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>> Bert Harper: The Bible. It's the word of God. Sharper than any two edged sword. This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and godliness. Stay with American Family Radio for the next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions.

Burt Harper and Dylan Burris discuss the Book of Numbers today

Welcome to Exploring the Word. Thank you for listening to Exploring the Word. This is Bert Harper along with Dylan Burris. And today we are in the Book of Numbers. Alex is traveling and he is a traveling man. Dylan, there was a song back in my day, I'm a traveling man, I've been all over the world and Alex is the traveling man at AFR and so we're praying for his safety as he flies back into North Carolina and he should be with us tomorrow. But Dylan, thank you for joining us, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: Hey, a pleasure to be with you as always. I was just with you recently for the share a thon and still praising God for what he did during that time and look forward to being with everyone again today.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. God is good all the time. He really is. And I thank him.

Dylan: Book of Numbers gives instructions on how to make lampstand

Well, we're in the Book of Numbers now, going through numbers, going through it verse by verse. I'm not saying that's not good, it would be good, but when you find out A tribe has 56,000 fighting men and other than 49,000, you know, you look at that and say, oh, that's great. And then you look at the whole number. But when you look at some of the chapters where it gives instructions on what a certain group was to do, how they were to do it, there's some hidden gems. And I think today in chapters eight and nine especially that we're going to find some hidden gems of how it pertains to us. So numbers, chapter eight. Let me read verses one through four and we'll comment on this and you'll see what it's about. As, as you listen to this, those of that are listening. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to Eryn and say to him, when you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps are the candlestand shall give light in front of the lampstand. And Eryn did so. He arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand as the Lord commanded Moses. Now this workmanship out of the lampstand was, was of a hammered gold. From its shaft to its flowers, it was hammered work according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses. So he made the lampstand. Now I found this interesting. Right before he gives instructions to the Levites and we'll talk about that in a moment. He said, I want to make sure they know one of their most important jobs. And, and, and, and Dylan, it was to take care of that lampstand. Would you say the light, the light that was in the holy place. Okay. That's like the light of the world, isn't, Is.

>> Alex McFarland: And people overlook the significance of this lamp. I mean we are talking in Today's amounts, about 100 to 125 pounds of gold involved. That's estimated to be between 2 and 4 million dollars in today's gold prices. That's a ridiculous money. And yet that was the, focus of these Levites. To be prepared to work with this lampstand and to also consecrate themselves as we see next. So sometimes these little details stand out. We're not talking about a little candlestick like you get in the store and put up when a storm comes to your house. This was something very significant in their time and ours. And a focal point that symbolized God's light and God's people and the holy.

>> Bert Harper: You had the holy place and the holy of holies. And this is in the holy place. And this is where you had the altar, the you know, golden altar. It's also the, where you had the table for the, you know, the bread, the loaves of bread.

>> Bert Harper: So the light had to shine so they could do the rest of the work. Okay. And so the light is not only representative of how important light is, it's also important so they can do the risk of the rest of their task. And this really hit me and I want you to comment. Dylan. I may have. Here's what Alex always say. He says, now I'm spiritualizing, Bert, you might want to look at it. So I'm spiritualizing here. After you get the light in your life, right, you usually line up everything else, but you better have the light. And that's Jesus, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. I mean, you see, Jesus referred to as the light. you see, light is a symbol throughout scripture, so it's a very fair representation of it. But from a practical standpoint, like you said, it was needed for the work of the Levites in the tabernacle as well. They didn't have the electricity like we do today. So how did they work when there wasn't light coming from the sunlight outside? Well, they had to have their own artificial light. And this was a massive, a light that they could use for the work that they did to set themselves Apart for the Lord and to honor him and his presence.

>> Bert Harper: In order for the light to work, they had to make sure the wicks was right. They had to make sure the oil was there. It's not just going to. Okay, it's lit. Yes, they lit it, but it was to stay lit. And they had a big responsibility. And that was the first thing they said. If you get this right, the light ready, then, you can operate the rest.

Chapter eight of the Bible talks about cleansing of Levites

Now, the rest of chapter eight is talking about the Levites themselves. Now, the difference in priests and Levites. The priests were Aaronic, from his tribe. they had their special garments, they had their special task. And, they had to do a lot of different things. The Levites, they had their clothes, but they didn't have them like the priest did. They had to wash theirs and make sure they were ready and clean. They had to do all of that. Now, again, when you see that they had responsibility, when you have a responsibility, you have the guidelines in order to fulfill that responsibility. And one of it was the cleansing. Matter of fact, listen to this. In verse 6, take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. Then in the latter part of verse seven. So to make themselves clean, that is the whole idea that there was a cleansing. I. I think that speaks well of us having our sins confessed up when we're, you know, Dylan, you know, before I come on this program, before I preach on a Sunday or somewhere, okay. Examine myself to make sure I'm in the faith. Yes, I'm saved. Examine myself to see if there's any wicked way in me and confess it and get it right. God. God expects clean individuals to be able to serve him, doesn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. And that's what we see in the NewSong Testament as well. James 5:16 talks about the. The prayer of a righteous man avails much, but it's also based on this idea of confessing our sins to one another, praying for each other, things that we don't like to do. The last thing I want to do is tell someone about the weaknesses and the wrongs in my life. Right.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: But yet, this is what we're encouraged to do by Scripture, to be pure. And that's the focus in this chapter, is that we are to be pure before the Lord. The Levites were to be pure before the lor. There were all these steps and all these rituals that they went through that seem confusing to us today, but they served a purpose. And what I love is verse 20 says, Moses, Eryn, and The whole Israelite community did with the Levites, just as the Lord commanded Moses. So there's a purity, there's a consecration, and then there is a following of God's commands. And that's something that speaks to us as well. Today, we want to do God's work, but we also often want to do it our way, don't we? We don't want to do it God's way, but we got to do God's will, God's way. And when we do, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and also to bless the work of our hands and to lead us and guide us into his will for our lives.

>> Bert Harper: When we get to heaven, we don't want to sing the song I Did It My Way. We want to do God's way. One verse that I wanted to mention right before that, verse 20. I'm glad you brought that out, is what it says here in verse 16. For they are wholly given to the Lord. W H O L L Y wholly. They are to be holy, but they are wholly given to the Lord. From among the children of Israel, I have taken them for myself instead of all who open the womb. In other words, here they are. They're wholly given to the Lord. the Bible talks about for us to be a living sacrifice, you know, to be a Levite. You are now, when you're doing God's will, you're not on a second tier, but far as the way the world sees the priest. And then the Levites playing. Have you heard Playing second fiddle, but you know, playing quote, second fiddle, where if that. Wherever that might be, and you're wholly given to the Lord and you're doing it his way, cleansed and performing what he says. Listen, there's no place for you to feel. Well, I'm not. I'm not as important as they. I'm not as good as they know. They. The Levites had their position and they were to do it. Holy is under the Lord. I found that just a great incentive for those that may be staff members, that those might be called assistants, those that are behind the board, running the sound and the cameras here at afr Listen, no, there. There's no place where they say, oh, they're doing a big job. No, it's. Everybody in his place isn't Is.

>> Alex McFarland: And we see that Old Testament. We see that NewSong Testament where Paul speaks of spiritual gifts and the one body of Christ and many gifts. We see in James, again, he talks about not many of us should be teachers because Teachers are judged more strictly. That's what we see in this passage as well. Those who are the Levites, the set apart ones, the priestly tribe, were judged more strictly. They had more rules. So in some ways you want to be hesitant and cautious about being the person on the pedestal like you talked about, because under more scrutiny than everybody else. But at the same time, we all have a vital role in God's plan. We all have an important part in God's family. And that's true in the church. It's true in any ministry, like in afr. It's true in your family, true in your community. God has a role for you and a purpose for you. And this is a great reminder of that as we look at what God has done in his people in the past and what he continues to do in our lives today.

The Levites transition from being leaders to being mentors of the next generation

>> Bert Harper: Well said. Now finishing up chapter eight. And I, when you and I were talking, I said I found this interesting. Now I'm going to read verses, 24 through 26. These, I think it says something. This is what pertains to the Levites. From 25 years old and above, one may enter, perform the service of the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and at the age of 50 years, they must cease performing this work and shall work no more. They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting to attend to the needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do it. To the Levites regarding their duties, they had a time to start and then they had a time it was really not finishing, but, a time to retread, a time to look at something else. I tried to make that out spiritually in every way. I do think now the reason this is, and I'll throw it back to you, Dylan, this was a strenuous, backbreaking job. you say, well, light in the candle, was it? And how much do you say it weighed? 100.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, it could be 100 pounds or more.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah, yeah. And the value of it. And then they had to take the stakes, the frame. it was a healthy man's job, wasn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. And that doesn't count all of the animal sacrifices that they were involved in. Sometimes the descriptions look more like a butcher than a priest. Right. In terms of all the work that was done and you had to be physically strong. So by the time you were 50, if you've been doing this for 25 years, you were ready to step back and let some of the younger guys do the work. But it does speak a lot to our lives today. I think there's some people out there going, I wish I could apply this to my life, retire at 50 years old. But not many people have that opportunity. but the idea is that there's a point in time where we transition from being the leaders to being the mentors of the next generation. And that's clearly seen here with the Levites who are working in the tabernacle. But it's a model and an example to those of us in the church today that we always have to be looking to that next generation behind us and saying, what are we doing to bring them up and help them grow in the Lord.

>> Bert Harper: Well said. And that's exactly, I think the teaching here. One thing they did before I leave it, they carried the tabernacle, the heavyweight, they carried it during the march and then they had to erect it when it was time to stop. And this was a heavy task and they did it. And matter of fact, over in numbers it says you got to be 30. I think there was a five year period of apprenticeship. In other words, they started being, mentored at 25. Then at 30 after five years, they were expected to know exactly what to do. There's some great teaching in there for his discipleship and mentorship, and I think that was it. Well, we're going to take a break and Dylan and I will be back and we're going to be in chapter nine. It's got some good stuff in it too, so don't go away. We'll be right back with more of exploring the word. The AFR app is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains. It won't walk the dog, won't pick up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device or Roku. Just go to your app store or visit afr.net Listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app.

>> Alex McFarland: Lord of all creation, of water, earth,

>> Caroline: earth and the sky.

>> Alex McFarland: The heavens are your tabernacle.

>> Bert Harper: The glory to the Lord on HM

>> Alex McFarland: high God of wonders beyond our galaxy. You are wonderful.

Dylan Bros: We're looking at chapter nine of Numbers about Passover

Welcome back to Exploring the Word. This is Dylan Bros here with Burke harbor and we've been exploring. Excited to share with you today from a passage that is often overlooked. It's in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament Written by Moses 3400 years ago, we've been looking at some of the work by the Levites. And now we are in chapter nine, looking at the Passover. And we have some fascinating information, not about the Passover itself, which we've just been going through during this Easter season here in our communities, but also a little bit about what happened to those who missed out on the Passover. And I think that's very interesting. We're going to look at chapter nine again in Numbers, and I want to share just a few verses from it, and then we'll let Bert jump in here and share as well. but if you're listening along, this is the second time the Passover was, practiced in the wilderness. It says now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. This was on the 14th day of the month at twilight or sunset. but if you skip down to verse six, it tells us about a group of men who were defiled or unclean because of a dead body, and they couldn't keep the Passover. And they came to Moses and Eryn to ask what to do about it. And I want us to talk a little bit about verse eight that focuses on the response of Moses. It says, moses said to them, stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you. And to me, that is so important, because as a leader in a church or a leader in a ministry, people come to us with questions or complaints or concerns all the time. And we often want to give a quick response, get the problem solved and moved on, move on to the next thing. But Moses was cautious. He was careful. And he looked at the Lord and said, let's wait and see what he says. And, Bert, that's so insightful, isn't it? This idea of going to the Lord first before giving your own human response. Tell us a little bit about that.

>> Bert Harper: I love his response. Again, in my Bible, in Numbers, chapter nine, verse eight. I have it highlighted, I have it underlined, and I have a star bite because Bert is too quick to give his opinion. Okay, a little personal. Yes, I admit it. I need this verse. So he says, stand still. You know, waiting on the Lord is something, Dylan, that sometimes we don't want to do. You know, we're instant gratification. Desire it now. Now, sometimes God does, but when he speaks, we need to listen. But sometimes. And there's a book that was written by one of my favorite preachers, Ron Dunn. When heaven is silent, what do you do when heaven is silent? You praise him and the way he does it in the book, he said, you keep opening your mail. You keep doing what God has told you. The last time that he spoke to you directly, you stay there or you stand still. And we're going to get to that in a minute. Where they know when to move out by the guidance. But here it says, stand still. That I may hear. Hear what the Lord will command concerning you. There's so much that I may hear. Now, again, Moses would hear God audibly. Okay, now what Dr. Adrian Rogers would say about that? He said, I heard from God. It wasn't audible. It was much louder than that. So sometimes you know good and well what God says, but many times you do not know. And you stand still. You have to wait, you have to research, you have to see. But he says what the Lord will command concerning you. Now, this was a small group, you know, these men that had missed the Passover. I love their desire to miss. I couldn't help but think about Thomas when he missed out on seeing Jesus on that first appearance that he made. I won't believe this until, you know, the hands and the side and the whole bit. And, you know, sometimes when you miss out being there, sometimes it's your own fault. Sometimes it's, you know, circumstances beyond your control. But their desire. Listen, Passover, it had not become such a ritual that they had been doing it for year after year after year. Dylan, this is what. The second time, if I'm right, right in the wilderness, that this they had celebrated. So it wasn't like, okay, this is a tradition that I can't miss. No, it was a heartfelt remembrance of what God did for them back in Egypt. I love everything about this, their desire to do it. And then God told them what to do. He said, yes, you can celebrate it. Yes, you can. Do you see the graciousness of God here as well?

>> Alex McFarland: That's well said. Bur and, verse 11 is where he gives the answer. Moses hears from God. He says, will you celebrate on the 14th of the second month? So they had to wait 30 days. This would have been after they had been defiled by an unclean body or in some cases, far away on a journey. It says. And it said, the second month, you do the same thing. So you can still keep the Passover to tradition, even if you couldn't do it on the exact day. So God gave an answer through Moses to allow These men who had the desire to do what was right before the Lord, to do so, even if they weren't able to do so in the original context. And sometimes that speaks to me because you think about all the things you did early in life, perhaps if you were a believer later on and think, oh, I didn't get it right the first time. Does God still work in my life? Can God still use me? Yes, he can.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Time and time again, God uses those who have stumbled, messed up along the way and says, I have an answer just for you, just like he had for these men. So I love it from that perspective as well.

Dylan: We want to talk about the cloud and the fire

But we also have another section we want to talk about a little bit here about what's called the cloud and the fire. Bert, I'll let you introduce this part about what happened. Starting in verse 15.

>> Bert Harper: It says, on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, from evening until morning. It was above the tabernacle, like the appearance of fire. So it was always the cloud covered it by day and appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from the above, the tabernacle after, the children of Israel would journey, and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. The leadership of the Lord. You can't help but notice some things. Light and fire. Okay, Light and fire. And, you, you know, that you remember on the day of Pentecost. Let me. The Holy Spirit appeared as flames of fire over their head. And I would say, I'm really spiritualizing here. And the light went off. They said, oh, man. This is what Jesus said. Wait here until the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and then you shall be witnesses of me. And. And God did this great work. He was leading them. He was guiding them, and they were to move. Now, I'm going to throw something else in here that we're not to yet. It'll be in chapter 10. We'll get to it. But they were not only going to get to see, but in chapter 10, it talks about the trumpets. They've got to listen. Catch that. Those two things in our spiritual lives, Dylan, is watch and listen. This is it. I heard a story. It was by a pastor of a cowboy church, and he was a rancher. And he said, there's two words. You better know when you're working with cattle. Woe and go. He said, you better know when to woe. You better know when to go. If you're at the Corner, one side of the barn, and you see a. A, big old steer, bull, whatever, coming at you, and. And you say, whoa. That means you don't go out in front of that corner and let that animal, you know, spear you hard, you know, whatever it would do. No, you know when to woe and go. Some of the best illustrations ever heard. Isn't that. I mean, I don't mean to say this in any way, except this is it. The light, the fire. This is when you go, and this is when you woe. I know that's simplistic, but it's beautiful to me. I'm an old farm boy, so it recognizes me.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, no. That's great. Well, the conclusion of the chapter wraps up what you're saying.

Dylan: Follow the Lord at the command of the Lord

So. Well, because it says in verse 22, whether it was two days, a month or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey, but when it was taken up, they would journey at the command of the Lord. They remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord, they journeyed, and they kept the charge of the Lord at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses. This is so powerful because, of how we see it in our lives today. There were times in the lives of the apostles where Paul, for example, stayed in Ephesus three years. There were other times he was in a town for three weeks. It was by God's spirit and God's direction. there's a psalm that many of us sing in our churches. You know, where you move, I'll move. Where you stay, I'll stay. I will follow you. And that's the idea here, is that we follow the Lord, whether he tells us to stay in the same town for years at a time, or whether he tells us to travel across the country like we were talking about Alex, traveling today. So if we're following God closely, he will give us that direction that we need to go, when we need to go, when to stay, when we're supposed to stay. And it takes staying connected to him more than us making a quick decision. Like we talked about earlier in the

>> Bert Harper: discussion today, let me add two things about this. One is this glory is Shekinah, the light. It's the Shekinah glory of God that dwelt over the tabernacle, the presence of God. We're at right in the center of the camp. That's where God's to be in our lives individually, in our family, in our churches. Jesus Christ, the Shekinah, Glory of God. Being, being observed, being heard, being seen. We're to do all of that. The other thing that I noticed in chapter this, chapter nine, by the way, let me give the phone number before I get to that. Brent's given me the title. we're doing a day of prayer on Monday. I said was going to do it Tuesday, but Alex had to travel unexpectedly for us. And so we put in a pre record yesterday and today. we're going to do today a day of prayer. If you have prayer requests, we want you to call in. Dylan and I will pray with you. We just feel it's been so impressed that the day of prayer is so important on exploring the Word, we didn't want to miss it. That number is 8885-8988-4088-8589-8840. Richard's got the lines open, so if you have a prayer request or a Bible question, we'd love to hear it today. But going back to chapter nine, here's what he said in verse eight. We did that. Notice what it said, that we will know the command of the Lord. The word command. And the command of the Lord is also heard in verse 18, verse 20 and verse 23. Now everything about this is obedience to the Lord, obedience to do what the Lord says concerning the Passover, the obedience of God to knowing when to woe and when to go, you know, that he likes. So it's obedience, the command of the Lord. Dylan, real quick, I'm going to go ahead and ask you and you just comment on this. If you get a command from the Lord, what does it demand for us to do?

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, a response.

>> Bert Harper: That's it. if we just to know his command and it does not, I do not respond. I just. Or I say no, it's an obedience in response. And so here it is. I could not. The light in the fire. The Holy Spirit of God. The Word of God. His word is a light unto my feet. So in this one passage, with his leadership of the fire and the cloud, we find out that's what he does today. He indwells us. We have the Holy Spirit guiding us with the word of God. Dylan, those really speak to us, don't they?

>> Alex McFarland: They do. I don't know about you, but when I was a kid we used to play this game called Red Light, Greene light. You were aware of that, you know, and they say green light, you run as fast as you can to try to get to the line. And when you hear red light, you stop. And as fast as you can. that should be how we are in our walk with God, right? That when God says go, we pursue it as fast as we can, just like a little kid trying to win a race. But when God says stop, we should stop as fast as we can to be in the center of God's will. There are too many times as believers that we say, how far can we go until we get into sin? Well, we try to go as close to the edge as we can without getting in trouble, when the reality is we need to be stopping as soon as the Lord says stop and going as soon as he says go. These verses are such a powerful reminder when it comes to this idea that at the command of the Lord, they camped. At the command of the Lord, they set out. That's the literal Hebrew translation there. So there's a time to pause and a time to move forward. And when we are walking closely with God, we can hear more clearly when those times are and be obedient to that.

>> Bert Harper: Just like you were talking about chapter 10. And I'm just going to put it up, and it's pretty clear. It's the trumpets. You know, the priests are the one that blows the trumpets. It's amazing to be each person, each group had their assignment, and they were expected to do it. We have our assignment, we're expected to do that and do it well. But the trumpet, it was when to set out, when to stop, when to go on. And you find that out when you look at chapter 10, you'll find those words that you just said set out in verse 12, in verse 14, in 17, in 18, in 21 and 22. In other words, the trumpet, one blast. It was the leaders coming to blast.

Preborn Network needs you to help speak the truth about life, hope

All the people better get ready to move. And then they had the one that go to battle. All of you that have been assigned to battle, you go to your position. It's like on a naval ship that I've heard about. When they hear that call, every person has his place to go on that big battleship. whether it be radar, whether it be gun, whatever it be, each person had his station. When I look at this and see the assignments in 8, 9, and 10, that's what I see. Everybody had their assignment. God gave them what they needed in order to carry that out. The same thing is true in 2026 for us believers, isn't it, Dylan?

>> Alex McFarland: It is. And I don't know about you, but think about the largest crowd you've ever been in your life. I mean, whether it's been a college football game or my example. I remember going to this Fourth of July festival in Dallas, Texas, years ago. Over 150,000 people were there. It was the biggest crowd I could imagine being in. And you how could anything get done in a group this size? Well, the group that was around Moses, the Jewish people, was much larger than that. It's estimated to be up to 2 million people. Every person had a role, every person had a plan. And they were all called to follow God obediently when he said to stop and when he said to go. And we see that here. When we come back, we'll take your prayer request and we'll hear from you about your Bible questions as well. If you have those. Look forward to encouraging you as we come back to to exploring the Word.

>> Bert Harper: And we thank you for listening. Again, if you have that number, it is and need to call 888-589-8840. Right now. The voices in our culture are loud. But truth is often silent. And today, preborn needs you to help speak that truth. Women facing unplanned pregnancies are often pressured to act quickly before they have time to pause, breathe, or hear the truth about life, dignity and hope. But I refuse to be silent, and I'm asking you to join me. At preborn Network clinics, a woman is welcomed with compassion and given a free ultrasound. She sees the life growing inside her, often for the first time. And in that sacred moment, fear gives way to clarity. And she's offered something the abortion industry will never provide. The hope of Jesus Christ. This April, our goal is to have 11,000 gospel conversations in PreBorn Network clinics, trusting God to bring the increase as we remain faithful to speak. You can help make that possible by sponsoring ultrasounds. Just $28 provides one ultrasound. $140 sponsors five ultrasounds for mothers in crisis. Every dollar helps save babies and share the good news of Jesus Christ. To donate, dial £250 and say the keyword baby. That's £250, baby. Or visit preborn.com host that's preborn.com host.

>> Caroline: amen.

>> Bert Harper: This is Wednesday and we move day of prayer from Tuesday to Wednesday because yesterday we were unable to be live and but today we are. So we thank God for the opportunity. That says something about prayer and it goes along with what we were studying today about the men missing the Passover meal and God made provision for them. So we missed the day of prayer yesterday, but we moved it 24 hours later. So we're taking care of that.

We still are inviting people to the Activate Summit in Tupelo, Mississippi

But before we do, let me give this. I will not take long. We still are inviting people to the Activate Summit here in Tupelo, Mississippi, July 16th through the 18th. And that's a Thursday, Friday and Saturday to be here in Tupelo. And you can [email protected] that's afa.net summit. And if you'll do that, you can see the prices, you can see what's offered to the children. And, you need to get your tickets by May 22, and that's coming up about a month and a week then, so we want you to be there. Now, to some of the speakers, one of them is going to be Jeff Schrieve. Now, Jeff is an awesome guy. Listen, from his Heart Ministries, but he also is one of our radio hosts. And then Jessica Peek, Dr. Nurse Mama, who comes on right before we do on Exploring the Word. She'll be there. Josh Wood, and Katy Foust and Laura Pether Bridge and Bert Harper, whoever that might be. He'll be speaking. And, we're looking forward to meeting you there. And, again, that's. Here's what you do. You go to afa.netsummit and you can register and you can get all the information there. And we'd love to see you there. It's. It's always so enjoyable to meet people and, and meet them and find out what's going on in their lives. And so we're looking forward to that.

Jacob: God protected my parents and my sister during last night's tornado

Okay, well, we're ready to go to the phone lines, and we're going to go to. Yeah, we're going to go to Michigan and talk to Jacob. Jacob, thank you for calling. Go right ahead, brother.

>> Caroline: Hey, thanks again, guys, for taking my call. Yeah, I just wanted to, praise God and wanted to thank him, and pray with you all. Last night, we had some tornadoes come through Michigan. And my wife and I were watching on the storm map, ah, radar. And, my heart sank when I saw that there was a tornado in the town that I grew up. And, so we prayed for my parents and my sister. God protected my parents. They didn't have a tornado shelter, but they went to a neighbor's. And, the tornado actually went right over my sister's apartment. And, she was in the bathtub. She didn't have anywhere to go. And, her insulation got, you know, her roof. A lot of stuff got messed up. But God miraculously protected them and protected us as well. We had tornado watch in our area, so I just wanted to call in to Praise God.

>> Bert Harper: Amen, Jacob. Amen. Hey, I don't know Mississippi identifies with you when it comes to tornadoes. I can just tell you that here in northeast Mississippi and Tupelo, we've had them go over and, it is a scary time. Praise God, that, that you were safe. We want to thank God for that. Dylan, I'll lead in this prayer of praise for what God did. Father, I thank you for Jacob, for him to be willing to call and make the effort to praise you. And, it sounds like that song will praise you through the storm. And God, that's what we're to do. And we have no assurance of what will happen during the storm, but we have the assurance of your presence during the storm. But we thank you for the lives that were saved. And Father, the damage sounds like it was severe, but it was manageable. And I pray you would help those in Michigan and other places. I heard it was going on further, east. And I pray you'd guard them and guide them. And Father, thank you for Jacob, in Jesus name, Amen. Thank you, Jacob, so much.

Susan calls to ask for prayer for her nephew Michael who has stage four cancer

Let's go to Susan in Indiana. Susan, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Yes, thank you for taking my call. I am calling for my nephew Micah. He has stage four melanoma, was just recently diagnosed, 33 years old. He and his wife are expecting their first baby next month. And tomorrow he will be undergoing brain surgery because he has 19 lesions in

>> Bert Harper: his brain, and he's 33 years old. His name is Mike, 33. We will be praying. Dylan, that's a heavy load, but would you mind praying? His name is Micah. Susan has called in. Let's go. And when we say this, we're leading in prayer. Those of you that are listening, join us where you are in prayer in asking God to help and strengthen. Go ahead, Dylan.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Let's all lift up Susan and Micah right now. Father, we thank you so much for this day and this time to pray for Susan and her nephew Micah. he's going through stage four melanoma, such a young age. Lord, you know all the details involved. You know about his surgery coming up, you know about the child on the way, his wife, and all that's going on. And, we're overwhelmed. And we grieve with those who grieve during this time. But we know that you were the good healer, the great physician, the. The one who can provide for all of the needs involved. And we pray that you would intervene in a miraculous way, that you do something to change the situation. And help bring healing to Micah and bring comfort to his family. during this time, we thank you for Susan calling to ask for prayer on his behalf and pray that all of us who are listening right now would lift him up in the days ahead. In Jesus name, Amen.

>> Bert Harper: Thank you, Dylan.

Nancy is asking for prayer for physical healing and for financial provision

Brent, I know we had some. Was it on Facebook that some people's called in for prayer requests? Would you relate those to us, brother? Yes, sorry, I lost my notes there for a second. first off, Nancy is asking for prayer for physical healing and for financial provision. she didn't give any details, but God knows. Rick, is. This is a great one too. You'll like this one. Rick is asking for prayer for AFR AFA and exploring the Word. He loves this afternoon program and he says, he's, praying every day for this program. Wow, I'm over. Wow. we need your prayers. listen, this is an awesome place to minister and be, but again, God would love to take us. I mean, God would love us to succeed and Satan would love to take us down. So thank you, Rick, for that. And Nancy, your physical and financial. A lot of times they go together. Dylan, got one more. Brent, go ahead. this is a different Nancy. She's asking for prayer in the upcoming election in Virginia that people discern the truth of the amendment and vote for what is right instead of only trying to gain power. Okay, well, I'm going to lead us in prayer for this one. Father, I thank you for these, getting in on Facebook and for Brent and his activity that is so helpful in this area. We're praying for Nancy, the first one, the physical ailment, the final financial difficulties, that many times they go hand in hand. Father, I pray that you would let her know you're mindful. And then, Father, I pray that she would do exactly like those men that missed the Passover. They would come to the man of God and say what you have me to do. But Father, we have direct access and I pray that she would go to you and ask what she should do. And I pray you would help her and help others to lead her as well. Father, we pray for the other Nancy that's going on in Virginia, the election I've heard a good bit about. And I know, Father, they are concerned as what it would cause and the detriment it would cause to that state. So we're praying, Father, that believers that know the truth, they would get out and respond. And Father, thank you for Rick and him praying for us and, asking you to use exploring the Word and AFR and AFA to touch people's lives, that Jesus would get the glory. That's our prayer. In Jesus name. Amen. Well, thank you so much.

Dylan: Karen from Texas calls seeking prayer for marital separation

Let's go to Karen in Texas. Karen, go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Hey. Hello.

>> Bert Harper: Yes, you're on.

>> Caroline: Yeah, you're on, people. Thank you. I am, I told the call screen I'm trying to get through this without crying, but, I would ask for prayer and, the prayer group that we have through exploring the Word. But, I've been married for 43 years and I've known my husband 50 years, but he's just filed for a divorce. And, he's been having an affair for three years. And, I'm just praying that God will help. I'm just. I don't know. I just want people to pray. I want for his salvation. I pray for her. She's Mormon. She believes that, you know, everybody say, because that's why Jesus came. And, I'm just asking for prayer for. For wisdom and how to get through this. The most important thing for me is that the life Jesus, the peace and light of Jesus will shine through me. M. Through all this.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Karen. Karen. Karen. We hurt, man. Dylan, it was important for us to have day of prayer today for all of these. And, we're going to pray. Would you mind leading us in prayer for Karen?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. And, forgive me if I didn't catch every word that was cut out, but I did catch the highlights and I'll pray for those. And Father, we thank you so much today for Karen and her calling in from Texas and that, we pray for. For wisdom as she's asked for, for all of these needs that are going on and her family, pray specifically for salvation for those who are mentioned who do not know the Lord as their personal savior, that you would help them to come to you and also want to pray that you would honor Karen's call, that you would be light through her and that her family will see Jesus through her and that they would be saved. Father, pray you would comfort Karen's day, that the Lord would bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to the Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. And we pray this in Jesus name and pray for Karen and amen.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Thank you, Dylan. Karen, we are praying. We. That's, We're just praying. God give Karen wisdom. We really do desire that. Thank you, Karen. Let's Go to Texas and talk to Christy. Christy, thank you for calling today. Go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Good afternoon and it's so good to talk to y'. All.

Christy's mother passed away in January just before she planned to leave Texas

I have another marriage prayer request. My husband had moved up to another state and this is not the first time that he's done that without me, but this time I was planning on going, and I'm still here in Texas. the big reason for that is because my mother passed away in January just before I was supposed to leave to go to the other state. And now I'm still here in Texas and I've got a great job here, I've got opportunities here and I'm, at the point where I don't want to move anymore again. And I don't know that he wants to come back down to Texas. He has a 12 year old child there in the other state and there's just so much going on here and I'm still trying to close out Mom's estate and it's just heavy. Everything has been so heavy this year of everything first without my mother, who was my next door neighbor. And it's just heavy.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, well, Christy, I'm going to pray for you and I, listen, God, wants this marriage to work and just let me give you this. It will probably take sacrifice, for each, each individual, the husband and the wife. And we're to serve one another and it's hard to do that sometimes when it would be easier not to. So we're going to pray for you, for God's wisdom, God's leadership and strength. Father, I pray for Christy, God, that you would help her, strengthen her, give, her wisdom. I pray that the desire of her heart would be to please you and Father, in doing so, do exactly what we studied about in the Book of Numbers. Obedience to God's command, whatever it is. And Father, sometimes that means moving, sometimes that means staying. And Father. But either way, we're to obey you and follow you and it's not always easy. And so I pray for her strength. I pray for her husband, for him to have graciousness in his spirit and his attitude. And Father, that you would bring about peace in this marriage. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. Thank, you, Christy. We'll keep on praying for you.

Let's go to Gail in Arkansas with a prayer request

Let's go to Gail in Arkansas. Gail, go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Yes, I, thank you for taking my call. I will try to be quick as I know that the time is running out. My husband and I have been married for 30 years. This September, for the first time say probably 16 years, we were, alcoholic and drug addicts. And praise the Lord, we've been delivered from that.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Caroline: But there's still something that my husband is holding on to. And I don't know how much I can reveal on air, but it is, the desire to have me perform for other men.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah. Ah, we get enough. We get enough that we can pray for you and know how to pray. We really do. And let me just give one piece of advice and Dylan will about have a minute and a half left. But listen, obey God and pleasing, your husband does not mean that you disobey God. You don't do that. And, sometimes it is a difficult, difficult situation. So we're going to pray for Gail that her husband would, would come to the place of recognizing her, need to not be asked to do certain things. So we know how to do that as well. And then, Gail, you have a heart for God. Got a minute left. Dylan, would you mind being praying for Gayle?

>> Alex McFarland: Father, we thank you so much for Gayle and her prayer request from Arkansas today. And we lift up her up to you and her husband to you and this request to you. And you know exactly how to answer, but we pray that you would help Gayle to stand firm in what is right, that she would stand firm on your truth and realize that we are to serve one another as husband and wife, but we are also to be served by our other spouse as well. And it's, a mutual relationship that we're there to help each other, not to bring harm or shame to one another. We pray you're blessed upon her, and we thank you for this time together today. In Jesus name. Amen.

>> Bert Harper: Dylan. Thank you, brother. I enjoyed studying numbers with you, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, it makes it completely different and much more interesting and exciting. So thanks for having me on.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, we'll be back tomorrow with more of the Book of Numbers. Alex will be landing in North Carolina, and he'll be ready to go tomorrow. So thank you for listening. Tell someone about this program, but more importantly, tell them them about Jesus.

>> Caroline: The views and opinions expressed in this

>> Bert Harper: broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

A Day of Prayer & Following God: Numbers 8, 9 & 10

✍️ Episode References

American Family Radio
https://afr.net 

James 5:16
https://biblehub.com/james/5-16.htm 

Activate Summit
https://afa.net/summit