June 20, 2025 • 28 mins
Standing at the intersection of prophecy and fulfillment, we're witnessing a divine unfolding unlike anything previously experienced. The revelation of God's presence across nations isn't some distant promise—it's happening right now, and your active participation matters more than you might realize.
Prophetic voices throughout history have glimpsed what we're now experiencing, though they often misjudged the timing. It's like driving 100mph wearing binoculars—everything seems closer than it actually is. The beautiful reality? Those weren't false prophecies; they were early glimpses into God's masterful plan that required patience to fully manifest. Now we're seeing their fulfillment in real-time.
This spiritual season demands a critical balance between power and responsibility. When power lacks accountability, abuse follows—we've seen this play out disastrously across institutions worldwide. God models perfect balance, wielding ultimate authority with perfect wisdom and grace. As His presence intensifies, He's teaching us this same equilibrium—how to steward spiritual authority responsibly.
The Western tendency toward individualism poses a particular challenge in this season. We too easily justify personal agendas by claiming "God told me," without submitting to community discernment. True spiritual maturity means finding your specific lane in God's plan while remaining accountable to others. Like a master artist working from background to foreground, God's redemptive plan was established before creation itself. The picture grows clearer not because God is improvising but because we're approaching the foreground of His eternal masterpiece.
Ready to discover your strategic role in this divine unfolding? Connect with us at lifearoundthefire.com or email lifearoundthefire@gmail.com. Your part in this story matters more than you know.
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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The scriptures tell us in Psalm 119, verse 30, that
the unfolding of God's Wordgives light, that it informs the
simple.
Now that's an interestingstatement that His Word, the
(00:26):
word of God, is unfolding,meaning that it's a progressive
thing, it's not just somethingthat has been said and then that
was that when it was said.
The word of God unfolds kind oflike a scroll or you turn pages
(00:49):
in a book.
It progresses and the purposesand the plan of God is an
unfolding one, and we are peopleright now who are alive in a
very incredible point in time inworld history, in which there
(01:12):
is a significant unfolding ofGod's purposes and his plan,
along with a real revelation andmanifestation of his very
presence.
The fact that God is revealinghimself in an unprecedented
(01:36):
fashion, in a growing way acrossthe nations, is now somewhat of
a foregone conclusion is nowsomewhat of a foregone
conclusion.
We are seeing the early stagesof such a demonstration of God
that we on planet Earth havenever seen before, and I said
(02:00):
it's just beginning.
However, it's not somethingthat's going to be taking place.
It is taking place Bigdifference.
The fact that what's takingplace right now is so
(02:20):
significant, and the fact thatyou are alive is no less
significant, because that meansyou're part of something bigger
than yourself and you're aliveto see it, not just think about
(02:41):
it happening someday.
You and I are walking this outright now.
To me, that's phenomenal,because there are certain things
that I have been waiting forfor a long time 50 plus years
and certain things that I'vebeen hearing for that long at
(03:07):
least and, from what I've beenreading, even longer than that
where people have beenprophesying, saying that this
move of God that we're in rightnow, this demonstration of God's
kingdom and his presence thatwe're currently in right now,
they, when they said it, thoughtthat it was going to be taking
place.
God's kingdom and his presencethat we're currently in right
(03:28):
now.
They, when they said it,thought that it was going to be
taking place within a very shortperiod of time, because that's
oftentimes what propheticministry is like.
I've said, it's oftentimes likedriving down a freeway going 100
miles an hour wearingbinoculars.
Driving down a freeway going100 miles an hour wearing
binoculars, it seems likeeverything is happening so much
(03:49):
faster than it really is andit's closer than what it really
is.
And when you take thebinoculars away and you slow
down a little bit, you realizethat things are developing and
they have been developing.
And now, just now, we'rebeginning to see the fulfillment
(04:14):
of what was spoken about yearsago.
So what was said years agowasn't something that was just
some wild-eyed fanatic talking.
It was just driving down thefreeway, going 100 miles an hour
, wearing binoculars.
Things seemed closer, becausethat's the nature of prophetic
(04:34):
ministry, and as we grow in ourunderstanding of that, we begin
to mature and as we apply it,what we see, we're able to apply
(04:55):
it with a little more clarityand with some sense of
understanding that we didn'thave before.
All that being said, that wedidn't have before.
All that being said, we areliving in a time that is very,
very, very powerful, and I usethat word carefully, because
(05:16):
power can be a very intoxicatingthing if it's not balanced with
responsibility.
The privilege of having powerwithout the responsibility that
goes along with it can be a veryabusive thing.
We've seen that happen in manysectors across the nations
(05:42):
Government, finance,corporations, churches, places
of power and influence, evenmedicine.
Too much power without abalancing responsibility tends
(06:02):
to lead toward abuse and some ofa dictatorship, a heavy-handed
approach toward controllingthings.
But when there's a balance ofresponsibility and a
demonstration of power.
And God walks in that perfectbalance.
(06:23):
He knows the responsibilitythat he has, he's not ignorant
of the fact that he is creatorand king, and the responsibility
that's on his shoulders is it'sweightier than anything that
any one of us carry, and yethe's not burdened by it, he
(06:47):
walks in it.
And yet it's not justresponsibility, it's balanced
with the privilege of power.
And God knows how to handlepower and, thankfully, he's
teaching us how to function inthat dynamite, in that dunamis
(07:11):
of his spirit.
And so, with all that beingsaid, I am so encouraged by the
things that I'm seeing andhearing from different places
that I'm in communication with,because the message is basically
(07:33):
the same, a little bitdifferent because of the
cultural context, but basicallythe same.
And that is this Something greatis unfolding.
We don't necessarily knowexactly what it is, and and that
is this Something great isunfolding.
We don't necessarily knowexactly what it is, and we all
know this.
We've never been here before Tosay that we all know what this
(07:55):
is about and that we have goodprograms that we can facilitate
this with.
That's a mistaken notion and wecould try, but those great
ideas are going to be just thatgreat ideas and they will fizzle
out, because we need toco-operate with God, not telling
(08:19):
God what it is that we want himto do, but us being in a place
where we respond to what he isdoing.
We stay in step with him.
We stay in step with Jesus,following Jesus, being a
disciple, being one who is closein communication with our
(08:40):
teacher, with our teacher Inthat respect, close in contact
with Holy Spirit, because he ishere in the very name of Jesus.
Jesus said that he was sendinganother just like him, and that
is none other than the HolySpirit of God.
(09:03):
And to be in step with him andto be under his teaching and his
leadership is really where it'sat, once again, making sure
that he's comfortable in what'sgoing on, not us trying to be
comfortable and telling him whatit is that we wanted to do.
(09:24):
We kind of are like that in theAmerican way of doing things,
in the Western world way ofdoing things, where we are
oftentimes too seeker-sensitive,where we want to make other
people feel comfortable aboutreceiving the gospel, without
the real consideration as towhether or not God is
(09:46):
comfortable, because, after all,this is his church, this is his
kingdom, this is his glory,this is his power.
He is creator and we are thecreation and so the tale.
There's not need to be trying.
We are the creation and so thetail.
There's not need to be tryingto wag the dog.
(10:09):
We respond, and when we do, wefind ourselves in a place of
participation and cooperation,doing things together.
Now there's an interesting pointthat I like to make in this
(10:31):
particular podcast episode thatI think is really worth
listening to and kind ofweighing out for your own, and
that's this that a good artist,actually a great artist, the
great artists know what it isthat they're going to be doing
(10:56):
before they do it, and when theybegin putting together what
they're going to be creating,they create from the furthest
point out and finish with thatwhich is closest to them.
They have a plan and theyportray it all the way out and
(11:28):
then work its way all the wayforward, so that it comes from
the furthest point out, all theway out, and then work its way
all the way forward so that itcomes from the furthest point
out toward us.
And in Revelation, chapter 13,verse 8, the scripture says that
(11:53):
the lamb was slain from thefoundation of the world.
Jesus determined that he wasgoing to be the sacrifice for
(12:15):
our redemption, meaning ourability to have relationship
with God by placing our trust inhim.
He determined that that wasgoing to be done before creation
(12:36):
was ever created.
He had a picture in mind.
God had a picture and a plan inmind, and so he began painting
things from the furthest pointout and has been working his way
toward us ever since.
(12:58):
The unfolding portrait, picture, plan, purpose of God is
happening and getting closer andcloser and as that takes place
the picture is becoming more andmore vivid.
We're seeing it more clearly.
Whereas before it didn't reallyhave all the details in it, now
(13:22):
it has more than it even did atthe beginning.
But the plan was from thebeginning.
I say that because sometimes itseems as though things are just
kind of randomly happening.
That is not the truth.
The truth is there is a verydistinct plan that's been
(13:46):
happening and we are part of it,and we're seeing it closer and
closer and closer as it'sunfolding more and more and more
.
It's interesting that the eventsthat have recently taken place
in the Middle East, with thebombing of Iran, with the
(14:21):
bombing of Iran, israelliterally surprising Iran with a
demonstration of power intaking out some of Iran's
abilities to destroy Israel,because that was Iran's goal.
It was Iran's objective.
It was the objective of thePersians to annihilate Israel
has been for centuries and ithad reached the point where
(14:47):
there were nuclear capabilitiesto do that Very, very, very
close.
And so, a few nights ago, inJune of 2025, israel did a
(15:07):
preemptive strike and took outsome of Iran's capabilities and
really crippled Iran, which ismany times the size of Israel,
larger than Israel and has moremoney than Israel.
They caught Iran on its heelsinstead of it being on the
(15:36):
offensive.
They were kind of resting ontheir laurels and it appeared as
though Israel decided to dothis within the course of maybe
a couple of years that they'dbeen doing some decided to do
this within the course of maybea couple of years that they'd
(16:00):
been doing some spying on what'sbeen going on in Iran, where
they've been getting theirinformation and putting together
some planning and somestrategic moves that would bring
about this preemptive strike.
Strategic moves that wouldbring about this preemptive
strike.
Well, actually, it's been inthe makings for over 10 years,
and probably even more than that, where they have been secretly
(16:26):
behind the scenes doing thingsin Iran, preparing for this very
strike and not letting Iranknow about it.
The correlation to what's goingon spiritually, and has been for
(16:47):
quite some time, is that Godhas been doing things right
under the nose of Satan, becauseSatan is not God's equal, he's
just God's enemy and God isgoing to wipe him out
strategically, and his plans areperfect, and they've been going
(17:10):
on for a long time, much longerthan what's even being revealed
right now.
It seems as though what's goingon now has been developing for
the past several years Now.
It's been going on before thecreation of the world, the
(17:53):
creation of the world.
God has been planning thingsbefore do take place.
There's some real wisdom inthat, and that is we don't
always need to say everythingthat's on our minds.
In fact, sometimes it's good tobe doing things quietly,
(18:31):
strategically, because then,when the right time comes, we
haven't tipped our hand or wehaven't just given it all away
ahead of time.
We need to be wise as serpentsbut gentle as doves, and God has
called you into a strategicplace in his unfolding plan and
purpose, and my encouragement toyou is to find out exactly what
(18:53):
that is and be really committedto seeing that fulfilled.
Find your lane and stay in it.
Don't keep moving from place toplace and be just an individual
(19:18):
doing your own thing.
I'm speaking primarily to thosein the Western world, because
in the Western world we're knownto be very individualistic.
We don't think in terms of acollective mind.
We think of things in terms ofan individual, our personal
rights, what we do, how we dothings.
(19:40):
If I don't like it in one place, I just move on, I go to the
next, regardless of how itaffects other people, because,
after all, what concerns me ismost important and that's what
concerns God.
And sometimes God gets his namethrown in on things that he has
(20:04):
nothing to do with, but we usehis name to justify our own
individualistic agendas, and Ibelieve that it would behoove us
to stop doing that.
There was a French philosopheryears ago who came and looked in
(20:29):
on what was taking place inAmerica and was very impressed
by what he saw.
But one of the things that hesaid was going to be probably
the downfall of the Americanculture was individualism Too
much emphasis on individualismand not a concern about how it
(20:54):
affects other people's lives,and in the concept of the church
I've seen that happen over andover and over and over again.
Church splits people leaving,people coming, people going, no
real accountability and no realcommitment and nothing to say
(21:14):
about being sent, versus justgetting up and going, whatever
happened to be in the placewhere you're sent, like in the
book of Acts, they would sendpeople.
Lay hands on them and theywould send them, versus them
just getting up and saying I'mout of here, I don't want this.
(21:37):
Or God told me not to do thisand you don't check it out with
anybody else, it's just you andGod.
Man, that's dangerous folks.
Or you just have a group ofpeople that agree with you.
All they do is agree with you.
Yes, people, they don't reallychallenge you.
(21:58):
We need to be challenged in ourway of doing things, because it
helps us balance out what we'redoing.
And simply saying I'm goingsomewhere and I'm doing this
really it doesn't play intoparticipating in the plan and
the purpose of God, because partof the plans and the purpose of
(22:21):
God is for us to become one,even as he is one, meaning
relationally connected.
We're not just individuals.
We think of things in terms ofa group of people, a community
where we look out for oneanother and also where we can
listen to other people whodisagree with us and balance
(22:44):
that out, because in themultitude of counselors there's
wisdom we need.
I need I need people tochallenge me at times because
I'm always right in my own mind,you know, and there's a way
that seems right in a man'sheart but actually in the end it
(23:07):
could lead to destruction.
But if we allow ourselves to bechallenged by other people and
not be offended and not beoverly spiritual and say, well,
god told me not to go herebecause.
And then fill in the blanks butreally you didn't want to go
there because.
And then fill in the blanks butreally you didn't want to go
there because it was going to beuncomfortable.
It was going to beuncomfortable and you put God's
(23:31):
name on it and he had nothing todo with it.
Thus my statement previouslysaying sometimes we put God's
name on things that he hadnothing to do with.
I, for one, am interested insaying saying sometimes we put
God's name on things that he hadnothing to do with.
I, for one, am interested insaying that God is in it when he
(23:52):
gets the glory and we are in aplace of being united where I
can allow myself to bechallenged, and then, if there's
a commission to go, I'm sent.
(24:12):
I'm sent with the freedom tocome back.
It's opposed to tearing thefabric away and leaving people
to wonder where'd they go?
What's wrong?
What happened?
What'd I do?
Kind of like homes that arebroken when the mother or the
father just leave divorce theyjust go.
It's like they had to thinkabout themselves.
(24:35):
They had to do it because theyonly live once and happiness is
their highest priority, personalhappiness versus the betterment
of the community.
You get what I'm saying andobviously I'm venting some
(24:59):
things on one hand and hopefullyproviding some food for thought
, as well as some spiritual,nutritious information and
impartation, so that we can walktogether and participate in
this great, powerful, mightyhour in which God is
(25:22):
demonstrating his power,balanced out with responsibility
, and we have that very samecalling to have privilege and
responsibility, and part of theresponsibility is I'm
responsible for the bettermentof the community, not just my
own personal agenda.
(25:45):
Hallelujah, let's pray.
Father, god, I thank you thatyou are a master at taking a
potpourri and turning it intosomething fragrant, and
(26:05):
something that is pleasing notonly to your, to your taste, but
also beneficial to us as well Afragrance of Jesus from a
variety of differentperspectives and angles, lord.
(26:28):
Yet you have the ability totake and administer something to
each of us.
So, lord, I ask that you takeat least one thing that was
spoken and speak it to.
At least one thing that wasspoken and speak it to at least
one person's heart, one at atime, and then collectively use
(26:54):
it for the unity that you havein mind for the body of Christ.
And we stand here together inthe name of Jesus, and we stand
here together in the name ofJesus and we say so be it, holy
Spirit, so be it Amen, amen,amen, amen.
All right, folks, wow, I loveyou, and if you have any
(27:22):
thoughts, questions, concerns,please feel free to drop us a
line at lifearoundthefire atgmailcom.
Life Around the Fire is all oneword, all lowercase letters.
Lifearoundthefire at gmailcom.
Or you can type inlifearoundthefire and look us up
on the web.
We would love to hear from youIn the meantime.
(27:42):
God bless you, adios amigos.
The scriptures tell us in Psalm 119, verse 30, that
the unfolding of God's Wordgives light, that it informs the
simple.
Now that's an interestingstatement that His Word, the
(00:26):
word of God, is unfolding,meaning that it's a progressive
thing, it's not just somethingthat has been said and then that
was that when it was said.
The word of God unfolds kind oflike a scroll or you turn pages
(00:49):
in a book.
It progresses and the purposesand the plan of God is an
unfolding one, and we are peopleright now who are alive in a
very incredible point in time inworld history, in which there
(01:12):
is a significant unfolding ofGod's purposes and his plan,
along with a real revelation andmanifestation of his very
presence.
The fact that God is revealinghimself in an unprecedented
(01:36):
fashion, in a growing way acrossthe nations, is now somewhat of
a foregone conclusion is nowsomewhat of a foregone
conclusion.
We are seeing the early stagesof such a demonstration of God
that we on planet Earth havenever seen before, and I said
(02:00):
it's just beginning.
However, it's not somethingthat's going to be taking place.
It is taking place Bigdifference.
The fact that what's takingplace right now is so
(02:20):
significant, and the fact thatyou are alive is no less
significant, because that meansyou're part of something bigger
than yourself and you're aliveto see it, not just think about
(02:41):
it happening someday.
You and I are walking this outright now.
To me, that's phenomenal,because there are certain things
that I have been waiting forfor a long time 50 plus years
and certain things that I'vebeen hearing for that long at
(03:07):
least and, from what I've beenreading, even longer than that
where people have beenprophesying, saying that this
move of God that we're in rightnow, this demonstration of God's
kingdom and his presence thatwe're currently in right now,
they, when they said it, thoughtthat it was going to be taking
place.
God's kingdom and his presencethat we're currently in right
(03:28):
now.
They, when they said it,thought that it was going to be
taking place within a very shortperiod of time, because that's
oftentimes what propheticministry is like.
I've said, it's oftentimes likedriving down a freeway going 100
miles an hour wearingbinoculars.
Driving down a freeway going100 miles an hour wearing
binoculars, it seems likeeverything is happening so much
(03:49):
faster than it really is andit's closer than what it really
is.
And when you take thebinoculars away and you slow
down a little bit, you realizethat things are developing and
they have been developing.
And now, just now, we'rebeginning to see the fulfillment
(04:14):
of what was spoken about yearsago.
So what was said years agowasn't something that was just
some wild-eyed fanatic talking.
It was just driving down thefreeway, going 100 miles an hour
, wearing binoculars.
Things seemed closer, becausethat's the nature of prophetic
(04:34):
ministry, and as we grow in ourunderstanding of that, we begin
to mature and as we apply it,what we see, we're able to apply
(04:55):
it with a little more clarityand with some sense of
understanding that we didn'thave before.
All that being said, that wedidn't have before.
All that being said, we areliving in a time that is very,
very, very powerful, and I usethat word carefully, because
(05:16):
power can be a very intoxicatingthing if it's not balanced with
responsibility.
The privilege of having powerwithout the responsibility that
goes along with it can be a veryabusive thing.
We've seen that happen in manysectors across the nations
(05:42):
Government, finance,corporations, churches, places
of power and influence, evenmedicine.
Too much power without abalancing responsibility tends
(06:02):
to lead toward abuse and some ofa dictatorship, a heavy-handed
approach toward controllingthings.
But when there's a balance ofresponsibility and a
demonstration of power.
And God walks in that perfectbalance.
(06:23):
He knows the responsibilitythat he has, he's not ignorant
of the fact that he is creatorand king, and the responsibility
that's on his shoulders is it'sweightier than anything that
any one of us carry, and yethe's not burdened by it, he
(06:47):
walks in it.
And yet it's not justresponsibility, it's balanced
with the privilege of power.
And God knows how to handlepower and, thankfully, he's
teaching us how to function inthat dynamite, in that dunamis
(07:11):
of his spirit.
And so, with all that beingsaid, I am so encouraged by the
things that I'm seeing andhearing from different places
that I'm in communication with,because the message is basically
(07:33):
the same, a little bitdifferent because of the
cultural context, but basicallythe same.
And that is this Something greatis unfolding.
We don't necessarily knowexactly what it is, and and that
is this Something great isunfolding.
We don't necessarily knowexactly what it is, and we all
know this.
We've never been here before Tosay that we all know what this
(07:55):
is about and that we have goodprograms that we can facilitate
this with.
That's a mistaken notion and wecould try, but those great
ideas are going to be just thatgreat ideas and they will fizzle
out, because we need toco-operate with God, not telling
(08:19):
God what it is that we want himto do, but us being in a place
where we respond to what he isdoing.
We stay in step with him.
We stay in step with Jesus,following Jesus, being a
disciple, being one who is closein communication with our
(08:40):
teacher, with our teacher Inthat respect, close in contact
with Holy Spirit, because he ishere in the very name of Jesus.
Jesus said that he was sendinganother just like him, and that
is none other than the HolySpirit of God.
(09:03):
And to be in step with him andto be under his teaching and his
leadership is really where it'sat, once again, making sure
that he's comfortable in what'sgoing on, not us trying to be
comfortable and telling him whatit is that we wanted to do.
(09:24):
We kind of are like that in theAmerican way of doing things,
in the Western world way ofdoing things, where we are
oftentimes too seeker-sensitive,where we want to make other
people feel comfortable aboutreceiving the gospel, without
the real consideration as towhether or not God is
(09:46):
comfortable, because, after all,this is his church, this is his
kingdom, this is his glory,this is his power.
He is creator and we are thecreation and so the tale.
There's not need to be trying.
We are the creation and so thetail.
There's not need to be tryingto wag the dog.
(10:09):
We respond, and when we do, wefind ourselves in a place of
participation and cooperation,doing things together.
Now there's an interesting pointthat I like to make in this
(10:31):
particular podcast episode thatI think is really worth
listening to and kind ofweighing out for your own, and
that's this that a good artist,actually a great artist, the
great artists know what it isthat they're going to be doing
(10:56):
before they do it, and when theybegin putting together what
they're going to be creating,they create from the furthest
point out and finish with thatwhich is closest to them.
They have a plan and theyportray it all the way out and
(11:28):
then work its way all the wayforward, so that it comes from
the furthest point out, all theway out, and then work its way
all the way forward so that itcomes from the furthest point
out toward us.
And in Revelation, chapter 13,verse 8, the scripture says that
(11:53):
the lamb was slain from thefoundation of the world.
Jesus determined that he wasgoing to be the sacrifice for
(12:15):
our redemption, meaning ourability to have relationship
with God by placing our trust inhim.
He determined that that wasgoing to be done before creation
(12:36):
was ever created.
He had a picture in mind.
God had a picture and a plan inmind, and so he began painting
things from the furthest pointout and has been working his way
toward us ever since.
(12:58):
The unfolding portrait, picture, plan, purpose of God is
happening and getting closer andcloser and as that takes place
the picture is becoming more andmore vivid.
We're seeing it more clearly.
Whereas before it didn't reallyhave all the details in it, now
(13:22):
it has more than it even did atthe beginning.
But the plan was from thebeginning.
I say that because sometimes itseems as though things are just
kind of randomly happening.
That is not the truth.
The truth is there is a verydistinct plan that's been
(13:46):
happening and we are part of it,and we're seeing it closer and
closer and closer as it'sunfolding more and more and more
.
It's interesting that the eventsthat have recently taken place
in the Middle East, with thebombing of Iran, with the
(14:21):
bombing of Iran, israelliterally surprising Iran with a
demonstration of power intaking out some of Iran's
abilities to destroy Israel,because that was Iran's goal.
It was Iran's objective.
It was the objective of thePersians to annihilate Israel
has been for centuries and ithad reached the point where
(14:47):
there were nuclear capabilitiesto do that Very, very, very
close.
And so, a few nights ago, inJune of 2025, israel did a
(15:07):
preemptive strike and took outsome of Iran's capabilities and
really crippled Iran, which ismany times the size of Israel,
larger than Israel and has moremoney than Israel.
They caught Iran on its heelsinstead of it being on the
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offensive.
They were kind of resting ontheir laurels and it appeared as
though Israel decided to dothis within the course of maybe
a couple of years that they'dbeen doing some decided to do
this within the course of maybea couple of years that they'd
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been doing some spying on what'sbeen going on in Iran, where
they've been getting theirinformation and putting together
some planning and somestrategic moves that would bring
about this preemptive strike.
Strategic moves that wouldbring about this preemptive
strike.
Well, actually, it's been inthe makings for over 10 years,
and probably even more than that, where they have been secretly
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behind the scenes doing thingsin Iran, preparing for this very
strike and not letting Iranknow about it.
The correlation to what's goingon spiritually, and has been for
(16:47):
quite some time, is that Godhas been doing things right
under the nose of Satan, becauseSatan is not God's equal, he's
just God's enemy and God isgoing to wipe him out
strategically, and his plans areperfect, and they've been going
(17:10):
on for a long time, much longerthan what's even being revealed
right now.
It seems as though what's goingon now has been developing for
the past several years Now.
It's been going on before thecreation of the world, the
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creation of the world.
God has been planning thingsbefore do take place.
There's some real wisdom inthat, and that is we don't
always need to say everythingthat's on our minds.
In fact, sometimes it's good tobe doing things quietly,
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strategically, because then,when the right time comes, we
haven't tipped our hand or wehaven't just given it all away
ahead of time.
We need to be wise as serpentsbut gentle as doves, and God has
called you into a strategicplace in his unfolding plan and
purpose, and my encouragement toyou is to find out exactly what
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that is and be really committedto seeing that fulfilled.
Find your lane and stay in it.
Don't keep moving from place toplace and be just an individual
(19:18):
doing your own thing.
I'm speaking primarily to thosein the Western world, because
in the Western world we're knownto be very individualistic.
We don't think in terms of acollective mind.
We think of things in terms ofan individual, our personal
rights, what we do, how we dothings.
(19:40):
If I don't like it in one place, I just move on, I go to the
next, regardless of how itaffects other people, because,
after all, what concerns me ismost important and that's what
concerns God.
And sometimes God gets his namethrown in on things that he has
(20:04):
nothing to do with, but we usehis name to justify our own
individualistic agendas, and Ibelieve that it would behoove us
to stop doing that.
There was a French philosopheryears ago who came and looked in
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on what was taking place inAmerica and was very impressed
by what he saw.
But one of the things that hesaid was going to be probably
the downfall of the Americanculture was individualism Too
much emphasis on individualismand not a concern about how it
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affects other people's lives,and in the concept of the church
I've seen that happen over andover and over and over again.
Church splits people leaving,people coming, people going, no
real accountability and no realcommitment and nothing to say
(21:14):
about being sent, versus justgetting up and going, whatever
happened to be in the placewhere you're sent, like in the
book of Acts, they would sendpeople.
Lay hands on them and theywould send them, versus them
just getting up and saying I'mout of here, I don't want this.
(21:37):
Or God told me not to do thisand you don't check it out with
anybody else, it's just you andGod.
Man, that's dangerous folks.
Or you just have a group ofpeople that agree with you.
All they do is agree with you.
Yes, people, they don't reallychallenge you.
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We need to be challenged in ourway of doing things, because it
helps us balance out what we'redoing.
And simply saying I'm goingsomewhere and I'm doing this
really it doesn't play intoparticipating in the plan and
the purpose of God, because partof the plans and the purpose of
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God is for us to become one,even as he is one, meaning
relationally connected.
We're not just individuals.
We think of things in terms ofa group of people, a community
where we look out for oneanother and also where we can
listen to other people whodisagree with us and balance
(22:44):
that out, because in themultitude of counselors there's
wisdom we need.
I need I need people tochallenge me at times because
I'm always right in my own mind,you know, and there's a way
that seems right in a man'sheart but actually in the end it
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could lead to destruction.
But if we allow ourselves to bechallenged by other people and
not be offended and not beoverly spiritual and say, well,
god told me not to go herebecause.
And then fill in the blanks butreally you didn't want to go
there because.
And then fill in the blanks butreally you didn't want to go
there because it was going to beuncomfortable.
It was going to beuncomfortable and you put God's
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name on it and he had nothing todo with it.
Thus my statement previouslysaying sometimes we put God's
name on things that he hadnothing to do with.
I, for one, am interested insaying saying sometimes we put
God's name on things that he hadnothing to do with.
I, for one, am interested insaying that God is in it when he
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gets the glory and we are in aplace of being united where I
can allow myself to bechallenged, and then, if there's
a commission to go, I'm sent.
(24:12):
I'm sent with the freedom tocome back.
It's opposed to tearing thefabric away and leaving people
to wonder where'd they go?
What's wrong?
What happened?
What'd I do?
Kind of like homes that arebroken when the mother or the
father just leave divorce theyjust go.
It's like they had to thinkabout themselves.
(24:35):
They had to do it because theyonly live once and happiness is
their highest priority, personalhappiness versus the betterment
of the community.
You get what I'm saying andobviously I'm venting some
(24:59):
things on one hand and hopefullyproviding some food for thought
, as well as some spiritual,nutritious information and
impartation, so that we can walktogether and participate in
this great, powerful, mightyhour in which God is
(25:22):
demonstrating his power,balanced out with responsibility
, and we have that very samecalling to have privilege and
responsibility, and part of theresponsibility is I'm
responsible for the bettermentof the community, not just my
own personal agenda.
(25:45):
Hallelujah, let's pray.
Father, god, I thank you thatyou are a master at taking a
potpourri and turning it intosomething fragrant, and
(26:05):
something that is pleasing notonly to your, to your taste, but
also beneficial to us as well Afragrance of Jesus from a
variety of differentperspectives and angles, lord.
(26:28):
Yet you have the ability totake and administer something to
each of us.
So, lord, I ask that you takeat least one thing that was
spoken and speak it to.
At least one thing that wasspoken and speak it to at least
one person's heart, one at atime, and then collectively use
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it for the unity that you havein mind for the body of Christ.
And we stand here together inthe name of Jesus, and we stand
here together in the name ofJesus and we say so be it, holy
Spirit, so be it Amen, amen,amen, amen.
All right, folks, wow, I loveyou, and if you have any
(27:22):
thoughts, questions, concerns,please feel free to drop us a
line at lifearoundthefire atgmailcom.
Life Around the Fire is all oneword, all lowercase letters.
Lifearoundthefire at gmailcom.
Or you can type inlifearoundthefire and look us up
on the web.
We would love to hear from youIn the meantime.
(27:42):
God bless you, adios amigos.
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