Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Judges 13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
It is shocking to think of the Philistines ruling over the children of Israel for 40 years!
However, think of it this way.
How many years did you serve the god of this world before you were born again?
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
Manoah speaks a statement of faith, for by his words he knows a child shall be born to him and his wife, who has been barren up to now.
9-11 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
"I Am" is the name of God. Remember what God told Moses?
Exodus 3:13-14 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and HE said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and HE said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
This angel is saying: The words that I speak to you are God.
And truly, that Word spoken to us by the Holy Spirit is God. So be careful to treat that Word as such.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word is not an option. The Word is God. Therefore do the Word, following the instruction with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength ... as completely and as detailed as is possible in all ways.
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12-16 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.
(Angels look like men ... no wings. We might not recognize such to be an angel of God for they look just like regular men.)
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
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17-21 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.
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Judges 13:22-23 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
Yes, they had seen God for the WORD is God and that is in essence what the angel was, God appearing to them.
But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
Yes, they had seen God for the WORD is God and that is in essence what the angel was, God appearing to them.
But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
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24-25 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him (Samson) at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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There is a special call of God on this child's life.
Beware of making a church doctrine saying women can't drink wine. For this would not be true. Some women might be restricted by God concerning wine in certain circumstances.
But the apostle Paul told Timothy the following:
I Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
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Another doctrinal warning ... concerning hair length:
In the New Testament church: It is a shame for men to wear long hair and it is a shame for women to be "shaven", wearing short hair.
I Corinthians 11:3-15 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
(Just do it!)
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
(Just do it!)
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
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Samson was of the Old Testament and was a special order.
If any man among the church thinks he is under a special order to cause him to wear long hair, let him and everyone in the church know that for him to wear long hair, it is a shame according to I Corinthians 11.
I don't believe the Spirit of God violates scripture.
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