Grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit down and enjoy last night’s Bible study by Pastor Don, hot off the press. I am typing it in one entry so I can get it to Pastor Don tomorrow. Know that it is a bit long, but trust me in this, the teaching was such a blessing. Please try to read all of it even though it is a bit long.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP

Sometimes in church do you ever wonder why other people seem to be getting their prayers answered, and yours don’t always seem to be responded to? The prophets in the Bible have much to teach us about praise and worship – which is the key to communicating on a deeper level with God.

There are five modes of praise and worship. First of all praise and worship isn’t just about singing worship songs in church. It is a heartfelt humbling of ourselves because of God’s greatness. It can happen any place, any time. For example, Pastor Don talked about how the positioning of his house allows him to see sunsets. And one of his regular things to do is watch the sunset, and he exclaims, “Boy, that Jesus can paint.” If it is said out of a mouth that is full of praise, it is a worship. It can become a lifestyle to praise and worship God. Our Bibles contain a collection of victories caused by the praise and worship of the prophets. Jesus often went by Himself to pray – and part of His prayer was praise and worship of God. It is recognizing that God is greater than us and He CAN DO SOMETHING. It is having a humble and contrite heart and coming before a Great Lord. Music can bring us to that point, but so can dance, so can prayer, so can anything that reminds us of God.

Here are the five modes of praise and worship:

1. Spontaneous Praise and Worship: There is no particular reason that it occurs, you are just lead to praise God, to thank Him. In the shower you might burst into a song. Our Spirit man brings up praise and worship. It could be brought on by a sunset like above. A Biblical example is
Luke 2:27-32 Simeon sees God’s salvation So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

Simeon did not have to praise God at that point. He could have seen the child and moved on, but praise bubbled up in him. Notice he came by the Spirit.

2. Scheduled Praise and Worship: The Sabbath, the seven feast days, the holy days, Passover are days and times that God has scheduled for us to praise and worship Him. Sunday services, Palm Sunday, Bible study are also examples of scheduled Praise and Worship.  Mark 14:12-26 Jesus celebrating Passover with His disciples. Mark 14:26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

3. Purposeful Praise and Worship: This is done for a set, specific purpose, to get something from God. Examples can be a harp and bowl service, a special prayer meeting to get direction from God for the church, a fast either personal to get the flesh under control, or for corporate reasons to set people free or be a better example. It can be praise and worship to ask God to use us better in ministry or when the church wants to move in a set direction, and the church needs God’s guidance. God can give information if we ask Him.

4. Ordered Praise and Worship: God or one of His representatives order us to worship God. Examples Revelation 19 and 22 where John wanted to bow down before an angel and the angel instructs John to worship God. 
Mark 5:19 After Jesus healed the demon possessed man, and the man wanted to follow Jesus and worship God, Jesus instructed him 5:19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the LORD has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you. This man lived in Decapolis and he went back and praised God for his healing. This set the stage when Paul came through later and could establish a church there.

Romans 8:25-26 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. When we do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit helps us. Sometimes we get an impression to pray and may not even know the person we are to pray for or the situation. The Holy Spirit then helps us to pray. And the groanings and intercession prompted by the Holy Spirit is worship. Later we may or may not get confirmation of who or what we prayed for. But if God prompts us, for example – wakes us up at 3 a.m. to pray, we need to obey the prompting and worship as ordered.

5. Responsive Praise and Worship: It is praise and worship that responds to what has happened. A wonderful situation occurs (say an unexpected raise or a day off and raise), and you just gotta praise God. It wells up in you and you start giving God the glory. One example of this is the woman with the Alabaster Jar who came and worshipped at Jesus’ feet.  Another example is the one leper that came back to worship God, out of the ten who were healed.

Luke 7:14-17 Jesus raises the son of the widow of Nun Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us:” and “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

Fear (awe) came upon ALL. and the word went out throughout all Judea and the surrounding region.

Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

Acts 4:21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. Because of what Peter and John did and said, ALL the people observed the Goodness of God, and glorified him.

You can’t get to worship in Spirit and Truth without recognizing your suffering and pain. We usually don’t have a handle on the situation until we humble ourselves and recognize that we need some help from God.

Churches today expect people to come in and immediately start worshipping in Spirit and Truth, but you cannot expect newcomers, newly saved, who haven’t had a revelation of God to be able to do this Many people are saved, but haven’t had the revelation of their real need of God, they are just glad to not go to Hell. Of course, not going to Hell is a good thing, but there is so much more. We need to get to the point where we realize we need a savior in all aspects of our life, and then we can give up some of our stuff (baggage from our past). We need to realize that we have been living a lie, that our life is in need of a savior. Mrs. Moore (Pastor Don’s wife) once told him that people are like swans on a lake. They look like they are effortlessly gliding around, but underneath the surface they are paddling like crazy.

85% of people believe in God, but the churches are empty.

Praise and worship begins in repentance, and then we can lift Holy Hands.

The Spirit of God can only do what we give Him permission to do. We need someone to intercede for a situation. God cannot override a person’s will. He will not force salvation on anyone, they have to make the choice, and they have to make the choice to give control over to God and repent.

If you have a church with enough people in accord, you can have an        
Acts 2 experience where the Power of God manifests. If you have enough people worshipping in Spirit and Truth, a few doubters and unbelievers will get a sense of what is going on. If too many are in doubt and unbelief, it makes it hard to reach an Acts 2 experience. With larger groups it may take longer to get to this point, and you need a worship leader to set, direct and order the worship.

Pastor Don talked about the Prophet Samachen from India who is coming tomorrow to our church, Pastor Don told us why he gave a testimony to the church about his meeting the prophet when he was overseas on a missionary trip. He did this to let people know about the prophet. Besides giving information, it also allows people to come to the service expecting to receive from God. Pastor Don also pointed out that often, months in advance of a guest speaker, he has spoken the same words. But because it is a prophet, or a guest speaker, people will listen harder. Pastor Don says it doesn’t matter, as long as the people finally get the message that the Spirit is trying to teach.

Then Pastor Don spoke about how the different kinds of worship lead to different experiences.

Spontaneous praise and worship will lead to prophesy. When the Spirit moves us to worship spontaneously, and worship wells up out of our Spirit, we need to give the worship a direction. God is speaking inside, and if we release it we can gain a word of wisdom, a word of Knowledge, or direct it to helping us serve God better, etc.

Scheduled praise and worship gives order in our lives. Things of God are linked to this time schedule set by God. The feasts, the Sabbath, and it gets us to the place of worship to celebrate the feasts. When we act in obedience, persistence, responsibility, and give God praise and worship, we get the benefit of refreshing. God will show up at His appointed times, and we get a Spiritual Refreshing. Like in the Temple at the Day of Atonement, God’s Shekinah Glory will show up.

Ordered praise and worship will cause God’s glory to show up. For example in Acts 2 where the disciples were instructed to wait for the Holy Spirit. They didn’t just sit and twiddle their thumbs, they sought His presence, prayed, and came in one accord. Active waiting, in Spirit and Truth, will build faith. Doubt and unbelief are displeasing to God. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Purposeful praise and worship stimulates the gifts of God. By seeking God’s guidance in a situation, God will release the gifts that will provide the solution to the problem, and we can see the Hand of God in the situation.

Responsive praise and worship causes us to have a humble and contrite heart, to be repentant when we respond to what we see of the Goodness of God. It causes two responses. 1) it releases more Grace and 2) our faith increases. We gain a confidence in God, our faith grows, and that allows God to release His power into our situation. God has to confirm His word.

Pastor Don then spoke about how our church is moving up to a new level. And months before, after God showed Pastor Don this vision, he began to prepare. He started his discipleship classes to equip the members to do the work that God will be giving us. Our church has many people that Pastor Don trusts to go out and minister to people, even when Pastor Don isn’t around. We can reach out to people and tell anecdotes, stories, parables, testimonies of faith, preach the Word, and help others. This is necessary as a preparation for what will happen next. Pastor Don says that he is waiting to see who will be the Gideon army of the Living Word Chapel. Pastor Don is trying to get us to the point were two or more people can talk, and if they disagree that is ok. They take the disagreement to the Bible and find a confirming Word so that the truth comes out. We need to work together as One Body in Christ.

In order for corporate worship to be effective, the majority of the people have to be focused on the same thing. For example if there is a Healing Anointing present, that is where the church should focus – not on deliverance. The Holy Spirit needs to engineer the worship experience. Many times in our church the dancers, praise team, Bible study, Bible verse in the program, and the sermon all revolve around the same theme – even though many of the things were done separately.

He also told us that to be effective a Praise team (dancers and singers) should have a wide variety of songs so that the team can move with the Holy Spirit.

How did the Prophets worship?

Amos 3:3-7 Can two walk together unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it. Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

Pastor Don asked who the prophets were in this day and age – us, the believers.

Pastor Don gives the year 1988 – 1990 as the time when the prophetic anointing began to increase, and he said that with that, there is also an increase in our adversary’s power plays. He knows his time is short, and is trying to disrupt the church. But that means that we need to increase our praise and worship and get the prophetic word out.

Ephesians 3:5 …which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the spirit to His holy apostles and prophets. Today, the prophets are us.

Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

The forerunner of Jesus Christ was John the Baptist, and he preached a gospel of repentance. Matthew 17:11-13 Jesus answered and said, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things, but I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist did three things. 1) announced, 2) pointed the way to, and 3) prepared the way.

Praise and Worship to God does these three things too.

Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.

God started this Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.

Pastor Don pointed out that Jeremiah only went to Egypt and Canaan, yet God made him a prophet to the nations. The to all nations is through the Word of God (Bible) given to all men. That is why it is important to realize that were we have been and where we are now says nothing about where we are going when we follow God.

Sunday school teachers impact the children’s lives, and they go out into the world and the Word of God put into them by the Sunday School teachers touch many lives. We don’t know how far reaching what God is doing is.

Pastor Don gave God’s plan, the six things which the Spirit of God can do with a man, which we see above in Jeremiah 1:9-10

1. Root out
2. Pull down
3. Destroy
4. Throw down
5. Build
6. Plant

Then 7. God perfects (we were told to put this in our margins next to the six points listed above.

Only God can perfect a man.

Then our Bible study went into a period of praise and worship of God before we went home – there is still more to come at another Bible study.

God is so awesome, I am in awe of His wondrous works.

Have a blessed day,
Heather

Genesis 41 – part 2

Joseph is the man with the plan to save Egypt. He correctly interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, and made a suggestion. Pharaoh accepted the suggestion and then decided that Joseph was the man to do the job. What an increase in position – from prison to Prime Minister – second only to Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God.

The Pagan Pharaoh recognized the Holy Spirit operating in Joseph. That is a remarkable insight for the leader of the Gentiles. This is a first mention of an indwelling Holy Spirit. We have seen the Spirit of God hovering in Genesis 1, but now He is indwelling Joseph.

Pharaoh appoints Joseph to be over his house, all his people will be ruled according to Joseph’s word, and only in regard to the throne is Pharaoh greater than Joseph. Joseph is set over all the land of Egypt.

It is important to realize that Joseph was faithful in the little things. He served Potiphar well, did not abuse Mrs. Potiphar, and served honorably in the jail. Everything that Joseph put his hand to, God blessed because Joseph honored God in his actions. Now God will bless Egypt, for Joseph’s sake, and preserve the nation Israel.

Joseph is given the Pharaoh’s signet ring (a symbol of authority), and he is clothed in garments of fine linen and is given a gold chain.

Remember that the Lukewarm church in Revelation 3:17-18 Because you say, ‘ I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing –and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked–I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see.

Revelation 6:11 The martyrs after the fifth seal is opened will be given white robes.  ”Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. 

Revelation 19:13 regarding the coming of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Jesus – He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean , followed Him on white horses.

This is a representation of what happens to believers when Christ comes, and how Christ is clothed. The white robes represent righteousness, and it is only through Christ’s sacrifice that we can be clothed in white robes.  Joseph went through tribulation, and came out triumphant. Our Christ went through tribulation on the Cross and came out triumphant, bringing His family with Him (believers). Joseph will also preserve His family.

Genesis 41:43 And he (Pharaoh) had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

When Jesus comes again, every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

Pharaoh tells Joseph that no man may lift their head without Joseph’s consent.

Pharaoh renamed Joseph: Zaphnath-Paaneah – which means revealer of secrets. And Pharaoh gave Joseph a Gentile bride – Asenath who was the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On.

Jesus also has a Gentile bride – the Bride of Christ.

Joseph was 30 years when this happened (the same age that Jesus began His public ministry).

As prophesied, the seven bounteous years came and Joseph collected the 1/5 of the crops and laid up food in the cities. There was so much grain as the sand of the sea, and he stopped counting the grain because it was immeasurable.

verse 50-52 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” And the name of the second he called Ephriam: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

These two sons will be part of the 12 tribes of Israel. And they were born before the famine came. God gave Joseph a double blessing – two sons.

Then came seven years of famine, verse 54 …The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

While this is talking about physical bread, it also is spiritual bread. Jesus is the bread of life – His word is finer than bread. Because Joseph put God first, those who were around Him did not worry about sustenance, and Pharaoh was blessed financially.

When the people became hungry, they went to Pharaoh who sent them to Joseph. Joseph opened up the storehouses and SOLD the grain to the Egyptians. There was so much grain that other countries came to Egypt to buy grain because the famine was so severe.

Pharaoh’s coffers will be filled.

A few analogies: Joseph was delivered from prison by the hand of God, he is a revealer of secrets, God sent Joseph to preserve life, Joseph warned the people of the danger, He urged provisions, He received a new name (Jesus has a name that no one knows yet, and we will be given new names), had a Gentile bride. He was a savior for all his people, not just the Egyptians, he dispensed the bread of life. The people had to go to Joseph to collect the grain (accept the gift of the bread of life), Jesus has unlimited resources, as Joseph had enough grain as the sands of the sea.

God wanted Jacob and his 11 sons in Egypt for a season, and a famine for the whole world was what brought them to Egypt.

Beth Moore in her Patriarchs gave an interesting word study, page 192
” Something very interesting takes place in the original language in the dialogue of Genesis 41, but you’ll have to look ahead somewhat to make the comparison. “Joseph uses ha elohim (lit., ‘the God,’ i.e., the usual way of referring to God in the OT) in speaking to Pharaoh (vv.25, 28, 32 [twice]), but Pharaoh uses elohim (i.e., “God” without the definite article) in speaking about Joseph (v.38) or speaking to Joseph (v39). Joseph’s use of the article before elohim makes Pharaoh’s reference to elohim a general, all inclusive one.” (Victor Hamilton – the Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50) In a land of many gods, including Pharaoh himself in the eyes of the Egyptians, Joseph made the point that his God was the God. There is no other. Pretty gutsy for a man fresh out of the dungeon, wouldn’t you say?”

Beth talks about the fact that in our lives we have good years and famine years and asks if any “lasting grain” came out of the good years. p. 193 “Then Dear One, something valuable did come of those years. Something worth remembering. Whether or not you ever realized it, God may have fed you with some of the very grain of your abundant season to get you through your famine. Times aren’t always good, but God is. Maybe you don’t have to forget all of that time.”

The prophesy of the future was inevitable, but Beth points out, p. 193 “However, the inevitability of events didn’t mean the people were helpless in the midst of it. Quite the contrary, God sent Joseph precisely so they could do something to survive and even to thrive. Inevitability doesn’t demand passivity……I can’t think of a single time in Scripture when God called His people to do nothing in terrible times. In His mercy, God didn’t even leave the Egyptians defenseless against a future famine. He incarcerated Joseph among them so that “the God” of all creation, “the” One and only, would be exalted among a foreign people who would in turn provide for His own.”

P. 194 “Certainly you and I want people to be honest with us but, if you’re like me, you’d also prefer they leave you with a little hope. Maybe even a few possible answers for ways to best endure a difficult situation. None of us wants to hear, “There’s nothing we can do.” A child of God need never sink into hopelessness no matter how dismal an honest appraisal of their circumstances may be. Nothing is impossible with God. In fact, He may have saved back some harvest from those good seasons to faithfully sustain you.”

Beth points out in a video that covers this study, that God has strategically placed representatives in positions of public influence. He can gift and skill people for service. When God makes the opportunity, take the opportunity. No one is better suited for places of authority than those who have proved that they can submit to authority. Nothing serves us better in place of High Position, than our lessons learned in Low Position.

I find it so comforting to know that no matter what happens in our lives, God can use it for good. It gives a hope even in the midst of distressed circumstances.

Have a blessed day!

Heather

Genesis 41

Genesis 41:32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Many of God’s warnings in the Bible, His promises, and His Laws are stated more than one time. That is like God putting them in bold type and assuring us that they WILL come to pass, no matter what we believe. I just spent time typing a response to someone’s message to me. This person believes in the supermarket religion approach to God, that God is unconditional love and that no one will go to hell. That Jesus did not judge, etc. It breaks my heart to see people believing such lies, because the consequence of believing those lies is eternal. God will not change His Word for His Word is truth. If we adjust His Word, it is us who will face the consequences. If God did change His Word by whim or current trends, then we could not trust God’s Word. WE CAN TRUST GOD’S WORD FOR IT DOES NOT CHANGE.

Remember, Joseph was left in jail, assuming that the butler was going to get him freed. Two years and no sign of the butler coming to Joseph’s rescue must have been difficult for Joseph. I can imagine that every time that cell door opened, Joseph looked up, hoping for reprieve.

Then Pharaoh had a dream. In this dream Pharaoh stood by a river and seven fine looking and fat cows fed in the meadow. Then seven other cows came after those first cows, ugly and gaunt – and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. The ugly cows ate the fat cows. (Heather’s note – cows are not carnivorous, it already hints at something unnatural). Then Pharaoh woke up. 

After returning to sleep, Pharaoh had another dream, seven heads of grain on one stalk, plump and good. Then seven thin heads blighted by the east wind sprang up after them. Then the seven thin heads devoured the plump and full heads.

Pharaoh awoke and it was a dream.

Verse 8 “Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.”

When no one could interpret the dream, the butler confessed that there was a Hebrew man in prison with him that could interpret dreams. (Two years later, in God’s timing – not Joseph’s timing, Joseph is delivered).

Verse 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

Daniel will also interpret dreams for King Nebuchadnezzar, there were two dreams one in chapter 2 and one in chapter 7 of Daniel. Chapter 2 is man’s view, and chapter 7 is God’s view, but it is the same situation. This is similar to the two dreams of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh tells Joseph that he has heard that Joseph can interpret dreams. Unlike many, Joseph puts it right out front that it is not him, but God who does this.

Verse 16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

I find it interesting that the description of Pharaoh’s dream changed a bit with a second repeat:

Verse 3 …seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt….

Verse 19 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.

Pastor Don talks about not elaborating on our visions. That sometimes God gives us a vision, and it is usually one line or two. But we want to help God out by adding our insights, additional things to make it clear. So often, if God has given us a vision to share with someone else, He is giving us EXACTLY what the person needs to hear. When we elaborate, we often get it wrong, or diffuse the message, and the person walks away not hearing the real word of God. I don’t know if this is what happened here.

These famines remind me of the plagues during Exodus and Revelation, where there will be natural events so severe that we have never seen the like before.

We get some more additional information in verse 21 about Pharaoh’s dream: When they (the ugly and gaunt cows) had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

That is an indication of how severe the famine would be.

All that we learn extra about the heads of grain in the second telling of the dream was that they were withered.

Then Pharaoh says to Joseph. Verse 24 …So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.

This is so similar to Daniel – who had to interpret the king’s dream. Only the king made it even harder for his magicians – he wanted them to tell him not only the dream interpretation, but the dream too. None of the magicians were able to do so.

Verse 25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

God is so good. Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets.

Oh, we need to keep this in mind. Today there are a lot of doubts about what will happen in the end times. Some say it is allegory, some say that it won’t happen. But God has revealed it to his prophets, we would do well to heed their words.

Joseph goes on to explain that the two dreams are one event. The seven good cows and ears are seven years. The seven thin and ugly cows and grain are seven years, and talk about seven years of famine.

Remember this is God speaking to a Gentile king – and giving a warning – the ultimate result of this is the preservation of the line of Israel.  But God says to Pharaoh:

verse 28-32 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

A thought came to me about this. How often, when things are going good in my life, God gets put on the back burner – still there, but not prominent. It is during the good times, when we need to be praying, soaking in God’s goodness, filling our mind with His Word, praying in tongues, and focusing on God, so that we are so filled with His presence that when the famine comes in our life – the trials, tribulations, challenges, and hurts come, that we have an infilling of His Presence to draw on. Pastor Don talks often about keeping on walking in faith in good and bad times, because as we do that, when tough times come, we have faith to draw on.

Joseph advises Pharaoh verse 33 Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

Joseph did not only give dream interpretation, but he gave words of wisdom to Pharaoh.

Regarding the famine, remember that in Revelation 6-19 covers seven years of tribulation which will force Israel to come to Jesus to preserve their nation. This tribulation in the form of famine, will force Jacob and his family to Egypt to preserve their nation.

In verse 33 in KJV, the word discrete is used instead of discerning. It is number 995 in Strong’s concordance. It is a very strong word, not only does it mean discern, understand consider, but to perceive, observe, mark give heed to, distinguish, consider. To have discernment, insight and understanding, to teach, instruct, and be prudent.

We will see that these qualities apply to Joseph, and seems to be what he has been developing through all of his tribulation. He will see and lead his people well.

This plan seemed good to Pharaoh and he tells his servants that Joseph will be the man for the plan.

Beth Moore adds, in her study the Patriarchs a few other interesting points. 365 x 2 = 730 days. page 187 “When we are in waiting mode, one month doesn’t feel like one anything. It feels every bit of 30 days…Time can be a liar. Heaven is replete with angelic activity as God faithfully completes in the spiritual realms what He will release in the visible realms when the time is right. In effect we’re praying for this very thing every time we recite the words, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

And here is another passage that really struck home to me, p. 187 “Sometimes we can be so busy looking for what is missing in our lives that we miss Who is busily present in our lives. We’re looking for God to do us future favors when He’s trying to open our eyes to present ones. Remember, God purposes to use every second of a divinely-ordained wait to build us into the individuals our future demands we be.”

Beth also reminds us that God could have caused Pharaoh’s dream 23 months earlier.

She also reminded us that Egypt was the breadbasket of the ancient world, and cows were the typical farm animal – and cows also symbolized Egypt and one of their gods, Isis. So an Egyptian dreaming about cows was a big thing.

Here is another exciting quote, p. 188 “No one could interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams. Why not, I ask you? Think about the two original dreams Joseph had when he was only 17. Unlike the cupbearer’s or baker’s dreams, the images in Joseph’s dreams (sheaves of grain, sun, moon, and stars bowing down) were so plain to his father and brothers that they needed no interpreter. I’d like to suggest that the meanings of the cows and the grain were equally obvious. The question of what they meant wouldn’t even win a hundred bucks on Egyptian Jeopardy. The magicians and wise men simply did not want to be the bearers of bleak news. They are placing a higher premium on diplomacy than on honesty.”

p. 188 “A Pharaoh didn’t have peers. He was considered ‘a god incarnate.’ All who served him were at the mercy of his absolute power. His diplomatic assistants obviously believed that no news was better than bad news.”

Beth points out that we, as humans, tend to put our hope and dependency on others, but God wants us to lean on Him. p. 189 “God means for you and me to cast our utter dependency only on Him. His plan does not depend on any human, and certainly not on human memory! God loves you. He has well-planned a fruitful life for you. Nothing and no one critical to your God-placed future can fail to come through once God says its time.”

Then Beth said that she is doing a private devotional study that asked her what lies people believe about God, one of which is that man’s weaknesses can block God’s strength. And she says on p. 189 “God doesn’t just work through the strengths of man. He also works through the weaknesses of man. While our weaknesses can certainly mess us up, they can’t mess up God. Weaknesses can become God’s workmen as surely as strengths….I believe God very likely used the weakness of the cupbearer to strengthen a weakness in Joseph.”

That being said, Beth also cautions that we cannot be unfaithful to others, and use God’s sovereignty as an excuse. God can rightly use a wrong, but the wrong remains and we will be responsible for it.

More tomorrow in this remarkable story, and analogy of Jesus.

Hope your day is blessed.

Heather

Genesis 40

Have you ever had dreams, prophetic dreams? I know that Joel 2:28 says And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and My maidservants, I will our out My spirit in those days.

Well, it seems to be THOSE days, and it is not just the men, but the women who are having prophesies and dreaming dreams in this day and age.

Well, our friend Joseph, is still quite the dreamer and dream interpreter. We shall see what ensues here. God is so good, and blesses His servants. We can be in the pit, in jail, in a tough situation, in a joyful situation and He blesses us. We just need to seek Him to see the blessings.

One point that is a link between Joseph and Jesus is that both were tempted and did not sin. Joseph refused Mrs. Potiphar, and Jesus did not get tempted to sin or act out with His power. Both ended up imprisoned, and Jesus ended up killed. Both were innocent of the crimes they were accused.

Genesis 40:1 Joseph will have some new cell mates – the butler and baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, and Pharaoh was angry, so they were put in prison where Joseph was.

In this day and age, such a meeting of people would be called a “God appointment.”

Genesis 40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for awhile.

This is a parallel with Jesus too: Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Innocent Joseph was also in prison with the transgressors.  The two fellow prisoners of Joseph had dreams, and their dreams made them sad because they had no interpretation of their dreams.

Joseph answers them Genesis 40:8b “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

Notice that Joseph will give credit for the interpretation to God.

Here is the butler’s dream: v 9-11 Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes, then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.

Joseph’s interpretation of the above dream: v 12-13 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it” The three branches are three days. Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner,when you were his butler.”

One other thing is that the cup (symbolizing the blood of Christ) is salvation. And then the butler will be close again to the king – as we are restored to God due to Christ’s sacrifice.

Then Joseph says something that is so reminiscent of Jesus – “remember me.” Remember at the Last Supper, Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Verse 14-15 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.

Notice, Joseph’s attempt to get himself out of jail didn’t work. It wasn’t God’s timing yet.

Well, the baker hears the good report given to the butler and he shares his dream with Joseph.

Verse 16b-17 I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

Joseph’s interpretation: v. 18-19 So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.

Within the two dreams are the elements of communion – bread and wine. Why in one case is there salvation, in the other case death? In Revelation 19 the beast and his armies come against Christ, all are killed by the sword that proceeds from the mouth of Jesus and in verse 21b “All the birds were filled with their flesh.” There will be a judgment and people will be accountable for their deeds and loyalties.

1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

Now on the third day – Jesus was raised up on the third day. The Third Day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he made a feast for all his servants, and brought the butler and baker to him. He restored the chief butler to butlership, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. But the chief baker was hanged.

And sadly, verse 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Here are a few parallels between Joseph and Jesus:
* Four times the cup was mentioned -  cups in Passover, Jesus drank three and said that he would drink the fourth one in paradise with us.
* Birds attack the bread – Matthew 13 Jesus calls birds instruments of satan.
* Joseph falsely accused and made no defense for himself.
* Joseph went to prison without a verdict (John 18:38 as did Jesus)
* He suffered though he was innocent (Acts 7:9, Isaiah 53 talks about Jesus’ suffering.
* He suffered at the hands of the Gentiles (Egyptians), Jesus was brought to Roman leaders.
* The Jailer recognized Joseph as righteous/the Centurion did so with Jesus.
* Joseph was in prison with two others – Jesus was on cross between two others.
* One was freed/one died – as did the thief on the cross, one was brought to Heaven, one perished on the cross.
* form of execution was hanging on a tree, and Gal 3:13 said cursed is one who hung on a tree.
* Joseph and Jesus knew about the future
* Both had a desire to be remembered.

How many of us forget Jesus? I can only imagine the hope that Joseph waited with for his deliverance that did not come. How hard it must have seemed for him. Yet, he still lived honorably and did what was right in God’s eyes.

Sometimes in our trials and tribulations we don’t see God’s hand, or see how it could possibly be of use in our lives, but God knows what will grow us to be useful servants in His kingdom.

Beth Moore, in her study The Patriarchs points out an interesting fact that Joseph held leadership positions that he had little or no experience in. That he didn’t need to know much about the position, but Joseph had a fair amount of knowledge about people.

Beth points out on p. 183 “The positions of cupbearer and chief baker may seem minor to us, but in reality no one in Pharaoh’s service required more trust. Kings in ancient times had a continual fear of being poisoned.”

Another thing she points out is that Potiphar is THE captain of the guard, and that is where the king’s prisoners were held, so it is pretty certain that Potiphar knew Joseph was innocent, or he wouldn’t have placed him in charge of the prisoners.

p. 185 regarding the dreams “Through one, Joseph prophesied a position restored. Through the other, Joseph prophesied a death penalty. The order possibly lends insight into the baker’s guilt. The cupbearer, presumed innocent was very quick to share his dream with Joseph as if he had nothing to hide. The baker, on the other hand, didn’t share his dream until he “saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation” to the cupbearer.

p186 “Feeling forgotten by someone often feels worse than being scorned. At least the scorner knows we’re alive! Feeling forgotten can force a bruising blow to one of our most innate human needs: feeling significant. Noticed. Alive. Feeling forgotten makes us feel invisible.”

p. 186 “Imagine: everyday from the time of the cupbearer’s release Joseph waited for word. The echoes of two more birthday celebrations must have mocked him as he sat inside those prison walls. Like Joseph, some of you have waited many days for some show of remembrance that hasn’t come. God knows exactly how you feel. Over and over in His Word He speaks of being forgotten by His people. Dear One, if that person’s remembrance is truly critical to your life’s calling and the destiny God planned for you, in time He will make him or her remember….Furthermore, God won’t waste a moment of the meantime to build Joseph into the kind of man his destiny demands.”

Isaiah 49:14-15 tells us that though others may forget, God will not forget. God cares about us like a woman with child in the womb or a nursing mother.

I know that I have felt forgotten, but now I am learning that if I wait on God’s timing things work out better and with more effect. But it is hard in those crunch periods to wait with that kind of patience and know that God will use even the tough spots to grow us.

Have a blessed day!

Heather

Random thoughts.

Well this has been a rainy, rainy, lazy day. In between cleaning house and doing things for kids, I have been reading C.S. Lewis. My sons’ camping trip was canceled – my middle one doesn’t understand why the leader doesn’t want to camp in the pouring rain – oh to be young again.

I don’t know if any of you are near Living Word Chapel, in West Hurley, New York, but Thursday we are having Prophet Samachen from India speaking at our church. There will be an Indian dinner from 4-6, and then he will speak from 6 until he has to go and catch a plane. You would be most welcome. Pastor Don spent time with him, and feels he is an anointed man of God, strongly encouraging us to attend. He told us that he is a prophet like the Old Testament prophets, not saying just nice things, but speaking the truth.

******

When I first started struggling with the concept of God, one of the main things I realized was that something had to have created the earth – there was too much interconnectedness. There was such a variety of wildlife, and all worked together to create a common ecosystem. I couldn’t escape the fact that there had to be a creator, just like the book of Romans suggested. I also was beginning to be very convicted of my sins, and wondered why God would want me, if He did want me. One day in my musings, I was feeling like I wanted to hide from God, in a corner, under a rug – anywhere where He wouldn’t notice me. I figured if He caught sight of me, that He would kick me out of His kingdom. Then I went back to looking at nature and was marveling at the interconnectedness, the creativity, and the beauty, and all of a sudden I got the clear impression, “You are part of nature too, part of the whole.” And I realized that God included me in His plans. It was a comforting thought in the midst of a lot of hurting.

****

Last week, and next week I will also be spending time by a stream with my Girl Scout troop who are doing a silver award. One of my moms is a DEP worker, and she is helping them to organize a stream watch, where they are doing a serious, scientific study of about 100 feet of stream. The area will be mapped, the plants plotted, the animals watched, birds, bugs, chemistry, etc. All of this will then be made into a powerpoint presentation for the DEP and the people who own the site will also see it, and it will go on the national computer. It is a mega job, far more work than an ordinary silver award, but the girls are able to see a lot of the wonders of nature, learn some scientific methods and tools, and do something of value. There is 15 hours of stream observation that they are going to do, followed by hours of preparing reports.  Here are two pictures:

Christine and Nadia are measuring the stream, Shannon (with notebook) and Katherine (left)  are looking for animal tracks, fish, and crayfish. Katherine had us laughing on Friday for a walking stick climbed up her leg, and we were being silent, looking for birds. She was screaming with her mouth closed making mewing sounds, but the walking stick was cool and all were holding it after awhile. We then found a baby walking stick. In the tree branch near Shannon you might be able to detect a white object – that is dead grasses wrapped around the tree branch – debris from flooding. We are near a small river and it flooded last year. The flood was so high that we can see the line on the shore caused by the flooding and the debris in the trees from that – you can see how high the debris is. 

Christine is helping Katherine learn to use a plant identification book. You can see a string stretched across the picture (probably best seen on level with Christine’s hand contrasted to her blue shirt). That string is a line about fifty feet long – and Katherine has to identify every plant, along that string – she will have to do four of them. They are making baggies of unnamed grasses, and plants to try and ID later. she did about six feet on Friday, and had several columns in her notebook. We are told it will get easier as she begins to identify plants that are repeats, but right now it is slow going. Christine is adamant that the girls do all the work, and learn something. They will walk away with skills that they don’t realize yet.

The binoculars were for the hour we sat quietly to watch for birds. It was funny, our walking onto the site caused the birds to draw away, but after we were quiet, we could hear them coming closer and closer.

It is so cool and I am learning a lot. I am so proud of these girls. And it is so wonderful to be for three hours in God’s creation, appreciating all His wonderful work. We do serve an awesome God!

******
C.S. Lewis was once an atheist. I too had spent several years not believing in God, then tried paganism. C.S. Lewis’s mom died when he was young and he talked about praying to God – it reminded me of when I made those prayers to God to have my father stop raping me.

PP. 20- 21 “My mother’s death was the occasion of what some (but not I) might regard as my first religious experience. When her case was pronounced hopeless I remembered what I had been taught; that prayers offered in faith would be granted. I accordingly set myself to produce by will power a firm belief that my prayers for her recovery would be successful; and as I thought, I achieved it. When nevertheless she died I shifted my ground and worked myself into a belief that there was to be a miracle. The interesting thing is that my disappointment produced no results beyond itself. The thing hadn’t worked, but I was used to things not working, and I thought no more about it. I think the truth is that the belief into which I had hypnotized myself was itself too irreligious for its failure to cause any religious revolution. I had approached God, or my idea of God, without love, without awe, even without fear. He was, in my mental picture of this miracle, to appear neither as Savior nor as Judge, but merely as a magician; and when He had done what was required of Him, I supposed He would simply–well, go away. It never crossed my mind that the tremendous contact which I solicited should have any consequences beyond restoring the status quo.”

This spoke to me because those prayers I prayed (my testimony) were not prayed with any real relationship with God – I just wanted God to do what I wanted Him to do. God had greater plans, something I can now see, but His seeming lack of response troubled me greatly. I think that there are still times when I pray to God, having in my mind a map of how He is going to answer my prayer, and God has other ideas. He will meet my needs, but He will do it His way, and that is a lesson I still need to work on.

Hoping you have a blessed Sunday,

Heather

Pastor Don taught one of the most incredible Bible studies yesterday. Driving home the words, The first shall be last, and the last first came to mind. I think that that is something Jesus gave us as a clue to what I am going to share. I am so excited to share this study with you!

Friday August 25, 2006

Pastor Don first talked about a show he saw on the History Channel called, “Exodus Decoded.” He thinks it is so good that he purchased a copy of it and plans to show it to the church on a movie night.

Then he mentioned that he was working around the house and happened to catch someone interviewing Perry Stone, and the topic was so riveting that he stopped what he was doing and took down notes. He shared the outline with us today, but plans to give an in-depth study on the topic.

He mentioned that many in the church feel that the Rapture is the next major event of Bible prophesy. What people tend to debate is the place and how to locate the event in time. Jesus talked about it in Matthew 24 and 25, the prophets spoke of it, Daniel, Ezekiel, and others. There are a definite series of events that will surround the rapture. And we see pictures of the rapture even in the Old Testament.

For example, we see pictures from Revelation in Genesis, there was the burning bush, and the Angel of the Lord, knowing we are on Holy Ground.

There was the parting of the Red Sea. The Egyptians were pursing God’s people, and God parted the waters to let his people into the Promised Land. That did not mean that there were no challenges after that, the Israelites had to fight giants in the land, to clear out the natives and take the land that God gave them. David fought Goliath. When we are born again, we are brought into the Promised Land, into the Kingdom, and we still have battles to fight. Not everything is going to be hunkey dory (ok), but we get to live, not die. While we are on earth, life is a process of spiritually going from Egypt to the Promised land. We will have struggles, problems and the world will impact our lives, but we have a hope and a promise.

Then there was the tower of Babel, the fleshly desire for power. Nimrod (the first picture of anti-christ). They were seeking a common language, but for the wrong purpose. It is the same problem as we saw in Eden, where Adam and Eve desired to become like God. The fleshly efforts of man lead to corruption and evil.

To find out the chronology of Revelation, we need to look to the Old Testament to find answers to what is revealed in the New Testament. We will see that the Old Testament shows how the chronology will unfold.

Pastor Don told us that the Bible has many layers and depths, and that as we read and study we will find out more. He gave a description of the Bible Codes, because many did not know what they were. From the time of Newton, who believed that in the Hebrew text, written by God, there would be hidden messages. These messages were not found until recently, and with the use of computers, more is found. But there was Ramsel who used prayer and the Holy Spirit to find the codes. These are not used to fortune tell, but they do show how much God is involved in all that goes on even today. It is a confirmation of God’s Word.

Here is what drew Pastor Don’s attention from the Perry Stone interview.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.

Luke 24:44 And He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.

We need to take Revelation and look back into the Old Testament to see how it is revealed. We know that we see that Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, He was a priest from the order of Melchizedek, The Ark represents the Ark of the Covenant mentioned in Revelation and it also speaks of Jesus. We see the antichrist mentioned in the Old Testament, and mention of the end days.

Where is the starting point when you don’t know the time table?

(Heather’s note, this blew me away).

Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. This is the chapter referring to the Tower of Babel. In today’s time the universal business language is English, and we communicate with computer language. The tower was made of brick, stone and they used asphalt for mortar. It was a man-made endeavor, and their goal was to become like God. The tower was located in the plain of Shinar – which today is Iraq. And where are we now – in Iraq. The twin towers in our country were destroyed, and that ultimately brought us to the Middle East for the war on terror. Perhaps we would not have gone there without the attack on the towers. Just like we might have turned our eyes away from Europe during World War II if there wasn’t a Pearl Harbor.

Genesis 11:10 begins a list of Shem’s Descendants these become the 10 nations. Could be the European Union, and the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39. Then there are the descendants of Terah which is the descendants that led to Jesus.

This is the starting point – when the tower came down.

Now here is the awesome thing. Instead of going to chapter 12 for the next point, we are going to Genesis 10 – working backwards!

Genesis 10 is the Generations of Noah – Nimrod and Peleg are two of those. Nimrod verse 8 began to be a mighty one on the earth – he was a rebel and the prototype of antichrist. Then there was Peleg verse 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. Put that with verse 15 Caanan begat Sidon his firstborn and Heth. , and verse 20 the sons of Ham, and you have nations divided against each other. There will be battles fought and Matthew 24 where nations battle against nations, and there is division. We are seeing this today.

Then we go to Genesis 9 Which is the Noah’s Ark. There was a problem of drunkenness and nakedness, Noah’s sin. Caused a division between Canaan and Ham and his other sons. There will be a curse on Canaan. We will see in the Bible all the battles between the various “ites” Ishmaelites, Hittites, etc. There will be none left – today no other nation but Israel ever came back from being a dead nation. You will not walk down the street and hear someone talking Ishmaelite, or Hittite, or Jebusite, etc. Even though there was salvation from the flood, there was still sin in the world, and ultimately one of the sons will go and create Sodom and Gomorrah, there will be homosexuality, drunkenness and other sins will abound. This is the state of the world now. Even though we have salvation through Jesus Christ, sin still abounds in the world. Remember – we are going backwards in Genesis, but forwards in our time period.

Genesis 8 – Here we have the ark, and the flood – water. Water inundates the world. Why did God have to flood the earth, because there was so much sinfulness in the world, Sodom and Gomorrah, unnatural behaviors, and the bloodline was getting polluted. These past years, our earth has been inundated with floods and Tsunami’s. Many of the areas hit were big areas for sexual behavior, from child prostitution, to prostitution, to homosexual behavior.

Then we go back to Genesis 7 which is the great flood, where Noah built the ark. There was a pressure on him to preserve what God wanted to preserve. This is what we need to be doing today, reaching out to God’s children, to pull them to safety – to reach them with the Gospel. The Church needs to be so active in reaching out to the lost – to bring people to the ark.

Genesis 6 – Wickedness increases in the earth, and causes God to judge. God will separate the sheep from the goats. God is sending us out to go and see who can be saved. We are to separate ourselves from earth.

Chapter 5 – is the family of Adam. We went over that before, how the names of the the generations from Adam to Noah tell the salvation story. For those who have never seen it, I am going to share it now:

ADAM – man
SETH – appointed
ENOSH – subject to death
CAINAN -sorrowful
MAHALALEL -from the presence of God
JARED – one comes down
ENOCH -dedicated
METHUSELAH -has sent his death
LAMECH -poor and lowly
NOAH – rest.

If you put it together, you see that man, appointed, was subject to death and sorrowful because he has lost the presence of God. One comes down who is dedicated, to die, who is poor and lowly, and because of His death we find rest. Awesome Gospel message, hidden in the text.

In verses 19-24 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty two years; and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begat Methuselah. After he begat Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty five years, and Enoch walked with God: And he was not, for God took him.

There is so much of significance in those verses. Notice that Enoch did not die, God took him (raptured him). Enoch was the 7th generation (and we talk about 7 millennium to bring completion). The saints are not going to go through the tribulation and judgment on earth, for we will be pulled off the planet. We see this happening in the 70th week of Daniel. God has brought Israel back into the land – which in itself is a miracle, it is the only dead nation that was revived.
We are beginning to see the mark of the beast on the earth. With the terrorism threats and the problems at the airports with the boarding of planes, people would jump at the chance of a way to speed up the red tape and get to the head of the line, even to taking a chip. And the chip would be in the forehead or hand of a person because those are exposed to heat, and could support battery power. We had a speaker at our church once who was the inventor of the chip, and then he read Revelation and went to his knees to beg God’s forgiveness.

Genesis 4 (again back in Genesis to the future of our world) we have Cain and Abel – and Cain gets a mark. The blood of Abel cries out to God. Those on earth (as the ones who have been raptured won’t be), will take a mark. God protected Cain because of the Covenant he had made with Adam. The Prayers of the saints will help to set apart the people we are praying for. We are promised that our families will be set apart and sanctified, given the option to accept Christ. Of course, free will also gives them the freedom to reject Christ.

Back to Genesis 3 – the temptation of man. Satan goes to and fro on the earth and tempts Eve to eat the fruit. Because of this action on his part, satan is bound – he can no longer walk on the earth, but must crawl on his belly. In Revelation, satan will be bound for 1000 years (the millennium), and then he will be released for a short time before being cast forever into the pit.

Genesis 2 Notice that man was created at the 6th day, and the seventh day God rested – the 7th millennium will be when Jesus rules and reigns and we get rest. God will get the earth back to the way it was when He first created it. The Millennial reign will show us how God meant the earth to be.

Genesis 1 – the creation of the earth. satan is loosed from the pit, and there is one last big battle before he is cast permanently into the Lake of Fire. There will be a creation of a new heaven and a new earth. The old will pass away.

Then he answered some questions from the people at the Bible study, here are notes on them.

Pastor Don told us that prophesy is a circle or interwoven. None of us sit here fully actualized as a self. We all have inner child conflicts. There are hurts and dominating emotions. Until the inner child is healed, we really do not have full joy. When we face situations, we tend to flash back to similar situations from our past. We are needing a hero, and Jesus Christ is our perfect Hero.

Then Pastor Don mentioned the Power of God, which is sometimes seen manifested as miracles, but the greatest miracle is our salvation.

1 Corinthians 10:1-3 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food.

We are all under a cloud, passing through the sea. In Moses’ day, the cloud led the people, and when they were ready to cross the Red Sea, the cloud stood between the People and Pharaoh’s soldiers, to protect the people as they crossed the Red sea.

When we are at a Dead Sea situation, and have a desire to get across the sea – when we have problems in our marriage, with our finances, the problems are big ones in our life we have choices.

1. We can try to solve the problem in our own strength.
2. We can pretend that the problem isn’t there – denial.
3. We can ask the Lord for a miracle.
4. We can raise our staff, organize our thought life, and cross the sea, knowing that somehow God will save us.

The parting of the sea is under God’s control, if we raise our faith staff, God will answer in due season. Sometimes it is at the 11th hour or 11:59:59.

There are two kinds of clouds, there are the clouds sent by God, and then there are the clouds that are not of God – that cloud our thinking, the one that holds us on shore. We have to deal with our clouds.

If you are under a cloud of depression, we have to take an action, raise our staff of faith. The prophesy information we are learning will not help us if we stand on the shore with our hands in our pockets.

In these last days, we have to change our value system. Time is short, and we do not want to waste our time, drag around dead weight. We have to ask ourselves why are we doing what we are doing? Is it edifying? If you remember the Tsunami, you know that disaster hits in a second. We need to be prepared, and ready for whatever.

Hope this blessed you. I suspect that this rough outline will be fleshed out in future Bible studies by Pastor Don. Praying you have a great weekend.

Heather

 

Below this entry, on Thursday,  is the clue for the treasure hunt!!!! Tonight I am going to begin to type up and post sometime tomorrow the most incredible Bible study that Pastor Don taught this afternoon, sigh. It blew my mind.

Genesis 39 – the tension mounts. Joseph has been sold into slavery, his father mourns Joseph’s death. After this cliffhanger, we have an interlude with Tamar and Judah. Now we will see what happens next, believe me, this is the original soap opera.

Joseph’s position abroad will become prominent and powerful, but first there will be some trials and tribulation. Joseph is taken down to Egypt (he was 17 years old), and Potiphar (which means belonging to the sun), who was an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, and an Egyptian bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites.

I love verse 2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

It is something that I have to keep reminding myself about, that the LORD is with us no matter what our circumstances are. He is with us in our Egypts, He is with us in the deepest pit, He is always with us, and He can make us successful no matter where we are. What made Joseph successful? Unlike me at times, he did not sit down and mope, and refuse to do more than the bare minimum for his master. He approached his situation with boundless industry, not in a lazy manner and he dealt with His master in integrity. He did not compromise his principles, even for the “enemy”.

People notice what we do, and those in Egypt (or the world) are very aware of our actions. God was with Joseph, God was a part of Joseph’s life, and Joseph acted in a godly manner, and THAT was noticed by Potiphar.

Verse 3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.

Even when we don’t realize it, people from the world notice what we are doing. Joseph found so much favor with his master, that he was made overseer of Potiphar’s house and all that Potiphar had was put under Joseph’s authority.

I wonder if it was those same qualities that caused Jacob/Israel to give Joseph the distinction of the coat of many colors. So often people feel that they are entitled to position or rank, but their actions do not merit the advancement. Obviously Joseph acted in such a way as to merit the advancement.

Verse 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake, and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

God is so good, his blessings flow out even to the Egyptians. He honored Joseph’s obedience with overflow of abundance, and that flowed down to others in Joseph’s circle. When we bring the LORD into our situation, He blesses it. Potiphar knew that he did not have to worry about anything with Joseph in control. I sure hope that people look at me and think the same kinds of thoughts about my being trustworthy and able. Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that Potiphar did not know what he had, except for the bread that he ate.

Not only was Joseph honest, honorable, and a good steward, but he was also handsome, so handsome that he attracted the eye of Potiphar’s wife.

She asked Joseph to lie with her, but Joseph refused saying, verse 8-9 “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God.

You know, Joseph kept his priorities straight, he knew that if he slept with Potiphar’s wife that the one he would be sinning against is God. Joseph knew that God was there, and would see the sin, even if Potiphar never discovered it. I think that I need to keep this in mind because if I keep God foremost in my mind, there will be less tendency to sin against Him.

Notice that in verse 10 it says, “So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.”

This is so important. Joseph avoided her so that there would be no sense of impropriety in his actions. We have to watch what we say and do because others are watching, and observing. We need to make sure our actions are holy and aboveboard. One other thing to notice is that, just like any temptation to sin, it keeps coming at Joseph. He refused one day, but that did not mean that Potiphar’s wife gave up, she kept trying. It is so with most of our temptations. Satan isn’t going to say, “Oh, he resisted me once, guess I’ll give up.” Satan will keep trying to find our weak areas. After Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, satan left Him until a more opportune time. Satan will keep slinging those darts and temptations, and hoping to find a weak point in our spiritual armor. And often, when we get free of an area of bondage, that is exactly where satan will attack again. It is very easy to slide back into an area of bondage that is familiar, so we have to keep focusing on God, saying scriptures to battle the bondage, and keep moving forward.

One day, Joseph ended up being in the house to do his work, and none of his men were there for witnesses. verse 12 “that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.

Poor Joseph and his garments – his coat of many colors caused jealousy in his brothers, so much so that they contemplated his death, but ultimately sold him into slavery. Now Joseph’s garment (and given he was in charge of his master’s house, it probably was a garment of authority), is grabbed by Potiphar’s wife, and Joseph flees naked from the house.

There are so many things this brings to mind. 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. James 4:7-8a Therefore submit to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…

Joseph, again keeping his focus on God, fled from this woman. He did the right thing in resisting her evil. But look at the outcome. There is a saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Can you imagine the feelings that went through Potiphar’s wife’s mind? Not only did Joseph say no, but he ran from her presence and house naked. She must have been mortified, so angry that she had to get back at him. So she called the men to her and told them that a Hebrew mocked them, wanting to lie with her. (What a lie!). She says she yelled and grabbed his robe to keep it until her husband came home. She lied, bold faced lie. But she had to plot this way, because the alternative would be Joseph telling Potiphar what happened, and she would be in trouble. Notice how she now tries to make Potiphar guilty.

Verse 17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me: so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

Do you remember that Adam tells God, “The woman you gave me…” putting the blame for his disobedience ontoGod and the woman. Here Mrs. Potiphar puts the blame on Joseph for her disobedience.

verse 19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.

What I have always wondered is with whom was Potiphar angry at? I suspect it is probably his wife. Why? Potiphar knows Joseph is a man of integrity. Attempted rape was a capital offense in Egypt, and if Potiphar really felt Joseph was guilty, he would have had Joseph killed, not imprisoned.

verse 20-23 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the kings’ prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

Can you imagine the feelings of Joseph? Have you ever been falsely accused, and had to take a punishment that someone else should have had? Even in that tough situation, Joseph still had God’s favor. He still acted honorably, so much so that he was put in charge of the prison. The Bible tells us that what satan meant for harm, God would turn to good. God will use this prison experience to help Joseph and his family. While Joseph did not die, I wonder what he thought of his prophetic dreams from the past. It sure seems that he sunk deeper and deeper into a situation that seemed likely to kill those visions. But Joseph still honored God, and gained God’s favor.

Beth Moore, in her study The Patriarchs, as usual has some wonderful advice. She mentions on page 180 that when Mrs. Potiphar asked him to lie with her, he gave 35 Hebrew words as an answer, stating the reasons why he would not lie with her. and Beth says, “If you and I are going to be victorious under tidal wave temptation, we are wise to rehearse in advance our reasons for standing firm…he knew that fleeting pleasure could not possibly be worth the violations of trust and subsequent consequences.”

On Page 181 Beth talks about Mrs. Potiphar’s reaction. “Please absorb how thoroughly Mrs. Potiphar covered, manipulated and schemed. First she made sure her servants knew (v.14). The servants not only provided witnesses but their knowledge also insured Potiphar’s obligation to respond strongly and swiftly. Secondly, notice her deliberate attempt to incite racial prejudice in her reference to Joseph as “this Hebrew” (v.14) Thirdly, don’t miss how effectively she played the blame card by shifting fault to her husband. Lastly, note the repetitive reference to the “cloak beside” her in verses 15, 16, and 18.”

“Everytime Potiphar’s wife recounted the story, however, she described the cloak beside her rather than in her hand. Then, in verse 16 she very purposely “kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.” Why was the placement of the cloak so important? Because Potiphar’s wife wanted the scene to insinuate that Joseph himself had removed his cloak as a preliminary to rape. The woman was so viciously cunning, one had to wonder how often she’d sharpened her skills.”

Page 182 “Surely Genesis 39 and the events that will soon follow represent the lowest point of Joseph’s life.”

Page 182 “The Joseph saga continues for the next 11 chapters of Genesis. To the degree that he’s been abased, Joseph will abound. Yet we will never again see the constant reminder in Scripture that God was with him. Beloved, we tend to be convinced that God has abandoned us in our abasement and joined us in our abundance. God is never closer to us than when we’ve been kicked down by life…..Dear One, God is loyal to you…even when no one else is. He is present with you no matter what your estate. You cannot enter a single place—not even a prison—where God cannot ultimately make you successful.”

I hope this has blessed you. Sometimes trouble comes my way, and I have to remember that these situations, even if caused by satan, will be turned to good by God. I used to blame God for the horrid things that happened to me, but now I realize that God was there with me in the midst of them, and satan was not able to drive me to death. God will win, and he will take these terrible times and restore what satan meant for our harm. It is a win-win situation. And we have God on our side.

Hoping you have a blessed weekend!

Heather

Welcome to the first step of the treasure hunt!!!! The greatest treasures are found in God’s word. Your first assignment is to write your favorite scripture here on my site. Next – go to Tonya’s site www.xanga.com/hayleys_sftball_mom.

Can I tell you that the Lord blessed me so much tonight. First, I was afraid I wouldn’t get to church because of a meeting my son had, and the meeting was postponed until tomorrow! Then we got to do lots of praise and worship at church, something I needed very much because it has been a tough day, and the best way to break a spirit of depression is praise and worship.

Pastor Don talked about meeting a prophet from Africa, who knew no English, but was so enlightened. He is now visiting America – and we prayed for him. But Pastor Don said something so intriguing. He said that he and this prophet were able to communicate through scripture verses. That all that was important is in the Bible, and even if you don’t understand a person’s language, you can understand their points with scripture. Pretty cool, huh?

Then we had a pastor from Bermuda visiting one of our members. Pastor Don let this pastor speak and he knocked our socks off. Not only was his message incredible, but it was right on target with what Pastor Don has been teaching. The Holy Spirit came and this pastor talked. I took down as many notes as I could. His name is Pastor Bean and he is from Transfiguration Ministries in Bermuda.

He talked about how God wanted us to have a covenant relationship with Him.  John 7:38 (Jesus talking) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart (belly) will flow rivers of living water. So many see this as an outpouring of the Holy Ghost. But it is more than just the Holy Ghost, it is God seeking covenant relationship with His people.  Jesus said in John 7:37 “If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink.”

Luke tells us that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Everything that exists today has already existed from the beginning of time. There really is nothing new. God has done something a long time ago, it comes around again today and we think it is a new revelation, but really it had already been in existence. So Pastor Bean, in seeking out where the idea of out of your belly flows a river came from he was brought back to Genesis for the origin of the law and the principles for the Kingdom. Genesis 1 has to do with creation, and there is a point where God had to recreate what got damaged between Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 when satan was cast down to earth.

(Heather’s note: this next part is very exciting for me because I hadn’t thought of this way of looking at things in Genesis 2, I know it will bless you too.)

Genesis 2 God finished his creation and blessed the seventh day – the Sabbath. He rested from His labors, and used that time to fellowship with men. God had created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden. Eden means Delight of God, Spot of God’s presence, and Kingdom of God. This is the first mention of the kingdom of God, and we will see that from there, rivers of living water will flow – four rivers to be exact.

Genesis 2:10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

The work of the Holy Ghost isn’t about Power (God has the power) it is about relationship, and we will see that the four rivers represent facets of relationship with God.

Genesis 2:11-12 The name of the first is Pishon: It is the one which skirts the whole land of Hivilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium (Beryl) and the onyx stone are there.

Pishon means a diffusing rain, dispersing the key principles of the Kingdom. Hivilah has to do with birthing, initial salvation and repentance or new birth. Gold is a metal of deity, onyx is faith, and beryl is hope. Faith, hope and love come from this river and it takes us to a new relationship with God.

Genesis 2:13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. Gihon means to rush, bring forth.Cush is Ethiopia which means dark, ignorant, uneducated. We, before we are saved are uneducated about certain things. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit brings light and revelation to us.

Genesis 2:14a The name of the third river is Hiddekel (Tigris); it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. It means worthy of knowledge of light. New revelation bursts forth. Knowledge to understand what we are walking into. We will be exposed to the knowledge and revelation of God.

Genesis 2:14b The fourth river is the Euphrates. Euphrates means grace of God.

The Garden of Eden and the four rivers makes an environment for God and man to develop a relationship. We need to develop our relationship with God. The characteristics of these Rivers show us how to develop that relationship. It isn’t just about tongues. Tongues without the character of God is not what God desires. The character of God comes with relationship to God.

Song of Solomon talks about this relationship. When the bride seeks her husband the first time she is rebuffed by the guards. The second time she seeks Him, she has a good description of Him that comes from relationship and the outcome is different. She had to learn to release what she had to someone else, to God.

God is power, and we do not need to seek power, we need to demonstrate Patience and Perseverance, for when we have that we are transformed into the image of Christ, and God’s power comes with that.

We then got to pray for this wonderful anointed man of God, and he prayed for us. What an incredible night of the Holy Spirit. Praise God He cares enough for us to give us such meaty word.

Heather