Written 9/10/21
Yesterday the Lord showed me the meaning of trees. Today I will see how rivers run through the scripture. The scripture says, “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters (or branches).” Genesis 2:10 Scripture tells us the names of the branches, but it does not name where the water flows from - the main source of life. But it does say, "the river that waters the garden." "the river that flows from Eden." The Word of God is everywhere throughout creation! Listen to this - “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” Revelation 22:1 This is the river that always gives hope! This is the river that quenches all that is dried up. Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38 Moses tells us the names of the headwaters. “The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah (Southwest Arabia) where there is gold. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush, from Egypt to Ethiopia. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur, also known as Northern Iraq. And the fourth river is the Euphrates - but no location is given to it. Why is there no location assigned to the Euphrates? Everyone knows it’s the longest river in Western Asia. It starts in Turkey, part of Javan, that also contained Greece, and runs through the great city of Babylon in Iraq, and then empties into the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates River is not a place I want to be when the Day of the Lord finally comes. Much is foretold about this river in the revelation of Jesus’s return according to John: “Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” Revelation 9:14 And from the Euphrates, “the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number. The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelation 9:15-21 “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs." For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of Almighty God. “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” Revelation 16:12-15 Now, I know that all of this can sound really scary, and many of you might be afraid - but this is part of understanding what is heavenly. To understand scripture and have a healthy perspective of God we must understand who He is and who we are. The physical world that we see all around, will one day shrivel up and die. Just like the barren fig tree! But in its place will be a new earth and a new Heaven for us live eternally. Imagine how beautiful it will be when Eden is restored. “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22:2-5
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Hello.
If you have been reading my poetic sermons from the Genesis account, then you will know that my focus is not on the earth or the physical realm. No. I am here to gain spiritual wisdom, as a child of the Most High God. I intend to keep my spiritual eyes open as I dive into His scripture once again. This time I will be focusing in on the spirit-filled, heavenly realms - and the Holy Spirit will be guiding me along the way. In Genesis Chapter Two I see a lot of spiritual activity, like “the Lord God forming a man from the dust of the ground and breathing life into his nostrils to make him a living being.” So where do you think life comes from - the potter or the clay? I see “the Lord God planting a garden, in the east, in a land called the Garden of Eden; and this is where He placed the first man, the man called Adam, who contained the very breath of God. And there, in the middle of the garden, stood “the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Now, I don’t about you, but I’m used to trees like oaks, weeping willows, cypress and palms. And sometimes I think of seed-bearing trees, like apples, oranges, figs and plums. But a tree that gives life, and a tree that offers knowledge of what is superior and what is good - well that’s not a tree of the physical realm, That is a tree that grows inside the heart of a Child of God! You see, people are like sheep. Without the Good Shepherd, and the Holy Spirit, we are way too dumb to understand the spiritual realm. Before I move to the rivers, let me just share two important things about trees, of the spiritual kind. First, there is a divine tree that grows from a divine seed; and there is a bad seed that grows from a bad tree. The Lord God said to Satan, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman (the Bride) and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 "Who has believed this message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2 Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-4 You see, If you remain in Jesus, and He remains in you, you will bear much fruit; for apart from Him, you can do nothing. If you do not remain in Jesus, then you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers up; such branches are picked up, and thrown into the fire and burned. The second thing you need to know is the meaning behind the barren fig tree, because the Day of the Lord is coming soon. You see, the Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing, and you don’t want to be left behind. Jesus said, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ” Luke 13:6-9 You see, when Jesus was on his way back to Jerusalem, from Bethany, he was hungry - as hungry as a Lion! And “seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again. And immediately the tree withered away." Mark 11:12-14; Matthew 21:19 You see, Jesus will be extremely hungry when he returns for His bride. And his hunger will be like that of a Lion. He will be looking for fruit, not just leaves that are growing out of season. He will be ready to consume His wedding feast. Without fruit to multiply the Seed of Christ, the human heart is just barren - but every ounce of what God has created, will be used to grow the Kingdom of God. Don't you remember the story of Pharaoh? We must remember what Jesus said. It's plumb-line faith that will keep you from being broken by the wind. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ John 15:18-25 Glory be to God! Thank you Holy Spirit for revealing this portion of the heavenly realm. May these words that I've written bring all glory, honor and praise to your precious name! Today, I write the shortest
poetic sermon I’ve ever done. It comes from Genesis Chapter 2, verse 1. The scripture says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” Genesis 2:1 I want to bring your attention back to something I said, back in the poetic sermon, Genesis One Part 1. I had noticed that God created both - the earth and the heavens. But Genesis tells the story of the earth's creation, not the heavenly realm. Why the storyteller/writer/historian focused on the earth, instead of the heavens - well that is something I just do not know. I wonder why more is not said about the heavenly realms? My desire, as I walk again through the scripture, is to gain spiritual wisdom about the Kingdom of God, and the heavenly realm. And I have confident hope that the Holy Spirit will be my guide. Written 9/7/21
Did you ever notice that God says, sees, does and then judges? I mean, look at Genesis One. It’s all about the formation of the world. God thinks it, says it and observes, and then determines if it is good. Oh, and by the way, God also gives it a name. And he tells it what to do. For instance, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was. God determined that the light was good. Then he separated light from dark. Then He gave it a name. God called the light “day,” and the darkness “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning - and the first day was made. This is the recipe God used to create the whole wide world - the heavens and the earth - the sky, the land, the sun, the stars and the moon. God said, and so it was. He made the seas, and all kinds of living things like scaled fish and winged birds. He created the wild animals and the livestock, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. God observed, and saw that it was good. And all of this happened in five creation days! Then, on Day 6, God said something interesting. He spoke to somebody, and said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” The 6th Day is when God created mankind; “male and female - he created them.” “And then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it I give every green plant for food.” “And it was so.” “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day” was born. Genesis 1:3-31 So i have a question for you. If God made mankind, male and female - in his own image, and determined that together, they were very good, then what the hell went wrong? Why aren't humans living with God in His Garden? Why aren’t humans doing what we were created for? Well, the answer is coming soon. The answer is found in Genesis Chapter 3. Written 9-6-21 Today I feel a little bit - bitter sweet. It is the first day, in a long time, that I am not writing a poem from the Book of Matthew. Today, I go back, way back, to Genesis, where the scripture that points to Jesus begins. And it all starts with the Ruwach Elohiym - the living breath of God, who makes all things come into being. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2 In this passage, we see many things. First, let's take a closer look at "Elohiym" - it's a masculine, plural Hebrew noun that refers to our Supreme Triune God who reigns in the divine realm. Second, we see, the Ruwach Elohiym existing before the beginning of time. Before God spoke every living thing into being. How, well- I have no idea! I am not God. I just trust what His Ways. Third, we notice that God created both the earth and the heavens. Why the storyteller/writer/historian focused on the earth, well that is just another question that I just do not know. I wonder why more is not said about the heavenly realms. Perhaps that is why John was given the revelation of Jesus Christ, as a way to wrap up the Book. Gaining spiritual wisdom to understand the heavenly realm and the Kingdom of God is certainly what I will be looking for more as I walk, once again, through the scripture. Fourth, it appears earth is in one location, while the heavens offers a plural form. The scripture says the earth was dark and formless before God spoke life and light into it. This is our first introduction to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word of God that gives life and light. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5 Genesis says, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters deep. This is the very essence of the Holy Spirit. Are you like me? Do you find it hard to believe that “water” exists when everything was void? Is it possible that “waters” represents all that is deep; the beginning of matter, without atomic or molecular form? And since the scripture is the scroll that the Lamb of God unrolls, then where is the Father in all of this? Well, isn’t it obvious? The Father is the Creator of the earth and the heavens. He is the Most High God who created you and me. “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hands.” Isaiah 64:8 Ruwach Elohiym Blessed Be Your Name itten 9/5/21
I have a question for you. Please - take a seat and pay attention to what I am about to ask you. Have you take ever taken the time to read the Word of God - I mean to really to dig in and focus on what the Bible actually says? Please, I exhort you. Take a moment to set your intention, and really listen to what this next passage says. It comes from the 28th Chapter of Matthew, and it’s oh, oh so good! Here it is. “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb” - the place where Jesus was buried. “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.” “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” Matthew 28:1-7 "So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:8-10 So, what do you think? Can you believe the words that you just took in? First, isn’t it incredible that a violent earthquake happened when an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven! It’s as if the magnetic magnitude of his glorious presence sent a shockwave between earth and heaven! He looked like lightning and his clothes were as white as snow. And then there’s the mission, the angel was sent on! He came to roll back the stone that closed off Jesus’s tomb. And he came to give a message to the women who had been watching and waiting for Jesus’s return. He said, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ And then the angel of the Lord stated, “Now I have told you.” And with that Word, he sealed off the message that he was instructed to give. That is what angels do - They are truly messengers of God. Now take a minute to think about this. Did the angel come to let Jesus out? Of course not! Jesus was already resurrected and on his way to Galilee to see his friends. The stone could not contain the Son of God. The angel of the Lord moved the stone so that the women could see, and therefore believe, that Jesus was gone. They would be the witnesses who would deliver the truth and testify to Him. Nothing would be able to stop them! The women who had stood at a distance, watching and waiting for a chance to honor the the Lord, were given a great opportunity to witness the glory of God! Also, I just have to say, the guards who stood at the tomb, had a different experience. “The guards were so afraid of the angel of the Lord, that they shook and became like dead men.” They were made completely unresponsive. All the while, the women were afraid but filled with joy as they listened to the angel of the Lord. Then they ran off with a confident hope to find the Lord. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Jesus appeared, and the women fell at his feet to worship him. Jesus gave them encouragement and told them not to be afraid. Then he said, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” It’s amazing that Jesus was interested in meeting with his disciples in their hometown, publicly. “Then the eleven disciples (Judas the betrayer was not no longer with them) went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 Now let me ask you - Do you believe? Do you you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? And if so, are you his disciple? Are you spreading the truth of His Word around this broken world? Are you planting the Seed that will grow the New Jerusalem? This is my last poetic sermon from Matthew. I pray the words have been helpful to you. I hope the words have been able to bear fruit. Written 9/4/21
Directly after Jesus died on the cross, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Matthew 27:51-53 When the Roman guard saw what happened, he stated, “Surely, He was the Son of God.” Matthew 27:54 When evening came, two rich men approached, to care for the burial of Jesus. All the while, women stood at a distance, watching and waiting for the right moment to respond. “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.” “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” Matthew 27:62-65 What they meant is this - if the people believed that Jesus was resurrected, then they would have absolutely no foot to stand on. “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” Matthew 27:66 Isn’t it amazing that all this could happen? There were still people under the influence of Satan who would try to deny the Word of God. It saddens me that despite millions of witnesses, we still see the same thing today. People still deny that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God who came as the Messiah. There are people who say that those who believe in the Trinity - in Father, our Creator, and Jesus, His Son, and Holy Spirit, who descended like a dove, are the ones who operate under deception. But I’m hear to tell you there’s nothing farther from the truth! The only reality that keeps me astute, is knowing that, to the depth of my soul, that God is my father, Jesus is my Savior and the Holy Spirit guides me to God. I am one of many children who cry out loud, prepare thee, the Way of the Lord! God always puts humans in pairs.
Two by two, the walk through city gates and city doors. As it turns out, there were two wealthy men who helped fulfill the Word of God. Joseph of Arimathea provided the new tomb and Nicodemus brought about one hundred pounds of costly myrrh and aloes to prepare the body of the Son of Man. You see, “Jesus was assigned a grave - with wicked men” He hung on the cross between sinful men; and he died for the transgressions of all humans. One would curse him, and the other would repent and be forgiven. God would always leave a remnant behind. And Jesus would be buried “with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Isaiah 53:9 Jesus would also be a cut rock - who would bring the kingdom of Satan down. “the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands - a rock that would break the iron, the bronze and the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.” Daniel 2:45 Our great God has revealed what will take place in the future. His Word is trustworthy and true - and so is this interpretation. Daniel 2:45 Hold onto these words that I’m telling you, for they are trustworthy and true. Do not let one of them go. They represent the Kingdom of God. For real. I am telling you, the Lord our God inspires me, every single morning as I faithfully and fearfully write these poetic sermons for the people of God to hear. You see, Disciples of Jesus never walk alone, unless the are specifically called. And this only happens when a person is directed by God to deliver a difficult message, usually to a group of people who are acting in opposition to God. But we must remember - the message is always the same! “Repent and turn you heart back to God.” We must understand, in our heart and our minds, that Jesus is the only rightful King! He is the ONLY key that opens the door to Heaven. Do not forget - Disciples are assigned in pairs. The Lord appoints and sends His brothers and sisters ahead of him; “two by two, into every town and place where he himself is about to go.” Luke 10:1 Disciples are humans, men, women and children, Jews and Gentiles, People from every tongue, tribe and nation, who are willing to prepare the way for the Lord, who are willing to prepare the way for the Kingdom of God. Everyone is given the freedom to hear the voice of their good Shepherd, to follow the Word of God. Not one sheep is greater. They are all inferior to God. In fact, it’s the humble in Spirit that will inherit the Kingdom of God. For the last are greater than the first. Despite the cost, disciples of Christ do not look back. No matter what. They do not act like the wife of Lot. Now Listen up. “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 To follow Jesus, and prepare the way for the Lord, we must be willing to walk out into the wilderness alone. We must be willing to sacrifice all that we own, and put our full hope on the Word of God. “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.” Matthew 27:57 “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.” Matthew 27:58-61 “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly - because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” John 19:38-42 Joseph and Nicodemus prepared the burial and body of Christ; in a garden that had never been touched. And from this tomb, the Lord would rise up, as a first fruit from the Tree of Life. I am the voice of one, Crying out from the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord! For the Lord is coming back soon! There is a New Jerusalem. It will contain the Glory of God. It is all written down. The Lord’s Word is trustworthy and true! Mary and Mary were there. Watching and waiting for the right time to respond. Two witnesses - two are better than one. And a cord of three can never be broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9 There is nothing worse
than waking up to death; to the death of Jesus, or anyone else that you love. But I guess that is what happens when the human heart goes against God. Let me explain. In the beginning, when humans were made, their only job was to care for the earth, and each other; and to be fruitful and multiple. Instead they fell into the footsteps of Satan, the angelic son who rebelled against God, and took a third of the angels with him. Revelation 12:3-4,9 In the garden, is where the demise of humans began. The day Adam and Eve ate from the tree that was forbidden by God - this was the day that separation from the Lord happened. This is when the curse was spoken, by God. And what God says goes! His Word stands mighty and firm! His Word is firmly rooted, and it never returns void. At the same time that God spoke the curse into existence, God made a vow to defeat Satan, and all the offspring that come from him. The Lord our God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15 Ask yourself - what “woman” is God talking about? Is He referring to Eve, the woman who came from the rib of Adam? The woman who wanted to be like God? The woman who fell into deception by following the words of the serpent? Is the "woman" the Virgin Mary? The mother of Jesus, who was chosen by God, to bear the seed of His Holy Spirit? Or is the "woman" the Bride of Christ - the body of believers who operate according to the gene of faith? The vessels who contain God’s spiritual DNA? And if it’s the later, as I seem to think - we can hold onto the Truth, and have a confident hope that God’s SEED resides within us. Listen to this, this is what I woke up to this a.m. “From noon until three, in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Can you imagine what Jesus must have been going through? It's the first time on earth, or in Heaven, that He was about to be separated from God! When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” Matthew 27:45-56 Let me ask you, what did you notice? Did you notice what I did? Did you notice the earthquake? Did you feel the earth shake? Did you see the tombs open and dead bodies being raised to life? Let me show it again, just in case you missed it. “The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Matthew 27:51-54 Could this be the great earthquake that occurred when The Lamb of God broke the sixth seal? “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; Revelation 6:12 Is it possible before the birth and death of Jesus, that the Lamb of God already existed? Was Jesus's mission predetermined? Could He have already opened the five other seals before coming to earth from Heaven? Is it possible the four horses had already been released before the birth of the Son of Man? The white, the red, the black and the pale? Could they have already come? Could the four horses already be in motion? Could the “altar the souls” of those who had been martyred, for the word of God and the testimony they had maintained - be shouting out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Revelation 6:9-10 Could each of the souls be wearing a white robe, while being told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” Revelation 6:9-11 What do you think? Has God’s curse been reversed, for those who love and follow Christ? Has the blood of the Lamb defeated sin and death? Has the Lamb of God been raised from the dead? Had the time of the Lion already begun? Tomorrow we will see what happens. Let us see if Jesus has been raised from the tomb. Let us listen for our King's mighty ROAR! They say for behavior to be considered bullying, It has to contain three components: (1) intentional hurtful actions (2) repeated behavior over time, and (3) an imbalance of power. Well, based on this definition, the horrible behavior that we see happening to Jesus in Chapter 27, is not bullying, because while the actions of others are extremely hurtful, and they are repeated over and over again, Jesus is still the Son of God - so He has the power to make it all stop at anytime! The power is 100% - all in His hands! Instead, we are witnessing what is called Human Cruelty, and it’s the result of humans who do not operate under the Spirit of God. Listen to this - “As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross (of Jesus). They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). And there they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink anymore. When they had crucified Jesus, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” Matthew 27:32-44 Jesus was insulted by all kinds of men. Elders, teachers, and government leaders; rebels, soldiers and guardsmen; Even the people who had laid down their garments, as Jesus was walking over the Mount of Olives said, “Crucify him!” The whole community participated in the insulting death of Jesus - Both the lowly and the proud! But what they did not realize is that the Word of God never changes. Jesus came in the flesh as a Lamb led to slaughter, and chose to lay down his life. Do you get that? God himself took on flesh so that He could experience our physical death. He poured out His blood to break the curse He set; to bring mankind back into relationship with Him. We must remember- The Word of God never returns void! What He says goes! And what they did not know, is that the Word of God can happen at any time! The Word will be born again! But according to scripture, the obedient Son will return, not as a Lamb, but as a Lion. The Lamb of God will have been fully digested by the Church. And what will stand in His place, will be the Lion of Judah who comes with a mighty roar with scepter in hand. “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.” Matthew 11:12 As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Get ready Church - the Body of Christ is growing. The Day of the Lord’s return is coming soon. It is time to send out the Maranatha Cry! |
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