Spiritual understanding: the exception of contentment

 

Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight (Ex 33:13). This request would be relatively trivial coming from any believer. However, it came from Moses, a man who chatted with GOD face to face, as a friend (vs. 11). A man for whom the pillar of cloud, which guided the people of Israel in the desert, would descend and stand at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting whenever he paid a visit to GOD – as a security guard would stand in front of the door to prevent intruders from entering the office of a high official during an audience (vs. 9). Finally, a man of whom GOD Himself had said: "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD" (Nu 12:6-8). Amongst more than one million people, there was nobody else who had such a relationship with the LORD. If there was anyone who could boast to have found favour with God, it would have been him. Yet, this is the man who pleads and begs GOD to grand him favour. Which other favour? Favour to know His ways. Why such request? What’s so special about it?

Psalm 103.7 says that GOD made his ways known to Moses, and his acts to the people of Israel. What’s the difference? What advantage does one have over the other?

After speaking to the crowd, Jesus said to His disciples: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand" (Lk 8 :10). There is a very good example of this in John 6. Jesus had just fed thousands of people. The disciples knew how the miracle had been performed. They knew that Jesus had taken five loaves and two fishes, blessed them, given thanks and then, started the distribution. The crowd only saw the food coming (the acts of GOD), but was clueless as to what had happened before (the ways of GOD). So, the crowd did not grasp the miracle and its implications (the divinity of Jesus). The proof of this lies in the fact that Jesus snubbed them later, saying: You are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves (Jn 6:26).

Children can live in a house for years, eat thrice a day, sleep, go to school or university, without ever knowing or caring to know how bills are paid and where the money for food and clothes comes from. They may not even know whether you rent or own your house. They see and enjoy your works/acts, but they do not know your ways. As they grow, if they care to understand, if they realise that they have to be about their parents’ business and start to invest themselves in the affairs of the house, your relation will change and the level of your conversations/intimacy will improve. The same applies to us in the spirit.

Moses had grown up. Before this incident, GOD had previously promised to send an angel before him to guard them on the way and bring them to the place that He had prepared. He had promised that His angel would go before them and bring them to specific heathen nations that the LORD was going to blot out for them (Ex 23:20-23). And Moses had not seen anything wrong with this proposal. However, later on, when GOD reiterated His promise - Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites etc. (Ex 33:1-2) -, Moses rejected the offer, saying: "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here" (vs. 15). Moses had grown up and so must we. He no longer needed to enjoy all that GOD’s hand had to give; he now needed to understand how GOD operates: he was asking for spiritual understanding.

Paul told the Colossians that he was constantly praying for them to be filled with the knowledge of GOD’s will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col 1:9). So, there is a ‘foolish’ way and an ‘intelligent’ way to know (and thus, to do) the will of GOD. Jesus mastered the latter and could sum it in one principle: Doing only that which the Father is doing, and doing it likewise (Jn 5:19). Another way of saying: “I can reproduce what GOD does because I know His ways.”

Moses’ friendship with GOD and his exceptional favour did not stop him from wanting even more of GOD. In other words, even if the Bible teaches us about contentment (1Tim 6:6,8; Phil 4:11-12), when it comes to spiritual intimacy or knowledge, when it comes to knowing GOD more and better, contentment is tantamount to a deliberate refusal to grow.

Let’s thirst for GOD, and mostly, thirst to know Him. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths (Ps 25:4; 27:11 etc.).

Have a great week basking in His Presence and knowing more of HIM.

GOD sees you; but do YOU see Him?

 

My pastor joked yesterday, saying that Pharisees are those who are too far to see ;-). Are you a Pharisee? Anyway, that’s not the topic of this posting. Two weeks ago, my pastor used Genesis 16:1-14, to teach us on the fact that GOD sees. He sees our secrets and our sins, but He also sees our struggles and suffering. And when He sees, He sends someone to speak to us on His behalf. If the message is well received, the matter is sorted and GOD’s power and goodness are shown forth/displayed, to His glory. Around the end of the teaching, I had an open vision after which GOD told me that He sees us, but unfortunately, we do not tend to see Him; and this is why.

Some people do not see GOD because they cannot look beyond the instrument that GOD has chosen for Himself. They only see a (wo) man. Nazareth missed out on the day of her visitation. Jesus hardly performed any miracle there because, for His kinsmen, He was just the son of Mary and the carpenter, the brother of James, Joseph, Simon and Jude (Mat 13:55, Mk 6:3). In spite of all the miracles and unparalleled teachings (Mk 1:21-22), the scribes and the Pharisees, the then-intellectuals, would only see somebody who had not studied (Jn 7:15). Too much familiarity or proximity with certain people can make us miss the fact that they are speaking to us as GOD’s servants. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (Rev 3:17-18). May GOD open our eyes and cure us of our spiritual blindness.

Then, there are those who hear the prophetic word, but who do not see the LORD because they are looking elsewhere. It is lack of faith; it is unbelief. These people have so fixed their eyes on their limitations and handicap, that, when they say, ‘Amen’, their Amen doesn’t even reach their own spirit. They know that GOD does miracles, but they also know that it won’t be for/through them. Peter heard the LORD asking him to come to Him walking on the waters. Yet, he was so taken by the vision of the raging see around him, that, he just could not hold on to the belief that what Jesus had asked him to do was possible. Likewise, somebody who did not finish college, earns $300 a month and has never seen $5,000 in their life may have a tough time ‘swallowing’ the fact that GOD is about to give them $100,000. They may say ‘Amen’, but they will say so thinking of Brother X who already earns $10,000 a month and drives a big car.

The LORD’s words are spirit and life. They are neither too hard, nor far off. They are very near, in our mouths and hearts, so that we can do what is expected from us (Jn 6:63, Deut 30:11-14). In other words, all we need to know is: “Is it truly GOD speaking to me through So-and-so?” Because, if it is Him, then, there is enough grace and power in what He says for Him to do it and also, to enable us follow His instructions.

The Bible warns: Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God… And it goes on saying that all those who refused to believe what GOD told them through His servant (Moses) did not make it to the Promise Land, the rest that the LORD had promised to them (Heb 3:12-19).

There’s an immense blessing which is attached to GOD’s promises, attached to what GOD says to us, to you. He has seen your situation, your dreams and desires; He has heard your cries and your prayers and He has come down to do you good (Ex 3:7-8). He has taken a human appearance –your pastor, a parent, a friend, a colleague, a sister in Christ- and has come with a message. His words are spirit and life: they carry the spiritual power which is necessary for you to obtain the abundant life and the peace that you need and long for. The Roman centurion understood this well and said to Jesus: “Only speak the word… I don’t need anything else than a word; the word which was with GOD in the beginning and which is GOD and through which all things were created. I know that this word can still create what I need in my life. Only speak the word…” He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet –GOD’s mouthpiece- will receive a prophet's reward. Indeed, to all those who receive the prophetic word, He gives the power to become children of GOD –that is, to live in GOD’s fullness and have a rich and abundant life (Jn 1:12). Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed (2Chr 20.20).

I pray that the LORD gives us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, and that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened, that we may always see and recognise Him, and therefore, fully enjoy the rich and glorious inheritance that He has in store for us (Eph 1:17-19).

Have a wonderblessed® week!

You may want to read “The One who sees and who hears.” GOD is near those who are suffering, even when, like Hagar, they are directly responsible for their predicament.

Help! I am losing my blessings…

 

Jer 18:9-10, “And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.”

I was meditating upon these verses with my daughters recently, when one of them asked: “Mummy, haven’t you told us before that GOD does not take back His blessings?”

I told her she was right, for it is written that GOD’s gifts and calling –His blessings- are irrevocable, without repentance (Rom 11:29). By the way, it is useful to notice that the above text does not say that GOD had already built and planted; but rather that He intended to do so.

Why then are we often under the impression that He has taken back His grace or blessings?

Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."... 10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

GOD’s presence is a refuge and a fortress; a shield against all forms of misfortune and adversity. Yet, holiness and purity are the essentials of His presence. When we choose not to do what He expects from us, He doesn’t go away –GOD is-, but we are the ones who actually leave His shelter. Whether we realise it or not, every time we disobey or sin, it is as if we are saying: “I have enough of the rules and discipline of this place. I have enough that I am always refrained from doing what I like. I know what I need best and I am going to look for it elsewhere.” Then, we open the door of our will and leave our spiritual bunker.

The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1Pe 5:8). However, as long as we do GOD’s will, as long as we walk according to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, we rest in the shadow of the Almighty: we are in a bunker and the devil can prowl as much and long as he wishes, he can’t touch us; he cannot devour us. Satan himself acknowledged that Job served the LORD with integrity because GOD had put a hedge around him, his house and all that he had, on every side (Job 1.9-10a).

The equation is therefore very simple: serve GOD faithfully, do what He asks you to do and you will abide in His presence and take advantage of an unlimited protection and full option insurance cover for yourself, your family and all your possessions.

When you decide on your own accord to become independent; when you decide to listen to another voice and free yourself from the LORD; when you decide to jump off His hedge and leave His cocoon to go and explore all the goodies that the world has to offer, you expose yourself to the one that prowls to steal, kill, destroy and devour. You expose yourself to the enemy of our souls and give all you have for spoil, that is: your gifts and blessings.

So, it is not at all that GOD has changed His mind and decided to take back what He had previously given to us. No. As I said earlier, GOD is Good and He is not surprised by our attitude. He doesn’t bless us because we deserve it, but because He wills it. He knows how we are going to conduct ourselves even before blessing us and yet, He still blesses us. We are the guilty ones: And you, even through yourself, have let go of the inheritance which I gave you (Jer 17.4a).

If this is your situation, you can still fix it. Don’t wait, repent and, like the prodigal son, go back to the safety of GOD’s shelter and presence. He loves you and only wants the best for you.

Have a ‘wonderblessed’ week!

Dress to be addressed…

 

Since the month of January and the seminar which I summarised on Facebook, “Anointing for the extraordinary”, there is a sentence that has not left my mind: “Dress the way you want to be addressed.” The LORD has not ceased to show me various aspects of this message. Literally, it is to be taken to the first degree. It is not by chance those who go for job interviews dress in accordance with the position they are applying for. Politicians, bankers and artists all have their own dress codes; and so do royalty. When you think of it, even in the Bible, clothes are very important and highly symbolical. Priests wore special attire before entering in the temple to serve. Married women dressed in very specific way; virgins and widows as well. However, this understanding of that message, though important, is still superficial.

There is a direct link between faith and clothing and between glory and clothes. Look at the priestly garments; they were made with top quality material and precious stones (Ex 28). The tabernacle and the temple were opulent: cedar wood, solid gold, silver, precious stones etc. (Ex 26, 27 & 30). It is as if GOD wanted the luxury of the place to inspire awe and reverence to His people. I have felt similar emotions when I visited the Vatican and Queen Victoria’s family home. I just cannot describe the luxurious beauty of these places and a few pictures will not suffice to do justice to them. It is impossible to walk into such places and forget where or who you are even for a minute. If Presidential or royal palaces looked like any other mansion in town, the honour and respect due to Heads of States or the monarchs would fade: unfortunately, man tends to look at what meets his eyes.

In many places – especially in Africa -, people will only mind you if your external appearance oozes greatness, riches and ‘glory’. And it’s true that when GOD lifts someone up, when He wants to pour His glory on them, He showers them with the finest jewellery. It is written indeed that: “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones” (Is 54:11-12). And we know that the Heaven’s streets as paved with gold and the doors of the New Jerusalem are precious stones.

In Christ Jesus, we are all priests and kings, and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, our outward appearance should reflect the dignity of these functions. However, contrary to what we often see in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles under the influence of Prosperity Gospel, these things should neither become the centre of our desires and attention, nor be viewed as the ultimate proof of GOD’s favour on somebody, because the devil can also adorn us with them. The Christian character is more important and these things should be added to us –and not sought after- on top of the GOD’s Kingdom and righteousness (Mat 6:33). This was the apostle’s mind when he wrote: Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewellery, or the clothing you wear-- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious (1Pe 3:1-4).

Lastly, I also said that there was a relation between faith and clothes. Indeed, Is 54:1-3 reads: “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labour! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married," says the LORD. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.” In other words, GOD wants those that He is about to bless to prepare themselves accordingly. The proof that we have truly received and believed His message – faith-, lies in the way we get up, enlarge the place of our tent, let our curtains and lengthen our cords.

Many months ago, in “Thy will be done…”, I wrote how I had decided to align my clothing to what I had seen myself wearing in a dream. Even though the dream had to do with future events, I realised that there was one thing I could already do to attract the foreseen glory. So, I took a prophetic step and started to dress according to the model that had been shown to me.

Dress the way you want to be addressed. Where is GOD taking you? By faith, start dressing accordingly and, as the people and the atmosphere around you begin to associate you with the image that you project, whatever it is will soon become reality. GOD bless you and ‘see’ you next week.