Jesus of Jerusalem Documentary- very interesting

Our GOD gave us EVERYTHING!

Our GOD gave us EVERYTHING!

2-16-17 

God has given us everything.  He has given us life, free will and the desire to love.  He has also given us a gift- a way to atone for all we do wrong even if we don’t deserve it.  He has given us a way to be forgiven of sin and to correct our path so we do not repeat our sins or the sins of generations before.

This gift is called salvation.  But to receive this gift we must first know what we must do to receive it.  It is given freely but only to those who WANT IT.  Anyone can accept this gift and because of free will, anyone can also refuse this gift.

So how do we get this gift?  We must start with a foundation.  A foundation built only on true, not given by man but by God himself.  Here is what our new path looks like.  Some call it their “Walk with God”.

1.Instruction book the Bible on how to live worthy of Him

2. Understanding of Sin and how it separates us from God And a hunger to know God more

3. Our Repentance, Turning from Sin and building a worthy relationship with God

4. Forgiveness of Sin and lifestyle that reflects our true repentance

5.Gift of Mercy and Grace which cultivates A desire to show love and mercy to others

6. Gift of Eternal life through His sacrifice

7. Eternity with God

What are we willing to give in return for a wonderful plan that allows us to be alive NOW AND FOREVER with God?

 

    

Each of these steps are important, building from one to the next.  All of these are in the gift of salvation and all came in the form of Yeshua (Jesus).  If you do not understand any one of these steps please do not loose this great gift by not asking.  Send me a message or ask your pastor. 

So He gave us His all.  His plan of salvation and His very life.  What are you willing to give in return?  What does He require?  Only one thing.  We are to make our lives a living sacrifice.  In other words: OUR HEARTS IN PURE WORSHIP an no other "loves" before Him.  What is pure worship?

Pure worship has many facets.  All of which have caused great division among many people.  But the foundation of Gods desire for pure worship is based on His laws and NOT OUR JUSTIFICATION of what WE WANT His desires to be.  What He expects is not difficult once we have a true desire to be closer to HIM!

He requires pure worship. 

• Time with Him in study (which is the highest form of worship because it brings you to a better understanding of Him.  Not for facts to spout out but for a relationship with Him.

• Time with Him in prayer.  This allows us to build the connection with Him so that we can hear from Him and He can hear from us.  Time where we empty our minds and hearts of everyday life and listen closely for the move of the spirit.  Prayer with others have a special blessing and when two or more come together in prayer, He pays special attention to the prayers.

•  Time in worship of song and praise.  With music or just words.  With humming or with instruments.  It’s all wonderful to Him.  This is a time where the Spirit of God can create strong bonds and open our hearts to more.

•  Giving of ourselves in service to others.  This can mean charity, helping someone out with a physical need or a spiritual need.  This also means giving a tithe of whatever God leads you to give and to whom He leads you.

• Sacrificing unworthy desires.  Giving up anything and everything that does not line up with His commands of how He wants us to live.  Paying close attention to the desires that separate us from Him.  Idols: anything that we give greater love or attention to than Him.  Which include traditions of man, false doctrines and activities such as music and movies that are of the world.  If you would be ashamed if God asked you to answer for these activities, then the activity  should be examined to see if they are wholesome and worthy of Him.

• Rid our lives of all pagan practices.  Throw it out. Clean out your heart, mind and soul from these things because they cause a divide between us and God.  They cloud our judgement and pull us away from Him and toward the world.  If you are in doubt, ask if Yeshua (Jesus' name in Hebrew as it would have been said at that time) would have said it or done it.  If not then research to find out where it came from.  Was it created by man to bring pagan worshipers into the faith?  Then it is rooted in paganism and needs to be uprooted from our lives.

If our path is not clean and worthy…. He cannot travel on it with us.  If we are holding on to the world with one hand then we are not holding onto God with both hands and will fall short of His blessings, protection and direction.  Don’t be the monkey in the middle!  Take a stand and stand for God.  The monkey that rides the fence can only fall into destruction.  If you take a stand and practice what is pleasing and purge what is not, you will be blessed from now into Eternity. 

Please open your heart to Gods desire to give your life purpose that means something.  Not the distractions of the world but the path to eternity!  If you have trouble moving up through any of these steps please seek help.  God made us a social people so we need each other and so we can help one another.  Shalom

For if I have caused you sorrow? 2-13-17

The Lord lead me here today and I wanted to share.  there are many great points here.  First that we are given a promise of forgiveness that should cause us to want to "purify ourselves from EVERYTHING that contaminates BODY AND SPIRIT, PERFECTING HOLINESS OUT OF REVERENCE TO GOD.  Not because we will be punished, though we are sometimes not sure what standards God will hold for us, but because of a mature REVERENCE to God!!  Everything means everything.  Body and spirit means our entire lives: inside our homes, what we eat and drink, how we act and react, how we develop our relationship with God and others and so on.  There is no place in our lives where we should allow (justify) something to be, that could in any way offend His Spirit or break His Eternal Laws.  If you are "sorrowed" by something or someone, listen for the message inside- from God, that will bring you OUT OF THE SORROW by accepting the conviction, making the correction and then moving on.   And  THE REJOICE because God has turned His attention to you and GAVE you a gift of insight that will make you worthy, bring you joy and release you from sin. Blessed are those who read His word.  Shalom

2 Corinthians 7:1-13

1Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Paul’s Joy Over the Church’s Repentance

2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 4I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

5For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

8Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13By all this we are encouraged.

Purifying the Church from Sin! A must read

 I read the following article and totally agree that we must purify and purge sin from our lives, from the church!

original article was taken from this site: http://www.wor.org/book/3641/purifying-the-church-from-sin

 

PURIFYING THE CHURCH FROM SIN

(Trumpet Ministries, Inc. / Word of Righteousness) PURIFYING THE CHURCH FROM SIN Copyright 2006 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Some Scripture (as noted) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Š Copyright, 960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Some Scripture (as noted) taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright Š 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
We know there will be no sin in Heaven, in Paradise, in the Kingdom of God, in the new world of righteousness. Various explanations have been offered as to how the Lord will deliver His Church and the saved nations from sin. But what do the Scriptures teach about the purifying of the Church from sin?
PURIFYING THE CHURCH FROM SIN
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (II Peter 3:13—NIV)
I have written much concerning the fact that the new covenant includes deliverance from sin as well as forgiveness of sin.
Last Sunday night we were going through the twenty-fourth Psalm, a psalm for today if there ever was one.
We were discussing the part where it says "he who has clean hands and a pure heart" will be the one who is able to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place.
I said to the class, "The current Christian teaching is that it no longer is necessary to have clean hands and a pure heart in order to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place. We are saved by grace, meaning, we can ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place even though our hands are filthy and our heart is addicted to pornography."
Then I asked, "Is this what Jesus came to do, to make it possible for us to stand in the Lord's holy place with filthy hands and a filthy heart?"
A student spoke up and answered, "No, the Lord came to help us wash our hands."
She got A-plus with that one.
Early Monday morning something that James said came into my mind:
 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8—NIV)
So we see plainly from the Scriptures that current Christian teaching concerning sin in the Christian life is terribly incorrect, destructively incorrect, abysmally incorrect.
Thanks to this episode the old fires began to burn again and here I am, writing once more on the problem of sin in the Christian life.
Whatever our view of the future is, whether it has to do with a "new earth, the home of righteousness" (as in our opening Scripture), or going to Heaven, to Paradise, or the Kingdom of God, we understand there will be no sin there. None of us would want to go to a paradise where people act the same as they do on the earth in the present hour.
Also there is that passage about the Church being without spot or wrinkle, and this unblemished state is certainly not by imputation!
We know somehow that Christ not only forgives us but in the future He will deliver us from worldliness, lust, and self-will.
The prospect of people living for eternity in a state of grace such that they still are immoral and violent, but God sees them as righteous, is not a happy one.
How would you like to enter the new Jerusalem, glad to be shed of the dread and pain of life on earth, only to discover jealousy, gossip, slander, immorality, lying, theft, drunkenness, witchcraft? Does that thought delight you? Probably not. It doesn't delight me either.
There are several ideas floating around that deal with the issue of sinful people entering a new world of righteousness, the Kingdom of God that is to come to the earth. All of these with which we are familiar are founded on the concept that the Christian salvation is largely restricted to forgiveness, that we are "saved by grace" meaning we will enter God's righteous world on the basis of forgiveness. This position necessitates some kind of viewpoint as to how, when, and where we are changed from forgiven sinners to new creations who are without sin, unless we are ready to believe that the only righteousness of the future will be that which is imputed to sinful people. Do you follow me this far?
Let's take a look at some of the current assumptions about how Christ will deal with the problem of bringing sinners into His righteous Kingdom, and then examine the solution presented in the Bible.
When we go to Heaven we will not sin. There is no sin in Heaven. We cannot keep God's commandments now but we will be able to once we die and go to Heaven.
When the Lord returns we will be transformed instantly from sinful creatures into lords of righteousness who will govern the nations. We will rule with Jesus.
We will continue to be pretty much as we are except that God will keep forgiving us through grace.
When we are raptured to Heaven we will pass before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Then the Lord will forgive all our sins (if we have taken the four steps of salvation) and we will not sin any longer.
The first solution is as follows: When we go to Heaven we will not sin. There is no sin in Heaven. We cannot keep God's commandments now but we will be able to once we die and go to Heaven. The problem with this solution is that it is possible to sin in Heaven. In fact, sin began in the holiest part of Heaven, around the throne of God. Satan was one of the two cherubim that covered the Mercy Seat with their wings.
Sin is spiritual in nature. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against wicked spirits in the heavenlies. Therefore leaving our flesh solves nothing as far as sin is concerned.
Not only is it true that passing into the spirit realm does not give us victory over sin, it is true also that it always will be possible for us to sin against God. Five million years from now it will be possible for us to sin against God. If this were not so we would not be sons of God, we would be puppets. Sin is always a choice and our ability to choose to disobey God will not be taken from us.
Even the angels will be able to rebel in the future, but the sons of God will judge and govern them.
What we are, we are. Death is not our redeemer.
 When the Lord returns we will be transformed instantly from sinful creatures into lords of righteousness who will govern the nations. We will rule with Jesus. This idea is based on at least two passages:
 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2)
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (I Corinthians 15:52 NASB))
Both of these passages are referring to the change in our outward form, not in our inner nature. In fact, the verse that follows I John 3:2 (above) is as follows:
 And every man that hath this hope in him [of being like Jesus and seeing Him as He is] purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (I John 3:3)
This is the same exhortation as that given by the Apostle James. We must wash our hands. We must purify our hearts. We must purify ourselves with the grace God has provided, not the grace of forgiveness alone but the grace of purging and purifying through the Word of God, through the blood of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
We must save ourselves by keeping the commandments of God, as Paul advised Timothy. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
It is true that God has the power to remove the lusts of the flesh from us instantly. But that would leave us like Adam and Eve, without a sinful nature but helpless against the suggestions of the enemy and the enticements of our own self-will.
God has no intention of putting innocent, defenseless humans back into the Garden of Even. This would result only in another disaster. God's salvation is transforming us so we will always choose not to sin, as a result of the formation of Christ in us. But modern teaching has wrecked God's plan by telling us God does not see how we behave and keeps on forgiving us so we will go to Heaven when we die (thus accomplishing nothing whatever as far as the development of the Kingdom of God is concerned).
As to governing the nations, such a role is limited, by the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, to the victorious saints. This is God's Word and it cannot be altered by any means whatever.
Also it is obvious that if a believer is not able to gain victory over sin today through the Lord Jesus, he or she would not be able to govern nations of rebellious people. The thought of the silly believers of today governing the nations is ridiculous. Talk about star wars! We would have galactic confrontations as self-seeking, lukewarm believers exercised the unlimited cosmic authority and power of Jesus Christ. All of this while they were reclining at ease in their mansions and wearing their golden slippers.
So let us not be fanciful but realistic, and above all scriptural.
 We will continue to be pretty much as we are except that God will keep forgiving us through "grace." Of all the ideas that are being presented today, this by far is the most horrific. This would mean a change in God and how He relates to people. It would be best had we never been born if such were the case.
Life in Heaven then would be exactly as in the churches on earth. I would not care to live in such a mess, I don't know about you.
In this instance the Bride would continue to be spotted and wrinkled, a gossiping, self-centered spiritual hag. But to Christ she would be Miss Universe, pure, beautiful, a perfect helpmeet for Him.
They say love is blind but the neighbors ain't. The angels would see what a wretch the Lord had got hooked up to but He would continue in delusion.
Poor Jesus!
 When we are raptured to Heaven we will pass before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Then the Lord will forgive all our sins (if we have taken the four steps of salvation) and we will not sin any longer. How this mythology got started is beyond me. There is no passage in the Bible that states the Lord is going to carry His Bride away to Heaven. We Christians may emphasize our affirmation of the plenary, verbal inspiration of the authentic texts but we continue to preach doctrine not found in the holy writings.
We can take four steps or four hundred steps of salvation. But at the Judgment Seat of Christ we are going to receive that which we have practiced during our life on the earth. We are going to reap what we have sown.
 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10—NIV)
How many see in the above verse that all believers will be forgiven their sins and empowered to sin no longer? Raise your hand.
Dear Lord, are we having problems reading?
Every believer (we all) will be revealed before the Judgment Seat. There we will receive what is due us for the way we have behaved.
Do you see anything about all believers being forgiven?
Do you see anything about all believers being purified and empowered to live in victory?
Do you see any indication whatever that this judgment takes place in Heaven?
Do you see any evidence that this judgment will take place after we have been raptured from the earth?
The fourth chapter of the Book of First Peter informs us that the Judgment Seat of Christ began two thousand years ago with the house of God, the saints on earth and the saints in the spirit realm.
Some of us might conclude from what we have written thus far that it is uncertain how the Lord God intends to purify His Church, or even if He intends to purify His Church.
Let us bring the good news that God indeed is going to purify His Church and that He has a specific program, a specific agenda for so doing.
The program of judgment and deliverance is being emphasized in the spirit realm today. This is why you, if you are a disciple of the Lord, are having such trouble. You are being saved (delivered) by a baptism of fire.
There are four great types in the Bible that outline God's plan of redemption (forgiveness and deliverance from sin and Satan). The four types are the seven days of creation, the seven stages of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle, and the seven feasts of the Lord. The four types agree with each other and portray the Lord Jesus Christ, the program for the redemption of the believer, the perfecting of the Church, and the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Let us take the one we use most often, the seven feasts of the Lord, and apply it to our present discussion.
The first three feasts, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits, speak of our basic salvation experience, including the blood of the Lamb, repentance, water baptism, and the born-again experience.
The fourth feast, Pentecost, symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit.
The spiritual fulfillments of the last three feasts, the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles, are not known to the churches. We have not been here yet.
Today we are beginning to enter the last three aspects of the plan of redemption. God has been appeased concerning the guilt of our sin on the basis of the blood atonement made on the cross of Calvary. Now God is ready to remove sin from the heavens, from His Church, and from the nations of saved peoples of the earth, the "sheep" nations.
This is the first time since the original rebellion of the angels that God has gotten serious about removing sin. He is starting in the highest heavens, shaking them and casting down all rebellion. God will permit Antichrist to reach into the heavens and pull down part of the host—wherever rebellion is found.
God is ready to shake the heavens and the earth.
 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." (Hebrews 12:26—NIV)
God is angry because of sin and rebellion. He is ready to get rid of all of it.
 "Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy." (Daniel 9:24—NIV)
"To put an end to sin." "To bring in everlasting righteousness."
God has a program that will put an end to sin and bring in everlasting righteousness. Satan's shoulders will be pinned to the mat. The wrestling match will be over.
The last three feasts, the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles, tell us that God will declare war against His enemies. He will reconcile to Himself those who cooperate with Him. He will remove His enemies from them. Then He will settle down to rest for eternity in His purified Church.
The Lord began to teach me about this fifty years ago and I have been excited about it ever since.
Let's look at some Scriptures that speak of God purifying His Church.
When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, (Isaiah 4:4 NASB)
The "daughters of Zion," that is, the Church of Jesus Christ, will be purified by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. There is no question about this, God will purify His Church by His own spirit of judgment. That which we never could do with the best of intentions God will perform by His power.
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, (Malachi 3:1-3—NIV)
As far we know, the "messenger of the covenant" is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ will come as a refiner's fire, as strong launderer's soap. He will purify the silver of our redemption and the gold of the Divine Nature that has been born in us.
He will purify the members of the royal priesthood.
Evidently John the Baptist was the messenger preparing the way for the greater messenger, for the New Testament speaks as follows:
 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:10-12—NIV)
Jesus Christ will baptize His followers with the Holy Spirit and also with fire.
He will separate the wheat from the chaff, putting His wheat into His barn and burning up the chaff with fire that cannot be extinguished, that is, eternal supernatural fire. The reference is to the Lake of Fire.
Here we have the spiritual fulfillment of the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles.
The Blowing of Trumpets announces the coming of the King to judge His enemies in the Church.
The Day of Atonement is the period of God's working during which the Lord separates the wheat from the chaff in our life and totally reconciles us to Himself.
The feast of Tabernacles portrays the bringing of the purified nature of the believer into perfect rest in God through Jesus Christ.
We have been at the feast of Pentecost, so to speak, throughout the present century. How many millions of believers have enjoyed the Presence and work of the Holy Spirit!
Now God is ready for the work for which all that has gone before is the foundation. God is ready to remove sin from His creation and bring in everlasting righteousness.
What is the plan?
The plan is to remove worldliness, lust, and self-will from a firstfruits of His Church. Then through their victory Satan will be cast down from the heavenlies.
At the coming of the Lord the victorious firstfruits will ascend the thrones in the air that have been vacated at the time Satan and his angels are deposed. (This is why we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. It is because the thrones that govern the earth are located in the air above us.)
As soon as the saints have been gathered to the Commander in Chief in the air the invasion of the earth will begin. Down through the clouds will descend the riders on the white war stallions led by the One called Faithful and True. The horses and those whom they carry move in the perfect will of God.
Faster than light will come the dead-living holy ones. They cannot be frightened or bribed. The armies of Antichrist will make a brief show of resistance and then will flee in disarray as the irresistible force of destruction engulfs them.
Soon the wicked are carrion, heaps of bloody flesh, food for the circling vultures. Earth never before has seen such carnage and never will again until the fire of God falls on the rebellious nations at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
This is a Jesus the churches do not know. This is the Lord, strong and mighty in battle, more terrible in His wrath and power than any conqueror of history.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalms 2:12—NIV)
The wicked that remain throughout the earth will turn white with fear when they hear the sound of the rushing of the chariots and see the army of the Lord leaping over walls and looking in at the windows. The meek will be saved in that day but woe to the hypocrites, especially the hypocrites in the churches. The destroyers of the earth will themselves be destroyed.
The army of the Lord will march until the earth has been purified. Then will nature rejoice. Then will the world be safe for little children.
For one thousand years the Lord and His firstfruits will teach righteousness to the saved nations of the earth, reconciling them to God, and also work with the weaker members of the Church who still need to be reconciled to God in their personalities.
At the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age the nations will rebel against Christ, against the firstfruits (the camp of the saints) and against the nation of Israel that has been governing the earth in fulfillment of the promise of God. Fire will come down from God in Heaven and destroy those rebels.
Then the great white throne will appear. The earth and sky to which we are accustomed will be removed. On the throne will be seated Christ and His saints, for the Word of God assigns the judgment of men and angels to them.
The dead will be drawn from many places and raised to stand before God. The wicked will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The wicked are defined by Revelation 21:8. The righteous will enter eternal life The righteous are described in Matthew 25, beginning with verse thirty-one.
Down from God in Heaven will come the purified, glorified Church. The Throne of God and Christ is in it. There is no sin to be found anywhere in the new Jerusalem, the holy city. It is holy in actuality, not by imputation.
The holiness is protected by a great wall. That wall is being formed today in the victorious saints as they resist sin.
Sin will be kept out of the new earth by the rule of the saints. It is a new world of righteousness. Sin has come to an end.
So we see there is a Divine program for the removal of sin from the creation. The Day of Atonement, the removal of sin, has begun in our day and will continue throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
Be assured that God is aware of every sin that takes place in His creation. He has given His Son as a sacrifice for sin, and that sacrifice is adequate to meet the needs of whoever will receive the atonement, the reconciliation.
Now here we are. We are forgiven. We love God. But in many instances we are bound with the love of the world, the love of money, the lusts of the flesh, and our own self-will, stubbornness, and disobedience to God.
On top of all this we have been told it is impossible to obey God in the present world and must wait for actual righteousness in our personality until we die or the Lord comes.
Is it any wonder the churches are in their current mess? In fact, many men of the churches who ought to be leaders and ministers are spending their time at night indulging their sexual fantasies on the Internet. There is not enough iron in today's preaching to deliver the saints from the moral filth on the Internet.
Now God is graciously sending trouble upon us. He is putting us in the pot and turning up the heat. The scum is rising to the top. Is that happening to you?
Probably so. Are you having enormous problems in your family, your job, your church? Cheer up. So are a lot of people.
As the pressures and deceptions increase, all kinds of impurity comes out of our personality. This is how God refines the sons of Levi, so to speak.
What do you do about the sins you now see in your personality?
Call the behavior by name. If you told a lie call it a lie. Describe it as clearly as you can. You are God's appointed judge and you must address the enemy.
Resolve that you want this evil gone out of your life. Reject the behavior as vehemently, as resolutely, as determinedly, as doggedly, as forcefully as you can. Yell at it. Condemn it to the Lake of Fire.
It is as this point that the issue is decided. If you waltz around the issue, not driving it from you, it will never leave. The spirits have to be persuaded that you mean business. If you are undecided, double-minded, or for one reason or another are not sure you want to get rid of it or even that you can get rid of it, you never will gain victory.
If you justify your behavior you are sunk. The sin will stay with you and accompany you to the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Many Christians can present a number of reasons why they cannot gain victory over their sins. None of their reasons are valid. The Bible tells us, Old Testament and New, that those who live according to the impulses of their flesh and mind, will die.
Sometimes victory over sin is presented as a target we shoot at, a goal toward which we press. We "ought" to do this or that. You will never get there with this attitude. The Bible does not command you to struggle endlessly with sin, it commands you to put it to death through the Spirit of God.
I heard one individual say that God leaves the demons in us so we will profit by struggling against them. It is true that our struggle against sin develops a conquering personality in us. But God wants victory, not a hopeless struggle in which you never are able to drive out the enemy.
The rewards go to the overcomers. There are no rewards assigned to the losers.
You must understand that God knows what is going on in your life, that God cares what is going on in your life, and that God has the power to help you. This after all is what faith is.
If you are weak, tender, and fearful in your heart, ask God for iron. More iron! More iron! We must have in our personality iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father if we are to be a member of the firstfruits that will rise to meet Christ at His coming.
If you do not have iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience in you, then pray for these. It is your Father's good pleasure to give them to you.
But if you are double-minded you will get nowhere at all.
Confess yours sins to God. He will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Then take up your cross and follow Jesus.
Whatever you do, do not become angry with the tool God uses to get at the scum in your personality. God often uses people to bring the sin in us to the surface. If you become angry and bitter against the tool God uses you will gain nothing from the experience. Instead you will nourish a root of bitterness in your soul.
Forgive everyone without exception. If you can't forgive, ask Christ to help you forgive. He will. He has the Virtue.
If you can't get the victory over sin, ask the Lord to help you. Ask! Ask! Ask! Ask! Get back up on your feet and ask again! Your crown is at stake. Do you think this is a trip to the candy store? The conflict of the ages is upon us. The spoils will go to the victors.
Pornography is on the rise throughout the world. It is a deadly addiction. Numerous Christians, including pastors, are in slavery to their own glands.
Come out of this thing! Pray to Christ for the iron to drive this devil from you! It will destroy all hope you have of being in the army of the Lord.
Do you want to hold up lust-filled hands to the Lord Jesus when you pray?
Do you want to destroy your family and your nervous system, and perhaps end up molesting your child, raping someone, or contracting genital herpes or AIDS? You will if you do not come to Christ and get deliverance.
Satan knows his time is nearly over. He is bringing in his most deadly weapons. He still is hoping he can escape the Lake of Fire. He keeps whispering to Christians "You shall not surely die. No matter how you keep sinning God still loves you and will forgive you."
Satan says this because he hopes the Father will relent and not cast him into the Lake of Fire.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think the Father will relent and not put Satan in the Lake of Fire even though the Scripture says otherwise?
Let me ask another question. Do you think the Father will relent and permit you to bring your sin into the Kingdom of God even though the Scripture says this is not possible?
Fearful judgment is soon to fall on the United States if the Christians do not begin to keep God's commandments. The Gentile holocaust is at hand. God's people have been told they have no need to worry because God would never let them suffer. This is totally unscriptural. The truth is, it is only through tribulation we can enter the Kingdom of God. Why is this? It is because in the fires of tribulation that which has us bound is removed so we can walk away unharmed and free.
 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. (I Peter 4:1,2 NASB)
The time has come. The time is now. God is looking throughout the ranks of Christendom for those who will leave all and follow Jesus through the Judgment Seat. God has the power to remove worldliness, lust, and self-will from us. Our part is to follow the Holy Spirit carefully each day. God's part is to remove the graveclothes.
Lazarus has been called from the dead but he is bound.
Will you be one of those who take a firm stand and renounce sin? All sin? You do not have to deliver yourself from sin. God has a program, a plan to rid His creation of sin and rebellion for eternity. It is an eternal judgment.
Would you like to be part of the firstfruits, a soldier in the army of the Lord?
Then tell Jesus about it right now.
He shall divide the spoil with the strong!

 Part Two: 

Very interesting information about how God uses everyday numbers to show us how to understand Him, the world we live in, the world of the future.  I have pasted it here without the photos, for easy read.

 http://free.messianicbible.com/feature/astonishing-bible-number-patterns-decoded-the-numbers-8-to-12/?t=Biblical%20numerology

Astonishing Bible Number Patterns Decoded: Numbers 8 to 12

 

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  (Psalm 90:12)

In our study of Scripture, we might notice the frequency with which certain numbers occur.  Their appearance does not seem coincidental.

In Hebrew, letters of the alphabet have numerical values, such as 6-15 above.

Although numbers for the most part are considered mundane, in Judaism numbers are linked with the universal truths of the Torah (first five books of the Bible).  Still, the pattern of numbers in the Torah continues in the writings of the Prophets and the Brit Chadashah (New Testament).

In an earlier Messianic Prophecy Bible feature, we discussed the numbers 1 through 7, describing their significance in the Bible and Jewish thought.

Several of our readers have expressed interest in this subject, and in this feature, we will examine 8-12.

Please note that although some numbers in the Bible do hold great significance, and in Judaism are regarded as representing spiritual forces that mold reality (Chabad), they are not to be treated as having magical powers.  That is not God’s intent in providing us with these numerical patterns.

To properly interpret the Scriptures, however, we must examine the literal as well as symbolic, which includes Biblical numerology.

Shemonah (שְׁמֹנֶה or ח / Eight)

“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”  (Proverbs 24:16)

For instance, there are seven days in a week, seven years in the Shemitah cycle, and the seventh day of the week, the Shabbat, which symbolizes the sanctification of the natural world.  (Jewish Wisdom in the Numbers)

The number 8 (Shemonah), of course, comes after 7, hinting at the reality that is above the natural order and its limitations.

Shemonah (שְׁמֹנֶה) relates to shooman (שׁוּמָן) or fat, conveying the idea of having more than enough.  A related word is the Biblical word for oil, שֶׁמֶן (shemen), and so we see during Hanukkah that a single-day supply of oil defied the laws of nature and miraculously lasted eight days until more sanctified oil could be created for the Temple menorah.
 
In Judaism, 8 is the number of transcendence.

It symbolizes rising above the limitations of the physical realm, living extraordinary lives that do not conform to the natural order.  We can look at it as symbolizing our citizenship in Heaven, living in the world, but not truly belonging to it.

Those who are in covenant with God can rise above the laws of nature.  This reality is meant to infuse and permeate our natural environment, not separate us from it.

For example, the eighth-day covenant of circumcision binds the Jewish person to God.  This covenant reveals that the Jew is a servant of God and not nature, confirming this idea of transcendence.
In Hebrew, this is called brit milah (covenant of circumcision).

God Renews His Promises to Abraham

The brit milah serves as a physical sign in the flesh that Jews are the people of God and that we have a special covenantal relationship with Him.  We serve Him both in the spiritual and physical realms.

God made a covenant of circumcision with the Jewish People through the patriarch Abraham.  On the eighth day, God said that every male child, “whether born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, they must be circumcised.”  (Genesis 17:13)

This command to circumcise the male offspring originates in the book of Genesis.  God appeared to Abraham when he was 99 years old and told him to circumcise himself, his 13-year-old son Ishmael, and all the men of his household.

“For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised.  …  My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.  Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”  (Genesis 17:12-14)

The enactment of this covenant on the eighth day is so important that it is performed even if it falls on Shabbat or a holiday, including Yom Kippur.

The number 8 has several connections to the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies).  Of course, if there is any place that God instituted on this earth where the laws of the natural realm were to be transcended, it is in His dwelling place.

Therefore, in Leviticus 9:1–11:47, which is the Torah reading of Parasha Shemini (Eighth), we read that one year following the Exodus from Egypt, the inauguration of the Tabernacle took place on the eighth day, following seven days of preparation.  On the eighth day, the Lord’s Shekhinah came down and rested on the Mishkan so that His Divine Presence dwelled amid the Jewish People.

This eighth day speaks, perhaps, to the Israelites having reached a new height of spirituality and relationship with God, in which they embraced the fact that life is more than needs and wants.  It underscores that we must prepare and reach higher than the natural realm to transcend it and achieve the destiny for which we were created.

Shemonah (8) also has significance in connection with the celebration of the Temple service on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) when the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) was allowed to enter the Kodesh HaKodashim.
Included in the service was the sprinkling of blood: once upon the ark cover and seven times before the ark cover.  This made a total of eight sprinklings instead of the usual seven.  If this was not performed correctly the High Priest risked death.

This number also relates to the specific garments worn by the priests and the High Priest when ministering in the Temple.  Four of these were common to all priests while an additional four were unique to the High Priest, making eight in all.

“And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for dignity and for beauty.”  (Exodus 28:2)

The following vestments were common to all priests:

1. The michnasayim (linen pants), which reached from the waist to the knees.
2. The ketonet (priestly tunic), which covered the entire body.
3. The avnet (priestly sash), with the common priests wearing white while the High Priest’s was embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet threads.
4. The mitznefet (priestly turban), with the High Priest’s being larger and bearing a golden plate with the words “Holiness unto YHWH.”

Those vestments unique to the High Priest were as follows:

5. The me’il (priestly robe), which was sleeveless, blue in color, fringed with small golden bells from the lower hem alternating with pomegranate-shaped tassels.
6. The ephod (an embroidered vest), which has two engraved onyx gemstones on the shoulders, on which names of the tribes of Israel were engraved.
7. The hoshen (priestly breastplate) that had 12 gems, each one with the name of a tribe.
8. A pouch containing the Urim and Thummim fastened to the ephod.

Among other Temple items bearing a connection to 8 are the sacrificial offerings.  An animal could only be accepted as an offering from the eighth day onward.

“When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days.  From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the Lord.”  (Leviticus 22:27)

As well, Ezekiel states that atonement was to be made for the altar for seven days, and then from the eighth day forward, the priest could offer the burnt offerings.

“‘For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.  When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”  (Ezekiel 43:26–27)
 

Just as the week is seven days long, and the eighth day is the start of a new week, the number eight can also be viewed as the number of new beginnings, renewal, and perhaps, salvation.

For example, there were eight people (four men and four women) on the ark who survived the flood and repopulated the earth (Genesis 7:13, 23).

As well, David, who was the eighth son of Jesse, gave the kingship a new beginning for Israel.  But David speaks of an even greater new beginning that comes through his seed to the King of Kings: Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

In Jewish tradition, the Messianic Era will happen in the seventh millennium, the universal era of rest.  This will be followed by an eighth millennium: Olam Ha-ba (the World to Come), a time when the physical reality of this world will be transformed by Divine reality.

 
Because there are nine months of gestation, the number nine is associated with development and hidden goodness.

 

Tisha (תֵּשַׁע or ט / Nine)

The use of nine in Scripture is fairly rare.  The first use of the Hebrew word for nine—תשע, tisha, is found in Parasha Bereisheet:
 “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”  (Genesis 5:5)

In Galatians 5:22–23, Paul speaks of nine fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

1 Corinthians 12:7–10 lists nine gifts of the Spirit:  word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

Tisha (תֵּשַׁע) is derived from the root sha’ah, which means turning or facing.  So nine, rather than being characterized as a final destination, can symbolize development (as in the nine months of human gestation) or turning toward something greater.

It is represented by the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet ט (tet), which has an inverted appearance that is thought to suggest hidden goodness, much like those who believe in Messiah carry God’s goodness inside them through the infilling of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).

The letter tet has a connection to creation as it first appears in Genesis 1:4 in the word tov, regularly translated good, but better translated perhaps as beneficial.

“God saw that the light was good [tov], and He separated the light from the darkness.”  (Genesis 1:4)

Yeshua Foretells the Destruction of the Temple, by James Tissot

In the Talmud (the rabbinical book of learning and discussion of the Torah), Rabbi Joshua says that one who sees the letter tet in a dream may consider it as a sign of beneficence, since it is the first letter of the word tov.  (Baba Kama 55a)

But nine can also symbolize damaged relationships, turning away from one another, and judgment, caused by turning away from God.

Perhaps nowhere in Judaism is this turning away from God and the subsequent judgment more evident than in Tisha B’Av (9th of Av), the most tragic date on the Jewish calendar.

On this day many calamities befell Israel, including the Jewish People being led into exile by the Babylonians during the time of the First Temple, and by the Romans during the time of the Second Temple.

And although the Jewish People remember this day of destruction through fasting, they also pray that this day will become a Yom Tov (Good Day) when peace will reign throughout the earth, as Zechariah prophesied:

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘The fasts of the fourth, fifth [Tisha B’Av], seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’”  (Zechariah 8:19)

It is common for Orthodox Jews today to practice ma’aser kesafim, tithing 10% of their income to charity.

Eser (עֶשֶׂר or י / Ten)

The number 10 is a very significant number in the Bible.  The word eser (עֶשֶׂר) is almost identical in Hebrew spelling to osher (עֹ֫שֶׁר) meaning wealth, which gives this word a strong link to the tithe, the tenth part that is dedicated to God.

The original meaning of the word is thought by some to be gathering, collection or union.

In rabbinic thought, 10 relates to an integrated system: a full set of individual parts combined to make up a communal whole, typifying holiness and the resting place of the Shekhinah, the presence of God.

It is considered the number of divine perfection.  Much in Scripture and Jewish tradition also suggests the meaning of eser to be completion and perhaps order, law and responsibility.
Consider, for instance, the following:

• 10 things were created on the first day of creation, and ten things were created on the sixth and final day of creation.
• 10 generations passed from Adam to Noah and ten generations from Noah to Abraham.
• 10 plagues went forth in Egypt before God freed the Hebrews from their enslavement.
• 10 commandments were given by God on Sinai.  (Exodus 20:1–17)

Moses and the Ten Commandments, by James Tissot

• On the 10th of the first month, the Passover lamb was selected.  (Exodus 12:3)
• 10 times 10 silver sockets formed the foundation of the Tabernacle.  (Exodus 38:27)
• The 10th (tithe) is holy to the Lord.
• 10 days of Awe or Repentance fall between Rosh Hashanah (the Festival of Trumpets on Tishri 1) and the holiest day of the year on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement on Tishri 10).  During this period, we seek forgiveness for our sins from God and man, as well as wisdom as to how we might lead better lives.
• 10 toes in Daniel 2 and 10 horns in Revelation 13 and 17 symbolize the final ruling kingdom of man.
• Daniel and his three friends were 10 times better than the magicians and astrologers (Daniel 1:20).

“And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.”  (Daniel 1:20)

A spontaneous minyan forms for Maariv (evening prayer) at a shop in Jaffa, Israel.

• 10 men are necessary to form a quorum for Jewish group prayer and worship, indicating a communal whole.  In Hebrew this is called a minyan and it comes from the Hebrew root maneh (מנה), meaning to count or to number.
• 10 assembled Jews creates a unity called Knesset Yisrael (Congregation of Israel), and 10 are required to be present when something is to be publicly witnessed.  This gathering of 10 is called a tzibbur.  Perhaps that is part of the reason why the evil report of the 10 spies, who failed to see God’s power and provision, held more weight than the report of Joshua and Caleb:

“And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.’”  (Numbers 13:32)

• 10 lepers cried out to Yeshua (Jesus) for healing, and He sent them to the priests in order that they could be declared clean.

“As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him.  They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Yeshua, Master, have pity on us!’  When He saw them, He said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’  And as they went, they were cleansed.”  (Luke 17:12–14)

• In John, Yeshua underlined the pattern of ten found in the Bible by progressively making 10 “I Am” declarations:

1. I am the Bread of Life (6:35, 48);
2. I am the Bread that came down from heaven (6:41);
3. I am the Living Bread (6:51);
4. I am the Light of the world (8:12);
5. I am One that bears witness of Myself (8:18);
6. Before Abraham was, I am (8:58);
7. I am the Door of the sheep (10:7, 9);
8. I am the Good Shepherd (10:14);
9. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6); and
10. I am the True Vine (15:1, 5). 

Echad Eser (אחד עשר or יא / Eleven)

“Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.”  (Acts 1:26)

The number eleven, which occurs a few times in Scripture and Judaism, is the number of disorder, imperfection, incompleteness and perhaps excess, since it is one more than 10, the number of divine perfection, and one less than 12, the number of governmental perfection.

For instance, after Judas removed himself from Yeshua’s group of talmidim (disciples) by betraying Yeshua and then committing suicide, it was necessary to replace him since the 12 disciples represented the 12 tribes of Israel.  Without him, there were only 11.

Having only 11 talmidim left the group in a state of incompleteness.  To solve this dilemma, two men were nominated to take over the apostolic ministry of Judas: Joseph called Barsabbas (Justus) and Matthias.

After prayer, they cast lots, and Matthias “was added to the eleven apostles.”  (Acts 1:26)

Also, in Deuteronomy 1:2, the children of Israel are on the east side of the Jordan, having made an 11-day trip from Mount Sinai.  Because of disorder in the camp, however, what could have been a 12-day journey into the Holy Land turned into a 40-year trek.

The number 11 seems to characterize disorder in Jacob’s life as well.  In Genesis 32:22, he returned with his 11 sons to Canaan to confront Esau.  With the birth of Benjamin there were 12 sons, but when Joseph’s brothers sold him to slave traders, the number returned to 11.

Shnayim-Eser (שְׁנֵים-עָשָׂר or יב / Twelve)

“It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.  On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.”  (Revelation 21:12)

The number 12, which is one of the numbers symbolizing perfection, is unmistakably important in Scripture.

It appears throughout the Tanakh (Old Covenant) and the Brit Chadashah (New Covenant).
In Judaism, this number symbolizes totality, wholeness, and the completion of God’s purpose.  It is considered the number of governmental perfection as it symbolizes God’s power and authority.
Here are some places in Scripture in which the number is seen:

• Jacob (Israel) had 12 sons (Genesis 35:22–27), each of whom became the founder of one of the 12 tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28; Numbers 33:54; 36:3–9).
• In Numbers 1:2–16, God selected 12 men to conduct a census of the tribes.
• In Numbers 7:10–83, 12 princes of Israel brought gifts over 12 days to the Sanctuary for the dedication of the altar.

“The total number of animals for the burnt offering came to twelve young bulls, twelve rams and twelve male lambs a year old, together with their grain offering.  Twelve male goats were used for the sin offering.”  (Numbers 7:87)

A depiction of offerings made at the Jewish Temple (YouTube capture: Temple Institute)

• In the Tabernacle, there were 12 loaves of showbread (לֶחֶם פָּנִים).  As well, on the High Priest’s breastplate, there are 12 stones, each representing a tribe of Israel.
• There were 24 classes of priests and Levites (1 Chronicles 24:4) which is a multiple of 12, and 48 Levitical cities (Numbers 35:7), which is also a multiple of 12.
• The Land of Israel was divided into 12 parts.
• Elijah used 12 stones to build an altar on Mount Carmel.
• Luke 2:42–49 records the first words of Yeshua.  He was 12 years old.
• Yeshua selected 12 apostles (Matthew 10:2–4) to bear witness of Him.  They became the founders of the earliest assemblies of Believers.

The number 12 is also linked to the concept of time; for example, the ancient Israelites marked 12 lunar cycles representing the 12 lunar months of the year.  They divided the day and the night into 12-hour periods.

In the Book of Revelation, the number 12 is connected to the salvation of God’s people.  There are 24 elders around the throne of God and 144,000 Jewish Believers in Yeshua, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes (Revelation 4:4, 7:4).

This number is also connected to the idea of borders.  The perfection, symmetry and borders of the new Jerusalem are seen in its 12 gates, each in the form of “a single pearl,” and its 12 foundations, each lined with jewels.  Its circumference is 12,000 furlongs, and its walls are 144 cubits high, again multiples of the number 12.  (Revelation 21:10–21; Ezekiel 48:30–35)