Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
4 23 2025

Audio Version

“Encrypted by God: The Forty Days Within Us”

Many of us fasted and prayed last week in preparation for Holy Friday and Easter. We remember that after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He received the Holy Spirit and was immediately led into the wilderness. There, for 40 days and nights, Jesus fasted—at His weakest—only to face the ultimate confrontation. Viciously tempted by Lucifer himself, Jesus did not falter. Armed with God’s Word, He repelled every lie, every seduction, every attack. In full humility, He surrendered to the will of His Father.

There are 42 mentions in Scripture of “40 days and 40 nights.” This number is not accidental. It signifies divine intervention, purification, testing, and preparation.

  • In Genesis 7:12, the earth was purged by 40 days of rain. Divine judgment fell, and only Noah and his family were spared.
  • The Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33), being tested and prepared to receive the Promised Land.
  • Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:18) to receive the Law, forming a covenant between God and His people.
  • Elijah’s 40-day journey to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8) brought him face to face with the whisper of God…a moment of divine intimacy after deep despair.

The number 40 symbolizes the clash between sin and grace. The 40 days of Lent call us to fast,
to pray, to be purified, and to prepare our hearts for the Resurrection.
The 40 days after Easter mark the transition from the Old Covenant to the New, culminating in
the Ascension of Christ and the commissioning of His followers.

Encrypted patterns are woven throughout Scripture…the divine DNA of God’s plan. When we humble ourselves and seek Him through the Holy Spirit, He begins to reveal the hidden things of His heart.

Did you know Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days before David arrived with a sling and a stone? (1 Samuel 17:16) Or that Nineveh was given just 40 days to repent? (Jonah 3:4)
Moses waited 40 long years in the wilderness before God called to him from the burning bush.

We all go through seasons of testing. Yours may feel like 40 years… or 40 months… or 40 days. But every trial, when surrendered to God, becomes a tool of grace, carving out renewal. Still, if we resist humility, we are bound to repeat the same mistakes—traveling again and again down the same painful roads.

A human generation is said to span about 20 years…the time it takes for someone to mature and begin a family. In ancient days, this happened even faster. Forty years is two generations—a defining arc in any lifetime. Look at the cultural revolution between the 1950s and the 1990s. Two generations… and an entirely new world.

And yet, Jesus’ command never changed:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18–20)

On May 4th, we will gather again for another beach baptism…sacred moment,
a public declaration, a crossing over.

I urge you, brothers and sisters—the time is drawing near.
Let this be the generation that doesn’t just survive the wilderness, but walks out in power.
Let this be the generation that listens for the still, small voice… and obeys.
Let this be the generation that finally steps into the promised land.

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Never would have made it. Marvin Sapp