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Have faith, today God will render double unto you

Zechariah 9:12 - Turn [return] you to the strong hold [fence], ye prisoners
of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

The scripture preceding today’s message talks of God by the righteousness
(blood) of the Covenant made between Him and us draws us out of the prison
(pit) that has no mercy (water).

Christ as Son of God and Son of Man by His death and resurrection became
the hope for all mankind, anyone who hopes in Him is saved from the prison
Hell which is the only place void of the mercy of God. Even the fallen
angels / evil spirit receive God’s mercy when on earth (this natural
creation); in Hell they know they will not receive any mercy, thus fear.

In today’s message God does not stop there, He challenges us to receive
double of the things we have received of Him, but to receive this we need
to come into His strong hold. The Hebrew word translated as strong hold
means a fenced enclosure that is symbolizes His wings of grace.

I have many a times seen people think grace is very easy and a solution to
all problems and situations. They do not realize they need grace in every
area of their lives. By our faith in Jesus Christ we by default receive the
grace to be saved from Hell. But grace in other areas of our lives needs to
be received. Grace cannot be earned but yet it is not free nor can be taken
for granted. Grace need to be got and it can only be got through faith.

Faith as we know is believing in the Word of God or in God, which are the
only constants that do not change. Believing in anything else is either
called hope, or trust but not faith.

Faith as a gift from God can come for a mission or a period of time but
faith as a fruit that remains needs to be developed, and this happens
through efforts and experiences. Thus grace is not easy as people think.

Paul had abundant grace on his life, even to live a life of a bachelor
overcoming lust and dedicating his whole attention only to his mission in
the Lord. But Paul struggled for grace to overcome the thorn in his life
and God said at 3 occasions that the grace he had received was sufficient
for him. It was only through experiences we see in his last letters he
overcame.

The Lord is telling us indirectly to trust in Him and increase our faith in
Him and thus we will be in His strong hold and thus receive double in our
lives.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we know when we trust in You we are never disappointed for You never
fail. Lord, we need to trust in You in every area of our lives. There are
many areas we lack because do not trust You in those areas. Today, Lord You
have said we will receive double in those areas if we trust in You in those
area so Lord, we pray that we build our faith in those areas and receive
from You...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Zechariah 9:11-12

11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy
prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.

12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I
declare that I will render double unto thee;

Romans 4:16 - Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the
end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of
the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the
father of us all,

Romans 5:2 - By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Psalms 85:10 - Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace
have kissed each other.


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Whose son is He?

Luke 20:41-44

41 And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son?

42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

43 Till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

44 David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?

During the time of Jesus and even today the Jews had/have 2 idols or
people who were put high up almost to the level of God, sometimes above
God. They were Moses and David. The life of a Jew revolves mostly around
these 2 characters Moses as a great Prophet and David as a great king. The
laws of Moses bind the spiritual life of a Jew like the Tefillin (a strap
that they bind their hand with while praying or reading scriptures based on
Deut 6:5-9, instead of binding themselves with the Word of God they use a
strap ) and the star of David which they await and do not realize was a
sign fulfilled in Christ and has come to pass but they still seek the star
(a Christian who holds this flag does not realize is stating that they star
is yet not shown - Christ has yet not come). This was the Old Church - one
of the two women (daughters of the prostitute) spoken of in the Bible
symbolizing a Church.

The second daughter whom the Bible says is worse than the former also has
an idol that they have lifted up above God which is the mother of Jesus
that is Mary.

In the Bible, Jesus in both the genealogies listed by Matthew (which is of
Joseph) and that by Luke (which is of Mary) has a common ancestor that is
David. God had committed a Saviour from the line of David and legally and
actually God fulfilled by choosing a person from the line of David to bear
the child and even the person in whose name the child be officially listed
under be also of the line of David.

Jesus called Himself 'son of man' and was truly the son of David both
through natural lineage (Mary) and also official lineage (Joseph) yet when
it came to people stating Christ was the son of David (common ancestor) -
Jesus denied it and spoke to them the words given to us today.

We need to distinguish Jesus from Christ and from Lord even though they all
3 refer to the same person. Lord Jesus Christ as Jesus never denied being
the son of David or of Mary but when He as Christ or Lord was called a son
of (descendant of) David, He immediately refuted it. Jesus as man was the
son of Mary and also of David but as Christ or Lord He was greater than
them. He as Lord was their creator and their God and as Christ was their
Saviour.

If Mary is called mother of God then David becomes great, great (many
times) grandfather of God and we see such terms are just blasphemy.

When I was a Catholic and was studying the Bible it was scriptures like
these which opened my eyes to the deceit and blasphemy of this Church
(little horn of Daniel).

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, people are deceiving because they lack knowledge and trust the words
of men more than your Word. Their hearts are hard and far from You. Lord it
is only your love and mercy that helped us to come in your grace and come
to know You. Lord, we pray your people who are far from You do not harden
their hearts. That your mercy softens them and they open their eyes to know
You and discern the sayings of man...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

 ove the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your
might. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your
minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting
around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down
and when you are getting up. Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should
be on your forehead as a symbol. Write them on your house's doorframes and
on your city's gates. br> 
Ezekiel 23:2-7, 11-12

2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt [symbolising double life]; they
committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and
there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

4 And the names of them were Aholah [means 'her own tent' one who created
her own institute] the elder, and Aholibah [means 'woman of the tent' a
institute ruled by a woman] her sister: and they were mine, and they bare
sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria [ a rocky mountain -
symbolizing having many truths and not one Truth] is Aholah, and Jerusalem
[ there are 2 Hebrew words translated as Jerusalem one means the place
<03390> the other the false Jerusalem <03389> , this is the later] Aholibah.

5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her
lovers, on the Assyrians [strangers - symbolizing false gods / beliefs] her
neighbours,

6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable
young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the
chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols
she defiled herself.

11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her
inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her
whoredoms.

12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers
clothed most gorgeously, horsemen [symbolizing prosperity] riding upon
horses [symbolizing progress], all of them desirable young men [symbolizing
spiritually immature people] .

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Tested by the Lord - He makes a way out

Jeremiah 35:5 - And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites
pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

We read in today's message a Man of God like Jeremiah brings the sons of
Rechabites into the worship place and offers them pots of wine to drink!

We read Jeremiah did not do this by his own thinking but he was directed by
God to do this. Why would God offer the Rechabites wine and that too in a
place of worship? If it was not Jeremiah and someone unknown doing that, we
would have immediately concluded that the person was an instrument of
Satan, who else would do such a thing and that too in such a place?

Firstly let us analysis the scriptures. The wine which is mentioned here is
Yayin (in Hebrew) which is daily drinking wine meaning it was not strong
wine or alcohol (Shekar). This wine was mildly to moderate fermented and it
would take a lot of drinking of this wine for a person to be affected by it.

Secondly God did not just tell Jeremiah to give them wine but ask him to
bring them to a place considered holy to test them. If God wanted them to
just drink wine, God would have asked Jeremiah to call them to his house or
to go to their house and offer them wine. But by bringing them to a holy
place God got them to be more aware of their commitment and this
strengthened them to stay rooted to it.

The Greek word used for testing and tempting is the same word peirazo.

James tells us not to state we are tempted by God. Translation did not use
the word tested but preferred to use the tempted even though the Greek word
peirazo which means both is used here.

When we say the word tempted in English it means being put to test or in a
situation with the intention to destroy or harm us. God tests us and He
does it to promote us spiritually or to bless us. He does this to see if
His Word is in us. Even Satan tries to see if the Word of God is in us but
when he does it we call it temptation and not testing because his intention
is to see us fail and not pass the test. That is why he made Adam and Eve
first doubt the Word of God before eating of the fruit of the Tree of Good
and Bad.

Today's example is a perfect example of testing verses tempting. We see God
shows His intention by bring them in a holy place before being tested. God
made sure He helped them to pass the test. He made a way of escape for them
from failing the test. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians confirms
this.

God is telling us when He tests us He makes all the possible required
arrangements for us to come out of it with flying colors. He desires we
mature and therefore teaches us to discern by taking us through tests.

We may ask what is the ultimate purpose of God to do this?

The testing and temptation we are going through on earth are very small for
these are temptaions of the flesh, things that hold not much value. Give it
a thought Lucifer called the king of tyre and the Beast called the prince
of tyre were not ordinary Angels; they were Cherubs who headed legions of
Angels. They were most close to the glory of God, taking the highest
spiritual place any created being could and yet we see they fell. They fell
not by bad things but with good spirit things which they misused, used not
according the plans of God. Bible does not say God gave a Commandment to
them which they broke. The first Commandment was given to man therefore the
first sinner is man not Satan (plural). But the first evil being or father
of evil is not man but Satan.

Going against the plan of God after having knowledge of what is right in
the eyes of God is great evil. It is this evil which God calls darkness.

Had the Rechabites failed the test even after God helping them, it would
have shown the evil in them. But God knowing that with a little help they
would pass the test caused Jeremiah to bring them to a holy place to be
tested. Their passing this test and the life of the Rechabites helped God
to teach the Israelites and us the meaning of diligence. These people gave
up the comforts of life to stay committed to what they believed in. They
did not have much knowledge of the Truth yet we see great commitment from
them; we who know of the Truth how much more is expected of us.

At times God needs to bring us back on the track or accelerate us through
this journey therefore needs to put us through tests, but like today's
message says He also helps us pass it and desires we do not fail or be
consumed by it.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You are preparing us for greater things in Heaven. You desire we do
not fall like Satan did that is why even though You allowed sin to come in
man yet You made a way of escape from sin through Jesus Christ. Lord, we
know You will make way for us even in the small tests that we go through if
we keep committed to You like the Rechabites did. Help us Lord to keep our
eyes always on You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scripture]

Jeremiah 35:1-2

1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them
into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to
drink.

1 Corinthians 10:13 - There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Ezekiel 28:1-5, 11-17

1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in
the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God,
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can
hide from thee:

4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee
riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches,
and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:

11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto
him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and
perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy
covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the
jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the
workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day
that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in
the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee
with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane
out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted
thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I
will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

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He wills you know Him and His Word

Acts 22:14 - And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that
thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear
[listen] the voice of his mouth.

One of the greatest problem with Christians is they do not know why they
are Christians or need to be Christians. When I say Christian it does not
mean those who follow the religion Christianity but means those who follow
Christ and are in the process of becoming like Christ.

People are fooled to believe that accepting Christ as one's saviour will
get them to Heaven. Jesus again and again in the 4 Gospels said the words
'follow me'; a person that does not follow Him is not called a Christian.
Understand the people were called Christians only in Antioch, in all the
other places they were called 'people of the way'. The name was not given
to them because of what they believed but more because the way they lived
their lives.

The primary reason why Jesus came as man and died on the cross is not
understood by many. If you ask any Christian you are sure to get the answer
to forgive us our sins.

Imagine a vessel that is dirty and in muck, you taking that vessel and
washing it spick and span and putting it back in the muck. Does that make
any sense?

Jesus by His sacrifice forgives us of our sins when we believe in His
sacrifice and accept it in our lives but then His sacrifice does not attend
to the sinful nature in us and that is why even after we become Christian
we still sin. No Christian can say they do not sin either in thought, words
or deeds if not in all.

God knew to really save man He needed to change man and there was no way
man could change by himself. So God needed to be in man, with man to save
him. Sinful man is like stagnant water that breeds all likes of infection
and in such water God can not dwell. Repentance is what causes the dirty
water to move or flow out and knowledge of the kingdom of God is like fresh
clean water that fills in. Even if that water is as dirty as can be, all
one needs to do is follow the process continually, till all the dirty water
is drained and fresh water fills in. This process is what Jesus calls being
born again and for this we need God in us and that is why Lord Jesus Christ
gave us His Spirit.

If we do not understand that the most important part of believing in the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ is to receive His Holy Spirit and to be led by
Him, we will fail to be true Christians.

We need to know due to sin we lost something and just removing stain of
sins is half the job, we need to gain back what we lost and that is the
only way we can be complete and enter Heaven.

Today's scripture says God willed that we know His Just one Jesus Christ
from whom we receive Righteousness but to receive this Righteousness we
need to know His Word and it is the Spirit of Truth - the Holy Spirit who
does the job by renewing our minds, our hearts and bringing the Truth in us.

Jesus as man taught His disciples but yet they did not understand Him.
Jesus knew that no man can teach man perfectly, that is why He said He will
give them the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth who will disclose all that He
taught them and bring them to the Truth. Jesus who was so perfect yet
relied on the Holy Spirit but we have many preachers and leaders who try to
do the job by themselves.

In our last message we learned how God will prompt us and help us in our
mission, today God is reminding us and telling us the importance of the
Holy Spirit in our mission in Him. We need to understand we are not to lead
people unto the end but like Jesus just prepare them to a stage that the
Holy Spirit can take over and finish the job. That is why scriptures say
there is not teacher other than the Lord (Holy Spirit). But since man being
far from knowing the Holy Spirit or being in communication with Him, we the
anointed ones of God need to fill in that gap.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, many think by just acknowledging You in their lives they will enter
Heaven. Paul called us corrupt - dirty and partly broken being and we need
to not only be cleaned but also rebuild, renewed and born again. Holy
Spirit it is only by You that we can be renewed in our nature when the
Truth abides in us. Holy Spirit fall on your people and take charge of
their hearts and minds. Renew them and complete the job Jesus came for and
You have started in us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 23:8 - But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all
ye are brethren.

John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 8:14 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God.

1 John 3:1 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not.

Philippians 2:15 - That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,
without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom
ye shine as lights in the world;

Romans 8:19 - For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God.

1 Timothy 2:3-4

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.

John 8:31-32

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in
my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 16:12-16

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it
unto you.

15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he
shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and
ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

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Confession and Compassion
Matthew 9:13
"But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Do you want to sense the maximum attention of God? You must first give Him your maximum attention.
Do you want the Lord to be available to you? You must first be available to Him.
Do you want to touch the heart of God? You must first be available to His moving.
If you want to be part of God's effort to rebuild our broken world through the redeeming gospel of Christ, you must be willing to become part of God's solution—whatever it may be.
Isn't it easier just to pray, "Lord, do this. . . Lord, bless that . . . Lord, help him [or her] . . . Lord, provide in this way . . . Lord, minister in that way"? But what if you heard a voice from heaven that said, "Of the five requests you just prayed, four of them are up to you!"
God's work often requires your willingness. In the parable of the Good Samaritan it becomes clear that anyone who claims the name of Christ is not merely to pray for someone, but to pray for wisdom to know how to help.
Compassion for the lost and needy among us is what draws God's attention, for it comes from a heart modeled after His own.
With this in mind, is it any wonder that the average Christian really doesn't want the maximum attention of God? He or she really doesn't want to become part of His divine solution because it may cause a bit of discomfort or uneasiness.
It is one thing to get on your knees and pray for God to bless a person, but it is quite another to follow up that prayer with a letter, a phone call, a visit, an invitation, a gift.
If your compassion does not extend beyond your prayer time, it isn't genuine.
If we are to gain God's special attention as a co-laborer with Him, we must share in His anguish over the fallen world around us.
Aren't we rather self-centered to expect God to share our distress over what we care about if we don't share His distress over His concerns?
Let's not create a double standard in our thinking and living, but wholeheartedly imitate God's standard—following up with acts of sincere compassion after our prayers.
When we begin to pray and act in this way, we can be sure that God is not only hearing us . . . but He is pleased with us!
Prayer Point: Pray for someone you know who is in need, whether it is physical or spiritual, but start your prayer by asking what you can do to help meet that need. Don't just ask God for the solution—ask Him how you can become part of the solution.
Extra Refreshment: Read Luke 10:25-37

He came not for the righteous but sinners to repentance

Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole
have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

This scripture which we received today is very famous. People say 'Jesus
came not for the righteous but for the sinners' , but when you look at the
scripture accurately it does not say Jesus came for the sinners but for
sinners to repentance.

Without repentance none can come to Jesus or to God. The first step for a
person to come to God is to realize that he or she is a sinner and by no
means can that person undo ones sins without the help of Jesus Christ.

If we look at the people of this world we will find each and every person
is spiritually sick not one person in this world is perfect. That means
each and every person requires Christ, but we also see not all the people
come to Christ.

When Jesus spoke these lines it was because the Pharisees questioned His
sitting with people they considered sinners and robbers of men (tax
collectors). The Pharisees themselves were not free of sin but they
considered themselves righteous and that God had taken care of their sins
because they did the works of God.

In today's world any person having a little sense would know that they are
sinners, yet we find very few come to Christ. It is the gods of the people
or their lack of understanding of God that makes them think they are
righteous and it is this that prevents them from really coming to Christ.
People in this category do not mean only non-Christians but even many so
called Christians stand in this lot.

Many call themselves Christians because they believe something about Jesus
Christ. Just believing something about Jesus Christ does not make any
person a Christian. Knowing ones self to be a sinner and then repenting for
one's sinful nature; this is the first step towards becoming a Christian
after this comes the next and most important part receiving the Holy
Spirit, being baptised in the Holy Spirit and being led by the Holy Spirit.
Only those who do this complete process are called true Christians.

People make a big mistake of repenting for the sins they commit. One cannot
do anything by repenting for the sins one commits for it is only by the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ one's sins are washed away and without true
repentance one cannot come to Christ. True repentance requires one to
repent for committing sins and not for the sins they committed.

When John the Baptist and Jesus started their ministry they started with
preaching repentance. They asked people to have the fruit of repentance
which means to repent not for the sins but for committing the sins, the
bearing of wrong fruits. When we repent for committing sins we will have a
desire to change and stop committing sins that is where we get to receive
the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That is when we get
born again and start our journey of becoming Christians. Only those who
repent for their sinful nature really become Christians and have Jesus
Christ in their lives.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, many are misled to believe in ways to justify their sins by false
gods and false beliefs. Lord, there are also those who realize they are
sinners and repent for their sins, these are the ones who come on visiting
visa to You, after a few days they are back to where they started. It is
only those who repent for their sinful nature are the one who realize
without You they cannot change. These are the ones who receive the Holy
Spirit and are born again in You. Lord, we pray more and more stand among
the later and not the former, that more and more become true Christians and
have You in their lives...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Mark 2:16-17

16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and
sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and
drinketh with publicans and sinners?

17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no
need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 3:1-2, 6-8

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of
Judaea,

2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism,
he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from
the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Matthew 4:13-17

13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the
sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,
saying,

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat
in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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The story of life in the story of Israel

Judges 11:9,10 - And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring
me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver
them before me, shall I be your head? And the elders of Gilead said unto
Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy
words.

If one puts the whole story of Israel in a nutshell one will see the story
of life in it.

When Lucifer went against the plans of God (which is light) he caused
darkness to come into existence. Lucifer being a Cherub (referred as snake
or dragon) also influenced another Cherub (referred as young lion or beast)
and all the Angels below them, thus Revelation states as one third of the
Angels, since there were 6 Cherubs each having an army of Angels below them.

The Cherubs and the Angels form the Body of the Son (should not be
misunderstood to a natural earthly body), like the Son and Spirit form the
Body of the Father. Due to the rebel of the fallen angels the Body of the
Son (the Temple) was affected and thus caused God to create man lower than
the Angels (make exactly like the Angels in spirit but put in the flesh
therefore lower than the Angels) to replace the fallen angels and form the
Renew Temple - Body of God the Son. But then they were not allowed the
smooth transition, Satan caused man to eat of the fruit of doubt (Tree of
Good and Bad) and thus caused the long journey of man through the
wilderness which we are living. We will be built through the wilderness and
be renewed to fight and overcome Satan and the fallen angels at the end.
But for God the most important fact for us to overcome is not the fallen
angels but the nature within us, for without it we would be consumed by the
fallen angels.

In today message from Judges Chapter 11 we read the story of Israel in a
nutshell narrated by Jephthah when he challenges the Amorites.

The journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land was a short trip through
the land of the Amorites but due to their refusal to allow them to pass
through they had to take a long journey through the wilderness. God did do
great miracles through the Israelites in the wilderness and they also
defeated many armies fighting great battles by their faith in God but this
was built gradually through their journey in the wilderness. God knew if
they had faced the Amorites in the start itself they would have been
consumed by them. Even though God was able to do all things but yet the
lack of faith of the Israelites in God would have not allowed the power of
God to be manifested through them and they would have been consumed by the
Amorites.

Jephthah was born from a prostitute and man is called a spiritual
prostitute by God when they go after other gods. It was this rejected child
of the prostitute who later became their leader when the Israelites
approached him united as one and it was this man Jephthah along with the
Israelites challenged the Amorites and defeated them. Also we note before
defeating the Amorites he had to deal with his own people who had forsaken
the Promised Land (symbolizing Heaven) for the land before river Jordan
(symbolizing earthly inheritance) .

Christ was born out of sinful man and was rejected but now we are growing
aware that without Him we stand no change to defeat the fallen angels and
therefore are getting united together to approach Him to come back and lead
us to the battle. During this period we are getting built spiritually for
the battle.

God said not to spare any being of the Amorites, not only the men, women or
infants but even the animals connected to them and the thing connected to
them to be destroyed. God may look very harsh or unmerciful when He
commanded this but that was the shadow of what we need to do to the fallen
angels. We are called to destroy every form and type of fallen angel and
all this things connected to them, not sparing even the smallest of
smallest being among them or thing connected to them.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You loved us so much that You went to great extent to demonstrate the
t5hings hidden through the life of the Israelites. Man runs after earthly
things but the man Abraham who was given the promised was satisfied with
the real promise even though he did not receive the earthly shadow. Lord,
build us from inside and help us be united as one to be led by the Son of
Man Jesus when He comes again. That He may lead us to victory over the
fallen angels and that we may inherit the Heavenly things we were made
for...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Judges 11:1-33

Numbers 21:34-35

34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him
into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him
as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was
none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

Deuteronomy 3:1-6

1 Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan
came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

2 And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all
his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou
didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

3 So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of
Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him
remaining.

4 And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we
took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom
of Og in Bashan.

5 All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside
unwalled towns a great many.

6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon,
utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

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 Take up your CROSS and bear the power of God

1 Samuel 5:4 - And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold,
Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD;
and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the
threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

In the Old Testament the only object that showed great power of God and
which caused fear in the hearts of the enemies of the people of God was the
Ark of Covenant. The Israelites carried the Ark before them and it gave
them power to overcome not only human enemies, it also had power to bring
down the gods of the enemies and not only that, even nature did not stand
in their way when they bore the Ark of Covenant.

In the New Testament we also have a similar object that carries the same
power. Since the Old Testament is a shadow of the New the object in the New
Testament is not physical but spiritual, one cannot carry a physical object
but needs to spiritually carry it.

Paul speaks of the power of the CROSS and Jesus said if we are His
disciples we will carry our CROSS and follow Him. Jesus gave power and
authority to His disciples, thus only those who carry his or her CROSS will
have that power and authority.

In the Old Testament we see it was by bearing the Ark over their shoulders
the Israelites crossed river Jordan and into the Promised Land. In the New
Testament it is only by our carrying our CROSS do we become Sons of God
(Jordan means inheritance and inheritance is only for the son - spiritual
son / not male or female gender) and enter into the real Promised Land
which is Heaven.

The Israelites till date did not get their promise land for they sought a
worldly inheritance, we Christians are not people of this world we are not
called to pursue worldly things, we seek true things which are forever. We
are assured our Promise Land for Jesus as man is already there and He
awaits us there, preparing a place for us to be there. He is not preparing
Heaven but by His Spirit is preparing us to be in Heaven (a place not the
place) and His Spirit never fails.

CROSS does not mean the crucifix. By carrying an crucifix we will not go to
Heaven, on the other hand it can be a cause of us getting rejected, for it
can fools us to think we are with God, making us into religious people and
not spiritual people. CROSS means our purpose in Christ. Christ had only
one purpose above Him and that was the salvation of His people, that is why
it was not the Candle Stand (symbolizing the Holy Spirit) and the Shewbread
(symbolizing the Son) which were in the Holy of Holies but it was the Ark
which was placed there. Christ (Son with the Spirit) lifted the purpose of
salvation of His people above Him.

In a year it was only once that the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies
to make an offering of blood. Jesus Christ already did this sacrifice He
will not come again and again to do any more offerings of blood. If we do
not carry our CROSS now we will not get a chance again and again.

Let us not lose this opportunity to bear the power of God and enter the
Promised Land. If we are finding a lot of resistance from the world both
natural and spiritual, let us overcome them by carrying our CROSS our
purpose in Christ.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, the world sees all things with natural eyes that is why does not know
You. You Lord came to give us the real Ark and your Spirit to help us bear
it. Lord, open our real eyes to the real world and not be overcome by this
temporary world. You Lord have given us power and authority, power and
authority to bring down fire from the Heavens that would consume our
enemies in an instant, but we Lord fail to use it for we do not bear our
Cross. Lord, help us be your true disciples by faithfully carrying our
Cross in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Joshua 3:7-17

7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in
the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I
will be with thee.

8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant,
saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall
stand still in Jordan.

9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the
words of the LORD your God.

10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you,
and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and
the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and
the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth
over before you into Jordan.

12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of
every tribe a man.

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall
rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off
from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an
heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass
over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the
people;

15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of
the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for
Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an
heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that
came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were
cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood
firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed
over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples
also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there
shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
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Eat the contents of the vessel and not the vessel

Proverbs 1:1-4

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discretion.

We see many people leave Church because they see the man in the Pastor or
the Man of God and then there are others who stick to a congregation
because the leader is good in sense friendly and helpful. He or she is
always smiling and greeting people anywhere he or she meets them. Any
problem he or she will not fail to show up. But then this person does not
correct people when they make mistakes, this person does not make any
change to the spiritual lives of the people, every service his or her
preaching makes them feel good, it tells them all is well, God is good and
He understands them and their weakness, and loves them as they are.

Bible says an enemy is better than a foolish friend. Knowing that person is
an enemy we keep a watch out on them and their doing but when we think that
person is a friend we stop discerning them and start to trust them even in
little things, and if that person is a foolish person we will find it too
late when they do an insane thing and drag us in it.

People talk of the wisdom of Solomon, ask anyone who is the wisest person
in history and surely many will point to Solomon. But very, very few look
at the most foolish things this great wise man did, he made friends with
foolish people (his unbelieving wives) and due to his love for them he was
blind to what they did and like them he too worshipped idols - false gods.

We are people of light and light exposes everything so also we should
discern all things according to the Kingdom of God and the Word of God.
People thing this is judging and be blind like Solomon and fall in pits.
People will quote Paul and Jesus about not judging yet you will find both
did judge many. What they did not judge was the consequence of their
actions but they did judge their actions.

The Bible tells us not to judge the consequence of people, will they go to
hell or Heaven, Jesus Himself said He would come again to do that and when
we do that we put ourselves in Jesus' place and deny the need of Christ
therefore are judged for doing that. But that does not mean we should
tolerate, accept everything others do and not correct another person. We
are called as Christians to judge / discern every word and action and most
of all the intensions of other people not putting our guard down for anyone
not even our spiritual guides/fathers. We are called to discern everything
not according to our worldly thinking but according to the Word of God.

We are called to be children on light and children of light do not walk
with their eyes closed like those in darkness. That we grow in wisdom and
spiritual maturity, eating strong meat by growing in discernment.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, the people are more in flesh than of spirit. They walk according to
the flesh and change not something they desire. You are perfect therefore
never change, but even though You do not change yet your glory keeps
growing day by day. You are God that desire progress and therefore all your
plans are for the prosperity of man. Lord we pray that we do not behave
like children of darkness when we have seen your light and experienced it
in our lives. Lord we pray we walk with our eyes open discerning all
things, growing in wisdom and understanding. ..

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 16:3 - And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the
sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the
sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

Hebrews 5:14 - But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even
those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil.

Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and
foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

Proverbs 17:12 - Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a
fool in his folly.

Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and
foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

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Behold the Ruler of Israel

Matthew 2:6 - And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least
among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that
shall rule my people Israel.

I live in India; India is also referred by many as Hindustan (mostly in
Hindi) and my living in India does not make me a Hindu for Hinduism is not
a religion but a way of life. They willingly have been incorporating and
infusing any god or every local god and local myth into its fold. Like
Islam says Jesus was a Muslim, if Muhammad was born in India or anywhere
near India, he and his Allah too would have been included into Hinduism.

People have a very wrong understanding about Israel or an Israelite. There
are 4 types of Israelites, one which belong to the country Israel, second
those who are descendants of Jacob, third those who follow Judaism and
fourth those who are spiritual Israel.

Any person who dwells in Israel or gets citizenship of that country becomes
an Israelite/Israeli. So every Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or any
person of any religion or belief who is a citizen of the country Israel is
an Israeli/Israelite.

In the Bible the Lord called Jacob Israel thus all his children also were
called by the father's name Israel. That means all the 12 tribes were
called Israel. People do not realize the term Jews were used for those who
dwell in the district Judea. People think all Israelites are Jews but that
is not the case. The other tribes that dwelled in other regions are also
part of bloodline Israel.

People confuse Christians with Jews or Judaism. Jesus was born as a Jew
meaning of the region and tribe of Judah but was not a Jew following the
religion Judaism. Jesus always confronted the Jews (followers of Judaism)
and they hated Him. Although Jews uses the books of Moses as their main
foundation of belief (some also refer to the books of the Prophets, some do
not) yet they defer totally with Christians for they were more disciples of
Moses and less followers of YHWH, they put Moses above God and thus
followed the words of Moses to the letter.

Just a few days back I was teaching on Sabbath and was amazed to learn what
the Lord revealed while I was teaching. The Jews called themselves
disciples of Moses and in the Bible we do not see Moses making any
disciples for himself. The only people who could remotely call themselves
disciple would have been Aaron and Joshua.

When Moses was alive the Israelites (before they were called Jews) many a
time went against Moses' instructions and even at times wanted to kill him.
They became disciples of Moses not when Moses was alive but after he died.
We see God hide Moses' body because He knew what the Jews would do.

Moses is for the Jews what Mary is for the Catholics. Moses gave the Law of
God and became greater than the Law for the Jews in the same way for the
Catholic Mary gave birth of Jesus Christ and became greater than Christ.
Mary is the Moses of the Old Testament. Even though Moses sinned many a
time yet he was like god for the Jews and therefore when Stephen spoke
against the Jews following another god (Moses), they accused him of
blasphemy against Moses, and then against God, based on the Jewish law of
blasphemy they stoned him to death. Blasphemy is a term used only when
spoken / abuse against God/a god and not against a man.

If we look at scriptures the name of certain people were changed by the
Lord like the Lord changed the name of Abram to Abraham and never called
him Abram after that. Similarly the name of Saul (of NT) was changed to
Paul and nowhere do we see Paul being referred to as Saul in the first
person after that.

But in the case of Jacob and Simon, both Jacob and Simon were call Israel
and Cephas respectively (Cephas in Aramaic and in Greek Peter - Jesus and
His disciples spoke Aramaic so called him Cephas it was later when they
went out of Jerusalem to preach and communicated more in Greek, the name
Peter having the same meaning movable stone / small stone got stuck) yet
many a time both these people were referred to by their original names on
and off. There are sentences where both the names are used together as if
they refer to 2 different people.

The term Israel means Prince (Isra) of God (el) in another words one having
power with (not over) God. Jacob was called Israel for he struggled
(wrestled) with God and overcame (he did not overcome God but his deceiving
nature). About the descendants of Jacob no eating the hollow part of the
thigh because of Jacob's struggle is symbolic since the thigh part
represents prophecy and it was not yet fulfilled. In olden times people
used to place their hand to the thigh of a person when prophesying over a
person or other words blessing a person.

Israel was not a world name but a prophecy to the descendants of Jacob and
Isaac and Abraham, not natural descendants but spiritual by faith in their
God through their seed Jesus Christ. That also does not mean all Christian
are now true Israelites. The term Israelite or Prince of God in other words
simply means Sons of God and as Christians we are in the process of
becoming Sons of God when we are led by the Spirit of God. But since we
fail many a times therefore are not completely Sons of God yet, but are
called Sons of God (in the making). It is only when we overcome our flesh
or other words circumcision of our hearts we become real Israel / Jews of
the Bible (people of God).

Today's message calls Jesus as the ruler of Israel, not of the people of
the country Israel, nor the blood descendants of Jacob, nor the people who
are followers of Moses (Judaism) but those who are becoming Sons of God -
the real Israel.

The Kingdom of Christ is forever and no earthly Kingdom is forever. Jesus
as man grew in age and His body also aged. He was born infant, became boy,
then a young man and then a man. Had He live more as man He would have aged
as an old man and died of old age like any other man for He was 100 percent
man when He was on earth among us.

Many people presume Jesus would come of the age He was when He comes again
and stick to that age forever ruling His people, they are mistaken. Surely
Jesus will come again as He was when He ascended to the Father, but only to
judge His people and then like Paul says we all will be transformed from
these corruptible bodies to incorruptible. Flesh will no longer exist.
Revelation says natural earth (creation) and hell will cease to exist. The
new earth or New Jerusalem is not a natural world but a spiritual Kingdom
that lasts forever (Greek word 'ge' like the Hebrew word 'erets&# 39; does not
necessary point to land but the people - nation).

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray for all those due to lack of understanding are confusing
people of this world with your people. They think more in the flesh than in
the spirit. Lord, open the eyes of your people that they may not be
deceived and become victims of vanity. That they may know that You rein
forever and your Kingdom is forever...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Genesis 32:24-32

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the
breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the
hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as
he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as
a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he
said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him
there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face
to face, and my life is preserved.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon
his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank,
which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched
the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

Genesis 34:7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard
it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had
wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought
not to be done.

Genesis 35:10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not
be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his
name Israel.

Genesis 46:2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and
said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

Genesis 46:5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel
carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the
wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.


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Behold my brother, sister and mother

Matthew 12:49,50 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and
said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of
my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and
mother.

The Bible gives us the Truth, even though it tells us of great Men and
Women of God it does not fail to expose the weakness and failures of each
and every one of them from Noah to John & Peter including Mary the mother
of Jesus.

Mary's submission to the will of God is seen as a great example of faith.
Her dedication to Jesus Christ is seen by her sticking to Jesus at the cost
of leaving her other children even when He was crucified on the crucifix.
She along with her sister Salome (mother of John and James whom Jesus
called lovingly also Mary) and Mary Magdalene (her younger son James was
also there with them) did not fear the large crowd of people mocking and
abusing Jesus as He hung from the cross.

Mary Magdalene and Salome's name do not show up after the death of Jesus
but we see his mother Mary was there with the Apostles for a period of time.

There are 3 incidents in which Mary displeased Jesus.

The first time was when Jesus as a 12 year child was lost on their journey
to the temple and found later (they had gone to fulfil a Jewish custom).
Mary was worried when she realized Jesus was lost and when she found Him
she scolded Him for not sticking with them. Instead of quietly listening or
apologizing Jesus reminds her about His mission, He later keeps quiet. Mary
feels bad and hurt for Jesus as a child spoke to her in a firm tone, which
He had never done before. The scriptures say Mary 'kept all these sayings
in her heart', people think Mary as a disciple of Jesus remembered the
words as teaching, that is not the case it was a mother who was hurt by the
firm words of her little son.

The second time was at the marriage of Mary's daughter at Cana. At the
marriage Mary was helping in the arrangements and looking after the guest
needs therefore went 3 days before the marriage ceremony. Jesus came to the
marriage ceremony later along with His disciples. When the host (the family
of the groom hosted the marriage for according to customs the event is held
at the house of the groom) ran out of wine Mary became desperate and asked
Jesus to help. Since it was just to keep the reputation of the host Jesus
was not keen to help, for everything He did was to glorify God and not
Himself. But then under persistent persuasion of His mother He did turn
water into wine. The Bible makes it a point to note the unhappiness of
Jesus to do this miracle, it also says after the miracle Jesus' showed His
glory and not the glory of His Father in Heaven, which was what Jesus did
not want at all. If Jesus wanted just to make disciples He could have done
many things which people would have been fascinated with and believe Him,
which He did not. In all things that Jesus did, He did with purpose and the
purpose was to glorify the Father and not Himself. He always desired the
Father to glorify Him and He glorify Himself.

The third incident is the one given in today's message. This incident is
better recorded by Mark in his Gospel. At this moment Jesus was accused by
the Jews to have powers to do things by demons in Him. Mary and one of her
sons on hearing this got worried and came running to see if Jesus was okay.

Jesus at that time was preaching in a house which was fully crowded, Mary
and her son could not enter the house, but the anxiety to know of His
wellbeing could not let Mary and her son to wait patiently outside. In
between His preaching they send in a message asking Jesus come out to meet
them. At this Jesus gets upset. Firstly they went to the level of thinking
Jesus was affected with an evil spirit and then they showed their
impatience. When He is asked about His blessed family, Jesus angrily says
His real family is those who do the will of the Father.

Today the Lord is telling us even at the times when we are disturbed or
shaken in faith if we still believe in Jesus and hold on to Him, it pleases
Jesus. The will of the Father is that people accept His Son and come to Him
through Him. If we do the will of the Father then we are family to Jesus
and Jesus says where He is we too will be. When Jesus ascended after 40
days of His resurrection He specified He was going to the House of the
Father. The House of the Father is only for family members so let is never
loss hope in Jesus or forsake Him if we want to be family and dwell in the
House of the Father.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You came as man to be the way for mankind to be saved. You are the
only way for it is only our faith in You we receive the Holy Spirit and it
is by the power of the Holy Spirit we are saved. Lord, help us to never
forsake You or be shaken in our faith in You. That we may always remain to
be your Family...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Luke 2:44-51

44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's
journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem,
seeking him.

46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the
temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking
them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him,
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought
thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I
must be about my Father's business?

50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto
them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

John 2:1-11

1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the
mother of Jesus was there:

2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have
no wine.

4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is
not yet come.

5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the
purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled
them up to the brim.

8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the
feast. And they bare it.

9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and
knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the
governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good
wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast
kept the good wine until now.

11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested
forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

Matthew 12:46-50

46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren
stood without, desiring to speak with him.

47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand
without, desiring to speak with thee.

48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and
who are my brethren?

49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold
my mother and my brethren!

50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the
same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Mark 3:30-35

30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without,
sent unto him, calling him.

32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy
mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold
my mother and my brethren!

35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my
sister, and mother.

Luke 11:26-28

26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man
is worse than the first.

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the
company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that
bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God,
and keep it.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

John 12:26-30

26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall
also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from
this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying,
I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it
thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for
your sakes.

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Hell and Heaven experiences

Lamentation 3: 55,56 - I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low
dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at
my cry.

Jeremiah was a mighty Man of God and was the most hated by the people of
his time because he always became a thorn for them since they were living
an ungodly life while calling themselves people of God. Whenever Jeremiah
spoke in the Name of the Lord, the people would hate it for they wanted to
live a life like the worldly people, worshiping many gods like them and
also have God as one of the many gods they had.

They put Jeremiah in a dungeon and a historian was explaining how this
dungeon was and how Jeremiah was lowered in it; how he was bonded and kept
in it for many days. Jeremiah states this dungeon / pit experience was like
hell (lowest pit).

There are many people who claim to have visited hell or heaven and many
Christian sadly fall for these lies. This happens because of lack of
understanding of scriptures. People do not go by what scriptures state but
go by the pictures or painting which has been drilled in them from
childhood. Ask any person what is hell and they say a place where eternal
fire is burning, a place where Satan and his goons rule. They put people
who fall there into pots of burning oil (like cooking them) and enjoy doing
it. And when you ask them about Heaven they give a fairy-tale picture of
grand castle of gold, bright lights and greenery. The most common is of
Jesus Christ as a man wearing a golden crown standing with open arms to
receive them on steps of gold having a grand arch gate at its mouth.

Paul himself when he had a Heaven experience at his early spiritual stage
was not able to tell how this happened, note in consecutive sentences he
again repeats his doubt, if he had a vision or it was an out of bodily
(spirit) experience. But we have people who directly claim to an out of
body /in spirit gone to hell or Heaven and returned.

Paul did not claim any fairy-tale experience but from his letters we see
the Lord made him understand through this vision the levels of Heaven and
the differences at the various levels.

Before I too would believe these people who claimed hell and Heaven
experiences, but when the Lord explained what hell and Heaven was to me,
today I can easily discern these people's claims.

It was claims like these which caused the early Catholic Church to believe
in a fictitious place called Purgatory. After they fell for these visions,
they then started searching for scriptures which supported it. Since they
could find it in the 66 books of the Bible they added some books to the
Bible which seem to support this concept called Purgatory and many of their
non-biblical beliefs. For 1400 years they read these additional books as
reference books and not as canonized books but when they were questioned on
their false beliefs and wanted something to support their false beliefs
they canonized these books and today say it is in the Bible.

God warned that false prophets would lead us away from the Truth when we
start to believe in them more than God and God's Word.

It is always good to understand the Old Testament through the New Testament
for Jesus understood it and so also the Apostles when they were baptized in
the Holy Spirit, but the Jews never understood the Torah or the Books of
the Prophets even though they claimed, and claim to be scholars of it.
Therefore to go Jewish understanding of scriptures would be a great
mistake. The Jewish have a similar to the Catholic understanding of hell
and Heaven (but without Jesus for they think Jesus is in hell).

Today God is warning us about believing people and their visions unless we
confirm them with the Word of God. If we find them stating anything that is
contrary to the Word, we need to immediately reject their visions.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, your people are far from the understanding of scriptures therefore
fall prey to deceit. People claim to be your representatives and through
these distorted visions misled your people and slowly make them believe in
lies and vanity. Lord we pray your people be strong in understanding of
scriptures and not fall prey to the deceivers...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

2 Corinthians 12:2-5

2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I
cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such
an one caught up to the third heaven.

3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I
cannot tell: God knoweth;)

4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities.

Luke 16:19-31

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his
gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the
angels into Abraham' s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my
tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted,
and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so
that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass
to us, that would come from thence.

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send
him to my father's house:

28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also
come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them.

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent.

31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

1 Peter 3:18-20

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,
that is, eight souls were saved by water.

Revelation 2:10 - Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:
behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried;
and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life.

Revelation 20:7 - And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison,

Proverbs 15:11 Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more
then the hearts of the children of men?

Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the
pit.

Psalms 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed
in hell, behold, thou art there.

Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key
of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.


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Not doing evil will not take you to Heaven

Psalms 37:27 - Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

A few weeks back I met with a Catholic Priest and was discussing the Bible
with him. He was justifying his decision to follow Catholicism and the one
of his main points was that if a person does not sin and believes in Jesus
that person qualifies to be a good Christian and would go to Heaven. I
pointed to him scriptures in which the Bible clearly states like in today's
message that as Christians just not sinning does not qualify us to Heaven,
he was taken back and kept shut.

Today's message very clearly tells us if we need to dwell forevermore we
need not to sin AND do good. To dwell forever means one needs to go to
Heaven, for in Heaven alone can man dwell for ever since we need to have
access to the Tree of Life which is in Heaven to eat of it.

Another every important factor one needs to understand, doing good does not
mean just social work like giving alms or looking after the sick or needy,
these things are important but do not qualify a person to good/perfect
works. Our God is Spirit and the real good happens when we help the spirit
of that person, which includes bringing them to the Lord and building them
in the Lord. God is good and He came as man not just to feed man or heal
them but to save them from spiritual death.

If we feed the hungry with natural food we also need to give them spiritual
food (Gospel/Word of God). If we give the thirsty water to drink we also
need to give them Living Water - which is the understanding of the Kingdom
of God. If we cloth the naked with cloths we also need to teach them to
cloth themselves with the righteousness of Jesus Christ by abiding in His
Word and Spirit. If we give shelter to the homeless we also need to look
after those who do not know God and desire Him. If we do the former and not
the later we do not qualify to go to Heaven, also we need to note if we are
truly doing the later we will automatically do the former, for the later
without the former cannot be truly done.

So brother and sisters in Christ, even if you are able to escape temptation
and keep yourself from sinning, do not be deceived that you will be with
Jesus Christ in His Kingdom when He comes in glory. Jesus did His Father's
Will and gave us a mission to do, do that mission is doing is the Father's
Will if we do not abide by it, can we say we really believe in Him and love
Him?

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, many are deceived into thinking they will be with You when You come
in glory and dwell with You in Heaven. You have said even if we do miracles
or preach about You and do not do the Will of the Father we will not enter
Heaven and have eternal life. Lord, open the eyes of your people and let
them know You are a love and You showed us how to love truly. Lord Jesus
You fed people and healed them in the natural but at the same time You did
greater things for them in the spiritual. Help us to be your true disciple
by imitating You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 7:21-23

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity.

James 1:27 - Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world.

1 Peter 1:16-25

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth
according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in
fear:

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things,
as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from
your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you,

21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and
gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another
with a pure heart fervently:

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the
word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of
grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which
by the gospel is preached unto you.


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 Dig drenches in the dried valley and be filled

2 Kings 3:16 - And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of
ditches.

If one reads 2 Kings 3:14-24 one will see God asked the Israelites to make
drenches in the dried valley and miraculously the drenches get filled with
water. This water was to quench the thirst of the Israelites, of their
cattle and the other animals with them. But one thing the Israelites did
not dream of was that the same water would also play an important role in
their victory over the Moabites. For when the Moabites saw the water from
far it looked like blood and this caused them to walk into a trap in which
they were defeated.

We read one of the greatest enemies of the Israelites were the Moabites.
The Israelites struggled with them over years and years of battle. Here
their obedience to God bore fruit and victory over something they did not
dream of.

In today's message the Lord is again telling us to dig drenches in our
valleys, so that He can fill them with water. You may ask what valley and
what water?

When we read Isaiah 40:4 the valleys symbolizes our lack in our spiritual
life (knowledge) and mountains as the puffed up or the extra we think we
know. The Lord says He will lift the valleys and level down the mountains
so that we come to one understanding.

In today's message the Lord is talking to those dwelling n valleys, those
who are lacking or thirsting for knowledge of the Kingdom of God. God is
telling them to dig drenches that means meditate on the little they have,
to go deeper into the little they know and soon the Lord will fill them
with great streams of understanding (water). Jesus called this water as
living water, which symbolizes Heavenly understanding which gives life. The
understanding of this world does not satisfy any person, it brings them
back to where they started. Even though the understanding of the Kingdom of
God makes a person humble to understand how much more they need to know,
yet it does not take the person back but lifts the person as they grow in
understanding.

Another thing the Lord is telling us, this understanding which He is going
to bless us with will not only quench our thirst and the thirst of the
Believers with us but will also help us relate to those around us and the
situations around us. It will also help us get victory over those areas in
our lives which we have been battling since a long time and found them
impossible to overcome.

Let us be obedient to the Lord and like the Israelites who must have
thought it foolish to dig in a barren land, yet did it out of obedience to
the Lord, let us too meditate on the little we know even though we may
think what is the use of meditating on what we already know. Surely the
Lord as promised with fill the drenches we dig with understanding that will
not only quench us but also protect and give us victory over or problem
areas.

[Prayer Starters]

Lord, there are many time we glance through scriptures thinking we know
them and what more is to understand in them. But as instructed today by You
if we dig into them You will surely reveal great understand that will
change our lives and the lives of those with us. It will also help us
overcome the areas in our lives wherein we have been struggling since long.
Lord, we pray that we learn to meditate on the little things of thy Kingdom
and thirst for more of You so that we be filled more and more of You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

2 Kings 3:14-24

14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,
surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of
Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel
played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

16 And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

17 For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see
rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both
ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver
the Moabites also into your hand.

19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall
fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece
of land with stones.

20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered,
that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was
filled with water.

21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight
against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and
upward, and stood in the border.

22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the
water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood:

23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have
smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and
smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward
smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

Isaiah 40:4 - Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough
places plain:


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Religious harmony does God support it?
Exodus 34:12-14

12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of
the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down
their groves:

14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God:

In today's message we read about God clearly instructing us not to make any
covenant or agreement with people of other religions that leads us to
support or tolerate their religious believes or gods. Does that mean we
should be like the extremist Muslims in Islamic countries who break statues
of other religions and burn down their temples or places of worship? On the
other hand we have the Catholics who do not believe in this scripture
thinking since it is in the Old Testament therefore does not need to be
followed.

We need to understand in the New Covenant Jesus did not change the Covenant
that continued from Noah to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Moses to David and
finally to Jesus. The Bible says Jesus only added Truth and Grace. That
means by Him we come to understand the Covenant better and also are saved
from the consequence of failing our part of the Covenant by His grace due
to our faith in Him.

When Jesus preached He quoted the Old Testament often and told the people
they needed to abide by them but made them understand it in a way they
never did. People till then, followed the letter but Jesus showed them that
the spirit of the text (understanding) was more important than blindly
following the text. Paul said the text kills (cause traditions which
destroy faith) and the spirit of the text (understanding which builds
faith) gives life, since faith saves us.

We see the Catholic promote religious harmony. Pope John Paul II and then
Benedict and now Francis all these Popes and those before promoted
interfaith gathering bringing God and Satan on the same platform at the
same level, which means glorifying Satan and bring down of God.

Today's message does not tell us to do violence towards other religions; in
fact in the book of Moses God has rules of how we should behave towards
strangers (unbelievers) amongst us. He tells us to be just towards them and
Jesus also says we should love them. So God always guides us to tolerate
the unbeliever but not towards the beliefs of the unbeliever. Break statues
do not make much success in fact harden people and make them more determent
to make more and bigger ones. What we need to break is the statues in
people and the only way is by giving them the Truth, not only in words but
also by our living. Unless they do not see the power of God and the effect
of God in our lives how would they know our God is not like their
non-existent gods but is a Living God.

Paul says in his letter to the people of Corinth even though he was People
of the Way (what Christians were called before) yet he became them when he
was with Jews and those without law that he gain them. Both these people
were worshippers of Jehovah but had differences of understanding of
scriptures.

We can go from one denomination to another as far as we worship the one
God, but we cannot go from one religion to another. We should reach out to
the people of other religions but not their religions - their beliefs and
their traditions.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You are a Jealous God. You love us like a mother loves her children
and no mother will allow her children to be taken by another mother
especially when she knows that mother is going to harm her children and put
them to death. Lord we pray your people are not deceived by the teachings
of this world. That they do not bite the bait of deceit in the name of
worldly peace, peace comes only from You, for You are the giver of peace...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Exodus 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye
were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart
of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you
as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Matthew 5:43-48

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour,
and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even
the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do
not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto
all, that I might gain the more.

20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to
them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that
are under the law;

21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to
God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without
law.

22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof
with you.

Collosians 3:10-14

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him:

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a
quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of
perfectness.

-- 
T@MZ

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Anointing and Men of God

Numbers 22:10, 11 - And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king
of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, Behold, there is a people come out of
Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them;
peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

In today's message we read that king Balak the king of Moab asks Balaam the
Prophet to curse the children of Israel so that he can overcome them and
drive them away.

Firstly we see Balak acknowledges the might of Israel and also acknowledges
the mighty power of the God of Israel being behind them.

Secondly we see Balak also knows that Balaam who is not of Israel is yet
connected to the God of Israel and has a standing with Him, such that if
Balaam curses them then Balak would get an opportunity to defeat them.

Balak was not a believer of the God of Israel but yet he was not ignorant
of the God of Israel. Balak also was aware the power Balaam had in his
standing with the God of Israel therefore approach him for help.

We all know how Balaam got tempted for the riches of the world and
cunningly sold the people of God and thus his God. We also know how God
later had him punished in a severe way.

Balaam was not an ordinary Prophet, if one studies his words in depth one
would for a great surprise for he spoke of Christ the King and of the end
times. Here we see a Man of God over a period of time got tempted and sold
his anointing for the riches of the world.

In our last message we read about Elisha who was one of the greatest
Prophets in the OT, who did one of the greatest miracles almost equal or
more than that of Moses and Elijah. He parted the Jordan River like Moses
did to the Red sea and Elijah to the Jordan. He also bought dead to life
like Jesus did. He manifested the power of God by showing the Angels of God
surrounding him.

If we look closely we see a difference between Moses, Elijah, Balaam and
Elisha. The former Moses, Elijah and also Balaam were anointed by God
directly. Even in the case of David the Lord had sent Samuel to anoint him.
But in the case of Elisha we see he got his anointing from Elijah. Even
though he got a double portion of anointing and did great things yet he had
no standing with God like Moses, Elijah or David. We read in the Gospels
Jesus spoke of the Prophets or quoted them and in no place did Jesus speak
about Elisha. There is one incident (Luke 9:54-55) where James and John
suggests Jesus if they could command fire to come from Heaven and consume
people of a village of Samaritans like Elisha did, but Jesus rebukes them
saying 'Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of'.

The double anointing of Elisha had the power to bring a dead to life and
too after many years but that same anointing did not help him through his
own death.

Like we have Shunamatites in Churches we also have leaders/Men of God who
are like Balaam and Elisha. There are leaders like Balaam who want to
encash on their anointing. They prefer being blessed in this world rather
than being blessed with spiritual thing in Heaven. Then there are Men of
God like Elisha who want to have more and more anointing. They may not want
material riches, put they get high on name, fame, power as Men of God. They
will be dedicated to God and also glorify God but they will also tap into
the glory of God. These are the people who started their spiritual journey
by running after other Men of God and the God behind those Men. God may use
people like Elisha to anoint His people, they will receive God's anointing
and not the Man of God's anointing. It is only those who seek a Man of
God's anointing and go after the Man of God, will receive a Man of God's
anointing and not the Lord's anointing.

Today the Lord is asking each and every leader as Men of God who do they
represent and whom do they glorify? The Lord is also asking them to think
about their purpose for taking up the mantle of anointing of the Lord is it
for the CROSS of Jesus Christ or is it for something else?

To the people of God Jesus warns in Matthew 19:12 about 3 types of
Officials of the Kingdom of God (Men of God). First, are those whom God has
selected even before they were born, then there are those whom men have
made Men of God and lastly there are those who have made themselves Men of
God.

It is sad to see many young people called for the Cause of Christ get
impressed by after Men of God and run after the anointing on them. For
example there are today many young preachers, who have the anointing of
preachers like T. D. Jakes for they thirst more of him than Kingdom of God,
close your natural eyes and open your spiritual eyes when they preach and
you will know. I know of some who copy even the way he stands, talks, walks
or cough.

Even though we are called to respect all yet let us have wisdom as to
discern them and be cautious of them. Let us not run after people because
of their prophecies neither after them because of the great things they do
in the name of the Lord. Let us always be focused on the Lord and Him alone
let us seek.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You have called us for greater things as your people. You call us
Princes but our princely kingdom is not of this world. In this world we are
called to be servants serving the purpose of the Family - the brethren in
Christ - the Body of Christ. Lord we pray You give wisdom to your people to
discern the intentions of the leaders and be cautious as to where they are
led. Lord may the leaders seek to be glorified by You and not by the people
of this world, also may they seek the riches of your Kingdom and not of the
kingdom of this world...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Micah 6:5 - O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that
ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

2 Peter 2:15 - Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray,
following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of
unrighteousness;

Numbers 24:1-9

1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went
not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face
toward the wilderness.

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents
according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.

3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said,
and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the
Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as
the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees
beside the waters.

7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in
many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall
be exalted.

8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of
an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their
bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir
him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth
thee.

2 Kings 2:8 - And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and
smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they
two went over on dry ground.

2 Kings 2:6-15

6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath
sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth,
I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar
off: and they two stood by Jordan.

8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the
waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went
over on dry ground.

9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto
Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And
Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me
when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall
not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold,
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both
asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of
Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold
of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back,
and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the
waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had
smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw
him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to
meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2 Kings 13:21 - And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that,
behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre
of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha,
he revived, and stood up on his feet.

Luke 9:54-55

54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt
thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even
as Elias did?

55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of
spirit ye are of.

Matthew 19:12 - For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their
mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men:
and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of
heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Matthew 10:41 - He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall
receive a prophet' s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the
name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

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The Shunammites in Church

2 Kings 4:25 - So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel.
And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to
Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

The chronicle of Elisha and the Shunammite woman is an excellent study of
the mistakes Men of God make and how yet the Lord saves their face when
they spiritually wrestle with the Lord. It also exposes those who gather is
Churches but are far from God.

The rich, socialite Shunammite woman respected Elisha and went out of her
way to be in good books with Elisha but was far from the God of Elisha. She
respected Elisha as a Man of God but did not know the God whom Elisha
represented. Elisha went out of the way to bless her with a son because he
wanted to reciprocate the favour she had done; but then Elisha had to
really struggle with the Lord later to keep that blessing, when the son
whom he had blessed her with died. For the woman the son was not a gift
from God but a gift from Elisha and then Elisha had to sleep on the child
head to head, hand to hand, leg to leg many a times, indicating to the Lord
to take his life but give the child life. Elisha was the Peter of the Old
Testament; he did great miracles but also one of the greatest blunders.

The understanding of this event helped me to be careful when ministering to
others. There was a Hindu family I was (am) ministering and at 2 occasions
God has used me to show this family His healing power. The family members
have great respect for me and consider me a Man of God. At one time when a
member of the family was on the verge of death in ICU they hurryingly
called me. They had people standing that the entrance of the hospital to
guide me in so as to save the person. Before I went there the Lord had told
me it was the end for that person. But to keep my respect I struggled with
the Lord. That person became alright and was even moved out of the ICU but
the next day died. I had warned the son about it before hand. They have
still not changed their ways. They want the healings and blessing of God
and yet want to live a life worshipping false gods and false beliefs not
wanting to have any disconnect with their community. I realized I was like
a baba (Hindu godman who was more like a magician). So I drew back from
them while keeping in touch waiting for the right time to get back to where
I stopped.

The woman came from a town called Shunem which in Hebrew meant "double /
two resting place". It is not only the unbelievers, we even have believers
who call themselves Christians but are from this place called Shunem. They
come to Church mostly because of the one who heads that Church or the
people in the Church or for being blessed or healed. Some may not even have
any things which they need (like the Shunammite woman) but yet they want to
be resident in this world and also have a feeling they are spiritual.

People who think of Jesus as God and man really do not know Him, they are
also residents of Shunem. There are those who want salvation but the
blessings of God should be of this world. They do not know the definition
of salvation. If you ask them they will say it means to be saved. They do
not know, saved from who or what. They think it is about been saved from
the Devil, they do not know salvation is about being saved from God and
from His wrath. No man can save us by God other than God Himself. The man
Jesus is the Way but the one who takes us on the Way is the Holy Spirit
(God Himself).

Let us not look at any man. Lord the Son came as man yet did not ask us to
worship Him as man. He as man glorified the Father in Heaven and the Holy
Spirit who was His Father as man (since He was born of the Holy Spirit).

Let us always remember we cannot be residents of this world and also call
ourselves Christians. A true Christian always remembers he or she is just
passing through this world and is here for a mission. True Christians are
aliens/migrants (non-resident person) of this world.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, there are times we are drawn unto people who represent You. We forget
it is You who are the power behind them and not them. They are just
instruments / vessels through whom You bless us. They are holy vessels who
need to be respected but then it is You alone who are worthy of glory and
praise. Lord we pray we always remember we are made in this world for a
reason. This world is temporary and we are just passing this world. We are
called to dwell with You in your true presence permanently, but as we pass
here we are called to gather our family in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

2 Kings 4:8-37

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his
disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares
of the field.

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son
of man;

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the
world; and the reapers are the angels.

40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it
be in the end of this world.

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out
of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 4:18-19

18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the
lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful.

Luke 16:9-11

9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting
habitations.

10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:
and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who
will commit to your trust the true riches?

John 8:22-24

22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I
go, ye cannot come.

23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of
this world; I am not of this world.

24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye
believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his
life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be
delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 2:5-8

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself
wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God;

6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and
honour and immortality, eternal life:

8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he
shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

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Prayer without words

Psalms 17:1 - Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry [signing], give
ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned [deceitful] lips.

It is very common that Christians judge other Christian’s spiritual life by
the prayers they make. Once it happened with me a person I invited someone
from my Church to attend one of my Bible classes. The revelations I shared
at the class shock him very much and he did not like it, he was very upset
and came bombarding me. I asked him to point out the wrong he found which
was not according to scripture and he could not give me even one point. He
expected me to share things which he had already heard; something fresh
from the Lord was too much for him. At the end there was only one point he
could point towards me and that was my opening prayer, he called it a weak
prayer.

I had made a simple prayer of just 2 or 3 lines asking the Lord to take
charge of us, of our minds and everything I speak would be not of my
thinking but from Him. This I spoke in one standard tone without any
shouting or variation in tones.

When people pray many a times I get an insight of their spiritual life not
by the theatrics they use but by understanding the words they speak. It
shows their spiritual understanding the real riches they hold. It does not
require them to declare great things but requires them to be correct in
their words, not contradicting the Word of God.

When it comes to God, He too does not go by the theatrics we use in our
prayer or in our worship. We may be shouting, using hi-fi words, lifting
our hands, kneeling down or dancing our life away during worship but yet
these as not the things that affect God or impress Him.

When we pray or worship God it is not our words, our quality of singing or
the actions we do which impress God, it is the things that come from our
heart that really impresses Him.

In today’s message David one of the greatest worshipper of God says to the
Lord through this psalm, ‘do not give attention to my worship or the words
that come out of my mouth, but give attention to what comes from my heart’.
He goes to the extent to call his own mouth a deceitful mouth.

When we kneel or lift our hands or dance or bow it is to help us make the
corresponding affect in the communication which comes from our heart to the
Lord. If we do these are done in the subconscious level they become just
actions like rituals and these God hates. So it is important when we do
these actions they should have their symbolic effect in our real
communication with God.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You are Spirit and your true worshippers worship You in Spirit and
Truth. Lord, help us to truly communicate with You from the depths of our
hearts. Let not our actions be just vain actions but come with meaning...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Isaiah 1:12-17

12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand,
to tread my courts?

13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the
new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it
is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a
trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you:
yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of
blood.

16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before
mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 - For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are
also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Mark 12:38-40

38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which
love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at
feasts:

40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers:
these shall receive greater damnation.

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Nearer to the Lord is Life

Psalms 73:27 - For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast
destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

To understand today's message we need to give attention to the later part
to understand the former part. The later part says the Lord has destroyed
(has and will - written in perfect / complete tense) all those who gone
whoring from Him. Need to understand the importance of the words has/will
destroy, whoring and from Him.

Let us go in the reverse order, it says from Him, which means moving away
from Him. So the whole later part starts with drawing away from the Lord.

The second part says whoring which means to commit fornication. It means
one who has illicit relations with others. This would mean idolatry, carnal
worship, bondages of familiar spirit etc.

The third part (in reverse) says the Lord has and will destroy them all. It
does not say a few or some but says each and every one of them that draw
away from Him and thus go spiritual whoring.

If we read verses 26-28 of this psalm the psalmist tells us even though we
are weak yet if we just concentrate on drawing closer to the Lord we will
be strengthened, for nearer to Him is life and away from Him is death and
destruction. He also points out it is not by our works but the work of the
Lord, even though it happens in and through us.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we keep complaining about how weak we are and how easily we fall. We
always keep asking You to strengthen us and help us from falling but the
solution is actually lies with us. It is because we do not draw to You we
fall, feel faint and hopeless. Lord, all we need to do is draw to You and
we are strengthened and full of life for You are giver and keeper of life.
Lord, we pray we learn to seek You every moment of our lives so that we
full of life and are not destroyed...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Psalms 73:26-28

26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and
my portion for ever.

27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed
all them that go a whoring from thee.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the
Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

John 5:39-40

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and
they are they which testify of me.

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

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Covenant with a testimony

2 Samuel 7:8-17

We see in today's message when the Lord talks to David (through the Prophet
Nathan) the Lord starts be confirming what He had done in the life of David
and then goes on to reveal His promise - what He will do.

We need to understand the Nature of God; He is not like man who first needs
things to be clearly confirmed before doing anything or making any promise
or a pledge to do.

I am also a testimony of the Nature of God. Before He made Himself known to
me of who He is, He did great things in my life. It was only after that,
that He revealed to me some of the things He would do. Had He not shown His
Hand in my life before, it would have been difficult for me to accept His
plans in my life.

The same was with Mary. Before the Angel came to her the Lord had already
done something impossible in the life of her cousin Elizabeth. God could
have birth John through any other woman but chose Mary's cousin for it. It
was this testimony that helped Mary to believe and accept the plans of God
in her life.

Today God is telling each and every one if God has called you with a plan
we can look back and see we all will have a great testimony in our lives.
Therefore if you have a testimony you can now ask of God and He will reveal
His plans in your life. And if you do not have a great testimony, then be
ready for God will do one very soon. It is His Nature to start with a
testimony before reveals His plans to us.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, before You open our plans to us You let your glory be seen in our
lives. Lord, You are Light and you're coming in our lives brightens our
lives. Lord, we pray that each and every one You have called with a mission
will know your plan in their lives...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Luke 1:30-38

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour
with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the
Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a
man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of
God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her
old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according
to thy word. And the angel departed from her.


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Let not our hands be weak

2 Chronicles 15:7 - Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak:
for your work shall be rewarded.

I had got this message a few days back but in between my daughter was
unwell and thus I was not in a position to post. But God knew beforehand
and therefore even before my ordeal started He gave me this message.
Yesterday I made my mind I would send my message and by God's grace my
daughter since yesterday has been doing very well.

Hand symbolizes work and the Lord is telling us let us not be faint in
doing our work in the Lord. When we trust in Him, He will never forsake us.
We may see things happening against us or hindering our work, but the Lord
is saying His Hand (Spirit) is not weak or short that we will fail. He is
omnipotent and the word impossible does not exist for Him.

Therefore let us be strong not because we are, but because He is.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, when we go out to do our ministry in You, we tend to look at
ourselves and forget whom we represent. You called us associates [philo]
and told us all that we need to know to do our work in You so that we be
party to receive the rewards of the great harvest. Lord we pray we see You
and not us when things come our way...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

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The Power of the Ark is with us
1 Samuel 6:19-21

19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the
ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore
and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of
the people with a great slaughter.

20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy
LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying,
The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and
fetch it up to you.

Imagine an army that has F-2000 assault rifles, D-SR 50 sniper rifles,
XM307 AC SW machine guns, 50 M2 HR guns and Uzi submachine guns (these are
the topmost guns) yet this army fights battles with toothpicks and
penknives, this is the picture of the spiritual warfare of us Christians.

Today's message talks of the power of the Ark of Covenant when the
Philistines took capture of it. From chapter 5 we read the Ark causes their
chief god Dagon to be beheaded and amputated (hands cut off). The people
who saw it this did not dare to enter the temple will the time of the
writer recording this event. The people of the city also experienced the
wrath of God for taking the Ark. They all suffered from severe fissures
(piles), both the people of the city and those in its suburbs. The fissures
were so bad that many died due to it. Then they took the Ark unto the city
Gath and the Hand of the Lord was heavy on this city also and many people
here too suffered from fissures and died. So was the story when they took
the Ark to another city Ekron.

Chapter 6 states this bought fear into the hearts of the Philistines that
the only thought in their heads was how to return this Ark to its rightful
people. They even thought of a guilt offering and came up with the idea of
5 golden fissures, 5 mice, a cart towed by 2 cows which have never been
yoked. They put the Ark on the cart with the golden objects put in a box
besides the Ark and set the cart free. The Lord caused the cows to take the
cart directly (not turning left or right even once) to the Israelites. The
Levites put the Ark on a large stone and offer the cows as a sacrifice.

In short because of the Ark the Lord caused all those Philistines who
touched / looked inside the Ark to be killed and also many, many
Philistines in total 50,070 to be killed, almost all due to fissures.

It is awesome when one understands all the symbolizations behind this event.

The Philistines put the Ark before their god Dagon to symbolize that they
had bought the God of Israel as a subject before their god. The Lord causes
their god to bow before Him and chopped off its head (symbolizing
authority) and its hands (symbolizing work / doings). The Lord caused the
Philistines to die due to fissures. The Lord did not choose this just to
have fun or enjoy their pain of slow death but this too had symbolization.
The Lord shut their crap (nonsense) inside them and caused them to die due
to the poisoning of their own crap.

It is also interesting to note the guilt offering of the Philistines. They
made 5 golden fissures symbolizing remembrance of the wrath of God on them.
They also put 5 golden mice along with it. We need to note mice along with
other animals are considered unclean and there are spiritual reasons for it
(it is not for any natural reasons therefore eating unclean animals in
natural is not forbidden but eating their spiritual symbolization is
forbidden).

The mouse (the Hebrew word used here means field mouse or jumping mouse) is
considered a curse to the land since it eats away the yield of the land.

Heathen who do not know God usually worship the curse and the curse
deliverer but not the one who caused the curse to come on them. Even a
religion like Islam is not spared from this. The word (Arabic script) Allah
if translated in Hebrew is the word 'cursed&# 39; and the word Akbar in Hebrew
means 'mouse&# 39;. Other religions also worship animals like the mouse (rats),
snakes etc.

Coming to the main object of the whole story - the Ark. The Ark itself is a
symbol and that is why it was taken away when its real meaning was
manifested in Christ. The Ark symbolized the CROSS.

When Jesus said 'take up your Cross and follow me', He did not mean the
crucifix for Jesus Himself did not carry His own crucifix all the way. He
also did not mean suffering for Gods did not sacrifice His only Son for us
to continue to suffer. Also persecuting is not suffering but the moulding
or hurdles that we go through / overcome to be like Christ and do the
mission of Christ. When the Lord told Paul that he would go to witness the
Lord in Rome before the Romans ruler, the Lord cause many people to go
against Paul. If they had not Paul would not have fulfilled the mission and
the world would have been what it is today - Christianity would not have
spread all over.

If we see the layout of the Tabernacle the Candle stand which symbolized
the Holy Spirit and the Shewbread which symbolized the Son were both in the
Holy place. But in the Holy of Holies was the only the Ark of Covenant.
People think it symbolized God the Father or His Throne, they are mistaken.
It symbolized the Cause of the Lord - CROSS. The Son and Spirit put the
Cause before them and not themselves before the Cause. The Word of God is
for the salvation of mankind and Bible says the Lord lifted His Word up.

If one needs to understand the Cross of Christ and experience its power,
one needs to study and understand the Ark, its contents and its design.

God has given us the most powerful things in creation His Cause and His
Spirit (Who helps us carry the Cause). Let us know the power we as
Christians possess, let us not be like the army which has the most lethal
weapons yet fights with toothpicks and penknives.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, the world has been giving all kind of teachings (crap) like diarrhea.
The reason they do this is all because we Christians do not know the power
of the CROSS. Lord we pray that they enemy get constipated like it happened
during the times of Samuel. That their teachings become a bone in their
lives and does not them live. That their gods be exposed and their works
cut off...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

1 Samuel 5 & 6

Matthew 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by
name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Matthew 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is
not worthy of me.

Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by
the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Joshua 3:9-14

9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the
words of the LORD your God.

10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you,
and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and
the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and
the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth
over before you into Jordan.

12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of
every tribe a man.

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall
rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off
from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an
heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass
over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the
people;
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The wicked
Psalms 37:14 - The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their
bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright
conversation.

Some days back we had received this same message at that time we had
reflected more in the weapons of the wicked. Today as I was looking at this
message I felt the Lord wanted us to give attention to the word wicked.

When we say wicked mostly what comes to our mind is an evil person doing
evil or wrong things. But when we get into understanding this word through
the Bible it brings out things which one would not have thought about.

The Hebrew word 'rasha&# 39; translated here as wicked is mostly translated in
the Bible as condemned. When we use the word condemned it means one who is
set for destruction. God also uses the words hardened hearts to describe
these people.

People think they can easily identify the wicked, they are wrong. Today's
scripture open a dimension of the wicked that we need to be aware of. The
lord is telling us we cannot identify a wicked person by what he or she is
doing or saying but can only identify the person as wicked by knowing the
intention or purpose, the place they are trying to lead us.

We may see a person talking good things and doing social work but yet that
person could be a wicked person. What needs to be identified is the
purpose. If that person is doing it not to help the needy but for one's own
benefit like making a name in society, or winning elections, or some
selfish reasons, if one knew that purpose then one would not be impressed
with the works or talks of that person, in fact would get angry when one
would see or hear that person.

Do not be surprised if you find such people in the Church there are very
high changes that the ones who God hates most would be inside congregations
and less outside. The ones who are most hardened in the heart would be
those who hear the Word of God yet follow their intentions and ignore the
Word.

God warns in today's message not to harden our hearts from His Law and His
Instructions. Yesterday we learned about the 2 Laws of God that we need to
have in our hearts, and if we reject these Laws then we stand in this group
which are condemned or wicked.

On Judgement Day God is not going to see if we know in depth of the Bible,
what Jeremiah said and what Daniel said and what Joseph did? God is going
to only see if we have His Laws in our hearts and just these 2 Laws. Did we
love God with all our hearts and love His people these are the 2 Laws He is
going to check if we have written on our hearts. That is why Jesus says
even if we claim to love God but if we did not reach out to His people then
we do qualify to be Christians and enter Heaven. His people are part of Him
and that is why He says when I was naked, when I was hungry...

We need to understand Bible study which does not get these 2 Laws written
into our hearts is just knowledge which puffs and leads to our hearts being
hardened and put us in the category of the condemned or the wicked.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray that we do not harden our hearts. We pray that we do not
stand among the condemned. Lord help us surrender our hearts to your
purpose and have your Laws written on them like You wrote on the tablets.
We pray we understand being Christian stands for being a witness of who You
are and about the Heavenly Family which are your people...

We make this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 25:31-46

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed
thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not:
sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and
did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as
ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal.

John 5:25-32

25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when
the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall
live.

26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself;

27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is
the Son of man.

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice,

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment
is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which
hath sent me.

31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the
witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

John 14:16-21, 24-26

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me:
because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I
in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him.

24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye
hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.


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Law and Commandments of God

Psalms 37:31 - The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall
slide.

Psalms 37 speaks of the righteous being righteous because the Law of God is
in his heart. It says because the Law of God is ion his heart he has
wisdom, speaks justice and his walk in the Lord is firm, the properties of
a righteous person.

Christians confuse between the Law of Moses and the Law of God and not only
that, most are ignorant about the difference between the Law of God and the
Commandments of God (most may have not even dreamt of the second one).

What the Jews called as Law of Moses were not the Law / Commandments of God
given through Moses but the things they did according to their
understanding of the Law / Commandments of God given through Moses. It
other words it were the traditions and teachings of the Jews which they
tagged to Moses. So when the Jews said Law of Moses it did not mean what
the Lord spoke through Moses but meant their traditions.

Firstly we need to understand the Jews never understood the books of Moses
or the Prophets. We see a perfect example in Saul/Paul. Paul was educated
in the Law of Moses and was taught by the best of the best teachers of the
Jews. Not only the teacher was respected but even his students were highly
respected, that is why the people took Paul's consent (kept their robes at
his feet) to stone Stephen. In his letter to the Romans, Paul talks of the
comparison between the Law of Moses and of the Law of God in great detail.

Coming to the Law of God and the Commandments of God, if one notes in the
tablets given to Moses they held both the Law and Commandments of God
(Exodus 24:12). If you ask me brother what is what is the difference
between Law and Commandments? In English it is difficult to explain for
both words refer to the same. Moreover in the Hebrew to English
translations in word 'mitzvah&# 39; is translated as commandments instead of law
and the word 'towrah&# 39; which means commandments is wrongly translated as law.

In simple words law is fixed and unchangeable while commandments are
directions to keep the law or principles. Commandments may be many but law
or principles are not many. Statutes on the other hand are things that are
done until the understanding behind it is revealed. Statutes differ from
traditions because traditions are customs or things/ practices done as a
rule continuously with or without understanding. Also the understandings
behind traditions do not truly lift a person spiritually according to the
law but instead goes against the law and puts the person under bondage of
the custom.

According to the Bible the Lord has only 2 principles or laws and these are
the ones Jesus spoke as

'New Commandments&# 39;, the Greek word 'kainos&# 39; translated as new means fresh
or un-used. Jesus said this because the Jews never knew the Law of God or
understood the Commandments of God.

The Frist Law is to do with our relationship with God and the Second is to
do with our relationship with the people of God (not people of the world
but people of God - God tolerates and has mercy for those who are not His,
but His inheritance is not for them).

One thing we should get very clear is that everything that the Lord
instructs us will never ever go against these 2 Laws of God. Every
instruction of God holds up these 2 Laws, when we follow them they help us
abide by the 2 Laws.

God says in today's message, for a person to be righteous he or she needs
to have these 2 Laws written in their hearts like the words written on the
stone tablets by the Finger of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Finger/ Hand of God and it is the Holy Spirit who
engraves these Laws into our hearts, so it is only by power of the Holy
Spirit that we can abide by them and walk in the path of righteousness.

Let us every day meditate on these 2 Laws of God, remembering them all the
days of our lives so that we may grow in wisdom, justice and walk firmly in
the ways of the Lord.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray life is all The Family that is You as our Head and we your
people as the Body. Lord let everyone of your sheep know this and walk in
the 2 Laws that hold this Family together. There have been many who tried
to add heads to this Body (Family) or break the Body (Family) but You God
have and will make all their attempts futile. It is your Righteousness and
Love that hold us together. Lord help us meditate on these 2 Laws every day
of our lives...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Exodus 24:12 - And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount,
and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and
commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

Romans 2:25-29

25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be
a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law,
shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law,
judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men,
but of God.

Matthew 22:36-40

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

John 13:34 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

1 John 2:7 - Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old
commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the
word which ye have heard from the beginning.

1 John 2:8 - Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true
in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now
shineth.

2 John 1:5 - And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new
commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we
love one another.

James 2:8 - If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

Romans 13:8 - Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that
loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

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Their sword will pierce themselves and their bows will be broken

Psalms 37:12-15

12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his
teeth.

13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast
down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be
broken.

There are many a times, even though we make our best efforts to walk in the
way of the Lord there are some people who cause problems for us. These
people due to the hardness of their hearts try to hurt us and they succeed
to some extend and then we wonder what is God doing?

The Bible says the more we walk in the Lord the less the wicked can harm us
and this I can testify with my life.

There was one time when a person close to me, who was very sweet to me and
looked very loving and helpful, but yet the Lord showed me that the person
would try to harm me but the Lord would not allow him to be harm me in any
way. The Lord also showed me that the Lord would do to that person and to
his family the very things he was out to do to me, also that it would be
done to him with multiple measures. This was many years before and most
part of it has come to past.

Even before the person would action his thoughts the Lord knew and set
forth its consequence. The consequence was so bad at times I myself felt
bad for the person and had to stand between the Lord and the person's
family like Moses stood between the Lord and Israel when the Lord's wrath
was out to consume them.

Today's message talks of the sword of the wicked and the bows of the wicked.

Bible says Word of God is the Sword of God, also that the Word is the plan
of God which is living and that which comes to completion, similarly here
sword of wicked are the things that they set to do and the Lord says He at
time waits for He set forth a perfect timing to deal with the wicked. The
Lord says He causes the sword of the wicked to come upon the wicked
themselves and that too into their heart. Their plans to harm us will come
upon their own heads and that too in the worst way.

Today's message also states the bows of the wicked will be broken. As sword
symbolizes the words and plans so also bows symbolize rumours (remote
intentions). The Lord says He will cause the rumours or character
assignations attempts of the wicked to be broken. That means the Lord will
prove His people before the world.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You are God and everything is known to You. Even the thoughts of the
enemy, even before they think of it are known to You. In your wisdom You
have set things and You alone know what is best. You Lord, will never allow
your righteous to be ashamed. Your hand is over them and your hand is not
short. We thank You Lord for being our fort, our wall of prorection.. .

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Psalms 91:1-16

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him
will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the
noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that
flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand;
but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High,
thy habitation;

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against
a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon
shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I
will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in
trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

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What is Human Life?

Job 27:3 - All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my
nostrils;

For any religion or belief or way of life there are tests that confirm if a
religion is true or false (a litmus test) and they confirm if the religion
is true. Test is to ask if the belief gives a right definition of man, how
he was created, who he is and what is his destiny (purpose and end result),
second who is God and about Him and lastly about creation, why God created
it, about its vast difference and purpose.

If the belief gets 2 of the 3 questions right, automatically it will get
the 3rd right. But if it gets any one of the 3 wrong then all 3 will be
wrong because all are interlinked. The Bible is the only book unlike any
other religious book that answers all the 3 questions correctly and passes
the test. Let me attend to basic part of the first question.

In today’s message we read of Job stating ‘my breathe in me’ and ‘the
spirit of God is my nostrils’.

The later part does not really mean the ‘spirit of God’ the Hebrew text has
just ‘spirit’ (ruwach) and ‘God’ (elowahh) while the word translated as
breathe is ‘neshamah’. Both ruwach and neshamah are translated in many
places as breathe and also spirit, the reason bring spirit is visualized as
breathe an abstract thing like air that is connected to or part of a living
being.

The word neshamah has it root from the woman in labour (giving birth), so
symbolizes a human’s earthly life. While the word ruwach has its root that
means sense or understanding, therefore connects to the spirit of the being.

Job was not Christ to have the Spirit of God in him. Christ was the first
to have the Spirit of God in Him and after He paid the price all can
receive the Spirit of God. Before Christ, Men of God had the Spirit of God
on them and not in them.

In Genesis 1 God talks of the creation of humans and says both male and
female were same (bible gives the same gender male to both of them) because
He talks of creating the spirits of man. It also says God created them
(all) in the beginning, which means we are all created together in the
beginning (that is why the Lord says He knows us from the beginning).
Genesis 2 however speaks of how God brought man into this creation starting
with Adam.

It is written God created a body from dust (wet dust) and then put the
spirit of man (not of God, again the same reason Adam was not called
Christ) into the body and it is written he became a living soul. That means
the spirit and soul were created in the beginning and when it was put into
the body the inert soul became active.

My in-depth study on this matter took more than 3 to 4 years but the Lord
did satisfy all my questions in this regards. I will try to share this in a
nutshell.

My first question to God was how long the life of a human being is; the
reason being since we do not have the ability to live eternally within
oneself and God alone has that ability to live eternally without any
external support. Man can live eternally in Heaven because man has access
to the Tree of Life in Heaven. That does not mean if one eats the fruit of
the tree (symbolized as tree but not a real tree the Hebrew word refers to
the trunk/staff) even once that being will live forever, it means when the
being comes near to the end of its life, it eats from the tree and gets a
renewal of life (that is why even though Adam and Eve has access to the
tree yet they did not touch it, for they did not have a reason to do so).
So to live eternally we need to always have access to the tree (thus God
prevented the access of sinful man to the tree). That is the reason only a
being that dwells in Heaven can live eternally.

God answered the question of human spirit’s life span with the answer
3000years. This answer can be confirmed through scriptures, not just once
but many times.

It is by this understanding one could know the coming of Jesus Christ
(Daniel did know that is why the wise men came based on Daniel’s
teachings). When one takes the Covenant of Noah into consideration, for God
to fulfil it Jesus had to come exactly at the time He did (within
3000years), had He come a little later the souls from the time of Noah
(which were in Hell) would have perished (Peter wrote 1 Peter 3:19-20 based
on this understanding) .

We also have this proof in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (sign of Jonah
- neither Hell nor Heaven goes by earthly days, within 3 days/time period
was a sign). This also is proved in the (approximate) time of the coming
again of Jesus Christ. If He does not come by that time (3000years) all
mankind will perish (that is why the sign of Jonah is a sign for the
wicked).

My last question was if man lives for only 3000 years then how did we last
from the time of Adam and those who are to come, if they too were created
in the beginning, how do they do?

This question also the Lord answered, and that too through my daughter. She
was doing a school project regards plantation. God showed me He created us
spirit and soul like seeds. When the seed in put in the ground and watered
it comes alive and lives it life span, even though the seed may be kept for
years and is good it still when planted have the ability to live this whole
lifespan. The ability to live was there within the seed even before it
comes alive as a plant.

We all will live for 3000years from the time we come alive as human beings
in the flesh. The life we live here on earth is just part of our human
spirit life. The rest we will live where we set forth our spiritual
destiny.

If we do not accept Christ as our saviour we are under the curse of dust
and thus will go to Hell and be held there to suffer for our sins for the
rest of our spirit life. But if we accept Christ then we will go to sleep
in Christ (level called Grave) and be raised (since this level is
spiritually below our creation but above Hell) when Christ comes to judge.
Those who pass the judgement (keep the Word) will go to Heaven to have
access to the Tree of Life and live eternally and those who fail (believe
in Jesus Christ but reject His Word) will be put not in Hell but in the
Lake of Fire / Sulphur which is worse than Hell. Here the being does not
suffer one’s sins but suffers for rejecting the Word and this suffering is
far worse than Hell (suffering for one’s sins).

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, people are misled for they are far from the Truth. They do not fear
for they are spiritually blind. Lord we pray that your people’s eyes be
opened to the Truth and they come to You and be saved. Lord we pray that we
not just believe but keep your Word in us so that we live an eternal life
with You in Heaven...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Genesis 1:26-27

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them [the same word him (male) in plural].

Genesis 2:6-7

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of
the ground.

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 9:11-12

11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be
cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be
a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me
and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual
generations:

1 Peter 3:18-20

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,
that is, eight souls were saved by water.

Matthew 27:50-53

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to
the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept
arose,

53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the
holy city, and appeared unto many.

Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but
the sign of Jonah the prophet:

Matthew 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and
there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left
them, and departed.

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Me, Myself, and I
Ephesians 4:27
Do not give the devil an opportunity.
All too often, the worst enemy of the church is . . . the church. New believers do not grow in Christ because "older" believers who have not matured become the primary stumbling blocks by their poor example. Selfishness and arrogance so often serve in the church's most visible and crucial positions of ministry. One of the church's favorite hymns, Holy, Holy, Holy, has shifted its focus from "God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!" to "Me, Myself, and I!"
Warren Wiersbe wrote, "When the enemy fails in his attacks from the outside, he then begins to attack from within, and one of his favorite weapons is selfishness." Selfishness is defined as having the attitude that people exist merely to meet my agenda, my wishes, my needs, and the value of anything (people, church, God, etc.) is determined only in light of what it can do for me.
This attitude is revealed not only in outward behavior but also in secret thoughts. If left unchecked, it ultimately poisons the heart. Selfishness destroys friendships, marriages, ministries, and churches; it also destroys mission fields and all other sacred projects where God is clearly at work.
The Ephesian church was struggling with this problem, so Paul dedicated nearly an entire chapter to exhort the believers. He wrote, "Speak the truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger; and do not give the devil an opportunity."
These verses clearly warn us that the devil actually watches us. And he longs for opportunities birthed by selfish believers. No wonder he baits his hook with self-centered advice, whispering, "Don't think about others, think only of yourself: your desires, your life, your money, your plans, your career, your retirement, your position, your agenda, your ministry."
Frankly, we are all terminally infected with selfishness, and it lies at the core of every  act. That is why selfishness is such a productive and powerful weapon in the hands of Satan. He will use it against us whenever he can. It must never be excused; it must never be coddled; it must be cut away daily!  Sometimes . . . moment by moment.
Prayer Point: Thank the Lord for His example of selflessness and servanthood, and ask Him for the discipline to imitate His spirit throughout this day.
Extra Refreshment: Read Ephesians 4:17-32.
Millions of Muslims throughout Iraq, Israel, and Jordan now hear the Gospel in their own language on Wisdom for the Heart! Click on The Forward Movement to read more about this exciting project.

The making of traditions

Judges 11:11 - Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people
made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words
before the LORD in Mizpeh.

Many of the Catholic customs root into the customs of the Jews. The Jews
were accused of having a law which they called the laws of Moses (not of
the Lord) and these were nothing but the customs they started in the name
of God.

In Judges 11:11 onwards we read about Jephthah, about how the Lord delivers
the children of Ammon into his hands. But to receive this he had made a vow
before the Lord that he would sacrifice (dedicate) the first person who
walks through his door on his return from victory. To his disappointment
his only daughter whom he loved most walks through the door to welcome him
on his victory.

With a heavy heart Jephthah dedicates his daughter to the Lord (remain
chastised - virgin - not knowing any man) but before that his daughter
along with her maids goes up the mountains for 2 months and mourns her
dedication. We read then that all the women of Israel also go for 4 days
every year up the mountain to mourn the dedication of the daughter of
Jephthah and this becomes a custom (enforced tradition).

We read in today's message Jephthah spoke before the Lord. It does not say
Jephthah spoke to the Lord but says he spoke before the Lord. In other
words it means Jephthah spoke his own mind and his own understanding and
his feelings to the Lord not knowing the Lord or having a relationship with
the Lord. He had knowledge of the deeds of the Lord but yet he did know the
Lord. He did not have to make such a great vow before the Lord, he could
have trusted the Lord and yet have victory. Since he spoke big before God,
God did test him and had his most loved daughter walk through the door on
his return. Jephtah dedicated his daughter not only, not with a glad heart
and also made a great show to fulfil the vow made unto the Lord.

We see the people of Israel had no hand in the vow or anything to do with
Jephtah and his daughter' s dedication, yet to show solitude to their leader
Jephtah (judge) they too go to the mountains 4 days in a year and this was
repeated every year during the life of Jephtah and continued after that and
becomes a custom.

We see Catholic priests and nuns commit a life of chastity unto the Lord.
It is an oath to remain virgin and this they claim they do so as to live a
holy life (nuns claim to be married to Jesus).

If we look at Church history many of the Apostles (leaving for Paul) were
married (including Peter). Even the first Church fathers and also Popes of
the Catholic Church were married and had families. Were these people unholy
because they did not live a life of chastity?

We find the tradition of chastity in the Catholic Church started when one
of the Popes shamed them beyond imagination in 1400AD. There were other
Popes before who also shamed the institute with not only ex marital affairs
but had incest relationships, but Pope Alexandra VI shamed the Church
during the Renaissance period with things that are unspeakable.

Today we see Catholic priests claim chastity but yet we read since ages
they have indulge in sexual relationship behind close door. Since few years
we have nuns bringing out of the dark things happening behind closed doors
of this Church. We also have priests abusing children under the hood of
living a life of chastity.

Through my childhood and being close to Catholic priest I could see their
sexual frustrations some could not control it and this frustration affected
their relationship with people. Many would drink alcohol to escape it,
other who could not control perused relationships with people from the
congregation.

Paul did recommend one to be fully dedicated unto the purpose of God but
also said unless one had the grace to be chastity the person should not
remain single and sin great, but get married.

In today's message we find Israel spoke great before the Lord and then
under the fact of pleasing the leader started a tradition, on the other
hand we find this Church under the cover of hiding the shame of its leaders
it starts a tradition and today speaks great before God.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray for people who are deceived by traditions which are manmade
and imposed taking your name. These people speak great before You and put
yokes on your people. They do not fear You nor your wrath. Lord we pray
your sheep who are under the yokes of the deceiver, be set free and their
yokes be broken in the Name of Jesus...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Judges 11

Matthew 15:3 - And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

Mark 7:13 - making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have
delivered: and many such like things ye do.

Galatians 1:14 - and I advanced in the Jews' religion beyond many of mine
own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the
traditions of my fathers.

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Gold and silver, both are valued by the Lord

Ezra 6:28, 29 - And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the
vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering
unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh
them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the
fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.

In the message before last the message was about silver and gold, silver
representing earthly riches and gold the heavenly riches. The message also
said that silver was not bad but having only silver and no gold would make
a person worthless for one does not take the silver to heaven but does take
the gold to Heaven. Silver is not evil but craving of silver more than gold
and more than what is needed is evil. That is why Jesus said it is near
impossible for a rich man to enter Heaven.

Sometimes an object or symbol can be used in different ways to symbolize
different message unto us. For example Satan is symbolized as a serpent
which in turn symbolizes deceit because the serpent moves in a zigzag
direction. Even though it is going in one direction its body may appear to
be moving in another.

But we see Christ was represented as a bronze serpent and put on a pole
high up. In the book of Moses any person bitten by a snake was told to look
up to the bronze serpent and they were saved from death. Here we see as
snake represented curse because it moves on its belly in dust which
represents vanity. Jesus Christ became cursed for us on the cross such that
anyone who looked up to Him would be saved from death.

In today's message the Lord speaks about silver and gold being holy through
Ezra. Ezra and Paul both say we are the vessels which are holy unto the
Lord. Paul says we are earthen vessels but Ezra compares us to gold and
silver vessels.

In the Tabernacle there were metal vessels made of iron, brass/copper, tin,
lead, silver and gold. We see all were considered concentrated unto the
Lord and were kept in the treasury when the Israelites went astray.

Iron is used to illustrated slavery, strength, obstinacy, fortitude,
affliction, etc. It symbolized all those who although being set free by the
Lord have made themselves slaves unto the Lord, those who are ready to
suffer for the Lord, those who are strengthened in the Lord.

The Hebrew word for tin comes from the root word divided or separated and
symbolizes one who is separated unto the Lord.

The Hebrew word for lead comes from the root meaning to be pulverised or to
be nothing, symbolizing one who considers oneself nothing when serving the
Lord.

The Hebrew word nechosheth is translated 'copper&# 39; in Ezr 8:27, where it is
said to be 'precious as gold.' Brass is used as a symbol for righteousness
according to the claims of God upon man, as in the brazen altar; the Lord
as seen in the vision in the Revelation has feet like fine brass, 'burning
as in a furnace' : that is, righteous judgment according to responsibility.
Thus the bronze serpent represented righteousness that became cursed and
was lifted up for us.

The word silver comes from the root word meaning desire. The Lord is saying
if our desire is for the Lord then like the silver vessels we too are
concentrated unto the Lord and the Lord considers us as holy vessels.

The Hebrew word for gold comes from the word to slimmer, brilliance or
splendour. Gold by itself does not shine when kept in the dark but if even
a slight light falls on it, it shows its brilliance. When we shine under
the light of God and people see the glory of God in us we are like gold.
Some vessels of the Tabernacle were made of wood but overlaid with gold.
Wood represents flesh; cedar wood was used for sacrifice for it never got
termites or any corruption representing the human body of Christ, shittim
wood or wood of the gum tree, the Hebrew word for shittim mean scourged
thus represent suffering so also were the other woods symbolizing
something. The wooden vessels were overlaid with gold symbolizes even
though we may be weak inside yet we can have the glory of God shine on us.

In today's message God considers silver as valuable as the gold and both
are considered separated unto the Lord. Those who have a desire for God's
Kingdom and those who let the glory of God shine on them are both
considered holy unto the Lord.

The Lord is telling all if we may not be a gold vessel, we can always be a
silver vessel having a desire for the Lord Kingdom and His mission yet we
will be valued the same. When the silver is freewill dedicated to the Lord
then even the silver is considered holy.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, many have a desire to serve You but since they do not have a calling
they do not come forth. Lord we prayer that people know You love your
silver vessels as much You love your gold vessels. In your wisdom You given
every one a part in the body of Christ, the Bride You are preparing for
your glory...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Numbers 31:22-23

22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the
lead,

23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the
fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the
water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go
through the water.

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Call all to celebrate the Lord's Passover

2 Chronicles 30:1 - And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote
letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of
the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel.

We read in today's message Hezekiah invited all the Lord's people to come
and celebrate the Lord's Passover.

If we give due attention to the message we will realize Judah, Ephraim and
Manasseh were part of Israel yet they are written as separate entities. We
also notice Israel and Judah received a personal invitation while Ephraim
and Manasseh received the invitation through letters.

We see in Old Testament even though the Lord changed the name of Jacob to
Israel there are many times the Lord Himself continued to call Jacob as
Jacob and not Israel. But that was not the case with others in the Old
Testament. Once Abram's name was changed to Abraham, we see he was never
referred to as Abram but only as Abraham. The same with Saul in the New
Testament, once he was called Paul not once he was referred directly as
Saul.

The other person, other than Jacob whose name was changed by the Lord and
yet referred to by their original names many a times was Simon who was
named Cephas by Jesus (in Greek translated as Peter).

So we see the names had meanings and purpose with them. In the case of
Jacob the name meant a deceiver and the Lord had promised to change him and
make him Israel which meant Prince of God symbolizing Son of God through
his struggle with the Lord. We see Jesus came to fulfil this by giving us
His Spirit and with our struggle with His Spirit we become Sons of God
which is the true Israel.

Today's message defines the people of God into 4 categories - Israel,
Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh. Israel - are those who walk in the way of the
Lord and are on the way to become Sons of the Lord. Judah - are those who
worship the Lord. Ephraim - are those who come to the Lord only to receive
from the Lord, they come to be healed, to receive financial help, good job
and materialistic things. In short if they did not want anything they would
even forget God existed. Manasseh - are those who have forgotten what the
Lord has done. These are those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour
but their term of Saviour has no meaning in it. They still look at
different ways to save themselves like doing worldly good works or asking
other persons (dead or alive) to help them to be saved.

In today's world we see Christianity is divided, divided not according to
denominations, for God does not see them by their denominations but by
these factors. He sees very few as real Christians, those who have taken up
the mission which Jesus has given them and are indeed His true disciples.

Then there are those Believers who worship God only to be saved and go to
Heaven. These are those who worship God live a good Christian life, do
their duties towards God, go to Church, do not do idol worship, read the
Bible, do charity etc. but they fail to reach out to the other lost sheep.
They do not witness Christ to others, give the Gospel and do not take the
task of strengthening those who are weak amongst them. They feel others are
there for that task and it is not their calling to do it.

Then there those who are part of the Prosperity Church who like to hear
only prosperity preachings called prosperity Gospel. For them Heaven is
here and all they want is to live a good life here on earth. They like the
tribe of Ephraim did not want to go to the Promised Land which symbolized
Heaven and preferred the rich land before the Jordan River.

The same did the tribe of Manasseh which symbolizes Christians like the
Catholics, Orthodox Christians and other Christians who fall in this branch
that does not believe in Christ alone for their salvation. They feel Christ
did not finish the task of opening the gates of Heaven for His people.
Their works are not the work which those in Israel do. They do not do the
mission that Christ has given them but do worldly works like social service
and inflicting pain on themselves when they sin. They think their man made
traditions will save them. They think other dead people in the Bible like
Mary and those alive like the Pope or his equivalent in their Church would
be instruments in saving them. God in the Bible also calls them the
children of Jezebel.

We see in today's message God does not write off the people of Ephraim and
Manasseh, but also does not include them among His own. He causes Hezekiah
to write to invite them. He is saying He has still kept the door open for
them to come to Him and His mercy and grace is still available for them.
All they need to do is come and celebrate the Lord's Passover, be a part of
it.

We all know Jesus truly fulfilled the Passover and the Lord is telling all
who take part in celebrating the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ will be
part of His people.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You took the task of saving your people because You knew there were
none who were capable to do it. But Lord we have many among us who are
still struggling to save themselves, or are looking at other humans to save
them. They are rejecting You as King and still desire a human king. Lord we
pray we all once again have no King in our lives other than You. That we
come as one body to celebrate the Passover You have prepared, which takes
us unto freedom...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Genesis 17:5 - Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Genesis 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but
Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast
prevailed.

Genesis 35:10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not
be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his
name Israel.

Genesis 46:2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and
said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said,
Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by
interpretation, A stone.


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