The preaching places of Jesus - redefining "preaching", "worship" and discipleship

The preaching places of Jesus
It is interesting to think about the preaching spaces of Jesus. The Sermon on the mount was done on a hill in Galilee - His most important teaching was done in an open space, most of His other"sermons" and teachings recorded was either outdoors or in intimate close quarters. Defending the women caught in adultery, he was writing on sand. In Peter's boat, again "preaching" to the shoreline of people gathered. Outdoors where he broke bread, for the multitude, he was preaching in an open field of people who came to hear his voice, they were then seated in groups of 10. I think of the long dialogue he had in the upper room with his disciples before he died.

When he was indoors, it was in intimate private locations. In the home where he healed the paralytic, he was also "preaching" there.  He definitely was was a street preacher/teacher, something John Wesley was known for in his day. (My favourite story of Wesley has of him preaching, being harshly and physically threatened and swimming a across a cold winter lake before preaching again with fire, to people on the other side.) I see Jesus having that passion, being treated badly in Nazareth, he goes back there to preach in whatever Nazarene home or space he can find. Thing is, he was regularly thrown out of synagogues.

Preaching or dialoging? 

Another significant spot where he "preached" I used the inverted commas because most of His "sermons" were more like dialogue in a film, in which he responded to life and situations which cropped up. The long stretch of red dialogue in John 15,16 and 17 where he gives his death speech is peppered with the questions of the disciples. "what do you mean by such and such? we don't understand!?"

Also when explaining the mystery of the kingdom the parable of the sower, that passage is peppered with his disciples asking "what is the meaning of this?" behind closed doors. I love the sense of small group intimacy. I imagine that they with hushed and eager enthusiasm leaned forward to hear the explanations from their master, the truths of the kingdom. Jesus responded to their questions and their hearts, "because you are hungry to know, you will have more."

Re-looking at "preaching" and "discipleship"
I think we have to seriously rethink "preaching" as we know it. We have to rebook at "discipleship" because it appears that everyday life and in everyday locations, was the ground which Jesus used to "disciple people" not within the walls of a mass organization as we know it. Prayer was another thing frequently done outdoors with Jesus.

"Preaching" to Jesus I think was a thing interwoven in the ordinary. It was just Jesus having an informal to-and-fro with everyday people about the truths of His Father. There were questions, there was response from the Master. There was participation of the disciples as they asked questions. It seems that the process was dynamic, it flowed and changed according to their hearts. "You cannot bear this now, So I won't share it with you".

It was done when opportunity presented itself, Jesus would preach according to the need of the circumstance. When the woman was caught in adultery, he took the opportunity to rebuke and teach the most beautiful scripture ever. "He who is without sin, throw the first stone" and "I do not condemn you, go and sin no more" was not a "sermon" made in the four walls of "church" one was a harsh rebuke to his fiercest enemies who came to test and challenge Him the other was comfort spoken, face to face with the life of one he saved.

Nicodemus wanting to hear him didn't even get a chance to ask his a question. "Rabi, no one can do these things unless he comes from God." Jesus gave him john 3:16 which we now preach in "churches". It was orginally spoken in a house to someone at night because that person was afraid of his "church". Ironic.

I suspect making disciples and "preaching" should be the same. Spontaneous, opportunistic, intimate, in small groups, participatory, informal, peppered with questions, occasionally having food.  (the last supper was their dinner).

Re-looking at worship

Where is the "worship service" in the new testament? the lights, stages, music, "worship leader", projector screen and lyrics? Where was "worship"? It was when people encountered the master and leaving with reverence in their hearts and made a change in their life. Doing what He said. That was worship.

Preaching, discipleship, worship, I suspect should look more "de-churched" and more ordinary, more like the everyday life we live 6 days a week.

What does Jesus have to do with our modern expressions of what is commonly known as church?

News article reproduced from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/faith-matters/2014/12/19/what-does-jesus-have-to-do-with-massive-buildings-and-leadership-conferences

What Would Jesus Do Today?

What do massive buildings and leadership conferences have to do with the church? Not much.

Jesus would have done it.

By Brant HansenDec. 19, 2014 | 12:00 p.m. EST

Americans still believe in Jesus. Not everyone, of course, but most. In fact, the numbers shock people who thought we’d left all that silly Christmas story stuff behind: Two-thirds of Americans say they believe the whole thing. The shepherds, the manger, the virgin birth, the magi, all of it. 

But you wouldn’t know that from our traditional media, or even Internet culture. And it’s worth saying, too, that what we really believe is not what we tell a pollster; it’s what we do. We can check all the high-minded or religious boxes, but our actions (like what we do with our money) can give us away. 

But Americans remain incorrigibly religious. As a guest speaker, I shared data like this with a group of teenagers at an evangelical church. “So Americans say they believe in Jesus," I said. "Americans believe in the Holy Spirit. Americans believe in God. So why aren’t they flocking to church?” 

[READ: Our Call to Work]

Thoughtful silence. And then a lone young man ventured a guess: “Maybe they don’t like us.” 

I think he’s on to something. 

Time magazine recently named, as its “Persons of the Year”, “The Ebola Fighters,” and the glowing article is largely about Christians, evangelical ones even. They’re Christians who don’t keep their faith private. Instead, they bring their faith to bear with their very lives. 

Has the mainstream media suddenly found Jesus? Doubtful. What’s more likely, I suspect, is that they found Christians doing things that are stunningly, beautifully compatible with Jesus, Himself. 

Frankly – and I’m writing this as a Christian, myself – so much of what we do isn’t so compatible. I’m not talking about the obvious, here: The lack of forgiveness, the anger toward our enemies or a preoccupation with politics and the levers of power. I’m talking about the things we’ve grafted into church culture: Everything from massive building projects to stage spectacles to our emphasis on “worship services” to corporate-type power structures to Christian celebrities and consumerism. 

[SEE: Editorial Cartoons on Ebola]

To my non-Christian friends, I can only say, “You know what? I don’t get it, either.” 

I don’t see the connection. It doesn’t make million-dollar theater buildings evil, of course. It’s just that it’s not easy to see how the actual ministry of Jesus, the actual values of a God who came with good news for the poor, who chooses the humble, who favors the weak over the strong, led to, say, pastors-as-CEO’s or a hundred “leadership conferences.” Didn’t Jesus talk a lot more about following? 

Perhaps you’re a Christian for the trappings of church culture. That’s okay. It just doesn’t do it for me. Ultimately, I’m doing this “Christian thing” not because I love a powerful teacher or Christian pop or even Handel’s "Messiah." I’m in it for Jesus. He’s the one that attracted me, and still does. 

So when I see people acting like him, I’m drawn in. When I read about others running away from Ebola and death, but Christians running toward it, something clicks. Something looks familiar. 

[READ: Jesus Is Your Reset]

In Liberia, Christians converted a chapel intended for “worship services” into an Ebola ward for the sick and dying. When I read this, I don’t think, “But where will they hold their worship service?” Instead, it’s, “Now, that’s ‘worship’, and ‘service’ I easily understand. That looks like Jesus to me.” 

I recognize the Jesus who, when no one else would touch lepers, touched lepers. The Jesus who healed in the synagogue. That Jesus. I recognize him. 

Jesus didn’t prioritize safety, and he didn’t dissociate from those in pain. Perhaps that’s why, when a third-century plague ravaged the Roman Empire, Christians were known for refusing to leave. While many people left their own family members to die, followers of Jesus willingly stayed to die with them, and the church grew. 

Oh, this isn’t a “church growth” strategy. It’s a death strategy. And it looks a lot like Jesus. 

Maybe others recognize this, too, including people who would never publicly identify with us. And maybe, rather than dismissing non-believers with disdain, we might wonder why they, too, stand up and take notice of a Christianity worthy of the name “Christ.” After all, we believers may remember, he was sent into the world not to condemn it, but to redeem it. 

[READ: Christmas Compassion]

There’s a line from "The Village," a film about a blind woman who risks a journey for a friend: “She is more capable than most in this village. And she is led by love. The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.” Two-thirds of Americans still believe that 2,000 years ago, in and out-of-way, dirty, where-you-least-expect-it kind of place, people knelt before love. 

And, many, if they really see it still will.

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  Brant Hansen is a radio host and writer who works for CURE International. His first book, “Unoffendable,” will be available in April of 2015, from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Follow on Twitter: @branthansen

Why I believe in a non-denominational style of Church

There are several interesting patterns of group behaviour I observed in my journey through several church cultures, having been up close and exposed for long periods of time (the shortest of which is 2 years). These are my observations gleaned from having been immersed in a range church cultures ranging from Reform to Armenian, conservative to pentecostal, family churches to medium size/growing, and 'prosperity gospel' megachurches.

Each community and group will hold a particular slant and view on scriptures and each will hold a 'sacred cow' of doctrine and teaching, shunning its polar opposite view. Examples encountered: a reform community will favour the sovereignty of God over definite requests for miracles and God's intervention, pentecostals sometimes favour 'contending' and spiritual warfare for breakthroughs over submitting to God's sovereignty. Pentecostals always pray for the Holy Spirit's intervention, over the use of logical scientific problem-solving. Conservatives will favour the use and application of logic to everyday problems and eschew the miraculous or the communications and leading of the Spirit of God. Prosperity gospel adherents will boldly ask for blessing, but have no teaching on Godly suffering. Conservatives will hardly pray for material blessing or healing, but emphasise the role of trials in shaping Godliness.

Each camp sees clearly and fears the errors and pitfalls of the opposing camp and holds their own stand to be true and right. What I have marvelled at when observing these cultures up close is that to a certain extent all of them are correct, each denomination has been given a particular conviction out of scripture to teach and perpetuate. These groups fail to see that the people in the opposing camp are brothers in Christ also. Sometimes these differences are emphasised for the sake of maintaining a distinctive culture which they would hold to be God ordained, to the growing alienation to the rest of the body of Christ.

What boggles the mind is that each camp fails to see that all God's truth is held in tension with a seemingly opposing truth in scripture. For example, to pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance is scriptural but it does not exclude the use of logic and wisdom, understanding and medical science to the solving of human problems, especially when encountering problems like diseases. When a brother encounters a disease, all the above approaches should be used, and not one to the exclusion of another. Another example, when encountering a brother in extreme trial, be it disease or a discouraging financial situation, one should pray with definite requests for healing, for God to make a way in that person's finances, persisting to ask God in faith for a breakthrough but this does not exclude leaving room for God's sovereignty and believing that He is still in control over the situation and may have reasons for not moving as quickly as we might like for Him to. This way, the brother we are fighting for is not discouraged by the attitude of another brother who defers to the sovereignty of God and gives up the fight up and saying 'it is all up to God', because there is someone who is persistently praying for deliverance, yet we must also admit we don't know God's sovereign will in a particular situation and should seek to know His heart.

Anyway this is all a very long-winded way of saying that one big reason why I embrace a more organic approach to church is because in an organic context, what you believe does not matter as much as the bigger goal of practicing the love of God towards one another. And the love of God dictates that I listen to your particular stand on scripture, even if it is opposed to my own, as long as it is biblical. For the sake of unity, the love of God dictates that I bless and encourage the one who does not hold the same view as I.

The beauty is that in such a 'non-denominational' setting, the practice of listening to one another keeps us all 'in balance'. The goal is not to conform everyone to my particular stand or interpretation of scripture, but to see all the diverse pieces of God-given convictions building up the body of Christ when each person contributes his piece. The result is an amazing diversity of perspective which reveals the multi-faceted wisdom and glory of God. Ultimately what matters most in an organic context is that we keep to the scriptures, that we practice the love of God towards one another through humility and listening, and that we journey on to follow Christ together.

These blogposts articulate well particular aspects of how organic communities operate. 'Approved ones in a divided Church' by Dan Herford the author discusses the distinctives of Christian humility and love and despite doctrinal divisions and John Zens 'The Mind of Christ in Our Life Together: All of Christ Through All the Voices' which talks about the practice of listening to one another in an organic context. Keith Giles 'Making decisions in an Organic Church' talks about the leadership of the Holy Spirit in organic communities. Dan Herford blogs about how we all like certainty, but need to take into account different convictions because we don't know everything here: "certain problems"

“Seeing Him who is unseen, He endured”

Hebrews 11: 26

Considering the reproaches (disapproval) of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he (Moses) was looking to the reward.

This passage talks about Moses. An interesting point to consider - where is Christ in the passage of Moses in exodus, how did Moses choose the reproaches of Christ? When Christ is only mentioned much later, when and where did Moses choose the disapprovals the disdain that belong to Christ?

The simple answer was that he chose to be identified with the struggle of the people of God, rather than to be identified with his princely position status in Egypt. It was in that moment which he said ‘enough is enough’ and he killed that Egyptian man. That was his moment in which he choose his identity as a Hebrew, and he identified with Christ , because Christ is identified with His people. And the sufferings that God’s people were enduring in Egypt, those sufferings are the rejections and sufferings of Christ as well because Jesus is so closely identified with His own. ‘if you bless one of the least of these you bless me’ – referring to the poor of this world.

“For he was looking to the reward.” That was His motivation to give everything up. He perceived that God would reward him one day for all the troubles which he voluntarily took upon himself by identifying with God’s people. I’m not sure that I would give up all the riches of this world if I had it. It takes a strong man to choose the sufferings of slavery and that position of shame and ignominy and disdain, rather than the riches of this world which were is in his hand. Real and tangible, to exchange those for something invisible, something perceived in the spirit realm. That perception had to be strong for Moses, it had to be real to him for Moses to give everything up. Moses had a real glimpse of eternity, where God would reward at his throne everything given up for the cause of Christ. All the trouble we voluntarily take up for allegiance to Jesus for our loyalty to him will be rewarded by God.

Matthew 5 : 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

God’s way of saying yes you are chosen to be close to my throne and live in my presence is ironic – is to give his prophets rejections of many kinds. It is His way of saying yes I have chosen you to bear this for Christ to bear rejection, to be tested and to be close to me, as the prophets of Israel dwelt close to God’s heart and bore the brunt of rejection from man. What Moses was thinking might have been something like –‘all the riches of this world are empty but to know God to truly experience Him is life and true fulfillment.’

But how does one bear up under constant rejections – which Moses also went through later in the wilderness journey at the hands of the Children of Israel.

Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

This verse is interesting. Comparing to the historial record in Exodus 2:14 and 15

…“Who made you a [r]prince or a judge over us? Are you [s] intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”

15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and [t] settled in the land of Midian…

What history records – a fearful Moses fleeing for his life, God records differently – “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King”. True enough the record in Exodus does not clearly state that he was afraid of the king. He was afraid that the Jews would know of his murder. But in Hebrews God sees the incident and sees the man’s faith in the forefront. In the midst of the chaos the turmoil, the fleeing in a moment for his life, God saw his faith in God that God would keep him from the king and sustain him in the wilderness, that his life was ultimately in the hands of God and not the King. Likewise, God sees our fears and failures much differently from how we see them, he sees the faith we exhibit towards him. The actions the reveal what little faith there is, in the midst of fear and confusion.

In one line, the author of Hebrews talks about Moses’ season in the wilderness, that’s 40 years in a single sentence in verse 27, because the next sentence in Hebrews talks about the Passover – that’s 40 years later.

Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

Long before Moses saw the burning bush, Moses was a man of faith who kept close to God for 40 years, as a shepherd in the wilderness. Moses kept the eyes of His faith fixed on God while he waited upon Him those 40 years. The only way that he could have endured so long as a shepherd was that He kept his faith. He kept his heart fixed on being with God.

For us to be bold and unafraid in fearful circumstances, one thing is needed. To see God. To pray that He gives the Holy Spirit to open our hearts, to give fresh vision, fresh perspective of who He is, for God to be in our hearts in our minds in our lives. The blessing of open eyes and an open heart to see God gives strength will nourish us through dry and weary seasons till we mature and come into what the lord wants us to do.

The value of prophetic insight

1 Cor 14

3 But a person who has the gift of prophecy teaches in a way that builds up the community, draws them near, and comforts them.

Paul talks about the limitations of the gift of prophetic insight into the will of God and His ways and the things of the Spiritual world in 1 Cor 13. For when the Kingdom of God comes in fullness, that which 'revealed in part' will be done away with. 1 cor 13 v 2 What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with 'knowledge and insight to all the mysteries', or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing.

Then he then goes back in 1 Cor 14 to re-establish the value of the prophetic word. In this chapter he places value on the prophetic word more than the teaching gift.

If I may paraphrase his thoughts on the matter, it would be this – that Love is to be the over-riding spirit of all believers. In that Spirit of Love, God’s people should seek to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, to perceive and penetrate into the Spiritual world – where God reigns, to understand God’s will and act on God’s will and to reveal his will in this world through obedience. God’s people should, through much prayer in tongues endeavor to uncover the solidness of God’s will, and through spirit-taught and spirit-led words, draw people to the heart of God.

The prophetic gift and prophetic words are a penetrating Gift. It is penetrating insight into God’s heart. It is the ability to sense what the Spirit of God desires, it is insight into the heart of Jesus and the Father. Speaking out this revealed insight releases empowerment to the people of God to follow the leading of the Spirit of God.

Why is this gift so important in the Church? Because of darkness which surrounds us and the confusion of living in this murky world day by day. Spiritual vision and insight is only important when you can’t see where you are going and are lost in confusion. It is precisely this which Paul is hinting at in 1 cor 13 – “now I only see dimly in a murky mirror.” Life is like that. Life on earth has a way of obscuring God’s will and heart for our lives. Many believers have no idea where they are going in God’s Spirit. if you don’t know where you are going, then you will be easily discouraged and dissuaded off course. Without prophetic insight, people go astray. They cast of their restraint. But people who know the objectives that God has set for their lives are able to endure and press towards it.

Prophetic insight gives people that clarity, and releases that endurance to press towards the outcomes which God has declared. ’Yes I want this situation to be redeemed, my will be revealed in this situation, continue to press forward in faith for this’. Clarity and certainty of what God wants is of great value, it releases faith in us when we perceive the heart of God towards a matter, when God has spoken clearly to us about a situation we can handle it with much confidence without being blown off course.

It seems that the main way into prophetic insight is prayer, especially praying in the spirit.

1 Cor 14:4, 13-15

4 Those who speak in an unknown language only strengthen themselves…

13 So anyone who speaks in an unknown language should pray for the ability to interpret …15 What do I do then? I pray. I pray with my spirit but also with my mind engaged; I sing with my spirit but also with my mind engaged.

Prophetic teaching is defined by specific and penetrating insight, and is of a different value from the teaching gift which teaches the application of the general principles of God’s word.

Prophetic teachings contain the authority of God’s voice, towards his people and are a direct communication of His heart towards people. It carries with it the power and authority of God. It is the open invitation, the voice of God calling for alignment and  obedience to His present moment directive for any particular person. In the spirit it is a weighty, heavy and powerful thing. With a prophetic message the grace and power of God is released to people to come into line with God’s kingdom and will. It releases repentance for people to walk close to God where they have gone astray, and alignment back to His will where they have gone off tangent. An accurate prophetic word reveals the awesomeness of God, the depths and width and breadth, the wisdom and majesty of God. That’s why Paul says seek the prophetic gifts above all other gifts to build up the church.

Prophetic gifts are penetrating into situations and people. “The secret sins of people are revealed”. In the seeing of the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of truth, people’s hearts are uncovered. The prophet speaks a piercing of God’s truth into the heart and causes the kingdom of God to be directly experienced by people. God sees the true nature of all things, cutting through the misdirection and confusion which is so prevalent in life. To treat a disease, the most important part of medical science is correct diagnosis. God is the holder of all mysteries and all dark secrets are as plain as day to Him so if you want to know how to handle a perplexing situation or know the truth of a matter why not ask Him for prophetic insight?

We should value the insight of God, and cherish the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul says seek insight of God's will among all the other gifts of God so that as a people you can draw close to Him and walk in His will. Be willing to live in full obedience to everything He shows us for it is in that way that we can live and move in the power of the Holy Spirit and be aligned to his heart and will for our lives.

Might i add that prophetic insight determines tactical priorities and helps us to understand what God is saying and helps us to determine that which is most essential versus that which is good have and do, at different seasons and times -'spiritual gift of wisdom'. Doing those things he says will yield the most fruit rather than getting distracted on other priorities. Refer to mary vs martha. Fruitful and spirit led versus activity without insight. Thats why the church needs more prophets again for it is the foundation of the prophets and apostles which build the church not the teachers/pastors. According to Ephesians. IMHO most ministries are led by teacher pastors who create an environment of distracted service without spiritual and mighty fruitfulness. I myself am waiting for when God's prophets arise to take back the leadership pole of the people and will follow as He directs.

Modern Christianity A glut of knowledge and a shortage of love

1 Corinthians 8: 1 Knowledge promotes overconfidence and worse arrogance, but charity of the heart (love, that is) looks to build up others. [2] Just because a person presumes to have some bit of knowledge, that person doesn't necessarily have the right kind of knowledge. [3] But if someone loves God, it is certain that God has already known that one. …

Christianity today is weak. Not because of a shortage of knowledge but because of an oversupply of knowledge but the lack of practice of the genuine love of God. We are knowledgable but arrogant.  We would sooner take the place of honor than be brought down low into dishonor for the cross of Christ and for Jesus name. We would sooner act as the boss as our lord and master Jesus would than to take up towel and serve to refresh others as the master would as the lowest servant in the house without honor without position with shame and many times without any recognition. If you start behaving like the lowest servant in the house do not be surprised if some in your house especially proud believers start treating you as such. But serve the master and do not become a slave to please men. 

We lack discernment to differentiate false teaching and truth, to discern applications between teachings and apply our knowledge. We lack wisdom to know Gods way of love which is discovered through practice to live and serve others.

We would rather let others heal the woulds of the hurting than to take the time effort and trouble and finances to promote the healing of the weak and infirm and broken. The broken emotionally and physically and spirituall need care and love and much humility to treat. Festering wounds do not need the band aid of 'read your scripture or just pray'. Such Platitudes make things worse. 

The broken need shepherds who will wash the wounds of the broken with much consistency and long term commitment to the healing of their sheep. To heal the wounds of the hurting by their friendship and by their acts of service, kindness and love. Praying for some one is great but a practice act of service and love and provision is better. Today we are arrogant with knowledge weak in power and have a great shortage of love service humility and the power of God.

Faith does not exist for us to obtain things it exists for us to live out.

faith exists not for us mainly to obtain things. Faith is a way of life, with connecting with the spirit world, a way to connect primarily with God, a lifestyle and  a way of living, a perspective

The mystery of Godly suffering

There is a place in the faith, where we go through especially difficult situations and yet shockingly we are sincere believers. There is this accompanying bewilderment - why if I have been faithful to You O God, then why me? Job asked the question - why me? We want to know the reason for our suffering. Did God suddenly become an unloving God? The saviour who is sacrificed did He forget His mercy and goodness?

To add to the burden, no one wants to be around a sinking ship. When you are in deep trouble sometimes the whole world senses it - believers and unbelievers alike and they leave you alone. That makes things more difficult. We feel forgotten by everyone, there is no friend which we can count on. We are in the place of deep darkness and searing pain and the shroud of loneliness like thick blackness encompasses us all around. That black solid loneliness can be a greater burden many times than the circumstance. "Why have you forgotten me O God?" We ask with the psalmist. I imagine Joseph in that place in the prison of Egypt.

The bible has a phrase in the new testament - it is "holding to the mystery of the faith". This is a mind boggling phrase if you think about it. A mystery is by definition amorphous. It cannot be held on to. But yet there is a holding element of faith that we are expected to maintain. How to hold on to something that you cannot even define? A mystery. How does one hold on to that? Perhaps what the scripture means is that this is something you don't understand. That the life and walk of faith, trying to figure out God's will can seem like trying to chase the wind. There is a mystery that beckons discovery and pursuit. Without an element of mystery in life, there can be no discovery or pursuit.

But yet there is mystery that is undiscoverable no matter how hard you try, this mystery remains a mystery. Like why did Paul have that thorn to struggle with? Maybe you can't for the life of you figure out why you are in this set of circumstances. There is bewilderment. There it is - the mystery element of the faith in which must we live out. But yet we are supposed to hold on! Hold on to what? Holding on to God's promises and His revealed character. He is a just judge and will make right whatever injustice we experience. If not in this life, then the next. The mystery element has to be left to God, who will one day make that plain reveal its purpose, perhaps on earth, if not in heaven.

My next thought is that whilst in deep trials, the sincere believer ought to trust that God has a purpose for that suffering and that in the end somehow, God will bring it about for our good, even though we can scarcely see any good come out of that very situation, And this very thought - the thought that God can redeem and make good may be the furthest thing from our heart and mind when you are in the midst of all trouble and in deep pain. It is might be all but impossible to do this. Except by God's own grace and mercy which we might not even feel in such a situation which keeps the believer and prompts and allows and empowers the believer to do this. But God can cause us by His unseen hand to believe still that there can be good in it, and that He does have a purpose perhaps on earth or perhaps in heaven, which might be veiled and kept secret for all eternity, for our good.

A little yeast and the God-focused-life

A little yeast causes the whole dough to rise.

Little sins tolerated is a whole life corrupted.

Let's examine how just a little sin works through our life. How does it cause the whole lump to be affected? After all a little sin can't kill, or can it?

Sin impairs our enjoyment of life. Our minds and spirits are made to bear the additional burden of sin and guilt nagging and eating away at our consciousness. We are not free to focus on work and enjoy our work and our lives we cannot pour ourselves fully into our work because sin holds us back. We cherish and enjoy being spread out and dissipated to entertain the nagging specter of guilt rather than being concentrated and focused.

Sin messes up priorities - we prioritize according to the defense or feeding of our sin. It steals away our wholehearted focus which should rightly belong to God. So sin impairs the judgement. Our minds are no longer clear and unobstructed to be impartial because now our hearts are inclined a particular way.

Ultimately a life which is 100 percent God focused and God devoted is light and free. It is strong and light and durable like titanium. It indeed is a joyful and happy life. It is not burdened down with care or overwhelmed easily by circumstances or opposition. Strong with Gods spirit, light - in that it is not burdened by guilt or sin it is our best effort at worship in everything we do, not weighed down with regret. 

A God focused life is poured out in the service of God and others. It is a useful and profitable life of service to others. It is not poured out in service of self or corrupted by greed or by ambition it is our best foot forward in the pure presence of God and earns His approval. 

It is light because humility causes us to take ourselves lightly and asks the master 'what shall I do now O lord?' at every turn.

Who would not want a life like that?

Love and Hate

Love annihilates itself for the benefit of others.

Hatred annihilates others for the benefit of self.

The wounds of Joseph.

Sometimes when we've been through too much we feel like there is so much anger inside that you have to take it out on something. It doesn't matter who or what. Anything which presents itself at convenience can be made into a target, fair play and a potential site to offload all the explosives of injustice and trauma that we've accumulated over the years in rage.

Joseph was in that place. When presented with the opportunity, he wanted to make it hard on his brothers and test to see whether all those years had really changed their hard and evil hearts. Was there any mercy and kindness in them at all? 

Joseph was out of control in anger at the injustice all the bitter suffering which went to his head. The bible presents the saints in all their human element. No warts are glossed over. The injustice was real and epic in depth - they had sold his 13 years of his life away on a whim. So when the situation presented itself, he took the opportunity to lash out. Ultimately it was Jacob whom was hurt and traumatised at having to release Benjamin, the father whom he loved became the unintended casualty. Ultimately he resolves to forgive on evidence of Judah's intercession and love for his father Jacob and his brother, Benjamin, and mercy and healing can begin in Jacob's house.

Anger many times points to deeper hurts and other deep issues of injustice under the surface of our seemingly normal lives. It is the insecure and afraid and vulnerable who feel anger and hatred the most. The powerful and healthy have not so much experience of stinging anger of injustice than the pauper and the weak and defenceless. Joseph was vulnerable when he was hurt - a mere youth defenceless against 9 older brothers some of whom were young men when he was but a teenager at 17. Is it any wonder that he bound Simeon, meaning 'hearing' when only one brother heeded or heard his cry for mercy in the waterless pit? The hearing one heard no cry for mercy but hardened his heart and the oldest, Judah who should have stood up for the little brother Joseph, kept silent. Reuben is the one who saves Joseph's life the first time, but later it is Judah, the oldest who stands up for Benjamin the youngest of the lot. 

Joseph had 9 people to forgive 9 major wounds which needed healing and mercy to heal deeply. Most of us might not have so many or as deep wounds to heal and that is why this story is still so powerful in its applications for our healing.

The man with the limp - how do we follow God in the face of tragedy?

Jacob was not just a physical cripple but also an emotional cripple.

Physically every step he took would have been filled with pain, a reminder that He needs God for every step He takes.

Arguably the loss of his favourite son thinking him to be dead would be the equivalent of crippling the soul. Abraham had to give his son as a living sacrifice to God to offer him up to die, but Jacob lost his son to what he would interpret as a random accident.

How do you go on living when your very heart has been taken out of you?

With the same realisation that he needed God for every step of the way. He lived most of his old age worshipping the God who he thought allowed the death of his son.

It is a very odd thing that God should wound his most faithful followers. It seems almost contradictory to a good God and father why would a father do such damage to the lives of those who love Him most? Job's case is the worst, Abraham's case, Daniel's case, Jesus own case and the apostles also conform to the same pattern. The path that leads to the closest following of God's footsteps are also the steps marked by pronounced suffering. All these men when asked - why do you still follow God when He allows and has marked such tragedy in your path? Would doubtless answer - I follow God because He is God! Who else is worth following? Who else has the words of eternal life and who else is the messiah, the saviour? We follow God not for what we can get out of Him, no, we follow Him because He is worth following.

The following reduces us, it does not increase our greatness. It humbles us to nothing, that all we hold on to is the wonder of that intimate walk, that face to face talk with the Glory of God which sees us through all forms of adverse suffering, even apostolic suffering.

Souls slow death

The Soul starts to die if it doesn't hear what it needs to hear from who you need to hear it from.

A Personal Experience of God's Covenant Love

Psalms 139
8 If I make my bed in Sheol, behold you are there,
9 if I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even Your right hand will lead me,
and Your right hand will lay hold of me.

In verse 8 he is talking I believe from experience, he was in the place of death, Sheol and yet God was there for him.

In verse 9 he is talking about impossibility. It is impossible to live at the bottom of the remotest part of the sea, but David has this revelation of a personal God who will never let him go because he has a covenant with this God.

‘Your right hand will lead me’, 'Your right hand will lay hold of me.’ ‘Where can I flee from Your Spirit’?. Far from being an impersonal omnipresent God, a God who is generally here and there and everywhere, he is talking about his own personal revelation of the Spirit of God who is upon him in every situation. “where can I go from Your Spirit’ in other words he is saying -where can I go from Your own personal revealing of who you are to me through Your very personal manifestation of your Spirit upon me?”

David has a knows through experience what we new testament believers know by promise - 'that I will never leave you nor forsake you.' But we also need that personal revelation the same experience that David had -that God's hand is upon me - it does not matter what circumstance I am in.

9 if I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even Your right hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. 

The right hand of God is God’s hand of blessing favor, power, intimacy and action. It is a personal revelation of a personal God who is totally with him in every circumstance, whether in an extraordinarily adverse situation or one which is totally impossible. All things are possible with God- When He is present, when His hand is manifest, every possibility, every hope every promise opens up.

Paraphrase of verses 13 and 14

‘Even when I was created you were there, you love every part of me, you were there for me, my friend in my childhood, so why would you leave me now?’

“God you have created every part of my body lovingly and you love me, so I shall rely on You as my strength.'


Christ’s Covenant Commitment

God is committed to His people through covenant. Covenant means the ultimate level of commitment. In bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved but the pig is committed. Covenant is commitment to the death, being committed to 'giving all of a person, even unto death’. The John legend song, 'all of me' illustrates well what covenant means and it is this commitment to His people. Covenant is what Christ is talking about when He takes up the bread and wine and says 'all of me is Yours. My body, my life, my blood, I am committed to you, my people.’

He did that so that we might place our faith in Him, so that we may commit all to Him unto death also, walking in His covenant. It is a partnership so inmate that whatever I need He provides, what ever He wants I will provide and do. It is a relationship that Goes beyond mere words into the deep places of the heart. Covenant intertwines its participants, its covenanters, its committed ones.

Covenants are multi-generational. As God had a covenant with Abraham, He was careful to pursue Isaac and Jacob also and re-establish that covenant relationship with Abraham's descendants. It is as if God is saying - I will be faithful to you and all your children to give all that I have to them, to bless them and teach them and pursue them so that I may cause them to walk in my ways because I have a covenant with Abraham, my friend. Because Abraham walked blamelessly in the covenant, the world was blessed and the nation of Israel though the generations unto our time. How we respond to God's covenant will impact many many others. Whether we choose to keep it and walk faithfully in it or choose to spurn it will impact our spiritual standing and the spiritual standing of multi-generations and have wide impact.

Light and Momentary Troubles and Their Glory

For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever 2 Cor 4:17
Woke up with the thought about how God planned for Saul to be King so that David would go through the troubles that he did, in order that David’s faith would be totally on God to rescue him, in order that David would be a godly and good king, for a good and godly king cannot rule by his own wisdom, emotion, strength, ideas, resources and plans, but must be an obedient servant in total surrender to the hands and will of the master. It was a pre-ordained trouble that was to produce glory in David - the glory of an obedient and wise King who would rely on the wisdom and strength and deliverance on God alone, not only for himself but in order to bless and deliver the nation of Israel from both her natural enemies (the philistines) and spiritual enemies (idolatry and worship of false Gods).

David’s fate and path would be decided by God alone. David would not raise a finger against Saul when presented with the chance, because he knew it was God and God alone who would determine the boundaries of the times and seasons of his life, his time of deliverance, the time of his trial, the time of his prosperity, all these times would come from the timing of God alone. He was no longer impatient to get out of his trouble by whatever fleshly means at his disposal. He came into a state of total and absolute reliance and rock solid confidence in his God, his sustainer, his daily portion and strength and God alone was enough for him. So confident that he could speak to his enemy and I imagine what is going on in Davids mind and heart- "God sustained me and delivered you into my hand, but yet I would not sin against God by transgressing the will and timings of God, I would not act and decide in the flesh. He has sustained me, He will deliver me, He is enough for me even in the desert, He is enough!.” Compare David with Saul, who transgressed the timings and will and boundaries of God by offering the sacrifice, and yet David would not dare to, when offered the same temptation twice. It is a stark mirror for us to learn today from David’s faith and obedience to the living God.

To follow what God would have him do for today was his portion. To live daily with that primed focus on God. David who had ‘set the LORD at his right hand continually’. That special place that God alone occupied in this man’s heart was no accident. It was forged in the fires of trial and daily desperate reliance upon God alone. Fires which God watched over so that it would not consume His man. All joy all refreshing, his daily food and drink would be God and God alone. A glorious thought. So that his faith, his entire heart, soul, mind, emotions, might lean only on the strength of the Father, not sporadically but continually.

He would find life, liberty and freedom in the desert, a place of great constraint, of death threats and death spirits, even the valley of the shadow of death. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and the Spirit of the lord was on his man, but it needed to stay on David, and for the Spirit of the Lord to stay on a person, that person must want the Holy Spirit, must welcome and make much room for the Spirit of God in his life. That person must not be crowded out by other priorities.

So even our troubles are planned by the hand of God, there is comfort in the thought that God has seen my path even before I have experience it. Comfort that He knows how He will bring me through trouble, though I might not even have the slightest clue. I can have peace. I can have comfort in the thought that God has fore-ordained trouble for my highest glory and good, when we commit ourselves to Him totally to follow in all his way, it is a safe place in God.

He keeps us right exactly where we need to be. It is great place to seek to be led by the Holy Spirit, to seek the presence and power and wisdom of the Spirit of God to abide in Him and live under the shelter of His wings. It may be 5 years, it may be 10, it may be 20 years but to learn the lesson that God is our portion in trouble, and in times of peace is a precious lesson to learn - even Paul, Joseph, Daniel learnt it.

I'm the one who wants to love you more

Amazing lyrics which ministered love to my heart. Can see Jesus singing this

Take me back into the arms I love
Need me like you did before
Touch me once again
And remember when
There was no one that you wanted more

Don't go, you know you will break my heart
She won't love you like I will
I'm the one who'll stay
When she walks away
And you know I'll be standing here still

I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
You will see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more

See me as if you never knew
Hold me so you can't let go
Just believe in me
I will make you see
All the things that your heart needs to know

I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
You will see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more

And some way all the love that we had can be saved
Whatever it takes we'll find a way

Believe me
I will make you see
All the things that your heart needs to know

I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
You will see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more

Come out from Her my People - Spirit of the World, Babylon

Revelations 18:4

4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues…”

Why are God’s people in Babylon in the first place? Because Babylon is a world ruling spirit of darkness and we are in the world and the spirit of the world needs to be ejected from our mind heart and spiritual system so that we can shine as the stars in heaven in Gods pure righteousness. (Dan12:3) But if God’s people are wicked then we will receive the same judgement, the same plagues reserved for Babylon and everyone associated with that philosophy, spirit and way of life– a frightening thought.

The Spirit of the current age is a Spirit of Babylon – Characterized by the following Sins.


Babylon characteristic #1

Wanton, uncontrollable sexual immorality/lust, - drunken, fleshly lust ‘all the nations of the earth have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality’ – powerful drives for sex, food, drink etc. inability to control sexual appetite or natural appetite for food and drink and sex.

Revelations 18:3

3 For all the nations [d]have drunk of the wine of the [e]passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the [f]wealth of her [g]sensuality.”

God’s Solution for God’s people
A regular habit of fasting and prayer with water one a week on your rest day. For ‘life is more than food and drink’. If our natural appetites for food is uncontrollable, then it could be that you are imbibing of the evil spirit of Babylon. Fasting helps us keep the natural man in check and makes the spirit of God ascend over the flesh. Take up the cross against appetites for food, drink and sex, and lifestyle of daily prayer, bible reading, choosing to follow God as a follower of Jesus.


Babylon characteristic #2

Greed for great wealth through unethical, unrighteous acts and compromised morality (no integrity and blamelessness) or truth in business and trade professional dealings. The merchants of the earth have become rich by the [f]wealth of her [g]sensuality.”

God’s Solution for God’s people?

Refuse to compromise with standards of righteousness, principles of integrity, (refusal to lie) to always speak truth (with wisdom), Don’t do anything morally questionable. The Spirit of this age is one which will sell out – cheat, slander, malign, ‘murder’ judge, slander others for gain of reputation, status, looking good in front of others, at the cost having blood on our hands.

Lift up the standard of the righteous life of Jesus Christ who dwells in us! Live out the righteous life of Christ through taking up the cross daily and receiving His power of the Holy Spirit to make decisions for Jesus in the small tasks of daily work. Great persecution will await you if you do this but its worth it! What is the point if we gain the whole world but lose our souls!



Babylon characteristic #3, #4
#3 Great pride and arrogance

#4 Great lust for power and fame– power hungry, attention seeking, people pleasing. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen.’

Gods solution

Phillippians 2:3

3 Do nothing [c]from [d]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude [e]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be [f]grasped, 7 but [g]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death [h]on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Become as Jesus - a servant, don’t embrace titles that cause you to become only prideful and puff up your arrogance.  Check the desire for 'success' -fame, numbers, things which will give you status in this life.  Luke 16:15 "What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God." Obey God even though it cost you pain as it caused Christ pain – emotionally, spiritually, physically to die on the cross and obey God. For then the beautiful humility of Christ and the love of God will be revealed through you as you, a servant go forth to love and serve others.


Babylon characteristic #5, #6

#5 The Spirit of Babylon has this uncontrollable desire for comfort - to live in a position of a shield/bubble of fame, power, wealth and comfort, far away from all human suffering forever ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning,’ denoting her refusing to feel pain or suffering for when we mourn, we are usually in pain/feel loss of something.

#6 ‘I am not a widow’ - Refusal to Associate befriend or identify with orphans, widows, the poor and destitute of the earth. She cannot relate to poor/hungry people, having never suffered before herself. knowing no pain in her life. Babylon refuses to help or embrace the suffering of these poor people as her own because of pride, she has a lack of basic human kindness and possess a cruel, lustful and immoral heart. She refuses the teaching that we partake of the sufferings of Christ as believers and shuns all pain and suffering, everything which will cost her something in terms of human pain she cannot take. Give to ministries like open doors which will inform you of Christian's suffering all over the world https://www.opendoors.org.


God’s Solution for God’s people?
Do we mourn when we see injustice, when we see the poor of the earth exploited, when we see innocent people slandered and accused, well maybe its because you have never tried to do what is right and received slander in return, that’s why you cannot identify with unjust sufferings. When we ourselves are treated unfairly we 1) think of others who are also treated worse, we can emphathise (calloused as our hearts are, they become soft), 2) it awakens the desire for Justice, the desire for heaven on earth – that Fair country with foundations of justice and righteousness in whom the Righteous One dwells. Do we mourn for the earth to be redeemed to its final glory? Do we long for Christ’s redemption of all things and restoration of the kingdoms of this earth to become the Kingdoms of our God when all injustice will be obliterated? And every kind act receive its just reward with every evil intent receiving its just judgement? Yes we will rejoice mightily in that day unless we are the perpetuators of suffering and injustice – then we shall mourn. Do we long for the poor and want to do kind acts to relive the suffering of others? A glass of cold water will receive a reward in God’s kingdom simple acts of kindness – not intentions for kindness but real acts of service. For in the Kingdom it is not the thought that counts but the works which will receive the reward. What are your works? Works of service and love and lifting up others or works of evil and suffering and injustice and cruelty?





Matthew 25:31-46English Standard Version (ESV)

The Final Judgment

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’


41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life”

Love one another with the Love of Christ!

"Love Is The Seventh Wave"

The singer seems to be singing to the queen of Babylon in this song

In the empire of the senses
You're the queen of all you survey
All the cities all the nations
Everything that falls your way
There is a deeper wave than this
That you don't understand
There is a deeper wave than this
Tugging at your hand

Every ripple on the ocean
Every leaf on every tree
Every sand dune in the desert
Every power we never see
There is a deeper wave than this
Swelling in the world
There is a deeper wave than this
Listen to me girl

Feel it rising in the cities
Feel it sweeping over land
Over borders, over frontiers
Nothing will its power withstand
There is no deeper wave than this
Rising in the world
There is no deeper wave than this
Listen to me girl

All the bloodshed, all the anger
All the weapons, all the greed
All the armies, all the missiles
All the symbols of our fear
There is a deeper wave than this
Rising in the world
There is a deeper wave than this
Listen to me girl

At the still point of destruction
At the centre of the fury
All the angels, all the devils
All around us can't you see
There is a deeper wave than this
Rising in the land
There is a deeper wave than this
Nothing will withstand

I say love is the seventh wave

The Prophet's Wilderness

http://agapelifeministriesinc.com/propheticwordsandvisions/hosting/prophetswilderness.html

Junior Desouza 2008

The prophet's wilderness. What a subject. May this writing help steer and stabilize developing prophets! 
The desert experience, or wilderness, is God's mandatory prerequisite to the prophetic calling. A prophetic person
never looks worse than while he/she is in-desert; and, he never looks better than when he emerges as gold, mature
in character and ace in prophesying. Even though all Christians experience certain desert seasons, the prophet's
wilderness is unique in that it is typically longer in duration and broader in revelatory production.

Biblically, the desert is constitutional to prophetic identity. Moses stumbled upon the burning bush and his prophetic
calling in the desert (Ex 3:1-10). David blossomed in his desert strongholds, writing many of his psalmic prophecies
while there (1Sam 23:14). Elijah, when overcome with despair, ran to a prophetic fetal position--the desert
(1Ki 19:3,4). John the Baptist championed the prophet's wilderness, living there in seclusion for extended seasons
and even years (Lk 1:80, 3:2). Jesus, the promised Messiah-Prophet, willingly resorted to desert places
(NKJV Mk 1:45, Lk 5:16). Though desert places can be dry and wanting, maturing prophets come to find a safety
there, a place where their intense and introspective disposition can find relief and equilibrium in God (Ps 55:6-8).   

The wilderness forces dependence.
A prophet's greatest enemy is himself, not Jezebel or religious crustiness or a satanic nemesis. Giftedness has
greater power to lure a person into prideful self-sufficiency than the Deceiver himself. Many profoundly gifted
prophesiers have shipwrecked their lives and ministries through such self-reliance or gift-reliance, drifting away from
daily dependence on Jesus Himself. Such prophets are runaway trains racing toward a head-on collision with
humbling and reckoning.  

The desert is a place of lack, whether it be relational, social, ministerial, financial, or some other personal need or
want. Though God ultimately intends to fill what is lacking, He will not do so until every semblance of self-sufficiency
and self-dependence is burned, baked, crushed, stomped, and obliterated by the heat. The burning desert sands
will scorch our pridefully calloused feet until, at last, we break and fall to our knees in permanent dependence on
Him. Hosea 13:5: I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat.  God uses the desert to become our
Caretaker, melting away our "I can take care of myself" sickness. We will only come up from the wilderness when we
are sufficiently leaning on our Lover, not our self or our gift. See the symbolism in Song of Songs 8:5: Who is this
coming up from the desert leaning on her lover?

The wilderness cultivates intimacy.
Hosea 2:14 tells us God uses deserts to cultivate intimacy with us: I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the
desert and speak tenderly to her. The prophet's temptation is to become so intercoursed with his gift so that he
forsakes sweet intimacy with the greatest Gift of all, our First Love Jesus. The greatest commandment is not, "If a
man's gift is prophesying, let him use it" (Ro 12:6); it is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and
strength" (Mk 12:29,30).  

Just as God will not allow self-sufficiency, so also He will not allow us to intercourse our souls with anything above
Him. Like David, He will keep us in that desert stronghold until we are daily singing and writing romantic psalms to
Him. Like Israel, He will allure us into the desert until we cherish His tender whispers, until that voice becomes the
central focus of our daily life and emotional well-being. Until personal intimacy is greater than prophetic ministry.

The wilderness acutes spiritual hearing.
Deuteronomy 8:2,3 tells us the desert trains and sharpens our spiritual hearing, making us acutely accurate in
perceiving God's voice. Hosea 2:14 says God "speaks tenderly" in the desert, and Psalm 29:8 says "the voice of
the Lord shakes the desert". Luke 3:2 shows us how prophetic messages come to the prophet in the desert. God
loves to open up and talk in deserts! Consequently, we learn how to hear Him.    

You see, in the desert key blockages to perceiving God are dealt with and removed. Loud negative emotions are
faced, resolved, and silenced. Competing dreams are shattered, leaving us blank and receptive to God's dream.
Comfortable patterns are disrupted, exposing misleading voices that spring from routine. Anytime our soul and body
are afflicted by lack, our spirit rises to attain the voice of God to sustain our total being. During extended or repetitive
deserts, the Christian becomes keen in perceiving divine communications and movements. Since correct spiritual
perception is the essence of prophetic ministry, God will bake His prophets in deserts until their perceptive
blockages are melted, until prophetic purity with no mix is reached.  

The wilderness transforms character.
Prophetic power captivates to such a degree that character problems can be obscured and overlooked. Christian
history is stained with almost-prophets who shipwrecked their lives and ministries through egocentrism, emotional
mismanagement, pernicious habits, wildfire appetites, unhealthy relationships, major doctrinal deviations, and so
on.  

We all come from Egypt, a place of sin slavery. We all need multiple deserts to get Egypt out of our
psycho-emotional root system. Some of the most destructive people in all of Christianity are not false prophets, but
true Christian prophets who are unwilling to declare war on personal sin patterns. They possess a measure of
prophetic grace that draws followers, yet they wind up damaging those very followers through their dysfunctions.
They leave many wounded in their wake, hurting prophecy's cause and credibility as well. If you read David's psalms
that he wrote while living in desert places, you will find him consistently mentioning personal sins, inner healing,
breaking codependence, and so on. The wilderness transforms character! The time is fading fast when low
character prophets are allowed to minister publicly. Churches are tightening their grip on who holds the mic, being
led by the Spirit to place a higher premium on character quality and soundness.   

The wilderness destroys co-dependence.
The Lord said in Jeremiah 17:5,6 that He uses the desert to deal with codependence, people-pleasing, and fear of
man. Of all ministries, the prophetic is probably most easily polluted by codependence. Stories litter the Old
Testament of false prophets telling people what they wanted to hear simply to gain their approval. They muddied the
oracle of the Lord, prophesying from their imaginations and emotions.

Many, if not most, of our desert experiences pertain to people--their rejection, persecution, gossip,
misunderstanding, non-spiritualness, indifference, mockery. God thrust us into this desert because we care too
much! Oh how quickly our heat would turn to cool waters if we would only become de-peopled! We all have a human
need to be loved and affimed by others. This is not wrong. This basic need morphs into a sinful obsession when our
emotional wellness is tied to people and their reactions more than to God. A prophesier must be so de-peopled that
he senses a free-flowing confidence to be, say, and do whatever he needs. God will loose the desert dogs on us
until we simply do not care anymore.

The wilderness creates individuation.
One recurring problem I continually bump into is the lack of prophetic individuation. I weary of hearing uniform
"prophetic words" that are not very prophetic. Rather, they are more of a regurgitation of the current spiritual fad.
These "prophecies" are thoroughly unmoving, fail to bear witness within, and exploit the ideals of immature
Christians. Sometimes I ask myself, "Does God not have more to say? Either He is not very relevant and original, or
some of these prophesiers have a high flesh-mixture diluting or blocking the authentic word." I am well aware that
God speaks thematically and consistently. Equally so, He speaks with uncanny relevance and uniqueness in
different contexts. We need greater prophetic individuation.

Individuation means "the quality of being individual, distinct, unique, or original". The desert creates this
individuation. Because the fervent heat melts away pretense, in-desert prophets are able to find their truest
prophetic voices underneath the wanna-be facades. Those voices may have similarities to other prophets, but
should also have noticeable uniqueness and innovation. What Moses discovered in the desert about his prophetic
identity is quite different than what Elijah discovered. And David. And John. These prophets all emerged from the
desert with some similarities, but also great individuality.

The wilderness intensifies anointing.
The wilderness increases our prophetic power. As crucial transformations happen, the Spirit has more liberty to rest
upon us in stronger measures. Check out the subtle symbolism in Song of Songs 3:6: Who is this coming up from
the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?  
When Jesus came up from His desert experience, He was encompassed by the smoke of God's glory, perfumed
with powerful anointing for ministry (Lk 4:1-19). Psalm 92:10 says something similar: ...fine oils have been poured
upon me. This fresh oil of power came upon the psalmist because he battled his enemies and overcame (v11), he
grew spiritually very much (v12), and he made God his intimate dwellingplace (v13).

We too increase in the power of the Spirit by being fully faithful to the desert developments. We will face our
enemies and we must overcome them. We will be challenged to grow personally and we must swallow our pride and
do so. Ultimately, we must plant ourselves in God and His presence. We must let the desert's fervent heat melt
anything and everything in our life that keeps us from finding our all in all in Him and only Him. Then we will see Him
increase His anointing portions upon our ministries.  

In the desert the highway is prepared and straightened for God to powerfully show Himself in our ministry.

Isaiah 40:3

Article hosted with permission from Junior Desouza http://www.jdarticles.com/

The focus of the heart in an age of distraction

The Dimming of revelation light

The time that we are living in can be likened to Samuel’s time in 1st Samuel chapter 3. A time of increasing darkness - where there is increase in confusion, in deception regarding the teaching of God's word and increasing rarity of a pure prophetic voice.

Prophetic ‘light’ is dimming. Prophetic light is prophetic revelation, the revelation of God’s present purpose, intents and present command. There is increasing a premium in the church for a pure prophetic voice in which the power of God can be manifest.

Proverbs 3
5 
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7 
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 
It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Age of distraction/spirit of distraction 

We live in an age of distraction. The distractions that pervade modern environments are small and subtle and have multiplied in uncountable fashion because of technology.

Distractions serve as imitations of Gods presence, power and purpose.These offer a semblance of comfort and peace, but instead of true peace, these create a dulling of the senses, a drugging of our spiritual man. In contrast, God’s voice, God’s revelation and God’s light brings a deep and lasting peace, in which there is strength and healing, but counterfeits dazzle the senses, they also numb of the spiritual senses and mind.

'Being distracted for awhile’ carries with it the temptation to form a habit or lifestyle of distraction, which produces in our human spirit, a distracted spirit. If our spirits are distracted, it is extremely difficult, but not altogether impossible to focus on God. If left to its own devices to run amok, it will leave our human spirit in a continually distracted state. This condition disables us from hearing and being led by the Spirit of God, and opens us to other spirits - fear, confusion, frustration etc. I believe that there also exist an evil spirit of distraction, whose main job it is to distract us from hearing the whispers and leadings of the Holy Spirit. it can be overcome through the grace of God, the choice to focus and pray and the prayer to continually set our hearts on God. God will create that focus of heart we desire. Lest we be led by the lust of our eyes and not spiritual desire.

These distractions ultimately serve their purpose of adding to the confusion of God’s people and further obscuring God’s pure light – the light of His presence coming from the Holy of Holies. The revelation light which reveals God. In the way man-made light obscures the light of the stars, these little lights pollute the light environment so that God's pure light cannot be perceived. if we are content to walk in man-light, then we exchange walking in man–made light for God pure light and direction.

Light is supposed to clear up confusion and give purpose and direction, both lights can give direction and purpose - the question is which light are we using? Are we giving God’s light adequate attention so that it can focus all our research, endeavour, plans and knowledge? Or are we distracted and having no idea what God wants for us to do at the moment? The cross will help us die with Christ to our fleshly distractions things which God will have us put aside so that we can focus on him. The 'closet' of prayer is a place of undivided attention to focus on Father.

Imagine if Jesus was so distracted He didn’t know what the Father was saying or showing him because he constantly had to check emails and Facebook and his twitter feed and was so distracted he could not finish even His sermon. No, Christ knew exactly his fathers voice and knew exactly what God wanted Him to do moment by moment and we can too. Father God wants to be with His children to show them tenderly guide them tenderly into all truth, all direction, to fill them up with all power and fullness so that we too can be about his business. Are we willing to be focused on Him and be dedicated to be trained by Him?

What would we sacrifice in order to truly know deep in our heart the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, which God wants to give us in His presence? Would we be prepared to ask, seek and knock until we obtain this peace which God wants to give us? the peace of God and stillness of heart which the Lord would have us settle and establish us in? 

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

The Hebrew word Shalom, for peace means all rounded well-being and welfare, even healing and wholeness. We live in an age of much uncertainty, anxiety, fear and confusion. One of the more difficult things in this age is to walk in the light of God’s peace. In His presence is deep peace, peace that surpasses understanding. Yet we find it very hard to be still, our hearts are restless and agitated, making it difficult, yes a fight, a combat to find the rest of God in His presence. Distractions and fleshly substitutes for the presence of God are one reason for this. The activity of the flesh makes the soul agitated, making it difficult to be led and clamed by the Spirit of God who is a Spirit of peace.

Only the peace of God can overcome this spirit of anxiety, and the voice of God will dispel confusion. God can give stillness of heart and quiet confidence. When we are still on the inside, God can impart His instructions to us, His people step by step. The love of the Father will dispel the spirit of agitating fear. Let us turn back into His presence.

There are high stakes problems, which His people face, in which the people of God need God’s wisdom, plans and instructions more than before.

We live in a busy city, but in the busyness, what do we do with our down time? The spaces of time in between the time we have to fulfill and carry our necessary responsibilities? What do we choose to do with our hearts? Let us choose the oasis of God’s presence. Jesus was empowered for ministry by the many oases of God’s presence which empowered Him to be continually on the move doing the works of God.

Mark 6:30-31

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

The enemy also seeks to speak His impressions, his ways, His directives and directions to God’s people. Close your heart to him. For your seeking and your diligence of heart to hear and move in God alone and your development, the growth of your capacity in hearing the voice of the Shepherd, the One who says that all His sheep hear His voice, He will strengthen you to hear Him even more, and the Lord will deliver you from the voice and assaults of the enemy as you seek His face and His presence.

The enemy will try all ways and means to obscure God’s revelatory light for this is most harmful to his kingdom when God’s people learn to move in God’s light and word and power. We need to be holy to walk in the holy light of God. To do works of justice, righteousness powered by God’s presence and grace to sustain the walk in God’s presence and to overcome the evil one. We overcome simply by being full of the Spirit, the voice of God and obeying what the Spirit of God says though practice.

How much do we value the presence of God?

Let us beware of the words we speak, speak God’s life and do not speak death. For your words will affect your mind and receptivity to God’s presence and voice. Let us take up the cross and die to all our distractions for to live in the Holy of Holies is a worthy and noble aim and goal, to die to facebook and to all the internet’s distractions in order that you may learn to hear God and wait and worship in His presence, this is a worthy Goal, that God may have a people who are led by His voice and presence alone. To become a people who manifest the works of His power in every place.

Matthew 5  19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e] destroy and where thievesbreak in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye (the focus of the heart) is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye (heart focus) is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but ifyour eye (Heart focus) is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

To seek God and have Him possess our hearts is indeed is better treasure than the fleeting assurances that the world gives.


The tiredness of the people, the spirit of restless searching and their need for God’s rest.

The need for Rest – God’s people are tired, in need of refreshment, in acute need for their joy to be renewed. Turn to His presence. The Lord will never leave us, nor forsake us. His presence is as springs of water in a desert place. Investing time on God’s presence is a better investment than any time we can spend on any other thing. Spend time in prayer. Read God’s word as He directs and focuses your attention on what He wants us to read. Let Him give you understanding and wisdom in the scriptures. Learning to hear God’s voice in reading the scriptures is pleasurable and strengthening. God’s presence is refreshing to our tiredness. It will renew our strength and joy and satisfy the restless searching in our hearts. (Psalm 63)

For what you are really searching for in all your restless searching, is really for God Himself. This is the reason for your restlessness of spirit for it is the searching of your human spirit to be found in Him. It is His light and voice that you search for, to be enfolded by Your Father in the secret place enfolded in His wings, where no harm can befall you. He will not cast you aside but take You into His arms over and over. Mighty love and grace belong to Him. Your joy and vision will be renewed.

The restless searching spirit is a symptom of spiritual hunger, our restlessness is many times the drawing of the Spirit of the Father to His beloved to come to Him for there are treasures in God’s embrace.
 

God’s wisdom many times looks foolish

Remember -God’s wisdom  and power many times looks to the world like foolishness and weakness. How can prayer solve my problems? In the worlds eyes it is a foolish way to spend much time in prayer but it is God’s way, and it is mighty for the ‘effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much’ both in heaven and on earth. In the spiritual realms, there is something at work for our blessing.

Remember the prophet Samuel was mighty because he only dwelt in God’s presence, that place where His glory dwells. Joseph was mighty in prison because He learnt to walk in God’s presence while in adverse circumstances. Do not give up the quest to walk in His presence alone. Remember, Joshua was mighty in battle because He listened and obeyed the specific instructions of God alone, and he learnt to exclude doing anything else which was not God’s idea.

If we do not do this, the consequence will be severe – a church not led by God’s wisdom, power and voice, not led by God Himself, but the works, wisdom, plans and strength of man’s flesh.

Jeremiah 17:5 
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
 and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. 
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
 in an uninhabited salt land.
7 
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
8 
He is like a tree planted by water,
 that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;
 who can understand it?
10 
“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

His presence will wash you, cleanse you and make you ready to walk in the timing and seasons of God. For the things which God desires to come to pass will require much dependence on God. Let us become a people of God with strong  continual testimonies of God’s leading, presence and action in our lives!