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Dealing with Delay God’s Way

This study reveals Five Encounters we should expect while we wait for the Second Coming of Jesus! In addition, several disciplines are uncovered to make the most of seasons of delay before fulfillment of God’s promises.

Dealing With Delay

48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising God.

Luke 24:48-53

The church world has been quarantined by respective governments into a kind of “upper room”  for the past several months due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Worldwide individuals, families, entire cities and nations have been ordered by their government to ‘shelter-in-place’ until this plague passes over us. I do not want to discuss the rightness or the wrongness of these government edicts. However, it has brought to the surface how human nature responds to DELAY and or DENIAL.

The Resurrected Lord Jesus after 40 days of appearing to His followers presenting proof that He was IN FACT risen from the dead. He ate bread and fish with His disciples. He showed up at their workplaces. He walked through locked doors to allow them to touch His wounds with their very own hands, in order to burn the fog of doubt away.  His primary focused message continued to be the kingdom of God. 

 In the end, He leads them from the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha to somewhere outside of Bethany on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Before He ascends, He commands them to preach the Gospel of the cross and the resurrection as the means of redemption and forgiveness to all nations of the earth.  The chief focus of the church was to “GO” and make disciples and model obedience for others to follow the example of Yeshua, Messiah Jesus. But first, they must “STAY” or ‘wait’ in Jerusalem for the promised power of the Holy Spirit to “clothe” them BEFORE they GO into the world to preach the gospel.

You may have heard it said, “ I hope it’s worth the wait?” I myself have murmured the cliche under the cloud of disappointment, “Delay is not denial.” I believe the opposite can be true, “Denial can cause unnecessary delay or even a detour.” I have been on several, shall I say, “deployments” or “tours of duty” forged in the fires of denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As soldiers, earning our stripes in the army of God is often found on the battlefield we thought we would never fight upon.  Fortunately, the Apostles taught that our ‘denials’ can become the very setting of new vista’s or horizons of humility,love,and purpose to glorify God and help strengthen others …thank you Peter…thank you John Mark…thank you Abraham and Jacob…etc.! 

Never  forget God’s “NO” is as important to your future as God’s “YES”! How we deal with the “no” often determines the depth of our maturity in the ways of God.  

As we reflect on and celebrate the Ascension of Jesus Christ to “sit down at the right hand of the Father” and the corresponding outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, let us receive afresh into our spirits the value of WAITING on the Lord while He fulfills His promises in His time!

What are you “waiting for”? The perfect soul-mate”? The job that will best tap into your potential?  Graduation? Retirement? The stock market to raise or fall? A much needed raise? Test results? Surgery? Vindication of your actions or words? Someone to fail? To be noticed, valued and included? 

The list could go on and on…….

Read the following familiar Ascension passages of Scripture (perhaps in a different translation or paraphrase) and ask the Holy Spirit to “open your eyes to behold wonderful things in Thy law” (Ps.119).

The Victory of Jesus Christ and His subsequent Ascension creates a path of life to encounter His Presence in 5 special ways!!!!!

 I have listed a quick focus of each passage to serve as lens to look through to gain insight:

  1. Mark 16:14-20: POWER-ENCOUNTER; The Power-encounter that flows from the Finished Work of Christ on the Cross…”he sat down at the right hand of God”…preach, heal and deliver!

  2. Matthew 28:16-20: TRUTH-ENCOUNTER; The Command  to “Go” make disciples…teach…no need to wait because all authority and power have already been given to Jesus. 

  3. Luke 24:50-53: SPIRIT-ENCOUNTER; the command to WAIT for the power of the Holy Spirit…the atmosphere of joy and celebration

  4. Acts 1: COMMUNITY-ENCOUNTER; The blessing of unity, corporate prayer and biblical study.

  5. Ephesians 4:7-16: GIFTS-ENCOUNTER; The release of gifted ministries to bring the body of Christ into maturity and full productivity.

Next, I have listed below several truths gleaned from the Gospel accounts and some relevant Biblical narratives which underscore how we can ‘deal with delay or denial’ in healthy fashion.   

Like a new shirt or pair of pants, try them on to see if you find God’s power for the job he has for you to do!

  • Realize & Embrace Quarantines as a Necessity: The premiere example is God quarantined the Israelites under the blood of the Passover Lamb to their homes in Egypt the night the death angel struck the firstborn of Egypt (Ex.12:12-13).  The future promise is we will be saved from the wrath of God to come having been justified by the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:9).  We may go through the judgements of God but we will be saved from the wrath of God. The Laws of Leprosy in Leviticus teaches the need to quarantine houses or garments of linen and leather for 7 days to determine the nature of the uncleanness (Lev.13-14). Personally, I believe this Covid-19 pandemic was a critical opportunity to shelter-in-place to allow God to cleanse us from doubt, fear and sluggishness. It is time to awake from our slumber!

  • What Looks Like an Ending, is a Beginning: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven”(Acts 1:11)  WOW or shall we say, “woe”? Is this comedic or a warning? If we are not careful what appears to be an ‘end’ can freeze us in place.  We can become stuck by the gravity of what just happened to us or someone around us. Whatever it seems like we lost becomes an obsession to try and figure out what just happened. It takes two angels or messengers from God to break the bewildered gaze of the dumbfounded “men of Galilee”. The simple message that broke the stalemate between the First and Second Coming of Jesus Christ was the truth that the way things begin is often a clue to how things will end. Jesus will come again in glory to the Mount of Olives just as He departed to heaven from the Mount Olives. If we are not careful our Eschatological longings can paralyze us from moving forward into fulfilling His commands to apply His finished work to an unfinished world! The Ascension was the necessary completion of His work on Earth, in order to begin His ministry from heaven on earth. We now are seated together with Him in heavenly places far above all rule and authority. 

  • Stick to the Primary Sources as the Foundation of Your Message: Preach the word of God gleaned from Scripture no matter what is going on. Preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, buried, raised, ascended and coming again! The entire counsel of God is found in the Scripture and we can address any human predicament from sound biblical study and application (2 Tim.2:15;3:15-18).

  • Waiting in Worship: The discipline of waiting is the ascent of the soul to God. The prophet Isaiah makes it very clear that ‘waiting’ releases ‘strengthening’… “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isa.40:31).  This language used by Luke in Acts 1 is both intimate and forceful. Jesus, face-to-face COMMANDED His disciples to wait in Jerusalem. Conversely, waiting on the Lord is the means by which God descends to the individual and community. Thus, in this vortex of ascending and descending the promises of God are fulfilled in perfect harmony with power. 

 4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The prohibition, “do not leave Jerusalem” is as important as the commission to “Go” into all the world. A mere 10 days of waiting produced years, centuries and millenniums of victorious power! How we wait has great bearing on the nature of how we perform for the glory of God!

  • Aim Small, Miss Small: This is used to train someone to shoot a gun at long ranges. Jesus gave a very  specific target to His disciples while they waited, “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The focus was to get powered up by the Holy Spirit. During delays to the fulfillment of God’s promises to you…pick one area and draw a circle around it and wait on God to supply you with the power to do that work. HE WANTS TO POSSESS YOU WITH HIS PROMISE BEFORE YOU POSSESS YOUR PROMISED LAND OF PURPOSE! God wants to reach you before He reaches the world around you!What are you expecting will determine your level of faith, hope, love and joy! False expectations will fuel disappointment, unhealthy stress and debilitating depression. 

  • Receive Strategic Provision & Vision: Delay can often bring into focus tactical strategy along with the needed resources.  

“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

A seasoned elderly prophetic brother recently came up to me at a home group meeting and said, “Jeff this delay has been used by the Lord to develop new skill sets and tools for the ministry which has been entrusted to you.”  Amen…I received that word of encouragement! Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, essentially said “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply!” 

  • Be Aware of the False Narrative: This is the opposite of priming the pump of your primary sources of the Scriptures, the Saints and the Savoir. Unplug yourself from the false narrative or at least critically discern what you listen to , watch and read. Matthew 28:11-15 reveals a ‘fake news’ that was pushed by the Jerusalem Post which was driven by the Jewish religious leaders in bed with the Romans to squash the true narrative of the Resurrection of Yeshua.  Follow the money and you will find the source. In this day and hour, the Church of Jesus Christ must be thoroughly immersed in sound biblical truth and the true person and work of the Holy Spirit. We must stand united with a singular message to proclaim the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Disinformation during delay can spread like a coronavirus and create strongholds of fear and unbelief in individuals, families and entire people groups. 

  • The Centrality of the Scripture to Track the Wind of the Spirit..”This is That”: When the promise of the Father was given to the 120 disciples in the upper room Peter took the lead and quoted the prophet Joel. 

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Friends in Christ, these days demand that we be mighty in the Scripture and mighty in the Spirit. There is a desperate need aptitude to be able to rightly divide the word of God and wield the sword of the Spirit. When we are immersed in biblical study and meditation we will be able to better walk in the Spirit, speak with the inspiration of the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, sing in the Spirit, flow in the gifts of the Spirit and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. True Pentecostal power is demonstrated in supernatural communication, supernatural character, supernatural signs and wonders and a supernatural harvest of new followers to the cause of Jesus Christ.

Maybe you will enjoy this song!!!!   David Ruis, Every Move I Make

The General Of Joy!

Discover the rich texture, the power and purpose of the Joy of the Lord!

The General of Joy!

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I am writing from a hotel bed tucked beneath the shadow of MD Anderson Cancer Institute in Houston, Texas. MDA has been my home away from home for the past 2-3 years. I have lost count how many surgeries I have had in the past two years. Tomorrow I face a 2nd major surgery in the past 6 months to remove another piece of my outward man or “tent”. 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 shouts through the corridors of our frail bodies, 

5 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,

I am learning that weakness, pain and suffering are master-teachers to point us toward eternal priorities and purposes.  More often than not, ‘removal is the harbinger of renewal’.  The new covenant of grace in Jesus Christ’s broken body and sacrificial blood made a way for our “heart of stone” to be removed to be replaced with a new heart upon which the laws of God could be written!  Jesus announced we must “lose our life” for the sake of the gospel in order to gain our life…LOSE to GAIN!

Somewhere in the midst of “my groaning” I have discovered the proverbial tip of the iceberg of the joy of the Lord!  What say you? How does groaning and joy  square up? Well for starters, Jesus, in Gethsemane, cried out in agony to the one who was able to bring Him through death to resurrection (Heb.5:7) In fact, Jesus CONSIDERED THE CROSS OF SUFFERING A NECESSARY BRIDGE TO RUN ACROSS TO WIN THE CROWN OF ETERNAL JOY (Heb.12:1-3)! 

YOU and I are the Crowning achievement of His Joy!!!! PURE Joy is forged in the fires 🔥 of obedience to the will of God not the will or lusts of the flesh! Godly desires lead to godly fires which produce the fruit godly pleasures!

Eric Liddell, English Olympian gold medalist and missionary to China, said, “when I run I feel the pleasure of God!” Joy is not characterized by a sedentary life, but rather, a strategic intentional activated pursuit of the will of God for His glory!

Biblically and etymologically…Joy and Gladness are not identical twins but fraternal. What do you mean SwimmingMonk?  Well I mean they are very similar but completely different too…Koine Greek synonyms!  They are both born of the Holy Spirit and they often work hand in hand to express our deepest spiritual yearnings and achievements. Gladness” (AGALLIASIS) and “joy”(CHARA) are found both coupled with and independent in Scripture:

  • Luke 1:14,44: The father of John the Baptist, Zacharias was told he would experience both “joy (chara) and gladness (agalliasis)” through his son.  John “lept for joy” in the womb of Elizabeth when she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Children rejoice when their parents are continually being filled with the Holy Spirit!

  • Luke 10:21: Jesus openly CELEBRATES (agalliasis) in the Holy Spirit because the 70 disciples return in JOY (CHARA) from their victorious internship. He tells them to “rejoice” (CHAIRO) and maintain proper perspective because it is more important that their names are “written in the heavens.” Satan, fallen angels, deliverances and demons are not to be the primary focus, but rather, the work of salvation revealed by the Father to His children (Gk., neipios; the trusting simple childlike-faith). Perhaps, we run amuck when we pay more attention to the enemy of souls rather than the Chief Shepherd-Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).

  • Acts 2:46: The early church lived in an atmosphere of “gladness (agalliasis) and sincerity” in the presence of the Risen Jesus Messiah.

  • Hebrews 1:9: The Son of God was anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit with “gladness” (agalliasis) above his fellow Israelites because he loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. 

  • Jude 1:24: Futuristically, Christians will stand in the presence of the glory of God with great joy or gladness (agalliasis).

  • Romans 14:17: The kingdom of joy is third in a trifecta with righteousness and peace. You can’t have true joy without righteousness and peace in the Holy Spirit. Jehovah is our righteousness, Jehovah is our Peace and Jehovah is our joy!

Therefore, “gladness”, is exuberant joy or extreme joy….outward CELEBRATION. Gladness is joy that is manifested in bodily outbursts  of shouting, leaping, singing, praying and dancing. Gladness is joy that has tasted victory in the now and explodes with exuberance.  However, JOY Is the deep well from which GLADNESS like a bucket is filled to brought to the service for all to see!  JOY is the Greek word CHARA from which the word CHARA-CTER may derive. Joy is a critical foundational stone of character. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit of love. JOY is the abiding known presence of God in the believer which enables them to trust God in the midst of trials and tribulations. JOY also springs forth from a  deeper source which is GRACE (CHAR-IS).  We can REJOICE AlWAYS because GRACE is God’s presence in us influencing our heart to trust Him in full-spectrum of human experience.

Scholars agree that GRACE (Charis), JOY (Chara) and REJOICE (CHAIRO) are cognates. All three are rooted in the soil of God’s favorable disposition toward His chosen people. They are like fraternal triplets that all are blood related but distinct! We are born of the Spirit of God and we are partakers of the divine nature through the precious blood of Jesus Messiah.

Thus, the God of all grace gives us all joy so we can rejoice in all His ways!

JOY IS THE RECOGNITION OF THE FAVOR OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF ALL THINGS!!! JOY IS BOTH A PRESENT AND FUTURE POSSESSION! JOY RELEASES THE POWER OF GOD TO DO HIS WORK!

SELAH…click on this link below and sing along …I’m Trading My Sorrows!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsfwvpcQhY&feature=share

James 1:2-3 is the lightning rod that attracts the power of JOY to fulfill the yearning of Jesus Himself who prayed (John 15:11) , “that My joy may be in you, and that your joy might be made full!” One of the many ways He fills us with His joy is THROUGH TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS. 

What exactly is The JOY JESUS is talking about? JOY is the fruit of the Resurrection in the believers life by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Biblically, true joy is to be found fully and only in the PRESENCE OF THE LORD! “All Joy” for James, is not whimsical feelings that fluctuate with changes in circumstances.  Joy is a steady RIVER bending and flowing in all seasons. JOY is steady resolve and deep strength within the human spirit. JOY IS A RIVER IN THE DESERT! JOY IS THE WELL OF SALVATION! CREATE IN US A CLEAN HEART AND RESTORE UNTO US THE JOY OF OUR SALVATION!

The chief goal of man is to “glorify God and enJOY Him forever”. We can practice HIs presence now, we don’t have to wait until we are fully redeemed and are clothed with immortality in likeness of His resurrection body.  The Chief Purpose of man is to be “conformed to likeness of His Son”.  Don’t confuse the goal with the purpose. The Goal keeps us going when we don’t know how to pray, when we don’t understand, when all seems lost and beyond hope.  The PURPOSE enables us to embrace the necessary means to achieve the GOAL. The means are often pressure and various pains and problems.

Some final thoughts:

GENERAL GEORGE PATTON

  • FOLLOW THE GENERAL OF JOY(James 1:2-3): By “General” I mean the position one holds in the military…like a “4-star General”.  Joy is like a General we must follow into our battles.  James, the Lord’s brother, is declaring when you are “surrounded all around “ by tests and temptations you need let  the JOY OF THE LORD lead you!  The idea behind the word “consider” (James 1:2) means to pay tribute to a dignitary who has come into your presence. “Consider” in this passage COMMANDS the Christian to ‘yield the floor to joy’ as the principle leader in the midst of your trials and tribulations.  Esteem joy and it will lead you into a victorious attitude.  Why should we yield to joy and allow it to lead us? The answers are found immediately following the call to “consider it all joy, brethren…”

  1. TRUST: The trial you are in will prove the trustworthy character of God. Your faith in God will be strengthened.  Variegated Tests and Temptations are sides of the side coin. The temptation is often tin the test. God tests us to bring forward the best in us. Temptations are never directed by God but are used by the enemy to bring out the worst in us. God allowed both Job and Peter to be tested in different ways but both tests proved the faithfulness of God and purified their faith. Jesus literally prayed for Peter that his “faith would not fail” though he himself did deny His Lord. 

  2. ENDURANCE: Stamina will be increased in order to love others more.  Love “endures” all things (1 Cor.13). The end times demand that our hearts have an enduring love to deal with the fear that will be unleashed on humanity.  Jesus “endured” the cross in love so “JOY” could be released in salvation by grace. Do not push eject, but fully surrender to the endurance found in Jesus Christ.

  3. MATURITY & WHOLENESS:  Growing up in Christ is to become like Messiah Jesus!  Unfortunately there are no pills,short-cuts,self-improvement gadgets that can supplant the need for endurance.  Endurance must grow in us to pave the way for mature character. I at time default to childishness, demanding an early exit from life’s trials.  However, I am learning that staying under the pressure is what produces the desired result. My wife of 36 years is one of the most MATURE people I know, as she has had to endure me.  She has demonstrated the grace and truth of Jesus in such a JOYFUL manner it has often broken down my pride and led me to humility and God’s grace time and time again. DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN BE MATURE BUT NOT WHOLE? Joy leads us to both maturity and usefulness. James says, “trials” produce endurance, maturity and wholeness or fruitfulness.  Why did Jesus curse the barren fig-tree? I think it was because it was mature but fruitless…ouch!  Oh friends, may our later years be more glorious, and more fruitful producing greater works than when we first believed.  May the glory of the latter house be greater than the glory of the former!

  1. FULL-TIME SUFFICIENCY:     James ends the chain-reaction of the leadership of JOY with the caboose of HIS SUFFICIENCY in us for every good work…you and I will fall behind in nothing.  I see it this way…not only will I never lose, I will be enabled to help anyone keep pace with the Holy Spirit of JOY to finish their race with a TRIUMPHANT SHOUT OF JOY , “IT IS FINISHED”! 

FINISH STRONG!

The Tables are Turning!

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. -Psalm 23:5

The word of the Lord is “I’m preparing Tables to host my Manifest Presence all over the Earth. First, I am restoring First Love, the devotion marked by freedom from other loves. I am knocking at the door of the hearts of My people. Are they willing to open this door and let me in , to correct, to commune with them at the table of the heart, to cleanse them and transition them to a new wineskin, ready for the outpouring of My Spirit of power and love (Rev. 3:19, 20)? I have greater works for you to do, but you must allow your heart, your homes, your churches to be extubated. You have been intubated with the mechanical patterns and methodoligies of the world ventilator. My people need to recover the breath of foreknowledge, predestination and adoption by My Spirit (Rom.8:15,29; Eph.1:3-4) to pray in the Spirit, sing in the Spirit, speak the oracles of God and serve with the strength supplied only by My Spirit (1 Pet.4:10-11). My Spirit blows and breathes as it wills with resurrection life and peace. You need to learn again to pray, sing and worship afresh on your own, not by the programs and liturgy of your inadequate services. Your conferences and stadium approach is a fading glory, only to be replaced with the glory of God mediated by My Spirit in your heart, your homes and all places you gather to wait on me for power and love to reap the harvest that is ready.  My people will neither travel to Bethel or Gilgal or Beersheba to find me and return to a former glory (Amos 5:5). I am tipping over the tables for profit in the house of My people. No longer will ministry be a business venture but a holy adventure led by My Spirit and provisioned in My way (James 4:13-17). I have new instruments of music to play, new sermons to release, and I am releasing a fresh oil of anointing upon those who love righteousness and hate wickedness (Amos 5:21-25). The bread in my house is stale and leavened. Now is time to sanctify your hearts in truth and grace and behold My glory. Like the home of Obed-edom who hosted the Ark of the Covenant for 3 months before it was brought to rest in the Tabernacle of David, so I will bless those who have searched Me out and My ways to restore My glory to the people of God (2 Sam.6:7) I have sequestered Myself to the homes of My people to bring them back in their hearts to Me and Me alone. I require My people to remove all forms of idolatry. Some of you have adopted the ways of the Philistines to usher in My Presence, you must learn how to carry my Presence upon your shoulders in priestly teams not individual anointings. I belong in the temple of My People not the Temple of Dagon. My people must fall before Me in this hour. Do not crossover to find success in the world system and stage, rather seek to be hid in Me in humility and I will lift you up in due season and My reward is with Me. Wake up and smell the incense of the prayers of My Spirit and be quickened into the Holy of Holies.  The greatness and glory of this next awakening will be release in silent obedience not sizzling pompous sacrifices. I am the Lord who heals you. I am healing your heart, your lungs and your loins that you might sit, walk, and stand in this evil day that will will be triumphed over by goodness. I am getting ready to shout, but first I require rest, repentance, quietness and trust, are you willing (Isaiah 30:15; Amos 5:13)” (Submitted to be judged for truth and accuracy by the standard of Scripture and leaders of the church)

During the pandemic, the centrality of the family  “table” has come back into focus. The Lost Ark of the Covenant, may have  been carried back into the kitchen or dining room for you…maybe not. Perhaps,  the kitchen table, typically either a dumping ground or a neglected piece of furniture,  has been cleared of mail, projects, bills, homework and random stuff. Perhaps, the “table” has once again become an unhurried  regular place to gather FACE to FACE to eat and spend time with our families….I mean where do we have to be? Rarely told or never heard of Old stories laced with humor, some with sorrow and a bit of exaggeration are being  spun daily under Covid-19 “house arrest”. For many of us, we have had to face each other again in a cloistered environment , but maybe we have discovered how much we truly care and value one another…For some, you never Lost the Ark, the family altar, or your personal altar, we need you to train us in this lost art of Holy Communion with the Saints and the Savior!

Like Israel in Egypt, we gather under the blood of the Lamb to eat a meal together and prepare for our departure from this world to worship and serve  Him alone who is worthy for all eternity!

I believe one of many things that the Lord is doing in this season of being captive, under “house-arrest” if you will…the importance of the Table is being reintroduced to many of us who have neglected this crucial piece of furniture in our homes, in our churches and in our hearts. 

As we sit at the Tables of the Lord, are we truly going “face-to-face” with the awesome Presence of God in Jesus Christ? Are we having “eye-to-eye” conversations that penetrate our heart and soul by allowing the Holy Spirit to search us and know us?  Or are we flipping through the pages of Scripture with flippancy, to simply get “our readings” in for the day? Are we plugged-in to the heart of Father or more plugged-in to Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu, Amazon etc.? Are we face-timing or are we FACE-timing?  Are we all sitting at the dinner table with Smart-phones in hand or next to our fork and knife, rather than fully engaging with healthy conversation with our loved ones? Our pre-service start clocks tick away and we rush to sit in the pew to participate in another total predictable service, followed by fast food Holy Communion with options for Gluten Free wafers? Before we know it we will have a choice for “oregano” flavored communion!

Maybe if we knew, after this Covid-19 “house rest”, like Paul , beheading was scheduled by Ceasear…our time would be more well spent in view of the judgement seat of Christ being a “stone’s throw away”? Maybe this time is our Garden of  Gethsemane before all hell breaks loose against the followers of Jesus? Maybe Now is the time to fill extra jars of oil to be prepared for the delay of His promises?

Look Friends…I’m not trying to be a total Kill-joy, but the truth is this opportunity, this extended version of the “the Table of the Lord” is set before us!  Jesus endured the cross for the “joy” set before Him! This is the time to prepare ourselves for our ‘departure’ is soon at hand. This is great time to be a Christian as we move toward unprecedented revival in the church and harvest in the world all mingled together with extreme difficulty.

This week is Holy Week for the Christian and Passover/Pesach for the Jew.  We are both celebrating in our homes our deliverances. The blood of the Lamb is our shelter from the wrath to come!

Four areas the Tables of the Lord are being brought back to prominence…

The Scripture is filled with activity around “the table”. The table can be a place of healthy human or divine interaction or a den of iniquity or the formation of conspiracy plots for evil purposes.  In fact, a quick survey reveals approximately twenty-five different tables mentioned  throughout the inspired word of God. One thing is clear, “the table” is perhaps one of the central gathering places of God and His people to fellowship and learn who He is and what He requires!

{Currently, I am working on a Spread-sheet for the Tables of the Lord found in the Scripture…I will post this resource in the near future!}

This devotional teaching will reorient us to the central place of “the table” in our walk with the Lord. Additionally, it will train us how to “recognize” the tables the Lord has prepared for us to discover His presence. Finally, we will discuss the crucial place of “hospitality” in our day and age as we “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess.1:10). 

I have whittled down this list of twenty-five to a handful of some of the most important tables that we must “recline” at to advance ourselves in ways and the heart of God.

Let me first establish  a few “table-manners” or “table-etiquette” :

  • God’s Tables are a ‘safe-place’ for ALL to participate and speak up…no judgement!

  • God’s Tables are an ‘unhurried’ arena to recline and rest…Don’t eat and run…wait for everyone to arrive and sit-down!

  • God’s Tables require ‘face-to-face’ communication…time for truth, no masks allowed…you must be fully “present” …eliminate distractions!

  • God’s Tables are ‘mobile’, you can unfold them anywhere! 

  • God works from the “inside-out rule”! He washes the inside of the cup first!

  • “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be satisfied”!

The order of this list is not in order of importance.  Each TABLE has a unique intensity and atmosphere. 

  • The Table of Warfare

        Psalm 23: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Recently, I have experienced multiple surgeries in a 10-year ongoing battle with cancer. Last November, the day before we gathered at our Thanksgiving Table, I was wheeled in to what would be a 12 hour surgery to deconstruct my urinary  and reproductive system and reconstruct a new way of living! Cancer had proven a tough ‘enemy’ and was tenaciously spreading and the only answer was radical surgery.  I will never forget the personal words of Jesus the Great Shepherd, whispered into my ear as they moved from my soft pre-op bed to the hard stainless steel surgical table. 

 “Son, I have prepared a TABLE for you in the presence of your enemies.” 

Good Shepherd (Lead On) song by David Ruis. (CLICK)

My dear brothers and sisters, be assured this table of the Lord is a battle-field table.  However, it is marked with a peculiar anointing with healing and fullness of joy and peace!  The enemy may be raging in anger around you like a pack of hungry lions smelling blood, but the Lord, the Great Shepherd, surrounds you with such an overwhelming, even unexpected spirit of victory.  This table is spread in the shadow’s of death. The cup of suffering goes down often in bitterness and pain but then fills the soul with “goodness and mercy”, stability and strength for others (1 Peter 5:10-11).

  • The Table of Friendship/Fellowship/Koinonia

    • Marked by Loving Correction (Rev.3:20)

 Those whom I love (philos), I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

    • Fostered in Selfless Service & Battle (1 Sam.18:3-4; 2 Sam.1)

Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt. 

    • Fertilized  in Open Disclosure of Desires, Freedom & Unconditional Love (John 15:14)

 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

This Table is set only among friends who love each other enough to speak the corrective truth face-to-face.  Jesus, the Friend, shows up at the door of the Laodicean Church and rings the doorbell to gain entrance to sit at a table to dine. He does not kick the door down in forced fellowship, but makes himself available.  This passage in Revelation is so powerful because Jesus actually says, “those whom I love”…Love here is from PHILOS, from which we get the understanding of ‘friendship’. A friend may love us at all times, but a true friend will come to us and convince us with compelling evidence that we need to own up to our actions and repent.  A long time ago, I found myself and family cut-off from all my close friends due to some poor choices on my part. About 3 years into this wilderness and isolation, a single-friend showed up at my door in Palo Alto, CA. I remember looking through the peep-hole of my door of shame and was surprised to see this dear friend in sun-glasses. I opened the door and greeted Brian. He simply said, “Jeff, I want you to know you have handled yourself correctly through all this stuff.”  I told him thank-you and he left. He had know idea we were moving to Colorado that week after decades in California. The chances of ever seeing him again were slim to none. Even though Brian did not come into my living room and sit down to catch up, he set the table for a reconciliation and restoration nearly 16 years later! Today, we are fighting the good fight together and are in ministry side-by-side…correcting, encouraging, laughing uncontrollably , weeping, building beach fires and planning ministry trips around the world…all it took was to drive to my house, knock on the door and give a simple word of encouragement!

Another relevant  ‘friend’ story I have is not so much a bro-mance…hahahaha!  This friend is one of my best all-time friends over the past 36 years.  We had a falling out for many years, mostly on grounds that we were just being led in different directions. After 10 years, I picked up the phone and called Clint and said, “Hey Clint, this is Jeff…I’ve been meaning to call you for 10 years.  Wonderfully, we reconnected and I ended up on his farm in Illinois. We spent time together for nearly a year and honestly we were both in a pretty bad place. I was despondent and he lacked joy…at least we were in agreement, “ life sucks and I’m mad”…hahaha.   In any case, our last conversations took place in front of a dumpster at one of the farm houses. I said, “I don’t see any joy from the Lord in you?” he said to me, “Jeff, if you do not get back into prayer and the word…you will not fulfill your ministry.” It was so difficult to hear this from  a dear brother and friend whom I judged was not in a very good place himself. Nonetheless, his Clint’s words were loving, and a warning that haunted me for the next five years. We have since reconnected again and now are joined in battle and friendship for the things of God!

Finally, the last friendship story, I want to share happened during a meal together. Doug and I actually lived together with our families and shared a common table many times together. During a season of doubt about ministry and my effectiveness, Doug said, “Jeff, I’m glad you did not become a dentist.”  Only someone who knew me very closely could know EXACTLY what I needed to hear to burn the fog of doubt out of my heart and mind. You see….Doug knew before I came to Jesus Christ and decided to prepare for the ministry, I was pre-med in college because I wanted to be a dentist.

The door must be opened to feast at the  Table of Friendship. This table of Friendship is mobile like the Table of Showbread.  The battle is waging and we must stand face-to-face first…THEN back-to-back in battle! This is a CORRECTIVE moment in the life of the End-time Church we must Repent and stand corrected in the Presence of the Friend, Jesus Christ! 

  • The Table of Revelation

    • The Table of Showbread, The Glory of God released in Corporate Gatherings (Exodus 25:30)

 You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

The Table of Showbread was also known as “The Bread of Presence”.  It was constructed with Acacia Wood (known for its durability) and overlaid with pure gold.  Upon this table was placed every Sabbath 12 Unleavened wafers of bread representing the 12 Tribes of Israel.  Jesus ultimately fulfilled this Holy Place furnishing, as He proclaimed Himself the Bread of Life without sin, who was fully God (the gold) and fully Man (the Wood).  

The truth I wish to focus on is the Twelve Unleavened Loaves of Bread. This table represents God’s desire to be in corporate union with us so we can know His presence, further, be led into the Revelation of His Transformational glory. He longs for the gathering of His all His people in Holiness, free from power of sin and reconciled together in Him to access the Father’s Presence in the Spirit (Eph.2:18). Around this table,  In Christ we are unleavened, that is, holy and blameless in His sight. We are gloriously individual but corporately one partaking of the Bread of His Presence.

    • The Scripture Opened on a Table of Study in Small Groups and/or Home Churches (Luke 24:30)

 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

I call this table Bibles-Brauts-Brothers or Scriptures-Salad-Sisters!  This table is akin to the Table of Friendship but it brings to the center an earnest devotion to the study of Scripture together.  The patron saints of this table of Revelation are the Emmaus Disciples in Luke 24. Iron sharpening iron causes sparks to fly and fires to burn in the hearts of students of the word of God, intensely living life together under the Lordship of the Resurrected Son of God.  This table can be seasonal, but the more regular it is the greater the revelation, transformation and mission is released. This table is where despair, depression and brokenness is held in check by honest conversation, intense study and meals together in the presence of Jesus Christ.  The Revelation of Jesus that can unfold at this table can be highly contagious and release revival fire among God’s people in a powerful dimension (Luke 24:33-36)…

33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and*said to them, “Peace be to you.” 

 

  • Tables of Sensuality 

    • Jezebel’s Table (1 Kings 18:19; Rev.2:20)

 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table….But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

 

The spirit of Jezebel is not necessarily anti-prophetic but rather opposed to the true spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus.  “Toleration” of Jezebel in the Church does serious damage to the servants of God. I have witnessed some of the greatest passionate prophetic people become compromised by this spirit of sensuality or carnality. Jezebel’s table can bring fame, fortune, and power over the lives of people. The great prophet Elijah himself was fearful of the reach, deception and influence of this false prophet. This spirit of sensuality is so strong it can lead astray the “bond-servants” of God into immorality and idolatry.  How many great men of God have been allured by her delicacies and pulled up to her table to fellowship with demons? The good news is this sensuality can be slain with REPENTANCE, FAITH, SERVICE and PERSEVERANCE. I myself have pulled up to this table, but thanks be to Jesus Christ who came to me and drew me out of this banquet of demons and into the table of His Presence, His Purity, His Purpose and His Power. God has mercy on us as we fellowship only at the Table of the Lord! SEEK GOD AND LIVE!

  • Folly’s Table (Prov.9:13)

Folly’s table is juxtaposed to the Table of Wisdom in the first half of Proverbs 9. Wisdom is marked by trust in the Lord which leads to understanding, knowledge and wise choices built on the fear and love of God. Folly’s table is drenched with ignorance, naiveness, and uncontrolled appetites that leads to death and release of hell in one’s life. The world has set this table up with social media, entertrainment, and the allure of riches, power and fame.  This table is like the table of Xerxes who partied for 180 days to display his glory. The maxim of Folly’s Table is “Let’s eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”

 

  • The Table of the Lord Jesus

 

 

The Lord’s Table is the Table of Table’s!  This is the Table that we gather around as frequently as we can to “Remember” Jesus!  This is the Lord’s Supper which He Himself longs to enjoy with us. Jesus began Passover by removing His teaching robes and girding Himself with a slaves apron to wash the disciples feet. Perhaps, the question of night and the QUOTE  OF OUR DAY is found in this face-to-face exchange between the ignorance and pride of Peter and the Humility and Love of Yeshuah (John 13:5-7)…

Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”

 

Jesus has prepared Himself and a Unique Table for us this Passover/Holy Week…we may NOT understand everything that is going on, but this we can be confident of …Jesus, the High Priest is washing the feet of His people. Secondly, we will understand the purpose as things unfold in the not too distant future…be of Good Cheer, Jesus has overcome the world!

  This table is where we celebrate the New Covenant ratified by His broken flesh and sacrificial blood. This Passover meal became the table wherein Yeshuah fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets longed for and searched for. This table was charged with pride, arguing, lust for power, and spiritual blindness. Satan was an invisible guest who slithered in undetected and coiled up in the corner. The friend and apostle Judas, who had already taken payment to betray Jesus, dipped his bread in the bowl with Jesus and opened his heart to be filled with Satan.  This table is the hinge of human history that opens the door for Jesus to walk voluntarily into the hands of sinners to redeem us. 

 

This table is a table where transformation at the deepest levels can happen in the Presence of God in Jesus Christ!  As we “remember” Jesus may we exchange the following for His gifts of grace to us:

  • Servanthood for Rulership & Control

  • Humility for Pride

  • Friendship for Slavehood

  • Grace for Wrath

  • Faith for Works

  • Forgiveness for Unforgiveness

  • A Future of Hope for Condemnation & Despair

  • Health for Sickness

  • Unity for Disunity

  • Praise for a spirit of heaviness

  • Mission for Avocation

All of these dynamics above  are present at the Table of the Lord and can be reversed by His blessing! Ultimately we will be brought to this Table of the Lord in His Kingdom and celebrate with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The Bride of Christ will be perfect without spot, blemish or wrinkle…adorned as Pure Virgin for Her Bridegroom!

  • The Table of Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13)

 This Table found in the Gospel narratives is where Jesus hangs out with “tax collectors, sinners and drunkards”. I love the conversion story of Matthew the despised tax collector who became “the collector of the oracles of Yeshua!” This table is for disciples who pull up at the table of marginalized people who need a healing, who need a physician and who need forgiveness built on true justice and unshakeable peaceful reconciliation with God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Imagine a church who pulls out the “china” for the world to dine with her in the most unlikely yet strategic places. Compassion is much more bold than sacrifice. Hospitality is the birth room of the kingdom of God!

Maranatha…the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come quickly Lord Jesus!”

 

2020 Passover Celebration in Taipei, Taiwan

Levite’s Ministry, Naoith School

Get a Grip!!!

“There is a time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing”- Ecclesiastes 3:5

Are you gripping or griping? Are you grasping what is going on or gasping for fresh air?

This is not a season to be slipping and sliding around on the deck of the ship in unbelief, fear and anxiety. This is a season to saddle-up, buckle-up and lift your head-up for our redemption draweth nigh. Don’t be the hockey-puck slapped around by all the social media platforms , talking news heads and fear-mongers! Time to buy some sure-grip deck shoes for this boat ride!

Grab your Bible and let’s go for a walk through Scripture to determine what we need to be firmly gripping, intimately embracing and strategically avoiding!

 

Covid-19 has taught us what we “touch” can kill us!  We all have the capacity to be exposed to life-threatening deadly invisible viruses. We can even be a “spreader”  unaware we may be spreading sickness and death to those around us. 

 

This season has pressed an uncomfortable question into my heart, “What am I spreading with my spiritual  touch, my attitude, my words, my deeds?” IS IT…Fear? Love? Healing? Sickness? Good news or bad news? Encouragement or discouragement? Strength? Griping and whining? Grumbling or Gratefulness? Joy or inordinate depression? 

I KNOW this for a fact….Whatever has Gripped me will grip others!

 

 

Is it not interesting the Apostles of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, describe their intimate experience or exposure to the Word of Life , the Incarnation of God Himself as Son, with sensory  words like see, hear and touch!

 

I John 1:1-4

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

 

Luke 24:39-40

38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

 

Acts 17:26-27

26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

 

The same Greek word is used on all three passages…psélaphaó (psay-laf-ah’-o). This word means to “feel something” with an investigative or light  touch.  The Apostles “touched” God in the Incarnation of Jesus, Yeshuah. The impression  is a light or careful touch to learn the features and facts of what is being “handled”.  Therefore, John the Apostle, was simply saying , “We touched God!” 

 

May we NOT lose our sense of the touch of the sacred in these days of social distancing.  We need to learn to develop to a higher level of efficiency our spiritual faculties to “fellowship” with the Father and the Son and each other to deepen Christian love, joy and mission. 

 

The gentle touch of Jesus is both profound and weighty, transforming our lives from glorious touch to glorious touch! (2 Cor.3:16-17)

 

However, the New Testament  word I discovered is incredibly rich in texture and context.  The word breathed into the hearts of the Apostles was KATALAMBANO.  It describes a variety of actions by which a person is not only ‘exposed’ to the influence of another person or an environment, but “apprehended” by that person or force of nature. The idea is akin to “possessed” for noble or ignoble purposes. 

 

KATALAMBANO is a more aggressive or forceful word than psélaphaó.  In Christ we  experience both the affable  and the arresting touch of God!  I think the way we process the touch of God in our lives is based on His custom-tailored love and our personality. Paul had to be knocked off his high horse and blinded and man-handled to get to the place God wanted him to be. Peter had to be strongly rebuked for his Satanic pride to put in place.  Matthew, the tax-collector, on the other hand, was simply “included” and the spirit of rejection melted as he opened the door to Jesus to have a meal at his house. There is no doubt Jesus’ gentle dealing with Matthew caused a bit of stir among the blue-collar tax paying Galillean’s. 

 

KATALAMBANO is a compound verb derived from a verb (lambano) and an intensive preposition (kata). 

 

KATA=  properly, “down from, i.e. from a higher to a lower plane, with special reference to the 

terminus (end-point)” (J. Thayer). 

 

LAMBANO=(lambánō, “aggressively take”) – properly, take hold of exactly, with decisive initiative (eager self-interest); to grasp something in a forceful (firm) manner; (figuratively) to apprehend (comprehend), “making it one’s own.”

 

Basically, katalambano is to grasp something or someone to hold it closely and forcefully for a desired end or purpose.  This grip can usher you into a different sphere or plane of experience.

 

KATALAMBANO is found in the New Testament fifteen times. The word is used in both negative and positive scenarios.  Physical, mental, moral and spiritual contexts surround the use of this powerful word.  This word is employed to describe an intense spiritual battle between the forces of darkness and the kingdom of God revealed in the personal presence of Jesus Christ by His Spirit. 

 

I believe this devotion and reflection and application can help us navigate these days of determining what we need to “avoid” and what we need to “intensely grasp” to pursue with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

 

Today…is not a time to “shrink back” but lunge forward in loving faith to walk with our Lord Jesus into battle, to hold each other’s hands in purity and to embrace  the sick, the despairing, the timid and the double-minded with compassion and humility. 

 

Endurance is a precious commodity in the End-times and Endurance is fed by FOCUSED-FAITH in God-himself and His word…endurance requires KATALAMBANO!

 

Hebrews 10:36-39

36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. 38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preservation of the soul.

 

Below is listed the three arenas KATALAMBANO is used in the New Testament:

 

  1. In the  Realm of Evil & Sin

 

  • Ambushed By the Demonic

 

“Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”

 

Jesus had just been descended from the Mountain of Transfiguration. He cast the “the unclean spirit” out of the boy. He told the disciples, “this kind” (genome; DNA) does not come out but by prayer (some manuscripts add “fasting”). This particular demon had such force it physically harmed this teenager and closed down his auditory and speech centers. 

 

  • Ambushed By Sensuality, Sin & Trespass

 

“Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.” (John 8:3,4)

 

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught (pro-lambano) in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” (Gal.6:1)

 

The context reveals that the conflict is with the overwhelming power of the sin nature that can ambush the sinner or the saint and propel them to cross lines of morality. The sinner in this arena is “caught in the act of sin” (John 8:4). Or “the trespass” has been revealed by confession or witnesses (Gal.6:1).  For example, David was “caught” in his adultery and murder by the prophet Nathan. David then confessed his sin to God to begin the path of restoration. These two texts are wonderful parallel passages that reveal the gentleness of Jesus to forgive, reconcile and restore the sinner to wholeness and a prescribed path of holiness…”Go and sin no more.” 

 

The counter-attack of Jesus against this kind of aggressive sin is the power of grace manifested in forgiveness and healing!

 

The New Testament advocates (CLICK LINK),  “NO MAN LEFT BEHIND”!  The word of God commands us to go behind enemy lines and lay hold of a brother and sister and bring them back to safety and place of healing and restoration. 

 

  1.  In the Realm of the Intellect

 

KATALAMBANO is experienced in the  arena of the mind to comprehend what is normally incomprehensible. This “comprehension” is like connecting the dots between the action and the purpose. The invigoration of the mind by the Holy Spirit always leads the ignition  of the will unto obedience to the Gospel and Cause of Jesus Christ. 

 

Each couplet below has an Action and a Purpose.

 

  • The act of Preaching is where men & women  can KATALAMBANO/comprehend God’s Authority and experience or witness His justice in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

 

Festus said, “But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.” (Acts 25:25)

 

It dawned on the chief priests,  elders of Israel and Festus (in Paul’s trial) that John Peter and Paul  had authority from Jesus Christ to proclaim and to perform miracles. Their intellectual and educational arrogance prevented them initially from taking seriously what the young apostles were teaching. In Acts 4, with such force this realization captured their minds and they let Peter and John out of prison with a warning to not preach about the resurrection of Yeshuah. After Festus investigated, Paul was found innocent in this lower court  but sent to Nero for a further trial in accordance with the will of God to preach the Gospel in Rome.

 

 

  • By Vision from the Holy Spirit we can KATALAMBANO/comprehend the Inclusive Grace of God toward All Gentiles

 

“Opening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” (Acts 10:34-35)

 

Incredible synergy develops between Peter’s personal presence among the Gentile and his previous vision in Joppa. The dot’s are connected between obedience,  the vision, the man, the Gentiles and preaching. Like seeing the Aurora Borealis for the first time Peter comprehends the inclusion by grace of the Gentiles into the covenant and promises of God to Israel. God the Father through the propitiation in the blood of Jesus has reconciled all men to Himself  and thus all are welcome through repentance and faith. Without this comprehension Chrisitianity would have remained a sect within Judaism and the early church would have likely ceased to grow or totally die out.

 

KATALAMBANO shatters barriers between different peoples and groups.  KATALAMBANO overcomes estrangement based on culture, creed and customs, fusing a common center of gathering around the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be prepared to go where you NEVER thought you would go because of the inherent propulsionary power of comprehending the radical reconciling power of Jesus Christ’s blood.  Like a Tennessee blood-hound we follow the unprejudiced blood of the Lamb of God into all peoples, tribes, kingdoms and nations of the world. 

 

  • By Prayer & Fellowship We can KATALAMBANO/Comprehend the Immeasurable Nature of God’s Love

 

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Eph.4:14-19)

 

Divinely bestowed KATALAMBANO by the Father is what launches into the immeasurable continent of Christ to behold the wonder of His divine nature and eternal attributes.  Like Lewis & Clark we strike out to map the wilderness of His unexplored grace. KATALAMBANO begs us to move past the breakers of doubt and double-mindedness to catch the winds of vision and mission for the cause of Christ.  Together, and only together can we harness the wind of the Spirit that plunges into arenas only survivable by God’s holy protection promised to those who “GO” into all the world to preach the gospel, teaching and making disciples of all men (Matt.28:19-20). 

 

Don’t be a Shire-bound hobbit like Bilbo, Frodo or Sam-wise ….get out of your Shire, your comfort zone….Adventure out!!!!

 

Bilbo Baggins experiences KATALAMBANO (Open Link)  https://youtu.be/G0k3kHtyoqc

 

  1. In the Realm of the  Christian Spirituality

 

Clearly, the grasp of God has transferred from the power  of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom is the redemption the forgiveness of sins (Col.1:13-14).  The hand of God precedes our grip on the things of God.  Ezra, the restoration priest, was very aware of the “hand of God” that had gripped him to rebuild the Temple.  Ezra reveals several way the sure grip of God works in our lives to save us, heal us and rebuild our lives:

  • Ezra 8:31- To deliver His people from the world, the flesh and the devil (Babylon) 
  • Ezra 7:28- To raise up leadership among the people of God to do His work
  • Ezra 7:6- To release provision and protection for the work of God
  • Ezekiel 8:1-3- To give vision of God and reveal idolatry in the midst of God’s people
  • 2 Kings 6:1-7- To recover from a fall and be restored to our calling in ministry. The prophetic disciple lost his “iron axe head” and was instructed by Elisha to re-GRIP it with an outstretched hand….Hallelujah!!!!

My favorite New Testament story about the saving clutch of Jesus is when Peter was walking on the water and he was overcome with fear and he began to sink…”he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt.14:30-31).

His grip upon us transfers His strength in to us by the impartation of the Holy Spirit who becomes our strength to grab a hold of the things of God.

The graph below suggests 4 realms or arenas the Christian can practice the discipline of KATALAMBANO!  We know God in Christ has KATALAMBANO’D us!  

 

Therefore, our calculated and only appropriate reciprocal response is to KATALAMBANO Jesus…EMBRACE the following with ardent HOPE, sober-watchful Readiness, FAITH-filled self-mastery and LOVE with endurance!

 

The fruit will be power, victory, readiness and godly pleasure!  May we grasp each area like the disciple who clutches the “plow” of the kingdom and never looks back!

 

 

Father, we are so thankful and indebted to walk worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ. Help us firmly grasp, as we have been firmly grasped, the resurrection of Your Son Jesus, self-control of the Holy Spirit, and faith-righteousness.  Wake us up, sober us up so we will be prepared to hold fast the promises of the coming day of the Lord. We firmly take hold of our stewardship to be faithful in the little things as we await your return and Your reward. Amen

 

Time to Gather the Olives and Bring the Oil

EXODUS 27:20-21: GATHER THE OLIVES AND BRING THE OIL

20 “You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.  

In Ancient Israel modern conveniences did not exist. Neither the wilderness nor the Promise Land had electricity or indoor plumbing or natural gas lines. Thus the Mosaic Tabernacle and the Temple of Solomon was reliant upon olive oil for light and wood for sacrifices, both to be provided by the people of God. (Lev.6:9-13; Neh.10:34).

USE YOUR HOLY IMAGINATION TO ENVISION THE PEOPLE OF GOD WORLDWIDE GATHERING OLIVES DURING THIS TIME OF SHAKING TO PRESS ON TO KNOW THE LORD BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH A NEW FRESH INTENSITY OF PREPARATION, FULLNESS AND ANOINTING, SERVICE AND WORSHIP !!!

“Social Distancing” is wise right now. However, We need to take advantage of this season of drawing near to the God and Him drawing near to us. The Father is jealous for His people and the Spirit He has made to dwell in us. As tragic as Covid-19 is…we pray for the plague to be stopped, people to be healed, a cure to be found…we must keep in mind the Ekklesia (the Church of Jesus Christ) is to lead the way in repentance and humility and compassion.


Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)

Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:4-8)

Check out this amazing video link  how to gather and produce olive oil. Clue: The Shaking goes before the gathering!  The shaking is here, let the gathering, pressing and filtering begin for a harvest of fresh oil!

https://youtu.be/_B27bcbT-Vo

No oil…no light…no ministry…no service…no need to gather!

The COVID-19 virus has spread worldwide, now declared by the WHO an official pandemic.  The virus has spread to all the continents in the world but Antarctica. Public gatherings, all non-essential business closed, in-shelter mandates and thus, our churches are now closed. Major sports venues are cancelled, entire seasons are on the ropes. Schools are closing, some states leaning toward not reopening until the next academic year. Airports are in chaos. National borders are being closed around the world.  I could go on and on, but you are likely totally inundated with this information to the point of nausea.

Like many of you I am sure, I have been asking the Lord a fundamental question, “why?”  We know pandemics are not unusual. Jesus himself predicted or warned these events would come as “signs” of the end of the age and His return.  Most of us know this stuff (Matt.24; Mark 13; Luke 21).

“But why is this pandemic different?  This pandemic seems to qualify as a legitimate “beginning birth pangs or end-time sorrow”, this is not false labor. From here on out these signs of Christ  are only going to get stronger, longer and closer together.

This morning my wife (who daily diligently searches the Scriptures) read this passage above from Exodus 27:20-21 to me.  She knew this passage was live changing for me when I was a very young Christian in the early 1980’s. 

I believe I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit to revisit this passage. I heard part of the reason “why” God is allowing this pandemic.  

He is waking up and stirring the church to get ready for difficult days, tribulation and to be ready for His return!

Regarding the Exodus 27:20-21 passage, the people of Israel, were charged by God through Moses to gather and press olives to extract the precious oil. This Olive Oil was essential to the functioning of the Mosaic Tabernacle in the Wilderness and later the Temple in Jerusalem.  

The “clear oil of beaten olives”was used for three primary  purposes:

  1. To fill the Lamp-stand in the Holy Place so there would be Light to approach the Table of Shewbread, to offer incense on the Golden Altar of Incense. Ultimately, once per year, the Light would show the way for the High Priest enter the Most Holy Place to atone for the sins of Israel on the Day of Atonement. (Ex.27:20)

For the church, the type is clear, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit to be the Light of the World in order to fully reveal God and the way into the Father’s presence through the offering of His blood. In turn, we are to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit who reveals who we are in Christ and how to approach the Father with praise and thanksgiving (Eph.5:18; 1:15-17).

2. To make the Holy Anointing Oil to pour on the priests to consecrate them for the work of the ministry before the Lord and on behalf of the people. (Ex.29:7)

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit to be the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, who sacrificed Himself to take away our sins and reconcile us to the Father. We too are anointed with the Holy Spirit to be ministers of reconciliation, forgiveness and healing to our world. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us and guides us into the the truth of Jesus Christ (John 14-16).

3. To mix oil with the unleavened cakes and wafers as a grain offering well-pleasing to the Lord.(Ex.29:2)

Jesus was continually permeated with the HolySpirit in all His words and deeds of service to glorify the Father. 

As most of you know, OIL is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is like “oil”. There are several biblical symbols of the person and work of the Holy Spirit.  Fire, wind, and flowing clean water are all symbols that help us understand the work and personality of the Third Person of the Godhead.

Likewise, the follower of Jesus and the collective community of Jesus Christ need to continually be:

  • Filled with the Holy Spirit to be the light of the world (Eph.5:18; Acts 13:52)

  • Anointed with the Holy Spirit to  announce God’s forgiveness and redemption found only in the Blood of Jesus (Luke 4:17; 2 Cor.1:21)

  • Saturated with the Spirit when we both speak and serve for God’s glory (1 Peter 4:10-11)

We need to bring the oil of the Holy Spirit to our gatherings, our churches and our world for the revealing of God’s powerful love everyday…morning and evening!  Just because you were filled or baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues or prophesied or laughed 30 years, 3 weeks or a few days ago ….DOES NOT mean you or your church is Spirit-filled today or in this very moment.  

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (1 Cor.14:26)

Service begins BEFORE the service! We bring the olive oil when we prepare for service to lovingly serve and speak to make our bothers and sisters stronger in the Lord.

The truth is we leak because we are EARTHEN vessels, therefore, we must constantly be filled with HEAVENS resources!

https://youtu.be/ZEBOb-H1NbY

I find it interesting that Gethsemane means “olive-press”.  Gethsemane was located at the foot of the Mount of Olives! What a beautiful picture how Jesus, the Israelite, fulfilled his call to gather and press olives to bring clear oil to the Temple of God for the Light of the Lamp-stand, the Anointing Oil and the grain offerings. 

So during this time of isolation from the Temple ….from our regular church gatherings…we should spend time GATHERING ourselves like olives and throw ourselves into the “oil-press” of Gethsemane.

While we are “IN-SHELTER” ….let us gather in our individual hearts, our homes and in our families UNDER the SHELTER OF THE WINGS OF THE MOST HIGH GOD!

We can recommit ourselves to becoming members and ministers who are filled and flowing in the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We can pray with Jesus, “Father not my will be done but Your will be done.” 

The “pressure” of this season can press out of you the oil of joy and gladness to serve the Lord.  The Oil Press of Almighty God can release a “fresh oil” of Anointing to preach, to pray, to prophesy in love, to heal the sick, to encourage the faint hearted and to set captives free from the  demonic forces!!

This time of discipline can be a time of releasing “CLARITY” in our lives and the lives of our families and churches…we need “clear oil of beaten olives” to fill our lives. Olive oil ‘adulteration’ is a problem in the olive industry.  Adulteration happens when olive oil is mixed with low quality oils like hazelnut, canola or soybean and then passed off as 100% Olive oil. 

I fear we may have the some of the  same unauthorized mixture of oil in the church.  The oil filling the Lamp-stand of our lives and churches is mixed with cheap imitations.  We need the “clear oil of beaten olives” filling our lives and churches. This “clear oil” comes from tribulation, trials, afflictions,sufferings, tests, and hardship pressed out of us by the firm hand of the Heavenly Father. 

As Christians, How do we figuratively gather and press olives so we can be filled with the oil Holy Spirit to bring illumination, gifts and joy to the house of the Lord and the people of God?

Where do we find this desperately needed oil? 

  • Enter the Garden of God, Spend time in Gethsemane: The custom of Jesus was to PRESS in to God the Father in prayer and supplication.  Find a frequent place of solitude where you can be alone with the Father and practice His presence and fully surrender to His will…to His cup of trials…Father not my will be done but Yours.   This will become the foundation of ultimate obedience in difficult days ahead. PRESS ON AND IN TO THE FATHER IN THE OIL PRESS OF INTERCESSION! Do not “sleep in sorrow” but be awakened and filled with the readiness!

I believe, in part, this oil that fills our lives…our internal reserves…is the oil that the FIVE WISE VIRGINS possessed when the Bridegroom announced His coming. 

 The Garden of Gethsemane prepares us for the feast of the Bridegroom. 

Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Your godly CUSTOMS will eventually serve you and others in CRISIS.

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples…[ The Garden of Gethsemane ] And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.  (John 18:1; Luke 22:39)

7 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (Heb.5:7-10)

  • Climb the Tree of Life, Practice Righteousness: Obedience and worship under pressure will release a quality of life marked with supernatural gladness and joy!  When you and I OBEY the command of the Lord Jesus, the joy and strength of God flows like oil in our lives. Things may be very difficult but we maintain a poise or a posture of hope and joy , explained only by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Men and Women of God who practice righteousness and worship at all costs release a fragrant   atmosphere of the triumph of Jesus Christ, not some manufactured perfume or cologne from a department store.

To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spiritof fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting oftheLord, that He may be glorified. (Isa.61:3)

 

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions. (Heb.1:9)

Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you. (Song of Solomon 1:3)

His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. (Hosea 14:6)

Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; (2 Cor.2:15)

  • Build a House, Embrace the Father’s Disciplinary Love:  This arena is perhaps the most challenging. This is not just praying but coming under the deep disciplinary love of the Father to transform our lives into the likeness of Jesus Christ over an extended period of time or season.  This pressure is often deeply woven into both righteous and unrighteousness behavior. We can suffer for the sake of the gospel and the cause of Christ. We can also suffer for sake of our unrighteousness or somebody else’s treatment of us. In all cases the “God of all grace” will pointedly and firmly  work with us to shape us like clay on a potters wheel into vessels of honor useful and filled with His oil for others to benefit from. This season can release healing to our broken heart and genuine holiness in our character (1 Peter 5:10-11). Those trained by the Father’s discipline have incredible peace, stability and joy to share with others who are in need.

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. (HEB.12:4-6)

Come, let us return to the Lord.

For He has torn us, but He will heal us;

He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

2 “He will revive us after two days;

He will raise us up on the third day,

That we may live before Him.

3 “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.

His going forth is as certain as the dawn;

And He will come to us like the rain,

Like the spring rain watering the earth.

Hosea 6:1-3