Author: ascendthehill

Have you ever wondered what a testament is?

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”

Galatians 4:4-5

As Jesus lived his life in this earth, he heaped up all the blessings and eternal life as an inheritance. This inheritance he could give to anyone he pleased. I am so thankful that it pleased him to give it to me! And to anyone else who would receive him. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” _{(John 1:12).} “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” _{(John 3:16).}

This is why all the promises of God are in him yes and in him amen! (from 2 Cor. 1:20). Because he fulfilled the covenant of the law so that the blessings and promises that are found in the law could be ours! What great news!

“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

Hebrews 9:15

What an amazing God we have. His wisdom is matchless and power unstoppable. Be of good courage brothers and sisters it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the inheritance of the kingdom. As our Oldest Brother has said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” _{(Luke 12:32).} God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you.

“And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.”

Isaiah 16:5

Today as I read these words I thought about a certain instance in king David’s life where he was about to completely decimate Nabal and his household. This was a discouraging time for David: Saul was hunting him down trying to kill him, the priests of the LORD were slain because he visited them, and Samuel had just died.

Now to top things off, David had been watching over this rich man’s sheep ensuring that he lost none. A man who was from the tribe of Judah, I might add, David’s own tribe. Who would not recognize David’s kindness, or his rightful claim as the king of the land. Instead, Nabal chides David’s servants and accuses David of being a dissenter.

David loses himself in rage! Gets all his men ready to destroy Nabal and his entire house from off of the face of the earth. And says, “Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he has requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisses against the wall” _{(from 1 Sam. 25:21-22).}

Remember this is the same man who showed mercy to someone who was trying to kill him. Yet, now he is going to destroy an entire household: women, children, servants, anything that pertains to Nabal. All because this man would not give him some food and then discredited him. It seems that David’s mercy had failed in this moment.

Abigail hears about this and immediately gets into motion. She sends David an envoy filled with an abundance of goods as a peace offering. Then shortly after the embassy Abigail appears before David on behalf of her household. She falls to the ground before the anointed king and beseeches him for mercy. She humbles herself before him, tells him to let her husband’s iniquity fall on her, asks him to spare her house, and reminds him of who he is (merciful, and one who allows the LORD to avenge him). Then also encourages him about his God given destiny, king over all Israel.

When Abigail came to David she saw his army before him. She flung herself to the ground beseeching him to have mercy on her. She said that the sin was her own and asked him to have mercy on her… selah.

David immediately responds with gratitude saying, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent you this day to meet me: And blessed be your advice, and blessed be you, which have kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, which has kept me back from hurting you, except you had hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisses against the wall” _{(1 Sam. 25:32-34).}

With this the wrath of David was appeased. Abigail returned to her house and David to the wilderness. Then the LORD smote Nabal, and David sent for Abigail that she would be his wife. When his servants told her about David’s marriage proposal she fell to the ground and washed his messengers feet. Then came to him to be his wife. ^{(You can check out the entire story in 1 Samuel chapter 25)}

What a depiction of Christ and his bride! There is a coming wedding for the Lamb and his bride. But, we know that the LORD will return and reward every man according to his work. That day will come upon the earth and none will be able to stand to deliver themselves. What a fearful thing indeed, the day of vengeance of our God _{(from Isa. 61:2).} Whenever I think about it, I am in fear for all the inhabitants of the earth.

May the bride of Christ be like Abigail. May we offer up peace offerings to our God. May we hasten to meet the LORD’s armies. Falling before Him and asking Him to let the iniquity of this world fall on us. Reminding our LORD of His great mercies.

“And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Therefore also now, says the LORD, turn you even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents him of the evil. Who knows if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?”

Joel 2:11-14

It is noteworthy that Abigail’s name means: father of joy. I want to encourage you brothers and sisters. It is because our Father’s joy that we have hope. He rejoices over us and rests in His love.

Today I wanted to share a dream the LORD gave me a while back. Be blessed as you read this, may the LORD open the eyes of your understanding.

I was on a school bus with a group of kids. These kids were elementary school age, probably no older than 7yrs old. On the bus there were two teachers at the front, one male and the other female. They were getting on to one of the children who was acting up.

They said things like this to the child, “Don’t you know God is watching. God does not like that.”

The boy responded indignantly, “Well, I don’t believe in God.”

I recognized that the kid was not sincere in what he said. He believed in God, but he was so broken with condemnation. He could not cope with doing wrong by God, and being held accountable for it.

The next thing I know these two teachers start going at him rather viciously. They began to berate him, “Oh, well you know what that means you’re going to hell! Unbelievers go to hell!”

As the two teachers scolded this kid I saw him sink in his seat. He was even more beat down, and condemned. He knew he was a sinner and not accepted in God’s eyes by the rules of these teachers. Now, when the teachers told him he was going to hell he was completely crushed by condemnation.

All the children on the bus began to look at me to do something, but I didn’t know what to do. I looked on in despair for this kid. Not knowing how to pull him out of this pit.

Then all of a sudden the children started to sing in unison, “Well every single day your grace reminds me that my best days are not behind me” (Matthew West’s Day One).

As they began to sing, this kid’s posture started to restore. I started to sing with them. As we sung over this boy, I watched as he went from condemnation to hope just by the gracious words we were singing over him.

When I awoke I was reminded about how the law is our schoolmaster bringing us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The law was never meant to bring salvation. It was always meant to crush us into the dust. So that we may look up and receive the mercy and grace we so desperately need.

Be blessed brothers and sisters. God is for you. Come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy in your time of need.

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us for this reason come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:14-16

Has anyone experienced a time where they felt full? There was just this overwhelming contentment that overflowed into your whole day. It affected the way you communicated with others, and how you reacted to situations. The people you came in contact with during that time left you feeling uplifted and blessed.

That’s how Jesus is. God showed me that’s what John meant when he said, “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14). It’s because of the overflow of God’s abundant goodness that He gives.

We wonder why God “makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mat. 5:45). The reason why is that it has never been about what we’ve done, but who He is. He gives because He is full. He blesses because He is blessed. It doesn’t say we receive because of what we’ve done, but because of who He is.

Yesterday God told me I couldn’t give something to someone if I didn’t have it myself. There are just things that are so obvious after the fact God reveals it to you… I can’t give money to someone when I’m broke. I can’t give peace to someone if I don’t have peace. I can’t love someone if I don’t have love. That’s why I must always be connected to Jesus. He is the vine I am the branch. If I’m not connected to the vine I won’t produce fruit. When I’m full I can give that to others.

God bless you guys! “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Php. 4:8). May God’s peace overwhelm your heart!

Jesus said, “…whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (from John 4:14). Yet, so often we find ourselves parched. As if the promise of our Lord is false, but there is not a single promise in him that is empty. There must be a reason why we find ourselves dry and thirsty, seeking him to fill us afresh.

It Is Our Words.

Many times our words are the very thing that is preventing us from receiving the blessing of the Lord. As scripture has said, “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul” (Pro. 18:7). His lips are the snare of his soul! A foolish man will speak death and despair to the hurt of his own soul.

When the soul feels a certain way our words can ensnare it, creating a cage with every word we speak. That is why David told his soul to hope in God when it was downcast. Instead of speaking death: “I am depressed.” David spoke life into his soul: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11). He was encouraging his own soul.

The Bible tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Pro. 18:21). We have power in the words that we speak. It’s not just idle words that do not matter. They have the power to create or destroy. When God created mankind he created them after his own image and likeness, and he spoke everything into existence. If we are a shadow of who God is and by his word he formed all the worlds (from Heb. 11:3), why do you think that our word does not have an effect on the world around us?

Faith Speaks.

Jesus told his disciples, “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say…” (from ESV, Mat. 17:20). Faith speaks. Not only does it speak, but it speaks in alignment with the truth of God’s word. As scripture has said, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken” (from 2 Cor. 4:13). But what is it that we believe? That is the real question. Are we believing the testimony of the Lord that says that we will never thirst again, or are we believing the lie that says we are incomplete and lacking something?

This is the same thing the serpent made the woman believe in the garden. God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Gen. 1:26-27). Then what does the serpent say? “For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God…” (from TLV, Gen. 3:5). Satan was trying to see if she understood who God made them to be, and also make her feel as though she was incomplete and in need of something.

What Does Scripture Tell Us About A Christian Though?

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Pet. 1:2-4).

It says that God has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. And that he has given us great and precious promises that by them we can be partakers of his divine nature. The epitome of a believer is to be like Christ. This is our high calling.

“He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). The Holy Spirit says if any man abide in Christ that he should walk as Christ walked. You may be thinking, this is impossible, but let me remind you that “with God all things are possible” (from Mat. 19:26). The way we access the power to do this is our faith, but more specifically: his promises that he has spoken about us.

As the aforementioned scripture (2 Pet. 1:4) said, we are given these exceeding great and precious promises that by them we can be partakers of his divine nature. We can become like him through his promises. This is why Rom. 10:10 says, “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness…” With our heart we believe in the resurrecting power of the Holy Spirit to regenerate us and make us come alive to righteousness.

The Underling Issue

So why do we continue to believe that we are lacking? Because of unbelief. We do not completely believe the things that God has done for us. Like I said earlier, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken” (from 2 Cor. 4:13). What are we speaking? Are we speaking affirmations of the truth, or the same old lies?

What are the words of our mouth declaring? Are we speaking in correlation with the new creation God has made us, or are we still believing that the old man is alive? Our behavior follows our speech, and our words follow what we believe.

Philemon 1:6 tells us, “…the communication of [our] faith… become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in [us] in Christ Jesus.” Our faith takes action by acknowledging the good things that are in Christ are also in us, because he dwells in us! It is “Christ in us, the hope of glory!” (from Col. 1:26).

Never Run Dry

A person who lives in Christ does not run dry, “he is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season” (from Psalm 1:3). Who ever drinks of the water that Christ gives them shall never thirst; but the water that he gave them shall be in them a well of water springing up into everlasting (see John 4:14). Along with this Jesus has said, “He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

In Proverbs 18:4 it likens, “the words of a man’s mouth [to] deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.” If we read a little further in the same chapter it says, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled” (Pro. 18:20). We see here that the filling of a person is determined by the words of their mouth.

This is why the Bible tells us to be filled with the Spirit. “…be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:18-20).

Once we are born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit the expectation is for us to fill ourselves. We need to seriously evaluate what we believe. And then if our beliefs are not in alignment with scripture, we must change what we think to match scripture. Then start changing the words that we speak to line up with what we believe. Because, “I BELIEVED, AND THEREFORE HAVE I SPOKEN.”

Much love, and God bless you guys. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and acknowledge our Creator for all the good things he has done for us through his son Jesus. Be blessed everyone!

John chapter 11 tells us that Jesus has the power to resurrect a person from the grave. But something that interested me in this story is the command for Lazarus to be let loose from his graveclothes. This reminds me of a court scene in heaven that was depicted in Zechariah chapter 3:

The bible compares our old sinful nature to dirty garments that must be changed. It actually seems like a pretty easy thing to do, but in the church we have made getting rid of sin very difficult (if not impossible). For adults, changing clothes is a pretty simple process, but for babies this task is impossible. When a person is born again they will need help putting on the new clothes. That is why God had commanded Joshua to be changed, and why Jesus commanded the people to loose Lazarus from his graveclothes.

This help comes in the form of correct teaching, and reminding people of the gift we have received in Jesus Christ. It is why the Bible commands us, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end” (Heb. 3:12-14).

In the church we say things that continually reinforce how sinful we are, and how we can never be freed completely from sin. Oh, what a lie this is! Satan has done a great job at filling the church with lies and compromise.

Jesus said, “Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant does not abide in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (From John 8:34-36). If you commit sin you are in bondage to it, plain and simple. If you are a son of God you will not be a slave to sin, but made free from it because “whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world” (from 1John 5:4).

So why are we still stuck? I have found that there are two main reasons: a lack of understanding of what Jesus has done for us, or unbelief. We are either ignorant to what God has provided for us in His Son Jesus, or we know what Jesus has done and do not fully believe it, for everything is by faith. “By grace are you save through faith” (Eph. 2:8).

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject you…”

Hosea 4:6

God has said, “my people are destroyed for for lack of knowledge.” If we do not know what God has done for us Satan will use that against us and destroy us. It is hard to combat a lie if we do not know the truth. Jesus said the truth will make us free, but if we do not know the truth then the lie will continue to dominate us.

He also said if we reject knowledge then He will reject us. So let us not continue to be ignorant. We should come into an understanding of what God has done for us. The Bible declares plainly if any man is baptized into Christ he is baptized into His death.

“Do you not know, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? For this reason we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from this time forward we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6:3-7).

If we are in Christ the old man is crucified with Jesus on the cross, and now we are resurrected with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says, “For this reason if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God…” We are new creatures! We are no longer living according to the old sinful man. “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created [us]” (Col. 3:10).

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you Believe this?”

John 11:25-26

Faith is the Principle thing. “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness” (from Rom. 10:10). If we truly believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead, and that we are found in him then we will walk in newness of life. But if we do not believe then we will continue to walk in the old man. By unbelief the old man will not be dead, he will be alive and well.

We need to come to a place in the church where we are no longer regurgitating false doctrines. We need to come into an understanding of what God has done for us. And once we come into a place of understanding, we can not continue to speak doubt and unbelief.

“And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6).

In Numbers 21 Israel sins against the LORD and fiery serpents were released among them. These fiery serpents inflicted pain, suffering, and death. Notice that once the serpents were released, they were released on all. It does not say that the serpents only bit those who were actively sinning. The serpents were released because Israel sinned, but the biting was not directed just at those who were in sin. This is an illustration of the fall.

In Genesis 3 the serpent comes to the woman and deceives her. Eve eats the fruit and gives some to Adam. Adam then sins against the LORD and death is released upon the earth. In Romans 5:12-14 it says, “As by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men… Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression…”

So we see that because of Adam’s sin, death was released upon the earth, and had dominion over the sons of men. In similar fashion, Israel’s sin released fiery serpents, which had dominion over them. Dominion, in that, they could not prevent the serpents from killing them.

Notice God’s solution to this problem. God did not remove the serpents from Israel’s camp. He commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up in the mist of them. He did this with the intent, that whenever a person was bitten, they could look at the bronze serpent and not die. Death was still in the midst of them, but it had no power over them.

Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Jesus came as the atonement for our sin. Not just as covering for sin, but to release us from the power of the effects of sin (a.k.a. death). When death comes knocking at our door we have a solution. Jesus!

Death is not just passing from this physical realm, it is decaying, both spiritual and physical decay. Sickness and disease are forms of physical decay. A cold is not meant to make us sick, it is meant to kill us. The only reason we do not automatically die from a cold is because God has given us an immune system, but if we did not have that, the cold would kill us.

Death is not a respecter of persons either; meaning, we don’t have to be actively in sin for it to bite us. James 5:14-15 says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and IF he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

James says if he has committed sins, not when! He is saying that sickness is a result of the fall. God has supplied an answer for our need, healing through His Son Jesus! Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is you victory?… thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (From 1Cor. 15:55-57).

Be blessed brothers and sisters! We have the victory over sickness and death through our Lord Jesus Christ!

“Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverb 4:23).

The product of our life is not the sum of our actions, but the effects of our thoughts. When we dwell on hurt and pain we become bitter. Then we reproduce that same hurt and pain in other people, and it becomes a cycle of bitterness. Of which, this world already has enough.

But Christ commands us to dwell in Him. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Part of the way that we do this is through a great sense of appreciation for what He has done in our lives. That is why the Psalmist writes, “restore unto me the joy of your salvation” (from Psalm 51:12).

David wrote this after he slept with Bathsheba. Think about that for a second. He knew that if he stayed in the pits of despair that he would be crushed by it. So he cried out for the LORD to restore unto him the joy of his salvation. He had an understanding that if he could rejoice in the LORD, his strength would return to him. The joy of the LORD was his strength. He was shifting his focus from his sin to the LORD’s salvation; and, in turn, protecting his heart.

In Philippians 4:4-7 Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice…Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts” Isn’t it interesting that Paul writes twice to rejoice and then says to let your prayers be done with thanksgiving? Paul understood that gratitude is a way that we guard our heart.

What we dwell on colors our outlook on everything. Jesus said, “The light of the body is the eye” (from Matt. 6:22). Light illuminates our reality. If our light source was red, everything we see would have a red hue. When our eyes are on grief then it colors our whole world with grief. When our eyes are on the LORD and all that He has done for us our life becomes vivid display of His glory.

That is why it is so important to control what we think on. We must return to a deep sense of appreciation for what God has done for us. And let the outpouring of that appreciation flood into everything we do. Father, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

God bless you all, and may the peace of God keep your hearts!

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” – Jesus.

I remember asking God what he meant by this. It had interested me because I knew that Jesus wasn’t saying to get violent with men. He must have meant something by it, but I just did not understand it at the time.

While I was still pondering this my friend on my ship (I was still in the U.S. Navy at the time) was informing me how the Navy promised him a bunch of stuff. That one of the reasons why he joined the Navy was because they would pay his student loans. After he joined, when he submitted the paperwork to get his student loan paid off, he realized that it was not going to be a simple task to get what was his.

He had to fight just to get the benefits that were rightfully his through the contract with the Navy. The reason behind the fight was submitting proper documents. When he would submit them the people working on his documents would take a long time to review it. Then after a couple months they would decline his payment, resend him the documents, and tell him how there was a mistake in his submission. He would then have to resubmit the documents again. Well this happened over and over again until finally he must’ve exhausted the “wicked judges” and they surrendered to his request. They gave him that which was rightfully his.

Then God spoke to me “to them He gave the right to become Sons of God.” And it dawned on me that this is how the violent take it by force! It is God’s will to give you the kingdom, but we wrestle with spiritual principalities that try to discourage us and keep us from the promises.

In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus begins to teach his disciples about how they should pray and never give up by telling them a story and saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

This is the way we take the kingdom, by being steadfast in prayer and believing. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: has he said, and shall he not do it? or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). We must trust in the promises, because “all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him Amen” (from 2Cor. 1:20).

Be encouraged, our Father is for us. He does not give a promise without fully intending to fulfill it. So be steadfast in God’s promises over your life because He gladly wants to give it to you. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Happy New Year may God’s promises consume your lives!

Before I get started in this topic we must address certain assumptions that we should hold while looking at the prophetic implications of scripture.

FIRST: All of Israel’s history, law, and prophecy testifies of Jesus Christ in some way (John 5:39).

SECOND: When God addresses the nation he looks at the nation as one man. He gave Jacob the name Israel, and when he addresses Israel he is addressing him as if the entire nation is one individual.

THIRD: The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). If Jesus’ life is the spirit of prophecy that means every person in Christ has the same prophetic resemblance as Jesus.

In summation if the scripture is talking about Jesus and if we are in him then the scripture is also talking about us. Now that I have stated that lets dive in to what the scripture says about baptism (water and Holy Spirit).

When God delivered His people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt He sent Moses. Yet we know that God’s complete purpose was not just a deliverance from slavery, but to bring Israel into the promised land (aka the Kingdom that was promised to his father Abraham). During Israel’s exodus He destroyed the house of their bondage in the Red Sea. Yet Paul says that this same Red Sea crossing was a form of baptism (1 Corinthians 10:2). More specifically, that they were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea crossing. The fact that they were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea crossing is very important. Because Moses is a representation of the Law. Any time a reference is made about Moses it is usually in correlation to the Law (You can see this correlation pretty clearly in Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, When Abraham tells the rich man, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.”).

After He delivered Israel from slavery He did not take him directly into the promised land. Israel was in the wilderness for 40 years. Why was he in the wilderness for 40 years? Because of unbelief, but more specifically the old generation (or the old man) had to die off. The man who was used to being a slave and had a slave mentality had to die. It took 40 years for the old man to die and 40 years for the new man to mature enough so that he could possess the kingdom.

Alright lets take a look into the life of Jesus. Jesus gets baptized by water and immediately the Spirit drives him into the wilderness for 40 days (Mat. 3:13-4:11). While Jesus is in the wilderness for 40 days he is dying to himself. Toward the end of his 40 days the devil comes and tempts him, but at the end of his temptation it says in Luke’s gospel, “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). And then in Matthew’s gospel that he began to proclaim the kingdom (Mat. 4:17).

Now back to Israel and the wilderness. At the end of the wilderness period after the old man was completely dead, Israel is about to enter into the Promised land (inherit the kingdom), but first Moses needs to die. Because God told him that he would not be able to enter into the kingdom, but only see it with his eyes (Deuteronomy 32:48-52). Now why, do you suppose, that God did this? To show that the Law was not meant to bring a person into the inheritance, but to get them ready for it. As it is written, “the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). and it is also written, “for the [law] kills, but the spirit gives life” (From 2 Corinthians 3:6). The whole purpose of the law is to kill the old man, to make us ready to walk in faith so that we can inherit the kingdom.

We have only talked about the first baptism; but, we have yet to mention our second baptism. If our first baptism was a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Luke 3:3), then what is our second baptism for? It is for the inheritance of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is land controlled by His Spirit. That land is found in the believer. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (from Luke 17:20-21).

If we have two baptisms then it is necessary that Israel had two baptisms as well. Israel’s second baptism can be found in Joshua chapter 3. When he crossed the river Jordan to come into the inheritance. And who was Israel’s leader that they were baptized into this time when he inherited the kingdom? Joshua or Yehoshua which is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus.

Lets recap, Our first baptism is water baptism which brings us out of slavery, and into the wilderness. While we are in the wilderness our old man dies, by the correct use of the law. Once our old man dies we are then ready to inherit the kingdom and step into the promise. Moses is left in the wilderness, and we follow Jesus into the kingdom. We are baptized in the Holy Spirit and now it is time to take the kingdom by the leadership of Jesus.

Notice that the battle for the promise land started once they were baptized by the Jordan. Just like when we are baptized into the Holy Spirit, Jesus leads us into battle to destroy the strongholds of the enemy. Which are: “imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). These strongholds are found in the believer. They are mindsets that are contrary to the kingdom of God.