Pastor Emmanuel Eyim-Danquah,
Christian Restoration Ministries Intl.
19255 NE 3rd Avenue
Miami, Fl. 33169

(305) 655-1923  

After a period of praise and worship, Pastor Danquah got up to speak. Before speaking he had us sing:

You are Alpha and Omega
We worship You oh Lord.
You are worthy to be praised!

Then he spoke on the law of faith.

Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

We need to apply the law of faith in our lives. First we need to understand the law, then apply it.

There are set laws in our land, and when you break the law, it breaks you. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. In the same way, there are spiritual laws that God set into motion. Our ignorance of the spiritual laws will not change their truth.

The law of faith helps us do three things: 1) walk with God; 2) receive from God; and 3) have victory in our life. If you do not apply the law of faith it will either break you or destroy you. The law of faith allows you to operate in the Holy Ghost.

We don’t see the laws in the physical, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Pastor Danquah asked us how many hours a day are there? 24  How many days in a week? 7
How many weeks in a year? 52. We must daily walk by faith and not by sight 24/7.

If you fail to breath you will die. As a Christian, if we fail to walk by faith, we do ourselves great harm. We cause our own harm. Christians like to blame the devil for their problems, but often the problem is not the devil, but our lack of faith. The Lord will help us today to walk by faith and not by sight.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

There are no limits to our desire if what I desire is within the Will of God. You must believe. If you believe, you will receive, but it may be later that you receive it in the physical. This is not just desire, you can believe for salvation, health, prosperity, but not for your desire to have someone elses’ wife/husband. When what we desire is in line with good and God’s word, when we believe we will receive.

There is a difference between believing and faith. After we believe, we must act in faith. People fail to act in faith. Belief requires action in faith.

Pastor Danquah asked if we could believe he was standing in the pulpit on a blue carpet. We said, “Yes, for we can see you.” He said that seeing is not believing – you believe for what you do not see in the physical. Once you see something in the physical it has manifested and you don’t need to believe for it.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Pastor Danquah said, “NOW faith IS.” It is not now faith was, or now faith will be. Faith is NOW. Belief and hope are for things in the future. Believing God did or will do something keeps postponing the miracles. The future is NOW. Do not procrastinate. Tonight is the night that God will do for you what you are asking. Believe you receive now, and you will receive in the realm of the Spirit. You will receive it in the Spirit before you see it in the physical.

Mark 11:24, whatsoever things you ask for, believe that you receive, and you will have them.

No matter how hard or difficult the situation seems to our senses, we still believe God for miracles. With out faith we fall down. In order for what we are believing for to occur, we have to rise up and act in faith for it.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Pastor Danquah said, “Anything that follows impossible…is impossible.” If we believe something is impossible, it will be. Faith is an important ingredient in life. We are spirits who live in a body and have a soul. We first receive from God in our spirit, then it becomes manifest in the physical.

God’s hand is stretched for to give to us, but we have to stretch out our hands to God to receive. If we do not stretch out to God to receive, will will not receive from Him.

Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible) NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

It is not a struggle when we capture the revelation of faith. The law of faith works, because the Bible and scripture promises are not broken.

Notice, that in the Amplified Bible it mentions that it is a title deed. The property belongs to you. When you put down your money and receive a piece of paper that is the Title Deed, you know that that property belongs to you. The Bible promises are our title deeds. These promises belong to us and we claim them in faith.

When your faith is connected to God, you have a miracle.

It does not take a ton of faith to have a miracle, just enough faith the size of a mustard seed. We don’t need apple sized faith, just mustard seed sized faith to be released. When we ask in faith for something and we don’t see it manifested in the physical, we still need to keep the faith for it. Do not pay attention to the circumstances. Sometimes when we walk by faith, forces try to prevent us from having our faith realized by creating circumstances that seem to make what we are believing for impossible. But hold fast to your confession of faith, for you have received what God has promised in the Spirit, even if it is not manifested in the physical yet.

Pastor Danquah commented that he noticed that we have more faith in our chair or bed than we have in God. After singing, when Pastor Don told us to sit down, we all sat without checking to see if the chair was behind us or if it was in good repair.

He then told us that God will never disappoint us, he wants us to have a higher level of relationship with Him, and we can only gain that with the law of faith, and a release of our faith. He mentioned that when we give by faith to mention our seed.

We have to walk by faith, not by our senses. In fact when faith is operating we are out of our senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell) and we are in the Spiritual sense. Faith is the sixth sense.

Often people will try to talk us out of our faith, say that it won’t work, that we aren’t being logical. Then when we step out in faith all hell breaks loose. We still give, we still believe what the scriptures promise, even when our senses tell us otherwise.

We will not see the proof of our faith until we have acted in faith. Pastor Danquah told us that what we are trusting God for is already done. God knows our needs and has already provided. What God says He will do, He will do. It’s a law. We can put our confidence in God. For God, even our biggest needs are not a big deal. We can put our faith in Him. Have the conviction of the reality of the things we don’t yet see with our senses. The devil can’t take conviction out of our spirit. It is done, even if circumstances do not seem to bear it out.

If our heart is right for God, we won’t be moved by what we see, feel or hear. If our heart is right with God, God will provide, and He will help our development and elevation spiritually.

Note, it says that faith comes by HEARING it did not say READING. Pastor Danquah suggested getting the Bible on tape to listen to, to speak the Word outloud so that we hear our voices speak the Word. Just like the Words that Jesus spoke are spirit and life, so are the Words of God that we speak, spirit and life. God created the world by speaking – before He spoke, nothing was in existence and when God said the words, then creation was formed, and the angels wondered. The Words we speak affect our Spirit. Remember, we are a Spirit who lives in a body and has a soul (mind, will, emotions).

When we speak words, our Spirit listens, and it is transferred to our spirit. When the Spirit and faith generated combine, a miracle occurs.

The gift of a miracle is always preceded by a gift of faith.

Pastor Danquah told of a miracle crusade in Africa where there was a threat of rain. In his Spirit (and he was a young Christian at the time, and ready to believe God at His word), he got the impression to speak out against the rain. The pastors at the crusade were hiding out under covering when the downpour occurred, and Pastor Danquah, because of the Word of faith he had received in his Spirit, spoke out against the rain, and it stopped, so the crusade could continue.

When the word of faith is lifted up, a miracle occurs.

When Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel and told that God picked her to bear the Christ, she asked, “How can this be?” The angel explained it to her.

When we are told something seemingly impossible by a Word of faith, we should not turn to our pastor or others and ask “How can this be?” We need to ask the “how” question of God, for God can work in ways we can’t always conceive of in our senses.

When Peter was told to walk on the water, he stepped out in faith, he did not puzzle out how, he just obeyed Jesus.

Go and act on what God has told you and then you will see the Hand of God in your situation. You will not see God  in the situation until you have taken a step in faith.

So often we get a Word from God and then sit back and wait for Him to do something about that Word. We have it wrong. God is waiting for us to take that first step, then He will rush in to meet us. We have to take a step of faith. If we only stay in the area of “I believe all things are possible” without taking that step of faith, we will not see the thing manifest. Faith is an action. Faith is Now, not tomorrow.

Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or power. All things were created through Him and for Him.

We don’t see what is in the invisible world, but the invisible is more real than the visible. What we see in the visible world comes out of the invisible. Because you don’t see something does not mean that it isn’t there.

The laws were set before God made Adam. For example, the law of gravity was in existence for thousands of years before Newton “discovered” it. Aerodynamics laws were in existence before Adam, but only recently discovered by man. Everything that we see now and that will happen in the future is already in existence.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God already has the end planned out. He knows the end from the beginning, he knows our life, our business, our children, our wives, our husbands. He just needs to make the invisible visible.

Romans 1:20  For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

We need to act in the same way God acted in creation, to speak things He wanted to see. We too need to speak what we desire.

Romans 4:17 as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” in the presence of Him whom he believed–God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

When we begin to declare and release by faith, there is no end to what God is able to do. The Bible tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Whatever we desire, we speak. We will have what we say, if we speak words of doubt and unbelief miracles will not happen, if we speak words of faith, God will hear and respond.

Pastor Danquah also pointed out that often people wait for a word of prophesy from some big-named speaker like Benny Hinn, etc. But we do not have to wait for a speaker to come into our area to gain our blessing, we just need to listen to God and act on faith for what God has told us.

God will hear us, as we speak His word to Him. He is no respecter of persons, He will do for us, and others without partiality.

We want to live our lives by faith, to trust God. God cares and when we walk in faith, and release faith, we are open for the power of God to work in our lives, and His glory will shine forth.

Embrace the miracle in the Spirit, catch the miracle right here and now. Nothing is impossible for God. With God all things are possible.

Whatever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive, and you will receive.

When we declare God’s Word and then we don’t see the result, it could be a test of our faith, when things don’t appear to happen in the physical, still believe His Word, don’t get discouraged, just keep believing God, and you will have what you are seeking.

God does not deal with partial faith, He works permanent change. And He gives exceedingly and abundantly more than we can imagine.

Believe, have faith, and step out in faith.

After we heard this talk, Pastor Danquah blessed us an many healings and blessings flowed. Afterwards, Pastor Don had us gather around Pastor Danquah and pray for him, as he had shared so much with us.

Have a blessed night.

Heather

In the above map, to the north west of Put mentally note the country Libya
to the south of Put is Ethiopia

Between the Amorites and Canaan is the valley of Meggido. Between Gomer and the Hittites is Turkey. Magog is to the north of Togarman. North of Ashkenaz is the USSR.  To the north of Madai is Iraq, and to its east is Iran. Needless to say, Canaan is Israel.

Now when we read Ezekiel 38, by using this map we can see the scope of world events of today being played out in Israel. Israel is truly surrounded by countries seeking to dominate her, and these were predicted in the time of Ezekiel. Israel truly is a cup of trembling for the nations.

Ezekiel 38:1-8 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah, from the far north and all its troops–many people are with you. Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. (8) After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.

Verse 8 has started coming true, in these latter years, the Israelites have been brought back from all over the world, gathered into Israel – a land that we have seen has long been desolate. They dwell safely, but are surrounded on all sides by these countries seeking to devour her. God is specific in this prophesy and names names. When these events start occurring, we can then point to the Bible and say, God told of this happening over 2000 years ago.

Ezekiel 38:9-11 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you. Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan. You will say, “I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.

Pastor Don pointed out that in the time of Ezekiel all the cities had walls. It is only today that we live with unwalled cities. This dovetails with Thessalonians and Revelation, and other prophet’s prophesies. There will come a time when someone will come to Israel declaring, “Peace, peace, but there will be no peace.” There will be a 7 year peace treaty which will be broken in 3 1/2 years by the antichrist who will be in power during this time.

Ezekiel 38:12 To take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.

So all these nations are going to come against Israel who is prospering in the barren land that came back to life because of their presence and God’s prospering of them. Pastor Don pointed out that Israel has riches that are desired by many nations. Besides two growing seasons, the dead sea has minerals that are desired by other nations, and Russia has fought two wars hoping to gain one possession, an all season Port. Israel has such a port, and that would be so desirous for any nation who wanted great power.

Ezekiel 38:13-15 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, “Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and old, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to God, “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when My people, Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.”

The North is Russia.

Ezekiel 38:16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”

It is through this great battle that God will be hallowed in all eyes.

Ezekiel 38:19-20 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken, “Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

This has not happened yet, and we see this prophesied in other places in the Bible. The kind of shaking that this and Zechariah 14 refers to for example in verse 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem, Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths” Sure sounds like nuclear warfare.

If you glance at the map and look at how Israel is surrounded and by whom, you can see that all is in position for these latter days events. We gain 20% of our oil from Iran and at some point, when these muslim nations come together our lifestyle will change dramatically when we have the oil supply dramatically cut off. The muslims are not afraid to die, and consider it an honor to die for allah, they would have no fear about setting off a nuclear bomb. Russia has been supporting the nuclear development of these muslim nations with the promise of joining them on a conquest of Israel. Remember, they do not have a year round port for trading.

Those who stress making peace with the muslim nations are not aware of the fact that their thinking about things is radically different from ours. While we honor our peace treaties and deal in such a way that we try not to break our promises. They are taught to say what is necessary to get into power and once in power to either force the infidels (us) to convert or to kill the infidels. Our country is not looked on in favor by the Muslims for the importing of many of the vices that they do not like come from our country, liquor, cigarettes, pornography, etc. Pastor Don said that a line from the movie Shrek comes to his mind, “I’ve got a dragon and I am not afraid to use it.” They have nuclear power and are not afraid to use it.

America has a policy of defeat, we lost the war in Korea, the war in Viet Nam, and now politicians are lobbying for us to lose the war in Iraq. If we bail out of Iraq now, we will be in a worse mess. Muslims do not care whether they die or not for their cause. We are making assumptions that are not in line with how radical Muslims think. Muslims do not function from the same moral base.

We are not dealing with reasonable people, and right now it seems that only Israel is aware of this. We stopped the Israeli government at the border of Lebanon, and that was the worst thing for their national defense.

America is trapped. Pastor Don pointed out that if someone calls a person a racist, homophobe, etc, they tend to have to backpedal to prove that they are not what they are being accused of being. What the Muslims are doing is pointing out how Americans are killing innocent women and children, etc. But they are not sharing the whole story, pointing out the truth about what is really going on. Pastor Don gets to listen on his satellite TV to the muslim newscasts and he says that it is a far different picture painted on that channel than what we see on CNN. If we pull out now they will see us as weak and every terrorist will try to start their terrorism on our soil. He said much more about this, but I honestly couldn’t write fast enough to take down all the notes. But this should give you a picture.

All that we are reading in Ezekiel does not mention the United States, if we abandon Israel, we are sunk as a nation, for God will protect those who protect Israel.

Ezekiel 38:22-23 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus I will magnify My self and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 39:7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

Ezekiel 39:9-10 Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel did not know about tanks and oil, etc. This is implying that the amount of weaponry that will be abandoned after this war will be so significant that it will power the nation of Israel for 7 years.

Ezekiel 39:11-16 It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place, there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers; because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord GOD. “They will set apart men regularly employed with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.. The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.

Think about all the burying of things that had to go on after the nuclear leak at Chernoybl. This sounds so much like a major disaster similar to that.

Pastor Don pointed out that the United States is not in the valley of Meggido, nor are we fallen Babylon

Pastor Don said that we don’t know if the Church will be on the earth when this happens or not. We are not to be afraid because of the above scenario, but we must be ready to share the Gospel with people, to point out to them from the Bible where the events that are currently occurring are mentioned in the Bible. Through this, we can reach people for Christ.

Isaiah 19:21-25 Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it, they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of the three with Egypt and Assyria–a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LOD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt, My people, and Assyria, the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

What makes the difference for Egypt and Assyria, they helped Israel. We as a nation should take note of that, God does reward those who help Israel.

We need to keep our eyes and ears open for the signs of the times, for what is happening on the news, pray, and trust God. We need to realize that the fields are ripe for harvest and get out and do God’s work to bring in the Harvest. Now is not a time to sit back and wait.

Have a blessed day.

Heather

 I love our Potluck Friday Bible studies!!!! Not only is there good food to share, but the Spiritual food is so filling. I had to miss Wednesday Night’s Bible study this week and will miss it next week due to “Holiday” (read that Christmas) concerts at school. Can’t miss those concerts when your kids are performing. This topic is the same topic that Pastor Don discussed on Sunday and also on Wednesday, so we are getting an expanded version of the subject.

Before we began talking about Ezekiel, one of our members was telling Pastor Don how she and a coworker (who also attends our church) were discussing Sunday’s sermon, and one of their fellow office mates had to leave the room and was complaining about how they were preaching during working hours. Pastor Don pointed out that this woman had been coming to our church for about a year now and the Holy Spirit has fired her up, and she is now becoming effective in her ministry. He said that when we get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit people see a change in us, and the Bible says, out of our bellies flow rivers of living water (the Word of God). When we begin talking and speaking about Christ, people begin to notice and often persecution begins, for our new being is a threat to their status-quo. Pastor Don pointed out that if there isn’t persecution (in some form) comments, labeling as being a Christian, etc. then our witness is ineffective, you are a dud.

Matthew 13:20-21 (This comes from the passage where the sower sows seeds and some take root, others not) “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for awhile. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

Pastor Don pointed out that Jesus said that tribulation and persecution would arise because of THE WORD. Those who stand fast will grow strong in faith.

Then he spent some time talking about some of the reasons why people might reject the truth of God’s Word and Jesus. He said that they have usually been hurt somehow in the past, either by bad parents, or abuse, or someone who was an abusive Christian in their lives. That it is important to learn the reasons why the person is rejecting God, so that we can help them through those issues and then help them to realize that God is not like their image of Him viewed through the mirror of the past.

(Heather’s note: I can relate to that. Pastor Don spent two years talking with me, helping me to sort out the mess of my life to a point where I could begin to realize that God was not anything like the people who hurt me so badly, and that God was a loving father. That God loved me inspite of my sins. I could begin to trust that when I reached out for Him and His forgiveness, that He was there for me.)

Pastor Don said that when we deal with people, we don’t want to offend them, but we want to be offensive. There is a difference. We don’t want to be obnoxious about the Gospel, but at the same time, it is ok to leave stuff lying around and be quick to pick up threads of conversations that can lead to sharing.

Pastor Don talked about someone in his band who was unsaved, and they spent years trying to convince him to accept Christ. Finally Pastor Don said that he gave up, turned the man over to God, and stopped talking about God to him. A week later, the man saw a book about end time prophesy on Pastor Don’s shelf and asked to borrow it. Pastor Don wanted to say “no” because of the grief the man gave him about God, but the Holy Spirit told him to loan the man the book. He devored the book in one night and came back and asked for another book like that one. After devoring that book, the man came in and said, ok, I believe  in Jesus, help me get saved. Those seeds planted in a seemingly fruitless way, took root and the man was saved.

That got a resounding PRAISE GOD from our group. We really do look for opportunities to praise Him for all the wonderful things He has done and the incredible testimonies that people share.

THE BIBLE STUDY

Pastor Don pointed out that we need to be aware of what is going on in the world around us, the news is beginning to show that prophesies in Ezekiel are now happening in and around Israel. (Heather’s note: remember the prophesies in Ezekiel have a near and a far fulfillment but there are elements in Ezekiel that have not been fulfilled until these times. If you ever have a chance to work with a Dake Bible, they carefully spell out the prophesies in the Bible and tell you if they have been fulfilled or unfulfilled yet and suggested marking the Bible with blue for fulfilled & yellow for unfulfilled – Dake calls these chapters 36 to the end of Ezekiel as unfulfilled.)

Ezekiel 36:17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds, to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity.

God allowed the Jews to be dispersed throughout the whole world due to their unfaithfulness and idolatry. This happened with the Assyrians and then later the Romans. The Romans so completely destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D. and so completely dispersed the Jews so that today there is no country that there is not a Jewish presence.

Ezekiel 36:22-24 Therefore say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. (24) For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.

Pastor Don told us to write May 6, 1948 next to Verse 24, because that was when Israel was made a Nation. Before that date there were no Palestinians living in the land, only a handful of people lived in the rock-hard barren land. When the people were dispersed, the land lost its two growing seasons and became barren, so barren that even Mark Twain commented about how the land was barren and nothing could grow there. Today the Palestinians are claiming that they belong there, but before 1948 they were not there, it was only after the Israelites came and the land came back to life that people wanted it.

Ezekiel 36:25-32 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Heather’s note: this is referring to the Jews brought back to the land, and isn’t this what God has done in our lives when we are saved? He gives us a new heart and a new Spirit. God will do the same for the Jews as they come to know Him and the Messiah.) Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord GOD, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

Today in Israel there is a mix of religious and nonreligious Jews. The religious Jews are gathering all the materials together to rebuild the Temple. But Pastor Don pointed out that Tel Aviv is very much like New York City – money, power, idolatry, lust, etc.

This prophesy is beginning to be fulfilled – for once Israel moved back to the Land, God again allowed the two growing seasons, the land began to flourish and now they provide 60-70% of the fruit and vegetables to the European Union. But there are still parts that need to be fulfilled, the hearts need to be softened, and they will begin to see that they have sinned. God points out that He does it for His Word’s sake, it is not because of their good works or ways, but it is because the Lord wills it.

Then we went quickly over Ezekiel 37. You may want to read the whole chapter. This is where God asks Ezekiel if the dry bones can be revived, and Pastor Don says that Ezekiel answers in a way that shows he has doubt and unbelief, but will not dishonor God with it, He says, “O Lord GOD, You know.” I don’t know, Lord is the way a man of God expresses doubt and unbelief and yet he hopes. He asks a question. Is it supposed to be? He wants to know if it is the will or God, and if he can believe for it.

Ezekiel 37:9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD; “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live.

When we are hoping, we don’t put our faith for it. Can you have true Bible faith if you don’t know God’s will? No, that is why we must know God’s word so well that when a situation comes up we can know God’s will according to His Word. It is God’s will to breath life into dead bones (which we are dead until we come alive in Christ).

How do we get faith? Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Some pray that we need an increase of faith, and that is not true, we are given a measure of faith, and it only takes faith as a grain of mustard seed to move a mountain – we don’t need to increase our faith, just apply the faith we already have.

Pastor Don asked, why we don’t get more faith for something and the answer was: You don’t get more faith, because you either have faith for something or you don’t have faith for something – it isn’t about quantity of faith. Faith either IS or it ISN’T.

That is why we need to be honest with God about where our faith is, just like the father of the demon possessed boy who prayed, “Lord I believe. Help my unbelief.” God can work with honesty. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(Heather’s note, Pastor Don once gave a great explanation about faith, he likened it to receiving a notice in the mailbox that you have a parcel at the post office. You have the notice [sort of like the Word promises in the Bible] and you don’t have the parcel, but you believe by faith that the notice you have indicates that there is an actual parcel at the post office. You drive to the post office believing you will receive the package [do you see the package? no. Do you do the things that imply that there will be a package even though you don't see it? yes. You believe in faith that the package is at the post office so you take a step of faith and drive to the post office.] You turn in your receipt and get the package in your hand. Once you have it in your hand, your faith has manifested in an actual package. Do you now have faith for the package? no, why because you can see it and hold it. You can only have faith for what is not seen. Once it is manifested, then there is no need for faith.)

The only way we get more faith, is the supernatural faith that comes as a gift of the spirit, when the Holy Spirit empowers you for a certain thing – like a major healing of someone, walking on water, etc. Our mustard seeds of faith are specific for particular areas of our life, like getting a job faith, healing a cold faith, getting a new car faith, etc. And when we exercise our faith in one area it strengthens our faith (Heather says, sort of a spiritual workout) and then when we face a new situation we can draw on our faith in other areas to apply it to the new situation. That is why we move from faith to faith and glory to glory.

What happens often in the church is that people go to spiritual healers and big name faith people like Benny Hinn hoping to get what they need by drawing on the faith of someone else. While that is ok in some instances, it is not God’s best for us. He wants us to develop and act on our own faith. So often when you draw on another’s faith you may be healed for the moment but doubt and unbelief can creep in and steal your healing. So developing our own faith by hearing the Word of God and applying it in our lives will give more consistent results and make us stronger in our faith.

Another example of faith is lightning: Which believe it or not does not just travel from the sky to the earth. First there is a stepped leader in the sky (the Word of God), that moves toward the ground to create a pathway of electrical flow. When it nears the ground a strong positive charge from the ground rises up (called a streamer – or in our case our faith), which causes the stepped ladder to rush down and meet the upward charge. Then we see the lightning strike. Notice, the charge from Heaven is faster, longer and stronger than the weak charge from the Earth. That is like God rushing down to meet our faith.

Pastor Don stated when a person comes up in the prayer line he can see in the Spirit who has the anointing already on them, and who has their faith and expectation ready, then when the point of contact – they laying on of hands – happens a transfer of Power from God occurs. The person usually receives the power from God before the laying on of hands occurs. It is a FAITH RESPONSE. That does not mean that you don’t pray for a person who needs prayer, but often if you take the time to give them the word of God and a chance to build their faith for the healing, then the chances of healing are far greater.

Back to Ezekiel – Israel failed to get into the proper position regarding God, and went after false idols. While in captivity, some actually actively pursued God. One example is Daniel, who refused to compromise his faith and do what his pagan captors wanted him to do. He was ready and knew when the 70 years of captivity would be over, and positioned himself to petition God for what God had promised, the return to the land. We read similar accounts in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

We must pursue God, not wait for Him to come to us.

Ezekiel 37:15-17 Again the word of the LORD came to me saying: “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.” Then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph, the stick of Ephriam, and for all the house of Israel, his companions. Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

Judah means praise. Israel is the nation of Israel. In this instance Judah means the Church and the Messianic Jews who are saved in the last days. Remember Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, the lion of the tribe of Judah.

A question was raised about the rapture, and Pastor Don pointed out that we don’t know where in this the rapture occurs. That God keeps that secret for He knows our nature, if we knew the exact date of His coming we might kick back and do nothing, lord it over others, or get holier than thou. So He keeps us only looking for the seasons, not the exact time. That way we stay humble and as servants.

Notice that the stick is bound together, Israel and Judah to make ONE NEW MAN. We are one Bride of Christ, one Body of Christ. The wall that is currently there between Jew and Gentile must be broken down. God, through the Holy Spirit will help this to happen. We can’t do it in our own strength and power.

Ezekiel 37:18-19 And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?”—”Say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephriam, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand. This is God’s desire.

Ezekiel 37:22 “and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.

This is the end days, when Jesus will rule and reign, and there will be one King, and One Kingdom. He will rule and reign on the earth the way God originally intended.

It will be nations and kingdoms under ONE reign. There won’t be an Old Testament and a New Testament. God will bring it together In Him (Jesus).

Ezekiel 37:24-25 David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; the shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob; My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.

Pastor Don pointed out that the shepherd is Jesus, that he believes that literally David will rule and reign, with others under him. David will be their prince forever, Jesus their King/Shepherd. David with his renewed body will rule.

Pastor Don then went on with Ezekiel 38, but this was a long Bible study (we ask tons of questions and he patiently answers them) and we didn’t leave until about 3:10. The teaching started about 1:00. So it is lots of notes. I will put up the second half of the Bible study tomorrow – and guess what!!!!! Pastor Danquah will be speaking at our church at 7:00 Sunday night, He also gives great teachings, so I will share those as well. I am so blessed to sit under great teachers.

Have a wonderful night!

Heather

Because of Pharaoh’s hardened heart, God had to resort to the hardest plague, a plague that affected not only Pharaoh’s family but every Egyptian family, and if there were any Israelites who did not listen to God, they too would suffer from this plague.

Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment; I am the LORD.

Oh does this hit me hard. Years ago, in my pagan days I spent a lot of time with a group that tried to reinstate the Egyptian religion, they went so far as to be able to read hieroglyphics and create elaborate artifacts and worship services. At that time I was impressed with their dedication and devotion to the Egyptian gods. I even attended a slide show where the person who visited Egypt, read the hieroglyphics on the photos to us. Not only have people tried to reinstate the Egyptian religion, but in many of the witchcraft and occult circles people are worshipping the various gods and goddesses of other cultures such as the Greeks and Romans. In the coven I belonged to, I was instructed to make extensive lists of the epithets that the ancient writings used to describe the gods, and then came to my “brilliant” conclusion that all gods were one god and that no matter what we believed we would ultimately get back to the source. I decided that the gods of all the pantheons were created to help us deal with our human needs and wants. I had decided that Christ and God, Mary and Joseph correlated nicely with other holy families in other pantheons. Today these old religions are rearing their head in an intense way, and it is seeming to people that God is quiet about it and doesn’t care. He DOES CARE. His silence about the new age, the attempts to reinstate older religions, the occult, lifestyle choices does not mean that He isn’t aware of them, and doesn’t mean that He will not act about them. He just waits, as he did often in the Old Testament, to give people a chance to come to the truth, but make no mistake, there will be a judgment and those who choose to harden their hearts will face the consequences of their choices.

A reading of the entire chapter of Romans 1 is pretty indicative of what is happening in this day and age, Romans 1:20-25 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man–and birds and four footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

I have one friend here on Xanga who speaks about how God is all loving, and how because of his all loving nature that even satan will make it to heaven and we will all be one happy family. That all religions are true and it doesn’t matter which one you believe, for we will be one big happy family in the sky. This is not what God says, in His Word (the Bible) it plainly states that there is one way to God, and that is through accepting Jesus Christ as our savior. There is no other way. God is a God of order, and the universe is an ordered universe. It is very easy to see that spring follows winter, day follows night, etc. What if God were random? There would be chaos – and believe it or not there are even occult groups out there who worship chaos. But there is one absolute truth – two opposing beliefs cannot be true – if God says I am God there is no other, and another religion says, there are many gods, they cannot be both true simultaneously, one must be true/the other false. God loves us so much he gives us the chance to pick, and I pray that people pick wisely, the choice is eternal.

God’s silence for 400 years of the Israelites’ slavery was not his condoning of that lifestyle for them. But he used the Egyptians to preserve the Israelite’s life until the right time for them to move on to the Promised Land – their numbers had to increase to a point that they would effectively govern the land God gave them. It is no accident that the last plague was the death of the firstborn sons – because remember, we first met Pharaoh who had made the law that all sons of the Israelites should be killed at birth. God is showing Pharaoh in a very controlled way, that this was wrong policy. God, had he chosen to, could have killed all male children like Pharaoh attempted to do, but He stayed His hand.

Many people today want to dumb down God, making Him all loving and sweet and codoning of everything we want Him to condone. He IS all loving and sweet, but that does not make him soft and a pushover. He is the one who created us, who gives us breath, life, keeps our hearts beating, our plants growing, our life orderly – He makes the rules and those who do not abide by the rules will face His judgment. Only God can be both Judge and Loving at the same time. He worked to make sure that when we face His judgment for our inevitable sins, that He has provided a way for reconciliation to Him, through His Son, Jesus. We have to realize that God is very complex and powerful, and that is good, do we really want a God that is only as big as our understanding of Him? Not me, I want an all-powerful God who is in control, who knows far more than me. Honestly, haven’t you made poor decisions regarding your life, and wish that you could have made a different choice? Knowing the chance of poor decisions, I want to make sure that I have God who I can ask about wise choices.

And also, don’t misinterpret the fact that many people who do not believe in God also have good lives, and seemingly are not beset with problems here on earth. God lets it rain on the just and the unjust alike. It is only in judgment that the wheat will be separated from the chaff, that those who accept Him are separated by those who willingly choose to reject Him.

Anyway, God’s action will ultimately prove that Pharaoh was not god, that he could not protect the people, and because the firstborn of both people and animals (the Egyptian gods idols were in animal forms), God would show his judgment in a controlled way, that preserved the life of most Egyptians, for God really wants all to be saved and come to Him.

Exodus 12:13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This is the way it is for us today. We are the temple of God, and the blood of Jesus on us, through the sacrifice He made for our sins, puts us under the covering and protection of God. Remember, if an Israelite chose not to do the Passover sacrifice, they would not have been protected too.

Exodus 12:14 So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

Notice, it is to be an EVERLASTING ordinance. That means that it is to be kept today just as it was kept in the past, and it will be kept in the future. Everlasting ordinances do not have a time limitation on them. Thus, those who say God is through with Israel because they rejected Jesus, cannot forget that God ordained that the Passover celebration was to be everlasting – Jesus did not come to do away with the old laws, but to fulfill them, and even He kept the Passover. Why would His death for our sins do away with God’s everlasting ordinance? Why would God make a decree and then go back on it. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His everlasting ordinance is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God then details the elements of the Passover, which I shared with you in a previous post, showing how each detail relates to Jesus. For 7 days they should not eat anything with leaven in it.

Moses then called together the elders of Israel and gave God’s instructions to them regarding the passover lamb and the passover feast.

Hoping you have a blessed day!

Heather

First of all, thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes. Neat to know I was so close to some of you, but it was a whirlwind trip, drive 9 hours, get dressed, go to company Christmas Party, come back to hotel and fall asleep, get up and drive 9 hours to get back in time to attend my son’s orchestra concert. There would have been no time to visit. I wish we could have meandered back but three teenagers home alone, sigh.

Exodus 12, God speaks to Moses and Aaron, telling them in verse 2 This month shall be your beginning of months, it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Wow, God will turn the Israelites’ calendar around radically. The month of Abib will now be Nisan, Nisan is the holy name of the month. I have to think about the time I finally accepted Christ into my life, for me that would be my Nisan. We all have that new beginning, when true liberty comes to us with the forgiveness of sins and a new life. The Israelites were going to gain true liberty, but liberty comes at a price, the death of an innocent lamb or Lamb.

On this time, at the precise moment that the lamb of the passover is sacrificed during the Jewish Passover, another Lamb, Jesus, will be sacrificed for our sins. He is the perfect Lamb of God, no spot, no blemish, and an ultimate love for us, that He would die once for all, so that we can have a permanently restored relationship with Our Father.

In the end days, we will see the antichrist also trying to change time, to imitate what God did. Daniel 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. But this will not last, the antichrist’s kingdom and satan’s kingdom are destined for destruction. They will try to take down any and all that they can with them.

Exodus 12:3-4 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of persons; according to each man’s need, you shall make your count for the lamb.

I love God’s economy. The first Passover was a lamb for each family (unless the family was too small, then it was a lamb for two neighboring families- the reason being that the passover lamb had to be completely consumed – no half salvations). Then the nation Israel will be offering once a year, a lamb for a whole nation on the Day of Atonement. The we have the Lamb for the whole World, Jesus, who died for the sins of all. Hopefully all will come to the realization of His sacrifice and not reject this great gift.

One other thought that struck me is that God is speaking the nation Israel into a congregation. At that time it was a rag tag nation. They were slaves of the Egyptians, and God would take them on an adventure that will toughen them up, pull them together as a nation, and then allow them to reclaim the land that God gave them hundreds of years previously. But even now, God calls them a “congregation.”

We will later see that the Israelites will be eating unleavened bread. Leavening is a symbol of sin, and Paul will talk about purging ourselves of leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

We know that our Lamb, Jesus, was perfect, without blemish. He was without sin, and therefore His sacrifice covered sin completely. The sacrifice of a lamb was not a total covering for sin, it only lasted a short time. But Jesus, being the perfect sacrifice, who rose from the dead, His sacrifice is eternal.

I had not realized that the “lamb” could be from sheep or goats – which I find interesting because later Jesus will speak a parable of dividing the sheep from the goats, the sheep will stay with Him, the goats won’t. Now, the criterion of sheep is that they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, goats will not. But here both sheep and goats are included – as I am certain God wanted it to be, that none would be lost. But at some point, there will be a division of the sheep and the goats, with deadly results for the goats.

Exodus 12:6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

So the lamb was brought into the house on the 10th day. It was a first year lamb, which would mean that it was still too young to mate. It would be examined for three days, and then sacrificed. But for those three days, this lamb would live with the family, become part of the family, and I am certain there will be a bonding. The lamb would be found to be spotless, pure. Jesus lived an active ministry (some say one year because the events of his active ministry occur from Passover to Passover) others say three years of active ministry – whichever He was still examined and found spotless and without blemish. They had to fabricate a reason to have Him crucified, and even the Romans who examined him could not find anything wrong with him. Notice that the lamb would be killed at twilight – the new day for the Israelites began at twilight. So it was a new day for them, as it is a new day for us when we accept Christ as our savior.

I know that, before I got saved, I used to think of all the times that people mentioned blood and was repulsed at that mention. You are under the blood, the shed blood of Jesus, the bloody sacrifice, and then all those poor, innocent lambs that were sacrificed. But you know what, sin does kill, it is death to those who persist in committing sinful acts. The death may not be so apparent at the beginning, but later as time goes on there is a deadening and a reckoning and it is a bloody mess that we make of our lives with sin.

When these families had to offer the lamb, to sacrifice it, they did it with their own hands and their hands would  be covered by the lamb’s blood. It would be a very tangible reminder of the deadly nature of their sins. We want to whitewash sin in our lives – to think of those little white lies. That our private sins won’t hurt anyone else. That what people don’t know won’t hurt them. That all will not have to suffer repercussion for their sins and their rejection of Jesus. That somehow all will be well. That is a fool’s paradise, for there will be repercussions. And the statistics are grim, 100% of all people die. We will face the repercussions of what we do and believe here on earth. There will be a judgment, and I for one am grateful to Jesus for His sacrifice for me. On my own I would never be able to pass judgment, only with His shed blood will I be saved.

Exodus 12:7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

Imagine that in your mind. The lintel top of the door (the blood would drip down), then the left and right doorposts – that is the sign of the cross.

Exodus 12:8-10 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire–its head with its legs and its entrails. you shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

Well, here is another picture of Jesus, during his ministry, he told people that if they did not eat of His flesh they would have no part of Him (communion). Why fire? This is the burnt offering, a sweet savor to God. We will see that God will judge the earth with fire in the end days. The fire burns off the dross – and fire purifies. And you cannot boil in water, which quenches fire – and the bones of the lamb shall not be broken. Psalm 34:20 He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.” And the bitter herbs help us to remember the bitterness of the sins that we have committed.

I find it interesting that all the lamb had to be totally consumed, even the parts that to our rational mind would seem repulsive – head and entrails. This is a graphic reminder to us that we need to accept all the truth of the Bible, not just some, not just the laws and rules we think make sense to us, when we accept salvation, we accept the Whole Truth of Christ.

Exodus 12:11 And thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.

The Passover was a preparation for moving on. When we get saved, we don’t just rest in our salvation, we move forward with it, sandals on feet (In Ephesians 6 they talk about the whole armor of God. The waist is girded with Truth, and your feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The staff could be likened to the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.) These people would no longer remain in bondage, they had to take that step of faith to start their new life in liberty. When we are saved, we too move forward, we do not stay the same as we were – God has changed us, but in order to keep that change, we must move forward. What if the Israelites had not left Egypt, they would have remained slaves and their life would have been worse. They had to eat hastily and move on, following God who would lead them miraculously.

When we accept our life in Christ, we too must move on, following Him.

Have a blessed day!

Heather

Just a quick note to say “Hi.” We are in Akron, Ohio for the company Christmas party, and will be driving home tomorrow, arriving hopefully in time enough to attend my son’s concert at school. It is about an 8-9 hour drive, but it was good to touch base with my husband’s coworkers.

I also had another thought about the Passover, the Israelites were also idol worshippers, they did not obey God, they were not perfect people, and even though they did not have the 10 Commandments yet, their lifestyles would probably not have glorified God, the only thing they did to merit the salvation from the death of the firstborn was to obey God. It is all we can do too, we do not gain salvation by good works, but being perfect, by following the law (no one can do that), we gain our salvation by accepting the perfect gift that Jesus gave us.

In reading Yancey’s book Prayer; Does It Make Any Difference? He says something that is very encouraging on pp. 17 “When it comes to prayer we are all beginners.” and “Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes; why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.”

I wish I could pretend that these two themes have not played a part in my life, but I have asked both of those questions, and it is true, only through prayer and spending time with God do we have half a chance of finding a point of peace where those converge, and the answer to both of those questions is something so totally different from our expectations.

I hope you have  a blessed day. Pray traveling mercies for me and my husband as we begin the long journey home tomorrow morning. I will try to get to your sites as soon as I have a chunk of time on the computer!

Heather

We are going to be discussing the Passover. I used to wonder about the Passover until I finally realized that it is a picture of salvation. It is no different for us today. We are all under a sentence of death, and it is only the covering of the shed blood of Jesus that we can have eternal life. If any of the Israelites had decided on that day that they were too tired, or didn’t want to bother about the lamb’s sacrifice, didn’t put the blood on the door, their firstborn sons would also have died. We are all firstborn sons (and daughters) of God, He does not have grandchildren, we are adopted in His family by accepting the gift of the sacrifice that Jesus did for us, and His sacrifice is portrayed in a pictorial form in Exodus 12.

One thing you might want to see in Exodus 12 is that, even though there were millions of Israelites in Egypt, everytime the passover lamb is mentioned, it is singular. No where does it say the lambs are slaughtered. It starts out referring to a lamb, then the lamb, then your lamb. So it gets more and more personal. John the Baptist will describe Jesus as the Lamb of God. We can probably assume that it was a Lambskin that clothed Adam and Eve.

I have twice tried to add to this and it has failed, so I think maybe I will leave it as it stands. I may not get to the computer tomorrow, so if I don’t know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Heather

We are still in Exodus, (last Exodus post ) and are soon coming to the point where Pharaoh will realize that he must obey God, it will come at a time of sadness for the Egyptians, for many will have lost their first born sons. It could have been avoided if Pharaoh had honored God and allowed the Israelites go, but we have seen that Pharaoh did not honor God, and God used the plagues to strike a blow against the idols of the Egyptians. Pharaoh chose to harden his heart at the expense of the people.

Exodus 11 will start the process for the final step for the liberation of the Israelites

Exodus 11:1 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether.

Can you imagine, after 400 years of slavery, and the current state of affairs (remember the Egyptians made the workload harder for the Israelites) how incredible this will sound to the people. They have suffered alongside the Egyptians for a few plagues, then watched the plagues strike the Egyptians and not touch Goshen. Now, at last, they will gain their liberty.

Exodus 11:2-3 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

You know, I used to wonder about this until I realized that these items of silver and gold would barely cover 400 years of slavery in wages. God had softened the people’s hearts and I am certain they were happy to hand over these items, items we will see will be used in the construction of the ark and temple, and some of the gold earrings for a purpose that is displeasing to God. But more of that in the future. The Egyptians realized that Moses’ God was far more powerful than any of the gods the Egyptians worshipped.

Exodus 11:4-7 The Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’”

Remember that Egypt is a symbol of the World, and Israel was separate from the World. God will protect His children. Even today, God will protect a remnant of His children.

Ezekiel 20:5-6 Say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: “On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known, to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, “I am the LORD your God. On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,” the glory of all lands…. After 40 years in the wilderness, the people claimed the land. All went well for awhile, but when the Israelites did not honor God’s covenant, He allowed them to be scattered. This happened a few times, the last one being 70 a.d. when the Temple was destroyed. No other culture in history that has been scattered abroad for so long has ever come together and been restored. No other dead language has been revived, we don’t hear the Ammorite, or Jebusite, or Hittite language, only Hebrew has been restored. Today this nation is again a cup of trembling in the land, and God has allowed them to reform as a nation. As we approach the last days as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24 & 25, and as John spoke of in Revelation, it is easy to see that Israel will also play a part. Many of the Prophesies in Daniel and Ezekiel and the other prophets have a near fulfillment (close to the time of the prophesy) and a far fulfillment – what will occur in the Last Days, in That Day. If you continue to read Ezekiel you see so many references that are mentioned in Revelation. God will restore His people, and they will come back to Him. God did make a difference between His children and the rest of the World. They are His people. His covenant with them was an eternal covenant, and God will not go back on His word.

Exodus 11:8-10 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out. “Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. But the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

In Exodus 12 God is going to institute a sacred feast that began in Egypt and is still celebrated today, the Passover Seder. We are blessed in our church to celebrate it every year, and the Rabbi that comes to help us celebrate it, gives a description of all the elements and shows us where Jesus is in the symbolism I have brought this description forward, so that you can be blessed with all the references to Jesus in the Seder. Remember, in all parts of the Old Testament Jesus is present. I still would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Jesus opened up the scripture on the Road to Emmaus. Here is the Seder description:

NOTES FROM LAST YEAR’S SEDAR.

I wanted to share a few of the insights the Messianic Rabbi shared with us about the Seder, and how so much of it points to Jesus. Rabbi Michael and his wife Gail Zeitler from Baruch Ha Shem were the ones who led this Seder.

Before the Seder occurs there is a lot of cleaning to be done. The wife has to make sure that there is no leaven in the house, so she does a thorough Spring cleaning during the month of Nissan. So that the dad’s have something to do, the wife leaves a tiny bit of something with leaven in it so that the father and kids can find it. They take a feather and a wooden spoon, and sweep the leaven onto the wooden spoon, wrap it in a napkin, march to the temple and throw it in a fire behind the temple. When the last bit of leaven (which is symbolic of sin) is removed, the father and kids triumphantly shout, “The house is clean.”

For Christians this is rich with symbolism.

The house – we are the temple of God.
The Feather – is the Holy Spirit
The Leaven – is sin which must be removed
The Wooden Spoon-our sin was removed by a wooden cross
The fire-Jesus is the light of the world, and light destroys the darkness
When Jesus was crucified, he was wrapped in cloths, and then arose to
   give us new life

The elements of the Seder:

1. Parsley – new growth
2. Salt Water – tears and sweat
3. Horseradish – bitter herbs
4. Lamb – sacrificed at temple
5. Haroseth- apples, nuts, honey, grapes, etc. mortar for bricks
6. Eggs-new growth, spring
7. Matzoh-lots of meaning, bread without yeast

The Seder begins with the lighting of the candle – and we know that Jesus is the light of the world.

Then the sanctification cup is blessed.

The Rabbi said an interesting thing that blew my mind. He said that the disciples had been with Jesus during his ministry for three years. A rabbi begins serving when he is 30, so this would have been the third seder that Jesus and the disciples shared. Reminds me of third day things from a previous study.

In the upper room the tables would have been in a U-shaped, and there was a spot where the servant would be seated. In the last supper, the servant was to have been Peter. Peter sat with the disciples but did not do what the servant should have done, which is to bring a bowl of water around so that the participants should wash their hands ceremonially before beginning.

That is why Jesus went and washed the feet of the disciples, to show them what being a true servant was. When Jesus got to Peter, Peter was ashamed of what he didn’t do, and asked Jesus to wash all of him. Jesus said that the feet were sufficient.

Then we dipped the Parsley twice into salt water. Salt water represents sweat and tears. Jesus sweated blood in the garden. But it also reminds us of the martyred church, those saints who died for Christ and to further the gospel.

Then the children come up to ask the questions. My daughter asked one of them (about reclining), and the Rabbi helped her say it in Hebrew.

  The questions are:

1. How is this night different from all other nights?
2. On all other nights we eat bread or matzoh, on this night why do we  eat only matzoh?
3. On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables. On this night why do we eat only bitter herbs?
4. On all other nights we do not dip our vegetables even once. On this night why do we dip them twice?
5. On all other nights we eat our meals sitting or reclining. On this night why do we eat only reclining?

One of my sons took a turn reading one of the answers to the above questions. These questions were so that the fathers (papa) could answer and share the history of the Exodus with their children. It is important to God that the fathers teach their children about Him. Oh I should add all men wore yarmulkes and even my sons. They thought it was way cool, but my daughter was upset for girls didn’t. I have a question, what is the female equivalent of the yarmulke for a girl, is it a prayer shawl. I know that when I lit the candle I was instructed to put a napkin on my head as a head covering. So I am just curious.

The Rabbi showed us his matzoh tasha(sp) the cloth holder for the matzoh for the Seder. He pointed out that it had three pockets. And if a traditional rabbi was asked why three pockets there are two standard answers. 1. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or 2. The High Priest, the Levites, and the People of Israel are represented by the pockets. We, as Christians, have another answer, the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.

Then we were instructed to take a piece of matzoh, which is baked no more than 18 minutes (how many inches from head to hear - Heather’s comment on re-reading this) so that it does not rise from steam, and is obviously without leaven, and hold it up to the light. When you look at a sheet of matzoh in the light you see the piercings, and the strips from the oven. This reminds us of many things. Historically the Jews had to leave in a hurry so they made bread without leaven and that is a reminder of the Exodus. But it is also a perfect representation of the Lamb of God, as described in Isaiah 53, wounded (pierced) for our iniquities, by his stripes we are healed, and without sin (leaven).

A piece of the Matzoh was broken off and folded into a napkin and hid by the dads. This is the Matzoh that has to be redeemed, the children will find it later in the Seder, and it must be found before the Seder is completed, and the father will redeem it with a ransom. This is called the Afikomen – that which is to come after. Just like Jesus was wrapped in a cloth and rose three days after.

We blessed the Matzoh, and spread it with bitter herbs. Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him. And it would be the one who dipped with him into the dish. The dish was filled with the bitter herbs. We were instructed to dip our Matzoh into the bitter herb.

At the last supper John was sitting on Jesus’ left (for when he reclined on Jesus breast) he had to be on the right. In order for the disciple who would dip with Jesus into the bitter herbs, to be able to do so, he had to be sitting on Jesus’ right. This would have been a place of honor at the table, and Jesus let Judas sit in this place of honor.

We then got to eat some of the Haroseth which reminded us of the mortar that the Israelites used when they were slaves, and had to build and make bricks. We were told to put a bit of the bitter herb on it because with the sweet there is also a bit of bitter.

Then we reclined against each other for a bit. To remind us that we were once slaves, but now we are free. And the Messiah had said, “Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Then we shared the cup of Joy – also known as the cup of plagues. For the Israelites did not suffer the plagues of Egypt. Each of the Plagues also was an inditement to pharaoh of the false gods that they worshipped. The Egyptians had over 300 gods, and tied with nature. The frogs were important to the Egyptians for they ate the bugs that came out, the goddess hecht was the frog goddess, and these frogs came out three days, and then died, leaving behind a stench. apis, the bull god, was put in his place with the cattle disease. The Egyptians also worshipped themselves, so they were inflicted with lice and boils. They had lots of leisure and garden parties, so their crops were destroyed with locusts. There was darkness three days for their sun god to be defeated, and the last and worst plague was the death of the first born son.

We were told to take our little finger (pinkie), not the index finger which God wrote with, but our little finger and dip it into the cup of joy and say a Hebrew version of yuck (Feh) and shake the drop of wine off onto a plate as each of the plagues was read, as a celebration that we were preserved from them. (my observation is that these drops of wine (grape juice) looked so much like drops of blood). Jesus preserved us from the worst plague imaginable, eternal damnation.

We did not serve lamb, for we know that the Lamb of God made the ultimate sacrifice for us once, for all. Also we could not make a sacrifice in the temple of our lamb, for that is no longer needed. But the lamb in those days was to be without blemish. They had to bring it into their house and examine it for four days. (just like the rabbis examined Jesus for days in the temple with questions), to make sure it was without spot or blemish. With a lamb in the house, the children and family members would grow attached to the lamb, so when it was time to do the sacrifice, it was graphically brought to mind the terrible cost of sin, death.

In those days the lambs were usually brought up from Bethlehem, the house of bread, where the shepherds were. And the Levites as young men were sent to Bethlehem to learn how to tend lambs in preparation for their priesthood. Then the lamb was brought through Bethany and then into the gate of Jerusalem. The same gate that Jesus rode through on his donkey. The people would sing praises to the lamb when it was driven through the gate, for they knew their sins would be redeemed for one year. Jesus kind of took away the priests’ glory when he rode through and received those praises for the Lamb of God.

The Israelites in the Exodus were instructed to kill the lamb, dip its blood out with hyssop (a spongy herb) and strike the lintel and two door posts with the hyssop soaked with blood. If you think of that you realize they are making a sign of the cross for the lintel would drip down straight, and the two door posts right and left are the arms of the cross. When they struck the door post the blood would splatter covering the head of the house and all the others who were watching with blood.

The rabbi then explained that the cross was not a wonderful symbol to the Jew because of the persecution that they received at the hands of Christians. but in those days Pomegranate branches were formed into the shape of a cross and the Pascal lamb was hung from that, the fore paws spread out and then the rear feet were put on the cross like the feet of Christ. This was put into a base over the altar. The shepherd who told the rabbi of this, mentioned that after struggling, the lamb would become quiet, drop his head and look at the people, and then the lamb would be sacrificed and his blood would drip down, and this blood would be put on the Holy of Holies for the yearly atonement. The intestines of the lamb would be formed into a crown and put on the lambs head for all to see. When the sacrifice was completed, the priest would come out of the Holy of Holies and say, “It is finished.”

Jesus portrayed all aspects of the Mishna of this sacrifice.

At the time this happened, when Jesus died, he was nailed to a cross, wore a crown of thorns, his blood dripped down, and when he died, the veil of the temple was split from top to bottom, signifying that no further sacrifice was needed.

When the statements are made regarding the Lamb, that it was God himself, not an angel who passed through Egypt, God himself, not a seraph to strike down every first born, and God himself, not a messenger to bring judgement on the gods of Egypt.

We believe that Yeshua the Messiah is the Lamb of God, our Passover Lamb. It was God Himself, not an angel, God Himself, not a seraph, God Himself, not a messenger who paid the price for us to save us from sin and death.

Then we were instructed to say Dayenu (which means it would have been enough) after each statement.

The Lord rescuing the Israelites (Dayenu) but had not judged the Egyptians, destroyed the Egyptian gods but had not parted the sea, drowned the enemies but had not fed us with manna, led us through the desert, but had given us the Sabbath, given us the Torah, but had not given us the land of Israel.

Then the traditional blessing of God for fulfilling all our needs.

The Afikomen was then found and redeemed. Then broken among all at the table for the bread for a communion. And we drank the cup of redemption. This is the cup that Jesus said would be the last cup he would share with the disciples, and where on this third (last supper) he changed the format, breaking the bread, and sharing the wine as His body and blood.

The last of the four cups was the cup of Elijah where there is the promise of the Messiah coming again. (Personal note) I believe that Jesus will share this cup with us, his disciples at the wedding feast. And it will truly be a cup of Praise. and His love endures forever.

The Seder ended with Next Year in Jerusalem. I know it won’t be long before that prophesy comes true.

Please know this is all new to me, so if I made any mistakes in sharing this, I apologize. The other seder I attended was at the house of a friend of my husband’s years ago, and they were not Messianic Jews.

I also wanted to thank all those who served us during the Seder, the hospitality committee and the teenagers. We had an awesome feast as well as the Seder.

This was a very impacting evening for me and also for my family. I learned so much, and can’t wait until Jim puts the pictures up so you can see some of the Seder. So keep checking, he promised to have them to me today.

Have a blessed Sunday, I now have to go and wake up the family for church.

Heather

Hard to believe it, but Part 2 is even meatier than Part 1. I know you will enjoy.

Pastor Wendell gave us three ways to know if we are following the Will of God and then he went into depth regarding these:

1. Inner witness
2. Peace
3. Wisdom/Common Sense

To know more what is meant by Inner Witness a good place to begin is 1 Kings 19 where Elijah escapes from Jezebel who is trying to have him killed. He hides out in the wilderness where an angel feeds him and then stays on the mountain of God. God speaks with him, asking Elijah why he is hiding. Heather’s comment: Elijah answers by describing the circumstances that brought him there, thinking like we all do that we are the only ones who are doing….whatever. God points out to him that there are others, and then tells Elijah to stand on the mountain and the Lord will pass by. Along comes a whirlwind, but God was not in that, then an earthquake, but God was not in that, then there was a fire and God was not in the fire, then there was the still small voice – that was where God was.

Pastor Wendell pointed out 1 Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

(Heather’s note, God knew what was happening, He just wanted Elijah to articulate it). Pastor Wendell pointed out that there is an encouragement for us in this chapter. God knows that we will run into trouble sometimes, and if we do, we also know that He will not abandon us. Remember Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

We can be confident that He understands our difficulties, Remember Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. He knows it all. It may seem unbelievable that He is with us in our difficulties, but Hebrews 14:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper, I will not fear; What can man do to me?”

He is our burden bearer, this is not a description of an abandoner.

The Holy Spirit will always be with us. He will not relinquish us in our time of distress because He has run out of comfort and wisdom. He is not lost, and will not lead us astray.

God is God, our All in All, we can be complete in Him, who loves us and gave Himself for us.

God, in 1 Kings 19 set Elijah aside and showed him a storm, quake and fire to get his attention. Remember, God is with us in the middle of our trials and storms, and what we need to do to find God is to get quiet, to find a place and be still so that God can show us what His will is. You have to get still enough to hear Him. To listen past the noise. He will not forget us for Isaiah 49:16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. Your walls are continually before me.

He will not abandon you. (Heather’s note, the above was so prophetic for me. I still at times think about God and abandonment in the same breath, it is not so prominent now, but there are times when He is quiet in my life and I wonder. At the same time I know it is a lie from the pit, for He will not abandon me.) We get turned on by His loving touch on our lives. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about the agape love of God.

We can have the benefit of two witnesses, the Word and our Inner Witness (The Holy Spirit). At times, we may seek the help of others to help us sort out what is God’s Will for our lives. We may seek the guidance of another Christian, an elder of our church, our Pastor or Spiritual teachers, a mentor, etc. When we seek others, we need to make sure that they are not giving us an answer based on something that they want from us, for example the answer we want to hear so we will like them, attend church there, etc. We want someone who is truly listening to God and giving a message (sometimes not the message we want to hear), but someone who has our highest good  in mind. Someone who is speaking from God’s agape love, not colored by our worldly needs. But from someone who is truly submitted to the Will of God.

Then we have to honestly examine our lives. Sometimes we say, “I want to do the Will of God,” but we really don’t mean it. We want the Will of God to be done in our lives, but only to a point, only as far as we are comfortable. John 21 has to do with Jesus showing himself to the disciples after they had left where Jesus told them to stay and turned back to their former career of being fishermen. He comes and commissions Peter to feed His sheep.

John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Sometimes when circumstances get tough in our lives, we stop in our tracks and turn back to deal with them in our old ways. Before we take that step backward, it would be better to stop and listen to God’s will for our lives, read His Word. We should do this before we go back to our old ways. Jesus tells us that if you love Him, we have to obey Him. If we say we love Him, we have to make a decision to obey Him. He might ask us, “If you love me, why do you keep doing the crazy things you are doing?

It is all about our mouth, and what comes out of it. Does it line up with God’s Word? Do we not only say it with our mouth, but not believe it in our heart? Esther 4:16 “… If I perish, I perish.” Are we willing to do God’s will even if it means uncomfortable situations?

We want God to invade our lives, to guide our lives, to be hooked up with Him and His love for us. Without Him to guide us, without His love, we have the potential to be out of control.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

I Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Pastor Wendell read this passage from the Amplified Bible and it added depth to the meaning, it read: So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. 

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?

James 4:6 (Amplified Bible) But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).

We need to be HUMBLE!!!!!

James 4:8 (Amplified Bible) Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].

Heather’s note, Spiritual Adultery, oh my those are powerful words. So often when we seek other religions, other sources but God for our help, that is exactly what we are doing, spiritual adultery.

Pastor Wendell read from a book called Blind Spots written one of the Promise Keepers’ founders. In this a pastor is quoted saying that he has an army of prayer warriors praying 24/7 for him, that satan will not be able to touch him. This was such an arrogant statement, and satan came up big in his life – this was Pastor Haggard who was recently caught in sexual sin.

No matter if we have an army of people praying for us, if we open the door to sin, satan will step through. Who we are in the dark is who we are. Who we are when we think no one else is looking is who we are. When we are walking with God in a position of authority, we must be so careful that our lives are lived blamelessly, for any secret or hidden sin will ultimately be revealed. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.

DON’T PLAY GAMES WITH HONESTY. Who is fooling who? We can’t afford to try and cut a deal with God. What God says, goes, that’s the deal. Do the Word, the flesh cries out, and we tell our flesh, deal with it. God must be obeyed. If we think we are above it, we are subject to it.

We have to guard our words, for our words put out things into the world. Pastor Wendell suggested that we look into a mirror, look into our eyes, and see who is in the reflection. What do we really see. To be honest and see what we behold in the mirror. The Word is our mirror, and as we read the Word we see where we line up with the Word and where we don’t. The Lord is our light. Where do we go? We need a reality check about where our flesh is.

James 4:6a But He gives more grace. God will structure our reality to show us where we still have pride functioning.

Someone mentioned about a kid being punished by sitting in time out, where the kid is thinking, “I am sitting down in a corner, but I’m standing up in my mind.” We can look right on the outside but be in rebelion on the inside. That is why we have to take an honest look at ourselves and where we stand in God’s kingdom.

James 4:7 Resist the devil and he will flee from you. We have to resist our fleshly desires.

James 4:8  Draw near to God  and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.

We need to come close to God, to be rightly related to Him. We need accountability, so get around someone who can help you make sure that you are obeying Him.

Romans 13:13-14 (Amplified Bible) Let us live and conduct ourselves honorably and becomingly as in the [open light of] day, not in reveling (carousing) and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery (sensuality and licentiousness), not in quarreling and jealousy. But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).

How do we deal with our flesh. We give no provision for indulging in fleshly desires. There was a discussion about how pornography can get into a person if you just get one glimpse of it, or how easy it is to cross one line, only to take the next step and the next step. We have to put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings. Juanita Bynum spoke about sex traps. we have to make NO provision for the flesh. Our flesh is always crying out with cravings, it wants its pound of flesh.

Jesus came to restore a spiritual covenant with God. Before Jesus came our soul and flesh was ruling and dominating. Our soul dominated (soul being our mind, will, and emotions) and our flesh came along for the party. The Spirit says, “I’m obeying God.”

We don’t always hear the audible voice of God, but at times it has been heard. We don’t go seeking to hear God audibly. If you are actively seeking audible voices, you will find them, but they are not necessarily of God. Yet, at times God will speak audibly.

Genesis 3:8  And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the Garden.

Revelation 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.

In Revelation 2 Jesus speaks to John.

Acts 9, Saul had the Damascus Road experience where Jesus asked him in verse 4 “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul heard Jesus clearly, the others with Saul heard thunderings.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Anytime we hear from God, audibly, through prophesy, dreams, visions, etc. we have to make sure that the Spirit and the Word line up. If what we are seeing our hearing does not line up with the Word of God it is not from God.

Usually a prophesy or word of God will line up with what we already know within us, with our inner witness. We have to JUST BE THERE, occupy until God comes. Listen to that still small voice. Pay attention when God tells us to go to the right or to the left.

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way,walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

It is a KNOWING. Sometimes you just know, other times you don’t know and you have to pray and allow the Holy Spirit to let you know. When things settle you have a PEACE.

Your inner witness gives you a sense that you just know, and that is followed by a sense of peace.

IF YOU DO WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE PEACE ABOUT YOU ARE IN TROUBLE.

Do what  you have peace about, don’t do what you don’t have peace about.

When you have agreement with the Spirit and the Word you are in a place of power. If there is no agreement you do not have peace. Covenant agreement is key. The presence and absence of peace is a sign of covenant agreement or not.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

He gives us peace if we just make ourselves available. God will give us peace when we quiet down, and get still. He will work with us. Help us to understand that this is real.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

He loves us. We need to make ourselves available for His love. The best part is that we can be comforted. There is no problem that is too much for our father in Heaven. We need to quiet down and let Him love us, take a walk, breathe, rest in Him.

Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

Regarding Common sense/wisdom

1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

We need to police our own heart. If we see that something is taking more control over us, even if it isn’t sinful, we need to stop doing it. For example, if you find that you are losing sleep because you are watching late night tv, even if it isn’t sinful tv, but your sleep is suffering, it is only common sense to stop watching late night tv and get sleep. Or if you cannot stop eating chocolate and are putting on pounds, it may be wise to ease up on eating chocolate. Use your common sense.

Pastor Wendell closed the bible study saying “Let’s just do right.”

This Bible study was so meaty that I could see several sermons being written from the content. I know that I have been blessed by having things spelled out so clearly, and I am grateful that Pastor Wendell came down to visit us and share this study.

Hoping you have a blessed Sunday.

Heather

We had a visiting pastor teach Friday Bible Study. Pastor Wendell Williams from Good Ground Family Church in Cohoes, New York (that is near Albany). The Bible study was so meaty that I am going to split it into two entries. What a blessing this study was. I pray that it touches your hearts too. I really needed to hear this teaching.

Pastor Wendell talked about the purchasing of Good Ground Family Church, how God helped to supply the money for the building, including $5,000 more than the downpayment needed. Our church also donated to help with the purchase. Pastor Wendell tithed the $5,000. He said that in his flesh, he thought about putting that extra money aside for emergencies, but then realized that God blesses those who tithe, so he tithed, and God has blessed this act of faith.

Pastor Wendell said, “Don’t take God’s portion thinking you are going to make your own solutions.” (Heather’s note) How many times have I tried to do things in my own thinking, power and ability only to find out that God has a much better solution and obedience would have saved me much grief.

We then looked at ways of discovering God’s will. Pastor Wendell mentioned that so often we hear about knowing God’s will, but often that knowing comes from our walk with Him and discovering what He wants us to do.

The Greek word for “walk” is: peripateo which has as part of its meaning, To regulate one’s life, to conduct one’s self, to pass one’s life.

WALKING IS THE KEY. We walk in the life, we don’t just sit and wait for God. We have to get off our behinds and make it happen.

We then turned to Proverbs 3 and started reading with the instruction to look for words that meant “Walking” and “Wisdom”. Pastor Wendell felt it was important to read Proverbs 3:1-26 in its entirety, so please do not skip over this, for we do get washed in the Word. Keep in mind the key words as we read a few of these Proverbs. This reading will lay down the foundation for the rest of the Bible study.

Proverbs 3:1-4 My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.

We need to get instruction, to find out what God wants us to do. The instructions are in the book (The Bible).

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Paths is a walking word.

Proverbs 3:7-10 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Pastor Wendell pointed out that when we read God’s Word it bathes our spirit, and we get caught by the Spirit. We can read one word and it will wash over us and take hold.

In verses Proverbs 3:11-15 the word she refers to wisdom, My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest his correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

Proverbs 3:16-17 Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of righteousness, and all her paths are peace.

Paths is a walking word.

Proverbs 3:18-21 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her. The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew. My son, let them not depart from your eyes, keep sound wisdom and discretion;

Here is the word wisdom, and knowledge.

Proverbs 3:22-23 So they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.

The word walk

Proverbs 3:24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

Pastor Wendell commented, “We can all use sweet sleep.”

Proverbs 3:25-26 Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

This has a reference to Foot.

Proverbs 4:11-13 I have taught you in the ways of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk , your steps will not be hindered. And when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.

We need to live clean and open lives so that we can walk in faith with confidence with God. We may not know where we are going, so we walk. God is very much about a person being in motion. This is not the time to take our ease in Zion, it is not a time of compromise. It is a time to confront, to sacrifice ourselves. It is not about my own thing, but about Kingdom mission to conquer the world with His truth. The church needs to rally, individuals need to step up and get into the place Christ has prepared for them. It is about attitude and place which is crucial to our performance in God’s kingdom.

Proverbs talks about going step by step, Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. When we are taking these steps do we qualify? When God looks through the blood to see us, we want to please Him, to be in right placement.

Nevertheless, we don’t want our own will to prevail, but His will. When our flesh cries, we say ouch, ouch, ouch but do His will anyway. When we want to say no, no, no, and God says yes, yes, yes, we obey God. When we say, “I can’t” we have to listen to God who says, “Yes, you can.”

Our words affirm what we are doing. Our words speak to the flesh and tell it to line up with God’s will. We tell our flesh, you are going to the cross, you may not like it, but you will like what you will become when you sacrifice yourself to God’s Will.

In 1 Samuel 15 we find King Saul doing his own thing. He decided what he was going to do even though it was contrary to God’s instructions. So Samuel speaks with Saul ,

1 Samuel 15:20-21 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek: I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.

Liar, for if he had obeyed God, he would have also destroyed the King Agag and not taken the plunder. (1 Samuel 15:3 God tells Saul to utterly destroy all that they have and do not spare them. Kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and seep, camel and donkey). But Saul did not do that, for he preserved things, thinking to please God, by what he wanted to do in the flesh. When we start making excuses there is a lie in there.  Listen to God’s response through Samuel.

1 Samuel 15:22 Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.

YOU CAN’T DO THE WILL OF GOD IF YOU INSIST ON DOING YOUR OWN THING.

We have the capacity to think, and therein lies our problem. Sometimes we think ourselves into situations that we wish we hadn’t thought ourselves into. To obey is better than sacrifice.

Remember Psalm 37:23 that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. Righteousness is a state of relationship with God, that is why God can work with a righteous man.

How do we discern the Will of God? DO THE WORD! When we get into His Word (the Bible) we begin to learn what is God’s will for us, what we need to avoid, how to walk in righteousness, etc.

Psalm 119:11-14 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies.

We want to walk our paths of life within God’s law.

Psalm 119:15-16 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

The Law is loving, and we want to know the Word of the Lord. We want to love it and obey it.

Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.

As we learn God’s law, our eyes are opened to Him and blessings.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith is the ability to follow God and have confidence in what He said, trust is the ability to receive the Will of God, to Know the Will of God, we learn to track God’s will through the Word. If nothing else, do the Word, Kenneth Copeland said. If we have no worship team, if we have no building, if there is nothing else in a service, just the Word, go with the Word. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart. Fall into the will of God and lay there.

Tomorrow I will share what Pastor Wendell taught us about the three ways to find the Will of God.

Let me tell you that this teaching was a blessing to me, and I hope that it blesses you. Hoping you stay warm, it is bitter cold here.

Heather