Pat Robertson, host of The 700 Club, began Monday’s show with a grave warning for President Donald Trump: Withdraw from Syria at your own risk. Robertson says Trump is “in danger of losing the mandate of heaven” if he goes through with plans—announced late Sunday evening—to withdraw from Syria.

Robertson says the decision to withdraw U.S. military forces immediately will likely result in the massacre of Christians and Kurds in the region.

“Invasion is imminent from the ground and from the air,” Robertson says. “Turkey is ready to charge at Assyria, putting our allies the Kurds in grave danger. … And ladies and gentlemen, I want to say right now that I am absolutely appalled that the United States is going to betray those democratic forces in Northern Syria, that we possibly are going to allow the Turkish to come in against the Kurds. [Turkish President Tayyip] Erdogan is a thug. He has taken control of his country as a dictator. He is a strong leader and to say he’s an ally of America is nonsense. He is in for himself, and the president—who allowed Khashoggi to be cut in pieces without any repercussions whatsoever—is now allowing the Christians and the Kurds to be massacred by the Turks. I believe—and I want to say this with great solemnity—the president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven if he permits this to happen.”

Watch the full episode—including Robertson’s opening remarks—embedded here.

On Thursday, Chip and Joanna Gaines announced they are opening a boutique hotel in downtown Waco, Texas. The Christian couple, best known for the hit show Fixer Upper, made the announcement in a YouTube video (embedded here) as well as an accompanying blog.

“Y’all, we’re going to have a hotel in downtown Waco, Texas,” Chip says in the video. “Just a few short blocks from the silos.”

The Gaines will begin renovating the historic Grand Karem Shrine, which is nearly 53,000 square feet according to the blog, in time for its 2021 opening.

“We are, without a doubt, firm believers that home is the most important place on earth,” Joanna writes on the blog. “But we’ve also learned that home can be found beyond a physical dwelling. It encompasses more than the place where our mail is delivered. Home is a feeling, created by and for the people you love and share your life with; it’s a state of being known and loved just as you are. That is our dream for this hotel—that it would serve as an extension of the way we feel about our own home and all it represents to us, and that every guest who comes to stay would experience that same sense of belonging and community.”

Watch the video to learn more details.

Andy Croft, senior pastor at Soul Survivor Watford in the U.K., used a powerful, simple metaphor to explain the presence of God’s Spirit. He made the illustration during a sermon at Soul Survivor 2019.

“What do we mean when we say the gift of the Holy Spirit?” Croft says. “Put simply, the gift of the Holy Spirit is God’s personal presence. God is everywhere. But also what He does in the Bible is He turns up at particular places and particular occasions. The word for that is He manifests His presence. It’s a bit like oxygen is everywhere in this room, but you could still concentrate oxygen into a cylinder or a tank. So it with God. He’s everywhere, but sometimes, it’s as if He just shows up in the room.”

Croft provided this illustration during a message about being filled with the Holy Spirit. He says he first got baptized in the Holy Spirit when he was a teenager, about half a year after his initial salvation. It was at a camp where Mike Pilavachi—whom Croft now co-pastors with—was speaking.

“We stood there,” Croft says. “We invited the Holy Spirit. We waited. And then blow me down if the Holy Spirit did not just show up in the room. … It’s just like God walked into the room. It was like He showed up.”

Watch the full sermon here.

Russell Moore—president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission—says Christians need to recognize the reality of demons and spiritual warfare.

“How do you know if you’re in a time of spiritual warfare?” Moore says in his latest video. “Well, you are. You may not see it. You may not recognize it. But if you’re not dead, then that means that you are in the middle of a fight.”

He says that many Christians only look at biological or physical realities, when they should be looking at the spiritual dimension.

“Often in this sort of secularizing environment, Christians—even very biblically oriented Christians—often want to blame biology exclusively without ever thinking about the reality of the demonic,” Moore says. “So someone may talk about temptations that he or she might have, but talk about that only in terms of their genetic predisposition or their psychological background. And often that has … a lot to do with what they’re talking about. But very rarely, in most circles, do we talk about the reality of unseen, invisible beings, when in reality, every culture has recognized the presence of something spiritual that does not have our interests at heart.”

Moore says spiritual warfare often manifests in two ways for Christians: deception and accusation.

“What this deception wants to do is for the human creature to manifest the flesh, to manifest my creatureliness apart from the direction of the Spirit, apart from the self-control and the love that comes from the Spirit,” Moore says. “… The other part is accusation. The way that Satan and the demonic beings work is not just to tempt and to deceive, but also to accuse and to give an indictment.”

He says we can break through these accusations and deceptions by recognizing the truth about who God says we are and finding our identity in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.

However, Moore also notes that sometimes people use spiritual warfare as an excuse to not take accountability for their own actions.

“When it comes to the demonic or with spiritual warfare, [some] will attempt to categorize as spiritual warfare their own lack of self-control or their own points of moral error,” Moore says. “To be able to say, ‘I’m really being directed here’ or ‘I’m being under siege here’ can be a way of evading responsibility. But the opposite I find is usually the problem that we have.”

Watch the full video embedded here. {eoa}

For more on spiritual warfare, check out Charisma’s new e-book, The Spiritual Warfare Strategy Guide, available here for just $.99!

N.T. Wright says that the New Testament clearly shows that women can be church leaders and preachers, and added that many American churches that deny women opportunities to lead do so off a “highly selective reading of Scripture” that misses the bigger context.

In an interview with Premier’s Justin Brierley, Wright bases his argument off the existence of female church leaders in Romans 16.

“Romans 16 is explosive,” Wright says. “Paul greets all these church leaders in Rome, many of whom are women who are church leaders in their own right, one of whom is an apostle—he says so, Junia. There’s been a huge attempt to try to make out this as Junius, a man, but the scholarship is quite clear. This is a female name and she is an apostle. For Paul, that means somebody who has seen the Risen Jesus and is thereby commissioned to be an authorized representative.”

Wright adds that Paul selected a woman to be the carrier and likely reader and expositor of the letter which became Romans, which means both Paul and the church recognized she possessed a certain level of authority.

“Here’s the crunch: The first woman mentioned in Romans 16 is the bearer of the letter to Rome,” Wright says. “Now if you’re Paul and you know in your bones you have just written a letter which is the most explosive piece of theological writing you can imagine, who are you going to give it to to take it to be read under Caesar’s nose in Rome? Well, presumably some strong man. No, a deacon woman from the church of Cenchreae. We assume she’s an independent businesswoman—Phoebe—and she’s on the way to Rome and what we know about the way letters worked in the ancient world was if you sent a letter via a friend or somebody, the chances are—you can’t prove this—the chances are they will be the one to read it out. They might well be the one to explain it to people who, I mean, faced with Romans, would have a thousand questions. I’d have a thousand questions: ‘Phoebe tell us…’ So the probability is that the first person to expound Paul’s letter to the Romans was a woman, a deacon from the church in Cenchreae, and I want to say, ‘Get used to it, guys. This is explosive, but it’s the sort of thing that happens when new creation is going forward.'”

Wright says that because Paul and the early church allowed women to preach and lead congregations, it doesn’t make sense for churches today to prevent women from assuming leadership roles.

“To row back from there and to say, ‘Well, Paul didn’t really mean that,’ I then want to say, What are the forces in our culture today—particularly I have to say in America—which are forcing some churches and some people to fasten on one or two verses from elsewhere to say ‘Oh, no, no, we can’t have women doing this, that and the other’?” Wright says. “Because that’s a highly, highly selective reading of the Scripture, and as with all other theological answers, the best place to start is with the resurrection of Jesus and then everything that flows out from there.”

Wright says in the Easter story, women are the first people to hear the news of Jesus’ resurrection and bring that news to others. Wright says this both makes women the first carriers of the gospel message and also makes the gospel accounts more historically believable (as no one would have made up such an account at the time). Watch Wright’s full interview here.

The Jewish fall feast of Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration that begins their spiritually significant 10-day holy season, “The Days of Awe.” This year, this lunar-based season of repentance and forgiveness begins at sundown on Sept. 29. It is to be celebrated (Lev. 23:23-25) with no work and with the blowing of shofars (ram’s horns).

The second fall feast, 10 days later, is Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). In antiquity, this was the day each year when the Jewish high priest offered the sacrifice that made atonement for (covered over) the sins of the people of the nation of Israel (Lev. 23:26-32). Today, on Yom Kippur, observant Jewish people will fast and ask the Lord to forgive their sins.

The Evil Factor

Author David Servant has written that “evil is endemic to human life and proves the Bible view that the human race is under a curse and cannot extricate itself from evil but must have a Redeemer.”

This evil condition of all mankind is affirmed by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans. In Chapter 1, he explained that mankind “suppress[ed] the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18b, LEB) and then illustrated man’s evil inclinations with a dirty-laundry list that sounds like the talking points of modern-day news anchors (1:28-32).

Then, in Chapter 3, Paul summarized the evil factor and declared that no one is good in God’s sight: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23, NASB).

The Forgiveness Factor

Even though everyone is cursed by this evil factor, God has provided a free gift of “eternal life” (Rom. 6:23b) which can free us, before God, from the guilt and consequences of sin and equip us to walk free from the power of this indwelling evil (8:8-17).

We can conquer the evil within us by first confessing that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and our Lord (Master). For “if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (10:9-10, MEV).

Then, our righteous belief must be lived out as “living sacrifices” to God. We worship Him with our “reasonable service,” by renewing our minds (12:1-2) and reforming our practices (vv. 9-21).

The Future Factor

Some believe that Christ’s future return is connected to this fall season of Jewish observance, which is focused on repentance and forgiveness.

Jewish biblical scholar Marvin Rosenthal, has explained that in ancient Israel the priestly shofars (trumpets) had two specific purposes. First, they were used to call a solemn assembly of the people for gathering before the Lord’s presence (Lev. 23:24-25; Num. 10:2-3, 7, 10; Ps. 81:3). Second, the trumpet was used to sound an alarm for war and judgment (Num. 10:9, Jer. 4:19, Joel 2:1).

With that in mind, the trumpet mentioned in the New Testament, at the time of Christ’s Second Coming (1 Thess. 4:13-17, 1 Cor. 15:52, Rev. 11:15-18), seems to call repentant and obedient souls to the only Savior, Redeemer and Lord—Jesus of Nazareth. So, a future celebration around Christ’s presence, starting with the blowing of a heavenly trumpet, will be part of each believer’s future.

The Final Factor

Could Christ return during the 2019 Jewish High Holy Days? After all, we are not told the hour or the day when He will return. But, what about a 10-day period known as the “Days of Awe”? Could this year’s Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) be the final one and Christ returns as atoner, Redeemer and judge?

I don’t believe so. Here’s why:

1. The negative world events and religious persecution we are seeing now are “the beginning of sorrows,” trials and tribulations. But, as Jesus said, “the end is not yet” (Matt. 24:6-8b).
2. We are told there are specific events, along with a season of great, unprecedented suffering and awesome cosmic chaos, which will precede His return (Matt. 24:15-31, 2 Thess. 2:1-4, Rev. 6-7). None of those things have happened, so “the end is not yet.”
3. Among the unfulfilled features leading to Christ’s return is the emergence of a political power, known as the “beast from the sea” (also known as the man of sin, the son of perdition, the lawless one, the Antichrist). He will expand his power, erect an image of himself in Israel, ask men to bow to his authority, and kill multitudes who refuse (Rev. 13:1-8)—all in a period of time of a little over 3 1/2 years. That has not begun to happen, so “the end is not yet.”
4. Two witnesses will dramatically prophesy in Israel for a period of 3 1/2 prophetic years (1260 days). Then, they will be killed, resurrected and ascended to heaven in a cloud, all in the sight of their enemies, around the world (Rev. 11:1-14). This is followed by the seventh trumpet judgment, which will release the seven bowl judgments of God’s wrath. These events have not begun to happen, so “the end is not yet.”

Consequently, I conclude that since these things have not begun to happen, and since “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9), I submit this simple, scriptural formula for last days living: “God’s people must learn to endure. They must also obey His commands and have faith in Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, CEV).

Ordained to the ministry in 1969, Gary Curtis is a graduate of LIFE Bible College at Los Angeles (soon to become Life Pacific University at San Dimas, California). He has taken graduate courses at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois and Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Gary served as part of the pastoral staff of The Church on The Way, the First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys, California, for 27 years (1988-2015), the last 13 years as the vice president of Life on The Way Communications Inc., the church’s not-for-profit media outreach. Now retired, Gary and his wife have been married for 50 years and live in Southern California. They have two married daughters and five grandchildren.

Matt Brown, founding and lead pastor of Sandals Church in Riverside, California, recently defended why he uses the Enneagram as a tool in his sermons. Last year, Brown preached a nine-week sermon series based on the Enneagram, and for the last three weeks he has discussed the Enneagram from the pulpit as a component of Sandals’ “Relational Remix” series.

The Enneagram is a personality system that posits there are nine basic personality types. The Enneagram has become widely popular in some Christian circles within the past few years, but the system’s origins are somewhat disputed. Some credit it to Christian mystics from the fourth century, while others attribute it to pagan, Eastern or psychoanalytic sources.

In an online video of his sermon, Brown says whether the Enneagram has pagan or Eastern roots does not change his feelings about including it in sermons.

“You don’t have to be a believer to have information,” Brown says. “You just have to be a believer to be saved. The Bible reveals how God can use non-Christians and their wisdom to help us become real with ourselves. When I tell people we’re studying the Enneagram, they [go], ‘Oh my gosh, that’s pagan. That’s Eastern.’ Yeah, do you know what the Bible’s full of? Pagan and Eastern non-believers that God uses repeatedly to point out his truth. And do you know why that is? A broken clock is right twice a day.”

Brown points out that in Titus 1:12, Paul cites a pagan philosopher and false prophet to make a point about the Cretan people. He says this show that God will use a right point regardless of the source. In the same way, he says the Enneagram is a useful tool, regardless of its origins.

“People say, ‘Well, you can’t use the Enneagram—it’s Eastern,'” Brown says. “If God could use magicians from the East to point out Jesus, he can use the Enneagram to point out you.”

Brown says that while some people will misuse it, he likes the Enneagram because it ultimately helped save his marriage and his ministry from the brink of collapse. He says God used the Enneagram to help him see himself, others and God in a fresh way, and he just wants to do the same thing for his church.

“My prayer for you is that God would use this to bless your life, because in order to change your life, in order to become what’s right, you need to see what’s wrong,” Brown says. “And the Enneagram gives you lenses to see what you’re doing that’s wrong.”

Watch the video to hear Brown’s full explanation of the Enneagram, the nine types and how understanding it can help your spiritual walk with God.

A new musical production based on the film The Prince of Egypt will debut at the Dominion Theatre in the West End of London in February 2020. But audiences got a sneak peek at the adaptation earlier this month, as the official cast performed musical numbers from the show. The production will reportedly feature 10 new songs composed by Stephen Schwartz—who composed the music and lyrics for the original film—as well as classic musical numbers from The Prince of Egypt like “Deliver Us” and “All I Ever Wanted.” introduces the video. In this video, Alexia Khadime, Christine Allado, Luke Brady and the cast of The Prince of Egypt sing “When You Believe.” Watch it here.

In a video titled “Dear Megachurch,” Mike Bickle challenges today’s church to repent of not loving God enough, do fewer things and focus on cultivating a responsive heart to the Holy Spirit. Bickle, director of the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC) in Kansas City, Missouri, and Pastor Elijah Choi explain the significance of John’s letter to the church of Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7) for today’s church. Bickle says this letter has particular relevance for the generation that will see Jesus return.

Bickle notes that Ephesus was the center of the greatest revival in Acts (Acts 19-20) and the third-largest city in the Roman Empire. For an American context, Choi and Bickle compare Ephesus to a combination of New York City and Las Vegas. But the church had lost its original love for the Lord.

“You’ve got to turn off some things and skip some things in order to have time to cultivate a responsive heart in love,” Bickle says. “Our heart is not automatically responsive in love. We think it would be, but you know what, the weeds of our heart grow naturally because of our fallenness. We have to realign up. I don’t mean work harder. We need to … just sit before him and to talk to him, to remember the narrative.”

Bickle says John calls the Ephesian church to three vital steps: remember, repent and do what you used to do. Watch the video to learn how to walk that out.

Sometimes, it can hard to find clean, wholesome streaming options for the entire family on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. But in this video, Movieguide’s Evy Baehr Carroll shares seven faith-based films currently on Netflix that you and your family can stream today. How many of these movies have you seen before? And is her list missing any? Watch the video and let us know what you think in the comments.