Courage in the Midst of Chaos and Confusion!

God’s words are like seeds; when they have been planted, they will grow, mature, and bring forth an abundant harvest. In Isaiah 55:11 in the New King James Translation, God describes the process like this:

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Here’s the same passage as written in The Passion Translation:

“So also will be the word that I speak; It does not return to me unfulfilled. My word performs my purpose, And fulfills the mission I sent it out to accomplish.”

The focus of this podcast is healing, more specifically what is written in the word of God about healing. 

In Romans 10:17, the Bible tells us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

It is our prayer that by hearing healing scriptures you will be building up
your most holy faith for complete healing [Jude 1:20].

A variety of Bible translations will be used in this podcast. Unless specifically noted, scriptures are taken from the New King James Translation (NKJV).

Now, let’s begin soaking in the healing word of God.

On December 8, 2018, I received a vision of a train emerging from darkness with bright lights illuminating the rails before it. As I have meditated on the meaning of this vision, I have come to understand this vision as insight into an Emerging Greater Glory Generation, a revelation of a new, powerful generational alignment that God is forming among those called according to His purpose. This vision contains prophetic insight for the ministry assignment of every generation of believer, young and old, regardless of age.

This vision is a representation of the church advancing powerfully out of the darkness of religion and secularism, guided by a piercing light. One generation has prepared the right of way and laid the track to run on. The next generation takes up the light and moves it forward in ever-increasing glory, as in the days of Elijah and Elisha. As they move in the light of His glory, many generations are powerfully connected and aligned to assume the weight of a greater glory and the harvest it produces.

According to Genesis 1:28 God’s intent for mankind from the beginning has been increase. 2 Corinthians 3:18 in the New King James Version tells us as believers, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

The Amplified Version says it this way, And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

God’s intent is to advance us into a greater measure of His likeness and glory.

In this era, when we think of the next emerging generation, many of us may tend to think of the Millennial Generation, However, what I see emerging are the young ones, the Post-Millennial generations, Gen Z and Generation Alpha, even the ones yet unborn. In the manner that God encouraged Abram (Genesis 15:5), God is encouraging us to look into the heavens and believe for the generations and nations that will be born by faith. Your children, or the children you minister to, as well as their present and/or future offspring are soil for the seeds of the Word to produce a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Peter 2:9), a Greater Glory Generation. 

My faith is reaching out for the children, the little ones and even the unborn as an Esther Generation. They are ones who “have come into the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). My reference to an Esther Generation is not in a gender sense, but in the sense of kingdom purpose, anointing and favor for their appointed season as a generation of deliverance and transformation. 

Scripture plainly teaches that the foundational responsibility to teach the children, for spiritual stewardship and development of the next generation, lies with their parents (Deuteronomy 6:7; 11:19-21). One of Abraham’s covenant responsibilities was to teach his children (Genesis 18:19). For a greater glory generation to emerge, it will require preparing parents to disciple the children. Training parents and supporting them is a pressing necessity as they assume accountability as the primary frontline minsters to their children.

Our congregations are filled with people who were raised in dysfunctional homes. Not all Christians who are parents have the knowledge, skill or support to effectively minister to their children. Many born-again, Spirit-filled believers simply do not know how to be Christian parents.

Just as Esther’s kinsman, Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7), assumed parental stewardship of the orphan Esther, this next generation will need spiritual “Mordecais” who assume a parental role in preparing them for their righteous purpose and destiny.

The title and concept for this session can be found in Chapter Two of a book my wife Kathie and I published in 2019 entitled “God’s Family Plan: Establishing Generational Blessing,” This book is available in the RockAware.co Online Store and on Amazon. 

I want to make some quick comments before we get into today’s podcast:

1.     In this Session, Scripture readings are usually taken from the Amplified Bible, unless otherwise noted.

2.     You may have some questions regarding the suitability of Passover as a topic of study for modern era Christians. Please bear with me. I hope to address most of those concerns as we move through the material in today’s Session. 

3.     As an introduction and to add some context, I am going to move us through a really, really condensed version of Genesis 1:1 through Exodus 10: 29. So, let’s get started. 

From before the beginning, from before time began, God had a plan. In the book Genesis, God began unveiling His plan in time. His plan from before time, was implemented in the household of Adam and Eve. 

As succeeding generations were born, the household of Adam and Eve became a family. As families multiplied, they became tribes. As the tribes multiplied, they became a nation. 

In the concluding chapters of the Book of Genesis, the focus is upon the household of Jacob, son of Isaac, and grandson of Abraham. As the result of a great famine, Jacob and his household were forced to relocate from their homeland in Canaan into the land of Egypt. The 50th and final Chapter of Genesis records the burial of Jacob.

Moving into the Book of Exodus, we find that over a period of more than 400 years the household of Jacob had grown into what would become known as the nation of Israel, a people so numerous that Pharaoh, King of Egypt feared them. Out of this fear, the Egyptians made slaves of the Israelites and even sought to kill their boy babies.

Hearing the cries of the Israelites, God sent them a deliverer by the name of Moses. At the hand of Moses, God brought nine mighty and awful plagues against Egypt as a part of His plan to secure Israel’s freedom. It is at the point of a 10th and final plague we enter the story of Passover, The Passover Paradigm, and God’s Timeless Household Strategy.

With that introduction, I want to keep on track as we move through this Session by focusing on the answers to four questions:

1.     What is Passover?

2.     Why should I care about Passover?

3.     Why should I teach my children about Passover?

4.     And finally, What is the Passover Paradigm?

Today’s podcast is Part Two of “The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but The Truth.” All of the episodes in this series are focused on answering the question, “What on Earth is Going On???” 

We are going to be spending a lot of time in John’s gospel today. In John’s writing, Jesus offers significant insight into the subject of “The Truth.” With that in mind, John 18:37 and 38a will serve as an outline for today’s study. 

However, before I read this passage, I would like to set the stage. in these two verses, John shares with us a portion of Jesus’ interrogation by Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea on the morning of the crucifixion. You might find it beneficial to read all of John 17 and 18, as well as Chapters 22 and 23 of Luke’s Gospel in order to more fully understand the context of what I am about to share. 

In the New King James Version, John 18:37 and 38a read as follows,

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

In these two verses, we find two questions. The first is, “Are you a King?” 

Jesus’ reply to this question is translated somewhat differently in the various versions of the Bible. But, as you can see, in the New King James Version, Jesus’ response is clearly translated as in the affirmative. Yes, Jesus is a King. In the remainder of verse 37, Jesus offers a brief explanation of His kingly mission and purpose, for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. The phrase “bear witness” in the Greek text is “martureo.” It’s root is the word from which the get our word “martyr.” 

Jesus also said,“Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

What does it mean to be “of the truth.” The word translated “of” in this passage is “ek” in the Greek. Our Anglicized spelling is “e-k.” According to Strong’s Lexicon, “ek” is a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause;…).

In other words, when our life is based in truth, when the truth is our source, we are given the ability to hear Jesus’ voice. 

In response to this answer, Pilate offers another question, “What is truth?”

Whether Pilate offers us a rhetorical question, a philosophical question, or simply a dismissive response, when taken at face value, “What is truth?” is question of great importance. The answer to this question is foundational to our faith.

Today’s episode is entitled “The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth.” With today’s podcast, we begin a series of podcasts that will explore the answer to the question, “What on Earth is Going On?”

For many, the beginning of this decade, the decade of the twenty-twenties, may be characterized by three words: COVID, chaos and confusion. I am not sure that there is anyone on the planet who has not experienced the impact of these three in some form or another. If I began a list of news headlines from this period, it would be extensive. It would include everything from COVID lock downs and lockouts, to masks and vaccination mandates, to gender confusion and LGBTQ rights, parental rights in education, abortion, border and immigration issues, inflation, major supply chain disruptions, energy and environmental issues, January 6th, Hunter Biden, election integrity, political contentiousness, wars or rumors of wars around the globe, and you may be thinking of even more to add to the list.

So, “What on earth is going on?” Even if you aren’t intentionally listening these days, you are likely to hear the sound of diverse and competing voices attempting to persuade you that they have the correct answer that question. The voices of a variety of political, social, environmental, and economic causes and perspectives are clamoring to convince the minds of the masses. Mainstream media, social media, plus a variety of digital news sources are competing for our attention and access to our devices 24/7, around the clock and from around the world. 

However, as a Spirit-filled follower of Jesus, I do not trust the secular media in any format to tell the “truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” I question the secular media’s ability to deliver information that is free from “spin” and unaffected by the bias and agenda of their owners and sponsors. And, most certainly, the secular media do not hold themselves accountable to either God or His Word. 

This is a season when we, as followers of Jesus, need to question the objectivity and perspective of every secular voice, even those we have trusted in a past season. 

In this New Year’s season as we begin 2023, it seems like a good time to listen, ponder, consider, and meditate about the year we are entering. Jesus said it’s important to live with discernment and an understanding of the times and seasons of our lives.

During an encounter with the Jewish religious leaders of His day, Jesus rebuked them for not being able to interpret the signs of the times. In the Passion Translation of Matthew 16:3, Jesus spoke to them saying, 

“You’re so adept at forecasting the weather by looking at the sky, but you’re absolutely clueless in reading the obvious signs of the times.”

Those of us that live in Oklahoma and the surrounding area put forth considerable effort to be aware of weather patterns and changes. We often listen to weather forecasts several times a day and sometimes from a variety of sources. I wonder, do we spend as much time and effort paying attention to the signs and seasons of the spiritual atmosphere around us? Do we take time to focus our attention on the ONE who really knows what’s happening and has all the answers? 

Given what’s happening in our nation with the Uvalde shooting, gender confusion, the baby formula shortage and the pending Supreme Court ruling on Roe V Wade…to mention just a few. I believe it would be appropriate at this time for parents, grand parents and Spiritual parents, heads of households, male or female, mother or father, married or single to invoke a covering of prayer, faith decrees and blessings over their household and especially the children.

On the way to church this Sunday, May 15th 2022, I heard a phrase: “I will not be obfuscated.”

At that time, I didn’t know the meaning of the word “obfuscated.” It is not a word that I would normally use in everyday conversation. So, Kathie looked it up online while I continued to drive us to The Gate Church for pre-service prayer.

Holy Spirit knows that I love words. My favorite TV show is wheel of fortune. I even like to invent words. So, in using the word “obfuscated” Holy Spirit knew how to challenge my curiosity and pique my interest.

So, let me share with you what this word means and what I have come to understand that Holy Spirit wants to communicate in the phrase, “I will not be obfuscated.”

Father God designed His master plan for humanity to be family-centered and multi-generational. According to Deuteronomy 6, God’s system - His commands, decrees, and regulations – are intended to bless you, your children and your grandchildren so that your entire family will enjoy long life and have prosperous years ahead of you.

God’s plan is for each generation to bless the following generations. This truth is expressed in Psalm 145:4. It’s written like this in The Voice translation.

 One generation after another will celebrate Your great works; they will pass on the story of Your powerful acts to their children. -         Psalm 145:4, The Voice

As a part of the older generation,  we bless you and all younger generations.  We want to bless you with the prayer found in Ephesians 3:14-21 as written in The Living Bible. This prayer was originally penned by the Apostle Paul for the entire Body of Christ. As I read the prayer, we decree and declare all the blessings found in these words over you and your whole family. 

As Kathie and I were in a time of Bible reading and prayer, Holy Spirit spoke to me as Kathie was reading the account of the feeding of the 5,000 from Mark Chapter 6:30-44. Matthew, Chapter 14:13-21 and John 6:1-14 also contain accounts of feeding 5,000. Incidentally, there were likely 2-4 times that number of people that were fed in these accounts, because in that culture and time they only counted the men in their head count.

I am not going to read these accounts to you, because you need to do that for your own understanding.

But, I believe Holy Spirit has something to teach us out of the feeding of the 5,000 today.  With that in mind, I want us to look closely at those who participated in this miraculous event as described in the accounts of Matthew, Mark and John.