February 4, 2026 • 61 mins
The Church is called to reflect the light of the Lord, acting as beacons in a world increasingly marked by darkness and evil. Believers are challenged to let their lives shine through good works, authentic discipleship, and unwavering hope in God—thus drawing others to faith and glorifying God. While darkness is widespread, God's light—manifested in Believers cannot be extinguished and offers guidance, hope, and salvation to all who choose to receive it.
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Firefall Talk Radio episodes are archived, allowing you to download them for future listening or to share with others.
Feel free to share them with others as the Lord leads. Help us spread The Word.
If our teachings have been a blessing to you, please let us know by using the contact button on our website.
If you would like to support what we do, there are ways to do so on the main page for Firefall Talk Radio. We appreciate your support and encouragement.
Follow us on YouTube at The Firefall Network.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Oh, welcome, Welcome to the Porch. On Firefall Talk Radio,
I'm Richard Grund. This is where you find the uncompromised
(00:29):
red letter basics of the Word of God, where we
focus on the Book of Actor Church to see how
they served the Lord. In doing so, we find the
Church the Lord intended, not the one Man created. The
Porch is a non denominational, full Gospel approach to the Bible.
It's based on the example of the Book of Actor Church,
(00:50):
and it aims to restore the priesthood of the believer
while regaining the world's shaking influence that the early Church had.
The Church age isn't over. The Upper Room experience is
as much for today as it was on the day
of Pentecost. It's yours if you want it. We offer
you the Word as the Apostles would have to the
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Jewish and Gentile believers of their day. We use both
Yeshua and Jesus when speaking of the Lord. We prefer
the term Messiah rather than Christ, as it more accurately
reflects how he was referred to by those who knew him. Additionally,
we provide definitions in Hebrew, Greek and Aramic when necessary.
(01:34):
Getting back to basics. It's not just our motto with
some mandate from the Lord. Links to all of our
social media and streaming sites are on the main page
at Firefall talk radio dot com. All one word Subscribe
to us wherever you listen so that you know when
new content is posted. If you'd like to support what
we do, at the bottom of the main page of
(01:55):
Firefall talk radio dot com. There are multiple ways to
do so, including a po box if you'd like to
mail your blessing. We appreciate you your support, your encouragement,
and your prayers. Thank you for being a part of
the ports. Thank you for being a part of this
journey back to basics. Contact us if you need prayer.
(02:17):
Remember we care about you. We want to pray for you.
Just go to the main page, use the contact button
and we will get the word out. We start out
with praise reports and then prayer. So I praise Him
for my salvation. That's where I have to start, because
without that, I'm not here and I have nothing. He
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gave me back the wife and the family that I
had discarded, my sons. I now have daughter in laws
and grandchildren and furry kids, and everything I have is
because he gave it to me. I praise him for
his provision and protection for the dreams and the visions
as we live out twenty eight. I praise him for
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divine health and healing, for his abiding favor, for the
continuing revelation of the Holy Spirit. I praise him for
making me a new creation and allowing me to serve
him in the family business, and living in these prophetic
times and being able to do that with you. Let's pray.
(03:27):
Someone twenty two Verse six tells me, pray for the
peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you. And
I believe that I should pray for the peace of
Jerusalem and for my Jewish brothers and sisters, and I
do pray for America. May God forgive us and shed
his grace upon us, and may He rescue us from
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the darkness that is creeping in and overshadowing us like
it is the rest of the world. I pray for
all the people being victimized by their leaders, especially our
Persian brothers and sisters in Iran. Pray for the fatherless
and the widows, the persecuted, in the martyr the innocence,
and those who are victims of injustice. Pray against the
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slaughter of the innocence, both out of the womb, both
animal and human. Doesn't matter. We should not be killing
His creation for personal or political expediency. In my viewpoint,
we are sacrificing to the enemy and his creation. I
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pray for the missing and exploited children. What a horrible,
horrible experience that shatters them and scars them forever. So
I pray for them that they would be rescued and
find their way into the Lord's arms. Pray for the
victims of human sex trafficking and all those that are
being victimized, just like our brothers and sisters around the
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world being slaughtered persecuted for their faith. The enemy is
having a heyday and we need to pray. We need
to pray for them and pray against the enemy. So
I pray against that growing religious persecution, the anti Semitism,
all the things that tell me the spirit of the
Antichrist is out about and very active. I pray for
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divine wholeness, health and healing and me and you, each
and every one of us. Whatever your need is, take
it to Him, Believe and receive your healing. Speak it
by faiths, Stop telling your body. It's broken, Start telling
it to go back to his divine design. Start speaking
out loud over yourself, not as things are, but as
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they should be. I pray for his protection and his inspiration,
for the remnant to hear the alarm clock to wake up,
to join the call to do what we are called
to do. I pray for the doors to open to
all the projects and plans that He's given, and for
the kingdom finances to fund his kingdom business, not just
for me, and in what we're doing, and whatever you
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are called to do. So, Father Abah Papa, we come
to you in the name above all names, as your children,
your sons, and your daughters. We boldly approached the throne
of grace and mercy. We ask that you bless us
and protect us, cover us, bless this time to protect
the technology. Lord. We praise you. We praise you for
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the cross, the empty tomb, the upper room. We praise
you for the blood that you shed to set us free.
Thank you, Thank you for loving us so much and
allowing us to love you. Holy Spirit. Have your way.
This is your time. Do with it whatever you desire
to do. That this word would go forth, it would
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not return void, and that we would hear what you
want us to hear. Now open our eyes, open our hearts,
open our ears and our minds, and I pray all
these things, and you show his name, and if you
agree with me, say amen.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
These lessons are proprietary information, except where not of the
information comes from outside sources. The combination of that information
the manner presented is exclusive cannot be repeated or used
without permission. The date of this broadcast serves as the
registered date of the following information. Okay, let's get ready
to get those Bibles opened, be prepared to take notes.
(07:43):
Feel free to download, re listen to it. If you
have questions, don't hesitate to ask. But if you're listening,
I believe that you know that there's more and you
want more. The Book of Acts Church serves as our
model for building God's Kingdom through spirit, empower, salvation and transformation.
The two have to go together based upon Scripture, not
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based upon you in plans or schemes or rituals. Based
upon scripture, the remnant focus is on the returning to
and embracing and participating in the authentic church experience, which
is led by the Holy Spirit, where we prioritize worship
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and relationships over programs. As believers, we are called to
follow the biblical blueprints instead of tradition or worldly methods
which have sold us out, which have contaminated the waters,
and which have hindered our ability to do what needs
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to be done. By building the Kingdom of God, we
are destroying the kingdom of darkness. We are restoring the
Church through the Holy Spirit, through the Word, an authentic discipleship,
build than God's Kingdom beyond the traditions of men. To
do that, we need to give back to basics one
Peter three point fifteen. But sanctify the Lord God in
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your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense
to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope
that is in you. With meekness and fear. Sanctification means
to separate ourselves from the profane to a sacred purpose.
Your life is no longer yours. Mine life is no
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longer mine. He paid for it with his blood. Now,
as we look around and we see what's going on
in the world, it's easy to understand that bad things
happen in a fallen world. We can get upset, we
can rant and rave and seek natural answers for them,
but ultimately the solutions are not natural, they're supernatural. There's
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spiritual and when things get really bad, people want to
have hope. Doesn't matter who they are, they want to
have hope. Well, right now we are living in dark,
evil times, and as we have in times past, and
others have in times past, but it just seems worse
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right now and it will get worse. Evil is being
promoted and ungodliness is being encouraged. At a time like this,
people want to be hopeful, not hope less, and they
need help, whether they're willing to ask for it or not.
Some One nineteen verse seventy four. Those who fear you
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capital why I mean you, the Lord, will be glad
when they see me because I have hoped in your word.
David understood what it meant, hope in his word. His
word is his will, and his promises are yea and amen,
and they have not changed. Jeremiah seventeen seven. Blessed is
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the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is
in the Lord. So when things get dark, people want
to know that there is hope and that there will
be light. Living in the dark is just not healthy.
Enough physically, not mentally, not emotionally or spiritually. Isaiah nine,
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verse two. The people who walked in darkness have seen
a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of
the shadow of death. Upon them a light has shined. Yes,
upon them, a light has shined. And where is that
light coming from? Well, we know that shoe is the
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light of the world, but where are they seeing it?
Matthew five, verse fourteen through sixteen tells me. When the
Lord says, read letters, you.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Are the light of the world, he's speaking to us,
speaking to the disciples, then speaking to us, Now, you
are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but
on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all
who are in the house. Let your light so shine
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before men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in Heaven. Let your light so shine.
As believers, we don't have a natural or an inherent light.
We have reflective light. As we behold the glory of
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the Lord, we reflect it. Therefore, we need to make
sure that nothing comes between us and the Lord's light.
That's what the world does. That's what the enemy does,
puts things in our way. We accept those things, whether
consciously or unconsciously two Corinthians three eighteen. But we all
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with unveiled face beholding is in a mirror the glory
of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image,
from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of
the Lord and the illustration I always use, and it's
easy to see his Moses went to the top of
the mountain, stayed in the presence of the Lord, and
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he absorbed the glory of God. His dna absorbed it.
It was the origination of their creation. And when he
came down, he glowed so much so that they couldn't
look upon his face, and he had to cover his
face with a veil. We should be reflective of that
glory in our life. We mirror his glory. If there's
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nothing in the way, if it's not, if the mirror
of us or the gold of the glow is not
smudged or dirty, we will shine his glory. And the
I believe the attractive quality of the believer's lives will
the raw other people to live similarly and to glorify God.
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See that's what Isaiah's sixty says to me. And I
know that's probably not its original intention, but I hear
it from the current time frame. I hear it from
the fact that I know that Messiah has come and
he will come again Verses one through three. A rise, shine,
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for your light has come, and the glory of the
Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall
cover the earth, and deep darkness the people. But the
Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be
seen upon you. The gentiles shall come to your light,
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and the King to the brightness of your rising. Of
course he's speaking to Israel, from which the Messiah would come,
and he would do that. But of course we know
what happened. So he took a remnant from within his people,
and then he took a remnant from within the gentiles,
and he created the mirror from which he would shine
his glory. Now, what does the enemy want us to do? Hey, brother,
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tone that down? You shine in a little too brightly.
You're hurting my eyes. I can't. I can't tone it down.
It's his glory. I'm just the mirror. We as believers,
we as his church, should embrace this we should pray
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each morning, Lord, cleanse me of anything that hinders your
glory from being seen upon me. Search me, search my heart,
my mind, my soul, my spirit. Philippians two fifteen. Paulse
was speaking to the church in Philippine. He says that
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you may become blameless and harmless children of God, without fear,
without sin, without compromise, in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in
the world. We are called to prove ourselves blameless, guileless, innocent,
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uncontaminated children of God, without blemish, in the midst of
a morally crooked and spiritually perverted generation, so that we
can be seen as bright lights, beacons shining out clear, clearly,
out into the world. This world of darkness. This world
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needs beacons, It needs lights, It needs lighthouses, beacons shining
out of the darkness, which means what be seen. Don't hide,
don't tone it down. How's anybody gonna find you? How
are you going to keep them from crashing on to
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the rocks if they can't see the light? Now, of course,
we're not talking about physical light as in Genesis one.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was
on the face of the deep, and the spirit of
God was hovering over the face of the waters. And
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God said, let there be light. And there was light.
God saw the light and it was good. God divided
the light from the darkness. God called the light day,
and the darkness he called night, so that evening and
the morning were the first day. So in the beginning,
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the very first day, light and darkness. It's a part
of creation. We can't get away from it. And although
we're not talking about physical light, there are spiritual implications
in all of that. You see it later on Genesis one,
sixteen through eighteen. God made two great lights, the greater
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light to rule the day as in the sun, the
lesser light to rule the night, as in the moon.
He made the stars also. God set them in the
firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth
and to rule over the day and over the night,
to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw
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that it was good. He only does good work. He
doesn't do bad work. He doesn't do questionable work. If
we would just believe that and receive it. But to
understand this, let's look at the concept of light and
darkness from a spiritual perspective. The Home and Treasury of
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Key Bible Words takes that phrase let there be light
the Hebrew word or r. So there was light, but
equally important, and God saw that the light was tub
it was good. It's an evaluative statement. Even in the
area of science, light is special, serving as an amazing
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constant in a universe of flux. Einstein's famous formula he
equals mc squared depends upon the constant speed of physical light.
The light that was pronounced good in Genesis one four
was physical light, but it was much more. God also
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created the moral realms of light and darkness that Hebrew
word or to be light, to become light, illumination, to
be illuminary. You know, you set those things out, those
little tea candles. You put them in a bag called luminaries.
You'll put them on a pathway or along a beach,
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or wherever you have an event to give you illumination.
They show you where you could walk. We are his luminaries.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence
of the power may be of God, not of us.
We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.
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We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken,
struck down but not destroyed, always caring about in the
body the dying of the Lord Jesus. I don't know how,
you Shua, that the life of Yeshua may also be
manifested in our body, for we who live are always
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delivered to death. For your Shoea's sake, that the life
of Yeshua also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
That word manifest means to be brilliantly seen when people
look at you, those Second Corinthians four seven through eleven,
When people look at you, what do they see? We
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accomplish more by ours shine than by our words, by
His spirit shining through us. And I'm relieved to know
that I don't have to light all the world, but
I have to light my area of it. And just
like those luminaries side by side along the path, if
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we did that, there'd be no darkness, there'd be no
place to lose your step. So we have this precious treasure,
the good news about salvation in unworthy earthen vessels of
human frailty. But He has made us worthy. The message
is the treasure, not us. That's the thing of value
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that we offer. We offer hope. He was thirteen fourteen.
This world is not our permanent home. We are looking
forward to a home yet to come. Oh, I'm not
saying that, so you that you well, I'm gonna check
out here. I want to go to that home. I
don't like this one. Sides when you'll do that, not you,
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Let's see if we can fix your perception of this
one until he's ready to bring you to that one.
That's the light. That's what the light of the Lord
does for us. When he enters our hearts, we become
bright and luminous, and other people can find their way
to God through the light that we shed abroad. And
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that's why the enemy does everything he can to block it,
to tone it down, to muddy it up, to make
us not want to shine, to beat us up. When
we're filled with the spirit, we shine. And the only
way to do that is to be born again. Religion
won't do that. Ritual won't do that. Man made religion
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won't do that. I know. I grew up in one
of the biggest ones. No, I had to be born
from above. I had to be born again how to
make him lord of my life? And everything changed once
I did that. John Chapter three, verses twenty and twenty one.
Yu was speaking to Nicodemus, and he says, for everyone
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practicing evil hates the light and does not come to
the light lest his deeds should be exposed. But he
who does the truth comes to the light that his
deeds may be clearly seen that they've been done in God. Well,
right there, he's saying, why are you hiding? Let it
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be seen. Come out of the dark, Come out of
the shadows. Don't you want them to see what God
has done for you? I know I do. When people
live in spiritual darkness, they don't desire to be enlightened
by Yeshiah, the Light of the world, John ninety five.
Yeshua said, as long as I am in the world,
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I am the light of the world. Well, he's still
here because we're still here. Imagine what this world's going
to be like when the Church is not here. All
the things will come out of the shadows, all the
things that will come out of the darkness, because there
will be no light to repel them or expose them.
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And don't mistake the fact that evil and darkness do
not ignore the light. They wage war against it. They
try to bring it down, they try to tone it down,
they try to extinguish it. But they cannot put it out.
They can only trick us into doing that. We're the
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ones that turn it down. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. Ever. Why because
of the Word, the Word that was with God, the
word that was God, the word that begins existed in
the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and
nothing was created except through him the Word. You show
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how much Jesus the Messiah gave life to everything that
was created, and he his life brought light to everyone
that's in John One. Read it to yourself. Get it
in your soul, Get it in your spirit. Because those
who refuse to live in the darkness have chosen to
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live in the light. But those who refuse to believe
have made a choice to stay in the darkness, to stumble,
to not be able to see. But in the end,
the final light will come on and their sins will
be exposed. I've shared this illustration before, but if you've
ever stayed in a bar till closing. I've only done
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that once or twice in my life, especially when I
was a young man in college, and the lights come
on and you suddenly see everybody clearly, and what looked
attractive in the dark suddenly doesn't look so attractive in
the light. Light exposes things. Light exposes darkness and the
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things in the darkness. Spiritually, darkness signifies judgment. I mean,
if you think about it, the stuff that goes on
in the dark brings judgment. That's the judgment of the
world as they chose to live in darkness. The basis
of the judgment, the indictment, the test by which men
are judged, the grounds for their sentence lies in this
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The light capital l has come into the world, and
people have loved darkness rather than and more than the
lights for their works, their deeds, their actions were evil.
For every wrongdoer hates loaths that tests the light, and
will not come into the light, but shrinks from it
lest his works, deeds, activities, conduct be exposed and reproved.
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But he who practices the truth, he who does what
is right, comes out into the light, so that they
may be clearly shown to be what they are, divinely
prompted by God, created by God with his help, independence
upon him. It's John three nineteen through twenty one, The Amplified,
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the Richard Grunn version of the Amplified. You know, when
I was young and newly saved and still living up
in New York City before I moved to be with
my family in tallahassee witnessing going out shining light. I
didn't think twice about it. I just did it. Didn't
think that it would be wrong, didn't think that it
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would not be accepted. I just knew I had to
I had to shine. I promoted the darkness. I promoted
the occult and the supernatural the way I did. Why
not do this so much more? And what happens? I
think as we get older, Not me so much, but
most people, we'll get beat down by the rejection and
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the complaints, and we tone it down. Every now and
then we'll lip the light up a little higher, but
for the most part we keep it midway or low,
so people know that it's there, but it doesn't blind them.
Back then, I didn't care kind of luck like the
singer right now, Jelly Roll, You see him at all
these award shows or on any show that he's on.
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If the opportunity comes, he just shines. He talks about
the Lord, talks about what God has done for him.
I mean, he bangs the drum loud and hard, and
you could see some people appreciate it. A lot of
people don't. But I give him kudos for doing what
he's doing. Hopefully he can hang in there. The actor
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Chris Pratt did that for a while and then he
got beat down, and obviously somebody told him to tone
it down, and he has. We can't do that. We're
guiding lights to the people that are lost. We're living
in a world where evil's called good and good is
called evil. A world that puts darkness for light and
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light for darkness, a world who puts bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter. Isaiah five point twenty knew it,
they did it, then they do it now. And whether
it's politics, or whether it's Hollywood, or whether it's this
or your job or your family, there's a lot of
people that we all know they call good evil and
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evil good. We have to shine, we have to stand
against that. So when it says this is the condemnation.
This is their judgment. They have chosen to live in
the darkness. Therefore they will perish. They've been given an opportunity,
they've been given a chance, they've been given a lifeboat.
But they've chosen the drown and to practice sin, to
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refuse salvation, refuse Yeshua, the Only Begotten Son of God.
I'm gonna do it my way. I'm gonna do it
with this God or that God, or this belief for
that belief. Yeah, well, let me know how that works
out for you in the end. Because the light has come.
Yesew A Jesus, the Son of Righteousness, the Fountain of
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light and life, diffusing his benevolence, his influences everywhere and
favoring men with a clear, full revelation of the divine
will of God. Your heavenly Father does not want you
to perish, but to have the light of life. The
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light has come. But men, women, people, they love darkness.
They preferred sin to holiness. They preferred the demonic in
belliow Baale to Messiah. They preferred the judgment of hell
to the eternity in heaven. How you could choose that,
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I don't know, but many, many do millions do, maybe
billions do. And the word says their deeds were evil.
That's their practicing, that's their sins. Happen when at night
for fear of being seen. They're unafraid. And right now
they're unafraid of being seen. They don't care if you know,
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they don't care if you hear. Matter of fact, they
revel in it. Social media allows them to post videos
and tiktoks and this on Instagram and whatever of things
that are so foul and questionable that I wonder do
these young people not realize someday they're going to have
a family and that's going to live on forever, and
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their sons or their daughters are going to see what
they did, what they looked like, what they promoted, what
they said. Your sins will find you out. No, they're unafraid,
they're unconcerned to be seen. We're in a time of
lawlessness and evil, something we've talked about a lot lately.
To be the remnant, we must understand this in Thessalonians
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chapters two, starting verse six. And now you know what
is restraining what's the restrainer? It's the Holy Spirit that
he may be revealed in his own time. That's the
man of lawlessness, the son of perdition. For the mystery
of lawlessness is already at work. Only he capital aged
the Holy Spirit, who now restrains, will do so until
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he is taken out of the way, and then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume
with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the
brightness of his coming. The coming of the lawless one
is according to the working of Satan, with all power,
signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among
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those who perish because they did not receive the love
of the truth that they might be saved. And for
this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they
should believe the lie, that they may all be condemned.
Who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness,
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Oh there was light, there was a way out. They
refused to walk in it. Have you ever done that?
Tried to show somebody the right way? And oh no, no,
I'm going to go this way. Why why would you
choose to walk in darkness? Well, there's things I want
to do over there, Richard, things that I don't want seen. Laws,
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spiritual laws, divine laws that I'm going to ignore. I
don't need mercy for them. I'm enjoying them. I've actually
heard people say similar things. I'm like, why would you
say that out loud? Why would you invite divine justice,
condemnation and punishment. I don't believe in all that stuff.
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And I would always tell them, well, guess what your
judgment and damnation, it's on you. You chose not to believe.
John three point thirty six. He who believes in the
Sun has everlasting life. He who does not believe the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him. Remember, he sends no one to an
(34:16):
eternity in the lake of fire. They choose their destination.
So at his first coming, Yeshua came so that the
world through him might be saved. But when he comes again,
he will come in judgment upon those who refused his
offer of salvation. The gap in between the time that
he came before and the time he comes back is
(34:38):
the time of salvation. It's the time to get saved,
because once he cracks that sky, once he comes, it's
too late. To believe in Yeshiah is to receive life
and avoid judgment. I didn't accept salvation in life because
of fear of judgment. I accepted it because I realized
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I needed a savior. Now, of course that thought is
in there somewhere, but that wasn't the priority to me
at that moment. I was broken. I'd lost my family,
I'd placed my bets on all the wrong things. But
a person who does not believe not only misses out
on the life that I've talked about, the life of
(35:26):
happiness and safety and love and all the things that
go with it, but they've condemned themselves already. That's why
telling people about Yeshua, telling them about the Gospel is
so important. This is the condemnation. This is the judgment.
That light came Yeshuea, the light of the world, and
(35:49):
they rejected him. People going to offer any excuses for
not accepting Messiah, so many excuses. They'll cite the presence
of hippoc Chrits in the church. They'll use what they
see is wrong to be an excuse for not doing
what's right. They'll claim an inability to believe on the
(36:10):
truth of the Gospel, or some aspect of the Lord.
Something you know that they were told by someone else.
And what I've learned to tell people is the difference
is you have an opinion, I have knowledge, You have
an idea. I have experience. They'll just outright be covering
up for the fact that their heart is in rebellion
(36:31):
against God. Sometimes you can get them to admit that.
Sometimes you can pull that out of them, and then
you'll have to listen to the spirit if there's a
place to go to from there. Freedom takes the choice.
We have to choose to be free, or we have
to choose the eventual outcome. Free will involves choice. We
(36:56):
make it. He gave us the out gave us the
way home, and if we reject it, it's on us.
Bottom line, the ultimate reason people don't come to the
Lord is they don't want to. Oh, they may want
what he can do for them, but they don't want him. See.
I don't know why. Maybe it's because I was raised.
(37:17):
Even though I was raised in some incorrect beliefs, I
believed in Jesus, I believed in right or wrong, but
I didn't think I was wrong. I didn't think what
I was doing was wrong. But ultimately, people don't come
to the Lord because they just don't want to and
those people are going to be judged and suffer horribly.
(37:41):
But the one who does the truth, the one who's
already a believer, are going to do what they do
so that their actions can be seen to be have
done in God, by God through God one John one five.
This is the message we heard from Jesus, and now
declare to you God Light and there is no darkness
(38:02):
in him at all. And we get to live in
that light. We get to reflect that light, we get
to share that light. Therefore, coming to the light is
more than just exercising faith. A person who comes to
the life not only believes, but openly identifies with the
(38:25):
light of the Lord, with the fact that their works
can be seen and done in union with God. They
want to be seen. I'll use Jelly Roll as an example. Again.
He wants to be seen. He wants people to know
his testimony. He wants people to see that there's a
(38:47):
way out. You don't have to be the way you are.
If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired,
there's a way to be free of that. And the
world hates him for it. The industry tolerates him because
he's very successful, right now, but you can see them
gritting their teeth. He was on a I don't know
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if it's the view the void, not the view the voice.
One of those competitions, and one of the contestants got
up and sang a gospel song, and Jelly Roll said,
I was praying all day for God to give me
an opportunity to talk about him, and you just did.
And the more he talked about the Lord. The person
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sitting next to him was the model Christy Teagan, married
to the singer John Legend, and you can see her
become more and more uncomfortable the longer he spoke. But
he kept speaking, and then he did it this weekend
at the Grammys. Keep speaking, Jelly Roll, keep shining. The
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shoe is the light, and he reveals us for what
we are. We're either of God or we're not. You
can't fake light, sorry, just can't. Not this light. You
can't fake it. My wife will tell you. One of
my common phrases about people is there's no light in
their eyes. They're saying all the right things, but there's
no light in there. There's nothing coming out that says
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to me, they really know him. God demands that we
either believe in his son and come into the light,
or we reject him and live in the darkness. There's
no neutral position, there's no safe middle ground. You choose,
and those who refuse to believe just don't want to
give up their sinful lifestyles, and they're rolling the dice.
(40:36):
They're playing spiritual Russian Roulette that the enemy doesn't check
them out before they get that chance. I've had people
actually say to me, well, you know what, I kind
of believe what you're saying, but this isn't for me
right now. Really, how do you know you're guaranteed tomorrow?
How you know you're going to make tomorrow, especially now
(40:58):
that you said that out loud, that the enemy's not
going to take you out before you get the opportunity
to make the choice. That kind of sin into bravity.
It makes us guilty, It makes us feel guilty, It
makes us fearful. Althoy'll not admit to that, but I
know what that feels like. You put on the good front,
you square the shoulders, you grit the teeth and do whatever,
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but deep down inside there's this stomach flutter. You know,
you know that your wickedness is going to be become
evident in the presence of the Lord. Even so, we're
not beyond hope because you sure have came to save sinners.
And again, I know this feeling. I know this feeling.
(41:46):
You know this feeling. That's why we need to share.
That's why we need to talk. That you don't need
to be a preacher or a teacher. You just need
to tell the truth and tell them what Jesus did
for you. He is the light this life. This world
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puts us in conflict with God, who is good, puts
us in the middle of his conflict with evil, and
we have to pick a side. Evil is darkness, shutting
out the opportunity to see or to know Good God,
the source of light, exposes all evil for what it is.
(42:33):
You sure the light of the world, the light and
the person that exposes the evil of the world and
points the way to God. You, brothers and sisters, are
the light of the world. I am the light of
the world. We are the instruments which God has chosen
to make use of. Kind of scary thought, huh, But
(42:57):
He's chosen you and I to place this light inside
of us. And not every flashlight is the same, not
every lantern is the same. Some are brighter, the brighter
than others, bigger than others, but they all do the
same thing. They shine a light. He uses us to
illuminate the minds of people, just like He used the
(43:20):
sun to enlighten the world. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your moral excellence and
your praise worthy noble and good deeds. Recognize and honor
and praise and glorify your Father, who is in heaven.
(43:42):
Let your light so shine. The purpose of everything we do,
of all the good works, of all the actions, is
to glorify our abba Father. I want him first of
all to be proud of me, but I want people
to see him. I want people to know him. And
(44:03):
the good deeds of a believer have a profoundly positive
effect on the world around them, and that's what glorifies God.
But we can't do anything that might jeopardize that impact.
We can't do anything that would tarnish our witness. I
(44:24):
know for me, a lot of decisions get made based
upon not wanting to ruin my witness, not wanting to
tarnish the gold so that it doesn't reflect His glory
as the light of the world. I am a subject
of the Kingdom, and I am called to be a
witness of my faith through my personal examples and to
(44:49):
manifest the light of testimony and actions to everyone who
sees me. That's how you do it. You don't have
to walk around with the Bible. Give Jelly Old credit.
He brought a Bible with him to the Grammys, and
when he went up to receive his award, his Bible
was in his hand, and he made sure everybody saw it.
(45:11):
That's the Holy Spirit in him, the Holy Spirit in you,
and I is desiring to shine, to glow because He's
the source of this life that we walk. You can't
walk this walk without the Holy Spirit. You can't do
anything in ministry if that's what you want to do
without the Holy Spirit. Oh yes, there are programs and
(45:33):
man made techniques, and you might be able to do something,
but you won't be successful, and you won't glorify God
Titus two fourteen, who gave himself for us that he
might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for
himself his own. Special people zealous for good works. You're special,
(45:57):
I'm special, and we should be zealous to shine him
our hope, your hope, my hope, the hope that the
Church has, the remnant has flows from our redemption from
being born again, from being born from above, the redemption
(46:19):
from ungodliness, from worldly lusts, and a life of darkness
that I haven't forgotten. That offers hope to anyone who's
still in that darkness. Hey, he found his way out.
I should be able to as well. Let your light
so shine as the sun lights up the firmament of
(46:41):
the heavens, to diffuse its light and heat freelys every
inhabitant of the earth, as the lamp that is not
set under the bushel or hidden, but placed on the
lamp stand, and it gives light all that are in
the house. Let your light shine. Let every follower the Lord,
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especially every preacher of the Gospel, diffuse the light of
heavenly knowledge and the warmth of His divine love to
everyone we are acquainted with. Should never be well. I'm
going to do that on Sunday morning, Richard. No, you're
going to do it every minute of every hour of
(47:23):
every day, or you should. That's what we're called to do.
Think about light and heat. It expands outward unless something
is blocking it or hindering it. That they may see
your good works. It's not just sufficient to glow, not
just enough for you to walk in the light. They
(47:46):
need to see that what you're doing glorifies him. Our conduct,
what we say and what we do, and what we believe.
We should walk what we talk. We should be the content,
the constant example of his power and his truth. There's
(48:07):
no downtime, you know. I even pray when I sleep
that I shine him. His name's on my lips, that
if he uses me, if something happens in a dream
or he sends me somewhere in a dream or a vision,
that I'm always ready, I'm always prepared. His name is
on my lips, as nature is in my heart. There's
(48:30):
no downtime. Our spirit man hasn't gone to sleep, just
our body has. You are needed. I share this story
a while ago, but I think it applies in the Alps.
In Switzerland. Is an obscure village. It has a castle
in a church that is made of rough hewn stone,
(48:52):
and you reach that church by the worn steps up
up a mountainside. And the strange thing about this church
it doesn't have any a lighting system, never has. So
a traveler was in town and heard the church bell ringing,
and happened to look out the window and sees people walking.
(49:14):
They walking the narrow streets to the steps, and each
are carrying a small little bronze lamp, you know, the
kind's filled with oil and has a wick. And so
this traveler goes up to one of the worshippers and says, please,
I'm a stranger here. Will you tell me what's going on?
And while you're all carrying a lamp to the church,
(49:34):
And the woman she stops reply, says, well, yes, i'd
be happy to. Years ago a duke lived in that castle.
He built the church he endoubted and asked that each
worshiper bring their own lamp. The traveler thought and replied,
I should think that that would keep folks cotending the
(49:56):
evening services. Oh no, no, it's the other way. It's
called the Church of the lighted Lamps. And everybody that
goes makes it a little brighter. And when anybody is
tempted to stay at home or go somewhere else, he
remembers that this dear old church needs everybody's lamp. And
(50:16):
if your lamp isn't there, there's so much less light.
And I like the visual, but I would also add, well,
you want to be there for the right reasons, But
think about it. If you knew, wouldn't you be more
conscious of the fact that your light is needed, that
people need to see the light in you Phesians five,
(50:39):
starting verse eight. For once you were full of darkness,
but now you have the light from the Lord. So
live as people of light. For this light within you
produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully
determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the
worthless deeds of evil and darkness. Instead, expose them. It
(51:03):
is shameful even to talk about those things that ungodly
people do in secret, But their evil intentions will be
exposed when the light shines on them. For the light
makes everything visible. That's why it said, awake, oh sleeper,
rise from the dead, and Messiah will give you light
(51:24):
Philippians two fifteen. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God,
shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked
and perverse people. I think a lot of the evil
we see today, I understand where it's coming from. I
understand its source. But I understand that the church had
(51:46):
done its job and was doing its job. It wouldn't
be as powerful as it is. For we are children
of the light of the day. We don't belong to
darkness and night. So we need to be on guard,
not sleep like others do. We need to stay alert
and be clear to headed. Night is the time when
people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But those who live
(52:08):
in the light must be clear headed, protected by the
armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet
the confidence of our salvation. First Thessalonians five Versus five
through eight. You know this isn't an easy walk. It's
a vital walk. And what I'm sharing with you isn't
(52:29):
easy either, But it's important. You are important. He made
us all a part of the equation. He made us
all a part of the plant. And if we stay home,
if we don't shine our light, if we don't bring
it out into the darkness, then we're doing the enemy
(52:49):
of favor. We're not helping people to break through. We're
not helping the veil to come off their eyes. You
know that veal on the people who are wishing, whose
minds the gods of this age has blinded those who
do not believe. Lest the light of the Gospel of
the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God,
should shine on them. That's our job to shine. God
(53:15):
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and he
has shown it into our hearts. And He's given us
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
and the face and the very face of Jesus the Messiah.
And just like Moses who came down from Mount Signe
with glory of the Lord on him, we should shine
(53:36):
as well. And we shouldn't be wearing a veil. And
we talk about ministry. What is ministry, It's just service,
service to the King, for what service? The ministry of reconciliation,
a ministry of transformation, discipling, warfare for the lost and dying.
Whatever service He's called you to shine while doing it.
(54:02):
Maybe your prayer, warrior pray. But we are called you
and I, individually and collectively. We are called to not
lose heart or lose hope, to willingly renounce the hidden secrets,
(54:22):
to walk honestly and righteously, to be the manifestation of
the Lord and his glory, his light, his luminous You're
a luminary, never forget that. And the God of this
world and all that serve him in his kingdom. He
fights against the change that the Gospel of Good News
brings to people's hearts and lives. He doesn't want them
(54:46):
to be able to see. Oh, you can't preach that here.
We're going to put you in jail. If you do that.
Why who it offends people? Well? Is that what it is?
Or you just don't want them to get set free.
Those with clear eyes can still have dull spiritual ones.
(55:10):
Isn't that amazing that those with clear worldly eyes can
still have dull spiritual ones. They can be as bright
as the brightest light bulb, but be dull. They live
in darkness mostly by choice. They're there because they have
(55:30):
succumbed to the Prince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in the suns of disobedience,
the place that we once walked in this world. He
hides the Gospel from them. He did that for me
in the beginning. He hit it, he blocked my eyes,
but it broke through. He broke through. It always does.
(55:52):
If the person stays in that light long enough, it's
going to break through. I was blind, heart was veiled,
it was cold. God allowed certain things to happen to
wake me up, to shake me up. And then that
day came and I heard it. I heard the gospel.
(56:15):
I heard the heart of the Lord calling to me.
Did I know that's what it was? Now? I just
knew that I needed to get to that altar. I
knew that there was freedom waiting there for me. No
one whose little lamp covers it with a vessel that
(56:38):
puts it under her bed, but sets it on a
lamp stand that those who enter may see the light.
Luke age sixteen. If people come near you, let them
see the light. They enter your sphere. You don't have
to preach to them, you have to bible thump them,
but they should look at you and know. You know.
(56:58):
My whole life started when I was a kid. Sure
why I like to walk in the dark. I won't
turn the light on. Maybe it was a challenge and adventure.
Even as an adult, I'd still do it. Maybe I
had a habit. Unless it's absolutely pitch black, I'm not
(57:19):
going to turn that light on. And if I get
up in the middle of the night, I won't turn
the light on. I'll just walk, slide my feet along.
I'll rely on whatever sixth senses in me to guide
me and get me to my destination. Well years ago,
early in the morning, kind of doing that, got up
(57:42):
that was still working. I would get it first, I
would take the dogs out, I would make the coffee.
Decided I had to go use the bathroom, so I
used one on the far side.
Speaker 2 (57:52):
Of the house.
Speaker 1 (57:53):
No lights, didn't turn them on. Coming back, didn't realize
that Mac had changed where he was laying down. Our
roddy and Roddy's are mostly black and a little bit
of brown, and they disappear in the dark. Well, suddenly
Mac was now laying in that path that I had
just walked. But of course there's no light on. I
(58:13):
can't see him, and I fell over him, but it
got wedged underneath him, couldn't roll, couldn't do what I
would normally do, and drove that right knee straight into
the hard tile. Thankfully he didn't do any major damage,
but did damage that I still suffer from this day.
It's affected my walk, it influences everything I do. Two
(58:35):
Often believers forget that they shouldn't walk around in the dark.
Not only should they avoid the darkness, but they should
be the light that exposes the evil that is found
in that darkness. You were the light of the world.
Because He is the light of the world. Through us,
(58:59):
we were Him in all that we do. Just like
the moon was designed to provide light for the Earth
at night, just like the sun does during the day.
The actual source of that light is the Sun. The
moon is simply reflecting the Sun. Well, we reflect the Sun,
(59:22):
the son Sun, into the darkness to be guiding lights
to lead people home. And right now, in the darkness
that has so enveloped this world, your guiding light is
vitally necessary. Lord, We thank you for giving us this light.
(59:49):
We thank you for making us your luminaries, for letting
us be a part of this. We pray that you
would help us not to s come to this world
to turn down the light. We pray that you would
empower us to shine as brightly as possible whenever needed,
(01:00:09):
that the Holy Spirit in us would help us to glow,
give hope and love freedom. But I ask right now, Lord,
for some people this is difficult, and I asked that
you would help them remove the fears, the pain of rejection,
(01:00:31):
and help them to shine your glory and what you've
done for them, and that you would lead them to
people that need to see that. Let us be a
part of what you're doing. Let us be a part
of helping set the captives free, glorifying our heavenly Father,
being part of the solution and not part of the problem.
(01:00:54):
And we thank you for that in Jesus' name. May
the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord
make his face to shine upon you and be gracious
to you. May the Lord, I don't know you, Suhamashiyak,
lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
(01:01:15):
Give you shallow. I'm Richard Grund. This has been the
port on Firefall Talk Radio.
Oh, welcome, Welcome to the Porch. On Firefall Talk Radio,
I'm Richard Grund. This is where you find the uncompromised
(00:29):
red letter basics of the Word of God, where we
focus on the Book of Actor Church to see how
they served the Lord. In doing so, we find the
Church the Lord intended, not the one Man created. The
Porch is a non denominational, full Gospel approach to the Bible.
It's based on the example of the Book of Actor Church,
(00:50):
and it aims to restore the priesthood of the believer
while regaining the world's shaking influence that the early Church had.
The Church age isn't over. The Upper Room experience is
as much for today as it was on the day
of Pentecost. It's yours if you want it. We offer
you the Word as the Apostles would have to the
(01:13):
Jewish and Gentile believers of their day. We use both
Yeshua and Jesus when speaking of the Lord. We prefer
the term Messiah rather than Christ, as it more accurately
reflects how he was referred to by those who knew him. Additionally,
we provide definitions in Hebrew, Greek and Aramic when necessary.
(01:34):
Getting back to basics. It's not just our motto with
some mandate from the Lord. Links to all of our
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at Firefall talk radio dot com. All one word Subscribe
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(01:55):
Firefall talk radio dot com. There are multiple ways to
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mail your blessing. We appreciate you your support, your encouragement,
and your prayers. Thank you for being a part of
the ports. Thank you for being a part of this
journey back to basics. Contact us if you need prayer.
(02:17):
Remember we care about you. We want to pray for you.
Just go to the main page, use the contact button
and we will get the word out. We start out
with praise reports and then prayer. So I praise Him
for my salvation. That's where I have to start, because
without that, I'm not here and I have nothing. He
(02:41):
gave me back the wife and the family that I
had discarded, my sons. I now have daughter in laws
and grandchildren and furry kids, and everything I have is
because he gave it to me. I praise him for
his provision and protection for the dreams and the visions
as we live out twenty eight. I praise him for
(03:03):
divine health and healing, for his abiding favor, for the
continuing revelation of the Holy Spirit. I praise him for
making me a new creation and allowing me to serve
him in the family business, and living in these prophetic
times and being able to do that with you. Let's pray.
(03:27):
Someone twenty two Verse six tells me, pray for the
peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you. And
I believe that I should pray for the peace of
Jerusalem and for my Jewish brothers and sisters, and I
do pray for America. May God forgive us and shed
his grace upon us, and may He rescue us from
(03:48):
the darkness that is creeping in and overshadowing us like
it is the rest of the world. I pray for
all the people being victimized by their leaders, especially our
Persian brothers and sisters in Iran. Pray for the fatherless
and the widows, the persecuted, in the martyr the innocence,
and those who are victims of injustice. Pray against the
(04:09):
slaughter of the innocence, both out of the womb, both
animal and human. Doesn't matter. We should not be killing
His creation for personal or political expediency. In my viewpoint,
we are sacrificing to the enemy and his creation. I
(04:29):
pray for the missing and exploited children. What a horrible,
horrible experience that shatters them and scars them forever. So
I pray for them that they would be rescued and
find their way into the Lord's arms. Pray for the
victims of human sex trafficking and all those that are
being victimized, just like our brothers and sisters around the
(04:52):
world being slaughtered persecuted for their faith. The enemy is
having a heyday and we need to pray. We need
to pray for them and pray against the enemy. So
I pray against that growing religious persecution, the anti Semitism,
all the things that tell me the spirit of the
Antichrist is out about and very active. I pray for
(05:16):
divine wholeness, health and healing and me and you, each
and every one of us. Whatever your need is, take
it to Him, Believe and receive your healing. Speak it
by faiths, Stop telling your body. It's broken, Start telling
it to go back to his divine design. Start speaking
out loud over yourself, not as things are, but as
(05:37):
they should be. I pray for his protection and his inspiration,
for the remnant to hear the alarm clock to wake up,
to join the call to do what we are called
to do. I pray for the doors to open to
all the projects and plans that He's given, and for
the kingdom finances to fund his kingdom business, not just
for me, and in what we're doing, and whatever you
(06:00):
are called to do. So, Father Abah Papa, we come
to you in the name above all names, as your children,
your sons, and your daughters. We boldly approached the throne
of grace and mercy. We ask that you bless us
and protect us, cover us, bless this time to protect
the technology. Lord. We praise you. We praise you for
(06:22):
the cross, the empty tomb, the upper room. We praise
you for the blood that you shed to set us free.
Thank you, Thank you for loving us so much and
allowing us to love you. Holy Spirit. Have your way.
This is your time. Do with it whatever you desire
to do. That this word would go forth, it would
(06:45):
not return void, and that we would hear what you
want us to hear. Now open our eyes, open our hearts,
open our ears and our minds, and I pray all
these things, and you show his name, and if you
agree with me, say amen.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
These lessons are proprietary information, except where not of the
information comes from outside sources. The combination of that information
the manner presented is exclusive cannot be repeated or used
without permission. The date of this broadcast serves as the
registered date of the following information. Okay, let's get ready
to get those Bibles opened, be prepared to take notes.
(07:43):
Feel free to download, re listen to it. If you
have questions, don't hesitate to ask. But if you're listening,
I believe that you know that there's more and you
want more. The Book of Acts Church serves as our
model for building God's Kingdom through spirit, empower, salvation and transformation.
The two have to go together based upon Scripture, not
(08:06):
based upon you in plans or schemes or rituals. Based
upon scripture, the remnant focus is on the returning to
and embracing and participating in the authentic church experience, which
is led by the Holy Spirit, where we prioritize worship
(08:26):
and relationships over programs. As believers, we are called to
follow the biblical blueprints instead of tradition or worldly methods
which have sold us out, which have contaminated the waters,
and which have hindered our ability to do what needs
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to be done. By building the Kingdom of God, we
are destroying the kingdom of darkness. We are restoring the
Church through the Holy Spirit, through the Word, an authentic discipleship,
build than God's Kingdom beyond the traditions of men. To
do that, we need to give back to basics one
Peter three point fifteen. But sanctify the Lord God in
(09:09):
your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense
to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope
that is in you. With meekness and fear. Sanctification means
to separate ourselves from the profane to a sacred purpose.
Your life is no longer yours. Mine life is no
(09:31):
longer mine. He paid for it with his blood. Now,
as we look around and we see what's going on
in the world, it's easy to understand that bad things
happen in a fallen world. We can get upset, we
can rant and rave and seek natural answers for them,
but ultimately the solutions are not natural, they're supernatural. There's
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spiritual and when things get really bad, people want to
have hope. Doesn't matter who they are, they want to
have hope. Well, right now we are living in dark,
evil times, and as we have in times past, and
others have in times past, but it just seems worse
(10:18):
right now and it will get worse. Evil is being
promoted and ungodliness is being encouraged. At a time like this,
people want to be hopeful, not hope less, and they
need help, whether they're willing to ask for it or not.
Some One nineteen verse seventy four. Those who fear you
(10:39):
capital why I mean you, the Lord, will be glad
when they see me because I have hoped in your word.
David understood what it meant, hope in his word. His
word is his will, and his promises are yea and amen,
and they have not changed. Jeremiah seventeen seven. Blessed is
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the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is
in the Lord. So when things get dark, people want
to know that there is hope and that there will
be light. Living in the dark is just not healthy.
Enough physically, not mentally, not emotionally or spiritually. Isaiah nine,
(11:22):
verse two. The people who walked in darkness have seen
a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of
the shadow of death. Upon them a light has shined. Yes,
upon them, a light has shined. And where is that
light coming from? Well, we know that shoe is the
(11:42):
light of the world, but where are they seeing it?
Matthew five, verse fourteen through sixteen tells me. When the
Lord says, read letters, you.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Are the light of the world, he's speaking to us,
speaking to the disciples, then speaking to us, Now, you
are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but
on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all
who are in the house. Let your light so shine
(12:13):
before men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in Heaven. Let your light so shine.
As believers, we don't have a natural or an inherent light.
We have reflective light. As we behold the glory of
(12:33):
the Lord, we reflect it. Therefore, we need to make
sure that nothing comes between us and the Lord's light.
That's what the world does. That's what the enemy does,
puts things in our way. We accept those things, whether
consciously or unconsciously two Corinthians three eighteen. But we all
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with unveiled face beholding is in a mirror the glory
of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image,
from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of
the Lord and the illustration I always use, and it's
easy to see his Moses went to the top of
the mountain, stayed in the presence of the Lord, and
(13:18):
he absorbed the glory of God. His dna absorbed it.
It was the origination of their creation. And when he
came down, he glowed so much so that they couldn't
look upon his face, and he had to cover his
face with a veil. We should be reflective of that
glory in our life. We mirror his glory. If there's
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nothing in the way, if it's not, if the mirror
of us or the gold of the glow is not
smudged or dirty, we will shine his glory. And the
I believe the attractive quality of the believer's lives will
the raw other people to live similarly and to glorify God.
(14:06):
See that's what Isaiah's sixty says to me. And I
know that's probably not its original intention, but I hear
it from the current time frame. I hear it from
the fact that I know that Messiah has come and
he will come again Verses one through three. A rise, shine,
(14:26):
for your light has come, and the glory of the
Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall
cover the earth, and deep darkness the people. But the
Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be
seen upon you. The gentiles shall come to your light,
(14:48):
and the King to the brightness of your rising. Of
course he's speaking to Israel, from which the Messiah would come,
and he would do that. But of course we know
what happened. So he took a remnant from within his people,
and then he took a remnant from within the gentiles,
and he created the mirror from which he would shine
his glory. Now, what does the enemy want us to do? Hey, brother,
(15:13):
tone that down? You shine in a little too brightly.
You're hurting my eyes. I can't. I can't tone it down.
It's his glory. I'm just the mirror. We as believers,
we as his church, should embrace this we should pray
(15:34):
each morning, Lord, cleanse me of anything that hinders your
glory from being seen upon me. Search me, search my heart,
my mind, my soul, my spirit. Philippians two fifteen. Paulse
was speaking to the church in Philippine. He says that
(15:55):
you may become blameless and harmless children of God, without fear,
without sin, without compromise, in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in
the world. We are called to prove ourselves blameless, guileless, innocent,
(16:19):
uncontaminated children of God, without blemish, in the midst of
a morally crooked and spiritually perverted generation, so that we
can be seen as bright lights, beacons shining out clear, clearly,
out into the world. This world of darkness. This world
(16:42):
needs beacons, It needs lights, It needs lighthouses, beacons shining
out of the darkness, which means what be seen. Don't hide,
don't tone it down. How's anybody gonna find you? How
are you going to keep them from crashing on to
(17:03):
the rocks if they can't see the light? Now, of course,
we're not talking about physical light as in Genesis one.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was
on the face of the deep, and the spirit of
God was hovering over the face of the waters. And
(17:24):
God said, let there be light. And there was light.
God saw the light and it was good. God divided
the light from the darkness. God called the light day,
and the darkness he called night, so that evening and
the morning were the first day. So in the beginning,
(17:45):
the very first day, light and darkness. It's a part
of creation. We can't get away from it. And although
we're not talking about physical light, there are spiritual implications
in all of that. You see it later on Genesis one,
sixteen through eighteen. God made two great lights, the greater
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light to rule the day as in the sun, the
lesser light to rule the night, as in the moon.
He made the stars also. God set them in the
firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth
and to rule over the day and over the night,
to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw
(18:26):
that it was good. He only does good work. He
doesn't do bad work. He doesn't do questionable work. If
we would just believe that and receive it. But to
understand this, let's look at the concept of light and
darkness from a spiritual perspective. The Home and Treasury of
(18:49):
Key Bible Words takes that phrase let there be light
the Hebrew word or r. So there was light, but
equally important, and God saw that the light was tub
it was good. It's an evaluative statement. Even in the
area of science, light is special, serving as an amazing
(19:12):
constant in a universe of flux. Einstein's famous formula he
equals mc squared depends upon the constant speed of physical light.
The light that was pronounced good in Genesis one four
was physical light, but it was much more. God also
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created the moral realms of light and darkness that Hebrew
word or to be light, to become light, illumination, to
be illuminary. You know, you set those things out, those
little tea candles. You put them in a bag called luminaries.
You'll put them on a pathway or along a beach,
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or wherever you have an event to give you illumination.
They show you where you could walk. We are his luminaries.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence
of the power may be of God, not of us.
We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.
(20:15):
We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken,
struck down but not destroyed, always caring about in the
body the dying of the Lord Jesus. I don't know how,
you Shua, that the life of Yeshua may also be
manifested in our body, for we who live are always
(20:38):
delivered to death. For your Shoea's sake, that the life
of Yeshua also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
That word manifest means to be brilliantly seen when people
look at you, those Second Corinthians four seven through eleven,
When people look at you, what do they see? We
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accomplish more by ours shine than by our words, by
His spirit shining through us. And I'm relieved to know
that I don't have to light all the world, but
I have to light my area of it. And just
like those luminaries side by side along the path, if
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we did that, there'd be no darkness, there'd be no
place to lose your step. So we have this precious treasure,
the good news about salvation in unworthy earthen vessels of
human frailty. But He has made us worthy. The message
is the treasure, not us. That's the thing of value
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that we offer. We offer hope. He was thirteen fourteen.
This world is not our permanent home. We are looking
forward to a home yet to come. Oh, I'm not
saying that, so you that you well, I'm gonna check
out here. I want to go to that home. I
don't like this one. Sides when you'll do that, not you,
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Let's see if we can fix your perception of this
one until he's ready to bring you to that one.
That's the light. That's what the light of the Lord
does for us. When he enters our hearts, we become
bright and luminous, and other people can find their way
to God through the light that we shed abroad. And
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that's why the enemy does everything he can to block it,
to tone it down, to muddy it up, to make
us not want to shine, to beat us up. When
we're filled with the spirit, we shine. And the only
way to do that is to be born again. Religion
won't do that. Ritual won't do that. Man made religion
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won't do that. I know. I grew up in one
of the biggest ones. No, I had to be born
from above. I had to be born again how to
make him lord of my life? And everything changed once
I did that. John Chapter three, verses twenty and twenty one.
Yu was speaking to Nicodemus, and he says, for everyone
(23:12):
practicing evil hates the light and does not come to
the light lest his deeds should be exposed. But he
who does the truth comes to the light that his
deeds may be clearly seen that they've been done in God. Well,
right there, he's saying, why are you hiding? Let it
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be seen. Come out of the dark, Come out of
the shadows. Don't you want them to see what God
has done for you? I know I do. When people
live in spiritual darkness, they don't desire to be enlightened
by Yeshiah, the Light of the world, John ninety five.
Yeshua said, as long as I am in the world,
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I am the light of the world. Well, he's still
here because we're still here. Imagine what this world's going
to be like when the Church is not here. All
the things will come out of the shadows, all the
things that will come out of the darkness, because there
will be no light to repel them or expose them.
(24:15):
And don't mistake the fact that evil and darkness do
not ignore the light. They wage war against it. They
try to bring it down, they try to tone it down,
they try to extinguish it. But they cannot put it out.
They can only trick us into doing that. We're the
(24:36):
ones that turn it down. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. Ever. Why because
of the Word, the Word that was with God, the
word that was God, the word that begins existed in
the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and
nothing was created except through him the Word. You show
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how much Jesus the Messiah gave life to everything that
was created, and he his life brought light to everyone
that's in John One. Read it to yourself. Get it
in your soul, Get it in your spirit. Because those
who refuse to live in the darkness have chosen to
(25:21):
live in the light. But those who refuse to believe
have made a choice to stay in the darkness, to stumble,
to not be able to see. But in the end,
the final light will come on and their sins will
be exposed. I've shared this illustration before, but if you've
ever stayed in a bar till closing. I've only done
(25:44):
that once or twice in my life, especially when I
was a young man in college, and the lights come
on and you suddenly see everybody clearly, and what looked
attractive in the dark suddenly doesn't look so attractive in
the light. Light exposes things. Light exposes darkness and the
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things in the darkness. Spiritually, darkness signifies judgment. I mean,
if you think about it, the stuff that goes on
in the dark brings judgment. That's the judgment of the
world as they chose to live in darkness. The basis
of the judgment, the indictment, the test by which men
are judged, the grounds for their sentence lies in this
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The light capital l has come into the world, and
people have loved darkness rather than and more than the
lights for their works, their deeds, their actions were evil.
For every wrongdoer hates loaths that tests the light, and
will not come into the light, but shrinks from it
lest his works, deeds, activities, conduct be exposed and reproved.
(26:52):
But he who practices the truth, he who does what
is right, comes out into the light, so that they
may be clearly shown to be what they are, divinely
prompted by God, created by God with his help, independence
upon him. It's John three nineteen through twenty one, The Amplified,
(27:14):
the Richard Grunn version of the Amplified. You know, when
I was young and newly saved and still living up
in New York City before I moved to be with
my family in tallahassee witnessing going out shining light. I
didn't think twice about it. I just did it. Didn't
think that it would be wrong, didn't think that it
(27:35):
would not be accepted. I just knew I had to
I had to shine. I promoted the darkness. I promoted
the occult and the supernatural the way I did. Why
not do this so much more? And what happens? I
think as we get older, Not me so much, but
most people, we'll get beat down by the rejection and
(27:56):
the complaints, and we tone it down. Every now and
then we'll lip the light up a little higher, but
for the most part we keep it midway or low,
so people know that it's there, but it doesn't blind them.
Back then, I didn't care kind of luck like the
singer right now, Jelly Roll, You see him at all
these award shows or on any show that he's on.
(28:18):
If the opportunity comes, he just shines. He talks about
the Lord, talks about what God has done for him.
I mean, he bangs the drum loud and hard, and
you could see some people appreciate it. A lot of
people don't. But I give him kudos for doing what
he's doing. Hopefully he can hang in there. The actor
(28:38):
Chris Pratt did that for a while and then he
got beat down, and obviously somebody told him to tone
it down, and he has. We can't do that. We're
guiding lights to the people that are lost. We're living
in a world where evil's called good and good is
called evil. A world that puts darkness for light and
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light for darkness, a world who puts bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter. Isaiah five point twenty knew it,
they did it, then they do it now. And whether
it's politics, or whether it's Hollywood, or whether it's this
or your job or your family, there's a lot of
people that we all know they call good evil and
(29:21):
evil good. We have to shine, we have to stand
against that. So when it says this is the condemnation.
This is their judgment. They have chosen to live in
the darkness. Therefore they will perish. They've been given an opportunity,
they've been given a chance, they've been given a lifeboat.
But they've chosen the drown and to practice sin, to
(29:44):
refuse salvation, refuse Yeshua, the Only Begotten Son of God.
I'm gonna do it my way. I'm gonna do it
with this God or that God, or this belief for
that belief. Yeah, well, let me know how that works
out for you in the end. Because the light has come.
Yesew A Jesus, the Son of Righteousness, the Fountain of
(30:06):
light and life, diffusing his benevolence, his influences everywhere and
favoring men with a clear, full revelation of the divine
will of God. Your heavenly Father does not want you
to perish, but to have the light of life. The
(30:29):
light has come. But men, women, people, they love darkness.
They preferred sin to holiness. They preferred the demonic in
belliow Baale to Messiah. They preferred the judgment of hell
to the eternity in heaven. How you could choose that,
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I don't know, but many, many do millions do, maybe
billions do. And the word says their deeds were evil.
That's their practicing, that's their sins. Happen when at night
for fear of being seen. They're unafraid. And right now
they're unafraid of being seen. They don't care if you know,
(31:14):
they don't care if you hear. Matter of fact, they
revel in it. Social media allows them to post videos
and tiktoks and this on Instagram and whatever of things
that are so foul and questionable that I wonder do
these young people not realize someday they're going to have
a family and that's going to live on forever, and
(31:35):
their sons or their daughters are going to see what
they did, what they looked like, what they promoted, what
they said. Your sins will find you out. No, they're unafraid,
they're unconcerned to be seen. We're in a time of
lawlessness and evil, something we've talked about a lot lately.
To be the remnant, we must understand this in Thessalonians
(32:01):
chapters two, starting verse six. And now you know what
is restraining what's the restrainer? It's the Holy Spirit that
he may be revealed in his own time. That's the
man of lawlessness, the son of perdition. For the mystery
of lawlessness is already at work. Only he capital aged
the Holy Spirit, who now restrains, will do so until
(32:21):
he is taken out of the way, and then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume
with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the
brightness of his coming. The coming of the lawless one
is according to the working of Satan, with all power,
signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among
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those who perish because they did not receive the love
of the truth that they might be saved. And for
this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they
should believe the lie, that they may all be condemned.
Who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness,
(33:07):
Oh there was light, there was a way out. They
refused to walk in it. Have you ever done that?
Tried to show somebody the right way? And oh no, no,
I'm going to go this way. Why why would you
choose to walk in darkness? Well, there's things I want
to do over there, Richard, things that I don't want seen. Laws,
(33:28):
spiritual laws, divine laws that I'm going to ignore. I
don't need mercy for them. I'm enjoying them. I've actually
heard people say similar things. I'm like, why would you
say that out loud? Why would you invite divine justice,
condemnation and punishment. I don't believe in all that stuff.
(33:52):
And I would always tell them, well, guess what your
judgment and damnation, it's on you. You chose not to believe.
John three point thirty six. He who believes in the
Sun has everlasting life. He who does not believe the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him. Remember, he sends no one to an
(34:16):
eternity in the lake of fire. They choose their destination.
So at his first coming, Yeshua came so that the
world through him might be saved. But when he comes again,
he will come in judgment upon those who refused his
offer of salvation. The gap in between the time that
he came before and the time he comes back is
(34:38):
the time of salvation. It's the time to get saved,
because once he cracks that sky, once he comes, it's
too late. To believe in Yeshiah is to receive life
and avoid judgment. I didn't accept salvation in life because
of fear of judgment. I accepted it because I realized
(35:02):
I needed a savior. Now, of course that thought is
in there somewhere, but that wasn't the priority to me
at that moment. I was broken. I'd lost my family,
I'd placed my bets on all the wrong things. But
a person who does not believe not only misses out
on the life that I've talked about, the life of
(35:26):
happiness and safety and love and all the things that
go with it, but they've condemned themselves already. That's why
telling people about Yeshua, telling them about the Gospel is
so important. This is the condemnation. This is the judgment.
That light came Yeshuea, the light of the world, and
(35:49):
they rejected him. People going to offer any excuses for
not accepting Messiah, so many excuses. They'll cite the presence
of hippoc Chrits in the church. They'll use what they
see is wrong to be an excuse for not doing
what's right. They'll claim an inability to believe on the
(36:10):
truth of the Gospel, or some aspect of the Lord.
Something you know that they were told by someone else.
And what I've learned to tell people is the difference
is you have an opinion, I have knowledge, You have
an idea. I have experience. They'll just outright be covering
up for the fact that their heart is in rebellion
(36:31):
against God. Sometimes you can get them to admit that.
Sometimes you can pull that out of them, and then
you'll have to listen to the spirit if there's a
place to go to from there. Freedom takes the choice.
We have to choose to be free, or we have
to choose the eventual outcome. Free will involves choice. We
(36:56):
make it. He gave us the out gave us the
way home, and if we reject it, it's on us.
Bottom line, the ultimate reason people don't come to the
Lord is they don't want to. Oh, they may want
what he can do for them, but they don't want him. See.
I don't know why. Maybe it's because I was raised.
(37:17):
Even though I was raised in some incorrect beliefs, I
believed in Jesus, I believed in right or wrong, but
I didn't think I was wrong. I didn't think what
I was doing was wrong. But ultimately, people don't come
to the Lord because they just don't want to and
those people are going to be judged and suffer horribly.
(37:41):
But the one who does the truth, the one who's
already a believer, are going to do what they do
so that their actions can be seen to be have
done in God, by God through God one John one five.
This is the message we heard from Jesus, and now
declare to you God Light and there is no darkness
(38:02):
in him at all. And we get to live in
that light. We get to reflect that light, we get
to share that light. Therefore, coming to the light is
more than just exercising faith. A person who comes to
the life not only believes, but openly identifies with the
(38:25):
light of the Lord, with the fact that their works
can be seen and done in union with God. They
want to be seen. I'll use Jelly Roll as an example. Again.
He wants to be seen. He wants people to know
his testimony. He wants people to see that there's a
(38:47):
way out. You don't have to be the way you are.
If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired,
there's a way to be free of that. And the
world hates him for it. The industry tolerates him because
he's very successful, right now, but you can see them
gritting their teeth. He was on a I don't know
(39:08):
if it's the view the void, not the view the voice.
One of those competitions, and one of the contestants got
up and sang a gospel song, and Jelly Roll said,
I was praying all day for God to give me
an opportunity to talk about him, and you just did.
And the more he talked about the Lord. The person
(39:29):
sitting next to him was the model Christy Teagan, married
to the singer John Legend, and you can see her
become more and more uncomfortable the longer he spoke. But
he kept speaking, and then he did it this weekend
at the Grammys. Keep speaking, Jelly Roll, keep shining. The
(39:52):
shoe is the light, and he reveals us for what
we are. We're either of God or we're not. You
can't fake light, sorry, just can't. Not this light. You
can't fake it. My wife will tell you. One of
my common phrases about people is there's no light in
their eyes. They're saying all the right things, but there's
no light in there. There's nothing coming out that says
(40:14):
to me, they really know him. God demands that we
either believe in his son and come into the light,
or we reject him and live in the darkness. There's
no neutral position, there's no safe middle ground. You choose,
and those who refuse to believe just don't want to
give up their sinful lifestyles, and they're rolling the dice.
(40:36):
They're playing spiritual Russian Roulette that the enemy doesn't check
them out before they get that chance. I've had people
actually say to me, well, you know what, I kind
of believe what you're saying, but this isn't for me
right now. Really, how do you know you're guaranteed tomorrow?
How you know you're going to make tomorrow, especially now
(40:58):
that you said that out loud, that the enemy's not
going to take you out before you get the opportunity
to make the choice. That kind of sin into bravity.
It makes us guilty, It makes us feel guilty, It
makes us fearful. Althoy'll not admit to that, but I
know what that feels like. You put on the good front,
you square the shoulders, you grit the teeth and do whatever,
(41:22):
but deep down inside there's this stomach flutter. You know,
you know that your wickedness is going to be become
evident in the presence of the Lord. Even so, we're
not beyond hope because you sure have came to save sinners.
And again, I know this feeling. I know this feeling.
(41:46):
You know this feeling. That's why we need to share.
That's why we need to talk. That you don't need
to be a preacher or a teacher. You just need
to tell the truth and tell them what Jesus did
for you. He is the light this life. This world
(42:06):
puts us in conflict with God, who is good, puts
us in the middle of his conflict with evil, and
we have to pick a side. Evil is darkness, shutting
out the opportunity to see or to know Good God,
the source of light, exposes all evil for what it is.
(42:33):
You sure the light of the world, the light and
the person that exposes the evil of the world and
points the way to God. You, brothers and sisters, are
the light of the world. I am the light of
the world. We are the instruments which God has chosen
to make use of. Kind of scary thought, huh, But
(42:57):
He's chosen you and I to place this light inside
of us. And not every flashlight is the same, not
every lantern is the same. Some are brighter, the brighter
than others, bigger than others, but they all do the
same thing. They shine a light. He uses us to
illuminate the minds of people, just like He used the
(43:20):
sun to enlighten the world. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your moral excellence and
your praise worthy noble and good deeds. Recognize and honor
and praise and glorify your Father, who is in heaven.
(43:42):
Let your light so shine. The purpose of everything we do,
of all the good works, of all the actions, is
to glorify our abba Father. I want him first of
all to be proud of me, but I want people
to see him. I want people to know him. And
(44:03):
the good deeds of a believer have a profoundly positive
effect on the world around them, and that's what glorifies God.
But we can't do anything that might jeopardize that impact.
We can't do anything that would tarnish our witness. I
(44:24):
know for me, a lot of decisions get made based
upon not wanting to ruin my witness, not wanting to
tarnish the gold so that it doesn't reflect His glory
as the light of the world. I am a subject
of the Kingdom, and I am called to be a
witness of my faith through my personal examples and to
(44:49):
manifest the light of testimony and actions to everyone who
sees me. That's how you do it. You don't have
to walk around with the Bible. Give Jelly Old credit.
He brought a Bible with him to the Grammys, and
when he went up to receive his award, his Bible
was in his hand, and he made sure everybody saw it.
(45:11):
That's the Holy Spirit in him, the Holy Spirit in you,
and I is desiring to shine, to glow because He's
the source of this life that we walk. You can't
walk this walk without the Holy Spirit. You can't do
anything in ministry if that's what you want to do
without the Holy Spirit. Oh yes, there are programs and
(45:33):
man made techniques, and you might be able to do something,
but you won't be successful, and you won't glorify God
Titus two fourteen, who gave himself for us that he
might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for
himself his own. Special people zealous for good works. You're special,
(45:57):
I'm special, and we should be zealous to shine him
our hope, your hope, my hope, the hope that the
Church has, the remnant has flows from our redemption from
being born again, from being born from above, the redemption
(46:19):
from ungodliness, from worldly lusts, and a life of darkness
that I haven't forgotten. That offers hope to anyone who's
still in that darkness. Hey, he found his way out.
I should be able to as well. Let your light
so shine as the sun lights up the firmament of
(46:41):
the heavens, to diffuse its light and heat freelys every
inhabitant of the earth, as the lamp that is not
set under the bushel or hidden, but placed on the
lamp stand, and it gives light all that are in
the house. Let your light shine. Let every follower the Lord,
(47:02):
especially every preacher of the Gospel, diffuse the light of
heavenly knowledge and the warmth of His divine love to
everyone we are acquainted with. Should never be well. I'm
going to do that on Sunday morning, Richard. No, you're
going to do it every minute of every hour of
(47:23):
every day, or you should. That's what we're called to do.
Think about light and heat. It expands outward unless something
is blocking it or hindering it. That they may see
your good works. It's not just sufficient to glow, not
just enough for you to walk in the light. They
(47:46):
need to see that what you're doing glorifies him. Our conduct,
what we say and what we do, and what we believe.
We should walk what we talk. We should be the content,
the constant example of his power and his truth. There's
(48:07):
no downtime, you know. I even pray when I sleep
that I shine him. His name's on my lips, that
if he uses me, if something happens in a dream
or he sends me somewhere in a dream or a vision,
that I'm always ready, I'm always prepared. His name is
on my lips, as nature is in my heart. There's
(48:30):
no downtime. Our spirit man hasn't gone to sleep, just
our body has. You are needed. I share this story
a while ago, but I think it applies in the Alps.
In Switzerland. Is an obscure village. It has a castle
in a church that is made of rough hewn stone,
(48:52):
and you reach that church by the worn steps up
up a mountainside. And the strange thing about this church
it doesn't have any a lighting system, never has. So
a traveler was in town and heard the church bell ringing,
and happened to look out the window and sees people walking.
(49:14):
They walking the narrow streets to the steps, and each
are carrying a small little bronze lamp, you know, the
kind's filled with oil and has a wick. And so
this traveler goes up to one of the worshippers and says, please,
I'm a stranger here. Will you tell me what's going on?
And while you're all carrying a lamp to the church,
(49:34):
And the woman she stops reply, says, well, yes, i'd
be happy to. Years ago a duke lived in that castle.
He built the church he endoubted and asked that each
worshiper bring their own lamp. The traveler thought and replied,
I should think that that would keep folks cotending the
(49:56):
evening services. Oh no, no, it's the other way. It's
called the Church of the lighted Lamps. And everybody that
goes makes it a little brighter. And when anybody is
tempted to stay at home or go somewhere else, he
remembers that this dear old church needs everybody's lamp. And
(50:16):
if your lamp isn't there, there's so much less light.
And I like the visual, but I would also add, well,
you want to be there for the right reasons, But
think about it. If you knew, wouldn't you be more
conscious of the fact that your light is needed, that
people need to see the light in you Phesians five,
(50:39):
starting verse eight. For once you were full of darkness,
but now you have the light from the Lord. So
live as people of light. For this light within you
produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully
determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the
worthless deeds of evil and darkness. Instead, expose them. It
(51:03):
is shameful even to talk about those things that ungodly
people do in secret, But their evil intentions will be
exposed when the light shines on them. For the light
makes everything visible. That's why it said, awake, oh sleeper,
rise from the dead, and Messiah will give you light
(51:24):
Philippians two fifteen. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God,
shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked
and perverse people. I think a lot of the evil
we see today, I understand where it's coming from. I
understand its source. But I understand that the church had
(51:46):
done its job and was doing its job. It wouldn't
be as powerful as it is. For we are children
of the light of the day. We don't belong to
darkness and night. So we need to be on guard,
not sleep like others do. We need to stay alert
and be clear to headed. Night is the time when
people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But those who live
(52:08):
in the light must be clear headed, protected by the
armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet
the confidence of our salvation. First Thessalonians five Versus five
through eight. You know this isn't an easy walk. It's
a vital walk. And what I'm sharing with you isn't
(52:29):
easy either, But it's important. You are important. He made
us all a part of the equation. He made us
all a part of the plant. And if we stay home,
if we don't shine our light, if we don't bring
it out into the darkness, then we're doing the enemy
(52:49):
of favor. We're not helping people to break through. We're
not helping the veil to come off their eyes. You
know that veal on the people who are wishing, whose
minds the gods of this age has blinded those who
do not believe. Lest the light of the Gospel of
the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God,
should shine on them. That's our job to shine. God
(53:15):
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and he
has shown it into our hearts. And He's given us
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
and the face and the very face of Jesus the Messiah.
And just like Moses who came down from Mount Signe
with glory of the Lord on him, we should shine
(53:36):
as well. And we shouldn't be wearing a veil. And
we talk about ministry. What is ministry, It's just service,
service to the King, for what service? The ministry of reconciliation,
a ministry of transformation, discipling, warfare for the lost and dying.
Whatever service He's called you to shine while doing it.
(54:02):
Maybe your prayer, warrior pray. But we are called you
and I, individually and collectively. We are called to not
lose heart or lose hope, to willingly renounce the hidden secrets,
(54:22):
to walk honestly and righteously, to be the manifestation of
the Lord and his glory, his light, his luminous You're
a luminary, never forget that. And the God of this
world and all that serve him in his kingdom. He
fights against the change that the Gospel of Good News
brings to people's hearts and lives. He doesn't want them
(54:46):
to be able to see. Oh, you can't preach that here.
We're going to put you in jail. If you do that.
Why who it offends people? Well? Is that what it is?
Or you just don't want them to get set free.
Those with clear eyes can still have dull spiritual ones.
(55:10):
Isn't that amazing that those with clear worldly eyes can
still have dull spiritual ones. They can be as bright
as the brightest light bulb, but be dull. They live
in darkness mostly by choice. They're there because they have
(55:30):
succumbed to the Prince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in the suns of disobedience,
the place that we once walked in this world. He
hides the Gospel from them. He did that for me
in the beginning. He hit it, he blocked my eyes,
but it broke through. He broke through. It always does.
(55:52):
If the person stays in that light long enough, it's
going to break through. I was blind, heart was veiled,
it was cold. God allowed certain things to happen to
wake me up, to shake me up. And then that
day came and I heard it. I heard the gospel.
(56:15):
I heard the heart of the Lord calling to me.
Did I know that's what it was? Now? I just
knew that I needed to get to that altar. I
knew that there was freedom waiting there for me. No
one whose little lamp covers it with a vessel that
(56:38):
puts it under her bed, but sets it on a
lamp stand that those who enter may see the light.
Luke age sixteen. If people come near you, let them
see the light. They enter your sphere. You don't have
to preach to them, you have to bible thump them,
but they should look at you and know. You know.
(56:58):
My whole life started when I was a kid. Sure
why I like to walk in the dark. I won't
turn the light on. Maybe it was a challenge and adventure.
Even as an adult, I'd still do it. Maybe I
had a habit. Unless it's absolutely pitch black, I'm not
(57:19):
going to turn that light on. And if I get
up in the middle of the night, I won't turn
the light on. I'll just walk, slide my feet along.
I'll rely on whatever sixth senses in me to guide
me and get me to my destination. Well years ago,
early in the morning, kind of doing that, got up
(57:42):
that was still working. I would get it first, I
would take the dogs out, I would make the coffee.
Decided I had to go use the bathroom, so I
used one on the far side.
Speaker 2 (57:52):
Of the house.
Speaker 1 (57:53):
No lights, didn't turn them on. Coming back, didn't realize
that Mac had changed where he was laying down. Our
roddy and Roddy's are mostly black and a little bit
of brown, and they disappear in the dark. Well, suddenly
Mac was now laying in that path that I had
just walked. But of course there's no light on. I
(58:13):
can't see him, and I fell over him, but it
got wedged underneath him, couldn't roll, couldn't do what I
would normally do, and drove that right knee straight into
the hard tile. Thankfully he didn't do any major damage,
but did damage that I still suffer from this day.
It's affected my walk, it influences everything I do. Two
(58:35):
Often believers forget that they shouldn't walk around in the dark.
Not only should they avoid the darkness, but they should
be the light that exposes the evil that is found
in that darkness. You were the light of the world.
Because He is the light of the world. Through us,
(58:59):
we were Him in all that we do. Just like
the moon was designed to provide light for the Earth
at night, just like the sun does during the day.
The actual source of that light is the Sun. The
moon is simply reflecting the Sun. Well, we reflect the Sun,
(59:22):
the son Sun, into the darkness to be guiding lights
to lead people home. And right now, in the darkness
that has so enveloped this world, your guiding light is
vitally necessary. Lord, We thank you for giving us this light.
(59:49):
We thank you for making us your luminaries, for letting
us be a part of this. We pray that you
would help us not to s come to this world
to turn down the light. We pray that you would
empower us to shine as brightly as possible whenever needed,
(01:00:09):
that the Holy Spirit in us would help us to glow,
give hope and love freedom. But I ask right now, Lord,
for some people this is difficult, and I asked that
you would help them remove the fears, the pain of rejection,
(01:00:31):
and help them to shine your glory and what you've
done for them, and that you would lead them to
people that need to see that. Let us be a
part of what you're doing. Let us be a part
of helping set the captives free, glorifying our heavenly Father,
being part of the solution and not part of the problem.
(01:00:54):
And we thank you for that in Jesus' name. May
the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord
make his face to shine upon you and be gracious
to you. May the Lord, I don't know you, Suhamashiyak,
lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
(01:01:15):
Give you shallow. I'm Richard Grund. This has been the
port on Firefall Talk Radio.
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