CSN - LightWing Messages - Sunday - 10/29/2023
Jesus Before Pilate
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate.
With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. John 18:28-40 (NIV)
FOUNDER’S MESSAGE:
In the past few weeks, since the invasion of Israel and the subsequent war, the postings from the various Citizen Sentinels Network newsletters have featured commentary on the realities of this current tragedy. Events are rapidly sweeping through the news cycle and it is quite difficult for the average citizen to keep abreast of the constant bombardment of information and opinion regarding all of the events unfolding simultaneously. What is important to understand? What is important to take the time to study? Where is it important to focus one’s prayers? What can one do in such a time as this?
It is understandable that the general public which cares would be searching for information to sort out how to deal with this toxic world we live in right now. The “information age,” which held much hope for human advancement has descended into disinformation and misinformation, or even zero information depending upon circumstances. In such a world, at such a time, truth can become a major target. Truth can be held hostage and can be watered down within the sea of lies. Truth can be the first casualty in a the eruption of war in this ancient well-worn world.
There seems to have always been those who have no use for truth. Human history provides so much proof of this. Yet, there are many who do care about the truth. There are many who fight against blind acceptance of the lie. Those who seriously seek the truth will eventually find it, but it is not an easy journey – but the truth still sets one free.
The LightWing Messages this Sunday takes a deeper dive into the truth that Jesus was bringing to humanity in the time of his advent. It is my humble opinion that humanity, once again, had the opportunity to receive God’s Word directly, rather than through “middle men” who filtered God’s Word or obstructed it and did more to confuse people than to enlighten them. Those who seek the truth in earnest will usually find it. But, the truth is not magic – it does not compel one to be willing to embrace it, let alone to obey it. The Word alone does not compel nor convict one to be a person of goodness.
In my humble opinion, one must have a genuine relationship with God as one’s Heavenly Father (or parent, as it may be easier to relate to two parents). And, if one is able to develop a genuine relationship with God that can blossom into love, it is more reflective of what Jesus was teaching us about loving God and loving humankind. Adam and Eve knew God’s Word – it did not compel them to obey it. Free will guided by true love brings into being children of God - people of goodness.
This message today is long (nearly 2100 words) as I had a lot to link to the embrace of truth. It is not even half of what I could share on this. Again, I hope readers can get through it, if not in one reading, maybe in digestible bits and pieces over time. For those readers who tune in this Wednesday evening, I will offer another session and we will focus on the general theme of our linkage to truth and our relationship to Heavenly Father regarding the message offered today.
Our Zoom call this past Wednesday with a focus on the various reactions to the invasion of Israel focused a lot on “whose side are you on?” This is based upon the question Joshua asked the angel of the Lord at the Jordan River before the Hebrew people crossed into the “Promised Land.” We even crossed from the Old Testament into the New Testament territory, and beyond. We hope readers can tune in this coming Wednesday as the times are increasingly turbulent as the Middle East conflict threatens to spark World War III. We need to keep our heads on straight and our hearts in the right place in the midst of such tribulation.
Readers can partake in this upcoming Zoom call on Wednesday and participate (or just listen) in our discussion, by please reaching out. We advise that anyone with leftover ghosts and goblins from Halloween hanging around, to exorcise them before joining the call. It will be in the best interests of all involved. Readers who are interested in receiving the Zoom link to the call are asked to please send an email request to this address: d.jamzon@gmail.com
CSN LightWing Mission – Zoom call Wednesday 11/1/23 at 5:00pm PDT
We hope our readers enjoy this edition of the LightWing Messages today as well as the limited aggregated messages. Read, absorb and share, and practice what is within you. And we always hope readers would consider the messages in this edition meaningful, or relevant in some way, and if readers know others who might value these messages too, please help by passing this newsletter on to those whom you feel would welcome it. Or simply, please receive it yourselves.
Editor’s note: We again ask readers to switch over to our Substack platform to avoid delivery headaches in the future: Citizen Voice on Substack
These words are being freely offered to you – intended to shine light unto our paths, as written: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 - KJV
May God bless all of our readers and all of their loved ones. May God bless America!
May we, who are called by His name, humbly approach our Father in Heaven and seek His truth in sincerity and seek His Will. May we honestly seek to develop and strengthen our relationship with Him directly centered on HIs truth. May we resist deceptions and the lies from Satan that are intended to multiply evil in our hearts or in our midst. May we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness in such perilous times.
“And, behind the dim unknown, standeth
God… keeping watch above His own…”
By Dennis Jamison
Last week’s message included the verses to the song, “Once to Every Man and Nation.” I used the song to emphasize one of the points that James Russell Lowell made in his creation that it is God’s children who are faced with making a decision as to whether they “side with truth [as] noble,” (despite having to “share her wretched crust”). Lowell’s poem, which became the more famous hymn later, does not candy coat the plight of acceptance of and adherence to the truth.
He understood clearly, or would not have been able to express his insight regarding the truth.
When Jesus was captured by the Sanhedrin and they arranged to have him taken before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, Jesus answered Pilates’ question of whether Jesus was a king in a simple, straightforward manner: “...the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And in his own confusion, Pilate asks Jesus: “What is truth?” Yet, he did not wait for an answer. This seems to be the real problem in our time for a lot (possibly a majority) of people in the world. They do not understand the truth, and even if they attempt to find an answer to the same question Pilate put to Jesus, so many are not patient enough to receive an answer, so many are not listening for an answer, or if they received an answer, do not believe it, or do not know how to act upon the truth. However, Jesus was correct in that everyone on the side of truth listens to him, or to the Spirit of Truth.
Even still, there is a further issue as to whether those who do listen to the words of Jesus will actually obey what he is asking of those who call themselves Christians. Again, the words of God have been written in the Bible for all to see, should they so desire to see such words; yet, many who have received such words are not patient enough to hold onto them, or they have read the words but do not believe in them, or do not know how to act upon the words of truth in scripture. So, Jesus was correct in that everyone on the side of truth listens to him, but he also knew there were those who heard what he had to say, but acted contrary to his guidance. Judas is a prime example of such a person who walked with Jesus, who knew him, but who could also betray God’s son.
For those of us in this time, we look harshly at Judas, and see him as a traitor. But, what of Peter, who denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed to announce the coming of the morning? Jesus also said those who are not for me are against me. How do we look at Peter?
So, there are differences in our viewpoints regarding those who are our fellow followers of the words Jesus left to us. There is often hardness of heart among those who claim to follow Jesus and if this is so, how do those who call themselves Christians handle those who are viewed as enemies? Jesus asked us to forgive our enemies. If he could forgive those who were nailing him to the cross, what does it say about we who cannot forgive someone who cuts us off in traffic?
If Jesus could forgive those who crucified him, where does that example leave us when we are taken advantage of by our own government – when the government treats the people as cattle?
Can we forgive the betrayal of politicians who lied to the people and who have passed laws to manifest public harm rather than to promote the common good? Are we supposed to suspend the way Jesus not only taught us to pray, but the way he taught us how to live? The essence of the truth is that human beings, God’s children have been suspending following the truth of God for thousands of years. Adam and Eve decided not to listen to the words of God. Human history is a long, drawn out timeline of God’s children not listening to HIm and not obeying Him. [717]
If readers are familiar with the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden, this human history of not listening to (or ignoring) the Word of God originated with the original couple. Eve made a tragic decision to listen to and believe in the Lie of Lucifer. That ancient serpent twisted a truth that he knew was a manipulation of truth, and since Eve was not clear in her mind and heart, she was led away from God’s Word - His truth. Instead, she followed the lie. Most people of faith do not realize that such action set the pattern for human history. It is known as the Fall of Man, and obviously there is more to it than eating an ___ apple?___.
This act of following the lie of Lucifer was a major turning point in human history, as Eve’s action to prefer the lie over the truth also affected Adam. Additionally, they became parents, and their family was established not upon God’s Word, but upon their own initiative. Those who know the Bible, are also aware that Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, killed his brother Abel. This family was not a family focused upon following God’s Word, and this family became the seed of humanity as all of human history flowed from such an origin. So, as we look at the world today, readers should be able to recognize that a majority of people prefer lies to truth. As readers assess the world in an honest manner, it is clear that it is not a world in which a majority of people honor the truth, or follow God’s Word. This is despite God sending His son into the world “to testify to the truth.”
So, the opportunity to know the truth was again extended to humanity through God’s son. Yet, when the heir to the throne of Heaven was on the Earth, what actually happened? As Jesus was testifying to the truth, did the truth of God magically transform the people who he taught? Some.
Only some could embrace the truth by hearing it, or reading it, and obeying the Word of God. It was not magic. Thus, as Jesus encountered and eventually confronted the Hebrew leaders, he chastised them as children of “your father, the devil” and he clarified that “you want to carry out your father’s desires.” This was what he was claiming about the Jewish religious leaders, not the regular people. Consider the following exchange:
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:31-47 (NIV)
Jesus, in this tirade against the Jewish leaders, is exposing them as being children of the devil. It is quite clear, especially when he concludes that they do not belong to God. The problem of the Fall of Man had metastasized and multiplied by the time God sent his son as the savior to share the truth of God, so that the truth could set them free from their slavery to Satan. It was a slavery to the Lies of Lucifer, or Satan. At the same time, he emphatically stated: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus, in this exchange hits upon the heart of the matter of the dilemma of humanity - whether people are truly those who put into practice his truth, or pretend to be his disciples, or whether people reject his words, just as readily as Adam and Eve rejected God’s Word in the Garden. Each person is endowed with the Free Will and confronted with the truth that has the power to set them free — but only when they put into practice what Jesus taught. This is not from me. Consider how Jesus views it:
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles. The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them: He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!” Luke 6:43-49 (NIV)
Those who listen to or learn the Word of God, and embrace it (receive and believe it) and those who act upon this truth of God, are the children of God whom God watches over and calls His own. “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.” And if for any reason one does not hear, or comprehend, or obey the Word “is that you do not belong to God.“ For Jesus, it was very simple and uncomplicated: if one was not for him, they were against him. We are the ones who make the water muddy – sometimes accidentally, sometimes purposefully. Humanity’s real challenge today is the same as that which Adam and Eve had to confront in the Garden, but if one looks at this challenge as a tremendous opportunity to return to Heavenly Father, He will know who belongs to His realm and who does not.
From the Prophet Isaiah
For this is what the Lord says— He who created the heavens, He is God;
He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it;
He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—
He says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
“Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.
But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.’ ” Isaiah 45:18-25
Onward and Upward!
From Gospel Quintet recorded live at St Andrews Kirk Chennai in 2010: "Once To Every Man And Nation " - Classic Hymns Album " Lead Kindly Light " - recorded in 2010 (posted 5/14/2019)
From ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry: War in Israel and the end times Prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39. - Pod for Israel – 10/26/23
From ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry: "WAY MAKER" in Hebrew, Arabic & English (Worship by Jews & Arabs) – 7/17/2022
From World Outreach Church with Allen Jackson: Did God Reject the Jewish People? | Allen Jackson Ministries – 10/22/23
From Anna Hawkins - O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Anna Hawkins - Filmed in Israel (Hebrew & English) - 11/30/2015
From Jonathan Cahn: Every Wilderness Has a Promised Land | Jonathan Cahn Sermon– 10/25/23
From Enni Francis: Promise of God || Enni Francis || Osas Celebrity - 11/3/21
From The Victory Channel - FlashPoint: Clarity in Chaos, Israel War & Hostage Update | FlashPoint – 10/25/23
From Melody Joy Williams: PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM + spontaneous worship // one take cover - zMelody Cloud - 12/11/2020
From The Eric Metaxas Radio Show: Searching for Truth Interview with Eric Metaxas – 3/29/23
From The American Minute with Bill Federer: American Minute for October 30
— John Adams, born this day in 1735, signed the Declaration of Independence and was VP under George Washington. (listen to his question to Thimas Jefferson).
Podcast - From Dutch Sheets Ministries: For God So Loved the World | Give Him 15: Daily Prayer with Dutch | October 23, 2023
Podcast - From Kingdom League International with Tim Taylor: Can You Command Angel Armies? – 10/22/23
ICYMI > Podcast - From D'Souza Media: 'Gulag Archipelago' And The Torture Tactics Of The Soviet Police State – 10/26/23
Podcast - From 'Life, Liberty & Levin' w/ Mark Levin: Mark Levin: I have a serious question for Jewish Americans – 10/29/23
* News on Our Israeli Friends -
From TV7 Israel News: Sword of Iron, Israel at War - Day 23 - UPDATE 29.10.23
From StandWithUs: HAMAS WAR ON ISRAEL - EMERGENCY BRIEFING – 10/29/23
ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry: War in Israel and the end times Prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39. - Pod for Israel – 10/26/23
From Israel MyChannel: UPDATE FROM ISRAEL (OCT.28) Israel is now in Gaza! – 10/28/23
From D'Souza Media: The Possibility Of New Attacks Following The Initial Attack On Israel – 10/27/23
From FOX News - McEnany: Let's be very clear. These are lies – 10/27/23
From FOX News - ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’: This has Iran’s ‘fingerprints’ all over it: Retired US general Jack Keane – 10/29/23
From CBN News: 'Literally God vs. Satan': Is U.S. Revival & Gaza War a Sign of the End Times? – 10/21/23
From FOX News: Former Israeli TV anchor's chilling warning: 'The West is next' – 10/19/23
Review > From Rabbi Simon Jacobson at Meaningful Life Center: The REAL story of Ishmael: what they don't tell you – 9/10/23
What affects one, can affect all!
* News From The Growing Free Union -
From CBN News: Republicans Pick a Bible-Believing House Speaker – 10/26/23
From FOX News: Mike Johnson addresses Congress after being elected House speaker – 10/25/23
From Washington Examiner: Mike Pence drops out of 2024 presidential race – 10/28/23
From Daystar: News, Prophecy & End Times: It’s Time To Take Action | Lee Cummings, Jack Hibbs & Russell Johnson – 10/27/23
ICYMI > From The Christian Post: Border Patrol reports spike in terror watchlist suspects attempting to enter the US – 10/12/23
* News From the States –
News From Illinois -
From FOX News: 15 wounded in mass shooting on Chicago's West Side – 10/29/23
News From lowa -
From Forbes Breaking News: 'We're Commanded To Pray For Israel': 2024 Candidate Pastor Ryan Binkley Discusses Israel-Hamas War – 10/27/23
News From Maine -
From FOX & Friends: FULL SHOW | BREAKING NEWS TODAY October 29, 2023
News From New York -
From Washington Examiner: NYU is failing to protect its Jewish students – 10/27/23
News From North Carolina -
From Mario Murillo Ministries: God's Power on Display in North Carolina – 10/24/23
News From Ohio -
From Oasis Church w/ Tim Sheets: Heaven's Prophetic Plan For November! – 10/23/23
From NBC4 Columbus - The Spectrum: Ohio leaders on abortion ballot issue; state sues Facebook - Oct. 29, 2023
News From Texas -
From PJ Media: Getting Reelected Just Got A Lot Harder For These Texas Republicans – 10/28/23
From The Victory Channel - Victory News: Christians & Jews Rally Together in TX for Israel – 10/16/23