11_08192011

Audio Sermons

Posting audio files to Blogger is still a mystery to me, so I posted links back to my WordPress Site for these audio sermons. After clicking the link, the page will like this, and I have points to the audio file with the yellow arrow, as they can be hard to distinguish.

Weary while Doing God's Will?
Audio Sermon: To Will & To Do

A Sermon on prayer. It takes a while to get rolling, but by Pt2 I still want to shout!
Audio Sermon: This Table Set Before Me Pt1
Audio Sermon: This Table Set Before Me Pt2

When Changes Season in Your Life
The Jesus I Never Knew

11_08182011

Changes in Intercession:

Ezekiel 7 & 2Chronicles 7

Early in 2011 there was a change in my prayer life and the lives of others I have spoken with who are given to prayer over this the nation in particular. The Lord began refusing to hear prayers (1John 5:15); for mercy, for grace and for more reprieve from judgment. I prayed to see if it was me, if something specific happened and sought the Lord about what had happened. In all of my life walking with the Lord, I have never heard the things which I have heard in these hours; for my experience is just in my lifetime, for more I must turn to the scriptures.

Understanding

The outflow of seeking was understanding of two things, the first was the Lord opening my eyes to aspects of the scriptures I had avoided and tried to avoid with every breath of prayer. Scriptures that were absolute pillars of the Word of God about prayer, began not to say less, but to say more and were so very sharp they were indeed difficult to hear. One such word we all know,

                          2Ch 7:14
                                       If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves,
                                       and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will
                                       I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land…

Now, your saying, this is blasphemous, “God said right there he would hear these prayers and you’re telling me your “experience” says he isn’t.” I understand why you would say that, but let’s take a look at the scripture and its sharpness, for this what God showed me and its meaning in this season more then all others.

                          2Ch 7:12-14
                                      And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have
                                      heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of
                                      sacrifice.
                                       If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to
                                      devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;


                                      If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
                                      pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear
                                      from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.



The best among us recognize the conditional nature of this verse, that the requirements are not just prayer, but humility, supplication, seeking God’s face, and repentance. Yet, God said, “then will I hear.” The implication is He is not hearing until these were accomplished. In addition, a pilgrimage needed to be made in order to be heard. In our modern times we could hop on a flight from the United States and arrive in Israel faster than some penitent travelers could have made the trip by foot. While this aspect is not specifically for us today, the reality is the same as our journey before the throne; for the journey is an act of contrition and humility.

So what s is the context? This scripture is not the exclusive domain of the prophetic intercessor: those who see the things on the horizon and hears the call for the Lord looking for someone to stand. The Lord removed this from the prophetic sense into the literal; is for a season after judgment has come and is seen in the land. It is only AFTER judgment has come, THEN God has says, “I will heal their land.” There is no healing if the land is not first wounded, broken and emptied: but if these things are only seen far off, there is no reason to heal that which is not broken.

The Second Change

Those who are given to prayer understand that something is different: now there is a pause, now there is a holding of the breath, now there is a silence in heaven as the seasons change and now there is sadness as we look into a coming day we would have laid down our lives to hold back. This is the second change.

It seemed like a simple change, but when the Lord was speaking of these thing He no longer was speaking, “is coming,” but He began to say, “IS COME.” As I talked about this change with friends and I found saying “is come” the best way to articulate the change. The intercession has ended, as a means of avoidance of the day, but has just begun over what is now come.

This week I was reading and I saw that more than just a grammatical change, more than just a useful descriptor; it was what the Lord said, what He has said it before and is presently speaking over our Land. This is more than just some long quotation, hear it:

                  Ezekiel 1-27

                            Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

                           Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end,
                           the end is come upon the four corners of the land.

                           Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will
                           judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine
                           abominations.

                          And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense
                          thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye
                          shall know that I am the LORD.


                          Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.


                          An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.


                          The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come,
                          the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.


                          Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon
                          thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all
                          thine abominations.


                          And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee
                          according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye
                          shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.


                         Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath
                         blossomed, pride hath budded.


                         Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of
                         their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.


                         The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller    
                         mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.


                         For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive:
                         for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return;
                        neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.


                        They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle:
                         for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

                         The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the
                         field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall
                         devour him.


                         But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves
                         of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.


                         All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.


                         They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and
                          shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.


                         They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their
                         silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the
                         LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the
                         stumblingblock of their iniquity.

                        As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of
                        their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far
                         from them.


                        And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the
                        earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.


                        My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the
                        robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.


                        Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.


                        Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their
                        houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places
                        shall be defiled.


                        Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.


                        Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall
                        they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and
                        counsel from the ancients.


                        The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the
                        hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their
                        way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am
                        the LORD.

America, as we have known it, is ended. If a new day is to arise after this I do not know, but “An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.”

11_08152011

As In the Days of Noah and Lot:

A Word of Warning

I confess to you that I am going to bring a word here that I fully do not understand. The element of the “why” seems to be missing here, but the fact that there is such a parallel between Noah and Lot in this regard, I cannot skip speaking of it. Both Noah and Lot ran into the same trouble after they were delivered.

Gen 9:20-27

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Gen 19:30-38

And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

In short, Yuck! Both of them got in trouble through wine, and the results were horrific. In Noah’s case part of his offspring were cursed and in Lot’s his daughters laid with their father; now that’s trouble! Both dealt with alcohol and seed, so let the wise be warned by my simple observation. What might the warning be to us? It could be that at this point the typology of Noah and Lot are beginning breakdown, but that fact that both of them are still parallel at this point makes me wonder. Could it just mean nothing since the revelation of Jesus Christ as the seed?

Still, if you make it through to the end of the judgment of these days, and you start thinking, “What this world needs is a vineyard” or your kids start bringing you gallons of wine, BEWARE and think again!

(If you have anything to add, don’t hesitate to leave a comment; thanks. )

11_08092011

As In the Days of Noah and Lot:

Remember Lot’s Wife

The Lord just keeps pouring things in about Noah and Lot from Luke 17 and this is one of them. Jesus issued a very practical warning for in our modern times when he said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Many times when considering a topic, we can look to the expositions of scriptures from godly pillars of the faith throughout the church age, and with minor adjustments, accommodate the interpretation to our culture and times. Commentaries are of great value in any theological library, but here we must consider the scriptures freshly on this topic.


                         Luke 17:30-37

                                     Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

                                     In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house,
                                     let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him 
                                     likewise not return back.

                                     Remember Lot's wife.

                                     Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose
                                     his life shall preserve it.

                                     I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be
                                     taken, and the other shall be left.

                                    Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other
                                    left.

                                    Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

We have in our modern times watched the World Trade Center Fall to the ground, as it happened and have observe the riots in London this week from a helicopter hovering above the city; yet, miles away from the horrors. As war descended to the nations, we have watched LIVE; seeing the bombs exploding in a city from the reporter’s camera on the ground, from the plane that dropped them or even from the nose-cone of the bomb itself; without stepping foot in the war-zone. In our world, the stock markets in Asia open just a short time after the markets in NY close, and when they close, Europe is opening. As no other generation in history we have watched as judgments take place in real time and there are yet, we will see even greater than these, even from the other side of the world. In all of human history the actual view of judgment falling before human eyes was limited to a few, and even fewer who lived to tell the tale. One of those pillars from history was Lot’s wife, who has been put forward as an example of warning by our Lord Jesus, to this generation in particular as we see judgment fall.

The Two Fold Call
The call to "Remember Lot's wife" is twofold, the first "don't do what she did" out of Gen Ch.19 and the second is "for the same reasons" given by the Lord in Luke Ch.17. What exactly did she do?

                     Gen 19:17,26

                                     And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said,
                                     Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain;
                                     escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed… But his wife looked back
                                     from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

What did she do? Disobedience to the instruction of the messenger/angel to abstain from looking, “look not behind thee,” and the figurative from the Lord Himself “don’t love your possessions and dwelling so much you won’t leave it.” Ironically, the very warning of the literal has been obscured by the figurative because of our intense focus on the New Testament. Not turning the pages back to the fountain head of remembrance the testament of Genesis, we miss the literal warning that fits in perfect context with Jeusu instructions. If we at one time survey both; obeying Jesus’ instruction and turn the pages to read, we can get the full picture of the figurative and literal. Skip Jesus’ instruction and you have lost half of what he is saying: for the warning is both to the behavior and the attitude behind it.

Literal: A litteral instruction came that said, as judgment is falling, don’t become fascinated with it, fixing your gaze on is and surveying it; “…look not behind thee”… “But his wife looked back…” Yet there is even more to this than meets the eye (sorry, couldn't resist).

                          Look, Looked
                          H5027 נבט nâbaṭ naw-bat'- look or looked

                                     A primitive root; to scan, that is, look intently at; by implication to regard
                                     with pleasure, favor or care: - (cause to) behold, consider, look (down),
                                     regard, have respect, see.

Figurative: The attitude of heart Jesus spoke of in the middle of two comments, one side about “things and stuff” and the other side about attempting to save your own life. The reason for the prohibition action this is clearly the focus when reading Jesus’ commentary.

                     Luke 17:30-37

                                      Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

                                     

                                      In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house,

                                      let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him

                                      likewise not return back.

                                     

                                      Remember Lot's wife.

                                      Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose

                                      his life shall preserve it.

                                     I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be

                                     taken, and the other shall be left.

                                     Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other

                                     left.

                                     Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

I don't want to be contentious here, but Lot was NOT raptured. Jesus was not just talking about some type of rapture here, but giving us instructions for us, today, they are for those we who will see judgment falling. Debate about "rapture" aside; is the only judgment the great tribulation? Do you think those in the World Trade Center would disagree? How About those in Indonesia when the wave came and destroyed their lives? Or the residents of Christ Church New Zealand? Or those residents of Japan? Or those currently living in London, whose houses and businesses are still burning? Throw off you blinders and hear the Lord!

To Look or Not to Look: Is That the Question?

We could at this point establish a New Testament LAW; right? “Don’t look at Judgment… OK, got it Jesus!” Is this a commandment of Jesus to “never” look at judgment as it is falling? I don’t feel this is the whole of the matter. In the verse after Ms. Lot becomes the newest salt-lick of the plain (Gen19:26), we read the following:

                     Gen 19:27-28
                                     And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood
                                     before the LORD:

                                     And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the
                                     plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of
                                     a furnace.

Now some of have in our minds some scene from a movie about Lot and his family fleeing “in the night,” and so conclude that Lot’s wife was looking at the judgment falling at night, but Abraham was just looking at the aftermath in the morning. Not so, Gen 19:15 says that Lot and his family were still in the city, “when the morning arose,” the angels constrained them. They were looking at the same event, at the same time, so what is the difference?

Abraham was standing, for it was “the place where he stood before the LORD.” It is not an accident this verse comes right after another is turned into a pillar of salt for seemingly the same action. The place Abraham stood before the Lord was the place that he prayed from regularly; indeed he had made direct intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah to the Lord. This was seeing the same things with their eyes, but compare words translated, “Look-ed” and we see, they were looking with different eyes.

                          Looked
                                 H8259 שׁקף shâqaph shaw-kaf'

                                     A primitive root; properly to lean out (of a window), that is, (by
                                     implication) peep or gaze (passively be a spectacle): - appear,
                                     look (down, forth, out).

Past the literal, it was a reference to the status of his heart. Lot’s wife, who dwelt in the cities and longed for her substance and looked favorably even when she was told not to, and because of her looking favorably, perished as a sign to us today. Yet, of Abraham it says that looking on in a favorable way was reserved for another city, no a city under judgment and in wickedness:

                     Heb 11:8-10 (select)
                                     By faith Abraham… sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange
                                     country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of
                                     the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
                                     builder and maker is God.

Closing

What is the true status of your heart? Can you know it by yourself? Or is it only after you have walked down a wrong path and experience the death of it that you can retrospectively tell? The instruction of the Lord was far more than just saying “remember,” but the commandment is in the present imperative, meaning the instruction is to a continuous and repeated action, not just a passing memory. Is the heart of Lot’s wife in you?

As plainly as I can; the hours coming we need be listening for the Lord speaking to us instructions. No blanket statement can be made out of the scriptures on the point of “looking,” as if the Lord said NEVER, but if he says “Do Not” then DON’T! In this the Lord is not leaving us without instruction: His admonition of “Remember Lot’s wife” should give us pause, and pause to consider, as always in our lives, the condition of our hearts before him. This still does not equal a “NEW”-New Commandment, but rather a divine caution in the hour. If the hour comes upon you, and you feel the Lord would not have you gazing, DON’T. As to the heart, I caution against declaring yourself in the seat of Abraham of your own opinion; for here it is far better to error on the side of caution!

11_08152011

As In the Days of Noah and Lot:

A Word of Warning

I confess to you that I am going to bring a word here that I fully do not understand. The element of the “why” seems to be missing here, but the fact that there is such a parallel between Noah and Lot in this regard, I cannot skip speaking of it. Both Noah and Lot ran into the same trouble after they were delivered.

Observe:

Gen 9:20-27

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Gen 19:30-38 

And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

In short, Yuck! Both of them got in trouble through wine, and the results were horrific. In Noah’s case part of his offspring were cursed and in Lot’s his daughters laid with their father; now that’s trouble! Both dealt with alcohol and seed, so let the wise be warned by my simple observation. What might the warning be to us? It could be that at this point the typology of Noah and Lot are beginning breakdown, but that fact that both of them are still parallel at this point makes me wonder. Could it just mean nothing since the revelation of Jesus Christ as the seed?

Still, if you make it through to the end of the judgment of these days, and you start thinking, “What this world needs is a vineyard” or your kids start bringing you gallons of wine, BEWARE and think again!

This is an article about the Roman Sword that was found in Jerusalemon the 9th of Av.

The story is translated into English, so hopefully this comes through as part of the link.

http://translate.google.com/translate?ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsru.co.il%2Fisrael%2F09aug2011%2Fherev8006.html&sl=ru&tl=en

11_08082011

So You Want to be an Elijah, Ha?

So you want the spirit of Elijah, but can you eat the food of Elijah? Imagine with me for a second that God took your request seriously; what would happen to you?

Imagine you’re on a hike and you come on a man living by a small stream in a deep valley who is hiding, because there is a price on his head. Look at him; he has a huge straggly untrimmed beard, his hair is unwashed, greasy and uncut. He smells and is dressed in nothing but a leather loincloth and it is not the nice leather like we picture Hollywood Indians wearing. The leather is scraps of animal flesh, barley tanned and it is from body of an animal that died of drought and famine. Ravens are feeding him there, scavengers, in the dirt near the man is dropped hunks of flesh pulled from road kill and scraps of bread: this he dusts off and sets down to eat.

You see everyone covets the spirit and power of Elijah, but can you drink his cup? Eat his portion? We all say boldly, “These are days of Elijah,” are they really? You see we believe we will see angels delivering food as they did to Elijah:

1Ki 19:5-8 

And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

  

We believe we will see the miracle of the widow’s oil and meal, as in the day of Elijah:

1Ki 17:14-16

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

But to get to all of that, you have to eat the raven-food or you won’t live to see the days after!

1Ki 17:5-6

 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

Can you drink of his cup and eat of his portion? Really? Sure, we see and want the miracles of Elijah, but we don’t like the diet! How about we try to touch just the outside of this, just scratch the surface of approaching the real and actual: what I call the feasts of Elijah. “Meat, bread and water two times a day” and then “bread” (no larger a portion then palm of your hand) and water.  As you fast, consider the true as you partake of the similitude and thanking God that you got your meat and bread from the grocery store; nicely wrapped and refrigerated, and not the ravens or the bottom of the barrel.

Hebrews 11:37-38

…they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

11_08072011

More On Grief and Heaviness

The past three days have been very difficult for me, but I need to share with you all some things that have come out of these times of hardship. I know on the “Wings of Prophecy” site we have had many discussion of late that a heaviness for intercession has been coming upon many at times (find the site here). The things the Lord showed me are both a warning and a bit of instruction for everyone who might be touching this, for I feel as if the events are at the door and the beginnings of Judgment are VERY soon to appear in our land. Timing is such a hard thing to discern, and so too is it with this, as the weight and the revelation are now, but the manifestation of judgment is still yet to come (though some is here already).

If you have touched the grief, mournfulness and heaviness I am talking about here, there is no rejoicing or pride in it and you have learned this isn’t some “prophetic toy.” This manifestation has much to do with traditional teachings on travail, but this is a touch different. (Did I just use the word “traditional” about prophetic things? Ugh!)

                        Mat 26:36-45 (select)

                                   Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane,
                                   and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.


                                  And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be
                                  sorrowful and very heavy.


                                 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death:
                                 tarry ye here, and watch with me.


                                 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,
                                O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless
                                not as I will, but as thou wilt.


                                And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep…



                               And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy…
                              saying the same words.


                              Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now,
                              and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man
                              is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

We know the story, we know what happens next and what Jesus was about to face, yet, we (though we have heard many things, even from the Lord) have very little understanding as to what were are about to know very personally and intimately in the near future. Some places in the world have faced this by measure already, but to those of us in the Western World, this will be something brand new in this generation.

There is not one of us that will not be rained on by grief and just because there is offered us a place of escape and shelter, does not mean it will not come; even as our Lord Jesus Himself was not immune from being touched by it. This is the picture of Jesus walking on the waters in the time of the storm that made experienced fishermen in a boat were dreading for their own lives; were they not also disciples of Jesus? In the verses above there is something going on which we have been partaking of and it is a prophetic dealing that must be heeded and accomplished.

Jesus was touching and being brought the actual grief that He was soon to endure, before the events actually took place, in fact the very night before! This glimpse into the fact that Our Lord didn’t escape, but had to bear the emotional “weight or heaviness,” this is a warning to us and a blessing.

Two Purposes

The first is to have the oil to endure what is before us personally. God in His mercy brings the actual “weight” of it before hand so that we might call upon Him and obtain that measure we need BEFORE the day actually arrives; this is a blessing. This is not a cheap copy or just a likeness of what is coming, but a translation of the VERY weight before it arrives. If we win the victory and fought the actual battle before the battle even starts, God shall have praise in that hour. This is for us to grow in His grace, and ready the very substance of grace (oil, anointing) needed because God has brought the actual weight and heaviness that is coming and allowed us to lay hold upon the victory before the day arrives.

The second part is like the first; but is the heart of the matter and is the mystery of what some call the “double portion.” We could, go through the events as they occur and call upon the Lord for the things needed in the hour as we face them; this is still the portion of the Lord, but we would have nothing to give. A preparation of the gift of grace for OTHERS is established by this, so that when we see the day arise upon everyone (ourselves included) and others struggling, we have to give to them, even if we are seeing these things for the first time in the natural.

Why do I say this is about oil and use this example in particular? We are in the same place Jesus was when we experience this, the garden of Gethsemanē, the place of the “oil press”.

G1068 Gethsēmanē

Of Chaldee origin; oil press; Gethsemane, a garden near Jerusalem.

After this was the cross, and after this He was to provide not only for His own self in not shrinking under the withering assault, but for us ALL.


Part of the Times

Hear now this scripture in the light of what we were just talking about.

                          1Pe 4:17-18
                                  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
                                 and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not
                                 the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely (with difficulty and
                                 much work) be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

In the light of this scripture and what we are discussing, what is it that we need to be expecting: that churches be the first to burn or that the weight of the judgment to arrive at the doorstep of our hearts before it appear in the world? That every food riot will start in the parking lot of a local assembly or that first we must be made hungry for things of God? That an army mustering for an attack will gather at the church parking lot or that we should prepare our hearts for warfare and battle? What does it say, “if it first begin at US”… this is personal! While it means that we should have revelation of the day in the sense of knowledge, we also shall have the emotional weight of the day as well; both are prophetic in nature.

What to do When Heavy?

Firstly, while it is one judgment that is coming to all, the particulars that you will experience will be different and will be fashioned for us. It will touch you at your weaknesses, not at your strengths, so be mindful of that fact. (Some will speak later that things are coming against your “strengths,” this is yet a true word, but it is true to those that have been exercised by it first touching your weaknesses, have called out unto the Lord until it becomes your strengths.)

Secondly, in the garden the Lord did say,

                        Mat 26:39 
                                       O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
                                        nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Some things the Lord might let pass, but this would be of God’s permissive will, not His highest and best; because the fact that they have come means you have an opportunity for more than just delivering yourself. This is not at its heart an attack of the Kingdom of Darkness on you in particular; this is indeed a blessing of God, a Refining Fire of God and one of the ways of God. Moses wandered away the prime of his life in the same desert he would lead the Children of Israel through in his later years.

                          Mat 11:12
                                        And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of
                                        heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Rejecting this cup as an attack of the enemy and praying for just the “weight” to be removed is childish milk. While the end is still “relief” from the weight, there is as opportunity for something higher and better; make a grab for the Kingdom of God! While you are praying for relief, press on to win the victory and then you shall have both relief and victory, and be more than just be one saved through the fire, but obtain the true spiritual riches.

Thirdly, run for the rock. Much can be said about PS91 here, but when the heaviness comes, the way into the secret place of the most high seems blocked up. You come to pray away the anguish, to find rest in Him, to be in His presence and feel His feathers about you. Just as you arrive and are in sight of the throne of God; the cares of this life, the visions of your worst fears and the emotional senses of distress, drag you heart and soul out of that place. Another way to say it is that distractions and “imaginations” seem to pull you from the peace and rest of His presence and you find yourself wrestling to sit in the place that was easy before, this is the battle.

Lastly, when it seems you have accomplished the end of being able to abide in His presence and stay in the secret place of the Most High without disruption, and feel that you have “prayed through” you with rejoicing stop praying and try to return to the practicals of the day. About a stones throw from your prayer closet you feel your knees buckle and the same process with the same weight as first, begins the same process all over again. Observe…

                          Mat 26:44

                                       And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time,
                                       saying the same words.
Closing

These weights are blessings and necessities of the day. Understanding their purpose will help you to lay hold of the full measure that the Lord is trying to bring to you at this time. This isn’t always a “I just want to feel light” and “be free” in Jesus fest: it’s a war! It hurts, it is hard at times, it involves pain and death and if these be accomplished in the spirit and in the soul the flesh shall follow after, for the end is not death, but life. I expect this to not just increase among us, but at every step inward this begins anew: so be warned, having walked this through once means nothing! A new day will bring new burdens, equally as heavy.

The words that have been released about “Drawing Near to Me” and in recent history on the “Wings” site are precisely the instruction of what to do. I am once again amazed at how the Lord is working with us all.



Brian                 

11_08012011

As In the Days of Noah and Lot:

God Shut the Door

2Pe 2:5-8

And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

I alluded to this scripture before when I speaking of Lot, but when during my normal course of reading the Bible, I came upon this passage again, I realized these are two figures of the OT put forward as examples for us about deliverance in days of judgment that will soon break upon the world. When I read the story of Lot freshly, I saw something that I had noticed previously in the writings of Noah, but seeing it in both I was freshly heartened.

Practical Things

I have a family, and seeing these things ahead for all that dwell here on earth, I look for practical answers. As I detailed in part-one of this writing; I am a Noah, having the job of apprehending from the Lord the practical’s of “how long, how high, what and who” of building an ark. This leaves me looking to the Lord for practical instructions of physical things, but in the course of writing the second installment about “The Mobs of Lot” I realized how delicate my ark really is.

In World War Two, for the D-Day invasion the allies built the Mulberry Harbor pontoon bridge. The bridge was constructed in England of concrete sections and the sections floated like small concrete boats to the shores of France to construct an offloading point in support of the landings. What a technically feat and a wise invention that was! Looking at my own ark I am humbled at its particulars; a wooden house, with locks only strong enough to keep honest people honest, backing a busy street. I have followed the Lords instructions, in Godly Fear and obedience, but seen a coming flood and fire upon the land, I feel uneasy because my pitiful wooden boat won’t hold up to what I see before me.

The Last Thing Needed

There is a parallel between Noah and Lot, God mentioning them together for our benefit and giving us instruction from them.

Gen 7:13-16 (select)

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark…(and) two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life…and the LORD shut him in.

Gen 19:6-10 (select)

And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him…

And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly… But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

What could this mean for us? The literal and practical instructions from the Lord to me is now transitioned back to the figurative and conceptual; they will manifest again, but in our very hour of need. At this my wicked heart and fleshly mind cries out and tries to rebel: “I want more to do! I want more literal and practical; I want more flesh! I’m building my salvation here!” Shut up!

Really, was I building my own salvation? If I claim it was God from the beginning, then how can it be both? It was God who warned, God who provided, God who instructed, and God who spoke; whom I followed as a servant. Now it has to be all God again! It does not matter what has been done by my hands; if God himself doesn’t shut the door, the water comes in and ruins the ark, the mob breaks through and has their way.

Psa 127:1 

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

You see the passage from 2 Peter, which I quoted at first, speaks of God’s part. I kept back, but hear it now, as God’s part:

2Pe 2:4-9 (select) 

For if God… spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations (putting to the proof), and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Without God’s part, no ark is strong enough; without God’s path, no path is safe enough. There are many who through natural wisdom are seeing the same things and are taking steps to prepare, just like a Noah. There are many who are seeing and taking flight from the cities into the country, just as a Lot. They are building their own arks, putting up their own provision; they are plotting their course and mapping their own steps and are ever ready to roll: they have hung their steel doors, which they will close.

Unless God closes the door, no door is strong enough; unless God becomes their path; their way is not sure. More than this, God even might make a show of them, that all things apart from Him are vain, tearing the doors of iron and pouring out all their provisions.

I leave off with this word:

                        Rev 3:7-8 (select)

…These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth… I know thy works…

God must shut this door on an ark He built or in a house in which He dwells: and if He shuts the door, “no man,” no mob, no false Messiah, no friend, no foe can open it.