Archive for December 2016
John Milton, 1608-1674
This is from the blog The Voice of One:
John Milton was a Christian and poet in the 1600’s. By age 44, he went blind. Milton wondered if he could continue serving God without eyesight. Sometimes, he simply felt useless.
Milton’s anxiety and grief spill out in his 19th sonnet: “When I consider how my light is spent.” The sonnet ends with the Lord’s wonderful ministry and comfort–
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”
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I have mentioned I’m in a
season of rest. At least, I think that’s what it is. I know I’m not doing much in the way of study, projects, or anything else. Sometimes, I just feel like I’m wasting my life.
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On days when I feel like a broken, failed person, Milton’s words come back to me: “who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. […] They also serve who only stand and wait.” I love this image. In any court there are those coming and going. But there are also those who stand waiting for the king’s order. Activity is only useful if the king requests it. To busy oneself without the king’s command is not to serve Him but self.
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So it is with the King of kings. I am not my own. I am His. I wait for His Spirit to rouse me to action. ‘Til then, I stand, I wait, I listen for His word.
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This reminds me of another who sat listening to Jesus: Mary of Bethany. When Mary’s busy sister scolded her for not busying herself to serve Jesus, the Lord replied, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41).
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In this season, I hope to know Jesus more: the one who is necessary, the one who is better than busy-ness. My prayer is that I value Him more than serving Him.
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This is from the blog A Word in Season:
“But what things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ”
Philippians 3:7
In this scripture we read the language of one in whom the Cross of Christ was a living reality. This expression is the “the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus”. The power of God revealed within the life of an individual is summed up in this one verse. Men and women may fast and pray for this power but the essence of God is expressed through the lives of those who walk in the substance of this truth.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth…”
Romans 1:16
Religious people often pray for things that only obedience can unlock. Prayer is essential to a life in the Spirit; it is through prayer that we find Grace and divine enablement to live the life of obedience. Religion attempts to replace obedience with prayer. The true Christian experience is through prayer we become obedient. When power is lacking in God’s house it is the result of the church embracing a crossless Gospel. The Gospel of the Cross of Christ will bring His Life, His Power, His character and His Glory into this dark world through the medium of a surrendered people.
“But what things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ”
Philippians 3:7
The measure of all that we do, embrace, declare and allow into our lives is to be measured by this one principle: His Life in us. The decree of God is such that in order to live in one realm we must experience death in the other. We cannot find life in this world and expect to hold on to His Life in the other. We are living in a day of choice. Discipleship is a decision that no one else can make for us. It is a decision of the heart; a decision based upon love. What men love they serve, as Jesus sums up so succinctly in this verse…
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also”
Luke 12:34
It takes very little discernment in our interactions with others to discover what the treasure is in their lives. Out of the abundance of the heart men speak and thereby reveal their primary love.
“So is he that lays up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God”
Luke 12:21
Spiritual poverty is the result of the choices we make. We are the “epistles” read of all men. The depth and power of God is expressed through “earthen vessels” and as such we must bear the responsibility for the life we express. We have lost sight of our responsibility to show forth His light and life in this world. It is the fruit of a Gospel which has lost sight of God; a gospel that is centered upon people rather than God. Where men absolve themselves of accountability and relegate their walk to words, teaching and statements of faith, Godlessness and unrighteousness become acceptable. It is in such a time that God raises up the Prophetic to “show the (heavenly) house to the (earthly/fallen) house” (Ezekiel 43:10).
“Thou son of man,
shew the house to the house of Israel,
that they may be ashamed of their iniquities…”
Ezekiel 43:10
The religion of today wants to be able to love this world, walk and live in the ways of this world and yet take hold of all the things of God. Such things will never be.
“Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him”
1 John 2:15
It is through the true fellowship of the Spirit and in the worship of Him where the things of His life become more real to us than the dim things of earth. Wherever His people gather and commune together in the Love of Jesus that men and women are drawn out of this world and into His.
“But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God,
looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life”
Jude 1:20-21
Ω
“This dandelion has long ago surrendered its golden petals, and has reached its crowning stage of dying–the delicate seed-globe must break up now–it gives and gives till it has nothing left.”
~L. Trotter
Art Work by Lilias Trotter (14 July 1853 – 28 August 1928) A Missionary who poured out her life to the call of Christ in Algeria. Her artwork is the expression of her devotion to that Call.
Brian Troxel
http://www.aword.info
I have been writing about the current Great Awakening since I began this blog in May of 2011. Though it remains in the early stages, there should no longer be any doubt that it is coming forth.
When I first received the revelation and told a few of my associates, they had yet to see any indicators. And as I have explained a few times on this site in other posts, as time passed, they reported back that they were certainly seeing them. Remember, when the Lord brings something forth gradually over time it looks to most observers as not a new thing at all; it merely looks like life as usual. But when one receives a revelation of what will happen beforehand and then observes it coming forth exactly as predicted, one has a front row seat, so to speak, of a revelation becoming reality.
In the five and half years of this blog I have often put forth truth that has been soundly rejected and even disparaged by some Christians. This is all part of the process. People in general resist change. People invested in untruth don’t appreciate their stock being depreciated or their beliefs being questioned. All Christians are, of course, completely ignorant of all things spiritual in the beginning. That’s why it’s a born again experience. The problem is that the majority appear to stay in the beginning and resist further development. They invest in certain doctrines and beliefs and resist the consideration of greater truth.
CHURCHES AS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
I often use the elementary school illustration for churches in general. Why? –Because they are. Most churches, though they may be great places filled with wonderful people, are elementary. The majority of the Christians in these places do not care for greater truth. They do not want to graduate to the third or fourth grade. Thus, they remain unaware.
Anyone who spends a lot of time studying hard and doing in-depth research knows it is very difficult work. It is not the realm of the lazy. Christians who would rather take it easy can always find a place to fit in, because many churches are comprised of such people. This is not a knock against them but simply an acknowledgement of reality.
Some Christian groups make it to high school but they are very few and far between. Almost no churches at all in America ever get to the spiritual university level. This means individual Christians, if they want to grow, develop as strong and mature disciples, and gain greater truth and revelation, must do the vast bulk of it on their own.
YOU GOT YOUR GOSPEL WHERE? THE DESERT?
For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. [Galatians 1:11-12]
The problem arises, however, that when the apostle Paul came back from Damascus and the desert, much of it being alone with the Lord for three years receiving revelation, and returned to Jerusalem, the first disciples he met up with did not fully believe his conversion. It is also why, later in his travels, many unbelieving Jews did not understand what he was talking about or trying to relate, and thus rejected his teachings. This is in part why Paul later found such great success among the Gentiles. They were less concerned about obeying cultural religious precepts and keeping up appearances within religious establishments and much more concerned with a practical application of real Christianity that changed their lives for the better.
It is obviously right and good to protect and stand for the ancient paths, as long as the ancient paths were authored by the Lord. It is terrible thing, however, to stand up and fight for untruth, false doctrines, bad narratives, and outright deception. The Christians who fall for this stuff and never correct it have only themselves to blame. I confess right now to you all, my readers, that I have believed stuff that turned out to be wrong, but as Paul said once, I believed it from ignorance. I didn’t know any better. It’s what the preacher said. It’s what the book author said. It’s what I was taught. Whatever. Through continuing study I discovered facts that proved unfacts wrong.
But again, with reference to Paul, the man who goes to the desert often finds he is no longer welcome when he returns. The people you used to hang with want you to junk all the new truth the Lord gave you and return to being a dummy. They will not work to be a better disciple and they get upset when their lack of greater discipleship is exposed. They get convicted. It is often the case that a person doesn’t have to say anything at all and still get a bad reaction. It is how the enemy works. The enemy goes into demonic derangement syndrome in a heartbeat and flies off the handle. Here is a case in point:
And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” [Luke 4:31-34] [1]
Do you notice how the Lord was being a real Man and speaking with great authority? And had the dunamis to back it up? That usually never happens in many churches. The Lord, however, during His ministry, was POWERFUL. He shook things up. The people were amazed. The religious leaders were shocked. He was a real man’s Man and beyond. People took notice. Sinners were instantly convicted. But demons were scared to death. That’s why the synagogue demon flipped out. And this is also why they flip out in churches when someone brings in some real truth that clashes with the accepted curriculum.
People who have never been to the wilderness or the desert will usually never accept anything from the wilderness or the desert.
In the next post I will list some trends to watch for in the coming year. Until then I encourage you to look over some of my recent posts and especially posts that concern the Great Awakening. There is a search box in the left column entitled Seek and Ye Will Find.
But first, to read the prediction of five years ago, begin here: 2011: The Year in Review.
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
This is from the Singapore Christian blog:
Why are so many churches desolate, poor and in ruin. According to Watchman Nee, the late Chinese church leader and Christian leader, who was writing in his book ‘The Ministry of God’s Word‘, it is because they lack proper ministers whom the Lord can use to deliver His Word.
One basic problem in the church is the lack of proper ministers of the word. This does not mean that God’s word is rare or that the vision or light is unclear. It means that there is a shortage of men whom God can use. God desires that the spirits of prophets be subject to prophets. Who are the prophets to whom the spirits of the prophets will be subject? Can the spirits of prophets be subject to those who walk according to their own will, who give ground to the flesh, and who are stubborn in their mind and emotion? If a man does not bear the mark of the cross in his spirit, he is a wild and proud man. He may have suffered years of discipline, but he is not yet defeated. The Lord’s smiting hand may have been on him once, twice, or even ten times, but he is still not defeated. In spite of the Lord’s repeated chastisement, he is still unyielding. Such a man proves himself to be a useless vessel. Is the problem before us a shortage of vision, light, or the word? No. It is a shortage of prophets whom God can use.
[Indeed], the problem today lies entirely with the ministers. There is no scarcity of vision, light, or God’s word. The problem today is that God cannot find proper ministers. Many times God’s light ceases to be visible to others when it is put into our mouth. Many people speak about the Holy Spirit in their messages, but others do not touch the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, they touch the flesh. Many people speak about God’s holiness, but others do not sense any holiness in them. They only touch a frivolous spirit. Some speak about the cross on the platform, but others can sense that they have never passed through any dealings. There is not even a trace of the cross in them. Some like to speak of love, but only temper, rather than love, is expressed through them. All of these cases speak of a basic problem – something is wrong with the ministers. If all the preaching on this earth today were in the principle of ministry, the church would be very rich. It is unfortunate that there is very little of God’s word despite all of the preaching! This is the basic problem in the church today. Without ministers, there is no inspiration and no revelation. With many people, the more they preach, the further their speaking is from being an inspiration, from being the release of any light, and from being qualified to be called revelation. The problem is with the preachers; they are not the ones whom God can use. God cannot use such men, yet He does not want to speak alone. This is a problem. He has the word, yet He does not want to release this word by Himself. He does not want to be the minister of the word; He wants man to be the minister of His word.
Brothers, God will not speak by Himself. If ministers cannot speak His word, what will be the condition of the church? The church is desolate, poor, and in ruin because human elements have not come up to the standard of God’s word. If God can find a person who has been dealt with by Him, who is broken, and who is prostrate on his face, God’s word will flow through him. We are looking all the time for God’s word, but He is looking all the time for men whom He can use. We are looking for God’s word, while He is looking for ministers. If we are unwilling to be dealt with, we will not be able to work for God. We must not think that such dealings are optional. We should not presume that, after hearing a certain number of messages, we can release the same word. No! If a person is not proper, his message will not be proper. Man can hinder God’s word. The Holy Spirit is not released through the word alone. When God’s word comes to us, we must be free from all hindrances. We must be broken, and we must bear the mark of the cross. Our spirit must be a smitten spirit. God can only use such persons, and the Holy Spirit will only flow through such persons. If the Holy Spirit is locked within us, the hindrance and frustration is our outer man, our emotion, and our temperament. When such things are present within us, surely God’s word cannot flow through us. Even if we deliver a wonderful sermon, in reality it is nothing but words, teachings, and doctrines; there is not the word of God.
This is from Myabishai’s Blog:
“For wickedness burned like a fire,
consuming briers and thorns;
it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land was burned,
and the people became like fuel for the fire;
no one spared another.
They gorged on the right, but still were hungry,
and they devoured on the left, but were not satisfied;
they devoured the flesh of their own kindred;
Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
and together they were against Judah.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees,
who write oppressive statutes,
to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be your spoil,
and that you may make the orphans your prey!
What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the calamity that will come from far away?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth,
so as not to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain?
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.” Isaiah 9.18-10.4 (NRSV)
The hunger of wickedness is never sated. It burns with a fire that consumes everything around until it finally turns back on the hungry ones themselves. In doing so, the wicked bring destruction upon themselves.
I had a frank conversation with some friends of mine from Cuba, concerning the death of Fidel Castro and the feelings of the people of Cuba. In the US, Castro had a reputation of infamy, but in Cuba, among the rich and poor alike, there were mixed feelings about his leadership. As harsh as his rule had been, he successfully kept much of the drug trade and human trafficking out of Cuba, especially in camparison to much of Central and parts of South America. Many of those other countries had political freedom at the cost of oppression by the wealthy. The concern was that these drug lords would sweep in to take over the nation.
The ancient philosopher Plato wrote that governments shift in cycles. We see all the time, one dictator replaced by another. The corruption of one party makes way for the corrupt leadership of the opposition when it finally rises. When the oppressed take up arms and become revolutionaries – beating, looting, and killing any who get between them and their justice, we are simply making way for the next oppressors.
Isaiah’s words of warning are not just for the rich. They are for everyone. If we let our hunger for possessions rule us instead of a hunger for righteousness, we will lose our way and find ourselves on the path of wickedness. That path ends in flames and our own destruction. It is more than a problem of just wickedness and the quest for power, because, as Paul reminds us in Romans, we all fall short and are subject to temptation and corruption. If we simply eliminated everyone who had ever been wicked, we would have no one left.
I think the answer to avoiding this fiery judgment upon ourselves and our communities can be found in a simple piece of economic wisdom: Don’t go grocery shopping when you are hungry. What does that have to do with power and politics in our lives? It means we need to check our motives before seeking power. Those who feel insecure themselves often seek power over others and just as often end up being poor leaders. Whether you are running for political office or just thinking about having or raising children – you need to make sure you are secure enough yourself and “well fed” spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc… to be able to lead, nurture, and protect anyone else. It is only from this place of being full and satisfied, (which can only be fully realized in a relationship with God) that we find ourselves secure enough in our weakness to ask God for help instead of jumping in and trying to fix things ourselves… often taking us all out of the frying pan and into the fire.
This is from the blog Grayson Pope:
This is the first article in a series called The Knowledge of The Holy in which each article will be based around a chapter from A.W. Tozer’s book of the same name (my review). This is a journey worth taking because not only is Tozer’s book a classic in the spiritual world, but the subject matter is God’s character.
Before Tozer begins to talk through the attributes of God’s character, he lays a crucial foundation that must be considered. He wisely knows that without this foundation, everything else will go awry. That foundation is what we think about when we think about God. That’s because we will never rise above our understanding of the Almighty, and, “we tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our image of God.”
Thinkly rightly about God affects not only our theology, but how we live as well. Tozer speaks of knowing God as being the foundation for worship which, like the foundation for the temple, will begin to collapse as soon as the foundation is found to be inadequate or out of plumb. And surely this has been seen to be true. How many cults, strange offshoots, and shameful pursuits have we seen as we trace the history of the Church?
More than anything, Tozer is calling his readers to think rightly about God; “rightly,” meaning according to what the Bible tells us about Him. As his famous quote from above tells us, this is the most important thing about us. As if that was not heavy enough, he ups the ante, rightly saying,
All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him.
This is the pursuit of all of philosophy and theology, and mankind will forever be reckoning with the fact that there is a God, regardless of what they determine to do about it.
But for the person who comes to terms with God and understands and accepts His gospel, he, “is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems,” because he sees that they all pale in comparison to that which God is at work doing in the world. But unless “the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and no burden.” If we don’t think rightly about God, we will not see our need for God and the goodness of His grace and mercy in the cross of Jesus. This is nonsense to those who don’t yet know Him, of course, but it is the power of salvation for those who believe.
Tozer writes with such force because he sees a right view of God slipping away, endangering not only the institution of the church, but the very Truth it stands for. The danger is that, “Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them.” These low views of God pave the way for the most destructive of all sins — idolatry; the essence of which, Tozer writes, “is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”
When considering how much of the New Testament is a rebuke of false teaching or an exhortation for others to correct false teaching, this makes a great deal of sense. False teaching leads to false thinking which leads to false gods. Any entertainment of a god other than the God as revealed in the Bible is idolatry because it epitomizes that which is not actually God. “The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.”
What a message for today when we are so susceptible to wrong thinking. The rampant pluralism, intense social pressure, and increasing secularism of the day make for an ideal moment for the Enemy to attack our understanding of God. This was the first and most dangerous temptation first uttered in the Garden. And our epidemically low Bible literacy makes it like shooting fish in a barrel.
And perhaps this is precisely how Tozer felt when he wrote of his own day that,
The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.
Surely Tozer was viewed as a doomsdayer by some when he wrote that, and perhaps the same will be said of me. But I cannot help but feel like the situation is even more dire today. Those in the Church are daily giving way to low views of God and His Word, handing over not only the foundation for their convictions, but the very foundations of the faith itself. It feels as if the Devil learned from his reign in Babylon that he can succeed in turning us away from God by simply assimilating the world into the faith, thereby assimilating the faith into the world. This strategy is an ingenious, insidious plot to replace a high view of God with a far lesser and far lower one. This, “low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us,” Tozer writes. “A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.”
There is only one way out of this mess. I’ll let Tozer himself explain:
The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him — and of her. In all her prayers and labors this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to the undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.
Prophet Jeremiah
This is from the blog kevin lotz:
34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:
35 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will break the bow of Elam,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against Elam the four winds
from the four quarters of heaven;
I will scatter them to the four winds,
and there will not be a nation
where Elam’s exiles do not go.
37 I will shatter Elam before their foes,
before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
even my fierce anger,”
declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword
until I have made an end of them.
38 I will set my throne in Elam
and destroy her king and officials,”
declares the Lord.
39 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 49:34-39 NIV)
Today’s text is the last of the prophecies against the surrounding nations before we begin the prophecies against Babylon (chapters 50 – 51).
Today’s passage is about Elam, the small country located in modern-day Iran. Susa, its capital city, lay directly north of the top of the Persian Gulf. Elam’s borders extended around the eastern side of the Persian Gulf (see close-up map here; see larger regional map here).
The timing of this word from the Lord is very accurate – early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah (597 BC). This is important, as Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took over this area in 596 BC. Elam had existed as a country until 640 BC when Assyrian king Ashurbanipal took over the land.
Historically, Elam was known for its military might, specifically its archers (v. 35). The Lord promised to break Elam’s bow, signifying His conquering of its military power. As a sign of His conquest, the Lord promised to establish His presence there (v. 38). Incidentally, the capital city of Susa was often the winter home of Persian kings, but the Lord was laying claim to the land and the city now.
While the Lord did promise to destroy Elam, He also promised to one day restore its fortunes (v. 39).While Elam was not a direct threat to Israel or Judah, it was in the Lord’s radar and part of the larger story of kings and kingdoms in ancient Middle Eastern history.
So what is the significance of today’s passage? What faith lesson can we draw from this ancient text in our modern day life and culture?
One surprising connection is that the Elamites were mentioned in the group of people who heard the Good News at the day of Pentecost (Acts 2, specifically verse 9). Yes, the Lord had scattered the Elamites to the four winds (v. 36). But He also preserved their culture and language some 600-plus years until they could hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 2, specifically verse 8).
May we remember that God’s time frame is not like ours. Just because an event does or does not happen in our lifetime does not mean God does not care or that he is not working.
May we remember that the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the God of eternity and transcends space and time.
May we rejoice and worship with Mary when she learned that she would be the mother of Jesus the Christ-child:
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
(Acts 2:46-55 NIV, emphasis on verse 50 mine)
This is from the blog A Word in Season:
“Moses took of the blood of it,
and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear…”
Leviticus 8:23
“Take heed therefore how ye hear:
for whosoever hath, to him shall be given;
and whosoever hath not,
from him shall be taken even
that which he seemeth to have”
Luke 8:18
The sanctified ear brings one to the place of not only hearing His voice but of hearing it correctly. This hearing is coupled with obedience. In religious circles there is much information and often good and right teachings. The subtle challenge of our day is not so much what we hear, it is how we hear. True hearing must be accompanied with the corresponding act of obedience. It keeps the individual in a habitat of movement and change. A static Christian experience is not possible for the very call of Christ is for us to pick up our cross and follow Him. Following denotes movement and keeps us in an active state of attending unto Him in everyday life. No matter how demanding the business world, our home life or our secret life, there is watchfulness required that transcends all of these other things. The sanctified ear is set apart for Him, above all the noise and demands of this life, alert to His Call and His Will.
The authentic Christian life is one of being ”on call” and active in response to Him. Sensitivity to His voice grows as we hear and obey Him in even the little things of life. Integrity in business, selflessness in responding to the needs of others, going out of our way to bring a word of encouragement or exhortation to another even in the face of opposition, are all indicators of a healthy Christian walk. The phrase “take heed how ye hear” contains a warning that we can lose what we seem to have. Hearing without obedience brings a deception of thinking that because we know something we have something.
“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer,
he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way,
and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was”
James 1:23-24
The hearing of a good thing without the corresponding action leaves one in a state of ambiguity and uncertainty. It causes men and women to be tentative and filled with perplexity in their walk as Christians.
“Take heed how you hear” is the warning of Jesus to every one of us. It is a phrase intentionally set at the end of the Parable of the Sower. Time has a way of passing quickly and “take heed how you hear” is His exhortation to all of us to be watchful that we do not fall into the subtlety of routine and religion. The sanctified ear is God’s answer to the deception of our hearts. It is His way of keeping us from the narrowness and comfort of our own tendencies. This error (implied in the Greek for the word deception in James) is insidious in its workings. Not only we as individuals are susceptible but even more so in any type of corporate Christian gatherings. There is a blindness that can creep in of such delusion that without a strong prophetic ministration (often times from the outside) it may become ingrown and closed to others who do not “see the truth” as they do.
In Luke’s Gospel we read the story of Jesus’ parents going up to Jerusalem for the yearly feasts and then returning home.
“But they, supposing him (Jesus)
to have been in the company…”
Luke 2:44
They assumed He was with them. After all He was with them as they went to the feast and He had been with them since. They took for granted he was still with them. This is a warning to His people, especially those who have been gathering for a long time. There is an assumption that He is with us, for we are meeting and doing what we have been doing for a long time; God was with us in the past so surely He must still be with us. This is especially true for groups and organizations that in the past have had moves or stirrings of the Spirit. Yet over time the Son has moved on and they are unaware that anything has changed. The Son does not abide in a certain place. He is ever about His Father’s business. It is incumbent upon us to follow Him and not to presume He is with us! The difference between the two has eternal consequences. Obedience is a journey filled with movement, change and growth. He is ever calling us out of the “boat”; out from the other disciples to walk upon the water unto Him* (Matthew 14:25-32). It is here where we reveal whether we are His disciples or mere adherents to a teaching, doctrine or religious association. The beauty of this story in Luke is that when they discovered He was not with them they forsook their “company”* and sought Him out. He will always be found doing his Father’s business. We must be willing to do the same regardless of our relationships and understandings with others with whom we have fellowship.
“Take heed how you hear” is the living truth which must abide in our hearts continually. For He is our Way, He is our Truth and in the knowing of Him in these things He will also Become our LIFE which is what we have been called to.
“Take heed to how ye hear”
Luke 8:18
*Note: Obedience to Jesus is paramount in the our walk; all true relationships with our brothers and sisters are to be based upon Him being our head. When Peter rose up out of the boat was he was not forsaking the others in terms of relationship but he was stepping out in a living response to Jesus. True relationships that are the result of a vital connection with Jesus are never interrupted by such obedience. Relationships built upon a teaching or a religious affiliation will always be in opposition to the ways and the will of God. The essential thing in the life of the true disciple is our obedience unto Him. Religion brings conformity but the living way of God brings transformation; one is static the other is living.
“So David went on his way,
and Saul returned to his place”
1 Samuel 26:25
Brian Troxel
http://www.aword.info
This is from the blog The Kingdom:
I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected. Habakkuk 2:1
In November 2016 another great earthquake struck the land, during a supermoon. It happened in the area of north Canterbury – with aftershocks in Seddon. This one was different though, as the scientists had never seen anything like it. Two huge earthquakes had happened simultaneously. Two earthquakes, that lasted two minutes, with two people dead, affecting two islands (the North and South Island) – and the land underwent a two metre shift south of Marlborough.
Wellington was struck along with Kaikoura. Parliamentary Service released CCTV footage from the Speaker’s corridor, showing portraits of previous Prime Ministers swaying and banging against the walls.
Strange lights flashed across the horizon in Wellington while the earth shook. The eerie lights were an extremely rare occurrence. After the earthquake, a huge storm struck the Wellington area.
I noted the strange signs, and the pattern of twos.
“Lord, I see the signs. “I know we are in a fault zone – but why is the land shaking so violently lately? What do want to say?” I asked.
The King replied, “Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat, a contemptible woman who gets
married, and a servant who displaces her mistress.” Proverbs 30:21-23 (NIV)
“Can you please explain the verse?” I asked.
“The context is about godless servants who have stepped outside of their delegated authority. These stewards are selling land that is not theirs to sell, and they are behaving in a contemptible manner.”
“The earth indeed trembles. Under what will it not bear up?” I asked.
“You will see. I have given you the context. Now write what you I show you,” the King advised.
I saw myself on a castle wall. I was there with the watchers, scanning the land with binoculars. But it was dark.
The day before the earthquake in November 2016, a self-appointed bishop lifted his voice; “The earth convulses under the weight of certain human sin. And it says it spews itself up after a while. That’s natural disasters. ‘Cause nature was never created to carry the bondage of our iniquity. And so you get earthquakes. Take note because you’ll forget it out the door. But next year if this happens you’ll know why.”
Pointing to the ruined church in the distance, he said “See, massive earthquakes have already hit in Christchurch and you could have just about predicted that one.”
“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” I muttered from Psalm 11:3, ignoring the self-appointed bishop.
I went to the control tower and called the King. “We need to hear from you – not him!” I said.
“Go back to the wall, and switch to infra-red,” the King said. Grabbing the infra-red binoculars, I looked out over the land.
The gates of my country were wide open. Foreigners from the most populous place in the world were streaming in to buy the land. They were being freely admitted at the gates, after waving great wads of cash at the government. The children of the land are being displaced by them.
Cries of protest are being met with accusations of racism.
Globalists had put a name over the gates, and it was called “TRADE.”
“Trade?” I asked.
“Free trade is good trade!” I heard the globalists tell our little country of 4 million.
“The NZ-China free trade agreement started this. It didn’t put restrictions on house sales to overseas buyers,” the King explained.
“It’s not free,” He added. “New Zealanders are suffering because the wealthy 1 per cent from other countries buying the houses are driving up prices to levels they can’t afford. Because 1 per cent of China is over 10 million people, it’s the most obvious example. This is also destabilising your economy.”
“So it’s not about the earth convulsing under the weight of sin?” I asked.
“No. I am trying to warn you that Babylon is rising. It’s a Luciferian world government. His ministers are getting rich through trade. Look at the King of Tyre in Ezekiel 28;
By his wisdom and understanding he gained wealth for himself and amassed gold and silver in his treasuries. By his great skill in trading he increased his wealth, and because of his wealth his heart grew proud.
Lucifer, the ordained guardian in Eden, was and is the real power behind trade. This is what I said about Lucifer, “Through his widespread trade he was filled with violence, and he sinned.” Read it in Ezekiel 28. It’s the same spirit behind globalism, behind trade.
Your laws are being changed, and your land is being destroyed by globalism. Keep watch, because you need to explain what is happening.
When you sing the words to your national anthem, I hear. I take it seriously, even when your country sings it just as a song. The fight is sneaky, and insidious – and it’s not just about trade. The family, the building block of the nation and its culture is also under attack.
Ben Carson, an American leader, warned “If you look at the writings of the neo Marxists, when they talk about the new world order, there were two fundamental things in their way – the Judeo Christian faith, and their strong families. Those were the things that had to be attacked. There’s a book published in 1958 called The Naked Communist by Cleon Skousen, which lays out the whole agenda. This stuff is not secret, you can read about it – in Saul Alinsky’s book, Rules for Radicals. It’s a quick easy read, you can see all the things that are happening today.”
“Come with me,” the King said. I went from the castle wall to a dormitory. A series of rooms led off the main corridor. I entered the long corridor at room 2010.
Room 2010
Walking into the room, I saw that everyone was asleep. I could hear cicadas outside – and snoring. Even the guards of the land were sleeping. In September, the King shook the sleeping people gently. “Wake up!” he said.
Room 2011
The name of the room was ‘Christchurch.’ It was February 2011. I saw globalist Julia Gillard, the unelected leader from Australia give an address to the New Zealand parliament. She was the first foreign leader ever to do so – and she did not have the authority to say what she was saying, as she’d deposed the governor of her own land.
Gillard was praising neo-liberal economics, trade liberalisation and free trade agreements.
Looking into the future, she extolled the Trans Pacific Partnership, of which New Zealand had been a founding partner since 2005. “I was proud to stand with Prime Minister Key, President Obama and our seven other partners in November last year… pledging to the make the expanded Partnership a reality by the time of APEC this year. The Partnership could be a stepping stone to an Asia Pacific Free Trade Area. If we achieve that, we will create a free trade community as significant as the EU or NAFTA. A zone of trade, investment, jobs as big as the Pacific itself.”
“Wake up!” the King said six days later, as the land shook violently in Christchurch. The Cathedral was destroyed, and 185 people died.
Room 2013
The name of room 2013 was ‘Seddon.’ Richard Seddon had been the nation’s longest-serving prime minister. There was a prominent statue of him outside Parliament Buildings. Seddon had come to represent the authority of the state in New Zealand.
The parliament had just made marriage between homosexuals law, even though there was no mandate for it or referendum about it. In the time it was being passed into law, the land suffered the worst drought in seventy years.
I watched a member of the parliament mock the Church, and quote the Bible at them. “Don’t make this into a big deal,” he sneered; “Life will go on …”
“One of the messages that I had was that this bill was the cause of our drought. Well in the Pakuranga electorate this morning it was pouring with rain. We had the most enormous gay rainbow across my electorate …”
In May 2014 of the following year, the traitor would be unceremoniously sacked from Cabinet following revelations he’d approached police seeking information into a criminal case being taken against Donghua Liu, a corrupt Chinese businessman and National Party donor.
But in the meantime, he had the floor.
He stopped while the parliament laughed. “It has to be a sign, sir, it has to be a sign. If you are a believer it certainly is a sign. Can I finish for all those who are concerned about this with a quote from the Bible; Deuteronomy 1:29, Be ye not afraid.”
He did not see that the context of the passage he’d quoted from was about rebellion against the King.
“Be afraid!” the King retorted, and indeed, there was a sign. Three days before homosexual marriage became legal, there was another earthquake, this time in Seddon.
No-one noticed the authority of the state in New Zealand being shaken.
Room 2014
The name of this room was Eketahuna, It is considered by some to be the stereotypical rural New Zealand town, a place occasionally used in conversation to represent “the real New Zealand.” It was marked by a giant Kiwi.
On Wellington Anniversary Day, the 20th January 2014, the land shook at Eketahuna.
During the earthquake, one of two giant eagles installed at Wellington airport to commemorate the film the Hobbit swung wildly from side to side, crashing to the ground at the gate into the land.
He said to those on the walls, “Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.” Hosea 8:1
No-one noticed the King trying to shake real, rural New Zealand awake. Meanwhile, the first big debate about foreign land sales took place, when the Crafar Farms were sold to a Chinese investor.
Two years passed. So much land had been sold that the children of the land could no longer afford to buy a house in Auckland, the land’s largest city. I saw something I’d never seen before, people forced to live in cars while more than 30,000 houses owned by foreign investors sat empty.
Room 2016
The name of this room was ‘Apec,’ which stands for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. In the face of an increasing rise in anti-globalisation sentiment, Bollard, the former globalist governor of New Zealand’s central bank said Apec would achieve the globalist’s aims in incremental steps.
On the 14th November 2016 globalist John Kerry, the American Secretary of State, met globalist prime minister John Key at Wellington. They were worried about the TPPA – the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement not going ahead, because Trump, the new President Elect of America intended to stop it.
The people of the land did not know that the TPPA was even worse than Apec, because the non-discrimination provisions of the TPPA would prevent the Government banning TPP nationals from buying property in New Zealand.
After the meeting, John Key prepared to fly to Apec in Peru. Until he was stopped by the latest earthquake.
“Lord, what did you mean by the pattern of ‘two’s’ in this latest earthquake?” I asked.
“Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” He asked by way of reply, before showing me a lion roaring, an eagle swooping, a trap springing from the ground, and a trumpet sounding in a city.
“Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?
Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?
When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
Amos 3:3-7
“What do you want us to do?” I asked.
“Keep watch. You are watching the heads of the beast appear” the King replied. “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” 1 Peter 4:7
Serve for my glory, for light casts no shadow.
Submit to the government, and love your neighbour, as you put on the armour of light. And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13.
Standing in front of the ruined cathedral from 2011, the King spoke out of the book of Haggai.
He asked, “Do you remember this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?”
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LordAlmighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LordAlmighty.” Haggai 2.
Red Sky in the Morning
This is from the blog A Word in Season:
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin”
1 John 1:7
True fellowship is a blessed and precious expression of the Life of the Son between His people. It is a function of light not of teaching. Many today within the landscape of the Christian Church have little or no concept of this vital flow of life. Being in one room does not constitute fellowship. Speaking of the things of God, singing, sharing, and praying together does not in itself imply this powerful act of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship in and unto God is a transaction wherein the depth of God in one vessel pours the very life and glory of God into another. The light of His Being is imprinted upon the whole; the ministration of the Blood of Jesus releases an impartation of the cleansing power of the Lamb. The wonder of community, the koinonia, is known by God’s glory. It is grievous to behold the blindness which exists between the religious things of men and the precious things of the Spirit. Within the mixture of today men cannot discern between that which is Holy and that which is lifeless and mundane. Light is the Life of Jesus within His own (John 1:4). It is so much more than words, actions and prayers. It is as we touch His Life within another person that we know the brotherhood of Christ. It is in the fragrance of another’s expression that the aroma of Christ in His Body is known. This flow of Life is the Light of the World and the wonder of Heaven.
“Then said the Lord to him,
Put off thy shoes from thy feet:
for the place where thou standest is holy ground”
Acts 7:33
Moses having left Egypt because of the recognition of his true identity as an Israelite by birth, was not yet aware of his call as a true Israelite (a prince with God) in his walk. He stood in the very presence of God and knew it not. Though he had left Egypt he still walked in the shoes of Egypt and was unable to sense God’s presence even in the place he stood. So it is with religion. Men and women may have teaching, may have even a spiritual heritage (as Moses with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and yet be totally unaware of God’s reality. It is in the taking off of those shoes, (the religious and carnal ways of men) that we are introduced to the Holy Presence of God. We begin to “feel” our way into the life to which He has called us. While many boast of knowledge, or take comfort in their association with great teachers or organizations, it does not avail them of the knowledge of the Holy.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
and the knowledge of the holy is understanding”
Proverbs 9:10
In God’s estimation it is not in the accumulation of data and information that gives a person true understanding; it is in their knowing of the HOLY. Without this sense of awe we will never be able to really flow in the life and light of God. It is this flow which brings us to the Holy Ground of fellowship in God. There is an unseen line of demarcation which religious people cannot pass through; it is a realm of life and liberty in the Holy Spirit. People may behold it but it is always outside of them. It is a thing to see but not one which is internal and real.
“But as he went the people thronged him. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me?When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me”
Luke 8:42-46
In the midst of all the people thronging about Jesus there was one who touched Jesus in the realm of need and faith. Though many were “touching” Jesus, clamouring to hear his words and see His acts, there was one who touched Him in such a manner that virtue (power) flowed from Him into her. This flow is the power of true fellowship and life. Many throng about Him in meetings, services, Bible studies and prayer meetings, yet without the living faith of Him within the heart the virtue of Christ remains hidden and distant.
True and vital fellowship exists where each member shares the substance of Christ which they have seen and heard within their own hearts. It is the communication of their faith because of their relationship and walk with God. The flow of the sharing is orchestrated by the Lordship of the Holy Spirit and culminates in the symphony of His life within the whole. This is no longer a religious gathering. It is in fact the very essence of heaven and the true life of the Son being revealed through vessels of clay who walk in the knowledge of the Holy.
It is through the Glory of such fellowship that the change and transformation of our hearts occurs. It is in the beholding of Him, seeing His wonder in our brothers and sisters, that we touch the beauty of His true Body. It is only by the seeing of Him that we are changed, for no one can see Him and remain the same. While many gather in some manner or another, change will always be the fruit of those who behold His glory; where there is no change there is no glory. The Virtue of Christ always flows into the lives of those who touch Him in the reality of the living faith of God.
“But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord”
2 Corinthians 3:18
The desire to know Him is the only impetus which can bring the mystery of this fellowship to the life of an individual. People who are content with the status quo will never know this vital flow of the Son. It is the story of this woman’s need and desire which caused the touching of Him in reality. Religion is content with things about Him, they who are of the truth are only concerned with the knowing of Him experientially (corporately and individually). Change is the fruit of seeing God. For fellowship with Him brings us to His light and the love of His people. No one can have fellowship with God and walk in darkness.
“This then is the message which we have heard of him,
and declare unto you, that God is light,
and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness,
we lie, and do not the truth”
1 John 1:6
Brian Troxel
http://www.aword.info
The Road 