"I am the way, the truth, and the life... I am the resurrection, and the life... The blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality..." (Jn 14:6, Jn 11:25, I Tim 6:15-16)
Far too long we have been able to sit back and diagnose true spiritual lack, or the root of every problem that may be evident in the body of Christ, and yet never proceed into the operation which makes manifest THE WAY, (which we cannot comprehend in present darkness) which brings into light THE TRUTH that is able to swallow up all darkness, so THE LIFE which only knows the will of the One that sent Him radiates out of a city sat on a hill to which all nations shall flow up (Jn 14:6, Mic 4:1-3). Likewise, in the natural body, to some great extent, we have treatments on hand, but a cure almost seems impossible. Even greater on a spiritual plane, mere knowledge is preferred over THE LIFE that all true spiritual knowledge points to. The soulish thrill of knowing something we feel is important may easily substitute a LOVE that is enjoyed by those we may call babes in Christ. This mere knowledge is not the "acknowledging of God" in all of our ways that the scriptures speak of, for if it was then we would accept no substitutes for who I pray and hope you consider your first LOVE. Of course there may be those who have read much about Him, and they may even admire some of His attributes. Nevertheless, a profound change of mind becomes self evident in those who have met HIM. Oh, if you have met HIM and know Him as your first love, then I trust that you can understand why we boldly make such claims concerning our HEAD and remain overly emphatic about the Revelation of His life in His body, which we are, if we have ears to hear it and a God given passion to respond to such a high calling!!!!
All knowledge that is scriptural is useful in its place, but
without
a Revelation from the "Author" of the scriptures, we often walk in
circles
as opposed to moving forward toward what all the parts point to. Yes,
the
part or parts we have are important in their place, but only to the
degree
we are submitted to THE PLACER are they in place and functioning in His
purpose. You can pick out the falsehoods, try that which is evil, know
things the majority may be blind to, even bear the fruit of patience,
labor
for all the right reasons and still hear this word which speaks of the
most vital need ever in the body today ---- Nevertheless I have somewhat
against
thee, because thou hast left thy first love
(Rev 2:4). Our "first
love" would not be the first thing we had a love for in this life, but
the One who is the embodiment of the first priority in the life of
God's
apprehended ones!
"And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly" (Mk 5:38)
Three of the Gospels give the account of a twelve year old girl who is the daughter of a religious ruler who is in a house full of both wailing and minstrels playing away, for that was the custom of their day when there was a death in the family. We would like to give you an idea of what was going on in the house that Jesus walked into.
"Nearly the same as the pipublasara, pipe-blowers of the Islandic : for among all those nations funeral lamentations, accompanied with such rude instruments, were made at the death of relatives. That pipes were in use among the Jews in times of calamity or death is evident from Jeremiah 48:36. And among the Greeks and the Romans, as well as among the Jews, persons were hired on purpose to follow the funeral procession with lamentations (Jer 60:17-21, Am 5:16). Even the poorest among the Jews were required to have two pipers, and one mourning woman. At these funeral solemnities it was usual with them to drink considerably; even ten cups of wine each, where it could be got. This custom is observed among the native Irish to this day, in what is called their Caoinan.
"That drinking in what is called the wake, or watching with the body of the deceased, is practised, and often carried to a shameful excess, needs little proof. This kind of intemperance proceeded to such lengths among the Jews that the Sanhendrin were obliged to make a decree, to restrain the drinking to ten cups each."--end quote ( Adam Clarke, Clarke's Commentary Vol. 5, p. 112-113)
In our last article we mentioned the meaning of Jairus's name
("he enlightens")
as well as him being a religious ruler with a daughter at the age of
twelve
in need of a divine touch to restore her to "life." She is at the age
of
twelve, which signifies the perfection of government, but in her
condition
it seems to only typify those today who are in a state of spiritual
slumber
under the roof of what is supposed to be divine government. As we also
mentioned, it is quite interesting to keep in mind that Jairus is a
descendant
from the half tribe of Manasseh that settled in Bashan rather than
Canaan.
Canaan seems to be typical of the spiritual promise that the aspiring
Joshuas
and Calebs of this age are seeking. For those who go on to know God by
experience, they rejoice in their salvation, but they know there is
more,
and without the vision of the inheritance they feel naked. They see the
blatant commercialism, the gross marketing of the truths of scripture
filtered
through minds that seek to cater to the world's pleasures with a
religious
title for the sake of secure financial status, the praise of men, and
material
gain. They are well aware of the reality of the deception of temporal
security
packaged in a religious wrapper. They may even find themselves swayed
after
things in the temporal. Nevertheless, they also may have heard the
knock
on the door, from the same One who knocked on the door of those at
Laodicea.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need
of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked
(Rev 3:17). Their soul's have heard the
knock
of their first love! ...it is the voice of my
beloved
that knocketh... Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man
hear
my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him...
(Song of Sol
5:2, Rev 3:20). Concerning the vision of the inheritance and those who
truly seek to go on and know Christ not only as their Saviour but their
Lord, Where there is no vision the people perish
(Prov 29:18).
The
marginal
reading would be Where there is no vision the people are made naked.
The two spies, Joshua and Caleb, had a vision of the promise, unlike
those
that perished.
The drunken ceremonial wake going on in the ruler's house may
bring
us to a consideration of the 19th verse of chapter 9 in Jeremiah, For
a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! We are
greatly
confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings
have
cast us out.
"They arrived at Jairus' house, where Jesus saw the confusion and heard all the loud crying and wailing. He went in and said to them 'Why all this confusion?'..." (Mk 5:38, 39 Good News New Testament)
We know that much can be said about Babylon. There is the historical account, the speculations and calculations of a future Babylon, and not to mention numerous views on what Babylon is today. We would like to stick to an application that confronts the spiritual condition at the present time as opposed to dwelling on the things we can comfortably put out in the future or give those who disagree with us the title "Babylon." However, we do wish to state that this is not the only way of looking at what "Babylon" is, was, or shall be. It is just the application we offer for consideration in this study.
Before we dive into this present spiritual application it may do
us
well to go back to Genesis 11:1-9 and consider the motives for building
the tower of Babel and the judgement God executed. Note that Babel was
an effort to reach heaven from the earth on man's terms (let us make
us
a name
Gen 11:4)! Among all the reference scripture gives us, like
so
many things "Babylon" is a study in itself. Most people know Babylon
means
"confusion," but it also means "gate of God." We find judgement on
Israel
all through the scriptures and "Babylon" seems to speak of one of God's
many tools of judgement. Jeremiah 51:7 speaks of it being a golden cup
in the Lord's hand. As far as calling the meeting place of others
Babylon,
remember Daniel was in Babylon, but was he confused?
Jesus enters the house and sees all the confusion. Within our own house, our earthen vessel, we too may have a room full of intoxicating thoughts that seek to bring us under the influence and that live on yesterday's light, which becomes darkness and promotes spiritual slumber. In a corporate setting even a truth that once brought light may be misapprehended as a resting place instead of light on our path to guide us to "THE LIGHT."
With all the obvious shortcomings of the Church at large it
would be
very easy to expound on Jairus as a type of the religious leaders that
have failed to operate after the "due order" in this hour! However, let
us consider that Jairus was not remaining at the wake. He went out
seeking
the Lord rather than being content with another victory for the last
enemy
better known as "death." (Speaking of which, if heaven is the celestial
city of eternal bliss rather than an invisible realm of spirit, then
would
not death be considered, not our enemy, but rather our ride into the
sweet
bye and bye in the sky that song book theology declares? If God happens
to answer the Lord's prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in
earth
as it is in heaven,
would heaven not be God's kingdom which takes
on
complete
visible manifestation in the fullness of time and is seated firmly on
earth?)
Furthermore, Jairus was not at the wake filling the drunken mourner's
cups
and lamenting with the minstrels. He was seeking the divine "Healer,"
the
Physician of physicians, who still to this day makes house calls! That
may seem to be too bold of a statement for some due to the unbelief
that
God in this very hour still moves in the supernatural. Some may feel
secure
to conclude that healings ended in the Apostle's day, but to be quite
bold
once more, if apostle simply means "sent one" (from the Greek word apostello
which
means "to send out"), then the Apostle's day may not have ever ended.
In
reflection of a similar thought that a brother in the Lord brought to
my
mind, I can only state that the minute we begin to debate and question
God moving in the manner of healing, not to mention in the realm of
miracles
in general, we have a door open for unbelief and its high time we
slam
it shut!
"While He is still speaking, they are coming from the chiefof the synagogue, saying that 'Your daughter died. Why are you still bothering the Teacher?' Yet Jesus immediately, disregarding the word spoken, is saying to the chief of the synagogue, 'Do not fear! Only believe!'" (Mk 5:35, 36 CLNT)
Ah, instead of the "Divine Physician" prescribing valium, prozac, or maybe the best they could offer in that day, natural wine, He prescribes Jairus the same thing that Joshua took all the way through the wilderness, the same thing Rahab took to prepare her for the final blast of the trumpet, the same thing David took when he stood alone, and yes, I'll even speak of one among us today, the same thing David Wilkerson took to the dangerous gang ridden slums of New York City - BELIEF! The prescription that the overcomers fulfill in the Book of Revelation. Don't face a moment of adversity without it!
"Do not fear! Only Believe !"-- What a "word." We could
only
imagine that in Jairus's situation it would be much easier to swallow
the
wine instead of the words Jesus gave him. After all, he gets a word of
confirmation that his daughter is dead! Those who only see through the
natural eye deliver this word. They seem to typify those who indeed
look
at life through the eyes of the natural man! To mention the possibility
of an open heaven, that is to say a relationship in which we only say
and
do what the Father tells us, sounds spooky and out of reach. Fear
always
gets the upper hand on the soul that fails to respond to the reality of
the leading of the Holy Spirit! Fearfulness is the first qualification
for those who suffer loss in the second death. It breeds unbelief.
Where
there is fear there is internal anger on the rise, because without the
sustaining belief in Christ the vexation of vanity itself lays heavy on
our shoulders. These two qualities will also make room for the
abominable
acts that are manifested in some form of murder, whoredom, sorcery, and
idolatry which always sells out to whatever lie that the spirit of fear
may have to offer, and the lie is lived out through unbelief. When we
are
in one accord with the lie, we become a liar.
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21:7,8)
With a serious look at the original Greek we safely state that God, in His inescapable grasp, shows us in Revelation that He has a means of purification for those who are not among the overcomers as opposed to a total loss on His hand. Time would fail us to deal with all the questions such a statement like that may bring so we have listed some suggested reading material on the subject at the end of this study. Also if you are among those that see the lake of fire as being correctional, like all of God's judgements rather than endless, we have no need for preaching to the choir, but as the spirit bears witness to the spirit, let us conclude the thought with an "Amen!" So be it to God's judgement unto victory.
Getting back to the first two qualifications for the second death,
within our own being we may have minstrel's that harp to us thoughts of
despair that may very well bring our soul to a place inhabited by every
unclean bird. The very second such a thought comes to surface, we pray
these words may come to mind: Get hold of the foxes for us, The
small
foxes that harm the vineyards, For our vineyards are in bloom... (For
the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to
the
pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
(Song of Sol
2:15
Concordant Version, 2 Cor 10:4, 5).
Today it seems like many would say , "fear not," like Jesus did,
yet
by nature they seem to add a stipulation of some sort. That is to say,
"fear not, but ____ ," and you can fill in the blank with just about
anything
that the spirit of fear offers. I dare say, fear is something that does
not mind sharing a room with scriptural truth. The truth is put to the
test when its voice is raised within the confines of the mind. If there
is fear within those confines, it will immediately rise up and make war
with the soul that takes heed to the spirit of truth! One of the
characteristics
of Christ being active in the believer is not the denial of upcoming
storms,
but the stability in faith. While the facts may say, "Your daughter is
dead," Christ has seen the true outcome of the matter in the realm of
spirit,
and He knows that faith is not a toy to claim whatever appeals to the
flesh,
but it is the very gift of God that may very well transcend time! It is
quite important to note that although different dispensations can be
found
in the scripture, in Matthew 15:28 Jesus gives a response quite
different
from what some may have said had they been standing there with their
cut
and dry scientific theology. You see Jesus did not tell the Canaanite
woman,
who did not let up in her pursuit on behalf of her vexed daughter,
"you'll
have to wait until God apprehends Paul and makes him an Apostle to the
nations." Rather, in verse 24, He tells her, I am not sent but unto
the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.
This was very much true but not
the
end of the matter. Nevertheless she continued in her plea and He tells
her in verse 26, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and
cast
it to dogs.
However, her response was still steadfast in the
operation
of the measure of faith she had. ...Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat
the
crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
Jesus saw right into
her
being and knew the conviction she held fast to. He saw the quality of
His
Father's faith manifested in the woman. ...O woman, great is thy
faith:
be it unto thee even as thou wilt.
At that time the Apostle Paul
was
still
Saul, and Jesus was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel, and she in a
sense saw beyond the limited scope of what the time frame of her day
held.
Let us remember, miracle or no miracle, God is still God and many times
it is not a case of what the natural eye can see, even if we go by way
of the grave, but the issue is faith! We may also do well to ask
ourselves,
"Who are we to limit The Most High God?" So the Canaanite woman did
well
to operate in faith and skip the local schools of dispensationalism.
Our whole thrust of this application is one that we pray points
to our only victory over the inner turmoil that seeks to rob us of the
benefits of the Kingdom that are spoken of in Romans 14:17. For the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and
joy in the Holy Ghost.
We would do well to take note that the
location
of the kingdom is in the Holy Ghost. Outside of that location we can
always
find the filthy rags of self righteousness that our soul is so used to
putting on. After all, such spotted garments are a "just match" for the
soul that gets all dolled up after the nature of her old man. Outside
of
the location of the kingdom we will never find any lasting peace. All
the
world has an exhausted market for temporal pleasure and fulfillment,
but
compared to the Prince of Peace that the prophet spoke of, it's like
throwing
rocks in the Grand Canyon! All of those who have experienced such peace
can honestly say there is no comparison! If you have never had any
other
garments to wear besides what the Adamic nature has to offer, and the
emptiness
of life under the sun eventually swallows up all temporal filler the
world
has to offer, then the joy found in the Holy Ghost has not been
experienced.
Although the logic of the mind, both Christian and otherwise, may often
explain away such joy as sheer emotionalism, the lack of it is self
evident!
There is a city within a city that has an end and a new
beginning. Jesus
told the religious men of His day that the kingdom of God is within
you.
Although some have tried to say Jesus was speaking of Himself being
there
with them, and the scripture should have read, "the kingdom is among
you,"
the original language says otherwise.
...Neither shall they be declaring 'Lo! here!' or 'Lo there!' for
lo! The kingdom of God is inside of you
(Lk 17:21 CLNT). The
Greek word used for inside is en tos the only other place
this
word is used is in Matthew 23:26, when Jesus told the Pharisees to
first
cleanse the inside of the cup. Of course the King James version used
the
word "within," but the point is the same! Jesus always saw the root of
all external fruition as man's spiritual condition! While the
scholar's
aim for the intellect, they often miss and shoot right over the heads
of
many in true need, but our Lord Jesus Christ always shoots for the
heart
and He always hits His target! Being the consistent shot He is, He
gives
Love a new name (God)!!
Earlier we spoke of the ceremonial wailing in the house of Jairus, and we understand that this may very well apply to the corporate setting, which is considered the Church. Nevertheless, the internal application, no matter how unseen it may be, stands as one to consider. We will however note that when a tremendous move of God's Spirit has taken place, it almost seems characteristic of human nature, even with good intent, to market the move instead of move with it. For example, the American Church would be so prone to sell video tapes of the Red Sea parting and hold Red Sea revivals, instead of moving beyond that and what lies beyond deliverance!
So as we keep in mind that the internal application is not the
only
one, we shall now go on to focus on it for the time being. Our hope and
glory shall be mocked, made fun of, and laughed at. Be it within or
without,
the prince of the power of the air can hiss away and taunt in both
worlds.
When Jesus told them, ...the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
(Mk 5:39), the next verse goes on to say ...they laughed him to
scorn.
The Good News New Testament says, They started making
fun
of him.
They did not believe. They may have believed there was but
one God, they may have believed in all the miraculous accounts
contained
within the scriptures they had (the Law and the Prophets), but in
rejecting
laughter with the promise standing right in their midst, having heard
His
diagnosis, they did not believe. We can in no way say that such
unbelief
is limited to the past. Is such unbelief only found outside the Church
today? Have we not all encountered thoughts of unbelief? In Mark 6:5 we
read this about the Lord's observation of Nazareth: And he
marvelled
because of their unbelief.
Unbelief may not be limited to a denial
of God, but a form of godliness that deny's the power of God! While
one can be a great orator concerning any variation of the Christian
belief,
they also can be pretentious with no authority on the Kingdom of God.
For the kingdom of God, is not in word, but in power
(1
Cor4:21). That is a point Paul made to those who embraced puffed up
speakers. We
might add, he also stated that knowledge puffs up, but he did not say
false
knowledge only or unscriptural knowledge puffs up (1
Cor
8:1). Furthermore, unbelief may also be found in those who see
miracles
but have no hope for "the other miracle." We are speaking of the
miracle
of a mind stayed on the Lord, changing from glory to glory, with a
heart
dead set on the inheritance in Christ Jesus, manifesting the very life
of the Christ, the One who has overcome the world. We ask, "Is this
beyond
God's ability?"
Rising up to eat and play like those who perished in the
wilderness
can very much be lived out through the rising up to feed the soul with
even biblical truths, enjoying the thrill of mental acknowledgments,
but
when we begin to feel the pain of the engraftation James was inspired
to
point out, our soul at times may pull away. ...receive with
meekness
the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls
(Jas 1:21).
Does
our soul want to lay down herself and give birth to a complete mature
Christ,
or does she wish to merely marvel at knowledge "about Jesus," parading
around in fig leaves? The Spirit of God is not out to simply inform us.
We can pick away at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil all we
want,
but without the partaking of the tree of life, the result will always
be
death.
As long as we are content with the ceremonial wake within our being (the ritualistic intoxication that breeds spiritual slumber), we partake of a "spiritual paralysis." The sad thing is that no matter how true our knowledge may be, if it has not impacted our being, if it has not drawn us any closer to Christ, and yet we feel we have attained to some height the multitudes are blind to. It is we who are blind!
We also must take a look at the other side of the coin, for it
is evident
that as long as one is content to just die and be in heaven, with the
classic
"one day after a while" attitude, our soul may very well be sound
asleep
with visions of the sweet bye and bye. Can we not rise up and play,
content
to perish with this vision too? Beloved keep on peering into the hope
of
glory and the new man may rise up to take His stand and declare "life"
and "life more abundantly," the hideous snicker of doubt may be heard
during
each declaration of the "life-giver," but beloved walk with Him long
enough
and we shall indeed experience the very next event that took place
after
the doubting laughter in the religious ruler's house! Just as sure as
the
historical record of Mark 5:40 stands, with the drunken, doubting
multitude
looking for others to stagger with them in unbelief being put out of
the
house, as we take heed to the presence of Christ and occupy our mind
with
His will, the doubting multitude of thoughts shall be put out of our
house!
When we take hold of the small foxes, every little doubting tone of
unbelief,
we are putting out the vile minstrels of death! So this city within
shall
collapse. For such a long time every unclean bird (thoughts opposed to
the mind of Christ) has swooped around snatching up the seeds of
destiny
and I dare say leaving many to be content to just be snatched up some
day!
Yet in Christ we are not taken out of the world, but kept from the evil
(Jn 17:15). What is taken out of the world? Instead of saying what
saith
the bumper sticker, lets ask what saith the scripture. The
righteous
shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth
(Prov 10:30). Without any further comments on the majority's view
concerning
leaving the planet, we ask is 1 Thess 4:17 about a departure or a
resurrection?
Selah.
"...Damsel I say unto thee, arise... Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." (Mk 5:41, Eph 5:14)
We hope that the emphasis on Christ raising the young girl from
what He called sleep, will point us to the reality of any
member
of His body being quickened to the life we have in Him. It is quite
significant
that Paul alludes to Isaiah, in Ephesians 5:14, after a comparison of
the
old life and the new, then commenting on those now members of the
church
were once in darkness. While to many Isaiah 60:1 can only be some grand
explosion that happens all at once as most prophetic writings are
understood
by most modern teachers of prophecy and their students. Keep in mind
that
if we are to determine prophetic applications in dogmatic chapter
sequence
Paul was way off! As we see in Luke 4:18, Jesus reads Isaiah 61:1 and
part
of verse two as He proclaims the acceptable year of the Lord, then
Jesus
went on to say , This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Yet Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit, quotes Isaiah 60:1 (or some may
say
52:1-2, nevertheless they are both before chapter 61) as a declaration
applicable for the believer as present truth for an awakening and goes
on to give evidence of being awake! See then that ye walk
circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are
evil.
(A much different exhortation than eat, drink, and be
merry,
tomorrow
we may die. That may suffice for those who only know life under the
sun,
but never for those who have found life in the Son!) Wherefore
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And
be
not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for
all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
(verses 15-20). As far as an explosion goes of prophetic fulfillment
for
the future concerning Isaiah 60:1, are we robbing anyone of hope when
we
see the account in Acts where the scattering of the Church began in
chapter
8, the vision Peter got concerning him going to the Gentiles, and so
on,
as being a continual progression that began in Acts leading up to a
climax,
as opposed to something yet to come? With all of that in mind as far as
the future goes and what it may hold, shall we not give these two
verses
some thought? Arise, Shine for thy light is come, and the glory of
the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon
thee,
and his glory shall be seen upon thee
(Isa 60:1, 2).
Have we not continued to make serious note of any upcoming darkness as well as all the present gross darkness, with all the doomed reports, which began with the very disease of sin itself ? Man apart from God treads in constant darkness, and even his good intentions seem to pave the way to hell. After considering verses like Isaiah 60:1-2, can we not look into the future without our dust ridden carnal vision and see such gross darkness as the perfect back drop to manifest the glory of our God? Or is this God we believe in a God that can only break away from such horrific global catastrophic afflictions with a hand full? We ask all of this knowing that there is nothing wrong with being informed, and making preparation for what the years ahead have in store, but when we get all of our information, let us get the understanding that there are preparations that must be made in the spirit! Let everyday, be another day that we can experience the intimacy of our relationship in Christ Jesus. Such intimacy is the very place where all the proper preparations can be found! Let everyday be another day that we can take advantage of drawing closer to Him, seeing that even the mundane situations are mere training ground for greater things ahead! Or shall we savor fear with those who contribute to it's large market? Does the leading of the Holy Spirit, the very voice of the Good Shepherd, need to be replaced with CNN and the reports of unregenerate men? Do we see victory in Jesus or read the newspaper into the sacred scriptures? Beloved let us prepare our hearts. Draw near to Him and He shall draw near to you, so in the time of gross darkness (whatever that may entail) we may become ministers of Light instead of desperate seekers in the dark. Is He not worthy to be sought in a desperate fashion today, so His fresh flow of life may sustain us today and equip us for tomorrow? Or do we take for granted such divine life and grow impotent?
Oh may we ponder it in our hearts, may the very deposits of
Christ go
down to the deepest part of our soul, may it take root in our earthen
vessels!
In the dimension that we are in now, we may ask ourselves is "the
resurrection"
an event or a person? This we know, we cannot have the event without
the
person. I, at this time, am taken back about three years or so to a
quiet
spring day, where the magnetism of the Spirit had a newly apprehended
young
man slowly going through what has been called the "resurrection
chapter"
(1 Cor 15). Alone in the room, but not so alone in the Spirit, these
words
came to life: And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a
living
soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The dawning of
divine
light had shed its warmth upon my understanding for the first time in
my
life, as far as where I was and who I was in, and where I had been
placed.
Needless to say, resurrection was not unveiled as a one-fold operation.
The very glow of that radiant shower left my being stunned with the
fact
that I had been quickened! One piece fell into place for the time
being,
while I had already met the Life-giver, Jesus Christ, a short time
prior
to that day, He showed me what He had already done. He quickened my
spirit!
Today, in the life of the believer, there is a great love story
taking place. It is "The Love Story of all love stories." We dare say
that
it can be found in "The Song of Songs," with its beautiful symbolic
language,
which speaks of Christ and the Church as well as Christ and the
believer.
While many stores carry tons of slick glossy paperbacks with alluring
covers
that paint a picture of dreamy eyed romance, "a more excellent way" is
found in a book that easily fits its title. To the degree that we come
to know the Lover of our soul, it may very well be the degree we see
Him
on every page of scripture, not just the ones that spell it out. Even
more
important, we hope this romance is being written on our hearts! While
there
may very well be an application of marriage between a natural man and
woman,
if this is all the "Song of Songs" can be considered, I dare say that
at
best, that is only (powdered) milk. However, let it be known that often
we claim that whatever we came out of is milk and what we are now in,
or
presently understanding is meat. With that in mind, by the grace of
God,
may we go on to see that rather than comparing understandings, our love
for Him is better off lived out, instead of being formulated into some
grand understanding that no one else can touch, which hardly can be
called
"love." We can only hope that Christ is seen, not only historically
raising
up Jairus's daughter, but also raising up our awareness of His constant
abiding. Just as Paul admonished the Ephesians to awake and arise, let
us take heed to the voice of our Beloved. Rise up, my love, my fair
one, and come away.
(Song of Sol. 2:10)
While we are quickened into the newness of His Life at the onset
of
God's apprehending us, He also draws our soul away, further and
further,
into the depth of the divine life that our spirit was awakened to. As
we
have seen in the woman with the issue of blood, the very issues of life
can drain us from our source of divine life. Likewise, the intoxicating
mindsets can leave us in slumber instead of divine union with our Lord.
q>>For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are
drunken
be drunken in the night (1Thess 5:7). In our spiritual sojourn we
may encounter the appeal of various winds. Some may be error. We all
are
to listen for the Spirit of truth to speak into our hearts, yet with
all
the knowledge embraced, we should ask ourselves, "Have I been
challenged
to come up higher, not so much in an intellectual sense, but in a
spiritual
sense, that requires something that will draw me closer to the Father?"
While the intellect may grow with information, to what profit is it if
we are not growing in Him? So often even scriptural truths become
idolized,
so instead of applying the truth, or letting it function in its proper
place, we build an alter to it. Knowledge itself, true or otherwise,
may
lead us into the deception that we are very much awake, but remember
those
at Sardis, ...thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead
(Rev 3:1). We submit to you, it is not about finding new truth, or
having
a truth others fail to embrace, but coming to know the truth as a
person!
Remember, He who is THE TRUTH, is also THE LIFE. Without the quickening
of the Spirit, any truth is powerless to enable us to walk in the
newness
of life!
We in no way wish to detour anyone from the very thing the Apostle
Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians or exclude this hope
we have been given, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we
are of all men most miserable.
There is a resurrection yet to
come!
The twelve year old girl raised from the dead was not raised in the
glory
of an incorruptible life, that our Lord Jesus was raised in.
Death has an end! Once our spirit has been quickened by Christ,
death
has been put down in one arena! We will quickly comment on this in
hopes
of bringing balance to these statements. Although we have been
quickened
in our spirit we cannot name and claim immortality for our natural
body,
nor can we attain it with the power of positive thinking. Apart from
our
complete submission to the Holy Spirit, the power of the mind can only
muster up counterfeits for many things, but it has yet to strike the
fountain
of youth. (For any further interest on the subject of the mind
operating
apart from the spirit we suggest, "The Latent Power of the Soul," by
Watchman
Nee.) Does the scripture speak of our mortal body being preserved with
no end in sight, always remaining in this body, or does it speak of
being
changed? Behold I show you a mystery, We shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed...
(1 Cor 15:51). Perhaps at best, our
body is a borrowed tomb, holding the life that shall literally gulp
down its earthen shell of death.
We also would like to add the fact that there is nothing wrong with being aware of eating right and basically being good stewards with our body. We also would like to state this is no reason to just avoid any sort of moderation, let ourselves go and run our health into the ground.
"For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not that we be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." (2 Cor 5:4)
While we all share the groan of creation, we are to hold steadfast to the complete sense of resurrection life, because it covers the whole man -- spirit, soul, and body. The quickening of our spirit is the first step through the door! We also pray that as we continue to enter in to the newness of His Life, we shall learn to hear more clearly the voice of our Beloved, because He has a reply for those in the confines of darkness, stricken in hopelessness, vexed in vanity and destitute of any sense of purpose in the eternal sense! Yes, our Beloved has an answer to the very groan of creation, for we all in some sense groan together.
Now let us tune our ears to the Spirit and hear Him speak...