Here is the first hymn of the Bible. We started Exodus with people sighing under the oppression of Pharaoh, now they are singing. In fact, this song is mentioned in Revelation 15:3 “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:…”

And a careful study of other Psalms finds elements of this song, the people had much to celebrate – their freedom. I am still amazed and wonder why, once they were free under God, why they would want to go back to idols and bondage?

Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying,: “I will sing to the LORD. For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the Sea!”

They sang to the Lord. I have a confession to make, I cannot carry a tune in a wheelbarrow, praise teams are not in my future, but God still likes it when I sing praises to Him, He appreciates what earthly ears do not. Songs sung in love and thanksgiving.

Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song. And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

What a wonderful sense of security this is, having God as a strength and song, and also knowing that God is not only our God, but God through many generations. There is another line in this song that we can all sing, “He has become my salvation.” How true that is for us all, and in that we do praise Him. Psalm 22:3-5  But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed. We trusted Him for our salvation. Psalm 22 is a description of the crucifixion, and He delivered us gloriously, freeing us from our bondage of sin.

We are going to see something else in this song of Moses. As God works in our lives, and works in the Israelites’ lives, they gain a fuller picture of Him, and their description of God is enlarged, for God does things in our lives and we can then see more of who He is. My perception of God is constantly being enlarged.

Exodus 15:3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name.

We think of God as Love, but true love also defends those who are being oppressed. I know that if someone seeks to hurt my kids, I will defend them. God defended the Israelites, and in that defense, He showed the side of Himself as “man of war.”

Exodus 15:4-5 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; his chosen captains are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom like a stone.

Hmm, depths, sank to bottom like a stone, kind of puts to flight the six inches of water theory. Pharaoh thought he was a match for God, and God showed him how wrong he was.

Exodus 15:6-7  Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; it consumed them like stubble.

Jesus said, Matthew 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. But we know that Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in Heavenly places. And we wrestle using the whole armor of God, our waist girded with truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.

Exodus 15:8  And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

Interesting illustration, the idea of the water heaped up (six inches couldn’t heap up too much) and the depths congealed in the heart of the sea I would have loved to have seen that. Isn’t it funny how water (also a symbol of the Word of God) creates and destroys. Here it protects the Israelites, allowing safe passage, but brings destruction to the Egyptians (a symbol of the flesh). And what caused the water to move, the breath of God, the same breath that moved across the face of the earth in creation.

Exodus 15:9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desires shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’

Notice that there are a lot of I will’s that the enemy says, thinking that he will conquer God, but no enemy can stand up against God. Also realize that the spoil was really the honest wages that should have been paid to the Egyptians during their period of slavery – remember Joseph is responsible for preserving the life of the Egyptians in the first place. And the enemy seeks to satisfy his desires on the people, but God had a better idea.

Exodus 15:10 You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

God showed Pharaoh that his will will not stand against the will of God.

Exodus 15:11-13 Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You in your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.

Psalm 89 also speaks in wonder about who is like God. When King David offered to build a temple to God, and God refused it, promising that Solomon would build the temple, in 2 Samuel 7:22 David said, Therefore, You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

 There truly is no other God like God.

Exodus 15:14-18 The people will hear and be afraid; sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; the might men of Moab, trembling will take hold of them; all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm. They will be as still as stone, till Your people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over whom You have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them. In the mountains of Your inheritance. In the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your own dwelling. The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established. The LORD shall reign forever and ever.

I find this confidence in God so wonderful, but it is a shame that it will not last forever, the people will lose their confidence everytime a new crisis occurs. Yet we will also see in the Bible how often God’s victories do cause the enemy to fear and flee. God will lead the people around, what He thought would be a one year journey, to teach them and prepare them for the battles ahead, but the people will end up wandering 40 years because they did not trust God. They will forget the Red Sea crossing, when they face lack of water, or giants in the land. Yet, God who can part the Red Sea, is capable of delivering the people, if they had faith and trusted Him.

Yet, from our vantage point it is easy to point a finger and say, “Oh ye of little faith,” but in reality we do the same thing. God brings us through a challenge, we thank Him, and then walk forward. The next challenge causes us to forget how strong our God is, and we have to take time to stand and watch the salvation of the Lord.”

Exodus:15:19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

Praying you have a blessed day,

Heather

The kids are off from school tomorrow, and we are down to one computer able to access the internet, hence my posts have been more infrequent. You are on my mind often and I can’t wait to spend some time at your sites.

I think being in Exodus on Martin Luther King’s Birthday celebration is so fitting. Isn’t if funny how where you are in the Bible is where you are in the world? Never fails. But freedom, how hard we struggle to get free, and once free, how hard it can be not to fall back into bondage. Without God, we would never be free. I am going to repeat one verse because I love it so.

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

Isn’t it awesome to realize that with God on our side, we don’t have to be afraid, just stand still and see the salvation. It reminds me of how much Jesus did for me by dying on the cross, He paid for my salvation, I did nothing but accept His great gift. He accomplished it for me. God will accomplish much for the nation Israel. And it is also poignant that they will see the Egyptians no more FOREVER. That is incredible. FOREVER has such a permanence about it. I suspect that that means forever in eternity too, for Pharaoh hardened his heart and God would not force him into His presence, and just like satan who is ever seeking to pull people down with him, Pharaoh pulled down his army with him. It is a good reminder of the eternal repercussions for our actions.

Exodus 14:14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

THIS is something I forget so often, that God will fight for me. Sometimes I make things my battle that are better turned over to God, and letting God deal with them. Only God has that eternal perspective and can make things happen the right way. Sometimes my limited view will cause me to react and make a mountain out of a molehill. And when we turn problems over to God, then we have real peace, for God holds our peace in His hands as He deals with the tough situation. It has sort of a double meaning, our peace is held, but also God will keep peace by protecting the Israelites.

Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.”

Guess there is a time to stand still and a time to move forward. Now remember, the Egyptians are at their back, the Red Sea is in their forward path, and they are boxed in by Pi Hahiroth and Migdol. Where is forward to them? I can imagine looking at the dust from the chariot wheels, and the seemingly impassable Red Sea and panic would set in. Instead of crying to God, God wanted Moses to take a step in faith. To trust that God had things under control. So far God has scored a perfect score, he had them in Egypt 400 years as prophesied, they were allowed to leave with riches as prophesied, Abraham’s bones are with them as prophesied, and God has led them with a pillar of a cloud and a pillar of fire, why would God fail now? I can so easily forget how much God has delivered me from and what miracles God has done in my life when I am faced with a tough situation. That is why thanksgiving is so important, when we thank God for what He has done in our past, we then build up our faith for the current and future challenges in our lives.

Exodus 14:16 “But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”

This is an incredible miracle, anyone who has seen the movie, The Ten Commandments has the image. Of course today there are people trying to find a natural reason for this miracle, silly things like a place where the water was six inches deep – of course I wonder how Pharaoh’s army was drowned in six inches of water. But there were more miracles with this deliverance.

Exodus 14:17-18 “And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Oh the hardening of hearts was always a puzzlement for me, but if you think about it, God gave Pharaoh ample chances to make the right choice and inevitably he chose to do harm to Israel. He ended up hardening his heart so many times that God honored that choice. Pharaoh made many empty promises to let the Israelites go and then took back his word. This culminated with the death of the firstborn sons, and Pharaoh finally gave in. He allowed them to go in obedience to God whom he recognized as more powerful than himself, and all the people in his kingdom acknowledged that God was God. Then Pharaoh had a change of heart, and he chose to go after the Israelites in chariots (the major weapon of the day), and the people who had acknowledged that God was God, all of a sudden followed Pharaoh, and decided to confront the Israelites. Had they listened to what they knew was truth there would not be this outcome. How many times did we struggle with who was going to be Lord of our lives, ourselves or God, others or God, idols or God. Ultimately, hopefully, we make the right choice and obey God, not hardening our hearts against Him.

Here is an interesting appearance of “The Angel of God.” When we see this phrase we know it is a pre-incarnate form of Jesus before He was born in the flesh. He has been leading the people and now will take a guarding role for them.

Exodus 14:19-20 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

What an incredible miracle – what was darkness to one camp (the Egyptians) protected and provided light and safety for the Israelites. This is the same thing that happens to those who reject Jesus today. They read His words (The Bible) and they do not understand or see the truth in the words, they are blinded by the things of this world, they see as in a mirror darkly. Once we make the decision to accept Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit begins to open up our understanding to things that we were blind about before. He protects us in ways that the world does not understand. And what the world sees as foolish, we know is wise.

Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

Remember, water is also a symbol for the Word of God, so God rightly divided the Word, the water with the wind (Holy Spirit). And provided solid ground for the people to walk through. What a miracle!

Exodus 14:22-23 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

This is interesting, and something that happens today. Christians learn so much from the Bible, from God, from the Holy Spirit, and when they rightly divide the Word of God, they have solid results. Then the world tries to copy and follow after what the Christians have done, and imitate the results, and ultimately- because it is not based on solid truth – the results are shaky and come crashing down on the people. Here the Israelites are going where God told them to God. God did not tell the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites, so they were in open rebelion to God. God will not permit this, and will use this rebelion to teach a powerful lesson about the destruction of disobedience.

Now we can see part of the reason of why God boxed in the Israelites and sometimes allows tough situations in our lives.:

1. So that we can see the power of God in seemingly impossible circumstances.
2. So that we can sense His presence.
3. We can see God’s glory.
4. The Egyptians (flesh) will realize that God is in charge.

Exodus 14:24-25 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

The morning watch would have been between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. I find it funny that the most powerful weapon of the day was nothing to God – he took off the chariot wheels – not much distance could be made by chariots dragging on the ground. The Egyptians were given yet another chance to have a change of heart – they realized that God was fighting for the Egyptians – something abundantly clear to them with the plagues and the death of the firstborn, but we so often overlook what is happening and continue to pursue what God has shown so clearly is against His wishes. Their outcome was their own choice to disobey God.

Exodus 14:26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots and on their horsemen.”

Truly the Egyptians were out of their depth when they disobeyed God.

Exodus 14:27-28 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

Praise God for this wonderful deliverance. This is a good warning to the world today to touch not the beloved of God, the Israelites. We may think that in our own power, with our own might that we might come against Israel, but the truth is that God will prevail.

Exodus 14:29-31  But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

Yes, for now they believed, but just like us, over time the fear (awe and respect) of God will fade, idols will creep in, and the people will question Moses and God. I often wonder how, in the face of so many mighty miracles, the people would begin to disobey God, but if we are honest with ourselves, we also disobey God. We lose our focus, and stray. I pray that I always keep God and his wonderful works in my mind so that my thanksgiving and prayers remain. I pray that as I walk in His path, that I grow more and more in my relationship with Him and learn that obedience and freedom and joy and love go hand in hand. Let me never forget what wonders He has done in my life.

Praying you have a blessed week.

Heather

There are different levels of living in the Spirit. We can pray, have a conversation with God, read the Word, talk to God, relax with God, meditate, pray in our Heavenly language or rest in God. We often want a revival in our lives and our churches. So often people come to church to be fed, but they come totally depleted by life. They come to church empty and starved because they haven’t spent time during the week to be with God. If more people spent a few minutes before church praying, praising God, talking with God on the way to church, it would help new believers and those who are depleted come into the spirit filled presence of God quicker.

Then Pastor Don went into the topic of being in the spiritual zone.

Acts 10:9-16 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. (10) Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things; and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleaned you must not call common.” This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Pastor Don asked us, why did God show Peter food? Because Peter was very hungry. God wants to speak to us so badly that he will speak to what we are dealing with in our flesh to get our attention. He showed Peter food to get his attention. If Peter had been thinking about politics, God would have used political leaders of Peter’s day, or God would have used any topic Peter was focusing on.

Notice in verse 10 Peter FELL into a trance. We think of that term in our common English colloquialisms, like I fell into a good deal, she fell for him, etc. But the real translation of the world is fell like in fell flat on his face. He bodily keeled over, slammed down. He went from present consciousness to Spiritual consciousness. It was not a conscious mind relationship, but Peter’s Spirit was conversing with the Holy Spirit, outside of time, in a different atmosphere or dimension.

Peter was in prayer before this happened, he had made himself available to the Spirit. When the Spirit shows up there is a suspension of time. We don’t know how long Peter was in trance, it could have been just a few seconds or several hours. We do know that the same vision was presented to Peter three times.  Notice what happened after the vision.

Acts 10:17 Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.

There is no mention of physical hunger, Peter was filled by his time with the Spirit and was no longer talking about lunch.

Then Pastor Don brought us to the story of the woman at the well. Remember Jesus waited at the well while the disciples went into town to find lunch. The woman came and Jesus had a discussion with her, ultimately in the Spirit for He had words of wisdom for her, telling her about her life, and leading her to understand true worship and the fact that He was the Messiah. Words of Wisdom are one of the gifts of the Spirit. If the disciples were going to get food it meant that they were hungry, so listen to the dialogue, John 4:27-32 And at this point his disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or “Why are You talking with her?” The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

Jesus was in the Spirit, and he had food from the Spirit that the disciples did not realize. Remember, when questioned about why the disciples did not fast, Jesus told the questioners that his disciples would fast when they did not have Him with them. Fasting can help us to hear from the Spirit, it is not the only way to hear from the Spirit, but when we hunger, we hunger for the Spirit. So often we use our fleshly instincts, food, sex, and pride to numb ourselves, and it distracts us from hearing from the Spirit. So when we deny ourselves these things, we are more receptive to hearing what God and the Spirit have to say to us. The Spirit and God are looking for opportunities to get to us.

The touch can come in a moment, when our senses are heightened, and our priority is realized, Jesus enters our consciences. We don’t know how deep God travels to reach us.

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants–things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant, John.

Jesus sent an angel to John..

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those how hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Pastor Don pointed out that the ones who pierced Jesus were long dead, so they would be resurrected to see Him. That those who had died before would be resurrected. And that Pastor Don doesn’t want to think as some suggest that the pictures will be seen on CNN and thus seen around the world, that somehow this will be seen by everyone in the World in a supernatural way.

Revelation 1:8-10 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the end,” says the Lord, “Who is and was and who is to come, the Almighty. I John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me, a loud voice, as of a trumpet.

John was worshipping on the Lord’s day, something he did habitually, then he was caught up in the Spirit. This was something different for Him, and he heard a voice like a trumpet.

Revelation 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me and having turned I saw seven golden lampstands.

When He was in the Spirit John’s sense of location was suspended. The Spirit man removed John to a place where the Spirit dominated over the flesh. The Spiritual supersedes the flesh. When John is in the Spirit he is able to see spiritual things.

Pastor Don pointed out that when we are in the Spirit, not everything that we see is from God, that we have to discern what we are seeing to find the source – to make sure that the Spirit and the Word agree. He calls it the ripple in the pond effect. When we cross into the Spirit it is broadcast into the spirit realm, like tossing a pebble into a pond produces ripples that spread out.

Good people get messed up by thinking that because they are good, pray, read their Bibles, and are saved that when they get into the spiritual realm that everything that they see is from God. Satan also operates in the spiritual realm and he can masquerade as an angel of light.

Can we prove this in the Word? Pastor Don talked about the demoniac of the Gaderines, and how people looked at Jesus talking to the demon possessed man. They thought He was talking to the man, but Jesus was talking to the demons inside of the man that were trying to kill the man.

We need to check our thoughts and ideas that we think are coming from God, test them to make sure they really are of God. Like Pastor Don said some time ago in a previous Bible study, not all our thoughts are our own. Sometimes we think things that we would not ordinarily think, and those thoughts may not be from us. Before we act, find out the source.

Mark 9:1 And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God present with power.”

This is a spiritual experience, in the presence of faith. Then Jesus was transformed, and the three disciples saw Jesus, Elijah and Moses talking. Peter sees this spiritual experience and then says,

Mark 9:5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

This was not a spiritual idea at all, but Peter taking what he saw in the Spirit and in his own idea coming up with a way to manifest it in the physical. It would have been wrong for it would have elevated Moses and Elijah to the level of Jesus, and that would not have been Biblical. There would have been three idols. Here God showed them something, and they wanted to make it into an idol. We need to be careful of our spiritual experiences, that we do not carry them to a place God never intended them to go.

Remember that Peter made many mistakes, he correctly realized that Jesus was the Christ, and a few verses later told Jesus not to go to the cross – Jesus rebuked Peter by telling him, “Get thee behind me, satan.” We have to give Peter credit, Pastor Don says that he thinks the other disciples would prompt Peter to ask those questions they were afraid to ask, because Peter wasn’t afraid to put his foot in his mouth.

It is spiritual suicide to take something God shows us in the spiritual realm and try to apply it in the physical without scriptural backing.

Matthew 12:22-28 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Satan is always looking for ways to cause division in God’s kingdom. If he can get people to believe that their personal visions are truth even when they are not scriptural, he knows that that will cause division in the body. Whatever comes down the pipeline has to be discerned in the light of the Word of God. So many of the so called prophets on TBN are speaking nice words, and nice words are fine, but they are not prophetic truth for the whole Body of Christ.

Luke 10:20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

The devil is a liar, but he is not a bad liar. He tells us things that are so close to the truth that we can be tripped up. When we have a vision in the spiritual realm, he can give us an interpretation that is close to the truth but wrong enough to cause us to miss the truth.

1 Corinthians 12:10 …to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits…

The discerning of spirits is a spiritual gift, but we need to discern what spirit is in operation. So often people are not detecting the difference between the mailman and the message. Sometimes an unlikely person delivers a message which is from God. Other times a very godly person can deliver a message that is a message from their ego or pride. Sometimes the message is from demonic spirits. We need to discern if the message is or is not anointed. We need to check the message and the motives of the message giver.

If you do not have the gift of discerning of spirits, go to someone who does.

1 Corinthians 14:32-33 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion ut of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

This is a problem that is in the church. So much confusion.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

If a married woman wants to deliver a word of wisdom, her husband should be present. For the husband is the covering of the woman (loving her as Christ loves the church). If someone wants to deliver a word of wisdom to you, you have the right to ask for a witness to be present, if not the husband, then the elders or pastor. What can be a danger is if the husband is being run by the wife, like Jezebel and Ahab.

Some people feel that they have the right to correct others, but is their correction done correctly or in love?

If a person has a sickness, that does not always mean that they did something bad to deserve the sickness, or that their faith is in error. We do not always know why a person has the struggle they do, but we do know that God will turn it to good.

Some people are bloodsuckers, wanting to feel righteous, and they do so by putting other people’s faith walks down. They promote their spiritual walks in such a way as to lord it over the others who are so “beneath” them.

1 Corinthians 14:30-31  But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

The words of prophesy are meant to encourage others on their walks. Yes, we all have junctures in our lives where we have failed, and without a word of encouragement, you might end up shipwrecked. When people prophesy over you, you may end up with three negative words (that were not from God) and one real word from God. That is why we must discern.

1 John 4:1 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

Pastor Don gave an example of kids in a playground and how often they form cliques. He told us that if there is anything divisive, to isolate yourself from it, for divisiveness quenches the Spirit.

Jude 20-25 But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction: but others save with fear pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

Pastor Don went on to say that there is a place he calls the zone, and that it is good to spend time there for the Spirit can touch us there. But we have to discern who is in the zone. It can be God or not of God, and we cannot get the wires crossed. We must not sacrifice sanctity. Like a machine we pick up messages, look for spiritual food, and wisdom. The spiritual wants to reach us in the natural, to meet us in the spirit. He wants to walk with us in the Spirit. So we need to make sure that we give time for Him to reach us, and discernment needs to also be used.

Hoping this blessed you,

Heather

I really miss it when I cannot get to Bible study, so Friday Bible study was wonderful, food for a starving soul. I missed Wednesday’s study due to a cold trying to turn to bronchitis. The antibiotics knocked me for a loop.

I had time to talk with Pastor Don before Bible study about things in my life and questions. He still loves knowing that you are all blessed by his teachings, and spent a bit of that time looking over your comments. I asked him about something that happened to me the other night. I was waiting in the car for my son, it was too far to drive home for his hour appointment with a person who helps kids plan about colleges, so I sat in the car reading the Bible. Besides my day to day Bible studies, I also am doing a read through the Bible in a year. During my reading, and I do read with attention, notebook in hand and ready to ask God questions when there is a tidbit that I didn’t notice before. And while I was reading I felt sort of spacey – kind of like if you had one drink too many – sort of paying attention to reading but part of my mind seemed elsewhere. Pastor Don calls that “the Zone.” I asked him about it because of my occult background (my testimony) and whenever there is anything that seems close to similar experiences in my background, I like to check it out to make sure I haven’t opened myself up to any oppression. Well, states like this are Biblical, and Friday’s Bible study was focused on teaching about this.

Pastor Don pointed out that there are people who hear but don’t hear the truth. What he is going to talk about is spiritual experiences that are backed up with scriptural experiences and Biblical foundation. Today in some churches there is a dangerous practice of saying that there is going to be a Bible study, but instead of opening up the Bible, the people open up books about the Bible, and dispense information without consulting the Word directly. The further a teaching gets from the actual word of God, you leave room for dangerous teachings that are not Biblical. If the experience cannot be verified by scripture, it is suspect. It is important that the Spirit and the Word agree.

Sometimes God shows a person a scripture and an interpretation that is specific to that person, and not necessarily a word for everyone. When we get something from God it is important to decide if it is a word for us specifically or a word to share and if it is truly a word from God. He gave a silly example about if God showed him a banana and said, “call this an apricot.” While this might be important for him to call a banana an apricot for a time, it is not something that is backed up by the Bible and therefore is not something the whole Body of Christ needs to be doing. We can never say that our experience supersedes the Word of God. We need to refer back to the literal Word. Our spiritual experience needs to be understood in light of scripture. We as defenders of the faith must bring spiritual experiences back to what Jesus says.

Jesus told us that the Word must be established by two or more witnesses. By itself, without the Word or the Holy Spirit, it is just our experience, but has no validity for the Body of Christ, and may only hold personal significance.

Someone asked about the prophets in the Old Testament who gave prophesies which were not verified for hundreds or years or seemed to be spoken on their own, and Pastor Don pointed out that many of them were contemporaries, and the Sprit of God ministered through the prophet to give a message that God spoke. (Heather’s note, prophets who did not speak God’s word were stoned to death, and they were very careful that they were really speaking what God wanted them to say.)

When we are confirming the Word of God, there are two things to keep in mind, two questions to ask ourselves.

1. Was that for me or for the people, something to share with the sheep or a personal message?  Last Wednesday Pastor Don wanted to speak more about covenants, but instead God kept telling him to speak encouragement. Instead of doing what he wanted to teach, Pastor Don was given the verse 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. He realized that he needed to give up his own agenda, his own planned Bible study and do what God wanted him to do and teach. And it was verified independently by the worship songs sung before Bible study, the praise reports during prayer time, and by comments overheard. Some pastors do not give up their own agendas for God. God wants to lead us by our Spirit, not our intellectual processes. At the same time it is important to realize that in the realm of the spirit there are also false spirits, so we have to discern what is of God and what is not of God. And Pastor Don said that some spiritual revelation is what he called “bedroom revelation” meaning for yourself alone. As a pastor, it is not his job as a shepherd to speak what he needs to learn about, but rather to speak about what the congregation needs to hear.

2. Can I prove it in the Word? Is what I am teaching able to be quoted from the Bible? Jesus told people that He only did what His Father told Him to do. So often Jesus quoted from the Scripture (the Old Testament). There is no new revelation. The Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament, and the New Testament reveals what is written in the Old Testament. There is no third testament. If someone is coming to you with a new revelation that is not verified in the Bible, it is a false teaching. It is their own ego trip.

He pointed out that whenever there is a speaker in our church and they say something that does not seem Biblical we are commanded to raise our hand and politely ask the person to show us where it is proven in scripture. If they cannot point to chapter and verse then we are to realize it is not a good revelation for us, and may not be meant for the church to hear.

Then he went into the topic at hand. I will write that response tomorrow. I borrowed my daughter’s laptop and the battery is low. I can’t get to the regular computer to type, so I figure I will give you the background tonight, and the scripture study tomorrow.

Hoping you have a blessed Saturday.

Heather

Someone asked me if I shared my writings with my pastors. Anytime I put up notes from a teaching at church, I make sure the pastor who taught the teaching gets a copy along with all of your comments. That way, if I have a mistake in my understanding, the pastor can correct me and I would pass the correction onto you. Also the pastors are blessed by your comments, and often when given the blog entry their first glances are for your comments. When a visiting pastor comes to our church, I also get their permission before posting the notes, and make sure that they get a copy of what I write. I do not want to ever give out false information.

You may not realize this, but sometimes Pastor Don actually teaches the next Bible study addressing comments from you. I try very hard to only write the notes that I understand so that I can answer any questions, but if I have a problem with a comment or question, I do bring it to the attention of the pastor. So in a big way, you are all part of our Bible studies, even if you are not there in person.

If you go to this link and scroll down until you see the box that says “Say AMEN” if you click on those titles you can see some of Pastor Don’s teachings on TBN. That way you can hear him yourself.

The Bible studies that do not have a pastor associated with them are my own thoughts and studies, such as the one below.

Exodus 14:1-2 Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon: you shall camp before it by the sea.

From a tactical point of view, in the flesh, this would be the WORST place to camp if you are being chased by Pharaoh’s army. Sort of between a rock and a hard place.  In fact the Israelites would be boxed in with the Red Sea at their backs and walls on either side. I am certain Pharaoh who would be chasing them figured that God was a poor military general. And the Israelites will begin to cry out to God, wondering why they left the “safety” of Egypt – not so safe if you remember that their sons were being drowned.

PiHahiroth means the mount of the caves and also in some translations place of liberty
BaalZephon (notice Baal, a god who was made into an idol) tower or military fortress, it is also the land of the North, and represents God’s Judgment, for example Ezekiel 1:4 Then I looked, and behold a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Red Sea (red is blood), sea in many passages of scripture refers also to nations and peoples.

Exodus 14:3-4 “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, “They are bewildered by the land, the wilderness has closed them in. Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.

How quickly Pharaoh forgot – the plagues, flies, frogs, blood seas, death of first born sons. Most probably the funeral rites were still going on in his land. He thinks that God will now abandon the Israelites, there is a pride there that will be dangerous to Pharaoh and his followers.

Exodus 14:5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

The Egyptians had become dependent on the slavery of the Israelites, and now they would have to do their own work. People do not like change, and we see so often in our lives that when we, as Christians, make a change in our way of dealing with the world that the world comes against that. They want to drag us back to the old and comfortable ways of doing things, to destroy the new relationship, to tear down the growth. For the Egyptians who had 400 years of comfort at the hands of the Israelites, now they have to stand on their own. You know what this sort of reminds me of? When Christianity is forced out of areas, such as our schools, the morality suffers. When the rapture occurs, there will be moral decline and chaos on the earth. What holds our earth together is the moral code given by God, with that removed, anarchy will ensue. Those who claim that they make their own laws, govern themselves, etc, do not realize how strong a moral backbone has been given to them by the Judeo Christian teachings. They may think they are making their own moral codes, but much is gleaned from God.

Pharaoh listened to the grumbling of the Egyptians and figured he had to do something or his popularity would slip in the polls, sorry wrong century. Even today it is rare to have a political leader who does the right thing for the people at the expense of his rating. Most govern by what the polls state.

Exodus 14:6-7 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. Also he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them.

In Pharaoh’s day, that would be like taking all the newest and best weapons of our country to go to war. And who taking them against people marching on foot. He had to feel in his pride that he would easily conquer these Israelites. In those days Egyptian Chariots caused awe and fear in the enemies’ eyes.

Exodus 14:8-9 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea besides Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

Remember, at first Pharaoh hardened his own heart, then God gave him the desire of his heart, to be hardened against God.

The Children of Israel went out celebrating their liberty, and they will face what we often face when God liberates us from a particularly tough area in our lives, the inevitable rock and hard spot. After a victory we often end up in a bit of a valley. It is important to realize that it is God who gives us our liberty, and sometimes the valleys are really our friend for they remind us just who is God, and what God has done. It also makes us stand up on our own two feet. Remember when our kids were little and just starting to stand. When they fell down, we picked them up, kissed them, and set them on their feet again to toddle until the next fall. God does that with us. When we hit a valley, he picks us up and we toddle a little further in our spiritual path until the next fall. As we do this, our spiritual muscles and maturity are growing, and God applauds our successes in Him.

We can also look at this situation with a lot of hindsight, and wonder at the stupidity of Pharaoh, who, in spite of all the miracles and plagues that God demonstrated hardened his heart against God’s desires. Haven’t we all done that too? We have even a longer history of written examples of God’s miracles (The Bible) and miracles in this day and age, and the fulfillment of prophesy, and there are still those who harden their hearts against God, refuse to believe, and disobey Him. We even at times miss God’s commands in our lives. When we look back on our lives, with hindsight, we are going to see where we missed God.

Exodus 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew near the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

Notice that Israel only lifted their eyes to view their circumstances, not all the way up to God. It is so easy, in the midst of troubles, to forget that God is above and beyond all that we can see or imagine.

Exodus 14:11-12 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were not graves in Egypt, have you take us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?” Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, “Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Egypt was a land focused on death, the pyramids and embalming, etc. Why would God let the Israelites escape Egypt only to let the Egyptians slaughter them in the wilderness? That would be rather foolish. Here is the beginning of the grumblings of the Israelites. And I wish I could say that it wasn’t true of me also. Some things that God has freed me from, He had to pry my fingers off of. One example is being able to let go of anger to my parents. I held onto that anger long after both parents were dead, and forgiveness did not come easy. Yet, once I finally trusted God and obeyed Him, there was a liberty I could not imagine. But we get used to the way things are, even if they are bad, rather than take the risk of change and trusting in God.

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

God, through Moses, gave the people the following three instructions.

1. FEAR NOT. That seems a no brainer when we look back at what happens, but in the midst of the trouble, when Pharaoh was breathing down their necks, fear would come up. Sometimes we lose sight of the bigness of God, when the fear takes over. Fear and faith cannot inhabit the same space. If we are operating in fear, we are not having faith in God to see us through.
2. STAND STILL. How many times have we blocked what God is wanting to do by trying to solve the problem in our own strength. Sometimes we think we know what to do and all we do is interfere with God’s plan. Believe it or not, God does not need our help, although sometimes He lets us help Him. Before Jesus died on the cross for us, in the garden He asked God if this cup could be taken away from Him, God did not give Jesus an alternate plan. The salvation we receive we got through what Jesus did, not through anything we do or could do. We just need to stand still and accept His great gift.
3. SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD. This is such a perfect picture of what Jesus did for us, taking us out of Egypt and protecting us, freeing us from the bonds of sin and death. The parting of the Red Sea has a lot of parallels to Jesus. The Red Sea represents the boundary of satan’s authority. Walking through the Red Sea is like a baptism, and they carried the bones of Joseph across towards the promised land.

Hebrews 11:23-29 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the k king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so, were drowned.

As the Israelites walk with God, He will teach them about faith, obedience, and trust in God as provider. It took faith, but Moses was a good shepherd of his people, and he led them and taught them as God instructed him.

Most of you know the rest of the story, which I am going to save until the next time, but I want to mention that there are now a lot of alternate explanations of this parting of the Red Sea that try to leave God out of the mix. One of which is that the place where Moses crossed was only six inches deep. Well, consider that, it takes far more faith to believe that all of Pharaoh’s army was drowned in six inches of water, than in how the Bible portrays the crossing. We need to trust God’s Word, for it is the truth.

Hoping you have a blessed day.

Heather

The antidote for physical and spiritual problems is Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 40 describes the Temple. Pastor Don pointed out that because of the description of the temple we can see that it was not the Temple rebuilt by Nehemiah. This temple has not been built yet. Some Biblical theologians claim that this temple was built, just not completely to specification. But when you take all things into consideration to accept this view of the theologians takes a large stretch of the imagination.

The spiritual things that are mentioned in Ezekiel did not happen during Herod’s life, and in A.D. 70 Herod’s temple was destroyed. This temple will be rebuilt during the period of tribulation. Right now the Israelites are making the artifacts that will be used in this new temple. Pastor Don believes that when Jesus comes to rule and reign He will be in a temple that is built to the specifications of Ezekiel’s temple.

The covenants that God made will be fulfilled, which means that the Jews will be judged by the Old Covenant unless they have accepted Jeshua (Jesus) as their Lord and Savior, in which case they would be under the New Covenant. Jesus came to establish a new and better covenant with the people, but that does not nullify the old covenant with Israel based on the covenant and the 10 Commandments. Before Jesus came, the Jews met with God for forgiveness of sin at the Mercy Seat, but we meet with God in Grace.

We do not know how the Israelites will be brought into the New Covenant or what happens, it is a mystery. Paul states that it is a mystery, but those under the Old Covenant will be saved. It is hard for the church to say, “I don’t know,” but we don’t know. We just know that God is a just God. God promised to save Israel and God does not lie or go back on his covenants.

A bit of a recap.

Ezekiel 40:4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel, everything you see.

Then there are details about the gates, the outer court, northern Gateway, Southern Gateway, and the Inner court.

Ezekiel 40:38-43 There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering.  In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables.  Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices. There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice. Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables. 

This has not happened yet, since the death of Jesus and the destruction of the Temple, there have not been sacrifices in a temple. The sons of Zodok are from the sons of Levi, from Levi’s blood. The antichrist will again allow animal sacrifices for a period of time, and then stop the sacrifices.

We then looked back at Ezekiel Chapter’s 37-39 point out how much God fought for the Israelites even though they turned back to idols. God does not abandon the fleshly Jew. But we know that the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant. The traditions of men stink in the nostrils of God. God gave Ezekiel a temple pattern of how God wants the temple built. God blinded the Jews eyes because of their hardened hearts, disobedience, and rejection of Jesus. But one day He will open their eyes. There is a spiritual temple in these passages but there will also be a temple in actual reality.

Ezekiel Chapter 41:16-19 ..their doorposts and the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with wood from the ground to the windows–the windows were covered–from the space above the door, even to the inner room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside by measure. And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces, so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around.

I am going to try and get the CD of Pastor Don’s sermon several years ago, “Palms of Praise” to see what he is talking about, but he did a major study on palms. I was not there, but the ending was when we lift our hands to God we lift up palms of praise.

Ezekiel Chapter 42 speaks of the Chambers for the Priests

Ezekiel 43:1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.

This eastern gate that Christ will come through as priest and king has been sealed by the Muslims, and to further prevent it’s use by a priest or Jesus, the Muslims have made the ground outside the gate to be a cemetery. It is their hope, that since priests cannot be near dead bodies, that this would prevent Jesus from walking through that gate. But they don’t know our Jesus, by the time He walks through that gate there will be no dead bodies, for He will have raised them from the dead.

Ezekiel 43:2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

In Revelation it is explained that many waters is a symbol of many nations. This is what is mentioned in Revelation about the second coming of Christ.

Ezekiel 43:3-5 It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw–like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar, and I fell on my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the innercourt; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

Notice something different from the old temple constructs. No longer do the people have to come through the outercourt, they go directly to the innercourt. Because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for us, we do not have to go to the altar where the sin sacrifices were made, for He has covered our sins with His shed blood, there is nothing that keeps us from the innercourt. We go right to the main court and the presence of God.

Ezekiel 43:6-9 Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the mist of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed, therefore, I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

This is not yet heaven on earth, there are still opportunities for idolatry and sin.

Ezekiel 43:10 And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.

All of us, as we mature in Christ and walk in love, get to a place in our relationship with Him that we don’t want to do wrong, commit error,

When we are saved and have a relationship with God, we do not want to hurt Daddy, there will be something about Ezekiel’s temple that will instill holiness, purity, and the presence of God. Those who enter will be ashamed of their sins.

Pastor Don mentioned the pattern of the Bible is so holy. It is beyond our earthly perceptions.

Ezekiel gives a bigger picture of the Kingdom of God.

Ezekiel 43:11 And they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight so that they may keep its whole design and all the ordinances and perform them.

Why ordinances? If there wasn’t a physical building, there wouldn’t need to be ordinances.

Ezekiel 43:12 This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

Spiritually they have to expand. When people are born again, people begin to see more things as holy, and they get a bigger expanse of what is holy.

For example, a new born again person who had a problem with cursing, would not curse when at the altar, but may in the sanctuary. As God continues cleaning the person, then the area of not cursing will expand to the sanctuary, later on the parking lot, then driving to and from church. At some point, as the person continues to grow in Spirit, they begin to realize that everywhere they are God is and that God is aware of what they are doing. Pastor Don said that we get to a point where everything we do, we do consciously. We should do in our homes things that we wouldn’t mind Jesus observing as he is sitting at our kitchen table. How far have you expanded?

The law of the temple, is that anything that the temple is sitting on also becomes holy.

Then God gives dimensions of the Altar.

Ezekiel 43:18-20 And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing  burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it. You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord GOD. You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.

They will be observing temple sacrifice.

Ezekiel 43:27 When these days are over it shall be on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I will accept you,’ says the Lord GOD.

Pastor Don pointed out that this verse mentions the 8th day, for the Jews. It is a new beginning, providing the opportunity to comply with the Mosaic law and covenant, the way God intended. It will bring the family (Jews and Gentiles) together. In the process of completing the Old Covenant, they will then see the New Covenant.

Ezekiel 44:1-3 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it, therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the lORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.

Only Jesus will come to the East gate.

Ezekiel 44:4-6 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, so I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I fell on my face. And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary. Now say to the rebellious in the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, let Us have no more of all your abominations.

Notice that it says let “Us.” For that implies the Great I AM. Us is a plural, by accord, single but multiplicity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

Ezekiel 44:7 When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it–My house–and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations.

Uncircumcised in heart –

Ezekiel 44:8-9 And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you. Thus says the Lord GOD; “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

We are considered the circumcision – by heart.

Revelation 21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of Life.

Once Ezekiel’s Temple is built, only those who will not defile the temple will enter in.

Ezekiel 44:10-11 And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

There is no mention of a High Priest in the above, this is a different kind of worship. There is no need for a High Priest to go into the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifice for the sins of the people, for Jesus did the perfect sacrifice.

Ezekiel 44:15-18 But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord GOD. They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments: no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.

All the atmosphere of worship is not works oriented, not with sweat. The previous attempts at worship were unclean and unacceptable to God, and God is giving the Levites a do over under the Covenant. They haven’t fulfilled their Covenant with God so He is giving them a second chance. They have to do the sacrifice right.

Ezekiel 44:23-24 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

Notice that sabbaths is plural, something that makes it hard for those who want to reassign when the sabbath is. Every day is a sabbath.

Ezekiel 44:25 They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.

Ezekiel 44:30 The best of all firstfruits of any kind and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

Pastor Don pointed out that it is a sacrifice of any kind – under Messianic law there were a whole lot of kinds that were not acceptable.

Ezekiel 44:31 The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.

The temple of Ezekiel on earth is a transitional temple. Jesus will rule and reign 1000 years from this temple. The rebuilt Temple will have spiritual and physical properties. It is modified to permit a new way of worship, different roles for the priests. All kinds of first fruits.

There was a lot to this study, but we went over the material so quickly, I don’t feel I have the kind of grasp I would like to have for the material, but know that it is worth sharing. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Heather

Well Friday Bible study, as usual, was interesting. Pastor Don read a letter that he wrote that got published in a local newspaper dealing with the fact that there is a trend today to try and deny that the holocaust occurred. He had an experience that he shared with the readers, and to his surprise the editorial was published even though it was 500 words. They usually only publish articles that are half that size on the editorial page. I thought you might like to read the editorial.

The Truth Must Prevail

Sometimes it takes an event of shocking proportions to cause us to wake up.

The president of Iran held a conference to declare that the Holocaust never happened. Westerners were not welcome, but KKK and some neo-Nazi groups were permitted.

It has been said if you tell  a lie long and loud, people will come to believe it. I cannot believe this lie because many years ago I was at a historic event where Holocaust survivors of a Polish concentration camp met the regiment of U.S. soldiers who liberated them. I saw the Nazi identifications numbers stamped into their skins, photos of friends and family who died, and heard stories from GIs and former prisoners of the great day of freedom and the sorrows that they experienced. Many of these people have passed on, but for me they are not forgotten.

Radical Islam has labeled Israel as the little Satan and the U.S. as the great Satan. Our two countries are locked together because our roots flow from a common source –the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. No matter how hard forces work to remove God from this country or to separate us from Israel, there is a Jewish-Christian connection.

We must acknowledge a bond of truth between us; we love God’s land and the Scriptures. We all await a coming Jewish Messiah but can’t agree on whether He was here or not. In the past, we Christians failed to protect and defend the Jews, but the truth must prevail so that doesn’t happen again. Radical Islam will not stop at destroying Israel for they have set out to divide and conquer Israel and the U.S.

To discredit and destroy the Holocaust serves their purpose; to isolate Israel and erode sympathy for its existence. There is no appeasement or peace plan that works when your enemy is sworn to destroy you, and is functioning from a different set of values and world view. Israel understands this, but many Americans do not.

Hitler used lies to get his way and World War II engulfed the planet. Our only trusted friend in the Middle East is Israel. The Bible predicts that Israel will be surrounded and isolated. If only more Americans would read their Bibles we could better understand what is happening now.

Iran is forming alliances with Russia and its Muslim neighbors to gain power and complete control of the area. Mortimer B. Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News and World Report (speaking of Iran) said, “It has intensified its murderous anti-Israel rhetoric and reiterated its long-held position and how the end game will be played.

Israel should have our support. We must realize we are not always involved with folks who are following the rule of our laws or have a love of our constitution. The 9/11 attackers used our freedoms and tolerance to our harm. The lie that there was no Holocaust hurts us all and opens the way to more atrocities like those in the Sudan.

Pastor Don Moore

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Pastor Don also read an article on the op-ed page called Charitable Nation by Jonah Goldberg.

We started talking about various current events and Pastor Don pointed out that we have to be aware of what is going on in our country, because the way we are heading, we may soon not be a country, for US is not mentioned in Biblical prophesy. Then he talked about how some of the minority groups work to get their agendas accepted and he used an example.

One of the elders of our church was sitting next to him and he asked her for her Bible, pen, purse, chapstick, and notebook. Playing along she said, “No.” He then begged for just the little scrap of a gumwrapper which after he cajoled her, she gave him. Then a few seconds later he said, “You gave me the gumwrapper” why won’t you give me the chapstick. I really need the chapstick and you have so many of them at home. Eventually she gave in and gave him the chapstick. He then tried to ask for her Bible, saying “You gave me the paper and the chapstick. You have lots of Bibles. What kind of Christian are you when you won’t even give me your Bible.” She refused, and he called her “Prejudiced bigot, you gave me these things, and you won’t give me more.”

He then pointed out that now he didn’t need her Bible because he was able to label her as a bigot, and because she was labeled she looked less in other people’s eyes, so he got what he wanted. Now when he looked around the table he used the term bigot, and pointed out that that term made people uncomfortable for they did not want to be labeled that, so they would more readily comply to escape the label.

There are many labels being slung around these days such as homophobic (a rather new term), intolerant, etc.

This is part of a well-planned out agenda to force people to comply with things that are not Biblical, that are not part of the system. We need to realize that as time goes by Christians are going to be persecuted for their beliefs. For those crying intolerant to Christians will not tolerate Christians believing what God has told them.

We are asleep in America, we keep saying “It can’t happen here.” It is happening. We are a media society, the news and who controls the news controls the mind of the people.

The agendas of these groups tried to reach the people in the political arena and it didn’t work, now they are reaching out to try and force their agendas on people through the entertainment arena and movies. The content of movies, comedy shows, and other TV shows is radically different from 20 years ago. Subjects that never would have made the show in the past are now an integral part of the shows, and the tone is to imply that immorality is normal and more widespread.

Our government was given far more power than the founders of our country wanted. The founders figured a few weeks of the year the politicians would leave their communities and daily jobs, travel to Washington and deal with a few issues that would come up. Our country was meant to be a conglomerate of many states, a republic, and each state was to govern itself except in a few areas where they needed to cooperate.

From the war, Roosevelt turned the country on its heels, and the federal government became stronger than the state governments. Once that power transferred, and the need was no longer there for such a strong government, the politicians held onto the power and refused to let it go back to the states. Our government got stronger and stronger, and the people gave up their rights more and more, the states lost a lot of their power.

Thomas Jefferson prophesied that if politicians established themselves as an elite and ruled over the people, that our country would suffer.

We need to remember, that no matter the state of the politics, our kingdom is not of this earth, it is a heavenly kingdom. God separated the church from the realm of politics. When the persecution comes we will have to make a decision, go with the kingdom of the world or go with the kingdom of God.

Then Pastor Don went on to discuss Ezekiel, a topic I think I will save until tomorrow.

I am praying you have a blessed Sunday.

Heather

Prepare to be blessed! This is a long study, but it did not seem right to break it into two parts. After writing about the pillar of the cloud for the Israelites in my last post, I went to Wednesday Bible study where Pastor Don talked about the covering that exists with a covenant relationship. I walked out of Wednesday Night’s Bible study so comforted and felt so secure in my covenant relationship with God that I cried with joy driving home.

Before the study began, we pray what petitions have come into the church. One of them was from a pastor in India. In your prayers, remember the Pastors who serve in India, the interior reaches where not many evangelists go. Life is very challenging for them. We sponsor two, Pastor Abraham and another Pastor whose name I do not know. But there are often attempts on their lives for teaching about God, and Pastors in the churches that Pastor Abraham has planted have been arrested, jailed, and terrorized for teaching about Jesus. Right now one pastor is sick and is asking for prayer. They are so strapped for money that thinking of going to a hospital is far beyond their budget, I suspect our church will collect for them. I often forget how blessed we are to be able to worship in the open, not fearing for our lives. The dedication and devotion and love for God for Pastors in India and other countries where Christians are persecuted is mind boggling.

Pastor Don differentiated between a Covenant relationship and a contract. A covenant relationship extends beyond all contractual specifications. To be in covenant implies a relationship. Marriages often fail because the couple goes into the marriage expecting it to be a contract, when in reality a marriage is a covenant.

A covenant relationship is long lasting (those of God’s are eternal), and it is based on relationship. It is not based on what you do or don’t do. Under a covenant there can be contracts that affect where we stand in the relationship. Do we stay under the covenant or do we move outside the covering of the covenant? The covenant relationship stands without change, no matter what the person does. The only way a covenant relationship can be broken is if there is a change in the relationship and one person walks away from the covenant agreement.

Marriage is a covenant that lasts until death do us part.A covenant is based on a relationship and on the character of the person making the covenant. In a covenant, all that I am is complying with all that you are. A covenant is not just for part, but for all, for everything.

When a relationship is stable and you have a covenant agreement, you can trust that the other party is doing what is good for you. Pastor Don spoke of a person in the church that he sponsored and taught construction work. The relationship between them became a covenant relationship, so when Pastor Don needed to build a wing on his house for his mother, he asked this person to build the wing. The price he knew would be fair, and when the person changed the type of window in a room, Pastor Don knew that it was done because it was a better choice. In a contract, all details would have to be spelled out, and no changes made without prior consent, for often in a contract situation all that you can trust for is the terms of the contract. Covenants run deeper. Covenants are based on an ongoing continual trust. If one party of the covenant does something, the other party trusts that there is a good reason for the action.

When a person in covenant tries to reduce the relationship to a contract, than the consent is eroded, and the covenant relationship is broken for there is no trust.

A contract says that I trust you to do what I have specified, but I don’t trust you outside of the contract.

Your talent can take you to places your character can’t support you.

Pastor Don looks for people whom he can have a covenant relationship with. He was taught all the right actions, gestures, and procedures to build a large church family. But he prefers creating disciples, building relationships, and having a covenant relationship with the church.

Some pastors only have a contractual relationship with their members. When things go wrong, they leave the church or cause troublesome members to leave. There isn’t the commitment. People sense that, which may explain why churches fail and people are dissatisfied in church.

The things of God.

God is the patriarch in a covenant relationship, and He is eternal, sovereign, loving, forming a covenant with us in the Kingdom of Heaven and in the Kingdom of Earth. So often we are earthbound, and we forget the Heaven bound covenant.

Many people want to deal with God in a contractual basis, cutting deals with Him. God is a Covenant God. We come to God thinking, I pray this, so you must do this. What we forget is that there is more to a situation than we can understand in our natural minds. God does not want to hurt us, we have to trust that He has our best interests in mind when He changes how He responds to our prayer, or when He doesn’t allow us to have what we prayed for at that time. His covenant relationship with us is to benefit us.

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Pastor Don says, then He hits us with it, Isaiah 1:19-20 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 1:24-31 Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees which you have desired; and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen. For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf dies, and as a garden that has no water. The strong shall be as tinder. And the work of it as a spark: both will burn together, and no one shall quench them.

Here God is setting up the boundaries of the Covenant, but there are contracts in this covenant. Before Isaiah 1:18 God had entered a covenant relationship with Israel, and here he added contractual agreements. The Israelites had disobeyed God’s commands and did things God told them not to do. He removed his hand of protection from them, and allowed adversaries to purge the people, now He would restore them to covenant relationship. God wanted a covenant relationship with the people and they wanted to pursue a contractual relationship with Him. This caused them to fall outside of the umbrella of the Covenant.

What hides contracts and covers sins is the blood of Christ. God promises that though our sins are scarlet, they can be white as snow. When the people disobeyed God, they moved out from the covenant relationship, the relationship was still there, but the people had moved. God waited until the people realized that they needed to come back to the covenant relationship. Then He was there waiting for them to come back.

The church has a teaching in some circles that people can void the covenant by their actions. They talk about being backslidden and that salvation can be in jeopardy. But salvation is a covenant relationship not a contract. You can lose a contract, but you can’t lose your salvation. The covenant will stand, but you may, by your actions, place yourself in position to not be covered by God’s protection. You may open yourself up to oppression by satan. Anything that is not of faith is a sin. To imply that the covenant of salvation is provisional is implying that Jesus did not die for all our sins.

God in covenant with us has responsibilities. He wants to communicate with us. That is why in Isaiah he says, “Come, let us reason together.” He wants a relationship, so He talks things out with us. He shares the particulars of our contract, but assumes the covenant relationship. All His responses are yes and amen, He has to come through.

When we do not obey God, He sometimes has to suspend or delay a covenant answer because we have violated the contract. We step out from under His authority, and He cannot honor that. Yet, he has also put into place the process of repentance so that we can turn around and come back under the covenant. Of course when we violate the covenant, sometimes God’s responses can be delayed for years and years. We also get in trouble when we expect God to answer according to our timetable. God is above and beyond our time system. God also knows that we mess up, we all mess up.

Spiritual maturity is learning how to not back down to satan, and to trust the covenant not the contract. To trust God, not the lies of satan and the world.

Genesis 6:18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark–you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

While a lot of people messed around in the wilderness of the world, since they did not have a covenant relationship with God, they stayed in the desert. What if Noah or his sons or wives did not get into the ark? Would God have been obligated to save them? NO. A covenant requires a person to take an action. In this case the action was to go into the ark.

In our personal life, if we go from covenant with God to contract with God, it will cost you your life. (Physical and/or spiritual death).

Your character matters in a covenant relationship, a covenant has to be enduring, and we need to remember that marriage is a blood covenant.

Only God can keep a covenant, even though we fail on a contract. The church has a mistaken notion of repentance. Repentance does not depend on anything you do, but on God who is the one who cleans you from your sin. Repentance and asking God’s forgiveness gives God permission to clean you.

Jeremiah 3:22 “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.”"Indeed we do come to You, for You are the LORD our God.”

God is the only one capable of, when we are backslidden, bringing us back into covenant relationship.

Genesis 15:18-21 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given the land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates–the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, he Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Notice the tense in the wording above, “I HAVE” it is done in the heavenly realm, even though it had not yet manifested on the earth. God’s covenant was set in motion the day that He spoke it.

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,”Do not be afraid. Abram, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Abram was to not be afraid. God would be his shield. The thing about a shield is that if it is to protect you you have to stay behind it, under its covering. If you get out from behind the shield, you leave yourself open.

Genesis 15:2-4 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring, indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of he LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

What did the God of the Covenant promise Abram, listen I will be there for you. Here Abram reasoned with God. Abram talked with God about his what his character and whole being was, and said that I needed to have an heir. In Covenant, God responded to the need of Abram, and would provide a son, in the right time. God and Abram had a relationship, and God responded to Abram’s need.

Exodus 31:16-17 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.

The sabbath is for the Jews. There are some groups that insist that we, as Christians should keep the sabbath, but this is a perpetual covenant for the Jews. We are the gentiles grafted in, and our sabbath is every day with the Lord. When the Jews broke the covenant with God and did not celebrate the sabbath, God sent them for 490 years into captivity to help them comply with the covenant. A covenant can’t be broken. As our relationship with God increases the very nature of God meets with the very nature of man. He is waiting for us to come back and get under the umbrella of His covenant.

Psalm 89:28-34 My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, if they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes. NEVERTHELESS, My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. (Pastor Don got all choked up when He read this, for the great love of God that this passage shows.)

I put the word “nevertheless” in caps because Pastor Don asked us to underline this word in our Bible. We do God a disservice by treating Him as if He has human tendencies. He doesn’t know how to fail, He judges us worthy, and will not break His covenant. He doesn’t change what He speaks over us. He is faithful. He doesn’t know how to not be good, and He found a way for us to get back to covenant relationship with Him.

Isaiah 42:6 I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles.

God sent His Son, Jesus – the Messiah, as a Covenant to the people. As a sign of His covenant, He gave us Jesus Christ as a guarantee of His covenant, to seal the Covenant. His sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, sealed the Covenant.

This speaks of the covenant, but it is a bit obscure.

Zechariah 11:7-8 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds and I fed the flock. I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

Pastor Don pointed out Beauty and Bonds, and the fact that the soul abhorred me. Then continued reading.

Zechariah 11:9-10 Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh. And I took my staff, Beauty and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

Beauty breaks the covenant, when a party abhors the other party, that can break the covenant.

Zechariah 11:11-12 So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. Then I said to hem, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages, and if not refrain.” So they weighted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

You can’t build a covenant on the basis of a contract, just because people come into agreement and speak of it. This prophesy speaks of Judas, who was in a covenant relationship with Jesus and broke it for thirty pieces of silver. He turned His back on the relationship with Jesus. God wants relationship with us, but if we abhor Him, He will give us the desires of our heart, and not force us to have a relationship with Him. Judas chose to abhor Jesus.

Some churches preach to attract people, but they do not help people to have the covenant relationship with God. In some churches you can go and have all the niceties of religion, the sermon, the choir, the prayers, the fellowship, but not have a covenant with God. There can be hypocrisy in the church. Some people feel that the Northeast is rather devoid of a spirit for God, but God will one day make a move here, only He can do this. We have to be ready, willing, and able to do. Right now there are still too many people in the church caught up in the flesh, and they need to place their hearts on what the Lord tells them to do.

A question was asked about vows. A vow is a contract, not a covenant. Jesus told us to have our yes be yes and our no be no, but not to make vows and promises. God’s memory is long (eternal), and He will remember the vows we have made and broken, and it is written down what we have said, every idle word. So we have to be careful what we promise. A covenant is not dependant on a vow, it is based on who God is, not what we do for Him.

Luke 22:20 Likewise He also took the cup after super, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

When we take communion we are actually reminding ourselves of our covenant, remembering what Christ did for us. We can take communion and remember the healing covenant of Jesus, for by His stripes we are healed. Healing is a covenant with God. When we see the Passion instead of just focusing on the wounds He received for us also remind ourselves, “My goodness look what He went through for me to be healed.” This is guaranteed, established, God wants us well. Depression is not permitted. We go through the valley and come out.

Galatians 3:17-18 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Nothing you do or say makes God’s promises to non-effect. Do not get caught up in the belief that your actions affect the covenant relationship. Jesus said that nothing can snatch us from His hand. God gave us a way to return to the covering of the covenant when we mess up.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What brings us back into covenant, His cleansing of us. If we do not confess our sins, the Holy Spirit will keep bringing them into our remembrance until we do confess.

Hebrews 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

After the Abrahamic covenant which is the mercy of God, we now have a covenant with Jesus which is the Grace of God.

God gave us grace, the ability, the empowerment, and we do it with God’s help, so God gets the glory. All of the new age movement and self help books, and prosperity books on the secular shelves stole the principles out of the Bible. But people who are under Covenant relationship with God will, in the right time, obtain a greater reward.

What the world wants is the PRINCIPLES without the PRINCIPAL and HIS PRINCIPLES. We can do well just with the principles, but if we are under covenant with God, he brings into being at a rate you establish, and one that you will not fall from.

A question was asked about the sabbath.

Hebrews 4:4-7 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.” and again in this place, “They shall not enter My rest. Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today.” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we can enter the sabbath rest anytime we want, every day, every moment. What time is there that we shouldn’t worship God? Shouldn’t give Him praise? etc.

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

FOREVER AND EVER.

We then went to the altar to pray and reestablish our covenant with God.

Praying you are blessed and fulfilled,

Heather

I have to tell you that I have a particular fondness for the Israelites’ time in the wilderness, I bet they sure wished they could have made the journey in a year, but their disobedience kept them in the wilderness for 40 years. Only two of the original Israelites and the offspring of the Israelites made it to the Promised Land.

 If you have ever read my testimony you will know that I gave up on God when I was 8 and it wasn’t until I was 48 that I even thought about God – and those forty years I consider my wilderness years. During that time I explored many religions, therapy, and other ways to alter the hurt feelings I still harbored because of my abused past. Nothing helped and I walked around in a desert of despair, in a wilderness of pain, with no hope, and no Promised Land. It was only after I asked God into my life that He started to direct my steps. I haven’t been the same since. If you are wandering in the wilderness, why not give God a try. He can handle anything you can throw at Him. I used to rage at Him, blaming Him for what happened to me in the past, accusing Him of not loving me. I had a hard time trusting Him, but one day I realized that my anger was misplaced and apologized to God. He told me (in my heart), “That’s ok Heather, at least in your anger you were talking to Me, after 40 years of silence.” He can handle our emotions. Just take a look at the Psalms, so many of them start out in anger, hurt, pain, and end up praising God. He loves us so much that He will listen to our hurt until we can finally stop and listen to Him. Then He can reach down and affect change.

Exodus 13:17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

I love those words, “it came to pass” it did not come to stay, it did not come permanently. So many of the problems we face in life come to pass, and afterwards they are over. I know that that is not what Moses meant by it came to pass, but if you think about it the 40 years in the wilderness is but a blink of an eye in God’s economy. I wonder if the Israelites wondered at the round about way that God was leading them. I know that when I pray for things I want a direct line to what I prayed for, and so many times there are years and years, or way more time than I would like between the prayer and the response. Sometimes I think God has me tapping my foot in impatience while I wait for what seems to be an interminable period of time before a response. I know God knows the right timing, but in my two dimensional view of time it seems an eternity for an answer. I am learning (through reading the Bible and my walk with God) to see that when there is a delay, God has a good reason. Here God knew that they needed time to learn to work together as a mighty army of God. The desert years will toughen them up, and teach them about God’s order and God’s provision. Much the same way our faith is built glory to glory, faith to faith, the people will walk with God in the wilderness. They will see God’s provision, the consequences of disobedience, and God’s greatness. Over time a relationship will be formed that will give them courage to go into the land of the Philistines. God knew his people well. We will see that when Moses sends the 12 spies into the land, all will come back with a report of a land flowing with milk and honey, but 10 will cause the people to balk at entering the Promised Land for they would fear the giants in the land. Two knew that God wouldn’t take the people to a land and let them struggle with giants on their own, that God would have a plan. Because of this fear and lack of trust in God after all God will have done for them, God had no choice but to wait for the next generation to come, a generation that would trust God in tough situations. Are we that next generation? Things are going to get tough on this earth as time goes on, that is why it is crucial for us to know His Word, to walk with Him, and to trust Him. To have faith and believe in Him. Only in that way will we be able to conquer the giants in our lives.

Exodus 13:18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

They must have looked like a sea of people, there were 600,000 men plus women and children – that could be 1-2 million people in orderly ranks. God would have to establish order for the people’s sake. Those who crave freedom, no limitations, and the ability to go one’s way will often find themselves in difficulty, for there is an order to our world. We see it in the natural – with day following night, death following life, the seasons, etc. Jesus will also establish order in the crowds when he interacts with them, going out on a boat to be heard by all, sitting people He was about to feed in groups. Order is good.

Exodus 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” (Genesis 50:25) This promise of Joseph’s bones being carried out of Egypt must have been told around campfires for 400 years of slavery – those bones offered a hope and a promise. And here we see a prophesy fulfilled, for now the bones would be carried out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.

Etham means desert place, and they are on the brink of disaster for Pharaoh will have a change of heart.

Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

God will use that cloud to protect the Israelites from the Egyptians, putting the cloud between them at a point of danger. Psalm 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night.

I wonder if sometimes once we come out of our Egypts that we struggle wanting to know God’s direction for our lives. He guides us but gently and subtly in most instances. Pastor Don once assured me that God was not like my earthly father, that God would not force me into situations, He would guide me and lead me, but the choice would be mine. Those desert places in the wilderness were hot for the Israelites, temperatures were steamy. When God gave them a pillar of a cloud I see it as sort of a giant umbrella, a giant covering, not just a pillar like on a building. This cloud would make cool shade for the people. When God wanted the people to move, He moved the cloud and the people scrambled to get under the shade, under God’s covering. Sort of reminds me of Jonah and that leaf that provided shade. The fire by night would provide light and comfort. Do you remember the old caveman movies where the fire protected the people from the terrors of the night. God made sure that His presence was known.

I used to be jealous of the Israelites because, in their wanderings God did so many signs and wonders for them. He lead them in this remarkable way, parted the Red Sea, gave them manna, etc. He did so many things for them I used to wonder, if He could do that, why couldn’t he prevent the abuse that I received as a child. Well, as time went by I am now realizing that there were things that the abuse helped save me from, things not apparent back then, but definitely apparent in looking back. I was caught up in the situation, not realizing that God saw the whole picture. Also, look what happened to the Israelites, they so quickly reverted to idols. You would think that if God did so many miracles, why turn to an idol? So I guess it comes down to how quickly we forget the good of God. Even I can at times grow lazy in my walk with God, and I have to really pay attention to His goodness and remember what He has brought me from. We tend to get used to the place where we are, forgetting how far we have come with His help. There are times when I need a good dose of thankfulness.

Exodus 13:22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

How comforting. Day after day, night after night for 40 years God provided food and comfort, light and guidance. What a loving father we have.

Praying you have a blessed day.

Heather

I was reading one of the people whom I subscribe to, Anna’s blog and she had some really sobering thoughts regarding the end times. She is a good source for Biblical knowledge and current events, as well as homeschooling. What struck me in my studies today is how much Exodus is similar to End Time prophesies, for God will remove a remnant from Egypt (the Earth). He does preserve a remnant no matter how bad things seem. God will provide a feast for this remnant (the Marriage Feast of the Lamb), and He will also provide for them (Manna), protect them, and set up a new kingdom (in the Promised Land). So many similarities.

Exodus 13:11-12 And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s.

Given God is our creator, everything we are and have is His. He wants the firstborn set apart for Him as a reminder of this, and it will also remind the Israelites of what God has delivered them from. We are His firstborn through Christ. When we became saved and born into His kingdom, we are set apart for Him. No longer do we belong to the World, we belong to Him and owe everything to Him. He has birthed us to be a new nation.

Frankly, in my pagan days I would have spat at the thought of being given to God, or belonging to God. Who did God think He was? I was my own person, free, and should be able to make my own decisions and rule my own life. I now realize that I was deluding myself. Imagine two kids playing a game, fighting over the game, and one kid gets angry and takes his toy (the game) and goes home – there is no longer any game. If God got angry at us and took his created things away (the earth, the air we breathe, our breath of life, the natural laws, the seasons, the growth cycle, our body processes) there would be no life. We are not independent creatures, we are so dependant on Him and it is only a fool that does not realize this. Truthfully, everything belongs to Him, and it is a good thing – we are so possessive that we can be a prisoner of our earthly things and lose our eternal focus. Since all belongs to Him, and He uses these things through us, He will do so for our own good. He is truly a loving and benevolent God, who has our interests at heart.

Exodus 13:13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of men among your sons you shall redeem.

I wondered why a donkey would be so signaled out, and got from a teaching of Chuck Colson that it symbolized natural man – not too flattering if you ask me. He suggested in the teaching looking up the references to donkey/ass if you wanted to further check it out, so I did.

Genesis 22:3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose and went to the place of which God had told him. (God had wanted Abraham to sacrifice His son Isaac, and Abraham obeyed God. The wood was for the sacrifice – and then a ram was substituted for Isaac in the 11th hour – but notice that both Jesus and Isaac rode a donkey)
Genesis 49 9-12 Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse Him?The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people, binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. Shiloh is a reference to Jesus. I find the fact that the donkey is bound to the vine (symbol of Israel) particularly telling because that is what Jesus did with us gentiles, grafted us into the vine.
Exodus 13:13 (SEE ABOVE)
Numbers 22:23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned side out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. Balaam was disobeying God, and the Lord sent an angel to block His way – the donkey turned aside, preserving Balaam’s life and got beaten for this act. Ultimately if you read on you hear the donkey answering Balaam, God used the donkey to give His message to Balaam. If God can use a donkey, He can use us.
1 Samuel 9 the donkey’s of Saul’s father were lost, Saul goes to look for them, seeks Samuel the prophet and later Saul will be anointed king. Could the donkey’s be like the lost sheep needing to be found?
Jeremiah 22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. (regarding Jehoiakim son of Josiah, an evil king of Jerusalem) If we do not come to Christ, we will not be part of the New Jerusalem and will be cast into the lake of fire.
Deuteronomy 22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. Makes sense to me, both do not pull with the same strength, they are not equal.
Job 6:5 Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass, or does the ox low over its fodder? Job was showing that his complaints were just.
Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider. Even a donkey knows it’s master, do we know ours?
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Matthew 21:5 Tell the Daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
John 12:14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it:as it is written (Zechariah quote)
2 Peter 2:16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained madness of the prophet (referring to Balaam)

Let’s consider for a bit – Jesus rides on a donkey (He came in Human form) and carried our sins to the cross, Isaac (a picture of Jesus) rides on a donkey, Balaam receives verbal rebuke from a donkey – God will even use a beast to get His message across. There is a message of separation – ox and donkey do not plow together, the ox is an honorable beast of burden. It was said that when the Messiah came if He was pleased with Israel He would come on a horse (like He will come in Revelation), if displeased He will come on a donkey. We know that Jesus came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Samson used the jawbone of an ass to attack the Philistines. This is a smattering of verses about donkeys.

The donkey is very gentle and patient, and does not seem angry even when he has a very heavy load to carry. Though he seems dull, he loves his master, and will sometimes find him out and run to him even when he is in a crowd of men. The donkey is a sign of humility. Do you have any other ideas about donkeys?

Exodus 13:14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come saying, “What is this? that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.’

I really love this verse, because it gives a promise of the future to a people fleeing for their lives from Egypt.

Exodus 13:15-16 “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of men and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I shall redeem. It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

Ok, when I first read the Bible I was puzzled about how there was so much repetition. I, in my natural mind, figured that with 4,000 years of history to cover, wouldn’t God rather give lots of variety in information. But there are some spots that we are going to come to where God issues a command, Moses repeats it to the people, and often after the act is done the same words are shown again stating that they did what God commanded. With the price of parchment in those days, wouldn’t economy of words been a better solution? But then it dawned on me that God repeats Himself when it is something that is very important to Him – something that He doesn’t want us to misunderstand (sort of like we sometimes sound like broken records to our children, repeating the same warnings, cautions and lessons over and over again.) Also it shows us that Moses faithfully carried out God’s instructions, to the letter, and that will become important when we see that what He does is a picture of Jesus who is to come.

It lets me know that God really does want to be obeyed, that He does not want elaboration on His instructions, that there is a purpose behind them, and if we strike out in our own understanding we stand a good chance of getting something important to God wrong. We need to know who our savior is, who brought us out of Egypt, and we can’t forget that. If we do, then we stand the very possible chance of getting lost. We need to keep our focus on God and the next step, and remember the past, but not dwell in it. As we watch the progress of the Israelites in the wilderness, we will see that God leads them one step at a time. He doesn’t give them a road map, they have to follow Him.

Praying that you have a blessed day. It was nice to touch base with you over the New Year,

Heather