1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? ~ Psalms 42:1-2KJV
The problem is that we don’t hunger nor thirst for the presence of God. We barely make it out to church, much less chase His presence. We’re too spiritually lazy to chase after the presence of Jesus, and we don’t want anyone leaving us behind, so that is why some discourage others from chasing the presence of God. They don’t want to, so they don’t want you to either.
The face or the countenance of God is the sign of His blessing and His favor. The countenance, or the presence of God, affects those with whom it comes into contact with. So then, if they are the same word, then it would stand to reason that if you are chasing the presence of God, you would have to be actively seeking the face of God, the very thing He instructed us to do.
We are instructed to seek the face of God. This is beyond dispute. No way can you argue against it. No how can you deny it. You just can’t. We are to chase the presence of Almighty God. If we remain stagnant, then we’ll never grow. If we never grow, then we’ll never produce fruit. If we never produce fruit, then the LORD will have to cut us off. We have to chase the presence of God in order to remain in His presence.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Chase The Presence of The Almighty.
In our previous videos, we explained that Satan and Lucifer aren’t the same beings; they’re two separate beings. While Lucifer and Satan are two separate beings, Lucifer and Abaddon are the same being. As stated in part one, Lucifer was the only being thrown into the Bottomless Pit, and Abaddon is the only being that comes out, then they have to be the same being. But this didn’t seem to convince everyone, so join ArieRashelle as she shows us more connections between the two in her video, Who Is Abaddon? Pt. 2: The Lucifer Connection.
Isaiah 14:12-20 Revelation 9:1-12 Revelation 12 Matthew 25:41 Revelation 20:1-3 Mark 5:1-20 Luke 8:26-39 Hebrews 1:14 Revelation 11:1-14 Revelation 17 Isaiah 14:3-4 Jeremiah 25:8-15 Daniel 9:24-27 Daniel 9:1-2
Who Is Abaddon?
The Lucifer Connection
12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. 16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ 18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. 20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people.
Isaiah 14:12-20
1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. 7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. 12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
Revelation 9:1-12
Though Satan and Lucifer have no connections at all and are not the same being, Abaddon and Lucifer are the same being.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ~ Exodus 1:8
After Joseph saved Egypt, with the help of the wisdom of the LORD, a new king arose over Egypt that didn’t know Joseph. Because of this, he began the oppression of the Israelites in the land. The Hebrew word for know in this verse is oida. Oida often connotes not only having knowledge but also being able to understand that knowledge. What does this mean?
The new king didn’t know Joseph because he didn’t understand the power that rested upon Joseph. He didn’t understand that in having no regard for Joseph meant having no regard for the God of Joseph.
Many of us know of great men and women of God. We know their works and their wisdom, but we don’t understand their works or their teachings because we can’t comprehend how it fits the ideology we’ve created or accepted in our own mind. So, we mock them and call them false teachers and blasphemous because their actions didn’t make sense to our own biased beliefs. And in doing so, we don’t realize we are mocking the one who sent them. When we bring persecution upon a man or woman of God, we are persecuting Jesus, just as Saul did (Acts 22:7-8).
Jesus lives in and through His Church. This is why we are called the body of Christ because Christ (the head) dictates where the body must go and what the body must do. Therefore, don’t just make a blind judgment call on someone because they are different or believe differently than you. Seek the LORD for discernment as you test every spirit so that you might not persecute Christ because of the lack of understanding.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek God’s Understanding.
13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And He told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ~ John 2:13-16
Money is important; without it, none can survive, but money shouldn’t be the main focus of the Church. Jesus flipped tables, poured out money, and even made a whip of chords to chase out the money changers. Why? Because they were focused on making money instead of ushering in the presence of God. Today’s churches are filled with coffee stands and even cafeterias where you can get all the drink and food you want, but the Church is still dying of dehydration and starvation. We go to church every Sunday, but we’re not getting fed. Our churches are filled with all the Starbucks you could ever want, but the well of Living Water has gone dry.
There’s nothing wrong with serving drinks and food at church. Jesus fed people as well, but Jesus made sure to Spiritually take care of their needs before He physically did. We have to make sure that we’re spiritually taking care of the people that come through those doors. Every song should usher in the presence of God. Every word spoken should be filled with power and authority from God. The Church should be full.
LORD, I may not be a leader in my church, but help me to be the change I want to see. If You can use anything and anyone, please use me. Awaken the sleeping spirit within me. Let revival start with me. Let the outpouring of Your Spirit start with me. Please mold me and make me so that I can be whatever vessel You need me to be. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
1 Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. ~ Joel 2:1-2
Throughout the Old Testament, prophets constantly heard and, therefore, prophesied that the day of the LORD was a frightening day. A day of darkness and gloom, yet Paul says it’s our blessed hope (Titus 2:11-14). John is told in his revelation that the Spirit and the bride say come, as well as the one who hears (Revelation 22:17). Why? Because we have been perfected in His perfect love that casts out all fear. Fear has to do with punishment, and we, His people, shall not be punished for we have been redeemed (1 John 4:18).
God Himself paid our debt. He took our punishment upon Himself. Why? So that when that last trumpet blasts and Jesus returns, we’ll rejoice because He will take us to be with Him forever and ever (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). So, blow a trumpet of warning within your heart. Awaken your sleeping spirit. The day of the LORD is at hand. It’s closer now than ever has been before. There are more and more signs of the times every day. Don’t miss them. Don’t ignore them. They are here, and more will come regardless of whether we like it or not. So, prepare for His return. Be ready so that that day may be a day of rejoicing, not a day of fear and dread.
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! ~ Psalms 90:14-17
The love of God satisfies us. It’s the miracle grow that brings forth all of the other Fruit of the Spirit. Often time, we want the favor of the LORD and for Him to establish everything we do, but we don’t want to first be satisfied by His love. Without dwelling in His love, we can’t produce any fruit or receive His promises. We have to first dwell in His love and produce His love from our hearts.
In other words, the love of God has to change you. You have to have a desire for the things of God, enjoy the things of God, seek the things of God, and remain in the things of God. The things of the world are shiny, and they often distract us, but they don’t last. They, and the earth itself, will one day flee from the presence of God. One day, they will be no more, but the promises and the good things of God will never pass away. When you dwell in the things of God, they carry on into the next life because seeking the things of God prepares treasure for you in Heaven. And where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
LORD God, please help me to leave behind the things of this world. Help me to become attached only to You and Your kingdom. Let Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Remove any desires from me that aren’t of You. Help me to be satisfied in Your love and to stop seeking out the world and its poison apples. Teach me to love You the way You deserve. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
16 For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made. 17 Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. 18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, 19 creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. ~ Isaiah 57:16-19
God looks down on us and sees our hearts. He sees the filth we think about and the evil sins we commit. God sees what we do in secret that we’re ashamed of and what we do in public and are proud of. God sees it all, yet, God still loves us to the point of death. God bore our punishment on Himself so that we might be saved from our sins. None of us are deserving. None of us are worthy. None of us are better than the other. We are all flawed, and we are all filled with sin, but God’s love can penetrate that sin and cleanse you.
We may be red as crimson with our sin, but the love of God will cleanse us and make us white as snow. But we have to first confess our sins to God. Yes, He already knows them because He sees us committing them. We’re not confessing so that He can hear us. We’re confessing so that the Devil can hear that there is nothing He can hold against us. We’re confessing our sins so that we might bring them up in court, and the court might rule in our favor to have our record expunged. Because of the redeeming blood of Jesus and the molding of His Holy Spirit, we are no longer that person but a new creation.
LORD God, help me confess all of my sins before You so that the Devil may never use them against me again. Expunge my record and throw it into the Sea of Forgetfulness. Cleanse me of all of my sin, LORD God, that I might dwell in Your Holy presence. Thank You for redeeming me, even though I am so unworthy. Thank You for Your love and compassion. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:4–5
The main point of the lesson is Abide. Abide in me, and I in you. This word abide is the Greek word, μένω which means:
“To remain in a place,” “to tarry,” as opposed to going away.
But before you can remain in a place or tarry in a place, you have to get to that place or be in that place. Therefore, Jesus is also talking to us Christians, those of us who believe in Him and have accepted Him as LORD and Savior. Yes, His words were directed toward the disciples, but they are also meant for us.
We Christians cannot produce good fruit apart from Jesus, who is the Vine, and neither can we have the Holy Spirit, who is the Sap. All of the nutrients come through the Sap, which equates to power. No Spirit. No power.
LORD God, help me to remain in Your love. Help me to understand that there is nothing I can do apart from You. Lead me in the way that I should go, and teach me to follow You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.” ~ Isaiah 38:4-6
Israel had just become overtaken by Assyria, and Judah was next. Hezekiah, king of Judah, was on his deathbed. The LORD had told him that he wouldn’t recover from his illness and that he was going to die. But Hezekiah didn’t take that as just words set in stone. Hezekiah pleaded for mercy from God, reminding God of the good things he had done in his life. Because of Hezekiah’s pleas to God, God relented His hand and spared not only Hezekiah’s life for another 15 years, but Judah wasn’t overtaken by Assyria. Hezekiah’s decision to plead for the mercy of God spared him and his people.
Today, many of us have been given death sentences. They may not be death sentences on our lives, but they’re on our dreams, our promises, our relationships, and our blessings. God has told us that these things shall die and they shall not recover, but if we humble ourselves before the Almighty in repentance and pleas for mercy and grace, the LORD will relent His hand as He did with Hezekiah.
LORD God, please forgive me for turning away from You and opening a spiritual door in my life that has claimed my dreams, promises, relationships, blessings, and even my health. LORD, please have mercy on me. Please give me another chance to follow You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Please relent Your hand and close the spiritual doors that I’ve forced open with my sin and rebellion. Thank You, LORD God, for Your mercy, Your grace, and Your everlasting love. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for Your precious and Holy blood that redeems me from all of my sin, shame, and disease. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ~ Genesis 41:39-42
Joseph started in Egypt as a slave. His own brothers had sold him into slavery to his cousins (generations removed), who then sold him to an Egyptian. The story of Joseph is definitely a rollercoaster but look at the restoration the LORD gave to Joseph. Only Pharaoh was above him. He was given everything he never had. He was more than just restored. Joseph was elevated beyond belief. He was elevated to the second in command only to Pharaoh himself. In fact, Pharaoh, in verse 44, that he may be Pharaoh, but nothing will be done in Egypt without the permission of Joseph. Pharaoh gave Joseph his authority and power but not his throne. This is an extreme jump from being in prison to being in charge of an entire nation.
Sometimes our seasons feel like they will never end. Like they will never cease because they’re rough, they’re difficult, but the restoration comes in a moment. And when we are restored, we are restored to new heights. But only if we remain faithful to the LORD. The LORD only elevates those who are faithful during difficult times. Those who are faithful in a little because they will also be faithful in a lot. So, if you are going through a season that’s rough and difficult, remain faithful to the LORD. While in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph remained faithful to the LORD, and the LORD honored this. You have to act like Joseph to receive restoration like Joseph.
LORD God, please teach me to remain faithful to you when all things are going wrong. Help me to remain faithful to you when the world seems to be offering me an out to the hard season that I’m in. Transform me through the renewing of my mind and replace my heart of stone for a heart of flesh so that I might love You with everything in me. Be with me in all things, LORD God. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and goodness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
