The Call of the Kingdom:

We often make our duties harder
by thinking them hard.
We dwell on the things we do not like
till they grow before our eyes,
and, at last, perhaps shut out heaven itself.
But this is not following our Master,
and He, we may be sure,
will value little the obedience of a discontented heart.
The moment we see
that anything to be done is a plain duty,
we must resolutely trample out
every rising impulse of discontent.
We must not merely prevent our discontent
from interfering with the duty itself;
we must not merely prevent it from
breaking out into murmuring;
we must get rid of the discontent itself.
Cheerfulness in the service of Christ
is one of the first requisites to make that service Christian.
Frederick Temple

The Call of the Kingdom:

As children in the kingdom of God
we need to be committed to one another
as we walk our journey with the LORD,
committed to stand beside one another

in kingdom pursuits,

committed to seeing each another finishing well.

As we look through church history
or look at the contemporary church
we see that the number of people who are in ministry
who finish the race well are statistically only about twenty percent.

This should grieve our hearts,
as it does the heart of God…

Two of the keys to running well and finishing well
are having a solid foundation (the pursuit of God’s Word)
and having a ministry that grows
only out of intimacy with the LORD.

Our walk in the kingdom
is not just about gaining information
but must be about experience transformation.

We must be diligent to evaluate and determine
if we are truly experiencing
transformation in our journey with God.

Understanding that our transformation is a progression over time
we should pause at times in our walk
to allow the LORD and His Holy Spirit
to examine our hearts with this regard.

God desires to build in us
foundations and communion with Him
that will transform us
so that we might become transformers in the world.

We understand that as we examine these parameters
of walking with God,
none of us have arrived…
but we are seeking together to help one another
on a course in life that we continue to go pursue these things
and to continue to grow in these things.

We need to evaluate our walk periodically
examining these areas:

1. Do we exhibit a consistent growing relationship
with the LORD
that is built on intimacy with Him

One of the prime reasons
people in the kingdom and in ministry do not finish well
is because in the interest in their view of success
they stop pursuing intimacy with the LORD.
Their ministry begins to take the place
of intimacy with the LORD

We need to establish a lifestyle
that will that will continue throughout our days
that will assure that we will continue to grow
in our intimacy with the LORD.

We need to identify our position
as a son or daughter of God.

We dare not fall into the trap
of trying to earn
that which has been freely given to us in Christ.

We need to recognize if we are performance driven
or driven by eternal Love
that comes our of intimacy with the LORD

We have been adopted
not because of anything we have done
we have been adopted
because of the Love of God
because of choices that He made
because of His nature…

When we have become established in that,
when we are settled in that
and we are not trying to earn something…
then we become free.
to move and flow in the grace of God
and the anointing of God.

Ministry to others is the icing on the cake…
it is not the cake itself…
it is the fun stuff we get to do with Jesus
for we are co-laborers with Him.

9For we are God's fellow workers;

you are God's field, God's building.
1 Corinthians 3:9 NAS

2. Are we demonstrating a consistent
growing relationship with the Body of Christ
built of transparency.

It is wonderful to be intimate with the LORD
But some people have this attitude like…
‘You know I love Jesus, I just can’t stand Christians’

The reality is we are put together
with the Body of Christ

to stretch us, grow us, challenge us.

God works through those relationships
that at times can be challenging.

We are not meant to walk this walk in isolation.

We need to be in relationship
and if you look at so many people in ministry
who ultimately do fall and do not finish well
often there is a pattern of isolation
that begins to develop somewhere along the line.

They no longer allow themselves
to be in transparent covenant relationships
with other people.

These people are quick to take offense at other’s suggestions.
They are quick to misinterpret the intentions of others.

We should make certain
that we establish and maintain
healthy relationships with the body of Christ.

We sometimes wrongly think that

our relationships with each other

do not affect our relationship with the LORD.

Scripture tells us quite the opposite.

The Word challenges us in saying,

“How can you say that you love God

whom you don’t see,

if you don’t love your brother who you do see.”

Our every horizontal relationship
has an impact upon our vertical relationship with God.

3. Are we growing in Christ-like character
with evidence Christ -like qualities e.g.:
integrity
the fruits of the Spirit
excellence
love for the lost
being teachable

This again emphasizes the fact
that our walk is about
being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ,
and not simply acquiring information.

All of us have the great honor
of being on a journey
of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.

Our destiny is to be conformed exactly to His image
So that in every respect we will be like Him.

11And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets,
and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12for the equipping of the saints
for the work of service,
to the building up of the body of Christ;
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man,
to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-14 NAS

This process of becoming like Jesus
is not meant for us to wait to be in heaven
it is a process that is meant to fill our lives now.

So things like
manifesting the fruits of the Spirit
integrity,
excellence,
love for the lost,
and having a teachable spirit
are things that are to be growing in us
and there should be evidence of that in our lives.

We need to apply scriptural truth accurately

We can know the Word of God,
but if we are not applying it to our lives
then it is still just words on a page,
not the word becoming flesh.

We need the Word of God
to become flesh in our lives.

4. Do we demonstrate a priority
for reading and studying the Word of God regularly.

Throughout our spiritual walk
we need to love the scriptures
and to love our time in the Word of God.

Some people think
that because they have set aside a season
for studying the Word of God
that they have no need to continue
the discipline of being in the Word.

They feel they no longer need
to feed daily on the Word.

These saints are fooling themselves.

It would be like saying,
‘I’m going to eat enough food in the next year
so that I won’t have to eat for the rest of my life.’

You can’t survive that way

In the same way
we need daily spiritual sustenance
from the scriptures.

The picture of manna in the wilderness
It needed to be gathered each day.

We need to allow the LORD
to instill in us
a love for the Living Word within us.

A love for the interaction through the Holy Spirit
with the Word of God.

Maintaining a progressive comprehension of the Word
and being a self-feeder.

We have all been given
a lot of spiritual food to grow on.

As time goes on, however,
we are expected to become givers of the Word,
expected to do more
with what the LORD has placed in us.

The whole goal is that we become mature in Christ
to the point that we are able to feed ourselves
and to feed others –
that’s what being a leader is all about.
Readily makes practical application to life
through study of the Word.

Transformation comes
only when the truth is applied.

Truth on its own doesn’t change anything,
it’s the application of the truth
that brings transformation.

James reminds us that faith without works is dead.

Do we understand our purpose…
what are our core values…
what is our mission …
what is our vision…

It is important for us to know specifically
who we are and why we are here.

There are at any point in time
a ‘million’ good things
We could be doing….
But there is only ‘one’ thing
that you should be doing…
That which the LORD has called you to do.
(That ‘one’ thing of course may have multiple expressions.)

In the early part of Jesus’ ministry
He is healing; and crowds of people are coming to Him,
they pursue, Him they follow after Him –
because they see Him as a healer.

His disciples get caught up in this.

When He announces to them
that He is going to leave their response was
‘The crowds are coming.’
‘They need to be healed; the sick are coming.’

Jesus response was
‘That wasn’t why I was sent.’
‘I need to go to these other cities
I must preach that the kingdom is at hand.’

Jesus knew why He was sent,
and need and necessity
was not able to move Him from His purpose.

It is not enough to be anointed…
it is not enough to be in a place of intimacy with the LORD…
but we need to know
“What is your assignment?”

This is the thing that we must focus on
as we walk with the LORD.

5. Are we actively engaged in advancing the Kingdom
in our God Ordained Sphere(s) of Influence.

Wherever we go, the outflow of what is happening inside of us
should be the manifestation of the kingdom.

Jesus could say wherever He went,
“The kingdom of God is at hand.”
‘You can reach out and touch it.’

That is because wherever He went,
He manifested the kingdom.

That is what we are supposed to be doing as well.

It is a progression of sorts,
we begin with intimacy
which causes a transformation within us
that then flows out of us.

Each of us should have a spiritual Mother, Father or mentor…
We should press into that relationship,
so that they can breath life, counsel and correction
into our spiritual walk.

We need to continually allow the LORD

to examine our hearts and examine our spiritual walk

that He may encourage us in areas of strength

and strengthen us in areas where we are weak or struggling.

Transparency and humility before the LORD

are essential qualities that ensure our maturation in Him.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
Psalm 139: 23-24 NAS

We need to be open to the opinions of others
about our spiritual walk,
and we need to allow the Holy Spirit
to point out any unforgiveness,
bitterness or judgment of others
that we may harbor in our hearts.

We dare not espouse Christ
and harbor bitterness one toward another,
even when an offense might be “justified”
by another person’s words or actions…
we must choose to walk with them
in love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 NAS

We need to acknowledge the work of the Spirit of God in us.
We may, for example, demonstrate goodness everywhere we go;
that’s not pride, but rather simply
acknowledging the transforming power of God in our lives.

The scripture clearly emphasizes
that we are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

But prove yourselves doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
James 1:22 NAS

We are called to make an impact in the world
for the kingdom of God.

We should be a witness
in the spheres of cultural influences
that the LORD has given us opportunity to impact.

There are seven mountains of cultural influence
that the church is called to “take or influence”
so that the kingdom of our God
can become the kingdom of this earth.

Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand,
so that all kingdoms on earth may know
that you alone, O LORD, are God. "
Isaiah 37:20 NASB

These cultural areas of influence are:
The family:
It has long been said that
“the hand that rocks the cradle… controls the nation.”
We are engaged in a war over the mind control of our children.

The Church / Religion:
The Church is to equip for ministry
so that the world may embrace Christ

Education:
Education shapes the next generation of leaders
Most universities which were founded in Christ
have abandoned their spiritual call for secular humanism.

Government:
The founders of our Government stated that it would never work unless all who govern were Christians.

The Arts:
Spiritual truths were meant to be breathed by the arts.

Business, Science and Finance:
Look at the effect that Joseph and David had on government
Virtually all early scientific gain was birthed by believers
Media
Media has an enormous influence over people.

16For by Him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18He is also head of the body, the church;
and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19For it was the Father's good pleasure
for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself,
having made peace through the blood of His cross;
through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Colossians 1:16-20 NASB

We should be operating
in one or more of these spheres of influence right now.

The LORD clearly calls us to areas
so that we may be salt and light upon the earth.

The question is what has He called us to do
to invest in establishing His kingdom upon the earth.

It is important that we
are brought to maturity in Christ…
those who are mature do receive
from the ministry of God and His body;
but they are also an essential part
of establishing God’s kingdom
through ministry to others.

What we receive is not the Living Word
unless it transforms us
and we put it into action.

When we are able to articulate it
and minister it to someone else
that’s when it becomes transformational.

We have all heard the analogy
between the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.

The Jordan River has an in-flow
and an out-flow…
it sustains life.

The Dead Sea has an in-flow
but no out-flow
and is a stagnant death trap.
There is almost no life supported within its waters.

Often we think that we have little to share.
But most American Christians
have far more training and instruction
than the majority of pastors around the world,
particularly in third world nations.

Indeed we have become a consumption laden church,
one that is consumed in the process of learning
for the sake of learning.

That endeavor has become an idol within the church,
if-you-will an end within itself,
rather that a springboard for sharing the Gospel message.

Wherever we go,
the outflow of what is happening inside of us;
because of what we learn in the presence of the LORD
and through our pursuit of the truth of God’s Word,
should generate transformation within us
and we should become the manifestation of the kingdom
to the spheres of influence we inhabit.

The church is called to be an army of people
that are going to change the world.

Anything less that that
is a waste of your time.

The goal is to finish well and hear the words
Well done

23"His master said to him,
'Well done, good and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.'
Matthew 25:23 NAS

God wants us all to succeed in our assignments…
as we succeed in our assignments
we are looking at a world
that will be invaded and transformed
by the kingdom of God.


30-

Circle Dance

"In the secret of God's tabernacle no enemy can find us,
and no troubles can reach us.
The pride of man and the strife of tongues find no entrance
into the pavilion of God.
The secret of his presence is a more secure refuge
than a thousand Gibraltars. I do not mean that no trials come.
They may come in abundance, but they cannot penetrate
into the sanctuary of the soul, and we may dwell in perfect peace
even in the midst of life fiercest storms."
Hannah Whitall Smith

Circle Dance:

As “foreigners” in the land the children of Israel
needed to get their rest from God (and so do we).

The people were encouraged to
remember all God had done for them
over and over again…

but the kept forgetting time after time.

They needed the rest of God, as a time
to reflect on His goodness and mercy toward them.

The more prosperous they became
(by God’s hand)
the quicker they forgot God.

This reminder is especially true in that section of Deuteronomy
chapters four through eight,
where God continually told them
that when they entered the Promised Land
they were not to forget
who gave them all they possessed.

This was the whole point
of God’s instructions to the Israelites at Gilgal;

They were to return with their children
to recount the deliverance of the people from Egypt,
so that generation after generation
would not forget what God had done for them.

An interesting point with regard to Gilgal…
gilgâl (ghil-gawl') wheel or circle (return to – roll away)

gil gal which is actually repeated syllables
if you look at it in Hebrew

gal gal which means a circle

How is God’s nature pictured in the Hebrew scriptures?

He is not a triangle…
He’s a circle --
It is literally a picture of God dancing within Himself

[perichoresis:
It refers to the mutual inter-penetration
and indwelling within
the threefold nature of the Trinity,
God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.]

Do you realize how many times
there are circles in the Bible?

Every time you see something that says “gal” …

They come into the Holy land
and they create a circle of stones at Gil gal…

Where did Jesus minister?… in gal alee

Where was Jesus crucified?... gal gotha

We see all these circles in scripture
and they are little signitures of God
and discriptions of His nature.
-30-

The Blood Covenant

"Sometimes we don't need
another chance to express
how we feel
or to ask someone to understand
our situation.
Sometimes we just need
a firm kick in the pants.
An unsmiling expectation
that if we mean
all these wonderful things
we talk about and sing about,
then lets see something to prove it."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer




The Blood Covenant and Obedience:

So here goes Moses,
after this incredible personal encounter
face-to-face with the Living God…

He reluctantly agrees
to take on the task
of going back to Egypt
some forty years after he had
escaped Pharaoh’s wrath
for killing an Egyptian soldier.
So he gets his household in order
and starts out on the journey.
Now he is ready to follow God’s command…

Just as we start to think highly of Moses,
then these words suddenly appear:

24Now it came about at the lodging place on the way
that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.
25Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin
and threw it at Moses' feet, and she said,
"You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me."
26So He let him alone.
At that time she said,
"You are a bridegroom of blood"-
-because of the circumcision.
Exodus 4:24-26 NAS

The anger of God here, can at first glance,
easily catch us off guard

God's anger toward Moses here
was due to his blatant disobedience
of not having his son circumcised.

This was an act that was clearly outlined
under the Abrahamic covenant,
but Moses failed to comply.

God took his disobedience
as a tremendous affront.

There are a lot of different layers of interpretation
of these verses.

Some people interpret this to say
that Moses didn’t do this intentionally somehow.

Some say that he didn’t want
to stigmatize his son
as he was headed back to Egypt
by having him circumcised
(the certain sign that he
was a Hebrew and not Egyptian).

Basically his wife Zipporah
(whose name means “beauty”)
has to do what he (Moses)
was supposed to do.

(There is a whole sermon here
about the importance of a Godly wife;
but I’ll save that for another day).

What it comes down to is that Moses
did not uphold the covenant of God.

God says to Moses, ‘Look, I’ve chosen you
for this mission of great importance…
you literally are on a mission from God.
But you are not doing
what you clearly know is right
and that will identify you son as My own…
you are not upholding your end of the covenant!
That’s the sign of the covenant… a blood sacrifice.”

That’s why God became angry.

We live today under a new and better covenant
purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ…
I wonder how God feels about us
when we fail to walk faithfully?

-30-

Creating God in our image

"To preach the Bible as
'the handbook for life,'
or as the answer
to every question,
rather than as
the revelation of Christ,
is to turn the Bible
into an entirely different book.
This is how the Pharisees
approached Scripture,
as we can see clearly
from the questions they asked Jesus.
For the Pharisees, the Scriptures were a source of trivia
for life's dilemmas.
To be sure, Scripture provides God-centered
and divinely revealed wisdom for life,
but if this were its primary objective,
Christianity would be a religion of self-improvement
by following examples and exhortations,
not a religion of the Cross."
Michael Horton

Creating God in our image:

Interesting little point about the ten plagues against Egypt…
The fifth plague against the Pharaoh and the Egyptians
was the plague on the Egyptian livestock. (Exodus 9:1-7)
One of the Gods of Egypt was Apis (Ah pees) (a sacred bull god)
he was in the figure of a calf…
He was their god of strength and fertility…
He was pictured as a golden calf
with the rays of the sun between his horns.
The Egyptians would have an actual live bull
that they selected as the personification of that god –
When that bull would die they would mummify him
and bury him in a grave of great spleandor.
They went through these enormously expensive rituals
to bury a dead bull.
(They should have just had a cook-out :-) )
If you go to Exodus 32
where it talks about Aaron making the golden calf;
it was made in the shape of that god, Apis.

The request of the people of Israel
was to make a god “that will go before us.”
In-other-words,
they wanted a god
to go where they wanted to go…
not where God wanted to go…

The other interesting thing is
they did not see this form of god as Apis…
they didn’t call him that.

What they were trying to do
is take the real God, Elohiym
and reduce Him to a form…
God doesn’t like that!

The problem was it says in Exodus…
they had ‘forgotten all the works of the Lord their God.’
‘They had forgotten all that Elohiym had done.’

They took that form
which they probably had grown up around for generations
(in the Egyptian culture),
and tried to adapt it into their own life and culture…

There is an obvious contemporanious application to all this…

They took the culture that they grew up around
and tried to form God in that culture…

Remind you of anything?...

This is where most of our society lives… (trying to do the same thing).
We try to take God…
and all the culture that we have,
and we try to ‘smoosh’ God into it somehow.
Rather than follow the dictates of God's Word,
we adapt it to fit our own sinful ideas of how we should live.

We try to form God in our image…
and we want God to go where we want Him to go,
we donot go, where He wants us to go!

God doesn’t aparently like that…
You can tell by the way He swallows things up when that happens…
The ground opens up and people disappear…
and no, they didn’t enter the witness protection program
they just disappeared!

In the studying of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah;
there’s an awful lot of contemporatry application to it.

There is nothing new under the Sun–
There is really nothing new…
We are doing the same stuff… this is about 3,480 years later…
that’s a long time ago, but, we’re still doing it.

There is very little today in our theology,
especially in modern American 21st century Christianity
of obedience or holiness…
when was the last time you heard a teaching or sermon on obedience or holiness?

We hear lots of teachings on miracles, and signs and wonders,
even more about the mercy and grace of God...
(not to belittle those things - they are important for us to understand)
but, do we hear things on holiness and obedience?...
No, not very often, because that’s not considered fun in our fallen state!
Holiness and obedience to God, however,
are the pathway to abundant life –
that truly where kingdom life is born.

The reality is that’s where the greatest power is!

We have a tendency to spurn anything
that requires obedience or the slightest bit of discomfort
or change to our comfort zone;
just like those folks did over thirty-five hundred years ago…
We have exactly the same tendencies.

We try to take our culture and superimpose it on God,
or make God move according to our culture.

That’s just not accurate -
not to mention it is dangerous to our spiritual health.
-30-

Psalm 91 and God's Names

God is like ASPIRIN -
He works miracles.
God is like a FORD.
He's got a better idea.
God is like COKE .
He's the real thing.
God is like HALLMARK CARDS.
He cares enough to send His very best.
God is like OXI-CLEAN.
He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
God is like GENERAL ELECTRIC.
He brings good things to life.
God is like SEARS.
He has everything.
God is like ALKA-SELTZER.
Try him, you'll like Him.
God is like SCOTCH TAPE.
You can't see him, but you know He's there.
God is like DELTA .
He's ready when you are.
God is like ALLSTATE.
You're in good hands with Him.
God is like VO-5 Hair Spray.
He holds through all kinds of weather.
God is like DIAL SOAP.
Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?
God is like the POST OFFICE.
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice
will keep Him from His appointed destination.

Psalm 91 and God's Names

Psalm 91 carries with it a tremendous promise
for those who choose to make God their dwelling place
and choose to put their entire trust in Him.
This psalm is a declaration of God's protection and deliverance
for those who proclaim and declare God's faithfulness.
Even though the enemy plots and schemes against us
we are assured that God will guard and watch over us
and that no evil will come near us.

The image of God is portrayed in four distinct ways
in the first two verses of this Psalm of Promise.

1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"

Psalm 91:1-2 NAS

Psalm 91
Psalm 91 gives us an image of God’s names …
these are not different Gods obviously
but they describe attributes of God’s nature.


It says the one who dwells in the shelter of The Most High…
The Most High = El ‛elyôn (el-yone')
From H5927; an elevation, that is, (adjectively) lofty (comparatively); as title, the Supreme: - (Most, on) high (-er, -est), upper (-most).

El ‛elyôn … means that God is the Most High
a. He is the Most High meaning He can see everything…
b. He is the Most High so there is nothing above Him…

Next, He is expressed as the Almighty or El shaddai

El shaddai (El shad-dah'ee)
From H7703; the Almighty: - Almighty.

Meaning that God is all powerful…
Shaddai comes from the Hebrew root meaning breast,
so there is an spiritual picture here
that God is the source of our daily sustenance and strength.

So we have a God who is Most High - El ‛elyôn
and a God who is
our source of Provision and Most Powerful - El shaddai

Then the next expression of God
we see in this Psalm is the LORD or Yahweh
2I will say to the LORD
When we see the word LORD written in all capital letters
That is called a tetragrammaton*…

This is God’s personal name.
It comes from the root hâyâh (haw-yaw')
that means “to be” , “He is,” “to exist”
“I AM that I AM”

*Tetragrammaton (from the Greek τετραγράμματον, meaning "[a word] having four letters") refers to the Hebrew term יהוה, the name of God depicted in the Bible.
יהוה is composed of four Hebrew consonants, and it occurs 6,828 times in the approved consonantal Hebrew text of the Bible.
These four letters are usually transliterated from Hebrew as IHVH in Latin, JHWH in German, French and Dutch, and JHVH/YHWH in English. This has been variously rendered as "Yahweh" or even occasionally as "Jehovah", based on the Latin form of the term.[4], while the Hebrew text does not clearly indicate the omitted vowels. In English translations, it is often rendered in capital and small capital letters as "the LORD", following Jewish tradition which reads the word as "Adonai" ("Lord") out of respect for the name of God and the interpretation of the commandment not to take the name of God in vain.

So we have a God who is Most High - El ‛elyôn
and a God who is
our source of Provision and Most Powerful - El shaddai
and a God who is personal - the LORD or Yahweh

The last expression is my God or Elohiym (el-o-heem')
My God
'ĕlôhıym (el-o-heem')
Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: - angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

Elohiym again is in the plural meaning at least three
so it represents God in His creative capacity.

So God is Most High or El ‛elyôn
God is Most Powerful or El shaddai
God who is most personal the LORD or Yahweh
and God or Elohiym, which is God the Creator or Most Creative

If we apply these characteristics to Psalm 91:1-2,
it might read this way:

1He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High - El ‛elyôn
shall remain stable and fixed
because He is the Most High and He can see everything…
He sees every aspect of my situation and
He is the Most High so there is nothing above Him…
No evil force or circumstance is above His control

under the shadow of the Almighty - El shaddai
He is the most powerful force in the universe
whose power no foe can withstand,
so I have nothing to fear.

2I will say of the Lord – Yahweh
who is a covenant keeping God
who desires to know me intimately
He is my Refuge and my Fortress,

my God – Elohiym
my Creator, the Creator of all that is or ever will be
He is a creative God
who will make a way, even when there seems to be no way
on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

I don't know about you, but I sure need to be reminded of this each day. There are so many pressures and evils in today's world and without God's assurance of deliverance and protection, I don't know how we would survive.
I find strength in knowing that God is on my side, and that He is watching over and protecting me and my family.
30

A Dominating Presence

If we are not interested in the Word of God,
can we really be interested in God?
Robert Godfrey





A Dominating Presence

A few weeks ago I met a person who came to me for Godly counsel.
That was encouraging, in that this person openly admitted
that his life was “a mess,”
and that he needed to come back to the Lord with a renewed commitment.

When asked what he wanted to discuss,
he quickly proclaimed that he had been bitterly wronged
by some of his family members,
that he had cut off all relations with them
and that he “hated” them.
He saw no reason, nor had any desire to come back into fellowship with them!

“Wow!,” I thought, “does he hear what he has just said?”
Now this is a man who professes Christ as his savior,
a man who has been ‘churched’ (exposed to the Gospel) for many years…

How could he have such a hardened heart toward his own family?
How could he be so oblivious toward
the fundamental teachings of forgiveness in the scripture?

This unfortunately speaks to the fundamental spiritual condition
of many believers today…
there is a spiritual pandemic that has invaded the church and our culture
with great emphasis and with devastating effect.

Somehow we have become a society and a church
that no longer thinks it is necessary
to press into the presence of God, or His Word;
and we have largely become a people
largely ignorant of the counsel and commands of God.

As a result we blindly come to wrong conclusions
about the circumstances of our lives,
and we wind up in bondage to false ideas
and counterfeit answers to life’s dilemmas.

In the second chapter of Proverbs
we are advised to seek after wisdom (Christ)

as though it (He) were silver or a hidden treasure.

4If you seek her(wisdom) as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.
6For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Proverbs 2:4-7 NAS

God has promised us that if we will seek Him we will find Him,
(Jeremiah 33:3)
and that if we will walk with Him and follow His ways
He will be our shield and protector. (Proverbs 2:7b)

Throughout the scriptures
God continues to call us back to His presence:
‘I will be their God
and they will be My people
and I will dwell in the midst of them…’ (Exodus 29:46)

For the most part, the church today has not sought after the Lord.

Searching out our God’s Word is more that appropriate

if we look at it in the light of history.

Up until the 1900’s it was

assumed and expected of Christians, and our society,

that anything that was worth studying

was worthy of being restudied over and over again.

How blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1:1-6 NAS (my emphasis bold, underlined and red)

Our forefathers did not think that studying or meditating on something

was in the least strange, but rather it was expected.

The word meditate in Hebrew is hâgâh (haw-gaw')

It means to ponder over, murmur through,

to speak to oneself over and over,

to ruminate

(as a cow chews its food, then chews it again after it has been partially digested in its stomach.)

Meditation is a slow and repetitious process!

It is interesting, that if you asked someone what their expectations were

for the surgeon who was about to operate on them,

they of course would want them to have had many years of study.

The same is true for tradesmen who might work on your car,

or provide a service within your home… the more experience the better.

In the early years of the church,

it was assumed you would spend a lifetime

to come to an understanding of the complexity and expanse of God’s kingdom.

On the contrary, today

it is often the case that churches recruit members

as quickly and expediently as possible,

with little or no requirement

that they are expected to study diligently

to ‘show themselves approved to rightly divide the word of truth.’

15Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

Understanding anything requires diligent study and reexamination.

Understanding the Word of God or the teachings of our Lord,

certainly require a major effort on the part of believers,

yet few are willing to dedicate themselves to a lifestyle

that requires such an ardent study.

In reality, we are to lead a life

that is focused on the dominant presence of Jesus Christ

as our highest priority.

He is the Alpha and the Omega,

the Beginning and the End,

the First and the Last…

all things will be summed up in and through Him.

15He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
16For by Him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together.
18He is also head of the body, the church;
and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Colossians 1:15-18 NAS

-30-

God Sent Me Here

"Our Christian experience
must agree with the Bible.
We will be taught by the Bible
and fed by the Bible.
But we do not believe in Christ
because He is in the Bible:
we believe in the Bible
because Christ is in us."
Claxton Monro









God Sent Me Here:

4Then Joseph said to his brothers,
"Please come closer to me."
And they came closer.
And he said, "I am your brother Joseph,
whom you sold into Egypt.
5"Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves,
because you sold me here,
for God sent me before you to preserve life.
7"God sent me before you
to preserve for you a remnant in the earth,
and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
8"Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God
Genesis 45: 4,5,7,8a NAS

What a change we see in the account of Joseph…
how his character has changed from when we first met this young lad
who had been spoiled by Jacob his father.
He was favored, loved more than his siblings,
which lead to all kinds of family dysfunction.
He wore his special coat as an external sign of his favored status,
and his prideful heart inside –
which couldn’t help but boast of the revelations of his dreams…
“You my family will all bow down to me.”
Now, after a series of adversities, we find a man.
A man of authority, second in command in all of Egypt,
an man of humility, and a man with a compassionate heart
that mirrors his Creator.

Joseph had grown not just chronologically, but spiritually as well.
We often pick on Jacob because he favored his ‘son of old age,’ above his siblings,
and no doubt that caused lots of problems for this family,
the budding nation of Israel.

What isn’t stated in the account of Genesis,
but which is very apparent to me,
is that despite his obvious parental shortcomings,
Jacob had one thing right.
He raised his son to have a reverential awe of God.
He was raised to honor and obey the Lord.

This foundation of his faith sustained him, preserved him (and his family)
and brought him favor with God, and with man.

During the trials of Joseph I can hear him crying out to God…
“Why did You allow my brothers to throw me into this pit?”
“Why did You allow my brothers to sell me to the Midianites?”
“Why did You allow me to be sold into servitude in Egypt?”
“Why did You allow my master’s wife to accuse me falsely?”
“Why did You allow me to be unjustly thrown into jail,
when I have been righteous before You?”
“Why did You allow Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker
to forget all my kindnesses to them?”
At the same time that he cried out to God,
(something we all need to do more often)

he saw the faithful hand of God in his every circumstance:
My brothers wanted to kill me,
but God, delivered me from their hands…
I have been sold into slavery to Potiphar,
but God, has given me great favor with him…
I have been unjustly thrown into prison,
but God, has given me great favor with the warden…
But God, but God, but God…
In each one of these circumstances,

Joseph no doubt was tempted to be bitter, angry and offended,
indeed he had been wronged – over and over again.

But God, showed Himself to be faithful in every trial of Joseph’s faith.

2Consider it all joy, my brethren,
when you encounter various trials,
trials = Greek peirasmos (pi-ras-mos')
From G3985; a putting to proof (by experiment [of good], experience [of evil], solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication adversity: - temptation.

3knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance.
4And let endurance [ed:fkj – which comes only through trials]
have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God,
who gives to all generously and without reproach,
reproach: Greek - oneidezō (on-i-did'-zo)
From G3681; to defame, that is, rail at, chide, taunt: - cast in teeth, (suffer) revile, upbraid.

and it will be given to him.
6But he must ask in faith
without any doubting,
for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea,
driven and tossed by the wind.
7For that man ought not to expect
that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8being a double-minded man,
double-minded Greek – dipsuchos (dip'-soo-khos)
From G1364 and G5590; two spirited, that is, vacillating (in opinion or purpose): -
unstable in all his ways.

God is faithful always,
even when the circumstances we face
don’t seem to proclaim His faithfulness.

The truth is that in every circumstance we face,
His abundant mercy and grace are always there for the taking.

If we will press into His presence we will find them…
if we allow our emotions and fears to control us,
we will seldom perceive their presence.

Through our every trial, some small and some great;
we are invited to grow in our understanding of God
and His divine purposes for allowing tribulation to cross our path.
It is all part of the maturation and transformation process.

It is in these times that we come face-to-face with our own…’but God’s’
Here we are molded and shaped by the hand-of-God,
it is here that we become formed a little closer into the image of His dear Son.

God’s intent here is greater than simply blessing Joseph
for his devotion and obedience (not that that isn’t important; it is).

In this demonstration of Gods provision we find:
1- a proclamation to an unbelieving world
about God’s authority and power.
2- the use of this situation to sustain Joseph and his family
3- the preservation of His chosen people –
the nation of Israel

These people at the time of this account
don’t look much like a nation, never mind a mighty nation
as promised in the covenant with Abraham,
which was renewed with Isaac and Jacob.

At the time of this record in Genesis,
Jacob’s family numbered about seventy-five people.

To become a nation they would need:
1 to be a people
2 to have the law
3 to possess a land
None of these things were in place,
but God was working on His covenant promises.

By the time God’s people would leave their captivity,
recorded in the Book of Exodus,
these seventy-five, this remnant of God,
would number over two million!

He would lead them and give them the Law,
and then finally bring them into the Promised Land,
to become a nation of His choosing.

We should note, that there was nothing special about these people.
They were the least of the peoples surrounding them.
That’s precisely why God chose them.
He wanted to demonstrate how they could be made perfect in weakness,
by following and obeying their God.

This is also why he chose us with all our imperfections...

Next time you find yourself in one of these trials,
you might first ask;
“Did God send me here?”

Then seek His face to find out why.
-30-

What's in a Name?

"For the Lord
does not want the sinner to die,
but to return and live.
There is still time for endurance,
time for patience, time for healing,
time for change.
Have you slipped?
Rise up,
Have you sinned?
Cease.
Do not stand among sinners,
but leap aside.
For when you turn back and weep,
then you will be saved. "
Basil


What's In A Name?

Did you ever wonder about the significance
of God’s changing of Abram’s name to Abraham?

“Ab” is father as in Abba Father …
“ram” is exalted or lifted up

so Abram means exalted father

Abraham means father of nations…
but there is another interesting thing about this…

Look at the difference between
Abram and Abraham,
and Sarai and Sarah

What was added to their names …. “h”

The sound of Hhhhhhhh.

What is happening here is
that God is breathing His Spirit into their names.

God is taking that which is flesh
and He is breathing His Spirit into it.

In Genesis when it says that God creates man
in His own image and likeness…
how does He do it?

He breathes… Here is actually what happens…

Man was not created out of dirt or clay…
he was created when God took dust from the ground
and breathed His breath of life into it.

Dust is like baby powder,
if you blow on it, it will scatter…
Dust is anhydrous it has no moisture to hold it together.

It was the very condensation of God’s breath
that held it together and the breath of God’s life
that brought the creation to life.

Breath into your hands and make that sound… what happens?

Spirit and breath are the same Hebrew word.

It is the mixture of the condensation of God’s breath
and dust that forms man.

Why would something like mercy come about…
because
God remembers His breath!

If we want to know how precious we are to God…
we have His breath.
What could be more precious than His breath?

Think about when we praise Him…
what word is used universally to bring praise to God….

hallelujah …
say it slowly hhhhall elujahhhh…

The sound at the beginning and end of hallelujah is an ‘h’
representing the very breath of God.

Our worship is simply returning
the breath of God that was breathed into us
back to Him.

Worship is our exhalation
For His exaltation.

God breathes His Spirit
into each and every human
at the point of conception.
30

Here I Am

“Authority should not be considered
a position of privilege
as much as a responsibility
to be used for service.”
Rick Joyner –
“First Century Church Government”






Here I Am

Abraham is called in the New Testament the “friend of God”
Jesus said the same thing about His disciples:
“I no longer call you servants, but friends.”

Servants don’t know what their master is up to
but friends know all the intimate details of each others lives.
They share everything.

The root of the root of the root of friend is “love”.

After the birth if Isaac
it seems like Abraham has everything all straightened out
They have handled the Ishmael problem and now they have a son Isaac
It seems like everything is right, going along just as God had promised.
Then chapter 22 starts with a big word,
“Now… which is not then, but now!

1Now it came about after these things,
that God tested Abraham, and said to him,
"Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
2He said, "Take now your son, your only son,
whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering
on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey,
and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son;
and he split wood for the burnt offering,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4On the third day Abraham raised his eyes
and saw the place from a distance.
5Abraham said to his young men,
"Stay here with the donkey,
and I and the lad will go over there;
and we will worship and return to you."
6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering
and laid it on Isaac his son,
and he took in his hand the fire and the knife.
So the two of them walked on together.
7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said,
"My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son."
And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood,
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8Abraham said,
"God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering,
my son." So the two of them walked on together.
9Then they came to the place of which God had told him;
and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood,
and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10Abraham stretched out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son.
11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven
and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"
And he said, "Here I am."
12He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad,
and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God,
since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
13Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked,
and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns;
and Abraham went and took the ram
and offered him up for a burnt offering
in the place of his son.
14Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide,
as it is said to this day,
"In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."
Genesis 22:1-14 (my emphasis bold)

Just as everything seems to be working out right
God decides to test Abraham. He calls out to him and Abraham answers
“Here I am”

here I am = Hebrew :hinnêh hin-nay'
Prolonged for H2005; lo!: - behold, lo, see, behold, here I am

Abraham is saying:
‘here is the place where he is now,
in the promises of God,
his understanding of God,
his faith in God;
this is where I am right now.’

2He said, "Take now your son, your only son,
whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering
on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

This is a big powerful word…
we can immagine this was just a little unsettling for Abraham.

Just as Abraham thinks he has God all figured out,
God stretches his understanding and faith…

God comes along and says,
O.K., all the stuff that you think is important,
and all the stuff you think you understand,
I want you to take all that
and I want you to offer it back to Me as a burnt offering.

And then we see
one of the most important words in the Bible…
Verse 3… So

3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey,
and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son;
and he split wood for the burnt offering,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

So is a big word…
Abraham rose up and did it…
So, means I trust God!
I hear God…
here’s where I am right now,
in my understanding and my revelation of God…
but when God speaks to me
(even when it is beyond my understanding…
so, I begin to act on it.

4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes
and saw the place from a distance.
5Abraham said to his young men,
"Stay here with the donkey,
and I and the lad will go over there;

(literally I and my son, my prodigy
must go a little farther)

and we will worship and return to you."

Remember at the very beginning Abraham says “Here I am”
But when the voice of God comes to him he says
I and my son must go a little farther…

I must go a little further now
(beyond my understanding)
to the mountain of Moriah

This is the same mountain where Golgotha was…
the same place where another only begotten son
Christ Jesus was going to be crucified…

Here’s what happens…

6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering

burnt offering = the place where God is seen or revealed

and laid it on Isaac his son,
and he took in his hand the fire and the knife.
So the two of them walked on together.
7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said,
"My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son."

Here I am now…
I started over here…
Then the word of the Lord came to me…
And He said I had to go farther…
now here’s a place I’ve come to…
here I am right now in a new place…
now am I really willing to do this!?

And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood,
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8Abraham said,
"God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering,
my son." So the two of them walked on together.

God will provide Himself…
all things are God’s provision to us…
but here God is providing for Himself the lamb…
as He would some two thousand years later
provide the Lamb of God

So they go to the place where God called them…
He builds an alter there
He binds his son Isaac… and places him on the alter.

10Abraham stretched out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son.

Then in verse eleven,
we have to understand the way in which this is worded in the Hebrew…
it’s like the knife is coming down…
he is literally about to slay Isaac…

Abraham has gone from the place
of his first understanding of God…
to the place where he heard the word of God
and knew he had to go a little farther…
where he has to explain to his son…
this is where I am now “here I am now”…
and the knife is poised to kill him… it is coming down!
He is about to kill his son… his only son…
who was God’s promise as an heir to build a great nation…

11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven
and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"

But…
I get to the place of the end of my own understanding…
my own effort… and a big but comes in there…

But God intervenes…
an angel of the Lord…
the presence of the Lord
calls to him from heaven and says Abraham… Abraham!

And he said, "Here I am."

Abraham says again… “Here I am”…

I’ve now come to the place
where I am ready to withhold nothing from God…
because I realize that everything I have…
including my only son and heir
came from You…
I will withhold nothing, it all belongs to You!
Here I am…
Here I am – I’m going a little farther…
Here I am – On the alter, I’m ready to give my all for You.

The angel of the Lord says,
12He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad,
and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God,
since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

He’s saying that Abraham has withheld nothing from God!

13Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked,
and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns;
and Abraham went and took the ram
and offered him up for a burnt offering
in the place of his son.

Then Abraham calls the place Jehovah-jireh –
the place of God’s provision… but it also means God is seen.

yehôvâh yir'eh (yeh-ho-vaw' yir-eh')
From H3068 and H7200; Jehovah will see (to it); Jehovah-Jireh,
a symbolical name for Mt. Moriah: - Jehovah-jireh.

3068
yehôvâh (yeh-ho-vaw')
From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: -
Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.
H7200
râ'âh (raw-aw')
A primitive root; to see,

Thus God is seen in this place…

The whole point of this chapter is…
God is not going to be seen
unless we are willing to go a little farther…

It is anti- complacency…
It is saying everything I have:
Belongs to the Lord…
Came from the Lord…
Will go back to the Lord…

This place where Mt. Moriah is
Is also the place
where later on David (who is a type of Jesus)
is going to purchase a threshing floor…
and later Solomon will build the Temple there…

This is the specific place
were the sacrifices would later be made
in the Temple of God

Today, we are the temple of God
and sacrifices must be made
to come into God’s presence…

David said that he will not purchase something
to present to God
that doesn’t cost him something…

24However, the king said to Araunah,
"No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price,
for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God
which cost me nothing "
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen
for fifty shekels of silver.
25David built there an altar to the LORD
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Thus the LORD was moved by prayer for the land,
and the plague was held back from Israel.
2 Samuel 24:24-25 NAS

God is not going to be seen in our lives…
unless we are willing to go farther with Him…
to purchase gold and silver with our obedience to His Word.

God told them… “On this mountain shall you worship Me.”
True worship is reflected in obedience to God’s Word
and sacrifice of our own wants and desires
that we might do His will.


30

I AM WHO I AM

“God has to work in a man,
before he can work through a man.”
Leonard Ravenhill










I AM WHO I AM

In Exodus 3:14 God instructs a reluctant Moses
to tell the children of Israel in Egyptian bondage
that I AM sent him to redeem them.

Redemption is a deep theme of the exodus account
and obviously foretells of our redemption in Christ Jesus.

God says to Moses,
“I AM WHO I AM…
thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,
I AM has sent me to you.”
Exodus 3:14 NAS

The phrase I AM in the Hebrew language
is closely related to God’s personal name given in Exodus 6:3,
YHWH – Yahweh or Jehovah.

Most biblical scholars contend that pronunciation of Yehweh
is more accurate than Jehovah.

Although the meaning of Yehweh is not totally clear,
it seems to suggest
the timelessness of a God
who is the very foundation of all existence.

Perhaps a hint of this is found in this revelation of Christ –
“from Him who is,
and who was,
and who is to come.”
Revelation 1:4 NAS

Jesus was most likely referring to this in John 8:58
when He said,
“Before Abraham was born, I AM.”

“Christ is the same yesterday,
and today,
yes and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 NAS

30

Let there be Light

The night is almost gone,
and the day is near
Therefore let us lay aside
the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12







Let there be Light

"In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and empty
and darkness covered the deep waters
And the Spirit of God was hovering
over the surface of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light
and there was light.
And God was that the light was good."
Genesis 1:1-4 NLT

In the beginning [rê'shı yth - ray-sheeth']
From the same as H7218;
the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically a firstfruit): -
beginning, chief (-est), first (-fruits, part, time), principal thing.

Demonstrates the commencement of time
and that the matter of the universe had a definite origin –
it didn’t start itself.

God created [bârâ' baw-raw']

A primitive root; (absolutely) to create;
(qualified) to cut down (a wood), select,
feed (as formative processes): -
choose, create (creator), cut down, dispatch, do, make (fat).

Strongly supports the idea of ‘ex nihilo’ = cut from nothing
i.e. God simply called all matter and things
into being from nothing,
including the fundamental elements used in the creation.

God ['ĕlôhıym - el-o-heem']

Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense;
but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article)
of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates;
and sometimes as a superlative: - angels, X exceeding, God (gods)
(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

In the Greek language there are three tenses
Singular referring to one
Duo referring to two
Plural referring to three or more

God is used in the plural tense showing the Trinity of the Godhead

God = The Supreme God = Father God
The heart of the Father

The heavens and the earth
The earth was formless and empty

formless and empty [tôhû - to'-hoo]

From an unused root meaning to lie waste;
a desolation (of surface), that is, desert;
figuratively a worthless thing; adverbially in vain: -
confusion, empty place, without form, nothing,
(thing of) nought, vain, vanity, waste, wilderness.

The earth was unfinished and uninhabited
awaiting God’s creative hand.

and darkness covered the deep waters

darkness [chôshek - kho-shek']

From H2821; the dark; hence (literally) darkness;
figuratively misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow,
wickedness: - dark (-ness), night, obscurity.

deep waters [tehôm tehôm - teh-home', teh-home']
(Usually feminine) from H1949;
an abyss (as a surging mass of water),
especially the deep (the main sea or the subterranean water supply): -
deep (place), depth.

The concept here is that there was gross disorder and confusion

And the Spirit of God was hovering

hovering [râchaph raw-khaf']
A primitive root; to brood; by implication to be relaxed: -
flutter, move, shake, vibrate.

The Spirit of God was vibrating over the confusion

The Spirit of God
vibrates over and activates
the desires of the Father’s heart

over the surface of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light
and there was light.
And God was that the light was good.

light ['ôr - ore]

From H215; illumination or (concretely) luminary
(in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.): -
bright, clear, + day, light

This light
1. separates light from darkness
2. is called good by God

good [ṭôb - tobe]
From H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense;
used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine,
the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing,
a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also

as an adverb (well): - beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, liest, - ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well

The concept of good here
is not the good we commonly use in the English language
that equates to being just O.K.

This good means perfection, beautiful, bountiful, cheerful…etc.

This light is not the Sun…
The Sun was created on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14)

This perfect light is Christ Jesus
Bringing light to the darkness
Order from disorder

The Son carries out the desires of the Father’s heart.

At the very beginning of time Christ was the light
and at the conclusion of time Christ will be the light.

“And there will be no light no need for lamps or sun
for the Lord God will shine on them.
And they will reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 22:5

The heart of the Father...
The Spirit of God
vibrates over and activates
the desires of the Father’s heart...
The Son carries out the desires of the Father’s heart...

He is the Alpha and the Omega
He is the Beginning and the End
He is the First and the Last
God is Light and in Him there is no darkness. (1 John 1:5)
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Foundations of the Nation - #1

I know not the way He leads me,
but well do I know my Guide.
Martin Luther



Foundations of the Nation - 1

"It was the Lord who put into my mind
(I could feel his hand upon me)
the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies.
All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays
of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures…

I am a most unworthy sinner,
but have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy,
and they have covered me completely.
I have found the sweetest consolation since
I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence.
For the execution of the journey to the Indies,
I did mot make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.
It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied…

No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior,
if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service.
The working out of all things
has been assigned to each person by our Lord,
but it all happens according to His sovereign will,
even though He gives advice.
He lacks nothing that is in the power of men to give Him.
Oh, what a gracious Lord,
who desires that people should perform for Him
those things for which He holds Himself responsible!
Day and night, moment by moment,
everyone should express their most devoted gratitude to Him."

Christopher Columbus
Columbus’s Book of Prophecies
This book is largely a collection of teachings and prophecies in the Bible on the subject of the earth, distant lands, population movements, and undiscovered tribes. It also addresses some of the writings of the early church fathers. .

Most of American “History” will tell you
that Christopher Columbus simply discovered the Americas by accident
while seeking a trade route to the Indies.
They neglect to mention that his voyages
were inspired not simply by the profit margin
but by the Holy Spirit of God.
It was his faith that inspired him,
which gave him an inner peace,
which gave him his life’s greatest mission;
one he believed was commissioned by God.

"History" also doesn’t record
the fact that his quest was one he believed, was to fulfill Bible prophecy,
nor that on the voyage to the Americas
he believed that he was lead by the Spirit of God every step of the way…
these are Columbus’ own words.

I believe that this historic discovery was part of God’s plan for History… His story;
the discovery and building up of a new Promised Land that would be used by God to bring the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world.
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The King of Salem

I was regretting the past and fearing the future.
Suddenly God was speaking: "My name is I am."
I waited and God continued:
"When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard.
I am not there.
My name is not I was.
When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard.
I am not there.
My name is not I will be.
When you live in this moment, it is not hard.
I am here.
My name is I AM."
Helen Mellincost

The King of Salem

Genesis 14:18-20 NLT

18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem (early name for Jerusalem)
and a priest of God Most High, (el – strength, mighty)
brought Abram some bread and wine.
19 Melchizedek blessed Abram (high or exalted father) with this blessing:
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High,
who has defeated your enemies for you.”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek
a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

I have heard it suggested that Melchizedek was Shem the son of Noah.

If we allow scripture to interpret scripture,

this is clearly not a realistic choice.

In these verses alone, Melchizedek is identified as:
1. The king of Salem (Salem = complete and perfect peace)
Salem was the early name for Jerusalem
2. priest of God Most High
3. one who blesses…
4. Melchizedek means “king of justice”

Melchizedek is further described in Hebrews chapter 7,

1 This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem
and also a priest of God Most High.
When Abraham was returning home
after winning a great battle against the kings,
Melchizedek met him and blessed him.
2 Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle
and gave it to Melchizedek.
The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,”
(justice – dikaiosune – [dik ah yos oo nay] = equity, justice, righteousness)
and king of Salem means “king of peace.”
(eirene – [I rah nay] = peace and prosperity)
3 There is no record of his father or mother
or any of his ancestors—
no beginning or end to his life.
He remains a priest forever,
resembling the Son of God.

Here we find that Melchizedek:
5. had no record of a mother or father
6. no record of ancestors
7. had no beginning or end to his life
8. remains a priest forever
9. resembles the Son of God

I don’t believe there is any doubt that Melchizedek was indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
That concluded, we find in these verses the hear of God demonstrated in Melchizedek’s nature.
Note that:
1. He brought bread and wine to Abram
2. He blessed Abram
3. He blessed God Most High
4. He gave God the glory for Abram’s victory
5. He received the tithe of ten percent of all that was captured during the battle.

The bread and wine symbolic of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus
The blessings show the hearts attitude of our God.
The victory symbolic of our victory in Christ Jesus.
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