God Speaking

Good morning!

I love this.  God spoke to Moses “mouth to mouth, and plainly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of Jehovah.”. It was not in a dream or vision, but intimate and personal because Moses was faithful in all God’s affairs!

What does that say to us in the times God speaks so plainly to us?  It made me think of the time I had a bad attitude about Jerry telling me I needed to make sure to pick up all the sticks before mowing and I wasn’t going to do that,  then Jesus told me, “Run over one stick and see if I do not break that mower.”

I felt such a fearful awe that day.  I didn’t want to move or breathe.  I can still feel it when I think of it.  It is a similar feeling when I think of Jesus speaking plainly to us, that God would even consider having His Son speak plainly and intimately to us. 

It really is a wonderful and fearful awe.

Numbers 12:

4. And Jehovah spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, “Come out, the three of you, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came.

5. And Jehovah came down in a pillar of cloud, and He stood at the entrance of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

6. And He said, “Hear now my words. If there be a prophet among you, I, Jehovah, will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.

7. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my affairs.

8. Mouth to mouth do I speak with him, and plainly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of Jehovah. Why, then, were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”

Numbers 21:

14. (Therefore, it is said in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah…. “

I didn’t know there was a book of wars of Jehovah! 

Beth D.

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Lev 26:19–20

Good morning, 

I hope you are having a sweet time soaking in the Son! 

I just finished reading Leviticus 26.  Whew!  It is sobering and terrifying, and it left me so full of thankfulness. 

I read verse 10, and I thought about us, and how much food we have.  I recently had a sister send me something of ours to read (The Jerusalem Council) and I thought, “Oh, I want to start it, but first, I am reading in the OT, and then I want to get back to [the character] Uzziel!”  Brother Gary is getting new songs every day; we have the Thoughts for Today, Random Thoughts, Thoughts for the Evening.  Then add to that all the books we have, and will have.  It was sweet naming them out to Jesus this morning.  And at any time, Jesus can give us something new throughout the day!  We have so much food! 

To really look at how much we have been given and then read Leviticus 26 is sobering and terrifying.  How much more angry than that would God feel, after His Son died for us to have all we have, if we do not walk in that light!  I just keep feeling that God is serious about what He has given us.  Especially after seeing my mother recently, and seeing that evil spirit so alive in her dying body.  Recently you spoke of the demons Jesus drove away from us when he gave us the holy ghost coming back to see if there is an open door in our hearts.  How sobering! 

In Leviticus 26, God’s said he would send His people fleeing in terror when no one pursues, and that they would flee at the sound of a leaf shaking.  I read that, and it hit me how much Jesus has done for us.  The peace, and the rest we have because we have a clear conscience before God.  Reading this morning made me remember the days when I did not have peace, dreading the morning sun to come up.  I lived under nothing but anxiety and fear, drugging myself to try and outrun and numb those feelings.  Peace is something I could not give myself.

From Leviticus 26:11. “And I will put my tabernacle in your midst, and my soul will not abhor you.”

I never thought of God having a soul.  I assume that is just another way of saying that He will not abhor them, but it struck me that He said “soul”.

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Yes, Beth, God has a soul.  We were created in. his image.

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What does does “skies like iron and land like bronze”  mean? 

Lev. 26:19. And I will break your mighty pride. And I will make your skies like iron and your land like bronze,

20. and your strength will be spent in vain, and your land will not yield its produce, and the tree of the land will not bear its fruit.

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It means that there will be no rain and that the ground will become very hard and unproductive.

Pastor John

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Thank you,

Beth D.

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The Great Physician’s Orders

Hey Pastor John! 

I want to share what Jesus did for me this morning. 

I pulled something in my upper back and shoulder the other day which has been causing pain and numbness in my arms. This morning I planned to cut my dad and Richard’s hair but my right arm and hand were completely numb, so I took some ibuprofen and sat down in the living room with a heating pad on my neck to see if I could get some relief before doing the haircuts. As I sat there, I could tell that I was feeling drained and down, both in my body and in my spirit.  I sat there and thought, “I should probably just stay here all day and rest.” 

Jessa came and sat with me for a bit, and we played a game.  When I looked at the clock, it was already 9:15am and my dad was going to be at my house at 10 am for his haircut.  So I decided to get on up to get ready. Then I had the thought to play a song from the music on my phone.  I like to play the songs in “shuffle mode” so they play in random order.  The first song that came up was Brother Gary’s “All You Need is a Little Drink of Holy Wine.” 

I hit the play button, got up, and went into my bedroom.  Right away the words of the song felt like the Great Physician’s orders!!

“Now what can take away cares and troubles

What can roll those burdens off your mind?

Take a sip of that holy wine. 

Lose yourself and you’ll be fine.

All you need is a little drink of holy wine.”

I started to move my body a little and began loosening up my shoulders.  At first, I was doing it, but then after a few minutes the holy ghost fell on me.  I completely yielded my body to the Spirit and danced all over my room, moving in all directions, all the while my neck, shoulders, and arms were popping and cracking!  I couldn’t stop my body from moving, and I danced through the whole song and part of the next one. The next song was “I Am Resolved”.  I dropped to my knees and thanked Jesus for his mercy and power touching me.  When I got up off the floor, I could tell I still had a little pain in my shoulder,  but I was so drunk that didn’t even matter.  It feels so good to feel good!! 

And I am very, very thankful that I do not have any numbness in my arms and hands!  I was able to do my dad and Richard’s haircuts without any problems.  Yay Jesus!! 

Looking forward to being with y’all soon!

Love,

Amy F.

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And let me add that it was the best haircut I have ever had! As she was telling me what happened, it felt really good. She was still feeling the Spirit, and so was I. What a wonderful testimony. 

Tom

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Leviticus 2:11

Good morning, 

I am reading in Leviticus this morning.  As I am reading my mind says “this is archaic” –– even after what God has let me learn!   I have had to reset that thought a few times and remember that this is my God and my God’s heart.  I remember taking the Old Testament class with Jimmy & Sue and others and being amazed at learning about who God is, especially His love.  I  knew nothing about Him.

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The works of the law are archaic, Beth, but the Spirit still uses them to teach us about our Creator and His Son who became a sacrifice for us.  What Jesus did for us is the thing that makes the law of Moses relevant and interesting.  Isn’t it wonderful?

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I wish I could have had a peek at Aaron and his sons throwing the blood and burning the offerings, just to see what they were feeling or saying to each other.  How much time did this take?  They had a lot of people bringing offerings.  It would have been very messy, too.  The carnal mindset would probably make it seem solemn, swinging the smoke-filled incense burner and chanting.  Or at least, my mind pictures that.  I wish I could just have one peek to see them.

And in Leviticus 2:11, why did God forbid Israel to ever offer honey?  I think I understand the prohibition regarding leaven, but why not allow honey be brought for an offering?  Any reason?

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I do not know why God forbade “any leaven or any honey” to be burned with the offerings that were made on His altar, Beth, but I am sure that He had a wonderful reason.

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I thought about Leviticus 2:3 also, where God commands that a portion be given to His priests, and how it really is a matter of the heart.  God did not need those offerings in order for Him to take care of Aaron and his sons, but He wanted Israel to be blessed for doing it.  Likewise, God does not need our tithes and offerings to take care of His servants, but that is the way He has chosen for it to be done.  And our response answers the question, “Where is our heart?”

I love that.

Beth D.

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Meeting Last Night

Good morning!

I loved last night’s meeting!  I agree with Bess, one of my favorites.  I remember when I started working at the hospital, all those nasty spirits around, I would be perfectly happy and joyful and as soon as I started walking in I could feel all the spirits talking.  It was such a heavy burden.  Then I remembered you would always tell us to pray to discern spirits so we can keep our joy.  I would ask Jesus all the time, please teach me to discern the spirits around me.  Every time  I would ask him I would always hear, “Know who you are”.  I didn’t understand that for the longest time and honestly sometimes now I forget it.  But what a wonderful reminder that was last night!  If we know who we are, we can recognize something talking to us that is not us! Staying close to Jesus, happy and free, what a wonderful life!

I’m also so thankful for Jesus opening my heart to the truth.  The truth is encouraging, uplifting and removes burdens!  It cleans your heart so Jesus can occupy every space!  Every time we have a meeting I close my eyes and see Jesus stretching out his hand and saying come on, I love you, you can do it, I’ve equipped you with everything you need!  There is not one speck of Christianity in that and I love it!

Thank you, Pastor John, for always feeding us pure, delicious food!  I want to eat every bit of it!

Michelle G.

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I am always amazed by the meetings.  Tonight’s message hit an issue I have been having.  It’s like you looked my soul and saw what has been bothering me. 

Thank you,

Mark W.

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Pastor John,

I went back and listened again and felt the mercy of God in what you were preaching last night.  I fell asleep afterwards and dreamed a short dream of Haskell & me together somewhere, and we saw a couple who moved together oddly, like while walking or doing other normal activities.  It looked familiar to us and we both said we were thankful for what Jesus had done for us because we used to be that way.  The best way to describe it is they moved like robots instead of just living.  They didn’t seem relaxed or real.

I woke up with a sweet feeling of peace and hearing Gary sing, “All I Love, I Love….If you get confused, or don’t know what to do, I’ll be there to carry you.”  I don’t want to be a mixture of good and bad, or be like the world and by that, put pressure on God’s children to feel like they’re not good enough.  I know I’ve hurt people by not being full of the holy ghost. 

Since my last surgery with my teeth, though, I feel like Jesus has helped me give more right responses.  But I pray to have a pure heart.  As soon as you talked about Bruised Reeds, I cried last night.  Just the day before, I had reminded Jesus of how he’d touched me with the Bruised Reeds tract before we had children.  I had gotten discouraged then, and when I read that tract, I felt so much lighter.  It helped me believe he would still do something for me, even though I felt like I had failed him. 

It touches me to know that Jesus put that prayer in my heart this week. Thank you for the message last night.

Cris

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Thank You!

Hey!
One of my favorite messages I have learned through the years is who we are in Christ-who he has made us to be! And when we know that, then we know who we aren’t! Spirits that  would try to talk to us and get in our heads have to flee when we keep the mind of Christ alive! I am loving these meetings! It feels so good to my heart and soul! Thank you for teaching and preaching to us what Jesus gives to you

Bess S.

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Leviticus – “Placating Aroma” Part 2

That answer does something to me.  I read your reply and went back to look at Exodus.  I want to read it all over again.  My mind was filtering everything through the law being a preparation and merciful, God preparing hearts for the day His Son came to rescue us.  

A few times, it has hit me about God’s wrath, but I read right through most of it without really seeing wrath, even the sufferings He sent for Israel building a golden calf.

To have wrath and still show mercy!  It is so hard to put those together in my mind.  To know that God sent Jesus to save me from sin and yet, HATED the sins I was committing just makes the mercy so much deeper!

It’s also scary to think of God’s wrath.  Imagine the wrath you might incur if you went back to your old filth after God called you out of it to be His.  Yet, I have seen him rescue a loved one with just such tender love and mercy.  It is all just swirling around in my mind right now.

Beth D.

 

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Leviticus – “Placating Aroma ” Part 1

Good morning, 

I am reading in Leviticus and have a question.  I read our translation, and when describing the offerings it says, “it is a placating aroma made by fire to the LORD”, and KJV says a ” sweet savour unto the LORD.”  It just struck me how different that is.  Or is it?  I looked up the word “placate” to see the definition.  Does placating mean to stave off the anger of the LORD?  To “make do” for now?

Here is your translation of part of Leviticus 1:17: “The priest shall burn it on the altar as a burnt offering.  It is a placating aroma made by fire to the Lord.”

Beth D.

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Hi Beth.

To placate is to stop someone from being angry (Cambridge dictionary), and that is exactly what the law of Moses did, regarding the wrath of God.  The law’s ceremonies, especially the sacrifices, appeased the wrath of God against our sin until His Son came and made a way for us to live in God’s righteousness.  When Jesus did that, there no longer existed a need for God’s wrath to exist against us.  The law was not God’s permanent solution to man’s sin; the power of the holy Ghost is.

The dictionary definition of the Hebrew word which we translated as “placating” is “quieting, soothing, tranquillizing”; it has nothing to do with a sweet smell.  I doubt that the burning flesh of animal sacrifices was sweet at all.

Thank you for the question.

Pastor John

 

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Insane Additions to the Law

Hi Pastor John,

After you talked about the law today, and about the many Jews who are bound under the insanities that their rabbis have added to the law, and about that insanity being their curse from God for rejecting Jesus, I wondered if God allowed Moses to set men to help so that Pharisees and that curse would be put into place? 

I thought today of the time I was in a Catholic mass, and I felt something that touched me.  It brought tears to my eyes, and I hurried to wipe those tears away and shut down feeling so I wouldn’t cry.  It was unspoken but very known, that we were not to show emotion.  It would have meant being unstable or overly emotional to feel anything.

To have the Catholics’ kind of communion, one must stand in a line, fold one hand over the other, and make the sign of the cross, then quietly file back to the pew.  To pray was only to chant lifeless words given by them, repeated at certain times, and say a scheduled, “Amen”, for one hour, one day a week! 

Now, I have real communion.  I can cry when Jesus touches me, and I feel his love.  I can pray to him from my heart, laugh and clap, or praise him when my heart swells and I want to raise my hands and say “thank you, Jesus.”  I can feel him. Oh, to live and not be under that curse! 

I wanted to weep when you were reading about the rules for the Sabbath that rabbis have made up.  The Jews under them cannot know God’s love; that curse does not let them know God’s love.

Beth D.

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Exodus 18: 17–24

Hi Pastor John, 

I was reading this section of Exodus 18 to see if God or Jethro told Moses to appoint men to help him judge Israel. 

17. Then Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.
18. You will certainly wear out, both you and this people who are with you, because this thing is too heavy for you. You cannot do it alone.
19. Listen now to my voice. Let me advise you, and may God be with you. You must remain before God for the people, and bring their cases to God.
20. And you teach them the statutes and laws and make known to them the way they are to live and the thing they must do,
21. But you look for able men who fear God among the people, trustworthy men who hate a bribe, and set over them rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
22. And let them judge the people at all times, and it will be that they will bring every great matter to you, but every lesser matter, they will themselves judge. So, make it easier on yourself, and let them bear the burdenwith you.
23. If you will do this thing, and God command it you, then you will be able to continue, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”
24. And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and he did everything that he had said.

In verse 23, Jethro says “if God commands you”.  Then, verse 24 says Moses “hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law,” but it does not say he sought God or that God thought it good.  So, did the elders that began as helpers for Moses eventually become the Pharisees? 

Beth D

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Hi, Beth.

Moses’ helpers in Exodus 18 pre-dated the Pharisees by about a thousand years, so, they did not become the Pharisees.  And as for who told Moses to appoint helpers, I feel sure that God approved of Jethro’s suggestion for Moses to do so, for Moses really did need the help.

Remember, Jethro was a Midianite, and the Midianites were the smartest people in the Old Testament.  So, his suggestion was a very good one.

Thanks for the question.

Pastor John

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