Roger Thrower Podcast: Recent Episodes
Roger Thrower
Bearing the fruit of deep heart change is the theme of Jesus Himself. Our lives must bear evidence through our words, attitudes, and actions that Jesus is truly on the throne of our hearts ruling as our loving Lord.
In the Bible, covenants are agreements, often between God and humanity, that establish a relationship with specific promises and responsibilities. These covenants form a central theme, outlining God's redemptive plan and His relationship with humanity.
God is love and His motive to restore us to Himself is love, not judgment. God restores us to Himself to know and live in His love for us. Jesus is the perfect picture of Father God. When you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father.
A covenant with God goes even further in specifics, categorized into two types: Suzerain-Vassal covenant and Royal Grant covenant
In the Bible, covenants are agreements, often between God and humanity, that establish a relationship with specific promises and responsibilities. These covenants form a central theme, outlining God's redemptive plan and His relationship with humanity
In John 5 Jesus reveals who He is in relationship to His Father. It starts with Him healing the paralyzed man.
In its simplest form, Salvation is your life being restored to the Love of Father God, forever.
Your own personal life and your success in life as God’s child is very important to the Lord. He honors those who honor Him and who take Him at His Word.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, a seven-day Jewish holiday following Passover, commemorates the Israelites' hasty departure from Egypt, emphasizing their liberation and the need for spiritual purity by abstaining from leavened foods, which symbolize sin.
- Spiritual Preparation is the #1 Key2. Biblical Preparation: Knowing the Word of God3. Natural Preparation: Preparing as you can for the coming days
Changing the understanding: speaks of the way unbelievers perceive the Church. Today many see it as out of date and irrelevant in contrast to how it was viewed in the book of Acts. Changing the expression: speaks of the way the New Testament Church expressed its life together as a people of prayer walking out Sermon on the Mount in the power of the Spirit.
Changing the understanding: speaks of the wayunbelievers perceive the Church. Today many see it as an out of date and irrelevant in contrast to how it wasviewed in the book of Acts.
It is not enough just to study the Word—we are meant to talk with God as we read it. Bible study is meant to create an active dialogue in our heartswith God. One way in which we gain strength in our prayer lives is by feeding on the Word through engaging in conversation with God as we read it.
The Word of the Lord Shall not return void but will accomplish. Is our Daily Bread / Manna. It is like fire shut up inside us, and a Word in due season.
From Paul’s moment of salvation in AD 34 to hisimprisonment and martyrdom in AD 66 Paul served the Lord 32 years. He did not waver in his commitment to Christ. He kept the flame in his heart on fire.
Paul is going to answer the questions that the Thessalonians are asking regarding the death of their loved ones, what will the resurrection of the dead look like, and who will rise first? Again, Paul’s taking theology, and using it to speak to real life issues (this is theology’s purpose).
Reimaging the Church is not just finding new clever ideas how to do church or utilize technology but is more a rediscovering the grassroots of the New Testament Church , a building of a covenant community of fellowship love and unity. A community that is very diverse but has a singleness of heart and purpose which is to love God and create an environment where people can be discipled, be held accountable, and care for the needs of one another.
We (you) are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. In his love, we (you) are predestined for adoption to himself as sons.
The Kingdom of God is identified by only 3 characteristics: Righteousness (Goodness), Peace and Joy. It is found in the Holy Spirit! If there is no joy, or if there is depression, it is a sign that the Kingdom is not being manifested in our lives by the Holy Spirit.
The term “bosom” (kolpos) refers to the front of the body, between the arms. Kolpos was used to refer to the fold in the shepherd’s robe – that is, the hollow formed by the upper forepart of a rather loose garment bound by a girdle or sash. It was used for carrying things and is where a shepherd would tuck a hurt or scared lamb that needed a shepherd’s care. It is the place closest to the heart, denoting intimacy.
A son mentality in the kingdom of God is that father God is your daddy and he has provided everything for you, and the relationship with him gives access for you to receive everything he has to pour out and he will release through your life what he wants you to do in the world.
The ultimate goal in God communicating with us is that we would know him; know his heart, his character, his love for us, and yes, his ways and his purpose.
WAYNE MEYERS SAID, "THE WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT CHEERED, ‘BELIEVE TO RECEIVE”. BUT HIS MOTTO WAS "LIVE TO GIVE”.
Community is a joint ownership or participation , a unified body of individuals , a fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals
Kingdom = royal power, kingship, dominion, ruleNot to be confused with an actual kingdom butrather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom.
We can learn about prayer from the early church. The early church sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer.
In his Gospel, Luke emphasizes Christ's compassion for sinners and for those who suffer. The gospel of Luke focuses on the poor and oppressed, encouragingtenderness and compassion for the less fortunate.
Intimacy pushes us passed knowing about God into actually personally knowing Him. This is eternal life.
"We can seek God and find Him! God is knowable, touchable, hearable, seeable, with the mind, the hands, the ears and the eyes of the inner man". A. W. Tozer
If you chose to walk with the Lord, not partially as you please on occasion, but fully with everything in you, then the Word of God shows us ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do.’ The ‘what not to do’ are warnings. The warnings we are looking at concern listening. What do you want to hear?
Father God, in Jesus’ name, I thank you that I am an overcomer in Christ’s power and authority. I thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ, the life of God, that cleanses me from sin and gives me authority over all the works of the devil. According to Galatians 5:1 I stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made me free and I will not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Amen.
Father God, in Jesus’ name, I repent of anything in me that would accommodate or cooperate with this harassing thought and symptom. I hate it with a perfect hatred and I count it my enemy. And now I renounce this harassing thought and symptom. I completely disown it. I command it to leave me in Jesus’ name. Be gone! I plead the blood of Jesus over my mind, body, and emotions as I declare that all agreements with this harassing thought and symptom are broken. Lord, I receive your perfect love for your perfect love casts out all fear. Praise you Lord for my freedom in Jesus Christ. Amen.
INSECURITY vs. Humble Confidence
Proverbs 20:28b NIV - His throne is made secure through love
Father God, in Jesus’ name, I draw near to you to live in the fullness of your love and to bring you glory and reflect the nature of Jesus Christ within and through me. According to Psalm 86:11: Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. Amen.
John 1:5 AMP - The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
First, we must know that Jesus if for us.
Romans 8:31-32 - If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
He [Jesus] he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
“Father God, in Jesus’ name, I desire to be free in Christ. Grant me the fear of the Lord, I pray, that I would love what you love and hate what you hate. According to Psalm 139: 23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
According to 2 Timothy 2:25-26 I pray that you would grant me repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth and that I would fully come to my senses and escape from every snare of the devil in my life. Free me from my captivity to him, O Lord, for I desire to do your will in my life.
According to 1 John 4:18a there is no fear in love and perfect love casts out fear. I worship you, Lord, and open to your perfect love for me in Christ that it may displace every fear and everything else that is not of you. Thank you, Lord, that according to Psalm 138:8, you will perfect that which concerns me. Amen.”
Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Job 28:28 - And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Proverbs 8:13 -The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 16:6 – By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
Proverbs 28:14- Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
Proverbs 14:27- The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Psalm 25:12-14- Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.
Psalm 31:19-20 – Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
Proverbs 19:23- The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
Psalm 33:18-19 – Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 34:9-11 - Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Those who fear the Lord desire to live in harmony with God and His Word, his righteousness, and simply desire to honor him in every way. It is not in our fallen nature to honor God, but to pursue our selfish desires. Yet, a redeemed person who has come to know Jesus can learn the fear of the Lord and receive the profound benefits.
Also, the wrong definition of the fear of the Lord will defeat the heart and put an inappropriate dread in our hearts toward God. He is not waiting to strike down anyone struggling with failure. He carried the failure to the cross. Yet, there are doors you and I may have opened that if we had appropriately feared the Lord, we would not have opened and not spent so much time in misery. The fear of the Lord is all about relieving you from misery by helping you turn from evil and then blessing your life beyond measure.
Understand that embracing the fear of the Lord does not make you a judgmental person and critical of others. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The Holy Spirit comes to convict us of sin because we have not believed in Jesus and that he has died for our sins in our place to forgive us and bring us into the loving arms of Father God.
Father God, in Jesus’ name, teach me the fear of the Lord. I desire to live in harmony with you, your Word, your righteousness, and to honor you in everything I do. I want my heart filled with the holy awe of who you are. You are supremely loving and patient and you are the holy God to whom we must give account for every thought, word, and deed. Work within us, Oh Lord, for your glory. Amen.
1 John 4:19 - We love because he first loved us. Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. James 4:8a - Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
Perilous = times of stress, harsh, fierce, savage, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous
John 16:13 - When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 – “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron….”
Jude 1:3-4 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Matthew 11:28-30Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The Apostles’ CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.Our very entrance into this profound relationship with God comes to us by an act of faith in his gift of grace given us.This action of faith starts with: 1. Speaking 2. Believing Confess – homologeo = To say the same thing as another; to agree with; to declare openly; to speak out freelyBelieve – pisteuo = to think to be true, to be persuaded of, place confidence inSpeaking the same thing God says or what is revealed in his Word about us and believing it in your heart is how transformation happens in the follower of Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof that Jesus will never die again. Romans 6:9-10 - We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.The resurrection of Jesus Christ is where he took the sting of death for us. 1 Corinthians 15:54b-55“Death is swallowed up in victory.”55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of our forgiveness of sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17 - If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been given the gift of repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel, the Gentiles, and bound believers.Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been given new birth. 1 Peter 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead….Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are delivered from the future wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 - and to wait for his Son from heaven,whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have the certainty of a coming day of judgment. Acts 17:31 - because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will also be raised with Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:14 - knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.1 Corinthians 6:14 - And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
Colossians 1:12-14 - giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.Matthew 20:25-29 - But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”1 John 5:19 - We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.John 8:44 - You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.Revelation 20:10 - and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.Philippians 2:5-11 - Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Why did Jesus release His power & authority?His compassion and love for people (Lk. 7:12-15)To bring glory to the Father (Jn. 17:4)To fulfill prophecy (Matt. 5:17)The ministry of Jesus proved He was who He said He was, the proof and fulfilled promise of the Messiah was His authority over:Nature and natural lawsDemonsSicknessDeath
- They seemed unlikely candidates for this monumental message 2.THEY HAD AN amazing supernatural encounter3. Seeing is believing4. What they believe compelled them to Act5.The PRIOITY TO PURSUE JESUS6. Their pursuit led to the intimate encounter with the son of god7.RETURNED HOME CHANGED AND WITH A NEW HOPE8.THEY COULDN’T KEEP IT TO THEMSELVESCHRISTMAS IS A TIME THAT WE LOOK BACK AND GIVE THANKS FOR ALL THAT JESUS ACCOMPLISHED DURING HIS FIRST COMING BUT ALSO TO KNOW THAT IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY BUT THIS SAME JESUS WILL RETURN SO WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE WITH GREAT HOPE AND ANTICIPATION
Angel to Mary: Your greatest personal fulfillment comes through fulfilling God’s purpose in your life. MY MESSAGE: My greatest personal fulfillment comes through fulfilling God’s purpose in my life.Angel to Joseph: Stay the course because what you perceive as an obstacle is God unfolding his plan. MY MESSAGE: I will stay the course because what I perceive as an obstacle is God unfolding his plan. Angel to Zachariah: Don’t give up! Trust God and His timing with the answers to your prayers. MY MESSAGE: I will not give up! I trust God and His timing with the answers to my prayers.
- A place of divine timing2. A place of birthing3. A place that seems insignificant4. A place of convergence5. A place of worship
The Revelation of Christmas: God partners with ordinary people (MARY, JOSEPH, ELIZABETH, ZACHARIAH)in everyday places (BETHLEHEM, NAZARETH, JERUSALEM)to bring eternal impact into the world (SALVATION) using divine encounters (ANGELS IN PERSON & DREAMS)and affirming witnesses (SHEPHERDS, WISE MEN) amidst a resistant warfare. (HEROD, SOLDIERS, DEVIL)Prophesy to yourself:It is never too late for God to do a new thing in me. Prophesy to yourself: God has chosen me to reveal Christ through me to impact those around me.Prophesy to yourself: In Christ I will overcome every hindrance that I may fulfill God’s purpose with my life.
2 Samuel 6:16-As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.Luke 15:20-24And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[a] 22 But the father said to his servants,[b] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.Luke 1:39-45,56In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.Acts 2:12-2112 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”Peter's Sermon at Pentecost14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.[a] 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Besiege means to confine, bind, show hostility to, to treat as a foe, to shut up. This high-minded ruler with a loud voice puts God’s people under siege.
The result of his agenda is famine, shortages of food, scarcity of grain, oppression to the God’s people who are now hungry. His tactic of oppression is working.
Being under siege brought about absolutely horrifying circumstances. The people are starving to death all because of the selfish agenda of an opposing ruler.
We believe a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit is coming upon the earth. The devil resists this great move of God.
A spirit of foreboding has come over our nation and held the church in captivity to expecting misfortune and evil. We repent of all foreboding and any and all agreement with it. The anointing destroys the yoke of foreboding.
We decree that our expectation is in the Lord only. We decree great expectation in the Lord.
What is amazing about our Lord’s faithfulness to us is that He has factored in our humanness. By that I definitely mean our propensity to try to figure out his will and do it in our own strength without him.
But amidst their human frailty and limitations, amidst the long waiting and battles with doubt, amidst the outrageous level of promise the Lord made to his servants, He came through for them.
It did not always look like what they thought it would look like when they arrived.
Joshua 21:43-45 Thus, the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
John 14:1-3 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Revelation 21:9-11 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
Treasure - the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up
HERE ARE A FEW TREASURES LAID UP FOR US
Because I am made in God’s image, I am valuable and worthy of dignity and respect (and all people are.)
Because I am forgiven in Christ, I am no longer a slave to guilt and shame.
Because I have been justified and redeemed in Christ, I don’t have to earn God’s love – I am enough
Because I am perfectly loved, I don’t have to look to the approval of others to find significance.
LET ME DECLARE TO YOU A WORD I RECEIVED FROM THE LORD THURSDAY EVENING.
OPEN THE BOOK AND RETURN TO THE PAGES AND I HAVE REVELATION TO SPEAK TO YOU. I WILL MAKE A RIVER FLOW INTO YOUR DRY PLACES AND ALL THE STRONGHOLDS WILL BE WASHED AWAY LIKE SAND CASTLES FOR THEY ARE BUT SAND TO ME. LISTEN FOR MY VOICE AND RESPOND.
THE LORD PASSIONATELY LOVES YOU AND WANTS YOU TO LIVE IN THE FULLNESS OF HIS LOVE
1 Peter 1:8-9 You love him passionately although you have not seen him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory. 9 For you are reaping the harvest of your faith – the full salvation promised to you – your souls’ victory.
John 6:6 - Now Jesus already knew what he was about to do, but he said this to stretch Philip’s faith.
Jesus spots the “wow factor” in you. He looks for the absolute best in people and calls it forth. When you put people down, you degrade yourself. When you elevate people, you upgrade yourself. And Jesus looked at sinners he dreamed of saints. The investment that Jesus makes people turns nobodies into somebodies. Jesus already knows what he is doing with your life. He wants to stretch your faith to trust him beyond where you are now.
Miracles come by getting every into Jesus’ hands.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BUILD AND ALTAR? Building an altar is establishing God‘s destiny in your heart. An altar requires two things: 1) A place. 2) A sacrifice. - Abraham built altars out of stones, which represent hard things. He gathered the stones and put them in order before the Lord and offered a sacrifice in worship. Today: 1) The place of the altar is your heart. 2) The sacrifices we bring before God are the hard things (heart issues) of life. We put them in order before Him and we sacrifice our self-will.
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Father God affirms Jesus’ Sonship
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Father God affirms Jesus’ leadership
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Father God affirms Jesus’ purpose
Matthew 11:27 - All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Prayer develops within our lives as our relationship with God develops. The way we think of God determines our approach to pray.
In Matthew 6:9-10 – Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
James 1:16-18 - Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will (Father God’s will) He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.
Hebrews 2:10-11 - For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers…
Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
- Embrace your failures
- Know your purpose
- Enjoy the God Moments
- Set small and reasonable goals
- Celebrate the small breakthroughs
- Have Faith in God
Jeremiah 18:1-6
To get a glow stick to glow you must break it and shake it. We are like glow sticks that are broken and shaken and then shine bright
AMP Malachi 4:5-6 - “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance], so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse [of complete destruction].”
Elijah was a prophet sent by God to turn the hearts of his people back to himself during the reign of the most wicked king of Israel’s history, king Ahab.
The essence of Elijah’s purpose was to call the nation to repentance.
When people asked John the Baptist if he was the Christ he said, NO. Then they asked if he was Elijah and he said, NO. As for as he knew, his marching orders were to be a “voice in the wilderness” “preparing the way of the Messiah”
Yet, his message was, REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.
THE BULK OF JOHN’S PREACHING WAS REPENTANCE.
Jesus said of John the Baptist Matthew 11:14 - And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is [the fulfillment of] Elijah [as the messenger] who was to come [before the kingdom].
Let’s look further at the history of REPENTANCE.
When Peter stood before the Pharisees while having been arrested for preaching and performing miracles in Jesus name he pointed out the God had given repentance to Israel. Acts 5:31 - God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Later when Peter was explaining his experience as Cornelius’ house when the Holy Spirit poured out upon them those listening recognized that God granted repentance to the Gentiles.
Acts 11:18 - When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Later we see that Paul understands that repentance is granted by God. When believers are stuck in their bondage the way out is through the gift of repentance. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 - And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
REPENTANCE IS A GIFT GRANTED BY GOD. IT INCLUDES FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS AND FORGIVENESS OF THE GENERATIONAL SINS PASSED DOWN TO YOU. REPENTANCE ALSO INCLUDES THE CAPACITY TO RENOUNCE LEGAL RIGHTS OF SINS TRESPASSES THAT THE DEVIL USES TO HOLD A PLACE IN THE BELIEVERS LIFE
REPENTANCE WHICH MEANS TO CHANGE YOUR MIND IS TWOFOLD: CHIN UP – FORGIVE ME LORD, SINS FORGIVEN CHIN DOWN – I RENOUNCE ALL DOORS THAT HAVE BEEN OPENED FOR SIN AND THE DEVIL TO ENTER MY LIFE, LEGAL RIGHTS REMOVED Renounce means to disown by formal declaration
The amazing insight from this verse is that there is one reason that the land comes under a curse of destruction. The Lord has one diagnosis of a land. He has no other diagnosis. That diagnosis is a broken-relationships. Very specifically it is the broken relationship between a father and his children. That’s it.
If this broken relationship is not mended and restored the land is stricken with the curse of complete destruction. Everything is destroyed.
The only way to reverse the curse is to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.
THIS TURNING OF THE HEARTS TO ONE ANOTHER IS ONLY EMPOWERED BY FIRST TURNING YOUR HEARTS TO THE LORD HIMSELF. THEN HE EMPOWERS THE HEART TO CHANGE AND RECONCILIATION OF FATHER AND CHILD IS PRODUCED THROUGHT THE GIFT OF REPENTANCE.
THIS DEEP WORK OF REPENTANCE IS A PROCESS THAT leads the father and/or child to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
THE REPENCE PROCESS HEALS THE DEEP WOUNDS OF THE HEART AND CLEANSES US FROM THE POWERS OF DARKNESS.
BITTERNESS IS HEALED AND RESENTMENT IS REMOVED AND LOVE POURS IN AND RESTORATION COMES FROM THE LORD.
Jude: 20-21 - But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Apostle Paul 1 Corinthians 14:18 - I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
God’s jealousy in not like man’s jealousy. His is pure based on you experiencing the fullness of his love and glory that he has created you for.
Colossians 1:13-14 declares that He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 16:26
Hebrews 11:24-26
Galatians 6:7-8
Ezekiel 8:1-13
The Passion Translation
Romans 12:1-2 - Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. 2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.
Mark 9:14-29 14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So, I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
THIS PICTURES MUCH OF WHAT IS GOING ON TODAY. THE CHILD IS BOUND BY THE DEVIL AND SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND ATTEMPTS.
THE POINT HERE IS THIS: 1. THE CHILD CAN NOT HELP HIMSELF. Please get this in your heart for today’s children. If they are bound they cannot help themselves. 2. THE PARENTS, THE FATHER, CANNOT HELP HIS CHILD. He does not have the spiritual authority to cast the demon out. 3. THE DISCIPLES COULD NOT HELP THE CHILD. They would grow into this authority being with Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit’s power.
19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
THE EVIL SPIRIT RECOGNIZES JESUS AND THOSE WHO HAVE THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST TO CAST THE DEVIL OUT.
Acts 19:13-16 - Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
JESUS GIVES HIS ANOINTING TO US TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL AND TO CAST OUT DEMONS.
21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Mark 9:22-24 - And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
Mark 9:29 - And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
Isaiah 49:24-25 24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?
25 For thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
Sometimes God wows you with his love and power in order to woo you to himself. He wants you to know that although he is Almighty, he is also all-loving.
You need Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
FATHER GOD, I CONFESS WITH MY MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND I BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT YOU RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD. THANK YOU FOR FORGIVING ALL MY SINS. THANK YOU FOR WRITING MY NAME IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME ASSURANCE IN MY HEART THAT I NOW BELONG TO YOU.
Mark 8:31 - And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
The angel affirmed the words of Jesus. Matthew 28:5-6 - But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
Acts 5:12-16 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Hebrews 13:8 -Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. 1 John 5:19 - We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Meditation of God’s Word is the missing link between Bible intake and prayer. What we take in of God’s Word and digest by meditation we let out by prayer. Meditation is the sister to reading God’s Word and the mother to prayer.
A spiritual stronghold is a habitual pattern of thought, built into one's thought life.
A stronghold of the mind is a lie that Satan has established in our thinking that we count as true but is actually a false belief. When we embrace these lies, they affect our attitudes, emotions, and behaviors.
John 16:33 - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Religion: I messed up. Dad’s gonna kill me. Gospel: I messed up. I need to call Dad.
Proverbs 29:18 - Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.
TPT - When there is no clear prophetic vision, people quickly wander astray. But when you follow the revelation of the Word, heaven’s bliss fills your soul.
Matthew 12:20 - a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory
The key to relationship is “time with.”
A Wandering, Wondering Mind A Confused Mind A Doubtful and Unbelieving Mind An Anxious and Worried Mind A Judgmental, Critical and Suspicious Mind A Passive Mind
Our brains are wired for connection, but trauma rewires them for protection.
Romans 8:14-16 - The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. 15 And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” 16 For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”
Philippians 1:27-28 - Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
1 Samuel 17 41-47 - And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 4 5 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand.”
Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Isaiah 49:15 - “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
Psalm 27:10 - For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.
Psalm 56:8 - You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
Jesus knows of the losses you will face in this life.
Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
The Lord has already pasted the picture of your victory in his scrapbook of your life.
In the most horrible of happenings in your life Jesus is there to enter into the pain and loss of all that has impacted your heart and re-create what was broken through death and devastation into a fountain of life and restoration.
What is the end result of our salvation? 1. KNOWING FATHER GOD LIKE JESUS DOES 2. BECOMING LIKE CHRIST HIMSELF.
There are two expressions of Christ-like behavior: 1. Being like Christ and 2. Doing like Christ
The resting pulse of the person who does not know Father God through Jesus Christ is hostility toward God.
Colossians 1:21-22-And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless.
Romans 8:7-8 - For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Corinthians 2:14-The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
So, this heart attitude is transformed and the mind of a new follower of Jesus is in need of continual and daily renewal.
Therefore Romans 12:1-2-I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Acts 4:13 - Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Jesus’ toolbox of spiritual renewal includes: praying, reading, meditating, worshiping, including praise, thanksgiving, praying in the Spirit, and proclaiming scriptures.
In the midst of this is a practice that enhances all tools of renewal and that is fasting.
Father God’s eternal goal is to have a family fulfilled in his love living in the life-giving relationship with him given to us through Jesus Christ. This transformation of our nature is through the impartation of his new nature within us by the HOLY SPIRIT dwelling in us.
The Bible calls this NEWNESS OF LIFE IN CHRIST. It is eternal life, abundant life, and a fulfilling life to all who learn to live in it.
Jesus explains to us the reality of how life works. Luke 9:24-25 - For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
Jesus illustrated this to us through dying to his own earthly or fleshly life even though he himself learned obedience through the things that he suffered.
John 12:24-25 - Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Light enters your darkness. The moment before you did not know him, the moment after you know. Light enters your heart.
John 1:4-5 - In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Ephesians 3:6 -Here’s the secret: The gospel of grace has made you, non-Jewish believers, into coheirs of his promise through your union with him. And you have now become members of his body—one with the Anointed One!
Ephesians 3:20 -Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
Isaiah 53:5 - But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Mary sat down attentively before the Master, absorbing every revelation he shared.
Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions?
Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.
James 4:7-8 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Do your best to create a quiet place that has minimal distractions.
- Worship. Put on worship music that helps you enter God’s presence. Enter into worship and let your heart be filled with peace. Pray in the Spirit.
- Take a portion of scripture and meditate on it. Do your best find a passage addressing the needs you are facing. Humble your heart.
- As you meditate on the passage, write down what you think the Lord may be saying to you.
Philippians 4:6-8 TPT Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude.
Tell him every detail of your life, 7 then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ.
8 Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.
Isaiah 9:2 - The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
I want to propose to you that today we live in the land of deep darkness.
I want to propose to you that today we are to shine as lights to bring people to Jesus.
WHY DEEP DARKNESS?
Matthew 2:13 - Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
Destroy: Apóllymi – to destroy, to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, render useless, kill, to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed.
Matthew 2:18 - “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
COMMUNION:
Luke 19:10 - For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
SEEK (ZETEO) = to seek in order to find, to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after
SAVE (SOZO)= to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction, to save a suffering one from perishing
THE LOST (Apóllymi) = to destroy, to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, render useless, kill, to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed.
John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
1 John 3:8 - Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
DESTROY (LOO’O) = to loose any person (thing) tied or fastened, to loose one bound, to unbind, release from bonds, set free
Proverbs 13:12 -Hope deferred have made hearts sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Psalm 147:3 - He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].
Isaiah 43:18-19 - “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
1 Timothy 1:18 - This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare….
John 17:20-23 - “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Hebrews 2:14-17 - Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
Hebrews 2:17 - Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
The Lord’s antidote for the burned out, stuck in sadness and depressed person is the restoration of beauty in your life, joy flowing over you like oil (empowered by the Holy Spirit), and a new-found passion for worshiping Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction,… …so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
1 John 2:27 - But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 - And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
2 Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Christ in you is the treasure beyond measure. The power to succeed in my hour of need.
One definition of GLORY is: THAT ETERNAL AND GLORIOUS CONDITION OF BLESSEDNESS THAT IS APPOINTED AND PROMISED TO THOSE WHO ARE HIS OWN.
Glory = a good opinion resulting in honor. The hope of glory is the seed of a good opinion growing inside of you resulting in praise and honor.
Romans 8:31-32, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Psalm 77 For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of Asaph. 1 I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! 2 When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. 3 I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude
4 You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! 5 I think of the good old days, long since ended, 6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. 7 Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? 8 Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude
10 And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.” 11 But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. 12 They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. 13 O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you? 14 You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations. 15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude
16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths. 17 The clouds poured down rain; the thunder rumbled in the sky. Your arrows of lightning flashed. 18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook. 19 Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there! 20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.