02/05/2017 DAB Transcript

Exodus 21:22-23:13 ~ Matthew 24:1-28 ~ Psalm 29:1-11 ~ Proverbs 7:6-23

Today is February 5th.  Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible.  I’m Brian. It is awesome to be here with you today at the bright, shiny, sparkly invitation into a new week.  So here we go.  We’ll read from The Voice Translation this week and back out to the desert where we’ll be spending some time watching, front row, a people be formed, a people be transformed from slave to chosen and all the fits and starts that happen in that process.  Exodus chapter 21, verse 22 through 23, verse 13 today.  

Commentary

Out in the desert at the mountain of God the people have consecrated themselves and surrounded the mountain.  They are not allowed to go on it.  They are not allowed to touch it, but they are hearing from God and God is beginning to speak the words that form how behaviors and custom and ritual will be conducted in this new culture.  We can read into this across the millennia and go some of this doesn’t apply.  We’re not doing some of these things anymore. But if you read into the spirit of what is being said you’ll see the foundation in so many of our customs and behaviors today.  So we’re watching this be revealed for the first time.  Things like ethics toward servants or slaves would be a part of this language.  It is a part of this world we’re looking back into, but it is also a language these people understand.  They have only ever been slaves themselves.  So for God to speak into that posture, “you’re not going to treat people like you’ve been treated in the past.  We’re not doing that going forward,” is very important.  But we can tune out moving through this territory and go like, yeah, it’s ancient and doesn’t really apply today, but that is not true.  We’re watching the formation of a people that affects everything and has given us the Bible.  This is the formation of that culture so it does have great weight and importance to everything that comes next.  

Then when we move into the book of Matthew, Jesus has made this prediction that every stone that makes up the Temple will be thrown down.  That came true.  That came true a couple decades later when the Romans utterly and completely destroyed Jerusalem.  So the Temple that Jesus knew is not there any longer.  It is gone.  In the Old Testament, we haven’t even gotten to the first Temple and Jesus is seeing the second Temple.  I don’t want to confuse everybody.  I’m just trying to lay out how this all goes.  Solomon, who we haven’t met yet, is going to build the first Temple.  It is going to be destroyed and then there will be a second Temple constructed by King Herod who was probably the most prolific developer in all of ancient Israel and he will build a second Temple among a lot of other stuff that still does remain until this day.  This is the Temple that Jesus knew.  But for the Temple, which is the center, which is like God’s footstool where God communes and meets with the people, for this to be destroyed is kind of end of the world stuff, so that leads into this discussion about the end because the disciples come to Jesus later after he says this stuff and they are like, how will we know?  How will we know?  That question is still being asked today.  

How will we know when it is the end?  Throughout my whole life and throughout all the generations before us, we who are on the world today, people have been asking this question and making predictions and pointing out the signs of the end times.  It has kind of always been a part of the fabric of what we’re trying to figure out spiritually.  When is it the end?  How will we know it is the end?  Are we in the end times?  People spend incredible amounts of money to figure this out.  There are entire global ministries centered around that.  The theological study of this is known as eschatology.  So for those of us who are not proficient in eschatology and have not become scholars in this field, who are just kind of wondering where we are on this, we have the words of Jesus to his disciples who were not fluent in the theological constructs of eschatology.  Jesus speaks clearly.  “Take care that you are not deceived, for many will come in my name claiming they are the anointed one and many poor souls will be taken in.  You will hear of wars and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic.  It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember the wars are not the end.  The end is still unfolding.  Nations will do battle with nations and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms and there will be famines and earthquakes, but these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning.  The end is still unfolding.”  

Now, for most of my life, the idea of the end times was scary, terrifying even.  For me, as a boy growing up, there were films, movies to depict these things that were terrifying and scared me right back to Jesus.  But when we think about this, we realize we are a part of that story too.  Of course, any kingdom to be overthrown by another kingdom, if that kingdom is not willing to surrender, will require battle and  overthrow.  And the kingdom of darkness is being systematically overthrown by the kingdom of light in this world and we are in the middle of that.  We have a role to play in that.  Everywhere that we bring light, we are bringing the kingdom. Everywhere that light is replacing the darkness, the kingdom is coming.  The irony is that we have the ability to sort of be dual citizens, dual agents.  We can bring light and we can bring darkness.  This happens with the thoughts, words and deeds of our lives. We can bring something wonderful and light and good into the workplace today and go home and bring darkness behind the walls of our homes.  

So these things are happening and are going to happen all as part of a master plan of redemption to replace all darkness and evil with goodness and light. Jesus says we need to not be deceived. So we probably need to spend some time honestly thinking about what side we’re on, because the weight of our lives matters.  The things that we do and the things that we say, they actually result in things happening. Rather than trying to figure out when they are going to happen, we should understand that they are happening now and we’re a part of it.  So may we go through this day and every day for that matter understanding the weightiness of the choices that we make.  We are participating in this and it matters what we do.

Prayer

Father, we invite you into that because it is true.  It is true that we bring darkness and we bring light by the things we do and say.  We don’t need to know that as a concept.  We can see it in our behaviors.  We’ve learned enough to know that the things we do matter.  So Father, send your Holy Spirit upon us that we might be intentionally aware that everything has a consequence one way or the other and that there is a lot at stake.  You have chosen that we should be here as your ambassadors in this world and we pray that we might honor that this day, that our allegiance would be to you and your kingdom, because this is our only hope.  So may we never be cavalier in the choices and words that we’re choosing. Help us to stop, pause, listen for your leading and move forward rather than just reacting to everything that happens. Come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.  

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is home base.  It’s the website.  It’s where you find out what is going on around here, and I have an announcement to make.  We only do this a couple times a year.  I guess the short story is obviously we have our Windfarm Coffee and Tea.  By the way, you can get that sent to you every single month, a new varietal every single month, whether coffee or tea, and we’ve sourced the best we can find and roasted it or blended it the best we know how at altitude in the Rocky Mountains and send it very fresh to you. But being a little bit of a coffee connoisseur, a little bit of a coffee snob myself, several years ago I was kind of on the hunt.  What is the best thing to drink coffee or tea, hot beverages, or for that matter cold, but what is the best thing I can drink this from, because for me, I used to always have one of those little hot plates on my desk, you know?  You set your coffee mug on it and let it just keep your coffee warm, only it turns it into like liquid pencil lead.  It tastes horrible over time.  And I’m like isn’t there something?  Because I don’t just sit and down my coffee.  Like I don’t just sit down and drink 12 or 16 ounces of coffee in 15 minutes.  I am a sipper and I like to sip it over time.  So is there anything that can keep it hot without destroying it in the process? I was just kind of looking around and I looked for over a year.  But it was in Oregon that I found this coffee shop.  They were roasting their own coffee, so I’m checking all that out, and I found this tumbler.  It was made by Klean Kanteen.  I’m like, Klean Kanteen, yeah, these are everywhere.  I know these.  The only problem was it was like really expensive, but I went for it and fell in love. That was that.  I had found what I was looking for.  This keeps my coffee warm for hours and hours.  

So I contacted Klean Kanteen just to see, hey, can we make some if these and can we put our logo on them and such?  We got through all that and took the leap because they are a little bit pricey, but what I found out is that yes, as a community, we do like our Klean Kanteens.  But we only get them a couple of times a year, kind of once at the beginning and once at the end of the year and we just got a shipment of them.  So our Klean Kanteens are now available again and when they arrived at the warehouse in Colorado, I had SarahJane send me one because the lids have been changed to a 2.0 version and I wanted to check it out.  They are spill-proof.  It used to be that we had to have two lids, one that could sort of seal it completely airtight that you could just drop it and it wouldn’t matter, but then you would use this café lid to drink from.  They invented this café lid that is spill resistant.  And it works.  I love it.  And not only does it work, it keeps the coffee warm, hot even longer, so I’m ecstatic about it.

So Daily Audio Bible Klean Kanteens are available.  They will only be available for a short time.  I’ll only mention them for a couple of days because they will be gone.  So if you are a coffee drinker or a tea drinker, then yeah, this is probably for you. You will drink out of this forever. It can keep your coffee hot for hours. I mean, if you put ice cream in this, it would keep it frozen for 24 hours, they tell me.  I’ve never tried that, but I believe it.  It is that insulated.  I mean, this double wall, food grade, stainless steel that is clean, Klean Kanteen, so you can get yours at the Daily Audio Bible Shop at www.DailyAudioBible.com.  They are available now, but like I said, every time we get them, they go really fast. So check that out at www.DailyAudioBible.com.  

Speaking of things that I will only be talking about for a few days, my latest book – Reframe, From the God We’ve Made to God With Us is on sale until the 8th of February.  That is the e-book version.  You can get all versions however you want them.  If you want the book book to hold in your hands, you can get that anywhere. Or the audio edition you can get in CD audio form or like audible, like a downloadable audio book form, you can get that anywhere.  But the e-book version is on sale for $2.99 until the 8th of February.  So whether that is Amazon for your Kindle or whether it is iBooks for your Apple device or tablet or wherever, wherever you get your e-books you can find Reframe for $2.99 until the 8th of February.  So grab that while you can, especially if you haven’t had a chance to check it out.  If you’ve read it and you’re like yeah, I would like to have that kind of near in digital form to refer to, here’s your chance. There is a website you can go to: www.E-bookextra.com.  That is kind of a clearinghouse for all those different venders.  But you can just go to www.Amazon.com and find it.  You can go wherever you go to get your e-books and this one is on sale for $2.99.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com.  There is a link on the home page.  I thank you, thank you, thank you for those of you who have clicked that link and helped move the Daily Audio Bible forward another day.  If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible App, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner, or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.  

And that’s it for today.  I’m Brian. I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.  

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

What up, DAB?  It is Tiamonique calling from the UK.  It has been a long time, I know, and I’m just calling to check in and say hi to everyone, I love everyone and yeah, I’m here.  I had a fantastic year last year despite not being able to keep up with the DAB, but God did so many great things.  I was able to travel and just progress my career.  However, my health was really, really attacked last year and I’m still kind of on that __________ to healing.  Just wanted to say to Brian I’m so sorry for your loss and we’ve all been here praying for you.  So yeah, that’s it.  I just wanted to say hi and I’ll talk to you all later.  Bye.

Heavenly Father, I want to pray for Cynthia from Marietta, GA, Lord.   Thank you, Lord, for prompting my sister to call in with the needs of her family. She is taking care of her children who have suffered horrible physical and traumatic issues, Lord, and she is doing it on her own, managing three kids and taking care of them.  I can’t imagine the pressures that she must be under, Lord. I lift up Christian in recovery from a traumatic brain injury, dealing with the narcolepsy, Lord.  I pray for __________, and the issues that she is having, Lord.  I just ask you to manifest your Spirit in this family because you are the God of healing. You are the Great Physician.  Your word says by your stripes we are healed, Lord. So I speak healing over their future so they don’t have to deal with chronic issues for the rest of their lives, Lord, but to be restored because that is what you’ve given us in you, Heavenly Father.  She has held on for so long, Lord.  Lord, show her that you are God in her body, in their body as well as in her life, Lord. Grant to her the peace that passes understanding, to be able to abide in any situation, Lord.  And Lord, if it be in your will, restore their bodies as well, Heavenly Father, so that they can be a walking testimony to you, Heavenly Father. You have not abandoned the fatherless. You have not abandoned the widow. You never left your children out begging for bread, Lord, so touch this family and carry them.  Make your presence felt in a real physical way. Oh, __________ , we love you. We’re praying for you and the Lord will show up.  Wait for him. Wait for him.  Speak healing over your children and wait for him.  He will be there.  In Jesus’ name.  

Hey, hello Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors.  This is Beth calling from Delaware and I wanted to lift up Gigi and thank her for her amazing faith in the Lord.  We just pray for her peace and wisdom for the doctors and that, Lord, you would provide a major miracle, that she already is your mouthpiece and she will just make that blessing of a miracle taking away her seizures a worldwide occurrence, that we would all praise you and see you’re loving her and how much you love all of us as well.  Thank you Gigi for being so brave and so courageous and most importantly for your faith. God is not going to let your faith be __________ at all.  He is just going to continue to build that and work with you as you’ve worked with him. And dear family, if you could also pray for a couple people in my community here.  There is one man, Tim, who has got ALS.  He’s had it for three years and he is declining very quickly. If you could just please lift up Tim and his family and all those who have ALS.  It is just a horrible disease.  Lord, we just pray you would give him peace and that you would be able to meet the needs he has while he is with us.  And also lastly if you could pray for my daughter.  She’s got extreme anxiety.  She is trying to taper herself off her medication for anxiety because her plan is to go into the military this summer and they want her off everything before she goes to boot camp and it is extremely stressful for her and she is having a really hard time with hallucinations and really scary things at night. And to make matters worse, her boyfriend broke up with her, and so she is just emotionally in a very fragile place, but we know God is a god of healing and we just pray, Lord, that you would heal my daughter Debra as well as all of those who deal with anxiety.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Thank you Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors.  I really, really appreciate your prayers.  God bless.  Bye.  

Hi Daily Audio Bible family.  This is Chelsea in Central Florida.  I am a first-time caller, so thank you for being willing to pray for me.  I am calling for prayer.  I struggle with anxiety and depression and I’m not meeting deadlines at work in part because of that right now, how it is __________ with my mental health and I need prayer for just being able to get back on track at work before I find another less stressful job as I’m a social worker and very burned out.  Prayer for hope and for taking care of myself, doing the things that will help me with my depression and making that a priority and with the high demands of my job with the weird schedule hours, sometimes working late, that I would make time for things like prayer and seeing friends and exercise and all those things that will help, journaling, etc.  So thank you very much.  I appreciate it a lot.  I’m praying for you all too.  Bye.  

Hello my DAB family.  This is Mark S. from Sydney, Australia.  Today is Thursday, the 2nd of February.  Look, I’m just checking in.  Wow, margin is certainly something I need in my life and I ask people just to pray because this is one of the main reasons I don’t call and a lot of is it I just don’t seem to have time.  A couple of things.  Brian, your talk about your mother’s death was so close to me because my father’s death was very, very similar, but my mom was the one who was the carer for him, so she listened to your talk as well and it touched her heart.  Also, a couple people called in.  There was a lady that called in and another gentleman.  I’m sorry I didn’t take your names.  You prayed for my __________ and for restoration of my __________.  Thank you so much.  And Jay from New Jersey, thank you so much for praying for my son.  I do believe that God will bring him back.  He is still going through a period of trial at the moment, but I trust in God and he will bring him back to eventually, hopefully for my sake sooner than later.  But God is in control, so I will leave that.  Rest of my family, I know you’re all praying for me.  There are so many things I want to talk about.  In 2016 there were many miracles happening.  Your prayers are helping me, family, because my relationship with my ex-wife is probably almost 80% healed from the anger I used to have, but I’ll try and get some time to call back as I’m not eloquent at speech so I would like to write it out first before telling you what happened in 2016. I love you, my family, and hopefully we’ll talk soon.  Bye.  

Hi family.  This is Melisa from Albertville, AL.  Bill B., it was so good to hear from you.  Thank you for your service and I have lifted you up in prayer.  Gigi or Deedee, I couldn’t hear your name good, but I’m praying for you. Sometimes I feel like you, Lord, help my unbelief.  That was so beautiful and we are lifting you up, sweetheart.  Aretha, welcome to the family.  Girl, I’m telling you, you’re going to grow so much just listening to Brian’s teaching and just welcome.  Bob, you’re an inspiration.  Let’s see, Francine, I loved the poem or the writing you read for Brian’s mom.  Brian, your talk on your mother was absolutely beautiful.  It touched my heart.  My mom and aunt went through some of the same things with my grandmother who passed away in 2010 so we understand.  Let’s see, McKenzie, anxiety, I’m praying for you, girl.  My little girl is going through the same thing.  Tim and Carissa on the loss of your baby, I pray that the God of comfort will comfort you right now.  God is able.  Pelham and Molly, they lost their baby and they’re blessed with little Andy now, so we’re going to be lifting you up.  Bernie from Nashville struggling with intimacy with your wife, I’m there.  Me and my husband are there right now, so you all keep us lifted up.  I love you family.  Christy from Kentucky, it was good to hear you calling in.  Pastor Gene, we love you.  Love you all. You all have a great day.  Bye-bye.