Welcome to Journey from Jacob. From our first
breath to our last heartbeat, we are all on a
journey. Jacob was a biblical character whose
journey is documented for our benefit. Like all
of us, there were unforgettable moments along
the way which required decisiveness. One of those
decisions determined his destination. We will
not only discuss Jacob's journey, but Israel's
as well, right up to date. May this podcast inspire
you to make choices along your way that will
benefit others and guide you to the destination
we all long for. love the Word of God, growing
in grace and desiring to serve Him more. It's
wonderful to serve Jesus. And it's also wonderful
to know that we're part of a story that is huge,
that has preceded us for centuries, millennia.
But yet this is the time in history where we
are here. And we play an important role. We play
an extremely important role. And I think we have
to see ourselves in that role, in that light,
in the light of something that is eternal in
nature. because this is a story that we're a
part of. And in this time of life, I think it's
even more evident than ever before, certainly
in my own life, where I've seen the grace of
God operating mightily, but also this enemy,
torrential outpouring of evil, like never before
in my history, certainly, but I believe it's
also in the history of the world. It's going
to end soon, and I'm not saying this is the end
of the world. I'm not that kind of a guy. But
it is going to end because Jesus predicted and
in the scriptures back this up all over and over
again. The prophets speak about it all over the
place. But this is not something to fear as a
believer. And I truly feel saddened when I see
people in their faces and I can sense the fear
and the unrest because they have no hope. They
have no landing place. They have no anchor. And
so the Bible is the anchor to our soul, the Word
of God. And we have to be confident in that.
And sometimes we have to fight for that confidence.
And this is the story of Abraham. It was the
story of Jacob that we read the portion of where
his identity was changed. But now we're into
his grandfather, Abraham, who is the father of
our faith. Interestingly enough, he's also considered
the father of the faith of Islam as well. Which
is, it couldn't be further from the truth. And
yet, this is how well the enemy has sewn it up.
Islam is growing so quickly. I mean, it's just
outpacing every other world religion by miles,
including Christianity. So we need to wake up,
guys. Seriously wake up. And this portion of
scripture, I think, it will be a catalyst for
you to think and consider the road that's in
front of you and be prepared for the future so
that you may prepare those around you, especially
if you have children and grandchildren, but young
people as a whole. and I mean young up to 30s
and even in 40s, because this sense of anticipation
of something coming down and they know not what
is rampant. So here we are back in Genesis chapter
15, and it opens up with God telling Abraham
not to be afraid, Abraham, fear not, Abraham,
for I am your shield and your exceedingly great
reward. So I want to give you a little bit of
an episode that happened to me many, many years
ago. And I had recently been saved. It was a
New Year's Eve day. But I was asked by a customer
if I could do a last minute project because they
were having company even that weekend. And they
wanted this woodwork done against their wall
and then put a coat of finish on it. So I agreed
to it and it took me longer than I expected,
which is not unusual for me. And so when I got
the cedar wood on the walls and finished it,
sanded it and everything, it was kind of a mess,
but it was freezing cold out. This is in New
York, last day of the year. And I couldn't really
open the doors or windows because it would freeze
them out of their house. So I kept doing the
work, which I shouldn't have, without the exhaust
necessary. And I paid for it. The next morning
I woke up, so it's New Year's Day. I woke up
and I couldn't even walk. I got out of bed and
I started stumbling all over my house. I thought
I was going to get sick. So I went outside for
some fresh air, which was ice cold. And the next
thing I know, I can't walk. I can't see. I'm
stumbling all over my yard. And I just couldn't
open my eyes because it kept getting worse if
I opened my eyes. And so my first thought was,
here it is. I'm a new believer. I'm telling all
my neighbors about Jesus. They can look out their
window and see me stumbling across my yard right
after New Year's Eve. So I was like, Oh God,
get me home. I don't even know how to get home.
And I'm talking about my front yard. And I just
turned around and I realized where I have to
head to because I could not keep my eyes open.
I get into the house. Next thing I know I'm being
taken to the hospital. I'm in the emergency room
and they admitted me and they didn't know what
was going on. my eyeballs were literally bouncing
out of my eyes. They could see them pulsing through
my eyelids. So they put me in a room and they
put blinders over me so I wouldn't open my eyes.
And then, you know, they leave and it's a holiday
and so the staff is late and all. But here I
am, like, not knowing what's going on. It was
very unusual for me. I'd never experienced this
before, but my eyeballs were literally popping
out of my head. And then I hear this voice. It
was internal. But the voice said the same thing
that God said to Abraham. It was fear not. And
it was to me. Fear not for I am your shield and
your exceedingly great reward. That was it. And
then I just chilled out in bed. Things changed.
I started to feel this confidence. that everything
was going to be okay. So why am I telling that?
Number one, it applies, directly applies to this
verse that we just read and this highlighted
chapter, chapter 15 of Genesis, because Abraham
was afraid. Now, I know he wasn't afraid like
I was afraid. Mine was a very personal thing,
but his, he had just spoken truth to power and
that power system was 100 % demonic, whether
it was literally or figuratively, satanically,
Governed, it certainly was evil. He was encompassed
by evil, and here it was night, and he's told
by God Himself, not to be afraid. So he's with
God, it's nighttime, and he's talking about this
covenant. God's talking to him about the covenant,
that he is going to be faithful to it, and he
told him, go outside, look at the stars, count
them if you can, of course you couldn't, but
this is God's promises to him. Now this is, I'm
going to read portions of this so you understand
exactly what he's talking about, because it's
so important. It's so important today. This applies
so much for the days we're living in. So the
word of the Lord came to him and he told him
to look outside and when he saw the stars he
says, so shall your offspring be. Now he's not
saying if you count the stars that's the number
you're going to have. It's just this innumerable
amount of offspring, but he still had no children.
So he said to him that Abraham I am the Lord
who brought you out from Or of the Chaldeans,
which is in modern day Iraq, it would be the
Babylonian, it would be Babel, that area, it
would be the Iraqis today. I have sworn to give
you this land to possess. So Abraham said, Oh
Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess
it? And this is a startling moment where it's
very figurative. So he tells him to bring out
some animals, a heifer three years old, a female
goat. Now Abraham was an extremely wealthy man
with a large flocks of all kinds of animals.
And then a female goat three years old, a ram
three years old, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.
By the way, three is always indicative of God
up to something. And he brought them all these,
cut them in half, and laid each half over and
against each other. But he did not cut the birds
in half. And when the birds of prey came down
on the carcass, Abram drove them away. Birds
of prey. Now, I said this previously, but the
birds of prey are indicative of demonic activity.
And that's also, you know, this portions in scripture
that bears that out. So then it's beginning to
get dark, the sun was going down, a deep sleep
fell on Abram, and behold, dreadful and great
darkness fell upon him. So it's not just being
out in the night. We know the stars were already
starting to come out, but this darkness was way
beyond just the absence of light. It was something
very dreadful and dark. And the Lord spoke to
him and said, know for certain that your offspring
will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs,
and they will be servants there, and they will
be afflicted for 400 years. Now I just want to
remind you what I just read that when Abram drove
out the birds of prey, It says that a deep sleep
fell upon him, and that's when this dreadful
darkness, so in this sleep, he's in a sleep state,
I'd imagine he thinks he's having a nightmare
until the Lord speaks to him, but he's sleeping.
And he had already set up this sacrifices to
take place, but then God puts him to sleep, and
he tells him that his offspring, now this is
in context to telling him, Abraham, you're going
to have descendants like you wouldn't believe,
you're going to be... wealthy, not beyond your
means. You can be wealthy with children, descendants,
grandchildren, and possessions of land, you know,
great portion of land. But then he tells him,
know for certain that your offspring, now that's
Zerah again, will be sojourners. They'll be traveling
through a land that is not their own, but there
will be slaves there, slaves. And they'll be
afflicted there for four centuries. I mean, that
doesn't sound too comforting to me, that your
Given all these promises and every good gift
comes from the God, from the Father of Lights,
in whom there is no turning. But yet this doesn't
sound very good. And it doesn't sound like a
gift. You're going to give me descendants and
they're going to go into slavery? What is that
about? Well, he doesn't know. And he's not explained
anything. But there's something about Abraham
that is so remarkable, is that he believed God
and it was accredited to him as righteousness.
And we spoke about this earlier, but this is
a book of faith, as you know. But it's one thing
to know it, you know, academically, but it's
another thing to experience it. And this is what
Abraham did. He was obviously an incredibly gifted
man. He was strong, he was military minded, and
he was gentle and kind. And I can imagine his
neighbors loved having him nearby, because he
was a blessing to them. And that's what it comes
down to. So he says to him, as for you, you shall
go to your fathers in peace and you'll be buried
in a good old age, which he was. But his descendants,
which we may or may not get to in depth, went
into slavery through Jacob and his twelve sons
went into slavery. So without knowing the future,
he's just trusting God for the Presence. And
though he's told by God immediately afterwards,
he said that they shall come back here in the
fourth generation. But here's his reason. for
the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
Now what is that about? What would the Amorites
have anything to do with Abraham? It doesn't.
I mean, yeah, they were in the land, they hassled
him, they harassed him, but we don't see him
warring against them. Like later we will see
Joshua, and they will harass in David's time
as well. So they became great enemies of Israel,
but God gave them four centuries to repent. And
that's how he is. See, he says in the beginning
he told Moses, when Moses wanted to know his
nature, he says, hey, look, I'm full of mercy
and long -suffering. And this is his proof here
that this wicked nation, even though they're
so wicked, and we might not like this idea, but
that he gave him a long period of time for him
and his children, for the Amorite King. and his
children, children's children, to get it right.
And they didn't. And God judged them after the
Israelites came out of slavery, was the time
where they were judged, and the beginning of
their judgment, and soon to be wiped out as a
people. So when the sun had gone down and it
was dark, that's when, behold, a smoking fire
pot and a flaming torch passed between these
pieces. So Abraham seeing these things, But he's
still sleeping. He has nothing to do with it.
But God is cutting covenant with him. Because
that's how they did it in those days. They'd
lay out the covenant. You probably know this.
They cut the pieces up and then each member of
the covenant, that two members you make a covenant
with is between two people or two groups, would
walk through these sacrifices and in recognition
that I will be like these sacrifices if I fail
to keep my part, my promise. in this covenant
relationship. But God knew that Abraham couldn't
do that because he's not God. He's not capable
of making that kind of a promise. So God put
him to sleep, made a covenant as if he was in
full agreement and he could keep that covenant
and walk. He didn't literally walk in it. This
burning pot, smoking fire and flaming torch passed
between the pieces. So it's not God in visibly
but representative by this torch and a smoking
fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these
pieces on that day because of what happened that
God alone initiated and would be the keeper of
this covenant he who keeps Israel will neither
slumber or sleep and God never slept in the centuries
in which he's been keeping Israel and he says
to Abraham to your offspring I give this land
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
river Euphrates. It's a lot of land. So God gave
this to Abram, cut covenant with him, which he
cannot break. Hebrews 6 talks about by two things.
God swore his promise and his oath. He swore
by that he would keep this covenant, the Abrahamic
covenant. Hebrews chapter 6, very rarely taught,
but this is what he's referring to. And he gives
him this land and he tells him about all these
Canaanite tribal people that now live there.
They're going to be gone. This is going to be
yours and your people forever, as long as there's
stars in the sky. So, what are we talking about
here? Well, we're talking about what is applicable
to today, because if you haven't been around
lately, there's been chanting going on since
October 8th. October 8th is the day after this
incredibly brutal assault. on the people of Israel
began and has yet to end. So it's the war of
all wars for Israel in modern times. Nothing
like it since the Holocaust. And when you start
to hear, and I'm not recommending that you really
research this, but when you start to hear, if
you do, the stories of the survivors from this
assault on October 7th, it is beyond barbaric.
It is like... There's no category where you can
put these people for the things that they did
to the hostages, not just on that day when they
captured them and brought them to Gaza, throughout
that whole period of the two -year experience
before they were finally released. It's just
unreal and it's painful to know about. I've been
in the home, not the home that during the assault,
but a new home, another home, very small one,
that was provided for this woman. who was in
a kibbutz that was invaded by Hamas terrorists.
She and her husband lived through it. Anyway,
I was with her, and another friend of mine, and
interviewed her, and she survived. But just to
hear her talking, she's a believer. She obviously
had a different kind of perspective, but she
was not captured, nor was her husband, nor was
her two sons, and they were all safe, which was
kind of rare. And yet to hear her story, it just
made everything so real that when I do hear other
stories, I can picture it happening because she
was so vivid in her description of where they
lived and what happened, their voices and such.
And having her neighbors when they came out and
seeing the carnage, it's just, it's just, I hate
to think about it, honestly. But this is the
enemy. These are the descendants of the, not
literally, the spiritual descendants of the enemies
of God that trampled on the land of Israel for
centuries. Now, that might sound cruel to you.
Well, why should the people today be blamed for
what happened yesterday? And I'm not blaming
all the people. I'm not blaming children for
being alive. But the cruelty behind it has to
have a reason for it. This is what I'm trying
to get to. It has to have a reason for why two
terrorists would gun down families. in Sydney,
Australia over the Hanukkah festival that they've
been doing for years at this beach as a custom,
because that's where they lived. This was their
land. They were Australians, but they were also
Jews. And this is what's the problem. The enemy
cannot live with the notion that the Jews are
still here, that God has kept his promise for
this long to keep them. He can't stand the thought
of it and he's done everything to destroy them.
But that's not all. That's not the only reason.
Because Ephesians 2 speaks to us that God has
created one new man out of the two, meaning two
people groups that were at odds with each other
and hostility towards one another. He broke it
at the cross so that the two could become one.
When that happens, it becomes a witness of them.
manifold wisdom of God to the forces of darkness
in spiritual places, demonic forces led by Satan.
This is the witness when the Jewish and Gentile
believers serve as one. It is the greatest threat
to the enemy, and he knows he has to keep that
from happening. He didn't do well in the first
century, and that's how the Church burst into
action, because it was a Jewish and Gentile coalition
going into all of Asia. By the middle of the
book of Acts it says that all of Asia had been
reached with the gospel. That's like unheard
of. Nothing in modern history can compare to
it, even with all our technology. How did this
happen? It happened supernaturally, but it happened
because it was empowered by God because it was
according to His eternal purpose that the Jews
and the Gentiles would join forces against the
work of the enemy. The enemy has been at large
throughout the land since October 7th like no
bear before. He's taken the mask off, he's shown
himself for who he is, and nevertheless he's
gained such an incredible following. Now I'm
talking about this following with Hamas, but...
The head of this whole thing is the snake, the
serpent in the garden, who is the one who birthed
hostility against the seed of the woman. Which
if you're a Christian, spiritually, you are part
of that seed. And you should be concerned to
the utmost about your brothers and sisters who
are suffering because they're also the natural
seed. If he can get rid of one or the other,
the Jews or the Gentiles, he knows that he is
safe. As long as he separates them, he is safe,
and he's been safe. for close to two thousand
years, because it's been such a limited response
of this oneness that it seems like he's invisible,
gone forever, but he's not. I know as people
like you, if you're a Gentile Christian and believer
and you've come this far to listen to this kind
of a podcast, that you have an interest that
is very rare and unique, but it has to be encouraged.
It has to be fed, nourished, and this is what
Comfort My People is here for, to nurture this
kind of a relationship that true believers, and
I'm not trying to say we're the only ones, but
true believers, both from the Jewish and Gentile
side, would merge and come against the forces
of darkness. That's our purpose. That is God's
eternal purpose, that we would take the helm
and bring the Gospel into the nations. And it's
going to happen. It will happen, because God
said it will. But don't you want to be on the
side where you are part of the solution and no
longer part of the audience, participants? So,
we're not just here to cheer them on, but we
are here to let them know, I'm talking about
Jewish believers, especially in Israel, let them
know that we are with you. The voice of the Church
has been relatively silent since October 7th.
And the chants, just listen to this for a minute,
the chants are from the river to the sea. Palestine
must be free. and into chanting the second chapter
in their play -acting was global antifada must
be raised up to the level of complete takeover.
Global antifada means conquering the entire world
with Islam. And if you want to know what that'll
look like, start listening to some of these videos
of hostages that were taken captive and now they're
telling their stories. It's gripping. But it's
very, very difficult to even listen to. I don't
want to end on this note, because from there,
you know, we're talking about God, and God is
full of mercy. And He doesn't want... it's not
His will that people would perish. It's His will
that all would be saved and come to the knowledge
of the Truth that would free them. But it comes
with a cost. For Him, you know, we say these
things, the joy of the Lord is my strength, but...
It'll take you through the hardest of times if
it's real. We can't manufacture this just by
singing certain songs. We must live it out. And
it's a courageous step like Abraham. He spoke
truth to darkness, to evil, to power. And it
caused him to be afraid. But see, what happened
is what we have to focus on. Not the night and
the darkness and the dreaded fear, but that God
shows up in the midst of us and tells us in that
condition to fear not. For I am your shield,
an exceedingly great reward. That is the path
that the righteous take, and in and through Yeshua
HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah. It's not just
that I've read the story and I know in the end
we win. No, I know what it's like day by day
that God promised as the Good Shepherd that He
would be with us. And that's how we can face
the enemy. May this lead you to a more dedicated
experience with the Lord that will satisfy you
to the deepest. And let me just say this too,
if you think that this is of any value, we do
need, and it's not that we need this, but we
would hope that you would say, you know what?
I want others to hear this. I want others to
experience this. I want to talk to people who
are like -minded. So just like this, subscribe
to this, and all the things that you know you're
supposed to do in order for a population to grow.
We're not looking for growth. But we do support
ministries in Israel. I mean, our goal is not
growth. Our goal is to support our brothers and
sisters in Israel who are on the front lines
serving the Lord in the most difficult of situations
and have been for the entire season of this horrific
war. That we could support them, they could continue
doing it, they continue passing out literature
and now Bibles for the first time. So many things
that they're doing that goes unnoticed and they're
not looking for attention, but we want to serve
them as best we can. And we have more to speak
about that and hopefully you'll stick with us.
And may the joy of the Lord be your strength
in ways you never dreamed of. Shalom, shalom.
We bless you for taking the time to consider
this message. May it cause you to be fruitful
and effective and lead others along the way with
confidence and determination. Check out our website
at comfortmypeople .com to become better informed
and equipped to restore righteousness to the
people of Israel, America, and beyond. Please
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media. Shalom and blessings.