Threshold Of Common Sense

This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Running with Horses, a podcast devoted to inspire you concerning a relationship with Almighty God that empowers you to accomplish things you never thought possible.

Surely Weaver wants to take you there. And now here's today's episode. Hey and welcome, everyone, to this episode of Running with Horses.

Hey, get this. Ephesians 6, 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. The word strong is a Greek compound word meaning in or within or inside, dunamis meaning, well, it's where we get the word dynamite.

It means explosive strength, ability, and power. So the Apostle Paul said, finally, my brethren, have this on the inside of you because of the Lord. Have explosive strength, ability, and power because of the Lord, because you live in the power of his might. That was the departing words from the Apostle Paul. Finally, my brethren, be this way. Have explosive strength, ability, and power in the power of the Lord's might. We flow in that.

We live in that. We live and breathe in the presence of God, which is a supernatural way to live. And that's where we get the idea for Running with Horses because you know that day when the power of God came on the prophet Elijah and the Spirit of God within him caused him to outrun the horses back to Jezreel that day, that was not an ordinary thing, not an ordinary occurrence.

It was the presence of God, the power of God, the hand of God. And Paul said, have that. Have that.

Can that just be your goal? It really should be, but you have to think like that. See, it's a mindset, and it's a belief, and it's a way of understanding what God has for you. So, listen, welcome to Running with Horses.

I'm glad you're here. And let me just say this. This is a plug for our devotional book, Running with Horses, which is, you've heard me say it's a 365 daily devotional that is meant to do Ephesians 6 10 to inspire bold faith in God that expects infinite supply of impossible outcomes and supernatural interventions. I mean, just think of Elijah the prophet. This is all because of God's word, like this example in Ephesians 6 10. See, God does it, but you are the instrument. You are the vessel.

He flows through you. And about this book, we do, you'll love this story. We do book events where the book is available for purchase.

It's also a great time to meet people. For me personally, and any part of the team that is with me for the event, we get to encounter those who stopped to speak and take a look at the book. And then, of course, the book is available for signing. And by the way, let me know if you're interested, okay?

Because we can make that happen. But this is the story. A lady stopped.

I think it was toward the end of the day at this particular event recently. And she was very pleasant and said, you know, looking at the book, picking it up, she asked, what does this title mean? So I explained the reference to the hand of God coming on the prophet Elijah, how he outran the horses that day, hence the title, running with horses. And I said, you know, the idea here is to inspire bold faith in God that prays big prayers.

He is a very big God, and our expectation can match the scope of his nature when we pray big prayers and expect him to intervene in our situation, whether it's a healing or a relationship or we're just believing God for the kingdom to come and the will of God to be done. So that was my reply, my answer. And she just was so, it was such a neat response.

She said, oh, well, am I just going to walk away and say, well, no, I don't really need that. Hey, I'll take two. So she purchased two that day, two copies of our book, Running with Horses.

One, she said, one is for me and one is for my sister because, hey, she really needs this book. Isn't that cool? Isn't that cool? So we loved this book and the title so much that last spring, in the spring of 2022, actually March of this year, 2023 is the one year mark for this podcast. We launched the podcast by the same name, Running with Horses. That makes the podcast the latest startup for our ministry.

And I say about this podcast, when asked again in conversation, listen, this is where we sit down to discuss specifics of this bold faith lifestyle. Again, it's a mindset, see? It's a lifestyle. It's not in and out or sometimes.

It's not up or down. It's the way we live because we have this vibrant presence that Paul spoke of in Ephesians 6 10. So as we look over into the new year, I want to expand a little here. In your show notes, you'll read that we believe that this podcast takes a spiritual look at the culture and the world because we care about the world view that we all have. Right. As we see it and the believers leadership role as catalyst for biblical outcomes that impact our generation.

That's the description in your show notes today and in really every episode of Running with Horses. But I want to expand. I want to expand on that emphasis and say, going into looking out into the new year 2023, let's look at where we are in time and let's think about that. Let's talk about that. You know, prophecy is a third of the Bible.

And so because we have that volume of information written by the Holy Spirit, our teacher, then the goal becomes for you and for me to be more involved in the culture, in the world, in our generation, to be more involved, more engaged than ever. And if you have a tendency to be silent or to withhold what you have to say, just decide this year you will move away from that inclination to not rock the boat. It's OK to rock the boat.

I mean, if you've got dynamite on the inside of you, you will rock the boat. Makes sense? Right. Romans 1 19. For what can be known about God is playing to us because God has shown it to us.

What can be known about God is playing to us because God has shown it to us. I heard this quote just recently, prophecy, poorly understood, creates paralysis and cynicism. Prophecy, prophecy, properly understood, creates urgency and optimism. I think that's true.

I think that is completely true, which is why we need to look more, discuss more and study more. Someone said recently in time, prophecy is not a call to apathy, to give up because things look bleak, but to be more engaged than ever and ask yourself the question, what do you want to be doing when Jesus returns? What will your life look like? Are you just a consumer of information? Are you just taking in teaching? Are you just imbibing of other the voice of others and never communicating what you know to the world around you? If that is true, you know. Draw yourself up. Come on, stand up.

You've got dynamite on the inside of you. So the topic today is threshold of common sense, threshold of common sense, because we need one. A threshold is a border between rooms. You know, you walk over the threshold to change from one room to another, one area to another, and another more figurative definition would be that a threshold moment is one when some quality or amount begins to change, either physically, psychologically. There's a quality change. The change can also mean a condition is met when something goes above the threshold.

That's what you want. We want to seize this time, look at the threshold, move from the room we are into the room God is calling, and figuratively to consider the quality and the amount of what it is that he is offering, and then to realize that physically and psychologically we can do it. Hey, we've got this dynamite power on the inside of us for some reason. I believe the focus here is a solid one, a valid one. And secondly, in our title, common sense, this idea of common sense is a basic level, I'm reading the definition, a basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way. You know, prophetic utterance and the operation of the prophetic gift is so appealing when there is a practical part that the world can discern and see either visibly or in a spiritual sense that there's a sense that you and I are carrying an understanding of how to relate, how to relate to the culture, how to relate to our generation.

That's the common sense that we need. You know, if you're talking and no one is listening, that doesn't accomplish very much. So we can interject what God gives us into the culture and world, into the generation in which we live. We can interject what God has given us when we use, first of all, his call, step over the threshold, you can do it, you can leave the room where you've been, where it's been safe, where there's no risk, like you're experiencing no risk.

Cross the threshold, literally and figuratively, and change the quality of what you're doing, change the amount of what you're doing and saying so that you have a voice and God will see to it that there's an audience, a hearer. You know, listen, I am a consumer of current events. And also, I would say in the last year, I've become a consumer of end-time Bible prophecy.

I've been studying. And to me, clearly, the two are emerging. Let me say that again. Current events and end-time Bible prophecy are clearly merging. Clearly. It's so clear to me, so obvious to me, which is why we can add this to our emphasis on God's supernatural lifestyle for you on this podcast.

Let me give you two examples. If you, like me, read through the Bible once a year, if you're on that reading plan, then just recently you would have read the book of Revelation. And reading the book of Revelation, when you read chapter 13, which has to do with the economy that is taking place during the tribulation period, what the economy looks like, you would have to say that in chapter 13 of the book of Revelation, the restrictions, the tyranny, the restraints on the freedoms to buy and sell that we have known, would sound amazingly familiar. And if it doesn't sound familiar, listen, it should.

It should. And that part of the book of Revelation is describing the tribulation period, and you could interject where we are right now in that book. And you say, well, that's nothing new.

It's always been that way. Any generation could say that. Yes, but that is true.

But what generation has lived at this juncture in the number of years and the time that has passed since the people, the Jewish people, were regathered and returned to their homeland, the state of Israel, in May of 1948? Now, that's the qualifier right there. That makes all the difference. Here's another example, Romans 1, where we read about the wrath of God, which, you know, the wrath of God is reserved for the tribulation period. God has not appointed us to wrath. So that period of time described here in Romans 1, just three verses, verse 24, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts. Verse 26, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Verse 28, God gave them up to a debased mind. So the lust of the heart, dishonorable passions, debased mind, wrath of God on those things, does any of that sound familiar?

It should. And remembering that the nation state of Israel was established, reestablished in May of 1948 for the purpose of the regathering of God's people back to their homeland, you and I should have a serious heads up right here reading these passages. And you might say, because I have heard people say, but my heart is not there. My heart is just not in all that.

I'm just not thinking about all that. Well, why isn't your heart there? I will say that your heart is not there, maybe because of why my heart was reluctant to go there. It's because my heart has decided I have determined in my own will to not go there.

My heart is not there because my heart will not go there. But if you allow your heart to go into Bible prophecy and open your heart to what God is saying, listen, this threshold of common sense can be so integrated into your walk with the Lord. And listen, it's going to be explosive, just like Ephesians 6 10 and the compound word there for strong.

It means in dynamite you have within you explosive strength, explosive ability and explosive power. Isn't that what happened to Elijah that day when he outran the horses back to the city of Jezreel, the hand of the Lord upon him? So let's pray that way. Embrace, embrace what you understand. And I ask God to enlarge your heart to understand even more. Father, today in Jesus name, we pray this way. We ask you to show to us, reveal to us your heart about the time that we're living in and the role that you have given to each believer for this time, for this season, the importance of it. And also, Lord, begin to prepare our hearts as we're enlarged in this way to understand at a level of revelation we just haven't had before.

We believe you for that now in Jesus name, amen and amen. You have, the Bible says, you have the mind of Christ. You can think like him.

Ask yourself this question. What is Jesus thinking right now? What is he thinking about his end time bride, his end time body, his end time work? What is Jesus thinking?

You have that mind. And that download is life changing. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support this podcast, please share it with others. Post about it on social media or leave a rating and review. Don't forget to check out the show notes or visit acleartrumpet.org where you can subscribe to Shirley's email list. Download the ministry app and purchase your very own copy of Shirley's 365-day devotional, Running with Horses. Thanks again and we'll see you next time.