For the Record (Part One)

How fun we get to fan the flames for Bibles for Asia! We don't often realize the kind of sacrifice they're having to make in order to continue being Christians.

Sometimes as Christians we look the other way and we say God will look after them. We can fan the flames for Bibles for Asia. Five dollars sends a Bible or a hundred sends twenty!

Go to TruthNetwork.com and click on the Fan the Flames Bibles for Asia! Just for the record, we've got some things that I think are really needful to look at. See what we believe the Word says about these. There's a scripture that sort of overlays everything. Psalm 24 verse 1, If it had not been for the Lord who is on our side. So just coming from that position, having the Lord on your side in any situation, look at these things that I'm just going to suggest to you here.

Tell me what you think is the obvious answer, like the obvious answer. I heard someone say if you want Word, if you want the results that the Word offers, promises, then you can't do things the same way as the world. So if you want the Word's response, if you want the Word promises, then we need to consider whether we're doing things the world's way or not.

That was sort of a rough rendering of that point. But on the Lord's side, if it had not been for the Lord on my side, where would I be? First of all, concerning Israel, the nation state of Israel, you really need to get this right. We all do.

We need to get this right. Biblically, Israel is Jacob. Israel is Jacob. The church is not Jacob. That thought, that approach is called replacement theology.

And you want to flee replacement theology, run hard. If it's going left, you want to do a hard right turn because Israel is our clock. Everything will culminate in Israel. Began there, will culminate there. So keep your eyes on Israel and do not distance yourself in any way, shape, or form from the well-being of the nation state, specifically of Jerusalem.

Do not. Whatever you can do to bless Israel and to bless the Jewish people is a very biblical stance to take. And it puts you, see, on the Lord's side. It puts you on the Lord's side. So we can say, if it had not been for the Lord who was on my side because I am on his side, he is on the side of Israel, Jerusalem, the holy city. Don't divide her land. Don't divide her people. That is the Lord's view.

Align with him if you would like for him to be on your side. First thing. Secondly, those who are in authority. Think about this.

The Bible is clear. Pray for those who are in authority. And so anything that skirts around prayer for those who are in authority is separate from being on the Lord's side. Sometimes it can be hard to pray or intercede for someone in authority who you are just abjectly in opposition to, however the commandment remains.

Pray for those who are in authority. And you'd be amazed. You'd be amazed what happens in the spiritual realm.

Maybe you haven't thought about it this way. When we obey God, when we are on the Lord's side, we obey him to pray for those who are in authority, whether we agree or not. We pray for God's intervention in their lives, his supernatural working in their lives, divine intervention, help for them. Can you imagine the difference that it makes?

Well, if you just think about it, you don't even have to imagine. Remove that kind of prayer and the situation is exponentially worse over a period of time. We have the power of light as believers, as those who carry the presence of the Spirit of God in us. Therefore, we are to pray for those in authority first.

Pray for those who are in authority first. Secondly, thirdly, excuse me, this present darkness that we experience right now is not the darkness of just someone who disagrees. We are not just not in agreement about this thing or that thing with those who contend against us. The situation now is that we are facing more than at any point in history pure evil.

We are facing, are faced with looking into the stare, into the eyes of pure evil. It's beyond anything we know. It's beyond politics. It's beyond party. It's beyond tribe.

It's beyond family. It's beyond upbringing. There is an element of evil that is present now that wasn't there before, but we could ask ourselves this question, what did we expect the last days to look like? And that may be the qualifier to help you understand that we're not just disagreeing on some things. We are taking opposition to evil, its release, and its display in our midst. Another thing, this whole issue of deception and delusion. I did a little research here to check out the occurrence of those words in the Bible, and it seems to me that deception is something that belongs to the agency of Satan, that is his work, to kill, steal, and destroy.

So deception is something that Satan does, but delusion has been attributed to when God allows us to go our own way. We are determined we're going to do it this way. We are going to do it this way, no matter his contending with us not to. And so at some point, his fatherly approach is, I will allow you to go that way.

Go do your thing, do it your way. And of course we know he's always waiting in the wings, but that kind of delusion takes on even another component in the day in which we live. The Bible term is strong delusion, where men have determined that they are going to do something evil, and God has turned them over to strong delusion, to their own way.

Some renderings, some translations are turn over, others are give over. So it's important to realize that God is not going to always contend. He's going to allow us to have our way. So remember, deception is from Satan. Delusion is something we choose and the Lord allows.

So sometimes it strengthens to become strong delusion. Also, getting some things straight for the record to be on the side of God. Many of our fellow believers are in prison.

Horrendous situations all around the world. God said, it's your job to remember them. He said, remember those in prison, Hebrews 13, 3, as if you were there. That's how we're to remember them.

So while we are operating in our petty demands, our silly nuances and really fleshly demands, people all over the world are dying for the same faith that you and I possess, claim. They are in prison. God said, remember them. Remember them in prayer.

Remember them any way that you can. Become active any way you can to help them to ease their pain, to secure their release. I'm so thankful that all around the world, organizations, individuals, believers are actively involved in doing all of that. And that is our job as the corporate body of Yeshua. We are to intercede, by the way, for the record, intercession is something that all of God's people do. This is not a job or a requirement assigned to the older ladies in the church. And they do the intercession work because, you know, they don't really have anything else to do.

That's why they do it. No, it's because they've chosen the pure thing, the right thing. In fact, intercession belongs to every believer. And travail, the Bible word is travail, that means strong prayers, strong groanings intercessions are what God has put in us by the indwelling of the Spirit. This kind of intercession is against evil, against the darkness.

And as we have said, what did we think the last days would look like? But it is for this intercession, this travail is for those who are on the Lord's side, those who champion His Word. So for the record, intercessors are not a small group of people who have nothing else important to do. Intercessors are born-again believers, men and women, older, younger, rich, poor. Some of the greatest intercessors I've ever heard pray are children, once you teach them how.

So for the record, if you are on the Lord's side, intercession is an important part of what you do. 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. Thank you.