Sorry, a further interruption to my series on the secret place of prayer - but also a very good mediation! Please comment and/or email me!
In all four of the gospels, Jesus speaks about the breaking and multiplication of bread – Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6. After that miracle, there was a discussion between Jesus and the disciples. In Mark 6:52, after Jesus walked on the water, and the disciples were surprised and astonished, Mark says they did not understand the miracle of the bread, because their hearts were hard. I had no idea why Mark says this here, but I found out!
In Mark 8, there is another multiplication. After that, Jesus talked to the Pharisees, who asked Him for a sign. Jesus said to them there would be no sign for their generation. He then goes in the boat again, and the disciples have forgotten to take bread. Jesus tells them to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. He is referring to the leaven of religion and to the leaven of politics. But the disciples thought he was merely talking about leaven because they’d forgotten to take bread. Jesus says to this, why are their hearts so hard? Had they no intelligence to understand, no eyes to see? Had they no memory that He could multiply bread whenever He chose? “How many baskets did you take up”, He asked them. They told him, “Twelve and seven.” And He marveled that they did not understand!
It is the same today in the church, where there are even sometimes miracles: these miracles change the situation of the people, but do not change their hearts. We see that miracles were done by Jesus in His day to reveal that the people’s hearts were hard. The manna God gave Israel in the desert was for sustenance, but only under the rules - they could take only enough for one day, except before the Sabbath. If they took more than was allowed, it rotted and was ruined. Today it is like this again, the church is making more than it needs to – and forgetting the essential things. It’s manufacturing doctrine and providing dances and parties and programs – even yoga and tai chi classes! but not the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
In the temple service, Moses directed the priests to put twelve fresh loaves on the altar daily, representing the twelve tribes. This was the bread of the Presence of God, and only the priests could eat it. They were to break this bread at the proper time, eat it, and then preach to the people. It was just the broken bread from God’s Presence, but not the actual Bread of Heaven. Today many preachers do this – they study and arrange, and put their preaching in order, and preach to the people, but this is just the bread of the presence, not the bread of Life. I did this too, and was surprised when there was so little change in people.
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The "Secret Place" of Prayer
Chapter 7 - AMENDED! - REVELATION OF THE “WORD OF MY PATIENCE”
This phrase is found in Revelation 3:10, from the message to the church at Philadelphia, which says, “Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
What does the angel mean by this? I found the answer in Hebrews 6:13 –15:
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he [Abraham] had patiently endured, he obtained the promise”
Notice in verse 15 it says AFTER HE HAD PATIENTLY ENDURED, he obtained the promise. This does not refer to Abraham’s patience. Human patience produces mostly frustration. “The word of my patience” is not this at all. We confuse this with our patience. In II Peter 1:6, we see we must add to our faith, patience. Again, it is not our patience he is referring to! He is referring to the patience of God, that we need to add to our faith. The angel in Revelation is also speaking of the Word of GOD’s patience.
When God speaks and gives a promise, He is creating something. This creation comes to us by the Word of His promise. Into the promise He puts the Word of His Patience, also This is to teach us the invisible promise already IS. This is not the patience of Abraham, but the Word of God teaching Abraham that it was fulfilled, though he could not yet see it. God was making Abraham see that what was created in the invisible already existed, and to do this God knew Abraham needed the Word of His Patience.
In Hebrews 11:17, we see that after Abraham received the first part of promise, Isaac, he was tested. Now he needed the Word of God’s patience even more! The second part of the promise, a lot of descendants, also contained a test. This verse talks of Abraham offering Isaac by faith, after the first part of the promise had been fulfilled that he, Isaac, existed. Now, Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac, despite the rest of the promise, that of his having descendants, through Isaac, greater than the sand of the sea. Abraham had received and kept the Word of God’s patience, and Isaac was there. Now, though, he was asked, having received the promise, to give it back. How could this be, given the rest of the promise? But Abraham, having kept the word of God’s patience, understood through it, that God would be able and WOULD fulfill His promise no matter what. As always, God was revealing something about Himself to Abraham, and to us. He was revealing what He would do in Jesus long after. Jesus is the real son of the promise, which Paul makes clear. God was showing Abraham the patience He was exhibiting to us, in that He was willing to withhold His Hand for all those long years, and endure our sin and stubbornness and disobedience, because He knew He would supply the answer to all our needs – Jesus and the resurrection. In Isaac would Abraham’s seed be called – therefore, Isaac would have to exist. Abraham was being shown the resurrection plan of God before the prophets had even drawn breath.
Because every promise of God is accomplished, but we cannot see it, we must have and keep the Word of God’s patience. Once we have a promise, we need it even more. In Psalms 105:19 it says of Joseph that until his word came, the Word of the Lord tried him. This means that until the time was fulfilled for Joseph’s prophecy to come true, Joseph was tried. So will we be.
Christians must be like Abraham. Abraham received the promise, and believed until Isaac was born; after that he had to believe even more, when Isaac was asked of him. Once we receive Jesus, we must believe even more. Once you receive salvation, you must give your life.
I have seen that people today are not like this. They have received their first promise: salvation, but then they don’t continue in it. Peter talks about this – II Peter 3:3-4 says that in the last days people will say, essentially, “Where is He? Why isn’t He coming?”
Take the example of the gifts of the Spirit and its fruit. Once I believe and receive salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I may receive one or many gifts: tongues, healing, prophecy, etc. However, I am to bear the fruit of the Spirit also, the first of which is Love. Paul makes clear that I can speak with tongues as of angels, but if I have no Love, it is nothing. Once I have the gifts of the Spirit, I must move on to the fruit of the Spirit. I can only do this by keeping the Word of God’s patience that says He will complete the work He has begun in me – growing me into the image of Jesus. If I don’t do this – if I try to use MY patience, I will surely give up and never receive the fulfillment of the promise.
In Exodus 19, the Israelites in the desert made this mistake over and over and none of them but Joshua and Caleb ever went to the promised land. They saw the power and glory of God daily, they were saved by the blood in the Passover, they went through a baptism of water and the spirit, walking through the Red Sea and dancing in the Spirit after they were freed. They were lead by the Pillar of Fire – the presence of God Himself. They received manna from Heaven and complained they had no meat! They received prophecy and healing – and what did they do? Miriam and others fell from pride, claiming they needn’t listen to Moses as they had all received the Spirit, and making a idol out of the snake after they received healing! Is this not a picture of the church today? They cannot keep the Word of God’s patience, and when they appear not to receive their request, they decide God has told them “no”. When they don’t experience the power of God, they console themselves with ritual. When they have no fruit of the Spirit, they create an idol! They take an interpretation and change it into a dogma. Take for example the trinity – the Bible only ever says of God that He is ONE. Never does it say that He is Three in One or One in Three.
Back in Revelation, the angel mentions keeping the Philadelphia church from the hour of temptation that will come on the world. What temptation is this? Where can we find it? In the Garden. Eve is a figure of the church; she was tried, and not having the Word of God’s patience, she fell. Peter says of course that when we add to our faith, patience, we will never fall. Eve surely did. Adam was not tempted by Satan, but by Eve’s doctrine. She brought to him the wrong message and he accepted it, though he knew what God had said! What temptation do we see today? The same one- human reasoning. “Where is He? He said He was coming.” Just like Eve: if I eat this, I’ll be wise! I’ll be like God! In Romans 2:4, Paul says this kind of thinking leads people to be foolish enough to despise God’s patience, which Peter says is for our benefit and not to be despised as slackness. God showed me that the church, like Eve, is giving people the wrong message and drawing them away from the Word of God. Each one seems to outstrip the others in offering programs – to give people a reason to come to “their” church! This is a coming temptation that if it were possible, would fool even the elect. We need to resist this temptation – this taking an interpretation for doctrine. We must repent, keep to the doctrine of the prophets and Apostles -- to the Word of God, and to the Word of His patience, and we will not fall.
This phrase is found in Revelation 3:10, from the message to the church at Philadelphia, which says, “Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
What does the angel mean by this? I found the answer in Hebrews 6:13 –15:
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he [Abraham] had patiently endured, he obtained the promise”
Notice in verse 15 it says AFTER HE HAD PATIENTLY ENDURED, he obtained the promise. This does not refer to Abraham’s patience. Human patience produces mostly frustration. “The word of my patience” is not this at all. We confuse this with our patience. In II Peter 1:6, we see we must add to our faith, patience. Again, it is not our patience he is referring to! He is referring to the patience of God, that we need to add to our faith. The angel in Revelation is also speaking of the Word of GOD’s patience.
When God speaks and gives a promise, He is creating something. This creation comes to us by the Word of His promise. Into the promise He puts the Word of His Patience, also This is to teach us the invisible promise already IS. This is not the patience of Abraham, but the Word of God teaching Abraham that it was fulfilled, though he could not yet see it. God was making Abraham see that what was created in the invisible already existed, and to do this God knew Abraham needed the Word of His Patience.
In Hebrews 11:17, we see that after Abraham received the first part of promise, Isaac, he was tested. Now he needed the Word of God’s patience even more! The second part of the promise, a lot of descendants, also contained a test. This verse talks of Abraham offering Isaac by faith, after the first part of the promise had been fulfilled that he, Isaac, existed. Now, Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac, despite the rest of the promise, that of his having descendants, through Isaac, greater than the sand of the sea. Abraham had received and kept the Word of God’s patience, and Isaac was there. Now, though, he was asked, having received the promise, to give it back. How could this be, given the rest of the promise? But Abraham, having kept the word of God’s patience, understood through it, that God would be able and WOULD fulfill His promise no matter what. As always, God was revealing something about Himself to Abraham, and to us. He was revealing what He would do in Jesus long after. Jesus is the real son of the promise, which Paul makes clear. God was showing Abraham the patience He was exhibiting to us, in that He was willing to withhold His Hand for all those long years, and endure our sin and stubbornness and disobedience, because He knew He would supply the answer to all our needs – Jesus and the resurrection. In Isaac would Abraham’s seed be called – therefore, Isaac would have to exist. Abraham was being shown the resurrection plan of God before the prophets had even drawn breath.
Because every promise of God is accomplished, but we cannot see it, we must have and keep the Word of God’s patience. Once we have a promise, we need it even more. In Psalms 105:19 it says of Joseph that until his word came, the Word of the Lord tried him. This means that until the time was fulfilled for Joseph’s prophecy to come true, Joseph was tried. So will we be.
Christians must be like Abraham. Abraham received the promise, and believed until Isaac was born; after that he had to believe even more, when Isaac was asked of him. Once we receive Jesus, we must believe even more. Once you receive salvation, you must give your life.
I have seen that people today are not like this. They have received their first promise: salvation, but then they don’t continue in it. Peter talks about this – II Peter 3:3-4 says that in the last days people will say, essentially, “Where is He? Why isn’t He coming?”
Take the example of the gifts of the Spirit and its fruit. Once I believe and receive salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I may receive one or many gifts: tongues, healing, prophecy, etc. However, I am to bear the fruit of the Spirit also, the first of which is Love. Paul makes clear that I can speak with tongues as of angels, but if I have no Love, it is nothing. Once I have the gifts of the Spirit, I must move on to the fruit of the Spirit. I can only do this by keeping the Word of God’s patience that says He will complete the work He has begun in me – growing me into the image of Jesus. If I don’t do this – if I try to use MY patience, I will surely give up and never receive the fulfillment of the promise.
In Exodus 19, the Israelites in the desert made this mistake over and over and none of them but Joshua and Caleb ever went to the promised land. They saw the power and glory of God daily, they were saved by the blood in the Passover, they went through a baptism of water and the spirit, walking through the Red Sea and dancing in the Spirit after they were freed. They were lead by the Pillar of Fire – the presence of God Himself. They received manna from Heaven and complained they had no meat! They received prophecy and healing – and what did they do? Miriam and others fell from pride, claiming they needn’t listen to Moses as they had all received the Spirit, and making a idol out of the snake after they received healing! Is this not a picture of the church today? They cannot keep the Word of God’s patience, and when they appear not to receive their request, they decide God has told them “no”. When they don’t experience the power of God, they console themselves with ritual. When they have no fruit of the Spirit, they create an idol! They take an interpretation and change it into a dogma. Take for example the trinity – the Bible only ever says of God that He is ONE. Never does it say that He is Three in One or One in Three.
Back in Revelation, the angel mentions keeping the Philadelphia church from the hour of temptation that will come on the world. What temptation is this? Where can we find it? In the Garden. Eve is a figure of the church; she was tried, and not having the Word of God’s patience, she fell. Peter says of course that when we add to our faith, patience, we will never fall. Eve surely did. Adam was not tempted by Satan, but by Eve’s doctrine. She brought to him the wrong message and he accepted it, though he knew what God had said! What temptation do we see today? The same one- human reasoning. “Where is He? He said He was coming.” Just like Eve: if I eat this, I’ll be wise! I’ll be like God! In Romans 2:4, Paul says this kind of thinking leads people to be foolish enough to despise God’s patience, which Peter says is for our benefit and not to be despised as slackness. God showed me that the church, like Eve, is giving people the wrong message and drawing them away from the Word of God. Each one seems to outstrip the others in offering programs – to give people a reason to come to “their” church! This is a coming temptation that if it were possible, would fool even the elect. We need to resist this temptation – this taking an interpretation for doctrine. We must repent, keep to the doctrine of the prophets and Apostles -- to the Word of God, and to the Word of His patience, and we will not fall.
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