The Accountability of the Tongue - David Mitts

"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Mat 12:36-37)

As we live our lives in this prophetic hour, voices are screaming at us both outside of us and inside of us.  Conversations and rhetoric fill our minds and hearts filled with agendas and emotions.  

Israel is at war with Hamas.  Isis is killing and beheading Christians in Iraq.   The Syrian dictator is using chemical weapons on his citizens that are of a different tribe than he is.  The Russians are manipulating Europe with oil and gas while invading the Ukraine to rebuild their empire, which the Bible calls Gog.  All of this is occurring and more on the international scene and at the epicenter.  Meanwhile back at the farm, here is the US, our borders are being overrun with children seeking to escape the dictators of central america, our spiritual boundaries are being overrun by secular and anti-god agendas.  

Listen to Message

In many ways, we are in the times of Israel, God’s people being surrounded by our enemies.  I think it is important to briefly mention the nature of the kingdom that we live in.  We live is a kingdom that lives in us!  What is going on inside of us is reflected in our world around us, by design.  To change the world around us, we first need to change the world within us.

Turn with me to Luke 17:20

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!' Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 

(Luk 17:20-27)

Yeshua is describing that we cannot rely on external signs for the kingdom.  Instead we have to recognize that the kingdom is within us.  This is high level of accountability!  You see, if we can blame the kingdom’s condition on the world around us then we can become the victims.  Yet even Israel who were slaves, were ultimately responsible for that condition.  They had to act on the Word of God as it was reveled through Moses and take the strategic steps in their hour for their victory over slavery and Egypt.

I mean, take a look at the battle handbook they had.  You’re a slave and your path to freedom is killing a lamb, applying its blood to your dwelling, and watching as the first born of your enemy die.  Now, we can look back on that and see the pattern of Yeshua’s deliverance but in the moment of it, how strange it would have seemed.  But that night they roasted the Lamb, took communion by eating it, dressed and left at the instruction of the Lord through Moses.

The book of Hebrews, tells us that this occurred because the kingdom was within them.

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. (Heb 11:24-29).

You see the kingdom of God was already in their hearts BEFORE it was in their experience.  What do I mean by that?  Well imagine that night with me.  Israel receives the instruction from God through Moses.  What do they have to do to see it manifest?  They have to believe it and speak it to one another.  They each have to then sh’ma.  Each home had to walk by faith!  It was their faith, person by person, house by house that brought their deliverance and salvation.  What do think would was going through their minds?  Even with all of the miracles of the plagues, they are still slaves.  They have been told what was possible their entire lives.  We know this because when they are free in the dessert, they keep referring back to how it was for them in Egypt.  

So, how do they break through?  They receive the Word into their hearts and confess it out of their mouths to one another, to their families.  This is such a powerful activation of faith that God instructs them to ALWAYS and FOREVER do this!

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—

(Deu 6:4-11)

Can you see it?  Sh’ma. Love. Speak.  Teach the words to your children… speak them when you are in your house….speak of them when you walk by the way….  speak them when you lie down… speak them when you rise up……Bind them as a sign on your hands….

The hands are the agents of actions.  Binding is the symbol of covenant authority.  In Israel today and in orthodox communities they actually tie tephillin around their wrists to honor this command.  Before war the soldiers are bound to the authority of God’s word this way.  It is an external expression of an internal impression.  My authority comes from being bound to His authority in covenant.  My words are from His words.

Frontlets between the eyes, means our perspective is given by His perspective.  Slaves need to remember this to become sons of the Kingdom.  Doorposts and gates, our homes, our Land is establish in faith.

Now, if you read on, you see the outcome: God fulfills His covenant promise, which includes Land we did not build, houses full of beautiful things, wells of provision, vineyards and olive trees.  In other words the speaking of God’s covenant words and the believing of those words transforms us from slaves to a world system and into the sons and daughters of His kingdom.

Now, you can begin to understand the scripture in Matthew 12.  Let’s jump in at verse 22 where Yeshua has just freed a man from slavery from a demon that made him blind and mute.  This means the man was in bondage to how he saw things and what he could confess.

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." (Mat 12:22-24)

Now, we want to slow the scriptures down and grasp the warfare here.  Yeshua is liberating a captive into the ability to see and speak.  This is not just about casting out the demon but also about releasing the slave into realm of faith.  The multitudes get it and ask the question, “could this be the Messiah? the son of David, the title given to the covenant authority of the king who could free Israel from the Romans, the Egypt of their day.  The religious folks immediately shift this into satan’s kingdom.

Now this is pretty powerful speaking.  How does Yeshua respond?

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. 

(Mat 12:25-32)

People have used the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit for all kinds of fear based theology.  What I want us to consider is that it is the speaking that is critical.  You see God has given us great responsibility in our words.  If we speak unbelief we are coming against the very power of God that we need to walk into our destiny.  God speaks by His Spirit and He expects us to speak by the same Spirit, words of faith and power.

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." 

(Mat 12:33-37)

This brings us full circle, the consecration of our tongues.  Our words create our destiny.  Both the internal and the external conversations.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. 

(Pro 18:21)

Let’s finish up with James, Chapter 3:

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (Jas 3:1-18)

Let’s make a fresh commitment to examine our words and realize that they need to be pure and peaceable.  Let’s resist gossip and recommit to holiness.

Isaiah 6:7-10 (NKJV)

[7] And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;

Your iniquity is taken away,

And your sin purged.”

 [8] Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

 Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

 [9] And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

[10] “Make the heart of this people dull,

And their ears heavy,

And shut their eyes;

Lest they see with their eyes,

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart,

And return and be healed.”

Activating: Mixing in Faith - David Mitts

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word, which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. (Heb 4:2)

Ingredients.  Every recipe calls for ingredients.   What I want to talk about this morning is the ingredient called “faith”.  Hebrews 4:2, tells us that the children of Israel heard the good news, the gospel and yet they were unable to profit from what they heard because they did not take what they heard and add in the ingredient of faith.

The Hebrew word for faith is where we get the root for amen. It is the word emunah.  The word picture is aleph-mem-nun, and it represents an infant nursing on its mother.  There is a total trust and dependence in the word picture for faith.

If we think about the baby-mother relationship, we know that the baby knows its mother by smell, by voice, by touch.  There is an intimacy and oneness in this picture that shows us God’s heart in faith.

We have a tendency to think of faith as something we muster up, like courage.   Yet from this word picture we can see that faith is not something we do, or even something we have, it is more about who we are in relationship.

Faith can be seen by what we do, and it therefore can be described as something we either have or don’t have, like in the above, scripture, BUT fundamentally faith is about dependence a trust that is born out of love. A parallel concept that we might want to pray and think about that can teach us about faith is security.  The infant who is connected to the mother is secure.  That relationship begins a foundation for all relationships.  Then as we age the father in the family with words of affirmation and quality time invested builds in more security in who we are and what we can do.  Faith then leads to observable works, accomplishments, the confidence to do things.  So love is the foundation of faith.  But what if our foundation is cracked?  What if we are insecure inside in the secret place that is beyond words?  What if we want yo do things but we are full of doubt?  Let's look at a strange verse, Gal 5:6.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. (Gal 5:6)

This is a very powerful verse.  It speaks of 2 realities, the one of our birth order, either of the circumcision or of the uncircumcision, Jew or Gentile, and then discounts that in favor of faith working through love.  This is how truly powerful, this love-faith picture is!  It transcends our birth order.  It tells us that we can, through Messiah, come to a place like a child of trust and intimacy with God that is stronger than any other distinction.  You have to remember who is writing this and when.  This is Paul who called himself : “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. (2Co 11:22)

Paul is NOT diminishing the importance of heritage.  No, not at all.   Many use this scripture to discount Israel.  

What he is doing however, is speaking of a greater inheritance, a spiritual new birth that comes from faith, from trust embedded in love.  You see, whether we are Jewish or Gentile by birth, we all have inherited iniquity.  Circumcision doesn't protect us from iniquity.  Circumcision was the sign of covenant, but covenant doesn't erase iniquity.  Iniquity is healed by faith, by trust and by intimacy.  

The real goal though is faithfulness.  The Lord has through our trust in His Word set us free from the Law of Sin and Death. Let’s look at Romans 8 through the eyes of trust:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 

What is the condemnation?  Condemnation is the iniquity.  It condemns us out of our hearts.  It doesn't matter if we have Jewish hearts and are of the covenant or Gentile hearts and are strangers to the covenant.  No, we both have been brought near as One New Man.  This is what this ministry stands for.  You see it isn't about where we come from, the flesh-based inheritance.  Sure covenant flesh has some advantages.  There is a blessing on natural Israel.  But compared to what is available through the Spirit is not even close.  That's why the restoration of Israel to the Land doesn't stop with Israel as we know her today.  No, The Lord promised that when He returned the outcasts of Israel, He would also give then a new heart.  The One New Man reality promises a greater salvation. The Apostle Paul said it this way in Philippians 3:3-10:

For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, (Php 3:3-10)

So, the condemnation crosses all flesh labels and even flesh covenants.  

Let’s continue with Romans 8:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Rom 8:1-17).

Ok. So we have an inheritance but it is one of the Spirit.  Because it is of the Spirit, it is a living active relationship based on faith.  

What we have to realize, is that we cannot live like the flesh-inheritance and have the spirit-inheritance.  What do I mean by that?  We cannot count all the natural inheritance as rubbish and then pull it into the equation.  If we do that we serve the flesh and the result is always going to be death.   This is what happens whenever we crystallize into an identity and refuse to flow with the leading of God’s Spirit.  This is the ever-present death that seeks to reclaim us by tempting us with performance-based righteousness.

No, we have to learn how live by faith, which involves learning how come into a oneness of trust in the voice of the Lord.  This is demonstrated in faithfulness.  Look with me at Matthew 25:14, 

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Mat 25:14-30)

There is a life of the Spirit, which is called faithful.  It is a life of faith, or trust and most of all; it is a life of action.  We cannot act though if we are in doubt and unbelief and burying our Spiritual gifts in the earth.  This is a picture Yeshua is using of taking something birthed of the spirit and through fear and unbelief burying it in the ground, taking it back to world of natural inheritance.  The natural inheritance is the place of iniquity.  

So, I guess what we are left with is, we either learn to walk faithfully and increase through our gifts and talents or we become unprofitable servants.

This should sober us a bit and cause us to press in to the Lord.  This is where prophetic activation comes to the rescue.  We didn't operate the School of the Spirit for all of those years just to graduate classes.  No it was our goal, and still is to live an authentic life in the spirit.  This isn't just about prophesying but about the intimacy of love.  Love’s voice will guide us into all truth and lead us into our destiny.

So, I had a dream confirming this word.  In the dream we did activation.  So today we are going to cross a dividing line and do activation.  Specifically this activation if for faith and intimacy.

PRAY CONSECRATION PRAYER!

• “God, what do You think of me?” – Everyone take a sheet of paper and a pen. We start with writing down a personal question (a very good one is “God, what do You think/feel when You look at me?”) and then we get quiet, listen and write down everything that comes to our minds. The purpose of this exercise is to grow more comfortable hearing God for ourselves which will tremendously enrich our private time and relationship with Him.

• One of the biggest challenges in hearing God's voice is to discern it from our own thoughts. This is what God's voice sounds most similar to because the Holy Spirit dwells within us and so He speaks from the same direction that our own thoughts come from.

• Many will hardly write down anything because they constantly think it's their own thoughts. They block themselves. A much better approach is to write down EVERYTHING that comes to our mind after asking Jesus the question. Don't try to discern right away, just write it all down. Don't look at the paper for a day or two and then read it again. It will be much clearer to you now what was really God and what He was not..Now, we want to use this as a platform for our faith.

Sh'ma Yisrael- Receiving the Father's Love- Fathers Day - David Mitts

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." (Mar 4:23-25)

Hearing seems to be the key to entering into our inheritance.  I began to reflect on my own listening one morning as I mediated on the scripture in the book of James:

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; (James 1:19)

Listen to Message

I began reflecting on what it meant to be quick to hear?  I thought about how I hear. Often I hear through filters.  I got this picture in my mind as I reflected on this.  Back when I was building the Amway business, one evening I took my son Josh to the meeting with me.  I can see this in my mind as if it were yesterday, it affected me so.  Josh was maybe 10 and he was sitting on the edge of his seat absorbing every nuance of my communication.  I realized in that moment that I had a sacred responsibility to communicate what was true and important.  What I had before me was a sacred trust. As Father's we have that place of credibility, that window into the hearts of others.

This is a picture of the heart space that the Lord is instructing us to have when we listen.  When they asked Yeshua, what was number one on the Father's  heart, He answered:

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; (Mar 12:28-29)

He responds with the Sh'ma.  Sh'ma means both to hear and to obey.  This means an openness of heart that allows what is said to be received without reservation.  There is a loyalty in this type of listening.  I was speaking with someone about this week, and they said well it depends on who is speaking and if I trust them.  This makes sense.  We do need to take heed in our decision to listen.  Yet, we also need to recognize when we aren't really listening with our whole heart to one another!

Like anything else, listening becomes an acquired taste.  We get habitual in how we listen.  In biblical terms this is called hardness of heart.  It affects our fruitfulness for the kingdom.  It affects how we are as sons and daughters.

Let's look at Mark 4:3

"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. "Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. "And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. "Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. "Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."(Mar 4:3-9)

The seed, in this case, the communication.  Every communication is seed.  It sows unto a harvest.  We can seed blessing or we can seed cursing into the lives of those around us.  But the condition in this parable is the hearing, the listening.  The hearing determines what the seed can do.  We can all hear the same information with the same potential to produce a harvest in our lives.  Some will seize the day and capture the vision embodied in the seed and others will depending on their character be able to receive, to sh'ma. Let's continue in Mark 4:10-13

As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN." And He *said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? (Mar 4:10-13)

The key to repentance is hearing and seeing.  You see there is a turning that is necessary in life.  We all need to constantly hear so we can be on course.  James tells us that the tongue is like a rudder on a ship.  

Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! (Jas 3:4-5)

This is admonition to be careful of how we speak, but it also reflects how speech can affect the actions of others like a rudder.

But the rudder is controlled in impact by the listening heart we bring to the words.   You the Father loves us and it is His desire to instruct us in all things but we have to be open to listen.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (Jas 1:17)

The key is NOT in Him but in us!  How do we shma?  Back to Mark 4:14

"The sower sows the word. "These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

How does satan do this?  How does he steal the Love of The Father?  He does it through hardness of heart.  What is hardness of heart?  The loss of basic trust.  Without trust it is impossible to please God.  To trust we have to forgive.  To forgive, we have to repent of idolatry.  You mean.... if I'm not forgiving someone, I'm in idolatry.  You bet.  If Yeshua could be crucified and forgive then if you don't forgive, you have put something or someone above the cross.You have made your offense bigger than God.  When you make something or someone bigger than God, you do it by entertaining accusation against them.  This is how Satan can steal the Word from you.  The need to be right is stronger than the need to be righteous.  REPENT!

"In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. "

Persecution is part of the seed bearing fruit.  God's word only grows in a climate of resistance.  Persecution is to Word, like wind to the trees.  If the trees are not rooted in strong wind they fall away.  If we are not rooted when persecution comes, we will fall away.

And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 

The deceitfulness of riches actually has very little to do with riches.  It has to do with the fear of man.  it is when fear runs our lives that we enter into deception, which actually keeps us from prospering, because we cannot hear well in a state of fear and so our rudder, God's voice cannot operate.

"And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." (Mar 4:14-20)

It is all about listening with our heart, having a childlike eager to listen and prompt to do attitude.  

So, it is Father's Day weekend.  And we want to honor our natural fathers and our spiritual fathers.  And most of all, we want to honor our heavenly father.  How?  By receiving their words and paying attention.  Fathers do NOT need more ties and underwear.  What they need is respect and honor and paying attention with an open heart to their words.

Draw Near - Release His Presence - Charles D. Harris

22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Let’s face it; being one with the presence of God is where we can be truly at rest and peace in our lives. There is a constant striving that goes on in mankind to find true and lasting peace and rest. Our souls are longing for acceptance and approval of the One who created us. 

Though we don't necessarily speak out loud, there is a heart cry to God to be near him. 

In the last few weeks we have talked about shame being a separator between us and God.  Gen 2:25 says "...the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” however when Adam and his wife listened to another voice there was a mistrust of the Father's voice causing a separation. 

Since then mankind has tried to reconnect through their own efforts or righteousness to God however the end results only in self-righteousness and no true peace. 

God wants us to "draw near" Him so He can draw near us.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jas 4:8).

Listen to message

Question....So what does draw near look like?

We want to utilize a Hebrew is the language of God and is a picture language so we will look at the letter "Quph" ק

In essence the most common word picture meaning is "to gather"

Let's look at scripture

In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. (Psalms 18:6 NASB)

The word “call” here is the Hebrew word “Qara”, which means to gather together as in a meeting or an event.

The book, we call Leviticus begins with the word Vayikara. The root in this is “Qara”, to call.  So, the book begins with a call from God which gathers the people around Him.  Do you sense the power?

Leviticus 1:1 (NASB)

1 Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,

The Lord then speaks of “Qorbanot” offerings.

Leviticus 1:2 (NASB)

2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock.

The word here is from the root “Qarov”.  This means to “draw near”.  Offerings have the power of drawing near to God and His drawing near to us.

In this book is a prescription for drawing near if we look at it from a perspective of seeing God's heart. 

God calls to Moses and instructs him. He instructs Aaron, Israel becomes “one” on how to draw near to God, then His presence and power flowed. 

Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (Leviticus 9:23, 24 NASB)

Moses, Aaron and the people gathered in one accord heeding His voice thus releasing His righteousness and peace into the earth.   We can call this a "body" operating in "faith"

We see the opposite result in next chapter when Nadab and Abihu operating as individuals profane the holy and get fried. 

Let's talk about Yeshua drawing us near through his body. 

Hbr 10:1-25 NASB - 1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; 6 IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. 7 "THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'" 8 After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," He then says, 17 "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Yeshua brought us near...

Eph 2:11-19 NASB - 11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,Yeshua is our High Priest in heavens and perfector of our faith

God Calls...

Hbr 3:1 KJV - 1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Rom 2:4 KJV - 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Mat 23:37 KJV - 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!

Rom 11:29 NASB - 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

1Cr 1:26 NASB - 26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

Eph 1:18 NASB - 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Eph 4:1, 4 NASB - 1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ... 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

2Ti 1:9 NASB - 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Hbr 3:1 NASB - 1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;

What is our Qorbanot?

Each of the different offerings presented in book of Leviticus represented a part of the individual's and community's heart that needed to be healed/restored. Such as sin, guilt, uncleanness, mildew, jealousy, etc

Yeshua is our High Priest, as the word of God reveals thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  It needs healing and restoring.  The Spirit of God is drawing us to the place of rest in our calling and inheritance.  Not to beat us up but to heal and restore.

Hbr 3:12-15 NASB - 12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME."

Hbr 4:9-16 NASB - 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Restorative Prayer of Agreement - Charles D. Harris

" Therefore,confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16 NASB

As believers we must remember the power we have to bring forth the Kingdom of God into the earth when we come into agreement with what He has already finished.  Our righteousness is credited through faith in God and his Word not our own "self" righteousness through dead works.

Also, when we come together in unity of purpose according to His will nothing shall be impossible.

Click this link to LISTEN

Click this link to DOWNLOAD

Testimony of Prayer of Faith
God I'm not taking any dead boys home testimony

Training the Heart- It’s all about the Glory - David Mitts

So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5)

We are living in the day of miracles!  We however need to learn how to train our heart to experience the miracles.  The above verse teaches us that miracles occur by the “hearing of faith”.  How does our faith hear?

Well we quote back, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

(Romans 10:17)

The question becomes, how do we hear the Word of Christ or the Word of Messiah?  You see we have made assumptions when we read or hear the Scriptures.  What we rarely do is test our assumptions.

Charles shared last week about the desert of testing.  In the desert, the Lord gets our attention to humble us and teach us how to hear His voice:

"All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. "He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:1-3)

The Lord will do whatever is necessary to bring about humility and repentance, so we may fulfill our destiny, walking into our inheritance.  In the dessert, He taught Israel through hunger and through heavenly provision in the form of manna to develop an intimacy with His Spirit.  Hunger tunes our spiritual senses to the flavor of provision.  Fasting is about, at least in part an increase of our sensitivity to God and His Presence or Glory.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

(Matthew 5:6)

What are we filled with when we thirst and hunger after righteousness?  With Him who is our righteousness.

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, (1 Corinthians 1:30)

So the hunger and thirst is ALL about Him and His Glory!  Now why is this important?  BECAUSE WITHOUT HIS GLORY, HIS MANIFEST PRESENCE, we will have a form of godliness without the power!  This is the seduction of religion in the last days!

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

We need the reality of His Glory for our faith to be effective.  In order for our “faith” to be effective, we need Him in our faith!  Faith comes by hearing but hearing comes through Him!  This is why Yeshua emphasized that hearing determines everything.  Hearing, sh’ma is everything!  We need to know when He is in the camp, listen and act!

Turn with me to Mark 4:14:

"The sower sows the word. "These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. "In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." And He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? "For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. (Mark 4:14-24)

This is a teaching on relationship, on hearing.  Our hearts need to know His voice by His Presence.  He takes into dessert places in our lives, so we will be hungry and thirsty for His Presence.  We, like Israel are addicted to garlic and leeks.  Our appetite is adjusted to the flavors of the world.  We crave what we have been eating.  Our addictions come from our experiences.  God is bringing us to a place of new hunger and new thirst!  For Him!  He is the true food and the true drink that we need, but as long as we are eating the junk food of the world we will live in the junk food results!  Religion without power.  We need to fast and pray for His taste to become our desire!

God has already built hunger into our being.  There is nothing wring with hunger or thirst or any desire He created us with.  The problem is when we try to fulfill our desire with tastes from this world.  When we draw neat to Him, then His Glory fills our being and we taste of His goodness.  In this place, we come into oneness with Him and His Glory is manifested.

Yeshua was always meeting the desires of people.  He never rebuked their desires.  In fact, He eagerly meet their desires, whether it was food for 5000, healing for the untouchables, or resurrection for Lazarus.  The key was the Glory.  So, His final prayer was for us to receive His Glory!  Look at John 17:22

"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:22-24)

The glory Yeshua is speaking of is His Presence.  He is calling us to receive His Presence, but we only will if we are hungry and thirsty for Him to make our faith real.  Then we will see miracles in our lives.  It isn’t by just knowing the Scriptures that apply but by receiving Him, His Glory into our lives and in that place of unity, oneness with Him, miracles will occur as we speak them forth!

Click this link to LISTEN

Click this link to DOWNLOAD

Entering God's Rest Through the Desert of Testing - Charles D Harris

"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.  For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”  And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,  God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”

 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.  There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;  for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience." Hebrews 4:1-16 NIV

How can someone tell what is going on in your heart?  Your actions and words that come out.
"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."

Your heart condition is a key component in entering into His rest.

The Lord wants YOU to know what is in your heart and wants your heart to be trained in His righteousness.  “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:1-3 ESV)

Note:  Included in this teaching is testimony of prayer of faith that Honduras would be dedicated back to the Lord.  It just so happened that today July 20 is the prayer of dedication.

Click this link to LISTEN

Click this link to DOWNLOAD