First Love

Announcer: Welcome to First Love with Dr. Robyn Kassas and Dr. Nathan Kassas, where faith meets real life. In this weekly broadcast, you'll discover practical and spiritual keys to reclaiming God's story in your life, deepening your relationship with Jesus, and encountering him as your first love, whether for the first time or all over again. No topic is off-limits as we make Jesus real, relevant, and relational. Stay with us. Your journey back to first love starts now.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Well, hello everybody and welcome to First Love. My name is Dr. Nathan Kassas, and I am joined by the wonderful Dr. Robyn Kassas. How are you doing today, Dr. Robyn?

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Yeah, I'm doing fine. It was a very big weekend, very big, and I feel like I've been wrung out a bit, but I'm going to get there.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: You're in a bit of a valley.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Well, not even a valley. Just my body's worn out, that's all. When you give out so much all the time, it's like I've heard the statement of when you're spiritually ministering that it's like a week of work, normal work.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yeah, it's the equivalent of working a nine-to-five in one entire week in one day.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Yeah, can you imagine that? Three days of that non-stop. That's three weeks. And then, of course, there's all the personal ministry and then the prophecies and the discernment and the teaching.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Shepherding, pastoring.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And then the trajectories and then the analyzing of the body. It was a lot.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes, it was. And if you're wondering what we're referring to, we are still coming down from the mountain, so to say, of the high experience of our season casting conference, which took place a week ago in New York City. We began to introduce what God is saying for 2027, and that corresponds with the Hebraic year 5787, the year of Zayin.

So there was a lot that God did, Dr. Robyn. We talked about the sword. We talked about the crown. We talked about the scalpel, quite a bit on the scalpel, and cutting away trauma and past experiences.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And there was a lot of healings that took place and a lot of trauma left. Oh man, there was a lot going on.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: And we are looking forward to hearing more testimonies. If you attended that conference and you have a testimony, you need to go to talk.org and find out where you can submit your testimony. Just go to talk.org/contact. Please let us know. We want to know the fruit of what God got us to sow into and know that it's becoming real, relevant, and relational in your life.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Yes, and now we've got another big one coming up with the documentary.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes. Dr. Robyn is releasing with her team, Open Eyes, her other ministry platform, a very important documentary called The Purim Cycle. It's the Epstein saga, and it's a prophetic look into what is happening with the Epstein files and the whole exposure about that world of human trafficking as well as underhandedness going on there. I don't want to scare anyone on afternoon radio, but it's very important that the church become aware of this.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: I think that it's more to do with what most people don't know what Epstein was involved in. I think just to allow a small amount of evidence about certain things, but wow, there's a lot more, a lot more to do with the money as well.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: So if you want to know more about that, you need to go and follow Open Eyes on Rumble, and you can watch previous episodes and get all caught up. It's a brilliant show, and it adds a prophetic, a biblical, and a real worldview of what's going on in the world today. And let me just say this. It ends with hope.

Absolutely. I was going to say it always ends with Dr. Robyn's final word from the spirit, which is a word of hope and a word to arm the church and not disable it. So please follow that show, and if you're interested to hear about the launch, we're going to be having a launch for the actual documentary. Again, please reach out to info@talknyc.org.

So, Dr. Robyn, it is Monday, a new week of going through the depths of the valley. We last spoke about a biblical figure who went under the stress test, because the valley is a stress test as well as being fed. This is where God really tests how deep has truth gone into you. And so our figure that we began to expound on was Joseph, and we began to look into how Joseph passed the test, did he not?

Dr. Robyn Kassas: He sure did.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: And under that test, he also kind of wavered, because we brought out you can pass the test in one season—

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And not quite catch it in the other season.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yeah, I think you beautifully rounded it out by saying he responded, but he also reacted.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Yes, that's what I said last time.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: And I think that's a really good way of just summing up what we do. We do sometimes have that headship where we respond and we lead the situation. And other times, because we're not perfect and we're becoming new, we do let stress lead us, and so we end up reacting rather than responding.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: That's really what it's all about. So now we're going to talk about David and what David did. So why don't you take it away?

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes, so another important figure that I thought we could mention is David, because you can't talk about the valley without talking about David, because he's the one who wrote Psalm 23. He says, "In the valley of the shadow of death."

So if you are following along, I'm pulling out of 1 Samuel 17, and this is the famous story of David and Goliath. We all know this story, whether you've grown up with Sunday school depictions or maybe you don't and you're just coming into it. But what's really important here that we want to establish is that David didn't let Goliath reveal to him something that he had not already encountered with the Lord.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And that's something that we really, really need to look at because if you look at that, we can see rehearsal took place before the main thing. And look, is that not life? Do you not rehearse something before you walk into the main thing? You go on stage, you're rehearsing, and then you have an opening night where the main show is about to take place, it's about to be launched.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes. And it goes to the Hebrew train of thought. The actual word for convocation in Hebrew, when God said, "I'm going to have a divine and holy convocation and I'm going to come down and I'm going to meet with you through these feasts," because they're the feasts of Jehovah, they're not the feasts of the Jews, they're God's feasts. He says that in Leviticus 23 when he gives Moses that entire tabernacle setup. Convocation actually means rehearsal. So it's the Lord saying, "I'm going to come down and we're going to have a rehearsal of how it's going to be when I live with you in the midst of you in the New Jerusalem." This is the feast of Passover. This is the feast of Pentecost, and this is the feast of Tabernacles.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: So rehearsal.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Absolutely. So they were rehearsing for a good 5,000 years.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: That's an interesting word for that amount of time.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: And the rehearsal is meant to prepare you for the encounter.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: So let's go into what did he rehearse?

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes. So what's very important about David here is that the valley of David's life, this valley of Elah, which we'll talk about after the break—it's specifics, because there are seven valleys mentioned in scripture and they each have specifics. But the valley of Elah is tied to David.

So here we see this stress being released upon Israel. Okay, in 1 Samuel 17, I'm just going to pull from it here in the New King James version because I do like how they actually bring about the accuracy of scripture. So it says, "And a champion went out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span." So we're talking about maybe nine to twelve feet here in height.

And the scripture does a brilliant job of setting this up as an impossibility. This is a threat. "He had a bronze helmet on his head and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze." So if we scroll down now to verse eight, "Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel and said to them, 'Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.' And the Philistine said," now here comes the clincher, "'I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together.' When Saul and all of Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid."

So here we have an introduction of stress. Here we have an introduction of a great threat. The valley is revealing where the threat is lying, and we're going to see when we come back from the break how Saul, the Israelites, they react to the threat, but David responds. And when you respond, it's a result of you rehearsing something with God already.

Announcer: Looking for a real relationship with Jesus? Join Dr. Robyn Kassas and Dr. Nathan Kassas every weekday for First Love, where prophetic insight meets real theology. Learn how God's voice activates your mind, body, soul, and spirit, helping you renew your mind, transform your life, and return to the one who loved you first. Catch First Love Monday through Friday, 5:00 to 5:30 PM. Learn more at torcc.org. The one who loved you first is still loving you best.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Alright guys, we are back, and I'm going to throw it to Dr. Robyn right now because I know she's busting to add some spiritual keys. I just want to quickly reread that scripture if you're joining us. Not the full thing. 1 Samuel 17 is saying here that when Israel heard this threat of Goliath, they were greatly afraid and dismayed. And Dr. Robyn, we have an introduction of a stressor here, an introduction of a trigger, but something happens in this shepherd boy David. So throwing it to you.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: What happens is he remembers. He remembers that he was rehearsing this years ago. And I need to say that when he was called, David, to be the king, he went back to being a shepherd straight after that. And in those times of being a shepherd, he was in rehearsal. So he wasn't just sitting around waiting to be called into that great call. He was rehearsing the call.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes. And before he could wear the crown, he had to carry the presence. And this is what I want to encourage someone listening. Maybe you've been called and maybe you've gone back to just what we would deem mundane living and you feel so distant from your call, but you're having to realize that when God puts such a call on your life, you have to grow into it and not go into it.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And I think that sometimes we just call ourselves into it.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: My Lord Jesus. Well, that was Saul. Remember?

Dr. Robyn Kassas: That what I want to bring is David. David, he rehearsed the call, and then he performed the call. But David, but let's say the others in the camp, they were fearful. It wasn't just anyone else. It was all of them were fearful. And the only one that wasn't fearful was David because he had rehearsed.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Because he had rehearsed the call. Wow.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And I want to say that sometimes when we have a great high on the mountain and we come back into the valley, we have to get ready to be called, but we need to remember how much rehearsal have we had for the call.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Dr. Robyn, you are hitting it today. This is so important because David is only able to connect with this being a covenant challenge. See, they see threat. Threat equals fear. David sees the same threat, but it doesn't equal fear. No, it equals remembrance.

And remembrance here is triggering, okay, this is a covenant challenge. This is nothing that is out of God's scope. Because when he replies to Goliath later on, he says the God of Israel is going to give you to me. My paraphrase. And he's going to give me your head because I fought the lion and I fought the bear. There's the rehearsal. I've done this. Giants are nothing. Right? So the rehearsal is so important. And a lot of times in life, we want the production without the rehearsal.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Yes. And it was like that with John the Baptist. He was the rehearsal. He was the rehearsal. And he had to come and he came, but he had to leave so that Jesus could come.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yeah. You've always said he was the foretaste.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: He's the foretaste in this, or you could call it the rehearsal. I like that, rehearsal. And so he came, and you have to recognize, here's the key for each person now, to recognize what was the rehearsal and also the foretaste of the real thing coming.

And of course, you mentioned about the lion and the bear, but when I was thinking about that, I was also thinking he didn't have anything to help him. He didn't have clubs or stones or anything like that or another man to help him wrestle the bear and wrestle the lion. He was isolated. He didn't have any of that. And the reason for that was it had to be all of him with nothing to help.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes. God setting him up. When he's out there with the bear, he's isolated and he's with a giant. And when he's out there with the lion, he's isolated and he's with a giant. And now he's out there with Goliath in the valley of Elah. He's isolated and he's with a giant. So the brain, the brain prediction mechanism, it can work against us, but prediction can also work for God's glory in how he created it to work. Because the brain in David is saying, "Hang on, this isn't new. I've been here before." And he says that in verse 37. He says that the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me this day and he will give that giant into my hands. That's when he's talking to King Saul. So his brain is now connecting in a healthy way to prophesy and not pro-phie-lie.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And so now he, through remembrance, he responds. If you remember the rehearsal that God has given to you, you can't but respond to the call.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Yes. Oh my Lord, I wish I had an applause button because that is so powerful. And again, I want to tie in the neuroscience to bring hope to people. We've done a lot of concentration on the negativity of how the brain predicts. But that was created to bring you into the presence of God. God uses that to put on the mind of Christ. So how can my prediction move from a negative prediction to a positive prediction? When I remember the rehearsal that God's got me in, then I just look at the present circumstance as another playout of what I've already been rehearsing. So I begin to prophesy what I've already been through as the next future outcome.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: But you can't set up your own rehearsal. This is the key. See, David didn't set up his own rehearsal. God sent the bear and the lion. You see, God sent Goliath.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: My God.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: You see, after Goliath, it was now in the open that David was the coming king.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This is so good, Dr. Robyn. I'd like to read a key statement here because I think it ties in with what you've said. David did not become king in the palace. He became king in the valley. He was formed in the valley, but he was crowned in the palace.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Amen.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: And so the valley represents something very crucial to the believer's walk and transformation. When you're under threat, it shows what you've been rehearsing.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: It does. And then when you're under threat, you will react if you don't watch it instead of responding. And if you respond, you will work with the Holy Spirit to defeat your Goliath. And here's the key. I have to tell listeners. There's only one Goliath in your life. We didn't have many Goliaths. They all had different names and different reasons and different actions, but the one Goliath you can defeat if you respond to the action of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Wow. And that's so true, Dr. Robyn. David had to face Goliath alone. And then when he goes for Goliath's brothers, God adds to him his mighty men. So there was only one giant that he really had to come up against by himself, and that points to our lives today. There is that one Goliath that God will bring you up against by yourself to reveal what you've been rehearsing and what you've been feeding from in the valley.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: And that Goliath you will only face him once. You will face other things, but you've got to get this real. You've got to get a hold of this, people, because that Goliath, once defeated, you will never come up against another Goliath.

Dr. Nathan Kassas: Wow. Oh my Lord. I hope someone is jumping up and down in their car, in their house, wherever they're listening, because they need to understand this is what the enemy doesn't want you to know. He wants you to think there are many Goliaths, many Jerichos, many walls. There're only one.

Dr. Robyn Kassas: Only one. Tell me in the word where there was another Jericho. Nope. You couldn't even build on that Jericho. It was down forever. That's it. I've walked on that wall.