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"The Season of Fire and Spirit ~ Pentecost" |
A Remnant of A Remnant of A Remnant
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Roll The Rock and Water The Flock Do You Know What I Have Done To You?
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| "The Wave"
The Lord has been reminding me lately of a vivid vision that He gave me 8 years ago. In the vision I saw a tremendous and huge wave coming. It came crashing over the top of a huge mountain. The wave, in it’s full force, was bigger than the tallest mountain! It overcame the mountain. As it approached, rushing and mighty, the church stood waiting for it ~ holding a small heart-shaped mold in which to catch it! Needless to say, we were not prepared for the magnitude of what was coming! Kim Cummings Update 2001 "The Lord has added to the vision and changed it a bit since 98. I am now seeing it as "The Greatest Flood". I also now keep being reminded of that scripture of Jesus as the mountain… Daniel 2:35 “the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” After continuing to pray about the vision this year, the Lord began to show me that the mountain is actually Jesus Christ erupting/exploding suddenly upon the earth and pouring forth the waters that had been hidden inside for generations. I keep hearing in my spirit that the Lord was going to blow the lid off of the mountain (HIMSELF) and erupt in the earth and pour out His spirit upon the earth and flood us with HIS GLORY. I see now the flood coming from the mountain as if from a volcano. As I pondered this flood that is coming, I became concerned about the people's safety and began to question the Lord about His promise not to destroy the earth with a flood. He began to speak to my spirit that this flood was "The Greatest Flood", as it is a flood of His LOVE not His wrath. This LIVING WATER would not destroy, but nurture, grow, mature and save. Kim Cummings
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On May 28, Christians celebrated the
“Day of Pentecost”. As we look back into history and the Bible, we
see 3 stages of this feast ~ a progressive unfolding of revelation that
points us to and teaches us about our Messiah. These thing were given
by God as a shadow of things to come (Heb 10:1) to teach us (Gal 3:24)
about the Messiah and the redemptive work of God (Col 2:17 The next revelation or unfolding of Pentecost is presented 50 days after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea to begin their journey through the wilderness. Jewish people today still celebrate the feast in this stage ~ the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. The mountain of God was enveloped in fire and smoke so that Moses told the people not to come too close. The children of Israel stood at the foot of the mountain in fear and trembling while ONE MAN went up. The Lord said, “let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the 3rd day… for on the 3rd day the Lord will COME DOWN on the mountain… beware that you do not go up on the mountain or even touch the border of it for whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (Ex 19:1-12) Finally, the 3rd revelation or
unfolding of Pentecost reveals the miracle of God’s extreme grace and
plan of redemption! The mountain would come to us! 50 days after
His resurrection, Jesus poured out His Spirit of fire into His
disciples. “when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together
in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent
rushing wind, and it filled the whole house…
and there appeared to them tongues as of fire and they rested on each
one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts
2:1-5) Everything changed! The patterns, the types, the
shadows, the Torah, the law, the Old Testament… had come in a person ~
Jesus Christ! What mankind could never do, what mankind could not even
touch or look at, was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. This
mountain of God would now live within, would dwell in mankind! “For
you have not come to a mountain that can not be touched and to a blazing
fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a
trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard
begged that it stop… YOU have come to Mt. Zion and to the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, and to the
general assembly, and church of the firstborn… to Jesus”! (Heb
12:18-24) What extreme grace! Can you grasp the immensity of it?!
The miracle of Pentecost began a “new life” for the church ~ a “3rd
day” life! What first began in the plan of God as a firstfruits
wave offering at the feast of harvest now produces miraculous spiritual
fruit. A great transference took place… Christ’s righteousness for
ours, Christ’s sacrifice for ours, Christ’s power for ours. Jesus
Christ himself was pouring out His Spirit in fulfillment of ALL of God’s
promises. Exalted at the right hand of God, from His throne “he has
poured out this which you see and hear.” (Acts 2:32) A great reversal was also taking place. What happened
at Pentecost reversed what happened at the Tower of Babel. Human beings
trying to create a kingdom apart from God resulted in a total breakdown
in human communication. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit immediately began
to unite human beings from all diverse languages and cultures. Each
person “heard” the Words of God in their own language and native
tongue. God was speaking to every nation, tribe, people, culture and
language in the world. God was now restoring the unity of the whole
human race. This wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ, “in Christ…Christ
in us, this proclamation of truth, “cut to the heart” of those that
heard it. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that Pentecost day
indwelt the disciples both corporately and individually, uniting them
all in the light and fire of God’s own life. It is so even today. It
manifests to others the unifying, restoring and healing love of God. The
union of prayer, of hearts and minds in the fire of His Spirit is the
birth and growth of the Church. Today, the holiday of Pentecost and the season that follows it, completes or crowns the cycle of the Christian year. Happy Birthday Church and welcome to what is called the “Season of Fire and Spirit.”
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“” ”Instead of the thorn bush, will come up the myrtle””Terri Derochen wrote: “Today I am seeing a new book
of Esther. If you ever have studied Esther and Purim, you know that
reference to God is never directly made in the entire book. It is the
only book in the Bible that does this. Even this is very much for His
purpose. MEANS TO BE FAITHFUL TO HIS PEOPLE”” I really liked that! Esther is the little book rich with wise lessons and revelatory themes: good’s ultimate triumph over evil, nationalism, community, the remnant motif, humble faithfulness leading to large responsibility, and pride leading to humiliation. Many refer to Esther herself as a picture of the intercessor. In reading Esther again, I see a bigger vision of “intercessor”. More than merely “praying for others”.. Esther put herself to action, Esther esteemed the welfare and benefit of others above her own.. just like Jesus. The great day of Purim is the holiday that celebrates the fruit of true intercession ~ the day of reversal ~ when what the enemy means for evil and destruction produces the opposite ~salvation and deliverance, when sorrow and mourning are turned into gladness, feasting and joy! Fascinating historical facts that put the story of
Esther Jewish historians ascribe authorship of the book to Ezra. The conflict of Haman was actually an ongoing conflict of God’s people with the Amalekites of old. This enemy began its assault at Israel’s coming out of Egypt and continued through history. Exodus 17:16, Deut 25:17-19 1 Sam 15, 1 Chron 4:43 “The Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.” And now here in “Esther”, Haman’s edict is the final effort in the Old Testament period to destroy them, to thwart their destiny. The events take place during the time of Israel’s Babylonian captivity. Found also is the background of their sovereignly planned liberator ~ King Cyrus. Cyrus, according to many historians, was the son of Esther and Ahaseurus! 32 years after the events of “Esther”, Cyrus would decree the return of the Jews from captivity and restoration of Jerusalem and the temple. This gives new understanding of Cyrus’ zeal for God and the Jews. It also makes the prophecy regarding him found in Isaiah 45 even more astounding! The Mordecai of “Esther” is likely the same Mordecai of Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7, one of those who returned from captivity that had seen the First Temple. Another interesting note.. Greek historians call Vashti ~ Queen Amestris. They record her influence during the reign of her and Ahasuerus’ son, Artaxerxes. He was born approximately at the time of Vashti’s deposal! |
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“There is one body…” Ephesians 4:4 “For even as the body is one and yet has many
members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one
body, so also is Christ, for by one spirit we were all baptized into one
body.” 1 Cor 12:12 Apostle Paul wrote to impart to the early church
(and to us) an expanded vision ~ the bigger picture ~ an understanding
of the greater dimensions of the eternal purpose of God. He uses
beautiful word pictures! The human body describes the mysterious
workings of The Church and the high goals God has for us. As a nursing student and even as a nurse, my favorite subject was “The Anatomy and Physiology of the Human Body”. It is no wonder that I love these particular comparisons and analogies that Paul used. The most vivid of which is divinely created INTEGRATION ~ the bringing together of parts to complete a whole. Primary and fundamental to the success of this “completion” is that each part is necessary and vital to the combination! INTERDEPENDENCE ~ or mutual reliance, confidence, and subjection is the hallmark of this successful integration.Unity of the body of Christ ~ it is such an awesome picture! Fully integrated, complete, every integral part contributing unto the full stature of Jesus Christ! Perfect, divine functioning of Jesus on the earth, can you imagine that!? Paul had a vision of it… As enormous and grand as the vision is, it’s simplest and most basic building blocks are individual members each doing his or her part. Grand integration ~ divine interdependence implies each part, each person to be “dependable” … reliable and trustworthy. Barbara Wentroble writes, “God does not want us to lose our uniqueness, but He does want us to discover the power of togetherness.” “For many today, a realization has come that as God puts teams of people together, a greater power is released.” Paul calls us a “body”, so let’s see what he is talking about. Knowing a bit about the “anatomy and physiology” of the human body can impart confidence to fulfill one’s own unique divine purpose. It may also give us a greater appreciation of the worth and value of every other fellow member that serves within this same “body”. Anatomy and Physiology 101 The human body is a single structure but it is made up of billions of smaller structures of four major kinds: systems, organs, tissues, and cells. The smallest of these and the most numerous are cells. One average sized adult body consists of an estimated 100,000,000,000,000 ~ 100 million millions cells! These smallest structures are complex but they are the simplest units of living matter that can maintain life and reproduce themselves. A tissue is an organization of a great many similar cells. Organs are an organization of several different kind of tissues so arranged that together they can perform a special function. Systems are the most complex of the component units of the body ~ an organization of varying number and kinds of organs so arranged that together they can perform complex functions of the body. A body has 9 major systems: nervous and endocrine (control, communication, and integration); skeletal and muscular (support and movement); respiratory, digestive and urinary (energy supply and waste); circulatory (transportation, defense and adaptation); and reproductive (procreation).Notice one recurring word? ORGANIZATION is an outstanding and, in fact, a vital characteristic of body structure. Every one of its component units ~ every system, every organ, every tissue, and even every cell consists of smaller parts arranged in an orderly and precise manner. Organization is surely one of the most important characteristics of life. Even the name, organism, used to denote a living thing, implies organization.“… to the building up of the body of Christ… we are to grow up in all respects into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body… according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:12 It takes ALL of the parts of The Body helping The Body to grow unto maturity! It serves the sovereign purpose of God to diversify these parts of the body. It is this very DIVERSITY that accomplishes God’s unified purpose. We will not all be “alike”. We will not all be doing the “same thing”.In a human body, all of the diverse activities of the millions of smaller structures working together accomplish the one big, all encompassing function of the body. How can many parts of any kind, whether they be cells, people, or parts of a machine, be made to accomplish any one big function? How can many be made one? How can unification be achieved? “… the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has… even to subject all things to Himself.” Phil 3:21 “He who began a good work in you, the same will complete it” The head of THE Body is Jesus Christ. The head is where the Central Nervous System is found—the brain. The human brain claims two distinctions not shared by any other organ. It is the top executive of the world’s most complex organization ~ the body. It also provides the functions that endow us with our uniquely human qualities. It is one of the largest of adult organs. (interesting sidenote: the human brain multiplies brain cells only in the prenatal period and shortly after birth. The cells grow after birth, but do not increase in number!) It is the brain that regulates and integrates the multitudinous activities of the entire body’s working parts ~ to maintain HOMEOSTASIS.Homeostasis comes from two Greek words—homoios, meaning same, and stasis, meaning standing. Standing or staying the same, then is the literal meaning of the word. Homeostasis describes the steady states maintained by the body. However, a steady state does not mean something set and immobile that stays exactly the same all the time. It means a condition which may vary, but which is relatively constant. Remember, it is the brain, the head who regulates this activity… however the parts have a vital part to play also! To maintain homeostasis or a constant favorable condition for life, numerous complex processes must operate. They involve the FUNCTIONING of virtually ALL of the body’s organs and systems! They enable the body to adapt to changes in its environment in ways that tend to maintain homeostasis and promote a healthy survival ~ making it possible for the body to thrive as well as survive. It involves even the smallest of the body structures on the cellular level. “if the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But GOD has placed the members, EACH ONE OF THEM, in the body, just as He desired. The eye can not say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; And those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body giving more abundant
honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in
the body but that the members may have the same care for one another.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member
is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 1 Cor 12:15-27 There is a
wealth of understanding found in the above verses… maybe Paul was
speaking to those who feel their giftings are superior and more
important or maybe he was speaking to those that feel they are
insignificant to the purposes of God… or maybe he was speaking to
both. Nonetheless, he addresses the fact that each of us is no more
important nor less important than each other. The reality is ~ the whole
body lives through an interdependence of each part… each is
indispensable… not one is discardable… there are no lone rangers,
none living on an island unto themself… but ALL together, mutually
dependent on one another… communicating… each functioning… each
uniquely individual… each given divine giftings and specialized
talents...combined with others… organized… ruled by The Head. “I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE PERFECTED IN UNITY” Jn 17:23“FOR THERE THE LORD HAS COMMANDED THE BLESSING” Ps 133:3
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| Shalom to you!
"O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about?" Judges 6:13 Gideon cried unto the Lord. The power of the enemy had long prevailed against them, coming in like locusts, marauders bringing devastation. But, the Lord looked on and said to Gideon, “PEACE BE TO YOU, do not fear…” Even before the victory was won, Gideon built an altar to the Lord and named it JEHOVAH SHALOM—the Lord is Peace. Supernatural peace ~ despite devastating times. “Evening and morning and at noon, I
will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice. He will redeem my
soul in peace This song of peace, like so many written
by David, was inspired during a time of great calamity. It was written as
a prayer for God’s help when threatened by powerful conspiracy, turmoil
and danger. Though the desire to run from problems is common, confidence
in God allows us to face difficulties knowing Jehovah is able to sustain
us and keep us in peace! It’s hard to imagine the life of David
as “peaceful” isn’t it? His 70 years were fraught with peril and
lions and bears; with calamity and giants; with jeopardy, war and fear;
and with crisis, rebellion and transgression. Much of his life was spent
as a fugitive in flight or as a warrior in the midst of battle. YET, peace
seemed to be one of his favorite things to sing/pray about. “In peace I will both lie down and
sleep, Psalm 4:6 was written as a prayer for relief in a drought and a time when many were turning from the Lord to other gods. It is the presence of God that brings gladness and peace into any circumstance!
The Lord will bless His people with peace” Psalm 29:11 reveals God who controls
storms is the God who restores peace. “Seek peace and pursue it” Psalm 34:14 was written when David was threatened by Achish. The Lord God is a mighty deliverer to those who fear Him and cry out to Him! “The man of peace will have a posterity” Psalm 37:37 is a wisdom song written
for instruction. It reveals our powerful God laughing in the face of
wicked plots. Though evil surrounds us, the Lord is faithful in justice,
worthy of our trust! “Lovingkindness and truth have met
together; Psalm 85:10 was sung as a communal prayer for God’s mercies and favor in a time when His people are suffering distress. Our sovereign Lord, Adonai, is a restorer of what is good out of calamity. He is our revival! “Praise the Lord… He makes your
borders peace, Psalm 147:14 was written during a time
of arduous work with great opposition. However it was sung on a joyous
occasion ~ the dedication of the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem. In the midst
of battle, it is the Lord who controls the outcome in favor of His people
who fear Him and hope in His mercy! These ancient prayer/songs of peace… they express so well the yearnings of David’s heart and ours… they allow expression to our frustrations, pain, and anguish. They lead us to our Creator, restore hope and renew faith. Through them, David shares with us the secret to true peace ~ found in the secret place of the Most High. He knew intimately and experientially the God of Peace Himself. Full trust in his Heavenly Father grew out of close relationship with Him. David truly experienced the peace of God found in the refuge beneath His wing, despite horrendous circumstances that always seemed to find him.
PEACE ~ Through our English language we’ve been taught a distorted view of what true peace is ~ taught that it is freedom from war or hostilities, freedom from strife or dissension, freedom of all mental commotion. However, it is obvious that true peace ~ SHALOM ~ is something more. Though Shalom does denote safety, well being, health, prosperity, favor, ease, and a state of harmonious relationships, it’s effect encompasses more than external blessings. It manifests in a state of internal experience of the soul. It describes wholeness, completeness, and fullness, experienced not as an absence of hard circumstances but in the midst of them.
“And a red horse went out, and to
him who sat on it, “Since we are looking for a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells… Be diligent to be found by Him IN PEACE…”
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The
Allegory Of The
Olive Tree
but the root supports you… Romans 11:16-18
In the olive tree is presented a beautiful understanding of the enduring and sure purposes of God. The allegory of the olive tree reveals His kindness and severity in dealing with humanity to fulfill His ultimate purposes on the earth. In it we see beyond our own immediate environment and circumstances to view the larger plans of God that transcend time, generations, and space. It should induce both humility and hope. “All things ARE working together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose.” The olive tree is a symbol of the people of God, whose root is Jesus, a holy, rich root. It is a fitting symbol. The olive tree is over 6,000 years old, it’s deeply rooted history inextricably bound with the Mediterranean people ~ particularly Israel. It’s tenacious vigor is emblematic of strength, peace and prosperity. The “tree vital to life” it could be called as it’s harvest provided so many important products both desired and necessary to life for the Israelite: food, wood, and oil. Some 6,000 years ago, the communities of farmers living on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean attended varieties of olive trees. They started to select the varieties with larger fruit in a systematic way. They found that it was possible to extract, with some effort, a dense oily liquid, easy to burn and good for the skin, with a pleasant aromatic taste. They began to cultivate the olive tree. It is this type of “cultivated” olive tree that Paul tells us we were grafted into. In fact, Paul tells us the we were actually cut off ourselves from a “wild” olive tree, and were grafted “contrary to nature” into a cultivated one. (11:24) This goes against common agricultural practice.. It was indeed “contrary to nature” as the natural procedure is to insert a shoot of a cultivated tree into a wild one. God being God, however, SUPERnaturally grafted a wild branch into a holy, rich rooted olive tree. Normally such a graft would be unfruitful, but not so with God. The root supports us… not the other way around. The wild olive tree is actually just a thorny bush producing small fruit, with a big pit and little pulp, unlike the cultivated type which has no thorns and produces a fleshy fruit rich in oil. We, the Gentile church, have become partakers of the character that the root provides, cut off from the “wild” nature completely… because of the kindness of God who shows mercy to whom He chooses to show mercy. Such is the character of the cultivated olive tree in which we are a part: Botanists claim that the normal life span of an olive tree is 300—600 years. Some trees alive in the Mediterranean are over 1,000 years old! It grows slowly but lives to an immense age. Tenacity ~ Longevity ! It is a tree of moderate height, not lofty like the cedar of Lebanon, it grows to only 20—40 foot. It has a strong beautifully veined wood; a knotty and gnarled trunk and smooth bark. It was of prized olive wood that the two cherubim of the sanctuary were made in Solomon’s temple, the doors and the posts. It is evergreen, meaning it does not lose its leaves in winter. It thrives in warm and sunny locations and is very tolerant of drought. The olive was the most abundant and characteristic vegetation of Judea, particularly abundant in Palestine. Olive trees do not bear fruit until they are 5—8 years old and they don’t reach full development until 20. They mature and are at peak production from 35—150 years of age. They flower in June, grow green, unripe fruit in clusters, which ripen purple to black berries for harvest in November/December. An average tree produces 40 lbs. of olives a year (it takes about 11 lbs. of olives to make a liter of oil). It is this rich and abundant oil that is its chief product ~ a symbol of the Spirit of God. Clear, shining oil burning as fuel for the light of lamps, poured and rubbed into skin for beauty, mixed with various spices as fragrant ointments anointing kings, prophets and priests, consecrating the ark and the instruments of the temple, oil made into soap for cleansing, and medicines for healing. Harvest… at about this time, in this particular season, the olive fruit on the tree is ready for harvest. The best oil is made from the gathering in November and December, when the fruit begins to change color but before it becomes black, or fully ripe. The fruit is gathered by hand. Carefully, the tree is struck or the branches are shaken to release the fruit, which is caught in nets. After cleaning, the fruit is bruised in a mortar, crushed in a press, ground in a mill or sometimes trodden with the feet. Oil is released from the flesh of the olive and drawn into reservoirs. The refuse is gathered and transferred to baskets. The result ~ fresh oil, oil of joy, oil of gladness. Paul explained in his olive tree allegory God’s purpose in our “grafting in”, growing to fruitfulness, and harvest ~ “God’s purpose according to His choice” ~ “I will call those who were not my people, ’My people’ ~ “I was found by those who did not seek me. I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me” ~ “to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory” ~“salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them (Israel) jealous”, “I will make you (Israel) jealous by that which is not a nation (Gentiles)” ~ “that I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them”. The natural olive branches, Israel, were at one time broken off for their unbelief. Paul speaks with grief for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh, “who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ in the flesh” ~ “What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened” ~ “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew” ~ “My heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation” ~ “from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers” ~ “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not” ~ “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” ~ “By Israel’s transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles” ~ “their rejection is the reconciliation of the world” ~ “If they do not continue in their unbelief, they will be grafted back in, for God is able to graft them in again”. The partial hardening happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Will the “partial hardening” then be removed? Will Israel then have eyes to see and ears to hear? Is it time? Could it be the “fullness of time”? Can you imagine it!? “how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree!” ~ “if their rejection was the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?! “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
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When Christians gather, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to this religion business except, perhaps business. So churches are not model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open light, faced and dealt with.” The letter of James shows one of the church’s early Pastors skillfully going about his work of confronting, diagnosing, and dealing with areas of mis-behavior. Deep and living wisdom is on display here, wisdom both rare and essential. Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth; it is skill in living it. For, what good is truth if we don’t live it?” THE MESSAGE“true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and TRUTH” It’s about growing up... beyond the reading of the Word (milk), past talking the talk and onto the “doing” of the Word (meat). Jesus said, “My meat is TO DO the will of God.” To sum it up, James admonishes ~ JUST DO IT!” James, the brother of Jesus, was a powerfully humble Christian man leading a large and influential church - The Jerusalem Church, at the center of Christianity. In Acts 2 we see the church zealous, continuing steadfastly in the doctrine, fellowship, and prayer, daily in one accord, showing brotherly love, preferring one another, having gladness and simplicity of heart. Some 50 years later, they had become worldly, prideful, a quarrelsome group, with bitter attitudes, presumptuous, selfish. They weren’t GROWING... in fact they were REGRESSING! But that is the principle of PROGRESSION... if we’re not moving forward, daily learning and changing, we won’t just sit still... complacency produces regression! So James wrote a letter to them... and to us. It’s strong, crisp, succinct, straight to the point, laid out in black and white... boom... boom... boom REBUKE! There was no beating around the bush. James wasn’t a “spin meister” or rather “spin minister”, twisting or “putting a spin” on an issue like a pitcher throwing a baseball to make it go in a different direction. James laid out the facts for us... He was a teller of truth. Read him again... if you dare. He was a great leader because he was led by the Spirit of God himself. He carried a mantle of supernatural authority. Acts 15 shows us that he was a leader who was willing to move forward into the “new things” that God was doing. He was a right leader, in the right place, at the right time ~ because of this, the entire church moved forward. The historian Eusebius (AD265-340) refers to his letter as “universal”, meaning it was meant for the entire church. His letter quotes Jesus or repeats His themes more than any other New Testament writer. His passionate plea was... “you’ve heard the truth a long time now... put it into practice in your lives!” He tells us that God talk without God acts is outrageous nonsense... he asks “do we think we’ll get anywhere if we learn all the right words but never DO anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? Do we suppose for a minute that we can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on our hands?” The Message His timeless letter confronts reality in religion ~ the nature of genuine faith ~ pure, undefiled religion ~ and the shameful neglect of Christian duties. James had an uncanny, balanced revelation of The Truth.“The SUM of Thy Word is truth” Psalm 119:160 He knew that it is all about RELATIONSHIP ~ with God, with others ~ about the validity of our experiences with Christ being demonstrated by our actions ~ practical, ethical, Godly living. Personal growth and ethical social relationships... a faith that doesn’t deal with both is dead. A living faith creates good works, and good works perfect faith. 2:22 James gives us “duty” over “doctrine”. The message of James especially speaks to trying to talk our way to heaven instead of walking it. Paul emphasized that faith is not religious deeds without a born again heart. James shows us also that a living faith is not a born again heart without deeds. It is not one or the other, they don’t contradict... it is both. I love how Pastor Morris says it, “Our faith is both vertical and horizontal. It’s between God and us, and also between us and others.” †The message of James is “imperative” ~ not to be avoided. It is commanding. We can’t ignore it, we can’t eliminate it from “the sum of His Word”. LIVING our faith, DOERS of the Word ~ is still basic. To know Him more! And also to manifest the knowledge of Him in every place! BOTH... it is not either or. God WILL have a people who are a praise to His Name...THE HOLY ONE! A people who manifest the glory of God on this earth ~ who manifest His Son. REAL CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION... IT IS TIME TO JUST DO IT! |
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Just look at the 21st century Church of the Living God! She is becoming as awesome as an army with banners! The Spirit of God has stirred her from slumber and she is arising in strength and power! Globally focused ~ technologically sophisticated ~ serious ~ influential! She is on the move in organized prayer, in strategic spiritual warfare, in well-planned, mapped world evangelism! She has become a “mover and shaker”! She is on the “cutting edge”! She is about “important business”. Could there possibly be anything that she lacks?!!? Acts 2:43 shows us some of the same zeal of the early New Testament Church: “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many signs and wonders were taking place.” Of course their “moving and shaking” was more primitive in nature... I don’t know how “organized” and “strategically aligned” they were. They didn’t have the technology or sophistication that we have. But if we look closely... we will see something there among them... something that “The Church” today may be lacking... something basic... something simple... something we may deem frivolous... something that was POWERFUL! Acts 2:46 “Day by day continually with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meals TOGETHER WITH GLADNESS AND SINCERITY OF HEART, praising God and having favor with all people...” They had simple, basic, unsophisticated, LOVE FOR EACH OTHER... fellowship... joy in the journey... gladness... sincerity of heart... they had FRIENDSHIP. And here is the thing ~ the rest of the verse: “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Selah ~ Think about that. Such a simple thing evidently - this friendship they had with one another. Today it seems in the busy and highly organized working structure of “church”... it has become a most difficult thing. It has been given lowest priority. It was Jesus’ highest priority. “I have called you friends” “You are My friends if you do what I command you” This IS My commandment... love one another just as I have loved you... THIS I command you... love one another.” John 15:15 His highest priority for our Christian walk was... that we have “phileo” love for each other... that we would be “philos” ~ FRIENDS. Several terms are used in the Scriptures to describe relationships: “hetairos” describes comrades, clansmen, fellows. It describes a relationship of “others”. It just means “the others”. It depicts the majority of relationships in “The Church” today... just “others” in the organization, pieces of a well-oiled machine. The words Jesus used... HIS DESIRE for our
relationships one to another is so much more! It involves phileo ~ real
affection ~ a driving emotion that comes from a softened heart. No
wonder it is such a difficult thing... no wonder the enemy hinders this
“secret weapon” so easily... it is something which requires our own
vulnerability! “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love”
Romans 12:10 In all of the excitement and zeal and conferences and tapes and revelations and manifestations and prophecies and signs and wonders and world travels and salvations and deliverance and miracles... let us not forget to be “friends”, foster friendship, be kind, be courteous, be hospitable. Such a profoundly powerful thing ~ FRIENDSHIP! |
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Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, and others Elijah; but still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” Jesus said to them, “BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” Simon Peter answered, “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you Simon BarJonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I say to you that you are Peter (petros - a stone), and UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, and the gates of hell shall not overpower it.” “Upon this rock...” Jesus used the word petra... meaning BEDROCK! This revelation given by the Father to Peter, this revelation of Jesus Christ not only became a sure foundation within Peter, but it became the very foundation on which Jesus would build His Church. It is such a sure foundation that all hell can not overcome it! Bedrock is the geological term refers to the base of solid rock that underlies looser materials of the earth’s surface... an unbroken, firm foundation. “Everyone who hears My words and does them may be
compared to a wise man who dug deep and laid a foundation on “bedrock”;
and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and slammed
against the house; for it had been founded on “the bedrock.”
Lu
6:48 Paul said... “according to the grace of God which
was given to me, FOR THE FOUNDATION” Is 28:16 Peter was renamed “stone” when the foundation of Jesus Christ was laid within him. He then grew and was built up into a “pillar” of the Body of Christ - the church. Galatians 2:9 He grew to become a strong supporting structure... as we all should be: “as the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the Truth.” 1 Tim 3:15 It is fascinating to watch Peter’s maturation through the scriptures... his transformation from a “stone” to a “pillar”... It is also comforting to view the abounding grace that the Lord extended. Early Peter of the Gospels is anything but “a rock”. He was impulsive, rash, unstable and at times ruthless; bold but with an uncontrolled temper. He moved from one extreme to another. He was slow to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. He vacillated between courage and cowardice. At this same time, however, he was a zealous preacher of the truth. After three years, Peter of the Book of Acts has done some growing... not exactly the “pillar” yet but well on his way in the transforming process. He was firm, courageous and still bold. He had become the recognized leader of the apostles and was an energetic and articulate preacher. He was a strong man of prayer. His strengths had been strengthened and his weaknesses tempered and changed. He was humble. He denied self promotion. He was ready to embrace suffering. He was used in miracles, signs and wonders. He was subordinate to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. However, he still sought to please man at times and was confronted by Paul for being hypocritical in the face of “important men”... Galatians 2:11-13 Some twelve years later, Peter lives as a pillar to the church and to the truth. He is fulfilling the instructions of Jesus: “Feed My lambs”, “Take care of, shepherd My sheep”, “feed, pasture My sheep”. Peter’s epistles reveal now his great love for “the sheep”. He has become the “Apostle of Hope”. The pillar was now patient, loving, strong, confident, fearless, wise and even more humble. Now Peter built up, edified, held up, supported the Body of Christ. He was an upright, supporting part of the people of the kingdom of God ~ which is the church. I wonder if he was thinking of his own transformed life when he bid us: “be hungry, long for the pure Word, so that by it
you may grow... Paul said it this way: “you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of
God’s household, BE BUILT UPON THE SAME SURE FOUNDATION THAT PETER WAS ~ THE SAME FOUNDATION UPON WHICH PETRA ~ BEDROCK... JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! |
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“Thou art a woman of EXCELLENCE” Ruth 3:11Written to Honor Reverend Reba Johnson These words which were spoken It is so touching to visualize the exchange between Boaz and Ruth on the threshing floor the night that these words were spoken. Resting at his feet, she surely was filled with heightened anticipation, with a sense of utmost and imminent fulfillment of purpose. And I’m sure that she was even quite fearful. She knew that her whole life had brought her to this point of destiny. Would she be accepted? Everything seemed to rest upon that fateful moment. However, she really had nothing to fear. Her Redeemer’s heart was already toward her. She was “accepted in the beloved”. The testimony of her life preceded her. Like a living epistle, her life had been read by all. He was well pleased with her. She was known as a “woman of excellence”. That Hebrew word “chayil” comes from the meaning… to bear or bring forth as in childbirth. And as this beautiful language does so well, it paints a picture of a force, like an army; of a great wealth of treasure; of much virtue, strength and valor. This is what Ruth had become! This is what had been brought forth in her life! What a beautiful prophetic picture of the Bride of Christ emerging from among all of the other maids. Revealed and manifested in all of her excellence as a suitable and like mate for our Lord Jesus! How did she become such as this? We don’t know every thing about her life. Just as we can’t really “walk a mile in another man’s shoes” as each one’s life experiences are uniquely personal, we can however see the milestones and witness the end results ~ peaceable fruits of righteousness, the yield of much training. Ruth was brought from emptiness to fullness, from famine to feast, from among the dead to the land of the living, from bitterness to pleasantness ~ to walk the promised land in the season of harvest. Through all of the distresses and upheavals that came into her life, her steps continually moved her forward toward her ultimate destiny in God. She lived with a perpetual hope. For the joy set before her, she endured all things with a character of selfless love. Imagine the human emotions that she surely must have experienced… grief, sadness, fear, inadequacy, and even humiliation as she worked as a beggar servant in the fields owned by another. She didn’t grumble or complain, but simply remained faithful. She “kept her eyes on the field of Boaz” and not another. She was humble and steadfast, doing each day’s work, gathering in each day’s harvest. As Boaz ensured that the labor of her hands was producing abundantly, her sense of ultimate purpose was growing. I wonder… while she was about her daily work…did she know? Did she realize that her time of fulfillment was just ahead? That soon she would be intimately joined with the one who owned those very fields… that she would soon share with Him in all that was His? I think she did ~ and it was the “knowing” that made her “press in” and diligently “pursue” that glorious destiny. And the time of fulfillment did come. It was a night of intense vulnerability for Ruth at the threshing floor. She had to risk it all! Overcoming fear of man, she lay at His feet. The outcome was already established, the divine plan would culminate in her life. “Do not fear” And Ruth, like Rachel and Leah, built the house of God”. Her union with Boaz was not an end in itself… but a beginning… as they brought forth a “son. Her destiny wasn’t salvation and deliverance alone… but her destiny was to bring forth Jesus Christ in the earth! May it be so even in the Bride of Christ this day! |
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“God made the world and all that is in it, since Acts 17:24-26 ~ GOD IS LORD OF TIME AND SEASONS ~ He created chronos or chronological time... spans and quantities of time telling us what day it is. He likewise creates kairos times or seasons of special happenings occurring within chronological time. Now Elizabeth’s full chronos came”... and she delivered. Lu 1:57 “When the fullness of chronos came”... God sent His Son. Gal 4:4 “the mystery was kept secret since the chronos of the ages but NOW is made manifest” Ro 16:25 Jesus “whom heaven must receive until the chronos of restoration of all things” Acts 3 “... his purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before chronos began but NOW has been revealed” 2 Tim 1:9 Jesus said, “My kairos is at hand” Matt 26:18 Jesus said, “The kairos is fulfilled” Mark 1:15 “In the right kairos, Christ died for the ungodly” Ro 5:6 Paul understood God’s kairos seasons... He admonishes us to be not complacent about our time... Ro 12:11 “Be not lagging... be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (or literally be observant of the kairos!) And again 13:11 “And do this, knowing the kairos, that it is high time to awake out of sleep” And yet again... Ephe 5:14 “Arise, you sleeping one... walk circumspectfully... as wise, redeeming the kairos... understand what the will of the Lord is.” Let us not “sleep” ... let us be awake and alert to redeem this present kairos. Your life is not happenstance. You have been placed on this earth, in THIS chronological time... for a season such as NOW ! In THIS season, you have been brought near to “naga” ... to touch, to reach and lay a hand purposefully - forcefully upon the kingdom! Esther 4:14 CARPE DIEM ~ SEIZE THE DAY! |
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I have been fascinated with a particular verse of Scripture lately ~ Judges 6, verse 11. It is found in the account of Gideon. This small, culled down army defeating the Midianites is an encouragement to all of us. I love the ways of God, particularly when He chooses to show Himself strong through “a few” ... “lest man claim glory for itself... saying my own hand has saved me.” However, the portion of this account that has “leaped out” to me lately is a simple, seemingly unimportant fact presented at the beginning: “Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezite, while his son GIDEON THRESHED WHEAT IN THE WINEPRESS.” Think about that for a minute... a winepress is not usually a place we find wheat, nor a common site for threshing. Obviously, it was harvest time for Gideon and his Manasseh brethren... The chore of threshing, the separating of the wheat grains from the chaff, was usually done on a threshing floor... an open area, usually elevated so the wind could blow the chaff away. But here we see wheat hidden. The enemy’s oppression of Israel was great. So great that the Israelites had taken to living as refugees in dens, caves and strongholds in the mountains. Those brave enough to continue to sow, saw their harvests stolen or destroyed time and again by the enemy. “So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites, also Amalekites, and the people of the East would come up... and destroy the produce of the earth... coming in as numerous as locusts...” What a hopeless situation... you sow, it’s stolen, you sow, it’s destroyed. In the midst of this hopeless situation, Gideon is found faithfully tending, threshing out, and protecting a harvest. How did this particular wheat grow, escaping the enemy’s grasp? We don’t know. But we do see that once it matured to a harvest, it is hidden still for threshing. It must have been a very precious harvest indeed! Interesting that later in the account, we see Gideon and his victorious army depicted in a dream as a WHOLE LOAF OF BREAD rolling in to destroy the enemy’s camp! HA! |
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Rise Up My Love And Come Away With Me |
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I remember well the day that Draw me away with You! Time flies. . . I work long in the noonday sun, Draw me away with You!
The voice of my Beloved!
Rise up My love, My fair one,
Suddenly I hear my brothers cry out ~
. . . Night falls. I cannot find Him.
Scarcely had I passed by the watchmen
Behold! He comes! |
My Beloved speaks: . . . I still dance the dance of two camps...Night falls again. I sleep, but my heart is awake. ... I dream of my Beloved and I in the garden, while the dew was still on the roses. “Beloved, Come behind our wall! Leave Your companions outside. They will trample our garden, muddying its waters.” I hear Him! The watchmen find me. I lift my voice, my face unveiled. . . “He bids us to come... that where He is, And Our Beloved speaks to us: Our hearts cry out together, We understand. |
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“Blow upon my garden, that its fragrance may flow
out. If the apostle Paul had a “favorite” group of believers... I would guess it was the Philippians. There was just something about this group of believers that made them “favorite” of many. Paul, in particular calls them “beloved, longed for brethren”, “my joy and my crown”. What was it about the Philippians that made them so likeable, such a joy to the rest of the Body of Christ? The mutual joy experienced in the Philippian fellowship is made obvious in Paul’s letter to them from a Roman prison. This 50th book of our Bible points to a harvest... 50 - pente... the feast of Pentecost, firstfruits. The Philippians were a fruitful bunch - their fruit so ripe... it’s fragrance flowed out. When Paul first entered the Macedonian region to plant this, Europe’s first Christian church, he found women praying at the river. As the law required any place of at least 10 Jewish men to establish a synagogue, Philippi must not have had 10 men who worshipped God. Through Paul however, God “opened their hearts to hear”. The good seed that he planted, took root, grew and matured. 10 years later, Paul’s epistle to this little fellowship paints a beautiful picture of harvest ~ of a bountiful, fruitful body. What began as a small women’s prayer group on the banks of the river, a demonized girl, and a jailer and his family ~ had become a nucleus to the work of God, a vital Christian support system. Having been built upon Jesus Christ by Apostle Paul, a wise master builder laying the foundation, they had become a sturdy structure, a joyful congregation, caring, generous ~ a sweet smelling church! Paul himself speaks of their love, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, sincerity, joy, unity and humility. The church had been built upon a gold mine and planted in fertile soil (spiritually and literally as Phillipi was an important region known for its gold mines and fertile soils.) Love became the hallmark of the Philippian church. Brotherly love abounded as Paul and the other apostles and disciples found refuge time and again within the safe harbor of the Philippian fellowship. How merciful of God to establish this “safe haven” of loving Christians strategically in the midst of the Via Egnatia ~ the main road from Rome! In a time of fierce persecution, the Philippians were a joyful rest. Paul speaks of the persecutions... the attacks from the Romans, the Judaisers and God forbid... “other Christians”. The Message Bible makes very clear what Paul thought about these “others” ~ how they were caught up in self-centeredness and pride ~ blinded and deaf to the simplicity of the message of the Kingdom of God ~ Love. He tells us how many were preaching Christ from envy and strife. Selfish ambition was rampant, Christians greedily hoping to get something for themselves, always striving to put themselves in the spotlight. Paul says, “they’re merely greedy, their motives are bad”, “looking out for themselves”. He warned the beloved Philippians, “steer clear of these barking dogs, religious busybodies, all they’re interested in is appearances, knife-happy circumcisers”, he called them. This discord of pride and selfish ambition could only be countered with the opposite spirit - humility. And that is what the Philippians did. They moved in sharp contrast to the “many others”. They were a remnant bearing fruit. Paul says that they were the only ones, in fact, who helped him. They were a refuge, a giver of gifts and aid to the Body of Christ in tumultuous times. Paul says, “not that I sought your gift, but I sought the fruit that abounds to your account”. ~ Let Paul’s words to the Philippians edify and cause us too to grow ~ “Continue to bear good fruit, sincere love. There is no doubt in my mind that God who started this great work in you will bring it to a flourishing finish. Abound more and more in the love that He placed within you. Love one another, agree with one another, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t become like the majority. Don’t push your way to the front, don’t sweet talk your way to the top, don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Continue to live in responsive obedience, energetic, reverent, sensitive, readily and cheerfully generous. Be as a breath of fresh air into a polluted society. Keep track of those you see running this same course. Make it as clear as you can that you’re working with them and not against them. Don’t waver as some do, taking paths, choosing other goals along “easy street”. Stay on track. God is beckoning us onward unto Jesus. Keep focused on that goal if you want everything He has for us. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which He is putting everything as it should be, under and around Him.” “like a sweet smelling sacrifice roasting on the
altar, |
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Remnant ~ it is the word used for Noah and his family. Having a prominent role in the Word of God, the “remnant” in the Word denotes that which remains or is left ~ the rest ~ those who survive ~ those who would be left ~ those who remained. Numerous dispersions or scatterings have occurred to
the Jewish people throughout history. One such scattering, the one we
will look at here, was the deportation of the Israelites from their
promised land by the Assyrians and Babylonians. These events are
recorded in the Scripture for our example and admonition. We see the
pattern ~ God always has a remnant! A remnant... The Kingdom of Israel was already divided. Solomon had ruled over a united kingdom, and after his death, his son Rehoboam became king. The division began. Solomon’s old adversary, Jeroboam led a revolt against the new king. Ten tribes (the majority) banded together, took the name “Israel” and broke away becoming the Northern Kingdom. Those people followed their leader into counterfeit worship 1 K 12:25, 31, idolatry, and created a false priesthood. Judah and Benjamin “alone remained loyal to the house of David”. Taking the name “Judah”, they became the Southern Kingdom. With 180,000 fighting men, they became the remnant. And the Lord told them, “go home, this is My doing, don’t fight against your brothers, Israel”. The legitimate Levitical priesthood sided with Judah, and those who “set their heart on seeking the Lord, followed the Levites to Jerusalem” to join as the remnant people. The whole turn of events was from the Lord, Several hundred years now pass in the divided Kingdom. The North had some good, mostly bad kings, the South the same. However, the Northern idolatrous kingdom came under God’s judgment first. Judgment and eventual restoration was spoken through the prophets Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. The Northern Kingdom had “sown the wind and would reap the whirlwind”. Hosea 8:7 Being stiff-necked, they refused one last opportunity to “return and repent” Hos 14:1, and the Assyrians conquered them in 722 BC . 2 K 17:3-23 These 10 tribes are still there. 2 K 17:21The people of the “10 lost tribes” did not return from exile to rebuild Jerusalem. Back to “the remnant”, Judah ~ How did they fare? Well, they too were judged righteously. Even after watching their “sister”, Israel’s judgment, they also did not repent or turn. Is 3:7,12 Their dispersion and judgment was delayed because of Godly leadership, however, judgment did come. Their judgment and eventual restoration was first spoken prophetically through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel and Zephaniah. The Lord would discipline Judah at the hand of His
“servant” Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Jer
27:6 Judah would live in subjection to her enemy,
the yoke heavy upon her neck. The deportation of Judah to Babylon took
some 12 years culminating in a final siege against Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar attacked the remnant of Judah in Jerusalem in 598 BC, and
the final deportation was accomplished in 586 BC. It was by the hand of
the Lord. a remnant... of a remnant...And so the Babylonians killed the kings and nobles of
Judah and all their families. Their houses were burned, Jerusalem and the
temple ruined. Those who survived and lived became the second remnant.
Exiled to live in Babylon, they would eventually be released by King
Cyrus, Neh 1:3 return to
Jerusalem, and rebuild under Zerrubabbel, Nehemiah and Ezra - encouraged
by the prophets Zechariah and Haggai. It was mostly the poor survivors who
returned to rebuild, many of those who prospered in their Babylonian
captivity, chose to remain there.
Not much is spoken about this third remnant - the few... The emphasis is usually upon those that were sent off to Babylon and later returned. However, there was a third remnant! Not only a people that lived and survived the Babylonian siege, but a people who REMAINED. A people were left in the promised land - the poorest. In the midst of Judah’s judgment, not only did the Lord judge the leaders, but He judged between “the fat sheep and the lean sheep”. Ezek 34:20 The lean sheep would not go into exile in Babylon, they would remain in the land! Not those who had selfishly eaten of the best, but those who had to eat what was left after the flock trampled it with their feet, those who had to drink waters fouled by other’s feet, the weak who had been pushed and butted with horns of others - the poor possessed the land! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven “But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard (of Babylon) left in the land of Judah the poor people who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time” Jer 39:10 And they set Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam (Jeremiah’s protector) as Governor over them. And Jeremiah joined them - “the people who were left in the land - men, women, children and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive”. And they lived free, and gathered wine, and summer fruit, and oil ~ they became a remant of a remnant of a remnant.“The Lord said, ‘ I will leave in your midst a meek
and humble people, “Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have
upheld His justice. |
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“Let us consider one another in order
to stir up love and good works, James Sharp said that the Council of Laodicea, in the year 370, made it illegal for the disciples of Jesus Christ to “gather together” in homes ~ mandating “assembling” to take place only in the sanctuary. That intrigued me, creating questions that needed answers. I’ve heard that “where there are no questions, there is no journey”. What a wonderful journey the Holy Spirit takes us on when we ask questions! Searching through the Word, looking at how Jesus assembled with others, how the early disciples assembled after His ascension, and at what Jesus has promised us regarding “our assembling” brought much revelation. There is an “assembly” and then there is “an assembly”! Our English language seems inadequate to express all that the Word, spoken and written as the New Testament in the Greek language was meant to express. Our translation merely says “assemble”. And we think...”okay, they got together”. But the Greek words describe so much more! The Greek terms describe not only their coming together, but they tell us how, what, when and why they gathered. For instance ~ the most often used word is sunago. And it means a close union, companionship, completeness bringing about a leading together. It is used in Matthew 18:20 where it says, “For where two or three are sunago together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” A wonderful first-picture of that experience can be found in John 20:19 ~ “when the disciples were assembled (sunago) behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came into their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you’. It’s so even today ~ as we sunago, He who is perfect love, comes into our midst, casting out fear! Sunago is where the word synagogue came from. As we will soon see, to sunago means much more than the building where we meet! The sun or sum prefix of sunago is attached to many other words to describe these “close union” assemblies. Each one of them shows us a different quality and character of our gatherings. Some examples are: sum + baino = closely together they walked Starting to get the picture? They were not just “going to church”, and they were not “just socializing”. Something else was happening with these “assemblies”, something beyond superficiality, something supernatural! They were being “knit together”. The early disciples were being built. They were becoming a spiritual house, Jesus Christ the Chief Cornerstone. God still has a plan of assembly. He will be faithful to complete that which He began. Our admonition is not to “forsake” it ~ again Hebrews 10:25. This assembly spoken about in Hebrews is an extension of sunago. It describes THE assembly. It is the word episunago. It places emphasis upon the place of the gathering. It is interesting to note where this word is used! WHERE is THE assembly? Jesus used this word when He spoke in the temple ~ Matthew 23:37 ~ “How often I wanted to episunago thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chicks, under her wings, but you were not willing!” Jesus used picture language that all who knew the Psalms and Deuteronomy would understand. Psalms 17:8 ~ “Keep me as the apple of Your eye, Hide me under the shadow of Your wings”. Psalms 91:4 ~ He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge...” Deut 32:11 ~ “as an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them in its wings...” The episunago, THE assembly that the Jews were not willing to partake of, is in the secret place of the Most High! Under the shadow of El Shaddai’s wings! Abiding! Taken up, carried in His wings! Matthew 24:1 ~ Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple” v 3 “as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately” and Jesus told them of what would come... “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, all the tribes of the earth will mourn, they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and He will send His angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather together (episunago) His elect”. The prophets today are trumpeting God’s heart. He is inviting us under the shelter of His wings ~ to abide in the secret place of El Shaddai, beneath His wings, within His shadow ~ both individually and corporately. Of paramount importance in His plan of assembly ~ He is building His net, net-working, connecting, assembling, gathering, not only individual members of the Body ~ you and me ~ but churches. “Divine connections will prevail with those who are being woven into the harvesting net. Individuals, ministries, and churches will network together to align themselves in increased accountability. Relational transparency will become the standard for being truly used of God.” Prophet Bret Wade “My servants will form teams and networks to facilitate My purpose... this networking shall come and it will be facilitated by the anointing as well as power by covenant integrity, by character...” Jim Hodges “The Lord today has a corporate call out to His people, but we must make that response individually... The Lord is wanting to give us a revelation in this hour of the corporate anointing... God is giving us a revelation of His connections in this hour.. He is bringing us into what is called “covenant relationship”... He is connecting churches, He is connecting individuals... As the people of the Lord got ready to cross over the Jordan into the promised land, it said ‘all the people will cross over’, that is a corporate phrase” Barbara Wentroble
Do not let fear and past failures cause us to forsake
this vital working of God in our midst! Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together... |
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Rocks fill the streets. They fill up the path, blocking the roads. Stones that have been used as weapons, thrown at people, are now stumbling stones to others. As I looked at the newspaper photograph, I saw thousands of them ~ rocks, stones, pebbles, boulders filling the streets of Hebron in Israel. It’s hard to believe “stone throwing” still occurs. It is a stark picture of reality. Present day Hebron may be a natural picture of a spiritual condition. When the accuser of the brethren comes, Jesus says, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone first”. As one reads the ancient stories in the Bible, certain events, people or places find a special place in the heart. The Holy Spirit quickens, the passage becomes rhema, He breathes life upon it and it is lodged in our heart and spirit ever after. The Biblical city of Hebron is like that to me. It has a special place in my heart. There is a blessing in understanding Hebron. Hebron means “alliance” “league” “community”. It is a town in the mountainous region of Judah - it is in Canaan land - in the promised land. Originally, it was named Kirjath Arba after the father of the Anakim, the giants that were a terror to the children of Israel. Hebron is the place of the Valley of ‘THE CLUSTER”! (Num 13:22) It is the land of promise to Abraham. It is a land meant to be possessed by the children of God. To me, it is a picture of the spiritual place of unity of the brethren and of a corporate anointing. Abram inherited it and dwelt there, Isaac and Jacob too. David dwelt there where he reigned until the nation was unified. It is a land given as an inheritance to the descendants of Caleb - “because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel” (Josh 14:14) Unfortunately, it was a land that the children of Israel refused to possess because of fear and unbelief. “We are not able to go up against the giants, for they are stronger than we”. “We saw the giants; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight”. (Because we see ourselves small - the giants do too!) Caleb, however, had a different spirit or attitude within him. He was able to see that which was not, as though it was. He too surveyed the giants, but his focus was on the CLUSTER. He had a vision of the promised land, a land of milk and honey and real fruitfulness! He believed God’s words. He had the faith to say, “Let us go up at once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it”. The Caleb spirit believes God - does not waver at the promise of God through unbelief. The Caleb spirit has a vision of the fruit of the promised land - a branch with one cluster. The Caleb spirit does not fear the obstacles in the way. The Caleb spirit has the patience and perseverance to wait for that vision to become a reality. 45 years went by. Caleb was now 85 years old when Joshua gave him Hebron as his inheritance. What patience and faith! To hold that vision of the cluster, community, alliance, league, fruitfulness all those years while traveling in the wilderness with his grumbling and complaining brethren! And travel WITH them he did. ~ with the same brethren that nearly “stoned” him all those years ago. He remained faithful to God and persevered. The wilderness experience, the influence of his companions did not diminish the Caleb spirit. “As yet I am as strong this day as in the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war... now GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN!” And Caleb took Hebron. The Lord says, “truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” Num 14:21-31. those who have seen My glory and signs but have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land, nor shall any of those who rejected me see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land, those of the descendants of Caleb, they shall inherit it, dwell in it, possess it! (paraphrase mine) The Caleb spirit will not only see the promised land, they’ll live in the glory! THE IRONY - Caleb was not an Israelite! Caleb was a foreigner. Caleb’s genealogy was not of the natural lineage of Israel. He was the son of Jephunneth (for whom a way is prepared), a Kenizzite! He was grafted into the tribe of Judah (Num 32:12). He was not born a son of Israel (Jacob) but was probably of the lineage of Esau - Edomite! He who was “adopted” into the family of Israel received the promised inheritance. LORD GOD - give us who were also grafted in - the vision of Caleb. Give us a vision of the Cluster of real fruitfulness. Though we survey the land of “unity” and we see the giants in our way, help us to hold onto Your promises! The streets of unity are littered with stones that have been thrown. So much damage has been done, so many wounded. The roads seem impassible. There are rocks strewn everywhere, they’re stumbling stones to everyone traveling the path. Help us “prepare the way for the people, to build up, build up the highway! To take out the stones”. (Is 62:10) Help us not only to stop throwing stones, but to be repairers, to take out the stones, to build and not destroy. We want to inherit the promised land. We want to dwell there! Your creation groans in earnest expectation, eagerly waiting God! We hope for what we do not yet see, help us to eagerly wait for it with perseverance. We believe Your Word: There is one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. You will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. There will be unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. There will be one body, a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, grown up into Him who is the head. The whole body joined and knit together, every joint supplying, walking in love, walking as children of light, submitted one to another, nourishing each other, cherishing each other even as Christ loved the church. In possession of the prize! Living, dwelling within the cluster, dwelling in the spirit, a great bough of fruitfulness, a sweet smelling aroma. A many-membered body, one body, no schisms, moving in humility, preferring one another, Raised up together and made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Knowing and displaying Your manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. AMEN p.s. After inheriting his “promised land”, Caleb gave his portion, Hebron, to the Levites to be used as a “city of refuge”. |
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18 year old Eric Moore, the University of Oklahoma quarterback didn’t live up to the expectations of the fans. They booed at him on the field. The hate mail, death threats, criticism, sarcasm and insults still bring back painful memories. He almost quit. He says, “I thought people were my friends. “ It was a harsh lesson for a young man, as it is for all of us. As the pressure and hostility increased however, he drew closer to God. His godly mother led him to “pray for those who persecuted and spitefully used him”. He didn’t quit. He knows that the race is not won by the swift, but by the one who endures to the end. Instead of letting bitterness make him mean and cruel too, the experience created in him patience, humility, and compassion for others. Now a licensed Baptist minister, he shares with youth what he learned through the dark hours. I bet he is a kind friend. Job also thought, “they were my friends”. When they heard of all his adversity, they came. They intended to comfort, instead they became tormentors. Friend #1, Eliphaz, was a religious, dogmatic, pharisaical type. A real spiritual man, he used proverbs, parables, hymns, dreams and visions to torment Job without mercy or compassion. Friend #2, Bildad, was a traditionalist and tormented Job further. He was good at using worn out cliches and platitudes. His doctrine of retribution left no room to be a kind friend. Friend # 3, Zophar, is completely devoid of mercy. He brings the friendly torment to fullness. As the old saying goes, with friends like that, who needs enemies? A typical know it all, Zophar’s theology was “pure”. Knowing the “secrets of wisdom”, he calls Job a hypocrite. Oh, the emperor is the only one who doesn't know that he is naked! How often are we just the same way? “How long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words”, Job cries out. “I am one mocked by his friends. You are all worthless physicians. Oh, that you would just be silent, and that would be your wisdom! If your soul were in my soul’s place, I too could heap up words against you and shake my head at you. But, no! I will strengthen you with my mouth and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.” And Job prayed for his friends, Job made sacrifice for them, Job was restored. Eric, Job, David ~ even Jesus ~ all felt betrayed and hurt by those they thought were their friends. It is all too common an occurrence of our human condition. We don’t know how to be a friend. We know well the hurt a friend can inflict. We know how vulnerable we become when we extend our own hand in friendship. Its a scary thing! It’s an investment with great risk. Jesus answers offense simply: If you’re the offender ~ if you have hurt someone’s feelings ~ go to them, apologize, be reconciled. Matt 5:24 If you’re the one offended ~ if someone hurt your feelings ~ be merciful, forgive them. Matt 18:22 It will be a miracle, but God IS building relationships. It is His focus in this season; fitting each stone together into a perfect temple, bringing joints together, tying knots as if mending a net. We all want to be a friend of God, it requires being a friend to His Body as well. What kind of friend am I? What kind of friend are you? As Eric Moore’s mother told him, “You have no control over how people treat you, but you do have control over how you treat others. KINDNESS, against such there is no law. |
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There once was a leader who ruled over multitudes. He encouraged those under his charge to explore new horizons, to seek out new lands, to boldly go where no man had gone before. And so they did. They found a new land. They liked the new land and decided to stay. More and more of the multitudes did the same. Then the leader became angry at the “new landers”. He pressed his rulership over them, loading upon their backs heavy burdens, too heavy to bear. He started treating them as if they were foreigners. He proclaimed that “the king’s subjects were engaged in open and avowed rebellion”. . He started calling them “the enemy”. The “new landers” humbly sent petitions to the ruler asking for redress over the increasingly heavy burdens. The “new landers” continued to pursue the path of reconciliation. Their appeals were in vain. The ruler ignored their petitions or answered with more injuries. The ruler gathered reinforcements against the “new landers”. He even constrained their fellow brethren to bear arms against them, to become executioners of their own friends. He forced the situation to become ~ “enemies in war ~ in peace friends”. He declared war upon the “new landers”. His actions revealed his character. His actions defined him as a tyrant, a despot. Little did he know that his actions would serve to cement together even more tightly the bonds between those in the new land. It forged their convictions and ideals so firmly into place within their hearts that a spirit of unity resulted. So strong a spirit of unity emerged, that each “new lander” mutually pledged to each other their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. With this unity, came a realization that the only solution was separation. At times in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the bands which have connected them with another. Separation becomes unavoidable, though many times temporary. “It is good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity!” But sometimes when we are not “dwelling together”, God will separate. Unity through separation ~ it is a paradox. It happened with Abraham and Lot when they “could not dwell together” (all alike, all at the same time, community in action in unity). It happened with Jacob and Essau, with David and Saul. Even the disciples were separated (Acts 8:1,4) God has farther reaching purpose in “separations” than we can see when we’re in the midst of the process. God will separate a relationship to create a “right relationship”. It also happened with the ruler and the “new landers”. On July 4, 1776, the “new landers” proclaimed their Declaration of Independence from British rule. With “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence”, a new nation, the United States, was born. In the end, we and our British brothers are now reconciled ~ friends and staunch allies one with another. |
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Imagine if you will, Hezekiah, King of Judah in the day of his distress. Sennacherib, King of Assyria was at the pinnacle of his power. Mighty and proud, he was walking about the land like a roaring lion seeking whom he could devour. He called himself “King of the World”. Each time he attacked and invaded, the people offered little resistance or simply fled in fear. It seemed like nothing could stop him. and he surely would be “King of the World”. Now his attention was directed toward Hezekiah and a remnant tucked away in the safety of Jerusalem. The dreaded and renowned enemy, the same one that Hezekiah’s father before him had compromised with, was standing right outside Hezekiah’s door! A clay tablet found by archaeologists in 1830 tells Sennacherib’s view of the situation: “As for Hezekiah the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke. I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts and to the countless small villages in their vicinity, and conquered them by means of well-stamped earth ramps and battering rams brought near to the walls, combined with the attack by foot soldiers, using mines, breaches as well as sapper work. I drove out 200, 150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting, and considered them booty. Hezekiah himself, I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. Hezekiah himself, was overwhelmed by the fear of the brightness of my lordship. . . and his faithful warriors fell into fear.” To any observer, the boastings of the enemy depicted an accurate portrayal of the situation. The remnant at Jerusalem were indeed “birds in a cage”. Isaiah 36:1 - 37:20 gives a description of their desperate plight. What would they do? Would they too be devoured by the enemy? Fear was rampant! It not only looked bad, it was bad! In the midst of this impossible situation, in the day of distress, Hezekiah had the opportunity to exercise his faith. Here he would learn a most valuable lesson. It would become to him a “Valley of Vision”. It was not only a “day of distress”, but a “day of rebuke and correction”, and a “day of disgrace”. In this day of personal and national crisis, Hezekiah was brought to a moment of clarity, a choice. “IN WHAT DO YOU TRUST?” 2 Chr32:10 Hezekiah’s choice was to trust God, to come to the beautiful place of repentance, the place of a broken and contrite spirit. He knew that compromise had gotten them into this mess. He humbled himself under the mighty hand of God. It is here that the Lord would now show His strength! It is here that Hezekiah, (“Jehovah is strength”), would gain a new vision of the Lord God Almighty! Powerful! Mighty! Strong! No longer could Hezekiah put his trust in man. Leaning upon Egypt would avail nothing now. His attempts to compromise with the enemy had only whet the devourer’s appetite, that wouldn’t work anymore either. Any strength that he had ever relied upon in the past; horses, chariots and defensive walls were of no use. Any fleshly weapons that he had previously relied upon; his own wisdom, the strength of men, manipulation and smooth talking were of no use now. In this place of complete desperation, Hezekiah fell completely into God’s hands. Read for yourself the outcome in 2 Kings 19-35-37. Not all those within the camp of Judah, however responded to the day of distress as Hezekiah did. Isaiah 22 and 2 Chr 32 shows us that many in that day strived to continue in their own way, depending upon their own strength to save them from Sennacherib, (“Sin”). Basic unbelief and fear led them to rely upon themselves and others, continuing to try to manipulate the situation to avoid any further crisis. Working it out in the flesh, many in the Valley of Vision continued to focus on human effort. They looked to the armor, the water supply, fortifying the wall, etc, but they did not look to their Maker. Shebna in particular is singled out. He was one in a high office of leadership as a steward over the house of Judah under King Hezekiah. He was as aware of the situation as Hezekiah was. But Shebna thought himself “a mighty man”. In what did he trust? Two men ~ two different responses to the day of distress in the Valley of Vision. As Hezekiah, broken and repentant receives a new vision of the Lord ~ Shebna receives a proclamation of judgment. Interestingly, this is the only context where the “key of David” is mentioned in the Old Testament. (Isaiah 22:22) It is a lesson, written and preserved “for our admonition”. Today the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, holds the Key of David and extends it to the faithful church of Philadelphia ~ the church of “Brotherly Love”. In their weakness, He continues to show Himself strong. The key is the instrument which unlocks and opens or which locks . “He who is faithful, He who is True, He who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens says to those who put their trust in Him “Behold, I set before you an open door”. |
| . . . Eccl 3:3 God is pouring out a “BUILDING” anointing. The Kingdom of God has entered into an Apostolic season to BUILD. It’s evident everywhere ~ BUILD, BUILD, BUILD! Dreams about building, visions about building, talk about building! We are feeling God’s heart. His desire is to BUILD! He is pouring out in such abundance this anointing to build, that we respond in the only way we know how. We build in the natural. We’re building buildings! Bigger buildings, renovating buildings, more buildings, adding on, expanding. I read today in a particular church newsletter that they too are hearing God’s heart to BUILD! They write, “The Spirit is blowing in our church!” It is bringing a spirit of restlessness, causing exciting discussions for expanding and building. So they have called Session meetings, started initial plans for building, formed task committees, contacted local architects. They are reviewing renovation and expansion plans for a growing congregation, more attendance, more young families, improved Sunday School, more activities through the week, Bible studies with fellowship meals, more for young couples, singles ministries, youth services, support groups, a storm shelter, more community programs, handicapped accessibility, modernizing the kitchen with improved electrical and hot water capacity, classrooms, improved library, local storm shelter site, a board room, paved parking lot, and a drive through carport. All of this building is great! And certainly there needs to be room for all those that are coming in the harvest. God knows that we will build when He says to BUILD! He also knows us well enough to expect that we will respond with literal building projects. But there is a SPIRITUAL building up that is His true heart. “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” l Pet 2:5 “You. . . having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God IN THE SPIRIT” Eph 2:20 “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him” Col 2.6 The precedent is set in the Word of God. God’s heart for BUILDING speaks of a building up of His people. The purpose of the anointing for building is to BUILD PEOPLE! I saw a stained glass window a few months ago in a church. It was the “carpenter’s square”. It is the symbol of the Apostle and moreso a symbol of the Great Carpenter and Builder ~ Jesus Christ. That picture of the carpenter’s square will not leave me alone! I see it everywhere, I think about it, I draw it, I dream about it, I talk about it! Paul carried such a spiritual “carpenter’s square”. He was a spiritual BUILDER! He says “according to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder. I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.”l Cor 3:10 Let us take heed to also BUILD spiritually. Paul’s example is especially for us at this time. Paul edified and built up people! He was constantly building up, fitting together, improving, encouraging, equipping, training, repairing, measuring, making necessary adjustments of PEOPLE. He himself says in 2 Cor 10:8 that the Apostolic authority which the Lord gave him was given for edification and not destruction. It is an anointing and corresponding authority that is given to edify. The foremost desire is “completion”. Paul prayed “that you be made “complete”, that “ye be perfectly (completely) joined together”, “knitted together”, “built up in love”. How can you be a part of what God is building today? Hear with spiritual ears, see with spiritual eyes. . . what opportunities are you presented with today to “BUILD UP” a person? Is there an occasion given to you to encourage someone, to increase their faith, to repair a breach, to foster unity? Respond to those opportunities and you will be right in the center of God’s BUILDING PLAN! He is BUILDING a temple for His Spirit! “and the glory of
this latter temple shall be greater than the former” “Let us rise up and build” Neh 2:18 “Not by might nor by power but
by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts” “and every one of the builders
had his sword girded at his side as he built” And in the 7th month, at the Feast of Tabernacles, the construction of the temple was complete. The Ark of His presence was brought into the inner sanctuary, and “THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE HOUSE OF GOD” 2 Chr5:14 |
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Celebrating Those Who Quietly Make a Difference Let nothing be done
through selfish ambition or conceit, “Let no one seek his
own, but each one the other’s well-being” Webster defines “unsung” as unrecognized , uncelebrated This column is dedicated to the members of the Body of Christ ~ those who have made unrecognized contributions to the Kingdom of God ~ whose value and worth have gone unsung ~ those who make themselves of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and come in the likeness of ... Jesus. Paul urges us to “know those who labor among you”. It is easy to know and esteem those among us who lead. We have many Moses’, Daring Davids and Deborahs, Energetic Elijahs and Elishas. We even have some Sad Sauls. Thank You Jesus for all those that You have given to lead us! But have you looked around lately at the majority, those that make up the largest portion of the Body of Christ ~ those that are the followers? There are so many!! All around the Moses’, Davids, Deborahs, Elijahs, Elishas and Sauls is this huge, vast marching company! They have no reputation, no big names, no cutting edge ministry. They’re hard to see. They blend so well into the background, why, they’re almost “SEE THROUGH SERVANTS”! I want to know them. I want to spend time with them. I want to understand ~ “How did you lay down the human desire for the accolades of man? Why, though you are anointed, skilled, and capable, do you refuse to sit in the best seat? Who took “me, my, mine” from your vocabulary? How did you get so “see through”? “Everywhere I look I see Your Face. Your love has captured me, Oh my God, this love, how can it be?” The words to a song that we sing tell it so well ~ WE HAVE TO LOOK TO SEE. We all desire to “see” His face, to “see” the glory of God. All creation groans for the manifestation of the “REAL THING”! Heb 1:3, John 1:14, 2 Cor 4:6 tells us His glory is revealed in the Face of Jesus Christ. And I think I’m catching a glimpse of it! Everywhere I look ~ I’m seeing the manifestation of Jesus Christ’s face risen upon His Body. The glory of God is rising upon You! I catch a glimpse... in a newspaper ad placed by a little church that wants to pray for you! Their intercessor team is gathering to pray on behalf of needs telephoned in by the community. They are standing in the gap, not for their own needs, but for others. I catch a glimpse... in the working mom, struggling to make ends meet , while also taking care of her home and family. Yet she has this love that draws the captive and oppressed. She quietly witnesses across the lunch table at work to an office outcast who is suicidal. She gives her Jesus. Wherever this gentle mom goes, people’s lives are changed. Yet, there is no fanfare, no earthly trumpets are blowing. I catch a glimpse. . . in the grey-haired Pastor who grocery shops for a handicapped couple, who takes in the sick and hungry into his own home, who encourages every person he speaks to. He daily fulfills Matthew 6:4 ~ never sounding a trumpet that he may have the glory from men. I catch a glimpse. . . in the young man that just found the love of Jesus and calls each one of his family members who have been in turmoil and division for so long... and quietly he works reconciliation, restoration and love. There are so many!! Everywhere I look, I see this army marching. . . quietly making a difference. “Show us Your Glory, O Lord! Let Your goodness pass before us! Right before our eyes!” Look around, “right before our eyes” ~ The whole earth is being filled with the Glory of the Lord! I’m going to look closer at The Unsung Heroes of the Faith. By this all will know
that you are My disciples, |
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The young man drew an audience. Tales of his bizarre antics had spread throughout the camp. Now every day people gathered to watch. What would he do next? To most, he was just a source of entertainment, but a few began to wonder if this was something more. They sensed something greater at work... something... supernatural. They all watched and they all listened, although the young man rarely ever spoke. He claimed to have seen the glory of God. He spoke of fire and wheels with eyes and mysterious winged creatures. He said God spoke to him. He shaved his head and played with the shorn locks. He burned some, cut some up with his sword, threw some into the air and even sewed a little remnant piece into the hem of his garment! If that wasn’t strange enough, he began to play war games with a brick and battering rams and iron plates - just like a little child playing with army men. And every day he did the strangest thing ~ he laid down on the floor, just laid there still and mute. Soon somebody noticed it was always on his right side. Then somebody noticed he was always facing North. They decided to take note. 390 days went by - then all of a sudden he laid on his left side, facing South! For 40 more days he did that. The few began to wonder, “what could this mean?” “Why is he doing all this?” “Is there some kind of parable in all of this?” “Is there somehow a message hidden in all of this strangeness?” The worst of it, the really disgusting thing he did was at mealtime. Most people left about then. It was just too offensive to watch. Why he ate only bread, 1/2 lb a day and 2 pints of water ~ baked over dung! HOW COULD THIS BE THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL? Another young man also drew a crowd. Tales of his bizarre behavior spread from city to city. Everywhere he went, people gathered around to see what he would do next. For most he was just an entertainment. But a few, a small group wondered... they sensed something greater was at work... something... supernatural. They all watched, they all listened. He said he was about his father’s business. He said the Spirit of the Lord was upon him to preach and heal and set free. And he did! There was this power whenever he was around. People were restored bodily and mentally. But some of the things he said and did were downright offensive, some of it disgusting. He talked to Samaritans. He hung around the sick and outcasts. Once he even put spit mudballs in a blind man’s eye! So most people, especially the leaders, could not believe. They decided it must be the works of Beelzebub. They asked, HOW COULD THIS BE THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL? A huge crowd had gathered. They played music and sang for hours. The music sounded strange. The people were jumping around and dancing and waving flags. And some of them acted so strange! Yelling , falling in the floor, crying and laughing. They said they were meeting God. They said that they were being restored bodily and mentally. They said they loved Jesus. But to many, it was just too offensive. So many of those watching and listening could not believe. They said “they must be deceived”. They said it was the “doctrines of demons” at work. They asked, HOW COULD THIS BE THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL? |
| The whole season of
May-June '98 is a “peculiar” time in which several timely events
occur. In the Kingdom of God, they are a sign of His hand. “To
everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
We know that May 31st is Pentecost. A Jewish feast celebrated from ancient times, it was called the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost “Shavuot” meaning 50th - the number of Jubilee. It was celebrated 50 days after Passover. A week of weeks from Passover to Pentecost are just enough time for a new crop of wheat to be planted, nurtured, tended and harvested in time to be offered as the “second firstfruits” on Pentecost. It was then that a “new” peculiar offering was commanded - 2 loaves of leavened bread. A picture of the wheat (the church) gathered together and transformed ~ in unity into bread. And we also know that Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of these feasts as He was offered at Passover, the 1st of the firstfruits, the unleavened bread that sanctifies the rest of the whole human harvest thereafter. Acts 2 tells us of the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost. Let’s go there... Much had happened in the 7 weeks since Jesus hung on the cross... the disciples moved from utter despair and loss of hope at His dying to profound joy and renewal of hope at His resurrection. News of His rising from the tomb had spread everywhere, many had actually seen Him walking around and talked with Him. Many watched then as He ascended into the cloud. The disciples must have been somewhat perplexed ~” He was with us, then He was dead, then He was with us, and now He’s gone again.” All Jews were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks ~ “devout men out of every nation under heaven”. The disciples were gathered too, about 120 of them. And they were praying and waiting ~ and praying and waiting. They all had one thing on their mind ~ Jesus! And His “Promise”! They were in one accord. They were waiting expectantly for the arrival of their Master in the clouds of heaven, anticipating His coming, bringing with Him power and a celestial host to finally overthrow the Roman Satan and usher in God’s everlasting Kingdom. Just 10 days before they had watched Him ascend and heard, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven”. And so they waited in anticipation... Then suddenly at daybreak, the third hour... the breakthrough came! They heard a sound... it sounded like a rushing mighty wind! And it filled the house. They saw cloven tongues that looked like fire! And it rested on each of THEM! And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak of the wonderful works of God. And now suddenly all those people, “devout men from everynation under heaven”, could hear and understand them in their own language! It was like a pure language had been restored to them ~ God’s own language! Was this the plan to usher in God’s eternal Kingdom? Could this be how God intended to overthrow Satan’s kingdom? Can you imagine the disciple’s surprise? When they heard the mighty rushing wind, when they saw the tongues of fire of the Glory of God ~ they probably were expecting to see heaven open and the Messiah Himself coming along with His mighty angelic host. But instead, these cloven tongues of fire fell on each of THEM! This little remnant, filling THEM with the same Spirit that Jesus was filled with! Empowering THEM to establish the everlasting Kingdom of God, enabling and equipping THEM to overthrow Satan’s dominion! It was the birth of the Body of Christ, it was the Breakthrough! This time of the month of Sivan is a breakthrough period. Now is a time to gather in unity, in one accord, preparing for empowerment! It is a time to prepare for the breakthrough that is coming! Esther 8:9 ~ It was in the month of Sivan that the King issued a decree “to every people in their own language” permitting the Jews to gather together and protect their lives, to destroy the works of the enemy. A BREAKTHROUGH! 2 Chr 15:10 ~ In the month of Sivan, the people entered into covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul ~ “He was found by them”. A BREAKTHROUGH! 2 Chr 31:7 ~ In Sivan, the people began to bring in the tithe in abundance, laying it in heaps. Then the Lord blessed His people with great abundance. A BREAKTHROUGH! The birth of the Jewish faith also came in this “Pentecost” month of Sivan when God gave the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. He appeared then also as a Holy fire, writing the law upon tablets of stone. And on that day 3,000 who worshipped the golden calf were destroyed. Hence 3,000 souls were saved on that day the cloven tongues of fire fell upon the disciples, writing the law on the tablets of their hearts. The letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life. “Coincidently”, in May 1998, Israel will celebrate her 50th anniversary as a nation. Following centuries of foreign conquest and rule, Israel was declared an independent state on May 14, 1948. This month they celebrate their “Golden Anniversary”. In May 1998 the Church will gather for
the Light the Nations Conference in our area~Dallas. The Argentinan
leaders are bringing revival fire. The Church will be praying
simultaneously for Revival on the National Day of Prayer May 7th. The
Church will be outside the walls as millions March For Jesus on May
30th. The timing of God is so awesome! Let us, like the first disciples,
also be in “ONE ACCORD”, one thing on our mind ~expecting and
anticipating JESUS! PREPARE FOR THE BREAKTHROUGH! |
|
There is a place where I will go! This
"place" is beckoning ~ "Come!" Come up here!"
Don't stay where you
are. My plan for you is
to bring you higher. You have been
crucified with Christ ~ |
| We've heard the phrase "Grow
up!". We've heard it from the pulpit, we've heard it in the
Scriptures, "we should no longer be children... but may grow up in
all things into Him who is the head ~ Christ" Eph 4:14
What exactly does it mean to be "grown"? How does it
happen? How can we tell just how grown up we are? We have the standard of full growth,
we have the goal in sight. It is Jesus Christ. The word used
for Jesus' stature is "perfect". It means to be complete
in growth, of full age, the state of maturity or completeness. Eph
4:13 says the Son of God's measure is a "perfect man".
That is God's goal for us ~ that is what it means to be "grown
up". Hebrews 6:1 tells us to "go on unto
perfection". Paul's goal was to "present every man
perfect and complete in all the will of God" Col
4:12 Jesus prayed for us that we would be "made perfect
in one", Gather God in Him, He in us ~ One. To be grown is to
fit the pattern ~ Jesus! That brings us to the process.
How does it happen? There are great differences of opinion among
the Body. Is it a slow, gradual, progressive process? Is it
accomplished through sudden, dramatic and unusual experiences with
God? Scripture bears out that it is both. It is the Holy
Spirit "received by the hearing of faith that makes us
perfect." Gal 3:3 "Scripture is given... that the
man of God may be complete" 2 Ti 3:17 Jesus gave us the
gift of the 5 fold ministry ~ "Some to be apostles, some to be
prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ
may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ". Eph 4:11
Relationship building between members of the body ~ being "joined
and knit together" causes growth. Eph 4:16, Acts 2:46, 2 Cor
12:2 There are also many biblical accounts of people having
sudden, dramatic experiences with God that resulted in growth.
Acts 9:3, Acts 10:11 Through numerous ways, both gradual and
sudden this process of sanctification and ultimate glorification will be
accomplished by the Spirit. What a mystery this is! Even
more mysterious is that even the Old Testament saints will not be made
perfect apart from us! Heb 12:39 Ultimately, perfection must
a a "Unity thing". Is this growth linear ~ we start here * and move forward and upward in a straight line toward the gal? Is it a wandering thing ~ like the wilderness experience of the Israelites, marked by times of progress then regression? Or is it a circular thing ~ start here * and end up back at "the simplicity that is in Christ."? 2 Cor 11:3 You now Jesus doesn't ask us to remain a child, but He does tel us to become like one. Maybe the answer lies herein: "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not now how" Mark 4:26 And "As you do not
know the way of the wind or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is
with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes
everything" Ecc 11:5 How do we know just how
grown up we are? The National Center for Health Statistics publishes
a growth chart for parents. We can measure out children's height and
weight, enter these figures onto the chart and compare his or her stature
with the averages. We can follow the curve they are presently on to
accurately estimate their eventual full-grown stature. We can
monitor our child's progress by comparison. We compare their size
with standard growth curves of other children in the country. A
danger exists, however, when we in the church try to do the same thing
with spiritual growth. Unfortunately, that is what we tend to
do. We evaluate ourselves and others, take measurements, determining
what is spiritual and what is unspiritual. We jot it down on our
"chart" and compare with the average or with others in the
Kingdom. In comparing ourselves to others, however, we are using the
wrong "standard". Our evaluation will not be
correct. Our measurements many times are not God's perspective at
all. "The Lord does not see as man sees, man looks at the
outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart". There is a true measuring line in the hand of God, and He does come to measure us! See Zech 1:16, 2:1, Jer 31:39, Ezek 40:3, Rev 11:1, Rev 21:15. His measuring rod is no a frightening thing though. he already has full knowledge of our size. When He comes to measure, it means He is preparing to build! To enlarge our borders! To increase our capacity to hold more of Himself! Whatever stage of growth we are in, whatever way the Holy Spirit is causing growth in your live ~ "be confident of this very thing ~ He who began a good work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus"~ Phil 1:6 |
| The word "transition" evokes
different feelings to different people. The dictionary defines it
as "passage from one position, state or stage to
another". It is the act of "going across". A
thesaurus gives us comparable words like: alteration, change,
conversion, shift, and progression. To most women, this word
brings a picture of childbirth, in particular the most difficult stage
of labor. Marking the end of the 1st stage of labor, transition is
when contractions reach their peak intensity and frequency. Whatever transition means to you, all
would agree that it usually seems like a difficult time. The thing
about transition though is this - it is transitory! The passage
will be made, there will be the going across, the new position, state or
stage will result ~ the baby will be born! I've been hearing quite often lately,
that the church is in a transition. Only God knows what all that
means. We may see part of the picture, we see signs of labor, we
sense the expectancy, we see many in a difficult time, we see many
wanting to push too early, to "get this over with", we see
others wanting to go back. The one thing that we can know is that
Jesus is our hope, and that hope is the anchor of our souls. Looking back in the
Scriptures to another great transition may give us an encouraging example
and some admonitions. The Season of Samuel ~
the transition prophet We all know how Samuel was
birthed through great prayer and intercession, how the enemy provoked
barren Hannah sorely, how his birth represents God raising up in the midst
of a corrupt system to change things, how God chose Samuel at the worst of
times, hid him away in the temple to grow and learn, and how when the time
was full, He brought forth His plan. God told Samuel, "Behold,
I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it
will tingle". What was that? What was the
"something" that God was doing? Well, He was changing just
about everything, that's what. The period of judges was passing
away; the time of the kings was beginning; a time of anarchy and
rebellion (Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in their own
eyes); a time when God raised up individual deliverers for Israel would
give way to a divinely sanctioned monarchy. It was a time when
Israel would be taken on a passage from being a loosely organized group of
anemic tribes to being one of the most powerful kingdoms in the region
under the Kingship of David. The priesthood would change from the
corrupt line of Eli to the double priesthood at Gibeon and at Jeruslaem.
The presence of God, the Ark, was on the move from Shiloh, to the enemy's
camp, to Abinadab's house, to Obed-Edom's house to finally rest in David's
tent. So much was changing ~ This by no means tells it all, the
great transition encompassed many years. The whole historical season
of Judges, 1 ad 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles summarized
Israel's spiritual passage. Through their priests, prophets and
kings ~ all of it pointing to the need for the ONE who would be the ideal
of all three in one ~ Jesus. God used many key figures
to accomplish this transition. Samuel represent the 1st stage.
First a priest, then a prophet, then a judge, (the 1stjudge of priestly
descent and also the last judge) and then a king-maker. The Samuel
transition began when the "word of the Lord was rare", when
there was "no widespread revelation". It moved through the
time of Elijah and Elisha and Saul and finally the birth of the Davidic
Kingdom, a type of the Kingdom of Christ. The famous names we
remember. However, did you know that the season of Samuel also
marked the emergence of a whole prophetic movement known as the "Sons
f the Prophets"! (1 Kings 20:35, 18:4, 2 K
2:3, 4:38, 1 Sam 10:5-10, 19:20-24, 2 K 5:22) suddenly whole groups
of people, many being young men, began to prophesy! Alone or in
groups of 50 to 100, these unnamed, anonymous people were being positioned
in cities, traveling abut on the roads, everywhere ~ and they began to
prophesy, prophesy, prophesy! The Spirit of the Lord came upon
multitudes of people and they prophesied, uttering ecstatic praises to
God, speaking the oracles of the Lord, the musicians even prophesied on
their instruments! They were being changed into "different
people" and the lives of the people they touched were also being
changed. What an exciting time in the Kingdom of God!
(although in the very midst of a difficult and volatile transition). Because we can read about this great transition in the Bible, because we can look at it with hindsight and see the end f the passage, the Kingdom established under David ~ we can have hope in the midst of our own Great Transition. |
| "They rolled the
rock from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock" Gen
29:8-10 At a Friday night renewal service at
Rock Hill, the whole place was 'rockin'! The music was great, the
singing was boisterous, everybody was dancing, laughing, shouting and
rejoicing ~ We praised the Lord with a loud voice for hours!
Someone said, "They're really 'Rockin and Rollin"!
I heard the Lord say, "No, I'm Rolling the Rock".
I thought of the rock rolled from Lazarus' tomb, but yet there was
something more. The Lord showed me that through this exuberant
praise, He was "Rolling the Rock" from the mouth of our wells,
to allow His waters to be drawn up. It's hard for us who live in such a
humid environment to really understand the importance and significance
of water to arid countries such as Israel. Jesus understood its
significance, that's why He constantly used water as a symbol and
frequently referred to it in parable form. He spoke of spiritual
water. In Israel, the Jordan is the only
river of any size; perennial brooks are very scarce and the wadis, while
numerous in the rainy season, are dry during the rest of the year.
Job (6:16-17) aptly compares faithless friends to these torrent-beds,
swollen in the spring but vanishing in the hot weather. Five
months of parching summer heat pass without rain, and when the hot
Arabian sirocco winds blow from the desert, life itself is a
burden. The shepherds, the flocks, the farmers, the people, all
have to have a source of unfailing water to keep them from perishing of
thirst ~ hence WELLS. Excavated deep down into limestone
rock, wells connect to a subterranean source of water. Of the
types of wells dug in Israel, wells tapping a spring are called
"living waters". These were considered community
property. A well without its own exit and cisterns belonged solely
to the person who dug them. The sword was often used to determine
its possession. Cisterns were reservoirs dug to collect "run
off waters", rainwater that ran off of the rooftrops. These
waters were usually contaminated, stagnant, stinky, and unfit to
drink. Because the "living water" wells were a life
source, communities and town were built around the spring. A fully functioning well of good water
was covered with a stone cap over its mouth both to prevent accidents
and also to protect its waters from contamination. As thirsty
crowds gathered ~ they would ceremonially "ROLL THE ROCK",
uncap the well, and draw the life-giving water. The word
"roll", galal, pictures for us a camel laden down with a heavy
burden, knowing it is time to lay the burden down, it kneels, leans to
one side and lets the burden roll off. Isaiah 12:3 says "With JOY you
will draw water from the wells of your salvation". Jesus
describes His bride as "a spring shut up, a fountain
sealed, a well of living waters" SS 4:12,15. Jesus
says "He who believes in Me, out of his belly will flow rivers
of living waters" Jn 7:38 We are meant to be a
source of spiritual water ~ wells to be drawn upon. Jesus says, "If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He says "whosoever
drinks of the waters I give him, will thirst NO MORE." Jn
4:14 Why is that? Because once He digs His well of
salvation in us, once we drink of Him, we then have that unfailing
spring inside of us. That water He gives us becomes "a
fountain of waters springing up within us, unfailing, eternal,
everlasting" ~ ready and created to pour out, to
flow out, to give drink to others. Warning ~ Watch Whither
Your Well Wanes! Gen 26:15-18 tells us the plan of the
enemy. He comes to "stop up all the wells". He
throws stones into our well, over and over again he throws dirt, offences
~ real and imagined, hurts, woundings, ~ it makes mud, and eventually our
well is filled up. If all the wells in an area are stopped up, the
inhabitants are left to die of thirst. But "Isaac dug again
the wells that His father dug, for the Philistines had stopped them
us" "And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found
there a well of living water, an unfailing spring". For
Isaac, the son of promise, born of the Spirit, the water was there all
along, inherited but unused, covered over with debris. The wells
just had to be DUG AGAIN. It is when our well is "stopped
up" ~ when we don't realize that the living water really is deep down
in there underneath it all, that we are most vulnerable to "forsaking
the fountain of living waters and hewing for ourselves cisterns, broken
cisterns that can hold no water." Jer 2:13 Lord, dig again our
wells! |
| "Jesus arose from supper and
laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. He
poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet , and to
wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." John
13:4,5 And the next line could have read ~
and the disciples got shook up! The situation was like this:
Jesus had turned from His public ministry and bean an intimate discourse
with His disciples in the upper room, giving them some of His final and
most poignant lessons. They had all just come into the banquet
room from the dirty and manure-filled street. Ordinarily, the host
would have delegated a servant, one of low rank, to the menial task of
removing the sandals of the guests and washing their feet.
Obviously no such servant was present. And none of the disciples
was about to volunteer for such a demeaning task. That would have
made them look inferior to all of the others. After all, Luke
tells us that as they shared at the Lord's table, they were in fact
arguing about which one of them was going to be the greatest. So Jesus took the opportunity to teach
them one of the greatest and most basic Kingdom principles. And it
smacked right in the face of all their traditions, all of their
preconceived ideas and value systems. Jesus reversed everything
they thought they knew about greatness. His example rebuked pride,
it opposes selfishness and ambition ~ He confronted the "I"
syndrome. Have you noticed that Kingdom living is many times
completely opposite of our way of thinking? Then, just as now,
culture tells us that humility is weakness, that position is a
reflection of control and influence over others. Not so in the
Kingdom of God! Understandably, the disciples got
shook up. And Jesus lovingly taught them "What I am doing
you do not yet know (Oida - understand fully, completely realize
and comprehend), but you will know (ginosko - recognize begin to
know and progressively understand) after this." What was it that they would begin to
understand that day, and progressively comprehend until they had a full
knowledge of it? What is it that we too should be growing in the
understanding of? One thing is that we need to have our
feet washed by Jesus. Not the "once for all" bath that
we received when we accepted Jesus' forgiveness for our sins, but
something else. We need to be willing to let Jesus serve us, love
us, and continually apply His forgiveness to our consciences ~ to
cooperate with Him as He changes us from the inside out. It is
letting Jesus refresh us and renew us from the effects of walking in a
spiritually hostile world. Our feet get dusty and dirty, we get
fatigued and feel distant from God. Jesus revitalizes us as He
washes our feet. Let Him. As He lays aside His exalted place
as Lord of the Universe to kneel down to serve each of us individually,
we begin to know and progressively understand the intensity of His love
toward us. Experiencing this love changes us. Jesus didn't tell them, "Since I
washed your feet, now you wash mine". This is the world's
definition of love, giving in order to get. He lived the new
commandment of John 13:34. He was teaching us free and sacrificial
love. The world tells us we will be happy when we take all we
want, Jesus teaches us that we'll be happy and fulfilled when we
give all we can. The world says we'll be happy when we get other
people to treat us the way we want to be treated... Jesus says
we'll be happy when we learn to love others the way He loves us.
Which kingdom will we live in? And after He washed the disciples
feet, He asked them, "Do you know (ginosko - start to
understand) what I have done to you?" He was asking them, are you starting
to see now the example that I'm giving you, I am inviting you to partake
of My divine nature. He is asking us to follow His example, to
look at Him, to be transformed into the same image. God chose to
reveal His glory in the face of Jesus Christ, and we all with unveiled
faces, as we behold that glory, are being changed. It is not by
beholding the earthen vessel, but the treasure within. It is not
by beholding self, it is not the "I" syndrome, but
Jesus! As he shines the light of His glory in our hearts, as the
Morning Star rises there, He commands that light to shine out of the
darkness! So Arise and shine for your light has come. And Jesus said to the disciples after
He taught them the significance of washing their feet ~ "If you know these things, blessed, happy, fulfilled are you if you do them" |
| Heaven and earth declare His
majesty! Romans 1:20 tells us that His invisible attributes are
clearly seen ~ we have just to lift up our eyes to look ~ to see how big
our God really is. Just ponder the immensity and majesty of the
things He has made. We contemplate the order of the earth, the
solar system the stellar universe ~ and we see the might of God's hand. "He poised the earth on nothingness" Job 26:7 The weight of the earth is estimated at 6 sextillion tons (that's a six with 21 zeros). Yet is is perfectly balanced and turns easily on its axis. It revolves daily at more than 1,000 miles per hour. Consider that tremendous weight rolling at this fantastic speed around an invisible axis, held in place by unseen bands of gravitation! The slant of the earth, tilted at 23 degrees, produces our seasons. Scientists say that had the slant been any more or less, vapors from the oceans would move both north and south, piling up continents of ice. If the moon were only 50,000 miles away instead of 200,000, the tides would be so enormous that all continents, all mountains would be submerged in water. If the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, all animal life would die. Had the oceans been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would be absorbed and we would have no plant life. Nothing has been left to chance. No wonder David cried aloud ~ "Yahweh, our Lord, how great your name throughout the earth. Above the heaven is your majesty changed, by the mouths of children. I look up at he heavens made by your fingers, at the moon and the stars you set in place ~ and I wonder, what is man that you should spare a thought or care for him?" Ah ~ but He does care for us. This immense God ~ this same mighty, mighty God that made and upholds the heaven and earth ~ upholds you! His love for us is as big as He is! Can you comprehend the width and length and depth and height of that kind of love? Lift your eyes and look... above your present distracting circumstances. Run from the noise of the sea's crashing waves, from the noise of rumbling chariot wheels and stamping hooves ~ to the secret place of stillness with our God. Seek that quiet place beneath His great wings to BE RENEWED by His awesome presence. Let Him renew your strength, exchanging His for yours ~ so that you may mount up with wings as an eagle, that you may run and no be weary, that you may walk and not faint. Be found in peace. |
| Jonah ~ his name means
"dove". Historians tell that he was a strong-willed,
fretful, pouty, hasty, and clannish man. 2 Kings 14:25 tells us he
also was a servant and a prophet of the Lord God of Israel. He
came from the tribe of Zebulun and apparently God had been using him to
prophesy to his own people.
But... now God was going to do something different with Jonah ~ a "new thing" and Jonah was not going to be willing. Between 1:1 and 3:1 something had to happen to change Jonah's heart. God called Jonah to arise and go ~ he had a work for him to do outside his own gates, outside his own people ~ his beloved Israel. And because Jonah was kinda clannish, a nationalist, he refused. It seemed preposterous to Jonah, he didn't like it one bit, why he didn't even like those people. It was Israel that God loved and judged, it was the "Lord God of Israel" that Jonah served! And now God was telling him to go to Nineveh?! He knew God's ways, that He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, but Jonah had a veil over his eyes, a veil of patriotism and misguided theology that were keeping him from a fuller knowledge of God's true character. Nineveh ~ of all places! The Assyrian capital!! You know that dreaded enemy's camp. To the Jews it was known as the "land of Nimrod" (rebellion). They were pagan they weren't even God's people! Jonah was accustomed to prophesying to God's own, and he even got to prophesy "good things" like "land is going to be restored to you" and "prosperity is coming". Jonah even got to see the prophecies come to pass. In this 8th century BC, Israel and Judah had begun to enjoy new political and military heights ~ they were in the midst of a great prosperity. Things were going good, they were comfortable with their outward appearance of restoration. But as it happens so often while we are enjoying living on the heights, they forsook God. And God sent other servants like Amos and Hosea to speak to them. God got exhausted with His people. Unless they "let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream", He would destroy them. And so God reached outside of His own people, He went outside their gates to a people who were not His, a people in the very clutches of the enemy. And He used Jonah to do it. He was the only OT prophet sent to preach to the Gentiles. And He also used Jesus to do it. He would have gathered His own under His wing, but they were not willing. When Jesus came to His own, they too were comfortable. The priests, Scribes and Pharisees had it all together. They had God in a neat square box, they were happy with their outward appearance of restoration, their tombs were all painted white, the outside of their cups were clean. They rejected Jesus. Jesus, like Jonah, went to a "no people". He went outside His own to the Gentiles. He took His invitation to the highways. He did a new thing. He went to a people in the very clutches of His enemy. He ministered life to harlots, sinners, the ugly, the diseased, the ones outside the established camp of Israel. I guess if Jonah had been around then, he might have again thought it preposterous. But just maybe, with the valuable lesson already learned, Jonah would know that God's heart is toward ALL people. That He has commissioned a ministry of reconciliation to us for all! Will we "arise and go" outside of our exclusive, clannish, established camps with Jesus even if it seems preposterous? You know there will be a reproach. The Word doesn't tell us what Jonah's peers thought about it. But we can read in Hebrews 13:12, "Jesus suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp bearing His reproach." |
| HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ at the
Red Sea, with a raging swollen river in front and a mighty army of enemy
chariots behind ~ at the place of the proverbial "being stuck
between a rock and a hard place" ~
the children of Israel
say - "Let's go back" HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ that Jesus created new wine at the Cana wedding from 6 old washing pots full of ritual purification water? That in making the new, He made the first obsolete? HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ that Grace cannot be sewn onto legalism to "patch it up" so we can still use it, and that the new wine can't be poured into old wineskins? HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ that Jesus' vehicle for His triumphal entry was a colt that had never been ridden before? Ever notice that He also brought along the colt's mom? In this enacted parable of His kingdom, that He didn't ride on the trained and established donkey? What a dramatic picture that must have been! Image the scene if you will: A parade ! a full grown donkey, one trained to be ridden, always had been ridden ~ and Jesus rides in on a new, untrained, unbroken colt! HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ that the river originating from the temple of God, it gets deeper and deeper the farther forward it flows? HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ whenever the ark of God went forward and Moses said: "Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered and let those you hate You flee before you" ~ that the enemy did indeed scatter? HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ that God brought judgment on Israel because they "stiffened their neck", they did not obey Him, they did not incline their ear to Him, because "they went backward and not forward"? HAVE YOU NOTICED ~ that wine that is not tipped and poured out in the refining process, wine that "settles on its dregs", becomes thick, cloudy, congealed, and useless? HAVE YOU NOTICED A COMMON THEME HERE? Forward ~ to pull up, especially tent pegs, start off on a journey, go onward, be on the way toward a point, advancing. It is a picture of movement, it is the opposite of complacency. |
| 1 Cor 13:9
There is a valuable lesson to be learned about responsibility in prophecy, purity of the prophetic word, and our response to these words spoken into our lives and the lives of others. The lesson is illustrated clearly in Paul's third missionary journey. Paul was pressing toward Jerusalem. He had a goal. Luke describes His journey in Acts. It has an uncanny resemblance to Jesus' own journey up to Jerusalem ~ both pressing forward, suffering servants, each with a deliberate sense of timing, each pressing toward accomplishment of a goal ~ fulfilling THE BIG PICTURE You see God had given Paul a vision. "By revelation He made known to me the mystery". Paul had seen a vision of the "Big picture" ~ the Body of Christ ~ the church, strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in the inner man, being rooted and grounded in love, comprehending the width, length, depth and height of that love, filled with that love, filled with the fullness of God! His vision of the Body was one of unity. He saw the church growing into oneness in faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, growing into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, making known the manifold wisdom of God on the earth. He also saw that it would take every part supplying to the growth of the whole. And Paul knew his calling in that vision, "to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery". Paul was fulfilling that calling. The heart of God had become the cry of Paul's own heart. So, in this third missionary journey, why was Paul pressing so toward Jerusalem? What was his chief purpose in going there? Paul was pressing toward Jerusalem to present a "gift". For the past five years Paul had spent a considerable portion of his time devoted to organizing a "collection" from the Gentile churches to give to the "poor among the saints in Jerusalem". He spent much energy traveling about, stirring up the churches to respond to their individual responsibility, to participate. With the gift in hand now, Paul knew that he must present it personally for it to be understood for what it was ~ a symbol of unity. He knew that it takes great demonstrations of brotherly love to cement relations within the church. He knew that the collection would be an expression of the interdependence of the members of the Body. He knew that this collection was an act from the very heart of God, it was a perfect example of the Body functioning in the manner Jesus expects each member going his part of the building up of the whole. He also knew that timing was important ~ he would arrive on the Day of Pentecost. Having this strong sense of purpose, Paul pressed on. He was very near to the goal, very near to the culmination of the past 5 years of his ministry ~ when a prophet spoke into his live. This word from the Lord could have a dramatic impact on Paul, it could change his entire direction! Agabus was a true prophet
of the Lord. He had a word from God and he was obedient to give it
to Paul. And most importantly, the word did come to pass, proving
that it was indeed a true word. But Agabus only SAW IN PART AND PROPHESIED
IN PART. He did not know the full purposes of God for Paul in
Jerusalem, still Agabus gave the word Others, however, fellow disciples, ran with that prophetic word! They went on to interpret that word. They went on to give Paul their opinion. They went on to give Paul direction in light of the word. They entered into dangerous territory. They thought they saw the whole picture ~ they did not. Nothing could convince them otherwise. What they spoke "tagging onto the prophetic word" could have serious consequences Paul did what we also should do in response to prophetic words. He listened to the word and he judged the prophecy. Paul did not allow the word itself or the opinion, interpretation, and direction from his friends to manipulate or control him . He did not hastily apply the word received. This passage of Scripture reveals to us several safeguards regarding personal prophecy that we too should heed: 1)
the word will usually not be something "new" but will confirm
what God is already revealing to you. In light of the vision that God had originally given Paul, he knew that he has to remain steadfast and resolute to finish walking out that vision, though now knowing the danger involved. Because Paul had a glimpse of the "Big Picture", eh was not disuaded from his goad by the word itself or by the response from his friends. Paul received the "pure word" and discarded the rest. Yes, he knew he would become "bound", yet he did not retreat. He set his face like flint to steadfastly walk out the vision ~ to ACCOMPLISH HIS PART OF THE BIG PICTURE! |
| "In those days
John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, saying "Repent,
for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For this is he who was
spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying: The voice of one crying the
wilderness; 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths
straight'. Now John himself was clothed with camel's hair, with a
leather belt around his waist." Matthew 3:1-4
John the Baptist was the harbinger of Jesus Christ ~ one who came before and made known His approach. He was a prophet, yes, more than a prophet. He was not only God's messenger, he prepared the way before Jesus. There is much written about the ministry of John, how this prophetic ministry lays axe to the root, how it lowers hills, elevates the valleys, and removes the stumbling stones, how it makes the crooked places straight for our approaching King. But our King does come! The Kingdom of Grace and Mercy does follow to fill that empty road, to grow life upon those severed roots. If He did not, all that would be left would be death, an empty road, depression, condemnation and disqualification. John dressed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. Elijah, also was known and easily recognized by the clothing he wore. As soon as King Ahaziah heard the description of the prophet delivering a word from the Word, he knew that it was Elijah, the Tishbite. What was Elijah wearing that made him so readily recognizable as the Lord's true prophet? 2 K 1:8 says he was "a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist". Now let's get real ~ not really weird. Let's not look at our literal clothing, let's not compare, "do you have on the right stuff". This clothing we're talking about is an outward manifestation of an inward spiritual state. IT IS A MANTLE OF HUMILITY Animal hide garments have always signified death and a covering over. The belt too of animal hide is a girding up of the loins of the mind with Truth. Jesus said of John, "what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses". He may have been saying, "what id you expect? More of what you've been seeing? Pharisees in soft clothing? The religious living in king's houses, ministering in God's name, but all the while exalting self, a ministry of self righteousness and pride? Some say that John wore his came hair coat turned inward ~ constantly and willingly feeling the pricks and stings of the coarse hair against his skin.... a self flagellant type that we also see today. If the camel hair coat was turned inward, then how did they so easily see that it was indeed camel's hair that he wore? This ascetic, "nail me to the whipping post" mentality is as out of balance as the pride of the pharisee. How did John prepare the way for Jesus? We read of no miracles that he performed, he toppled no kingdoms. But he did allow himself to be hid away in the wilderness, to be trained by God. And he did enter into and begin in "the way" which Jesus spoke of as His own "way". John humbled himself to be a witness to Jesus. His inward spiritual state being evidence by an outward mantle of humility. John sought change in the heart through inner repentance. He confronted man's definition of authority and greatness. He discovered greatness, power and authority in the Kingdom of God is through a servant-like heart and a child-like humility. (Mt 11:11, John 15:13, Mt 18:1-4) Let us also gird our waist with TRUTH ~ let us pray for the Holy Spirit of Truth to bring us into balance ~ Let us dare to wear the garment of humility!
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