October 24, 2025 • 30 mins
A ruthless demand to “gouge the right eye” sounds like distant history, but the siege of Jabesh Gilead reveals something uncomfortably current: the enemy still bargains for small concessions that cost us our sight in the battles that matter. We walk through 1 Samuel 11, unpack who Nahash the Ammonite was, and explain why the right eye carried military, social, and spiritual weight in the ancient Near East. That lens opens up a larger theme—Israel’s recurring loop of revelation, drift, oppression, and rescue—and why so many of us feel trapped in the same pattern today.
From there, we zoom out to the promise Jeremiah foresaw and Jesus fulfilled: a new covenant written on hearts, not just on stone. Forgiveness is the doorway, but indwelling life is the house. We talk candidly about addiction, the futility of white-knuckled willpower, and the moment surrender stops being defeat and becomes transfer of power. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just come upon us for a moment; he lives within, teaching us to wait for power rather than rush into treaties with temptation.
You’ll hear practical, grounded steps to break cycles: ask for time the way Jabesh did, wait for help instead of grabbing the first escape, and choose the pace of peace over the hurry of fear. Prayer, simple obedience, quiet trust, and grateful worship become daily weapons, not religious chores. Refuse the “just one eye” deals. Keep your sight, keep your depth perception, and keep your future. Greater is the One within you than the pressure around you, and the same power that raised Jesus now strengthens your next choice.
If this conversation helped you see your own battle more clearly, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s fighting a cycle, and leave a review so others can find the show. What treaty do you need to refuse this week?
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:38):
We've been taking some time and looking into the
book of 1 Samuel, and in chapter11, we found something pretty
significant that we wanted topark on for a little while.
And it specifically pertains toa cycle that Israel continually
(00:58):
found themselves going through.
And we'll talk about that in alittle bit, but Israel being
God's chosen people had withthem the great privilege of
carrying that name, but also theresponsibility of carrying that
(01:21):
name.
And with privilege comesresponsibility, and part of the
responsibility was that theirlives would be lived in such a
way that the entire world wouldbe able to look in on what was
going on often.
(01:43):
And God would use them assomewhat of a sundial, both in a
good way, but also in a way thatwould show their other side, the
side that wasn't really good.
It was actually where they wouldfall into some very serious,
serious lifestyle issues thatwould break the covenant that
(02:09):
they had with God.
They would fall into idolatry,they would serve other foreign
gods, and it was a direct resultof their nature being human and
(02:29):
unredeemed.
And in it, not only did theylive it out, but we can see some
of the same patterns in our ownlives, if we're honest.
The fact that we have lived withsome times where we've done
(02:51):
well, seemingly done reallygood, and then other times where
it's been we don't want anyoneto really know what it is that
we've been doing because we'renot proud of it.
A cycle going from you know thatplace of being really inwardly
determined that we're gonna justdo the right thing to not really
(03:16):
carrying that same attitude andnot caring what we did with our
lives, kind of care less.
And Israel was very much thatway.
And we're picking up a story in1 Samuel chapter 11 where Israel
found themselves in a verydifficult situation, and that
(03:38):
there was a kingdom that wasalways on the lookout for a way
to get to Israel, to eitherconquer them or to put them into
a place of turmoil, and it wasthe Ammonites.
(03:58):
There were several.
There were the Ammonites, therewere the Hittites, there were
the Philistines, there was justthere was a variety of people
from the East, West, North, andSouth that did not like Israel.
Funny thing.
It's much the same today.
In year 2025, we have peoplefrom the East, West, North, and
(04:22):
South that are opposing thenation of Israel in a very
significant way.
And it's because they are God'schosen people.
Not because they've been thegreatest, but because God chose
them.
(04:42):
Plain and simple.
It was God's choice to makecovenant with them and to use
them as the basis for allcovenants, and we who believe in
Jesus have been grafted in likea wild olive branch.
We would graft it into thecovenant that's been cut in the
(05:06):
very blood of Jesus.
Hallelujah.
But anyway, the nation of Israelwas in a very difficult place in
chapter eleven of first Samuel,and that this leader by the name
of Nahash.
And Nahash's name is pronouncedjust that way Nahash, but you
(05:29):
kind of hold that and a littlebit longer, like Nahash, almost
like the hiss of a snake.
In fact, his name was translatedas being snake or serpent.
And he was notorious.
Nahash the Ammonite, kind oflike Tiller the Hun or you know,
(05:53):
the Gigas Kong of the Marauders.
There was a notorious title thathe carried because one of the
practices that he loved toengage in was gouging out the
eyes of his opponent.
(06:13):
He was a person that would takeand gouge out the eyes of those
people that he defeated becausein the Near East at that time
there was a widespread beliefand tradition that eyes had
(06:36):
immense power, not just forsight, but for emotional and
spiritual connection.
And blinding an enemy was a wayto neutralize that power.
And blindness was also viewed asa major disability, leaving a
person vulnerable and dependenton others.
(06:57):
The vulnerability was bothphysical and a sign of impurity
or exclusion.
Blindness was something that wasknown to be a form of severe
punishment for political andmilitary rivals.
Certain ancient societies usedblinding to disqualify rebel
(07:20):
people that were rivals, todisqualify them from ruling
because it would eliminate themas a threat in any way
concerning their ability tofight in the military.
So the scripture, you know,really points out the fact that
(07:40):
in 1 Samuel chapter eleven,verse 1 through 3, and in fact
I'll read it.
It says Nahash the Ammonite wentup and besieged Jabush Gilead.
And all the men of Jabish saidto him, Make a treaty with us
and we'll be subject to you.
(08:02):
But Nahash the Ammonite replied,I will make a treaty with you
only on the condition that Igouge out the right eye of every
one of you, and so bringdisgrace on all Israel.
The elders of Jabish said tohim, Give us seven days so we
(08:22):
can send messengers to Israel.
If no one comes to rescue us, wewill surrender to you.
(08:49):
Well, she did.
And Samson lost his power as aresult of his hair being cut.
And in verse 21 through 22 ofJudges chapter 16, we read The
Philistines seized him, gougedhis eyes, and took him down to
(09:10):
Gaza, binding him with bronzeshackles, they set him to
grinding in the prison, but thehair on his head began to grow
again after it had been shaved.
Again, the gouging out of eyes.
As we said, the Ammonites werepart of the people from the Near
(09:30):
East at the time, so were thePhilistines.
That whole culture had a lot tothink about and say about things
concerning the eyes.
In fact, the scriptures have alot to say about the eyes.
There are over 500 references inthe scriptures that talk about
(09:54):
the eyes.
In fact, let me give you fourquick examples.
Matthew chapter six, versestwenty two through twenty-three.
Jesus said, The eye is the lampof the body.
If your eyes are healthy, yourwhole body is full of light.
But if your eyes are unhealthy,your whole body will be full of
(10:18):
darkness.
Interesting.
Psalm one nineteen verseeighteen says, Open my eyes that
I may see wonderful things inyour law.
Proverbs four verse twenty five.
Let your eyes look straightahead, fix your gaze directly
before you.
(10:54):
No wonder the removal of eyeswas used by the Ammonites,
because it would bring disgrace.
It would bring disgrace on theentire nation of Israel as well
as incapacitating the men ofJabesh from any military
activity.
(11:15):
Removing the right eye created aterrible blind spot, leaving the
soldier unable to defend himselfor to be on the offensive or on
some sort of attack mode.
The Philistines also practicedeye gouging and removal as a
(11:35):
sign of public humiliation,defeat, and torture.
In fact, they were the BTKbefore there was a BTK serial
killer in the United States ofAmerica.
There's nothing new under thesun, just new window dressings.
(12:02):
As we said before, when a personlooks at the history of Israel
as a nation, we get kind of abird's eye view because much of
it was recorded in thescriptures, right?
So the people who lived it outdaily typically didn't have the
helicopter view we do.
We see things from our vantagepoint, but they were literally
(12:29):
caught in a cycle.
And if you know what I'm talkingabout in being caught in a
cycle, we briefly discussed itat the beginning of the podcast,
where you want to do goodthings, you get kind of that
surge where you want to do goodand then you fall away.
(12:50):
And then something happens, youwant to do good again, then you
fall away.
And it goes on and on and on andon.
And it's kind of in the end,it's like, well, is it even
(13:10):
worth it to try to kind of getmy hopes up?
Because I end up falling flat onmy face anyway.
And that is a concern and aquestion that we all face if
we're honest.
And in Israel, the cycle, right?
(13:30):
The cycle would look somethinglike this.
God would reveal his presenceand the glory of his kingdom.
A call to repent and change themindset of behavior would come,
and people would accept that andthey would change.
And there would be a shift, andthe people would begin getting
(13:54):
stronger and more prosperous inall areas of life.
Israel began defeating itsenemies, and God's name became
revered among the nations.
But inevitably a shift wouldsuddenly begin taking place.
People started loving things andusing people instead of loving
(14:16):
God, loving one another andusing things to enjoy life
together.
Next they began looking at howother nations were doing things
and began taking upon themselvestheir culture and adhering to
their ways.
They would experience thepleasure found in the lifestyle
(14:37):
that was contrary to life of Godin his kingdom, and it had kind
of an intoxicating effect onthem.
But that would only last for aperiod of time.
It felt good and it looked good,almost too good to be true,
until the enemy would show histrue colors and begin oppressing
(15:01):
and overpowering the nation,ultimately defeating them and
bringing them into captivity.
After several years ofcaptivity, Israel would begin to
cry out again to God for mercyand for deliverance, and God, in
his mercy, would hear their cry,send the deliverer, and redeem
them from their condition.
Once again, he would reveal histrue nature and the glory of his
(15:24):
kingdom.
The people would repent and Godwould not hold their sins
against them.
He would justify them andsanctify them as holy.
Life in the kingdom of God wouldbecome a new experience for a
new generation, but the cyclethen would continue to go on
from there, and it would go onand on and on, and the cycle
seemed to be unbreakable.
(15:47):
And in some of your lives, thecycle seems to be unbreakable.
I know in mine, at one point inmy life, I felt that it was
unbreakable.
The cycle of alcoholism to havea craving and a mental obsession
(16:09):
and then a determination tostop.
Only to stop for a little while,and then there would be an
obsession that would take place,and a craving with that
obsession, and then a givinginto it, and that addiction
process would then kick in, andthe degradation would ensue, and
(16:32):
soon there would be that feelingof uselessness with a cry for
help, and it would go on and onand on, and it wouldn't seem to
have any end until at one pointin time I just kind of gave up,
which isn't necessarily a badthing.
(16:52):
It all depends on what you dowhen you give up.
If you give up and give up onlife, that's a huge mistake.
But if you give up and surrenderto God, something different has
taken place as a result of JesusChrist.
(17:13):
See, prior to Jesus, the Spiritof God would only come upon
people.
He didn't dwell within people.
But in Jeremiah, the prophetJeremiah said something and
prophesied something that wasgoing to take place down the
road, and he could see somethinghappening down the road, but it
(17:37):
hadn't happened yet in the oldcovenant prior to Jesus.
But Jeremiah said this inJeremiah chapter 31, verses 31
through 33.
We have it written, He said, Thetime is coming, declares the
Lord, when I will make a newcovenant with the house of
Israel and with the house ofJudah.
(18:00):
It will not be like the covenantI made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand andled them out of Egypt, because
they broke my covenant, though Iwas a husband to them, declares
the Lord.
This is the covenant I will makewith the house of Israel after
that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my law in their mindsand write it in their hearts.
(18:25):
I will be their God and theywill be my people.
That's talking about Jesus, thetime of Jesus, the time in which
Jesus came, conceived, born,lived, and died sinless.
(18:55):
He was the spotless lamb, thesinless one, whose blood, whose
very blood it would take bloodto break that cycle.
It would take the blood of aperfect man.
Not the blood of an animal, butthe blood of a perfect man would
(19:16):
be able to break that cycle inmankind.
That cycle of sin and deathwhere we would ultimately find
ourselves back in that thingagain, even though we would try.
But how would that break?
The blood would break it, but wewould be able to overcome it
(19:38):
because not only were weforgiven, not only did Jesus
shed his blood for theforgiveness of our sins, but so
that we could receive life.
The life of God would be in us.
He wouldn't just lead us by thehand, he would lead us by the
heart.
Big difference, man.
(20:00):
Big difference.
And now when the same issuescome our way, there's a power
within us.
The very life of God, the verySpirit of God is in us, not just
upon us.
Yes, he comes upon us.
Yes, he dwells around us, but helives within us.
(20:26):
He abides in us and we abide inhim.
We have covenant.
Jesus cut covenant with hisblood.
And because of his death, hisresurrection, and his ascension,
we now have victory over thatcycle.
Praise God.
(20:46):
Now, how do you do it?
How do you do it?
Because the temptations stillcome.
But now we have a power to drawupon.
We have life that we didn't havebefore.
And we can draw upon that lifewhen we ask for help.
(21:07):
And we wait.
You see, sometimes we aretempted to do things in a very
hurried fashion.
If it doesn't happen right away,it must not be something that's
going to happen at all.
It's probably not going tohappen to me at all.
It didn't happen right away,it's not going to happen.
Sometimes we have to wait.
(21:30):
You see, the pace of peace isdifferent than the pace that
comes when we are being hurriedalong.
A hectic life.
And God knows we live hecticlives.
And to settle down and to slowdown and to wait sometimes is
(21:56):
unnatural for us.
But again, we have a life in usthat's not just our own.
We can cooperate.
We still operate on our own.
We can cooperate.
We're not the one in a driver'sseat any longer.
God is.
We've given him our life.
(22:16):
He now is one who possesses ourlife.
And when we wait upon him, hewill renew our strength.
The scriptures promise thatthose of us who wait upon the
Lord will renew our strength.
We will not faint, we'll notgrow weary.
We will mount up like wings asthough we were like on the wings
(22:38):
of eagles or with eagles.
We'll run and not be weary,we'll walk and not faint.
When we wait on the Lord, whenwe slow down, we don't make a
treaty, right?
We do what they did in JabishGilead.
(23:01):
And that they said, wait sevendays before we give in to your
request.
Sometimes we gotta wait.
Because help is on the way.
And the help that's on the wayis from the inside.
This is an inside job.
It's an inside out operation.
(23:24):
But we need to learn how towait.
Wait for his help, but also towait for his power.
When we are empowered by theHoly Spirit, after Jesus said to
his disciples, and he breathedon him, he said, Receive the
Holy Spirit.
(23:47):
Later he said, wait in Jerusalemuntil you are given power by the
Holy Spirit.
Power.
We need to be empowered to servein the kingdom of God because
(24:07):
the opposition that comes ourway is strong, man.
I'm not gonna deny the fact thatit is strong even when you're a
believer, it still remainsstrong, the opposition.
But greater is he that is in usthan he that is in the world.
And I'm talking about Satan andhis kingdom and his powers.
(24:29):
And we are in a battle.
Like it or not, we're in abattle, but we are victorious in
Jesus because of Jesus.
By his spirit we overcome.
If we are diligent in our lifeto pray, if we're faithful to
obey, if we quietly trust,patiently observe, and
(24:52):
thankfully give praise andworship to God, we will be
overcomers.
You can overcome the cycle.
You don't have to be subject tothat endless cycle of hope and
disappointment.
You can be victorious over thesituation and the circumstances
(25:14):
in your life, the difficultiesthat come your way, and trouble
will come.
In this world, we're gonna havetribulations.
But Jesus said, be of goodcheer.
I've overcome the world.
He's overcome, and now we too inhim can overcome when we follow
him.
Hallelujah.
(25:35):
That is good news.
We have a deliverer, we have aredeemer, we have a Messiah, we
have one who's saved us from oursins, forgiven us from all of
our sins, the ones that wecommitted, the ones that we
might commit today, and the onesthat you might commit tomorrow,
that all forgiven.
(25:56):
Hallelujah.
This is a very, very, verysignificant covenant that we've
been called into.
And one of the things that we'vebeen called into is to be
overcomers, to not be subject tothe endless cycle like we see in
life of Israel prior to Jesus.
(26:16):
It was an example to show all ofus that that's really the way
life is without hope, withouthelp, without God.
We're destined to be in anendless cycle.
But if you're a believer, in youis a power, the same power that
(26:39):
raised Christ Jesus from thedead dwells in you.
Once again, the same power thatraised Christ Jesus, that raised
Jesus from the dead, the samepower, the same life, the same
spirit that raised him from thedead dwells in you.
(27:04):
You can overcome, if he overcamedeath, you can overcome anything
in this life.
Anything.
And even then, in the end, weovercome death.
We are destined to be citizensof the kingdom of God eternally,
with eternal life in us.
(27:27):
So, if you're looking at yoursituation in life and you're
facing a difficult time, draw onthe strength of the Lord and
wait.
Wait until you're endued withpower.
Don't make some sort of treatywith the enemy.
Don't give in to thattemptation.
Don't say, Well, just give in alittle bit, just one eye.
(27:50):
You know, just go do one eye,don't just go to a both eyes.
Nah, it doesn't work that way.
When you're dismembered, you'redisqualified to battle.
Fortunately, God is merciful andhis mercy does not disqualify us
(28:12):
from life, but we becomeineffective.
But when we don't give in to theenemy and he doesn't gouge out
our eye, we remain capable ofengaging in spiritual warfare
and being victorious.
Hallelujah.
(28:35):
So one of the lessons that welearn in the book of 1 Samuel,
chapter 11, is that there arecycles in life, but Israel made
a wise choice in not giving into the d into the demands of the
(28:56):
enemy.
Even though they were tempted tomake a treaty with them, with
him.
And now, through Jesus Christ,by his spirit, we are
overcomers.
Let's pray.
(29:18):
Father, thank you.
Thank you that you have given usyour life.
You've given us your spirit.
Holy Spirit, you have come inthe name of Jesus and found a
dwelling within us.
(29:39):
Teach us your ways, O Lord.
Show us.
Show us how to wait.
Show us how to receive.
Teach us things that we don'tknow on our own.
By our own thoughts and our ownstudies.
You show us things, God.
Reveal.
(30:00):
By revelation, give to usinsight and understanding.
I thank you.
And we stand here in the name ofJesus and we declare that in Him
we are victorious.
And we say Amen.
So be it.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
(30:20):
Alright, folks, we love you.
And if you have any thoughts,questions, concerns, please feel
free to drop us a line at lifeare on the fire at gmail.com.
Type in LifeRon the Fire andlook us up on the web.
We would love to hear from you.
In the meantime, God bless you.
Adios, amigos.
We've been taking some time and looking into the
book of 1 Samuel, and in chapter11, we found something pretty
significant that we wanted topark on for a little while.
And it specifically pertains toa cycle that Israel continually
(00:58):
found themselves going through.
And we'll talk about that in alittle bit, but Israel being
God's chosen people had withthem the great privilege of
carrying that name, but also theresponsibility of carrying that
(01:21):
name.
And with privilege comesresponsibility, and part of the
responsibility was that theirlives would be lived in such a
way that the entire world wouldbe able to look in on what was
going on often.
(01:43):
And God would use them assomewhat of a sundial, both in a
good way, but also in a way thatwould show their other side, the
side that wasn't really good.
It was actually where they wouldfall into some very serious,
serious lifestyle issues thatwould break the covenant that
(02:09):
they had with God.
They would fall into idolatry,they would serve other foreign
gods, and it was a direct resultof their nature being human and
(02:29):
unredeemed.
And in it, not only did theylive it out, but we can see some
of the same patterns in our ownlives, if we're honest.
The fact that we have lived withsome times where we've done
(02:51):
well, seemingly done reallygood, and then other times where
it's been we don't want anyoneto really know what it is that
we've been doing because we'renot proud of it.
A cycle going from you know thatplace of being really inwardly
determined that we're gonna justdo the right thing to not really
(03:16):
carrying that same attitude andnot caring what we did with our
lives, kind of care less.
And Israel was very much thatway.
And we're picking up a story in1 Samuel chapter 11 where Israel
found themselves in a verydifficult situation, and that
(03:38):
there was a kingdom that wasalways on the lookout for a way
to get to Israel, to eitherconquer them or to put them into
a place of turmoil, and it wasthe Ammonites.
(03:58):
There were several.
There were the Ammonites, therewere the Hittites, there were
the Philistines, there was justthere was a variety of people
from the East, West, North, andSouth that did not like Israel.
Funny thing.
It's much the same today.
In year 2025, we have peoplefrom the East, West, North, and
(04:22):
South that are opposing thenation of Israel in a very
significant way.
And it's because they are God'schosen people.
Not because they've been thegreatest, but because God chose
them.
(04:42):
Plain and simple.
It was God's choice to makecovenant with them and to use
them as the basis for allcovenants, and we who believe in
Jesus have been grafted in likea wild olive branch.
We would graft it into thecovenant that's been cut in the
(05:06):
very blood of Jesus.
Hallelujah.
But anyway, the nation of Israelwas in a very difficult place in
chapter eleven of first Samuel,and that this leader by the name
of Nahash.
And Nahash's name is pronouncedjust that way Nahash, but you
(05:29):
kind of hold that and a littlebit longer, like Nahash, almost
like the hiss of a snake.
In fact, his name was translatedas being snake or serpent.
And he was notorious.
Nahash the Ammonite, kind oflike Tiller the Hun or you know,
(05:53):
the Gigas Kong of the Marauders.
There was a notorious title thathe carried because one of the
practices that he loved toengage in was gouging out the
eyes of his opponent.
(06:13):
He was a person that would takeand gouge out the eyes of those
people that he defeated becausein the Near East at that time
there was a widespread beliefand tradition that eyes had
(06:36):
immense power, not just forsight, but for emotional and
spiritual connection.
And blinding an enemy was a wayto neutralize that power.
And blindness was also viewed asa major disability, leaving a
person vulnerable and dependenton others.
(06:57):
The vulnerability was bothphysical and a sign of impurity
or exclusion.
Blindness was something that wasknown to be a form of severe
punishment for political andmilitary rivals.
Certain ancient societies usedblinding to disqualify rebel
(07:20):
people that were rivals, todisqualify them from ruling
because it would eliminate themas a threat in any way
concerning their ability tofight in the military.
So the scripture, you know,really points out the fact that
(07:40):
in 1 Samuel chapter eleven,verse 1 through 3, and in fact
I'll read it.
It says Nahash the Ammonite wentup and besieged Jabush Gilead.
And all the men of Jabish saidto him, Make a treaty with us
and we'll be subject to you.
(08:02):
But Nahash the Ammonite replied,I will make a treaty with you
only on the condition that Igouge out the right eye of every
one of you, and so bringdisgrace on all Israel.
The elders of Jabish said tohim, Give us seven days so we
(08:22):
can send messengers to Israel.
If no one comes to rescue us, wewill surrender to you.
(08:49):
Well, she did.
And Samson lost his power as aresult of his hair being cut.
And in verse 21 through 22 ofJudges chapter 16, we read The
Philistines seized him, gougedhis eyes, and took him down to
(09:10):
Gaza, binding him with bronzeshackles, they set him to
grinding in the prison, but thehair on his head began to grow
again after it had been shaved.
Again, the gouging out of eyes.
As we said, the Ammonites werepart of the people from the Near
(09:30):
East at the time, so were thePhilistines.
That whole culture had a lot tothink about and say about things
concerning the eyes.
In fact, the scriptures have alot to say about the eyes.
There are over 500 references inthe scriptures that talk about
(09:54):
the eyes.
In fact, let me give you fourquick examples.
Matthew chapter six, versestwenty two through twenty-three.
Jesus said, The eye is the lampof the body.
If your eyes are healthy, yourwhole body is full of light.
But if your eyes are unhealthy,your whole body will be full of
(10:18):
darkness.
Interesting.
Psalm one nineteen verseeighteen says, Open my eyes that
I may see wonderful things inyour law.
Proverbs four verse twenty five.
Let your eyes look straightahead, fix your gaze directly
before you.
(10:54):
No wonder the removal of eyeswas used by the Ammonites,
because it would bring disgrace.
It would bring disgrace on theentire nation of Israel as well
as incapacitating the men ofJabesh from any military
activity.
(11:15):
Removing the right eye created aterrible blind spot, leaving the
soldier unable to defend himselfor to be on the offensive or on
some sort of attack mode.
The Philistines also practicedeye gouging and removal as a
(11:35):
sign of public humiliation,defeat, and torture.
In fact, they were the BTKbefore there was a BTK serial
killer in the United States ofAmerica.
There's nothing new under thesun, just new window dressings.
(12:02):
As we said before, when a personlooks at the history of Israel
as a nation, we get kind of abird's eye view because much of
it was recorded in thescriptures, right?
So the people who lived it outdaily typically didn't have the
helicopter view we do.
We see things from our vantagepoint, but they were literally
(12:29):
caught in a cycle.
And if you know what I'm talkingabout in being caught in a
cycle, we briefly discussed itat the beginning of the podcast,
where you want to do goodthings, you get kind of that
surge where you want to do goodand then you fall away.
(12:50):
And then something happens, youwant to do good again, then you
fall away.
And it goes on and on and on andon.
And it's kind of in the end,it's like, well, is it even
(13:10):
worth it to try to kind of getmy hopes up?
Because I end up falling flat onmy face anyway.
And that is a concern and aquestion that we all face if
we're honest.
And in Israel, the cycle, right?
(13:30):
The cycle would look somethinglike this.
God would reveal his presenceand the glory of his kingdom.
A call to repent and change themindset of behavior would come,
and people would accept that andthey would change.
And there would be a shift, andthe people would begin getting
(13:54):
stronger and more prosperous inall areas of life.
Israel began defeating itsenemies, and God's name became
revered among the nations.
But inevitably a shift wouldsuddenly begin taking place.
People started loving things andusing people instead of loving
(14:16):
God, loving one another andusing things to enjoy life
together.
Next they began looking at howother nations were doing things
and began taking upon themselvestheir culture and adhering to
their ways.
They would experience thepleasure found in the lifestyle
(14:37):
that was contrary to life of Godin his kingdom, and it had kind
of an intoxicating effect onthem.
But that would only last for aperiod of time.
It felt good and it looked good,almost too good to be true,
until the enemy would show histrue colors and begin oppressing
(15:01):
and overpowering the nation,ultimately defeating them and
bringing them into captivity.
After several years ofcaptivity, Israel would begin to
cry out again to God for mercyand for deliverance, and God, in
his mercy, would hear their cry,send the deliverer, and redeem
them from their condition.
Once again, he would reveal histrue nature and the glory of his
(15:24):
kingdom.
The people would repent and Godwould not hold their sins
against them.
He would justify them andsanctify them as holy.
Life in the kingdom of God wouldbecome a new experience for a
new generation, but the cyclethen would continue to go on
from there, and it would go onand on and on, and the cycle
seemed to be unbreakable.
(15:47):
And in some of your lives, thecycle seems to be unbreakable.
I know in mine, at one point inmy life, I felt that it was
unbreakable.
The cycle of alcoholism to havea craving and a mental obsession
(16:09):
and then a determination tostop.
Only to stop for a little while,and then there would be an
obsession that would take place,and a craving with that
obsession, and then a givinginto it, and that addiction
process would then kick in, andthe degradation would ensue, and
(16:32):
soon there would be that feelingof uselessness with a cry for
help, and it would go on and onand on, and it wouldn't seem to
have any end until at one pointin time I just kind of gave up,
which isn't necessarily a badthing.
(16:52):
It all depends on what you dowhen you give up.
If you give up and give up onlife, that's a huge mistake.
But if you give up and surrenderto God, something different has
taken place as a result of JesusChrist.
(17:13):
See, prior to Jesus, the Spiritof God would only come upon
people.
He didn't dwell within people.
But in Jeremiah, the prophetJeremiah said something and
prophesied something that wasgoing to take place down the
road, and he could see somethinghappening down the road, but it
(17:37):
hadn't happened yet in the oldcovenant prior to Jesus.
But Jeremiah said this inJeremiah chapter 31, verses 31
through 33.
We have it written, He said, Thetime is coming, declares the
Lord, when I will make a newcovenant with the house of
Israel and with the house ofJudah.
(18:00):
It will not be like the covenantI made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand andled them out of Egypt, because
they broke my covenant, though Iwas a husband to them, declares
the Lord.
This is the covenant I will makewith the house of Israel after
that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my law in their mindsand write it in their hearts.
(18:25):
I will be their God and theywill be my people.
That's talking about Jesus, thetime of Jesus, the time in which
Jesus came, conceived, born,lived, and died sinless.
(18:55):
He was the spotless lamb, thesinless one, whose blood, whose
very blood it would take bloodto break that cycle.
It would take the blood of aperfect man.
Not the blood of an animal, butthe blood of a perfect man would
(19:16):
be able to break that cycle inmankind.
That cycle of sin and deathwhere we would ultimately find
ourselves back in that thingagain, even though we would try.
But how would that break?
The blood would break it, but wewould be able to overcome it
(19:38):
because not only were weforgiven, not only did Jesus
shed his blood for theforgiveness of our sins, but so
that we could receive life.
The life of God would be in us.
He wouldn't just lead us by thehand, he would lead us by the
heart.
Big difference, man.
(20:00):
Big difference.
And now when the same issuescome our way, there's a power
within us.
The very life of God, the verySpirit of God is in us, not just
upon us.
Yes, he comes upon us.
Yes, he dwells around us, but helives within us.
(20:26):
He abides in us and we abide inhim.
We have covenant.
Jesus cut covenant with hisblood.
And because of his death, hisresurrection, and his ascension,
we now have victory over thatcycle.
Praise God.
(20:46):
Now, how do you do it?
How do you do it?
Because the temptations stillcome.
But now we have a power to drawupon.
We have life that we didn't havebefore.
And we can draw upon that lifewhen we ask for help.
(21:07):
And we wait.
You see, sometimes we aretempted to do things in a very
hurried fashion.
If it doesn't happen right away,it must not be something that's
going to happen at all.
It's probably not going tohappen to me at all.
It didn't happen right away,it's not going to happen.
Sometimes we have to wait.
(21:30):
You see, the pace of peace isdifferent than the pace that
comes when we are being hurriedalong.
A hectic life.
And God knows we live hecticlives.
And to settle down and to slowdown and to wait sometimes is
(21:56):
unnatural for us.
But again, we have a life in usthat's not just our own.
We can cooperate.
We still operate on our own.
We can cooperate.
We're not the one in a driver'sseat any longer.
God is.
We've given him our life.
(22:16):
He now is one who possesses ourlife.
And when we wait upon him, hewill renew our strength.
The scriptures promise thatthose of us who wait upon the
Lord will renew our strength.
We will not faint, we'll notgrow weary.
We will mount up like wings asthough we were like on the wings
(22:38):
of eagles or with eagles.
We'll run and not be weary,we'll walk and not faint.
When we wait on the Lord, whenwe slow down, we don't make a
treaty, right?
We do what they did in JabishGilead.
(23:01):
And that they said, wait sevendays before we give in to your
request.
Sometimes we gotta wait.
Because help is on the way.
And the help that's on the wayis from the inside.
This is an inside job.
It's an inside out operation.
(23:24):
But we need to learn how towait.
Wait for his help, but also towait for his power.
When we are empowered by theHoly Spirit, after Jesus said to
his disciples, and he breathedon him, he said, Receive the
Holy Spirit.
(23:47):
Later he said, wait in Jerusalemuntil you are given power by the
Holy Spirit.
Power.
We need to be empowered to servein the kingdom of God because
(24:07):
the opposition that comes ourway is strong, man.
I'm not gonna deny the fact thatit is strong even when you're a
believer, it still remainsstrong, the opposition.
But greater is he that is in usthan he that is in the world.
And I'm talking about Satan andhis kingdom and his powers.
(24:29):
And we are in a battle.
Like it or not, we're in abattle, but we are victorious in
Jesus because of Jesus.
By his spirit we overcome.
If we are diligent in our lifeto pray, if we're faithful to
obey, if we quietly trust,patiently observe, and
(24:52):
thankfully give praise andworship to God, we will be
overcomers.
You can overcome the cycle.
You don't have to be subject tothat endless cycle of hope and
disappointment.
You can be victorious over thesituation and the circumstances
(25:14):
in your life, the difficultiesthat come your way, and trouble
will come.
In this world, we're gonna havetribulations.
But Jesus said, be of goodcheer.
I've overcome the world.
He's overcome, and now we too inhim can overcome when we follow
him.
Hallelujah.
(25:35):
That is good news.
We have a deliverer, we have aredeemer, we have a Messiah, we
have one who's saved us from oursins, forgiven us from all of
our sins, the ones that wecommitted, the ones that we
might commit today, and the onesthat you might commit tomorrow,
that all forgiven.
(25:56):
Hallelujah.
This is a very, very, verysignificant covenant that we've
been called into.
And one of the things that we'vebeen called into is to be
overcomers, to not be subject tothe endless cycle like we see in
life of Israel prior to Jesus.
(26:16):
It was an example to show all ofus that that's really the way
life is without hope, withouthelp, without God.
We're destined to be in anendless cycle.
But if you're a believer, in youis a power, the same power that
(26:39):
raised Christ Jesus from thedead dwells in you.
Once again, the same power thatraised Christ Jesus, that raised
Jesus from the dead, the samepower, the same life, the same
spirit that raised him from thedead dwells in you.
(27:04):
You can overcome, if he overcamedeath, you can overcome anything
in this life.
Anything.
And even then, in the end, weovercome death.
We are destined to be citizensof the kingdom of God eternally,
with eternal life in us.
(27:27):
So, if you're looking at yoursituation in life and you're
facing a difficult time, draw onthe strength of the Lord and
wait.
Wait until you're endued withpower.
Don't make some sort of treatywith the enemy.
Don't give in to thattemptation.
Don't say, Well, just give in alittle bit, just one eye.
(27:50):
You know, just go do one eye,don't just go to a both eyes.
Nah, it doesn't work that way.
When you're dismembered, you'redisqualified to battle.
Fortunately, God is merciful andhis mercy does not disqualify us
(28:12):
from life, but we becomeineffective.
But when we don't give in to theenemy and he doesn't gouge out
our eye, we remain capable ofengaging in spiritual warfare
and being victorious.
Hallelujah.
(28:35):
So one of the lessons that welearn in the book of 1 Samuel,
chapter 11, is that there arecycles in life, but Israel made
a wise choice in not giving into the d into the demands of the
(28:56):
enemy.
Even though they were tempted tomake a treaty with them, with
him.
And now, through Jesus Christ,by his spirit, we are
overcomers.
Let's pray.
(29:18):
Father, thank you.
Thank you that you have given usyour life.
You've given us your spirit.
Holy Spirit, you have come inthe name of Jesus and found a
dwelling within us.
(29:39):
Teach us your ways, O Lord.
Show us.
Show us how to wait.
Show us how to receive.
Teach us things that we don'tknow on our own.
By our own thoughts and our ownstudies.
You show us things, God.
Reveal.
(30:00):
By revelation, give to usinsight and understanding.
I thank you.
And we stand here in the name ofJesus and we declare that in Him
we are victorious.
And we say Amen.
So be it.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
(30:20):
Alright, folks, we love you.
And if you have any thoughts,questions, concerns, please feel
free to drop us a line at lifeare on the fire at gmail.com.
Type in LifeRon the Fire andlook us up on the web.
We would love to hear from you.
In the meantime, God bless you.
Adios, amigos.
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