❤Ring of Fire Ministries Broadcast Transcript ~

When Betrayal Hits Close To Home – September 26, 2021

Good Morning and God Bless you all – thank you for joining me today on this ROF Ministries broadcast.  Please forgive me for my delay in coming on air, just been going through so much here with my family, I needed to focus on them and especially Shelby for a bit.  It is so very good to be back with you all today to fellowship together and I cannot thank you enough for your love and prayers and support during this difficult time.  So how are you all doing?  You doing okay with all the purifying fires the Lord in His mercy is granting us for refining?  I know firsthand how pressing this season is and my heart truly goes out to each one of you.  We often don’t know why the Lord is permitting one thing and not permitting another – but we know that He is good all the time and we are in good hands so we make it the whole way through.  There is something so very special about those who love Him enough to praise Him in the storm.  I know we get tossed to and fro by the waves of this life, but what happens when the boat is rocking?  We cling even tighter to Him, don’t we?

One thing I’ve noticed in this trial I am in is how the Lord keeps presenting before me through divine appointment, those who have it way worse than me…  And my heart goes out to them, with more love and more compassion than I had before.  I am so humbled He would use me even in the midst of being a hot mess myself – to just embrace and comfort another human being.  I spent many hours at the hospital this past week while my sister was in ICU and my heart was so broken for those who were suffering – the life flight helicopters were continually flying out with critical patients in needs too great for our hospital.  In the process loved ones were left behind in sorrow while they said their goodbyes, not knowing if their loved one would ever return home.  So as bad as it seems for us even today – may we constantly take our eyes off of self with a grateful heart – things could always be worse, much worse.

I titled today’s broadcast – When Betrayal Hits Close To Home… Because in truth, betrayal can only shake our World and break us when charity/pure love is present and we know – charity starts at home, just as it is written.  The other day, I don’t know why I did this, but I started counting on one hand some of the greatest betrayals of my life.  I was just reflecting back on how my life has been one of tribulation since birth and I’ve suffered so many things both physical and emotional.  Sometimes I like to reflect back on what all the Lord has brought me through to encourage my own soul He shall do it again, because He never leaves us or forsakes us and we really could not make it in this life without Him.  As I began to ponder betrayal with the Lord, knowing He understands, since He too was betrayed with a kiss – meaning by one who showed Him affection, however the intentions of that love was not based in purity…  So I began to take stock in all the times I too have been betrayed by a kiss in such a way and I began to see how all those times He did mend my heart and healed it back to wholeness with His touch and the wounds which were present are healed now where only a scar remains, as a reminder to just how loving He is to save us and comfort us.  Scars do not cause any pain whatsoever, they are just a reminder that we were hurt and broken and how the Lord heals us in every way and now….  We have the scars to prove of His goodness, mercy and love.  Once healed, we too can say just like He shall – My friends did this to me and not feel one twinge of heartache to show to others, He will do this for them too if they ask Him to do so, seeking Him with their whole hearts.

In order to talk today about betrayal – I need to mention… forgiveness is a given.  Until we forgive to initiate the healing process, there is no point in seeking anything else, because some sort of vengeance is present and until vengeance is removed – Jesus’s mercy cannot pour into the wound for healing.  Releasing the hurt is our activation for the healing to begin.  When I say releasing – I mean letting the person who betrayed us totally and completely go into the Father’s hands for blessing upon their life.  It is funny how when we release someone we are the one blessed the most because we are released from a sort of bondage entanglement.  And since the Father’s vengeance is perfect and His discipline and accountability is redemptive in nature, we lay down any sort of weapon we may have to pay the other person back.  We can be free and with His help, should it be His will – they too are on the path to freedom.  So often we keep ourselves unhealthy tied to people the Lord is removing from our lives by a false sense of love, like we are a martyr who must be sacrificed as a lamb to have relationship with someone…  Didn’t Jesus already fulfill that role?  He Alone is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the World – not us.  If I may share… It is pride laced with vengeance and a little rebellion in our flesh yet, that prompts us often to cling with all our might, rather than letting go and letting God.  We have an unconfessed fear that if we let someone go, they will be lost forever, as if the Lord is not able to save them.  I repent and we all should repent of this carnal way of thinking.

But anyway…  I have a question for you that Jesus is asking all of us right now… 

Luke 18:7&8 –

 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? ⁸ I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

When Jesus comes…  Will He really find FAITH on the Earth?  Will He?  I highly doubt it, and if so…  It won’t be but for a remnant who is found faithful during that time because the inhabitants in the World are moving away from FAITH at a rapid pace, not towards it.

Once you understand what FAITH He is talking about here – you will understand that statement so much more, seeing how it links to betrayal.  Only the elect will remain containers of FAITH and when He comes He will avenge them speedily.  Let’s pick this Scripture apart and dive into it like meat to nourish our souls so we are strengthened and feel at peace to lean on Him fully when betrayed in ways we could not imagine.

The Word tells us how… the elect are crying out to Him day and night – the same as the souls who cry out to Him on the sea of glass, how Lord oh Lord Holy and true until you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth…  You know this right?  It is in Revelation 6:10 – they were told to rest just a bit and were given white robes, having come out of great tribulation – just a small note in Revelation 4 this sea of glass is mentioned along with four beasts, in case you want to read more about it.

When we trust in Jesus to avenge, we do not take matters into our own hands, trying to repay evil for evil so we feel better inside.  We as His elect, cry out to Him to judge and avenge… that is if you are a part of His elect, if you are among the elect you realize HIS WAYS ARE PERFECT, you trust and believe in HIM so much you know and have peace that if someone deserves His judgement it is righteous and so be it and if they do not, even though they harmed another, He will lay nothing against their charge.  I mean, when you place everyone in His hands you rest for a little while, just as it is written knowing He is just in all He does.  I like to call this… spiritual maturity, but sadly not many are able to bear this truth. 

But back to the question the Lord is asking us…  When He comes will He find FAITH on the Earth?  Will He find loyalty that is, on the Earth?  We already know He will find betrayal on the Earth – as a matter of fact our enemies will be those of our own household/family… because it requires heart involvement and relationship to inflict pain via betrayal.

Pain from betrayal runs as deep as the intensity of love and trust we have towards another and it almost seems as if, loyalty is pretty much non-existent these days.  Faithfulness to the Lord and one another is evidence that we are a child of God.  And a lack of it proves the lack of integrity required to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, being found in Him and Him in us.  Some of you right now listening to me would be imprisoned before you would betray anyone – betrayal is simply not in you, so when satan brings that temptation to you – he has nothing to cling to within you to walk out his devices… you resist betrayal and the enemy at the same time.  While many others do little secret hidden things or if they are truly lost in the soul do outward acts of unfaithfulness and betrayal, without feeling any remorse or conviction having their conscience seared by a hot iron – to those we are to turn away from, never partaking (exchanging in) their  evil ways. They may have an outward form of godliness, but they deny the power of Him to put to death all sin in their lives, having pleasure in unrighteousness.  These are like ravenous wolves who creep into your life…  and without the Holy Spirit, we cannot see what evil resides within.  You might even go so far to say, we can be “blinded by love…”  flesh love though, not God’s love.  We need to own it – this truth, for our own protection, to receive the fullness of the Gospel sets up a boundary of protection so the enemy cannot kill, steal and destroy us any longer.

So when Jesus comes…  Will He find loyalty on the Earth?  Nope… because the love of many is growing colder and colder.  I don’t like any sort of date setting, but you all… time is so very short, it is because of the elect’s sake the Father sends His Son to Earth to gather the Elect by the kindling of His anger to what is done to us, being innocent as doves.  So you all, just rest with me in Jesus for a little bit longer, just a little bit… It won’t be too long now – The Father is not a man who would lie – He actually will shorten the days for the sake of the Elect.

The truth of many is being revealed and exposed at the moment so that when the Lord pours out His judgment upon the evil, we will not curse Him or question Him.  Believe me, I just walked this out…  And it is totally heart wrenching to see someone suffer from a wrong done by their very own hands that was exposed.  In this the Lord tied my hands completely and I had to keep reminding myself the Lord exposes to redeem, which helped a lot and that if this person would have continued in that hidden and unrepentant sin – they would have perished eternally.  My mother said to me one day – it is almost as if the Lord used Shelby as a sacrificial lamb… Which is very similar to our sacrificial lamb Jesus – as light He shines into our lives, revealing and purging all that which does not reflect His image right out of us.  Light does expose darkness, just as it is written. 

As a child of light – your countenance will expose darkness every single time… 

Ephesians 5:11-12 says – Have no fellowships (engagement) with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret… 

We see here how the Word defines darkness is equaled with disobedience.  But remember… You are a child of light, not darkness.  And by some chance if you are just getting by believing you are slipping by hiding under the radar of the Lord, umm… You might want to think again, since everything done in secret is soon to be exposed, for all of us.

Mark 4:22 tells us – For nothing is hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to the light. 

This is a given mandate by the Father – it is how He rules and reigns over the Earth’s inhabitants and we are required to surrender to His commands whether we agree with them or not.  All I’ve asked is that through this fiery trial He be glorified and that some good come from the turmoil.  He keeps telling me to prepare His people for His arrival and I must confess when He showed up in this one, my heart was not prepared.  So hopefully, it is my prayer that since I’ve walked this out ahead of some of you, you will not be caught off guard when the truth of someone is exposed.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever suspect this lust was within my step-dad towards my 17 year old daughter – and unless Jesus Himself had not exposed it, if someone would have told me this truth, I wouldn’t have believed it.  The Lord did this and if I can assist in you being prepared for betrayal from a source who you believe loves you – then I said, yes Lord.  Please hear me on this… Only the Lord knows the intentions of someone’s heart towards you.  We may think we know someone, but we truly do not until the Lord Himself reveals their true nature.

The Lord truly convicted me of something regarding truth and how we often say we love the truth and want to know the truth, but when it is revealed we often wish we never knew – we sometimes prefer to stay in a delusional state of mind over having darkness exposed because what we don’t know, we don’t have to deal with.

We are only in the beginning of sorrows, this sort of betrayal has been suffered by many of God’s children throughout all time through friendly fire…  Cain killed Abel, Jacob stole his brother Essau’s birthright, Delilah betrayed Sampson, Joseph’s brothers betrayed him and threw him in a pit leaving him for dead and even Peter betrayed Jesus by stating he never knew Him and of course we know about Judas betraying Jesus.  Sadly, it seems we fall into one of two categories – either we are one who betrays or one who is betrayed – either we are faithful and loyal by nature or not, being found to be a faithful servant of our Lord Jesus or faithful one minute and unfaithful the next like Peter.

Although this is difficult beyond imagination – it is truly a God thing, better to find yourself exposed, naked and blind right now in time to repent and be redeemed, than to wait until you come face to face with Jesus with no more second chances.  If we continue to think He has delayed His coming we will continue to harm those we in relationship with, thinking there is no recourse to our actions.  When we look at events His way, we are filled with His peace which surpasses all carnal understanding and we trust Him, knowing His ways are greater than ours.  He prefers we enter into the Kingdom maimed and harmed than to miss it altogether – so the exposure has begun.  He tells us this will be done with speed, thankfully. 

Okay… Now for the next part, I really need the Lord to help me with delivering this message especially. 

Sometimes we get hurt because we ourselves have been disobedient to the Lord, He removes His hand of mercy for a bit so we experience the pain of sin in order to strengthen us to go and sin no more.  Every action we take has a consequence – and depending on the condition of our hearts the consequence is good or bad – this is reaping what we’ve sown and it too is a piece of the Rule of God. 

Other times we are truly like innocent lambs in purity being inflicted by evil without our own knowing or by any actions on our part.  And before we assume that is the case – please go to the Lord and ask Him to show you if you truly are innocent in the situation – most generally we too have chosen to partake in rebellious sinful ways and must own it.

Let me give you an example…  for many years I carried the burden that my husband at the time tried to kill me.  I perceived I was like an innocent lamb until the Lord showed me I was in rebellion marrying a man the Lord Himself had not chosen for me and so I refused to accept the warnings and red flags sent to me prior to the marriage and even pressured this man to marry me.  Because I was in strict disobedience to the Father, it placed me in a very dangerous and compromised position which became life threatening.  So we both were at fault, in need of repentance – him and me… I owned the sin, confessed it and apologized not only to the Lord but to my ex-husband as well.  Once the Lord showed me my own rebellion I saw I was not as innocent as I thought.  And now the Lord took what was broken and restored all things back to His perfect plan.  Don’t marry your assignment… lol… If we lose sight of our own rebellion the fire will get hotter until we turn away from it altogether.

The truth of it is – many times we get into this victim mentality that says woe is me, look how everyone is treating me… and so on…  I see it all the time when ministering to people.  For some odd reason, we avoid accepting we had a hand to play in what is happening in our lives… Our homes are a mess, our relationships are a mess – everything is in chaos and we refuse to humble ourselves and see we got into that situation by our own sinful flesh ways.  When in a blink of an eye, one moment of surrender and confession EVERYTHING could be rearranged back into unity with the Lord and our souls would be at peace.  Often when ministering to people I will try to slip into the conversation just a nugget of truth regarding this issue and the other person will immediately get offended, so I hush.  But anyway, for the rest of the message we are going to talk about harming the innocent… you know the child of God – whether young or old, doesn’t matter to our Father we are little ones.

This is a very sobering message because the Lord has warned us in His word in several places that if WE CAUSE a little one to STUMBLE (by harming them in anyway) if would be better if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. (Mark 9:42)

When we harm someone who is innocent like a child and they stumble we have just given the Lord permission to remove His hand of mercy from upon us and when He repays evil – it is perfect and more severe than drowning in the sea.  Nothing, I mean nothing ignites the Father’s anger more than harming one of His innocent children.  I pray you take this truth with the severity He has given it.  For those who are innocent of the heart – right now you are feeling a warmth of love, but for those who are not – you are likely resisting and feeling compelled to argue or reason how this could not be so believing the Father winks at sin, He doesn’t.  When we shed innocent blood, it is not the innocent who repays or intervenes, it is the Lord almighty.  There are actually times in our lives when we were innocently wounded and harmed and I just want to say to you – I am so very sorry that happened to you, I truly am.  It is by your harm the World will be judged accordingly as you fall into a very special collection of precious souls.  You are the most brilliant and shining lights of honor and will be given the most highest rewards of sitting in the Heavenlies next to Jesus having partaken from His cup of suffering and yet, not repaying evil with evil.  I know and He knows you have such little strength and yet you do not deny Jesus in anyway, but are keeping His Name pure upon the Earth.  So please hold fast to Him, soon and very soon He will wipe away every tear from your eyes and the whole world will know just how much He has always loved you through the steps He takes to vindicate what harm was done to you.

When one human causes an innocent one to stumble, it is by pain inflicted in an ungodly way.  It means to trip them up so they fall down, offend them in anyway, to entice them into sin, to cause someone to begin to distrust or desert someone they should trust and obey, to judge someone unjustly or to show displeasure with for self-gain.  Where you might recognize this the most in the Bible is where it talks about “the falling away…”  I realize you’ve been taught that when a person falls away it is their own fault so to speak – but in truth the Lord will hold responsible the one who became the stumbling block in the little ones life to cause the falling away – falling down.  We may study that more in the future, Lord willing.

You see… a little one believes in Jesus, they are very innocent and He is extremely protective of them and He will intervene at some point when harm is done to them.  Little ones have rank and influence in the Kingdom of Heaven that is often not perceived on Earth – here they may appear weak, victimized, insecure, small and not really valuable – but the word translates out to having dignity and are faithful to Jesus – so they are His and they are also protected by Him.  So when anyone messes with or harms them in anyway – they are defenseless (which is good actually), provoking Jesus to defend them.  And just like we read, when He intervenes, we are told it would be better for that person to drown to death than come under the outpouring intervention of the most high.

Because of the flesh nature that still resides within us and hints of darkness which remains… some people have a tendency to gather around the perpetrator who was caught in the sinful act of harming the innocent, rather than the one who was exploited.  When our hearts aren’t pure, we have this sort of ungodly compassion towards one who sins against another if that same sin still resides within us.  We always have way more mercy towards one who does the unthinkable, if that unthinkable act is understood to be carried out by even ourselves, if only in thought  Does that make sense?  To justify and excuse darkness, it must be understood.

Let’s say I used to be a thief or that I were a thief even now…  I would go around proclaiming all thieves should be released, having no accountability because I also want released from the consequences of stealing.  But if stealing was never within me as a challenge to act upon – I would not have such strong opinions about thieves – trusting them to be held accountable as the Lord wills.  We justify only the sins we understand – those which are familiar to us in a soulish way.  This is not walking by the Spirit, but rather walking in the flesh… Jesus never excused sin, as a matter of fact He healed and then said – go and sin no more.  For some odd reason, many Christians have these carnal thoughts that do not align with the mind of Christ, such is why we are being purified at the moment.

Again, for all the little ones out there – I am so sorry for what happened to you and it grieves Jesus’s heart very much the pain you’ve endured for so long.  He wants to come into your heart and heal it and make it whole by His loving touch and all you have to do is ask Him to do so.  You are His primary focus and He never takes His eyes off of you, not ever.  I truly wish I had more answers as to why these sort of things happen to us, but I don’t…  all I can say is that the Lord Jesus works all things together for our good – every single event in our life is permitted by Him, drawing us closer into reliance and relationship with Him.  Outwardly, we may be perishing, but inwardly we are being redeemed, thank You Lord.

When this sort of trial comes, the Word is so very encouraging to our souls.  Before I go, I am going to read to you out of Psalm 37, which encourages us to just rest in the truth the Lord is our Shephard, our guard and will protect His own.

PSALM 37:

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit^[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹ For evildoers shall be ^[b]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
¹⁵ Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be ^[c]cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are ^[d]ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
²⁶ He is ^[e]ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall ^[f]slide.

³² The wicked watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
³³ The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴ Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
³⁵ I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
³⁶ Yet ^[g]he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
³⁸ But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

💕God Bless You Abundantly,

Love in Jesus ~ Angela