This is a closed captioned transcript of Pastor Don’s Sermon of  July 27, 2008.  I put it into a more readable format, and did some mild editing, but it is basically just as he presented it.  Remember three dots …. means a pause, and what is in the brackets [ ] is what the congregation says.

Who Needs God?

I want to minister the Word to you for a few minutes and then what I want to do is open up the pulpit to those of you that have a testimony. My goodness, magnify the Lord and He will lift you up. Many of you have received words from the Lord and blessings from the Lord and we need to tell it. We’re so blessed. 

I want you to realize something, that everyone needs God. [yes]  Even the people that don’t want God need God. [amen]  The people that don’t believe that there’s a God need God. I was just sitting, listening to the Worship and realizing how many different categories  of people need God. 

They Syrophoenician woman represents mothers, and she needed God. She had a situation with her daughter and her daughter was demon possessed. Some of you know about that.  Amen. Some of you have teenage daughters that, you know, they weren’t like this years ago. Something’s got a hold of them. Something has a hold of their mind. They’re not thinking right. They’re not acting right. It must be a divine desire of God to set them free, because it surely isn’t the devil’s plan. And so, mothers need God. Mother’s need God. Hannah needed God for she couldn’t bring forth fruit. There was nothing happening and her womb was dead, but she needed God to do what? To bring forth, let that seed be germinated and bring forth life. She was a mother and she needed God. 

Father’s need God. The man had a problem in that his son was often possessed by the demon, and it would throw him into the fire and attempt to kill him. But he was a father who  loved the Lord and he brings his son to Jesus’ disciples, but don’t you know something. There’s some things that the disciples just didn’t know….There was some things that they hadn’t prepared themselves for. And so they failed in driving out the demon from this boy. And so they needed to bring him to Jesus. 

You know, fathers need Jesus. [yeah] We work so hard if we’re a Godly man that we can lose our perspective and we can end up neglecting that which has been entrusted to us because of our desire to save it…. Aw, some of you all don’t hear what I’m saying.  But I was a possessed father. I wanted to do really good for my kids, so I was working three jobs, not realizing that what they really needed, was they needed me to stand in the position of God in the home, so they could see God as Father. They needed me to be there in order to what, lead them to the true father. [yes] And so sometimes you have to realize as fathers we need God. We need to put God at the center of it to straighten us out. A man by himself can’t learn to love his wife.  [yeah]  I said, a man by himself cannot learn to love his wife.  He needs the love of Jesus Christ  in his heart to know how to love her the way that God intended her to be loved. [amen]  Lord have mercy. Is anybody here today?  Fathers need God. We need Jesus Christ. We need His power to give us the ability to overcome ourselves, so that we can step out of our pride and our selfishness, and begin to love our families the way Jesus loves. We need Jesus Christ. Lord have mercy. 

Politicians need Jesus Christ. Pontius Pilot was a politician, and he didn’t know it but there was a hole in his soul. He was looking for truth and didn’t know when Truth was standing right in front of him, that he was speaking to Truth. Can I preach for awhile?  I just know my God is great and that we all need Him. All this present election ain’t going nowhere until one of them declares that God is God. And in the meantime, we need to realize that the Pharisees and the Scribes, they were politicians, locked in the political thinking of their mind. They were looking for a Messiah to come from their ranks, even though in the scriptures, it said He was going to be born of a virgin child. That means of course He didn’t have much. [yeah]…It was going to be a miracle birth…And therefore he was not going to come with any political status. He wasn’t going to come wearing a badge or a helmet or He wasn’t going to come as some kind of king or born again. He had to be born as it said. He had to be born as it said in Bethlehem, a nowhere town. With nothing going on. But, what happened? Is, we have a King  who is born in a nowhere town. 

I sometimes think, Pastor Don, you need to get out of this nowhere place. You’re in the Hudson Valley. And then I remind myself that, can anything good come out of Nazareth? [cheering]  Lord, have mercy. We need to change our political thinking. You are living in the right place at the right time to get done what God has called you to do. [amen]  Ah, can I preach awhile? So we have to change our political thinking. It’s not about where you live.  It’s about who lives in you. [yeah!] That’s what is the matter in fact. That’s all we really know to look at. 

And then I wrote down a note to remind myself, that blind people, born with physical disabilities. There was a man in the Bible who was born blind. And He needed Jesus Christ. He was born blind, meaning from his inception, from his very birth. He never saw anything clearly. Lord have mercy. And the Lord Jesus comes to him, tells him to go wash at the Pool of Siloam and the Bible says that he came seeing. 

The blind, the physically blind, well many of us are blinded by the fact that we don’t understand where our symptoms came from. Lord have mercy. We are blind to how  the devil has worked in our lives.  We are blind to how we put ourselves in position for illness, sickness, or poverty, or death or disease. We are blind to the fact that we participated in some level in what we’re struggling with. And that type of blindness, unless it is confessed and dealt with, we can’t really ever see. But Jesus, Lord have mercy, when we come to Him, He opens our eyes. And we begin to see that, it is so much of what we put upon ourselves, that brings us to the condition that we’re in. We begin to realize that it is a bad attitude that sometimes puts us in position where the devil is able to oppress us physically.  I know we don’t want to hear this because we are blind to the fact that we have to honestly say, “I’d be further along with the Lord if I put some stuff down.” [amen]…I’d be able to see better if I did something about my own spiritual blindness. But you know, we need Jesus to have Him remove the blinders. Lord have mercy! 

My parents were good parents. So, when I went bad, it was  my spiritual blindness, not theirs that led me there. It was the choices that I made out of blindness, that led me there.  And those are the same struggles that you, some of you as adults, are still having. You’re still bound to stuff and you’re spiritually blind to it. You’re still justifying your own weakness. Lord have mercy. 

So there’s spiritual blindness and then there’s physical blindness. Sometimes, somebody’s just born with a condition, yes, but guess what, you have a part to play in that. If your life is right and your righteousness is right and your faith is right, then guess what? That physical condition should be getting better. God is the God over the blood. God is God over the genes. God is God over the blood and the gene pools, and the gene pools and the blood.  God is God over the DNA. God is God over the physical organization of every gene of every physical anomaly in your body, and out of your body. God is in charge of your hair, your skin, your eyeballs, your genes and all of it.  [amen]  “How great is our God? … There’s no condition known to man that God cannot reverse and cannot change. We have to organize.  He organized the universe. What makes you think He can’t organize your body?  [Praise God]  I’d better move on… 

Why would the Church give up?  Why would we give up and take a second-hand Gospel?  There’s nowhere in the Gospel that Jesus gave up on anybody unless they gave up on themselves. He said, in his own hometown, He said, what did He say? He says He could do no mighty works there because of their [unbelief] unbelief…Unbelief, when is the Church going to accept the fact that we need to stop making excuses for conditions that exist and remember one thing, the eradicator of the condition is alive and well? [yeah!]  He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever more. [hallelujah]  Forever more. Don’t give up on your children. Don’t give up on your condition. Don’t give up on Jesus Christ… [amen] If He did it once, He’ll do it again. If He did it again, He’ll do it again and again. He’s a God of repetition. If He did it again and again and again, and again, He’ll keep doing it again and again and again and again and again and again. And again, and again, and again. And then, after He’s done, He’ll do it again, and again, and again and again. 

We’re getting ready to be placed in the New Jerusalem, where there is no sickness, death and disease. And He wants us to practice the removal of sickness, death, and disease now. [applause]…I’ve had some things happen in my life and I said my goodness, this one I’m stuck with for the rest of my life…I realize that I was saying to the devil, you can keep this on me. [amen] …  But thanks be, I needed Jesus too. And then when Jesus made Himself more manifest, I saw clearly that that spiritual blindness had to come off. And my answer had to be, NO! Satan, I will not live with this condition….I will not live with it. 

I was listening to a man on the radio the other day, and one verse that I keep hanging, you need to get some scriptures and hang them in your house. [amen] And the scripture was, from Joshua, that’s where Joshua, he’s getting ready to leave and he says this to them.  “As for me and my house, we’ll serve the Lord.”  [yeah, amen] You need to hang up some signs, the Jews have a tradition of nailing the little thing to their door. And then they kiss it every time they have to go by it, to remind them of the living Word of God. To remind them that this is thus said the Lord. And to remind them that this house and, this house – Lord have mercy – in this house the Word of God is spoken, it’s believed, and it’s lived by.  Lord have mercy. We don’t need to go by and kiss it anymore because  Jesus is alive and living and well. 

But somehow we need to get a sign to put up and remind ourselves that the work of the enemy has to stop at my door. [amen]  Aw, does anybody know what I am talking about?   The work of the enemy has to stop at my door. When my wife halfway loses her mind I have to say insanity stops at the door. When my children won’t behave right I have to say insanity stops at this door. When I wake up and I find out that I’m problem in this situation, and I have lost my mind, I have to remind myself that that insanity of my own has to stop at my door and I have to realize something. “As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.”… [hallelujah]  Because why? I need Jesus too…

The intellectual needed Jesus. The men of wisdom of their day, they needed Jesus….They were so smart, they were so smart and Nicodemus comes at night. You can tell he thought he was smart…cause he didn’t want to be seen going to someone smarter than him.  [laughter] He had to keep up the myth. So Nicodemus comes at night, sneaking and hiding around, and then Jesus says a simple thing to him, “Ye must be born again.” All He was saying was you need Me Nicodemus. You need Me.  I can change your life. You’re so smart and so wise, you know so much but guess what? You need Me. And then Nicodemus is going to ask Him a question. Can a man be born again? Once he comes out of…and Jesus says, and you, [laughter]  And He says, and you are a leader of the nation?  [laughter]  You’re one of the smart ones?  And you don’t even know that? You need to be born again. Well, smart people need to be born again. People with great wisdom need Jesus. 

We need the mind itself, the mind itself was created by Him, and therefore, if we’re going to escape the limitations of our own mind, we need wisdom from above.  And so, Nicodemus comes at night, but guess what?  I bet he stayed with Jesus so long that the sun came up.  And then he walked out during the day. [hallelujah]  Aw, you didn’t get that. He comes in the night, but he stayed awhile with Jesus and then he wasn’t ashamed to walk out in the day.  [amen]  And when they said, where were you? And he says, watch this, “I was with Rabboni.” Well, what was he saying? He’s saying, I spent the night with… the Rabbi.  Who’d you spend the night with?  I spent the night with the Teacher. [yeah] 

In our wisdom and smarts, we need Jesus. If we’re going to understand each other, we need the wisdom of Jesus to be able to see each other the way that Jesus sees us. [amen]  The Apostle Paul wrote this in his scripture, and it boggles my mind. He says that you  need to think more of others than you think of yourself. …I just finished writing another book.  [laughter]  I did, it’s called, “Take the Lower Seat:  The Way to Power.”  See, the way to power is if you humble yourself, God will lift you up. If you take the lower seat, God will elevate you…

You know, when one of the pastors asked me about that, I said, in our church we don’t have a high seat and a middle sized high seat and then the little high seat and then the lower seat. [laughter] We don’t have all that. And I said, so when you get to our church, you just sit with the people. [amen] You’re just one of the people. [hallelujah]  You don’t sit over the people. The only one over the people is Jesus Christ. [applause]…Praise God… Hallelujah… He says, well then what do I do when it comes time to speak? You’re going to introduce me? I said, no…I said, the only introduction you need is that I invited you here to speak.  You don’t need some big introduction and build you up and make you all feel all good so you’re confident that the people are impressed with your credentials. Your credential is the Word of God. [amen] So get up and tell it. [whew!] Then the people will be impressed with you…He looked to me and said, “Man…” [laughter]  He said, “you really are serious about tradition.” I said, “Yeah, I’m serious about getting rid of it!” [laughter]  Come on, hallelujah! [applause and cheering] Getting rid of it! Yeah, and when you come to Living Word Chapel to park your car, you better hope you can find a spot. [laughter] Cause we don’t have anything reserved for you. You’re supposed to be a servant of the Lord and a servant of the people, why should we save a spot for you? Let you come on time like everybody else and get a spot. Somebody say, hallelujah.  [hallelujah]  Praise God!  Hallelujah.  Watch, next week you all test me and park where I park…

Listen, we need Jesus. The high and the mighty need Jesus. And the low and the lowly need Jesus. I wrote down one thing and I want to just show it to you. In the book of Luke in the 19th chapter, come on – go there….Yesterday, I had these men of God at my house and they’re blessed, anointed, and appointed. One of them introduced himself to me as the chauffeur…I said, you got Prophet Samachen here and here’s his interpreter and who are you? He says, I’m the chauffeur. Now, I decided to myself, well, wait a minute, this is a man of God too. [yeah] Come on, somebody. 

And in the world, when I was in California, Pastor Ron said, when he was a chauffeur it took him something like three years working for this rich man before he even allowed to go in the house. They had a little room on the front of the house, a little corner with a telephone and that’s where the chauffeur sat. And he sat there for some three years and never was permitted to see the house.  But you know, when you chauffeur for God, come on somebody,  when you chauffeur for God, you’re entitled to see the whole house. You’re entitled to be a part of the whole thing. 

So I said to this young man, wait a minute, you’re telling me what you’re doing, but what you’re actually doing is, you are being a servant to the Prophet of God by driving him.  [yeah, hallelujah] Come on, but you’re more than a chauffeur. Tell me about yourself. And he began to tell me how God had, had blessed him. Brought him to this great land of America.  And how he and his wife were barren for years, and how the prophet had said, you’re going to have a baby. And he had brought forth life. And he’s going on and going on. And he’s beginning now, the chauffeur is turning into the preacher, right before my eyes. And he’s beginning to preach to me about different scriptures and things that he found in the Bible.  And he realized that I’m a hunter and a searcher in scriptures. 

And he said, “Did you ever take a look at Luke 19?”  And I said, of course, you know, I’ve read the whole Bible many times. And, and I said, “Is there something hidden there, that, that you know about?” And he says, “Well it’s a question to me  but, can I share it with you?” And he began to share, now are you ready?  [yeah]  Come on, say “Everybody needs Jesus.”  [Everybody needs Jesus] 

In Chapter 19, it’s about a man named Zacchaeus. “Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was...” what? [rich]. He was what? [rich]  He was what? [rich]  I’m going to prove something to you. The rich and the righteous need Jesus. [amen]  The rich and the righteous need Jesus. And so it says that Zacchaeus, he wasn’t just a tax collector, he wasn’t the chauffeur of the tax collector, it says that he was the chief tax collector. It means that he was the head boss who had other people under him, collecting the taxes, but he was the what? [chief] Chief tax collector. I want to show you something, because you know sometimes when you talk about tithing it hurts people. People get tight with that. And the reason is because they value their money, they’re still tied to that. 

But, so let’s see if Zacchaeus is tied to his riches. Let’s watch now. In verse three, “And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.” Hallelujah. Hallelujah…[laughter]  Praise God for us little guys. [laughter]  I said, praise God for us little guys. [amen!!] Amen, and then it says, “So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.”…See, he may be little, but he ain’t dumb. He’s the chief tax collector and he’s fast. [laughter] He ran ahead of the crowd. I want you to get this picture. He climbs the tree so he can see where Jesus is going…

Let us not measure the Body of Christ and the people by what we’re looking at.  [amen] Let’s not measure each other by what we see. Let’s not be so… I get so upset when people are confounded by someone’s physical charisma…How is it that the Church gets so confused listening to a good looking man who has a nice physique and he has charisma, and there’s stuff coming out of his mouth…One sister said to me, “You know, when I hear that man, I feel like I’m listening to the Tower of Babel. I feel like he’s babbling along and it’s mysterious, but none of it makes sense.” And I thought to myself, how do people like that get elevated? They get elevated because why? Because those people look at this person and they’re overwhelmed by the physical, what??? …What?…You need to strip that away….You know, you need to strip that away so you can hear what thus says the Lord in whatever package he’s sending it. [amen] Do you know what I mean? We should be able to hear the Gospel from a guy who’s brought in in a wheelchair, and preaching sitting down, as well as we can to someone six foot tall and beautiful like me. [laughter] Come on now!

Now, moving along. So Zacchaeus runs along, climbs a sycamore tree. Verse 5, “And when Jesus came to that place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste...” He calls him by name, just like the prophet was doing last night. Just calling people that he didn’t know, calling them by name and then prophesying over them.  “…Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”   “So he made haste and came down, and received Him…” what?  [joyfully]  “Joyfully.  But when they saw it…“ Who’s they? The people, the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the people.  “…they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”  … Why do we do that? People that we don’t like, we just label them…We just label them. You know, he ain’t right, he’s a sinner. Be careful, Jesus may be going to that sinner’s house you don’t like…Lord have mercy…And so He says, going to his house, “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord...”  Come on read it with me.  “I will give…”  Is that what is says?  [no]  Does it say, I’m going to give?  [no]  Does it say, I’m thinking about giving?  [no]  Does it say, I ought to give?  [no]  No, look what he says.  He says, “Look Lord, I give…”  Meaning, is this a practice that he was already involved in? [yes]  Yes he was.  He’s saying, I already give “half of my goods to the poor;…”  Whew!…Whew!  Bite down on that hard some of you all.  He says, “I do, I already give half of my goods to the poor…” …And he says, “and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore [fourfold] fourfold.”  Is he saying he’s going to? [no]  He is saying, I already do this. And he’s saying, if someone, watch this now, if someone brings it to my attention, that someone working under me, or if in the past somehow I did, I got extra money by false accusation, He’s saying, if it’s brought to my attention, I’ll restore fourfold. If somebody under me has messed up, I will restore… fourfold…So, here’s what he’s saying. He is saying, I, under the Jewish law…am exceedingly righteous…Lord have mercy!  Come on now.  He is saying, I am exceedingly righteous. I don’t give 10%.  I give…half …of everything I have. I give half to the poor…And then he says, and if I’ve done something wrong, I don’t just repay, and say, “Oh, please forgive me.”  And just repay exactly.  He gives four times as much  back. Does everybody got that?  [yes] 

Now, as long as I’ve been in ministry, we’ve always read that as if he is saying, now that I have met the Savior, I’m going to do this. [no]  Some of you are sitting here are realizing you always read it that way too. You always read it that Zacchaeus says, “Lord, I’ve met you, now I’m going to give half, and I’m going to return four.” But it doesn’t say that. 

And yesterday, I’m sitting with the chauffeur, and my mind is being opened, and so I run upstairs and I get my literal translation, and I got my Greek translation.  I got them, and I’m going, my goodness, the chauffeur is right. [amen] Lord have mercy! Somebody getting what I’m saying?  [yeah]  And me and the prophet, me and the great prophet are sitting there drinking in from the wisdom of the chauffeur. [praise God, amen, glory]  Lord have mercy!  Praise God Almighty! 

We need to think of others, we need to think of them as better than us. That there’s something that we can learn because we need Jesus. He can give us the ability to draw from everyone. There’s no one you can step over and treat meanly. There’s no one that you can get around because your heart… has Jesus in it and you see everybody as important. 

But, let’s get to the conclusion of the matter. The conclusion of the matter, Jesus says, in verse 9, “…Today salvation has come to this house,… because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Lord have mercy! Can we cut to the conclusion of the matter? The conclusion of the matter is very simply this, Zacchaeus was righteous in his own way. Zacchaeus was not only righteous, but he was compassionate. Not only was he righteous and compassionate, but he had complied and fulfilled the Law. He not only was righteous and compassionate and fulfilled the Law, but he was also a man of restitution and forgiveness. And that he desired to be forgiven, and he desired to give restitution for any wrong that he had. He was righteous, he was righteous according to the Law…He was rich…but he was lost…He still… needed Jesus.  [amen]…He still… needed Jesus. No matter how rich and powerful, no matter how righteous we are in the flesh, the reality is…we… need… Jesus.  [amen].

(Heather says, wow, wow, wow, I love how each time we look into the Word there is a hidden gem, and this one was hidden in plain sight.  God is awesome.

Have a blessed day!)

Heather

We had a visiting prophet come to Living Word Chapel last night, and God showed up huge.  The prophet’s name was Prophet Samachen from India.  He came with people who could translate for him, taught us a wonderful Bible study and prophesied for some of our members. Even those whose names were not directly called received a powerful blessing from the anointing of God that came upon our group.

One thing Pastor Samachen reminded us about is the fact that while many were in the congregation praising and worshipping God, their minds were elsewhere.  They were thinking about home, tomorrow, their jobs, etc.  Their minds were not centered on God.  It is so important to realize that God needs to be our primary focus. 

Pastor Samachen does not speak English, so he came accompanied by a translator and a driver who also was able to translate. Pastor Samachen and Pastor Abraham work together at times in India, and both bring the blessings of God to people in areas of India where many evangelists do not travel.  They share the Word of God at great price and with great bravery, for where they are located Christians are not treated well by the locals.

Pastor Samachen brought us to

Psalm 122:1-3  I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together,

Notice that it said that “I was glad.”  This was said before they were in the Temple or the House of God. It was spoken outside of the House of God.  So why were their hearts rejoicing?  We can all visit the house of God, and then go back rejoicing. If we are this glad outside of the House of God, how much more happy we will be inside His house.

All of us need to remember how wonderful it is to be in God’s House and invite others to come and be blessed, and then our church will grow and be packed.  And we will also be blessed.

We want to keep our vision big.  Write down your vision.  Claim your vision.  Then satan will be defeated.  Satan wants to sit on top of us, but really satan is under our feet.

Notice that it says in verse 2 that our feet are standing.  They are speaking about Jerusalem.  Our heart is burning inside.  How happy we will be when we enter New Jerusalem.  Jerusalem means a place where God dwells.  We are each Jerusalem!  I AM JERUSALEM.  God dwells in Jerusalem.  The proof is in the Bible.

Zechariah 8:3  “Thus says the LORD:  ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the LORD of hosts,  the Holy Mountain.’”

God dwells in Jerusalem. Pastor Samachen called 4 people to help illustrate his next point.  He put himself in the middle as Jerusalem – a mountain, for we go up to Jerusalem.  And around Jerusalem he put four people and pointed out that Jerusalem is surrounded by four hills (mountains), and then he shared about each of these mountains.

1st Hill: MOUNT MORIAH

This is where Abraham brought Isaac when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, His only son.  Abraham obeyed God in faith and God spared Isaac for Abraham showed his willingness to worship God at all costs.  Mount Moriah is the place of sacrifice and worship.  There is deliverance in worship. Abraham offered his sacrifice and went back dancing and rejoicing. On our way to Jerusalem we can also go to Mount Moriah.

2nd Hill:  MOUNT ZION

Isaiah 2:3 Many people shall come and say,  “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

In Zion there is teaching.   I will see God in Jerusalem, go to the place of worship, go where good teaching is available.  Some people are good at worship, but do not have the teaching. When we are in Heaven we won’t need the teaching on the Word, but here we do.  Mount Zion is where we can go to get good teaching.

3rd Hill:  MOUNT PARAN

This is the place of signs and wonders and miracles.  We will see miracles in Jerusalem. Not only are we Jerusalem, but our church is also Jerusalem. We will be able to see Jesus, worship, have teachings and signs and wonders.  We will jump, dance and rejoice. The deaf will hear, eyes will be healed, cancer healed, burdens lifted, demons cast out, bondages broken.  We go with expectancy.  We come to the Church bound and leave as good priests, apostles, and people in the five fold ministry.  This is a specialty of Jerusalem.

4th Hill:  SALEM

In Salem bread and wine is available, and the cross of Calvary. It is good bread and wine. We look at Jesus and can only praise and worship.

The four hills surround Jerusalem.  We are each and every one a hill, but we are not separate.  Pastor Samachen had us looking at our hand, how awesome a creation our hands are, how beautiful they are, how each of our fingers can move independently, but at the same time are bound together. You can’t take a finger out of your hand.  In our churches we are each specialists in our own field.  We can be used separately, but are still part of the whole body of Christ.  We are all connected.  We should never forget that we are connected.

On Jerusalem our feet are standing, and our being is quiet.  Our feet can sometimes be inside Jerusalem, but our minds can be elsewhere – we can be thinking about New York. We can clap and dance, but be thinking about our houses, our marriage, etc.  We need to leave all that aside and not only have our feet, but our minds inside Jerusalem.

Oh Jerusalem. Both our feet are inside the gates, and it is a city we build together.  There is a connection with each other.  We have love for each other.  There should be no fighting, but rather we should have a love for each other.  That is what Jesus wants from us.  Jerusalem is the place where God dwells.  This church (our church and ourselves) are known as Jerusalem from this day forward.

In Jerusalem we see things that God mentioned – we inherit and receive blessings from God.

Psalm 128:5  The LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

There is a prosperity of blessings in Jerusalem when we come to Jerusalem we will be blessed.  When we bring others to Church, they will be blessed.  We are going to be blessed. Take our places expecting that we will be blessed when we come to Jerusalem.  You can see God in Jerusalem.  Have good worship in Jerusalem.  Have good teaching in Jerusalem.  See signs and wonders in Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem we can meditate on the Cross of Calvary, and share bread and wine.

These blessings are available.  God gives us abundant blessings.

Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

The promises of the Lord are for NOW, for our life.  God gives us promises for the desires of our heart, for life partners, to be able to save 10,000 souls, new houses, cars.  The promises are available.

We need to remember the promises He has told us about, and trust that He will give us those promises. They may not come instantly, but God will give us what He has promised us.

My God is almighty.  My God is omniscient.  My God is the Sure Foundation.  He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He gives us goodness and mercy.  This is the God that we serve and worship today.

Pastor Samachen told us that as a child he was the dumbest person in his family, had no education, and everyone blamed him, not knowing what to do.  Jesus promised a lot to him, telling him that he was going to be a prophet.  At first Pastor Samachen did not believe it.  God also told him that he was going to be sent to America, Europe, and Australia.  It was hard for Pastor Samachen to believe.  But God gave him all the promises that He made.

If God gives us a promise it will come to pass.

Pastor Samachen was told to leave his church behind, it was a large church, but God wanted him to reach out to others.  He left his home church, a church that was large, had a good sound system, good worship, but he had to leave that. Pastor Samachen chose to believe Jesus.  Jesus’ promises are very big.  By making this move in obedience to God Pastor Samachen is able to reach more brokenhearted people. 

God told Pastor Samachen that He would be with him. If Jesus gives you a promise, if He tells you to leave a place and go to a new place, obey Jesus.  He will be with you wherever you go. Take hold of your promises.  Catch them. God will never forget the promises He gives you.  Jesus will never forget the promises.  God will do a miracle for you and then He will give you even more promises.

Praise God, this was such a teaching in season for me.  To move to new territory and take on new challenges is difficult for me, for I tend to want to rely on myself and trust myself and make little changes. This is showing me so clearly how much I have to trust Jesus, rely on Jesus, and let Him be the director of my life.

Praying your Sunday is blessed.

Heather

These are some notes from a recent discipleship class, and it is so important to share because the Body of Christ sometimes struggles with faith and faith issues.  I know that at times I do, for God is teaching me more and more about faith.  I will be quoting from some pages of the discipleship manuel that accompanied this course.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

NOW means that it is in the present. Our faith must be the central basis of how you live your life.  Faith and believing.

Faith is a SUBSTANCE, it is something, not nothing.  It has matter, it is not out of the air. When we hope for something it is a reality that what you hope for you have.  Hope doesn’t wait.  Hope turns into faith over time, and then the substance appears.  As we hope, faith appears.  Faith is believing and receiving in the realm of the supernatural essence.  You have it even though the substance hasn’t materialized.

Pastor Don gave the example of a light switch, where  you don’t stare at the light switch and hope it will light.  There is electricity is in the system before you even turn it on. Then when you take the proper action of flicking the switch the light comes on. That is the essence of faith – it is a reality, just as electricity is a reality.  It is there to access, but doubt can disrupt your faith.

At times what we perceive in the natural clashes with the reality of faith.  What you are seeing in your circumstances is not real if it doesn’t line up with the Word of God for your life, what you think is reality (your circumstances) is not real, but faith is real.  God spoke everything into existence, everything was made from nothing.  When you understand that, then you know that faith is not a hard thing.

Hebrews 11:3 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.

Everything that God  made didn’t come from something else already in existence.  God said it, and spoke it into existence.  God saw in His mind, then He spoke it into existence.  There may be a time period between when you speak it and it manifests, and becomes material.  Our flesh looks at chronos time, and if we lose faith before what we have spoken manifests, we may lose the manifestation. 

When we are speaking faith — it is a reality in my mind and in my mouth.

God spoke to Abram, tellling Abram that he would have a new name – Abraham which means father of many nations. But Abraham was 75 years old and had no kids.  For 25 years he spoke his name as Abraham – father of many nations, and God said that Abraham never doubted it would happen. And Abraham did become the father of many nations.

We get caught in this time period and then we lose our faith. In this time period we may not see the manifestation of our faith, but that is not important.  We need to hold onto, in faith,  ”I see it, it’s mine”  even though you do not have it physically. 

The other place we get lost is in understanding the difference between my desire and God;’s plan.  All of us want a miracle healing, victory, and instant gratification. We can see it now.  We think, I deserve it.  I am a good Chritian, why should I be in want?

God isn’t on the clock.  Our faith is not working on the basis of qualification.  Abraham was a heathen when God first started dealing with him.  God did not make Abraham a father of many nations based on Abraham’s righteousness or unrighteousness.  It has nothing to do with manipulation of forces in the supernatural.

Electricity can work whether you are a good or a bad person.  Good or bad, you can turn on the electricity and make use of it. Faith works for the devil and he is evil.  The devil tried to trick Jesus to obey him, and it took faith to put it out and try to possess Jesus.

The angel came to answer Daniel’s prayer, and it took 21 days.  The angel had to do battles with great forces and even send for the help of another angel to be able to be freed up to deliver the message to Daniel.  The message was sent the instant Daniel started to pray, but the forces in the heavenlies prevented it’s delivery for a time. Had Daniel spoken words of doubt and unbelief because the answer did not come immediately, the angel would have gone back and not delivered the message.

Jesus cast out the demons from the man possessed with a legion of demons (6,400 demons).  He did not use swords or wrestle with the demons, Jesus used the Word of God.  Jesus’s faith made it happen.  The Word spoken, is spoken for the realm of faith.  There are different levels of faith operating in the supernatural , in the same way that electricity works.

Negative faith will reverse positive faith, for example , there is positive and  negative  in electricity.  If you get the wires mixed up you can blow the circuit. It is no different in the heavenlies.

If you try and cast out a demon it has to leave, but if the demon  detects any fear, doubt or unbelief, it knows that it does not have to do what you are saying for you are not speaking in faith.

There are different levels of faith.  Some have 20 amp faith, some 50 amp, others 200 amp, and then there are those of oh ye of little faith.  It is not that you need more power, for the electricty (faith) is there waiting to be used, it is that you need to have the faith to believe that the power is there and use it.

If you feed 5,000 or 1,000 it is all the same power, just that it is a different circumstance.

You can have faith for feeding, faith for sickness, faith for healing, faith for money, faith for poverty, faith for wisdom, faith that we will do stupid things.  Pastor Don said, and oh yeah, you will do stupid. Our negative faith can come into the realm of our lives and we will have the negative faith things that we say as well.

In answer to a question, Pastor Don shared that sometimes you can bring into your house an item brought from another country or in a store, and that item is dedicated to a different spirit. That demon spirit can use that item and wait to plug into your life when you manifest a doubt or unbelief that leaves the way open for that spirit to manifest,.

In the heavenly realms there are witches and demons who do exercises to prove to the heathen that their stuff works. If you fall into the belief that the stuff from the witches and demons works, then they can take that stuff and work over and against you.

Pastor Don spoke about Hati, and how it is one of the most demon possessed places in the world, and when he went on a Christian mission there, that the forces wanted to prevent the spread of the Gospel. There was a problem with a neighborhood where there was going to be a demon celebration.  Demon possessed people took to the streets for 24 hours, all
night and day. They were playing pvc pipes, screaming, and doing mischief – drunk and demon possessed.  The local Christians had to leave and get to the mountains where they could continue their ministry for that time period, for in that instance the demon spiritis could see the Spirit inside of you. But we need to remember that GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD.

The “electricity” in us is greater than the electricity in the world.  At times you need to remove yourself from the area, but remember that God has far more power than any demonic force, but He also knows when it is best to deal with a situation.  God is God.

Faith is knowing that the power that runs through you is real and has substance.  The anointing is a mnifestation of faith.  People who worship God believe that they are worshipping God, that their prayers and praise is going somewhere.  God will not show up without faith in manifestation. Faith, praise, worship, the Word of God are important for faith.

If you have trouble sleeping at night, elevate your faith. So often our faith is more for doubt and unbelief than faith in what we believe.

Positive and negative electicity only sits there, it does not put out voltage, just as a passive light does not do anything unless the current flows through it. There is power in there, in the wires, in the building of faith, and when we go to turn on the light, or believe by faith, we say I know it is going to work.  If I touch that light switch something is going to happen.  Power is going to flow.

God came up with this system.  Without faith we cannot please God. Faith worketh by love, and that is why positive faith is greater than negative faith.

In the Lord of The Rings, there is spiritual warfare and battle. In the end all of the evil power of Sauron and the kingdom of Mordor were defeated by three Hobbits.  They believed what they were doing, and won the war.  The weapon used by Sauron was a ring of power which perverted those who sought to use it.  The Hobbits ultimately defeated the enemy by destroying the ring.

We as Christians need to see ourselves as Frodo.  That we are nothing, but it is God who is within us, who is greater than we and all our “powers.” It is impossible for evil to outnumber one guy who has no power, but is willing to be a vessel that receives the power from God to accomplish what God wants to accomplish.

Hebrews 11:4-6  By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

God will reward those who seek Him. There are levels of reward.  Martyrdom is the highest reward, there are also crowns of victory that we can cast at Jesus’ feet. Martyrdom has to have a purpose and be part of God’s plan for your life. We need to be obedient to God and the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Noah was warned about things that he had never seen.  It took over 100 years to build the ark, and there was no rain at the time. His neighbors and friends probably gave him grief over what he was building.

Hebrews 11:8-11  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

All heros of faith, and Abraham went to a place that God told him to go, not knowing where he was going.  They were all heirs of the promise, a promise they would not see in their lifetime.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

They never saw the fruition of what had been promised, but God was preparing things in the supernatural realm. Isaac and Ishmael saw a few generations, but still the population had not grown to be as the number of stars in the sky. In the flesh we may not always see things that have been promised, but in the Spirit we can see that.

Abraham can now see all the generations that God promised him. He has many Children of Faith, and not all are Jews, but the gentiles are also part of his generations.

What we seen in the spiritual we might not see accomplished on earth in our lifetime, but God will accomplish it, in His way and time.

Moses met the Lord at the burning bush, and as he walked with the Lord, he was able to talk about the Rock of his salvation. A pre-Jesus experience that helped him realise that the Lord is a reality to him.

Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

Pastor Don reminded us that the walls of Jericho fell straight down into the ground, they did not tumble over in heaps.  And he reminded us of what we saw when we visited Israel, how the walls just sank into the ground – fell down into the ground.  It is possible that that was the way God dealt with all the sacrifices and death and blood that was used in the construction of the walls, providing a good burial for those sacrifices.

Notice the sign was defaced so that there was no mention of Biblical history.

Here are some pictures of the walls at the site of Jericho.

Hebrews 11:32-34 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Watch the transition. The following are hard passages.

Hebrews 11:35-40 Women received their dead raised to life again.  Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.  And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

All people who live by faith are victorious, they slew dragons, accomplished great things with or without the sword. Some were raised from the dead, others used their faith in a different way, and chose not to accept deliverance. Deliverance was available, but they did not choose that.  It takes the same faith to die as to live. The motive of these faith heros was to use their faith to obtain a greater reward.  Some chose the crown of martyrdom, so they could cast those crowns at the feet of Jesus.  The people who killed the Body could not destroy their faith.  Faith is the victory that overcomes the World. We don’t know what we would choose if we were placed in similar situations.

Paul chose deliverance, not because he wanted to stick around on earth, but he said that he would stay around for our sakes.  Paul was stoned and left for dead, he has seen the 3rd Paradise, but the saints gathered around him and prayed him back.

Everyone we pray for will not be raised from the dead, people will receive Heaven and decide that they want to stay, or they may decide that they are a better witness here on earth.

1 Thes 4:15-18 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Revelation 7:9-11 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God

Revelation 7:14-17 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;  for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Those who sacrificed their lives will be led to fountains of living water and God will wipe away their tears.  Those on earth who caused their suffering will face Judgment, and the Day of The Lord, and God’s wrath.

We have to have faith in God in the midst of this.

Our class took a break – it was a long class, and when we came back we started looking at passages in the Discipleship manual and examples from the Word to help us understand faith even more.

I pray this is a blessing to you.  I count myself very blessed to be able to sit under the teaching of Pastor Don, he teaches so clearly and is so willing to answer any questions so that we all understand.

Heather

Had to go to the dentist today, not new work, just replacing mercury fillings – not my most fun thing. So did not get to post a new post today – it took all day because the dentist is in NYC and the travel was long.

Sooooo, I thought I would post something my sister-in-law sent me for fun. It is a link to a Dutch department store’s catalogue.  Just click the link, and watch the screen, it takes a few seconds, things start happening to the products.  It really is an amazing thing.

Have a blessed day! I have been visiting sites a bit at a time, so hopefully soon I will get to yours.

Heather

Someone asked Pastor Don how to maximize productivity, how to get the most out of what the day can give, what is the Godly teaching about that?

Pastor Don told us that the mistake believers make is not knowing how they are hearing from God.  They feel that they can only hear from God through a prophet or with the audible voice of God.  Many cannot locate a prophet or are in churches that don’t teach New Testament reality. Some move from church to church. They haven’t learned to listen to that inner witness, the still small voice within, being led by their spirits.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

There are people with prophetic gifts in our church and that is good.  But a Church cannot only be run by spiritual gifts without the Word of God. People are looking for someone in a robe or vestments to guide them.  Churches need people in the five fold ministry, Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Evangelist, and Pastor and ministry gifts. The appropriate beginning of any decision is to pray, Lord, order my steps. The Lord can’t order our steps if we are not following His instructions.

We need to line up with God’s Will and God’s Word. We want to start and maintain a focus, and then make a list, of the things and steps that we need to do.  We know what we want to accomplish and God can help us to find the right order to do them.  When God gives us the correct order, then the whole thing begins to make sense.

Pastor Don shared that he listens to God about how to order his day. We have conditioned ourselves to start moving a certain way, moving in the way that our flesh tells us.  Routine can be good for us, but sometimes it is good to change our routines. There are times when we have a certain routine that does not prove to be productive.

For example, maybe we get up, get coffee, turn on the weather and listen to the news.  But, instead of that, if we took some time to first read God’s Word, brush our teeth so that we don’t swallow our mouth’s germs with our coffee, or spend some time praying first, our days would go smoother.  We may get no spiritual information coming to us over our second cup of coffee. But we are creatures of habit. 

Our flesh will fight wisdom all the way, and will use reason to cause us to take a detour from God’s will for our lives.

Pastor Don told us that we have to check our locater (our inward spirit).

1. We need to check the Spirit of God.
2. Check our flesh barometer – feelings are not to dictate to us what we do.  For example, you don’t have to wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving a person.  You forgive, act like you have forgiven, and as time goes by your feelings will line up with your will to forgive the person. Your faith should tell your feelings, hold on, we’re not going there, we are not the United States of Ourselves (insert your name in the place of Ourselves).  I am not the United States of Heather. When we realize we are in the midst of a disorganized battle field of our lives, someone has to take over. God is the boss of our debt, God is the boss of our lives.  We need to get our flesh to obey God.
3. What actions do I take in what order?   Pastor Don shared that the pen is the most successful tool to keep order. Make lists. Write your vision and hold onto it.

Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said:  “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.”

Do you have a list of your plans for the day? It is good to have a list for it will keep you on track.  You can reward yourself by checking off things on your list, and it removes the need to worry or stress about your day.  You don’t have to do all things on your list, and the ones you do not accomplish you move to the next day.  Do the first thing on your list, check it off when you accomplish it.  Order your steps.

What is past in your life?  What do you need to do in the present?  What do you need to do in your future?

We need to pay our bills, be a saver, set clean-up times, clean up old stuff.

Pastor Don told us that he runs the church the same way.  As Pastor many come to him saying that what their problem is is an emergency, but not all emergencies are emergencies. Sometimes satan uses “emergencies” to try and pull you off your plan of action – run to deal with enough emergencies and you end up not getting accomplished what God wants you to accomplish.  Sometimes people feel that their situation is life or death, but it is really just a hiccup. It is important to assess whether what someone calls an emergency is really that.

2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’”

This was not a hiccup. When there is a real emergency, then it is important to assess when to change the order of your day.  Notice Hezekiah did not have his house in order – he had to get his affairs cleaned up. Hezekiah needed to prepare to pass his power and authority to the next generation.

We need to get our finances in order.  There can be major changes in our lives, and having things in order makes the changes easier.  When we are disorganized and dealing in sinful things it can lead to health problems and mental problems.  We need to stop making excuses.

Job 33:1-5 “But please, Job, hear my speech, and listen to all my words. Now, I open my mouth; my tongue speaks in my mouth. My words come from my upright heart; my lips utter pure knowledge. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. If you can answer me, set your words in order before me; take your stand.”

Job was told to set his words in order. People close to you correct you, but often we do not listen to what they say.  Sometimes we are deaf to our own words.

To maximize productivity we have to set our house in order, maximize our words, and we can’t do that if we don’t know what we are speaking.  Your words are like loaded guns.  You can be speaking life or death into your life through your words.

Pastor Don spoke with someone in the group who is a good basketball player – and asked him if he would ever be in the NBA finals.  He told Pastor Don no, it is true he would not make the finals, his age and lack of training would prevent him from being in the NBA finals.  So what we feel in the spiritual may not match up with the natural.  Can we have what we say – yes.  But if we have unrealistic aspirations, it is possible that we will not achieve what we want. To have order in our lives, we need to be moving toward something that has potential.  To know, if God blesses me, I can do this. 

A whole lot of times, God may not bless an aspiration of ours.  Why?  What glory could God get out of the failure of our unrealistic expectations.

We need to set our words in order. Take time to say this is what I have to say to bring me success.  We need to monitor our words. Claim scripture to build us up, set a target.  A scattergun will not kill an elephant, unless you are at close range. There needs to be a balance between what we believe and have faith in.

If God really will get glory from it, he wants you to yield to something you don’t want to do, than it is a real miracle.

Pastor Don shared a bit of George Foreman’s history.  How he went into ministry after Ali beat him up.  When he needed funds for a youth center, at 50 years old, he came out of retirement and had a fight. He prayed that God would give him the strength to take back the title and make money for the youth center. He earned 8 million in that first fight.  God was able to rejuvenate his body and prepared him to win the fight.  But he did not fight again, instead, God made him a successful business man, and that was something he never figured out that he could do.  Instead of squandering his money, God showed him that he could be a successful business man, something he never believed possible. 

What blessings are you speaking over yourself? Are you as husband and wife saying, “We can do this?”  We need to set our words in order.  Saying things that mean something.  If our flesh lines up, ok, if not you need to change your flesh response.

When we get blessings from God, we also need to remember that God is the one that gives us the blessing.

John 15:5, 8 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing…..(8) By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

We need to get a plan and speak over it. What are you saying over the plan that God puts into our lives? What is the fruit of God’s plan?

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

To maximize our stuff we have to be careful about who we talk to, some people are not expert at anything.  Do not talk about financial troubles with someone who has their finances in a mess. If a person has had several failed marriages, they are not the one to go to for marriage counseling.  You cannot walk in the counsel of the ungodly, for then you can get in over your head.  If I am not thinking right, you need someone to speak into your life that is thinking right.  Sometimes we cannot even trust ourselves and our own thinking.  Some people in our lives, and sometimes ourselves, sit in the seat of the scornful.

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

Know the law of the Lord.  Don’t take shortcuts.  Our flesh will offer you shortcuts, but don’t do it.  Pastor Don spoke about his boat which has serious problems, and someone suggested to him to take it out and let it sink and collect insurance – he suggested that to Pastor Don, but knew that Pastor Don would not do such a thing, and it is true, he did not choose to try and cheat the insurance company. You can win without cheating.

Psalm 1:3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,  that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. 

Notice it says IN SEASON.  Waiting for the season to come can sometimes be hard.  We want it easy and quick, and not have to sign up for the long haul.  But God’s timing is right, and when we wait for the fruit to ripen in it’s season it tastes so much better.

Pastor Don told us that whether rich or poor, the problems in handling money are the same. If we cannot handle the pressure of money when we have less money, we will not be able to handle the pressure of money when we are rich. When we have a challenge in life it is only a bump in the road. 

As we do things in order, waiting for God’s timing, we may not seem to be prospering, but we are learning what God wants us to learn, and learning to organize.  You get stronger as you face the tests that come between you and your goal.

As we make the same mistake over and over we come to a point where we realize that we don’t have to make that same mistake, that there is a better way.

Matthew 12 talks about unclean spirits.  Jesus tells the leaders that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.  When a person is cleansed from an unclean spirit, that draws others to speak against you and deter what has happened.  You need to realize that that is part of growing up. Ie a baby will spit up, but that phase will not last forever.

When you become a born again believer, the devil, who never paid much attention to you when you were unsaved now will begin to try and cast doubt on your faith and pull you back to your old habits.

Sometimes we blame the devil for everything that is bad that happens to us, but not everything is from the devil.  Sometimes it is our own disorganization that causes us troubles.  Matthew 12:43-45  “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

The prerequisite for the devil is that everything is in order, empty, and swept clean. 

In our walk in life, we have to accept the fact that our foes and friends either work for you or against you.  The same foe is in you, and we all come to ourselves in Christ.  We come with baggage, wrong ideas.  We may go to a deliverance church, or a church where there is no power or presence of the Holy Spirit, or a church with signs and wonders.  Some churches focus on prophesy, some on deliverance, some on preaching.  Certain churches have a sense of order, but there is no power of God demonstrated. There are Word churches, where the Word is preached and that leaves the door open for legalism, and in the bid for accuracy, there is little of the love and the flow of the Holy Spirit, so the church becomes dehumanized.

We need to hear from God.  The prophets can speak but you have to hear to get the word inside of you.  Our baggage has to be swept clean to accept the reality of the Word of God. We have to ask God to reveal and help us with it. 

We all have bad habits, and we have to realize that everyone is not against us, that that was the way we were, that we alienated ourselves.  Satan will make it easy for us to get what can defeat us.

For Pastor Don, sometimes that is distractions.

Pastor Don can order his steps, make a list, and people come to him with what they think is important, but it isn’t what God tells him is important.  He has to make a decision about who is a distraction and who isn’t.  Is this crisis something that is the fruit of a past thing, is it a present problem that needs dealing with, or is it something that is a future situation to be dealt with.  If Pastor Don moves some situation to the front of the list that means that another person is put lower in the list and has to wait – perhaps that makes the problem worse for the person who was moved lower on the list.  Other times there is an emergency that absolutely needs to be dealt with. That is where discernment comes in.

How do we distinguish?

Matthew 12:44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

It is the person’s responsibility to keep it clean and filled with God’s Word.

Matthew 12:45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.

We have to discern enroute as it is unfolding.  Is this an emergency, has the emergency already passed? And am I the one that has to do this? Never leave a vacuum as a vacuum needs to be filled.

Luke 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’  And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

We then looked at the previous verses.  Luke 11:18-23 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

If our goal is separate from Christ’s goal for our lives, then the devil comes with a distraction, that takes away what we trust.  If our trust is not in Christ, the devil can take away whatever we place our trust in, or money, power, ego, Lexus.  The evil one comes to take away what you trust.  When someone stronger is operating on the basis of faith, and your goals are in place, then distractions come.  Sometimes what you think is part of your plan is really a distraction.

Pastor Don said that if he had prepared a sermon for Sunday, and then God comes and shows him that he is to speak on another topic, even though he already has a sermon prepared. If Pastor Don preaches on the prepared sermon, than he is disobeying God in the Holy Place and is in serious trouble. The prepared sermon would be the distraction.

We want to maximize ourselves, get our house in order. We may not get it perfect every time.  Sometimes we realize it is a side trip, sometimes we get to a place and have to abort the situation. 

Satan will use all things to try and get us to change from God’s plan.  He will try to make adultery seem correct, to keep our marriages in trouble, and to make you spend your time in ways that are not God’s plan for you.

God spoke to the prophets, and we realize that faith comes by hearing – we hear our words and the power of the words.

We have to line up possibility with the gifts of the spirit and speak what God has already done.  God will give us the desires of our heart – and He can place those desires into our heart. We need to question if the desire we have is from God, or not.

What do you want?  God wants for us to have what He has already built into us. 

As we try wrong avenues, we will stumble on some good stuff, and learn how to line up our wills more and more with God’s perfect will for our lives.

Praying this blesses you.  I know it has impacted me, and touched some areas that I still need to work on.

Heather

Below is the most recent closed captioning that I did.  Remember … means a pause, what is in the brackets [  ] is what the congregation says. This is an incredible study that I really want to share.  This sermon was preached 6/8/08

Know the Season

We have an excellent opportunity…to live in a time period where as we examine the events that are occurring in the world, within the context of scripture, we find a very amazing thing.  That you are the generation, more than any other time in history, you can do this: You can turn on your television and understand what is going on in the prophetic.  It’s, a blessed opportunity and I want you to become efficient students of the Word, so that you can observe what is current events and what is also tied to prophetic events.  We’re living in an exciting time. 

I want to ask you a question today,  and that is:  if you knew how much time you had, how different would your life be?…Let me say that again. If you knew how much time you had, how different would your life be?  We make decisions sometimes based on assumptions. We assume, for example that, things that happen in the Bible are wonderful and they are true, but that their appointed time of being fulfilled or presented to us is somewhere way, way down the road.  That may be the case, but it also may not be the case. 

It may be that events are unfolding as Jesus said they would, as a pregnant woman.  Now, I’ve been around a lot of pregnant women in my life.  And the reality is, there’s first a hint of an event, then that hint becomes a declaration, and then that declaration becomes an emergency.  And so, what we have to understand, is that is what Jesus has prophesied.  He said that the end times events would begin  with just a birth pang.  And then those birth pangs are going to get closer and closer together in rapid succession…

So, what we need to focus upon, what our concern should be, our focus should be, is where do I fit in this total global thing here?  What is it going to take for me to realize that the Bible is true and therefore adjust my life according to the reality that pretty soon, events will be, will be coming so fast that it will be too late to plan? 

Maybe we’re there, but I want to bring to your attention a few things to just consider and look at.  And so, last night when I was preparing to do the Bible study, I thought, well, let’s, let’s go a few places quickly and I don’t think you mind if I talk in an overview, but you need to have a concept of, if the Bible is true, and if prophetic events are true, and if those prophetic events are unfolding on a daily basis on television, then we should be able to do what Jesus said.  He says, you’ll not know the day or the hour, but He said, we should know the season. Come on.  We should know the season, and if we are in that season, then there are a few things we should be conscious of. 

My purpose is not to scare you.  The only reason you would be scared is because you don’t understand the joy that you should have, in anticipation of the Coming of the Lord.  You should be more happy about that, than the fact that, oh, you mean I might not get a second vacation on the shore?  You will get a vacation on the shore, but it will be under the reigning and ruling of Jesus Christ.  And if you’re not careful, I might be governor over the beach that you want to go on.  [laughter]  We’ll, we’ll have to wait and see on that. 

So in Luke Chapter 21 we want to follow something that Jesus points out to us. And I’m, I’m not going to do the whole chapter because then I’d have to do all of Matthew 24 and and go to Luke 13.  But, I want to begin in the 20th verse and just show you something a, that’s of interest to you and to me.  So, we’re at Luke 21 beginning at verse 20.  “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.”  “…when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that it’s desolation is near.”  Now that prophesy, of course, will not be fulfilled until the very last moment in time.  But we can see that the stage is set, in that Israel does not have an ally anywhere near them…I said, they don’t have an ally anywhere near them.  They are surrounded by enemies on all sides.  And it only will take an event to bring those enemies into becoming an army.  So that hasn’t happened yet, but we see that the stage is set.  Can we see that? [yes] 

“Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”  So He’s saying, a time will come when the people that are in Judea, in the area of Jerusalem, they’ll be under great pressure.  We go to verse 23 and He talks about the level of distress and then in verse 24 He talks an interesting passage that has great significance.  “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” 

So, He’s talking here, about the end time destruction, and He is talking though, within the context, we have to get this in it’s correct historical period.  He is talking about the fact that at the end of AD 70, the Jews are going to be carried into other nations, and spread around the globe.  In verse 24, “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.”  Do you see that?  [yes]  That has already happened.  They were led away captive into all the nations.  And then it says, “…And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” 

Now, to understand this passage,  we’d have to look into the prophesies in Ezekiel, Daniel,  Matthew, and get a picture, but I want to just give you an overview.  God said that He would disperse the Jews to all of these nations and they would be there for a time period.  But He tells us how to count the time.  He says, they will be out of the land until the time of the Gentiles having control of Judea, having control of Jerusalem, until that comes to an end.  Fulfillment means end, doesn’t it?  [yes] 

So, what is He saying to us?  He says that you can look at the situation of the Jews, they will be taken captive out of the land.  And they will be captives in other places all over the globe.  And you can go everywhere in the planet, and you can find a Jew… There’s a Jewish merchant somewhere everywhere.  And that is because when AD 70 occurred, they put the Jews in chains. They took 900,000 Jews and dispersed them.  Some to Europe, some to China even, some to Japan, I mean not Japan, China, as far as they got.  I think they, they took a rowboat over to Japan.  They went to Europe, to Spain, to North Africa.  The Jews were dispersed everywhere that the Romans had a toe hold in a different nation.  So that’s why the Jews are just about everywhere. 

Then it says, that the land, Jerusalem, would be trampled upon by the Gentiles.  Well, when you have a country that was fairly flourishing, and then the people that lived there, left, then there were people that moved in… And this is where a good bit of the Palestinian struggle that we have today came, because the Bedouins and the Arabs and different people saw a vacuum, they saw houses and land that, and they moved into those places.  Alright?  Kind of taking up residence, not realizing that God had a tenant agreement with the Jews, which was that they would be returning to the place that He gave them. [amen]  Wow I thought there would get a bigger Amen than that. 

Nonetheless, whether you are with me or not, I’m going to keep going on.  So, the Jews left the land, spread out, but God determined that in the last days, in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and so forth He’s going to return them to the land, that they’re going to go back to their land.  The difference is, though, when they go back to their land it’s going to be under the control of the Gentiles. 

Mark Twain went there, how many of you remember Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens? You may know of him. Went there in the mid 1800′s and he said that Israel was a desolate land, that nothing grew there, and there were a few peoples wandering through, Arabs and a few people.  And he said, it was a land that no one would want.  Cause nothing grew there.  The reason nothing was growing there was because God had determined that He would, as a punishment to the Jews, He would take away the two rainy seasons…And so they didn’t have the former rain and the latter rain.  They didn’t have rain in the fall and the spring, as had been typical.  God, when He brought the Jews out of Egypt land, He said, I bring you into a land that you do not have to water with your foot…See, in Egypt land, they had to irrigate the land.  But when God is going to give them Canaan land, it is a land, He said, of rain and it is a land of streams and rivers.  So you won’t have to irrigate the land to grow crops. 

So Israel, Canaan land was a great prosperous land filled with wondrous growing, two growing seasons.  Can you ladies imagine that?  You have one growing season.  But could you imagine that, after you did it and you harvested in the fall, it would start raining again and you could harvest in the spring?  My goodness, what a country! Huh?  [amen]  Well, we don’t have that but Israel did. 

And so God says, when I put the Jews back in the land I will return unto them the former and the latter rain.  Those of us who went to Israel, saw a land flourishing, crops growing everywhere.  Flowers all year round.  Beautiful flowers and all because they have the former rain now, and the latter rain because God said, I will return them back into the land.  He says, I will call the Children of Israel from the places that I sent them to and they will begin to return to the land.  A miracle happened, and He said, I will birth the Nation again, but without war. 

In May 1948 there was a treaty made, established by the League of Nations, to declare… a homeland for the Jews.  So, Israel was born, not a shot was fired.  But that didn’t mean they were going to be able to keep it.  But nonetheless, Israel was born as a nation.  Now they only had a small segment of it.  They didn’t have control, yet, so the time of the Gentiles was not fulfilled.  And the reason it wasn’t was because the Arab nations around, when the Jews by the Belfour treaty received a homeland, the Arab nations that surrounded them, just as we read, hated them, and began to take their displaced indigent peoples and send them with a promise, go kill the Jews and you can have Jerusalem, Judea, and all of the land…This is how the Palestinian problem came about.  They took the people and their nations that had in Saudi Arabia and these other places, they took their people that had no jobs, had no connections, gave them guns, and said, go kill the Jews, and take back the land.  It was in our hands before, but no one wanted it. 

But when the Jews returned back in the land, an amazing thing happened.  The rains began to come again. Crops began to grow.  The Jews that came back from Europe, brought their money and their resources. And the Jews that came from Asia, brought their money and their resources. And as the land began to flourish, the Arab nations watched this and said, we’ve got to take back this land…  And that’s how the Palestinian issue became.  Those people decided, we’re going to take back the land, and after 1948 they armed themselves, and they attacked the Jews.  And the small handful of Jews that had no support from any other nation, US didn’t help, Britain didn’t help, Canada didn’t help, but these Jews. 

And, if you’ve never seen the movie  “The Exodus“, you should watch it because it’s really based on a historical truth. The Jews defended themselves, and were able, not only to hold onto the land, but to push the border a little bit.  But they didn’t get as far as the Biblical borders existed.  That didn’t happen until the Arabs that surrounded them, that hated them, once again, in 1967 decided, we’re going to now wipe the Jews off the face of the map.  The plan was to push the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea and take the land from them.  So when we follow it, it’s called the 67 War because that’s when it happened.  It was a surprise attack against Israel. The Israelis were outnumbered, some 10 to 1, and guess who won?  [Israel] 

The historical record shows miracle after miracle was done. I’ll just give you one example.  The Egyptians had 100 tanks come up over a ridge. The Israelis had about 10 or 20 tanks coming to take them on in combat.  When they came up over a ridge, they saw this great, huge angel in glowing white.  The Egyptians jumped out of their tanks and ran back to Egypt.  [laughter and applause]  Leaving the tanks running.  So the Israelis left their tanks, got in the Egyptian tanks and drove them back to, to Israel.  [laughter]  These cases like that have been documented and, a make wonderful stories, but it is the hand of God protecting the Jews even then. 

Now, here’s an interesting point that I would just like to deposit with you.  After the end of the 67 War, the border of Israel was now pushed to Lebanon in the North as it was during the time of Joshua.  It was pushed to the South to Egypt, It was pushed all the way over to what we now know and discuss as the Gaza strip and so forth.  And they went beyond that, and should have held on to it, but with different treaties and all they gave up more of the Eastern portion of the land than they should have.  And they pushed all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. 

When that happened, the Jews that continued to return, after 1967, we saw what Biblical scholars, you can agree or disagree, but what Biblical scholars call the end of the time of the Gentiles…Everybody got that?  Alright?  So, let’s look at this verse again, and then let’s put this in context and then I want to ask you a question. 

In verse 24, the second half says, you will “….be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”… Since 1967 the Israeli government, the Knesset and organizations have their own President.  They have had control over this land.  In the north to Lebanon, South, Egypt, so forth.  They have control of the land.  The Gentiles no longer control the land.  [hallelujah] 

Now in verse 29 He says, “…Look at the fig tree and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is…” what? [now near]  “that summer is now near.”  Well, the fig tree is given us as an example, or a picture of Israel.  When you see Jesus talking about the fig tree,  He’s talking about Israel.  He says that take the fig tree, it’s dying.  He says, dig around the roots, let me tend to it, you know, like a farmer attending. And then, You can come and cut it down and so forth and so on.  That was a picture of Jesus coming to the Jews, watering them with the Word of God, cultivating them, digging around the roots, trying to get them to change, but they didn’t and so, the Father then had to cut it down. 

And so He says here, “Look at the fig tree,  and all the trees.” Representing His peoples.  He says, “When they are already budding,”  When they are budding, meaning when they’re coming into fruit.  Coming into their  season.  Right now, more Jews are being brought to the Lord than at any other time in the history of the planet.  [amen]  Statisticians say they are coming at the rate, rate of over 70,000 a year.  And when you consider there’s only about,  6 to 7 million Jews in Israel, and the number of Jews worldwide and in other places are dwindling, as more make what they call Aliyah, back. There used to be more Jews in the five boroughs in New York, [laughter].  But now, it’s become unbalanced and there are more Jews now in Israel than there are in New York.  [hallelujah]  Amen!  So they, I would consider that we should be able to say that they are budding. That they’re coming into a beautiful place. 

And He says in 31, “So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you…” Everybody ready?  [yes] “…this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.“  Now, what generation?  Well it has to be the generation, watch this now, the generation that is alive to see that the time of the Gentiles is over, and it has to be the generation that is seeing Israel bud…  [amen] Let me take that again.  Can I help you with this?  Come on now.  Come on now. Put your thinking caps on. 

He says, this generation will not pass away.  Meaning the generation of people who see Israel come into its own.  See Israel establish the time of the Gentiles.  See Israel come into budding.  See them become fruitful.  Israel is a phenomenally fruitful land right now.  And, and He says, when you see them coming into their fruit, they’re coming into their fruit spiritually because they are finally hearing the Gospel and receiving the Messiah.  They’re coming into their fruit financially, economically, and militarily because they’re one of the most powerful nations on the earth.  They are coming into their fruit spiritually as well as materially.  And so, He says, the generation that sees that happen, the generation that sees the time of the Gentiles end, He says, that generation will not pass away until [clap] the end times.  [hallelujah]  Alright? 

Now, let’s figure this out a little bit…I want to just make sure we have time for this.  And then I want to give you the last part of this.  Alright?  Now in 1967, we would have to ask ourselves then, how long is a generation?  How could we figure out the time period of a generation?  Well, we’re talking Bible stuff here, isn’t that right?  We’re talking Bible… Well, we’d have to take what is the Bible say a generation is.  Alright?  The Bible defines a generation as about 52 years…52 years.  You can understand this in that a, if a man has children, and the children come into adulthood in his young 20′s, then by the time he is 52, he has actually seen the end of his generation and the beginning of his grandchildren’s.  And so, the Bible clocks us.  And we can go through the, the time periods of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  And we can look at when God says, that was the end of that generation.  And it comes out to be 52 years.  Ok, everybody got that?  How long’s a generation?  [52 years]  Yeah, right, Bible generation. 

Some of us call a generation 70, but that can’t be because by 70 everybody, you’re going to croak.  So how can that be your generation?  You wouldn’t be in your generation, you’d be past it.  Alright, so let’s stick with Biblical terms.  A generation being approximately 52 years.  So, now, you can do the math.  Have you already?  [yes]  Now, the Bible tells us that there is a thing called, in the book of Daniel, we call it the time periods given of Daniel.  And there he gives us a period of 70 years.  Anybody know what that’s called?….Who said that?  Give my secretary a hand.  [applause]  Cheri’s the second smartest person in this church cause she reads all the stuff I write.  [laughter] 

So we have 70 prophetic weeks of Daniel but it turns out those weeks are not weeks but they’re actually symbolic for years.   And we get to the 69th week, before the 70th week, and all time stops for the Jews.  And the reason it stops is because at that point, they are out of the land, they are in this thing called the Diaspora, they’re dispersed, and so forth and so time stops at the 69th week.  And I can go into more detail about that.  He says that, that last week of 7 years, the last week of 7 years is a time of trouble. 

In the book of Jeremiah, God calls it a cup of trembling for the whole nations.  In other words, Israel will be, watch this now, its such a great prophetic thing.  Israel which is a small nation in size, it’s a little bit bigger than Rhode Island…But this small nation will be a cup of trembling.  And what He’s saying is, it’s as if men got together from all the nations, and they’re going to drink a toast, but it concerns Israel,  and their hands are shaking, and they’re trembling.  And, that is because the events of the world, right now, and have been since 1967, have been focused on what’s happening in Israel, because it could tip the scale to World War overnight.  [amen]  It could embroil the whole world. Everything is tied around this little nation. 

That alone is enough prophesy to believe in God.  [amen]  That right there.  I mean there are other nations, bigger than that, that couldn’t tip the scale…You know, if Uganda went to war tomorrow, we would be concerned about it, but it wouldn’t tip the scale into a world war.  But if a world war breaks out, if war breaks out in Israel, amongst the Arab nations,  the  oil problem gets worse instantly.  Gold and diamond problems get worse instantly.  Just a myriad of problems.  So, anyway, it’s says that it would be a cup of trembling in the last days.  What we see going on in Israel.  We’ll have to watch it all the time.  Nations, leaders from all the nations go there and try and solve problems.  Because everything is tied into this little bitty nation, out in the middle of, of the Mediterranean. 

So, now, here’s what we get.  We get that at the 69th week, God put a prophetic stop to time.   And He says this, He says that He will bring the people back into the nation, and then at a certain time, that 7 year clock of the last week of Daniel, 7 days in a week, but each day represents a year.  That clock of the last 7 years of all the history of the New Testament coming together, the Old Testament coming together, the book of Revelation talks about it.  It calls it the period of this great tribulation.  The tribulation gets kicked off in part, because at the beginning of the tribulation, we have this event that is called the rapture.  We have this event  of a supernatural catching away of the believers.  [amen]  Alright?  And I could bury you in scripture concerning it. I’ve, I’ve written over five pages and handed it out of scriptures that all point to it.  And maybe, you know, one time, we’ll go back through it again. 

But anyway, if this event happens at the beginning of the 7 years, then the first group of saints are no longer on the planet.  Those that didn’t believe the Gospel are stuck here.  Those that didn’t believe in the Second Coming of the Lord are stuck here.  Those that went to church, you know the whole church is not going.  The only part of the church that’s going in the rapture are those who have faith for it.  Those who believe it’s coming.  If you don’t believe that Jesus is coming and the rapture, no problem.  My tapes will be sitting out here in the Lobby after I’m gone.  You can get the tapes and figure out what to do, cause you’re stuck here during the worst time period of the history of the world.  Have at it. There’s enough videos and tapes to keep you going. 

Now, if we take 1967 as the time of the end of the Gentiles, and if we add 52 years, to that, do the math, 67 and 52, we end up at the year 2019.  Meaning that, that generation  will pass away by the year…2019.  But, we have 7 years of the period of the tribulation.  So, if we subtract those 7 years, which will be the time period of the tribulation, what do you, what do you end up with?  [2012] You end up with 2012…  Okay?  How many years is it from now till then?  [4 years] 

***

This was a thought provoking sermon, praying it blessed you.

Heather

Pastor Don did a quick review for those who missed last Friday’s Bible study. He pointed out that we needed to understand who Melchizedek was to gain an understanding of the priesthood of Christ.  All priests, except Christ, have their roots in Levitical priesthood. Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi.  His priesthood has nothing to do with the Levitical priesthood. He is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. This is a priesthood that is older than that of the Levitical priesthood. And, except for Jesus, there is NO priest of the order of Melchizedek.

We looked at Hebrews 7:17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Psalm 110:4  The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” 

David was prophesying about Christ, and this was spoken before Jesus was born. David was prophesying under the unction of the Holy Spirit, and it was written into scripture. David was establishing something that was to come. 

With prophetic words we can either accept them or reject them. This is a standard we fight against all our life. Whether it is a true or a false prophesy, we still have to deal with it. We either work against the word, or it sets a standard for us that we can always believe in.

We are always living with the child of the past, either exalted or dismissive. What has produced bondage in us always wants to manifest in our lives. When we see things arise that we don’t want to manifest, we need to make a decision to not give into it.

We need to ask ourselves if what is surfacing is still relevant or not. If your parents have told you that you are ugly and no one would want you, you may be living in that rejection and acting it our, or else you have determined that what they have said is not true. But the initial statement is still there for you to deal with in your life.

We need to remember that words spoken against you can shape your future.  Your future is always before you. 

Pastor Don shared that in elementary school his principal had him read the Old Testament to the student body once a week.  Little did she know that this would shape what he does now, as Pastor Don does read the Word of God in front of the church today.

Negative input is just as powerful as positive input, and our destiny is what we believe.

We hear prophesies spoken over us, and see the context.  Our inner child of the past fights over seed that someone planted. If you lived a life of rejection, when you come to Jesus you may fear that Jesus will not stick with you in the midst of your stuff, that He may reject you as well. 

A word of prophesy can make you or break you depending on what you do with it.

Psalm 110 is a Prophesy about Jesus.

Psalm 110:1 The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

David could only see this through the Holy Spirit, only then could he say, The LORD (God) said to my Lord (Jesus).

Psalm 110:2-3  The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.

Jesus will die in His youth (33 yrs) and not get to old age.

Psalm 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever  according to the order of Melchizedek.” 

God will not take that back, it is forever.

Psalm 110:5-7 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.  He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up the head.

What a powerful prophesy!  Jesus was a carpenter.  When this verse mentions water from a brook, it shows that He established the covenant.  Jesus was over David, but under the Father.

David was a minstrel, and his music helped to soothe King Saul’s demonic moments,  God intends for us to be overcomers.  What are you going to do about what happens?  King Saul, instead of sinking into depression, sought a minstrel to help raise his spirits and banish those demonic thoughts. Jeremiah requested a minstrel.  When the presence of God comes, then there can be no fear.  We are priests and kings under God. And when we are not in a right mood, or we are too immersed in ourselves, we need to bring ourselves to the presence of God.  Listen to holy, anointed music. My help comes from the Lord.

Hebrews 7:17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

This comes from the mouth of David concerning Christ.  We have to know what is prophesied over us, and line up with the prophesy or fight against it. 

After Jesus reads the prophesy in the temple, he speaks the correct prophesy over His life.
We are responsible to speak our prophesies into our lives, or counter them.  We are played like a violin. 

Someone asked about what happens if you hear an ungodly prophesy, and in error accept this wrong prophesy as truth. 

Pastor Don said, what does the Bible say?

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

We are the righteousness of God.  God will not leave us or forsake us.  We are VICTORS not victims.  We are the OVERCOMERS, not the overcome.

If there are messages that you have received that are not beneficial to you, don’t play back those messages.  Remember, the Bible says that you shall have what you SAY.   Say God’s truth about yourself, not those negative messages.

Your thought life IS your life.  Proverbs 23:7a  For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. What you are thinking you speak, and you shall have what you say.

We need to pay attention to what we are saying, to process the Word in our mouth.  What I feed my mind, and when I say the right things, I can control my destiny by what I prophesy over myself.

Hebrews 7:18-19 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Jesus and the New Covenant are our better hope.

Hebrews 7:20-21 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The LORD has sworn and will not relent, ‘ You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’”),

Jesus’ office is greater than that of the priests who are priests according to Levitical Law.  There was no oath spoken from God concerning the Levitical priests specifically. But God, the Father, spoke an oath over Jesus.

Hebrews 7:22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

It is a better covenant because it is by an oath of God.

Hebrews 7:23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.

As Pastor Don said, the Levites all croaked. They all perished and died. Unlike Jesus, who is eternal. That is why those churches who claim that they have a priesthood of the order of Melchizedek are in error, for all earthly priests die, and thus do not meet the criterion of the priesthood of the order of Melchizedek. The only way to qualify for the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is by what is stipulated in Hebrews 7:3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

Christ is and was and ever shall be. He is God and was with God before the world was created.  He never died.  His flesh died, but there was no termination of His life.  He is eternal. 

A priest on the earth is mortal.  The Bible tells us that we are all priests and kings.   As a priest we are as a servant.  A pastor is not a pastor over us, but a servant. Our job is to get the Gospel to people before Judgement Day.

Pastor Don responded to another question by telling us that sometimes we are sad, and lock ourselves away in pain, self medicate.  Drinking and taking drugs to get away from ourselves. But when we decide to live, how deep is the love of God!!!! Power is bestowed with prophesy (speaking forth the Word of God).  We can either speak words of death or words of life. Sometimes when we speak what we think is the truth (what our senses tell us) we speak death to somebody.

We need to ask ourselves is this the truth?  Does it help me to say it or does it do damage?

The way we do things speaks louder than what we say or do.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Christ makes intercession for us.  It is the saving power of Christ, and it is to the UTTERMOST, if you are the GUTTERMOST. His (Christ’s) consciousness is not shortened. God can do SOMETHING about ANYTHING. No one is beyond saving, help, or change as soon as you let Him (Christ). Go to the Lord, reach your arms out to Him. You are His children, salvation totally is available to you. Wholeness, wellness, mental capacity, all things are available to you. Plead your case before the Father and rely on His deliverance for us.

Hebrews 7:26  For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

He is HOLY and UNDEFILED, and higher than the heavens.

Hebrews 7:27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Jesus is without sin. But the Levitical priesthood and priests and pastors on earth all have sin. Today the Jewish people are in a real pickle.  Since the crucifixion, since the sacrifice is no longer able to be offered, there is no rabbi to declare that their sins are covered. They have no capacity to say that sins are atoned for. Only Jesus was able to offer up the perfect sacrifice, for He was without sin.

God had a plan and covenanted with David and Moses to bring back people into relationship with God. Even though they rejected the Law, God did not reject His people. Moses told God, Exodus 33:15-17 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

Moses knew that He did not want to go into the Promised Land without God.

Had God killed Moses there would have been no plan for the sacrifice of Christ. God made us in His image, and we can change our minds for the better.

In response to a question about God’s anger, Pastor Don reminded us, that after the Israelites built the idol, God told Moses to get down out of the mountain so that he could work up his anger. God is in control of His emotions, His emotions do not control Him. We are in His image, so we need to be in control of our emotions too.

Pastor Don concluded the Bible study by reminding us that everything else is secondary if we know that Jesus saves to the uttermost. Even when things seem out of control in our lives, we need to know that HE is ALREADY working on our problems and HAS RESOLVED it.

I pray that your day is blessed!

Heather

Part One of this teaching can be found here. 

Because Abraham obeyed God and did not deal with the King of Sodom, rather tithed to Mekchizedek, God was able to release the following to Abraham.

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

God rewarded Abraham for the tithes and for entering into right relationship. God would not have punished Abraham for making an error in Genesis 14, but when Abraham refused the King of Sodom’s offer, Abraham received God as his reward.

No other nation except the Hebrews gave honor to Melchizedek, King of Salem, King of Peace, who brings bread and wine – a new covenant as communion. Because of the bread and wine, we know that He is part of God. The greater one always blesses the lesser one. Abraham received a blessing from the greater.

When God needed to send for Abram, he needed someone in Canaan who could do the job.

If the King of Salem is only a man, not God, why did the Bible not include the rest of the story of His life? The only other mention of the King of Salem is not until Hebrews 6-7.

Abram received his promise and then 25 years go by. He held onto that one vision for 25 years. Most of us can’t stand waiting for an answer from God for 2 weeks.

When we are born again, a weight was lifted off of us.  Something in our lives gets tied to our hopes and we give it to Him, then we can breathe fresh. The burden is gone. The Lord took that burden. He can do in us what He wants to do with the old stuff. We really have to trust in Him.

Hebrews 7:1-2 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”

(Heather’s note: I put back up 1-2, just to let you see the whole passage. In our study at this point, we were just looking at verse 3)

Hebrews 7: 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

No father, no mother, no genealogy, no beginning of days or end of life. this is IMPORTANT to our faith. There are those who try to sell degrees for people to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek for $25.  People misquote this passage a lot. NONE OF US are kings in the order of Melchizedek. We have a mom and a dad, a genealogy, and a beginning and an end to our days. Unless we have all those conditions detailed in verse 3, we cannot be qualified to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:4-5 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;

The sons of Levi received tithes, and that was a priesthood established. The Jews brought the tithe to God, 1/10 (actually they gave about 22%) and some was brought to the temple, some to charity, food, clothing, lodging on their travels to the feast days, and the Levites received a portion of the tithes. But because they received the tithe does not qualify them to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek. We know the genealogy of the Levites. We know the genealogy of any priest in this day and age who calls themselves a priest under the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:6-7 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

The lesser (Abraham) was blessed by the better (Melchizedek).

Hebrews 7:8-9 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

Levi received tithes through Abraham, for he was related to Abraham through that genealogy.

Hebrews 7:10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Levi was not born yet when Melchizedek blessed Abraham. All the Levites still have their genealogy through Abraham.

Verse 8 tells us that they are mortal men, and they received their tithes through Abraham.

Hebrews 7:11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?

The Levitical priesthood did not produce perfection, for they were under the law, and were imperfect in keeping the law. If they would have been able to perfectly keep the law, there would not have been a need for any other priest to have come from the Order of Melchizedek. And yet, one other priest came under the order of Melchizedek (Jesus). And we need to remember that this order of priesthood was BEFORE that of the Levites.

Hebrews 7:12-13 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

Jesus. Yeshua stands in that category of life. All Levitical priests were mortal men like us. Unlike Jesus, they cannot bring to the altar a full payment for our debt of sin. Only the priesthood before the Levitical priests (Melchizedek) could fill that category to men. Melchizedek is NOT MORTAL.

In Verse 12 there was a change of law. The law was in effect in the hearts of men since Adam. Seth, Cain, Abel, and Noah knew what was in the mind and heart of God and choose to do either good or evil. They knew what was good or evil before it was written out. People messed up so much, and so Moses gave the law in a more tangible form.

God’s desire, as shown in Ezekiel, is that we would not need a teacher, but that the law would be written on our hearts and that everyone would know God, from the least to the greatest. The promise of the dry bones, that we would receive new flesh, a new heart, a new mind, and know God.

Hebrews 7:13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.

Melchizedek was a priest unto the Lord BEFORE THE LAW, before Moses led the people out of Egypt, even before the people went to Egypt.

Hebrews 7:14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Judah, Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah, and until later there was no priest out of Judah. Jesus was not a Levite.

Hebrews 7:15-16 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

The Law is good. People needed the law so that they would know how to live life God’s way. Jesus was of the tribe of Judah and became a priest. Jesus was not a priest according to his genealogy, not from a mortal line, but from the order of Melchizedek. Since Jesus is God, he fits the qualification of ENDLESS LIFE.  Jesus is the only one who existed with the Father in Heaven before time, thus has an endless life. His flesh was in the tomb, but Jesus never died. He was never spiritually dead to the Father.  We were spiritually dead, we all sinned and didn’t repent. Jesus is the only one who never died.

Pastor Don spoke about the statement from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  This was written in Aramaic, and Jesus never spoke in Aramaic. Pastor Don looked up the literal translation of this verse, and it did not imply that God forsook Jesus. What it says, is “My God, My God, I have been forsaken for this purpose.”

God has a Spirit body, not a physical body.

God has emotions and a mind. When Jesus was human he had a body, now Jesus has a resurrected body. We can recognize Him because the Spirit has a body. The Spirit body also has a mind, will and emotions.

The Holy Spirit has emotions – for we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Spirit loves the Lord.

Our souls have a mind, will and emotions. At the time of Judgment, we are in the Spirit. When we die, our physical body goes into the earth, but our spirit takes dominion, and it also has mind, will and emotions.

There is no such thing as soul sleep as the Jehovah Witnesses teach, for we are told that to be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord.

Hebrews 7:17-18 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:  “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates

Melchizedek was a preincarnate form of the Word of God (Jesus). He knew who He was, that He was God. And we see him again in the form of Jesus.

Heather

Guess what, we have moved from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7!!!!!!! This was a Friday, May 30 Bible study, so I am catching up!!! Is it hot by you? It sure is hot here.

 Hebrews 7:1-3 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

Pastor Don told us that there are organizations who are offering diplomas for being a Priest in the order of Melchizedek, but that is something that is impossible to offer, because no one on earth can meet the conditions laid out in the above three verses.  They cannot be a priest continually, and we all have a father and a mother, but Melchizedek was without father, without mother, without genealogy. Having neither beginning of days (we all were born), and end of life (we all will die). People in many cults have tried to change the scriptures, and they try to convince us that Christ is just a prophet, or not really God and human simultaneously. The Jehovah Witnesses try to tell us that Jesus is just an archangel. But they are not reading the Bible as it is written.

We then went to look at where Melchizedek was first mentioned in the Bible.

Genesis 14:18  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

Abram took several of his servants and rescued Lot after an attack on Sodom and Gomorrah by attacking kings. Abram was able to bring back Lot and his family, and all the others who were captured, as well as all the loot. After Abram and his family, including Lot had come to the land where God showed him, the families began to grow, and after a time there were conflicts between Lot’s servants and Abram’s servants. Abram offered Lot the opportunity to select where he would settle and Abram would go elsewhere. Lot chose an easy course near Sodom and Gomorrah. But that was to Lot’s detriment. When we get too attached to this world, and are in close proximity to the culture and elements of that society, you can be destroyed by that. So Lot and his family were captured. Abram came to the rescue.

We then looked at a few earlier verses to get a better picture.  Genesis 14:8-13 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.

Pastor Don told us that in those days a king was a person who was wealthy, and was an overseer of land. There was no established government, just money and power established who was a king. Those who needed to raise money for themselves and their families would swear allegiance to a king, and serve him. This was close to a feudal type of kingship with each king having about 50 – 100 people under them. Some of the men fighting might be professional warriors, but many were just the “serfs” on the land. In those days, most kings had about 50 warriors. And also in those days, if a man saw a wife he liked, he would just take her, sort of like property. Women were not protected until Judaism came into being. In this passage we see a group of kings who agreed to get together. 

Abram was responsible for Lot, for he was the elder brother.

Genesis 14:14  Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. (Heather’s note, I have it noted that the distance marched by these people was 120 miles)

Abram would go to battle with 318 trained servants. Pastor Don reminded us that in those days, a servant would serve a set number of days and then his period of service would be over and he and his wife and children could leave.  If a servant married while under the service of the master, the wife would not be free to go. Slavery in this time was far different from what was called slavery that we had in our country. Often, the servant was so well treated by the master, like one of the family, that he willingly chose to remain with the master for life, and the master would take care of the servant and his family. The slavery that the United States had would have been considered barbarian by those in Abram’s day.

In the Bible, there was the year of Jubilee, where every 50th year all were set free. Also, a slave could purchase his freedom. Remember the story of Ruth with the kinsman redeemer, your family could purchase your freedom.

When Abram was barren, he despaired to God that Eleazer would inherit the goods – Eleazer was a slave in Abram’s house, but more like a member of the family. When the slave chose to remain with his master, the master would take an awl and punch a hole in the slave’s ear as a sign that he chose to remain with his master. In those days, to have a number of servants who chose to remain spoke well of the master.

We are now reintroducing men wearing jewelry – which was in that day a symbol of being a slave, and satan has turned it into a fashion statement.

When the Romans invaded, they permitted people to hold onto their cultures. For the Jews, if they loaned money to another Jew they were not permitted to add interest. They could charge interest to a Gentile, but anything more than 3% was considered usuary. Our US economy by those standards is way beyond usuary, and we will be paying for such greed in our economy.

Anyway, Lot was a blood relative, and Abram had a responsibility to recover Lot’s slaves, wives, goods, and family, for Lot was Abram’s nephew.

In Genesis they call Lot a brother, but close family members were considered brothers even though technically the relationship was that of uncle and nephew.

Notice that Abram brought 318 trained servants. They were born in Abram’s house and would fight.

Genesis 14:15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

That was a long way to pursue them.

Genesis 14:16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

If every grandchild and grandchild and great grandchild considered you an enemy, then people would seek to wipe you out. King David brought Mephibosheth into his house. He was the only one left alive, and all other descendants of King Saul were killed. It was practical wisdom to destroy all of the enemy to protect your household. Pastor Don mentioned that you had to keep your enemy closer than your friends.

Solomon takes the life of one brother who asked to have one of David’s concubines. He was killed, immediately in the Temple, because of the concubine had had a child, that child would have had a right to Solomon’s throne.

Notice that all the goods were brought back.

Genesis 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

They are in the King’s valley, and then the important event happens after this.

Genesis 14:18-19  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:  “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;

This flies in the face of those who try and say that there were no priests until the time of Moses. Enoch was translated, favored by God and He walked with the Lord. Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to God, and God looked at the heart. They ministered unto the Lord.  God had established a law and it was in the hearts of man. That is why God was so upset when he saw in Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

They did what they wanted, did not minister to the Lord, and bring the offerings to the Lord. The people in Egypt honored God. That is why God could send people into Egypt, because they knew God, they had law and order, and peace. Akhenaton worshiped one God (the sun god), and they Egyptians knew that God created the world.

Acts 10:34-38  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. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— that word 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.

God revealed himself to all who chose to see him. Romans 1:20-23 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 

When Albert Schweitzer entered Africa, the evil witchdoctors wanted to kill and eat him, but the chief who knew the creator told them not to touch him.

The demons and satan introduced idol worship,

All men know God, and if they walk away from Him, there is a part of our brain that seeks after God, and wonders who is my creator? If a person continually seeks for their creator, they will find Him.

Someone did research with people who spoke in tongues and found that there was a part of their brain that was activated, that isn’t active at any other time.

Genesis 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High

This priesthood had no temple, no Mosaic law. Salem is another name for Jerusalem. This Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High BEFORE Moses. We can infer his identity by the gifts he brings – bread and wine. Same as when Jesus gave bread and wine at the Last Supper.

Genesis 14:19-20 And he blessed him and said:  “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;  And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

How did he know that the enemies were delivered into Abram’s hands? Abram gives Melchizedek a tithe of all, and Melchizedek was coming in the position of priest.

Today people want to kill the tithe. There have been studies that show that many people only give 1-2% to the church, some give 3-4% to missions. There is an assumption that giving to the church makes pastors rich, but that is not true. We are giving the tithe to the Lord. Abram gave a tithe OF ALL.

Genesis 14:21-24 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”  But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,  that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

The King of Sodom wanted souls, and was willing to give goods to Abram.  But, because Abram had met Melchizedek first, he was able to not be pulled into this plan of the king of Sodom.  He promised the King of Salem, Melchizedek, not to take even a sandal strap. He did not want the king of Sodom to claim any part of Abram’s riches as coming from the king of Sodom.

After Abraham entered into covenant with Melchizedek, then God was able to release the covenant to Abram as detailed in Genesis Chapter 15.

I will continue this tomorrow, with Genesis Chapter 15.

I pray you stay cool.

Heather

I am so glad I got to transcribe this excellent sermon, it is so very important for us all to think about this. Pastor Don was so passionate in teaching this that I am including the video of his sermon if you have 30 minutes to listen to it. I recommend you skip over about 2 minutes at the beginning so you don’t have to hear that hum. I hope you can watch the video. I have included the written transcript, slightly edited for easier reading in case you don’t want to watch the video. Remember three dots … means a pause. And what is written in brackets [ ] is what the congregation says.

Lay it Down

But today I want to talk to you about lay it all down…  I said, lay it all down. [amen] I had been asking the Lord about a message all week, and I had some wonderful ideas. I had some good stuff. But this kept reverberating and I kept thinking, well that’s not what I’m supposed to minister on. And so, last night when I went to sleep, I was pretty sure that I had come up with something that would work but I spoke to the Lord and I said, “But Lord, I need you to give it to me exactly the way you want.” And I went to bed and I left it with Him. This morning when I woke up, my wife…looks at the mirror, and Mrs. Moore, would you just  stand and tell them what the mirror said? [laughter] And so, it looked like lay, lay pie all dimensions to her. But in the dark as I wrote it with the bar of soap, it said, lay it all down. [laughter] And, [more laughter]… need a translation here. Talking about tongues and interpretations, right. [laughter] This is mirror and interpretations. So I wrote that on the mirror. So what I’m giving you is what, after I went back to bed and laid down, the Lord gave me/ And then this morning I went and sat at my table and wrote down the scriptures, that will get this across over to you. 

In life we all, and that’s all of us, we all have desires and things that we want, and things that we need. And quite often, we will make certain choices as we pick the things that we want and the things that we need. And then for a while we commit them to God, and then out of habit we…uncommit them to God and take them back. Come on, right?  Haven’t you ever done that? And so, we, we have these practices that our flesh leads us to of depositing certain things with God, and then taking them back. You know, we will say, well, I’m committed. And we stay committed to the Lord for whatever reason for a purpose and a time. 

We’ll be committed to getting our bodies healthy and we will work out for three weeks, and then at the end of the three weeks, when we’ve lost two or three pounds, we’re starting to look good, we get busy going back to the same old habit that, come on now… anybody here?  [amen]  And so what we do is we pick back up our bad habits, and then we, you know, it’s hard.  I can understand to a certain extent. It’s hard not to be 23, and 119 pounds and love yourself. Because there are very few, most of the 119 pound 23 year olds are wackos. [laughter] Sorry. [more laughter]… Because they are so enamored with themselves and their physical bodies that they have taken back upon themselves the things that are not of value. The things that will not last. 

And so, when we get out of proportion because we pick up things from the world, amen, we pick up the things from the world, or we pick up things from the back corners of the closets of our mind, or we pick up the habits and the training that the world has set us to. We find that we get to a place where we didn’t take that and we go run to the altar of the Lord and we lay that on the altar, and say, “Jesus, you have it. You’ve got it. I’m laying it all down.” But then as we turn to walk away, a part of us reaches back, lays hold to it, and drags it along with us as we pretend that we have laid it all down. And we just bring it with us until eventually it rises up again and we are, as the Bible says, we’re back where we started. Or we are in worse shape. Amen. And so, then our condition is worse. 

My heart goes out to people that have bad flesh habits, and then they want to change those habits and then get hooked back in deeper than they were before. Come on now, amen.  And so we have to get to a place that when we look at this thing of laying it down. We have to just deposit some things with God, and not pick them up again. One of my favorite verses of scripture says, “Cast your cares upon the Lord.” 

Now casting your cares, I’m a fisherman. I love to fish. And when you take your fishing rod, and you cast it, you are throwing it far away from you… [amen] Is that not right? You are casting it, you are throwing it far away from you. The only difference is that Jesus is saying, after you throw it far away from you, cut the line. [laughter]… He is saying, cast your cares upon the Lord, because He cares for you, but, if we throw it out there and keep the lines connected, come on somebody…I’m helping you now. I’m helping me. If you cast it out there and keep the line connected, guess what…you are leaving yourself in position to reel it in again. [yes] And when you reel it in again, no telling what’s coming up. [whew] 

I felt like I was in a movie last year. My wife and I were out fishing and you know, I had a good bite, and whatever, whatever, and I’m reeling and it’s very heavy. It’s a very heavy thing. I mean, it’s really heavy. It was so heavy that it was pulling the boat against the anchor. Cause I had a very strong line. I have 40 pound test on. I was trying to catch a monster. [laughter] I was looking for Moby Dick. If he was out there, he’s in the boat. You know what I mean? He was not getting away. But I reeled in, and as I kept reeling, I kept reeling in, it got so heavy that I began to lift it and fight it and lift it. I knew at that point it wasn’t a fish, cause a fish runs and tries to move. And this was just dead weight coming up. And as the dead weight came up, I had pulled up the electrical line that runs across the Hudson River. [laughter]  [oh my goodness!]…  I hope nobody from Central Hudson’s listening to this. [laughter] But that cable was huge. It was huge and it had wire and rubber and all things. And as I looked I realized that my hook was embedded in part of it. And I had to make a decision. Yes, it was one of my favorite hooks. One of my favorite lures. But it was connected to thousands of wattage of death, pure death. [laughter] Pure blow up the boat and my wife at the same time. [laughter]… Right, so, I had to do what? I had to reach over, grab my fishing knife and do what? Cut the line! I had to lay it down. I had to cut it and lay that thing back into the river from whence it came…

There’s some stuff in our worlds that are like that wire. We will fight very hard to raise it up off of the bottom of the muck and mire of sin and destruction. And we’ll pull it and we will fight at it and we’ll try to get it, get it up. There’s some stuff in our minds that is just wrong thinking, that is the thinking of destruction and death, but we just get so locked on it. There’s some emotions that are just down in here, of resentment and hate and disgust, that we’re just reeling it in, we’re just reeling it in. There’s some stuff that we reel in, and it is death!…We need to lay it down! Cut the line before we explode! [yes, yes, amen]  Somebody say, amen.  [amen]  I hate to get so dramatic. But sometime maybe if I get dramatic somebody will get a picture. Wait a minute! I need to lay that down. I need to separate myself from it for it reeks of disaster. [yes]…

Go to the book of Acts, Chapter 2…I was looking at a research study on fear…many years ago, and this really surprised and shocked me…they said, that there are many things that people fear…And to my surprise, I thought that the number one thing would be fear of death, or fear of divorce or separation, or fear of abandonment…I was sort of looking for those things. But it said that the number one most fearful experience for people is the fear of public speaking….Yeah, that’s what it said. Cathy, you couldn’t possibly know anything about  that. [laughter] I mean, she’ll talk to anybody anywhere.  She’s a great salesperson.  So she has overcome her fear of speaking. Amen….But there are others of you that are listening right now, that the thought of being up here in my place and speaking to people, I’ve seen people perspire when I say to them, you have a Word, why don’t you bring it?…And the little drop of perspiration will start, just start right there, and a little twitch will start in their left eye, and start twitching, and their eye…[laughter]  And I realize that they start grinding their hands, that, you know to speak, wait a minute I’ll sing, I’ll dance, I’ll burp my kid, but don’t ask me to come up here and speak in public.  And it said, fear of speaking. 

One guy that had that fear just like that was the Apostle Peter…. Peter was a fisherman. He thought of himself as not a very intelligent person. But he also realized that he was a sinful man. I said, he also realized he was a sinful man. [amen] You know, God wants to help you, but you’re going to have to get to the first place which is the truth. The truth is, that you have sinful desires. So, when Jesus preaches from Peter’s boat, Peter doesn’t get up on the boat and make a public speech. He just goes over privately to Jesus and says, do me a favor, get out of my boat, get away from me, I’m a sinful man. So he could discern holiness from evil and he could discern that Jesus was special and that he (Peter) had sin. But one thing we don’t see is, it takes a long time before we realize that Peter, the fisherman, the uneducated dude, becomes a public speaker because he reaches into a place where he’s willing to lay himself down in order to achieve the purpose of God. 

Look at it here in Acts, Chapter 2, verse 14. They’d just received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it says, “But Peter,” It almost kind of implies that he was an exception to the rule, for it says, “But Peter.” It wouldn’t be as astonishing if it had said, John. Because John traveled with a prophet. John was around a prophet. He knew something about speaking to people. He knew something about being in the presence of important and powerful people.  So John had some experience with that, but not this fisherman, for it says, “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice…” Whose voice did he raise?  [his voice] His voice. He found something that was important enough to be said, that his fear of public speaking was overcome by the urgency of the moment. He wasn’t concerned about himself, or he didn’t even take the time to consider is my tie on right? Is my shirt correct? Do I have on the right apparel? Or do I look good? Honey, is my hair to the right side or the left side?  It doesn’t say he was concerned about his appearance. He wasn’t concerned about his education. He wasn’t concerned about anything. He was under the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. And he was able to lay himself down and just go with the flow. 

And it says, he opened his mouth. He “raised his voice and he said, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.  For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.  But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:…“  And then he begins to preach to the people…and explain to them that they are witnessing with their own eyes an outpouring of the power of God. It could not have happened if Peter wasn’t willing to lay himself down.  

Go to Acts, Chapter 4…In Acts, Chapter 4, we see these same two men, Peter and John of whom I spoke previously, and they are in a difficult situation. It says in verse 1, “Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.  And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.  However, many of those who heard the word…” did what?  [believed]  “…believed; and the number of men…” now remember, no man, the married guys, you know, you don’t go to a convention and not take your wife. So we know that if there’s 5,000 men, you know, you got another 5,000 women and children.  Amen?  So in this period of time, the, the numbers exceeded that. In verse 5, “And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander...” And all of these, and so forth.  Now look at verse 7, “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”  Once again we see, “…Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:  If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well...”  Remember they just participated in a healing of this guy, and he says, “let it be known…” in verse 10…”to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” [glory]  Now, I’m, I’m not preaching on this, but I want you to look at verse 13 cause that keeps us within the context of of where we’re going.  “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.  And they realized that they had been with Jesus.  And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”  Lord have mercy! 

What I’m trying to say to you is, if we would learn how to lay down self, the boldness of Jesus Christ will come upon us, and we can be used as great vessels by Him. But we’re going to have to lay down some of our stuff. We’re going to have to lay down our egos and some of our attitudes, in order to what?  Pick up that which is greater. The greater reward is available to us if we’re going to learn how to do what? Lay down ourselves. More people in the church would witness and would witness boldly, if they could get out of themselves. If they could get past the fact of always worrying about what are they going to think about me? What are they going to say about me?  I would mention Jesus on my job, but, you know, they may not eat lunch with me. A, they might not call me to go bowling. And so forth, and so on. And so what happens is, we’ve got to learn how to lay self down and realize that God, the only instrument and weapon that He has on the earth is you…[amen]  You are His hands. You are His eyes. You are a part of His body. He is waiting for you to lay you down.  Lord have mercy, I got a whole lot of “you’s” in here.  He is waiting for you to lay you down, so that you can become an instrument in His hand. [hallelujah] And He said, He will give us the boldness if we’d just make that commitment, that same commitment that Peter and John made, which was, “Lord, I’m willing to lay myself down.” 

You in Romans 12″1-2 it says, “be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”  In other words, we have to… out of our old willpower, you have to just face some stuff. The reality is that you do have a free will. You can spit in the eye of God, if you can reach that far….I thought that was funny, but never mind. But you can do that. You can neglect God.  You can walk away from God. You can walk away from the people of God. You can walk away from yourself. You can do all of that because you do have a free will. And don’t believe these people that say that God has already predetermined your will. God may know what you’re doing. But he hasn’t predetermined what you’re going to do. He is basing the fact that He knows what you’re going to do upon the fact that He can see across time.  [that's right]  But since you can’t you’re making a choice in time. [yes] Did I go too fast?  You got that? You’re making a choice in time…and therefore you don’t see the possibilities and the ramifications. That’s why we have to learn to trust on God’s will…

So Peter and John are in this situation where now the authorities are marshalling themselves against them so, let’s see what else happens here. In verse 18, “So they called them…” that’s Peter and John, “and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to listen to God, you judge.“  And then they hit them hard.  “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  [thank you Lord]  “So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.”…

We need to realize something, if you get your will intact, and if you will lay yourself down, the glory that is on the other side of your embarrassment is well worth it…[clapping]  There’s glory waiting for you on the other side. It’s well worth it. We just have to learn to do the proper, listen to me, we have to learn to do the proper thing concerning people and prayer…You know barging into your dentist’s office and saying to the secretary across the desk, you know, come over here, I’m going to pray for you, you heathen,  [laughter]  is thoroughly ineffective evangelism. [laughter]…Even if you feel led, you’d better check whose leading you. [hey!, yeah that's the truth]  … Cause taking people hostile captive will never win them to the Lord. [teach pastor] Attacking them will never win them to the Lord.  [amen]  And if you’re not careful, you will be judging them…and you can’t win people that you put negative judgment on, to the Lord. So, why don’t we just ask…You feel led to pray…Why don’t you ask. There’s nothing wrong with leaning over the secretary’s desk and say, “How are you doing?” She says, “Fine.” You know. “Would you like some prayer?”  And she says, “No, I’d like you to pay your bill on time.” [laughter]…Lord have mercy! 

Let’s move right along. Moving right along. Go to verse 41, Chapter 2. Go to, I’ve got Acts Chapter 2, 41…Two – 41. What am I trying to say? I’m saying that if you will lay yourself down, you will lose your fear of public speaking. You will lose your fear of people. You will lose your fear of authorities in the world. You won’t be afraid of anyone. And therefore you will be able to speak boldly about Christ, or to boldly defend yourself. You shouldn’t be afraid of a judge. He is an elected official. [hallelujah]  I said, “You shouldn’t be afraid of him, he’s an elected official.” He’s been put there in place by your tax dollars. He is an employee of yours. You shouldn’t be afraid of a schoolteacher or a principal. They make their living off of you. You should not be afraid of anyone in public office for they are supposed to be servants, even though they try to lord over us. You should be able to walk into anyone’s office and let them know who you are in the Lord. In a polite and and wonderful manner. 

Your doctor has information, but your doctor is not God. You should remind him that your God is involved in the medical business as well and that your God will guide his hands.  Your God will set the correct prescriptions. Your God will determine your healing time and the process by which your deliverance shall come. [amen] Don’t be afraid of him, talk to him in order that they might what? 

Remember that you are a saint and therefore that they have to also, you know, it’s like that Jewish, that Jewish thing. Remember in the city they have picture of a hotdog, and there’s a guy holding the hotdog, and, and he says…who remembers it? [Hebrew National] Hebrew National hotdogs, and it said, “But we answer to a higher authority.”  [laughter]  You, you need to be like that hotdog. Hotdoggitt.  [laughter] You need to answer to a higher authority. 

Come on, let’s look at this verse, of 41.  How many of you are there?  [there]  Alright, in Acts 2, 41 it says, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.  Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.“  Watch this.  “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,”  Come on, let’s read verse 47 together, come on. “praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” 

You see, God will also take away your fear of poverty…if you will lay it down. If you will bless the Lord, by giving Him authority over your finances, your fear of poverty can be lifted off of you. You can come before the Lord and you can hand your checkbook. I brought my checkbook today. You all want to see it? This is my checkbook…I will never be poor again…This, this is my checkbook. God will always give me… listen, God will always give me the ability to write my bills…and mail them. With the fullest confidence that what? There’s enough money in here to cover them…Now, if you can’t do that, you need to get your house in order. Because you should always have abundance coming in so that you can meet what you need to have done. What did the early apostles have? It says they had no fear of lack, no fear of poverty. They came together and they were willing to put everything into…I know the church isn’t ready for that now. But guess what, as persecution increases, as the economic pressure that Jesus said is coming on the earth does, trust me, you’re going to bring a potato, you, going to bring an onion, you’re going to bring a slab of, slab of bacon or beef or whatever, you going to bring some  potato chips, and you going to bring a piece of pie, and then you’re going bring some apples and some fruit, you’re going to bring all the little bit you have, and bring it into the House, and we’re sure enough going to get greasy [yeah]… 

Well, I know right now you don’t want to share. But some of us are going to go fishing and bring the fish out of necessity because that’s what’s coming on the earth. [thank you Lord]  The Day of the Lord is coming. You can’t stop it. And when it gets real, we’re going to do that. We’re going to look like the church in the book of Acts. We’re going to bring what little bit we have, because we will have no fear of poverty, cause we’re going to lay our wealth down. We’re going to lay it down. Everything I have belongs not to me, but belongs to the Lord. And it’s for His use. And that’s why I’m abundantly blessed…I said, that’s why I’m abundantly blessed. [hallelujah]  Because I’ve laid it down before Him, I’ve put it at His altar of His feet. 

Hannah laid her womb, her womb could produce no children, but what did she do? She laid her empty womb before the Lord, and what did He do? He filled it. She lost her fear of barrenness, because she laid it down and gave it to the Lord. What about Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus? They weren’t traditional Christians, no, they were Jews sitting in positions of power and authority. But after they came to Jesus, after they heard what He said, they were willing to lay down their tradition. They were willing to lay down the way that they thought. They were willing to lay down their denominational thinking. Because, why? They knew if they laid it down, He would give them eternal life. And then look at Jairus. He is the High, not he High priest, but he’s the priest in the Temple, and the Temple had not yet accepted Jesus as a miracle worker. They didn’t accept Him as a healer.  But Jairus says, “My daughter is sick. My daughter is sick unto death.”  He laid down his rigid thinking, and he laid down his prejudice against this vagabond of a preacher man, who’s wandering all over the country, and he said, “I don’t care  what the authorities say.  I don’t care what these people say.  I’m laying down my prejudice cause Jesus is here.  I’m going to go get Jesus.” … 

Isn’t this an incredible sermon?  The video is above.

Have a blessed day!

Heather