In His Likeness and Image

 

In His Likeness And Image

 

In the last lessons we discussed subjects dealing with supernatural powers, great evil that has been unleashed upon the world, how we are to position ourselves in Yeshua Jesus, how such positioning gives us authority over this evil and how important it is for us to discover that we are called and can, “Play Above The Rim”. Before we go any further in conveying this message, I want to point out that I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for the follower of Yeshua Jesus to develop and maintain courage and a steadfastness in faith, belief and obedience to the principles of the Kingdom of heaven. This does include voluntarily taking on the full character of Yeshua, Jesus, the Christ child of Nazareth and abiding in the laws of the living God of the children of Israel. This while making your temple a holy and acceptable place for the Holy Spirit of God to inhabit.

To those who desire to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus, in His glory, He says this, “Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?  Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:21,

“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils”.

John the Baptist tells us in Matthew 3:11,

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire”:

This is the cup of Jesus. To be set apart, a light upon a hill for all to see. To be a passionate disciple of God steadfast in His word, a vessel of the Holy Spirit, tried and refined by fire. To be a hearer and doer of the word of God, worshiping Him only and walking with miracles signs and wonders following as you heal the sick, cleanse the leper, cast out devils, raise the dead, freely receiving and freely giving, while you bind up the broken hearted, visit the widows and orphans in their afflictions, deliver the gospel of God when led, give drink to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked visit the sick and imprisoned. To overcome and defeat wickedness at even the highest levels. All the while voluntarily being willing to suffer and endure all manner of troubles, afflictions and persecutions that the world will attempt to heap upon you yet doing His works anyway for the love of God. All of this not because of, but rather regardless of knowing full well for you is life more abundant, heavenly rewards in this life and after, and at the end of the race, life everlasting in a room in a mansion of your Father in heaven, prepared for you by the Holy King, Jesus.

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.

Now it may be hard for some to understand however in a biblical sense, being made in His likeness and image gives the follower of God access to His power and authority on a level that when anointed, proclaimed and exercised, can seem foolish and confounding to religious minds. It is written in,

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 

Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world”.

He went on to teach His followers this, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

As a follower of Jesus, you begin to take on His characteristics. You begin to shine as a light that the darkness cannot comprehend. As a follower grows in belief and faith their countenance becomes like Christ Jesus and we know that He and God are one. We also know that the way to the Father is through the son, Jesus. So, by aligning ourselves with Yeshua, Jesus, the Christ child of Nazareth, we grow nearer to God and become more of and example of the likeness and image of God the Father, Jesus the son and the Holy Spirit. Now hear me I am not advocating that we become God. We certainly are not omnipotent, omnipresent and all mighty. The clay cannot become the Potter. However, I am saying that the nearer we draw to God the nearer He draws to us and nearer we are to God the more we begin to exhibit His attributes.

The biggest obstacle in the way of mans ability to operate at the spiritual and natural levels God intends for us is unbelief. Faith in the existence of God is paramount to the believer. Belief that Jesus is the son of the living God is paramount to the follower of Jesus. Believing that we can become children of God and joint heirs with Jesus is paramount to the believer who chooses to receive all three, believe all three and believe that you were made in the image and likeness of all three. The more the clay submits to the Potter the more the Potter can shape the clay in into the likeness the Potter desires. Consider the following.

1John 5:5-7

5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

John 1:10-13

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

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:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Galatians 3:26-27

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Romans 8:14-17

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

The devils, unbelievers of the world and even the many unbelievers who stand in the pulpits week after week and year after year cannot identify with being a child of God and the power and authority that comes through faith, belief and the adoption of such principles.

It is written, ”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”.

The devils cannot comprehend this either, even though they know Him. Just as Jesus is the light, in him you become the light and the darkness comprehends you not.

Do you believe there is an all-mighty God? Do you believe He has a son and that son is in Him and is Him and that He is Yeshua, Jesus the Christ Child of Nazareth? Do you believe that together with them is the Holy Spirit? Do you believe that through Jesus is the way to the Father? Do you believe that through Jesus and in obedience to God you will receive the Holy Spirit and that through following Jesus you will become a joint heir to the inheritance of Jesus? If you believe all of this than believe His words.

Jesus, the word from the beginning sent by God said,

John 5:45-47

45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.

47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

John 12:44-45

44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

John 8:51

51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

 Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords with all authority in heaven and on earth, one with God and creator of all things spoke this over His devout followers.

Mark 11:23

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

John 14:12-17

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

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.

 Matthew 21:18-22

18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

 Mark 16:16-18

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

 In Matthew 10:8 Jesus called and empowered His disciples to,

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

 Luke 17:5-6

5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

 Faith is essential! The word of God teaches that with out faith it is impossible to please God, we see this in the following.

 Hebrews 11:6

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 Romans14:22-23

22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

 And when the disciples of  Jesus exhibited a lack of faith, he chastened them. We see this here in,

 Matthew 17:14-21

14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

 Thousands of years before Jesus, mankind exercised great faith and, in the likeness, and image of God accomplished great achievements. Even achievements that seemed to surprise God. Consider the following.

Genesis 11:1-6

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

 Earlier believers Had faith that the Lord would win their battles for them and He did. Not only did He win their battles but He enriched them with the spoils of their enemies.

 2 Chronicles 20:13-25

13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;

15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

 2Chronicles 32:7-22

7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:

8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

9 After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,

10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?

11 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?

13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?

14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand?

15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?

16 And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah.

17 He wrote also letters to rail on the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand.

18 Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.

19 And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.

20 And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.

21 And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.

22 Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.

Paul teaches us this in,

2Corinthians 10:3-6

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

And,

Ephesians 6:11-18

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 When we come to the awareness that most of the battles we fight while walking as Christ, are waged in the heavenlies such awareness makes us much more effective in the battle. When we discover who we truly are in Christ Jesus we find that we become much more victorious in those battles. And, the effectively fought battles and victories won in the heavenlies will manifest in our favor in the natural.

In the book of Daniel, we find evidence of the heavenly battles that can and do take place. Daniel was in need of a message regarding a vision he had. The Angel Gabriel was sent to deliver said message. However, he was delayed for twenty one days as he was wrestling with the Prince of Persia. Consider the following.

Daniel 9:21-23

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

 Daniel 10:1-21

1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.

3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;

5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.

9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.

17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,

19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

While Gabriel wrestled with the prince of Persia, he had to call on the Angel Michael to assist him in escaping the Prince of Persia. Gabriel also discusses the Prince of Grecia. The prince of Persia is in fact a principality. He is a ruler of the darkness of this world, He is a wicked spiritual power over Persia which is known today as Iran and parts of Iraq and turkey. While the Prince of Gracia is the demonic ruler over Greece.

An interesting side note when discussing this subject is that the seat of Satan is discussed in the Bible in the book of Revelation. In,

Revelation 2:12-13

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

The seat of Satan is in Pergamos. Pergamos or Pergamon was an ancient Greek and Roman city located in what is now known as modern day Turkey. The ruins of Pergamon are located in and around the town of Bregama located about sixteen miles from the Aegean Sea. As the location of one of the seven churches mentioned in Asia Pergamos was also known as a powerful Hellenistic capital, famous for its acropolis library, Asclepieion healing center, and altar of the Greek pagan sun god.

Now the bible makes mention of other accounts of the exploits of Angels, such as in,

Revelation 12:7-11

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Now biblically there are supernatural wars in the heavenlies and as we discovered in the last teaching, by the testimony of Elisha, we can, by faith, catch a glimpse in to the spiritual realm. This is happening all of the time but people are not aware of what they are truly witnessing.

But going back to Jesus and walking in his character and in faith and belief we have been given the power and authority to overcome wickedness in battle. God established this in the beginning between the serpent and Eve when he proclaimed this in,

Genesis 3:14-15

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

As a joint heir, and brother or sister to Christ Jesus, the head of the serpent will always be in for a bruising from our heel. When in Christ Jesus, like the angels, we too can cast down the old serpent and overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony; and by not loving our own lives unto the death. And if we need to, just like Jesus we can call upon assistance from the Holy angels.  Remember what Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people when they came to arrest him? It is written,

“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels”?

The only obstacles for the believer in Christ Jesus to prevent us from doing the works as he inspires us to do, and the works as he did, are to walk as he does, and have faith and belief in His word. The choice is yours. Stir up your faith and decide, are you going to believe?

Be blessed, prepare to soar, prepare to play above the rim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Play Above The Rim

 

Play Above The Rim

1Kings 18: 36-40

36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

 2Kings 6:1-7

1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.

3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.

4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

Exodus 14: 15 - 21

15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

2Kings 6: 8 - 20

8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.

20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

Joshua 6:1-5,20

1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

1Samuel 17:48-51

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

Judges 4:18-21

18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

Acts 3:1-2,6-8

1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

 Acts 5:12-16

12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.

13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.

14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

These are but a few of the mighty exploits performed by people of God who were devoted to following and serving Him. As always, I encourage you to dive into the word of God to explore these exploits in context. When you do I believe you will find some common traits in those men and women who did powerful works for the kingdom of heaven. You see one of those traits was they believed in God, another was that they exhibited faith unfeigned. They were courageous and righteous, but perhaps, above all else, they desired that the works they displayed and the miraculous outcomes would lead the people to God, as evidenced in the prayer of Elijah.

“Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again”.

Their desire was that God was recognized not they. Their desire was that by their actions and interactions with God and by partnering with Him in miracles signs and wonders the people would be blessed, and enriched, not them. And yes, I did say partnering. I teach this often, when it comes to miracles signs and wonders, you are the other half of the equation. This is not to say that God does not perform miracles autonomously because he does. However, God does want to perform them through you as well. It is by this a full picture of what a relationship with God can become as witnessed by the unbeliever.

When moses cried out to God about their situation, when he and the Israelites were trapped against the red sea shore and Pharaohs army was closing in, God asked Moses why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to move, raise your staff and part the waters, as if to say use what I have given you. Your faith and courage plus a right relationship with God will equal miracles signs and wonders flowing through you. I know this by experience.  But take heed, unless you develop the right relationship you may end up bringing discouragement and discontent between God and His people.

When I first became a seeker/follower of Yeshua, Jesus the Christ Child of Nazareth. I was met by the Holy Spirit in a worship session. This was at a time in my life when I sincerely needed to find solace and meaning, it was a matter of life and death. At first the situation was an extreme embarrassment for me. An embarrassment so grave that I almost walked out never to return to that particular gathering again, but the Lord really worked on my heart that day through others and I was lit on fire. I began removing unseemly influences from my life. I committed myself to diligently studying the word of God and attending meetings, prayer sessions, sermons and worship sessions. A hunger for Kingdom principals and the knowledge thereof took up all of my free time. I dedicated my life to the pursuit of not just knowing the word or being a hearer of the word but being a doer of the word as well. I fasted and prayed and studied while observing from the background every ministry I encountered. In the midst of this my discernment began to grow and I began to have dreams, vivid dreams, dreams that came to fruition to a degree so compelling that I became to know God was speaking to me. I knew by my studies that my dreams were prophetic. Some dreams were literal and some mostly symbolic and some a mix.  In this time, God began to make known to me information about the condition of His church today. As I said, in my hunger I attended many different functions. I witnessed many people evangelizing the gospel and “practicing their faith”. Unfortunately, for me, what I began to witness was that the disorder in the body was greater than the order that should be. Messages being preached were out of alignment with scripture, and people were acting out biblical teachings with little to no effectual results.

I once watched a video discussion by some men who were portrayed as great leaders of the faith at that time. Some were very popular. These people were charismatic with large followings on social media. During this session a question was posed to the group and that question went something like this, “Why when you lay hands on the sick and pray, it doesn’t always work”? While most were really speechless in answering this question one spoke up to say, I don’t know why it doesn’t always work, but in faith I keep trying anyway.

Much of the bible contains instructions for life that the believer should adhere to and do every moment of every day. Things that once you are told to do you do not have to wait for permission to repeat or flow in in everyday life. Now there are exploits, instructions and examples of how believers should conduct themselves in certain situations that are not so straight forward. These are circumstantially led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself taught this,

“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.  When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things”.

We are to walk like Him. Jesus only did what the father instructed Him to do and said what the Father instructed Him to say. Since His departure we have the option of receiving the Holy Spirit through obedience to God and by the prayers of Jesus. This is the Spirit of the living God. Pray for them but remember, not every sick is to be healed. Pray for them but remember, not every dead is to rise in this life. Not every devil is to be cast out. Some devils are tares which we are instructed not to pull up and some, if you cast out before the appointed time will reinhabit that person it was removed from and bring along with it seven others more wicked than it. If you have no relationship with the Holy Spirit and you move to act in these circumstances without His specific instruction, the ineffectiveness of your operations will bring disappointment and lack of faith to witnesses. Acting for your own glory and popularity can bring discord amongst the brethren which is something no one should desire to do for a bringer of discord amongst the brethren is one who God hates. A simple rule of thumb is Ask in prayer, test the spirits, listen to the Holy Spirit, if you're not told don't do, if you're not sent don't go.

These signs follow those who believe on Jesus. This includes only doing and saying what the Father tells you. When God gives you a specific instruction and you move to follow it out just as He instructs what goes with you is His spirit and the full authority and power to accomplish the task. The group of evangelists described above primarily acted for self-glorification and personal notoriety. They are not primarily interested in serving God for the purposes of others witnessing His glory and turn their heart back again, to Him.

Last week we discussed nearly unbelievable exploits of power demonstrated by the darkness of this world. At some point mankind is going to have to come to terms again with knowing the existence of the spiritual realm and the dangers associated in not confronting the darkness that can come out of it. Elisha could see into it the spiritual realm and see the armies of God that were with Him. I pray that you can visualize this believe it and see it for yourself. Also, I implore you to understand this, regardless of the display of great power by spiritual wickedness, when in Yeshua, Christ Jesus, the power you are called to operate in far exceeds that of anything wickedness can produce. The key to this is making your spirit man connect to God through the Holy Spirit. This will cause a change in your flesh and soul that allows a complete partnering with God to perform at higher levels as His witness, for His glory. This is playing above the rim.

The phrase playing above the rim was first termed to describe athletes in basketball. These are those who excelled far beyond their competitors by having the ability and strength to jump high enough to dunk a basketball unimpeded by those who could not. Playing above the rim now has generally come to mean operating or playing at a level that is far above what others do. This includes using ways and strategies that are not fathomed by most all other people.

When we first moved into the ROC, we were beset upon by other churches who did not want us to worship or minister in any capacity here. With out getting into too much detail, pastors from the largest churches in the area started a campaign to have us removed. There were gossips, rumors and petitions submitted to the public. There were complaints to the city, attempts to get our house condemned due to structural concerns. The list went on and on it seemed.

In the midst of that time of confrontations God gave me a dream and to the best of my recollection, it went like this,

I was in an out-door basketball court just dribbling and shooting the basketball randomly. After a few shots I decided to try a few layups. As I went up for my first layup I found my self chest level with the rim. To my amazement I slam-dunked the ball and landed softly back on the court. This started me on a series where I was just jumping and slamming the ball.

As this went on, my younger brother entered the court while watching me dunk. On one try, I jumped so high that my feet were even with the rim so I actually had to shoot down to make the basket. When I softly landed my brother came to me with a look of aw and unbelief on his face. He began asking me, how are you doing this, how is it possible, and can you show me? I responded by saying I’m not sure how. I just started jumping and I found out I could play above the rim. Each time I tried I just got higher and higher. I think its God teaching me to play above the rim. I think if you believe you can, you will be able to as well. Do you want to try? I asked. He said yes. Excitedly, he took the ball in his hands and approached the hoop. He leaped into the air and just as it seemed like my brother was going to dunk the basketball a man who resembled our earthly father walked onto the court. He looked at my brother with stern disapproval and just as my brother saw him, he stopped midair, all of the excitement flew out of him and he came crashing down on the court. After that, I watched my brother get up with a sad dejected look on his face then walk to our dad and I watched as they both walked off the court as my brothers head hung down.

I walked off the court and down the street to a cul-de-sac. At the end of the cul-de-sac on the other side of the side walk was a path worn into the grass. I felt drawn to this path but as I got to it I saw that it was over grown with thick brush. I decided to work my way through the brush. It took great effort. I was pushing, branches were snapping and slapping me until I finally broke through into a small grass carpeted clearing. The path had led me into a forest that was densely overgrown by a canopy of tree branches that started at about fifteen feet high and stretched upward, how far I could not tell because the view was obscured by the branches. At the other end of the clearing was a massive Gemsbok or (Oryx). Her markings and lines were crisp. She was remarkably beautiful. When our eyes met there was no fear, I knew she was there to help me in some way because what I saw in her eyes was care. Like she was there to care for me. As she looked at me, she made a head motion as if to say, come, follow me. Just as I moved in her direction, she leaped up into the canopy. I leaped up after her. As we ascended, I could hear the loud snapping of heavy branches. I could see them falling all around me as she was breaking through but her massive body shielded me from the debris. I looked up just in time to see that she had made a large hole through the branches. There were blue skies with whisps of clouds. As she went through, she flew off to my right. I was soon to ascend up through the hole she had made and when I did, I turned to fly in the direction I saw her go. I found my self drifting over a vast forest, tree tops as far as the eye can see. I was some distance above the tree tops but I could not see her any longer. I flew for some time to see if she had made a hole down through the canopy anywhere marking a landing spot but I found none so I flew on until the dream ended.

So, as I stated earlier, we were under persecution. Pastors from the largest ministry in our region were petitioning the city to shut us down and declare the building structurally unsound. Because of this, the city requested that we have the building inspected by a licensed engineer to validate the structural integrity of our building. They contended that if we were able to produce a letter from such, that it would satisfy the city requirements and mitigate the issue.

In the church we previously attended, in the men’s group, I had come to be friends with a young structural engineer. I contacted him and invited him over to discuss the city’s request. When we met again, we began catching up on events that had transpired since we had last seen each other. We shared stories and I witnessed to him some of the miracle’s signs and wonders we were experiencing, especially how we received the building and the dreams that prophetically spoke of us receiving it, in detail, nearly one and a half years prior. We spent hours climbing through the building, mapping its foot print and drawing plans. My friend expressed how he wanted to be a part of what we were doing and that his opinion was that the building was structurally sound, however he had a senior associate that he worked under that would have to come and verify the condition himself.

The senior associate did, in fact, come and inspect the building. They together informed me that they would discuss the issue and how to move forward. They conveyed that they would contact me to let me know when I could come to their office and discuss their findings. To me the outlook was good. I knew God moved us in and instructed us in what to do. We were wading through and prevailing over one attack after another.

After a few days I got a call from my friend the engineer. He called to verify an appointment for us to meet at their firm’s office on a Monday. When that day came, I went to their office building which was a new steel building mostly open on the inside. There were really no divider walls past the reception area. My friend met me at the reception door and escorted me back to his desk. There were a few desks scattered throughout the building.

As I entered, I noticed that there were trophy mounts hanging on the walls, taking up most of the wall space as we walk to his desk, I saw that the senior engineer that had met us a few days before was sitting at another desk across the room. We exchanged greetings. As I sat in the chair across the desk from my friend we began to make small talk, you know the usual like how have you been, how is the wife and children, how was your weekend, who’s the hunter?….. Then when we finished with the small talk I said bluntly, so, have you decided about drafting a letter to the city for me? As I asked my friend looked at the senior associate. Just as he did, I did . We both saw the look of disapproval on his face then I turned to my friend. It looked like some life left his countenance. I asked again are you going to write the letter for me? He bowed his head a moment then looked up at me and spoke. My boss does not want to get involved; he doesn’t want to write a letter for you. My heart sank a bit, I thought for sure they were on board. I looked over at his boss. He would not make eye contact. However, as I looked in his direction, I noticed, high on the wall above where he sat was the trophy mount of a massive beautiful Gemsbok. I sat for a moment taking in the experience, the build up and the ultimate rejection. I stood up said thank you very much and walked out.

I walked out onto the side walk and called Tomika to deliver the unfavorable news. Our only option at that point was to press in and pray and find another engineer. So, we did both. There is a man in our community whom I had known about since before I left California, to move to Idaho. As I was searching for engineering firms, I found his name listed in the business section as a licensed structural engineer. I was surprised to find that he wasn’t only a local politician but an engineer as well. I called his firm and explained the situation. He responded immediately and showed up with another young engineer from his office. He said he was familiar with the building somewhat as he had read about it in the papers. After inspecting the building, he agreed to write the letter. Not only did he agree to write the letter, he agreed to provide us with any necessary engineering services for free when it came time to do the major renovations.

Now, this man was going through persecutions of his own.  As a staunch patriot he was always under attack in his private life and political career as well. We invited him to a prayer and worship night where we prayed for his protection and advancement. Today he is an Idaho state Senator.

 Playing above the rim. You see now how that dream became a prophetic encouragement. The time on the court signified the amazing things we were experiencing by a relationship with God. My brother was my engineering friend. Through the testimonies he wanted to be a part of what we were doing and experience the same. The dad figure was the senior associate. He did not want my brother to exercise that level of faith. My friend felt the disapproval. His boss is a natural man who it seems to me is governed more by assurances and fear of liability, while unable to receive assurances by faith and unable to walk in the contest of it. For to the flesh and soul of an unbeliever walking by faith is risky business. But we who are followers choose to walk by faith, not by sight. 

It is written, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man”.

So, as this episode in our lives was unfolding, I was greatly encouraged by God. Soon after I saw the Gemsbok on the wall of the office, I knew I was going to have to fight for a bit to walk a path that led to a clearing. The Gemsbok represents a swift pursuit of God and is symbolic of our walk with him. In the moment of perceived defeat, I had a choice. Give up or soar, the choice was clear, God said soar above it all. So, we took flight and have spent much time soaring ever sense.

As many of you might have read we have a prophetic word of guidance for this year.

“There are many major changes happening and more coming. Changes for the overall good”. Prepare to play above the rim.  12/21/2025

Just remember, you must be careful when playing above the rim because when you are above the rim, everyone can see you. You are no longer lost in the crowd on the court but raised up to be and example, a light on a hill. You are highlighted to witness for His glory.

In all of our interactions, our overall desire should be as the prophet prayed, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again”.

 

 Be Blessed

 

You Have No Idea What You Are Dealing With, Part 2

 

If you have not read Part 1 of this series, please follow this link to do so. 

https://brendenbiggssr.blogspot.com/2025/12/you-have-no-idea-what-you-are-dealing.html

You have no idea what you are dealing with.

Part 2

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

A few weeks ago, we talked about subject matter associated with the title of this message and how one of the most important things a follower of Jesus can do is work to develop their spirit man. We know that the natural man cannot receive the things of God because they are foolish to him. However, we who are spiritual are to judge everything, and this is by the spirit of God. We know that God is a spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. For He seeketh such. We also know that without the gifts, comfort, guidance, truth and lessons of the Holy Spirit we can become lost in a world full of chaos and possibly caught up in the maw of the devourer. The scriptures are clear, we ought to obey God and He gives His holy Spirit to those who obey Him. I want to remind you that the fruits of the spirit are these,

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

With regards to these I want to emphasize temperance. Temperance means soberness, restraint, or self-control. I emphasize this because many misunderstand what it means to be one with the spirit of God and sober in spirit. In a lack of sobriety most open themselves to other spirits and/or become too spiritual to where they can serve no earthly good for the kingdom of heaven. Guard your gates, the gates of your eyes, and ears, be mindful of what you let in. Too many people in their quest for spiritual enlightenment use methods and teachings not found in scripture. They fail to test spirits and end up exhibiting unholy weirdness, being deceived and bewitching others with strange fire.

Our Lord and savior, our deliverer, the prince of peace, the Holy Son “One With God,” was sent from the highest and most mighty of all, to deliver a message. His coming and message symbolizes and verifies the great love that God has for His creation. However, most of mankind either cannot realize this and accept it, or utterly refuse to, even when they know the truth of the matter. There is no other religion in the world that recognizes a savior and there is no other religion that supports the principles of liberty more so than that of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

As more and more reports come in from all over the world about the persecution of the followers of Yeshua Jesus the Christ, it should be made obvious that persecution is on the rise. Why is this? The fundamental principles of the followers of the God of Israel are to walk in a lifestyle that outwardly displays holiness, righteousness, honesty, fairness, lawfulness and the love of God.

Paul, an Apostle of Yeshua Jesus teaches us this in,

Philippians 4:8-9

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

In the books of Matthew and Luke we find the “One with God” Jesus, teaching us the following,

Matthew 7:12

12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Luke 6:31

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

This, as you know is the foundational principle of what we as followers of Yeshua Jesus refer to as “The Golden Rule”.  So, if Christians are following the teachings of God and His son Jesus, why are we experiencing persecution? If we are attempting to continuously treat others in righteousness, why are we persecuted? This is a condition that has plagued God’s children from the beginning.  Even going back to the days of the first children Adam and Eve. They communed with and were favored by God. The fallen serpent could not stand to be banned from the same relationship so he worked to destroy theirs. The first children of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, suffered from the same type of attack as well. Abel pleased God but Cain did not so Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. Because of this Cain was cursed. Since the beginning those who seek to please the God of creation will be persecuted by those who refuse to.

By the wisdom and grace of God the children of Israel, especially through Joseph, saved the lives of the nation of Egypt and most of the known world as he was prophetically warned and guided to grow and store grain in a manner that prevented their suffering from famine. Despite this, the Egyptians enslaved them for four hundred years. This because they could see that Israel was blessed and multiplying into a powerful people. After their deliverance from Egypt the nation of Israel was constantly harassed and persecuted by the Ammonites and Moabites who sought to oppress and dominate them through warfare and curse them with sorcery through balaam.  For this, the Ammonite and Moabite were forever banned from the congregation of God.

 Nehemiah 13:1-2

1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;

2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

The Amalekites were an exceptionally wicked and evil people who continuously harassed the children of Israel. They were so wicked that God ordered king Saul, the first king of the nation of Israel, to completely eradicate them, all of them, man woman and child. This he ordered, but not just for the human lives to be eradicated but all of their animals as well.

1Samuel 15:1-3

1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.

2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

 Now Saul set out to carryout God’s orders but decided that he had a better plan, we find this in,

 1Samuel 15:7-9

7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

Saul did not obey God fully. He spared the life of the king and distributed the best of the livestock among his people. For this God cursed Saul. He filled him with a spirit of torment and took the kingship from his lineage and gave it to David.

 1Samuel 15:23-26

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.

26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

 1Samuel 16:11-15

11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

 This is but one example of why I continue to preach about the seriousness of obedience to God. Being in His service is serious business, it is no joking matter. Have you ever wondered why God desired to have all of the Amalekites destroyed, even their animals? I have a theory and it goes like this. As we will see later, Yeshuah Jesus teaches us that not everyone is a child of God, some are children of the devil. The Amalekites were such. The entire population was bent on the total destruction of the children of Israel, Gods chosen people. To save Israel from constant aggression from them he ordered their total destruction. Further, he anointed Saul and the Israelites with the power and ability to carry out the task. But why the animals as well? Well, as we study the bible we find out that unclean spirits can and will inhabit the flesh of animals. We see this specially made clear roughly one thousand years from the time of Saul when Jesus confronted legion.

 Mark 5:2-13

2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

 The unclean spirits that plagued and ruled the Amalekites lived on in the flesh of their animals. Now today, the entire world still suffers in one way or another every time the spirit of Amalek rears its ugliness and flows through the people of earth. Did you ever wonder how a small nation like Germany advanced so quickly and so powerfully in numbers and technology of warfare? How so small that nation was, yet they were nearly able to dominate much of the modern world? Or why they really targeted the Israelites for destruction? Have you seen how people all over the world fill the streets of their nations in violent protests calling for the destruction of the nation of Israel? Have you noticed the violence and ferocity in their countenance? Have you decerned that they are overcome with something that compels them to a deep hatred of a people while compromising their own principles all the while not really knowing why? They have no idea what they are dealing with. Most of whom protesters are jealously attempting to defend while persecuting the children of Israel have sworn since childhood to infiltrate their societies and destroy them by whatever means necessary. These protesters seem to care not about this very real threat. Much of this is due to demonic influences that have survived since the days of Saul. Saul didn’t do his Job. He didn’t follow through on the tasks appointed to him by God. Now over three thousand years later the world suffers partly due to his disobedience. Ask yourself, what have you been assigned to do and how might it affect generations if you do not follow through? How might it bless generations if you do? Remember we are not the Potter, we are the clay. We should never be resistant to be molded by the Potter while we should always violently refuse to be molded by a counterfeit sculptor.

Paul warned of a different gospel being preached and Jesus warned of other Jesuses and false prophets arising to deceive His followers.

Galatians 1:6-8

6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

2Corinthians 11:3-4

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Mark 13:22-23

22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

In Galatians Paul marveled about how soon the Galatians were moved from the truth to another gospel. This was in the manner of just a few years, imagine how far mankind has strayed from the fundamental teachings of Jesus, Yeshua the Christ Child of Nazareth in over two thousand years. You all know by the Spirit, scriptures, your studies and the teachings you have received that many false doctrines have risen up to compel mankind in ways that are contrary to the principles of the kingdom of heaven.

While preparing this lesson I got the unction to put together a montage of quotes from our savior, as they appear in the gospel record. This, I believe, is to see and hear a message that brings balance to the understanding of the followers of Jesus.

It is written, and Jesus spoke,

“I and my Father are one”.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

“Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”

“Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

“But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.”

“But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.”

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

“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: 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: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 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: 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:”

 (Not all are children of God)

“The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 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; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

“If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.”

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.”

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 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. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

“Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Now, obviously this is not all that Jesus spoke or taught but it is enough to help emphasize the seriousness of the call of the follower of Jesus and the condition he or she should strive to attain in order to follow Him completely for the bible does instruct us that if we say He abideth in us we ought to walk as He walked, in some cases it appears that Jesus inspired us to do even greater. We also know that there was so much more that He taught than is recorded in the bible. as John teaches us in,

John 21:24-25

24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Jesus teaches us that one of the jobs of the Holy spirit is to bring into remembrance all that he has spoken. Without obedience to God we cannot receive His Holy Spirit, without His Holy Spirit we cannot tap into the completeness He desires us to walk in. Since the very beginning There has always been a war against the word of God and the teachings of Jesus. Remember in the garden when the serpent spoke this to Eve?

Genesis 3:1-6

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Yes, since the very beginning the crafty old serpent has sought to pervert Gods instructions and convince mankind to question the word of God, today this war wages on. Many schemes have been devised over the centuries to attempt to confound man as to the fundamental teachings of God and Jesus as well. Without the Guidance of the Holy Ghost, we can fall prey to all forms of trickery, mischief and deception. This includes ploys and schemes to persuade us to oppose the very commandments of God. The devil and his angels have practiced honing their skills for thousands of years in order to perfect their abilities to debate with and persuade man. Without the Holy Spirit and His assistance from on high, we will surely fall prey to the wiles of the enemy.

 2Timothy 3:8-9

8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.

 Who is Jannes and Jambres and what is their significance? In the book of Exodus, we find an answer to this, a bit of information we should be aware of as we walk deeper into our relationship with God.

 Exodus 7:8-13

8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

  What does Jannes mean in the Bible?

Jannes, jan'-nes (Gk. fr. Egypt.)-- mockery; deception; poverty; rebellion. A man, supposedly an Egyptian magician, who opposed Moses when Moses was seeking from Pharaoh the release of the Israelites.

The name Jambres is traditionally associated with an Egyptian magician who opposed Moses and is thought to mean "to oppose" or "he who opposes," derived from an Aramaic root. Jambres is but one of the figures (along with Jannes) who opposed Moses and is consistently identified by this name in Jewish and Christian tradition. 

In scripture we are taught that one of the first miracles produced through Moses was that his rod, when cast to the ground in obedience and faith, turned into a serpent. Further that Pharoah called to his wisemen, sorcerers and magicians and had them do the same. Traditionally we believe that Pharoh had two rods cast down, One from Jannes and one from Jambres. However, scripture reveals that Pharoah called on many more than two. These were those who mocked and opposed Moses, thus God. There were many rods that turned into serpents. Even the evil mockers and opposers of God displayed miracles signs and wonders, however the one presented by God through the power he bestowed on Moses and Arron devoured ALL of the opposition.

As Moses walked with God he grew in power and honor. This growth came through faith, obedience, courage and desire. Moses grew up in the court of Pharoah under the teachings of paganism. Once he came to the knowledge of the existence of God and desired to serve Him. He made a decision and that decision sparked and all-consuming fire in Moses. As he grew in obedience so too did his responsibilities as he grew in faith, so too did God’s ability to perform miraculous exploits through him. This is a lesson we all must learn. God is searching for leaders to lead in righteousness some to lead nations, some to lead one and some to lead themselves. But all to lead for His glory.

Faith and obedience coupled with courage equals miracles. Imagine the amount of faith it took to walk through the parted Red Sea. Imagine the amount of faith it took to part it.

The word of God cannot be changed I say it cannot be changed because at the moment it is first spoken or written it is released into the atmosphere in its original form. However, sometimes what is changed is not the word but the record of it, whether by malice of men over time or by supernatural means.

The bible is consistently the bestselling book ever printed. Over time there have been thousands of translations copy written. The trick to successfully tap into this very lucrative industry is to copyright a literary body of writing that does not infringe on the copyright of similar writings. So, in order to come up with a saleable version of the bible that does not infringe on the copyrights of others, it must be significantly different. Today there are so many heretical versions of the bible. People have been given options of depth of meaning and have gravitated to those that appeal to their understandings or better yet, their fleshly desires. For the love of money, the word has been severely bastardized, thus people receive the teachings of a different gospel.  Some of the most popular versions of the bible have been written and edited by teams of literary experts which include people from the lgbtq community who teach that Jesus supports homosexuality. Let me give you some examples of what I am saying.

Many years ago, the first time the Holy spirit made me aware of a change in scripture is this. In the King James version of the bible, Romans chapter thirteen teaches,

Romans 13:1-4

1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Now this helped to give rise to other versions which say the following,

Romans 13: 1-4 NIV

13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Romans 13: 1-4 Message

13 ^1-3 Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

^3-4 Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it.

These teachings are not in keeping with the Spirit and character of the living God. You cannot find Jesus modeling these teachings. He stood against and defied the rulers of His day. They hated His gospel and tried to force Him to stop preaching it. He refused to comply so they hung Him on a cross. His disciples were beaten and imprisoned because they refused to comply with the same rulers. They too were told not to preach the gospel Jesus was preaching. God sent an angel in to the prison. The Angel broke down the doors and sent them back to continue in defiance of the rulers.

Acts 5:17-29

17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,

18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.

19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,

20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told,

23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

So, as you see, when the rulers told Peter and the other Apostles to stop preaching the gospel of Jesus, they responded by saying, “we ought to obey God rather than men!”

Paul was beheaded in about 64 AD in Rome by the Roman government and it wasn’t because he was orderly and obedient in the eyes of the Roman empire.

The truth is, the word used to describe power in Romans thirteen was exousia. Exousia is the Greek word meaning Liberty. Or the power of choice, the ability to do as one pleases. Everywhere else in the bible it is translated more closely to liberty and freedom. What Paul actually was saying was this.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher liberty. For there is no liberty but of God: the liberties that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth liberty, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

One of the greatest gifts God gave to humanity is liberty in the form of free choice. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Liberty.

2Corinthians 3:17-18

17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The laws of God are known as the “Perfect Law of Liberty.”

James 1:23-25

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

There are rulers in the kingdom of heaven. The bible instructs us to let peace of God rule in our hearts. Peace like Liberty is a ruler. Righteousness is a ruler. Paul never intended to make you submit to governments unconditionally. When Nebuchadnezzar commanded that everyone worship the idol that he requisitioned did the children of God obey?  No!

Daniel 3:1-28

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.

10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:

11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

When the Seleucid Empire captured Jerusalem, defiled the temple and forced the Israelites to submit to their rule and worship their gods did the Israelites submit and not revolt? No, they revolted. By the power and persuasion of God they cast out the heathens and took back Jerusalem. Further, they cleansed and rededicated the temple with an eight-day feast. This is the feast of dedication we read about in John chapter ten that Jesus attended and celebrated on Solomon’s porch. The same that was modeled after the original dedication during the feast of Tabernacles. This is Hanukkah.

When the Germans of WWII began taking over the world and instituting their laws and policies, including the eradication of the Jews did the world submit? Do you believe that God put them in command to force your obedience to them and bring godly order to the world? Absolutely not!

Could it be that the ultimate ploy, the diabolical scheme behind the changing of the meanings of these scriptures is to help to convince the general population that God wills you to obey rulers unconditionally? Even when ordered to do something that is not in keeping with the precepts of God? I believe so. According to some historical accounts, Hitler made sure that this concept was preached in the churches in Germany to the point where many were convinced that he was ordained by God as a ruler.

Could it be that just as the serpent was able to beguile Eve into questioning the word of God, he has been working to alter the understanding of this scripture and others in order to convince people to accept his rule and mark? I believe so. And this is becoming more and more possible as people are convinced to twist scripture to suit themselves, reject sound doctrine and forget that line upon line and precept upon precept does not mean to disregard the bigger picture, the principal concepts of the teachings of God that each line and precept together paints.

Little by little slowly and persistently the kingdom of the wicked has been chipping away at the ability of mankind to understand the true ways of God. Over time much is changing. The preachers no longer cherish the relationship and make the sacrifices they once did, by in large, to deliver a wholesome and powerful full gospel message. False prophets are garishly enriched, the teachings of a different jesus prevails and people are content to base their entire understanding of the gospel of Yeshua Jesus based upon a few perverted scriptures and a few yearly pagan rituals sold to them as godly celebrations. This all together formulated to corrupt their entire understanding while not studying to “shew thyself approved”. Unless you study the original you will fail to spot the counterfeit.

If you think the preceding is particularly diabolical and egregious wait until you hear the following. I will warn you though you area bout to embark on a journey that many will find very difficult to believe maybe even very unsettling. Some may find the following scary and faith challenge but do not fear. Jesus promised us trouble he promised us this,

  Matthew 24:24

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

These are the days of tribulation.

John 16:33

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In 2021 a man in our congregation came to me to discuss inconsistencies and changes he was noticing in Bible text. One of the first changes he spoke of was in the scriptures located in Matthew 9, Mark 2 and Luke 5 where Jesus was teaching the parable of putting new wine into old wine skins. This man contended that the scriptures were changing supernaturally in that they no longer said wine skins but bottles thus rendering the scriptures without the deeper meaning Jesus intended to convey. As we discussed the issue I thumbed through my Bible and confirmed that the scriptures did in fact refer to wine skins and made no mention of bottles with regards to the parables in question. My findings seemed to perplex him greatly and I was a bit disturbed at his insistence that I might not be referring to the same scriptures as he. I know this parable well, I had researched it and preached on it before and after checking, double checking and triple checking the results were the same.

The next morning the man called me back to discuss the same issue. I explained that I did not see the reason to continue discussing this subject accept to say that maybe he should recheck his text. My position was that I had verified the scriptural text in my bible and that maybe he was having some sort of mental issues.  However, after he persisted, I decided to put the matter to bed and look one more time to verify for him. What I found shook me to my core. From the evening before my bible had changed. The text had changed. I thumbed through the pages believing that there must be some grave mistake. Surely, I wasn’t wrong I verified it numerous times. However, try as I might I could not find verification of what I earlier knew to be true. My bible no longer referred to the parable of wineskins it was now bottles.

Now understand this, I am not saying that my bible or those like mine were changed during printing, I am saying that it was supernaturally changed and believe it or not most bibles have been supernaturally altered. Let me give you a few more examples. First, if you have an older bible look to see if yours is altered as well to say bottles. In many study bibles you will find that the body of text no longer refers to wineskins but the study references in the margins do.

Research your bible to see if you can find the phrase Holy of Holies any longer. Also, for thousands of years biblical stories have been the inspiration for wonderful works of art. Over the years the concept of the lion laying down or dwelling with the lamb has inspired many famous paintings. This comes from the scriptures found in Isaiah chapter eleven verse six and Isaiah chapter sixty-five verse twenty-five. These scriptures are well known. Something taught in most Sunday schools of old. The symbol of the coming peace as the great predator lion lays down with the lamb and the lamb safe and protected within its presence. This further symbolizes Yeshua Jesus, both the lamb of God and the lion of the tribe of Judah. However, that’s not what the scriptures say any longer. Now instead of the lion the scriptures state that the wolf will dwell with the lamb and that the wolf and lamb shall feed together. The wolf, an animal clearly associated with the devourer in scripture at least prior to this change.

Matthew 7:15

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Unfortunately, hirelings who do not truly walk as they are instructed to, those who do not follow the word and example of the good shepherd will fail to face and defeat the wolf. For they never really see the sheep as their own and will not stand and face the devourer in faith but will flee to save themselves leaving the sheep unprotected. They are those who will not accept responsibility for the souls of their flock. They are those who will not sacrifice their comfort or very lives for their protection and proper instruction.

John 10:11-14

11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Now many given to deception will argue that the scriptures were not changed and that they always have been this way however the power that changed the scripture text isn’t powerful enough to change all of the other evidence to validate what I am trying to convey to you. You won’t find the same changes affecting evidence found in the ancient art work whether it be stained glass, carvings, drawings or paintings. The power that changed the body of text didn’t change the study references in the same. You cannot change the deep understanding and teaching that Yeshua Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah as well as the lamb of God. He is not now, never was and never will be a wolf.

Not long ago you would have never expected a parent to advocate for the mutilation of their child in order to attempt to change their gender. You would never have imagined doctors advocating for such processes. Could you have ever imagined lawmakers suggesting laws that would cause good and righteous parents to be put in prison if they didn’t allow the state to cut the breasts off of their daughters or the genitals off of their sons in the name of sound science and human rights? Let me enlighten you in these facts, there is NO science, physician, no psychiatrists, no medication and no surgeon that can transplant a soul. NO, NONE.  A woman is a woman and a man is a man at a depth that is deeper than physical characteristics and genetics. No one can change this and the argument that such procedures are lifesaving is absolutely repugnant and vile.

These dark and wicked souls dare to suggest that a parent who wants to preserve the godly nature of their child is guilty of child abuse, and many people agree. Would you ever have imagined parents proudly bringing their young children to drag queen shows and library story time? Delusion and evil have gained new heights. Something very wicked and evil has been unleashed upon our world, debauchery and lawlessness is more celebrated and fought for than ever before. Child sacrifice is on the rise.

More and more, good is being called evil and evil called good and the church is either on the sidelines powerless, or joined in in lifting up debaucheries in the name of human rights support and concern for their bottom line. They have no idea what they are dealing with. These are led by the hirelings described in John 10 above. They are the children of their father the devil, liars, devourers, wolves who care not for the sheep.

But for you, remember this, the name of the Lord is a strong tower and those that run into Him shall be safe. The righteous are bold as Lions and, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

It is written,

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Yes, there are very evil and very powerful forces supernaturally affecting the world we live in but I implore you to have faith in this, with God, Yehovah Yireh, for you, nothing is impossible. When in Yeshua Jesus the Christ child of Nazareth you walk at a level of power where you are to take dominion over such things and cast them down.

Be blessed.