1 Thessalonians 2:11-17 ... as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.  For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.

Matthew 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

All authority is given to make disciples.  When someone grows in faith, it is because someone helped them. There are three major ways to help a person grow in faith, to learn the word of God, gain experience in living with the help of the Holy Spirit from day to day, and caring.

The three things are 1) Exhortation 2) Encouragement and 3) Comfort.

1 Corinthians 14:1-3 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.  But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

If we don't pursue love, and speak edification, exhortation, and comfort to people we will end up beating other people up.

EXHORTATION

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

Encourage people by letting them realize that God has something greater ahead for them.   Don't speak empty words, but encourage them as they face their challenges.  Be patient and give them time to get over their stuff.  Even though their lives may seem pretty challenging at the time, remind them that God has a great plan for their lives. Remember, how you say what you say impacts the hearer.  You can say it lovingly, with exasperation, in anger, or other ways. We want to make sure that the people receive what we are saying the way we intend them to receive it.

Remember, our job is to catch the fish, not clean them. If we are not careful we can end up hurting people in the church. The best one to clean the fish is the Holy Spirit.  Give people the grace, give them time.

Isaiah 63:3-4 I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes.  For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. 

Remind them that there is a great future ahead of them, for the year of the redeemed has come.  Exhort people, give them encouragement to continue.  Remind them that God loves them.  Let them sit in church flapping around, and after a while the Word of God will clean them up.

Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 

Our hearts will burn in us when we are filled with the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.

People get beat up all week in the world, they don't need to come to church and receive it there as well.

Acts 21:25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.

The judiaizers wanted to force the Gentiles to follow the Law and traditions of the Jews, but Paul believed that was placing an undo burden on the Gentiles, so they came up with the basic rules listed above, that the Gentiles should follow.  Salvation was not about works, but relationship.  The Gentiles needed to know how to worship and how to live in a way that would not be burdensome but at the same time allow interaction with Jewish believers.

ENCOURAGEMENT

People have trouble seeing beyond the bend in the road. God works all things together to help pull a person toward God, but discouragement pushes them away.

Paul wrote his epistles to encourage the believers. 

People want to give up when they don't see immediate results. 

The father with the demon possessed son prayed, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."  The man believed but was discouraged.

Remember, all people need encouragement.  With God all things are possible.  Your words have the power to lift people when you speak them forth.

Hallelujah brother, can be an encouragement to someone.  Let people see how the Holy Spirit fills you with joy.

When the angel came to Mary, she believed but was puzzled about how she could get pregnant without knowing a man.  

Share your testimony about how you got your miracle, health, finances.  We need to be encouraged to remember that with God all things are possible.

Speak faith.  Know you are in the faith.

COMFORT

People want to beat themselves up.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

Matthew 5:4  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Psalm 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

The Father can deal with our challenges.  

You can exhort and encourage and comfort each other.  Help each other get on that railroad with God without missing the train.

Psalm 71:21 You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.     

John 14 speaks of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter.

Pastor Don then spoke about the keys of readiness The first key to readiness is expectation, and expectation helps you to fix on faith.

I pray this blesses you,

Heather 

We were blessed to have Pastor Mark Horan visit our Friday Bible Study last week.  He is from Australia, and has been involved in ministry for 28 years.

At one point Pastor Horan was connected with CLC, a major move of God in Australia.  In 1999 he was sent to an area where every church that tried to be planted failed. In 10 years the church he planted has a congregation of 300 people. God is moving on the young people in his area.

It is not the size of a church that is important, but rather if the church is faith filled.

He encouraged us to think about the prominent thoughts that come to our mind, for God will speak to us through prominent thoughts.  Write down what God tells you when you are dreaming, studying the Word, or hearing from the Spirit. If you don't write it down, there is a tendency to forget.

Ezekiel 38:7-9  “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.” 

God was about to do something for Israel and He wanted them to get ready.

Jeremiah 1:5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” 

God knew all the things He was going to do before we were in the womb.

Jeremiah 1:17  “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you.  Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them."

Be ready. God is always ready.

Psalm 86:5  For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. 

Is 38:20 “The LORD was ready to save me; therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our life, in the house of the LORD.”   

Daniel 3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 

These three refused to bow down to the idol of Nebuchadnezzar, they were ready, if necessary to be thrown into the furnace and die.

Luke 12:40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 

Matthew 22:8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

The people invited to the wedding party came up with excuses.  Matthew 22:4-6 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.

They did not put God first. 

Remember the parable of the ten virgins - five were ready with enough oil, five were foolish and not ready.

Procrastination is the assassination of all Godly motivation.

God's always ready.  Are you ready?

People in Church are loved by God, but not all are ready.  They are placing their relationships, material things, desires for other things, other activities, etc. in front of serving God.  

We will make mistakes, even if we choose to be ready for God. We need to keep the attitude of serving God, repent for our mistake and move on.

Why are we here in this community?  What is our purpose?

Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 

The people in the community wanted to stop Paul from going into danger where he could lose his life, but Paul was a sold out man. He was ready to serve God even at the cost of His life.

Romans 1:15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

Paul was ready.

Pastor Horan spoke about a train that went through his town. It would stop at the station for one minute. If someone needed to board the train or exit the train, they had only one minute to do so. They had to be ready the second the train came into the station.

Our opportunities in life are like that train. They arrive in our station and we either get on the train or not.  If we are not ready, we will miss the train.

We have to have in our spirit the words, "I'm ready.

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,

We need to be ready to do whatever is good

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.

Paul was ready to be poured out as a drink offering.

You get to live ready.
Christian and ready
Young and ready
Old and ready

Or we can be: not ready.

What matters is what God wants. Don't get caught up in temporary stuff. We need to do what we do unto the Lord.

When John Wesley was not allowed to preach on church grounds, he stood up on his father's grave, the place of land that he owned, and preached from there. Find a way to do what it is that God wants.

2 Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 

Are you ready to give?
Are you ready to serve?

Jesus came to serve, not to be served. He gave His life for us. If someone calls you, even at an inconvenient time, are you ready to serve?

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

Are you ready for the marriage of the Lamb?

No matter what season of life you are in, are you ready for the new season?  Do you want more from God?  It is a new day, a new way, a new road, a new challenge to be conquered.

God is always ready, are we?

Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 

Are you ready to obey?

Faith is followed by obedience, and if we obey we are blessed, peace.

Obedient faith

We need to deal with the rebellion in our heart. satan is the most rebellious person in the Bible.

We can't be led by the Spirit without a willing heart.  Disobedience is like the sin of witchcraft.

If you decide that you want to do what you want to do, that is the spirit of antichrist. 

To have power over the enemy, the safety valve is obedience.

We want to obey God in the period of change, when things are new, when we are stretched farther than we thought we could be, when we are split up, when things are stirred up, in good seasons, in bad.

The devil is a strategist. He keeps seeking for a way to break down a person and will methodically attack a person.

If a church is effective, the devil wants the people to try to get to the pastor.  He will try to get the congregation to speak against the pastor, try to get the people to stop giving, anything to cause a pastor to be pulled off course.

Psalm 71:10 For my enemies speak against me; and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,

The devil is afraid of the church and Jesus, and seeks to get the people to plot against each other.

Psalm 2:1-3 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” 

They take counsel together against the Lord and the Church, against Jesus, the family, children, etc. The world is giving in to everything, not standing for the truth.  Are you ready to stand with your pastor and stop complaining?

We may have to let some friendships that are not fruitful to drop away. 

We need to embrace God's correction in our lives, Are we ready to defend, fight and pray when God brings us in to a new area of His reality?  Are you ready?

We need to look after our health, for we will last longer in the fight if we are healthy. We can do more damage to the enemy when we are healthy. Are you ready to make the right choice? God is also a God of common sense, and you will live longer if you look after yourself.

God is the author and finisher of our faith. He wants to take us to something new. Are you ready?

It could be that little extra spark, and BANG you have a revial at work.

If you are doing what you always have done, you will get what you always got.

A pastor,  Tommy Evans, although elderly, continues to attend youth events. When asked about it, he points out that he wants to catch something new.

God told Jeremiah to speak with authority, God's Word. Jesus is sending us out with authority.  Are you ready?

Get rid of things that are wasting your time.

Are you ready to deal with the things in your heart? We've all been hurt?  Are you ready to let go of the hurts of the past?

Are you ready for the change, new season, new thing?  

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Are you ready?

He prayed for people who had strongholds who were keeping them from being ready for their next step in life.

Pastor Horan then spoke about how to pastor people. I am going to make that a separate post, tomorrow.

Praying your day is blessed!

Heather

On September 10 our Friday Bible study began with  a remarkable teaching and testimony from John Whipple.  

He spoke about how the Holy Spirit transforms us.

John McArthur Study Bible speaks of fruits of repentance that spoke to John Whipple's heart.  He is in the process of being healed from Parkinson's disease and God is guiding him in ways that are helping him begin the healing process.

John told us that he realized there was no such thing as coincidence, luck or chance.  What God gives you is meant for you, and there is something you can learn from everything that affects your life. There is something that you need to learn.  

He has had a series of hardships and challenges, and through them came to the realization that he needed God.  God got John's attention and gave him what John calls his marching orders.  This is a remarkable list of things that blessed me, and I hope it blesses you. This is what the Holy Spirit told John through his inner witness. These are specific things God told John to focus on, and many of them are wonderful for us all to consider in our lives.  As Pastor Don commented during this testimony, many of them are "bombshells."

Convictions to accomplish the mission. How does one know if their heart has been touched by the Holy Spirit?  The following "truths" will at once and over time be revealed to the believer.

1. That everything you have learned since childhood with respect to the Bible and teaching of Jesus Christ are absolutely and unequivocally true.

2. That the power of prayer is unequalled in its ability to heal mind, body, and soul!

3. That you will at once be relieved of all your earthly fears. You will recognize that these fears are in fact the blinders the devil uses to prevent persons of faith from discerning God's desire for their life.

4. That you will understand, once fears are removed, you will immediately be empowered to do God's will and will look to do all things to God's glory.

5. That your thirst for knowledge in the Word will be intensified. You will hunger and thirst for God's grace through Scripture.

6. You will seek out every opportunity to do God's will. This will be exemplified through your random, unabated acts of kindness toward fellow man.

7. You will carry the sword of righteousness but will not lift it in judgment against your brother, instead the words of compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and love will be etched on its sheath.

8. You will be hopelessly locked in the present because you know this is the only place you can do God's will. You will take one day at a time and will not worry about the future.

9. You will be able to look into the hearts of your fellowman and feel his pain. God will give you the words to speak and the actions to take to ease the man's burden.

10. You will understand immediately that all the gifts you've been given and the hardships you will endure are simply a test of your faith, and if you are able to return but one lamb who is lost, back to the Father, surely your days will be blessed.

Praise God, Amen.

John brought the painting of Jesus standing at the door and knocking, and said that in his journey this painting had special meaning for him as he studied it in depth.

He said that life is filled with brambles.  That you open the door yourself for the hinges are positioned so that the person in the house has to open the door to Jesus. WHen you follow Christ down the path you will be walking through sticks, thorns, and rough areas. In the painting John sees those as falling from grace.  

John said he had to give up stuff, boating, fishing, and work. These were areas where he felt that his life was out of order. With boating he spent so much time on his boat and fishing was an obsession, he wanted to catch tons of fish, and there was pride in his work that he felt was out of order in his life.

John told us that when passion turns to obsession it needs to be given up.

John had to call people to ask for forgiveness. He had a change in his character - 180 degrees different.

When he came to Christ and began to study the Word of God, John told us that he felt like he was a dry sponge dropped into a bucket of water. 

He said that when his brain slowed down his heart opened.

Parkinson's made John available to hear from God. He said that this necessary loss was needed for his spiritual growth.  It provided an appetite for love, mercy, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of himself. Compassion and sympathetic listening increased.  His loss made him realize the necessity of charity, of giving to others, not just about receiving. He realized that he needed a change in his value system. That at one time he was rash, going out on a limb for fruit.  He needed to get out of his comfort zone, a place where John realized he was alone, isolated, had a morally bankrupt value system.  He needed to deal with his health, family, income.  

In the process of building up new behaviors there were set backs. John realized he needed to know what to say and who to say it to.

John told us that he received empowerment through the authority of the Word.

The Holy Spirit empowers us and the Bible gives us authority. We need power and authority working in harmony.

God is bringing healing to John Whipple.  I am grateful that he shared some of what the Holy Spirit has told him to do.  I realize that each person's path to healing is different, but there are some remarkable truths that John shared that are applicable to my life, and I pray they bless yours.  Whenever I hear a testimony from someone I always find something to take away from it. We really are able to fight the evil one through the word of our testimony. For the testimonies of others build our faith.

I pray your day is blessed.

Heather

There are many false teachings in the Church. Some teach that we do not need to attend church.  There is the emerging church.  Some teach that things that we have previously called "good" are really bad.  They want us to rely on emotions and what "feels" right. If a person does not follow the current tolerant teachings their intelligence and judgment are questioned and they are labeled as condemning. But teachings are in error if they do not line up with the Word of God.  Jesus loved a person who sinned, but did not condone their sin. The woman caught in adultery was protected by Jesus so no one would stone her, but he also told her to go and sin no more.

Love puts limits. Love applies judgment and correction in situations. Love without correction makes a person as guilty as the person who commits the sin. 

Some take the liberty to freely interpret the Scripture, rejecting the parts they don't like, they are not hearing the full Word of God. Often they cite the supposed fallibility of Scripture as a reason to reject certain parts. The Holy Spirit, if we listen to Him, will help us to realize when we have made a wrong interpretation of Scripture.  Much of what is not considered sound doctrine evolves when a person takes the text out of context.  

Jesus asked a poignant question, "Will I find faith?"   We can't fault people who have never been in the Spirit for not knowing the truth by the Spirit. We need to discern if what we are believing is because it lines up with the Spirit and the Word or is it touching our emotions?  We need evidence to say that this is true because it is based on Scripture.

Jesus gave each disciple something to base their commitment on. Peter and John were bought out into the water and caught such a great load of fish that Peter tells Jesus to stay away from him because he is an unclean man.   Jesus told them that they would become fishers of men.

When we come to God it is based on the Spirit, and we are not taken in by the big lie.

Isaiah 40 is for those mature in faith.  Spiritual maturity has nothing to do with chronological age.  In Pastor Don's childhood church some of the deacons were not mature.  Pastor asked his father why this was so.  His father told him that they were arrested adolescents, they were still a kid in an adult body.

Maturity comes with spiritual experiences that open the heart and mind. Immature people seek to "get even."  They take someone's disadvantage and make it their advantage.  They covet something and find a way to obtain it.  Some think that they can buy lottery tickets and pray to God as if God was going to give them a winning ticket. God will not multiply your finances in that manner. Don't justify it by saying that something that the devil promotes can be made holy by the anointing. What the devil gives you, he will take away.  God tells us to invest. To take a percentage of your income and tithe it to the Lord.  You can't reap a harvest without sowing seed.  We need to have retirement plans and not depend on Social Security to provide for us.  We are to gain houses and lands, and prepare an inheritance for our children.

Isaiah 40:1-2 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”  says your God.  “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” 

In Isaiah 39 Hezekiah showed the Babylonian ambassadors all the treasures of Israel, things he had no right to show them, such as the Temple treasures. Isaiah prophesied that because of this the future generations of Israel would face serious repercussions, such as the diaspora, because of Hezekiah's sin. Hezekiah was not concerned because he would have peace in his life. The previous chapters dealt with a different time period.

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

This is a Messianic prophesy, that describes John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; 

people, circumstances, nations. Jesus was sent with a message to the poor (spiritually and materially).

Isaiah 61:1-2a  “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God;..."  

The making of the crooked paths straight and rough places smooth is also an end times prophesy of future events.

Isaiah 40:5 "The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 

Jesus is the glory of the Lord, seen.  All flesh will see it together, on the third coming of the Lord - when He sets His feet on the earth.  His second coming is in the clouds, for the rapture, but He does not set His foot on the ground in that coming.  There are three comings of the Lord but only two touch the earth.

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

We don't have a chance if the elect are fooled.  Those who have discernment will not be deceived. Those whose flesh prevents them from hearing the truth are the ones that will be fooled. Those with discernment will not be making decisions from the emotions.  They will be transparent and correctable. The Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to us.  

OUR TRUTH METER HAS TO BE BIGGER THAN OUR CHARISMA.

The elders need to take action in accordance with the truth, teach the truth, and pray for discernment. We are supposed to judge in the light of Scripture.  Sin is flesh and theology is good.  Anything that we do in the flesh God can pull down. The measure of a person is seen by what does God does with the ministry after they sinned.  For example, King David sinned, but repented from his heart and God was still able to use him. If the heart is not right, the devil can manipulate the mouth. You can have successful works and still get no credit, God judges the oat, hay and stubble, from those things that have real value.

Matthew 24:25-31 See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:38-42 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

These judgments on the earth are huge, and Christ will come again, in the clouds with great glory.  It will set off a period of chaos.

In verse 27 we see that there will be signs in the heaven, that all will see.  This appearance will be quick, and the rapture will occur. Who will be left on the earth are the unbelievers and those who do not believe the rapture will come.

Matthew 24:37-42 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

This speaks of the rapture.

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

This chapter speaks of the third appearance of Christ, when He is sitting on the planet and judging.

Zechariah 14:4-5 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.  Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.

After Jesus appears in the clouds and the rapture occurs, He will make His third appearance on the Mount of Olives.  The early church called it the Blessed Hope.

1 Thessalonians 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.

Caught up with Christ in the clouds.

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 

There is lots of effort applied to fool the elect, but it is not possible to fool them, if they use discernment and know the Word of God.

Praying your day is blessed.

Heather

Sheerah told us that we are in a spiritual war, and the quality of our life depends on taking the Bible at it's word as the complete work of the Holy Spirit and applying the Word to our lives. When we do that we can have hope in the midst of challenging circumstances. In Greek the word Nike means hope.

If Christians fear to have hope they can be bound by the enemy.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Hope does not disappoint. If we do not have hope then circumstances we face can cause disappointment. Paul survived many trials in his sharing of the Gospel. He was stoned, shipwrecked, beaten, mocked, and rejected. If he did not have hope he would have been disappointed, but Paul held on to hope and faith in God.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

In Hebrew the word "deferred" (Strong's 4900) means "to draw, used in a great variety of applications (including to sow, to sound, to prolong, to develop, to march, to remove, to delay, to be tall, etc.):--draw (along, out), continue, defer, extend, forbear, give, handle, make (pro-, sound)long, sow, scatter, stretch out."

Hope draws out and stretches out.  Notice that Proverbs says WHEN the desire comes, not IF the desire comes.  As long as there is desire we have a choice to hope or give up on hope.

What is hope?  It means to anticipate or desire, expectation.  In Strong's the Greek word for hope (1680) Vine's Expository Dictionary gives the following definition of hope: "favorable and confident expectation. It has to do with the unseen and the future. "Hope" describes the happy anticipation of good (the most frequent significance), the ground upon which "hope" is based, "Christ in you the hope of glory;" and the object upon which the "hope" is fixed."

The essence of hope is to wait. It is not waiting with the focus on the result, but it is a waiting with JOY, EXPECTING. It is similar to how a child waits for Christmas, knowing that there will be presents and with child like anticipation thinking about the presents.

Romans 4:18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 

Abraham had no realistic expectation of producing a son, everything in the physical said that it was impossible, but Abraham believed God. He believed in hope.

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

In this definition of faith we see that faith has two components. 1. the substance of things hoped for and 2. the evidence of things not seen. Without hope we can have no faith and without faith it is impossible to please God.  Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Without hope there is nothing to have faith in. Hold onto hope not only in spiritual warfare but in pleasing God. If we want to make God smile we want to protect our faith. Lies come in to steal hope.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

We are told that without love we make a whole lot of noise.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Without hope and abiding in hope, there is no place for faith to go. HOPE is like the gun that you put your faith bullet in. A bullet is not useful without a gun, the gun concentrates and directs the charge of the bullet. Hope gives faith direction. The next aspect of faith is to SPEAK WITH YOUR MOUTH. We need to speak the Word of God, and we need to know how to effectively use the Word of God.

Sheerah brought a toy sword (Word of God) to demonstrate that we need to not only have the weapon but know how to effectively use it. If you grab a sword by the blade you cut your hands. If the enemy is charging you need to know to hold the sword by the hilt and effectively wield the weapon. We want to effectively wield the Word of God. We need to take HOPE by the HANDLE, how?

Psalm 33:17-18 A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy,

Psalm 39:7 And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

Psalm 38:15 For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.

Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.

Psalm 71:5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.

Our hope is in God, not in family, spouse, friends, etc. God's sword is the Bible. Faith moves mountains. We can rest in God's sovereignty.  The power of God is greater than any challenge we face. We need to hold on to hope even though humans fail us.  God remains faithful.  Keep our hope in the right place - on God. God does not change or disappoint.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

If there are tribulations, persecution it produces perseverance, character and hope.  Hope does not disappoint. Keep going forward in the face of trials.

Sheerah said "HOPE IS TO THE SOUL WHAT OXYGEN IS TO THE BODY.

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

Pastor Don added a few other points.

He said hope and don't give up. We abandon hope when we get out of the fruit of faith. 

There is carnal hope: hoping for what you do see.

Spiritual hope is hoping for something that you do not see. 

We can attach ourselves to something impossible, worldly, and that can at times lead us to true faith. If we look at what we are hoping for, not in the literal sense, but go beyond and see with understanding what is working behind the curtain, we can change the direction of our hope to line up with God's will, hoping for the right thing.

Spiritual faith delivers what we will really be happy with, even though we don't see it when we are hoping. Carnal hope changes, but spiritual hope does not change.

In Acts 9 the Holy Spirit is active in the earth. God is calling His people and nominal christians who do not know faith, will not have the power to deal with challenges. We want to pray that the Gospel message gets out. 

I pray your day is blessed.

Heather

I missed two weeks of Bible studies because of preparing and taking Kids to college.  This study was taught on 8/27/10 

Before we began the study on Isaiah 39 someone asked Pastor Don a question. I love how well Pastor knows the Bible, and is able at the drop of a hat to answer questions that we have.  I want to know the Bible that well!!!! 

The question had to do with Proverbs 3:13-18 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her. 

Pastor Don had us laughing when he said that women were wiser than men - then he pointed out that they also made some stupid mistakes in the Bible.

Pastor continued by saying that God is triune the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  He said that the Holy Spirit has traits that are referred to as feminine. We see these traits in John Chapters 14-17. The Holy Spirit has some functions that are motherly. In the Spirit is all maleness and femaleness. But the Spirit nurtures, comforts, cares and we can trust Him. Wisdom is present in all aspects of God. Wisdom helps us to know what to know and how to understand. 

On earth a mother has one shot to impart wisdom to her child, for later in life the wisdom of the father comes in.

Grace produces repentance which leads to the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Holy Spirit. 

We impart wisdom in our children for we need to train up a child in the way we should go so that when the child is old he will not depart. That does not mean that there is not a time when your children will do stupid. We need to pray that they grow older and wiser at a younger age before they do too many stupid things.

That is why Sunday School is so important. We are training up children, it is a vital ministry of the Church. If we can reach the child for the Lord before they turn 18,  eighty percent of them will return to the church and be faithful Christians.

Isaiah 39 

Isaiah 39:1-3 At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.  And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.”

Merodach-Baladan was a king of Babylon. Hezekiah was so impressed that the king of Babylon would send him a letter, that he shows the king all the stuff - even the stuff the king had no business seeing such as what is part of the Tabernacle's riches. 

Isaiah 39:4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 

Isaiah asked Hezekiah what he had shown the king, and Hezekiah told Isaiah that they had seen all the stuff. The problem is that it is not Hezekiah's stuff, it is God's stuff. These things Hezekiah showed the king belonged to God, and now they were exposed to the heathen.

Isaiah 39:5-8 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”

Notice that it is the sons that will be taken away, what Hezekiah did will impact those who were not born yet.  We need to be careful what we speak over our kids - our spiritual kids and our natural kids, for that will impact them and future generations.  

Isaiah 38:1 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.’”

Hezekiah was dying, but after petitioning God, God reversed the decree. The discord you have now in your life can kill you. But if you go to God with sincerity and repentance, God can reverse the decree.  Hezekiah knew that repentance and petitioning God can cause God to change an outcome.

Pastor Don then asked what was Hezekiah thinking? After the curse that the Lord gave regarding the sons becoming eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon, instead of petitioning God, Hezekiah said "At least there will be peace and truth in my days."  What was He thinking!!!!???? 

This curse is for future generations and will affect his nation, and he accepted it because then there would be peace and truth in his days. 

Where is the comfort?  We need to remember who God is. And we MUST CANCEL THE WORDS WE HAVE SPOKEN OVER THE GENERATIONS. Take the curse off and don't accept the curse that is spoken. NEVER GIVE OUR CHILDREN OVER TO THE DEVIL WITH THE WORDS OF OUR MOUTHS.  

Nothing is irreversable. Appeal to God with sincerity as Hezekiah did in Chapter 38.  God will come up with an answer. Our words are current words. We have rights over the kids we teach, pat on the head, in our lives, in our families. We have the ability to speak Godly Words over them and help to reverse the curse.

All in Hezekiah's house would end up in Babylon. Hezekiah could reverse that. 

The curse continued that they would be eunuchs - meaning have no progeny, they would die as a slave and servant.  Hezekiah made no effort to reverse this. He could have asked God, "Lord, can't there be one to sit on my throne?"

We have entered into a covenant with God. If we violate the covenant God is not obligated to do what He has said He would do. 

Hezekiah was so close to blaspheme, when he showed all to the king of Babylon it was as if he was saying that all of that was at his disposal. 

Throw yourself on the mercy of God. The Lord never said that we would only have peace. When we find ourselves straying from God's perfect will, reconnect with God.

Never give up on a kid - know that you have a covenant for life and eternity, if you give up on them (no matter the errors of their behavior) you are dooming them. If you don't know how to pray for them, pray in tongues.

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Someone once said that not enough of the Will of God is accomplished on earth because there are not enough people praying in tongues so God can interpret it and do what needs to be done on earth. Until Jesus comes to crush the head of satan, the covenant that God gave to Adam is now in satan's hands, but that is for a limited time. Because of that covenant, God is not free to do all that He wants to do on the earth, He needs man to ask Him. That is why, when Jesus went to cast out demons, the demons mentioned that he was here before His time. There is a time when the enemy will be defeated, and even the enemy is aware of that. But the enemy will cause as much grief as possible until his time is up.

Jesus won the battle, took back the earth, and gave us the authority God had previously given to Adam. People give up too soon.  When we ask for something and the answer does not come immediately it does not mean that God is not answering your request. The devil is glad to give you an immediate response so he can use that to destroy you in the future. Godly things can take time. We need to judge the source of our answer to prayer. Some use the following passage in Matthew 7 to say we should never judge, but that is not what the passage says, we are to judge, it is how we judge that matters.

Matthew 7:1  Judge not, that you be not judged. 

This does not say do not judge (period).  But there are consequences when we judge. If we judge, correcting others and we are backslidden, doing the same sin or worse, we will receive judgment for our judging for then we would be judging improperly.

Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 

We want to judge with mercy, helping a person to grow in Christ. If we are tearing people down it is not judging in the spirit of Christ. Paul says that we will judge angels. If we don't judge here on earth how will we be qualified to judge angels? But we are to be careful how we judge - we can never judge a person and say to them, "Game over." We don't judge who is going to Heaven or hell. But we certainly can judge if a person is living a Biblical lifestyle.

Matthew 7:3-4 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

The rule of judging is to consider your sin before you judge someone else's sin.

Matthew 7:5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

When we deal with our own sins our eyes are cleared to help a brother deal with their sins. Your dealing with sin will make you compassionate in dealing with your brother's sin.

Matthew 7:6 Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

This is the sin of Hezekiah - he showed the holy things of God to the idol worshipping pagans.  This sin is rooted in the oldest attack of the enemy - the sin of pride. God can do so much for us and we begin to think it is because we are all that, and get lifted up in pride. 

We can be given every comfort and financial aid possible, and still not have the peace of God. Our pride can cause us to treat people in a way that they think we believe that we are perfect, better than them. But the truth is that we are imperfect and we do not have it all down.

John 16:5-11 But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 

The Holy Spirit is going to bring conviction on the whole world. Jesus judges, and we have His Spirit in us, so we are able to judge the ruler of this world. When someone speaks words over us that are not in line with the Word of God, we have the right to say, "I walk in divine health, God lives in me, have a nice day."  We do not have to be pulled down by the things of this world.

I pray this Bible study blesses you.

Psalm 149:1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. 

That word "Praise" is HALLELUJAH.  When Pastor Scales said Praise the Lord, we shouted Hallelujah!

Hallel - Jah - Jah is God. Praise God. We serve a great God. 

Hallel means to act without any restraint in our praising of God. 

Praise the Lord is not a suggestion, it is a command.  We are to cast off all restraint and revel in the King.

Pastor Scales told us that we have no problem cheering for the Mets, the Yankees, the Giants, or any other sports team, so why can't we cheer and yell and praise God? Cast off all restraint. Don't worry what your fellow worshippers think.  What we are doing is throwing our praises to Him.

Psalm 149:1-4 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

The Saints are joyful in Glory. Glory is the sum total of the Church, the weight of God.  BE JOYFUL. Being in God's presence is joy.  We are not to praise Jesus looking like we ate sour lemons. 

Psalm 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds.

Sometimes Pastor Scales wakes up in the middle of the night praising God, shouting Hallelujah and giving glory to God. He said that as we spend more time with God, we will end up praising Him even when we are sleeping. Sometimes after a sweet night of sleep you wake up with a song in your heart. It is probably because you were praising God in your sleep. Pastor Scales told us to praise God in the night. He suggested, to our laughter, that sometimes when we wake up and shout Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, and see what our spouse does.

The temple (building and our person) should be filled with jubilant praise, demonstrative praise. It is ok in the Church to praise loudly.

Two things happen when we praise God.

Psalm 149:6-9  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment—this honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 149:1-5 is JUBILANT PRAISE

Psalm 149:6-9 is MILITANT PRAISE

PRAISE is one tool that does two things, multitasking. Praise can exalt, lift and magnify, and it can also be the agent of judgment. When you praise God the enemy falls down.

Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 

Praise is strength and power to silence the enemy.

Matthew 21:16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”  And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

You praise out of your mouth. Praise is most effective when it is spoken out loud. We sometimes give the enemy too big a voice when we start saying out loud what is wrong with our life. Instead, praise God.

Paul tells Timothy to endure hardship like a good soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3-4 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Pastor Scales called men in the congregation who served in the military to stand up. He then gave them some drill commands. The men obeyed without question, doing what Pastor Scales told them to do. He said that as soldiers of Christ, we too must obey Him without question, completely. The welfare of the whole Kingdom rests on our obedience. A soldier acting in their own accord can cause damage to the whole unit.

We want to be good soldiers.

ENDURANCE - 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (see above) Stand no matter what
EXUBERANCE - strength and stamina. Before you go into battle or a competition, you prepare yourself. You won't be able to stand fast if you have not built up your muscles. To endure you must build yourself up. Pray before you worship. Fast before the battle. No matter what hits us, our exuberance will help us to bounce back.
COMPLIANCE. To be obedient.

The Church is not taking the territory that it should be taking because we are not compliant. We must learn to take orders.  Often when we are asked to do something we say, "I've got to pray about it."  or we say, "I am not feeling led to do this."  If the orders are not immoral or illegal, these excuses are our polite way of not obeying. Sometimes the things we are asked to do seem illogical, but God has a purpose.

Pastor Scales told us that one time during praise and worship, the church was asked to line up, march in a line and march around their parking lot in formation. They marched, and then at a certain point the church was asked to give a loud shout.  Later God told Pastor Scales that was the AIR WARFARE, now they were going to do the GROUND WARFARE.

Pastor Scales asked the church to meet at 8:00 on a Saturday in the parking lot. They then went to each of the households in the area where their church was located. When they knocked on the doors they asked if there was any need that could be prayed about. Many people commented that they noticed what happened in the parking lot the previous week.  That Sunday there was the biggest altar call the church had. All because of obedience to God.

Pastor Scales then told us that God has given us WEAPONS for our warfare. He covered these in detail but the acronym and it's meanings is as follows:

W - Word of God
E - Effective prayer
A - Armor of God
P - Praise
O - Offerings
N - Name of Jesus
S - Spirit of God

WORD OF GOD:  It is in the Temple that the Word of God is released. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness He spoke scriptures to satan - saying "It is written."  At one point satan came back saying, "it is written" but he twisted the scriptures.  The devil can quote scriptures, but will twist the meaning. That is why we need to have the Word of God in us. Sometimes when we are in a battle we may not have a Bible with us, so we need to have the Word of God in our hearts so that His words come out of our mouth. We want the Word to come out of our mouths rapid fire, like bullets. The enemy hates the Word of God. 

EFFECTIVE PRAYER: James 5:16B ...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Pastor Scales told us that worship and prayer go together - he said it is the harp and bowl. The angels in Revelation poured out the bowls containing the prayers of the saints. We need to keep prayed up, and pray. We should be overflowing in prayer even before we face a battle. Prayer is not something that we just pull out in the midst of the battle when the devil is trying to take you out. It is something that we should be flowing in all the time. Pastor Schambach once said that when the devil slaps him in the face he slaps the devil back. We do not want the devil to be speaking louder than the Church. The devil is a defeated foe.

ARMOR OF GOD: Ephesians 6:12-18  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— We need to keep on the whole Armor of God when we fight our battles. We need the Helmet to keep our thoughts straight and be grounded in Him.  We need the breastplate of Righteousness in Christ Jesus. We need our waist girded with Truth - everything we deal with must match up with the Truth. We need our Feet shod with the Shoes of peace - walking in peace, and ready to maintain peace. We need the shield of faith, so that the fiery darts do not come at us, and we need the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

PRAISE OF GOD: We saw in Psalm 149 how important praise is. When we are in tight situations we need to praise our way out of them. Pastor Scales spoke about how he was called to the Intensive Care ward of his local hospital because a woman had given birth to a child, but was dying of infection. Her body systems were shutting down. Pastor Scales was called. Instead of praying or laying hands on her, God told him to praise Him. So Pastor Scales was loudly praising God.  He kept worshipping God. He was so loud the nurse came in and he said, he was a pastor and was praising God. The atmosphere in the room changed with the praise of God, then God told him to rebuke the disease. He loudly rebuked the disease - causing the nurse to stick her head in again. Then Pastor Scales went home and slept. The next day he received a call from the hospital that the woman was in a regular ward, eating her breakfast. She had recovered because of the praising of God.

OFFERINGS: Most people groan when they hear a teaching on offerings for they assume it is the pastor trying to get more money. But in reality offerings are a weapon of warfare.  Malachi:3:8-11 “ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’  In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,”  says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts;  Notice that it says that God will REBUKE THE DEVOURER. Offerings are a weapon for rebuking he enemy. How?  The devil picks a fight and we can't win a fight against the devil on our own, he can use our weapons against us. But when we worship God with the offerings He stands between us and the enemy, and He fights our battles for us. The enemy can't get near us. God will say to the enemy "No, get back, you'll not have Him."  With the offering we don't have to do anything, God takes care of it for us. No matter what is going on in the world, we will prosper for we are giving in to the House of God. It is a simple principle of seedtime and harvest. A farmer knows that the size of his crop is determined by how much seed he sows. Does he sow a little and receive a small harvest or a lot and receive a huge harvest? 

Now where do we tithe?  We tithe to the Temple. God knew the importance of this and he had everyone pay a Temple Tax - of half a shekel. This was an amount that even the poorest could pay. A tithe is a financial transaction. When we tithe, we tithe to the house of God. A tithe is not using your money to buy religious books or tapes. If you are paying a mortgage you do not take your mortgage money and use it to pay for using a wash machine in a laundromat - your bank will not accept that use of money as your mortgage payment. If you are making a car payment, you don't go to Walmart and use it to purchase food. Why should your tithe go to some poor person on the street, or to a store to purchase books, etc. You can give ALMS to a poor person on the street, but not a tithe.  You can make offerings to other ministries, but your tithe goes to the house of God that is feeding you spiritually. God declares war against the enemy when we tithe. In these last days things are going to get tight, and we will be under a covenant with God. While we are doing well, those who are not under the covenant will wonder why we have fish and bread when they have none. In the church, when we cannot buy or sell because we don't have the mark, one person may have an egg, another Jiffy Mix, another a ham hock, another some beans and together we make a huge meal that can feed all in the church. We need to trust God in the tithes and offerings.

NAME OF JESUS: Mark 16:15-18 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Pastor Scales told us that once when he was traveling by plane, they hit turbulence. When the plane was taking a big dive down he did not hear one person shout out buddha, allah, krishna, or any other deity. He did hear a lot of people saying, "Jesus."  It is only through Jesus that we can be saved. We need to SAY THE NAME. Pastor Scales told us that we need to not be so seeker sensitive in our churches, but rather sing praise and worship songs that mention the name of Jesus. Some churches are not saying, "Jesus" because that name offends seekers. When we say the name we get the attention of Heaven, we get the attention of the Earth, and we get the attention beneath the earth.

SPIRIT OF GOD: 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. The Holy Spirit within us is greater than anything that goes against us in the earth. 

In praise we respond to God with thanksgiving, thanking Him for His goodness. Praise is a response to the greatness of God. Worship is a response to the Holiness of God, to the Spirit of God.

We then stood and praised and thanked God, worshipping Him.  Some who were dealing with battles in their lives went forward for prayer and release.

Don't ever feel that the enemy is greater than the weapons God has provided for us.

Praying your day is blessed.

Heather

Pastor Lafayette Scales spoke more about the church at Good Ground Church in Cohoes, New York last night. He reviewed much of what was said in the previous post. Then he continued to explore more about the Church.

Ephesians 2:19-22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

We are a holy temple unto the Lord, the dwelling place of God.  Not only is the Church as a whole the dwelling place of God, but individually we are the dwelling place of God, His holy Temple.

God always desired a dwelling place which is why He created Eden, God's Garden so he could commune, dine and walk with us daily. In Genesis 3, because of Adam and Eve's disobedience they were removed from the Garden of Eden, and God placed a door on the Eastern side guarded by an angel so that no one could re-enter the Garden. It seems that Eden disappeared, but 1400 BC God gave Moses a plan for building a house for God to dwell - a Tabernacle. The door of the Tabernacle was on the Eastern side.  There were three chambers to the tabernacle.

First man had to go into the outer court where the brazen alter was. Man had to give God something, a sacrifice. He could do nothing without giving a sacrifice. Leviticus 1 speaks of the sacrifices - and there were no exceptions. If a person was poor they could give a turtle dove or pigeon, if they were richer they could give a sheep, goat, or cow. They could only come unto God through the blood of the sacrifice.

After the sacrifice, in the outer court was the laver - where the priests washed their hands and feet and utensils. We cannot enter closer to God without being washed. This is similar to the water baptism that we receive when we come to Christ.

The Altar of Sacrifice and the Laver were out in natural light, but then the priest would enter the inner court - the Holy.  There were three items in the Holy.  The first thing on the left side was a lampstand.  The priests had to fill the lamps with oil and trim the wicks. The light filled the place - the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We have the light of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us, lighting our paths. On the right side was the table of shewbread, the Bread of His face. The priests replaced the bread every week, and consumed the old bread.  Man cannot live by bread alone, and must continually refill himself with the Word of God which is what the bread represents.

Near the curtain that divides the Holy from the Holy of Holies (the inner chamber) is the Golden Altar of Incense. The coals on the altar were for burning the incense, not flesh. The closer we get to God the less of the flesh there is.

On this altar sweet spices were burned. Stacte, Onycha, Galbanum and Frankincense.  These spices, when crushed together produced a sweet aroma. 
Stacte was a gum resin from a tree that always oozed sap. Onycha was from a crushed shell from a shellfish, and it produced a sweet fragrance. This shellfish was found in the depths of the sea. Our worship can not go any higher than the depth of our worship. Galbanum came from a tree branch that had to be straightened, dried, and then the stripped off bark was crushed. We need brokenness to add fragrance to our worship, to press in.

These spices were bitter to taste, but when the fire of God's altar touched them they became a sweet fragrance.

Frankincense symbolizes Jesus Christ. In its original state it is like a white rock that is crushed and beaten. On Jesus' birthday the wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.  The truth is that our worship despite it's spontaneity, depth, and drive is nothing without Jesus. It takes Jesus to make a sweet incense for God. 

Once a year the High Priest was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifice for the sins of the nation. In this chamber of the Tabernacle resided the Ark of the Covenant, and Glory of God was present.  The Glory was found between the wings of the cherubim. It was at this altar that we receive the grace of God and forgiveness for our sins. Only mankind receives the grace of God. Angels, when they fall, do not receive the Grace of God, they are permanently fallen. There is no redemption for the fallen angels, lucifer will not be forgiven for his sin of pride and disobedience. Those angels that sided with the devil will not be saved. Angels wonder how God puts up with man in spite of his sin. God restores mankind. This is the mystery of God in Christ Jesus. Inside the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies resides the tablets of the Law, Aaron's budded rod, and a golden pot of manna. The law is the truth and the life.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to God except through Jesus. God wanted a dwelling place among man, and Jesus was that.

Around 900 AD David dies and his son Solomon builds a temple. Solomon's temple was bigger than Moses' Tabernacle. Solomon's temple had a court of the gentiles and a court of the women. The altar was enlarged. The more you seek God, the more the altar enlarges. 

722 BC the Assyrians took Israel Captive. in 586 BC the temple was destroyed.  

520 AD Zerubbabel, Haggai, and Zechariah organize the people to build a Temple. When the work was almost, but not completely finished, the people stopped working for 16 years, and spent the time building their own houses. The prophets came to the people and said that it was sad that God did not have His house built. The people spent a few month's work and the Temple was finally finished. When the Temple was being dedicated, the ones that had remembered what Solomon's Temple looked like mourned, and Haggai told them that the glory of the latter temple would be greater than the former. Haggai 2:9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

This is not only a statement for the current temple that the people were dedicating, but for the end times temple in the latter days. 

Herod will expand the temple, and that is the temple that John the Baptist and Jesus worshipped at. The Word Made Flesh worshipped at Herod's Temple.  The Word Made Flesh was the Tabernacle of God, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven he told 500 who saw him to tarry in Jerusalem. Of those 500 only 120 made it to the Upper Room, the rest did not obey Jesus. Pastor Scales told the pastors in attendance not to despair when they tell their people something and the people do not obey - Jesus only had 27% of the 500 do what He told them to do.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 

Our bodies are the Temple of God. God dwells in us and we are in the dwelling place of God. When we have God we have vision. 

People would have put Paul down, but God saw something in Paul, and with the Holy Spirit dwelling in Paul, Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians 1 & 2 Timothy, and the other epistles were written.

When we come together we are the Temple of God.

1 Peter 2:4-5 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We are chosen by God and precious. We are LIVING STONES. As the House of God we want to be living stones.

Pastor Scales told us something so incredible about living stones. He was visiting Israel and went into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. He saw workmen on ladders knocking on stones. Curious, he asked what they were doing. The workmen told Pastor Scales that they were looking for lively stones and dead stones. He asked, "What's the difference."  The workmen told him that some stones, while they look solid on the outside, haven't gone through the formative process, and they will break or crumble under weather conditions. If they decay enough the building could collapse, those are the dead stones. Dead stones clunk. When a lively stone is hit it sings!!!!!! 

When you are going through stuff, sing, don't be a clunker. If we aren't joyful and praising no matter the outward circumstances, God will keep permitting the same circumstances to repeat (so that we go through the necessary formative process). If a tough situation comes up and we say, "I'm mad at you God."  Back to the formative fields.  If tough stuff happens and we whine, "Why did this happen to me?"  Back to the formative fields. When we mature and see the big picture, focusing on God and rejoicing no matter the external circumstances then we are living stones. 

Sing when it hurts. Keep worshipping in the battle. Worship all the time. When the public sees us worshipping in tough times, we touch lives. Remember, we are the Temple of God.

Pastor Scales then spoke about worshipping and it's purpose.  I will continue my notes tomorrow.

Praying your evening is blessed. Remember to be a LIVING STONE!!!

Heather

What a blessed night we had last night. We were brought into worship by the Psalmist Chris Bethel, and then taught by Pastor Lafayette Scales. The combination of the two working in tandem was powerful and all were blessed. If you can get the CD of this service I highly recommend it. Powerful praise music and prayer by Pastor Scales combined to bring us deeper still into the Lord. Then an anointed teaching on the Church Family, followed by a healing prayer for people who have been betrayed. Chains fell off of many tonight and they will not be picked up again. 

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 

The only legal, legitimate governing agency that is an extension of God on the earth is the Church. God gave us the Keys of the Kingdom. The Church is His Body, a living organization of people in unity. Jesus is the Head and we are His body. 

We are works in progress.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 

Pastor Scales reminded us that we are to work out OUR OWN salvation, not another's.  It is far easier for us to try and work out someone else's salvation, giving them pointers on how they can improve their walk with the Lord, than to focus on working on our own salvation.

Ephesians 2:19Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God

We are the household of God.

We can choose our friends, but we are stuck with relatives. We are stuck with each other through eternity. Whether we like it or not, we are stuck with the Body of Christ.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We are being conformed. 

Romans 4 speaks of Abraham and his seed - hundreds of thousands of people are in our church family. We are in the household of God. A household is a dwelling place where family dwells. In a family we learn stability, security, how to become homogeneous , how to get along with one another, how to forgive, how to form a community. Not everyone does things the same way and that can create tension in the family. 

Rodney King said, "Can't we all get along?"

In a family people will get on each other's nerves, rub each other the wrong way, and the family is how we learn to get along with each other.

Pastor Scales spoke about family vacations where he took his three kids and wife in the car. Inevitably there would be questions about when would we get there, and as time went by they would start complaining - "He's looking at me."  She's touching me" .... Pastor Scales would pull over to a rest stop and tell the kids that they needed to get along for it was a long trip and he did not want to hear the bickering.  We too need to get along.

We then looked at the first church family - Jesus and his twelve disciples.

Mark 3:13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

Jesus picked His disciples, the ones He wanted. 

Mark 3:14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,

Notice the order of ordination. The FIRST LEVEL OF ORDINATION - is to be with HIM. Before you go ye, He says, "Come unto Me."  Regarding preaching, we don't have anything to say unless we have spent time with Him. If we don't spend time with Him we end up just echoing what other men have said. 

John has a voice. He sent the out to preach and 

Mark 3:15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 

Jesus picked 12 disciples. I wish you could hear Pastor Scales' delivery of the description of the disciples. The whole packed church was laughing so hard at his characterizations of the disciples. I love how Pastor Scales can deliver a message with humor, so much is taught this way. 

Mark 3:16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 

Simon means a reed shaken in the wind, and Peter is the Rock. 

Mark 3:17-19 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

There are four places where the disciples are listed  

Mark 3:16-19 (the above passage)

Matthew 10:2-4 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James theson of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Luke 6:14-16 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Acts 1:13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. 

Judas Iscariot is not in the list in Acts.

Pastor Scales pointed out that the disciples are always listed in three groups of four. The leaders of the groups are the same, but the other disciples may be listed in various orders.

PETER (the leader) - James, John, Andrew

PHILIP (the leader) - Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas

JAMES the son of Alphaeus (the leader) - Thaddeus (also known as Alphaeus, Lebbaeus, Judas Son of James), Simon the Cananite (also known as Simon the Zealot) and Judas Iscariot

Peter, Philip, and James are always the leaders  of the groups, but the groups represent different levels of relationship in a church or with Jesus. That is not to say one is lower or higher, just different.

Pastor Scales proceeded to have us laughing as we looked at some of the diverse characteristics of the various members of this family of Jesus - and he pointed out that we have room for all these people in the family of the Church.

PETER - had a foot shaped mouth. He never had an answer right but he was always the first person to speak up. He had it so wrong so often that the one time he got it right, Jesus said you did not know that in your flesh, you had to have it revealed to you by the Holy Ghost.

Can our family have a few Peters?

JAMES AND JOHN were called the Sons of Thunder - they were often suggesting that Jesus bring fire down on the people. They were sort of the Hell's Angels Disciples. Probably would have tattoos today. They were the bad boys. If anyone would have disagreed with them, they would have suggested to burn them up. They were not full of grace, mercy, and long-suffering, at least until Jesus reshaped them.  The Sons of Thunder would have evangelized by saying get saved today or burn in hell.

JOHN was the apostle of love. When he writes of himself he writes in the third person - never I John, but rather "The one the Lord loved." He had a positive self image. When Jesus told the disciples that someone was going to betray him, all the disciples asked "Is it I?" except John who said, "Lord tell me who it is."  

Can we handle a James and John in our family?

ANDREW - was good for the little things. He could find stuff. Pastor Scales compared him to David's mighty men who, when David wanted a drink from a certain well on the opposite side of the enemy camp, his men strapped swords on and went out and made it happen, getting David his water. Andrew was an if you need it, he can find it. He knows what is hidden in a garage, where to find the best deal at Odd Lot, Lowe's, etc. When Jesus wanted to feed the crowd it was Andrew who found the boy with the lunch, five loaves of bread and two fish. 

Can we handle an Andrew in our family?

PHILIP was the bean cruncher. He would go to the calculator before consulting the Lord. When Jesus was going to feed the 5000 with the five loaves and two fish, he pointed out that even 200 denari would not be enough to feed the group. He is the one that, if God gave you a vision, would tell you why it won't work, reminding you of the high cost of the vision.  How we can't afford to do that God-given vision.

Can we handle a  Philip in our family?

BARTHOLOMEW  - he was the guileless one with no hidden agenda. There are some in the church that are happy to worship, sing songs, eat chicken, and tell you exactly what they think. They are not the ones who say, "I will stick with you forever,"  and then leave the moment they are not pleased with something you do.  Pastor Scales said that one of his members came up to him and said, "I don't like you, but God wants me to come to this church."  With the guileless ones you know exactly where you stand.

Can we handle a Bartholomew in our family?

MATTHEW - sold out to the system, working for the man.  He was collecting taxes from his own people, extorting money from them. When Jesus wanted Matthew, Pastor Scales speculated that the other disciples would have said, "Wait a minute, don't you know who he is? He's working for the man. He probably votes Republican. Wears a shirt and tie."  The other disciples were fishermen, blue collar workers. Matthew would have been wearing a suit and winged tipped shoes. 

Can we handle a Matthew in our family?

THOMAS - we know him for doubting. They are the kind that say, "I'll believe it when I see it."  Jesus died, was buried, rose, and was seen by the women, and the 10 disciples, but Thomas was not at the meeting. He is the one that said that He needed to touch Jesus' side and stick his fingers in the nail holes to believe that Jesus really was risen. Pastor Scales said, Some make it happen, some watch it happen, and some wonder what happened.  Thomas represents the skeptics and doubters.

Can we handle a Thomas in our family?

JAMES SON Of ALPHAEUS -which means the less - this is the short people, they grow so far and stop growing. There is a syndrome called the short man's complex, where those who feel short assert their personality, become exhibitionists, and assert themselves to compensate for their perceived lack. 

Can we handle a James, son of Alphaeus in our family?

THADDAEUS, AKA LEBBAEUS, JUDAS SON OF JAMES, AND SIMON THE ZEALOT - this man has a few AKA's (Also known as).  He was a zealot, a zealous Jew who carried a sword, and tried to kill Roman soldiers whenever he could. He would have been sort of the Black Panther of the Jews. He would not have approved of Matthew being in the ranks.  Pastor Scales speculated that maybe Simon provided the sword when Jesus told his disciples to find a weapon. Peter could not cut the neck of the servant, missed and cut off his ear.  Simon the zealot would not have missed.

Can we handle a Thaddaeus, aka Lebbaeus, aka Judas son of James, aka Simon the Zealot in our family?

JUDAS ISCARIOT - who betrayed Jesus. In a family there are those who betray us. They smile to your face but are plotting to take your place. 

Can we handle a Judas Iscariot in our family?

Pastor Scales then went on to speak about betrayal. He said that there is no pain like the pain of betrayal. That when someone that you expect to be loyal, steadfast, and faithful stabs you in the back it hurts. If an enemy attacks you, you expect that, but not betrayal at the hands of a friend, loved one, or family member.  

Jesus was a member of this family of disciples. Judas had supped with Jesus, laughed with him, traveled with him, and then betrayed him with a sign of affection, a kiss.  

All of us have been betrayed at some point in our lives. The person who is the betrayer is trying to get to your heart. The enemy wants this to happen, wants you so wounded that you never trust people anymore.  He shoots arrows at your heart. 

When you receive the pain of betrayal your hearts close down for survival and you vow never to trust again. Some never recover from betrayal, they are the ones who isolate themselves, and never join a small group in the church or get close to anyone in the church. They want to attend the services, but not get involved. 

Judas was paid to betray Jesus.  Jesus was such a part of this household that he did not stand out from the others. Unlike the Medieval paintings where Jesus has a lighted halo around his head, he did not have such a thing when he was on earth. If he had had a lighted halo on his head, he would have stood out even at night and the soldiers would not need Judas to point him out. Judas kissed Jesus, and then Jesus hung on the cross. While on the Cross, Jesus did not let the pain of the betrayal touch his heart - had it hurt him in the heart, we would not be sitting here saved today. Instead, Jesus forgave those who hurt him.  

Pastor Scales loves our church because there is such a diversity of members.  He told us that our church is a little taste of what Heaven will be like, many people with such diverse talents and lifestyles and cultures.  Not all churches are like ours.

He then had us laughing when he mentioned that he likes most kinds of music but at one point country western used to irk him.  He kept being invited to a church to teach, and finally God told him to go and teach there. When he walked in he said it was as if Elvis was reincarnated - the pastor had the hairdo, the belt buckle, the jeans, etc, and the church was definitely country western. He know knows where Elvis is hiding, a small church.  When they sang praise and worship music it was country western. Pastor Scales said something to God about this and God told him in his spirit, "You need to like all kinds of worship music, and if you refuse to learn to like country western, I am going to place you in the country western section of Heaven."  Pastor Scales told us that now he appreciates all styles of music, and he saw that he could not close his heart on worship no matter the style of it, when he saw these people in this church worshipping, he knew that they were seeking and loving God.  That is what matters.

We are the family of God.  He told us to never be afraid to invite people to our church - every family has a few weird members.

We are coming into the season of the Feast of Tabernacles, and we need to remember to Tabernacle with our family members, not only at church, but outside the walls of the church.  The Feast of Tabernacles involves building a Sukkot at church, but also one at home - taking church into your neighborhood.  

He suggested that we invite church members over to our house for meals, take walks together, meet at a cafe for coffee, bowl together, play tennis, golf, etc. Show that our fellowship does not happen only within the four walls of the church.  Those who are not believers will observe how we get together and act in love, and want that kind of relationship in their lives. It is a good way to draw people to the church.

We then were asked to come forward if we had been betrayed in our past and were still hurting from the betrayal. Members of the congregation who did not step forward laid their hands on the people who had step forward and prayed over them - while Pastor Scales prayed and Chris Bethel played anointed music over us.  The prayers consisted of asking God to come into our hearts and heal us of the hurt of betrayal.  We were asked to touch our hearts and take that betrayal and give it up to Jesus, and let Jesus heal us.  Then we were told not to take back that betrayal or close our hearts.  

We sang and shofars were blown. An awesome feast of fried chicken, greens, and many side dishes and desserts were served. I especially want to thank the kitchen crew who worked so hard to make sure all were fed - there were over 200 in attendance.  Also, our own praise and worship teams and dancers, the youth and adults added to the atmosphere of worship and praise that pervaded the church last night. I am so grateful for all who help so much to make evenings like this possible.

Praying God blesses you and that if you have been betrayed in your past that you give it to Jesus for healing. Don't let your heart be closed to the love that is available to you in the family of God.

God bless you.
Heather 

Anthony said that he was going to cover three aspects of acceptance

1. We tend to accept only those truths that get through our filters

2. There can be victory by adversity

3. The benefits and power of adoption

FILTERS

Filters block particles. Are we blocking out the truth?  Before we get saved we tend to fight against the truth. 

At one point Anthony was wondering if Jesus was the Son of Man or the Son of God. Today He knows that Jesus is the Lord and Savior.

There were filters that blocked other truths, such as the truth about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Anthony had seen the abuse of these gifts and how they were not being used according to the Word of God.  He had seen false prophets and teachers. This caused him to put up filters to reject the truth about the gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Anthony chose to believe what God had to say about Spiritual gifts, not the teaching of denominations. He learned that the Holy Spirit gave gifts, and if He wants to give them to us, we need to accept them. 

We need to know the basics. Faith means to take the step from.

Anthony said that he found he was holding on to resentment, and that in his eyes was ugly, the man in the mirror that he was seeing.

We tend to hide behind masks and should not go it alone, for we need accountability.

When it is not of Christ it can lead to arguing. We can have resentment, blame another. It takes two people to argue.

In an argument there are three sides:  yours, mine, and the truth.

We should not allow people to push our buttons.  That is easy to say but hard to do.

It is not an accident that we are to EXERCISE our faith, it takes time to build our faith muscles.

One revelation of truth can change our lives.  We can count it all joy and we can have victory by adversity.

Philippians 1:12-26 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,  that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Paul was in prison. He chose to accept this for he know that he was doing this for Christ. If Paul died he would go straight to heaven. But God still had work for Paul so he ws not done yet. With whatever we are doing we need to practice the presence of God.

Philippians 1:15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill:

People were trying to get Paul into trouble.  There was rampant paganism, stiff-necked people, agnosticism, and this was creeping into the Church. Paul was dealing with this, and we too are facing this in the church today.

Paul writes to Timothy in First and Second Timothy to help Timothy deal with these elements trying to creep into the Church. Timothy was a young pastor. The elders he was pastoring were wondering who was Timothy to be leading them. Paul counseled Timothy to stay strong.  Everything works together for good.  As you grow, satan will not like it.

Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?”  So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”  So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”  And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” 
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Paul, in Philippians 3 speaks of obedience and suffering, but what he realizes is that everything is for the glory of God.

BEAUTY AND POWER OF ADOPTION

Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 

Predestined means foreordained, established, prearranged. God knows what we are going to do, but He has good plans for us. We choose to follow them or not.

Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

We conform to the power of His Will. There is a bigger picture to the little piece that we see. 

Romans 8:14-18 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

There is a big difference between adoption and foster care. We are adopted into the family of God. God has given us His Name.

Romans 8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 

The redemption of our body - a new creation.

Ephesians 1 is the first stage 

Ephesians 8:14 is the second stage

Ephesians 8:23 is the third stage

We go from glory to glory. Accept the truth of God's word, staying strong in adversity, then accept what God is doing through us in Christ.

We need to get to the point where, when we realize God is training us that we go through the situations following God's direction, not trying to change the circumstance from happening, protect or exit from it, but rather determine to learn what it is that God is showing us through this situation.

This teaching gave me some things to think about, I hope it blesses you as well.  I love that our church has so many people that share the Word of God and add depth of meaning to the scriptures. Praying your day is blessed.

Heather