Key to Blessing

 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,…

 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:1-12

 

In reading the beatitudes, I see a key to blessing. It’s found in verse one. “…his disciples came unto him.”

Lord, I come to you. Teach me Lord how to be blessed. Without your guidance and your instruction, I do not know how to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, or even how to be persecuted. But you know. You are all of these.  More than the blessing, I seek to know these truths. Many of us would be willing to forgo the attribute, in order to have the blessing.  But if the characteristics spoken here are  the avenue to blessing and in being blessed, we are in turn to be a blessing to others, then I need to learn from you. I must know!

I want to dispense the kingdom of heaven! I want to release your comfort. Let your inheritance be accessed through my life. Fill them here Lord. There is mercy to be obtained in me. Let them see God here. Let them identify with me, because I am called a child of God. Kingdom of heaven, be theirs!

 

 

Inside the Parenthesis

Jesus, the miracle worker.  He would do miracles by the masses. He fed the multitudes.  Among the throngs, he would heal the sick.  He cast out demons.  At times, there were legions of them.  That’s a very large number. 

These were the witnesses. 

As we’ve been preparing for Women of Valor, our prayer teams have been meeting.  Together, we have spent time supplicating, interceding and prophesying the revelation the Lord has been pouring out. 

One such revelation that God gave me personally in May of 2010, was of the Wedding in Cana.  On that occasion, it was for our family, and is still a promise that we are standing on from God. 

Much more recently however, the Lord has been speaking to me concerning Cana and correlating it to this particular time.  You’ll find the marriage of Cana in John 2:1-11~

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:  And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.  And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.  His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.  And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.  Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.  And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,  And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

1.) Let me just say that I love that this account bears 11 verses and yep, it’s 2011!

2.) Secondly, I love the word whatsoever in this passage.  This is the word that all of us would love to abandon ourselves to, if we will admit it.   What is keeping us (me) from fulfilling the Lord’s “whatsoever He tells you to do, do it” in our life?

3.)  How about those six waterpots?  That’s the number of, you know it,  man!  You might be saying, “Well, I’m not that man.”  Not an excuse. Sorry.  2 Timothy 2:1 tells us that we are a vessel meet for the Master’s use, prepared for every good work! 

4.) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim…  His word, our response.  His word, our action.  His word, our deliberation.  See that?  We always think it was Jesus who did the miracles.  Not so.  The disciples did it, based on the Word spoken. 

5.) Draw out now…  When is the time?  Now is the time!  What we see the disciples doing here is preparing.  We have been instructed to prepare. This word draw, is a specific instruction.  What is it?

All throughout the Word, we see that it was the women who went out to draw water from the well.  A few examples:

     a.) Genesis 24:11, “And he made his camels to kneel down without the  city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.”

     b.) 1 Samuel 9:11, “And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? “

Interestingly, I believe that “the seer” or the “visionary” perhaps is drawn to the well.  Exodus 15:27 speaks of a place of wells.  “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.”  Looking at the word wells, it translates, eye. 

     c.) John 4:7, “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.”

This isn’t to be overlooked. I don’t know why, but it’s not.  According to John 7:38, all who believe have rivers of living water in their bellies but the well, is altogether different from the river.  Wouldn’t you agree? 

Proverbs 20:5 would lead us to believe that counsel is a well.  “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Isaiah 12:3 speaks of wells of salvation.  “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

There’s something about drawing from the well.  It brings about a “seeing”, which leads me to my next point…

6.) And they bare it…  Jesus instructed them to “bear” it to the governor of the feast and they did.   Last year, prophetically speaking, the bear came up many times in  intercession prior to Women of Valor.  It correlated with the Little Dipper and the Big Dipper.    Could this be the “bear”?  Could the washpots be the “dippers”?

When one bares something, that means “produce it”.  Let’s see it.  Let’s taste it. Let’s touch it.  OK, out with it! What’s in the pot? 

7.) Last but not least but I think my favorite at this point…

When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew) 

Did you read that?  The masses and the  multitudes, yes they enjoyed the wine but they HAD NO IDEA!  The real miracle was beheld by the disciples. 

They were simply men. They lived for the “whatsoever”. They prepared. They drew out. They filled. The bare it. And what’s most precious is that they, only they, knew. 

Women of Valor has been miraculous.  Everyone who comes can attest to that.  But there’s something about behind the scenes.  There’s something about the time of preparation that is so precious.  And, there’s a knowing that comes from this precious place of serving and doing “whatsoever” it takes to see the Lord glorified and these that He loves ministered to.  I love living inside the parenthesis. 

***Lisa Butler speaks of the wells of Ayin or the eye.  To read in depth about this, click here  http://prayerbeacon.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-wells-in-year-of-ayin.html

***For more information and to register for Women of Valor, go online to www.wlwc.org.

 

Fine Tuning

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified.”~ A.W. Tozer

The Lord first spoke to me concerning the tuning fork, one year ago around this very time.  In fact, he used to the above quote from A.W. Tozer to introduce the concept to me and began to expound from there. 

In my research, I found that there was  a watch  that utilized the tuning fork.  It was instrumental in powering the time keeper.  Interestingly, tuning forks are used in medicine to assess a patient’s hearing and are also a mechanism in radar guns to measure speed.

David Timms makes mention of A.W. Tozer’s quote in his book, The Power of Blessing and sure enough, while I was enjoying reading, the Lord quickened this in me again, to such a degree this time that I couldn’t shake the idea that I had to buy one.  So the next day, I went out and purchased a tuning fork.  Not because it’s magical or carries some power in and of itself but because it represents Holy Spirit to me.   It serves as a reminder to set my eyes and my ears on Him.    Father, by His Spirit, accesses our hearing and is calibrating us to Him.   It’s time to tune in.

That tuning fork, is prophecying to me.

 

The Lord God Will Do Nothing

Amos 3:3-8, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?”

For a couple of weeks, God has drawn me to this passage. 

 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets…  I am no stranger to this verse.   Many times in prayer, it’s been declared.  I’ve heard it preached and taught.  But, how many of us have ever concluded that we are that prophet?

Pastor Rena Perozich was the first person that I can remember teaching that we are the ”prophet of our own life”.  Those words will forever be engrained in me.  So, if you’re reading this and you want to check out, please don’t.  Obviously none of us are excused.    And if we want things to happen, both personally and corporately, we must understand that there are secrets that each of us keep.

What was it God was saying?  With regard to the preceeding scriptures, I have to conclude that nothing was happening, and it wasn’t on God’s part.  Complacency was causing a major deficit.  

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?…   Here we see the physical coinciding with the spiritual.  Agreement (spiritual)  engages the natural (walk).      

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?…     Why does the Lion of our lives have no prey?  I think it’s simply because we aren’t targeting it!   He’s taken nothing because we (I) haven’t  been deliberate in hunting it with prophecy and intercession.

Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?… A bird can’t fall in a snare where one hasn’t been set.  Words are a snare.  (Proverbs 6:2)  As prophets, we have both the responsiblity to set the snare and to fill it!   It’s disconcerting to lay the snare and later check it, only to take away nothing. 

 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?… The cities of this earth are awaiting  a sound!  Who will blow the trumpet and stir up reverence for this, our Holy God?    Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord not expose it?   

The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?…  The Lion has roared! He has conquered and taken His victory! Who will not take notice?  Who will not have respect for it?    The Lord God has spoken, how can we help but prophecy? 

Who can but prophecy?

 

Skyways and Highways

In Genesis 5, we read about the descendents of Adam. Over and over again, it states that they “lived” until one in particular, Enoch, changed the scheme of things. Enoch didn’t just “live”. The word says that “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” 

 

We’ve all heard about Enoch…more than once…no doubt. And we should because this is an amazing testimony of an amazing man. And how could we possibly take this kind of thing personally because really, when was the last time someone just went missing because they “walk” with God? If that were the case, there should be posters of many dear men and women of God hanging around on every telephone pole and fence post, in every part of the world. “Have you seen this man?” or “MISSING: Last seen… “  

So what does this mean for me? For us?

Enoch’s name means, initiated, teacher, dedicated, consecrated, experienced. Coincidentally or not, all the days of Enoch were 365 years. That’s one year for each day in our calendar year.

 The word says in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Even better, the Amplified asks it this way, “Do two wak together except they make an appointment and have agreed?”

 What is this “agreed”? If this is a or even the key to “walking” with God, I have to know it. To be agreed, according to #3259 in the Hebrew translation, is to meet at a stated time, to engage for marriage, betroth, to assemble or gather selves together, or set a time.

 The prophets have been declaring, “NOW IS THE TIME!” Women of Valor 2011 is coming up and this year, God has said, “NOW IS THE TIME!” I believe that we are about to take a walk with God, like never before. So, if you are reading this and you’ve never attended Women of Valor or you’re on the fence about whether or not you should attend, this is your invitation. Have you made your appointment? (www.wlwc.org)

 So…on that same note, God instructed me to insert my name in that passage where Enoch’s name is. If you want to be challenged, I would suggest you to do the same. “Stacey walked with God: and was not; for God took her.” Now it’s your turn. Go ahead. “______________ walked with God: and was not; for God took ______.” How did that feel? Weird, huh? I know.

 I was driving to work last week and saw a truck that said, “Skyways and Highways.” All of the sudden, I saw the number 11, laying on it’s side.  Like this =.

 And I caught a glimpse of two men, walking next to one another. Again, 11. Literally, when I looked at them next to one another, side by side, they looked like 11.

I knew in my heart that this was an interpretation of Enoch. There was such an alignment between what was “earthly” and what was “heavenly” in his life. They were agreed. Earth and heaven had an appointment to meet together in the life of this man. Earth and heaven were married for him. They engaged one another.

 To take it a step further (no pun intended), “and (Enoch) was not“. Yes, I know he vanished. I want this. To live in such a way that “and Stacey was not.”  I’m not saying I want to just up and go missing. But if God did that, He knows best. But what I do want is for all of Stacey’s selfish intent, motives, agenda, excuses, hindrances, abrasiveness, shortcomings, etc. to just be not. I want Jesus Christ and His glory to shine through me and my life.

Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  

 Notice one thing if you will. This doesn’t say that we live this way by faith IN the Son of God. No, it says by the faith OF the Son of God. 

So often when we take a look at “our” faith, it’s just like everything else apart from Jesus. Lacking. But if I’m reading this right, it’s not my faith I’m dependent on. It’s His. Oh, to have the faith of Jesus and according to the passage, we do! What He believes, I believe.    

I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me!