It was a glorious time of sharing last evening and, as is so often the case, there was a wonderful flowing of Christ in and through His Body.
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” (John 7:38)
What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (1Co 14:26)
The following is a recap, some of the references and articles that were shared last night for your consideration, meditation and pondering…
Wayne shared on WISDOM and THE HIDDEN SECRET
Proverbs 1 — Purpose of the Book, Wisdom & Probabilities.
The Book of Proverbs has been a real source of wisdom for Wayne over the course of his experience and walk with the Lord, and many come to him for wisdom and counsel, from family and friends to peers and co-workers. Although a book and/or the scriptures, such as Proverbs can be a wonderful teacher and source of much truth and wisdom, the REALITY is that CHRIST has become unto us WISDOM and because we are IN Christ and Christ is IN us, HE becomes (is) our source and flow of Wisdom, both for ourselves and for others in our circle of influence.
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” (1 Cor 1:26-31)
He has become for us our wisdom and righteousness. That wisdom is founded on the mystery of Christ in you.
Eph 1 — In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery (secret) of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. (Eph 1:7-10)
Wayne then reminded us of the “secret wisdom” the “mystery” of His will and that that secret wisdom has been hidden until this epoch of time is now clearly revealed. Christ reconciling ALL things in heaven and earth in Him. It’s the basis of our wisdom and the root of our fellowship and sharing. Thankfully it has now been made known to us who are now IN HIM and that THIS is the very heart and foundation of the Gospel that we preach.
The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure of righteousness and wisdom. The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure. (Isa 33:5-6)
And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. (Lev 10:2-3)
Lev 10.3. Stipulates the posture of drawing near. Not a flippant drawing near, but of awe and humility and joy. His joy being the root of our strength.
…until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. (Act 1:2-3)
Wayne also brought out how that Jesus and His disciples spent the majority of their time together focusing on and sharing things concerning the kingdom of God. How important it is that that be OUR focus as well. And how much time do we spend, what priority to WE place on the Kingdom of God? He sited some personal examples in his own life of where this was not always the case.
Jeanne shared on The Joy of The Lord is Our Strength
She brought out the other side of this truth that places the emphasis on the fact the WE are HIS Joy and HIS delight and what makes HIM joyful is that we are strong and that we find our strength in Him. Yes, the The Joy of the Lord is OUR strength, but the glorious flip side is that our strength is HIS joy and delight.
She also confirmed Wayne’s thought that He is making us hyper-sensitive to His dealings, His leading and that we ought to approach the Lord’s throne with great reverence and awe and not in a flippant manner, or treat Him or His work in and through us with any measure of frivolity. It is an AWESOME thing He is doing!
Tim shared on RIVERS and MOUNTAINS
When camping in Jasper our site was right near the Athabasca river and early one morning I walked through the silent mist down to the river’s edge. I observed how the trillions of gallons of water flowed continuously and unabated, 24/7, year after year. So MUCH ABUNDANCE of water when there are countries in the world that have none. I pondered and considered… “Where does all this water come from? What do rivers represent in the scriptures?”
Of course the source of these mighty waters are all the various creeks and tributaries pouring down from the glacial ice WAY UP on the peaks of THE MOUNTAINS.
The Lord dropped the following verse into my spirit…
Psa 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
The City of God is the Heavenly Jerusalem and speaks of all peoples everywhere who proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and have Him dwelling within. But there is a Mount Zion and a River WITHIN that city that makes the many residents of that glorious city glad. If HWe are to be a part of that flowing river, doing our part to contribute to that flowing river that ministers life and blessing, first to the City of God and then beyond that to the nations, WE MUST BE EVER ASCENDING TO THE HEIGHTS AND DRINKING FROM THE SOURCE!
John 7:38 He who believes in (wholley depends and relies upon) Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.
Gen 2:10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.
Rev 22:1-2 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Ezek 47:1-9 Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of The Temple toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side. When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. “It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
We sang…
THERE IS A RIVER WHOSE STREAMS MAKE GLAD
Psalm 46:4-7
We are a river, whose streams make glad,
The City of God, the City of God.
A holy habitation of the Most High,
The City of God, the City of God.
God is in the midst of us, we will not be moved,
Our Lord God of Hosts with us,
We are a river, whose streams make glad,
The City of God, the City of God.
THERE IS A RIVER
There is a river, and it flows from deep within
There is a fountain, that frees the soul from sin
Come to this water; there is a vast supply
There is a river, that never shall run dry
MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
That same day that I was down by the river some of us ventured up the 4.5 kilometer hike beneath the tram on Whistler mountain in Jasper. For a guy who spends the vast majority of my time seated in front of a computer, this proved to be quite a feat in and of itself.
As we climbed higher and higher, for a challenging 3.5 hours, a number of things became clearer to me regarding our ascent up the Mount of The Lord…
– Many glorious and significant things occurred on mountains throughout history including divine appointments between God and man. God has revealed Himself and His purposes upon mountains. Abraham, Moses, Israel, Joshua, David, Elijah and Elisha, as well as Jesus and/with/to His disciples.
Gen 22:2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
Exo 3:1-2 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (2) The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
Exo 19:2 When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.
Exo 19:11 and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Neh 9:13 Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.
1Ki 11:7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon.
– Mountains in the scripture always speak of kingdoms, authorities, worldly rulers and mindsets, idols, high places, lofty thoughts, etc. – strong, apparently impossible to shake or move obstacles or forces in our life and in society. As many mountains as there are in the world, ultimately there is ONEMountain which God has chosen to make His dwelling place — MountZion, the Mountain of The Lord. God spoke and revealed Himself from Mount Sinai in the old testament, but has replaced that fiery and fearsome mountain with MountZion — a people called to BE His habitation.
Exo 19:12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
Heb 12:18-24 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
– It is God’s plan and purpose for all these mountains to be brought low, to melt like wax, and for HIS Mountain to fill the whole earth.
Psa 97:5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Mic 1:4 The mountains will melt under Him And the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place.
Nah 1:5 Mountains quake because of Him And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it.
Dan 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
– The FIRST place that this must and will occur is WITHIN us, His own as we embrace the process of ascending into His holy presence, to see His glory and be transformed into His very image, nature and likeness. To have the character of Christ formed in us.
Who can ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. (Psa 24:3-6)
ZION, CITY OF OUR GOD
Glorious things of You are spoken,
Zion, city of our God.
He whose Word cannot be broken
Formed us for His own abode.
On the rock of ages founded,
What can shake our sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded.
We may smile at our foes
See the streams of living waters
Flowing from the throne above
Well supply Your sons and daughters
And all fear of want remove.
Who can faint while such a river
Ever flows their thirst to assuage?
Grace, which like the Lord, our giver,
Never fails from age to age.
– Even though I didn’t have the best sleep the night before I was desirous to make the climb. Of course, only a short way up that hiking trail I was wishing I had taken the tram up. When we meet the Lord and hear His calling we are anxious and zealous to follow Him because we are convinced we will have what it takes to follow on. We soon discover that the trials and tribulations can become overwhelming and we must learn to wholly lean on and rely upon His grace to carry us onward.
– At one point my two nephews, Jonathan and Davin, took another path thinking it would lead them to a beauituful water fall. They discovered that it was only a bunny trail leading nowhere. Again the Lord made real to me that we often get distracted and follow some diversion in our walk with the Lord. He is constantly reminding us to keep our eye single to Him and upon His purpose and to not get pulled away from the course by every wind of doctrine or so-called “move” of God.
– We did eventually find that beautiful pure creek flowing down through the trees and filled our water bottles with fresh, cold water. This refreshing moment speaks again of each one being faithful to allow Christ to flow through us to minister His Life and Word to others, and to contribute to that greater river that flows through the valley and makes glad the City of God.
– As we finally approached the top of the mountain, we arrived at the tree line where the well-beaten path came to an end. It was obviously where many climbers, weary of the trek, decided to go no further at this level only to turn around and head back down. The path basically disappeared at that point, the climb became much more steep and rugged through large rocks and crags. The temperature dropped dramatically as there were only very small shrubs in place of the large trees that shaded our climb to that point. Everything became more difficult and challenging and we found we had to stop and rest and catch our breath much more often. However, we could now see our goal more readily and although the wind and the rain came, we found that the wind helped push us along. I was completely drained of my OWN strength and upon reaching the summit, passed out (slept) in the restaurant after having a bite to eat.
– When we arrived at the top the view is, of course, spectacular! You can see the entire valley and several mountain ranges all around. It was well worth the ascent to get that deeper, broader and transforming revelation. Beyond that, the Lord graced us with a beautiful, FULL double rainbow just meters from us. We could readily see the one end of it just down the mountain a little ways. INCREDIBLE!
– Although there are many lessons and insights that can be gleaned from climbing a mountain, one of the most sobering is that it is very easy to settle at any given plateau and not want to go higher. God is gracious to place us at times on these plateaus, but so many get comfortable at that level, satisfied with the view and the measure of revelation until soon tents get built… buildings, structure, steeples, revival centers, bible colleges and denominations are established. Unless we are lovers of The Truth and follow hard after Him, God often sends a strong delusion and only a precious few, a remnant at every level, hear the call and the Word to “Let go of the lower realms, to press on, to come up higher!”
THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH
“Because they received not the love of truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (2 Thess. 2:10-11)
Two ways are set before us here: receiving the love of the truth to work into us His salvation; or, receiving a strong delusion, literally, an inworking delusion, so that we believe a lie. Interestingly enough, God sends them both. He brings forth vessels of mercy, and vessels of wrath.
Those who refuse, who receive not the love of the truth, in turn will receive an inworking error, and then have to pass through a judgment to be purged of that error. This is learning the lesson the hard way, having to go through a process of correctional chastening, until they learn that it is far better to receive the love of the truth. Yet God retains sovereign control over this entire process. “I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them, because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before Mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.” (Isa. 66:4). God knows exactly which inworking delusion will subdue and teach that it is an evil and bitter thing to forsake the way of the Lord.
There is a love to be received along with the truth, for knowledge alone will not hold you. When the vision tarries you soon become entangled in all sorts of strange diversions, and a prey for those spoken of in Daniel 11:14, “the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision – as if they were able to fulfill it, but they shall fail.”
Those who do not have a love for the truth will exalt themselves and set about to establish their vision –– as if they were able to fulfill it, but they shall fail.
When you have a LOVE FOR THE TRUTH you will desire to see only the will of the Lord fulfilled, and not want to see any of your self-efforts, your own wants, wishes, and desires after the flesh fulfilled. You will wait on the fulfillment of the will of the Lord, with an eye single to God, knowing He will fulfill His Word. “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Ps. 119:165).
THE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” (Daniel 12:10)
There are times when one needs the infusion of revelation to give courage and strength to follow on. But this also must needs be balanced with real understanding of the qualifying processing’s. As our priorities come into proper focus, we realize there is a cause, a REASON for this daily travail which has been given to the sons of men for their exercising. “And being made perfect, He became the Author of age-during salvation.” (Heb. 5:9). “BEING MADE PERFECT,” this is the qualifying phrase, it includes every aspect of our trials and testings. Not some pointless happenings, but all is wrought according to the counsel of His will, with a view of our being made perfect, that we might share with Him the ministry of reconciliation.
Certainly the more we comprehend that the things which overtake us are OF GOD, purposed by Him, with wise design to achieve certain goals, then we are able to “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; KNOWING THIS, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4). The purpose for all this – for our perfection. Then James adds the next verse which harmonizes with this verse from Daniel, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of god, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Yes, “the wise shall understand.” Not praying for escapes out of the processing, but knowing He has a purpose in it all, we would bring our mind into harmony with His thoughts in the situation, (COME INTO A STATE OF BEING THAT IS IN AGREEMENT WITH GOD AND WITH ALL THAT HE DOES!)
But the wicked cannot understand these things, for “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14). Lord, we ask, Be Thou our wisdom today, that we might see Thy purpose as Thou dost direct our way. Amen!
Janine sang 2 songs the Lord gave her over the summer
Isa. 43:18
Consider not the things of old,
He’ll do a new thing now BEHOLD,
It will spring forth… will you not know it?
He’ll even make a new road in the wilderness,
And rivers in the desert will flow.
That’s you and me; it’s He in Hwe…
Rivers in the desert will flow.
A Song on TRUTH
Truth is found in Jesus
And freedom’s found in Truth,
I’d rather stand for Truth and die
Than live a life that’s just a lie.
I’ll look the giant in the eye
But I won’t compromise.
My feet are sore from standing
My ground…
But there’s no place else that I’ll be found.
I just don’t need what’s just half-baked
Or watered down for comforts sake,
The Truth is often hard to take,
But I will not back down.
Jon Shared…
I heard a message on the radio by Charles Stanley in which he brought out the truth that because and as God is writing His laws on our hearts and minds, what were do’s and don’ts under the old covenant… “Thou SHALL… Thou SHALL not” becomes PROMISES under the new covenant. When, and as, He has completed His works in us… “you WILL and you WILL not!” in His power and by His inwrought grace.
Eileen shared…
In the Tate Modern gallery, an artist had an installation (sculpture or art piece) that at first, made me roll my eyes. It was a baby crib that had some of the side bars removed and the top filled in. When I read the description posted beside it, it said, “You cannot go back to what is past”. I heard that in the Spirit, and when we got back to Joelle’s flat, I read C Brogden’s daily email, it said, “God is not moving backward, but in the Son and through the Son, He moves steadily forward.”
On my birthday, the email was “ The easiest thing to do is to quit, to give up, to go back to Egypt. But I’m telling you, get to the place where going back is no longer an option – then going back is no longer a temptation.”
Rob shared…
At work this past week we had a client make a big mistake and ordered a whole bunch of parts and items in sets of 11. A number of other “elevens” have been in my face. I sense the Lord saying that “it is the 11th hour in My time table particularly in My dealings with North America.”
Reg shared the attached message – Keys, HWe, Shadows & The Son
EnRoute to Metamorphosis 