ISAIAH 55:1 - "The Thirst Quencher"

"But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. " (John 4:14b) Do you remember when you first accepted Jesus Christ into your heart? Do you remember what you experienced that moment you first believed? Do you remember what it feels like in your heart, mind, and even your very soul, to believe? That power of transformation; that New Birth experience, wherein the power of God could not be denied. That life changing experience was so real, so powerful; as you experienced the Light for the very first time; as you knew for the first time, in your heart of hearts, that there was a God in Heaven, and That God Loves You. Depending how long ago that was for you, a lot may have transpired in your life since then. That newness you experienced on that day may have grown old with time, to a point where you really do not remember what it felt like to believe God has the power to transform a life. You knew in your heart of hearts then, that God was a powerful, loving and merciful God; that had revealed Himself to you in a way that could not be denied. For the first time you were able to experience the Light; you were able to feel God's Agape Love; and you were able to know with no uncertain terms, that God is real. Oh, today you are still a Christian, after all of these years you are hanging in there; but you have gotten to a point where you are waiting for either the Lord to come back, or take you home; and you have quit waiting for Him to do a fresh work in your life. You have quit wanting Him to show you more of Himself, each and everyday. I wonder what might have happen if Elijah had not killed the 450 prophets of Baal, but instead would have given them a chance to repent and give God the glory. After all, they just witnessed to True and Living God, upfront and personal. Besides, is there more glory in fire coming down from heaven, or in the transformation of a life? For us that have been given the Living Water, it is to be just that, living; living water must flow to even be considered as alive; it must flow into our lives and then out of our lives. Much the same way it did the day we first accepted Jesus into our life. I remember how it was for me that day; I could not contain myself. I had to call my wife as soon as possible, so I could tell her of this wonderful thing that God had done in me, and try to convince her that He wants to do the same for her. I had to tell everyone all around me, what a Loving, Mighty and Powerful God we have, and that He loves us so much. His love for us is the same as it was on that day; but for many of us, it does not feel the same today; that New Birth experience has become an old birth expression in our lives. When in reality, we are closer today to glory than we were back then; so that in of it's self should be reason enough to be excited about God, to be excited about the things of God, and to be excited about how God can transform a life. And Guess What?; We can continue to experience that New Birth each and everyday as we lead others to the Living Water. "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because you have left thy first love." (Revelation 2:2-4) This is the letter to the church in Ephesus, and at first you would consider those things listed to be really good qualities to posses in serving the Lord; until He gets to the Nevertheless part. This is reality for many in the church today; they labour in the things of God, demonstrating patience, hating those that practice evil, exposing those that are not really of God, doing all they can in the name of Jesus; just tooling along and occupying till Christ comes back, or takes them home. But there is something lacking in their life, something that is not the way it should be; they do not have that same love for the Lord they once did. That relationship they experienced with God and His Agape Love on the day they first believed has grown cold. The expectation of God doing something afresh and anew in their life each and everyday has all but disappeared. That, "Wow God Loves Me" kind of feeling has been replaced with a "God Loved Me" expression in their life. Listen up: God Loves You; He loves you right now, the same as He did when He transformed your life. He wants us to experience Him anew and afresh everyday of our lives; this is what we must be thirsty for. We must be thirsty for God to do a work in us, through us; for Him to be able to use as a vessel to pour out His Living Water onto a thirsty world. That we would continue to experience the life giving transformation that only God can provide; with each and every passing day. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else...He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Revelation 2:5 & 7)

ISAIAH 55:1 - 'Thirst for What?'

"Then said He, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." (Luke 13:18 & 19) Try to follow me for just a moment, as I try to show what this mustard seed is all about. When we put our faith in God, He is more than able to supply for everything we need to walk rightly before Him; He is able, therein is the key; because we are stuck in this flesh, we sometimes tend to forget, that it is by His strength we move. What we must thirst for as a child of God, is to be totally dependent upon Him; to be totally dependent upon His Grace for our lives, our abilities, and our security. When we step outside that dependency we suffer and can actually give life back to the flesh; that flesh which has been crucified with Christ, begins to live again and become an issue. To see a little better of what I am trying to say, let us look at a story about Elijah, found in 1 Kings 18 & 19. Elijah had confronted the 450 prophets of Baal, calling them out and then proving to the children of Israel that God was real and Baal was not; however, after doing all this, Elijah went and hid from the wrath of Jezebel. What would make a mighty prophet of God become such a coward to the world, or anything of the world? What could have made Elijah all of the sudden feel as if he was alone, and without help? What kind of position would God have to had in that moment, to make Elijah's worries bigger than The Almighty God? The God that just brought fire down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice on that alter; that demonstrated His power and abilities before the children of Israel, and the world. Could it be that Elijah's flesh had somehow gotten puffed up, and he was putting more significance in himself than he should have? Yes, I believe that is precisely what happen; this is the thing which we must be so leery of; that our flesh will always try to be stronger than the Spirit; it will constantly try to be relevant and remind us that it is still there, and needing to be fed. As we can see by the illustration in chapter 19:9-18; as Elijah is puffed up in himself, afraid of the enemy, and looking for God to be revealed within big and mighty things; it is then that he is shown how insignificant he is, and how great and mighty God is. When we are out of our position in Christ, we will loose our perspective on how mighty and powerful God is to complete what He has started in us; we will loose sight of His awesomeness, in comparison to this world, our flesh and the enemy. We must thirst for more of Him and less of us; for God to work His perfect will in our lives, we must be dependent upon Him and the things of Him; and not dependent upon ourselves and the things of this world. What is it that needs to happen in our hearts and minds to keep us focused on Him? To keep a right perspective of who we are in Christ and what our abilities are? Belief...We must believe! What, you might be saying? I believe! Well, I believe too; but what is it that hinders us from walking in obedience, from experiencing the fullness of God's grace in our lives, from being a vessel that God can use to the furtherance of His Kingdom; it is unbelief. "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20

ISAIAH 55:1 - "Who is Thirsty?"

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev 22:17) What was the greatest miracle that Jesus did here on earth? Was it raising Lazarus? Was it feeding the people with very little food? Here is a hint: It involved a curtain; the veil of the temple was torn in two; which signified that we now had access to God again. A fallen man, that had been separated from God by sin, now had access to God, through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. All those before that day, were looking towards the cross; believing in their hearts that Jesus was coming to take their sins away. All those after that day, are looking back to the cross, believing in our hearts that Jesus has taken our sins away. When we come to Christ, our sins are washed away; we are united again with a Holy God, because of the blood of Jesus, we can now access the Father and have fellowship with God; that our Eternal Soul may know that experience of being in the presence of Him who breathed life into it. If we look at the 'Letters to the Seven Churches' in Revelation 2 & 3, you might be able to see that there is a similarity in what we are to focus on, and the 'Beatitudes' from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. When I spoke before about the difference between a 'Forgiven Christian' and that of a 'Glorified Christian', I was not speaking about two different people, as much as I was about two different levels of the playing field. We will all traverse between the two, some just more than others; but there are two different arenas, if you will, that we are walking in; one is just more glorious than the other. You might be wondering right about now if you just tuned into the Si-Fi channel? But in all seriousness, there is a different plain which we must be focused on; and it is out of this world. As we move about in this world, within this body, we will be faced with choices every day; one choice will lean towards God's Perfect Will for our life; the other choice will be towards His Permissive Will. Either choice we choose, in the end leads us into God's will, one is just more glorious than the other, right now; one offers us the opportunity to experience the fullness of His grace now, right now. The other choice keeps us fighting the flesh and not being able to taste the victory that we have in Christ over the sins that so easily cause of to stumble. When we accept Christ into our heart, we have moved out from being under the Law, and have moved into God's Grace; we are now under a whole new covenant. This new covenant is not about what we can not, or should not do; but it is all about what we must do. The things which cause us to draw closer to God; the things which we must let God work in our lives so that we can be used by Him to complete His 'New Temple'. One way or another He will build His temple; the question we need to ask ourselves: 'Do we want to be a brick in His temple, or the mortar?'; He can use us either way we choice, it is just that one way is more glorious. If we take a look for just a moment at what is considered to be the best of the seven churches: The Church of Philadelphia; the church of Love. This is the one church which had the most going for it, and because they were holding onto the Word of God, they were making it through, and would continue to make it through as long as they held fast onto that which they had. Because they had little strength, they held more onto the things of God; they had not denied the name of Jesus, and the power of His name. Each of the seven churches were given instruction on what they needed to do; this church also was given instruction, and the instruction given was one that can be the hardest to hold onto. Why would I say that? Because this instruction is mostly completed in the Spiritual realm, and has more to do about knowing our position in Christ, believing He is coming soon, and always being ready to be found worthy. But the glory that is bestowed, well, it is the best; "Him that overcome will I make a pillar in the temple of God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." Revelation 3:12

ISAIAH 55:1 - 'The Messanger'

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.", (Revelation 22:16) The book of Isaiah was the most quoted book by Jesus, and the most quoted book in the New Testament. Of all the prophets and writers of the Scriptures, Isaiah had been shown, or able to express the fullness of Jesus Christ. Isaiah seems to have been able to witness so many different aspects of who Jesus was; how Jesus ministered here while He walked upon this earth, His mission in coming from heaven, His glory that would be revealed in heaven, and even that Jesus was and always has been God manifested. Another thing that Isaiah was blessed with, was the gifting of being able to approach God; to hear from God; to talk with God; and to see through the eye of God. Not many others were able to come into this type of relationship with God and be able to articulate what God had instructed them in. I really believe that Isaiah had seen many of the things which Jesus had done while He was here. That Isaiah witnessed Jesus being born, that he saw Him teaching in the temple as a child, that he saw Jesus perform His first miracle, witness to Nicodemus, share with the woman at the well; he witnessed Jesus minister into peoples lives and declare the truth of God; he even was witness to the brutal death that Jesus suffered for our sins. But there is something else that Isaiah was able to see and experience, that very few were privileged to partake of; that was to see Jesus glorified in heaven; to see the glorified Church; to see the way things were meant to be for us, if we could and would submit to what God wants for us. As we look into this chapter of 'The Holy Scriptures'; I would ask for myself, or anyone else that cares to partake; to surrender all the things of this world; the things that we know and see; and to try as hard as we can to reach for the things of the Spirit. In other words: We must think outside this world, think outside the things we see and have been taught our whole lives are meaningful, or things that matter. What we are dealing with here is our Eternal Souls; which is the part of us that really, really, really needs to be reunited, refreshed and feed by God. It is so easy to be distracted by this world; after all God created it for us to enjoy, to have dominion over, and to partake of it's pleasures; but the most important thing for us, is to have fellowship with God. All the things of this world are dieing, along with this present body that we dwell in; this is the way things are here in a fallen world; but Jesus is preparing a place for us that does not die, that is not corrupted by the things of this current world; a place where we will dwell with God and where we will actually have our abode with Him. Right now, here on this corrupt earth, we can have the joy, the hope and the experience of what is to come; that 'New Jerusalem' which will be our home forever; How is that even possible? How: By making that the place where our hearts are! We must be longing for it as if our very lives depended upon it; that must be what we are living for each and every day of our natural lives. This is our high calling of God; this is why Jesus came to die for our sins. That He could redeem us back to God, and that we could once again dwell with God; actually in the presence of God; so much so, that there would be no need for the sun or the moon, or any other source of light; because God will be our light. That is our new dwelling place, and it has been our dwelling place since the day we accepted Jesus into our hearts; it's just that sometimes during our journey home, we forget that it is there, waiting for us; we forget that we must be longing for it; that our Eternal Soul is groaning inside to be there, because this earth has nothing to satisfy it's thirst. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17

ISAIAH 55:1 - "HO"

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.", (Revelation 2:7). As I was praying about finally starting in this chapter, I was really blessed with some things God was speaking to me about. One thing that I feel He was speaking to me in was why Jesus spoke in parables; the other thing He gave me to dwell on, was why He had Adam name all the animals; is there a similarity between the two; I think there must be. In the verse above, Jesus is speaking to John, and having him write letters down for the seven churches. Each church is represented by an angel, or messenger: one sent to announce or proclaim. If we look into each of these letters to the churches, we can find not only things that are applicable to actual church periods, doctrines, and church bodies; but we can find nuggets of information that can pertain to our individual lives; messages from our Lord Jesus Christ which He is speaking into us as individuals. Things that we must listen to, but not just with our ears; we must listen with the ear of our minds; which can actually cause us to obey. In Matthew 13:36-52, Jesus lays out a whole bunch of nuggets, and when He was done, he asked the disciples in verse 51, "Have you understood all these things?"; to which they answered, "Yes, Lord"; but then Jesus says something really interesting in verse 52: "Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." There are just some things that we need to search out for ourselves; this is something we must do as individuals, and look for, and apply the message God has to our very lives. Thus the reason for Jesus to speak in parables; so those that heard Him speak could search for the meaning and apply it to their lives; because when we use that part of our brain, which is meant to be for analysis, creativity and application, all in one; we can then make the greatest impact upon our ability to follow through. When God told Adam to name all the animals, this is the part of the brain which was put to work. Think about this just for a moment; What would you do if that was your task? What were all the things which you would consider as you thought of a name for each and every animal? Would you consider what the animal looks like when naming it? Would you think about what the animal does, eats and where it lives? Would you think about how the animal you are about to name affects your life? When naming the animal, would you think about how that particular animal was useful for you? And; When you gave the animal a name, would you consider why God created it? This is the kind of thought process which we need to use as we hear what God is saying to us; as we apply what He is saying to our lives; as we consider what the implications are towards our Eternal Souls. God's word is alive, eternal, and has layers upon layers of applications. Applications, which when we find them, can make the most impact upon us as individuals; more so than if the same thing was spelled out to us in great detail; Why?; because we have to search for it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-46) As Isaiah starts off this chapter, he does so with a proclamation: "Ho"; in other words, 'listen up and prepare to apply what I am going to say to your very life'. "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive: For the people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see, see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." (Matthew 13:13-15) ['Holy Spirit, come and fill us; as we read your Word; as we seek You to show us the applications to our lives; may You cause us to go deep into our very souls, as we are purified by Your Word...']

ISAIAH 55 - "GOD'S GRACE"

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;" 2 Cor. 3:5. Alright; I promise that I am almost ready to be wrapping up touching on the Perfect Will of God, verses the Permissive Will of God; but I thought I would save the best for last; (actually, I had no such plan, nor do I even know what I am doing). What is God's Grace? What does it mean for our lives? How is God's Grace sufficient for us? These are just a few of the questions that come to mind when considering what to share on God's Grace. How is God's Grace the best?, you might have asked; if you did ask, I am glad you did. Okay; this part is tricky to move into, because so much of how we move in the power of God, depends on our position in Christ; in other words, we are so easily moved from the position that has been established by God, and into a position that we have established, or think that we have. (Did I leave anyone back at the word, Okay?) God's love is unchanging; it is steadfast and sure; His mercy for us, endures for ever, and ensures that we do not get what we deserve; But God's grace is poured out, it is the gift that keeps on giving. The more we walk in His Grace, the more of His grace is poured out into our lives. Am I saying that some receive more grace than others? Well, I am not really sure how that all works; but I can say that I believe some accept more grace than others. What is the difference between receive and accept? Oh, I am not sure I can explain that in a day, or a week; but let me try to put it in simple terms: His grace is poured out for all, and is the same for all; the difference is in how much of the all we want to experience. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 is a good illustration of what this is I am trying to say. Another parable that Jesus used was the parable of the laborers in Matthew 20:1-16; one shows that God gives us the abilities and with that comes responsibility; while the other shows that we are all given the same abilities. How can this be, because we are all different? Yes, true, true; we all are very different, one from another; but God on the other hand is the same; He does not change; so really the question we need to ask is: Who's grace is it? There are two different judgements spoken about in Revelations; one is the Great White Throne Judgement, in which all those not written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be judged and cast into the lake of fire; the other judgement is the Judgement Seat of Christ; I will cover all the above later, but for now I just want to give a preview as to where I am going. God pours out His grace to us freely, but here is the thing we need to know; it is not our Grace, it is His. What the heck am I saying? We can not receive something that is not ours, as if we can own it; it belongs to God, and we can accept it, to walk in it, to allow God to bless us in it, to live it out, in each and every day of our lives; but at the end of the day, it still belongs to God. We will be held accountable to how we walked in His Grace. God's perfect will for our lives, is that we would all walk in the fullness of His Grace. What is the fullness of His Grace for us as individuals? Only God knows; "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what He hath prepared for him the waiteth for Him.", Isaiah 64:4. God's permissive will when it comes to His Grace; well, I don't want to be the judge in that regard; but He is merciful and always loves us, but He will hold everyone of us accountable in that day. He will not force us to want more of Him, or to experience more of Him; but He might want to know why we did not...

ISAIAH 55 - "GOD'S MERCY"

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." (Psalms 103:11-14) One thing God hates more than divorce, is adultery; this is the only thing in which He considers a divorce to be justified in. Why?; Because this is something that God can relate to; not only by the way He is treated, but also when it comes to the damage inflicted upon the marriage relationship. God knows our frame; and He has the ability to not only forgive us of our sins, but He has the ability to forget our sins; we on the other hand do not have the capacity to forget. When adultery is committed in a marriage, the damage done is practically irreversible; neither spouse will be able to view the other the same again. Oh, there can be forgiveness, but as far as forgetting the defilement, well, it will live on, in one way or another throughout the relationship. When the Bible speaks about, "And he knew his wife", it is more than a sexual relationship that takes place. But it is their eternal souls being joined together in, and sharing an intimate experience; that is only meant to be shared by a husband and a wife. The damaged spouse can forgive the other spouse, but their soul will continue to feel the defilement; while the the soul of the other spouse will hold onto that outside influence. (This is my opinion, and is not based upon any biblical references that come to mind; it is just common sense.) When the one spouse forgives the other of the act of defilement, they do so accepting the fact that their relationship in that regard will never be the same, and they make an adjustment in order to accept it as so. God, on the other hand, is rich in mercy; He is able to forget the sin that we have committed against Him, and treat us as if the sin never took place. When we go whoring after other gods and then return to Him, He is able and willing to receive us back with open arms. Although God is able to forget the sin, we are not; all the more reason to love Him, and to know His love for us is greater than we could ever fathom. This is the reason for the proclamation around the Throne, "Holy; Holy; Holy"; as God pours out His wrath upon those that choose not to receive His mercy which He poured out. His mercy is great and unchallenged in every way; because God offers His mercy so freely, man has no accuse when it comes to receiving it; and His judgement is justified and holy, as it is poured out. It is because of that great mercy, that we which have been redeemed, must walk humbly before Him, and we must love Him with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all of our strength. We must live out His mercy in our lives; having mercy in our hearts one for another. Knowing that because God so loved us, we must so love others also; we can not say that we love God if we hate our brother; the two are opposites, and can not coexist. The Apostle John made this point; if we do not have the capacity to love others, than we really never have experienced God's love for us: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:7 & 8)

ISAIAH 55 - "GOD'S LOVE"

"The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31) We must realize that the Lord our God is a jealous God; but not in a evil way like Satan is. God is jealous towards us; in other words, He longs for us to love Him back and pours His love out towards us, that we should do just that. He does not demand that we love Him; but His love commands that we do; and when we don't, God is offended by it. Satan on the other hand is jealous of God and he is jealous of us; his jealousy is evil and will be punished, because it has lead to envy against God, and it has lead to causing man to sin. God's jealousy is Holy, True and Righteous; for God's judgements are just and based on the rejection of His love by an uncaring world. These three illustrations which I have been sharing on for the last week, were meant to show that God's perfect will for our lives is based on loving Him. This is the most important thing for our lives; that we love God, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Do I believe that a Christian can walk in opposition to God's perfect will? You bet I do; I know it, because I have lived it. Do I believe God is merciful and able to restore us to a right relationship with Him? You bet I do; I Know it, because I have experienced it. All three of the illustrations that we looked at, (Israel desiring a king, Hezekiah, and adultery), are present elsewhere in the Bible; first they were present at the fall of man; the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh; but they are also present in the book of Revelation in chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus is addressing the seven churches. This we will look at as we get into Isaiah 55, and as I try to show that this chapter is a little more than we might otherwise think. As I have stated before, and I will state again; I believe that this chapter is speaking to the believer; I believe that this chapter is trying to instruct us, as believers to walk in victory, and in the newness we have in Christ. Much the same way that the Apostle Paul was doing throughout the book of Ephesians, Isaiah is also making a proclamation within this chapter that there are two different types of believers; there are those who are victorious and there are those who are not. This might sound harsh, or even to some it may seem judgemental; but I can tell you from experience that it is so. Let me give you a little taste of what I am talking about: When we as Christians are struggling with the flesh, we are not positioned right in Christ, because we are not living as someone who has become a new creation in Christ. Look at it like this; if you are seated in Christ and walking in Christ, then when you are faced with a trial or temptation, you will be able to stand in Christ. The battle in which you wage daily is not with the flesh, but a spiritual battle; your flesh will still want to battle with the Spirit, and will continue to until the flesh is no more; but the flesh does not have dominion anymore over your Eternal Soul, and over the Spirit of the Living God; these two now have dominion over the flesh. On the other hand; when we are struggling with the flesh, it is because we are living more for the things of flesh, than for the things of God. Our focus is not in the Life we have in Christ, the Place that He has prepared for us, and the Position we have in Him; which basically means, our lives will be ineffective and our battle against the flesh will become more prominent. When we are walking in God's perfect will, our focus is on loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. I know some of this is a little hard to fully receive or understand, especially if you are under the opinion that because God is not a respecter of persons, that there is no difference in one believer or the other; but God does not change, we do...and must!

ISAIAH 55 - "THE LIFE"

"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." (Gen 3:22 & 23) Again: Let me ask you; Do you believe that you have an Eternal Soul? Do you know that you have an Eternal Soul? Have you ever seen your Eternal Soul? Well, I think I might have! That morning, when I saw the vision of that Train of a Brides Dress, which I believe it was to have been on the Throne, (as odd as that may sound); but for a brief second, I thought I saw my Eternal Soul within the fabric of that Train. Okay, Okay, Stop; you might be saying? I said it before, and I will say it again; I don't know for sure what I saw, but what ever it was, it shook my very soul; and some how, there was something there that was familiar to that soul. My Eternal Soul, that has been with me as long as I have been; and was reunited with God's Spirit, the day I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. There was a death that took place in the garden of Eden on that day that Adam sinned; there was a separation between man's eternal soul and God's Spirit. We can not even begin to understand how this all works; much the same as we can not totally understand the Trinity; but what we must do, is believe it to be so, and know that one day, it will all become revealed. When God formed man and how this eternal soul was created, is shown in Genesis 2:7; "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." This soul that was created would never die; but would continue even after the body had passed away. The breath of life which God breathed into man's nostrils, was God's Spirit, which created the Eternal Soul. After sin was committed, there was a separation; God's Spirit was removed from man's eternal existence; but man's soul continued on without it; this was the death which God had warned about; and it did take place in that day. From that day, man has needed something to satisfy the longing of his Eternal Soul to be reunited with the Spirit of the Living God; and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden was a source of the Spirit; hence man was removed from the garden. And guess what was placed there at the entrance, guarding the entrance from anyone that might try to enter; Jesus Christ himself was there; "So he drove out the man: And he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." (Gen 3:24) There is something we have to understand about what God created us for; He wanted us to love Him; not because we were created to love Him, but because we want to love Him. This is why He created us with a free will; so that we would not be forced into loving Him, but because of His great love for us, we would be driven to love Him; with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. That tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was more of a representation of an idol; something that would cause us to love another, beside loving God, and Him alone. Basically, it was like committing adultery against God. Before that sin was committed, man was pure, undefiled; as a virgin if you will; that knew nothing eccept God's mighty love for him, and that God provided for all his needs; man knew nothing but good! Then sin; and then man knew evil as well good; for the first time, man could understand that there was a good and an evil; something that they could never do before; because as far as they knew prior to that point, all things were good; after all, God declared that everything was that way after He created everything. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life:" Jesus declared this, and He meant it... He is that Flaming Sword, which turns every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life...

ISAIAH 55 - "THE TRUTH"

"In my Fathers house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:2 & 3) What is Truth? Maybe for first thing we need to know is, what is the lie? The first lie recorded in the Bible was made up of five words which were packed full of deception; "You shall not surely die", Gen 3:4. We must know this; Satan was, and always has been jealous of man, and the relationship God has with man. For God created man to be a free willed soul, that would desire and long for a relationship with Him; earnestly loving God, by choice and in response to God's love. God had set man in this plush garden, provided everything he could ever need. He gave man tasks to stimulate his mind and cause him to be creative. He gave man dominion over all the other living creatures of the earth. He loved man that he created, desired fellowship with him, and cared for his every need; this was paradise. God only had one rule for man in this paradise that He made for him; "And the Lord commanded of man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Gen 2:16 & 17) There is a direct result of sin; death. It is not because God brought it to pass; but because man choose to sin; that death was the result of a separation from a holy God; because God, being holy, must separate Himself from anything that is not in harmony with His character. There was another tree in that garden, which was the 'Tree of Life'; there was also a separation from this tree and what it had to offer man. When a man and a women who have been joined together in marriage get divorced; there is a separation that takes place between their very souls. Do you believe you have an eternal soul? Do You? I would challenge you, if you are married; get your spouse to set down with you for at least 20 minutes; sit about a foot apart, and just stare deep into each others eyes; and you will begin to see what a soul looks like... When we realize that there is a eternal soul which is part of our very being, we can begin to understand what God meant when He said, "You shall surely die". (forgive me for being short today; in the land of silliness...)

ISAIAH 55 - "THE WAY"

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) The third illustration of the 'Perfect Will of God' that we must look at, is that of marriage. This one is far more complex to see; but it is also, far more glorious, once we see it. The first thing we must know, is that God created us with a free will; which means we have the ability to love, but we also have the capacity not to love. Thus, the reason that God established 'The Bill of Divorcement', that the Pharisees came to Jesus about in Mark 10:2-12; Jesus stated, "For the hardness of your heart he wrote this precept". Marriage is refereed to as "Holy Matrimony"; because love is meant to be forever, and it is ordained by God. The correlation between the marriage of a husband and wife, the Church and Christ, and the Love of God, run deeper than we can know; but what we can know, is sufficient for us. What would make a man put away his wife, and to divorce her? What would make man reject God's love for him? What is it that makes God hate divorce? Could they all be based in the same lie? Try to follow me as I lay this out, in a way, that I hope will make sense. First we have the account of Adam, who was depicted as the first man; and God said,"Let us make man in Our image", (Gen 1:26). In verse 27 it says, "So God Created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them". Then in chapter 2 of Genesis, we have a little more detailed account of what happen during the creation process. God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and then breathed His Spirit into man; and man became a living soul, (Gen 2:7). Now, when it came to the creation of the woman, this is where things get a little bit more complex. Genesis 2:21-24, gives us more than a picture of the creation of marriage, but it gives us a picture of man's redemption. (Are you still with me?) Listen up, or "Ho", as Isaiah would say; When God took that rib from Adam to make a woman for him, there was a separation that took place; God separated that rib from Adams body to create the woman; thus when they were later joined together again, they were reunited again into one body. Adam declared in verse 23, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Women, because she was taken out of man". Then the very next verse is the one Jesus quoted to the Pharisees in Mark 10:7 & 8; "Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." All Right Then; to express this is the simplest and most direct way: Likewise, sin had separated man from God, but Jesus, taking on the sins of the world upon that cross, He has joined man back to God. It amazes me beyond measure that the ratio of divorce among Christians is practically the same as the ratio of divorce among non-Christians. I am sure that if we all only knew the beauty of what marriage represents in God's eye, then we would all try a little harder to make it work. It is because of the hardness of the man's heart that God even allows divorce. God's perfect will for those of us that are married, is that we experience the oneness of being bonded together for life; to experience a type of love that is sacrificial; to the very end. As far as who's fault it is that divorce even happens; well, it is the man's!!! I know I might be stepping on some toes here, but this is very important to understand: It is the husband who is responsible to provide the love; the wife responds to that love. Okay, okay; so maybe you don't agree? But think of it like this: Who first loved, us or God? Of course; it is God who first loved us!!! He demonstrated that love for us by denying Himself, taking on the form of a man, and dying on the cross for our sins. It is our responsibility to respond to that love poured out for us, and to accept it. Likewise, the husband is called to deny himself and demonstrate his love for his wife; to give himself for her, and to cherish her, as Christ does the Church. The wife will respond to that love and reverence the husband, much the same way the Church does to Christ. The wife is called to submit to the love of the husband. Why are they not called to love their husbands? Because, the love they have towards their husband is one of response; their love for their husband is more of 'Adoration'; where the husband is worthy of her deepest love and reverence. If you haven't had a chance to see the movie 'Fireproof' yet, you should. My favorite part of the movie was when the wife was at the medical supply place; and she finds out that it was her husband who provided the medical supplies for her mother; not only that, but she finds out the date in which he did it; it was the same day she served him with the divorce papers. She was undone!!! She could hardly function or contain herself, because she saw in the moment how much her husband loved her. This kind of experience is the one I had that morning when I had to explode, "Are You Kidding Me"; as I became undone before God. I know that the apostle Paul and Isaiah both had seen, what I only saw for a millisecond; but that little glimpse was enough to shake my very soul. That morning when I had the vision of Isaiah's declaration of God, (Isaiah 6:1); it was not a robe that I saw that filled the temple; it was the train of a bride's wedding dress... Talk about redemption!

ISAIAH 55 - "CHOOSE TRUTH"

"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?" (John 11:25-26) The next illistration we will take a look at is Hezekiah. Here was a man who had done right in the sight of the Lord, and was a good king over Judah. He had lived his life trusting God for deliverance from God's enemies; he had caused the people of Judah to worship God, and Him alone; and the Lord was with Hezekiah, and he prospered. However, there came a time in his life, where he chose to go against the 'Perfect Will of God', and instead chose his own will; he chose the lie; the lie that says this world is more important than God. 2 Kings 20:1-21:18 gives an account of this change of heart in the life of Hezekiah, and the consequences of believing the lie. When Isaiah came to Hezekiah while he lay sick in bed, Isaiah told him, "Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live". This thing that was done for Hezekiah was not a bad thing; this was God showing Hezekiah grace, mercy and His love for him. But in that moment, what Hezekiah did was count this life more important than God; he believed the lie that the things of this world, our own life and the other things which the flesh lives for were greater than God, and what God had to offer. In verse 2 & 3, we see that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and pleaded for God to spare his life. What happen to Hezekiah's heart as a result of accepting the lie, instead of believing God? First off, he began to not trust God. After Isaiah told him that God would give him 15 more years, Hezekiah asked for a sign that God would do what Isaiah said. Next, he began to take stock in the things of this world, and all it had to offer; putting the things of this world above the things of God. He became obsessed with the things of this world; so much so that he had to show off his possessions and the riches of his kingdom to the rulers of Babylon. Jesus warns us in Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Because Hezekiah was holding onto this life, he began to cherish the things of this life, more that the things of God; he began to lay up treasure upon this world; which caused him to be removed from those treasures in heaven. This is much the same that happens in our lives when we feed our flesh, instead of feeding the Spirit. When we feed our flesh, we begin to care more for the things of this life, more than we care for the things of God. We start holding the things of this world more esteemed that the things of God; and our view of God becomes less; even to the point that we forget He is even here; we forget that He is All Powerful, All Mighty, All knowing; and worst of all, we forget how much He loves us and has provided for us. Again in Matthew 6:24, Jesus is making the point that we can not serve God and this world; "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You can not serve God and mammon." Another thing that happens to us, is we believe the lie that this life means more than what God would have waiting for us; and when that happens, our ability to influence those around us towards the things of God is removed. For Hezekiah this lack of Godly influence resulted in a really bad son; in fact, this son became the most evil king that Judah had ever had. Not only did this son not know God, but he despised everything about God. There is consequences in the choices we make, and God wants us to not have to learn by our mistakes; but He does allow us to go through them, when we choose to. There are obvious ways to feed the Spirit, just like the things we use to feed the flesh are obvious. We feed the Spirit by praying, reading God's word, walking in His ways, loving God and denying the flesh; just to name a few. We feed the flesh when we put anything above God in our lives; anything. Let me play out a scenario to you: Let's say your name is Joe, and God comes to you one night and says, "Hello Joe, my son; You have two weeks left to live your life on this earth; so put your house in order." Would you be ever so grateful that God would have pity upon you enough to give you warning; or would you turn your face to the wall and cry out for more time to partake of this world? I think I would be busy, as quick as I could to 'Be Putting On My Sunday Go To Church Meeting Clothes', as they would say down in Texas. Wouldn't it be great if God would give us a clear and definite time that we would be departing. We could get all that stuff out of our lives that could stumble others; you know, the stuff hidden around that we think no one sees; the stuff that people will find after your gone, as they sift through your belongings; "Say it's not so Joe", is not what you want to be spoken of. You could also begin to share to everyone in your life about how important it is to give our lives fully to God; sharing to loved ones about their need for Jesus; making sure they know how much you love the Lord; but without telling them you know that you will be departing soon. You could also make sure that you have forgiven anyone that has ever wronged you; that you ask forgiveness of anyone that you have wronged; and that you owe no man nothing upon your departure. Wouldn't be wonderful to be able to get ready to go be with the Lord, right before we were going to depart? Well; these things that I have just shared with you for Joe to be able to do, are things we can do now to feed the Spirit. Whatever we do for God, to God, in God; when ever we let God move in us and through us; we are feeding the Spirit. Now; when ever we are doing the opposite of these things, we are feeding the flesh. Which means: when we have those things in our lives which can stumble others, those things which we have hidden; when we do not forgive others, don't ask forgiveness of those we have wronged; don't share God's love to others around us; we are feeding our flesh. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:" (Matthew 7:24)

ISAIAH 55 - "What is Truth"

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." (John 4:24) So; What is Truth? For most that ask that question, it is rhetorical; they really do not want to receive the answer; why? Because they have believed the lie; What is the lie? Simply, the opposite of the truth. In John 8:31-59; Jesus is talking to Jews that believed on him, and as he began to reveal truth to them, they began to oppose him; finally they actually took up stones to cast at him. This happen with those that had actually believed him as he shared these words: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." 'And as he spake these words, many believed on him.' (John 8:28-30) When Samuel presented the truth to the people of Israel; they choose the lie. They would chose a king, instead of the king maker; they believed the lie that they must have an earthly king to represent them before the other nations. There is one sin that is not forgiven of a man; "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." (Mark 3:28 & 29) What is the blaspheme of the Holy Ghost? When the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth into our heart, and we know that we have just received the truth, yet we refuse to except it; that is when we blaspheme the Holy Ghost. To do this in our heart, requires us to really force ourselves to refuse God. When God reveals His truth to us, there is power and a life changing force that is presented to us; and to deny that, is to choose death and damnation. If you notice that Jesus said, "is in danger of eternal damnation". We must know that God is love, and He is so merciful, but when a person denies the truth, he makes his heart hard towards the truth; which can lead to a callus heart, and the chances of receiving the truth becomes harder and harder. When I first received the truth, back in September of 1981, I knew that there was power in what I just received. As the preacher began to speak God's word, and the Holy Spirit began to show me the Truth within that word, and my heart needed to respond; and I am so glad it did. I can not imagine what my life would be like if I had said no to the truth that was revealed within me. What kind of force would I have had to muster within me to ignore the power of the truth being revealed?; the force I would have required, is the lie. Much like the children of Israel would have to do in their hearts to refuse the God who loves them, provides for them, and was the one that created them; and instead to accept the lie, and worship the creation instead of the Creator. Now, to look at this same principle, but on a different level; as I shared before, we can quench the Holy Spirit in our lives. That day when I accepted a lie regarding my New Life in Christ Jesus; that was the day that I made a decision to accept normal, instead of exceptional. When I received that lie in my heart, "Don't worry, you will adjust", that is when I began to make provision for an earthly king to rule over me, instead of my Heavenly King. That made way in my heart for compromises in my life in Christ; once I had began to quench the Spirit of God in one area, I could more easily do the same in other areas. Just as the children of Israel did in wanting their earthly king; they did not think at the time that they would be worshipping idols in wanting an earthly king; but, what would happen to them, as a result of what they chose, would be exactly that. Just like I did not believe that I was making provision for the flesh when I had begun to suppress the work the Holy Spirit was doing in me, but that is exactly what I did. When Jesus came, he came declaring the Truth and revealing the lie; in doing so, he created a chasm between the two; you have to be on one side or the other, there is no middle ground. "For got sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:17 & 18) How are we condemned? Because we are held in bondage by the lie...Sin had it's origin in a lie; for Satan is the father of lies. The Truth can set us free from the lie, but we must receive it and believe it...

ISAIAH 55 - "Love God"

"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, 'Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we may also be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." (1 Samuel 8:19 & 20) If there is one thing that God wants from us, it is to Love Him; to make Him the Lord of our very lives; that there would be nothing in our lives to replace this Love for Him. God is Spirit; and those that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth; unfortunately, we are still walking, breathing and living in these fleshly body, which make us want to experience God the same way. God does not dwell in tents, buildings, idols, or any other thing that can be made with hands; and especially anything that can be established by man. As we saw yesterday in the illustration of God's Perfect Will, and the children of Israel asking for a king; they were going to be paying a price; in bondage to the king and his kingdom, they would be subject to this new type of a king in ways that would enslave their children and children's children; they would be caused to worship idols, by first setting their hearts towards an earthly King; and they would not be able to communicate with God. "And you shall cry out in that day because of your king which you shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." (1 Samuel 8:18) This is so very important to understand, how when we are not loving the Lord with all of our heart, with all of our mind, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength; we will not effectively be able to communicate with Him. Please try and follow what I am saying here. When I say effectively, I mean that the line of communication that we have with God in essence is directly towards Him, with Him, and in Him. The things that we place into our lives that replace the love we should otherwise have towards Him, can cause us to suffer many of those things (spiritually), that Samuel told the children of Israel their new king would cause them to suffer. God's perfect will for our lives in Christ is that we would be able to approach Him directly, so that we would not need to have anything else set between us and Him; no idols, no earthly king, no earthly thing; nothing else would be able to come between our experience in His love. "And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall rule over them." (1 Samuel 8:7-9) Here we can see a critical role that Samuel had in the nation of Israel; he was acting for them, much like the Holy Spirit is for us. To first off, be sensitive to anything that is against God and God's perfect will; then to try and persuade us in the way we should go. But we need to know this; the Holy Spirit will not force us to do anything; He will lead us, speak to us, quicken us, guide us in the things of God; but He will never force us to do the right thing, or make us chose the right path to take. So, even though God will allow us to make a choice for our lives, this does not mean that He approves of it, will bless it, or wants us to do it. This I think is a mistake many believers make in their daily lives; to seek some kind of a sign from God that demonstrates He is trying to stop them from doing this or that. In other words, they try to base their spiritual life in Christ on the physical life in which they walk. There is a good example of what I am trying to say in John 20:24-29; Thomas not believing Jesus had risen and was alive said: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." Eight days later, Jesus shows up and says to Thomas: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into me side; and be not faithless, but believing." And Thomas answered and said unto Him, "My Lord and my God!". Jesus said to him: "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." In John 4:24, Jesus speaking to the woman at the well said this regarding true worship of God: "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." We are not done with this...

ISAIAH 55 - 'GOD'S PERFECT WILL'

The first thing I believe God wants me to share as we begin this journey into His word, is about His Will. There is God's Perfect Will, and then there is God's Permissive Will; What is the difference between the two? For most of us that have been walking with God for a while, the answer to this question might seem to come pretty easy; but what difference they may have upon our lives, well that is a story still untold. But for now, let's just address some of the simple things that we already know. First off we must be straight about one thing; As far as God is concerned, He will perfect His Will no matter what. The real difference is in the way we are affected; the way we are brought through to the other side; and the way in which we experience wholeness. Look at it like this; In essence God would say to us: "Do you want to do My Will the easy way, or Do you want to do My Will the hard way; because either way, My Will be done". (That almost sounds like something my mother use to say to me as a kid.) The next thing we must be straight about, is whether or not we can force God's hand to allow us to live outside His Perfect Will; Can we force God's hand to cause a healing that is outside His Perfect Will; and can we force God's hand to adjust His laws outside His Perfect Will. The answer to all of these is yes; however, God will not be moved!!! So, when we do force God's hand to allow, cause or proclaim something that is not His Perfect Will, guess who moves; we do, that's who. We move, outside His perfect will for our lives, and then, into His permissive will for our lives; His ways are perfect, but our ways, well to put it mildly: 'they usually produce bondage, death, destruction, misery, and heartache'; all of which are things that God really does not want us to have to go through. He really does have a more perfect plan, which requires that we put all our hope, all our faith and all our love towards Him. Here are a few illustrations of what I am talking about. The first one is found in 1 Samuel 8: Israel asks for a King; but God wanted them to choose Him as there King, and Him alone. But they wanted to be represented by a King which they could see, to show off to the world; which came with a price of bondage, and being lead to serve other gods. The second one is found 2 Kings 20 & 21: King Hezekiah is sick unto death, and Isaiah comes to him and tells him, "Thus saith the Lord, Set your house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live". Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and pleaded with God for his life; and God healed him and gave him 15 more years to live; which came with a price. After Hezekiah was healed he showed off all the splendor of Judah to the rulers of Babylon; which caused for all of those things to be taken away, and for the future generations to be carried off into captivity. But the most destructive thing which happen during Hezekiah's extra 15 years was Manasseh; the most evil King that ever ruled in Judah; this guy was serious evil. He became King when he was 12 years old, and chapter 21 lists all the things which he did to God's people for 55 years of his reign. In verse 16 it says; "Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord." (Oh what needless pain we bare!) The third one is one that has effect in us on so many levels, and an illustration of this is found in Matthew 19:3-8. Here we see the Pharisees come to Jesus to tempt him about the law concerning divorce. They said, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" And Jesus answers, "Have you not read, that he which made them all in the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder." To which the Pharisees answered, "Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" And Jesus said, "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." Listen up!!! God hates divorce; He hates it because of what marriage represents in the bonding together of the two, into one. This bonding together of a man and of a woman is the same bonding together of the church and Christ; they become one. God's perfect will is that a man and a woman would be bonded together as one, for ever. Please try to see what is being said here! There is a perfect way, and then there is the hard way; sometimes the hard way may appear to be more glorious, feel better and seem easiest to deal with; but in the long run, it is hard; it is hard on us, our loved ones, and our relationship with God. While I am on the subject, I thought I might make this a little more personal; 'Do I think I can force God to heal my wife?'; yes I think so. If I pleaded hard enough, sought out far enough, and cried out loud enough; I believe God would heal her right now; but is that His Perfect Will? No one on this earth wants my wife healed more than I do; but more than anything else, I want God's Perfect Will for our lives. If someone comes to me and says, "But God doesn't want her to be like that."; or something stupid like, "It is because of sin, demons and the power of darkness that she is being left unhealed."; I will try to be gracious, but I will rebuke them. Because I know this more than anything else; God is doing a work in me and in others that I know, through my wife. Things that I know would never had been performed in my life had things just stayed as usual in my life. Do I ask God to heal my wife? Oh you bet I do, night and day; but more than that I ask Him to continue to have His way in my life and in our marriage. Besides, what if I forced God's hand to heal my wife; and a year from now she dies in a tragic auto accident, taking with her several other people that I love also? What is the glory in that??? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Isaiah 55:8

ISAIAH 55 - Living Water

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:16-17) I am so amazed by how God works and speaks to us through His word. As I started sharing in Ephesians about the Whole Armor of God, I had a vision of a solider adorned in the armor as to go into battle; but after going through all the pieces of the armor, step by step, explaining and examining each part and how it applied to our lives; I was no longer seeing a solider dressed in armor, but a glorious bride, dressed in white. It is so amazing to me how God worked that transformation into my mind. This new way that I now see myself in light of that revelation, is life changing. I really truly believe that there is a difference in how we view ourselves in Christ; that can give us victory over sin, the flesh, and in being a usable part of His Body. To be an effective vessel that God can use in His Kingdom, we must be living for, and in that Kingdom; and not living for this world, or the things of this world. This I believe is what Isaiah is writing about here in chapter 55. I do not know yet how long I will be sharing on this chapter, but I do know that there are so many good nuggets of information, instructions, interpretations; and yes, Applications; that it could take the rest of the year just to cover them all; God is in charge of all that. All that I know, is that I feel God is wanting me to start; what He does from there is up to Him. I have been fascinated with this chapter of the Bible since the spring of 1991. I had just finished reading 'This Present Darkness' by Frank Peretti, and just so happen to be reading this chapter of Isaiah as my devotional for the day. I felt God speaking something very profound into my heart, that I really could not verify in any commentary or any other literature I could find on Isaiah 55. The verse that was really wrecking my brain was verse 7, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." The reason this verse caught me with such a grip, was the highlighted portion, "and let him return unto the Lord"; I was like, 'wait a minute'; what is this return all about? I thought we were born in sin, separated from God at birth because of the sin committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden; How do we return to Him, if we were never connected in the first place? I had a feeling that God was speaking to my heart about something other than the implied meaning of this text; that there was a call upon my life to return unto the Lord. I had been a Christian for almost 10 years at this point in my life, and I had many areas to look back to and see the reasons for repentance; but those things had really already been dealt with at one time or another. So I started looking at other areas of my life that could be what God might have been speaking to. The more I read this chapter, the more I wrestled with what it was God was saying; believe me when I say this, I read this chapter at least 5 times a day for several months, maybe even a year. I was obsessed with finding the meaning to what God was speaking into my heart; I just could not get a grip on it; until I noticed something spectacular; God was speaking to me about a different kind of sin; not the sin committed, as in committing sin; but the sin of commitment, as in not being fully committed to serving God. This was so clear after I saw it, that I had to share it with the pastors at my church, with my brothers in the Lord, with anyone who would listen; however, most of the time it was not really received the way I thought it should have been. I think that the reason it was not, was because this chapter is usually seen as a chapter that presents an illustration of God offering Mercy on a fallen world; not that God is calling a lukewarm Christian into a life of total surrender. So as the years went on, and after many rebukes, I gave up trying to bend this chapters meaning to my point of view; until now; after doing this study in Ephesians. I have a new, fresh wind blowing through me, and I feel more than ever that God wants me to share this chapter from the perspective that He has shown me to share it from. Why do I feel like this now? After going though the study of Ephesians, and seeing what I saw the other day, (Isaiah's description of God in Is. 6:1), I have come to believe that both Paul and Isaiah had something very much in common; they both had witnessed 'The Glorified Church'. I know that you might think I am jumping out on a limb here, but this is what I believe God has shown me this last week as I was sharing on prayer; "Above All; Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit;", (if you have not read it yet, you should go back to last week and read forward). Anyways, there is something I believe that both of these men witnessed in heaven that caused them to see the spiritual aspects of the Gospel of Christ in a way that was so glorious, that was so spectacular, that was so holy; they could not really explain it. I hope and pray that God will allow me to be able to express the things He has put upon my heart; how ever long it takes. If I seem to be drifting off the page at any time, please feel free to comment on my postings as soon as you feel I am not correctly interpreting the scriptures; I promise that I will take your comments to heart, but I do not promise that I will quit sharing what God is showing me. It has been to long since I felt this way, and I am not going to quench the Spirit of God again by not doing what He is telling me to do. (If you do not know how to post a comment, it is quite easy. Once you have established an account, just Sign In when you are viewing my blog, and then post a comment; it is really that easy.) I am looking so forward to see what God does through this journey... "Ho, every one that thirstist, come ye to the waters," Come...

Wrapping Things Up - God is Faithful

Well, today is the last day of my 40 day fast; although for the last two weeks I have tried to have a little soup each day, in preparation for the Prime Rib dinner I am having tonight. There are some around me that want to think that this intensity in my postings is due to the fast; I tend to disagree, because there is something I have done in conjunction with this fast. Every single morning I wake up before 4:00am to meet with the Lord and to commit myself to at least one hour of prayer. This is what I believe has ministered into my life the most, because as I have continued to meet with God every morning at this specified time, He has continued to meet with me. Another thing that has taken place in my life is this blog; to earnestly ask God to provide me with a word to share every morning. Not only do I ask Him to give me a word to share, but I ask Him to make it meaningful; to mean something for my life, and possibly the life of someone else. I know it may not seem like much, but if you want to experience what I am talking about, you should try it for yourself; try it for at least 30 days, 40 days preferably. Set your alarm clock for 3:50am, start your prayer time at 4:00am and pray until at least 5:00am. Make sure that when you pray you do the following: Ask Him to forgive you for any sins in your life and to fill you with His Spirit; Seek Him with all your heart, and just begin praising Him; spend at least the last 20 minutes of your prayer time praying for those that God has placed in your life. Then go straight into a time of reading God's word for another 20 minutes; on top of the one hour of prayer. After your through with the prayer and devotion time, write a blog or in a journal something that God is putting on your heart to share; I like the blog idea best, it makes it more public and keeps me more committed to doing it. Do I think I can do it every day, all year long? I don't know, but I do know this; God is Faithful! Each and every day I ask Him for something to share, and as I said in several blogs over the last several weeks, there are some nights I go to sleep without even a clue of what God wants me to write, but by the time I start my prayer time, wow!!! Some nights, I hardly can sleep, because God has given me something to write the day before; I have made a solution for when that happens, by keeping a tablet of paper by my bed and writing things down, otherwise I would get no sleep at all. I am willing to make a wager with anyone who is reading this blog, (say $500.00, if you feel so inclined); that if you try and do what I have listed above, (and I mean really do it), that you will experienced God in a whole new way, that I can not describe in words. This much I do know, God will meet you there! The fasting part of this last 40 days, may or may not have been an issue; all that the fasting did was help me to deny my flesh of something that it wanted, and to remind me that I was doing something; but I do not think it was key; (after about 30 days maybe I will address that again, we will see). I think that committing the time to get alone with the Lord was key, because that is what He wants from me most; He wants my fellowship, and I can not fellowship with Him if I do not make the time for the fellowship to take place. Like I said before, you might choose 9:00am or 9:00pm, but good luck getting alone with God for one hour at those times. I really, really, really feel that it is vital for us to commit to pray every day for at least one hour straight, (for those in Rio Linda that means if the big hand is on 5, you don't stop praying until the big hand is on 5 again). Several things happen when we do this; we are placing God first and foremost in our day, as we start each day devoted to Him; we are making Him the priority over what we would sometimes rather be doing, like sleeping; we are not trying to jamb some kind of a quick prayer time into our already busy day; and when we make our prayer time at least one hour long, we make time for Him to speak to us, instead of us doing all the talking. If you can't see how you can do this, try this: Based on the time you get up now, back your alarm clock up 1 1/2 hour, (3 hours if your doing a blog!); so if you are currently waking up at 6:00am, set your clock for 4:30am; but you also need to adjust for other people in your home. If your spouse or children get up at 5:45am, then you need to set your clock for 4:15am; oh, what the heck, just set it for 4:00am and go all out! I can not describe to you how important this is for you to do; I can only tell you that you must experience it for yourself to even begin to understand what I am talking about. There was something God was showing me this morning, how it relates, I am not quite sure. He was showing me how when Peter was able to walk on the water, for a short time, and what it was that made him begin to sink. I have always believed that it was just because he took his eyes off Jesus, and then was effected by the elements around him, I still do believe this; but something else caused him to take his eyes off Jesus in the first place, and that was his flesh. Because in that moment, as he was walking on that water, by what I believe was God's power, he realized that he was still flesh and bone, and that what he was doing was not really possible, so he began to sink. When he cried out, Jesus reached out and saved him while saying these words, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?". Jesus would not have told Peter to 'Come' out onto Him if it were not possible for Peter to do it, just like He would not tell each and everyone of us to 'Go and Sin No More', if it were not possible to do it. The problem is that our flesh gets in the way; Why?, Because it is still a part of who we are, that's why. When we are told that 'we must crucify the flesh daily', in essence I believe that we simply must remind ourselves daily that this flesh has already been crucified in Christ. Everyday, this mortality that is still here, will want to be feed, clothed, groomed and satisfied; but we are not to be letting it rule the day. Instead, we need to be focusing on the things of the Spirit; keeping our eyes on the 'High Calling Of God, Which Is In Christ Jesus'. This body of flesh, though still attached to our Spiritual Body, is no longer to one in charge; it has been made dead in Christ; we have a new body that is made alive in Christ; and guess what??? This new body is able to walk on water! Think about it...

"ABOVE ALL"; besides all this - 02/11/2010

"Above All": Application; Application; Application; Apply this to your life and see if your life is the same! What God has shown me over the last few days, has really been revealed in my heart this morning. I was saved in September of 1981, and somewhere along the way, I went from living a 'Glorified Life' to living a 'Forgiven Life'. I can't quite put my finger on when it happen, but I do remember one instance which caused me to take pause and to adjust my position. I had only been a Christian for about 5 months, and I was standing outside the church after a meeting; I was excited in this 'New Life in Christ' that I was experiencing every single day; and a brother (I think he was a brother; he could have been the devil), came up to me, placed his hand on my shoulder and said, "You must be a new Christian?"; to which I replied, "Yes, I am. How can you tell?"; and he said, "Don't worry; you will adjust."; this could have been the turning point. I do remember that after he said that to me, I thought to myself, "I don't want to adjust. I like this feeling of walking in a 'Newness in Christ'; but somewhere along the way I did adjust. Some how I settled for 'Normal', and left walking in a 'Glorified Body', to begin to walk in a 'Forgiven Body'. Okay, so I don't loose you completely, let me tell you what I think the difference is between these two lives. The Forgiven life in Christ, though being saved and going to Heaven, is still wrestling with the flesh; although I was living in Christ, I was not living with Christ. The Glorified life in Christ has a new Zip Code already; this New Life In Christ knows that I am already seated in the Heavens with Christ; so the sins of the flesh are 'beneath me'; in other words, I do not need to be wrestling with the flesh anymore, but instead I am wrestling against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. I see now what Paul is trying to express, in so many ways; but you can not receive it, until you believe it. We are no longer of this world; we already have a new zip code!!! I don't know how much planer it can be, but one thing I do know, I get it now; after over 29 years of walking in the Lord, I can begin to experience what it is like again to walk in a 'Newness'. Paul has been explaining throughout this Book of Ephesians, that we are one in Christ; not only as a body of believers, but as an individual; we are grafted into His body, the moment we believed. It was at the moment I received Christ into my heart in September of 1981, that I no longer was a citizen of this world, but became a citizen of Heaven. I no longer had to care for the things of this world, because they did not matter anymore, and all this stuff would be tested in fire, and found not to stand the test. I had 'New Cares' that were to be the focus of my 'New Life', things that are not of this world, things that are not able to be consumed in fire. In Ephesians 5:19-21, Paul speaks about more that just an attitude; he is speaking about a place to be living; "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." This is what it is like to be walking here on this earth, but living in Heaven with Jesus; we are already seated in Him; so we should be walking accordingly. The life that is forgiven will be able to make it to Heaven, there is no doubt about that; Jesus died on the cross to redeem those that are lost; the only thing needed for receiving that redemption is to believe on Him that was sent. But Jesus rose on the third day, and He ascended up into Heaven, where He sets at the right hand of the Father, and we do not have to wait for anything else of happen to experience being glorified in Him. If you are waiting for this flesh to die before you can experience your position in Christ, you are living the life of a 'Carnal Christian'; that is a Christian who is living in the flesh; waking each day to take on a battle afresh against the flesh, and able to be victorious, most of the time. However, it is not any longer necessary to be fighting that flesh; why?; because that flesh is dead; it has been crucified with Christ. There is a new creature that has been raised in Christ's resurrection, that no longer has to be concerned with the things of the flesh; but now must be concerned with the spiritual things; why?; because that new creature in Christ is now a Spiritual Vessel that lives for the things of the Spirit, and lives for the things of Heaven. This is the 'Great Mystery Of The Gospel'; that we have been changed already; that we have been glorified already; that we are set apart already; that we are holy, sanctified and undefiled already; that right now...I said right now we are grafted into the Body of Christ; and in Him is no unclean thing. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. (And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;)" Ephesians 1:17- 2:1 Having Done All To Stand; Therefore Stand; Being Strong In The Lord, And In The Power Of His Might!

The Whole Armor Of God - "And For Me"

"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." Wow; there is something going on here, that's for sure... Why is Paul saying, "And for me"? That not only would they who read this letter pray for all the saints, but that they would also be praying for him; prayer and supplication that he would be given utterance to boldly make known the mystery of the gospel. I had to think, why did Paul need boldness; because, here was a man who was a banner unto the word 'boldness'. So, I began to question the meaning of "that I may open my mouth boldly"; which caused me to examine the word 'utterance'; strangely, they had many similarities: utterance; logos: Word, both the act of speaking and the thing spoken; The Word of God, meaning His omnipotent voice or decree: boldly; parresta: the act of speaking; freedom in speaking all that one thinks or pleases, which is possible as the result of guilt having been removed by the blood of Jesus. Okay now, if that did not do it for you; how about look at the next two definitions; "make known" and "mystery". These two things rocked my world this morning; to the point that I had to scream out, "How Glorious You Are God!!!". First the words "make known": gnorizo: To make known towards or to someone; spoken as a teacher who unfolds Divine things, to announce, declare, proclaim. Now, let's look at the next word; "mystery": musterion: a person initiated into sacred mysteries; some sacred thing hidden or secret which is naturally unknown to human reason and is only known by the revelation of God. So, then I began to think about what made Paul so privy to this great mystery; and then I remembered, he had been caught up to heaven briefly, after being stoned, and lay dead for a moment. This was where he received a glimpse of God's Glory, the great mystery that is so hard to describe; to spectacular to verbalize or even imagine. Then I started thinking about us as a church, being the Bride of Christ; and immediately I was seeing a vision of Isaiah's declaration of God, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." Are you kidding me!!! Which then caused me to think on the verse here in this book of Ephesians in chapter 5 verse 32; which up until this point, I could not really get my mind around it; "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." What was Paul speaking about? He was speaking about his description of husbands loving their wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it! All throughout the eight verses contained in Ephesians 5:25-32, Paul entwines the mystery of the gospel into the marriage of a husband and a wife. In verse 25: "love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it"; verse 26: "That He might sanctify and cleanse it"; verse 27: "That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."; verse 28: "He that loveth his wife loveth himself"; verse 29: "No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:" ; verse 30: "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones."; verse 31: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. " We are the Bride of Christ; we are His Bride; we are made one in Him; glorified, sanctified, holy, set apart, undefiled; presented as a virgin bride to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, for all eternity.... I don't know what I saw this morning; but one thing I do know; as soon as I saw the train of His robe, I was undone and my chest cavity felt as if it was an empty jar. I picture a Bride, waiting at the opening into the sanctuary, adorned in white and radiant; waiting and gazing up the isle at the groom...waiting for that march music to start... "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, And let him that heareth say, Come, And let him that is athirst come, And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17

The Whole Armor Of God - "Supplication for All Saints"

"Above All; Praying always with prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" Eph 6:18. Wow, God is so good!!! There is no way I could have even planned in advance this that God has lead me in, and the lessons He has shown me through these 16 or more days of sharing. This portion of the text that we are looking at today, is more than I can explain in my limited capacity. Paul had referenced in several times already in this book of Ephesians, and he will reference again in the next verse; the mystery of the gospel. There are some things that can not thoroughly be expressed in words, and this is one of them. Paul made mention in chapter 3:3-4, "How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote before in few words; whereby, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ,)". The first thing we need to look at, in order in even begin to understand what is being said here, is the meaning of saints: Haglos; holy, set apart, sanctified, consecrated. It has a common root, hag-, with hagnos; predominantly used to express freedom for defilement's or impurities; virginity. Does that just blow you mind; or better yet, does it cause you to see how God looks at you. We are the Bride of Christ; and as His Bride, we are washed, holy, set apart, sanctified, consecrated (made perfect), and we are as a virgin before Him; undefiled by the things of this world. We as a Church are all saints; to the completion of this glorious, virgin body; which is adorned as a consecrated bride unto Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God. So, now with all that explained of what 'Saints' are, and what it means to be a saint, let us begin to apply; "supplication for all saints". Remember that supplication is prayer with intent and with purpose; so as we are praying for all saints (ourselves included), we are praying with intent and purpose, in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit must be applied to our prayer life; and should be guiding us through each and everything that we pray. There are some things we will just not be able to understand, and we will surely not be able to verbalize; but the Holy Spirit knows. This is why it is so vitally important to ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit; and keep asking. Luke 11:9-13, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he should ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Therein is the key!; To those that ask Him for the filling of the Holy Spirit! Maybe you are wondering what my point is here? Well; (that is deep); sometimes we have not, because we 'ask not'; and when I say 'ask not', I mean that we do not earnestly want to be filled. What!!! Are you kidding me? Who in their right minds would not want to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Well (deep), since you asked; anyone that is not willing to totally surrender their lives over to Christ; that's who. But you might say, "I have surrendered all over to Him!"; but have you really? Is there still something that He wants you to give Him, that you are still calling your own; anything? He wants it all; and all really means all! The problem is that we have been raised in a world that has taught us to always set something aside for ourselves, anything, no matter how stupid a thing it might be; it is something that we call "mine, and you can't have it". From a very young age we all do it, and continued to do it; if you think you don't, you really need to check yourself. We really hate to give up anything; I bet you even look into the toilet before flushing. But, there is a better way; much more glorious than anything this world can offer; and thus, the mystery of the gospel. We are no longer bound by the things of this world, we are already transformed and made holy in Christ. So now let's start to hold onto those things; the things that are waiting for us in Christ Jesus. Really, Really, Really; try it; Application; Application; Application; for everything that you have in your life that you are still not willing to give up for God, replace it with something glorious in Christ. Replace it with a treasure in heaven, that is not corrupt; and then hold onto that; not letting go; you can even claim it as yours. There are some things that are really worth fighting for... When we are totally surrendered to the Lord, then the Holy Spirit can minister into our hearts, without being hindered by those things which we are holding onto. Then we can get busy, doing the work of a saint; then we can begin to experience a holy, sanctified and consecrated, eternal life in Christ. We will be able to understand, "What is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him." Eph 3:9-12. This is more than just you or I; this is all about the virgin bride of Christ; of which we are part!!! Having done all to stand; therefore stand; watching... (next, And for me)

The Whole Armor Of God - "Perseverance"

"Above All; Watching thereunto with all perseverance", Eph 6:18. The first thing we need to look at today is the word thereunto, and ask ourselves, 'what is it there for', or 'Unto what does There apply?". Well in this instance, it applies to prayer and supplication; which simply means that while we are praying we are watching; but watching for what? Do you think that Jesus did not know his disciples would not fall asleep in the garden. I think that He did know, and that was why He showed them three times just how weak their flesh was. Remember what he said to them, "Could you not watch with me for one hour; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". Have you ever been running from the law? You know that they are coming to get you and you try to stay ready; peeking through the cracks in the blinds at every little sound outside; looking for the cause of every flash of light you imagine. But sooner or later, you get to a point where your flesh just has to be satisfied, and you need sleep; so you surrender. You don't surrender physically, but you surrender mentally; you simply put your head on your pillow and tell yourself, "So What". Maybe the three disciples were just trusting that Jesus would take care of things, so, they could just take comfort in resting. There is an example where Jesus slept while things seemed life threatening, at least they were as far as the disciples taught; it is found in Luke 8:22-25. Here we see them all in a little boat, and Jesus says, "Let's cross over to the other side"; and as they sailed, Jesus went to sleep. But there came a large storm of wind, and the boat began to fill with water, and the disciples panicked, waking Jesus and saying, "Master, Master, we perish!". So Jesus rebukes the wind and the ragging waters, and then asked them, "Where is your faith?"; in other words, "Did I not say; We are going to the other side?; so why can't you just sit down and enjoy the ride? And let me get some sleep!" So why did Jesus ask them to keep watch in the garden in the first place? Was it so they would confront the solders as they came storming in? Was it so they could run and tell Jesus, "the time is at hand"? Was it just to test them, to see if they could stay awake? No, No, and No; Jesus knew perfectly well that they would fall asleep, which is why He choose these three in particular; these were the three that thought they were all about something. So Jesus was showing just how much they were lacking, and He demonstrated to them just how weak their flesh was. The word 'Perseverance' means to endure; continuance in something. In order to stay committed to watching with supplication continually, we must stay seated in Christ and be praying in the Spirit. It is a full circle; watching, praying, enduring, watching, praying, enduring; all the while, staying seated in Christ. There is a song by my favorite band, Daniel Amos; it is called 'Safety Net', and there is a part of the song I have always loved, because I relate it to an illustration I get in my mind of what it means:
"Strung out in the cradle of grace,
Wiping the blood from the warm gun,
You leave no power or trace,
Shot like a bullet to the kingdom come."

I have always pictured myself as being the bullet, and God loads me in His musket (Jesus), and packs in His powder (the Holy Spirit), and then fires me off into service. Eventually, I am no longer being propelled by His power, but by gravity, and I fall to the ground; so God finds me, dusts me off, loads me back in His musket, and off I go again; till kingdom come. Unfortunately, this is the 'Normal Christian Life' (another book by Watchman Nee worth reading); and what Paul is trying to tell us through the book of Ephesians, is that it does not have to be like that. To ensure that we are to overcome, and to continue to overcome, we must stay seated in Christ. As soon as we find ourselves walking in our own power, we must stop, drop, and pray. So again, what are we watching for? We are watching for any sign that we could be walking in the flesh. Praying always, with prayer and supplication, as we are watching thereunto with endurance to continue to keep watching and praying; and to what end? Tell we hear those words, "Well Done"... "Having Done All To Stand; Therefore Stand." (next, 'supplication for all saints')