Jezebel

There is an alluring spirit of seduction connected to Jezebel. The result of her seduction is that she draws God’s people way from Him and His truth. As spiritual blindness ensues, the seductive spirit gains more power over the life of the believer. The goal of this seduction is to dethrone the power of God at any level that it can. In the individual by separating your heart from the Lord. In the home, by removing the man’s spiritual authority, in the church by removing the Pastor’s spiritual authority. The main purpose is to take the heart of the people away from God. We know this because the word teaches that there were … prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. 1 Kings 18:19

The spirit of Jezebel desires to wrest control of the spiritual authority given by God. I believe many times, we look at a particular person (women) in the physical, and we may say she has a spirit of Jezebel—but I believe often times, when women have this spirit They don’t even realize that they are operating in it.

For instance, Eve was deceived by the serpent. She transgressed the word of the Lord— spiritually, she took into her self the spirit of rebellion —she received a lying spirit. Her influence over Adam was used to steal Adam’s  positional authority.

Listen, there is no question that Adam was weak. No question he wasn’t acting like the positional man that he was called by God to be. But let’s not pit Eve against Adam. Let’s not pit Adam against Eve. Instead, let us view the entity behind the scenes: his schemes, wiles, and trickery behind the whole deception.

The serpent doesn’t care about Adam or Eve. The serpent wants the power that has been given to them by God. The serpent will always be the serpent. He attempted to exert authority and elevate himself over God. Jesus saw him fall like lightning to earth. Now, a new heaven, and a new earth. He sees the creation. He sees the dominion and power given to Adam, and he wants that. The closest proximity that he can gain advantage against this man is through the wife. He is using her as a tool to gain access to the delegated authority over God, and co-regent upon the Earth. He uses her to get between the man and his God.

1 Kings 21:25

But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

1 Kings 16:32-33

32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

Ultimately, it’s purpose is to gain control of power over government and will never stop, because it wants God’s authority for it has a lust to rule over God’s kingdom. This spirit desires to seduce the world away from God:

Revelation 17:1-2

1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

The seduction away from truth: flirtation- behaviour intended to arouse sexual feelings or advances without emotional commitment; coquetry

Proverbs 7: wisdom and understanding are the sisters of the children of truth. The strange woman is the harlot that lurks in the dark trying to seduce and entice God’s people away from truth and ultimately destroy them. Jezebel was a stranger and came with seductive religious practices. Her dad was a Sidonian king. The Syrophoenecian woman’s daughter was possessed with a devil for a reason. These people worshipped Baal and Asherah. There is a direct connection to lustful sexual practices with this Canaanite religion. The proverbs 7 woman was found in a place that the man of God should have never been. She allures him through seduction that is painted with enough spirituality that it seems okay, and the sin part smells good, looks good and promises to feel good, but in the end, it’s result is an arrow to the liver….

This woman is contrasted with wisdom in chapter 8 the proverbs 8 woman is named wisdom. She is the sister or kinswoman Solomon was talking about in chapter 7. Unlike the the 7 woman, who hides in the dark in the twilight of night, wisdom sets up shop at the top of the hill, where the paths all converge, in the gate of the city where everyone is doing business out in the open and she says:

Hear; for I will speak of excellent things;

and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

For my mouth shall speak truth;

and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;

there is nothing froward or perverse in my lips

Froward means crooked. Isaiah 27 explains that God will one day destroy Leviathan the crooked serpent.

Revelation 2:20-22

Spirit of Jezebel in the church— I cannot prove my position any more than another person could prove theirs, but I have no reason to believe that this was a literal woman named Jezebel. It seems to me that the very essence of what is being said is comparing what Jezebel did to what the teachings of this prophetess did. The result was spiritual fornication, an introduction of occult practices into the house of God. She taught them to eat things sacrificed to idols. Now, let’s understand this food… offered to idols is talking about meats that have ritualistically invited demons in, the animal is  sacrificed and then eaten and the idea is that the demon is given access through this ritual into the vessel of the person.

How is this that much different than the church celebrating Halloween, Easter, or Santa Clause? How is this much different than the church allowing the spirits of secular music into their person? This is what Catholicism did with Mardi Gras. Nowadays, we don’t even care about that. We act like going to a Marci Gras parade is perfectly normal behavior.

Revelation 2:20-22

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

God has given us great promises in Christ. He has given us an inheritance. It’s important that we study to show ourselves approved. It’s important that we are mindful about God’s word and that we do not allow the enemy to have his way with us.

Jezebel wants to steal the inheritance of God:

1 Kings 21:1-7 Ahab wants Naboth’s (Fruits) vineyard. Naboth doesn’t want to give up his inheritance. Jezebel takes it by force.

1 Kings 21:3

And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

Ephesians 1:16-23

16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

• The other side resulting in humans destroying themselves.

One spirit is life – – the other death and destruction.

The character behind this is Jezebel. She was an outsider. She was not one of them. She brought from the outside her witchcraft practices that she received from her father– – Sidonian kings

She infiltrates with her seductive ways – – make up ( ) – – not trying to turn this into legalism and no make up, but the context is that she was going to sway and attempt to gain authority through seductive ways.

The spirit of Jezebel desires to steal from a man, his spiritual authority that was given to him by God. I believe many times, we look at a particular person (women) in the physical, and we may say she has a spirit of Jezebel – – but I believe often times, when women have this spirit They don’t even realize that they are operating in it.

For instance, Eve was deceived by the serpent. She transgressed the word of the Lord – – spiritually, she took into her self the spirit of rebellion – – she received a lying spirit. Her influence over Adam was used to used to steal Adam’s  positional authority.

Listen, there is no question that Adam was weak. No question he wasn’t acting like the positional man that he was called by God to be. But let’s not pit Eve against Adam. Let’s not pit Adam against Eve. Instead, let us view the entity and schemes, wiles, trickery behind the whole occurrence.

The serpent doesn’t care about Adam or Eve. The serpent wants the power that has been given to them by God. The serpent will always be the serpent. He attempted to exert authority and elevate himself over God. Jesus saw him fall like lightning to earth. Now, a new heaven, and a new earth. He sees the creation. He sees the dominion and power given to Adam, and he wants that. The closest proximity that he can gain advantage against this man is through the wife. He is using her as a tool to gain access to the delegated authority over God, and co-regent. Upon the Earth. He uses her to get between the man and his God.

Now, there is a counterpart that I believe God has shown me where the man reacts towards his sister – – Amnon. He threw laws for his own flesh injects a spirit into her where she loses all self-worth. Her beauty is stained. Her purity is torn. She is left outside. Her spirit fractured.

Back to Jezebel. She was not one of them. Spiritual warfare always begins with a spiritual foothold. Satan has no power over us until we allow him a place. The sacrifice of Jesus gives us access to the promises of God. In Christ— we have victory.

Jezebel‘s plan is to bring her influence from the outside— the world—into the inside—let’s just say the people of God. Once she accomplishes the fracture between God and the man (person). The spirits now have access to wreak havoc.

Harlot’s vs Wisdom— Proverbs seven vs proverbs eight.

Harlotry tactics: physical deception: her attire is obvious yet, he still wants it – – she makes sin look good (Egyptian linen… Cinnamon, aloe, spices – – she brings the feeling that it’s not that big of a deal. The good man (the husband) is on a long journey.

In a moment, he opens himself to a separation from God and God‘s purpose over his life – – he takes a liver shot!

Jezebel ultimately wants to steal the inheritance – – Naboth’s vineyard

Fast Car

Song by Luke Combs

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You got a fast car

And I want a ticket to anywhere

Maybe we make a deal

Maybe together we can get somewhere

Any place is better

Startin' from zero, got nothin' to lose

Maybe we'll make something

Me, myself, I got nothin' to prove

You got a fast car

And I got a plan to get us out of here

Been working at the convenience store

Managed to save just a little bit of money

Won't have to drive too far

Just across the border and into the city

And you and I can both get jobs

Finally see what it means to be living

See, my old man's got a problem

He live with the bottle, that's the way it is

He said his body's too old for workin'

His body's too young to look like his

So mama went off and left him

She wanted more from life than he could give

I said, somebody's got to take care of him

So I quit school and that's what I did

You got a fast car

Is it fast enough so we can fly away?

Still gotta make a decision

Leave tonight or live and die this way

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

We go cruisin' to entertain ourselves

You still ain't got a job

So I work in the market as a checkout girl

I know things will get better

You'll find work and I'll get promoted

And we'll move out of the shelter

Buy a bigger house, live in the suburbs

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

I got a job that pays all our bills

You stay out drinking late at the bar

See more of your friends than you do your kids

I'd always hoped for better

Thought maybe together you and me'd find it

I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere

Take your fast car and keep on driving

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

Is it fast enough so we can fly away?

Still gotta make a decision

Leave tonight or live and die this way

The Drink Offering

Read in KJV

Leviticus 1:1-9 NASB

1 Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. 3 If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 5 He shall slay the young bull before the LORD; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 6 He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 9 Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

Leviticus 1:3

If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

Numbers 15:8-10 KJV

8 And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD: 9 Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. 10 And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Numbers 28:6-8 NASB

6 It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. 7 Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD. 8 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD.

We have covered some of these thoughts recently regarding the preparation of the sacrifice. When we discussed the thought of allowing the Lord to search our hearts and to try our reins, we came to the understanding that the sacrifice was cut open and inspected. The animal would have undergone a thorough examination both internally and externally to look for blemishes or any defects that would have made the sacrifice unacceptable in the eyes of God. Once the insides were inspected, they would be washed. Then, the animal would be separated into its individual parts and arranged in specific order on the altar, the legs, the head, the fat, the insides.

The KJV and a couple other translations phrase verse 3 slightly different: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will. The Numbers passage adds that both a hin of oil and a hin of wine were poured out upon the offering. Oil is a type of the Holy Spirit and its relationship with the sacrifice is a reminder to us of the closeness and working of the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. You can’t have one without the other. Most specifically, I want to talk to you about the hin of wine that was poured out upon the whole burnt offering. All of this together: the fat, the oil, the wine produced a smoke that rose towards the heavens, and it is recorded in the word that this smoke resulted in: a soothing aroma to the LORD. The KJV says: a sweet savour unto the LORD

The Strong’s dictionary claims: odour of soothing (technical term for sacrifice to God)

I can’t help but ask, why was it a sweet smelling Savor unto the Lord and what is being soothed when this offering is brought before the Him? Certainly the thought that this sacrifice was a type of Jesus’ sacrifice would have made the offering sweet in the nostrils of God. After all, if God is love and He so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for their sins, it makes perfect sense that every time these sacrifices were offered that it would bring great pleasure to God. It was a reminder that Jesus was coming.  It also makes perfect sense that the technical term would be the odor of soothing, and that the answer to the question asked earlier would have to be that it’s His anger that is being soothed. His

                We should feel great gratitude and our hearts should be filled with mercy and grace for others.

Wrath can be held back for a period of time until He sends Jesus, and once He sends Jesus His wrath can be held back a little longer also, which makes Him joyful because He’s longsuffering. He is not willing that any, not even one will perish. But what about the additional thought of this drink offering, especially when it’s mixed with the idea of this New Testament passage:

2 Timothy 4:6-8

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

The Apostle writes this 2nd letter to Timothy at the end of his journey. He is in the Mamertine Prison in Rome. Nero is about to call his name and when he does,  his head will be placed on the chopping block. His body, through the years has been shredded and torn. He explains in this very letter that many believers have forsaken him and become ashamed of his chains. I wonder if these other believers began to question the validity of the Apostle’s faith at this point? How could the life of a man of God like this, one who believed God and rose the dead, how could his life end like this in such tragedy? You will be able to ask the Lord one day, but for now, just let it be understood that the Apostle likened it to being a drink offering that results in a pleasing aroma to God:

2 Corinthians 2:12-15 ESV

12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, while the smoke was rising, the smoke represents judgment towards the guilty and pardon for the innocent.

Jesus’ entire life was a drink offering in that He poured out Himself and that is what our lives are supposed to be also

1. It seems appropriate that Jacob poured out a drink offering on the rock at Bethel Genesis 35:14– the house of God. The place where a portal to heaven opened and heaven and earth came together in the form of a ladder. Upon that ladder the angels of God were ascending and descending upon the ladder. Jesus said: John 1:51.

2. Jesus willingly laid His life down, Like a lamb led to slaughter Isaiah 53 John 10:17-18 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

3. Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Paul’s understanding of the drink offering was that the people of God were to be like Jesus:

I. Philippians 2:5-- Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:— He couldn’t serve the Father the way God was asking unless He let self die

II. Gal 2:20, Romans 12:1

This message has been in my heart for at least 3 weeks and I had forgotten that I had mentioned the Rich young ruler (Matt 19:16). I thought it interesting when I reviewed my notes that Angie mentioned him also. There was that one thing that he wasn’t willing to give up and allow to be poured out of himself. He gripped his riches with a tight fist—But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:22).

The man that was given the one talent buried it in the ground and it just laid there unproductive waiting for Jesus to return.

Between being an ICU nurse and experiencing personal tragedies, I have been around more human death than what I would have preferred by this time in my life. But this is part of the path chosen for me by God.

One thing that I have noticed regarding human death is that, at times, it is slow and insidious. What I mean is that at the end of a life that goes through the course of some disease process and not some type immediate tragic event, the body tries to continue its functions. The brain signals the lungs to breathe, the cells craving oxygen struggle for more. The weakened state of the body reflexively gasps in agony for another breath. I can remember being by the bedside speaking to family members removed from life support when they would say, “Look, he’s breathing!” And I would have to say, “Yes, ma’am, it’s called an (agonal) breath. The body is trying to continue, but it’s inefficient to support life. These breaths are inefficient to provide oxygen to the cells as needed, that’s why the heart is beating so rapidly. It’s trying to distribute the little bit of oxygen to the cells that are desperately needing oxygen. Please let me know if you need something. I will be right outside. I’m going to check on my other patient.”

Several minutes would pass, and they would come and find me and ask, “Why, does the heart monitor look like that now?”

“That’s what we call an agonal heart beat. Now, the heart is weakened after overworking for so long trying to distribute the oxygen. It won’t be too much longer now.”

From there the electrical impulses will slow even more to where there may be a blip across the screen only every now and then at some point it may not even beat an actual pump of the heart, just an electrical impulse caught on the monitor, the last breath and then the body loses all muscle tone once the spirit leaves.

This makes me consider our spiritual lives and how so often we cling to self. I’m not talking necessarily about open and blatant sin. I’m talking about self. What self wants. What self thinks is right as opposed to what the Spirit wants to reveal to our lives. But there are parts of us that really want what we want, so like that agonal breath or agonal heart beat, we cling to signs of life, but spiritually we are going through the motions of what we want for our own lives, our own plans.

With a drink offering the whole vessel is poured out. I will be the first to tell you that I have not arrived, but that’s what I’m asking, that my life would be a living sacrifice for the Lord, that He would use me as a vessel that would be pleasing to Him.

I think that most of us would agree that we are living in the last of the last days?

• Do you believe God is looking for people willing to be poured out and used by Him?

• Do you think that God is looking for churches that are willing to let HIM work through them?

• Do you think that God has been telling us here that He wants to use us that way?

What is your part in the pouring?

• Teach

• Pray— healing

• Intercede

• Release a prophetic word

• Release an interpretation

• Pour your heart out in worship and invite the presence of the King to show up in our services so that people’s lives will be set free

• Help finance the move of God

Are you doing the part that He has called you to do? Have you obeyed His voice completely or have you gripped tightly to something that is your own will and not the will of God?

I. I pour self out

II. I ask to be filled with you

III. I will go where you send me so you can pour YOU out of me into others

IV. I remember always that the drink offering is always related to the whole burnt offering. Everything I say, everything I do is to remind others of what you have done for them. You made the way: miracles are available, filling with your Spirit, restored marriages, our children made whole, increase, souls… it’s all in the whole burnt offering so I give myself to your work O Lord. Make me a drink offering God.

Discerning: The Soul vs The Spirit

Genesis 2:7

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

1 Corinthians 15:44-45

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Brain and the body vs Mind and members

(Somatic nervous system) controls the body through the brain. Members for the purposes of this illustration controlled by the mind.

Soma- Greek origin, noun, plural so·ma·ta [soh-muh-tuh], /ˈsoʊ mə tə/, so·mas.Biology.

• the body of an organism as contrasted with its germ cells.

There is a difference between the brain and the mind and a difference between the body and the members. When the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul uses the word for members, it’s more than just a body part, there is a deeper meaning and a spiritual application to the uses of these body parts. For the believer, they’re either being used as instruments of warfare for the kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness.

Back to the brain vs the mind. The brain functions like a processor in a computer. For the human separate from God, it’s the highest level of functioning. However, at the same time, the brain is not exactly the mind. The brain is an amazing network of neural tissue, a vast system of neurons that are like electrical wires connected to nerves, responding to chemicals in the brain, creating and carrying impulses through the central nervous system, which is your brain and spinal cord and then these signals are dispersed into the peripheral nervous system, which is our external body parts.

Illustration: [Brain and body] I want to open the door. The chemicals in my brain create a task, the task is sent as a signal through my central nervous system and from there into the periphery and my eyes lead the way, my feet bring me to the destination, and voila my hands open the door. Doesn’t really take much high level intellect for this human function to take place.

Illustration: adding a spiritual element [mind and members] I want to excite my flesh because it feels good, so I want to open a spiritual door to see what is on the other side. My brain is controlling all the somatic or bodily functions (somatic/soma)

So the brain controls the body functions, but the mind is at another level, the mind has its own will, and it wants to open the door. Whatever is on the other side of the door, it wants it. Yes, this is also directly related to the sinful nature. The sinful nature is supposed to be dormant in the life of the believer, so why is it that so many believer’s still struggle with their precious little sins? Unbelief, ignorance, rebellion, demonization, all the above…? That is another topic for another time. Right now, I’m not even necessarily talking about a believer vs a non-believer, I’m simply trying to differentiate the different functions of brain & body vs mind & members so I can set a context to better reveal the difference between soul & spirit. So my finger turns on the computer and my hand guides the mouse where my mind tells it to go and my finger clicks on the page that my mind and my will tell it to click on and now my eyes view the images and then whatever my body does with all that afterwards. Let’s just turn that off and move to the next illustration.

Illustration: [soul ψυχή Psuche] The soul of a man is part of the inner man in that it’s associated with the animated (living) aspect of a man, not necessarily spiritual life, but just the physical functioning aspect of life. Therefore, the soul’s primary function, while on earth is it’s connection to the natural or earthly realm the members or body parts touch the world and hold it, but the conceptual elements those things that shape our thoughts or mindsets like (music, knowledge, images, movies, videos…) of the physical world are accessed into the vessel through the soul. Again, the physical parts of life that are needed to sustain our physicality do not require a higher level of soulish engagement ex I’m dehydrated. I have water. I can bypass the soul and drink. In this scenario, it’s only my brain and body needed to work, but if I want Fiji water, now, I’m engaging my soul (my mind and my will are now employed).

The soul and its earthly connection: 1 Corinthians 2:14 {natural man= ψυχικός psuchikos}; James 3:15 {here psuchikos is translated sensual instead of natural}. All animals are souls Genesis 1:21 (Living creatures are the same two words to describe Genesis 2:7 Adam became a living soul). There are at least two main differences that I can see between the soul of man and beast. The human has higher intellectual capacity, but more importantly, the spirit of a man has the potential to come alive to God (Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9;1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21) and in the New Covenant, the believer’s vessel becomes the temple of God, and it is here that worship/ communion with God truly takes place (John 4:23-24).

I have heard extremely intellectual doctor’s describe the fact that they do not believe in God. When pressed about the issue, they simply believe that we are highly intellectual creatures and when we die, we will become organic matter absorbed into the dirt. One doctor took it a step further and said, “Like a dog. I will die and decay.”

Illustration of music from the perspective of an intellectual atheist: case study a young girl who is also an atheist and just likes Marilyn Manson music. I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in demons. I don’t believe in the after life. I am an intellectual being and when I die, I will become dirt, and my will is that I want to listen to Marilyn Manson, and so my brain creates a task, and my hand engages the device and the sound waves enter the air and I bring the music from the outside world into my brain through my ears where it’s processed and filters through my soul as it engages my mind and now it begins to influence my thoughts. From there thoughts of depression start to pervade my mind, suicide. The words to the song infiltrate and dig deeper, she has friends now, but we will keep it non spiritual for now, and she begins to cut herself. [my question the the smart doctor would be If demons aren’t real , why did that happen?] [His intellectual response to me might be. I postulate that it’s the power of suggestive thought. She thought and so she did]. Never will they imagine that they’re playing with spiritual problems. Take a Prozac and come see me in a couple months.

So that is unregenerate man thinks about these things (Titus 3:5) unregenerate man is dead to God. But the born again believer is cleansed by the sacrifice of Jesus and a spiritual renovation takes place. The Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of Him and now, he is alive to God! Hallelujah to the lamb, but why is he like a 2 year old child in a sand box playing with a dead possum carcass that stinks? Why if he is alive to God, does he still meddle with sin? And let’s get off the sin kick. Why, on earth, when the Spirit of God that created heaven and earth and lives in his vessel, would he depend on his own logic and intellect when he has access to the voice of God right there in his vessel? That is the purpose of this teaching…

Illustration of Liberty clinic:

Psuchikos— soulish man

Sarkikos — natural man

Romans 8:5-7 NASB

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV

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.

1 Corinthians 3:1 KJV

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:1 NASB

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.

There is a purpose— My will vs His will (5/31/23)

Fasting— discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NASB

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises [[self-control]] in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as

Best the body

not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified

Gladiators fought to the death and our warfare is for the eternal soul

Ephesians 6:12 The word wrestle is:

πάλη palē; from πάλλω pallō (to vibrate; another form for 906); wrestling: — + wrestle. AV (1) - wrestle 1; wrestling (a contest between two in which each endeavors to throw the other, and which is decided when the victor is able to hold his opponent down with his hand upon his neck)

Who will be the victor saint them or us? One of the fruits of the Spirit is self control. It’s the Spirit’s fruit, but it’s the self cooperating with the Spirit. Is this not the case with all of the Spirit’s fruit? Does God not require the vessel of self to joint participate with the prompting of the Spirit in order for the harvest of fruit to become realty in our lives? Christian’s are supposed to have the fruit of the Spirit— right? God wants to display His fruit in our world that is driven by self.

I can assure you that God wants His place in the lives of Christians, and He starts right here with me. He starts with you and that is why fasting is a part of the Christian life, because it’s the practice of denying self so we can have more of Him.

Listen to me closely because if you don’t you’re going to be deceived, thinking I’m preaching a works based message and turn me off. I’m not preaching a works based message. Works for victory is false doctrine, so let’s dig a little deeper. Victory over sin was provided through what Jesus did at the cross. Our faith in His work aligns us with the Spirit of God, who provides grace into our lives that gives us the supernatural strength that we need to overcome the power of sin.

So why can’t we get free from that one thing? Why can’t we get free from that: Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

We all agree what Jesus did was enough, so what’s the problem? Is it because it’s just a struggle that we have to wait around for the victory? We will get into that a little more, but first I want I want to make a point about fasting with the thought of self denial and really Christian disciplines.

It requires self denial to pray, go to church, read the word, because all these require time and time is like money, if I’m not careful, in my mind, it’s mine. I give my time, boss gives me money. My time is valuable. Don’t mess with my time. I don’t like you to mess with my time. I don’t like you to mess with my money, and I don’t like you to mess with my butterfinger Reese’s sonic blast and I sure nuff don’t want you telling me I can’t eat what I want and when I want. I heard one person say early in this 45 day fast, “I mean… I’m not going to make it legalistic!— and I could tell, just from that little comment the way that it was said, that there had been conversations about this.

Legalistic? Give me a break, you haven’t even gone 4 hours without food. I don’t mean to be rude, but when you’re fasting, you’re either fasting or you’re not fasting. You determine between you and God how long you will fast and then you fast. If it’s 4 hours, then you fast 4 hours, and if something happens and you have to eat in 3.5 okay, you broke the fast. The reason may have been legit, you might not have been had a bad headache, whatever the reason, you broke the fast, but you don’t go into each day saying, “Okay, Pastor asked us to pray about this 45d fast thing, and this is the answer I got. I will fast 12 hours per day from 6 to 6 for 1 week” but then everyday at 4 you say, “I mean, I’m not going to be legalistic about it, so I’m going to go ahead and eat now.” Can I just say this, that’s not a fast, that’s disobedience.

Do what you want man. It’s your body. It’s your life. It’s your choice. Eat what you want, when you want, how much you want, but don’t call it fasting. You’re either fasting or you’re not fasting. Part of fasting is connected to endurance. This brings me back to Paul saying I discipline my body. Fasting and prayer is connected to endurance and I’m sorry endurance is important in battle. Mental tenacity is important in battle. Am I going to always be a person that just always gives in to temptation? I mean I’m doing okay from 6-4, but boy those last two hours, man that’s rough. I do okay with the porn for a week or so, but man after 8 days, the weed… I’m good for about 3 months or so, the whatever it is… in the message of the cross, we have learned a loop hole out of consecration. I have been preaching sanctification through the cross since 2002 and I have poured over these scriptures and I have something to say.

The loophole out of consecration is our struggle. What I mean is this. Jesus did it on the cross. We believe that by faith and so when we’re not free in an area of our lives, we chalk it up to, “I just have a struggle in this area.” The struggle is the loophole. Well, Jesus set me free 2,000 years ago and I believe it, but I just have this struggle. I can’t wait until He frees me from my struggle. 10 years later I’m still in my struggle….

This is different than the blanket of justification where I use justification as a pardon for my ongoing sin. He declared me innocent, so even though I’m still in sin, I’m still justified. Well, yeah that’s true until it’s not. It’s not true anymore when you stayed in sin so long that now you’re just deceived by demonic spirits, your conscience is seared in that area of your life, your conviction receptors need repair and you think you’re good but your not good. No, you’re living in disobedience.

Do you honestly think that God is playing that game with us where he’s winking at sin. God isn’t winking at sin. Jesus had to die because of sin. God hates sin. No, reality is that sometimes that’s why our lives are gripped with chaos, fear, and anxiety because of our sin and disobedience. But we call it our struggle.

Anyway, the struggle is a loophole and it’s different than the blanket of justification. It’s still a blanket but it’s a snuggle with my struggle.

Christian disciplines like fasting, prayer, studying the scriptures and the basic idea of resisting temptation. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. What does that mean submit to God, well, submit to faith in the cross— yeah, but it also means, now go and sin no more.

Paul said it not me. He said, I make my body a slave, because I’m engaged in a spiritual battle. I live here right now, but this is not my permanent dwelling place, so throughout the day, throughout the week, I leave this place so I can go where I want to be. Where do you want to be? I want to be with Him.

So I go to church

I go to prayer

I worship

I fast

I sleep less, so I can pray more

I give material things to support spiritual work: I give my time and my money to the work of God

You’re weird and why do you do that, because I believe some things. I believe that if I will give my time and money, He will reward me. I believe that He will reward me some today or tomorrow, but I believe my greatest reward lies ahead. So that’s why you do it out of selfish ambition? No way, Jose. I do it because I had an encounter with Jesus in that church, and He changed me. I was writing this last Wednesday, and I remembered something from 36 years ago, when I stood up she said something to me. She put her hand on my right shoulder and she said, “If you keep coming back, He’s going to do something brother.”

And boy He really has. I have no regrets about the amount of money that I’ve given to the work of God other than I wish that I would have given more.

I have no regrets about the amount of time that I have given, except I only wish that I had given more.

I wish I would have read more and studied harder. I really, really wish that I would have prayed more. I wish I would have asked some of you to pray on Tuesdays and Fridays and before service sooner than when we started. I wish that I had fasted more and wish that I would have asked you to fast more with me.

Listen close, because I think that this is the most important thing that I’m going to say tonight we are all going to wish that we had given more when we had the chance. Once we see Him in glory, we will really understand, and we will wish that we had not been so selfish with our time and money. We will realize what a waste all our excess was. How we spent so much on our earthly pleasures. It’s hard to see it right now with these terrestrial eyes, but I can promise you that if you will start reading the whole counsel of God’s word and not just stay in your little pea patch where you like to dwell, you will begin to realize how true what I’m telling you is.

We like to say that we’re separated from the world, but I can tell you that we’re more connected than what we realize.

Proper Attire Required

There are several kingdom of God parables in the book of Matthew. The word parable comes from a compound Greek word paraballo, when the word is separated into its two parts, it’s para, which means side and ballo, where we get our English word for ball, but ballo means to throw— the idea is to throw along side, so two thoughts are placed side by side for comparison. The kingdom of God is God’s heavenly kingdom and is also referenced in the word as the kingdom of heaven; therefore, the words kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably. The kingdom of God is like…. Each parable contains a hidden measure of truth regarding a specific aspect of God’s kingdom.

These comparisons help our physical minds perceive spiritual truths. The world we live in is temporary. The life we live now is an interview for an eternal position. The temporary kingdoms built on earth by temporary physical lives will one day be abolished and all the industrious efforts of the work that was employed in the physical realm will be judged. The work for eternal purpose will last and be rewarded. Whereas, the work for self gain and pleasure will incinerate and evaporate into a vanished wisp. It takes time for these thoughts to permeate into our spirits, that deep place where we are one with God. Our soulish man is a close neighbor to our renewed spirit that has become one with God. The soul is also a close neighbor to these members that engage the physical realm, and here, in the physical, our self breathes, feels and lives it’s temporary life. Self is connected to this temporary, physical realm as long as he remains in this earthly house.

True believers love God; however, there remains a danger of also loving self. Self can battle against the Spirit of God within us and bring us towards an even greater danger, a love for the world or the things of the world. For, we are told: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). The love of the Father in the life of the believer will produce the Jesus diet in the child of God— what is the Jesus diet you ask: Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work (John 4:34). A good prayer would be, “Lord please don’t let the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches get in the way of my eternal reward.”

God’s goodness gives us the parables to enlighten the eyes of our understanding on this side of heaven, so we can more properly navigate the journey, so we can make it to the destination and receive a lasting reward when we get there: eye hasn’t seen, ear hasn’t heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man— the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.

The parables like: goats and sheep and tares and wheat and the separation of fish remind us that narrow is the way and few there will be that journey the path towards eternal life. Parables of the treasure and pearl direct the work of our lives, only when we slow down enough to ponder what the king is saying will we perceive the value of eternal life in His words. A merchant sails the seas in a quest for the best of pearls. He is driven as he crosses every ocean and scours every cove for goodly pearls and then one day, he finds the pearl and realizes that every other pearl he ever saw, ever handled, ever thought was beautiful was meaningless in comparison— now that he found this pearl. Oh how he wishes he would have found this pearl sooner. He could have saved so much time, he could have worked so much more efficiently, he could have saved himself so much stress, but what’s important now is that he found the pearl! It is the treasure in a hidden field, and it’s so brilliant, valuable, precious and real, he begins a “going out of business sale. Everything must go!” All else must take a back seat to this pearl, to this treasure that he found. His family will think he’s lost his mind: Father, mother, brother, sister, even spouses may say he’s gone too far, but if they get in the way of this endeavor, it is they who must go, not the pearl, not the treasure. He will cling to the pearl and the treasure like it is his next breath and heart beat that will oxygenate his cells. It is life, it is reality, everything else was a mirage, how could have he been so blind for so long, how could have he wasted so much time, but what is important is that he finally found it and now nothing else, nothing else will do!

And so he immerses himself in this new industry he has found. He partners with a land owner who is also the son of a mighty king. He is offered an opportunity to put his hands to the plow, put a hammer to a nail, engage in an investment opportunity and join in this endeavor. Graciously, he is given a certain value by the landowner with which to start his investment plan. And the landowner goes away on a long journey but will one day return to assess the work that was done. His work will be inspected, it will be scrutinized. Every angle, cut and measurement will be evaluated and that which was handled with great care and excellence for the right purpose, with pure motive of what was best for king and kingdom, will be gloriously rewarded; whereas, all else will vanish like a flitted wisp of an extinguished candle— that portion of the work will be consumed by the fire of God. There will be no residual or evidence that it ever existed. It will not make it into the next life.

In the parable of the wedding feast is the invitation, the opportunity to be able to participate in the joy of the king. The landowner has returned. The goats and sheep, tares and wheat, the fish in the net—it’s all been separated. The work has been assessed, the rewards are ready and they will be distributed at the banquet. Won’t you come and partake of this most joyous occasion of the king? Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye… You are invited to the most glorious banquet ever experienced by the human creation. Join the festivities, no really, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!

P.S. RSVP by faith— proper attire required!

So let’s start there—

1. You’ve been called but you must be dressed for the occasion

V 12, …Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless

Isaiah, come let us reason together though sins be scarlet they can be made white as snow

Speechless- to close the mouth with a muzzle— talk time is over

Connect thoughts of the light w this parable—how did they get there knowing they weren’t saved—then the videos

Talk about those videos that describe people going towards the light and then realizing that once they got to the light, they found out that they were rejected. Imagine that moment, the human spirit rushing through a tunnel towards the light, every second drawing you closer to the light and the closer to the light the greater your heart fills with hope, and then to hear, how did you get here friend? You don’t have the right covering. You clothed yourself with the things the world had to offer. You chose your way and rejected my invitation. I never knew you: cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth— speechless

Only God can judge me

So what is this wedding garment. Its not made by Armani, Perry Ellis or Calvin Klein. It’s the apparel that the Father has been weaving since He found Adam and Eve naked in the garden and hiding within the trees— the skins of an innocent animal, skins representing a sinless sacrifice that would be fulfilled in His sinless Son— Jesus is His name.

Galatians 3:27 KJV For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Galatians 3:27 NIV/NASB …for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

II. The problem is you can’t just try to get in any way you want to

You have to have your name written in the book, you have to have on the right attire, and you have to go through the right door to get in:

John 10:7-11 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 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. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

“But I didn’t know screams a voice out of the throes of Hell,” That’s not true ma’am or sir. You did know. You knew, but you didn’t care. I know you knew because the Spirit has been calling since the beginning. 6 times in this story the word call or bidden was used, each time, it’s the same Greek word in all cases kaleo, where we get our word call. The Spirit is calling, wisdom is calling

Proverbs 8:1-8

In Verse 3 of the parable, the king sent His servants. He’s been sending His servants. He sent Wisdom, you heard the concern in her voice, He sent Enoch, He sent Noah, He sent Abraham, He sent Moses, He sent, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Nehemiah, He sent John the Baptist, He sent Jesus man, He sent Peter, James and John, He sent Paul, Silas, Barnabas, Matthew, Mark and Luke. He sent all them and He’s sending me and He’s sending you. He’s sending people all over the world. The problem isn’t that no one knew, the problem is that they didn’t care   

Matthew 22:5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

Make light of- to be careless of, to neglect. I don’t really have any regard for that, because it’s not really relevant to me.

One went to his farm and the other to his merchandise. “Okay, it’s not really that I didn’t know, and it’s not exactly that I didn’t care. If I’m really honest, I was just really, really busy and compared to what I had to get done… I mean come on man. Little Jimmy had baseball, Billy Jiu Jitsu and Sally had dance and soccer. Both Tommy and I worked. It was really busy.

I want to spend a little bit of my time on the merchandise word. The Greek is Emporia. Ever heard of Drug Emporium

noun, plural em·po·ri·ums, em·po·ri·a [em-pawr-ee-uh, -pohr-]. /ɛmˈpɔr i ə, -ˈpoʊr-/.

• a large retail store, especially one selling a great variety of articles.
  

• **a place, town, or city of important commerce, especially a principal center of trade: New York is one of the world's great emporiums.

Ezekiel 27:1-3 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; 3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen…

Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

She’s got people trapped and many of those people are people that say they love the Lord, but they don’t even realize that they are serving self and serving her and it’s a little bit harder to see than what people are willing to admit.

Praying in Tongues Vs. Prophesying in Tongues

Before we get started with the scripture verses, I would like to ask a couple questions and make a couple statements: how many people like being a part of a Spirit filled church?

In a Spirit filled church, the Holy Spirit must be allowed to move or else, the Spirit of God will be quenched.

The Spirit of God can be quenched by the leader of the church, but the Spirit of God can also be quenched by the vessels that the Spirit is moving upon to use at that moment? The Spirit of God could be quenched  by the music ministry if they are unaware or uncertain whether or not somebody is giving a word of prophecy or a word in tongues vs they are just praying or singing in tongues, which is a valid form of worship.

Nothing needs to be changed in the way we as a church are worshipping. We just need some clarification. It’s not out of order for people to come to the front and worship the Lord. This is something that the Holy Spirit is leading our congregation to do. I can tell you that the Lord loves it when our people are drawn towards the front to worship God and let me say this: most of the people coming to the front aren’t even looking for prayer, most of them are just wanting to sit in His presence and worship, “but that’s not what they do at other churches people come to the front they get prayed for”… but this isn’t other churches, this is His church, and if His people want to come…

I don’t know what you’re doing, but for me, I’m trying to be like the woman with the alabaster box— I don’t want to be like a woman. I just want to worship like her. Why? Because Jesus said of her, “To whom much is forgiven, they love much.” He gave much forgiveness; therefore, I want to love much, and  I want to sit at His feet, drink from the cup in His hand lay back against Him and hear His heart beat… did you hear that heart beat? Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub, more souls, more souls, press in, press in, seek me more, seek me more, ask for more, ask for more, keep inviting my presence, invite my presence….

Even if no one else in this church ever comes to the front to worship Him, I am going to worship Him, ain’t no rocks crying out on my shift my friend!

I think Jesus would say, “Do you see what I’m doing to you, in you?  You come here and you empty yourself out to me, and I fill you up with more of me, and then I send you out there and pour you out and then you come back in and pour out, fill up, pour out, fill up.. this is a beautiful thing, and ain’t nobody gonna tell me different. The Lord says, I love your worship Crossway! I love the way you love on me and let me love on you and don’t you let anyone steal what is going on here. If the altar gets too full and we have the people and the money, we will either build up or knock the back wall out so we can expand the altar space. Or if we don’t get more money and people, then we will just take a row out and make more space for more people at the altar, as a matter of fact, let’s move this row now, it’s been a little cramped up here.

Now, let’s go a little bit deeper with this altar worship. If you want to sing in tongues, you sing in tongues, be mindful not to be so loud that you cause confusion to the music ministry and they think you’re giving a word, if you want to sing in your natural language sing, sing, sing… Maybe be mindful that you not be so loud, I mean you can sing out loud, let’s get this straight, but don’t sing so loud that they think you’re trying to take Niya’s job. If you want to pray up here out loud, pray, just be mindful that if your praying gets to a certain decibel range they may think that you are giving a prophetic word and while we are on that, let’s say this. If you are praying in tongues or singing in tongues out loud or you are praying in your natural language out loud and then you’re suddenly moved upon by the Holy Spirit and you have a word of prophecy or a word in tongues then you need to make sure that there is a difference in the delivery, if you’re praying out loud and then it is now a word, then you need to pray louder so that the music ministry knows what is going on, and then they need to bring their sound down and yield to the gift— why? because the Holy Spirit is speaking now. They didn’t The music yields the the voice of the Spirit.

Well, if they’re praying out loud singing out loud and praying in tongues out loud and singing in tongues out loud, how will they know the difference. That is going to be out of order, No, it’s not for two reasons: 1) discernment 2) discernment

The music ministry has discernment and the prophetic vessel has discernment, Somebody says, “I don’t even know what discernment is”

Well, Hallelujah, you better pray to get filled with the Holy Ghost, because you’re going to need it where we are going. Somebody says, “I don’t know, this sounds like chaos and disorder.” No, chaos and disorder was Corinth. Well, that’s what I kind of feel like that’s what you’re trying to get us to do preacher— act like Corinth.”

No, let me give you an illustration of Corinth: Bill, Wade, Lily, Brennan, me on the count of 3– how do you know that’s what was happening? Have you read the letter? Have you read the internal evidences contained in the letter? They were eating all the bread and drinking all the wine. They were called carnal by Paul, because they were more worried about hearing their favorite preacher rather than hearing the truth, and the evidence of the correction is definitely that they were over talking each other to give words and not allowing other people to give a word. There is something that happens to believers when the Spirit starts to use them if they’re not careful, and the thing that happens is that they start to get a little bit spiritually prideful and start thinking that they are God’s handy man for the hour, that they are the only ones that can do it right. This results in envy, jealousy and division instead of unity and this is exactly what was going in in Corinth

Praying in tongues vs prophesying in tongues

Praying in tongues/ praying in the Spirit

What is the physical evidence that a person has been baptized in the Holy Spirit?

Tongues vs Holiness

Holy Spirit is one with our Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Praying in the Spirit

Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

The Holy Spirit and me are praying together. I don’t understand it, but He does

1 Corinthians 14:13-14 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

Speaking/Praying in tongues edifies self

1 Corinthians 14:2-4 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. 3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

Holy Spirit prays through us

Romans 8:26-- Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Praying and praising in the Spirit

1 Corinthians 14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

The difference between praying or worshiping in tongues to the Lord vs speaking in tongues out loud for the purpose to give a word to the church.

1 Corinthians 14:18-19 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Is tongues a language?

Tongues of men or angels?

Can the devil understand when we pray in tongues?

1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

The gift of the Spirit known as a word in tongues/ multiple gifts/ multiple members/ one Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:10-11 -- To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Many membered body/ God told me that He wants to use His body

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. -- For the body is not one member, but many.

Love is the principle thing, because the love of God brings a man to repentance/ spiritual gifts are great/ prophecy is principle/ difference between prophecy and a word of knowledge

1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

Paul wants everyone to speak in tongues but to prophesy is better when we are talking about edifying the whole church. When a word in tongues is given out loud to the church and then followed by an interpretation, the two gifts work together and become a prophesy

1 Corinthians 14:5-- I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

He is saying that if I come speaking in tongues without interpretation, I’m not doing you any good, but if I…

1 Corinthians 14:6-- Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?

Tongues by itself out loud as a prophetic word means nothing. Now, this is not talking about the fact that you can’t be up here worshiping and singing in tongues and we have to worry about somebody thinking we are crazy and they don’t want to come back. That’s their bad. Go find a Baptist or Presbyterian church dude. We’re Pentecostal.

1 Corinthians 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

Everyone can’t sing a different way psalm at the same time, speak a different doctrine at the same time, speak a different revelation at the same time, have a different interpretation at the same time. The whole point to us coming together is that we would all be edified. Built up for the equipping of the saints to do the work of the ministry

1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

If it’s going to be done, this is how it should be done. Let’s be clear here though also. How are we supposed to know if there is an interpreter in the house if no one ever releases a word in tongues. This does not mean that we have to take a poll and find out if there is an interpreter in the house before a word in tongues ever goes forth. Maybe if the tongue came forth and you had the interpretation but were apprehensive to give it and now you feel like you quenched the Spirit, one way you could try to make it right is to go to the person that gave the word in tongues and let them know. That way they can be aware to try again if they feel the word come on them and then they try again and you will be given another chance. And you say but I can’t do it… yes, you can that’s why you were given the baptism was for boldness

1 Corinthians 14:27-28 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

If someone has a word and gives it. Then someone else has a word, then the first person doesn’t start another word until the second person is done. And yes, you can stop it, if you have to, because the spirits little (s) is subject to the prophet. I thought it was the Holy Spirit… it is but the Holy a spirit is working in unison with your spirit, and He will allow you to control the move in order for there to be order

1 Corinthians 14:30-32 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

Two or three and one at a time

1 Corinthians 14:29-33 -- Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Prophecy is really good for the body, because it edifies the body but do not forbid people to speak in tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:39-40 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.

Interesting, the two temples that had temple prostitutes and these women were oracles

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

You can’t tell me that women aren’t called to speak for God or operate in the gifts.

Acts 2:14-17 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dream

Prayers that Reach God's Heart and Move His Hand

Desperation for a move of God is the story of Hannah(Grace)! The weeping prayers of a barren womb wet the pages of the opening chapters of first Samuel. It is certain that when God sees a willing heart ready to partner with His purpose, He will lay a burden on that heart to pray according to the will for His kingdom. She did with the burden what believers are supposed to do; she fasted and travailed in prayer. Her prayers reached God’s ears and they moved His hand. Miracles are conceived in heaven when a person’s prayer intersects with God’s will. His will always surrounds saving His people for the purpose of establishing his kingdom, and this story is no different. Her heart longed for her empty womb to be filled with life, and God’s heart longs for heaven to be filled with people.

She was a desperate woman living in desperate times (Judges)—to understand the time of the Judges, is to understand how it flows within the big picture of God and His plan for the kingdom of God and the salvation of man.

Hannah had a heart for God and His will, but her heart was broken and needed a move from God. During this time, God’s heart was also broken. Her request was that God would give her a son, her promise was that she would give that son back to God. The time of the judges are marked by rebellion and disobedience of God’s people against His will. A time when His own people stopped their ears to His word. Society then was similar to the way it is now—“No king, the people did what was right in their own eyes”

Hophni and Phineas were the sons of Eli the high priest and were serving as priests in the house of God. It is unlikely that the rebellion against God’s word by Eli’s sons was ever surpassed by any other characters of the Bible. They were supposed to be leading God’s people; yet, they served themselves and performed their own will instead of God’s. The more I study God’s word, the more I realize that God has to repeatedly deal with this type of behavior from His people. I don’t mean to be negative. I know you came into the house of God to be encouraged by His word, and I believe that you will be, but I also feel as though the Lord is showing me, what He feels when His people rebel against His word, and how this isn’t something that happens only every now and then; instead, this is something that repeats itself throughout the Bible’s pages and repeats itself throughout our own lives. God’s heart is broken repeatedly by the rebellion of His people

Jeremiah 5:30 An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: 31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

At times, all of us have directly disobeyed God’s word both the written word and the whisper of HIS voice. I was just sharing my testimony w Lilly and realized how many times in my life God has graciously spoken to me; yet, I was disobedient to His voice. God has revealed this to me recently as I’ve been asking Him to please let me hear His voice more clearly. Hannah’s weeping, fasted prayers for a son cross God’s ears at a time when He needed a pair of ears to hear His voice and obey His word.  God desires sons and daughters who will hear and obey. Thank God for Jesus— Amen!

John 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Before we get into the story, I would like to say, the most precious things on earth are not diamonds or gold but His word and His presence that lead His people towards truth.

Proverbs 8:1-6 1 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; 3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: 4 “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. 5 O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. 6 Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right,

The Soul Man: The Presence

GLORY/ PRESENCE

Ex 24:17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

Exodus 24:16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days

Grieved, angry, make a deal, unauthorized entry through marriage—covenant

Last week we observed the tactics… of the enemy, and his relentless pursuit to enter the temple, house, rooms…You can’t make a deal with the devil. He will tell you anything he thinks you want to hear— he wants to stay in the house. The answer is the Word of God— when they read the LAW, it was revealed that an Ammonite wasn’t supposed to be in the house of God— why? God said so, why is he here? Nehemiah threw his stuff out on the lawn— this is your eviction notice devil. That’s the right way— GET OUT!

We see in that OT story the craft of our enemy  Ephesians 4:11μεθοδεία/ wiles: deceit, trickery 2 cor 11:3 subtlety: cunning craftiness, skill beguiled: to seduce/deceive: to influence by trickery, flattery, mislead; delude. 2 cor 2:11 devices: intellect, mind. Again, In the Nehemiah story, we learned the right approach once we realize someone is in the house that doesn’t belong— tell the enemy to get out, and in Christ, we have authority to tell Satan to get off, get out, go devil. This morning we will see what could happens if we let him hang around.

I. Main thought: presence of God, desperately we need it. The presence is everything. It leads and guides, heals and makes whole, changes the atmosphere, deliverance, salvation, hope, turns bitter waters sweet.

4 scriptures on presence

In the story we will read, you will see that Cherubim— celestial beings directly associated with the presence of God. Interestingly,  Ezekiel 28:14,15– Satan is a fallen cherub. His ministry before his fall, connected to the presence, connected music: we know about music and the presence. He was expelled from the presence, so it makes perfect sense, that his desire is to cause humans, more specifically, God’s people to also be expelled from the presence.

            He is working real hard for us

3 Scriptures connecting Satan/cherub/man banished from presence/God’s plan to bring it back

cherubim associated with pushing man away from the presence and scripture showing God’s plan to restore the presence associated with cherubim

soul diagram and explaining how it’s not just blatant sin that can begin the process of separating us from His presence.

The enemy works on our self, our self, our mind, our thoughts, our will— the presence is the voice of God and He wants to speak and influence our lives, our thinking, our decisions, our members, but what happens when our thoughts get in the way? You do understand that self has to die daily, I mean the power of sin died at the cross, but there is a whole lot of you and me that has dying left to do, and our unwillingness to let self die, results in disobedience. Let’s be true to the scriptures here. Every thing is not a demon in a believer, much of this is our refusal to die, our self’s desire to live, resulting in disobedience and persistent disobedience decreases the sensitivity of hearing, leading to more rebellion and possibly a departure of the presence.

The scriptures Ezekiel 8 ❤️

The Soul Man: The Human as a Temple/House

Spirit, Soul, Body

Titus 3:5

The human as a temple/ house

• Solomon’s temple— 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; 1 Cor 6:19

• House— 2 Corinthians 5:1-6 earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved– Matt 12:22-45–house-Beelzebub-strongman of house-house swept clean-heart- treasure of heart-receptacle-storage-evil treasure-good treasure

TEMPLE OF SOLOMON >>>1 Chronicles 28:11,12– upper rooms/ inner rooms

Inner Court— [body] flesh

Holy place— soul

Holy of Holies— spirit 1 Corinthians 6:17

Back to soul graphic w temple

RECON &REPENTANCE

• Examine reins: ḇâḥan; a primitive root; to test (especially metals); generally and figuratively, to investigate: — examine, prove, tempt, try (trial).Jeremiah 11:20 But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.; Psalms 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.:

NEHEMIAH Tobiah the ammonite Sanballat the Horonite—broken wall Prov 25:28, city of peace—

Nehemiah 13:1-9 The reading of the Law revealed that an Ammonite was not to be allowed in the sanctuary. Tobiah and Sanballat through trickery and deception, yoked themselves to Jewish women; this allowed Tobiah to gain access to the rooms within the temple. Once Nehemiah found out what was going on, he cleansed the rooms and restored them back to order

Conclusion

The wall- the room- go back to the wall— Jessica-Pamela-Pat-Bill-does that bother you if I stop there and don’t mention your name? Let me plain why I’m doing this- conflict will not only comes from outside in an attempt to get us off the wall- you can expect evil to come inside:jealousy, envy, disunity. Let me use myself as an illustration, since God showed me this would happen ex spark plug changer—He showed me, through me, this would happen, now, is the time to reveal what happened to me.

This is repentance. When a person realizes that rooms in their temple have been opened up to ungodliness and that Satan has been given a room Ephesians 4:27 room, quarter, occupancy— just as Satan gained unauthorized access into the earthly realm when Adam gave permission by yielding to sin through disobedience, Eliashib gave unauthorized access to Tobiah into the room of the temple, gained through subtilty, trickery and methods by yoking through marriage and gained access to restricted areas; we also can give access to evil by giving place, allowing occupancy to evil through permission by sin.

And the longer we let it stay, the more comfortable we get with it’s presence. The less we feel conviction. It starts to become part of who we are. In the beginning, I may have felt conviction about cheating on my taxes, gossiping about my brother

The Soul Man 4/26/23

Soul

TEMPLE OF SOLOMON

House— 2 Corinthians 5:1-6

Solomon’s temple— 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; 19; 1 Cor 6:19

Outer court— flesh

Inner court— soul

        >>>1 Chronicles 28:11,12– upper rooms/ inner rooms

Holy of Holies— spirit 1 Corinthians 6:17

Nehemiah

2:10 Tobiah the ammonite Sanballat the Horonite

2 Corinthians 6:14-17

6:17-19 Tobiah marries the daughter of Shecaniah who was from Judah

13:26-28 Sanballat the Horonite’s daughter married a son of the High priest Eliashib

13:1-9 The reading of the Law revealed that an Ammonite was not to be allowed in the sanctuary, somehow Tobiah, through trickery and deception had yoked himself and gotten Sanballat to yoke himself to Jewish women, which ultimately allowed him to gain access to the rooms within the temple. Once Nehemiah found out what was going on, he cleansed the rooms and restored them back to order

This is repentance. When a person realizes that rooms in their temple have been opened up to ungodliness and that Satan has been given a room Ephesians 4:27 — room, quarter, occupancy— just as Satan gained unauthorized access into the earthly realm when Adam gave permission to Satan through sin, just as Eliashib gave unauthorized access to Tobiah into the room of the temple, access that was gained through subtilty, trickery and methods by marrying into and yoking self with the right points to gain access, we also can give access to evil by giving place, a foothold, a room, occupancy to evil through permission, through sin.

And the longer we let it stay, the more comfortable we get with it’s presence. The less we feel conviction. It starts to become part of who we are. In the beginning, I may have felt conviction about cheating on my taxes, gossiping about my brother, overeating, taking certain meds, looking at certain things, listening to certain things, but I ignored the voice of conviction, and allowed a new partner in and gave him a room, and now he’s made himself at home, and I’ve grown accustomed to his presence.

Ezekiel 8– 1 kings 2:20

8:3 the image of jealousy seated in the inner court

8:4 And the glory of the Lord was there— what hope would we have if He left? This shows us He will abide for a time

8:5 image of jealousy

8:6 Look at the great abominations that they are doing to drive me away— but you will see more

8:7 A hole in the wall

8:8 dig into the hole— don’t do it Pastor you’re digging too deep—started digging and found a hidden entrance— a hidden entrance way into the sanctuary

Ezekiel 9 people are marked on their forehead as protection against the coming wrath— in some way a type of the mark protecting the 144,000 in Revelation as opposed to those marked by antichrist

Ezekiel 10:18 the glory of the Lord departs

Ezekiel 43-44

Could it be that when we listen to music that we are inviting these people in?

When we watch certain shows that have lesbian or homosexual relations that we are allowing them in?

When we look at pornography that we are letting them in?

I mean is it possible to invite the same spirit of lil’ Wayne into your house? Would you like that? Would you like to have Lil’ Wayne over to eat?