Before we began Bible study, Pastor Don said that TBN has sent his program into a larger market, that now covers Staten Island and Queens, so his sermons now reach 890,000 houses. Praise God for that. You may want to see if you can see him Tuesday at 3AM or Thursday at 12:30 PM, then you can hear the Sunday sermon. If you see Pastor Don on TBN let him know by emailing him or let me know, it would be cool to know who on Xanga has that opportunity. You can find a link to In His Name Ministries on the left side of my blog. If you can’t see him on TBN, there are a few taped sermons online under “Say Amen” that you can watch online, you have to go to the section that says “Teaching Series” to get to the Say Amen screen that lets you play the recordings..

Pastor Don wanted to get through a good portion of Luke 17, but this was one of those Bible studies where the topic touched chords in many present, and people shared from their hearts perceived offenses they have received, and it became a Bible study of great soul searching. Truly the Word came alive for many at this study.

The first section of Luke 17 deals with offense, and the second portion deals with faith and demonstrates how to do great miracles. If you don’t see miracles in your life you are not being honest about how you are fulfilling the requirements to enter into the supernatural.

When you step into the role of Discipleship, it will cost you, for people will get offended. When that happens a level of forgiveness is required.

Luke 17:1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!”

It is impossible to not offend or be offended- people are going to get offended, it can happen purposefully or circumstantially.

Luke 17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

The previous chapters show many miracles, and in them Jesus talks to His disciples about not hurting little ones. Pastor Don said that we can assume one of two things, either something happened where little children were not treated properly or else Jesus is directing his comments to His disciples and followers, who would be viewed as Jesus’ spiritual children.

Remember, discipleship has different levels, we have babies, teenagers, young adults, adults, and fully mature disciples. So often there is an error made in the church when a baby disciple assumes that another member of the church is fully mature, but in reality, although the member has been in the church for many years, they are still teenagers in Spirit.

Just because a person has attained a certain physical age or a particular church office does not mean that they are fully mature, they may be mature in many areas, but childish in others. You can be fully mature, and still have a juvenile or baby moment in your life.

There are also people in the church that are trying to survive on yesterday’s manna. While going to church on Sunday is good, those who make the effort to attend Bible studies during the week and seek further knowledge will grow faster than those who only attend a few hours on Sunday.

As a disciple we need to get out of “ME” and realize that it is about God, and that often when things are in conflict is when ministry happens. When someone offends you, don’t stagnate in your growth, know what area of the flesh is still operating that lets you get offended. We need to crucify our flesh, to die daily to ourselves.

Pastor Don pointed out that we need Bible Study, Worship, and Praise and Worship. Yet many people come late to service, avoid the Bible study, come for praise and worship and then leave. You will starve to death on just praise and worship. For praise and worship to sustain you, you need to know the Bible, not just the Psalms. Then the Word that is within the praise and worship will stir up the Bible that is within you and make it a greater praise and worship.

The Spirit of God is a helper to help  us identify error, if we don’t know that we don’t know something, we may not understand why a teaching by a false teacher, or a prayer given by someone who is out of order makes us uncomfortable.

An example was given about a person who found a book on the Bible, and read it through, started praying the prayer that was recommended and her household went into chaos. Two sisters from our church went to her house and talked with her, she showed them the book and they read the text and it all seemed Biblical. They contacted Pastor Don, and he had them read the prayer, and that was where the error was, the prayer was reversed – the prayer asked God to bind up the good stuff, loose the bad stuff. Which is the reverse of what should be done. The author thought that you needed to bind the good stuff to keep it with you, and cut loose the bad stuff. The author did not know the laws of binding and loosing, that you bind the bad things to keep them from being acted on, and you loose the good into your life to fill the void where the bad stuff was. When the woman was told the correct prayer her household went back together.

We have to be careful about what we read and take in, and question anything that does not seem Biblical. That is why it is important to be sitting under the teaching of a pastor who rightly divides the Word of Truth (the Bible).

The only thing out of kilter in that book was the prayer, but it was enough to cause damage. Remember that satan will act that way, tell mostly the truth with a tiny lie, which pulls us off the path of God. All it takes is a tiny veer in direction to pull you further and further away from truth. That is why the New Age is so insidious, they teach Biblically sounding principles and then throw in a few lies. The Course of Miracles sounds so Biblical until you get to the middle of it and find out that they tell you that you are God. You are not God.

Back to the Spirit of Offense. In order to discern if there is a spirit of offense two things have to occur: 1. that they have offended me and 2. I have opened my heart to be offended.

Remember, it is easy for us to get offended just because we thought that someone offended us, when they had no intention of doing so.

Some people in church perceive an offense and refuse to talk to someone for weeks or decide to leave the church because of the offense – rather than bringing their feelings out into the open and clearing up the situation.

Pastor Don gave the example of a woman who was in the church lobby on a Sunday. He walked past her, into his office to get his Bible and papers, and then into the sanctuary to pray before church started. He did not say “hi” to the woman and she took offense. She wrote him a nasty letter. When he called her, he listened to her story, and told her that quite truthfully there were lots and lots of people in the lobby, his mind was on the last minute details of the church service, and he honestly did not see her. He also told her that he would gladly have greeted her if she had come up to him later. She held onto the offense and left the church.

This brought up a round of discussion about perceived offenses of similar nature.  Some were hurt for not being recognized by Pastor Don at times. Pastor Don pointed out the same thing, that if someone needs a hug from him to come and ask. That he sometimes is thinking about one thing and walks right by a person. Sometimes, with some of the people he is actually testing to see if they will get offended by him not greeting them – those are the ones he is considering promoting in the church and needs to know the state of how much they are acting in the flesh.

Pastor Don pointed out that evaluating people on the basis of what you didn’t get when you were little just leaves you open for devil bait. To assume that, because a person doesn’t speak to you, that they love you less than they will 20 years form now is a wrong way to think. Pastor Don said that we have to evaluate the situation that makes us feel rejected, and then take some steps to break down the wall. That, as time goes by, we have to not bring our old hurts into the situation. We have to come up with new responses to the old hurts. And he pointed out that if you are feeling hurt for not being noticed, come up to the person and ask them for a hug or a greeting. The wrong reaction to perceived rejection can lead to sin.

Then Pastor Don went on to talk about the person who deliberately goes out of their way to give offense, and likens that to premeditated murder, wanting to hurt someone because you know you can. We also fall into the mind-set that if someone offended me, dish it back to them, thinking how can I hurt them because they hurt me.

Pastor Don said that if he feels he offended a person, he goes to the person immediately, for it is not good to let the offense grow. And if something has offended him, he seeks out the guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand why that situation was offensive.

We have been trained by life to be offended by the things that offend us. The flesh responds before the brain kicks in. So we have to figure out how to get past the Spirit of Offense.

If something offends you, there is a root of offense in you that usually indicates that there is an area where you still have to die to self in that area.

As a Believer, Jesus hits us with, whether it is intended or perceived, or pre-meditated, our response to the offense has to be that we have no right to close our heart or shut down. We need to have compassion and love for the person. To forgive the person, love them, and not hold the sin of unforgiveness.

What the devil meant for evil, I will turn to good.

Ephesians 4:25-27 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin.” do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

There is a righteous anger, for there are things that are offensive – things that are not Godly. Pastor Don says that he is offended by the news media. We, as the Body of Christ, are often exposed to the same gory details day after day, the same old grind through the News Media. When an actress gets drunk, a person acts wrong, we see the same story day after day after day.

People who go out of their way to be offensive and destructive do not please God, for they are not promoting a ministry of forgiveness. The book of Romans speaks about forgiveness, and we need to practice not getting offended.

The Jews had it right, they got together at the temple and were free to argue and debate topics from every walk of life. They talked about politics, sex, religion. We, in the church do not always do that, we don’t talk about concrete things and try and figure out what the Lord says regarding the topics. It is not offensive to disagree with a person’s theology, but it is far better to share the scriptures and see what God has to say about a topic – the whole of the scriptures, not just a few selected passages pulled out of context.

Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Notice that if there is repentance forgiveness follows. We wait until people ask us for forgiveness when we are offended, but often we haven’t shared with them (rebuked) that we were offended. People aren’t mind-readers and many offend without knowing that they have done so. Rebuke does not mean slap a person down or shame them, it means to state the case to them, tell them what you perceive they have done wrong. What God says about it. We are to go to the brother or sister and get it out into the open, then when repentance occurs, when the situation is cleared up, forgive and move on. We need to forgive even if we don’t “Feel” like it. And also to ask for forgiveness from someone we have offended, even if they refuse to forgive us, we still sincerely ask.

The problem is that we had better be sure that an offense was intended, not just perceived. If we rebuke a person in error and feel that they owe us an apology, we don’t want to do so in error. If we are uncertain, it is important to get a second opinion, but make sure you seek the opinion from someone who will tell you God’s truth about the situation, not just what you want to hear. (Heather’s note, not a gossiper either).

When it comes to forgiveness, we can take the high road of forgiveness or the low road and refuse to forgive the offended. Jesus wants us to take the high road.

There are situations when a person has blatantly, fully offended you and did it on purpose in front of witnesses, with intent to do damage, and you know that they are not going to repent, then you forgive them, and leave it up to God to handle the situation.

Mark 11:25-26 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.

We need to take the whole situation to God, and let Him deal with it. Let God’s vengeance deal with it, but in your heart you have to forgive them. If you don’t you are in bondage to that person. God wants us free.

I have to tell you that a few of my friends and myself have had full experiences in the area of offenses this week, sort of like homework. I can tell you that I still have much work to do in this area, for sometimes my skin is way too thin and my feelings get hurt too easily. I am praying that I learn this lesson and get past it.

Hoping you have a blessed night!

Heather

Last night Pastor Don went fishing, fishing for people. He put on a free concert at the Woodstock Community Center. This concert comes complete with free food and fun. Some of the locals came in to enjoy the food and music. It is a way to minister to the people, and also to put lots of worship music into the air, 2 1/2 hours worth, in an area inundated with new age thinking and practices. There were some sweet “regulars” who came once they heard that the Don Moore Band was playing. Some of them knew Pastor Don and his brother Jerry before Pastor Don and Jerry were saved, and can now see the fruit of what God has done in their lives.

Back to fishing in Luke Five (see Part 1):

Pastor Don told us that the first miracle God does in our lives is indelibly printed in our brains, and we can’t quite get rid of the picture. The devil is out there trying to convince you that you will fail, but something in your computer bank tells you “I can do this.” And you draw on the memory of the first miracles in your life.

Some aspects to consider in this fishing miracle.

God is going to use you to accomplish His goal, but he pays you back for your boat (the use of your life). One incident, one letting God use their boat, and he returned to Simon Peter and his brothers an amazing catch. God returned more to them to offset the mistakes of their previous labors as payment.

Some of us are waiting for that miracle, for God to do something for you because of your faithful service to Him. If God uses you, even for the smallest thing, the reward will surpass your expectation. Even if, as Peter, who thought the time of the reward needed to be at night – due to the trammel fishing net, found out that the reward came in God’s timing. God did not promise Peter anything, He just told Peter to let down His net, to “Put down his net for a catch.” What we do for God we do not do for promise or obligation from God or because God will then owe us, we do it for love. But when we act in obedience and love, God wants to bless us. Pastor Don said that, judging from Peter’s words around the fire at the time of Jesus’ trial, that he is certain that Peter muttered choice words under his breath, slammed the nets into the boat and was not totally gracious about honoring Jesus’ command to put the net into the deep.

When we do what God tells us to do, He always has something up His sleeve to bless you, but at the right time.

So often our efforts, all night of work, do not produce. Peter toiled all night, and had no catch. We too toil towards our goals, but have seasons of difficulty. Then God comes through in a big way, and we then say, look what YOU (God) did, YOU blew my mind, YOU (God) came through when I’ve already given up.

Luke 5:11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. When He blesses you with a great miracle, you become ready to give an even greater commitment to trust Him, and then later participate in the miracle process.

Pastor Don talked about the miracles that the disciples did when they were sent out to heal the sick and share the gospel. There was only one recorded failure by his disciples. God endowed them with such power that they only failed once, with the demon possessed boy – and that was due to lack of knowledge that certain demons come out by prayer and fasting. Pastor Don is certain that from that time on, once they saw how Jesus dealt with that situation, that no demon stood a chance after that. From that time on Pastor Don said that they knew that they could do this.

Sometimes, after we have toiled all night in our own strength, we go to the Lord and He tells us that we need to do more (put those nets into the boat, row out to the deep, cast them out…) God has the timing for your perfect miracle. He will bless us, but sometimes we have to do that bit more even though we are tired, exhausted, and disgruntled. But once we have given all our resources to a situation, and know we have nothing left on our own, then God shows up big, and we see one Great Miracle. We have no illusion that we have done it in our own strength, that God added to our own strength to make the miracle.

God is the master of miracles. Simon Peter was not expecting to be prospered when He let Jesus teach from his boat, and Jesus helped Peter catch fish. What’s the glory in catching a lot of fish? Not as much glory as when the fish are caught during the day using a trammel net.

Our goal is to work with the Holy Spirit, to do His will, and then we will see more miracles. People are not praying in agreement with the Holy Ghost, and that limits the miracles. We need to say what our heart’s desire is and believe by faith, push the envelope. Put down that net for a catch and believe that God will come through.

Did Peter believe that there was going to be a catch for him? Probably not – he probably knew from his “experience” that the odds of catching fish with a trammel net were zip. But Peter honored the holy man, no matter what it cost, even if the holy man probably doesn’t know what he is talking about. (Of course, Peter did not know about Jesus at that time).

This miracle of the fish is what caused Peter to step up in life. After He realized the miracle that was way beyond his expectations, he calls Jesus, “LORD”, and knew that that was why the great miracle happened. Don’t forget it would normally take them 3-5 months to catch that many fish,.

God blesses us beyond our expectations, if we are obedient in spite of fear and our limited expectations. LEAVE THE MIRACLE TO GOD. Don’t stop now, step out when He tells you to do so, even if you are exhausted. When the miracle time is there, let your flesh die, push out to love and trust God.

God knows that He has a miracle for everyone who is reading this post. The miracle will blow your mind, but you have to get to the place to be willing to launch out into the deep. When you get that extra idea, plan, job, or whatever God shows you to do, step out.

Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Peter realized it was unfortunate the way he initially responded to Jesus’ request to go out into the deep. He did not know that God had a miracle for him, and he knew he didn’t have a right heart when he put those nets back into the boat. When Peter saw the miracle, he realized what God had done, and thought to himself, “Oh, I am a sinful man.” He was forced to realize that this rabbi wasn’t just a rabbi.

When we realize who Jesus is, it reduces our level of pride and it is hard not to feel unworthy in the presence of the Holy One. There is no time for ego and pride. Peter thought that he was a great fisherman, and what Jesus asked him to do did not fit in Peter’s experience of possibility, but Jesus surpassed all of Peter’s fish expectations. And then Peter had to come to grips with who HE (Jesus) is.

We want to know Jesus, but there is also fear at his greatness. Jesus in Luke 5:10 tells Peter, …”Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”

Jesus does not want us to be afraid of anything. Pastor Don told us that the best time to go up is when the devil tells you that you are going down.

We need to realize that we limit God with our expectations. That the miracle that God has for us is bigger than we are thinking, and that God already has the plan in place. We consider our situation and our self, but that is limiting our thinking. We also need to realize that God has a time period for our miracle, and often when we are in the middle of times of turmoil and upheaval we want the miracle NOW, but it may not be in our best interest.

Pastor Don, in an aside, talked about how things are escalating in these end times. And as he was watching the CBS News Weather Report, the announcer was saying that this odd weather was global. Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, drought is all out of proportion to usual rates. England had not seen as much rain as they are having now since World War II. There are wildfires all around our country. The honeybees are down in number.

Pastor Don pointed out that there is so much to look forward to and be excited about, we do not want to be like Lot’s wife and look back at what we left, but look forward toward God. To seek a revelation from Jesus Christ.

God wants us informed and clear on what is happening and he wrote the prophesies in the Bible to keep us informed. To many churches are not preparing their people for what God has told us is about to happen. And there are too many false teachings out there. We are to know His word so well that it will not be possible to fool us, His elect. Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Let us make it possible to be fooled. The elect can’t be fooled if they stay humble and do whatever He asks us to do or produce. We can’t produce because we tied our hands with wrong thinking. So often our flesh wants to do what it wants to do, and we need to sever ourselves from what is not fruitful.

When you know that you are doing something God is blessing, keep doing it. But if God is not in what you are doing, stop. The Lord wants us to be out in the deep and trusting Him for He’s got it. Believe God. Be patient until you pull up your net.

Play back the memories of past miracles to build your faith. Where were you? What brought you to that point? Remember the special moments where God met you in your time of need. The devil will try to get in you head and tell you it isn’t a miracle. But do not listen to him.

Pastor Don has a cartoon in his room of two men. One of them is laying on the floor laughing so hard, and the other one said, “The devil said what???”

Jesus is no respecter of persons. What he did for Peter, He can do for us if we believe. We matter to Him. He cares. When things are challenging in our life, realize that he also cares enough to give us a wake up call. He will use us if we are willing to put the net where He tells us to place it. Go fishing in places where we failed before.

Pastor Don then said, “Favor ain’t fair, but I’m glad it’s there.”

It is a mighty God we serve. Over time He changes us. We do have to know what to put down and what to pick up. We have to stop making excuses and go do it. If we do what He tells us to, if we put down what He tells us to put down and pick up what He tells us to pick up. We will reap God’s best and blessings for our lives.

May God abundantly bless you today and forever!

Don’t forget, even if you are not a member of Xanga, you may still comment about this post! I look forward to hearing your comments.

Heather

First, a side fishing trip (she says smiling):

Before we got to the topic at hand (we are sometimes very “bad” Bible students, when Pastor Don has a topic to teach, our questions can sidetrack the teaching. But this side journey is very important so I am including it here because many of us have dealt with this issue in our lives), one of the members of our Bible study gave a testimony about how much God has changed her life. She then remarked that the Jehovah Witnesses have been coming out of the woodwork and calling on her house. Pastor Don said that that will sometimes happen in the early stages of our faith, for satan does not want us to learn the truth of God’s Word so satan will send people with false doctrines to our doors to try and pull us away. He then mentioned that once he got saved, his wife did not go to church, so the Jehovah’s Witnesses would come to his house after he left for church, of course at that time his wife did not want anything to do with God, even the Jehovah Witnesses’ version of God.

One day they came to talk and Pastor Don was there. He told them that he would listen to them for five minutes, but then they had to listen to him for five minutes. He listened to their comments about Jehovah – their big claim to fame (I will explain more about that later), then he told them about the gospel for 2 1/2 minutes, then spent 2 1/2 minutes talking about his testimony. You can check out his testimony on line for it is part of one of his books, Not Forsaken: Healing the Father Wound. It is on page 105. You can read both of Pastor Don’s books on line or order them from In His Name Ministries. Anyway, he told the two men that God healed him from an incurable disease, one that his doctor told him to go home and get his house in order for he would not survive. God had different plans. He then whipped the doctor’s report about his miraculous healing from off his desk and showed it to them. They wanted to leave literature and he told them only if they took his literature. One of them said we can’t do that for we will get into trouble. Pastor Don offered to pray for them “In Jesus’ Name.” They did not do that, and they did not come back.

Pastor Don also told us that if we stick to our testimony people cannot debate that. The Jehovah Witnesses they do not have a personal relationship with God like we do, their religion is based on a works mentality. They have to go to so many houses, and only so many of them will make heaven. If you get to the two that come to your door with God’s truth, after awhile they will pull out the big guns, bringing an elder member who is able to debate. Their big claim to fame is the name of God which they say is Jehovah, but in reality they are in Biblical error. Jehovah is an English version of JHWH. When God introduced himself to Moses, He called himself “I AM” a name that is unpronounceable, for in the Bible it is written JHWH – no vowels. We do not know how it is pronounced, for the only one who was able to pronounce the name was the High Priest who would pronounce it once a year at the Feast of Atonement, in the Holy of Holies. When the Jewish people spoke of God, they called him Adonai (the most used name for God) or in his multifaceted nature the plural form of Elohim.

So, how can we tell a cult? One true way is clearly delineated in the scriptures:

2 John 7-11For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons and other cults do not accept Jesus as the Son of God who came to the Earth in the Flesh. They claim Jesus was an angel. Do not let them into your house, if necessary talk with them on your doorstep.

1 John 4:1-4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.

1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not bee made perfect in love. We love Him because he first loved us.

Casts out all things that torment: For example, anger, fear, guilt, shame, greed, pride.

The Big Promise 1 John 5:3-5 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The cults claim exclusivity, some sort of special revelation no one else but they have heard. Satan came as an angel of enlightenment. If you accept the thinking that I’ve got something no one has you are devil bait. They control people through pride, fear, and torment. And then, when persecution comes to those in the cults, they do not self-examine their doctrines, but if you question or debate their false teachings, you are considered to be part of their persecution.

The Jehovah Witnesses twice proclaimed specific dates for the end times. In 1914 all their members sold all they had and waited on top of a mountain for the end times, only to be disappointed. So then the second prophesy about the end of the world came in 1917. If the “prophets” of the Jehovah’s Witnesses lived in the times of the Israelites, one false prophesy like that would have cost them their life, for they were not truly stating God’s Word. God’s Word comes true all the time.

The Scriptures are available to anyone who cares to read and study the Word. There is no new doctrine, all is clearly delineated in the Word of God. If a teaching does not agree with God’s Word, it is a false teaching and needs to be questioned.

As Pastor Don was talking, one of the members in our Bible study was sharing that what Pastor Don was saying was the truth, for she once was a Jehovah’s Witness, and knew their doctrine. But many of the failed prophesies have disappeared from the teachings of the Witnesses. And their doctrine changes over time – especially after they had more than 144,000 members, they had to change their teaching about the number of people who would be in Heaven.

THE FISHING TRIP PASTOR DON WAS PLANNING ON TEACHING ABOUT FOLLOWS, IN LUKE 5:

Pastor Don has been teaching about different aspects of faith. Sometimes when we look at a miracle, we see the minor miracle, but miss an aspect of a greater miracle. In the Bible, sometimes we see a miracle, but do not realize how great it is because we don’t understand the Jewish background and so we do not realize why the miracle was so great. Here is an illustration.

Luke 5:1-2 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him (Jesus) to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

This was the daytime. The fishermen had fished all night, now they were cleaning up their nets.

Luke 5:3-5 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s (Peter’s) and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  But Simon answered, and said to Him, “Master we have toiled all night and caught nothing: nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

Simon Peter was willing to do this at Jesus’ Word. To understand this situation, we need to know more about fishing in Jesus’ day. First of all, they did not fish during the day, but at night. These men had been out all night and had caught NOTHING. They were on the shores, having taken the nets off of the boats, and cleaning them.

The teacher comes and sits in a boat to teach. Judging from other sermons recorded in the scriptures, we can be certain that it was not a 15 minute sermon. Jesus can talk for a long time, check out the whole Sermon on the Mount. We can probably assume that this was 9 or 10 in the morning, the people had their breakfast and were now assembling to hear the teacher. It was normal for itinerate rabbis to go to places, even when they were not known, and begin to teach. If the people who gathered liked the word they stayed and listened, if they didn’t they moved on.

So after a time of teaching, then Jesus (not a fisherman by Simon’s standards) tells Simon to go out into the deep and let down the nets for a catch. Simon was not hot on this idea. He calls Jesus “Master” but is not convinced that Jesus knows anything about fishing. The nets used were nets that had to be used at night, trammel nets – for these net are highly visible and the fish would see the nets during the day and avoid them, so the trammel nets had to be used at night.

The above picture shows how the net would have been cast and pulled out – but the load of fish is very minimal in this picture, nothing like the catch provided by Jesus.

From Simon Peter’s point of view they had worked ALL NIGHT, and caught NOTHING. They had just spent hours and hours getting the nets ready for the next night. They were TIRED and wanted to go to bed. As PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN they “knew” that fish could not be caught during the day, and so he reluctantly agreed to go out into the deep.

So when the Rabbi said, “Let’s go out,” he probably muttered under his breath about going to sleep, probably using some of the choice words he used around the fire at the time of Jesus’ trial. So often, when God tells us to do something that doesn’t make sense to us, we have a very human response. We think God is asking too much.

But, to Simon Peter’s credit, even though grudgingly, on the weight of the Word of Jesus as Rabbi, Peter breaks down, and puts the nets into his boat, and goes out on the water – sure it would be a fruitless trip. In verse 5 we don’t know how long the span of time is between “Nothing” and “Nevertheless.”

This involved a major amount of work on Peter’s part, for the nets had to be put back into the boat, the men had to be gathered. The boats of that time were small, leaving room for only 2-3 people. With Jesus going out with them it meant that there was a fourth person – not a fisherman, who would probably be in the way (so they thought), and that meant extra work. They assumed that Jesus did not know how to fish.

Luke 5:6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

They launched out into the deep with Jesus, an act of faith. For they did not see what would happen, maybe they would get a catch, probably not they thought. Notice that in verse four Jesus said, “Let down your nets for a catch.” He did not say, you might get a catch, maybe we’ll get something. He spoke into existence that they WOULD get a catch, and they did.

The nets were BREAKING. Pastor Don researched how many fish a trammel net could hold a ton (2,000 pounds) of fish, probably tilapia (St. Peter’s Fish). There were so many fish that the boats were sinking, and Simon Peter had to call for help.

Luke 5:7-9 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken.

Astonished!

Luke 5:10-11 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Without an understanding of how fishing was done during the time of Jesus this is still a good miracle, but was it good enough to get a reaction from Peter? Probably not, only when we understand the facts about the nets used, does a good miracle become a great miracle, then we see why Peter was ASTONISHED.

One other fact to be aware of is that usually they caught some fish when they went out, but the amount of fish caught during this miracle is probably equal to what would have taken months to catch in regular fishing.

It was pointed out that Jesus, in effect, paid for the use of the boat for preaching. We cannot out give God.

I am going to continue this discussion tomorrow because there is so much more to be gleaned (or caught – she says smiling).

Have a blessed day!

Heather

Link to part 1

We then went back to the hard part of this chapter, interspersed with comments and questions by us – I am still amazed that Pastor Don can field so many questions and still keep us on track.

Luke 14:26-28 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.

The passage then continued with being the salt of the earth. We are to be fishers of men, and salt down people with the Word of God. When you are salt you sprinkle upon unsaved people. If your life is not in line with the Word of God, your salt has lost its savor, and you will be giving a weak testimony with your life.

Then we went and studied what Jesus meant by the word “HATE”, because that is such a supercharged word. The Word for “hate” in the Greek, in Strongs is #3404 miseo, and it means to detest, to love less, to persecute. It does NOT mean hate with intent to kill. A disciple of Christ is angry about sin, but it is an anger that desires the best for those who are unsaved.  We need to put Christ first in our lives. People will detest us, persecute us for our faith. We are offensive to them because our values have changed. People do not like it when we change our  behavior. Things that we once accepted as ok, now we are not comfortable with. People perceive that as us hating. We will begin to detest sinful lifestyles of people we once hung around with – that does not mean that we hate them, but their lifestyle is no longer acceptable to us.

The love of the world is enmity to the Spirit. One way to know if you have been changed is to ask yourself, Do you our don’t you hate the person you were BEFORE you came to the Lord? If you love the old self, you have the wrong perception of who you were.

Jesus came to bring division, to bring a sword, not peace. Not everyone in your old circle of friends and acquaintances are going to gladly embrace you when you state, “I believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and I am modeling my life after Him.” There will be war in your house, for anything that is sinful in nature will rebel at the changed person you have become.

That does not mean that we do not move with wisdom. Your immediate family may be uncomfortable with the changes you are making, for once you have accepted Jesus into your life you are changed intrinsically, and people will perceive that as being condemning to them. No matter how you act, the light shining on the darkness around you will affect those in your household, and they will try to pull you down.

To be a disciple of the Lord means that you will see this, and not be pulled down. You will love those around you and be, by example, a gospel to them. If the wife comes to the Lord first, the husband may feel that he has to play catch up to her, for he is the spiritual head of the house.

If you are in a situation where you are finding that you hate and detest a person, you need to get to a place to discern what it is in them that is causing you to have that hate. You do not hate them, but you may hate the way that evil is manifesting in their life, hating the manifestation of the flesh in them.

We are told to BEAR OUR CROSS, and part of the cross is the stuff in our family that we have to bear with, bitterness and pain. When people forcibly reject God in their lives we want to figure out what the root cause of that rejection is. So often we attribute to God what was not caused by Him, but was caused by a bad father, or being rejected by our mother. If someone never felt fully accepted, there may be a deep bitterness towards God. They need to come to grips with the fact that their parents did a lousy job of parenting. For example, if a father deserted the family, the woman in the situation may have loved the father in his weakness. The mom informs the daughter that the father is a dog, that he is no savior. The woman loses faith in her father, so when the topic of Father God comes up, the woman has a negative reaction of an abandoning father. She may decide to reject God on the basis of how fathers abandon their kids, but she is attributing to God what is really from the root of the devil.

You need to ascertain what is it that they are blaming God for? They think it is easier to blame God for what happened. But God, at some point, does get angry. He wants the person to open their heart to Him, and then God can begin to heal. It makes Him angry that His children hurt unnecessarily. We need to understand the heart issues of those who are rejecting God. When the hate in them manifests, we need to find out what caused the hurt and resentment. Sometimes going to the altar is not enough, for the devil will keep bringing back the past hurts, and try to put a wedge between a person and God – this would be like planting seed in stony ground, where the roots cannot take hold.

God will make every opportunity available to bring you to the table of the feast, but at some point it will be too late.

For some situations, we have spoken until we are blue in our face and the person is not receiving what we are saying, then we have to stop speaking and resort to prayer alone. Preaching, talking, ugly faces are not making an impression, so prayer is in order.

Acts 13:47 For so the Lord has commanded us: “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Pastor Don told us a bit about Oral Roberts, that his eldest son had a mental disease that caused him to commit suicide. The emotional problems were there, yet his son was saved and knew the Lord. Oral Roberts thought that he should have backed out of ministry because he felt that it was his fault that his son committed suicide. Kenneth Hagin came an counseled Oral Roberts, reminding him that if his son had died of a heart attack or a physical disease there would not have been a concern about the ministry. But mental and emotional problems are also a  disease. There is no way of saying that if a person commits suicide that they will not go to heaven, for God will take into account the mental illness. In Corinthians, it mentions that a person can be saved, and if their lifestyle is so sinful, 1 Corinthians 5:5 deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Kenneth Hagin Pointed out to Oral Roberts that if satan caused Oral’s son to kill himself, that his spirit is still saved. We are not to judge, that is God’s decision.

We are to love our families, but if we are unable to reach them with the truth of the Lord, pray that someone will come into their lives that will be able to reach through the barriers that they have put up against God.  We may never see the fulfillment of the promise in our lives, but God has promised us that our household will be saved. God gives them the choice to be made.

To be absent from the Body is to be Present with the Lord. We never know what decisions a person makes at the point of their death. With their last breath they may call upon the Lord. That being said, it is not a wise idea to wait until the last minute to call upon God, for we do not know the hour and moment of our death, and we cannot take a chance that we will be rational to think of calling upon God. Pastor Don pointed out that there are many instances of people being called dead, who had an experience in the spirit, then came back to life. There is that moment in the spirit that we do not know much about.

There will be a final judgment when all the books are opened, and there will be judgment. Will our names be written in the book of the Lamb? Anyone judged according to works alone will not make heaven, for one little sin cannot be covered by a ton of good works. Only through Christ can we have hope of salvation.

There is a dangerous teaching going around these days called “universal salvation.” where people say that even the devil can be forgiven. This is not what is implied in the last judgment in Revelation 20, the Great White Throne Judgment. If we are not in the book of Life, we are cast into the Lake of Fire. We cannot change theology to make something we feel is good to have, what God says, He will do. There will be a final judgment, and there is no universal salvation.

1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls , were saved through water.

Christ did go and preach to the souls in the Bosom of Abraham and Sheol, and when He did that after His resurrection, the righteous went to heaven. Those who did not go to Heaven with Jesus at that time, are still in Sheol, and waiting for the final Judgment of Revelation 20.

The only unforgiveable sin is, once we really know God, operate in His Powers, and have a strong relationship with Him, to attribute to God the things of satan.

The choice to believe or not is up to us. We then have the choice to be a disciple. God is looking for a heart relationship.

Heather’s note, I know that God keeps pursuing us for I spent 40 years hating God, and He kept planting seeds in me that finally came to fruition. I think one of the best tools we have for helping others to find the love of God, is the love that we give to those in our lives. Love will reach into places that words and logic can never touch.

Have a blessed day!

Heather

Pastor Don began Bible study by asking us what is the definition of a disciple of Christ?

The answers were a follower of Christ, a sent one, one who disciples other people, one who learns from the master, one who models their life after Christ.

Then he asked us how is it different from just being a believer?

We can believe something is true, but that does not mean that we participate. We can come to church, listen to the Word, give mental assent to the Word, but not try to apply the Word in our life. We can listen to the Word and decide not to do anything about it.

Luke 14 talks about disciples. At this stage, Jesus is active in the ministry, and already there are battle lines between His work and what the Scribes and Pharisees think. Jesus heals people on the Sabbath, and in the eyes of the Priesthood that is a sin, for he is not obeying the human traditions of Sabbath behavior. He is thought to be a Sabbath breaker.

After being questioned about this, Jesus asks them, Luke 14:5-6 Then He answered them saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

People in the world have their minds locked against the gospel, against the truth no matter what you say about it.

The next passage is a parable about people invited to a feast.

Luke 14:7-10  So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’

We are to take the lowest seats.

Luke 14:11 “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will e exalted.”

This is not the teaching of the world. Jesus is dealing with the scribes and the pharisees who are trying to be better than another. It is better to be humble, not to elevate one’s self.

Luke 14:12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. Not always easy to do, to invite those who are not so inviteable.

Luke 14:13 “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind.” This is definitely not the teaching of the World, some of those in this list can be a pain in the butt, but they are the ones who need to be loved the most. Pastor Don then pointed out that the Thanksgiving feast with the Indians and the Pilgrims was done on the Feast of Tabernacles, booths. It was a harvest feast.

Luke 14:14 “And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Then Jesus gave the Parable of the Great Supper.

Luke 15-20 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”"Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it, I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’”

Notice they were with one accord. (Heather’s note, in Acts the people were in one accord worshipping God, here they are denying the invitation). They all found reasons not to be with the Lord. Is Jesus saying that the Father is fed up with people who keep refusing His invitation? Yes. The great feast is available to all, but many reject. The person who said that he had a piece of ground – whose ground is it? It is the Lord’s and the Lord blessed the man with the property, now he is using that property to refuse the invitation to fellowship with God. Same with the oxen, God gave the person the oxen, and now they are using that as an excuse. Even a godly wife is given by God, not a valid excuse. How does God feel when what He gives us as blessings we use as an excuse to not come and celebrate with Him.

Luke 14:21-23 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.’

Many people think that God is always loving. That is not true, God does get ANGRY. He gets upset, has sorrow. We have these emotions and we are created in His image. God also loves a good laugh. Remember when Moses was up on Mt. Sinai and the Israelites made a golden calf to worship. God told Moses to leave him alone so that He could work up His anger, He was ready to start over. Moses interceded for the people.  God gets disappointed and upset. He wants us to abide with the Father, to Tabernacle with Him.

We can ask for an infilling of the Spirit of God whenever we are down and in depression. Receiving the Holy Spirit is not a one time experience, but the Spirit is within the believer, and can be stirred up so that we can walk with the joy of the Lord. We do not have to be overcome by feelings and depression. Trouble can come at us faster and faster and the Word can help us to overcome the troubles.

Luke 14:24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.

This is God’s response to excuses to not come to church, not come to Bible Study, to not pray, to not do the work of God, and to hide out in intellectualism. We cannot get help with depression and our problems if we do not take the time to spend time with God.

In these end times there will be a Great Banquet, the Wedding feast of the Lord, and soon there will be Rosh Hoshanna, the feast of trumpets, when the great trumpet will blow, and the Feast of Tabernacles when God will dwell with us. John 14-15 talks about abiding in Him. To spend time with God, to acknowledge His blessings is something no one can take away from us. God in us, the hope of Glory.

God has invited, as verse 24 says all the men on the planet. No one can say that they were not invited, if we reject Him it is our choice.

Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”

Notice it is in every nation. The Book of Romans lets us know that there is no excuse for not knowing the creator, for His creation is evidence of the creator. The Spirit within us gives us the knowledge to know right from wrong, to make correct choices. In all countries of the world there are laws of hospitality and moral code. Everyone is given a measure of faith. We all have the ability to believe and know God. What they choose to do with it is up to them.

The next verses tend to cause trouble in the Body of Christ.

Luke 14:25-35 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it– lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Pastor Don reminded us that the topic that Jesus was talking about was discipleship. A follower of Christ models the 10 Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. When we follow the God of the Bible and serve Him, we go out of our way to do His work. We need to ask ourselves if those in our world are more important to us than the kingdom of God. Refusing to come and get the full benefit of fellowship and abiding with Christ, refusing to come to the feast, and putting the things and the people in our lives above God is not being a Disciple. God is concerned with our hearts, not our head. We love in our heart.

Someone brought up salt in connection with Sodom and Gomorrah, and Pastor Don answered their question.

With Sodom and Gomorrah, God saved Lot. Lot was not living the best of life. He stayed in the gate, and at the end ended up sleeping with his daughters. His wife left with Lot, but her heart was still in Sodom and Gomorrah, so her heart was hardened, she became a pillar of salt that lost its savor. It was her love of the things of Sodom & Gomorrah that turned her to salt.

It is a heart issue, those discipled, are invited to count the cost. When you choose to follow Jesus it will cost you something. You cannot keep your old relationships and activities. And you need the fellowship of others in Christ, for 1 will put 1000 to flight, 2 will put 10,000 to flight. We come into agreement with other disciples. We are in a battle against the World, and as such we need to fellowship with Jesus, and others. We need to put Jesus above all else in our lives. (Heather’s note, when we do that, the rest falls into place.)

Matthew 13:13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Those who are in the world will not understand what has caused us to change so much, they will resent and try to unseat our faith in Christ. They cannot read the Bible with the same understanding that a believer will have. What believers do will seem to be foolishness to them.

Matthew 13:14-15 And in them the prophesy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”

This is an issue of softening the heart to God. The head knowledge without heart knowledge is a problem. We need to trust in the Lord. Whenever anyone asks Jesus into their hearts, He will answer.

Matthew 13:16-17 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to yo that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Then Jesus talks about how a sower sows the seed (the Word of God) and the ways the hearers receive the Word of God.

Matthew 13:18-19 Therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown.

This is why many do not understand, they may want to open up their hearts, but the world, satan, and things of the world snatch away the words before they can take root. Doubt and unbelief replace the good seed that was sown.

Matthew 13:20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

Intellectualism, a stony life with lots of intellectual obstacles.

Matthew 13:21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for awhile. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

As an example, Pastor Don talked about his time as a prison minister. He would often talk with the prisoners, some would make a profession of faith, then they went back on the tier with the other heathen. Their fellow prisoners would give the prisoner a hard time, and the next time Pastor Don would come back to teach the Bible, the prisoner did not show up. There is persecution that comes from following the Word.

Matthew 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful.

The cares of the world, if we allow them, will choke out the Word of God from us, and we become unfruitful.

Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Praise God, there is good ground for seed to fall, and that seed produces fruit in the life of the hearer. We want to be fruitful.

We then went back to Luke 14, with this information under our belts. I will share the rest of the study tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

Heather

If you want to read part one here is the link.

Pastor Don told us that we have to make choices. The secret things belong to the Lord, but we have to make Godly decisions about the Covenant. He gave as an illustration that we can’t walk into a party at someone’s house and start rearranging the furniture, and doing the things our way. It is the same with God’s covenant, to operate under the covenant, we have to obey the covenant. Healing included. If you want God’s blessings, then you must obey the covenant. If you disobey the covenant, then you open yourself up to the curses (see Part 1).

We can get stuck in free will and permissive will. God gives us the free will to choose. If we are choosing things that are not God’s best for us, he may honor them with his permissive will, but we may be short-changing ourselves by not being fully obedient to God.

Sometimes when we are not being obedient we do not see an immediate curse in our lives. This can lead us to the mistaken assumption that God does not care about the disobedience. But we are wrong. He does care. Some aspect of disobedience that you did 10 years ago may come up now and affect your life. What you sow you will reap. If you are in open disobedience to God, you are no longer under the covering of His covenant, and repercussions for your disobedience can come upon you. You have to go back to the covenant, repent, and ask God for a crop failure for what you did. But that does not mean that He will give you a crop failure once you repent. Sometimes we still reap the effects of what we sowed. We are not in covenant with God when we are in rebelion or ignorance.

When we face the ramifications of what we have done or not done, we are inclined to blame it on a “mean” God. But do we really want a God who makes exceptions to His covenant? God is true to His Word. So how can we walk in divine health? With Jesus we have a BETTER COVENANT. This covenant holds all the promises of the Old Covenant – there is nothing in it that is not available in the Old Covenant, but Jesus gives us an escape clause. 

In the Old Covenant when you messed up, you brought an animal to the Temple for a sin offering sacrifice. And while the sins were not erased they were covered because of the Mercy of God.

There is always reaping and sowing. Remember when David counted the troops, there was a plague that caused many to die. God gave David a choice of options for what he would reap for sowing disobedience. By choosing God’s hand, the repercussions were less.

We love our choices and our disobedience. But there are repercussions.

Deuteronomy 29:27 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against the land, to bring on it every curse that was written in this book.

The Old Covenant operated with God’s Mercy. When we are in the middle of sickness do we want the Merciful hand of God, to have Him sit by our bedside and bring us comfort, or do we want God to DO SOMETHING. Under the Old Covenant we got mercy, but under the Better Covenant with Jesus, we get mercy and GRACE which comes with power.

God is not looking for legalistic obedience, towing the line, but HEART OBEDIENCE. Deuteronomy 30:14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.  Deuteronomy 30:18 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

We are given a choice. When we make a wrong choice we need to confess it, and ask God for forgiveness. To admit our error, not make excuses or try and change the law.

Proverbs 5:1-7 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; lend your ear to my understanding. That you may preserve discretion and your lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of life–Her ways are unstable, you do not know them. Therefore hear me now, my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Don’t depart from the Words of God’s mouth, for if you do the curse is bitterness. If you stay in the covenant the blessing is sweet. The root word in Hebrew for blessing is: sweet. The root word in Hebrew for curse is: bitter.

Deuteronomy 29:19-20 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart; saying, “I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart”–as though the drunkard could be included with the sober. The LORD would not spare him; for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against the man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him and the LORD would blot out his name from heaven.

A just God must judge us according to His Word, or else we would have a fleshly God.  God cannot change His justice and reward us if we mess up. Any more than we would reward our children for their disobedience.  This takes us back to the covenant. We have a choice: We either choose blessings or curses. There is only one escape route, and that is the BETTER Covenant with Jesus. It is not a new covenant, it is BETTER. No longer is there animal sacrifice. Jesus died once for all. Those who choose Jesus in their hearts are under the Better Covenant.

Hebrews 10:1-4 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshippers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

The Jew’s sacrifice is repeated year after year, for the blood of bulls and goats covers sins, but does not eradicate them. We are under a better Covenant, with Jesus, a New Covenant and a better promise. There is still reaping and sowing, but we have Jesus.

Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

God is trying to get us to overcome the visible power that life has on us based on the belief that what we see in the physical is fact. We need to have as much faith in the invisible as we have in the visible, that is what the Holy Covenant is about. The invisible is as real to us as the visible. When doctors give you bad news in the physical, believe for your healing in the invisible, believe by faith.

Romans 4:17 …God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

Abraham had faith, a faith covenant. To explain, we read more in Romans.

Romans 4:13-17 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore if it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

Pastor Don said that if your spirit does not sustain your vision and faith it will fail. Everyone will not get healed. If God says you can have, he wants you to have, but you won’t receive it unless you are obeying the covenant. The Spiritual law is that you ask, believe, sustain your belief, and obey, then your faith can manifest. God say that you have faith and say even if you don’t see. We want to see the results first then believe, but that is not how God works.

Pastor Don pointed out that we use our visualization to see what we want to manifest - if we don’t “see” it in our faith, then the angels can’t see it. Pastor Don said that many people are going to end up in heaven to foundations for their mansions. He said that we have to start imagining what our “heaven” will be like, for Jesus is preparing our mansions.

Faith is an action. It is the evidence of things not seen with our physical eyes. We see it in our spiritual heart. God’s built us for success. The more we do to get ready, the more He can bless us. We have to be careful not to curse our blessings with our tongues.

Romans 4:17 …God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. Pastor Don pointed out that DID is past tense.

Romans 4:18-20 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.

Pastor Don pointed out that it was a promise of God, which was the COVENANT, a covenant of Abraham BEFORE the law. And Abraham gave glory to God. We walk right, do right and step out into faith. We need to keep teaching faith until a person has a faith experience. We need to hold onto faith and not give up. Satan wants us to give up easy. But we are told to fight the good fight of faith. Eat right, do right and not give the devil any quarter. If the devil finds a weakness he will exploit the weakness. You need to have discernment, to know what God is saying in your heart and stay the course.

Some people will try to talk you out of your faith, you think that they are encouraging you but they are putting you down. Be careful who you let guide you, if faith were gunpowder, some people do not have enough faith to blow their nose.

Keep your faith walk and your faith talk. This can annoy those who walk in doubt and unbelief. When they see you positive, happy and full of faith it annoys them when you talk faith around them.. Practice glory talk. You are standing in a Holy Place, see His glory, speak His glory to your disastrous situation, talk success. Know that He moves us from glory to glory, faith to faith.We are the head and not the tail, we go from one victory to the next.

Some of us do not want to put the work in. We want, as the song goes, “fun, fun, fun until your daddy takes your T-bird away.”

Luke 4:16-19 So he came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

We can have hope because it was the Spirit of the Lord that came upon Jesus the man, as the Spirit of the Lord is within us. Jesus brought good news to the poor. Most see this as an anti-poverty message, but it is not just wealth that Jesus was talking about, but poor in spirit as well. It is a lack whether it is physical, mental, health, or spiritual. 

Jesus came to set the captives free, he did NOT SAY what the captives were captive from, just that He was liberating them. Are they addicted, in bondage, whatever their bondage, liberty is proclaimed. Regarding the blind – it is not just eyesight restored, but spiritual blindness, physical blindness, emotional blindness. Whatever is oppressing someone, Jesus came to liberate.

Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Jesus healed ALL, not some, not a few who were oppressed by the devil, but what they are oppressed with isn’t specifically spelled out. Do we let the Gospel free us or not, it is a choice we make whether or not we believe.

NOW is the acceptable year of the LORD. Are we to remain under the Old Covenant, where we are under God’s mercy, and what oppresses us keeps returning, or are we going to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and accept the Better Covenant that Jesus offers that comes with God’s grace.

The Messiah decares we are acceptable, though our sins are like scarlet, He has made them white as snow. By faith, before we were born, we were accepted. And Jesus reestablishes us into the new and better promises which God has provided through Jesus’ sacrifice.

We do not walk around with feelings that God has rejected us. We do not want to believe the devil when the devil tries to convince us that it is God who caused our curses, but to realize that it is our disobedience, that we need to ask His forgiveness and get back into the New and Better Covenant. We will face trials and troubles, walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we do not have to dwell there, inhabit the place, and put up a permanent habitation. We will have trials, even though we are saved, but God will help us and the Holy Spirit will give us grace that is sufficient.

Have a blessed night,

Heather

Wednesday’s Bible study was a good reminder about God’s Covenants, and the fact that there are consequences if you break the covenants. So many people want to blame God for what has happened in their lives, forgetting that they have chosen to disobey God. (Heather’s note, just like with our legal system, ignorance of the law is no excuse – if you break a law unknowingly, there are consequences.)

Pastor Don brought us to the main healing scriptures, Deuteronomy 26. Pastor Don pointed out that in our country where it is easy for us to reach medical help, or take two aspirins, that we tend to do that before going to God for healing. We ascribe healing to scientific means. In other countries, where medical help is not so readily available people have to have faith for healing. We tend to not hold onto faith for healing if we can reach for medical help. The Bible gives us circumstances of great miracles. Miracles do happen. But so often we make lifestyle choices that are not healthy, we have doubt and unbelief, and we let satan take over. Pastor Don said that there is a release of the healing scriptures, and we have to release them to let them do their work.

We did a lot of reading in the scriptures. Deuteronomy 26:7-9 ‘Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God.

First fruit is important, all that we have is God’s, and we need to remember to give Him what is his and to worship Him.

Deuteronomy 26:11-14  ”So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you. When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year–the year of tithing–and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me.

We cannot be in disobedience to God and expect Him to bless us. So we need to OBEY God and do ALL (not some, not what we think we want to do, not what we think is all we have to do, not a little bit, but ALL) that God COMMANDS us.

Deuteronomy 26: 15-16  ”Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.

We are not to observe them by rote, or half heartedly but with ALL our HEART and SOUL. With our total mind, will, emotions, and our Spirit.

Deuteronomy 26:17 “Today you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice.

GOD IS GOD.

Deuteronomy 26:18 ”Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments,”

God sees us as SPECIAL, and God keeps His promises to us. Pastor Don had us say out loud, “I am special. I have a covenant with a Special God.”

Deuteronomy 26:19 ”and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken.”

There was nothing special about those God chose, but God selected them and set them high above the other nations, to have them be a holy people to the LORD God. Because we are descendants from Abraham, this covenant applies to us also.

Pastor Don said that Deuteronomy 27 talks about building an altar to God, writing out the law, and Moses had half the people stand on Mount Ebal (to speak the curses), and half on Mount Gerizim (to speak the blessings).

We then read Deuteronomy 28:1-14 to learn what the blessings are. We read them out loud to impress them in our minds. And these blessings speak of healing and health not only of the body but of the mind. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

These blessings speak for themselves. They rely on obedience to God, You will see that God repeats some of these blessings more than once. When God repeats Himself it is because it is important to understand what He is saying. It is emphasis.

Deuteronomy 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.

KEY WORD: BUT. It is our responsibility to know God’s Word. When we don’t obey His word, then stuff comes on us. Pastor Don had everyone raise their hand if they ever experienced “stuff.” No one in the room had a perfect life, we all had stuff. And when we honestly look at our life, we see that stuff happens when we stray from God’s path for us. We then, read some of the curses – the rest of the long chapter is well worth reading, but for the sake of brevity I am going to focus on ones that Pastor Don emphasized.

 Deuteronomy 28:16-25  ”Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed. The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.

(Heather’s comment, I used to bristle at this, for I figured that an all-powerful God could stop these from happening. But in reality, it is the person who has the choice to obey or disobey. It is we who sow the seed. If I, as a parent, do not let my kids face the consequences of their actions I am not helping them to grow into mature adults who are responsible. God can cause a crop failure, if we repent. But sometimes we have sown something and we will reap what we have sown. God would rather, as a loving parent, have us obey His commands. In fact, I know that I pray that my kids listen to my advice for I know what is in their best interests and share that with them, when they don’t listen, sometimes the consequences are tough and it opens them up to repercussions from forces outside of myself. When we disobey God, we permit satan’s input.)

Notice that God wants us to obey ALL HIS COMMANDS, not some, not a few, not most, not just the ones we like, but all. If we do not do so then we the curses will overtake us. Pastor Don pointed out something very interesting to me. He pointed out that Israel will be troublesome to all the kingdoms around them, and that is what happened. God prophesied that this would happen, and to today it still is occurring. Israel is a cup of trembling.

After more of the curses, Pastor Don paused at Deuteronomy 28:36-46 ”The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods–wood and stone. And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you. You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.
You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land. The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. 

If you look at the history of Israel you see that they were brought to Babylon, and many of the Israelites except Daniel and his friends, were pulled into idol worship. The dispersions continued until Israel learned not to worship idols.

We then skipped down to Deuteronomy 28:60-62 “Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed. You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Pastor Don pointed out that because the presence of sickness is mentioned in the curse, that means that health is implied in the blessing.

Deuteronomy 29 talks about the covenant.

Deuteronomy 29:1 These are the words of the Covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb. God talks about the 40 years in the wilderness, how He delivered the people from Pharaoh, and how God provided food and drink for the people all the years they were in the wilderness. Even their clothes and sandals did not wear out.

Deuteronomy 29:9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

Deuteronomy 29:12-13 that you may enter into covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today, that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Pastor Don pointed out that, although Moses wrote down the covenant, this is a covenant that has been in effect since the time of Abraham, and because it was in effect with Abraham, it is one that is in effect in our lives, for we are the spiritual seed of Abraham.

Deuteronomy 29:14-15 I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, but with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God as well as with him who is not here with us today.

We are the ones who were not here with the people at Israel, it is a covenant for all the Children of Israel, but also for the gentiles as well. Don’t forget that Abraham was a gentile before He heard God’s command and obeyed. This is a covenant that predates the Jew. At the same time, it is a covenant with Moses and the people of Israel, but there is a loophole which makes it also apply to us – through Abraham. Abraham was the father of faith, the father of many nations.

The sign that we know that God picked us is the faith that we have in Him. Yet, we have a better covenant based on righteousness by faith, which is the sole basis why God established the covenant. Abraham was the father of faith, and because we are descendants of Abraham, we too have faith. We are in covenant, a covenant which predates the Jew. We also looked to see that the covenant was there in the time of Adam, for God gave Adam dominion over the earth – and Adam gave his dominion over to satan, which brought sickness, disease and death into the world.

In Adam and Eve’s day before the fall, there was no sickness and disease. They had plenty of food available to eat, and all was full of health. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, their disobedience caused them to die in a day – if you consider that for God a day is as 1000 years. Before Abraham, we saw God covenanting with Enoch, Methuselah, Seth, and the bloodline from Adam to Noah. God looked on the earth and found one with whom he could establish his covenant. He selected Abraham.

God told Abraham to go to a place God would show him. Abraham accepted the covenant by packing up him and his family and moving to the place God showed him. Remember, he was an idol worshipper as was his father and the tribes around him. So Abraham was a gentile, and God would teach him how to have a relationship with God.

Remember when Abraham’s son, Isaac went to find a wife, one of his wives was Rachel. Rachel sat on her father’s idols to hide them from her father, for she had stolen them to bring with her to the place Isaac was bringing her. What was the fruit of that? Rachel’s womb dried up for quite some time.

The covenant was not just for the Jews, just like the laws were not just for the Jews. The law was for all. Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive the God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

The Pope messed up last week with his pronouncements, for his words do not agree with the Bible. But at the same time, the Protestants have to get it right. Pastor Don stated that the Pope’s comments were wagging the dog – to take people’s minds off of the sexual sins of the priests.

The covenant is available to the gentile. Acts 10:37-38 that word (Gospel) you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

We enter into the covenant by faith. It is a healing covenant. In those who keep the covenant in the book of the Law there is no mention of disease. There is the promise of walking in divine health. If God took care of the sandals for 40 years, how much more can he take care of our health?

As Deuteronomy 29:14-15 says, it is with him who is not here with us today – we were not there.

Problems come in when we stray from the covenant.

Deuteronomy 29: 18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood.

The problem comes when we turn away from God and serve other gods or idols, that leads to bitterness.

Watch out:

Deuteronomy 29:19 and so it may not happen when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have place even though I follow the dictates of my heart as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

Isn’t that just what is happening today, in the Church and outside the church? People following the dictates of their heart, not obeying God.

Deuteronomy 29:20-22 The LORD would not spare him for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against the man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven. And the LORD would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law, so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the LORD has laid on it.

God is jealous for us, he wants the best for us, but if we disobey God, we bring the curse on ourselves, for we are no longer under the covering of God’s protection when we are disobedient.

Deuteronomy 29:27-29 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that was written in this book. And the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

This happened repeatedly to Israel. We are responsible for what God has shown us through His word. We may not understand all that God knows, but what He has shared with us, we must obey.

But, do not worry.

Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you…And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.

God has the ability and the desire to bless us. He does not want us to fall under the curse, but He leaves the choice to us. The secret things belong to the Lord, but we make decisions about what we will do about the covenant.

We make a willful decision to keep the Covenant, but it is God who goes with us and before us to help us keep the covenant.

I will continue this tomorrow for it is a longish study. Hoping you have a blessed night!

Heather

Click on a title and it will bring you to the article.

Peace in Trials

Click on a title and it will bring you to the article.

God Desires Blessings for Us, Greater than What We Expect - Acts 3:1-8
Drunk in the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:1-4, 13
The Priority of Choosing a Maximized Life
Diligent Seeker
The Call to a Deeper Encounter with the Lord
The Baptism of Fire
Five Benefits of the Fire
The Law of Faith
The Shifting Blessing
Maximizing the Moment for Greatness
The Power of God’s Anointing
Encounter our Destiny
Raising Godly Altars & Photos of the service
Raising Godly Altars Part 2 & more photos
More Photos
What We Must Know When Trying Times Come
Faith
God Shall Visit You
How Your Crisis Can Lead You To Your Destiny  
Don’t Give Up, Keep Speaking   
Stay Free From Limitation  
Stay Free From Limitations of Fear  
Staying Free from Limitation 
Stay free from Limitation 
God Will Remember You 

Click on a title and it will bring you to the article.

Be Influenced by Jesus