SET THE TRUMPET TO YOUR MOUTH

God is going to judge America and the Christian nations for its violence, its crimes, it's backsliding, it's murdering of millions of babies, it's flaunting of homosexuality and sadomasochism, it's corruption, its drunkenness and drug abuse, it's form of godliness without power, it's lukewarmness toward the Messiah, it's rampant divorce and adultery, it's lewd pornography, its child molestations, it's cheatings, it's robbing’s, it's dirty movies, and its occult practices.

Judgment is at the door! Our days are numbered! The church is asleep, the congregations are at ease, and the shepherd’s slumber. How they will scoff and laugh at this message. Theologians will reject it because they can’t fit it into their doctrine. The pillow prophets of peace and prosperity will publicly denounce it. I no longer care. God has made my face like flint and put steel in my backbone. I am blowing the trumpet with all my might. Let the whole world and all the churches call me crazy, but I must blow the trumpet and awaken God’s people. America is about to be shaken and set aside by horrible judgments.

Many praying believers who have been shut in with God are hearing the very same message; “Judgment is at the door! Prepare, awaken!” Before the great holocaust, there will be smaller holocausts; the oil fields of the Middle East will be ablaze, and the smoke will rise night and day as a warning of the greater holocaust yet to come. There will be bombs falling on oil fields, shipping docks, and storage tanks. There will be panic among all oil producers, and shippers, and upon all nations dependent on that oil. (Note the 1985 publication date, several years before the first Gulf War when the Kuwait oil field went up in flames.)

Soon, very soon, an economic nightmare will explode into reality. America is about to face a time of mass hysteria, as banks close, financial institutions crumble and our economy spins totally out of control. Gold and silver will lose their value. The chaos that is coming cannot be stopped by our government. The great holocaust follows an economic collapse in America. The enemy will make its move when we are weak and helpless. God did not keep the three Hebrew children from the fire; He delivered them in it.

Psalm 19:1-2: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge.

For generations, our forefathers sat at the door of their tents on the fertile plains of the Mideast. Under starlit skies they retold the story of Adam’s fall and the redeemer to come, the story passed down to them from the lips of the ancient prophets and patriarchs. The story was recorded in the ancient names and in pictures painted by the constellations that witnessed to them night after night, the story of the redemption of mankind. The greatest handiwork of God is his plan and execution of man’s redemption from the dominion of Satan. From the beginning, God’s prophetic timepiece of the stars in their courses, has told the story of the coming redeemer. Modern man has all but lost their true significance. Current astrological interpretations of the heavenly signs have no correlation to their original declaration.

The heavens declare the glory of God

The redeemer of mankind is pictured in the constellation of Orion “The Heroic One.” Orion’s heel is bruised by the serpent at his feet, but the serpent's head is finally crushed in destruction as the redeemer conquers and reigns. What was told from the pages of the heavens, is recorded in the pages of Genesis: Genesis 3:15, And I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman (Eve), and between your seed and her seed (the Messiah); it (he) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. E.W. Bullinger detailed the ancient Hebrew names and meanings of the stars in their courses in his book, “The Witness of the Stars.”

In the book, “Voice Crying in the Heavens,” Robert Wadsworth (who I respectfully refer to as “The Star...”) detailed the incredible astronomical display that signals the impending war in heaven when Satan is cast down to the earth, and the return of the Messiah to establish his throne on earth. The “Voice Crying in the Heavens” was louder during the last half of the 1990s than it has ever been or will ever be in the astronomically foreseeable future. These are indeed the last days, of which the prophets spoke.

During a recent lecture in 1996, Wadsworth projected several constellations on the viewing screen. I nearly leaped from my chair when he projected the constellations of Perseus and Andromeda. There, in the heavens, I saw the exact picture that Paul had painted of the day of the Lord as he revealed it to the Thessalonian church: I Thessalonians 1:6-10, ... It is a righteous act for God to recompense tribulation to those that tribulate you; And you who are now tribulated with us, rest when the lord Jesus - Yehoshua shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God, and on those that do not obey the gospel of our lord Yehoshua the Messiah... ON THAT DAY.

The word rest is in the Greek ανεσιν (anacin), from whence is derived the brand name of a famous pain reliever. Ανεσιν is to be suddenly loosed of the tightly stretched cords, suddenly relieved of the strain and pain. The picture the word anacin paints in this context is a person bound and being afflicted by the enemy. The chains holding the body in tension are as tight as a violin string. At the point of losing consciousness, when there seems to be no hope, the avenger breaks through the door, slashes the chains that bind, and destroys those who have been torturing his beloved.

This is the Day of the Lord

For thousands of years, the voice of the stars has cried out from the heavens declaring the redemption of mankind. The ancient names and pictures of the constellations of Perseus, which is in the Hebrew language, “The Breaker”, and Andromeda, “The Bound and Chained”, have been spoken from the portals of heaven. They speak of the time that the bridegroom will deliver his bride from the chains and strains of a world in rebellion against him. “The Breaker” of our bondage, our deliverer, Jesus - Yehoshua the Messiah, will sever the painful straining bonds of this earth and take his bride to the marriage supper that he has been preparing. At that feast, Jesus - Yehoshua will taste the fruit of the vine for the first time since he told his beloved that he would not touch a drop again until he drank it with us in his Father’s kingdom. “The Bound and Chained” bride will be released when the captain of our salvation breaks through in all of his glory and takes vengeance on those who have caused his bride pain. While all the world denies his existence and rejects his authority, she has not.

In the darkest hour when there seems to be no hope, the deliverer will burst through the heavens and rescue his bride, who has dressed in white and waits expectantly for his return... ...If someone wrote a play just to glorify what’s stronger than hate. Would they not arrange the stage to look as if the hero came too late? It’s almost in defeat. It’s looking like the evil side will win. So, on the edge of every seat, from the moment that the whole thing begins... Now the stage is set. You feel your own heart beating in your chest. This life’s not over yet. So, we get up on our feet to do our best and play against the fear. We play against the reasons not to try. We’re playing for the tears burning in the happy angel’s eyes. For it’s love who mixed the mortar. And it’s love who stacked these stones. And it’s love who made the stage here, though it looks like we’re alone. This scene is set in shadows like the night is here to stay.

There is evil cast around us, but it is love who wrote the play. For in this darkness, love will show the way. From the song, Show the Way, by David Wilcox.

Written by David Wilkerson, 1985, edited by Bruce Lyon

A WORM ON THE CROSS

As touching nature, I am a worm of this earth,
and yet a subject of this commonwealth; but as
touching the office wherein it has pleased God to
place me, I am a watchman. For that reason, I am
bound in conscience to blow the trumpet publicly.
John Knox [1514-1572]

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David's Psalm & Isaac's Hymn

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was an Italian poet and philosopher who wrote the Divine Comedy, which many believe to be one of the most important works of the Middle Ages. In one part of that work, he issued a challenge to mankind's tendency toward arrogance and self-exaltation, saying that a truer self-evaluation is to regard ourselves as "insects." He asked, "Why does your mind take such an exalted pose? Do you not perceive that we are worms?"

I like the comment by Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) on this: "We are all worms, but I believe that I am a glow-worm." Yes, there are times in life when, for various reasons, we may feel rather worm-like; little more than a creeping insect. David prophetically writes about how Jesus felt on the stake: "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads" (Psalm 22:6-7). We see from this that Jesus felt helpless and worthless; he felt loathed, and not loved. Bildad said to Job: "How can one born of woman be pure?" (Job 25:4), for man "is but a maggot, ... only a worm" (vs. 6). Yet, God has not abandoned the "worms" of this world; He is there for us! To Jacob/Israel Yehovah declared, "Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you!" (Isaiah 41:14).

I find it rather interesting that Psalm 22, which was written by David during a time of personal distress, is nevertheless one of the more powerful and memorable Messianic passion psalms. In fact, while on the cross, Jesus referred to the opening words of this psalm of David. "And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' -- that is, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?'" (Mark 15:34; cf. Matthew 27:46).

This entire psalm is filled with prophetic statements about the future passion of the Anointed One of God. David speaks of the sneering and mocking of men (vs. 7). He writes, "They pierced my hands and my feet" (vs. 16). "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots" (vs. 18). Some scholars have suggested that the "worm" reference in this Davidic psalm may be applied to the suffering Savior as he hung upon the cross. As one being despised and rejected by men, he was less than a worm in their sight. When suffering and feeling rejected, it is not uncommon for men to feel "less than a man; a mere worm." What an insight into what our lord suffered for our sake!

I love the thoughts of Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), the English Baptist pastor and author, on this text (Psalm 22:6) as it applied to Jesus. He wrote, "This verse is a miracle in language. Jesus felt himself to be comparable to a helpless, powerless, down-trodden worm, passive while crushed, and unnoticed and despised by those who trod upon him. He selects the weakest of creatures, which is all flesh; and becomes, when trodden upon, writhing, quivering flesh, utterly devoid of any might except strength to suffer. This was a true likeness of himself when his body had become a mass of misery - the very essence of agony - in the dying pangs of crucifixion. Man by nature is but a worm; but our lord puts himself beneath man, on account of the scorn which was heaped upon him and the weakness which he felt, and therefore he says, 'I am a worm, and not a man'" [Treasury of David, e-Sword].

Another English Baptist pastor and author, John Gill (1697-1771), wrote, "The Messiah calls himself a worm ... on account of the opinion that men of the world had of him. The Jews esteemed the Messiah as a worm, and treated him as such; He was loathsome to them and hated by them; everyone trampled upon him and trod him underfoot as men do worms; such a phrase is used of him in Hebrews 10:29: those “'who have trodden under foot the Son of God'" [Exposition of the Old Testament, e-Sword].

"The Messiah Jesus may be said to have been a worm concerning the mean and poor condition in which he lived; but especially to that kind of death to which he suffered; for he was stripped of his clothes, and fixed upon the cross, naked as a worm of the earth" [Dr. Joseph Benson, Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, e-Sword].

The ancient Greek poet Homer (born c. 8th century B.C.) spoke of "a man of inferior consequence" as being "a worm" [The Iliad]. Like Homer, "biblical authors used the worm as a symbol of something humble, worthless, and useless" [Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 1389]. It was an "expression of deprecation," for "the Hebrews seem to have viewed the worm as the lowest form of created life," with humanity being the highest [The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 4, p. 1117]. First Maccabees 2:62 states: "Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and worms." Worms writhing in excrement! It's hard to get much lower than that! Yet, this is how many viewed Jesus; it was also how some viewed David and was even how David had come to view himself. "The first step in a downward spiral is to sink in the estimation of others; the next and more fatal one is to sink in our own estimation. Pungent and continued suffering depresses the mind and fills it with gloomy and but half-comprehended thoughts, and the sufferer is tempted to depreciate himself and all his doings;" regarding his existence as nothingness [The Preacher's Homiletic Commentary, e-Sword].

Therefore, David penned the following from the depths of his personal despair, and prophetically of the despair of the lord Jesus, "Look at me now; I am like a woeful worm, crushed, and I'm bleeding crimson. I don't even look like a man anymore. I've been abused, despised, and scorned by everyone!" (Psalm 22:6, The Passion Translation). David "expresses his feeling of being less than human. The sense of human dignity is lost when it seems that God is absent and that people reject him. ... The psalmist is the object of scorn and reviling. Unwanted, alone, and full of anguish, he cannot enjoy the presence of his fellowmen, who do not understand his situation. Out of sheer disregard for his feelings, they apply their 'theological' measuring sticks to his situation and conclude that if he truly were to trust God, he would not suffer. They mock him, shaking their heads out of shock and misunderstanding" [The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 202].

Jesus, being the Son of God, perceived the ultimate purpose, and thus appreciated the significance, of his suffering; David, however, did not have that advantage, and neither do most of us when we're feeling more worm-like than human. Indeed, at times we feel that perhaps God has forsaken us; that maybe we are not worthy of His love and care.

One of our beloved hymns in the church expresses this very thought. It is the hymn: "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed" (sometimes known as "At the Cross" - the original title was: "Godly Sorrow Arising from the Sufferings of Christ"). It was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), who was a most interesting character, as well as a somewhat controversial one. Later, during our own Revolutionary War, copies of this man's hymns would actually play a significant role in one of the battles fought with the British, where the battle cry of the Minutemen in the Battle of Springfield became, "Give 'em Watts, boys! Give 'em Watts!"

Returning to the above-mentioned hymn, however, notice the first stanza:

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
for such a worm as I?

Isaac Watts, to the discomfort of many, has stated the obvious: when compared with the majesty and holiness of our Sovereign God Yehovah, we are by comparison far lesser creatures - little more than worms, figuratively speaking. The harsh reality is, that we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The apostle Paul, during a time of intense self-examination, could only conclude: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). He could just as easily have stated it in the wording of David - "What a worm I am!" What hope is there for those in such a state of moral and spiritual worthlessness? Who in their right mind, would risk their own life to save an earthworm? The answer is: JESUS - YEHOSHUA! In the words of another old hymn of the church: "There was One who was willing to die in my stead, that a soul so unworthy might live" ["Nailed to the Cross," written by Carrie Ellis Breck in 1899]. Like Paul, and also like each of us (if we are honest with ourselves), Isaac Watts recognized his unworthiness to stand in the presence of a holy God, and his utter inability to redeem himself from that wretched state of being.

Yet, none of us relish the idea of being a lowly worm. It is a blow to our self-esteem and our human nature rebels against the thought. I can still remember, as a young child, hearing my dad's response to Isaac Watts' hymn every time it was sung in an assembly. He would refuse to sing that hymn, declaring, "I am NOT a WORM!" And, in fact, he was not alone in that sentiment. In several later versions of that hymn, the wording has been changed in our hymnals to "for sinners such as I" and "for such a one as I." Nevertheless, in the wording of one of the stanzas of Watts' hymn, "When the Messiah, our savior died, for man, the creature's sin" - our lord did indeed shed his precious blood for the unworthy worms of this world!

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

The love of our God and of His Son is amazing; it is love, mercy, and grace hard to fathom. Watts put that truth into several stirring stanzas, and that hymn has touched countless "worms" for centuries. Notice one such individual whose life was transformed by this hymn: "In the Fall of 1850, at the age of thirty, Fanny J. Crosby went to the altar at the Thirtieth Street Methodist Church in New York City. She had been to the altar twice before, but she had not received the peace she sought. While at the altar on this occasion, the congregation was singing the hymn, 'Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed,' according to her own testimony, and in her own words she says, '...it seemed to me that the light must indeed come then or never; and so, I arose and went to the altar alone. After a prayer was offered, they began to sing the grand old consecration hymn, "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, And Did My Sovereign Die?" And when they reached the third line of the fourth stanza, "Here lord, I give myself away," my very soul was flooded with celestial light. I sprang to my feet, shouting "Hallelujah," and then for the first time I realized that I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the lord in the other'" [C. W. Kerns, The Story Behind the Song - Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, an article appearing on Church Choir Music]. Kerns ended the article, as will I, with this insight and challenge: "The only appropriate response to the realization that such selfless sacrifice on the part of a perfect sinless man was for the sake of the imperfect, selfish creatures we know ourselves to be is total surrender. We know we can never repay our debt of gratitude, so we sing:"

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, lord, I give myself away,
'Tis all that I can do.

 

Written by Al Maxey and edited by Bruce Lyon

THE CRUCIAL MESSAGE

Repent and get yourselves ready to enter the Kingdom. That is the crucial message! This is the motive for one’s ethical moral living. The motive is to become like the lord Messiah Jesus as we allow him to live his life through us by his spirit. We must obey the words that God – Yehovah gave to His son Jesus to give to us and do so to prepare ourselves to enter his soon-coming kingdom.

We anticipate the kingdom of God that will be brought about by His agency soon. I believe that we are very close to the end of this age. We need to prepare ourselves for the advent of the kingdom. God has placed His spirit and the spirit of the lord Messiah Jesus in us which is a down payment of what we will receive when we are resurrected as glorified immortal men and women to meet the lord Messiah Jesus in the clouds. We are to use this gift of His spirit and the spirit of His son Jesus to battle Satan and his angels and human agents.

Jesus has given us the means to prepare for entrance to the kingdom through the narrow gate by enabling us by his spirit to understand the beatitudes and parables. Jesus' entire ministry was centered on proclaiming the coming kingdom of God and how to prepare to enter that kingdom when it is instituted here on the earth.

Christendom does not seem to consider the message Jesus spent his entire ministry proclaiming as very important today. In fact, anyone who attends church services regularly should ask themselves when is the last time they have heard a sermon about the soon-coming kingdom of God. Probably never.

We can trust permanently in the love of God – Yehovah with good conscience only if we desire with all our heart, mind, being, and strength, to become members of the community of the kingdom of God that Jesus will establish when God – Yehovah sends him down to take his place on the throne of David at Zion, at the end of this age.

How do we know that we will be there? Jesus says: “Lo, I am with you to the end of this age.” IF we, enabled by his spirit, hold fast to serving him and obey the words his Father gave to him to give to us, we will be ready to enter the kingdom. Our God and Father Yehovah never ever asks us to do anything that He does not provide us with His enabling spirit to carry out His will. It is all of Him and all we must do is walk before Him in faith-obedience, which means to be totally committed to doing His will in our lives.

What is His will? To love Him with all our hearts, minds, beings, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves which we can only do with His enabling spirit working in us and through us. It is all of Him and nothing of us, and yet in His amazing grace and love when we carry out His will enabled to do so by His spirit, then He rewards us in amazing, wonderful ways! God – Yehovah is love, truly!

How was all this made possible?

Jesus regarded his death as a “sin-offering sacrifice” which would ransom the people from the second death that will take place at the White Throne Judgement. What must be done now is that Jesus has become a “sin-offering sacrifice”, who became sin for us, who knew no sin, thereby reconciling all mankind to his God and Father Yehovah. People who have come to realize that Jesus is the one whom God – Yehovah has sent for their salvation - deliverance and must repent and be baptized, thus becoming new creations in the lord Jesus. receiving the indwelling power of God’s spirit.

If people reject the one whom God – Yehovah has sent for their salvation - deliverance the result for them will be destruction in the Lake of Fire at the White Throne Judgement, experiencing the second death. Their names will not be found in the Book of Life.

What a motivation to strive to become one who believes in the one whom God – Yehovah has sent and obey all the words his God and Father Yehovah gave him to give to the world! If you follow the creed of the lord Messiah Jesus given in Mark 12:28-32 you will become a glorified immortal man/woman and co-rule with the Messiah over the nations during his 1,000-year rule, when he establishes the Theocratic World Government at Jerusalem.

Note: The creed of the lord Messiah Jesus is to love God – Yehovah with all your heart, mind, being, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Now you have a job to do. Search the scriptures to see if what I have said is in fact true. There is an awesome future awaiting all those who come to believe in the one whom God – Yehovah has sent and obey his creed.

IT IS FINISHED

When Jesus spoke the words, “It is finished” he was announcing the completion of the most stupendous undertaking the universe has ever seen, witnessed by the angels of God - Yehovah from above. Those words expressed the perfect demonstration of God’s – Yehovah’s love for mankind. It is the shout of the conqueror over the battle won!

In all this, what a disclosure of love comes forth! He loved me, a wretch like me, a repentant, pardoned sinner says, “he loved me and gave himself as a sin-offering sacrifice, for me.” This love of the Messiah Jesus is the love of the man, the son of God – Jesus, showing forth the lover of the eternal God – Yehovah who is revealed in him and through him. He now sits at the right hand of his God and Father Yehovah, who has made him lord over all His creation and Messiah. Angels, authorities, and powers are being made subject to him.

He has saved us from the bondage of sin and introduced us to the glorious liberty as the children of God – Yehovah. Because of his sin-offering sin that reconciled mankind to his God and Father Yehovah we upon repentance, give up being independent beings and becoming totally dependent on serving God – Yehovah and His uniquely begotten son Jesus. When we are baptized, we die to self and rise in newness of life as new creations in the lord Messiah Jesus. We become the righteousness of God – Yehovah in him and are grafted into the Israel of God and by the spirit of adoption placed as sons/daughters of God in His household.

Not only that, but we will at the resurrection become co-rulers with the lord Messiah over the nations during the 1,000-year rule when God – Yehovah sends the lord Jesus down to take his place on the throne of David at Zion.

With all these truths set forth before people, why would anyone not want to have a place of service in the 1000-year rule of the lord Messiah Jesus and do so as new creations in him? For people to want to make that decision they need to hear the message of the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus. That is where we who obey the lord Jesus do what he has commissioned us to do, which is to preach, publish and spread the message of the kingdom of God to the nations. Then people will have the decision to either choose life or choose death. It is God’s – Yehovah‘s desire that all men/women be saved, but He knows that most people will reject His message of salvation to their eventual destruction in the Lake of Fire at the White Throne Judgement.  

MEETING WITH OUR GOD AND FATHER YEHOVAH

Jeremiah 10:23-24 (NASB) “I know, O Yehovah, that a man’s way is not in himself; Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Yehovah, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.”

The disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). They would not have asked unless they had wanted to learn.

We are commanded: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ... Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, ... And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 13, 17).

Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice ... and they follow me” (John 10:27). Are we listening?

The ultimate, or final, prayer, the one that will move mountains [major problems]. It was simply this: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).

This is the rest that remains for God’s people today, the rest referred to in Hebrews 4. It is to come into the blessed promise of the New Covenant, in which God declares to us, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My child.”

Secret Prayer Closet

To have a “secret closet” means simply to be shut in with God anywhere, anytime; giving quality, chosen time to seek Him and call on His name [Yehovah].

Do you have a closet of prayer? Do you have a habit of shutting yourself in with God?

Do you have a daily practice of getting alone with God? That is what the prayer closet is all about, practice.

Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place” (Matthew 6:6). In other words, when you go into your closet, don't start praying until you shut the door!

This means, don't talk to your Father with a cluttered mind. Shut out all the thoughts that keep you drifting away from Him. Be awake, focused, not wasting words, not thinking of something else.

When you come into the presence of the King, the Bible says, “He sees in secret!”

If we are to meet with God and be heard by Him, then we have to be where He is, in secret! “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6). God has invited you to come confidently to His throne of grace; and it is behind closed doors!

“The day you learn to be specific in your prayer, that is the day you will discover power.”

Scripture makes it clear that the answer to everything in our lives is prayer mixed with faith. The apostle Paul writes: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Paul is telling us, “Seek our God and Father Yehovah about every area of your life and thank Him ahead of time for hearing you!”

Paul emphasizes that we are always to pray first and not as a last resort, going to our friends first, then to a pastor or counselor, and finally ending up on our knees. Jesus tells us, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). We are to go to our God and Father Yehovah first!

God hears the cries of His children and answers them with tender love.

The eyes of Yehovah are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.” (Psalms 34:15).

“The righteous cry out, and Yehovah hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (verse 17).

“This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

These promises are overwhelming evidence of the love that God has for those who come to Him in faith.

The two main subjects of our intercession are our own spiritual growth and the needs of our brothers and sisters in the lord and our families and friends.

We cannot neglect praying seriously for the dire needs all around us.

“Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord [Yehovah] of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38)

Take the following steps to guard your prayer time to be able to withstand all the pressures of this world and the unseen pressures of Satanic influence.

1. Make communion with your God and Father Yehovah your primary goal in life.

Only when prayer becomes important enough will you make the time to do it.

The truth is, it is impossible to waste time when you are in prayer, seeking your God and Father Yehovah.

The most effective work for God - Yehovah we'll ever do is to come to Him in prayer.  The praying Christian is hard at work moving kingdoms, shattering strongholds, and, in the process, becoming a true son/daughter of God - Yehovah!

2. You must consider your appointments with God more sacred than any appointments with people!

Communion in prayer and study in God's word cannot be optional.

Job declared, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).

3. You must reject every interruption to your prayer time or study of the word of God that is within your power.   

Be aware that Satanic powers conspire to interrupt you in supernatural ways when you have committed yourself to prayer and seeking the study of Yehovah’s word!

CONCLUSION

We were made for fellowship with our God and Father Yehovah.

Does your heart cry out, “Yehovah, you are my Father, you are my everything. You are my entire being’s great pleasure, and I love talking to you!”

There are many times during the day when the Spirit of God will motivate you to communicate with him about something you have seen, read, thought, or heard. Start by praising Him with thanksgiving and seek His guidance on what you seen, read, thought, or heard. It will happen often when you allow yourself to be led by His Spirit.

There is not a problem that our God and Father Yehovah cannot solve through prayer. People who truly pray do not stay confused. People who pray get guidance.

God’s first answer to our every prayer and heart cry is His peace! All praying people have this one thing in common: No matter how bad they feel going into their secret closet of prayer, they come out filled with His peace!

THE BEATITUDES

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

2. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

3. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 

6. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

7. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God - Yehovah. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you say every evil against you on my account. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 

Now the first three Beatitudes are concerned with our need, our consciousness of need; poor in spirit, mourning because of our sinfulness, meek as the result of a true understanding of the nature of self and its egocentricity, that has ruined the whole of life. These first three beatitudes emphasize the vital importance of a deep awareness of need.

Then comes the great statement of satisfaction of the need, God's provision for it: `Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.'

Having realized the need, we hunger and thirst, and then God comes with His wondrous answer that we will be filled, fully satisfied.

From that point we are looking at the result of that satisfaction, the result of being filled. We become merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers.

After that, there is the outcome of all of doing this, `persecuted for righteousness' sake'.

It seems to me that the three beatitudes which follow the central statement in verse six correspond to the first three that lead up to it.

The merciful are those who realize their poverty of spirit; they realize that they have nothing in themselves at all. As we have seen, that is the most essential step to becoming merciful. It is only when a man/woman has reached that view of himself/herself that he/she will have the right view of others. So, we find that the man/woman who realizes he/she is poor in spirit and who is utterly dependent upon God - Yehovah is the man/woman who is merciful to others.

It follows from that, that this second statement which says, `Blessed are the pure in heart', also corresponds to the second statement in the first group, which was, `Blessed are they that mourn'.

What did they mourn about? We saw that they were mourning about the state of their hearts; they were mourning about their sinfulness; they were mourning, not only because they did sinful things, but still more because they ever wanted to do what was sinful. They realized the central perversion in their character and personality; it was that which caused them to mourn.

Very well then; here is something which corresponds to that: 'Blessed are the pure in heart.' Who are the pure in heart? They are those who are mourning the impurity of their hearts. The only way to have a pure heart is to realize you have an impure heart and to mourn about it to such an extent that you do that which alone can lead to cleansing and purity. 

In the same way, when we look at `peacemakers' we shall find that the peacemakers are those who are meek. If a person is not meek, he is not likely to be a peacemaker.

The order in which Jesus expresses the beatitudes is a way to discover what underlies their precise arrangement which the lord adopted. We take the three steps in order of need; then we come to the satisfaction; then we look at the results that follow and find that they correspond precisely to the three that lead up to it.

This means that this amazing and glorious statement: `Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God' comes at this point. The emphasis is on the purity of the heart and not on the promise. If we look at it from that viewpoint, it will enable us to see why our lord set out this precise order.

He puts his emphasis upon the heart: 'Blessed are the pure in heart.' God's interest is in our hearts. In other words, we realize that our faith is not just a matter of our understanding of the word of God, but most important the condition of our hearts.

To be a follower of the lord Jesus is not just a matter of conduct and external behavior. It starts for all of us with this question: What is the state of our hearts?

The heart is the center of our personality. It is not just the seat of our affections and emotions. It is the center of our being and personality. It is the font out of which everything thing else comes. It includes the mind; the will; and the heart. It is the total man, and that is what our lord emphasizes. `Blessed are the pure in heart'; blessed are those who are pure, not merely on the surface but in the center of their being.

All our troubles arise out of the heart which, we are told by Jeremiah, is `deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?' indeed, mankind’s troubles originate at the very center of their being.

The problem is at the center of our being. The trouble is what is in the heart, and the heart is desperately wicked and deceitful. That is the problem. What can change the hearts of men and women?

What the gospel message proposes is to raise us up from our deceitful and wicked heart condition to become dead to self, as new creations in the lord Messiah Jesus, with newness of life, freed from the bondage of sin and enabled by his spirit to overcome the deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart! To become pure in heart means to become like the lord Jesus the Messiah, `who did not sin, neither was guile found in his mouth' He was perfect and spotless and pure and entire. We can become like the lord Messiah Jesus by the enabling power of his spirit working in us and through us.

Note: It says the pure in heart will see God – Yehovah. When will the pure in heart see God – Yehovah? It will be after the earth has been cleansed by fire and then recreated by Yehovah. The heavens will also be recreated. This will occur after the White Throne Judgment has taken place. Only those who are immortal, glorified men and women [the new humanity] will be able to enter the newly created earth. At that time the New Jerusalem [whose measurements are amazing] will descend from where it has been created in the heavens and God – Yehovah will come down to dwell with the lord Messiah Jesus at Zion in the Tempe, and we will see Him at that time face to face. Glorious time indeed!

Note: The new earth and the new heavens are depicted on the last great day, the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the feasts of God – Yehovah we see His overall plan that consists of 7,000 years for mankind to see if they can be totally committed to following Him and fails to do so, as we see at the last rebellion of mankind against His son the Messiah Jesus and those who with him in Jerusalem at the end of his 1,000-year rule. The 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles depicts when the New Humanity that God – Yehovah has been creating since Adam's fall will enter into the newly created earth and heavens to live as glorified men and women for all time surrounding God – Yehovah and His son at Zion. The New Humanity will be able to enjoy the newly created earth and heaven for all time. What a great reward for those who hold fast to the end of their lives or this age!

Paul's confidence is also mine when he says: `He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus the Messiah'.

We who are new creations in the Messiah are in God’s – Yehovah’s hands, and God’s – Yehovah’s salvation process is ongoing. God is dealing with us, and our hearts are being cleansed. We are His workmanship. God has set His hand to this task, and I know, because of that, that a day is coming when all those in the Messiah shall be faultless and blameless, without spot or wrinkle, without any defilement. We shall be able to enter the gate of the holy city, leaving everything that is unclean outside, solely because He has brought us there. It is all of Him and nothing of us!

If there is anyone who disagrees with what I have written, I will be glad to hear your proof from the scriptures as to where I am wrong. Bruce Lyon 

SWEET LITTLE BABY TAMMUZ

In the book of Ezekiel, we read how an angel exposed the religious perversions that were being covertly conducted in the Temple.

The angel brought me to the gate of the house of Yehovah and I beheld women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, you shalt see greater abominations. And he brought me into the inner court where about twenty-five men had their backs toward the Temple, and they faced the east and worshipped the sun (Ezekiel 8:14-16).

Worship of the sun and of Tammuz started in ancient Babylon. Nimrod built a city as the epicenter of his world government. It was there in Babylon that Nimrod was worshipped as “god.” He bore totalitarian rule over the people, reducing them to slaves in his political, economic, and religious systems. According to ancient Jewish tradition, it was Noah’s righteous, eldest son Shem who slew Nimrod and scattered his body parts throughout the land of Shinar.

That should have effectively ended the worship of Nimrod, but his devoted followers erected a tower that reached into the heavens—a huge obelisk just like the ones we see in Washington D.C., Heliopolis (Egypt), Rome, London, Paris, New York City, and around the globe. These obelisks are images of the uncircumcised penis of Nimrod, the father of Babylonian sun god worship. The Creator calls this obelisk, “the image of jealousy” and an “abomination.”

A previously broken-down ancient Roman obelisk was re-erected in Israel in the summer of 2001. Coincidently, a homosexual perversion pride parade in Tel Aviv seemingly inaugurated its erection ... and in the month of Tammuz, no less!

Nimrod’s widow, Beltis (also known as Semiramus), would not willingly let the kingdom slip through her fingers when her husband was killed. She proclaimed that Nimrod did not die, but that he had ascended into the heavens and was now the sun god. He later impregnated her with the rays of the sun. (At least, that was his widow’s excuse.) She delivered that illegitimate child on the day of the rebirth of the sun, the Winter Solstice ... which, on the ancient Babylonian calendar (before the procession of the equinoxes), fell on December 25^th; the day that Nimrod, the sun god, was reborn as Tammuz.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DECEMBER 25

The December 25th birthdate of Tammuz, the Babylonian sun god, comes as a shock to some in the West but is common knowledge among Jewish scholars and historians. The Jews were taken captive in Babylon for their disobedience concerning sun worship, even though they staunchly maintained, “That’s not what ‘Tammuz’s birthday’ means to us.”

They had also been captives in Egypt, where they took on the worship of Ra, the Egyptian sun god who was born on ... December 25th.

In 168 B.C., the Syrian/Greek General Antiochus Epiphanes occupied Jerusalem and set up a statue of Zeus in the Temple and proclaimed that Zeus was god ... on Zeus’ birthday, December 25th.

When Rome conquered Persia, the Roman Army adopted the worship of Mithra, the Persian version of Babylonian Tammuz. The symbol of Mithra was the same as the symbol of Tammuz: The Babylonian “Tau,” or “cross.”

When Rome conquered Jerusalem, they hung Jewish patriots on the cross of Mithra as sacrifices to the Roman sun god who was born on ... you guessed it ... December 25th.

The confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel scattered the heathen into the far corners of the Earth and confused the names of their gods, but the rituals of worship remained much the same wherever they went. Many significant historical events concerning pagan worship occurred on December 25th; but of this one thing I can absolutely assure you that Yeshua - Jesus of Nazareth was not born on ... December 25th.

But who was? Little baby Tammuz: the “reincarnated” Nimrod.

FORTY DAYS OF WEEPING FOR TAMMUZ [during the time we refer to as lent]

Tammuz, so the story goes, was gored to death by a wild boar in a hunting accident when he was 40 years old. Hence, 40 days of weeping for Tammuz was instituted: one day for each year of his life. During that time, sun god worshipers would deny themselves a pleasure in this life, for the sake of Tammuz’ pleasure in the afterlife.

Sound familiar? It gets better!

EASTER RECONSIDERED

When Nimrod’s wife, Tammuz’s mother, died many years later, the exalted “Queen of Heaven” was sent back to earth by the gods on the first S-U-N Day after the Vernal Equinox. She arrived in a giant egg, which landed in the Euphrates River and broke open to allow her to emerge, reincarnated as the bare-breasted goddess of fertility and sexual desire. Her new name? Ishtar - Easter. To proclaim her divinity, Easter changed a bird into an egg-laying rabbit. On the western slope of the Hinnom valley in Jerusalem, in the dingy depths of the Canaanite caves designated for the worship of Easter and her son Tammuz, the priests of Easter would impregnate virgins on the altar of Easter at the Easter sunrise service. One year later the priests would sacrifice those three-month-old infants on the same altar, and dye Easter eggs in the blood of those sacrificed babies. To this very day, one denomination allows their Easter eggs to be dyed only one color: blood red! When you ask them why, they have no idea how the tradition started or what it rehearses ... but now you know!

Easter Sun day (the day set aside for sun god worship) is the day that concludes the 40 days of weeping for Tammuz; called by many “Lent.” From the time of its inception in Nimrod’s Babylon until this very day, this 40-day pagan festival climaxes as the sun god worshippers kill “the wild boar that killed Tammuz” and eat “ham” after the Easter sunrise orgy and child sacrifice service. There is one day that I can assure you that Yeshua – Jesus did not rise from the grave ... Easter sun day! And He never participated in “Lent!” WWJD? He would never, ever celebrate “Easter!”

Frequently, Easter and Passover are an entire month apart. Why? They represent the worship of two different gods. Easter is celebrated according to a pagan sun calendar developed in Babylon in accordance with the worship of Nimrod. Passover is celebrated according to the observance of the biblical new moon and the ripening of the barley in the land of Israel. Yeshua - Jesus kept the Feast of Passover. All of the rehearsals that were embedded in that feast were fulfilled in the year of his resurrection. On the other hand, Easter is the rehearsal of child sacrifice and fertility rites of the pagan sun god worshippers.

MAKE YOUR CHOICE CAREFULLY!

Which celebration should you keep? It depends entirely upon which GOD you serve; it’s your choice. Now you understand why the Holy One instructed us, “Do not learn the way of the Heathen and how they worship their gods, and then do the same to me – it is an abomination.”

Christmas and Easter are not celebrations of the birth and resurrection of Yeshua Jesus of Nazareth, but the continuation of child sacrifice festivals that were hatched in Babylon two thousand years before His birth!

We all recognize that the pagan calendar, which has been adopted by the Christian world, names every day of the week and nearly every month of the year after a pagan god or fallen angel. But many are surprised to note that the fourth month on the modern Jewish calendar is named after the pagan god Tammuz, in direct violation of the Torah, which states, “You shall not allow the names of other gods to come out of your mouth” (Exodus 23:12-14). I only speak the names of pagan gods for the same reason that the prophets of Israel spoke their names: to expose the perverted traditions that we have inherited from our disobedient ancestors.

COMING OUT OF BABYLON

The Almighty called Abraham to come out of Babylon by crossing over the Euphrates River and entering into a place where his offspring would be given a parcel of land “flowing with milk and honey,” and a job to do. Abraham’s descendants were to purge the land of every last vestige of the pagan sun god worship, and then they were to be YHWH’s [Yehovah’s] priests to the entire Earth. They were to be a nation of prophets who would make known the ways of the true GOD and call all nations to repentance. Israel was not obedient to the command to cleanse the land of paganism, but rather, they adopted the practices of the heathen.

The church was given a commission by the lord Messiah Jesus to spread the word of the coming Kingdom [Kingship] of God – Yehovah to all the nations of the world. They were to keep the creed of the lord Messiah Jesus as outlined in Mark 12:28-32. They were to love God – Yehovah with all their heart, mind, being, and strength and to love their neighbors as themselves enabled to do so by the power of the Spirit of God which they received when they were baptized, becoming new creations in the lord Messiah, and slaves bought and paid for by his shed blood when he presented himself to his God and Father Yehovah as a sin-offering sacrifice on the stake, reconciling humanity to Him!

The church has failed to do what they were commissioned to do, so much so that Jesus makes an amazing statement when he says: when the Son of Man returns to this earth will he find faith? Luke 18:8: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find the faith on the earth?”

The Torah [God's instruction] reminds us, “Do not learn the way of the heathen, how they worship and serve their gods, and then do the same and say that you are doing it for me, it is an abomination” (Deuteronomy 12:30-31). Just as the Almighty told Abraham in Genesis, He also, in the book of Revelation, tells those living at the end of the age to “come out of Babylon.”

Now the question is: "Will you come out of Babylon?"

THREE KINDS OF SUFFERING

Paul says, “through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.” The lord Jesus says the same: When the seed is sown, three things will happen as described by the following three words.

The first word is “tribulation,” and the second is “persecution.” Both words appear in Matthew 13:21 and Mark 4:17. The third is “temptation,” it appears in Luke 8:13.

We now examine these three things: tribulation, persecution, and temptation.

Each will put tremendous pressure on you.

1. Tribulation (pressure)

In fact, the Greek word for “tribulation” (thlipsis) means pressure (cf. CSB). To be in tribulation means to be under pressure. This is true not only in terms of definition, but also in the practical realities of the Christian life. This Greek word is also used in Acts 14:22: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”.

You are going to be under pressure all the time. That is what the word “tribulation” means. I am sure that those who just got baptized are already beginning to discover some pressure, right? If you haven’t yet felt the pressure, it will probably come soon. But if it doesn’t come soon, I worry for you as to whether you know what it is to be a Christian.

But what is the attitude of a true Christian? What does Paul say in Romans 5:3–5? You need to keep his words in mind if you are going to be a true Christian: More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:3–5, RSV)

Notice that “we rejoice in our sufferings.” The Greek word “thlipsis” here translated “sufferings” is the same word translated “tribulation” elsewhere. The phrase means “we rejoice in being under pressure.”

Does that reflect your thinking? Today the church is full of people who become Christians to collect lollipops or have a good life. No wonder this kind of Christian will start grumbling as soon as the pressures come. When the weight begins to crush on them, they will say, “What’s going on?” Well, what’s going on is that you have become a Christian. If a preacher doesn’t tell you that you are going to be under pressure the moment you become a Christian, he shouldn’t be preaching the gospel.

Evangelists who seek numbers and decisions give me much trouble. After getting decisions from the people, they have no more concern for them. That is where pastors have to take over and sort out the mess. What happens is that people come to me and say, “Why is everything around me going wrong? My father got sick, my mother got into financial trouble, and my business is not doing well. I have problems here and there. What’s going on?”

If you knew what it is to be a Christian, you would rejoice with Paul who says, “More than that, we rejoice in our tribulations!” You might wonder what’s happening with Paul? Is he asking for trouble? No, he understands what the Christian life is like: being under pressure all the time. Remember that you are called to suffer! And thank God for that pressure. Learn to say with Paul, “I rejoice!” We rejoice in the suffering and the pressures we have to bear.

2. Persecution

The second word is “persecution” (diōgmos). You wouldn’t be much of a Christian if you have never endured some persecution, the worst of which is persecution from fellow Christians. Don’t be upset when those who persecute you are the religious Christians. I have constantly pointed out that those who persecutedthe lord Jesus the most were the Pharisees, the most religious of the Jews; and the scribes, who are the theologians; and the chief priests, who are the religious leaders.

John Wesley, a mighty servant of God, was persecuted by his fellow Christians. To be sure, he was also persecuted by nonChristians, but it was the Christians who persecuted him the most. He was thrown out of the Church of England, of which he was a member. He was not allowed to preach in any Church of England because he preached holiness, and the Church didn’t want to hear any of that. Wesley had to preach on the streets because he was not allowed to preach in any church. But thanks be to God, it was through Wesley that a mighty revival came to England, and left its mark in history in a way that no other revival did. Wesley knew he was going to be persecuted, yet he bore no ill will against those who persecuted him. Today the Church of England regrets what they had done to John Wesley, and are trying to get the Methodist Church back.

Remember this: Those who serve God will face persecution. If you are faithful to the gospel, you will face persecution from fellow Christians as well as from non-Christians. You will sometimes wonder to yourself, “How come the whole world is my enemy?”

Paul says to Timothy: Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in the Messiah Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:10–12, RSV)

When you become a Christian, understand that you are going to suffer persecution. If you don’t want to suffer, don’t be a Christian in the first place.

3. Temptation: testing, temptation to sin

The third word is “temptation,” which we see in Luke 8:13. The Greek word peirasmos, which generally means temptation, has two meanings. The first is to be under God’s testing or trial(sometimes it may be God who is testing you). The same Greek word is used in 1 Peter 4:12 in this sense of testing: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. (NASB)

In verse 14, Peter says: If you are reproached for the name of Jesus the Messiah, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (RSV)

The Greek word oneidizō here translated “reproached” means,in this context, being tested through the suffering of reproach for the sake of the Messiah. The word “testing”—being under pressure, being tried in fire by God as it were; is very much a part of the Christian life.

You will be tested

The second meaning of "peirasmos" (“temptation”) is to be tempted to sin. It comes directly from Satan’s involvement and activity. He entices you to sin, and shows you the pleasures of sin. In Luke 4:13, Satan tries to tempt the lord Jesus to sin and turn away from God, so that he may fall: And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (ESV)

From the three words that Jesus uses; tribulation, persecution, temptation; we can see why those sown on the rocky ground collapsed. It also shows that suffering is inseparable from the Christian life.

In the parable, when the sun came out, those in the rocky ground withered because they had no root and were unable to draw in moisture. The sun is compared to suffering. The sun can either destroy or cause growth. This point is crucial to an understanding of this parable. On the one hand, the sun is essential for plants to grow and bring forth fruit. On the other hand, the sun destroys those plants which have no roots. Tribulation, persecution and testing are like the sun. They will either deepen you spiritually or destroy you, depends on the kind of Christian you are.

Written by Eric Chang. This small portion is taken from Eric Chang’s book: The Parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1.

You can download this book at the website listed below:

https://christiandiscipleschurch.org/sites/default/files/bookstore/books/Matthew_Parables_Volume1.pdf

I cannot urge you strongly enough to read this book written by Eric Chang! His message is directed to all those who claim to be Christians, such as myself.