amen.Jesus Christ in A Course in MiraclesWorkbook Part II, What is the ego?Lesson 331

In this episode, we reflect on the words of Jesus in John 6:25 - 70, and build on the foundation of God's own example of humility demonstrated in the Person of Jesus Christ (discussed in the previous episode). St Paul reminds us, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." With that, he roots this encouragement in the example of the Lord's own humility. What does humility have to do with the Eucharist? How do we become one with Christ in the Eucharist? How do we live a Eucharistic life of humility? What should this "Eucharistic life of humility" look like? Listen to find out! Philippians 2:1-11 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Stay With Me - Prayer of St Padre Pio Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You. Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will. Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You. Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company. Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love. Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile! Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it's dangers. I need You. Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart. Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by communion, at least by grace and love. Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You! Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more. With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page. (https://www.drawnear.me/) Join the Draw Near Community Space on Suscipe.co (https://community.suscipe.co/share/M1CQceCQ6cMeBTIB?utm_source=manual) Click here (https://www.drawnear.me/donate) to become a supporter/patron! "Like" and follow us on Facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/fredandkara) You can even find us on Twitter. (https://twitter.com/fredandkara) Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page (https://www.drawnear.me/booking)." Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us! Draw Near Theme © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching

God gives to each person a unique mission. Some are called to very public lives; others are called to quiet and simple lives. Some are called to use their minds in powerful ways; others are called to use their hearts in special ways, but each person has a unique mission from God. What is your mission? Seeking to know what the Lord asks of you is essential to your journey of holiness and, therefore, happiness. When fully embraced, this mission will bring abundant fulfillment to your life because of one simple fact: every mission is a mission of Mercy. The struggle many people have is that they embark on selfish endeavors in life, failing to commit all their energies to the work of the Lord. The Lord wants you to work day and night on His mission. This is not too much to ask. In fact, it's what you were made for and the only way to obtain what you truly desire. His mission will certainly include moments of fun and rest, work and struggle, laughter and tears. It will also require a complete death to yourself. But it's worth it! Seek the mission God has given you and embrace it with all your heart. If you do, the Mercy of God will pour forth through your life (See Diary #1567).Reflect, today, upon this simple question: What is my mission in life? It may come to you slowly, over time, taking twists and turns as you go. But never stop seeking to serve our Lord and His perfect plan. This plan will become the delight of your soul. Ponder it and if you are on the wrong path, correct your direction in life.Lord, I thank You for calling me to a blessed and unique mission in life. I choose, this day, that which You have given to me. I promise to say “Yes” to You throughout my life and to never tire of fulfilling Your Will. I love You, Lord. Help me to love You with my life. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Cami Lundt didn't expect any surprises with her fourth pregnancy… until the doctor broke the shocking news. Baby Grace was diagnosed with trisomy 13 and a Dandy-Walker brain malformation—conditions that doctors considered “incompatible with life.” The baby, they said, had a 99.9% chance of dying just minutes after her birth. But God had a different plan. For almost five years, Cami and her family got to love and care for Grace, walking her home to heaven. Tune in to hear Cami's story, and learn how God can meet you with his peace and strength, even in the most devastating circumstances.After Grace's death, Cami went into the healthcare field for several years. She has since returned to her teaching career in Wisconsin, as a Special Education Teacher, hoping to help those who find themselves in situations similar to what she experienced.Get your copy of Cami's book: Walking Her Home: Learning to Say, “Your Will, Not Mine” KEY QUESTIONS:How has God shown up for you in painful moments or seasons?What do you do when the burdens of life feel too heavy to bear?What do you need to entrust to God today? KEY SCRIPTURES:Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”2 Corinthians 12:9: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” ------- Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and daily devotional.Follow Joni and Friends on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.Your support makes this podcast possible!Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, and Retreats and Getaways, and offer disability ministry training.

In today's world there's a big emphasis on being “special”... but the truth is, you don't have to be special to be successful. According to today's guest on the Own YOUR Future Podcast, you should really embrace being AVERAGE instead.  Tom Bilyeu is an entrepreneur who's had extraordinary success. He's co-founder of the billion-dollar brand QUEST NUTRITION alongside his wife Lisa Bilyeu. A company he built from the ground up by being average and simply practicing what he calls the “physics of progress.”  Personally driven to expand people's vision of wellness to a 360-degree view that encompasses body and mind, Tom has created the podcast, “IMPACT THEORY” to help people develop the skills they will need to improve themselves and the world. He is also the CREATOR of "Project Kyzen," a groundbreaking NFT-powered AI DIGITAL WORLD that offers a truly unique & customizable experience. Tom's reputation as a force of change is undeniable. He was named one of Success Magazine's Top 25 Influential People & Entrepreneur of the Year by Secret Entourage and this episode is full of insights you won't hear anywhere else…  What are the PHYSICS OF PROGRESS and how you can use them to set yourself up for extraordinary success The ONLY belief that matters when it comes to success  How to bend the world to YOUR WILL  Why sometimes going to the “DARK SIDE” is necessary… just don't stay there too long The only thing that REMOVES INSECURITY Why you can't base your VALUE on accomplishments and what to use instead  The difference between BRAND MARKETING and DIRECT RESPONSE marketing  Dean and Tom share their insights on where they think the world is heading in the next decade and how you can be prepared  Plus Dean and Tom talked about the impact of A.I on business, marketing trends… and at the end, Dean helps Tom in real-time with a marketing problem he's currently facing!  Appreciate you taking the time to listen to the show and helping us grow each week! If this episode brought you value, hit that subscribe button and share it with someone who needs it.  If you're interested in starting your own self-education, coaching, or digital product business check out Mastermind.com. Test drive it for 14 days for just $1 HERE Want to learn habits that set you up for success? Grab a copy of my book Millionaire Success Habits  Connect with Dean on social media:  ⁠Subscribe to Dean's YouTube Channel⁠ ⁠Instagram ⁠- DM me and let me know what you thought about this episode!  ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Website⁠ ⁠Join Dean's newsletter for weekly wisdom, updates and news direct to your inbox