Wednesday, October 3, 2012
SHOW # 134
THEME: THE LIVING WORD
DO YOU REMEMBER THAT T.V. COMMERCIAL
ABOUT THE STETHOSCOPE. THERE WAS 50’S
AND 60’S MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND AND
PEOPLE WERE WALKING ALONG A BUSY, BIG
CITY STREET AND NO MATTER WHAT THEY
WERE THINKING, DOING OR LOOKING AT THAT
VERY MOMENT CAME TO THEM IN THE FORM
OF A SONG EVERY TIME THEY PUT A
STETHOSCOPE TO THEIR EARS?
WELL KEEP THAT SCENARIO IN MIND AND
VISUALIZE YOURSELF IN A BOOK STORE. YOU’RE
JUST BROWSING AND YOU PICK UP A BOOK
AND OPEN IT UP AND WORDS PRACTICALLY
JUMP OFF THE PAGE. AS YOU BEGIN TO READ
YOU REALIZE THAT WHAT YOU READ IS
EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAD BEEN THINKING FOR
DAYS, AND WAS, IN FACT, AND ANSWER THAT
YOU HAD BEEN SEEKING.
NOW VISUALIZE WALKING TO A DIFFERENT
SECTION OF THE BOOK STORE AND BROWSING
SOME MORE. YOU PICK UP A BOOK OFF A
CLEARANCE TABLE AND OPEN IT UP. AGAIN,
WORDS PRACTICALLY JUMP OFF THE PAGE AND
PENETRATE TO YOUR HEART. …..YOU THEN
LEAVE THE BOOK STORE AND MOSEY DOWN
THE STREET AND RUN INTO SOMEONE YOU
KNOW FROM CHURCH. YOU GO TO A NEARBY
COFFEE SHOP AND ORDER COFFEE AND BEGIN
TO CHAT. DURING YOUR CASUAL
CONVERSATION YOUR ACQUAINTANCE
NONCHALANTLY SAYS SOMETHING THAT
NEARLY KNOCKS YOU OFF YOUR SEAT. IT IS A
STATEMENT THAT ADDRESSES SOMETHING
THAT YOU HAD HIDDEN IN YOUR SOUL,
SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NEVER
BREATHED A WORD ABOUT TO ANYBODY. YOU
START TO FEEL SORT OF LIKE THE PEOPLE IN
THE COMMERCIAL WHO PUT THE
STETHOSCOPE TO THEIR EARS.
YOU BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT THE SPIRIT
WORLD IS MUCH BIGGER THAN YOU HAD
IMAGINED. AS STRANGE AS IT MAY MAKE YOU
FEEL, YOU SOMEHOW FEEL VERY IMPORTANT
KNOWING THAT A SPIRIT IS BEHIND THOSE
HAPPENINGS AND THAT CERTAINLY YOU MUST
MEAN SOMETHING TO SOMEONE.
WELL, IN CHRISTIANITY HAPPENINGS SUCH AS
THE ABOVE ARE NOT JUST SCENARIOS; THEY
ARE REAL. THE SOMEONE BEHIND THE
HAPPENINGS IS GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE
BOOK WITH PASSAGES THAT ALMOST JUMP
OFF THE PAGES AND SPEAK TO CHRISTIANS IS
NONE OTHER THAN THE BIBLE, THE LIVING
WORD OF GOD. IF EVERY TIME THAT GOD
SPOKE TO HIS PEOPLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE
WORLD WAS RECORDED, IT WOULD ADD UP TO
ZILLIONS. PLEASE DON’T THINK I AM
EXAGGERATING. THE CALCULATION COMES
FROM CONSIDERING THAT 107 BILLION PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN BORN SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN.
IF YOU TAKE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THAT
NUMBER WHICH WOULD MAKE UP
CHRISTIANS, AND MULTIPLY IT BY THE
NUMBER OF TIMES GOD SPOKE TO EACH
CHRISTIAN IN THE COURSE OF A LIFETIME,
THEN THE NUMBER OF TIMES GOD SPOKE
THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD SURPASS
TRILLIONS AND GO INTO ZILLIONS.
SO, BE IT THROUGH WORDS OR IMPROMPTU
OR PLANNED CHATS WITH CHRIST’S BODY, THE
CHURCH, IN A COFFEE SHOP, IN A HOME OR
ANYPLACE ELSE, GOD CONTINUES TO SPEAK IN
HIS BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUE WAY. WHAT HE
WANTS US TO LEARN AS STUDENTS OF HIS
WORD IS TO APPROPRIATE HIS WORDS TO OUR
LIVES….FOR EXAMPLE….IF WE ARE HAVING
TROUBLE FORGIVING SOMEONE FOR HURTING
US AND A VERSE IN THE BIBLE ON
FORGIVENESS KEEPS SHOWING UP IN FRONT
OF OUR FACES AND IN OUR MINDS, INSTEAD
OF BRUSHING IT OFF, WE RELATE OR
APPROPRIATE IT TO OUR UNFORGIVING HEART
TOWARD THE PERSON WHO HAS HURT US.
THEN WE OBEY THE VERSE AND FOLLOW
CHRIST IS FORGIVING THE PERSON AND GO ON
IN GOD’S LOVE AND CHARACTER…IF WE DO
NOT DO THIS, THE UNFORGIVENESS STAYS ON
OUR HEART AND WE CAN’T GET PASSED THAT.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF APPROPRIATING GOD’S
WORD TO OUR LIVES IS THIS: YOU MAY BE
CONSIDERING SKIPPING A FEW CHURCH
SERVICES JUST TO GIVE YOURSELF SOME
RELAXING MORNINGS JUST LOUNGING
AROUND YOUR HOUSE OR
APARTMENT….AND…AFTER THINKING THOSE
THOUGHTS FOR A FEW DAYS YOU GET THE
THOUGHT THAT YOU SHOULD TURN ON T.V.
FOR JUST 2 MINUTES WHILE YOU HAVE
SOMETHING IN THE MICROWAVE. DURING
THOSE 2 MINUTES YOU WATCH AND LISTEN TO
A PREACHER QUOTING THE VERSE: DO NOT
FORSAKE THE ASSEMBLY OF THE BRETHREN.
THAT WOULD NOT BE A COINCIDENCE. ONLY
GOD KNEW YOUR THOUGHTS AND HE
ORCHESTRATED FOR YOU TO PUT YOUR FOOD
IN THE MICROWAVE AND TURN ON THE T.V.
FOR THOSE 2 MINUTES JUST TO HEAR HIM
SPEAKING TO YOU ABOUT CHURCH ATTENDANCE.
THE LIVING WORD, THE BIBLE, CONSISTS OF
VAST EXPRESSIONS OF GOD’S LOVE, GRACE
AND MERCY TOWARD US… IT TELLS US OF HIS
NEARLY 8,000 PROMISES TO US… IT DESCRIBES
THE STORY OF THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.
…IT RECORDS THE STORY OF SATAN VYING
WITH GOD AND FINALLY GETTING KICKED OUT
OF HEAVEN WITH 1/3 OF THE ANGELS…IT TELLS
US HOW THAT WE WERE IN GOD’S MIND EVEN
BEFORE OUR CONCEPTION…IT TELLS US WHAT
MANKIND WAS LIKE AND HOW PEOPLE LIVED
IN PAST CENTURIES..IT TELLS US ABOUT THE
ANIMAL KINGDOM…IT RECORDS GOD’S
SUPERNATURAL MIRACLES…IT RECORDS BIBLE
PROPHECIES….JUST THIS MORNING I WAS
READING IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH ABOUT A
BATTLE BETWEEN GOD’S PEOPLE AND THE
ENEMY. HERE’S WHAT IT SAID: JUST WHEN AN
OVERWHELMING VICTORY BY THE ASSYRIAN
SENNACHERIB SEEMED INEVITABLE DURING A
SINGLE NIGHT, 185,000 OF HIS ARMY DIED AND
JUDAH WAS SPARED…IS THAT REMARKABLE!
THAT ALSO TELLS US OF HOW GOD MANY
TIMES WAITS UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE BEFORE
HE REVEALS HIMSELF…AS HE WANTS TO BUILD
UP OUR FAITH.
IT GIVES US HISTORICAL DATES …IT RECORDS
THE LIVES OF MEN CALLED OF GOD…IT
RECORDS THE PLIGHT OF THE ISRAELITES, THE
JEWISH PEOPLE IN MOSES’ DAY…IT RECORDS
THE BIRTH, LIFE AND DEATH OF THE
MESSIAH….IT RECORDS THE LIVES OF THE
APOSTLES…IT RECORDS THE PLAN OF
SALVATION DESCRIBING HOW JESUS CAME TO
EARTH TO DIE IN OUR PLACE SO THAT WE
WOULD NOT HAVE TO SPEND AN ETERNITY IN
HELL… IT RECORDS THE POWER IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
THE BIBLE RECORDS INCIDENCES OF GOD’S
POWER OVER THE ENEMY NUMEROUS
TIMES…IT SHOWS US THE SECRETS IN GOD’S
STOREHOUSES…
MANY DISCOVERIES FOR CURES OF DISEASES
HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE BIBLE INCLUDING A
CURE FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
THE BIBLE GIVES US HOPE…IT TRANSFORMS US
INTO COMPLETE PEOPLE BY HAVING US
EXCHANGE OUR LIVES FOR HIS LIFE.. IT
REPLACES OUR DEPRESSION, DEVASTATION
AND FEARS AND UNHAPPINESS AND ALL THE
REST WITH NEWNESS, WITH FULFILLMENT,
SATISFACTION, HAPPINESS PEACE AND REST…
THE ABOVE LIST OF THINGS IS JUST A DROP IN
THE BUCKET OF WHAT IS CONTAINED IN THE
BIBLE. IT IS AGELESS….A PERSON COULD READ IT
EVERY DAY FOR 80 YEARS AND STILL GET
SOMETHING BRAND NEW FROM READING IT.
IT’S WORDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE
ILLUMINATED TO HEARTS THROUGHOUT THE
AGES. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE ENCOURAGED
TO START READING GOD’S WORD….IF YOURS IS
ON A CLOSET SHELF TAKE IT OUT AND DUST IT
OFF AND KEEP IT WITHIN SIGHT. PLAY THESE
THOUGHTS FORWARD AND PASS THEM ON TO
OTHERS WHO MAY NEED TO BE ENCOURAGED.
THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE WILL BE AS ARMOR
TO ALL OF US, AND WHEN SOMETHING
BEFALLS US STORED UP VERSES CAN PROTECT
US FROM BECOMING OVERWHELMED.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
SHOW #95 'THE PROPHETS OF OLD'...
SHOW #95
THEME: THE PROPHETS OF OLD
I’VE BEEN LEARNING SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT GOD’S PROPHETS THAT I WANTED TO PASS THEM ON…..YOU MAY NOT THINK THAT THIS IS A SUBJECT THAT CAN RELATE TO YOU TODAY BUT, IF YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE TIME I WILL TEACH YOU SOMETHING THAT I JUST FOUND OUT THAT WILL MAKE THE SUBJECT RELATIVE TO ALL WHO HAVE LIVED ON THIS PLANET.
THE PROPHET ISAIAH WAS TOLD BY GOD TO WALK THROUGH THE STREETS NAKED FOR 3 YEARS. I KNOW THAT WAS SYMBOLIC OF WHAT GOD WAS GOING TO DO TO THE PEOPLE IF THEY DID NOT LISTEN TO HIM, BUT….2 THINGS…..WOULDN’T THEY ARREST SOMEONE FOR WALKING NAKED IN PUBLIC….I KNOW ISAIAH DIDN’T HIDE BEHIND BARRELS AND SHRUBS AS HE VENTURED THROUGH THE CITY…AND 2….HE HAD TO BE MORTIFIED TO OBEY GOD AND TO DO THAT….WOULDN’T YOU THINK? I KNOW THAT WE’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO QUESTION GOD AND I DON’T, YET I STILL SHAKE MY HEAD AT THE THOUGHTS OF THAT….
THE PROPHET JEREMIAH WAS CALLED TO BE A PROPHET BEFORE HIS BIRTH…HIS CALL WAS MORE OF A STRUGGLE THAN THE CALL OF THE OTHER PROPHETS. GOD WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO TAKE A WIFE OR HAVE CHILDREN WHICH WAS DEVASTATING TO HIM. THERE WAS CONFLICT IN HIS FAMILY. HE WALKED AROUND WITH A YOKE AROUND HIS NECK..THAT WAS ALSO SYMBOLIC. IT SYMBOLIZED THE YOKE THAT GOD WAS GOING TO PUT ON THE PEOPLE IF THEY DIDN’T LISTEN. HE HAD NO PROBLEM SHOUTING OUT THE WORDS OF THE LORD IN PUBLIC….HE WAS UNDAUNTED BY THE THREATS AGAINST HIM. HE WAS IMPRISONED ON ONE OCCASION….HE FORESHADOWED FUTURE CAPTIVITY….HE COMPLAINED TO GOD ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOT LISTENING…MUDDY CISTERN CHAPTER 38….RAGS UNDER HIS ARMS WHEN HE WAS PULLED UP….GRACE…..JEREMIAH HAD A HEAVY HEART FOR THE PEOPLE….HE WAS MOST PESSIMISTIC AND HE WAS MOST EMOTIONAL…OFTEN CALLED THE CRYING PROPHET. HE WAS ALSO COURAGEOUS.
EZEKIEL WAS THE LAST OF THE MAJOR PROPHETS. HE HAD VISIONS AND DREAMS PGS 910 AND 911 VERSES 12 AND 20…..HE DID BIZARRE THINGS AND HAD A TOUCH OF MADNESS. . HE WAS TOLD BY GOD TO EAT THE SCROLL WITH HIS WORDS WRITTEN ON IT. DOES THAT SEEM A LITTLE ODD? WELL GOD HAD HIM INGEST THE SCROLL SO THAT WHEN HE SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD WOULD COME FORTH. HE HAD A VISION OF CREATURES AND WHEELS IN EZE 1:15….THE VISION MAY HAVE BEEN ODD, BUT GOD KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING BECAUSE HE ALWAYS LEADS ME TO THAT PORTION OF SCRIPTURE WHEN I NEED TO GO STRAIGHT FORWARD AS THE WHEELS WENT STRAIGHT FORWARD. AND NOT TO DEVIATE FROM SIDE TO SIDE…AS I’M SURE HE LEADS THOUSANDS OF OTHERS TO THAT PORTION, AS WELL….
OF COURSE, THE ENEMY WAS ALWAYS SLITHERING IN THE MIDST OF THE PROPHETS AND WHEN EZEKIEL TOLD OF THIS VISION HE AS ACCUSED OF WITNESSING A FLYING SAUCER. …..EZEKIEL WITNESSED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE. …GOD PUT THESE WORDS IN HIS MOUTH FOR THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM: I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART…I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU……EZEKIEL WAS A PROPHET OF HOPE AND ENLIGHTENMENT. ….THE PEOPLE LIKED THE MESSAGE, BUT AFTER A WHILE THE PROPHECY BEGAN TO WANE AND THEN IT DISAPPEARED…..THAT IS WHY GOD’S MESSAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN….YOU NEED REMINDERS PEOPLE NEED TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN…..
SURELY….GOD IS NOT AN ORDINARY GOD….YET….AT THE SAME TIME….HIS VOICE IS A STILL SMALL VOICE….HIS PURPOSE IS TO TOUCH HEARTS….
MOSES IS SAID TO BE THE GREATEST PROPHET WHO EVER LIVED….YET….GOD SAID THAT MOSES WASN’T A PROPHET BECAUSE HE SPOKE TO MOSES FACE TO FACE….IN NUMBERS 12:6
WE’LL GET TO SOME OTHER PROPHETS LIKE SAMUEL AND ELIJAH LATER….
THE MISSION OF THE PROPHETS , WHO WERE ALSO CALLED SEERS, WAS TO RETURN THE PEOPLE TO GOD…THEY PREACHED REPENTANCE…THEY HAD PASSION IN THEIR WORDS AND THEIR DEEDS AND A PROFOUND EFFECT ON HUMANITY….THEOLOGIANS AGREE THAT GOD’S PROPHETS AFFECTED THE WHOLE WORLD EVEN WESTERN CIVILIZATION…I THINK THAT IS BECAUSE IF GOD LET THE PEOPLE CARRY ON THE WAY THEY WERE CARRYING ON WITH NO SET OF GUIDELINES, THAT THEY WOULD IN TIME DESTROY THEMSELVES AS A PEOPLE. THAT’S PRETTY HEAVY DUTY…DON’T YOU THINK?....
THESE MEN CAME FROM WIDELY DIFFERENT SECTORS. VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THEIR PERSONAL STORIES. THEY CRITICIZED AND REPRIMANDED THE LEADERS RISKING THEIR LIVES…PROPHETS WERE PEOPLE WHO ACTED AS LINKS FROM GOD TO MAN….BEING BOTH HUMAN AND DIVINE…
THEY OFTEN TRAVELED IN GROUPS AS THEY HAD THEIR CALLING I COMMON. THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCENDED UPON THEM AND MOVED THEM TO PROPHESY AND ALSO TO ECSTASY WHEN THEY BANDED TOGETHER. THEY USED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND DANCED TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD…
PROPHETS DIDN’T ONLY WARN PEOPLE, THEY CORRECTED KINGS AND LEADERS. …..A MORE MODERN DEFINITION OF PROPHET IS SOMEONE WHO SPREADS GOD’S TRUTHS. PERSONALLY I WOULD CALL THAT PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL…TO ME A PROPHET OF GOD WAS A PROPHET OF GOD…
SAMUEL WAS A WELL KNOWN PROPHET WHO ANOINTED SAUL KING AND LATER ON ANOINTED DAVID KING. HE WAS A VERY WISE MAN, WELL RESPECTED.HE LIVED MOE THAN 1,000 YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS……..AT THE TIME 12 TRIBES DEMANDED A KING IN 1 SAMUEL 10:25. SAMUEL WAS THE MORAL AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTRY…..
THE RISE OF THE PROPHETS HAPPENED IN THE 11TH CENTURY B.C…..
ELIJAH EMERGED…AT FIRST HE WAS A PRIVATE AND PERSONAL ADVISER, BUT LATER HE BECAME A PROPHET TO THE PEOPLE….HE WAS PROBABLY A BLACK MAN…HE HAD GUTS…HE WENT OT THE KING AND TOLD HIM TO BRING ALL THE FALSE PROPHETS TO HIM…HE WANTED TO HAVE A SHOW DOWN WITH HIM. HE CHALLENGED THE 450 PROPHETS OF BAAL AND GOD DEFEATED ALL THEIR IDOLS. DO YOU THINK THAT ELIJAH WAVERED AT AL IN HIS FAITH???? HE DIDN’T….
JEZEBEL WAS HE WIFE OF KING AHAB. SHE WAS AN EVIL PERSON AND SHE HATED ELIJAH’S GUTS. SHE ORDERED HIM SLAIN, BUT HE ESCAPED AND GOD PROTECTED HIM…..LATER IN THE ACCOUNT HE RECEIVED A CLOAK FORM GOD AND WHEN GOD TOOK HIM UP TO HEAVEN, THE MAN, ELISHA DIFFERENT SPELLING, RECEIVED ELIJAH’S CLOAK AND WAS GIVEN A DOUBLE PORTION OF HIS SPIRIT…
THERE IS A DISTINGUISHMENT BETWEEN THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR PROPHETS…THE MAJOR ONES HAVING THE LONG BOOKS OF THE BIBLE AND THE MINOR ONES HAVING SHORT BOOKS……THERE WERE 16 PROPHETS WHO WERE WRITING PROPHETS AMONG THEM ISAIAH, JEREMIAH (WHO ALSO HAD A SIDE- KICK NAMED BARUCH WHO GOD HAND-PICKED AND SENT TO HIM BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR JEREMIAH WHO WROTE FOR HIM, ALSO…AMOS JONAH AND OTHERS…THEY WERE EMISSARIES OF GOD…EMISSARIES (AGENTS SENT BY GOD ON A MISSION.)
HOW WERE THE PEOPLE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS? I IMAGINE THE SAME WAY WE HAVE TO DO IT TODAY…ALTHOUGH THE DAYS OF PROPHETS ARE OVER AND GONE….WE STILL HAVE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SPIRITS. FALSE PROPHETS TRY TO DECEIVE…ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL BUT IF WE SATAY TRUE OT GOD HE WILL SHOW US WHO IS TRUE AND WHO IS NOT…
AMOS…HE WAS A SIMPLE HERDSMAN….CAN YOU IMAGINE GOD CALLING A SIMPLE HERDSMAN AND NOT A GREAT TEACHER? THERE WAS MORAL DECAY IN THE LAND AND AMOS, WHO WAS A POWERFUL SPEAKER. HE CALLED FOR CHANGE. HIS MESSAGE WAS: SEEK GOOD NOT EVIL THAT YOU MAY LIVE. HE HAD MANY VISIONS….PG 1017…READ PARAGRAPHS…..
ISAIAH….AN ANGEL ANOINTED ISAIAH’S LIPS BY FIRE….HE HAD VISIONS TOO…HE SAW THE LORD SEATED ON THE THRONE…HE LIVED IN JERUSALEM. HIS TASK WAS ALSO TO ENCOURAGE AND GUIDE HIS PEOPLE. HIS MESSAGE: IF YOU (THE PEOPLE) WILL KEEP THE COVENANT, GOD WILL DO HIS PART….HE PROPHESIED ABOUT THE KING OF ASSYRIA IN IS 20:2. HE ALSO PREDICTED THE SURVIVAL OF JERUSALEM BECAUSE OF THE TEMPLE BEING THERE…HE WAS NOT TIMID ABOUT HIS PROPHESYING….HIS PREDICTIONS CAME TRUE…GOD STRUCK THOUSANDS, THE ENEMY RETREATED NEVER TO RETURN…
FROM ISIAH’S PERSPECTIVE THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM WAS INEVITABLE. HE INVITED PEOPLE TO REPENT AND PRAY SO THAT THE KINGDOM WOULD ULTIMATELY BE RESTORED AND SO THAT GOD-FEARING OR RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN EVERLASTING BLESSINGS.
ISAIAH WAS A CONTEMPORARY OF AMOS, HOSEA AND MICAH WHO WERE ALSO PROPHETS. ISAIAH’S WORDS FORESHADOWED THE EVENT THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY…THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST….HIS WORDS ARE REVERBERATED IN THE BIBLE….’BEHOLD A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON AND CALL HIM EMMANUEL….HIS FOCUS WAS NOT ON JESUS, BUT ON A KING…
ISAIAH, ACCORDING TO TRADITION, WAS MARTYRED BY BEING SAWED IN HALF UNDER THE REIGN OF MANASSAH, THE WICKED SON OF HEZEKIAH…..I THINK I NEED TO PAUSE AFTER THAT……….
THE PROPHET HOSEA’S THEME WAS GOD’S LOVE OR BACKSLIDING ISRAEL. HOSEA’S MARRIAGE AND THE NAMES OF HIS CHILDREN WERE SYMBOLIC OF ISRAELS’ ADULTERY. READ FROM INTRO………………………
THE PROPHET JOEL WAS KNOWN FOR PREACHING THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD WAS NEAR. AND IT’S BECAUSE OF HIS RECORDED WORDS THAT THE LORD LEADS ME AND OTHERS TO THOSE WORDS PERTAINING TO THE END TIMES, THAT GIVE ME ME PATIENCE AND HOPE….
IF YOU ARE CALLED OF GOD TO SPEAK OR WRITE SOMETHING….NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR TRIVIAL IT MAY SEEM TO YOU, OBEY HIM AND KNOW AND BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL TAKE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY OR WRITE VERY FAR.
PRAY ALONG WITH ME AS I PRAY FOR A MOMENT. FATHER, PLEASE FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE OF THIS SUBJECT ALL THESE YEARS. THANK YOU FOR ENLIGHTENING ME AND HOPEFULLY OTHERS-- TO THE DIVINE PLAN YOU HAD BEFORE CALLING THESE GREAT MEN TO BE USED IN SUCH AN IMPORTANT WAY IN HISTORY. CONTINUE TO TEACH US YOUR WAYS. IN JESUS NAME I PRAY….
THEME: THE PROPHETS OF OLD
I’VE BEEN LEARNING SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT GOD’S PROPHETS THAT I WANTED TO PASS THEM ON…..YOU MAY NOT THINK THAT THIS IS A SUBJECT THAT CAN RELATE TO YOU TODAY BUT, IF YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE TIME I WILL TEACH YOU SOMETHING THAT I JUST FOUND OUT THAT WILL MAKE THE SUBJECT RELATIVE TO ALL WHO HAVE LIVED ON THIS PLANET.
THE PROPHET ISAIAH WAS TOLD BY GOD TO WALK THROUGH THE STREETS NAKED FOR 3 YEARS. I KNOW THAT WAS SYMBOLIC OF WHAT GOD WAS GOING TO DO TO THE PEOPLE IF THEY DID NOT LISTEN TO HIM, BUT….2 THINGS…..WOULDN’T THEY ARREST SOMEONE FOR WALKING NAKED IN PUBLIC….I KNOW ISAIAH DIDN’T HIDE BEHIND BARRELS AND SHRUBS AS HE VENTURED THROUGH THE CITY…AND 2….HE HAD TO BE MORTIFIED TO OBEY GOD AND TO DO THAT….WOULDN’T YOU THINK? I KNOW THAT WE’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO QUESTION GOD AND I DON’T, YET I STILL SHAKE MY HEAD AT THE THOUGHTS OF THAT….
THE PROPHET JEREMIAH WAS CALLED TO BE A PROPHET BEFORE HIS BIRTH…HIS CALL WAS MORE OF A STRUGGLE THAN THE CALL OF THE OTHER PROPHETS. GOD WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO TAKE A WIFE OR HAVE CHILDREN WHICH WAS DEVASTATING TO HIM. THERE WAS CONFLICT IN HIS FAMILY. HE WALKED AROUND WITH A YOKE AROUND HIS NECK..THAT WAS ALSO SYMBOLIC. IT SYMBOLIZED THE YOKE THAT GOD WAS GOING TO PUT ON THE PEOPLE IF THEY DIDN’T LISTEN. HE HAD NO PROBLEM SHOUTING OUT THE WORDS OF THE LORD IN PUBLIC….HE WAS UNDAUNTED BY THE THREATS AGAINST HIM. HE WAS IMPRISONED ON ONE OCCASION….HE FORESHADOWED FUTURE CAPTIVITY….HE COMPLAINED TO GOD ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOT LISTENING…MUDDY CISTERN CHAPTER 38….RAGS UNDER HIS ARMS WHEN HE WAS PULLED UP….GRACE…..JEREMIAH HAD A HEAVY HEART FOR THE PEOPLE….HE WAS MOST PESSIMISTIC AND HE WAS MOST EMOTIONAL…OFTEN CALLED THE CRYING PROPHET. HE WAS ALSO COURAGEOUS.
EZEKIEL WAS THE LAST OF THE MAJOR PROPHETS. HE HAD VISIONS AND DREAMS PGS 910 AND 911 VERSES 12 AND 20…..HE DID BIZARRE THINGS AND HAD A TOUCH OF MADNESS. . HE WAS TOLD BY GOD TO EAT THE SCROLL WITH HIS WORDS WRITTEN ON IT. DOES THAT SEEM A LITTLE ODD? WELL GOD HAD HIM INGEST THE SCROLL SO THAT WHEN HE SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD WOULD COME FORTH. HE HAD A VISION OF CREATURES AND WHEELS IN EZE 1:15….THE VISION MAY HAVE BEEN ODD, BUT GOD KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING BECAUSE HE ALWAYS LEADS ME TO THAT PORTION OF SCRIPTURE WHEN I NEED TO GO STRAIGHT FORWARD AS THE WHEELS WENT STRAIGHT FORWARD. AND NOT TO DEVIATE FROM SIDE TO SIDE…AS I’M SURE HE LEADS THOUSANDS OF OTHERS TO THAT PORTION, AS WELL….
OF COURSE, THE ENEMY WAS ALWAYS SLITHERING IN THE MIDST OF THE PROPHETS AND WHEN EZEKIEL TOLD OF THIS VISION HE AS ACCUSED OF WITNESSING A FLYING SAUCER. …..EZEKIEL WITNESSED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE. …GOD PUT THESE WORDS IN HIS MOUTH FOR THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM: I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART…I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU……EZEKIEL WAS A PROPHET OF HOPE AND ENLIGHTENMENT. ….THE PEOPLE LIKED THE MESSAGE, BUT AFTER A WHILE THE PROPHECY BEGAN TO WANE AND THEN IT DISAPPEARED…..THAT IS WHY GOD’S MESSAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN….YOU NEED REMINDERS PEOPLE NEED TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN…..
SURELY….GOD IS NOT AN ORDINARY GOD….YET….AT THE SAME TIME….HIS VOICE IS A STILL SMALL VOICE….HIS PURPOSE IS TO TOUCH HEARTS….
MOSES IS SAID TO BE THE GREATEST PROPHET WHO EVER LIVED….YET….GOD SAID THAT MOSES WASN’T A PROPHET BECAUSE HE SPOKE TO MOSES FACE TO FACE….IN NUMBERS 12:6
WE’LL GET TO SOME OTHER PROPHETS LIKE SAMUEL AND ELIJAH LATER….
THE MISSION OF THE PROPHETS , WHO WERE ALSO CALLED SEERS, WAS TO RETURN THE PEOPLE TO GOD…THEY PREACHED REPENTANCE…THEY HAD PASSION IN THEIR WORDS AND THEIR DEEDS AND A PROFOUND EFFECT ON HUMANITY….THEOLOGIANS AGREE THAT GOD’S PROPHETS AFFECTED THE WHOLE WORLD EVEN WESTERN CIVILIZATION…I THINK THAT IS BECAUSE IF GOD LET THE PEOPLE CARRY ON THE WAY THEY WERE CARRYING ON WITH NO SET OF GUIDELINES, THAT THEY WOULD IN TIME DESTROY THEMSELVES AS A PEOPLE. THAT’S PRETTY HEAVY DUTY…DON’T YOU THINK?....
THESE MEN CAME FROM WIDELY DIFFERENT SECTORS. VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THEIR PERSONAL STORIES. THEY CRITICIZED AND REPRIMANDED THE LEADERS RISKING THEIR LIVES…PROPHETS WERE PEOPLE WHO ACTED AS LINKS FROM GOD TO MAN….BEING BOTH HUMAN AND DIVINE…
THEY OFTEN TRAVELED IN GROUPS AS THEY HAD THEIR CALLING I COMMON. THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCENDED UPON THEM AND MOVED THEM TO PROPHESY AND ALSO TO ECSTASY WHEN THEY BANDED TOGETHER. THEY USED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND DANCED TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD…
PROPHETS DIDN’T ONLY WARN PEOPLE, THEY CORRECTED KINGS AND LEADERS. …..A MORE MODERN DEFINITION OF PROPHET IS SOMEONE WHO SPREADS GOD’S TRUTHS. PERSONALLY I WOULD CALL THAT PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL…TO ME A PROPHET OF GOD WAS A PROPHET OF GOD…
SAMUEL WAS A WELL KNOWN PROPHET WHO ANOINTED SAUL KING AND LATER ON ANOINTED DAVID KING. HE WAS A VERY WISE MAN, WELL RESPECTED.HE LIVED MOE THAN 1,000 YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS……..AT THE TIME 12 TRIBES DEMANDED A KING IN 1 SAMUEL 10:25. SAMUEL WAS THE MORAL AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTRY…..
THE RISE OF THE PROPHETS HAPPENED IN THE 11TH CENTURY B.C…..
ELIJAH EMERGED…AT FIRST HE WAS A PRIVATE AND PERSONAL ADVISER, BUT LATER HE BECAME A PROPHET TO THE PEOPLE….HE WAS PROBABLY A BLACK MAN…HE HAD GUTS…HE WENT OT THE KING AND TOLD HIM TO BRING ALL THE FALSE PROPHETS TO HIM…HE WANTED TO HAVE A SHOW DOWN WITH HIM. HE CHALLENGED THE 450 PROPHETS OF BAAL AND GOD DEFEATED ALL THEIR IDOLS. DO YOU THINK THAT ELIJAH WAVERED AT AL IN HIS FAITH???? HE DIDN’T….
JEZEBEL WAS HE WIFE OF KING AHAB. SHE WAS AN EVIL PERSON AND SHE HATED ELIJAH’S GUTS. SHE ORDERED HIM SLAIN, BUT HE ESCAPED AND GOD PROTECTED HIM…..LATER IN THE ACCOUNT HE RECEIVED A CLOAK FORM GOD AND WHEN GOD TOOK HIM UP TO HEAVEN, THE MAN, ELISHA DIFFERENT SPELLING, RECEIVED ELIJAH’S CLOAK AND WAS GIVEN A DOUBLE PORTION OF HIS SPIRIT…
THERE IS A DISTINGUISHMENT BETWEEN THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR PROPHETS…THE MAJOR ONES HAVING THE LONG BOOKS OF THE BIBLE AND THE MINOR ONES HAVING SHORT BOOKS……THERE WERE 16 PROPHETS WHO WERE WRITING PROPHETS AMONG THEM ISAIAH, JEREMIAH (WHO ALSO HAD A SIDE- KICK NAMED BARUCH WHO GOD HAND-PICKED AND SENT TO HIM BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR JEREMIAH WHO WROTE FOR HIM, ALSO…AMOS JONAH AND OTHERS…THEY WERE EMISSARIES OF GOD…EMISSARIES (AGENTS SENT BY GOD ON A MISSION.)
HOW WERE THE PEOPLE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS? I IMAGINE THE SAME WAY WE HAVE TO DO IT TODAY…ALTHOUGH THE DAYS OF PROPHETS ARE OVER AND GONE….WE STILL HAVE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SPIRITS. FALSE PROPHETS TRY TO DECEIVE…ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL BUT IF WE SATAY TRUE OT GOD HE WILL SHOW US WHO IS TRUE AND WHO IS NOT…
AMOS…HE WAS A SIMPLE HERDSMAN….CAN YOU IMAGINE GOD CALLING A SIMPLE HERDSMAN AND NOT A GREAT TEACHER? THERE WAS MORAL DECAY IN THE LAND AND AMOS, WHO WAS A POWERFUL SPEAKER. HE CALLED FOR CHANGE. HIS MESSAGE WAS: SEEK GOOD NOT EVIL THAT YOU MAY LIVE. HE HAD MANY VISIONS….PG 1017…READ PARAGRAPHS…..
ISAIAH….AN ANGEL ANOINTED ISAIAH’S LIPS BY FIRE….HE HAD VISIONS TOO…HE SAW THE LORD SEATED ON THE THRONE…HE LIVED IN JERUSALEM. HIS TASK WAS ALSO TO ENCOURAGE AND GUIDE HIS PEOPLE. HIS MESSAGE: IF YOU (THE PEOPLE) WILL KEEP THE COVENANT, GOD WILL DO HIS PART….HE PROPHESIED ABOUT THE KING OF ASSYRIA IN IS 20:2. HE ALSO PREDICTED THE SURVIVAL OF JERUSALEM BECAUSE OF THE TEMPLE BEING THERE…HE WAS NOT TIMID ABOUT HIS PROPHESYING….HIS PREDICTIONS CAME TRUE…GOD STRUCK THOUSANDS, THE ENEMY RETREATED NEVER TO RETURN…
FROM ISIAH’S PERSPECTIVE THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM WAS INEVITABLE. HE INVITED PEOPLE TO REPENT AND PRAY SO THAT THE KINGDOM WOULD ULTIMATELY BE RESTORED AND SO THAT GOD-FEARING OR RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN EVERLASTING BLESSINGS.
ISAIAH WAS A CONTEMPORARY OF AMOS, HOSEA AND MICAH WHO WERE ALSO PROPHETS. ISAIAH’S WORDS FORESHADOWED THE EVENT THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY…THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST….HIS WORDS ARE REVERBERATED IN THE BIBLE….’BEHOLD A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON AND CALL HIM EMMANUEL….HIS FOCUS WAS NOT ON JESUS, BUT ON A KING…
ISAIAH, ACCORDING TO TRADITION, WAS MARTYRED BY BEING SAWED IN HALF UNDER THE REIGN OF MANASSAH, THE WICKED SON OF HEZEKIAH…..I THINK I NEED TO PAUSE AFTER THAT……….
THE PROPHET HOSEA’S THEME WAS GOD’S LOVE OR BACKSLIDING ISRAEL. HOSEA’S MARRIAGE AND THE NAMES OF HIS CHILDREN WERE SYMBOLIC OF ISRAELS’ ADULTERY. READ FROM INTRO………………………
THE PROPHET JOEL WAS KNOWN FOR PREACHING THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD WAS NEAR. AND IT’S BECAUSE OF HIS RECORDED WORDS THAT THE LORD LEADS ME AND OTHERS TO THOSE WORDS PERTAINING TO THE END TIMES, THAT GIVE ME ME PATIENCE AND HOPE….
IF YOU ARE CALLED OF GOD TO SPEAK OR WRITE SOMETHING….NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR TRIVIAL IT MAY SEEM TO YOU, OBEY HIM AND KNOW AND BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL TAKE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY OR WRITE VERY FAR.
PRAY ALONG WITH ME AS I PRAY FOR A MOMENT. FATHER, PLEASE FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE OF THIS SUBJECT ALL THESE YEARS. THANK YOU FOR ENLIGHTENING ME AND HOPEFULLY OTHERS-- TO THE DIVINE PLAN YOU HAD BEFORE CALLING THESE GREAT MEN TO BE USED IN SUCH AN IMPORTANT WAY IN HISTORY. CONTINUE TO TEACH US YOUR WAYS. IN JESUS NAME I PRAY….
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