Rise on Fire Ministries

In everything we do, we are called to glorify God. And a wedding ceremony is the ideal event to use as a witness! PD & Christina's wedding was a Hebraic themed wedding, inspired by the Biblical narrative. In this video, we share the different elements we used in our wedding, what they mean, and how you can use them to make your wedding one that glorifies God above all! Download our Ketubah as an outline for your own: http://bit.ly/32WX2kw

It's finally here! Our wedding highlight video with narration. Those of you who couldn't physically attend can have a peek into our wedding day. We had a Hebraic themed wedding inspired by the story of the Bible. Next, we will also release a teaching video where we explain the ceremony in-depth and how each element was used to point back to Yeshua and the Biblical narrative. Stay tuned for that one tomorrow!

This is one to share with your Christian friends (interview with a pastor in this video!). Halloween just ended, how was yours? I'll be honest, as being from South Africa and this being my official "first" Halloween, driving through our American neighborhood streets was a weird experience, almost like walking through the set of a horror movie. This all sparked my curiosity. So on Halloween, I drove up to a local church doing "Trunk or Treat" (a "lightened version" of Trick or Treat), and spoke to the head pastor about it. I wanted to understand their mission and motivations behind their participation in Halloween. As you will find, his motivations were interesting, but are they biblical? The big question is: How do we ensure we are a light, as Yeshua was light, while ensuring we do not celebrate or partake in darkness and sin in the process? I hope this video helps to answer that question for Christians.

So often, we think of ourselves as being responsible to pull out the tares from God's field. But the parable of the wheat & the tares told by Yeshua gives a different perspective. In this parable, the servants' first instinct was to pull out the tares as soon as they were spotted. However, the Master told them to wait lest they pull out the wheat along with the tares. Why did the master say this? And what does it teach us to do when we come across people who seem like tares in the field?

When we keep God's commandments, attend church, His feasts, do communion or whatever other religious rites, why do we do it? The heart's motivation for why we do what we do is just as important as what we actually do. Throughout scripture, we see examples of men who seemed religious and good - even so far as to be dining with the Messiah Himself, yet they’re hearts behind their actions were wicked and they were condemned by God for it. And this is the difference between those who will see the Living Waters flow from them and those who won't. We can read the same Bibles, yet have completely different characters because we've either welcomed or quenched the Spirit. This Sukkot, would you have been qualified to enter the New Heaven & Earth through your heart of purity, or will the Father see ulterior motives when He tests it? Why do you do what you do?

Many have scratched their heads about Jesus' Parable of the Wineskins. And many have struggled to understand it for the same reason the Pharisees struggled. Ironically, the parable teaches us about why we sometimes struggle to understand the parables and things of God: When we try to grasp and explain kingdom matters with our fallen carnal minds, instead of the Spirit. "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" (John 3:12)

The Day of Atonement is an appointed time of God that reminds us to live lives that are holy, for we will all one day stand before God and be judged for every idle word we have spoken (Matt 12:36, 2 Cor 5:10). But also, we need to be reminded that God Himself will be the Great Judge. While we are to judge matters in our life righteously (John 7:24), Jesus spoke of the pointing of the finger often: That the measure we use to judge others will be measured back to us on that day of judgment. Introspection, therefore, is needed: Have we judged others absolutely righteously, accurately, and even with the same grace and patience our Father has afforded us? If not, we may disqualify ourselves from that grace we desire and certainly need on the Great Day. "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye" (Matthew 7:5)

After receiving the commandments from Mount Sinai, Israel desired to keep them. But they couldn't. No matter how hard they tried they continuously failed to stay free from sin. It seemed almost as if they merely transitioned from their mindset of slavery at Egypt to slavery to sin. This needs to make us stop and think as to whether we are trying to keep the law of God still as “slaves” and “orphans”, or as sons? Attempting to justify ourselves by what we can do, or by what He has done? Yeshua said the son abides in His house forever, but the slave does not abide forever. In this season of the feast of trumpets, God calls us to evaluate our hearts and minds as to see whether we are truly His sons and known by Him to abide with Him forever.

All over the world, there is a restoration of God's truth happening right now. Christians are starting to keep "Jewish" feasts, but why? And how is this biblical? In this video, we will discuss the historical reasons for the divisions between believing Jews and non-jews, and the biblical reasons for why we need to reconsider what we've been taught regarding the biblical festive times of God.

Perfectionism can take place at the cost of getting things done. It can leave us starting projects we never finish, or never even start due to the fear of failure, or not being "good enough". Jesus talked about it in Matthew 25, and stresses that we cannot allow fear to rule us to the point of where we "bury our talents in the ground." Don't be ruled by perfectionism, don't be afraid of making mistakes. God doesn't expect perfection in our works, but rather simply our best try. And when we give God that, He has a promise in store: More talents!

Jesus flipped tables, called the Pharisees snakes and Peter to "get behind me Satan". Yeshua flipped tables, so naturally, that gives us permission to be as rude/unloving/arrogant as we want to anyone who disagrees with us, right? We can bash people over the head with truth and if they don’t receive it, "well that's their fault." But who is this battle against, really? See, Jesus wasn't addressing Peter when He called him Satan, He addressed Satan (whom Peter was speaking from). Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is Satan's mission to make us believe it is. Everything Yeshua did was out of love, love for the people who didn’t understand the way or the truth, so He came to bring them life and to show them what walking in truth and freedom looked like through His example. Only to the religious leaders who were purposefully leading others astray and seeking to promote their own gain and their authority above God’s authority did Yeshua address in a harsher way, because that’s what was needed. But yet, even for these, He was still willing to die on the cross for their sakes. Are you willing to die for the person who disagrees with you, or who disrespects God, and is it evident in the way you act and speak? Remember the most important commandment. As featured in Torah Portion: Phinehas / Phineas

Giving or “Tithing” today is a controversial matter. Many have been hurt in the past through prosperity teachings or betrayals and refuse to ever give again, others give a 10% “tithe”, and others a simple offering whenever led. But what is the responsibility of believers who receive teaching/edification in their faith from a minister? And should pastors or other full-time ministers receive salaries in the first place?

We live in a culture addicted to entertainment: From the latest movie to the latest festival, the entertainment industry is now a billion-dollar industry in the world, and much of Christianity has followed suit. Churches have exchanged "controversial" sermons on holiness for short-and-sweet feel-good motivational speeches, the depth of the word for smoke machines, and persued supernatural experiences at the cost of holiness, all to draw the crowds. But what if the move of God's Spirit doesn't need to be at the price of holy living or the depth of God's amazing Word? What if our Messiah walked in radical holiness, combined with the supernatural movings of God's Spirit? And what if that's exactly the walk God is commanding today. He is getting rid of the unholy leaders throughout catholic, charismatic, protestant and all other movements alike, to make way for the One True Body He is coming back for. There is purging taking place for His Kingdom to be established. Will you hear the call to repentance to ensure your house is clean?

When Israel leaves Egypt, they rejoice in the freedom from Egypt's slavery but soon thereafter encounters something they didn't truly expect: A wilderness. No water, no food, just a desert ready to swallow them. In their minds, they only traded the curse of Egypt for the curse of the wilderness, and they complain and even rebel against God. Jesus also entered a wilderness. Even though He was free from sin and the world (Egypt), He had to walk through the wilderness. But He took 40 days instead of Israel's 40 years, and He never complained or rebelled. Throughout scripture, we see the reality of the wilderness season every man/woman of God will encounter. It's everywhere. But what are we to do when we enter it?

Feeling weak, without hope, without talent and therefore useless for the Kingdom of God? While our competitive world believes talents and skills equates to success, the Kingdom of God is upside down in this regard. Throughout scripture, we see God using people who didn't always have the necessary background or skills for jobs that they seem unqualified for. But what was God after? Humility. Skills, talents and other weaknesses can be empowered by God, but the heart of a man is the one thing God does not always own. A heart of humility is the most important attribute of a man and God cherishes it and pours grace upon grace upon it. What does it help you that you possess all knowledge and skill, yet don't have the humility that empowers you to walk out love?

Have you ever been to a store, you finished shopping, and you have everything you need to checkout. But as you approach the line, you see it extending further than you thought. But you look down upon your cart and items and decide: "What I have is important, I'm willing to wait." Do you feel like you're waiting in line for God? Throughout the scriptures, we have story upon story of characters like Joseph, Hannah and even Jesus, who waited on God. Waiting is sometimes hard, and sometimes confusing, but what you do while you wait often matters more than what you're waiting for.

I would like to ask for prayer. I and my wife has been without our home for 2 weeks (going on 3) now. After coming back from a conference a month ago, we both got sick as soon as we entered our home and remained sick for about a week thereafter. We thought it was just down to the fact that we slept at an airport the previous night and our bodies were a little weak and vulnerable. However, thereafter I started getting severe allergic reactions inside our home starting about two weeks ago. After initially thinking we have bugs, to other possibilities, after prayer the Father revealed that we have mold in our venting system (HVAC) of the home. We were soon thereafter forced out of the home for our own health and we are now living with my in-laws until the home is cleaned. As you can imagine, this is impacting my work in the ministry. So I may not be able to deliver all the teachings I wanted to deliver this week as well as next week, I apologize. I am working from where I am as much as possible, but I'm away from my workspace and computer to render videos and my laptop cannot handle it as well. We don't always know why these things happen, but we had a mold inspector at our house the rental management company had sent, who I had to let into the house to inspect it. He ended up seeing the home studio where we shoot Rise on Fire videos and asked about it. I had an opportunity to witness to him, and upon leaving he even asked the ministry name so he can look-up the teachings. If by all this God knew that this would be the only way to reach this mold inspector, then it's all worth it. Just 2 weeks ago He turned our plane around mid-flight to let us bump into a waitress whom I had to meet, and it ended up restoring her faith in God - all glory to God! So in all this, rejoice in your suffering, for you may not know what it's end and fruit may be to your own life, or even the lives of those around you. Rom 5:3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Please pray for our house to be cleaned up soon. It has been a slow process with our home management company and we hope to be moving back in soon so we can continue with the work He has prepared for us. Many blessings! PD

Sometimes we pray, and God doesn't heal. But why? Scripture and the walk of Jesus Himself teaches us various reasons for why people are sick, and perhaps why they may not get healed immediately upon being prayed for. Here are 4 of those reasons.

When I was a teenager, I started reading conspiracy theories, it became a passion. I was spending much of my time on researching the next big thing, and as a Christian, I was convinced that I would be able to use my "revelations" to show people the deceptions of the world and thereby lead them to Christ. But then I realized, I was not effective for the Kingdom, I was not really doing what Yeshua did, even though I tried convincing myself and others otherwise. I was only effective in telling people about deceptions going around and the “truths” surrounding them. My treasure wasn't God and spreading the Gospel of His Kingdom. My treasure was in conspiracy theories and other knowledge. Where is your treasure?

When I met Christina, she couldn’t pronounce my surname. I was from another culture, another language, and my name was almost impossible for her American tongue to figure out at first. Should that have offended me? Of course not! Yet why do we think our perfect Father is offended when we struggle to say His name in the correct spelling or pronunciation? Many have gone as far as to say that if we pronounce His name wrong, He won't hear or answer our prayers. There are various pronunciations that have been adopted for His name, even our current pronunciations might be slightly off as scholars disagree all the time, but the name we do know we should honor, especially through our actions. The reality is, God is more merciful and understanding than any man could ever even be. He is more concerned with whether we represent His name well than whether we can pronounce and spell it perfectly well.

Marriage is hard. And sometimes it becomes really hard. But it shouldn't be a surprise, Satan is after marriages - for if the marriage fails, it takes a house down with it. Marriage is also hard because it involves two different individuals becoming one flesh. No matter the reason for the struggles of marriage, how we deal with them is something everyone who marries will need to face and it comes down to this: Will we "love like the world" only as long as the person loves us back (and in the same amount), or will we love like Jesus, even when the partner doesn't love us all the ways we desire? Christ has suffered all we could ever suffer (Hebrews 4:15). Even though He was never married in the flesh, God experienced the same pains when His Bride has sinned or fallen away even temporarily. Yet Christ overcame and loved us to the end. Will we love like He did, in a love that is sacrificial, merciful and kind? We need the kind of love that draws others to repentance as He did us. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

In our western, capitalist mindsets, those in full-time ministry have adopted the world's ways of doing business to start charging for the gospel - making it inaccessible to those unable to pay. What has happened? Would Yeshua have put a paywall in front of His revelations, teachings, and deliverance? So why do we? Isn't it disturbing that we have fallen this far into what is now considered a "normal" way of doing ministry. Freely you have received, now freely give. God is calling ministers out to separate themselves from the world and be an example to the sheep, to actually trust in the Master who pays His laborers their wages. If we continue to trust in our devices and models of doing ministry instead of what our Messiah clearly laid out in scripture, our ministries will be robbed of blessings - and even worse, we will have to give an account on judgment day (the day teachers will be judged more strictly on).

Are you so zealous for God that you would be willing to lay everything down for the sake of His righteousness to prevail? When no says anything nor does anything about the evil, the evil prevails. Turning a blind eye is participation if you have the power to put an end to the evil around you. Evil prospers in the world due to believers too involved in the world to speak up, for various reasons: Either the evil profits them, or they are afraid of what might happen to them if they blew the whistle on evil. Ultimately, they lift their own life above seeing God's Kingdom come on Earth. This is why Jesus chased out the moneychangers from the temple with whips. This is why Jesus cursed the fig tree. This is why Phineas pierced a man and woman in idolatry with a spear. And all these were righteous acts, even though they may seem "radical" or strange. And this is why our Messiah (and later His disciples) gave their lives: To put an end to the evil, and to let His Kingdom come and prevail. Torah Portion: Pinchas | Phinehas / Phineas | פנחס

We don't always understand why we get sick, or why suffering comes across our paths. Just last weekend after a fruitful time at a conference with many healed, we came down with the flu. How do we explain praying for the sick, when we can't even "take ourselves down from the cross"? Yes, God could have stopped it all and taken Yeshua off the cross in the midst of it, but He didn't - for there was a purpose for His suffering. In fact, His suffering and ultimate death on the cross became the best thing that has ever happened to the world. What if when we walk as He did and remain in covenant with Him, our suffering yields the same fruit? What if our suffering, instead of it being without purpose, can bring glory to the Kingdom of God if we yield ourselves into His hands. He never said this walk would be easy, in fact, He said we would suffer the same things He did. Therefore we rejoice in our suffering and pray for it to change lives in the most mysterious ways only God can work. This is a story of how our seemingly "bad situation" at an airport last weekend got turned around to become life-changing events for people around us.

The hardest commandment ever given to man is a commandment given to men. In Ephesians 5, men are instructed to love their wives "as Christ loves the church". The disunity in marriages is a primary reason for the disparity and suffering in the world, and even in Christian fellowships. As men, we have often failed this commandment to love radically, and so we have failed to be a picture of the world of Christ and His Bride. This is the hardest commandment, and this is how to love as Yeshua loved.

We saw great miracles this past weekend at the Freedom Reigns - Men's Conference, and here is some of it. God is pouring His Spirit upon His people!

What is true faith? We may understand that our walk with Jesus means that we make changes in our lives to reflect the lifestyle He asked of us to have - to stop sinning. But does it stop there? Why so often do we disconnect the notion that faith is action from spiritual giftings? We say we believe God desires us to speak in tongues, yet never open our mouths to speak. We say we believe God desires us to pray for the sick, yet never lay our hands to pray. Do we truly believe? Because our actions will prove if we do. And if you feel like you don't have faith, be bold and step out! Your actions will build it.

Sometimes I wonder, don't we often get so caught up in the latest piece of "knowledge" that is floating around, or winning the next theological debate, that we miss the person on the street on the way to the next conference? While Jesus certainly knew scripture, and we must know scripture well - He applied scripture. The knowledge that goes unapplied leavens and puffs up, but Jesus calls up to be unleavened, thereby applying the knowledge He reveals to us. He didn't just give you the knowledge and intellect to have a Bible study with others who are just as smart as you, He gave it so you may set others free with it, especially the audience He was among most often - the poor, blind, and sick of this world.

Acts 15's meeting of the Jerusalem council is often used to explain that Christians/non-Jews are not required to keep the law of God. But rather only a few commandments. That Jesus has come to fulfill the law so we don't need to, and the laws given by God in the old testament are completely abolished; and if we are to keep them, we are to bring Jesus' sacrifice to naught. Was this the conclusion of the Apostles? If so, why were they giving commandments of Leviticus at the same meeting to gentiles, even "abolished" dietary laws? And why were they encouraging gentiles to attend synagogues where the law was taught? Acts 15 is extremely misunderstood by many. I hope this brings clarity.

What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Many have said it is simply the act of denying Jesus as Messiah, denying the law of God, or that we cannot commit this unforgivable sin anymore because Jesus no longer walks the Earth. But is that it? Since this sin is described as being among the most serious in all of scripture, surely it deserves a second, yet balanced look. Understanding the context of Jesus' teaching regarding this (His encounter with the Pharisees) gives clarity, where the Pharisees call the works of the Holy Spirit, that of a demon. But later, the disciples have a similar encounter and call Jesus walking on water, a "ghost". What is the difference then? There are only two kingdoms, you either gather or scatter abroad and those whom He has gathered, will not commit this sin. This is a redone video to better explain this topic. While my position regarding the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit hasn’t changed, in this video I will not only explain what it is; but also answer some questions that were asked on the previous video. Many came to the previous video hoping to understand whether they have themselves blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I do not wish anyone to mistakenly diagnose themselves as having blasphemed the Holy Spirit when in reality they have not and thereby feel separated from God. And so I attempted to help those with this burning question come to an answer that is biblical and balanced.

When Jesus came, it wasn't just about gathering a crowd, He came to make disciples. Men as warriors who will not only follow Him but continue His mission of fighting the war against the Kingdom of darkness that continues today. God calls us all to be warriors for Him - to set the captives free and be a light to the nations. But we are part of an army unlike any other army of this world. All the other armies need to pick up their own weapons and fight their own fights. Our God fights for us. We only need to show up and have faith. From the fall of the walls of Jericho to the splitting of the sea, our God fights for us and makes our enemies flee. Torah Portion: Beha'alotcha | When you set up | בהעלותך

Darrell came to the WayWalk conference, where God drew Him for a purpose: Darrell was about to have 3 days of witnessing God heal his body radically and instantly in multiple ways - over and over again. This is a beautiful story and testimony you don't want to miss hearing. Testimony shared by: Darrell Lee

It has started. This past week we witnessed an outpouring of His Spirit at a conference, and I believe this past feast of Pentecost is the "marker" of a new season on God's calendar, where He will restore the second part of His Spirit & Truth promise: The pouring out of His Spirit. John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

Recently Christina and I put out a video on preparing for marriage. We were asked whether we don't think we are too "inexperienced" to teach on such a matter? This is a great question worth addressing. God desires us to be childlike to be fit for the Kingdom: That means being humble after the likeness of a child. Children don't care who they are learning from, they just want to learn. They learn from parents or even other children. Children aren't afraid of making mistakes. God wants us to be childlike because then we are humble enough to enter the Kingdom, for pride creates an unteachable spirit unable to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. But how can we learn from a child, or someone younger if they lack experience? We must be open to the fact that God often chooses the unqualified to deliver messages out of their own league, but they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Think Moses. Think the prophets of old. Think Noah. If God can use someone the world would never expect, couldn't He also use a child? Of course! And we must ensure our hearts are humble enough to be able to receive instruction or wisdom even from a child when the Holy Spirit speaks through them.

We all desire blessing. No matter who you are, what you believe, what your heart is, it doesn't change the fact that we all ultimately desire a life full of blessing. The world is full of stress, fear, disappointment, offense and hurt. Effectively navigating the evils of life can seem like an impossible task, because it is. Without God, we can do nothing. And the sooner we recognize it, the sooner we can submit ourselves to Him and His will, to let Him carry the burden and take the control. For Him to set us free when we're pushed to our limit. You were never meant to carry this alone, and if you try it will bring everything BUT a blessing. Want a blessed life? Give your life and all control to the One True God from which all that is blessed comes from. Living a life of blessing doesn't just mean we accept Jesus into our heart, He must rule it. Torah Portion: Bechukotai | In my statutes | בחקותי

Once a year, God calls His people to count the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost. But why? He desires us to be reminded each year of what the disciples counted down to while in Jerusalem: The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Each year He desires us to conduct introspection to see whether we live a Holy Spirit-filled life, or one that lacks the fruits, boldness, and power that the Holy Spirit brings. Paul said that he didn't come with the wisdom of men, but rather the empowerment of the Spirit. If Paul felt like he couldn't preach or do anything without the Spirit, we should also yearn for God's Spirit like our life depends on it - because it does. If we desire to walk as Yeshua walked in love, power, signs and wonders, and wisdom - we will never be able to without the Holy Spirit. Let us seek the filling of the Spirit in this season! Like a man who knocks until a door is opened, even if it means being persistent.

More information: https://www.waywalk.org The WayWalk Conference is from 5 - 8 June 2019! Come and join! It will be great to meet you there!

How do you view God? And do you view Him the same way the disciples did 2000 years ago? Do you view Him the same way Moses did? And do you view Him the same way Jesus did? Either they all viewed God differently because God changed over time, or God never changed and all they all viewed Him the same. The way you perceive God will impact the way you live your life. Maybe you grew up in a church where God was proclaimed as an angry God always out to get you. Or maybe you grew in a church where God is a gracious and loving God that doesn't require holiness nor repentance; and never executes judgment. Reading the old and new testaments, it can sometimes seem like God's character has changed as we travel from the front of the book, with God's judgments, to the back, with God's grace revealed through His Son. So when Jesus came, did something change? Did God soften up to executing judgment, to rather love us and not judge? What is God's true character? Torah Portion: Emor | Say | אמור

So you think they are "the one", but how do you know? In the midst of the feelings, emotions, dreams and other confirmations, discerning whether someone is the one God has set-apart for you can become more difficult than it seems. A marriage is a combination of both the good and bad of two people. But at what point does the "bad" become the deal breaker? Or at what point does the "good" become the confirmation that they are the one? Manipulative spirits, secret sins, confusion, playing games, and many other red flags are important to watch out for. In this video PD & Christina discusses 13 important tests to ask yourself for determining whether someone is truly "The One" before entering marriage.

Just as how God meticulously instructed Israel specific procedures on how to and where to make their offerings, so God expects us to offer our living offering. Our reasonable worship to God is to be done how He specified. It doesn't matter how sincere we may be in doing something for God if we are not following His instructions on how to live and make our living sacrifice, whose instructions are we truly following, and what god do we serve? We can easily start serving the god of self, to lift our aspirations and desires high above, thinking that our ideas will please God without ever considering that He gave His ideas in His Word, and expects us to follow them. For any other worship unto Him will be in vain, even if our hearts are sincere. Yes, God knows our hearts, and the Bible says our hearts are "deceitfully wicked, who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9) God searches the hearts and deeds, to see whether we have a heart after following His commands and ways of worship, or the commandments of another god. Don't say one thing and do another brothers/sisters, for the whole world is watching. If you say you are a disciple of Yeshua, act like one in the ways He prescribed. For that is what is our reasonable worship unto Him. In this Torah Portion, we will talk about how to have a living offering pleasing to God, and how Yeshua was simultaneously perfect, yet while having had the sins of the world placed upon Him, fulfilling the two goats of the Day of Atonement. Torah Portion: Leviticus 16:1 - 18:30 | After The Death | ACHAREI MOT | אחרי מות

Some have said Jesus is not the true Messiah sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but a character of Roman Catholic Church invention that teaches something different from the true Hebrew Messiah, Yeshua. In this video, we will evaluate why some have come to this conclusion and whether this is a scripturally sound concept to believe and in line with the fruits of the Spirit.

I don't know about you, but I'm more afraid of the sin in me I don't see, than the one I can see and face. I don't want to come to God one day and have Him point out things that I deemed innocent, yet was an offense to Him. It's easy to get so focused on cleansing our "big sins" this Passover, that we forget to ask God to show the more "innocent" looking sins. Passover is a season of repentance, but in this teaching, I'll show you how God is after a specific type of sin most this Passover, and it's not the one most obvious.

Everything in our lives is supposed to have a primary objective of glorifying and building God’s Kingdom. Whatever it is we do or pursue, whether marriage, having children, buying a house, moving to this or that place, or whatever – God and His Kingdom must be considered in our decisions, but not only considered, given top priority. We should not enter the marriage covenant lightly, or with a primary objective of simply being happy or living the “American Dream”, while some of these things can be very good, and marriage is supposed to be encircled with happiness, God has designed marriage to be much more than that. Marriage is supposed to above all else glorify God’s Kingdom, and if it does not accomplish that then we will never be able to fulfill the callings God has given us as individuals – and therefore will have failed God’s calling to have a marriage that is not only lasting and full of joy and happiness, but one that is meaningful & fruitful for the Kingdom. What good would it be to come to His throne one day, being able to say that we have been able to stay together as long as we lived, yet we only stayed together for our aspirations, our desires, our comfortability, instead of lifting His Kingdom above ours and considering His calling - even if that calling is harder or uncomfortable, or not exactly the American Dream we had in mind.

Have you ever heard of a strong Christian, who's fire went out? Or even worse, a once 'believer' who fell away completely. Like Judas who dwelled with Jesus: Ate with him, slept with him, arose in the morning to walk through the streets of Jerusalem with Him - yet betrayed Him. The mere fact that it is possible for us to betray Messiah in the way that Judas did, calls for examination. And that examination has been given to us by Father in the form of Passover. But Judas kept the commandments and feasts, kept Passover - he managed to keep it all religiously while having an unchanged heart. The sin of Judas is still around today: Some have an outward appearance of religion, yet lack the power and love. And at the communion taken at the 'Last Supper', Judas partook unworthily and received the great judgment. Will you be different from Judas by doing this Passover differently? Not only by mere physical observations and going through motions but by examining your heart and asking Father to show the leaven hidden even in the deepest closets of your heart. God calls His people to reconsider this Passover deeper and more seriously than all before it.

Men, God calls you to be a man. But it looks different from what the world considers a "real man." We live in a culture that teaches men to be cowards. A culture where men are encouraged and considered "strong" when they go to hang out at a bar with friends every night, instead of coming home to a family. Or to date the same girl for years and years and years on end without ever putting a ring on her finger. In reality, this world teaches men to be boys, and many boys never grow up to become men. Do you want to be a real man? Feed the poor, come home to care for your wife and family, be loyal and honest, love them radically in action, give your life to God so He can use your life for His Kingdom of Light. Being a man isn't about being good with boys but a stranger to your wife, it's about taking responsibility instead of avoiding it and focusing on what God has given you to steward.

We're married! And what a journey it was… The past year the Father has brought us through various red sea crossings and challenges where everything was about to go completely wrong unless He came through at the last moment. And He did come through, every single time. Christina and I would like to share some of that with you, how God makes promises, builds trust, and why we rejoice in these tribulations.

Studies show that couples who spend more on their wedding ceremony and engagement ring are at a higher risk of divorce later in the marriage, compared to couples who spent less extravagantly on their wedding. But why? Similar to some couples who may be marrying for status, wealth, the show of a big ceremony, or the outward appearances - many think they can be a bride who marries God for the same reasons. Many go to church every week, keep every festival, attend every bible study, every conference, and from the outside, their relationship with God appears to be beautiful. Yet they were doing it all for show and the approval of fellow churchmen instead of for the sake of their intimacy with God. While men can be fooled, God will not be, and will not marry a bride only in it for appearances. He is looking for a bride equally yoked, in love with her Bridegroom, who will never compromise.

A rabbi walks through the streets of Jerusalem. As he walks to the feast, all the men and women stare and call on him: "Rabbi! Rabbi!" As he gets there, he continues to the uppermost room. Everyone stares, everyone says: "Rabbi! You are here!" And he loves to be called Rabbi. Jesus saw this over and over again, these men knew and taught the word and were highly respected. Now there's nothing wrong with respect, but they loved to be called "master", "teacher", "esteemed one", "mighty one". They loved exaltation - sometimes even to the point of being exalted like a god - where their word was like the Word of God. In Matthew 23, Jesus warns His disciples to be wary about this doing of some Pharisees, and instead tells them to call each other "brothers." Can we call others by a title such as rabbi, prophet, apostle, etc? What was the point Jesus was really trying to make? Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

This is a sample of the Reigniting Spirit & Truth Audiobook narrated by PD Vander ### # Westhuizen. Get the full book in CD or download at: https://www.SpiritTruthBook.com

God has called us to spread the truth He has revealed to us. But sometimes it's hard, sometimes people don't listen, and sometimes it feels like it's all in vain and we'll never be "skilled enough" to see many come to Christ. But Jesus told a parable to His disciples that showed them that similar to how we water & plant a tree, yet aren't the ones to actually make it grow, we are called to plant and water seeds in people, yet it is God who ultimately brings the increase. This means it's not as much about your eloquent speech or "skill" as it is about doing your duty of watering and planting and seeing God do what He does best: to bring the increase. Almost every single parable Jesus ever told had to do with the great commission. He could have spoken about many things, but over and over He chose to spoke about this Kingdom life we are supposed to live - fearlessly, boldly and continually.