Pursuit Fall Issue 9

Fall 2012

Hungry Hearts: A Ministry of Spirit & Truth

Issu

e 9

Fall 2

012

2 PURSUIT [email protected]

Hungry Hearts Ministries: PO Box 10334 Jackson, TN 38308 (731) 736-1055

Book Donation: $10.00 To receive a copy of this book, please contact:

God created you for a very special, inti-

mate, personal relationship. He made you just the way you are, because He loves you. He is calling you today to re-turn to Him, to enjoy that close relation-ship that comes from Knowing Him. Come learn how to get acquainted with the Living God. Come and learn how to “wait” on the Presence of God Almighty.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14

Do You Know God? By Elder Bill Shults

Come to Jackson, Come to the Feast

&

Change Your Viewpoint. Feast of Tabernacles 2012

(See page 12 for details)

Fall 2012 3

From Pastor Bill: An update on

things happening within the ministry.

4

Missions Update: An update on the status of our

work overseas. 5

Prophecy Now! Prophesies coming to

pass right now before your very eyes!

6

The Feast of Trumpets: An overview of the Jewish

Traditions concerning the Feast of Trumpets and how they correspond to our celebration of this Holy Day.

7

Commonly Asked Questions: What is Teshuvah?

10

The Government of God: An

overview of the Millennial Reign

of Christ and our place in it as

children of god.

13

The Intimacy of Atonement: How to reverence the Day of Atonement and have an intimate encounter with your Savior.

14

The Power of Attitudes: A powerful

article explaining how understanding

attitudes is a vital key to changing your life.

16

Inside this issue:

...the WORD is very near

you; it is in your MOUTH

and in your HEART so you

may OBEY it.

Deuteronomy 30:14

Table of Contents

Pursuit Magazine is published by

Hungry Hearts Ministries

PO Box 10334

Jackson TN 38308.

(731) 736-1055.

Editor, Evangelist Kelly McDonald

Design, Kelly Vonner

Contributors, Elder Bill Shults, Evangelist Kelly McDon-

ald, Deaconess Sandy Clifford, Freda Sims

Published at Allegra Print and Imaging, Jackson TN.

Pursuit Magazine is published for FREE Distribution in

the Public interest.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without per-

mission. All rights reserved.

Come to Jackson, Come to the Feast

&

Change Your Viewpoint. Feast of Tabernacles 2012

(See page 12 for details)


As the summer gets hot

and the days are long, we

are turning our attention to

the Feast of Tabernacles.

At HHM we think about

the Feast all year long. It is

the best time of the year; it

is the time we all long for. To prepare ourselves

mentally, financially, emotionally and spiritually for

the Feast of Tabernacles, we undergo the season of

Teshuvah. Teshuvah is a Hebrew word meaning to

make the turn. Rosh Hashannah means the head of

the year, the time when the turn is made. During the

sixth month, Elul, we go through a process of repen-

tance, introspection and financial analysis. We make

goals for the upcoming year. We go on a juice

cleanse so that the Fast on Atonement is not so harsh.

We analyze our personal income statements and bal-

ance sheets. The idea is to prepare for the Day of

Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

We go through a four week process during Teshuvah,

one that we have developed over many years. During

the first week we really do a deep internal spiritual

repentance towards God. We make a sin list that we

will burn just prior to the Day of Atonement. This is

not a cursory examination, we really take the time

during the first week of Teshuvah to take a hard look

at ourselves and come clean with the Lord. It is rela-

tively easy to stop the sins of the hands, those things

that we do to displease God. It is considerably harder

to really get into the thinking process in our mind that

causes us to do those things. It is even harder still to

examine the emotional component inside of our sub-

conscious ness that causes the poor thinking. We rec-

ognize our flaws as human beings to the God of All

Creation, desiring that He clean us and wash us and

make us holy. This coming clean with God is what

opens the door for intense, personal Presence from

the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows that we do/did all of

those things. Our willingness to admit our faults to

Him really improves our relationship with Him.

The second week we devote our attention to pray for

our unsaved family members. We have an open win-

dow in Heaven during this time, so once we have re-

pented, we press in to help others. The third week we

pray for the Presence of God during the Feast of Tab-

ernacles. That He will show up in a real and tangible

way for the people who come to the Feast. That He

will make such a move in their life that they will be

changed forever. The fourth week of Teshuvah, we

seek His face for the personal encounter of a lifetime

on the Day of Atonement.

We are commanded to bring an offering on the Holy

Days according to how the Lord has blessed you.

How can we do that if we never look at our finances

to know if we have been blessed? We set up and ana-

lyze income statements and balance sheets. We set

up budgets and analyze what is good and what needs

to be better. We figure out how and where God is

blessing us, and make our offerings accordingly. It is

truly amazing how much stress it relieves to

straighten out your finances.

We also set up goals for the year. We live our lives

on purpose to serve the Living God. Serving God

includes but is not limited to: nurturing our families,

working well at our jobs, building our homes, and

building wealth. It is not wrong to work hard, save

and invest for the future. If we are unwilling to care

for ourselves and our families, how can we expect

others to help us in our time of need? We have

Brethren in hunger and deprivation all over the world,

if we in the USA, are unwilling to work to build

wealth, who is going to help those overseas?

We are organized around and focused on the manifest

Presence of Jesus Christ. We work the last month of

summer before the Feast Days to make it the best

Feast ever. We strongly desire the manifest Presence

of God during the Fall Holy Days. We are fully de-

voted to prepare ourselves for His Presence in our

lives during the Feast and

over the course of the up-

coming year.

God Bless. Bill Shults

From Pastor Bill

Fall 2012 5

The drought in Kenya is very severe. For several

years our brethren have experienced total crop failure.

This year the crops failed even

in Meru County, which has pre-

viously produced food during

the drought.

June 18-23 Josphat held mis-

sions in Erimet to rebuild the

church destroyed by Islamist

terrorists. The Pastor in Erimet

still is in need of all the basic

necessities of life. Josphat has been given land to

build a church, but they are lacking the funds to do

so. In Kenya land is available for free, if the recipient

will build on the land and develop it.

The church in Kisii is doing well and is growing. I

did not get an update from Pastor Moses.

These brethren will need food aid through January

2013. They are in need of funds to build churches,

and to print books. If you are led to help please mark

your donation: Missions, Kenya.

Pastor Mohanarao in India is doing well. He suffers

from a lack of funds, and with some health issues, but

he continues to “get it done.” He is requesting funds

for 100 Bibles in the native lan-

guage of Telegu, this will require

$300.00.

They had a great Pentecost, and

even had one lady baptized into

the Faith. It broke my heart when

he wrote that they did not have

the funds to eat. They could not

even eat a meal together for the Holy Day, yet were

joyous over one baptism. That is dedication to the

Kingdom of God.

Pastor Mohanarao wrote me over the weekend and

told me that the printing of Clean and Unclean is fin-

ished in India and that he has sent me two copies. So

from the Feast of Tabernacles, we have printed in In-

dia, 5000 copies of Holy Time With God, and Free-

dom Under the Law of God, and 2000 copies of

Clean and Unclean.

I finally heard from Pastor

Whitworth. The Chaplain of the

prison retired and two new peo-

ple have been assigned the job.

One of them, an Episcopal cleric,

does not like the Messianic

movement and is responsible for

banning multiple copies of our

magazine. She is making it hard

for the men to operate the congregation in the Prison.

Pastor Whitworth explained that he had written me

twice, thanking me for the Passover funds. We did

not get those letters. He also wrote that he is up for

parole soon and may be released. We are directed to

work with Sandy’s friend Ron McKown. These men

need prayer urgently to keep this congregation to-

gether.

HUNGRY HEARTS MISSIONS UPDATE

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in

heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded

you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of

the age.”

Matthew 28: 18-20


The borrower is servant to the lender. As this debt

crisis unfolds in Europe this adage from the Lord is

proving more and more true everyday. There are

ramifications in Europe, Asia and America from this

explosion of unpayable debt.

In Europe almost half of the

economies are weighed down

by huge debts built up to pay

fantastic wages, benefits and

retirement pensions to their

government workers. The

other half of their economies is less indebted and has

undergone structural reforms to increase the produc-

tivity of their economies. So roughly half of Europe is

growing and strong, and the other half is brittle and

unwilling to change. This sounds very much like

Daniel’s prediction of half iron and half miry clay.

The strong economies are being asked to bailout the

weak half. As they are persuaded to provide the loans

for the weaker economies, the stronger ones are de-

manding control. Germany is consolidating Europe

under its control in a way it never could by force. The

old territory of the Holy Roman Empire is coming un-

der German control financially. Germany made the

required changes to not only avoid the debt crisis, but

also to put its National Corporations on the cutting

edge of productivity and innovation. Germany’s re-

covery is export driven and driven by the kinds of ex-

ports not easily copied by lower cost rivals.

The combined economy of the EU is slightly larger

than that of the US. Germany is the fourth largest na-

tional economy and it is growing over 5% a year.

This German economic engine will drive the EU into a

dominant position. Germany as the lender is requiring

the kinds of structural changes in all of Europe that it

made in the nineties. This will further put the eco-

nomic growth of Europe on overdrive.

The USA by contrast has merely stumbled along. We

have not solved our debt crisis in fact, our debt is not

altogether different from that of Greece. We have

taken our debt from $10 trillion to $16 trillion in just

under four years. We are insolvent. Sixty nine per-

cent of this is being financed on a very short term ba-

sis, which means that any increase in our interest rates

will render us unable to pay our debts. This will result

in the collapse of our currency and will result in hyper

inflation. Our personal debts in the USA are not doing

any better. US households still owe nearly as much as

we did at the outset of the crisis. Much of the decline

in US household debt has been defaults by those who

were unable to pay them.

As all of this unfolds, Europe is arming for war, Rus-

sia is arming for war and China is arming for war.

These three power blocs are building and fielding next

generation weapons systems. The USA is scheduled

to undergo sequestration budget cuts on Jan 1 with

half coming out of our defense budget. We are cur-

tailing our weapons development and procurement.

America is war weary and ready to stick our head in

the sand. The EU, Russia and China are the main

military players listed in the Battle of Armageddon

and it seems like we are stepping out of their way.

In the United States over the course of my life, I have

seen an astonishing decline in morality. Sin is raging

everywhere and very few seem to mind. Even in

church it is considered judgmental to confront sin.

We break God’s Laws and Commandments in ways

completely consistent with those of the ancients. How

can we believe that we will not receive the same fate?

The Leaders and officers of any and every church are

charged by God Almighty to confront he sins of the

people and to turn them back into compliance with His

Word. Yet, the people refuse this kind of leadership,

preferring instead to be comforted in their sin. Ameri-

cans seem to want a religion without consequences, a

God who does not mean what He

says. God is not going to apologize

to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Bill Shults

Our World: Prophecy Now! (Add description)

Fall 2012 7

Having been asked to write an article on this

High Holy Day, the first question I pondered is

“Where to begin”? One of the things I love so much

about the Holy Days of God is that there are so many

layers of meaning to each one. This is true of all of

God’s ways. They all have layers like an onion. If

you go through one layer, there are still many more

layers to go through. If you are observing a day that is

recognized as a traditional “Christian” holiday like

Easter, ask yourself how many layers with that day

have to do with God? If there is only one or maybe

two layers of meaning and then some strange tradi-

tions to that day, do more investigation into the actual

origin of it. You may be surprised by your findings.

The first mention of the feast of Trumpet is in

Leviticus 23:23-25: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses,

saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In

the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you

shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of

trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no cus-

tomary work on it; and you shall offer an offering

made by fire to the Lord’” (NKJV). This day is sup-

posed to be a memorial but a memorial of what? Is

not a memorial about remembering something? Well

it just does not say what we are to remember! Perhaps

a word study on these verses can help us gain under-

standing. Strong's Concordance lists the word memo-

rial as zikron, number H2146. It means a memento [or

memorable thing, day or writing]; - memorial (17X),

remembrance (6X), records (1X). That was really

helpful! The word translated as “Blowing of Trum-

pets” is teruah, number H8643 and it means, “clamor,

i.e. acclamation of joy or a battle-cry, esp. clamor of

trumpets, as an alarm: - shout (11X), shouting (8X),

alarm (6X), sound (3X), blowing (2X), joy (2X), jubi-

lee (1X), loud noise (1X), rejoicing (1X), sounding

(1X). (Yes, at this point my eyes are crossing too!)

We now know that we are to celebrate a day,

blowing trumpets as a memorial. Now my curiosity is

peaked, and I began to think: Who might have some

idea about what this Day means? The Jewish people

probably have some good thoughts on this since they

have been celebrating it for so long! In Judaism, as in

Christianity, there are many differing opinions about

the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. But there are

some that seem to stand out more than others. So we

will just skim the surface of some of these. First of

all, Jewish thought has four names given to this

Day. They are: Rosh Ha-Shannah (literally meaning

“the head of the year”), Yom Teru’ah (Day of Blowing

the Horn, Day of Trumpets or Feast of Trumpets),

Yom ha-Din (the Judgment Day), and Yom ha-

Zikkaron (the Day of Remembrance) (from Jewish

Virtual Library, in the article called “Rosh Ha-

Shannah”). The Jewish people observe this Holy Day

on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishri,

which usually falls in September or October. In the

Bible, the Feast is to be celebrated only one day; the

two-day Feast arose out of the difficulty of determin-

ing when the new moon actually appeared. Some say

that this can go on for as long as three days.

How did the Jewish New Year come to be

celebrated in the fall, on the first day of the seventh

month? According to the Mishnah, Adam and Chavah

(Eve) were created on Rosh Ha-Shannah. Jewish

Sages came to this by rearranging the Hebrew letters

of the very first word of the Scriptures: Beresheet

(Bet, Reish, Aleph, Shin, Yod, Tav) into Aleph

B'Tishri (Aleph, Bet, Tav, Shin, Reish, Yod) meaning

“on the first of Tishri”. This is how this date became

associated with the celebration of creation from

Adam's perspective. In other words, Trumpets is the

anniversary of the sixth day when man was created. I

can see where Adam would have been created on this

day, but maybe not Eve (this is my personal opin-

ion). I will hold this thought for later.

(Continued on page 8)

The Feast of Trumpets By Deaconess Sandy Clifford


As stated earlier, this Day is also called the

Day of Remembrance in reference to the command-

ment to remember to blow the shofar to coronate God

as King of the Universe. The blast of the shofar is

meant to jolt us from our sleep. We are to remember

who we really are by remembering that the Lord is our

King. I'll quote part of a paragraph from the Jewish

Virtual Library article. “The theme of God as King is

particularly stressed on Rosh Ha-Shannah because of

the day's association with His judgment. During the

prayers of the day, it is necessary to recite ten Biblical

texts which have the theme of God as King

(malkhuyyot); ten which have the theme of God as He

Who remembers (zikronot); and ten which have refer-

ence to the shofar (shofarot). These are explained as

God saying, "Recite before Me on Rosh Ha-Shannah

malkhuyyot, zikhronot and shofarot: Malkhuyyot so

that you may proclaim Me King over you; zikhronot

so that your remembrance may rise favorably before

Me; and through what? Through the shofar.” There

are so many places in Scripture, where Christ is called

King. A few references include Psalm 2:6, Psalm

44:4, Psalm 47 (which is recited 7 times on Rosh Ha-

Shannah). In I Timothy 6:15 and Revelations 19:16,

He is called King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In He-

brews 7, He is called a priest forever according to the

order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek in Hebrew means

King of Righteousness.

From the Jewish Virtual Library article:

“Maimonides (Yad, Teshuvah 3:4) writes; ‘Although it

is a divine decree that we blow the shofar on Rosh Ha-

Shannah, a hint of the following idea is contained in

the command. It is as if to say: 'Awake from your

slumbers, ye who have fallen asleep in life, and reflect

on your deeds. Remember your Creator. Be not of

those who miss reality in the pursuit of shadows, and

waste their years in seeking after vain things which

neither profit nor save. Look well to your souls and

improve your character. Forsake each of you his evil

ways and thoughts.’”

A strong theme of repentance and judgment

are connected with this Day. Our goal should be to

make sure that we are right with God and not counted

among the wicked. According to Jewish tradition, on

Rosh Ha-Shannah the destiny of the righteous, the

tzaddikim, are written in the Book of Life and the des-

tiny of the wicked, the resha'im, are written in the

Book of Death. However, people have ten days from

Trumpets until Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) to

repent before their fate is sealed. Once Yom Kippur is

over, a person’s fate is said to be decided for the entire

upcoming year. We know that God has the Book of

Life. Exodus 32:33, Psalm 69:28, Luke 10:20, He-

brews 12:23, Philippians 4:3, Revelation 20:12-15 all

mention or reference this Book.

This is all very interesting. How do we as

Christians connect to these things? I have already

mentioned several New Testament Scriptures. So that

is a start. We know that when we accept the forgive-

ness of God and we repent of our sins we are washed

clean by the precious blood of Jesus. At this point we

make Him King of our lives. We are to repent of our

sins as we commit them. We need to always stay

mindful of our spiritual condition at all times, not just

once or twice a year. Now we all should know this

already, but we become forgetful throughout the

year. But why not get deeper during this time of the

year?

There are several jewels in a book by John D.

Garr, Ph.D, called “Living Emblems, Ancient Sym-

bols of Faith” in his chapter on the shofar. Dr. Garr

states that the binding of Isaac by Abraham (called the

akedah) is the foundation of the sacrificial system

given in the Torah. As Christians we understand the

akedah looks forward to God our Father willingly sac-

rificing His Son, Jesus (Yeshua), on Passover to pay

the penalty for our sins so that we can have access to

Him. Because Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac

on the altar, God sent an angel to stop Abraham. God

then provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in-

stead. For the Jewish people, hearing the sound of the

shofar is to remind them of God’s mercy toward Fa-

ther Abraham and Isaac. For Christians, it should re-

mind us of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

According to ancient Jewish thought, it

was God who blew a shofar made from

the left horn of that ram at Mt. Sinai.

This particular event happened on Feast

of Weeks or Pentecost when God gave

His holy Torah (teachings or law). At

this time, He was also calling Israel to be a separate

and a holy people. We are also called to be a separate

(Continued from page 7)


Fall 2012 9

and a holy people. We are not to be a people hiding

out from the world, but instead we are to be a people

who bring the light of Christ to a lost and dying

world. We are to sound the shofar, the alarm, and to

call others to a holy life.

How does this relate to the Feast of Trum-

pets? According to Dr. Garr, beginning in the previ-

ous Hebrew month of Elul, the shofar is sounded daily

except on the first day, the last day and each Shabbat,

urging the people to examine their conduct and their

relationships with God and man. If you add the thirty

days of the month of Elul and the ten days from Trum-

pets to Atonement called the Days of Awe, you arrive

at the number forty. These are forty days of repen-

tance and soul searching which line up with Israel's

forty years in the wilderness and the time given for

Ninevah before God's judgment. The trumpets blown

during Elul are an alarm blast to “stop!” and reflect on

our own mortality and morality. Moreover, it is a time

to shema, which means to hear and obey. The thirty

days prior to Feast of Trumpets is also referred to as

Teshuvah, which means to return.

In our church, we go through a serious time of

Teshuvah. During this thirty day season we go through

deep, personal reflection and repentance. We strive to

go into this season with our robes washed clean in the

blood of Jesus. We look into ourselves to see where

we fall short and where we need to work to get sin out

of our lives. The Feast of Trumpets represents judg-

ment so we want favorable judgment passed on us.

In I Corinthians 11:31 Paul writes, “For if we would

judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” We need

to stay focused on being right with God, doing His

work, and striving towards the goal. What is the

goal? We are called to be “a kingdom of priests to our

God” and we shall reign on the earth according to

Revelation 5:10 and I Peter 2:9. According to Paul in

II Timothy 4:8 we are destined to receive a crown of

righteousness, “which the Lord, the righteous Judge,

will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but

also to all who have loved His appearing.” According

to I Corinthians 9:24-27, we are to be striving for an

imperishable crown. We need to strive to live up to

His standards. This does not mean salvation by works

but letting Jesus do His work in us and through

us. Why do we need this crown of righteousness? We

need this so that, when Jesus (Yeshua) is reigning on

this earth for one thousand years as King of kings and

Lord of lords, we can cast our crowns at His feet as we

worship Him! He is worthy! He paid the ultimate

price for us. He brought us out of darkness and into

light!

Now it really should not take us forty days to

get right with God and to search ours hearts. As a

church and individually we do this during the first

week of Teshuvah. The next week is praying for

unsaved family members. During the third week we

make plans for the upcoming year and ask God’s help

and blessings during the upcoming year. Why not add

praying for reaching new people and for God's guid-

ance for church growth to that list? During the fourth

week, we spend time in the presence of God. This

should be a very special time between God and our-

selves.

The sounds of the shofar are very important,

and there are four of them. The first blast is teki’ah

and it is a long blast. The next blast is called shevarim

and it is three medium blasts signifying repen-

tance. The third blast is called teru'ah and it is nine

short, staccato blasts of alarm to awaken the soul. The

last blast is called the teki’ah ha’gedolah (the great

blast). Quoting Dr. Garr, "...the teki'ah represents the

blast that enthrones the King. The enthroning of God

as King must always outweigh the sobbing repen-

tance, for it is only through the grace and mercy of the

Eternal that the penitent is forgiven and given life.”

Earlier in this article, I mentioned the tradition

that Adam was born on the Feast of Trumpets. This

reminded me of a video put out by Perry Stone of

Voice of Evangelism (VOE). The title of the video is

“Prophecy in the Heavens”. Perry Stone concluded

from extensive research and evidence that Jesus was

born on Feast of Trumpets in either 2 or 3 B.C. The

first Adam and Second Adam born on the same date?

Fascinating! Let us also consider this: if Adam was

created on trumpets, that means the earth was given to

man to tend and to keep on Feast of Trumpets. We

have not done a very good job. The earth’s history is

filled with nations that had righteous leaders and also

wicked leaders. It seems like history has had more

wicked leaders than righteous ones. God has helped

mankind by giving us His Torah so that we can gain

wisdom in righteousness. God sent His only Son to

die for us so that we can be saved from God’s

wrath. As humans we have basically done things our




A big misconception people have about Te-

shuvah is that it is simply just a Jewish thing that we

as Christians should not observe. However, nothing

could be farther from the truth! The setting of Teshu-

vah begins in the Holy Bible. In Haggai 1:1-11, God

speaks to the Israelites on the first day of the sixth

month on the Hebrew Calendar, which is called Elul.

In these verses, God commanded the Israelites to give

careful thought to their ways. The Israelites had ne-

glected the work on the house of the Lord and occu-

pied themselves with their own projects. God even

explains that they planted much but harvested little.

Their harvest was reduced because they did not give

the proper attention to God’s house. He tells them that

He sent a drought on their crops and on their labor so

that they were not blessed in what they did. What is it

God is asking them to do in these verses? God is ask-

ing them to return to him! The root word for Teshuvah

is shoob or shoov and it means to return to where you

came from. Each of us has been made a new creature

in Christ and has become members of God’s heavenly

temple. The problem is that we have gone astray since

being made new. We have to turn around and go back

to the one who made us new. We have to go back to

the new, Christ-like creature we are supposed to be!

The month of Elul in Jewish culture is a time of com-

ing back to God. In the land of Israel they used to

blow the shofar during this month as a reminder to

people to “wake up” and return to God. Throughout

the year we have been giving attention to our own per-

sonal affairs and we have not been tending to the

house of the Lord as we should. The house of the Lord

is not just the physical house, but also the spiritual

house of believers. By not serving in our spiritual gifts

as we should, the body of Christ has suffered neglect!

This is something we must return to doing - tending to

the Body of Believers! Because we have neglected

Christ’s Body, we have lack in our lives. Whenever

we are not living right or not operating in our gifts and

talents we are neglecting the work on the house of the

Lord. We wonder why we do not have the harvest of

people living God’s ways as a result! The first day of

Elul is when the days of Teshuvah begin and they con-

tinue for 30 days until the Feast of Trumpets. It is said

in Jewish thought that the Feast of Trumpets is the day

when God judges your year. On the feast of Trumpets

every human alive has their name written in the book

of the righteous, the book of the wicked, or the book

of the intermediate. . If a person did not properly re-

pent during the thirty days of Teshuvah, then they

have ten days’ grace to make things right with God.

These ten days, beginning with Trumpets and going

through the Feast of Atonement, are known as the

days of Awe. During this time period, a person has the

opportunity to have their name changed from one

book and put in another book. Because each of us

wants to have our name written in the book of the

righteous on Trumpets, we follow steps to get espe-

cially close to God during this time

of the year.

At Hungry Hearts, we actively pur-

sue the Lord’s words through the

prophet Haggai to “Consider your

ways” during the month of Elul. For

this reason, during the four weeks of

Teshuvah, we spend serious time

considering our ways this past year.

During the first week, we repent by writing our sins on

a piece of paper (called a sin list). We spend time ex-

amining our actions and going through our heart to dig

out the sins buried deep within our intent, mind, will,

and emotion. We burn these lists on the weekly Sab-

bath before Atonement so that we go into God’s pres-

ence fresh and clean from our past year’s sins. During

the second week of Teshuvah, we pray for our lost

family members. Each of us has family members that

are not as close to God as they should be, and we want

them to repent so their names can be written in the

book of the righteous. During the third week we ex-

amine how we have been blessed by the Lord since

the previous year’s Feast of Tabernacles. We write

down all of our assets and all of our debts on a sheet

of paper and look at our net worth. We review how

much money we made this past year and we make

goals for the upcoming year. There is Biblical evi-

dence, found in the Torah, for doing this. In Numbers

13, Moses sent out 12 spies throughout the Promised

Land to explore the land and bring a report about the

good things in the land. The interesting thing is that

the 12 spies went out to explore the land at the time of

the first ripe grapes. The grapes first ripen in Israel


Fall 2012 11

during the summer months and are harvested just be-

fore the Fall Feasts. Since the spies were gone for

forty days, it is likely that some of their expedition

occurred during the days of Teshuvah! We are to go

through the promised land of our life and find God’s

Kingdom provision just as the spies went through the

land and found a single cluster of grapes that took two

people to carry! We should be able to identify the

blessing of God in our lives and give a good report as

to what the Lord has done. While we look at our

physical blessings from this past year, we should also

look at our spiritual blessings. Did you grow in your

walk with Christ? Do you have more word in you this

year than last year? Did you fulfill your Kingdom as-

signments passed down from your Pastor or other

church leader? Did you overcome sins in your life?

These are equally important parts of God’s Kingdom

provision in our lives. We also ask God for the things

we need during this third week. We ask for things

such as a higher salary, more net worth, and greater

spiritual growth. We make goals to achieve these

things because faith without works is dead (James

2:20). The Feast of Tabernacles is the feast when the

Israelites would give God thanks for the harvest he

gave them during the year. One of the purposes for

making a physical and spiritual inventory of our lives

is so that we can show up before God at the Feast of

Tabernacles and give him thanks for the physical and

spiritual harvest in our lives this past year! During the

fourth week of Teshuvah, we spend time in intimate

worship with God Almighty. We spend time in the

secret place of the Most High mentioned in Psalm 91,

preparing to encounter Him during the Fall Festivals.

The time of Teshuvah is also

called the days of the Open

Windows of Heaven. It is the

time to ask God for things,

whether it be for your family to

turn to God or for financial

prosperity. In Isaiah 55:6 God said, “Seek God when

He is at hand; Call upon Him when He is near” (The

Holy Bible, New International Version). During Te-

shuvah, you are closing in on the Fall Feast Days. The

Lord is at hand and He is near. It is the time when we

can call to Him and He will especially hear our

prayers.

The Ten Days beginning with Trumpets and continu-

ing through the end of Atonement are known as the

Ten Awesome Days or the Days of Awe. During this

time a person who did not repent during Teshuvah has

the opportunity to return to God. For those who made

the necessary steps, the ten days of Awe are days

where God will show his awesome provision in your

life. During these ten days it would be wise to write

down the things that happen to you. The days of Awe

are a picture of what your upcoming year will be like.

If you experience car trouble during the days of awe,

then you can expect that you will have car trouble this

upcoming year. If you have a breakthrough at work,

then you can expect good things to happen at work.

Even if something negative happens during the days

of Awe, it gives us an opportunity to guard ourselves

from unnecessary trouble. Consider the example of the

car that had problems. Having this trouble during the

days of Awe gives you the warning to take extra spe-

cial care of your car during this time. This again

shows God’s awesome power and grace - that he

would warn us of events before they happen! In some

instances, God is showing us the attacks Satan will use

against us this upcoming year!

Teshuvah is a Biblically based time of the year for us

to return to God. If you will simply follow these sim-

ple steps, you will have a renewed Spirit and a tremen-

dous outpouring of God’s Spirit during the Fall Feast

Days!

Works Cited

All Scripture notations, unless otherwise noted, come

from: The Holy Bible. The New International Version.

International Bible Society. Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Zondervan Bible Publishers, 2002. Print.

Evangelist Kelly McDonald



Change Your

Viewpoint

For seven days celebrate the Feast to the Lord at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. Deuteronomy 16:15

Feast of Tabernacles 2012

October 2012

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 30 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

All Suites Hotel

541 Carriage House Drive

Jackson, Tennessee

Come to Jackson, Come to the Feast!

September 30th to October 8th

Join us as we Celebrate with GREAT

JOY BEFORE THE LORD!!!!

Fall 2012 13

The Feast of Tabernacles is an annual cele-

bration held from the 15th day of the seventh month on

the Hebrew Calendar, called Tishri, until the 21st day

of the same month. When God brought the Israelites

out of Egypt, He commanded them to live in booths or

temporary dwellings. The Hebrew word translated as

booth is sukkah. During the Feast of Tabernacles, God

asked the Israelites to build sukkahs to remember their

journey out of Egypt. They were commanded to dwell

in these booths for the entire seven-day celebration. In

John 1:1-3, John records that, “In the beginning was

the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. He was with God

in the beginning. The Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us” (The

Holy Bible, New International Version).

The word translated as “dwelling” is a

word that refers to the temporary booths

God had the Israelites build in the wilder-

ness. Christ came down and dwelt among

us in a fleshly body, which is a temporary

dwelling! He will come again and dwell

with us for a temporary 1,000 year reign!

For Christians, the Feast of Tabernacles

is a celebration of Christ’s reign on planet earth. This

time period will be a time of peace, joy, and unparal-

leled prosperity because God’s Government will be in

control. We will participate in that government and

help administer it on planet earth.

For the last 6,000 years man has been ruling

the world his way. There are different types of govern-

ments, ranging from monarchies to dictatorships to

democracies. The key theme of each of these man-

made governments is that they are focused on man and

not focused on God. The laws of man’s governments

are arbitrary and unpredictable. Democracy, for in-

stance, allows for the people to choose the individual

or individuals that promise them the most ‘stuff’. For

the average voter, how his or her vote might affect

others is usually irrelevant. Even worse, as new offi-

cials are elected in a democracy, they change the laws

to undo the work of people who were in office before

them. This makes life unpredictable and unstable for

people in democracies (which is what the U.S. cur-

rently has). The officials who run for office in democ-

racies usually make great promises to the people to get

elected. Many times they do not fulfill the promises

they make, or they make promises that are impossible

to achieve! The conditions under other forms of rule

like Monarchies and Dictatorships are only as good or

bad as the person who is ruling. Even in our society

where we are supposed to be a nation of laws and not

a nation of tyrants, appointed and elected officials can

be bought with bribes or bought through lobbyists.

Where has man’s rule gotten us? It has

only given us strife, poverty, war, and

unrest throughout the world. There is

political instability throughout the

world based upon religious and ethnic

differences. There are impoverished

people throughout the world. Many of

these people have no hope to advance

their situation because there is a serious

lack of employment opportunities in

the third world! However bleak this

situation may seem, there is GOOD

NEWS! A Kingdom is coming where

everyone will have plenty of food to eat, water to

drink, and opportunities to better their situation! This

Kingdom will be ruled by Jesus Christ, the Savior of

all mankind, and alongside Him will be His children,

the FAMILY OF GOD.

The Family of God is the government of God,

and we will help Jesus Christ administer God’s Gov-

ernment on this planet for 1,000 years. When God cre-

ated Adam He was trying to establish His Kingdom on

earth at that time. The problem is that Adam and Eve

sinned in the Garden and gave that throne back to Sa-

tan the devil. God told Adam that he would die in the

day that he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil. After he ate from the tree, he did not die that

same day. However, the Bible informs us that a day

with the Lord is as a thousand years (Psalm 90:4).


Much has been given to

you and I to accomplish the

task of getting the gospel

out. Christ is demanding

that we use our gifts to

spread the gospel about

His law.

The Government of God By Evangelist Kelly McDonald


When those of us in the Sabbath community think

of feast days or “Holy Days”, we think of good

preaching, good food, good fellowship with the breth-

ren, and even giving gifts to friends and family. This

is certainly not the case with the Feast of Atonement.

Actually, the Day of Atonement is not a “feast” day at

all; it is a “fast day”. The King James Version of the

Bible calls the feast days holy convocations. This day

is truly a very holy day before the Lord and we are

required to treat it as such. In Leviticus 23:27-32, God

shares how we are to observe this most holy day.

Lev. 23:27-32, KJV “Also on the tenth day of

this seventh month there shall be a day of

atonement: it shall be an holy convocation

unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and

offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

And ye shall do no work in that same day: for

it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement

for you before the LORD your God. For what-

soever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in

that same day, he shall be cut off from among

his people. And whatsoever soul it be that

doeth any work in that same day, the same soul

will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall

do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for-

ever throughout your generations in all your

dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of

rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth

day of the month at even, from even unto even,

shall ye celebrate your sabbath. (The Holy Bi-

ble, The King James Version)

In verse 32 of Leviticus 23 the word afflict means to

humble, chasten, or abase one’s self. For this particu-

lar day, this means you are to fast food and drink for

the whole 24 hours from evening to evening.

The whole chapter of Leviticus 16 describes in

great detail as to how Aaron, the High Priest, was in-

structed by God through Moses to offer the sacrifices

for the atonement for himself first, then his household,

and finally for the whole nation of Israel. This Day of

Atonement was the holiest day of the year, performed

only once a year behind the veil in the Holy of Holies

in the Tabernacle of Moses by the High Priest.

We, who are now liv-

ing at the end of the age, have

been offered a better and

more perfect way for the for-

giveness of our sins: the pre-

cious blood of Jesus our Savior.

Heb. 9:11-14, “But when Christ came as high

priest of the good things that are now already

here, he went through the greater and more

perfect tabernacle that is not made with human

hands, that is to say, is not a part of this crea-

tion. He did not enter by means of the blood of

goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy

Place once for all by his own blood, thus ob-

taining eternal redemption. The blood of goats

and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on

those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify

them so that they are outwardly clean. How

much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who

through the eternal Spirit offered himself un-

blemished to God, cleanse our consciences

from acts that lead to death, so that we may

serve the living God! (The Holy Bible, The

New International Version)

There is a period of approximately thirty days from

the first day of the sixth month on the Hebrew Calen-

dar up to the Feast of Trumpets called Teshuvah. This

is a Hebrew word meaning to repent or turn back. We

have to repent of our transgressions and turn back to

the law of God. As you know, sin is actually trans-

gressing the law of God. We at Hungry Hearts Minis-

tries utilize this time to do serious examination of our-

selves. We ask God to show us any areas of our lives

that need to be worked on. The more time you spend

with God during these days of Teshuvah, the more He

will reveal areas of your life that need your attention.

The more you repent the more forgiveness you will

receive, thus making you cleaner and cleaner. This is

the necessary protocol to prepare you to enter into this

most holy day so that you can have a great encounter

with your maker, the Lord God of all creation.

During this time of Teshuvah when God re-


The Intimacy of Atonement by Freda Sims

Fall 2012 15

veals a sin to you write it down. At Hungry Hearts, we

make a sin list and burn it the Sabbath before Atone-

ment. When we do this, we all close our eyes and see

bright red which we feel represents the blood of Jesus

covering our sins one more time. This is one of the

most precious things I have the experienced through

the years at Hungry Hearts Ministries.

When the time arrives for Atonement to begin,

we all arrive at our meeting place early. We gather in

the building wearing plain,

white garments for purity. We

also wear white because the

High Priest wore white on the

Day of Atonement. Prior to sun-

set we take communion and

then finish off the last of our

water. We each find the place

we want to sit and everyone is very quiet and sober.

The only light we have in the hall is a seven-branch

menorah. Intimate music is played as we all enter into

worship. Some lay prostrate on the floor, while others

may lie on their back or kneel or sit in their chair. Dur-

ing the evening portion of Atonement, we will wor-

ship for three to four hours. During the day portion of

this Holy Day, we meet the same way, dressed in

white. This time we do not take communion or drink

water because we have all been fasting. We will then

worship our creator God for approximately five hours

until sundown.

During this special and most intimate time

some of our members have seen and heard things in

the spirit that are most magnificent. Anyone that will

follow the protocol mentioned in this article to prepare

themselves for the Day of Atonement are sure to have

a wonderful and intimate experience with their crea-

tor, the Lord God of all creation.

Works Cited

The Holy Bible. The King James Ver-

sion. Holman Bible Publishers. Nash-

ville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publish-

ers, 1979. Print.

The Holy Bible. The New International

Version. International Bible Society.

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bi-

ble Publishers, 2002. Print.


own way. We have told Him that we do not want or

need Him. The results are obvious.

Recently I watched a

television show on the geno-

cide in Rwanda in the

1990's. One million people

were tortured and killed

within one hundred

days. This is why we ulti-

mately need Jesus to return

and reign on this earth. These things have continued

all through history and will continue to happen. Hu-

mans without God are cruel and do not know how nor

do they want to rule justly. We need the fulfillment of

the Feast of Trumpets when Jesus' feet hit the Mt. of

Olives and He rules and reigns for one thousand

years!

The shofar was blown at the coronation of

kings and even in modern times at the inauguration of

presidents in Israel. The great trump in Isaiah 27:13

may be blown on the Feast of Trumpets for the ulti-

mate change in the earths’ rulership. This is when the

coronation of Jesus as King of Kings to rule from Je-

rusalem will take place! Let us make Him King of our

lives now! Zechariah 9:14 says, “The Lord God will

blow the trumpet (shofar)”. The Day of the Lord will

be horrible. But as with a woman in labor, who, after

she has given birth does not remember the pain at the

joy of a new child in her arms, so will be the returning

of our Lord Jesus Christ! Let us prepare ourselves,

look for His soon return and keep the Feast of Trum-

pets with great joy!

Works Cited

Holy Bible. New King James Version. Thomas Nel-

son, Inc. 1994.

Strong’s Concordance. Strong,

James. Nashville: Abingdon,

1980.

The Mishnah. “Sanhedrin 38b”.

Living Emblems. Garr, Dr. John

D. Restoration Foundation: At-

lanta, GA, 2000.

(The Feast of Trumpets...Continued from page 9)


Webster’s Dictionary defines the word atti-

tude as “a mental position with regard to a fact or

state; a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state; an

organismic state of readiness to respond in a charac-

teristic way to a stimulus (as an object, concept, or

situation). In the Greek, a word for attitude is phro-

neo, and one of its definitions according to Strong’s

Concordance is “to be (mentally) disposed (more or

less earnestly in a certain direction).” From these defi-

nitions, we can see that an attitude is a mindset or per-

spective that predisposes us to act a certain way. In

other words, an attitude determines what actions you

are likely to either take or not take. For an example,

consider a laid-back attitude. If you are operating in a

laid-back attitude then you are less likely to be easily

angered or overreact to a situation. Your attitude de-

termined your action. Understanding attitudes is ex-

tremely important and can help us overcome the at-

tacks of the evil one.

In the Garden of Eden, the serpent spoke to Eve and

tempted her. The Bible records, “Now the serpent was

more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God

had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say,

‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? The

woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the

trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat

fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,

and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ‘You will

not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For

God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be

opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and

evil’” (The Holy Bible, New International Version,

Gen.3.1-5). We have a tendency to think from the text

that the serpent only spoke to Adam and Eve. While

Satan did speak to Eve with words, he actually was

conveying an attitude to them. The attitude or mind-

set that Satan conveyed to them was a mindset which

believes that you do not have to do what God wants

you to do. You can do whatever you want. You can

become your own god and choose for yourself. You

can do things your way and still have God’s blessing

at the same time.

This example in Genesis shows us the way that Satan

attacks us. He attacks us by speaking attitudes into our

hearts, minds, and spirits. In Ephesians 2:1-2, Paul

wrote, “As for you, you were dead in your transgres-

sions and sins, in which you used to live when you

followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the

kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in

those who are disobedient.” Some translations say in

verse 2 that Satan is the “Prince and the Power” of the

air. What we have to realize is that Satan the devil is

not just the prince and power of the air, but he is also

the prince and power of the air waves. Satan is con-

stantly broadcasting attitudes into your mind like a

radio station broadcasts radio waves into the air. How

do these attitudes begin to manifest in our lives and

how can we recognize them? Paul says in these verses

that Satan is the spirit at work in those who are disobe-

dient. The Greek word for disobedient literally means

a lack of faith. Satan begins by broadcasting into your

mind disbelief about God. Satan may put things into

your mind, such as: “Is the Sabbath really true?”;

“Does God really care what day of the week we wor-

ship on?”; “Do I really have to be filled with the Spirit

and speak in tongues?”; “Are the Dietary Laws neces-

sary for me to keep?”; “I’m not sure if those resurrec-

tions are really true”; “Is second tithing really neces-

sary today?”; or “God does not care if I keep Christ-

mas or Easter.” Each of these is designed to do the

same thing that Satan did in the Garden - doubt God.

The serpent started by making Eve question whether

God’s spoken word was true! He was also questioning

whether God’s word was necessary for their lives! The

whole purpose of these attitudes that Satan broadcasts

into your mind is simply an attempt to get you to step

backwards. When you give up one vital truth of the

Bible, you will give up another, then another, and oth-

ers until you have given up all of them. Your actions

will follow and then you will start to disobey. You

will start to break the Sabbath, keep easter and christ-

mas, stop praying in tongues, etc. This is why the

Greek word for disobedience can mean disbelief. The

attitudes that Satan broadcasts into your mind cause

you to lose faith in God’s word and they lead to dis-

obedience.

The Spirit of Disobedience begins with an attitude!

The same attitude Satan put forth to Adam and Eve

still exists today! We still want to disobey God. We


The Power of Attitudes By Evangelist Kelly McDonald

Fall 2012 17

want to do the things that look wise to us but not to

God. This attitude believes that God does not really

mean what he says. You can still do things your way

and his way. Practically apply this to your life. When

the Federal Government tells you that you owe 15% in

income taxes, you will pay 15% in

income taxes. We all obey this (or we

go to jail). However, when God says

to keep the Sabbath on the seventh

day, we like to say “Well, He did not

really mean that way” or “Well, God

changed it” (when clearly He has not).

This is an attitude of disobedience! It

all starts with questioning whether God said what He

clearly said. The Bible says that God does not change

(Malachi 3:6). People even get very emotional when

they talk about a truth of the Bible like the Sabbath.

Why? Because they have been influenced by an atti-

tude! Our attitudes make us very emotional even when

we are presented with a very easy decision logically.

If someone asked us if we were hungry, we could eas-

ily answer by saying “Yes” or “No”. When someone

shows us that God made the seventh day the Sabbath,

people want to argue that it really does not mean what

it clearly states. An ungodly attitude can rob you of

logic and lead you into grievous sins.

King David is an example of this. If you look at

David’s life, he was very focused on God and God’s

Kingdom work. After all, he was a man after God’s

own heart. Part of his Kingdom work was subduing

other nations. You have to understand that in the Old

Testament going to war was part of doing God’s King-

dom work. The events in the Old Testament were for

our learning today, so David’s warfare in the natural is

a picture and type of how we should fight spiritual

warfare. David had an incident where he allowed an

attitude to creep in and lead him into disobedience. In

II Samuel 11:1, David sends the men to go to war and

fight against the Ammonites. David, however, stayed

behind. He got out of bed one day around sunset and

decided to go up on his roof. He then saw Bathsheba

and sent for her. He committed adultery with her and

later had her husband, Uriah, killed. All of David’s

sins in this example came from his decision not to go

to war with his men. He did not pursue God’s King-

dom work! His decision not to go with his men came

from an attitude. It is not clear what attitude made

David stay behind, but it could have been an attitude

of laziness. Whatever attitude it was, it led him into

disobedience. David knew the Torah just as Adam and

Eve knew God’s command concerning the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil. David’s attitude made

him forget easy, logical decisions and pursue emo-

tional, fleshly interests. The devil then used his flesh

and his emotions against him and he committed sev-

eral sins. It all began with an attitude.

Another example in the Bible would be King Saul. He

was an individual who constantly operated in a Spirit

of disobedience. Most people do not realize this, but

Saul actually received the Holy Spirit, spoke in

tongues, and displayed the power of a changed life (I

Samuel 10:5-13). The problem is that King Saul al-

lowed attitudes to overtake him and lead him into sin

continually. Saul began by rescuing the people of Ja-

besh Gilead. Later, King Saul thought that he could do

whatever he wanted and still say that he was doing

God’s will. He erected a statute of himself and even

brought back plunder after God told him to completely

destroy the Amalekites (I Samuel 15). His attitude was

always one which was focused on pleasing people and

pleasing himself, but he did not please God. He had

attitudes of fear, doubt, and pride. He was so over-

come by these attitudes that he eventually lost the

Holy Spirit (I Samuel 16:14).

The problem is that we want to see things our way and

still have God’s Blessing. Saul sinned against God and

still wanted Samuel to honor him in front of the peo-

ple. This is one aspect of what I call the Pharaoh

Spirit. First of all, understand that Pharaoh’s heart was

hardened by God so that God’s mighty power would

be displayed in Egypt. At the same time, we can see

his attitude as an example for us today. Pharaoh dis-

obeyed the word of the Lord through Moses many

times, resulting in ten plagues. After the tenth plague,

he decided to finally let them go. The strange thing is

that he asked for a blessing on the way out. Exodus

12:31-32, “During the night Pharaoh summoned

Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people,

you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you

have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you

have said, and go. And also bless me.” This is the

way most of us act. We want to do things our way,

like Adam and Eve, and still enjoy God’s blessing (the

tree of life). The problem is that sin blocks the way to

the tree of life. If God had allowed Adam and Eve to




eat from the tree of life after partaking of the tree of

the knowledge of good and evil, they would have been

like Satan the devil who lives forever in a state of sin.

Satan cannot repent. We are purposefully blocked

from the tree of life so that we are not condemned to a

permanent destruction.

The attitudes in your life are a powerful concept to

realize. You need to recognize the attitude you have at

any given time and ask yourself: “Is this an attitude

from Satan?” If you are loosing focus of your King-

dom Assignments and not taking care of your personal

business, you can rest assured that the attitude you

have is from Satan the devil! Two typical attitudes are

laziness and pride. When you have an attitude of lazi-

ness, you fail to recognize the things that are impor-

tant in your life such as paying the bills on time, tak-

ing care of your family, and reading your Bible. This

attitude can lead you into sins such as sexual immoral-

ity, stealing, and lying because you are operating in

your flesh. When you have an attitude of pride you see

the entire world as centered on yourself and how you

can gain and acquire for yourself irrespective of oth-

ers’ wants and needs. Anything you might do for oth-

ers that appear positive is only coincidental. When a

person has an attitude of pride, he says things to please

people that they really do not mean. It is only an at-

tempt to get his way. Even his repentance can be

faked. Saul shows us this. After failing to destroy the

Amalekites in I Samuel 15, Saul told Samuel that he

repented. The problem is that he really did not repent

based on what he said after his admission of sin: “Saul

replied, ‘I have sinned. But please honor me before the

elders of my people and before Israel; come back with

me, so that I may worship the Lord your God’ ” (I

Samuel 15:30). Saul seems to admit his guilt but he

then asks Samuel to come with him so that he can be

honored in the sight of the people. When the wicked

King Ahab repented and the righteous King Hezekiah

repented, God forgave them and relented judgment.

Even David was told by the prophet Gad that he was

forgiven. God did not forgive Saul because he did not

genuinely repent. It is as simple as looking at his

words. The whole purpose of his admission of guilt

was so that Samuel would honor him and he could still

look important to other people. He was still focused

on what he wanted even after he committed a grievous

sin against the Lord. Laziness and pride are two of the

most destructive and dangerous attitudes, which led

David into sin and Saul towards losing the Holy Spirit.

When Adam and Eve partook of the tree of the knowl-

edge of good and evil the Bible says that their eyes

were opened. Their eyes became open to attitudes

which lead to disobedience. By listening to the ser-

pent, all of humanity was now vulnerable to the atti-

tudes that Satan might broadcast into their heart and

mind. When you look at the lives of Saul and David,

they were polar opposites. Saul sinned much and

obeyed a little, David obeyed much. The one thing

they have in common is that they were swayed by atti-

tudes. If an attitude can sway a man after God’s own

heart to sin, then how much more are you and I vul-

nerable to this today! The key to overcoming these

attitudes is found in what David confessed once he

had sinned. When David sinned, he said, “I acknowl-

edge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not

hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the

LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my

sin” (Psalm 32:5). The word translated iniquity in

these verses is the Hebrew word a von, and it means

perversity. David asks the Lord to forgive the iniquity

of his sin. In other words, he asks God to forgive the

perverseness inside of him that lead him into sin. Iniq-

uity is when we twist or pervert a situation in our mind

to justify why it is permissible for us to sin at that

point in time. Attitudes cause us to pervert situations

in this way. Our eyes then become open and we eat of

the fruit. The only way back to turn from attitudes that

lead to disobedience and gain access to the tree of life

is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind and

change the attitude of your mind (Romans 12:1)! You

must repent and turn back to God! The word repen-

tance means a change in your mind. We have to

change our minds from attitudes of disobedience to

attitudes of trust and faith. During this season of Te-

shuvah, examine your attitudes and weed Satan’s atti-

tudes out of your life so that he no longer has a foot-

hold.

Works Cited:

“attitude” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster,

2012. Web. 24 June 2012.

All Scripture notations, unless otherwise noted, come

from: The Holy Bible. The New International Version.

International Bible Society. Grand Rapids, Michigan:


Strong’s Concordance. Strong, James. Nashville: Ab-

ingdon, 1980. (accessed via e-sword application)

(The Power of Attitude...Continued from page 17)

Fall 2012 19

Adam did not live one day according to the Lord,

which is 1,000 years. He died at age 930. Christ came

as the second Adam. He will finish the one day that

Adam did not finish by establishing God’s govern-

ment on planet earth for 1,000 years. This is why

Christ’s reign is for 1,000 years.

How will this government be administered?

This government will be administered through the law

of God found in your Bible. In Isaiah 2:2-5, God says,

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple

will be established as chief among the mountains; it

will be raised above the hills, and all nations will

stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come,

let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house

of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that

we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from

Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will

judge between the nations and will settle disputes for

many peoples. They will beat their swords into plow-

shares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will

not take up sword against nation, nor will they train

for war anymore. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk

in the light of the Lord.” God’s Law is going to go out

from Jerusalem to the other nations of the world to

teach them how to be holy, happy, and successful.

God wants every human being to be happy, but there

is a certain way of life we must live for us to be

happy. That way is known as the Law of God! The

Law of God, found in Genesis and Deuteronomy

shows us how God’s Kingdom will be administered.

First of all, every person will be given a plot of

ground as their permanent family inheritance. When

the Israelites entered into the Promised Land, God

asked them to divide up the land for each tribe in Is-

rael. Then each clan was allotted territory within their

tribal inheritance. A larger portion of land was given

to the larger tribes and a smaller portion to the smaller

tribes. That means that the land was divided evenly

based on what a person needed! In God’s Kingdom

there will be no more buying up land so that only one

person has all the land and power, as Isaiah 5:8 points

out, “Woe to you who add house to house and join

field to field till no space is left and you live alone in

the land”. In our nation, we have added house to

house. If you look at any populated area, houses are

joined very close together. In some large cities like

New York City, some areas have blocks of buildings

joined together with no space between! The reason

why this is so detrimental is because people do not

have enough land to find enjoyment and fulfillment in

life. People then get frustrated and start stealing, van-

dalizing, and joining in other forms of sin. Images of

people walking the streets in dirty clothes or living in

card board boxes are still very much apart of our mod-

ern world. Many cities even have slums and, due to

the poverty, high crime rates. In God’s Kingdom, such

a depravity will not exist. In the Kingdom of God,

every person will be given a tract of land. It will be the

perfect size of land for every person to find joy and

fulfillment in life. You will be allowed to do on your

plot of land whatever brings you the most joy in life!

Land can be used for whatever you wish to pursue.

You must have land for farming, to have a building for

a business, for office space, and many other pursuits.

If you look at your desires for this life, it involves

needing land. Every person will have an equal oppor-

tunity to make a living doing whatever brings them the

most happiness. The land was permanently given to

these tribes and the clans within each tribe. This

means that it could not be taken away! The verse from

Isaiah 5:8, which mentions houses being joined to-

gether and land being bought up can also refer to the

nationalizing of property and industry. When the gov-

ernment begins to nationalize something, they are lit-

erally buying up houses or industry so that no private

individuals are free to develop that particular area.

This means that they alone own it all, which is what

the verse says - “…till no space is left and you live

alone in the land.” Nationalizing industry means that

the government’s ideas alone are left in the land.

Some foreign governments (like Russia) have nation-

alized the oil industry, which removed private devel-

opment and discovery of oil. This process takes away

the ability of people to independently develop ideas.

Personalities and ideas will not be squelched in the

(The Government of God...Continued from page 13)


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Tabernacles 2012 Feast Planning

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Kingdom of God. Ideas and free thinking will be pro-

moted! This means that you will have the freedom to

create inventions and develop ideas that you believe

will bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest

amount of people. And, you will have plenty of room

to do it! If for some reason you squander your family

inheritance and are forced to sell it, you will get it

back in the Jubilee year, which is every fifty years.

This prevents generational poverty, which has plagued

even American society.

God’s government will be a government of plenty and

give people opportunities to climb out of poverty. First

of all, there will be no prisons. In God’s government,

if a person cannot pay a debt or he steals money, he

will be required to work as a servant until he pays the

debt he owes or repays what he stole. This means peo-

ple who owe money will have to work alongside peo-

ple who are successful. This will allow them the op-

portunity to learn how to be successful themselves so

they no longer have to resort to stealing! No more will

people go to prisons and learn how to become more

criminal. When criminals hang around other criminals

it makes people worse criminals because our compan-

ions influence our behavior (Proverbs 13:20). God

wants us to spend time around people who have

wholesome thinking and who are successful so that we

can be successful ourselves. This means people will

not be isolated. Thieves, for instance, will be working

alongside the people they steal from so that they can

have an appreciation for what it takes to acquire

goods. The whole purpose of treating criminals this

way is so that they can be rehabilitated through hard

work and personal relationships.

Other laws will promote prosperity and help people

climb out of poverty. Every seventh year the debts of

fellow Israelites will be cancelled (Deut. 15:1-11).

This will keep families from being poor from genera-

tion to generation due to debt. Moreover, there will be

no interest charged to fellow Israelites. This will pre-

vent people from lending excessive amounts of money

to make a profit on the interest. Even Hebrew servants

will be allowed to go free in the seventh year! These

laws promote freedom and prevent people from taking

advantage of others.

There will be no welfare in God’s Kingdom, but the

poor will be allowed to glean the edges of the fields

and whatever is left behind by harvesters. This means

that the poor will have food to eat, but they will have

to work to earn it. There will also be a third tithe taken

up in the third and sixth year of a seven year cycle.

This will prevent people from having a continual de-

pendence on others every year or from having a de-

pendence on the government. Third tithe will simply

be a boost to help you get your life back on track. You

will have to appear to collect it and meet other people.

It will not simply be a check impersonally mailed to

you. It will be amazing to see Saints of God, perhaps

even Ruth and Boaz, waiting at a place where third

tithe is distributed and choosing people to come back

to their farm to learn how to be successful! But that is

the attitude of the Kingdom of God: “Find someone

else who needs to be taught God’s way and teach

them.” God’s Kingdom is all about finding other peo-

ple who need to be trained to be successful and teach-

ing them how to be! The purpose of these laws is so

that thieves, debtors, and the poor will be able to inter-

act with successful businessmen and become success-

ful themselves, just like convicted prisoners. With

these laws, you can see that God is trying to develop

relationships, which is a basic human need. Many

criminals, debtors, and malcontents in our society

have been isolated, neglected, or had a lack of mean-

ingful relationships. During the Kingdom of God, all

humans will have the opportunity for meaningful rela-

tionships with other people and with their Creator.

These social safety nets will be vital to the

prosperity available in the Kingdom of God. The rule

of law will also be consistent so that people can pros-

per and justice is administered. Penalties will be car-

ried out swiftly and judges will rule fairly. Judges will

not take bribes thus rulings will be based on the facts

of the case. Christ will also require judges to render

decisions consistently based on the facts of the case.

There will not be huge lottery-type lawsuits for people

who are injured. Every person will be compensated

justly and properly for their losses. The punishment

will fit the crime. One of the biggest problems in

American society is frivolous lawsuits. If we would

eliminate them, then all of our lives would be easier!

Christ will oversee the entire system of law so that it is

administered properly! As you can see, all of these

laws are designed for freedom, happiness, and fair-

ness.



Fall 2012 21

What role in His government will you and I

play as His children? Revelation 20:4-6, reads, “I saw

thrones on which were seated those who had been

given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those

who had been beheaded because of their testimony for

Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not

worshiped the beast or his image and had not received

his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came

to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The

rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand

years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first

resurrection. The second death has no power over

them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and

will reign with him for a thousand years.” This pas-

sage in Revelation is about the resurrection of those

Christians who were beheaded during the Tribulation.

Just before the Kingdom of God begins, all who par-

take in the first resurrection, whether resurrected be-

fore the Tribulation in the Rescue or after it, will sit on

thrones with Jesus Christ. We will rule with Him dur-

ing the thousand years. We are DESTINED TO

REIGN! That is your destiny as a child of God. You

have to accept that destiny by yielding to His will for

your life. You see, Christ is going to use two factors to

determine your position in HIS Kingdom. The first is

your commandment keeping and what you taught to

others about God’s Commandments. The second is

how well you used your Kingdom talents and gifts to

spread His word.

In Matthew 5:19-20, Christ said, “Anyone who

breaks one of the least of these commandments and

teaches others to do the same will be called least in the

kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches

these commands will be called great in the kingdom of

heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness

surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the

law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of

heaven.” Since God’s Kingdom is going to be a King-

dom of laws administered by Jesus Christ, then those

who have lived His laws in this current sinful age will

be exalted while those who did not live His laws will

be considered least. We will not all have the same au-

thority and position, as is sometimes taught. Those

who break the least of the commandments and teach

others to do the same will be called least in the King-

dom. What are some of the least of the command-

ments? Having tzit-tzit or fringes on a garment (also

known as a tallit) would be considered one of the least

commandments. Another commandment that might be

considered least is not eating the fruit off of your fruit

trees until the fifth year (Leviticus 19:23-25). Those

who keep the commandments and teach others to do

the same will be called greatest! These are people who

were not ashamed of God’s ways before others. They

went through trials in their lives and stood strong for

God. They did not just teach the word - they lived it!

The Kingdom of God will be the rule of Christ over

the entire earth and that rule will be established

through God’s law. A person who does not know

God’s law cannot be given a high-level position be-

cause they will not know how to administer the ruling

law of the earth! Notice that Christ does not mention

those who break the greatest of the commandments. A

person cannot enter into the Kingdom of God until

they repent of their transgressions of God’s Law. Even

the Pharisees kept the Sabbath, Holy Days, Dietary

Laws, and First and Second tithe. We must exceed

their law keeping by getting down deep into our hearts

and minds so that we keep God’s law with the attitude

of Christ.

The second factor that will determine a per-

son’s place in the Kingdom of God is how well they

used their Kingdom talents. In this parable, found in

Luke 19:11-27, Christ gave ten of his servants a mina

each. One went out and gained ten more. Another

went out and gained five more. Finally, a third hid his

in a cloth. The one who earned ten more was given ten

cities, the servant who earned five more was given

five cities, and the one who hid his mina was given

nothing. His only mina was given to the man with ten.

The mina in this parable represents the Kingdom tal-

ents Christ has given each of us. Producing more mi-

nas represents a person’s productivity with their mina

or talent. A person who takes what God has given

them and produces much more will rule over a larger

area than those who produced little. If you have been

given a Kingdom talent of writing, how much are you

writing? Are you writing books or in multiple maga-

zines or other avenues? If you have a Kingdom talent

of preaching and teaching, are you answering that

call? What if your gift is service? Are you serving in

multiple avenues? To have a high position in God’s

Kingdom, you must be productive with what God has

given you. Jesus said, “From everyone who has been

given much, much will be demanded; and from the




one who has been entrusted with much, much more

will be asked” (Luke 12:48). Much has been given to

you and I to accomplish the task of getting the gospel

out. Christ is demanding that we use our gifts to

spread the gospel about His law. Your productivity in

using your talents and gifts to promote the gospel of

His lawful Kingdom is the direct measure of the

amount of territory in which you will govern His Law.

Christ will not have a government of inefficiency dis-

played before the nations. He will have a government

that is highly organized and highly efficient so that the

nations will marvel at the productivity and lifestyle of

His Family. This is similar to the way the Queen of

Sheba marveled at Solomon’s wisdom and the manner

in which his kingdom operated. This excellence is so

the nations will desire to be apart of God’s Kingdom.

The whole purpose of Christ’s reign is to bring the

nations into God’s Family, and we have 1,000 years or

one day in God’s timing to do it! Christ will appoint

you your territory in God’s Kingdom based on how

well you can handle your Kingdom gifts now. He will

not give you more than you can handle, so get on it

now! For those who refuse to use their Kingdom gifts,

you need to understand that Christ will not be shamed

before the nations by people who refuse to use what

has been given to them. Rather than

have poor rulers and territories

filled with neglect and lawlessness,

He will re-distribute their gifts to

those who have the highest effi-

ciency with what has been given them. This is what

the parable of the minas informs us! We have to be

creative and go out and produce with what has been

given us!

What has God given you? Are you using it?

This is the time to examine your commandment keep-

ing and study the law of God so that you can be

among the greatest in God’s Kingdom. A King over

Israel had to hand-write out for himself a copy of the

book of the law (Deut. 17:18). He was required to read

it every day. I believe that we as Christians should

hand write this law if we want to rule in His Kingdom

(I am working on mine now). This is the time to de-

velop your Kingdom gifts and start using them with

fervency so that you can rule over a large territory in

God’s Kingdom. Once the kingdom of God begins,

your place in the Kingdom will be set for 1,000 years.

How high up do you want to serve? How low of a

place do you want to serve? Throughout human his-

tory, human beings have strived for greatness. God

placed a desire for greatness in us because He wants

us to strive for the highest position in His Kingdom.

We do this by humbling to His ways by how we live,

yielding to His Spirit by serving, and by laying down

our lives for His Kingdom. In Luke 14:11, Jesus said,

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” As you

humble yourself to God’s will, you will be exalted in

God’s Kingdom. The things we do NOW will count

THEN! Christ sacrificed everything He had in this

world - including leaving a throne in HEAVEN to

come down to EARTH and DIE for US. It is a little

thing for us to sacrifice our time with 30 minutes a day

to read our Bibles or giving up hours every week us-

ing our gifts for God. It is worth pleasing God and be-

ing great in His Kingdom.

The 1,000 year reign of Christ will be the

greatest time of peace and prosperity in recorded his-

tory. His government will be a rule of righteousness,

equity, and perfect rule because it will be ruled by the

law of God. God’s government will be highly organ-

ized and efficient so that the greatest numbers of peo-

ple are brought into His family. God wants us to par-

ticipate in His government, but we must be prepared

to reign. If we really have faith in Him, we will pre-

pare now to rule with Him then. We must have a de-

sire to help spread that prosperity over this world. We

must ask God to put that desire within us. It will be a

government worth serving, whereas the governments

of this current age are not. Do you want to share in the

rule of your Messiah? “To him who overcomes, I will

give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I

overcame and sat down with my Father on his

throne” (Rev. 3:21). We must overcome our attitudes

of laziness, lackadaisicalness, apathy, pride, and self-

ishness if we want to sit on a throne with Him. I do

not know about you, but I want to side right beside

Him and reign. You and I were DESTINED TO

REIGN in God’s government on this earth.

Works Cited

All Scripture notations, unless

otherwise noted, come from: The

Holy Bible. The New Interna-

tional Version. International Bible

Society. Grand Rapids, Michigan:



Fall 2012 23

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