Raise the Standard Notes 2026

Raise the Standard Messages

Session 1, Spiritual Stillborns, Pastor Mike Sutcliffe

(Crowds, converts, and the crisis of discipleship)

Greatest crisis in our world today: People lacking discipleship. People are desperate for Yeshua. When they come to us, they want to be fed. They want a ministry that pours back into the people.

This is an invitation to be equipped. Darkness increasing, we need to be a bright light in the world. 5-20 percent: Four out of five believers are not being discipled. If not, they become stillborns. How many Christians say the Bible guides their life decisions: 17%. Most churches are not effective at training disciples. How much does a discipled faith decrease risk of divorce: 50%. Pastors burn out due to too much work, doing it alone, lack of support, constant crisis management, other. Mike's calling: to raise up men. "And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hell will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18). The Rock: The Truth of who Yeshua is. He is God. This is the foundation of our ministry. > The great apostasy is upon us. < we cannot lose hold of this Truth. Yeshua said: I will build My church. He's building with men and women. > Jesus is God, we all need to repent, and we need to move to reflect Him. > He is building this church. It's a people called out upon the revealed Truth that Jesus is God. Psalm 127: Unless Yahweh builds the house, the people labor in vain. > We need to surrender, to serve and build His church. Our job is to make disciples. > Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” > Isaiah: The Nations will learn Torah. < "All authority" = He is God. Our job as His slave is to make disciples. He is saying, "I am the King of Kings." What is the name, nature and character of the God we serve? > You have to know what the enemy is teaching in your area: 90% of people are not delivered (deny who they're following and to follow Yeshua). It's a declaration of allegiance. > Before we baptize, we have to share the Gospel. > When we talk about the Great Commission, it's not just about coming to church, we also have to walk with them. > People who say, "It's just too hard." I know it's right when I hear this. > What does it mean to be the spiritual head of your house? Exodus 21:10: “If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.” > Satiation, covering, safety/intimacy needed for multiplication. > If one man disciples his family, that makes a difference for generations. > Exodus 16:4-5: “Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My law. Now it will be on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”” > God provides the bread, our job is to go out and gather it. Families and people are starving for the Word of God, and we need to teach our wives and children to get the food God is providing. > In Acts, every single follower of Yeshua was a disciple. > Isaiah 61:10: “I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; My soul will rejoice in my God, For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” > He is the one who gives us our identity. God gives us the clothing. Our job is to teach children to walk in their new identity. > One thing we as pastors neglect is how much our families are under attack. Wives and children will be under attack, so we need to teach them to be clothed in a new identity. When was the last time we saw a transformational church? People who walk out of church and change everything about how they interact. > Exodus 25: "A let them make a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them." > If I don't feel safe, I can't grow. People need to feel safe to be vulnerable, and that intimacy produces multiplication. > Go back to the garden: Genesis 1:28: "God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” > God was intimate with them, and told them to change the world around them. Our allegiance is to Christ alone. A third of the world professes to be followers of Christ, but their witness does more to profane the name of Jesus than to glorify it. > Matthew 10:1: “And summoning His twelve disciples, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” > This power still exists. > “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”(Matthew 10:7). (Always be preaching the Gospel, sometimes use words). > The sick: Sadness behind their face. Doesn't heal itself, but Yeshua gives us power and authority to heal the sick. The dead: raise the dead. Faith is something they remember, but don't practice. > Jesus gives us the authority with the Word of God to raise the dead. The lepers: The unclean are not always obvious. Sometimes they're hidden. Heal them. The demons: They're everywhere. We have to recognize that we need to change the way we cast out demons. Most are coming in influenced, sick or dead, as lepers, and they're contagious. We have a calling: Ephesians 4:11-13: “And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,” > Yeshua gives the jobs. We ought to use our called position to equip the saints for their works of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man." When we do our jobs right, we need to grow up into Christ. > What is my value? > Your presence is needed. Not just to hear me speak, but to bring what God calls you to share. > They will know us for our fruit. > Love like Christ. What does that look like? > Mighty Men and Women of Valor: equipping men and women... we're equipping the saints. I never understood people are in bondage. Exodus 6:9: "So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their weakness of spirit and hard slavery.” > They can't hear because their pain is so great. 90% of Christians live defeated lives. They live a lie. We won't learn about it until something happens they should not do. This is our deliverance ministry. We can't walk past deliverance to salvation, we need deliverance first. What happens after they're healed? Who is God? 50 devotionals, one week each, where you study the names of God. Access to, and character of. (See names of God list.) If you study these 12 names, you have the Gospel. Next: Qualities of a Mighty Man. These are the dos of Christianity. We all learn the don'ts. These are the dos. The LORD always works on us. Everyone should watch: "Women of the Bible." The most powerful force in the world we have besides the Bible is a woman of the Bible. We begin with reverence, then compassion, then stewardship. Sometimes guarding the tongue is saying the right thing when you don't really want to. Develop discipleship muscle. Practice over and over again. We've asked people to be leaders. Yeshua did it 2x2 and 1x3. Small groups. Weekly. Component: Once per month, we do a call for leadership. Discipleship never ends. 

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Mike Comiskey:

Ephesians 2:11-14

As the younger brother, we need to not point finger at older brother. Let us not become boasting branches of Romans 11. The Gospel was brought to us by our Jewish brothers, and without our older brother Judah we don't make it in together. We stand with the Nation of Israel. We will not curse the land, we will bless the land. 

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Eddie Doss, "Finding the Ancient Path" 

The prophets never said the law was going to be done away with. 

Discipling church. Got kicked out of my church b/c I dared to keep the Shabbat. Converted campus ministry '88. Mission teams. Planting churches Arizona, California. Decided to study this Jewish festival thing. Never knew what these Jewish feasts were; thought it was a big Jewish barbecue. Yeshua fulfilled Spring feasts to the hour, and fall festivals will be fulfilled by Yeshua to the hour. Teaching of it goes back to creation, but it's also in the law, Leviticus 23. But isn't the law done away with? How could part of Leviticus 23 be unfulfilled? That confused me. I studied. If we got that wrong, what else did we get wrong? Food laws? One-by-one I dismantled my current paradigm. I didn't want to be that guy that my church had waned us about: I set up three walls that if I could break through doctrinally, I would know his law had been done away with. 1) Amos: Father tells prophets all of His secrets. He never told any prophet that this precious thing that David meditated on was going to come to an end. You'd think one prophet would say that, but they don't. I looked. It doesn't exist. Two other walls. Read book. The church asked me to leave. After we left, we were left with wilderness. A church of 35 years with brothers and sisters who dropped me like a hot egg when I had been labeled a "heretic." Started with shabbat thing at house. People join on line from all over the world. What is this book? It's my notes. Google keep. One day I showed to a friend. He said, you ought to put it in a book. This book is my journey learning about what Yeshua really came to do. One guy who had an awakening. My mission is to help people who are having that awakening understand what's going on with them. We're becoming Israel. Jacob left with a limp after wrestling with God, so do we.

Mike Comiskey: Each one of you is here because you are a maverick. You left your inherited religion, and became a pilgrim like Abraham to follow the LORD. Washington County, where we are, is the birthplace of Texas. The outpouring of the Spirit has poured Himself out on mavericks and pioneers, and it's messy. Just like America formed a constitution to form the USA, it's time for this movement of mavericks to form a constitution. We can't continue to be mavericks, we have to form a constitution. If I can't follow my own leadership, how could I expect anyone to follow me? Apostle: sent one. Revival: Restoring the commandments. Hezekiah sent a letter. My apostolic leader, Daniel Joseph, I see the hand of God in this man. These men have stood up and more.

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Session 2, To the Shepherds, Pastor Daniel Joseph

2019: CFM Revival, Blaine Sports arena. The LORD put pastors on my heart at that moment. I had a passion. I became broken for the shepherds out there. I'm one of you. I'm a shepherd. I know what you go through. I know the frustrations, the challenges, the pain, the sorrow, I know how discouraging the ministry can be. Recent stats: 38% of pastors thinking of quitting, 51% from mainline denominations. This industry chews people up and spits them out. It's brutal. One out of every two pastors is looking for the exit. 15,000 churches will close in 2025, which doesn't include what happens during Covid, and it doesn't include the churches that are open that don't have pastors. With Pastor hat, what I see is the pastorate is under attack. The most intense spiritual warfare is targeted to us. You have a target on your back. You won't need to go to war, it will come to you. If you have any integrity, it's coming, b/c you're the threat against his kingdom. 

Three primary weapons of enemy: 

1) Seduce through temptation: indiscretion, immorality. Sexual immorality takes out pastors. It's an effective weapon. It's not just that. It's broad. Temptation of the world (lust of eyes, lust of flesh, pride of life). To date, the most prolific and awesome ministry of all time was the Apostle Paul's ministry. Certain people got to be a part of that ministry. Paul's second letter: Demas has forsaken me b/c he loved this world. Pride: When pastors seek the praise of men more than God, it's over. Your ministry is going down. It's over. God will not give His glory to another. 

2) Discouragement: This is where Satan attacks your value. Telling you what you do doesn't matter. He wants you to give up. To walk away. I can't tell you how many times I left a Shabbat service and hang it up. If I'm not going to be useful in the world to glorify Yeshua's name, what's the point? He wants you in a fetal position.

3) Sow fear: You become the devil's puppet, through fear. This is not the one where he takes you out of the pulpit, but keeps you in it. A pastor said, "I can't bring this to my community. They will be offended by this message. If I did that, I'd be at risk of losing my job. I have to support my family." I wish he was the only one who said these things. Weak shepherds produce weak sheep. Compromised shepherds produce compromised sheep. Faithful shepherds produce faithful shepherds. You want to make friends, tell people what they want to hear. You want to make disciples, teach them the truth. "A man who is not willing to be a martyr is not worthy to be a minister."  ~Ravenhill > Every man has been confronted with fear, without exception. You have to get control of fear. Liberty lies in having the truth flow through you. Ezekiel 34:1-3: “Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been shepherding themselves! Should not the shepherds shepherd the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you sacrifice the fat sheep without shepherding the flock.” > Contributions to the church are meant to be used to feed the flock. > Peter denied Jesus three times, and then an anathaletic parallel Jesus asked three times. Feed by lambs. tend my lambs. feed my sheep. > It's easy to work and labor to bring truth to the sheep. This statement makes you go vertical. It's not just about loving the sheep, but about loving the LORD. If I'm not feeding the sheep, I'm declaring I don't love Yeshua. Puts it into a completely different perspective for me. > Acts 6:2: “So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.” > Once you have 60-100, you're in a different ball game. Acts 6:3: “Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need.” > I can't tell you how important it is for you pastors to learn how to delegate. When you see a pastor greeting, mixing the board, part of the worship team, and he's a painter, he's the plumber, electrician, roofer, landscaper, and yes, he preaches, too. Mary Poppins: Dick Van Dyke has 20 different instruments. He's the whole orchestra. This is the image I get when I see pastors doing these things. If you want an effective ministry, done Biblically, you need to raise up pastors ready to take these lanes. Each person is a master of their instruments, and when they play in harmony, it's a symphony. This is Biblical. Pastors need to stay in their lane: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.”” (Acts 6:4) > If you want anointing, shepherds must do these two things ONLY. 

Implement two things tonight: 

1) Personal prayer life. Don't eat. Don't drink. Meet with Yeshua first. If we are to do Holy work, and we can't get into a holy, spiritual rhythm. If I don't give Jesus first and best, I'm unqualified. I need to pray without ceasing. Jesus said: "pray so you don't enter into temptation" to Peter in the garden. A pastor who doesn't pray is open season. Temptation will get the better of you. Men combat all forms of temptation when I'm spending time with Jesus. How can I as a pastor give others Jesus if i don't pray? Ravenhill: measure a man's faith by his prayer life. 1 Samuel 12:23: “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and upright way.” > It's a sin against the LORD for pastors to not pray for their sheep. 

2) Pray with leadership. When we're too busy to pray for leadership, we're too busy to be in leadership, because our job is to pray. Exodus 17:11: “So it happened when Moses raised his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.” > The LORD delivered Israel from Egypt, Amalek, an antichrist, picks off old and weak. Moses went up to the hill with Aaron and Hur, where He sent Joshua to war. Jesus: "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am also." Targums on Exodus 17:11: When you translate, you get insight. You get more, not less. You get to understand how these things were understood. We get major insight from Septuagint b/c it reads differently. From Targums: "When Moses raised his hands in prayer, the house of Israel would prevail..." Moses was praying with his leadership. Paul said to Timothy: "Men are to pray everywhere lifting up holy hands." Satan's kingdom is losing ground when they lift up their hands and pray. Targum: It says Moses was praying in the name of the Memra, that very same Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. "...and when he would withhold his hands from praying, those from the house of Amalek would prevail..." When you stop praying, the enemy is going to gain ground on you, your family and your community. If you actually believed in the power, none of us would stop. We would pray all day long to push the forces of evil back. This has to happen. 

3) You have to establish a culture of prayer in your community. My last Sabbath service. I was praying all day. There has to be a culture of prayer in the community. As shepherds, you have to implement that. You have to teach about that. 

4) Minister the Word. Ecclesiastes 12:9a: “In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find delightful words and words of truth written uprightly.” > This doesn't come from our heart or opinions, but from the Word. The wisdom and understanding of Almighty God. We have to seek it out. We have to immerse ourselves in this. Talking to a pastor. I'm laboring in the Word to bring a message. If you think for one moment you can spend 20 minutes in the Word and think you can bring the Holy Spirit to your community, you're delusional. We have to ponder, meditate, seek it out, ponder, and set it in order. We have to bring understanding. The shepherd sets things in order. You have to seek, meditate. It begins the first day of the week. You start prepping for the next Shabbat immediately. Spend time with LORD in meditation, in prayer, and the Holy Spirit does everything else. Jeremiah 3:15: ““Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will shepherd you on knowledge and understanding.” Malachi 2:5-7: “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as something to be feared; so he feared Me and stood in awe of My name. Instruction of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts." > This is the command. > Ezekiel 22:26: “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no separation between the holy and the profane, and they have not made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”

> Romans: "The law is holy, just and good." > If you take what is holy away from us, how can we do our job? Our job is to teach what is holy and what is not holy. When shepherds are failing, they aren't making distinctions between good and evil, clean and old clean. The diet of goats is they eat anything. > "they have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths so I am profaned among them." > Don't be amazed when the devil strips the law and Sabbath from the shepherds. He wants the LORD's name profaned. To forsake the Sabbath is to profane the name of the LORD. > "If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it.  If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it." Charles Finney > It is our job to bring righteousness to society. > Ezekiel 22:25-30: “There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no separation between the holy and the profane, and they have not made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get greedy gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, beholding worthless visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,’ when Yahweh has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have mistreated the afflicted and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. And I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the breach before Me for the land, so that I would not bring it to ruin; but I found no one.” > Don't let the devil tell you what you do doesn't matter. It is LIFE and DEATH. > Churches today are in a heap of rubble. Nehemiah 4:7: “Now it happened that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the places broken down began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them joined together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. But we prayed to our God, and because of them we stood a guard against them day and night.” > God sent Nehemiah back to make a wall. They're building the Kingdom. They're restoring the walls of Jerusalem. The enemies of the LORD became angry because they're building the kingdom. > Revelation 12:17: “So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the witness of Jesus.” > The only kingdom builders who exist are doing these two things. > The enemy is coming to create confusion. People are getting overwhelmed, and that is intentional. It's to get people overwhelmed so they walk away. God is not the author of confusion, but the spirit of clarity. When you hear the Truth being preached, you don't let it go. Once you see the Truth, you can't go back. NVs. 9: We made our prayer to God and set a watch against them day and night. What is our job? When the enemy attacks, our job is prayer. This is the weapon of all weapons. You won't do it if you don't believe it makes a difference. Nehemiah 4:10: “Then Judah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall.”” > I'm exhausted. The only thing holding me up is the Spirit of God. Do not grow weary at doing good. It's tiring. I'm exhausted. > 2 Corinthians 1:8: "“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even to live.” > If you are exhausted, hold the line. Get your boots on and go to work. The strength of the laborers is failing. So much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall. When we clean up aisle 3, 4, 5, the devil has messed up 6, 7, and 8. You put your head down and pray. You will be exhausted, but rest is coming. We can rest in the Sabbath millennium. We have to get there. Nehemiah 4:11: “Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.”” > The enemy will threaten your very life. He wants the work to stop. He's going to try to intimidate you. He's going to try and control you by fear. He's good at getting us to cave to fear. It's unbelievable how powerful fear is. It's pure bondage. We're to have a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, not fear. > Nehemiah 4:14: “Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not fear them; remember the LORD who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”” > If God is for us, who can be against us. David is so vulnerable: In the day of fear, I will trust in you. The moment you're confronted with fear, you go to war. Double down. dig in your heels. Remember who Jesus is! All power and authority has been given to Him. The demons tremble at His sight. we should not be trembling b/c we belong to Him. No weapon against us shall prosper. It takes faith in His Word. Great and awesome! Fight! “Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.” > One hand is on the Word, and the other hand is doing the work. You're putting the Word into play. That's kingdom building. > Ezekiel 34:4-5: “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, and the diseased you have not healed, and the broken you have not bound up, and the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you searched for the lost; but with strength and with severity you have dominated them. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.”

> Platitudes don't work. The Word of God is proven. > Don't tell me your job doesn't matter.

> Moses as a shepherd pushed back evil. He said after I die you'll commit harlotry.

> Paul said after I leave wolves will tear apart the flock. He was pushing back deception. 

> Jehoida the priest. After he died, all hell broke loose. The enemy wants to sideline every one of us.

> Ezekiel 34:5: When our hearts are loyal to Him. When we have loyal hearts, this is when the LORD moves. If you hold back 1%, you will get nothing from Him. With the King of kings, it's all or nothing.

"The eyes of the LORD look to and fro throughout the earth...." 

> "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell". > John Wesley

Prayer: 

Abba Father, thank you for bringing us together in unity for this fellowship called Raise the Standard; thank you for your humble servants who helped to put together this event. Father I pray, in Yeshua's name, that you reach each and every person here with your Word of Truth so they can walk together with you: 

Help us all to boldly declare that our standard is Yeshua, our LORD and our God, and He is risen. And so I pray, LORD that we humble ourselves before you, search our hearts, find any unrighteous way in us and remove it from us, and have mercy on us, for we are sinners. In this LORD, please raise us up in you, to love you and put your first and to love one another as you showed us. 

You said, "If you love me, keep MY commandments," and if we do this, LORD, you said you'd send us the Holy Spirit of Truth to help us. And so I pray help us LORD, like you promised, to defeat the bondage of the flesh, to overcome temptation, discouragement and fear through a personal prayer life, prayers with leaders and brothers and sisters of faith, truly making prayer a part of the fabric of our communities so we can rightly divide the Word of Truth and walk righteously before our God in the New Covenant Blood of Messiah Yeshua. 

The Holy Spirit is available to all who confess with their mouths that Yeshua is Yahweh—Jesus is God—and God has risen Him from the dead, and so LORD help us all to fully embrace and proclaim these truths with courage and boldness of heart, knowing that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us.

You said:

John 14:26

our Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

and so LORD help us to remember, internalize and practice your righteousness. 

You also said:

Acts 1:8

you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And so I pray in gratitude that you have called us to be your witnesses in Spirit and in Truth, as brothers and sisters united in our faith in you. I pray your Word flows through my brothers Mike, Lex and Daniel in both spirit and truth for all with ears to hear and eyes that see and hearts that bend, so we can be brothers and sisters united in our faith in you, and let us go out from here stronger in faith, linking shields together as we raise the standard together, the banner of Yeshua, You in us, and us in You, from now into eternity. In Yeshua's name, I pray. Amein.

Daniel Joseph, Raise the Standard, 1/17/2026

The Narrow Path, Matthew 7. 

Greatest sermon in history of humanity Matthew 5-7. Crescendo: Narrow path.

““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction," Narrow gate=Heaven, Wide gate=hell. There is no alternative gate. No other gate available. Once you enter the wide gate and say "I really don't want to be here." You cry out for help. You won't be heard. Once you go through the wide gate, there is no turning back. 

““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.”

MANY

“For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 7:14 LSB

https://bible.com/bible/3345/mat.7.14.LSB

Difficult is the way: To press, to cause to be troubled, oppress, afflict, make narrow. You want to enter the narrow path, it has persecution, tribulation, persecution. Are you ready for that. It's hard. It takes everything within you to hold the line, because the wide path is much easier. There are few who find the narrow path. This is not comforting to a Christian. Only few find it. Luke 13:24: ““Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

> There are many who WANT to go into the narrow gate and they won't be able to.  ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Christians desiring to go into the Kingdom of God, they went out and did works in the name of Jesus. They prophesied, did wonders in His name. He will declare: "I never knew you. Depart from me." 

We were told: whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. These men are laying it out saying, look at what we did for you. Why is He telling them to depart from Him? They practice lawlessness. In an age when progressive christianity is growing like never before, they interpret "we're not under the law" to mean we don't have to abide in it. They reject the commandments. I have to step back and ask "how narrow is this path." 

Ezekiel 14: ““Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, break its staff of bread, send famine against it, and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares Lord Yahweh.”

Ezekiel 14:13-14 LSB

> When a people gets comfortable with lawlessness (persistent unfaithfulness). Why would they do it? The wicked renounce God because they say in their heart, You will not require an account. You will not pay for your decisions. No ramifications for walking away from God's law. Same lie from the Garden: The enemy says: you will not die. Strip away judgment and you will walk with the devil. 

Malachi 2:17: 

“You have wearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?””

> God's people walking in lawlessness say, He delights in us. They trust in lying words that cannot profit. If there are lying words being promoted in God's community, there are false prophets behind them. Yeshua even put it in Matthew 7: "beware of false prophets..." They're coming in to allure us away from the holy Word of God. 

Jeremiah 7:8-11 LSB: ““Behold, you are trusting in lying words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear while lying, and burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a robbers’ den in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares Yahweh.”

> Don't pat yourself on the back for what you get right and breeze over the things you struggle with. We do not want to come before a Holy God in an unholy manner. We ought to be focused on what we do wrong. Conviction has been so severed when you are comfortable with sin, and you come before a holy God? What's going to happen? When we come before God, we are stripped before Him, whether sins of omission or commission. If you try to hide them, you will bring curses into your home. 

> ““Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, break its staff of bread, send famine against it, and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares Lord Yahweh.”

Ezekiel 14:13-14 LSB

The same hand that brings blessing and deliverance will also bring death and destruction. The most deceptive is when people focus so much on the grace they forget that He is a judge, that He hates lawlessness and love righteousness. He is the God who kills, and makes alive, he wounds, and He heals. 

> How narrow is the path? Only Noah, Daniel and Job will deliver themselves. God is bringing judgment, and only Noah, Daniel and Job will survive. This is the bar, the only people who will survive the judgment of God. What did these men do? This is how narrow the path is. Have you measured yourself. We shouldn't compare those around us, but those in Scripture who were faithful to the LORD. This helps to give us perspective. 

Noah: There was so much lawlessness, the LORD said the earth was full of Chamas (hatred, idolatry, violence, and sexual sin). What was it that made God pull the pin? When they institutionalized same-sex marriage, and humanity began writing marriage contracts between men and animals. These things are happening now. When you study the days of Noah, and look out your front window and see these things, you are living in the days of Noah. This means Jesus is coming soon. God commanded Noah to build an ark. He destroyed everything. This is something the world had never experienced. "Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded Him." (Gen. 6:22). There was no sign. In the days of Moses there were signs, but not in the days of Noah. He had nothing but the Word of the LORD, the commandment of the LORD, and that alone is why he built the ark. His faith is so grounded in the Word, that whatever God said, that's good enough for me. Psalm 119:66: "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, because I believe Your commandments." We need to pick up Scripture and operationalize it. Only faith will apply it. You can measure your faith to see whether you're obedient or not. Gen. 6:9: Noah was a just man (courtroom language: abiding by the legal standard) perfect in his generations (he didn't leave the narrow path. He kept his head down. He held the line. Though none go with me, still I will follow.). Noah, Peter said, "was a preacher of righteousness." He was out there proclaiming the Gospel, warning people, judgment is coming. "knowing the terror of the LORD, we persuade men." Hell is coming. We need to start building an ark, we need to get right with God in this generation. "Noah walked with God." > 1 Kings 6:12“And the word of Yahweh came to Solomon saying, “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and do My judgments and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you which I spoke to David your father.”

1 Kings 6:11-12 LSB

“So you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

Deuteronomy 8:6 LSB

Walk in the light, as He is the light. 

Genesis 7:1: Noah was a shepherd of his own home, a spiritual leader that led his own family. This is a sign of whether you're on the mark. Shepherds shepherd their homes. "Then Yahweh said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.”

> The most conservative estimates of population size in Noah's day was millions, and higher estimates to hundreds of millions. How narrow is the path? Only eight were saved. Israel coming out of Egypt. There were 603k men came out, only two made it. How do we miss these things? We would have to get another 300,000 in this building for Daniel to make it. When Paul talks about running the race. All run, but only one wins. Run in such a way that you may obtain it. These were men who were saying "give me Jesus" from the time they got up until the time they laid down. 

Daniel

God came in, brought Babylonians to destroy His own city and His own people. As they enter Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar set up men to sit in his court. Daniel was selected but would not defile himself with the king's delicacies. He held the line. We are the temple of God, and whoever defiles this temple, God will destroy him. Daniel did not defile his temple. Daniel 6: Daniel rose to be the second highest in the land; one of three governors. Pharaoh had put Joseph in front of the whole Kingdom. Darius wanted to do that with Daniel, because he had a right spirit. What did the other leaders strategize to do. They moved to take Daniel out. Daniel 6:5: “Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”” He's not a regular governor. He followed Torah. They had nothing to lay on him. We have to find something in regard to the law of his God. They conspired to create a law in government to be opposed to God. Revelation speaks to this future. Daniel 6:7: “All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have counseled together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.”

> Daniel's testimony was not a lamp under a basket, he put it on a lampstand. The other governors knew how righteous Daniel was that they knew if they created a government law to oppose God's law, Daniel wouldn't follow it. > “Now when Daniel knew that the written document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”

Daniel 6:10 LSB > Why not close the windows, Daniel? He went home the day of, opened his windows, knelt down on his knees, and prayed, just as his custom was since the early days. This is what's being described in Revelation with the mandated worship of the beast. This is only 30 days. If Texas passed a law saying for 30 days you can't pray to Jesus, how many of you would falter? Look at this man who is the bar, and look at how he behaves. Prayer is so important to him, he didn't miss one day. How many days have gone by that you haven't even petitioned. There are self-professing Christians who haven't prayed for months. You can't tell me they're on the narrow path. Daniel prayed at morning, midday and evening. He didn't even care about the death penalty. Prayer was so important to him, he was willing to die for it. This is how important prayer is to him. > "When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty." Thomas Jefferson. I'm using this in a spiritual context. Daniel was a righteous man, and he never violated the law. We're commanded to obey the government until they tell you, you can't worship Jesus. In church history, John taught Polycarp who taught Iraneus, who said: "For Noah was 600 years old when the deluge came upon the earth.... image had a height of 666 ... Six hundred years of Noah, in whose time the deluge occurred because of the apostasy, and the number of the cubits of its  of the image for these just men were sent into the fiery furnace, do indicate the name of that man [Antichrist]." 

The spirit of antichrist is alive and well in the world today.

Job: Right in the first chapter, you see that the LORD in Heaven tells Satan, "have you considered, My servant Job." Aren't these the words, "well done good and faithful servant." The LORD is picking a fight with the devil. I love it. The devil comes back with a rebellious tone: Don't kid yourself. He's only faithful and loyal because You bless him. Is that you? When you're thrown into the valley of the shadow of death, do you still praise God. The devil went out and took everything from Job, all of his riches. In one day, he lost everything. Satan took all of his children. He wiped out Job's family. What is your response when something like that happens? "Job tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshipped." Job 1:20. Nothing moved this guy. “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.”” Job 1:21 LSB > Job was unshakable. He worshipped God in his worst grief. “Through all this Job did not sin, nor did he give offense to God.” Job 1:22 LSB. > After Satan laid waste to Job, God was back at it: “And Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity. So you incited Me against him to swallow him up in vain.”” Job 2:3 LSB > This is terrifying. This makes me think of God's Word again through Paul. Many will win, but only one will win. What will it take? Noah, Daniel, Job. Fear God, keep His commandments, this is man's all. Because God is going to bring every work into judgment. “Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.”

Job 2:4 LSB > Satan said, you spared him.  “However, send forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You in Your face.””

Job 2:5 LSB > Satan was waiting, he believed it was coming. 

“Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” > How did the enemy get to Adam. Through Eve. He went after the one closest to Job's heart. Women beware: don't be that person. When Yeshua told Peter not to go to the cross, Yeshua said, "get behind me Satan." The enemy works through those closest to us. Satan wants that moment. How does the Septuagint record this part? His wife said to him in the LXX:

The Lexham English Septuagint, Second Edition Chapter 2

And after much time had passed, his wife said to him, “How long will you wait, saying, 9a ‘Behold, I wait for just a little time to receive the hope of my deliverance?’ 9b For behold, your memory has been removed from the earth, sons and daughters of my belly, pangs and labors that I labored with hardship pointlessly. 9c And you? You seat yourself among the decay of worms to pass the night in the open air. 9d And I am being led astray and am a servant wandering from place to place and from house to house, welcoming the sun when it sets in order that I might stop my labors and pains that now come to me. 9 Now say some word to the Lord and die!” 10 But looking up he said to her, “You speak like one of the foolish women. If we accept good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things?” In all these things that happened to him, in no way did Job sin by his speaking before God.

> this is what it takes to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Revelation 13: The saints are given into the hands of the antichrist. Where are you going to be? Are you going to be in a prayer life? You can't miss one day. Are you going to be righteous like Noah? Locked-in with the LORD. This is the narrow path. The measuring rod. Yeshua went to the rich man and said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Who can be saved? With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are challenged. You need to press in now. You are not guaranteed tonight. Will you be able to stand there and enter into the Kingdom. There's not a single person here who I want to seen sent away. All need to come to repentance.