IS JESUS ENOUGH FOR YOU? ...... "The Songbird & the Flower"

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"Is Jesus enough for you?"

How often I have asked others that very question. I have asked it of the New Agers seeking truth outside of Jesus. I have asked it of the brethren that are caught up in seeking all things concerning Jesus. If we just seek and embrace Jesus Himself everything else finds it's proper place ...... so simple a child can do it.

This beautiful little story, sent to me by Joian, is by someone who constantly asks in his writings, "is Jesus enough for you?" I pray it blesses you.

Jack

The Songbird And The Flower
by Chip Brogden

In a land not too far away lived a songbird. According to outward appearances this songbird was no different than the rest. She had blue feathers, a white breast, and a yellow bill. But she also had a very special gift!

Her gift was discovered one day quite by accident. She enjoyed singing to the Lord and worshipped Him at every opportunity. It was her custom to wake up early to see the sunrise and spend time worshipping the Lord. She had done this every morning since she was a little bird.

Her song carried unusually far one morning. Her neighbor, the squirrel, was sitting in his little recliner with a cup of tea, reading the morning newspaper, when suddenly this magnificent song came wafting through the open window! "I have to find out where that's coming from!" he exclaimed. Jumping up out of his chair, he ran through the door and into the field, looking for the source of the beautiful music.

Also, at that exact moment, a deer was walking through the woods and heard the same sweet melody. "What singing!" she cried. "I wonder who it could be?" And she, too, went off to find out where the music was coming from.

The songbird, of course, was oblivious to the excitement she had generated. She was lost in her worship when suddenly the squirrel arrived on the scene, followed by the deer - and about a dozen other animals!

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" they all asked with great admiration.

The songbird shrugged her shoulders. "I always sing like this whenever I want to give praise to the Lord. I hope I didn't disturb you."

"Disturb us?" answered the deer. "We think it is wonderful! How uplifting to hear such beautiful singing early in the morning. You really have a gift!"

"I do?" asked the songbird.

"Absolutely!" said the squirrel. "God blessed you to bless others, and you shouldn't let that gift go to waste. You have a special calling!" And all the other animals agreed.

"I don't want to waste my gift," answered the bird. "What should I do?"

"Come with us to the church service this morning," said the deer. "I'll speak to the pastor about you and he'll let you sing for the congregation!"

The songbird wasn't sure what to do about all this attention, but she didn't want to waste her gift, and she certainly wanted to bless others with what she had been blessed with. So she agreed to go.


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Of course, the congregation of animals were blessed by the singing songbird, and she was such a blessing that they invited her to sing every Sunday morning. The little group began to grow as a result of the songbird's beautiful voice. In no time the songbird became the worship leader. Not only was she responsible for selecting the music and leading the worship service, but she was supposed to conduct the choir practice twice a week and teach voice to the pastor's daughter (the crow) so she could one day sing as well as the songbird.

One Sunday morning a group of eagles arrived, listened to the songbird, and watched her very carefully. After the service, the eagles gathered around the songbird and began to prophesy! "The Lord says that you have a special anointing, and He will give you an international ministry!"

Of course, the songbird was very thrilled about this, because she wanted to use her gift and she wanted to be a blessing. Another member of the church, the fox, offered to record her music and put it on CD. "That way," he explained, "You can reach more animals and be a blessing to God's creatures all over the world. This is what the Lord meant when He said He was giving you an international ministry!"

Before long the CD's were produced, and the fox had promoted them all over the world. The orders began to come in, and everyone said they were blessed by the songbird's music. Then came the invitations! "Is the songbird available to come to our church?" Everyone wanted their own live performance, and the fox took care of everything.

"Congratulations!" he told the songbird. "You're booked up for ministry every week for the next two years, and your CD's are in record stores all over the world. Now you can be in the full-time ministry! The Lord has really blessed you!"

So the songbird took her itinerary from the fox and began flying all over the world to meet the demands of her full-time ministry schedule. The fox even made her a special backpack so she could take all her CD's and ministry resources with her and raise money for her ministry.

The songbird sang in church services, and in retreats, and in conventions, and in concerts. She truly enjoyed meeting all the other animals, and she still enjoyed singing. She was getting a little tired of flapping her wings all the time to get from one ministry event to the other, and her voice seemed to be losing some of its former strength and purity from being used all the time, but she accepted that as part of fulfilling the call on her life. Besides, no one seemed to notice. Everyone loved her, and wanted to hear her.


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Time went by, and the songbird was becoming more and more popular. She had a ministry headquarters, a ministry staff, and ministry partners all over the world. Her next CD was coming out soon, and everyone was looking forward to it with great anticipation. She was a busy little songbird, flying all over the place to keep up with her hectic ministry schedule, but having to carry around all those CD's and ministry resources on her back was a constant strain, and she tired easily.

One day she was traveling to her next singing engagement and found herself flying over a canyon out in the middle of nowhere. Exhausted from her flight, she decided this would be a good place to stop and rest her wings for awhile. Far below her she saw a gorgeous flower of indescribable beauty! So she circled around the flower and landed right next to it.

What a lovely little flower it was! It had round petals of many colors - yellow, blue, pink, and white - and golden leaves. She had never seen anything like it in all her travels around the world. And the fragrance! It was unlike anything she had ever smelled, and far better than any perfume she had ever tried. Yet here it was, growing out of a crack in the bottom of a rocky canyon floor, out in the middle of nowhere!

"Hello little flower!" the songbird said. "I was just flying overhead and admiring your beauty, so I thought I would visit with you for a moment. You are certainly the most beautiful flower I have ever seen, and I don't think there is another flower in the world quite like you."

"The Lord has been very gracious to me," answered the flower pleasantly. "Who are you, and where are you going?"

"I am Rev. Songbird and I'm on my way to minister at a retreat on the other side of this canyon. Maybe you've listened to one of my CD's, or seen me on television?"

"No, I don't believe I have," the flower said. "I'm quite alone out here in the canyon, and I don't have a lot of contact with the rest of the world. As you can see, I don't have wings to carry me anywhere."

"That's a shame," said the songbird. "Because you are such a beautiful flower, and you give off such a lovely aroma. The Lord has blessed you to be a blessing, yet your gifts are not being used as they should! Why don't you come along with me to church, so the other animals can see your beauty and enjoy your fragrance?"

"Oh no, that would never do," the flower said, "Because that would only distract me from my own ministry."

"So you are in the ministry? What denomination are you with?" asked the songbird.

The flower laughed. "I'm not with a denomination."

"Where do you go to church?"

"Oh, I'm not involved with a church, either."

"Do you have some books or tapes out?"

"Heaven's no!" the flower laughed.

"So what kind of ministry do you have, then? Are you in the ministry full-time, like me?" the songbird asked.

"Oh yes, it is a full-time ministry," answered the flower.

"But you are out here in the wilderness, all alone. There are no churches, no one to fellowship with. How can you be in the full-time ministry? It seems like such a waste."

"Oh, but that is where you are wrong," explained the flower. "You see your ministry as being to the other animals, but my ministry is to the Lord Himself! He has planted me out here in the wilderness, hidden from the rest of the world. You believe that is a waste, since no one can see me or smell me. But He can see me! And He can smell me! And the measure of my fruitfulness is not what I am to other people, but what I am to Him."

The songbird was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, "Creatures all over the world are being blessed and encouraged by my music. Perhaps you are called to minister to the Lord, but I am called to minister to the other animals!"

"Who told you that you are called to minister to the other animals?" asked the flower.

"The Lord!"

"Really?" asked the flower.

The songbird thought about what the squirrel had said, and what the deer had said, and what the eagles had said, and what the fox had said, and what all the other animals said. "Well... just about everyone who has heard me sing has told me that the Lord has given me a special gift, a special calling, and a special ministry."

"Yes," agreed the flower. "But all of God's creatures have a special gift, a special calling, and a special ministry. Who told you that your gift, calling, and ministry is to the other animals?"

"I guess the other animals said so."

"Naturally," continued the flower. "But wait! What is that huge pack on your back?"

"Oh, that is my bag of music CD's and ministry resources. I carry these with me wherever I go, because this is how my full-time ministry is supported."

"It looks mighty heavy," observed the flower.

"It is, believe me!" said the songbird. But it's part of being in the ministry."

"For your ministry, perhaps," said the flower. "It's not part of my ministry! Ministering to the Lord is not a burden at all."

(Secretly, the songbird envied the flower, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it.)

"It does sound good," said the songbird. "But I'm not sure I even know how to minister to the Lord."

"Do you remember when you used to sing praises to the Lord in secret every morning, and just worshipped Him for Who He is, with no agenda or vision or plan or crowd of onlookers to minister to? Do you remember when you just sang the songs He gave you, and they were just between you and Him?" the flower asked.

"Yes."

"You were ministering to the Lord! And what was your reward, when no one could hear you sing, and you were just singing to Him?"

The songbird thought. "I didn't get any rewards, or recognition, or applause. So I guess the only reward I had was... Him?"

"That's right," the flower smiled. "When we minister to the Lord then the Lord becomes our reward. So then the question becomes: is Jesus enough for you? Or is the work of the Lord more important to you than the Lord of the work?"

And the songbird had to admit that she never had time to just sing to the Lord the way she used to. With all her traveling and performing she seldom took time to just minister to the Lord, the way she did before anyone knew how gifted she was. Now the ministry had become so big that the Lord Himself had been neglected.

"I see it now," the songbird finally admitted. "I went into the ministry, but I missed my calling."

"That's what usually happens," said the flower.

The songbird and the flower sat together in silence for a long time.

"So what do I do now?" the songbird whispered.

"Just go back to the beginning," the flower said. "The Lord is waiting to meet with you there."

The songbird and the flower embraced, and the songbird flew back to her nest, leaving the burden of her ministry behind on the canyon floor. So from that day forward the songbird devoted herself to ministering to the Lord, just like she used to do. And the Lord gave her some beautiful new songs to sing - just for Him.

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The Moses Code

During my 10 years in the Nazarene Church, I spent little time reading the bible. No one else at my church seemed very interested in it either, especially the minister we served under. He taught out of psychology books and the Quarterly (a Nazarene study guide), we all had our salvation assured, what more could you want? In the years to follow he would leave Christianity and become a new age practitioner starting a church of sorts in Las Vegas.

In 1972 my x-husband and I were headed to Expo' 72 - A conference that had been advertised at our local bible book store. The organizer was Campus Crusade for Christ, whose founder was Bill Bright. The evening speaker was to be Billy Graham and every Christian singing group out there was booked to sing at the services.

We were youth pastors at the local Nazarene church at the time and it was possible that the church might pay for some of our expenses to attend. According to the flyer, 100,000 Christians were expected in Dallas, Texas. Jim didn't believe there were 100,000 Christians left in the world, since our escape from the "God is Dead" generation. It was after our encounter with these thousands, (almost 300,000) that God would rock our world and open our eyes. It was the beginning of the end of our Nazarene days as we took our first step into the Jesus Movement.

After our trip to Dallas our hunger to know Jesus grew and we embarked on a search for him outside our denominational boundaries. The written word became a source of life to us...for many years we made it our God... but finally it drained of it's life and we functioned with it as a sort of instruction manual...which led to unbending, legalistic religion....

This past year things began to change on every forum we visit. It seems we are at an illusional, fork in the road........but the truth is.......there is still only one road, a narrow one that leads to the Father......though the blood of Jesus...for without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin........As offensive as that has become to those on the broad road......it remains......Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.....

Tonight Jack e-mailed me a link to a site espousing the new movie put out by a conglomerate of new age teachers. The movie is called "The Moses Code" (link below) Watch the trailer.

http://www.themosescode.com/index.php?p=Locations

As I listened to the speakers on the trailer I was stunned, stunned and sickened. It took my breath away as I understood what they were teaching.........In a time when our Father has placed so many of us in solitary places for the purpose of putting our souls/self effort out of commission, these men espouse the full development and use of the latent powers of the soul. They are assuming it is a Godly thing.......It is the same old stuff we used to be bombarded with years ago when two fleshly Christians got together to pray for or against something God had not directed.......it's just witchcraft and comes out of the rebellious heart..........and will end up creating another Ishmael from their fleshly agreements..... rejecting Jesus and his blood.....

I pray you ask for light as you read these next excerpts.......I also pray you follow the links to their sites and partake of the meat that will be needed to grow us up and give wisdom for what lies ahead....

In Him,

Joian

Here is an excerpt from Terry Crisp that was tremendously helpful along with a link to his site.
http://www.geocities.com/goodseedpub/Zarah3.htm

A DIFFERENCE MAY BE SEEN IN THE BASIC PRESUPPOSITIONS. To begin with, the teachings of Sonship are built upon the law of non-contradiction, the either/or form of logic. New Age doctrines are based upon the law of dialectic, the both/and approach. Why is this so important to note? Because, unless one starts from the rock-solid premise that there is such a thing as absolute truth, and that God's revelation to man in the Scriptures is unique, absolute and definitive (objective, concrete and consistent to all generations), rather than relative (that is, subjective, or subject to private interpretation, depending on how one might choose to see it), he will never be able to know anything with certainty concerning the mind and purposes of God.

Furthermore, he will never be able to make judgments concerning what is truth and what is error without feeling guilty about it. It stands to reason that two or more things, having opposite meanings, cannot all be right at the same time. And yet, this is exactly the way one would have to believe, in order to accept the many obvious contradictions found between the multitudinous forms of New Age expressions and the exclusive teachings of Jesus.

One of the first precepts we run into when encountering New Age teachings is the one which says that all roads lead to God. This means you can take your pick from among the innumerable routes that are available on the religious roadmap, or you can make up your own if you like. The path that one takes is not the important issue. The fact that one has taken a path, and is following that path sincerely, is. After all, truth is a relative term (so they say), and what may be true for you may not be true for me. But as long as we have taken a path, and can respect the paths of others as being their God-chosen destinies, we will eventually reach the same goal in the end.

It is interesting that the early believers of Christ were referred to as the people of the Way. They deserved the title, because they believed emphatically that there was but one way to the Father, and that was through the Lord Jesus Christ (in fact, they were so emphatic about it that many of them lost their lives because they refused to compromise with Caesar on the issue). To them, the Way represented more than just a teaching; it spoke of a Person, who alone could lead men to God. This is the foundation upon which the church is built, and one which separates it from every other way known to man. However, those who embrace the New Age postmodern philosophy of tolerance and inclusivity might well be referred to as the people of the ways. For them, it would be wrong to say that any one way is unique to the rest (which, ironically, is a violation of their own rule.)

This is an established fact, and one upon which we can count. Any time an attempt is made to fit eastern principles into the Christian paradigm, the paradigm ceases to be Christian. The reason for this is because there are irreconcilable differences which exist between them. But note this---these differences are not between East and West---they're between East and Christ! East and West CAN be incorporated as one; in fact, this is exactly what the New Age movement is. It's Eastern philosophy dressed up in Western attire. But the basic principles of the doctrine of Christ will not accept the teachings of Eastern mysticism, no matter how they are presented.


NEW AGE — COUNTERFEIT FEAST by Elaine Cook

1. The Feast of Jeroboam Solomon was greatly blessed of the Lord, but he did not follow fully after the Lord as did David his father. His wives turned away his heart after other gods and he built high places so they could worship their idols Chemosh and Molech. For this evil, the Lord said He would tear the kingdom from Solomon and give it to his servant. Yet, He promised to leave him one tribe for David’s sake. (I Kings, Ch. 12 tells how this all happened).
After Solomon died, Jereboam, his former servant, was raised up to be king over ten tribes in Israel. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigned in Jerusalem, over the house of Judah and Benjamin.

Jereboam was afraid that if the Israelites went up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem — to keep the feasts — their hearts would turn again unto Rehoboam. The end result would be that Jereboam could be dethroned or even slain. Not a happy thought! He took counsel with his counsellors who didn’t want to lose their jobs or their heads, either. They proposed a plan that was to trouble Israel for many generations; one that would open the door to an idolatrous worship such as they had never before known. Jereboam made two calves of gold and said unto the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" I Kings 12:28. He set one calf in Bethel and the other in Dan.

Consider the meaning of "the calves." They definitely speak of the animal nature. It is a true saying that "You are what you worship." They were bowing down to the natural man that is carnal, sensual and devilish. To confirm this, Jereboam chose priests of the lowest of the people who were not of the sons of Levi. They were not sanctified, cleansed vessels. Today, we would say that they had not been cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb or the washing of the Word.As if that were not enough, Jeroboam went one step further! He "devised in his own heart" a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month that was to take the place of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Though he was not sanctified as a priest, yet he sacrificed offerings unto the calves that he had made and set up in pagan shrines.

The people, like dumb sheep, followed their leader into idolatry and observed The Feast of Jereboam as if they were doing God service, as if He were truly with them and blessing them. They had believed the lie that they need not go all the way up to Jerusalem to sacrifice. This halfway place was a good provision for them. It required no cost — there was no cross to bear to go all the way with the Lord. Just like today, people are told, "Just go half-way and offer unto the likeness of your natural man —your SELF! After all, we’re made to be gods!" In choosing to "save self" they missed out on all that the Lord had for them in His true spiritual feasts because they settled for the golden calves of The Feast of Jereboam.

Gold represents the divine nature of God. To make an idol of an animal, in gold, is to attribute unto it God’s nature. That is precisely what multitudes have done today in embracing New Age doctrines. They have glorified the human nature — self —and proclaimed it to be their god.This has been done so subtly that many do not discern the difference between the true reality of the Lord and the Feast of Jereboam. This is my commission from the Lord: to set this forth as clearly as I can so that anyone can tell the earmarks of "the golden calf" worshipped at the counterfeit Feast of Jereboam.

2. Personal Sharing by Faith Williams One of my sisters has been heavily involved in New Age teachings for several years, so we’ve had up-front exposure to them. She has now completed several courses costing thousands of dollars and is a qualified New Age teacher. She bills herself as a Spiritual Therapist to God’s Sons!

She holds meetings in her home in the Baja (in Mexico) and does one-on-one sessions of Breathing Therapy and Spirit guiding, etc. When we visited Baja, almost without exception, every non-Mexican was into some form of New Age involvement. Each time we go, there are more and it is spreading rapidly (complete article at link below)

http://www.kingdomgospel.net/publications/newage.html
NEW AGE — COUNTERFEIT FEAST

THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME ..... " Our Physical Death" (part 4)

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"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:16

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WHERE, O DEATH, IS THY STING? WHERE, O DEATH, THY VICTORY?

George burns once said of death, "If you live to be one hundred, you've got it made. Very few people die past that age."

This quote although comical is just about as meaningful and realistic as are the views of most modern Christians toward "physical death. In contrast surely those of the early church must have understood the true measure of our vaporous existence on earth as they marched to their deaths while sharing their greater hope in Christ and His shared resurrection. The Apostle Paul the great spokesman out of that era found himself in a quandary of desiring to leave this worldly existence to be with the Lord or fulfilling His earthly service to the Church. He penned these familiar words, quoted below, continued his service and then later went on to martyrdom.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phill. 1:21

Death had no sting for Paul nor the early Christians and neither should it for you or I as we hold onto the greater Hope which be our Heavenly existence in God. I know this a sensitive and even a difficult subject for many, thus very rarely do we see it addressed, although it's importance cannot be overstated. Two years ago this month I lost my mother and I was forced to really pray about my own understanding and acceptance of our physical ends. Even today, while possessing what I would hope is a true and mature understanding of man's last earthly state, the loss of my mom still pains me. Without doubt I know she is in an unimaginably better place now as she rests in the bosom of Jesus. Still I miss her and some times terribly so. I don't believe there is anything wrong with that. With that said I hope you might continue with the rest of this message, which I end with a touching tribute by Jack Grey. Jack's wife of sixty years, Margaret went to be with Lord last year and in this short sharing he honors her memory while beautifully explaining the difficult journey of one left behind. I know it will touch you as it did Joian and myself when we read it.

Before closing this series with a couple of short messages by Fenelon and Dr. Grey, please allow me to diverge for a moment by sharing some thoughts that have helped alleviate "the sting of death" for me. I am one that prayerfully believes you and I are spirits having a human experience rather than humans partaking of a spiritual experience. We were, will be and even now are part of the Godhead as the Elohim. Before the foundations were even laid we shared a pre-existent estate in the eternal realm of God. We all, like Jesus our elder brother, were then lowered into the realm of space and time which makes up this world. Before we left and descended from the comfort of our Father's bosom, I believe we saw and knew how our lives would be played out here on earth. We also saw and knew how all that was to occur in this world as far as mankind and even us personally was magnificently purposed in Love. With that in mind, I can only believe that with such supernal knowledge we were all in perfect agreement as to the roles we each would be assigned in this world. Partaking of God's omniscience we chose our births and our deaths, knowing how all would perfectly fit together in God's sovereign plan for the ages, which finds it's summation with all being gathered together in God that He might be All in All of us. I speak of both sinner and saint knowing every one lives out their role perfectly. Thus we are called to "know no man after the flesh." 2Cor. 5:16. With this knowledge we learn to kiss even the hands of those that nail us to the cross for they are but fulfilling their roles in God's perfectly appointed plan.

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Job 38:1-7

In these scriptures above God is petitioning Job to remember back, far back and even before his time on earth. I believe the "morning stars singing and the sons shouting" is a picture of you and me and all mankind in our eternal Heavenly state looking toward God's purpose and plan for creation. My friend do you remember this? Can you hear the song and the shouts deep within your heart?

In my last message I shared this quote by Swift. "It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so universal as death, should ever have been designed by Providence as an evil to mankind."

Here, Fenelon who wrote centuries ago adds something to Swift's thought above. This short perspective of our fleeting life and sure death is one of the very best I have ever read.

"What we admire, is as nothing in the eyes of God: a little more or less of life, is a difference that disappears in the light of his eternity. What matter whether this fragile vessel, this clay tabernacle, be broken and reduced to ashes, a little sooner or later?

What difference can we discover between two persons who lived a century ago? The one died twenty years before the other, but now they are both gone; the separation which then seemed so abrupt and so long, appears as nothing to us, and was, in fact, but short. Those things which are severed, shall soon be reunited, and no trace of the separation will be visible. We look upon ourselves as immortal, or at least as having a duration of ages. O folly and madness! those who die from day to day, tread upon the heels of those that are already dead; life flows like a torrent; that which is gone is but a dream, and even while we contemplate that which now is, it vanishes and is lost in the abyss of the past. So will it be with the future; days, months, and years, glide like the billows of a torrent, each hurrying along the other. A few moments more, and all is over! Alas! how short will that existence then appear, which now wearies us with its sad and tedious length!" Fenelon

And now finally, Jack Grey's beautiful tribute to his recently departed wife, of sixty years. If you have lost a loved one I pray this touches you as it did me.

The Shadow of Death

"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and staff they comfort me."
These words from Psalm 23 have been familiar to me since childhood, and till the recent loss of my dear wife, Margaret, I have always understood them as referring more specially to the experience of believers drawing near to death. Now I see them in a new light and their truth has become a reality to my heart in a fresh way.

A Scripture which became very dear to Margaret over the last year of her life was Proverbs 4:18 "The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." She was living in the consciousness of that growing light and longing for the dawning of that perfect day. As I have thought about this it struck me that when a person is walking towards the light the shadow is behind them. The shadow of death then falls on the person left behind and in bereavement that is the valley through which one must pass. It is a valley of desolating emotions as the greatness of one’s loss threatens to overwhelm, and a dauntingly lonely path stretches ahead. It is into that valley that the Shepherd comes with the comforting ministry of His rod and staff exercised through the Scriptures and through the love of family and friends. Encouraging too is the fact that the valley is not endless, though it may be long, and the Shepherd will see us through. And the light of dawn is before me too.
Jack Gray

I pray that with this series of messages, your apprehension and fear of death has been lessened. With that, I also hope the value of the gift of "His never ending Life" within you has been increased.

We all have those loved ones, whom, before us, have departed this charnel house we call world. Isn't it of great comfort that we, who know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, can look forward to that soon day when we will all be reunited in His perfect eternal Love. Let the morning stars sing and the sons of God shout, "Oh, death where is thy Sting!"

Jack


Hast thou a cloud?
Something that is dark and full of dread;
A messenger of tempest overhead?
A something that is darkening the sky;
A something growing darker bye and bye;
A something that thou fear'st will burst at last;
A cloud that doth a deep, long shadow cast,
God cometh in that cloud.

Hast thou a cloud?
It is Jehovah's triumph car: in this
He rideth to thee, o'er the wide abyss.
It is the robe in which He wraps His form;
For He doth gird Him with the flashing storm.
It is the veil in which He hides the light
Of His fair face, too dazzling for thy sight.
God cometh in that cloud.

Hast thou a cloud?
A trial that is terrible to thee?
A black temptation threatening to see?
A loss of some dear one long thine own?
A mist, a veiling, bringing the unknown?
A mystery that unsubstantial seems:
A cloud between thee and the sun's bright beams?
God cometh in that cloud.

Hast thou a cloud?
A sickness--weak old age--distress and death?
These clouds will scatter at thy last faint breath.
Fear not the clouds that hover o'er thy barque,
Making the harbour's entrance dire and dark;
The cloud of death, though misty, chill and cold,
Will yet grow radiant with a fringe of gold.
GOD cometh in that cloud."

Lettie Cowan

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THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME ..... " Our Physical Death" (part 3)

"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:16

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MY PERSONAL AKEDAH

Akedah - is a Hebrew word which means the 'Binding
of Isaac’ taken from the account in the book of Genesis.
Abraham, at the command of God takes his son Isaac
to be offered as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.
Abraham binds his son (hence ‘the Binding of Isaac’)
to the altar and is ready to perform the dreadful
deed when an angel appears to tell him to stay his
hand and to promise him that his seed will increase.

In my last message I shared a personal account of God graciously lifting me up out of years of guilt and shame suffered because of my past sins as a parent to my two children. With the gift of a supernal vision deep within my spirit God made me aware of my total futility contrasted with His almighty omnipotence. This I know was in preparation for the event I share with you today; "My Akedah."

Let me first say that the truthful recognition of our futility to do anything outside of God's pre-ordained plan for our lives causes us to throw ourselves upon Him who controls and knows all things, both small and large. As scripture tells us, our God knows of the tiny sparrow that falls from the sky and even the number of hairs upon our head. More importantly we know God, with all His omnipotence and omniscience, purposes everything in Love. It is hard to understand if not impossible, the thought that God uses evil, suffering and even death in this world to bring forth a greater eternal Good. One just cannot wrap his or her mind around such a truth, thus the acceptance and belief in such must surely be God given. This even more so speaks to the totality of our reliance upon God.

Not long after God showed me my futility in raising my two children I realized a deep seated fear within me that was causing me to not fully entrust Erin's and Tyler's care completely unto the Lord. My original nature is that of a worrier and wow, did I worry about my babies. And with this worry came anxiety and frustration that was greatly enlarged when my two twenty year olds were not living and behaving as I thought they should. Seeking to relieve my discomfort and frustration I found myself often speaking to my children in terms that often ended in condemnation. This much more so, was the case with my son whom like me at his age, likes to experience it all while often getting banged up in the act. I'll let you in on a secret here. My mother actually used to pray to God, asking Him to just take me, so trying to her was my wild and wayward life. She was just completely worn out from all the worrying, plus she had five other children to attend to. Getting back to Tyler, it seemed that with my condemning controlling ways coupled with his bullish independence we often found ourselves estranged, one from another. He felt insecure and uncomfortable in his not being able to or even wanting to meet my demands. Even when we were communicating, our relationship was dishonest and stiff because of the many areas we couldn't touch on due to our different life standards. Most often we would just banter back and forth with wit and humor never daring to connect on a deep or meaningful level. Isn't that somewhat the pattern for many parent/child relationships. I know it was for my father and myself and although I hated the thought of repeating such a pattern with my son, I didn't know how to avoid it. It seemed this terrible pattern was so deeply ingrained in me.

"When you are older, you will stretch out your arms and Someone Else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go" Jn 21:18

And "lead me where I do not want to go" He certainly does. For the last five years of my life it has been that way for me. He is ever dragging me to unwanted places and then He shows me His goodness and grace that dwells there. So it was one night a month or so after my previously mentioned revelatory experience where I was made aware of my total futility. As I lay in bed on this particular night, I was given charge by the Holy Spirit to envision how this life might play out for my children, whom I can tell you, I love more than life itself. I wondered "what if's" for what seemed like an eternity. This exercise became increasingly painful as I saw the very best this world could give my two kids as weighed against the suffering, pain and heart ache that would inevitable weave it's way through their lives. And then the capper of all cappers ........ I saw the very end of their lives which is death. I mean, I was up against "in your face, grim reality" and there was no place for me to hide.

It was an hour or so later while in the midst of prayer the voice of nature with it's fear of death was replaced by His wondrous Grace. I had come to another benchmark of sobering prayerful surrender and this time Like Abraham I was being called of God to end my earthly relationship with my son and daughter, whom I loved as much as a man can love anything in this world. I had journeyed to the summit and now there was nothing left to do but lay my two dear children upon God's altar. They were His and although I had laid claim to them for more than two decades my claim was fraudulent and void and had always been. As I laid these precious darlings into the Father's hands I suddenly gained a peace I could never have imagined before with regard to the well being of my Tyler and my Erin. No matter what this world could ever bring to my children, I could know that God had purposed it in love and He would make it all for Good. Although Erin and Tyler must still walk their earthly lives out, before the foundations of this world were laid, every detail of their time on earth had already been planned out. It was planned with unfathomable care and unimaginable Love. Every thing God does is for our profit and advantage and I can find rest in that. Even our death was made for Good and thus with this realization, it has no sting.

I believe Jonathan Swift had it right when he wrote, "It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so universal as death, should ever have been designed by Providence as an evil to mankind."

Please allow me to end this message with a victory report of how God has so thoroughly resurrected my relationship with Tyler since my Akedah experience. The Lord spoke to me after my sacrifice that I needed to call my somewhat estranged son. I needed to share with him, how I for so many years had been so wrong in my view of him thus my relationship with him was skewed. After much prayer, I made the call and added a humble apology for my wrong thinking that had produced such condemnation and discomfort. From that time on our relationship just blew up into an incredible and genuine love fest. I can't even explain this new overwhelming love that has been shed abroad into both our hearts. It is so much greater than I could have imagined and the best part is that this love seems to have dramatically transformed my son. He is incredibly, so much more at peace, and his consideration of the undeserving has increased a thousand fold. Tyler has also become a wonderful caregiver and his contributions in this area with regard to family and friends is becoming almost legendary with those that know him. I never thought this impatient and moody child had it in him to patiently and tenderly encourage and care for the infirmed, the downtrodden and the forgotten but he is magnificently exhibiting such qualities and exploits all the time. Oh I'll yell ya, Christ's love dwells in this young man and it was just a matter on my part of recognizing this. That father/son relation which was all but dead has sprung to a wondrous newness of life and with that I am ever grateful. In both of our lives it is the prodigal that has shaken off the insanity of separation and now we sup as one at the Father's table where all is good.

Tyler sent me a letter last week and I let it sit in my mailbox all day before reading it as I knew it would probably crush me with undeserved grace. By the spirit I knew before I opened it something of the content of this unannounced correspondence. What I didn't know was the degree of grace I would receive nor the level of brokenness I would experience upon reading it. When I saw nothing but sin and shortcomings in my parenting, my son saw something else. How could this ever be?

Below are a few excerpts from Tyler's letter and believe me, these words were showered with tears when I read them. Knowing Tyler, I have to believe he cried some too as he wrote them. This personage, whom my son writes of, certainly was not me as my failures so outweighed the good I did. Instead this is Tyler's God given graceful recollection.

Somehow, though, my Dad never let me think, my whole life, that he wouldn’t do anything for me. Never once did I think my Dad wouldn’t sacrifice anything for me. How priceless is that? For your whole life to know that your Dad loves you to death and would do anything for you? How priceless is it to know you can be anything and your Dad will support you and believe in you? My Dad didn’t have that. So how did he know to make me feel that way? Every day of every year I have been alive he has made me believe this. It is priceless ......

I learned by example. I worked with my Dad. I saw how he handled himself. A professional at all times. At all times, responsible for his own actions. No better or worse than anybody, no matter how much money they had. No matter how little they had. My father is a man among boys. A man is also sympathetic. I remember going to K-mart when I was young. It was near Christmas. My Dad bought all kinds of toys and gifts that were for young boys. Then we went to a house that was run down. My Dad give the gifts to a poor family with kids who didn’t have the means to have a Christmas that we were used to. I always remember that. Because of things like that, which I remember, that spirit lives in me. I will help a stranger. I have pulled over to help old ladies carry their groceries. I go the extra mile for friends, and even strangers. That doesn’t come from nowhere. That comes from my parents. I remember going with you to the city jail and seeing you preach to the inmates. You weren’t preaching as if you were better than them. You were talking to them as a brother, as a sinner. As a man no better than them. You never talked down to people, even criminals. You talked to them as an equal, and sometimes you raised them up higher than yourself. I remember it all .......

You have spent almost 30 years being my Dad. When I am 30, that will be almost 11,000 days you have cared about me more than anything else in the world. 11,000 days that you would do anything for me. 11,000 days that you have loved me more than you can explain. You have been the best Dad. I wouldn’t trade you for anything. You’re it.

I love you. Thank you.

Your son


My Tyler has been placed on the altar and with this, has the prodigal come home to share with me the fruit of Christ. And my heart has been truly overwhelmed.

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Jesus truly is the bearer of some very "Amazing Grace" and what a glorious day it is, when we are able to bow our heads and finally surrender everything. What joy it is to look back over all that the Lord has led us through and realize His purpose in both the good times and the bad times, to behold the goodness and love of God in His dealings with us.

All must die to be resurrected in "newness of Life" and God help us to realize, we can hold nothing back that we might win Christ. Resurrection Life is that which has died, but now lives and all that we cherish must have the mark of the Cross upon it.

God bless,

Jack

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Top: Tyler on the left celebrating St Paddy's Day with his good buddy Dan, another Irishman.

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Bottom: Tyler second from right with his homies in Jackson Hole last month. Five of them came from L. A. to snowboard. They all stayed at the house and what a neat bunch. I was blessed by their company.

THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME ..... " Our Physical Death" (part 2)

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"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:16

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MY PERSONAL AKEDAH

Akedah - is a Hebrew word which means the 'Binding of Isaac’ taken from the account in the book of Genesis.

Abraham, at the command of God takes his son Isaac

to be offered as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.

Abraham binds his son (hence ‘the Binding of Isaac’)

to the altar and is ready to perform the dreadful

deed when an angel appears to tell him to stay his

hand and to promise him that his seed will increase

As promised in my last blog, this is the account of my personal Akedah. I pray you will be touched and you might realize, as I have, that it will cost us everything to gain Christ who gave everything that He might gain us. I know I shall weep with the writing of this message as so heart rending was my sacrificial expedience. Conversely the glorious rewards arising from my sacrifice have so outweighed the cost I was called to pay. Isn't that the way it is with God. That which you are called to give and thus "die to" is resurrected and returned in so much greater form as to be almost unrecognizable. The further you walk with Jesus the more you realize this journey is all about "death and resurrection" and that is a most glorious thing as "the end of a matter is better than its beginning." (Eccl.7:8)

And it came to pass after these things, that God did

tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and

he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Gen 22:1,2

Before I share my account, please allow me to diverge for a bit. I must tell you, there have been some battles waged over the idea that God would ever command anyone to sacrifice their son. The Jews have incessantly discussed and debated Abraham's sacrifice for centuries and even today, Christians debate whether Abraham was actually commanded of God or just plain delusional. The "Akedah" remains as one of the most difficult of all Biblical texts to understand, justify and transmit to new generations.

After my personal experiences and by the witness of the Spirit within, I have to believe it truly was the voice of God Abraham heard. Added to that understanding, amongst other things, the Biblical concept of "first the natural, then the spiritual." (1Cor15:46) plus this scripture (below) speaking to the Old Testament characters and accounts it is clear to me Abraham was not delusional but lucid and obedient.

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 1Cr 10:11

The final word for me is the fact that the "binding of Isaac" is mentioned in the New Testament Book of Hebrews as amongst the many acts of faith recorded in the Old Testament.

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense." Heb 11:17-19

I can concur with the conclusion of this author's message below which addresses Abraham's state with regard to the sacrifice of his son. I like wise believe this patriarch's actions were the result of a "radical obedience." And if you have walked very far with God I would believe you have at one time or another had to exhibit this same obedience. Truly, "God has chosen the things which the world regards as foolish, in order to put its wise men to shame." (1Cor 1:27)

".......at a simple, rational level, the command of God challenged Abraham to embrace the absurd, the irrational, or the unintelligible. What sense does it make to murder the son of promise through whom God had promised to bless all the earth? ...... Abraham had to transcend normal ethical expectations. Good parents love and nourish their children, they do not murder them in religiously-inspired violence and claim that "God told me to do it."

....... How could Abraham possibly have known whether Isaac would be spared (as it so happened) or whether he might kill Isaac only to have God raise him from the dead (the interpretation of Hebrews 11:17-19)

Abraham had to act as a solitary individual, with no guarantees or clarity, knowing that he might be horribly wrong and deeply deceived by himself or others, knowing that his actions would merit the opprobrium of his family and community, knowing that his act would be irreversible, and contrary to everyday standards of ethics and rationality. In his radical obedience, Abraham "worked out his salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12,13), with palpable dread and humility, before a God who asks everything, absolutely everything, of us."
Dan Clendenin

"The wind blows where it wants to" (Jn 3:8) and I had no original inclination to share so much background on the Biblical Akedah. That said, I do hope this material has been of interest to you and if anything, shown the need to always seek the Holy Spirit as to the interpretation and meaning of any scripture. I humbly ask you to please allow me now to return to my original purpose; that, of sharing my personal Akedah experience.

A few years ago I was deep in contemplation while sitting in my den. I normally am involved in very little reflection as far as my walk with God, however this night I was taken back decades in remembrance of my shortcomings as a parent. This was one of those painful occasions where God by His Holy Spirit illuminates the darkness and sin in your life. Although this was a rare occasion for me, it was even rarer that God would shine His light on my past. Normally, and as I said, on rare occasions, God will illuminate the remaining darkness in my soul. This always brings great grief and causes me to ever cleave tighter to the Father's bosom where His pure heart beats.

This night, as I was taken back in time I was sickened and completely heart broken as I saw my sins while parenting my two children. Most of my shortcomings were in relationship with my son, with whom I spent much time raising as a single parent. Most of my past sins revealed, were of omission rather than commission and they were born out of a selfish spirit where my concerns for myself were greater than my concerns for my children. Of course much of this was of the "I am too busy or tired to give right now" mind set. Even just beginning to write of this account, I am now awash in tears because so great was my anguish that night.

It seemed like I sat and knelt on the floor of my den for hours weeping and moaning and when I thought I could take it no more God spoke to me five words that changed my life forever. He said deep in my spirit, "You could do nothing different." Oh my, I learned more about God's sovereignty that night with the supernal utterance of those five words than I had in all of my thirty previous years of contemplating the subject of man's free will vs. God's sovereignty. I recognized for the first time my state of complete futility and clearly saw that all men are created subject to this same overwhelming futility (Rom 8:20). In an instant there was a "Divine knowing" that arose within me and with it came the greatest relief from the overwhelming and crushing guilt I was experiencing. Accompanying that "knowing" was also an over riding belief that "God works all things for good" and my children would be better than fine when His purpose was accomplished in their lives. How utterly amazing and miraculous are the ways of this God we serve!


God bless,

Jack

Note: Rather than make this blog too long and thus possibly

detract from the crux of "My Personal Akedah" account I

feel led to end this message here for now. For those of you

that have stuck with me this far I thank you and I hope I

haven't disappointed or bored you. Lord willing I plan to finish

this sharing of my sacrificial experience and the glorious results

in my next blog.

(next: my life changing vision of death, the sacrifice of

my two children and the glorious results)


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THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME ..... " Our Physical Death"

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"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:16



Wow, it has been six weeks since I felt capable to continue this series expounding upon the "sojourner's heart" which the believer must possess if he is to walk deeply and far with God. Without going into all that I have experienced in the last six weeks I can report that I see more clearly the truths I want to share and especially this subject of which I write on today; "our physical death." I introduced a number of subjects in my (Feb 13th post) that I wanted to share on. One of those incorporates our physical death, which is one of the three deaths we all must experience.

The three deaths as addressed in our Bible are as follows with a brief interpretation.

* First death: this occurs at birth/conception and would be described as being born with an Adamic nature which separates man from God. The Adamic nature is our sin nature ruled by a carnal and selfish mind.

* Second death: this occurs when we are "born again" by the unction and regeneration of the Holy Spirit. This is where we die to our old Adamic sin nature as it is replaced by Christ's nature which is sinless and pure. This is not as the organized church teaches a one time deal but our second death is progressive in nature until we grow into the full stature of Christ.

* Physical Death: This one is self explanatory isn't it. lol

Unfortunately, "physical death" is in-proportionately given much more weight and attention than the other two aforementioned deaths. I believe this is because of wrong thinking and it speaks to a lack of spiritual understanding of God's purpose and plan for man. With this message and possibly a few more, I would hope to share a more enlightened view of our physical death and thus hopefully alleviate some of the fear and apprehension most feel toward this inevitable occurrence. I would pray that God has placed in you a desire to stick with me as I explore "our inevitable end in this physical realm." I also hope to make this series a positive one with the result being that you would have an understanding and acceptance of God's use of physical death in His purpose and plan for you.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1Jn 2:17


Let me begin by saying I believe the soul that truly loves God learns to live more in the next life than in this. Those that are saved out of this age are building their whole hope upon God! And those that are building their hope upon God have had placed in them a yearning heart that seeks to reach for that which is hidden from the multitudes of men and women about them. They have been separated from the whole as "God's sojourners" and thus they must go with Jesus "apart from the multitude." Let us know that no man that "goes abroad with Jesus" has found rest in this earth. Of that I am convinced. It is a Divine and rare calling to follow Jesus with one's whole heart. With less than a whole heart given to God these following words of our Lord would seem too costly if not unbearably cruel.

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." Lk 14:26

Oh my, I kid you not when I say that this truth portrayed above is probably the most difficult a believer will ever face. So difficult is this requirement that I would hate to count the millions upon millions that have turned back when faced with the forsaking of their parents, their children and even their life to gain Christ. Surely there is no man or woman that can possibly fulfill this requirement save the Spirit of Christ within them, carries their soul over such an impossible and incomprehensible threshold. I know all too well the great anguish, pain and sorrow I personally suffered when I came up upon this. I could not even imagine such a cost nor did I know how to pay it. I was left completely undone with no hope when confronted by such a demand and then through God's supernal and almighty grace He carried me over that incomprehensible threshold. During one dark and pressing night I had no choice but to place my father, my mother and, the dearest of all to me, my children upon the altar and offer them all up to God. In this act I was in actuality offering up my very own life.

In my next message, Lord willing, I hope to recount the painful events preceding my sacrifice to God of all that was important in my life. And lest, you think I have wandered away from the subject at hand I hope to also share a life changing vision of death I experienced. Along with these accounts, praise the Lord, I will conclude by sharing with you also, the most glorious results reaped from this sacrificial time. I'll tell ya, and I write with tears now, the suffering I experienced, has since been so completely overshadowed with the reward of His glorious Love, Life and Grace shed abroad in my heart and in the hearts of those dearest to me. Yes, I can joyously report that our gracious loving God does indeed wipe away all the tears as He makes things new by resurrecting that, which has found it's death upon God's altar.

"and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." Rev 21:4

Oh, what a promise! And as it is with all things, in God the promise is so much more than the cost. May we forever count all the promises of God through Christ Jesus as "yea" and "amen" !!!

Jack


(to be continued with and an account of "My personal Akedah"

Akedah - is a Hebrew word which means the 'Binding of Isaac’
taken from the account in the book of Genesis (22:1-19)
Abraham, at the command of God takes his son Isaac
to be offered as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.
Abraham binds his son (hence ‘the Binding of Isaac’)
to the altar and is ready to perform the dreadful
deed when an angel appears to tell him to stay his
hand and to promise him that his seed will increase)


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FOR OUR JOSHUA READERS

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"....but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, DEPARTED NOT OUT OF THE TABERNACLE" Ex.33:8

"We are in one age, and we are being prepared for something, though we have only caught faint glimpses of the glory and wonder of it. We do not understand all the workings of God, because we do not know exactly what we are going to do in the future, how it shall be done, or even what we are going to be. It doth not yet appear what we shall be (I Jn. 3:2). Therefore it is sometimes hard to understand the training we are receiving, for our training depends entirely upon what we are to be in the next age or realm in God. So we cannot question God concerning the whys and wherefores of all we are experiencing in our lives in this hour, and in the lives of others .......

At the same time, however, God has the Joshuas placed off somewhere in the tabernacle, in the presence of God. It doesn’t have to be in four walls, or certain kinds of meetings, but just in the presence of the living God! Apparently they are doing nothing, but they are absorbing the spirit and the life and the knowledge and the wisdom and the purpose and the plan of God. How important this is! When Moses’ ministry is over and done, when all the natural ministry of the church orders and religious systems is finished, then God will lead out the Joshuas, having completed their training, and they shall lead the people into the next realm in God, into the next age!" (Eby)

There are a few, Joian and I hold so dear to our hearts as we see the "Joshua" in them. What a strength it is to our lives that we might on occasion fellowship with those that are now being shaped and refined as they spend much precious time hidden away with God. You dear brothers and sisters are creation's great hope and we pray you are encouraged by this wonderful message of "Joshua, a type of Christ." I pray as you read this part of J Preston Eby's latest message you are as thrilled and encouraged as Joian and I were today as we partook of this anointed bread.
Jack

FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE

The call of God in this hour is for a people to move from the candlestick realm to the throne room. This is the Father’s great purpose for His called and chosen elect in this new Day of the Lord! Years ago Douglas Wilson penned words that are just as fresh and meaningful for us today. This message is taken from his article titled JOSHUA AND CALEB. May God bless it to your heart!

In all the time that Joshua, Caleb, and the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, their next realm, their next age, was just a short distance away from them. Had they gone directly from Egypt into the promised land, it would not really have taken them very long to get there. It has been said that it was a journey of eight to ten days. And naturally, the wilderness was even closer than Egypt to the promised land! The coming age, especially for Joshua and Caleb, was not some place a long way off, but it was so very close by. It was of very easy access, yet they could not get into it.

At least some of us are realizing in this hour that the next age, or the next REALM IN GOD of which we speak, isn’t in some far distant place, but it is close by. And yet, here we are, apparently unable to enter into it! We find ourselves to be a people unknown to ourselves. We are one type of people, living in one type of age or realm, being prepared for another age or realm that is just over the line, so to speak, from us. Actually it is no farther from us now than it was from Israel when they were in the wilderness! Yet we are prevented from entering in. This we know — Caleb and Joshua had to wander in the wilderness for forty years until all the unbelievers died. After that they could enter in. We had always been taught that all who came out of Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, had to die before the rest of them could enter into the promised land. But this did not bear witness to our spirit, so we began to read and discovered it was not so. It did not work out like that at all. All of those who could not go in were the soldiers, the men in the army, who were over twenty years of age, and who would not believe that they could take the land. All those who were under twenty years of age, and the women, lived on, just as Joshua and Caleb did. It was these soldiers who had to die in the wilderness! They were the unbelievers who were under God’s orders to take the land, and they refused to do it, saying they could not, and thus declaring that in their judgment, God was a liar.

God described to the children of Israel the land into which He would take them. It was a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of hills and valleys that drinks water of the rain of heaven, a land which the Lord cared for, a land in which He would bless their seed, and prolong and multiply their days as the days of heaven upon earth! They would be placed in a land, a realm, a dispensation about which they knew nothing and that would be entirely different from anything they had known before. He commanded them as to how they should live and walk in the land, and what kind of people they would be unto Him. Now multitudes of people today will not believe we can have days right now that are as the days of heaven on earth! They cannot believe it, because they are looking for heaven away off somewhere amongst the starry skies. The people to whom God was speaking these words, were a people of one type and of one dispensation, and He was telling them something about the kind of people they were going to be, and the kind of land in which they were going to live. It was a realm of which they had no knowledge. God told them that their future home was to be nothing like the land of Egypt they had left. The valley of the Nile was the richest known spot on earth. It is so yet today. But God told them their future home was not so, for in Egypt they sowed their seed, then tread on the water wheel, in order to water that seed. But in the promised land they would have rain from heaven! It was to be an entirely new realm, with entirely new conditions and circumstances. It was to be a new age, a new dispensation, a new realm in God, and God was right then getting them ready to go in and take it and occupy it. It was to be as heaven on earth!

That was all in the natural, earthly realm. God was preparing a people for another realm, another age, another dispensation in this realm of flesh. This is a type of what God is doing today! Most of us have no conception of what God is doing in our lives and bodies. Just because we cannot see or feel something being done, is no sign that God is idle and doing nothing within us. We often think that there has to be a lot of external manifestation taking place for God to be doing something. But on the natural plane, termites can invade a building and work, and unless the building is inspected, no one will know of that work until the building is so weakened that it falls. Just so, we have little conception of that which God is doing in the lives and bodies of those people He is working with and that He is preparing as HIS SONS for that age which is to come. There is so much that we don’t understand at this time, but we do know that God is working, preparing an elect company to bring deliverance to the whole of the groaning creation in the age and the ages that lie before us.

As we approach the new age of the kingdom of God there are many Joshuas and Calebs in the land today, being prepared to enter into the coming age, the promised land of this day. Though they will enter the same land, their training and their present lives are completely different, for they have a different destiny in the land to come. Shall we say it like this? Caleb was of the people. He was out in the multitudes in the camp. Caleb had absolutely nothing to do with the tabernacle. He had nothing to do with the ministrations of the priests. He had nothing to do with the ministry of Moses in any way. But Joshua is referred to as the minister of Moses. And in the first chapter of the book of Joshua we find God telling Joshua that Moses is dead, and that he was now to arise and go over Jordan, and that as God had promised the land to Moses, so would He give it to Joshua, and every place where the sole of his foot trod, was his.

As we have said, we too are in a time of preparation. A people is being prepared for the coming age, and those who are being prepared particularly, are not the Calebs. To a certain extent the Calebs are being prepared, in that they possess a different spirit and they see and know that something different in God is coming. They are willing to wait, even in the midst of unbelief, God’s time to enter into the next age or realm in God. But all their preparation is to bring them to a place in which they can wait in faith, for they are a kind of people who will inhabit the land. But for the Joshuas there is something else! In Exodus 33:8 we read, “And it came to pass that when Moses went out to the tabernacle, all the people rose up and stood every man at his tent door and looked after Moses till he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he (Moses) turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, DEPARTED NOT OUT OF THE TABERNACLE.”

Moses was taken up with the work and care of overseeing that vast multitude of people. God had told Moses to move the tabernacle outside the camp, and so when the people saw Moses going out to worship, they would also stand and worship, every man in his tent door. When Moses passed through the tabernacle door, then the cloudy pillar would descend in order to seal off the tabernacle so that God and Moses might commune together. Moses was the one lone man who had access to the Holy of holies whenever he desired to go into it. He was above the high priest in this, for he was the friend of God, and he had need of God’s communion frequently. God did not speak with Moses as He would with the high priest, but as to a friend. And the people saw the cloudy pillar come down and when the time together was finished, the cloudy pillar would rise and Moses would come again into the camp. He would have to go back into the multitude in the camp, to judge them and to watch over them, to be their leader, fulfilling the work that God had given him to do.

But God had His hand upon a young man, Joshua, and that young man did not depart out of the tabernacle. The time came when God commanded Moses to lay his hands upon Joshua and impart to him the very same spirit that he (Moses) possessed. God gave unto Joshua the very same promises and the same powers that He had given Moses. No man could stand before him! Wherever he placed his foot, that was his! God told him that just as He had been with Moses, so would He be with Joshua. Joshua was to be strong and of good courage. He was not to fear, for God was with him, even as He had been with Moses.

It was necessary that Moses leave the tabernacle and return to the camp, but it was necessary that His servant Joshua remain in the tabernacle for special training. As we understand it, Joshua was constantly in the place of ministry unto the Lord. He was continually in the place where the priesthood operated. He was in that place where the people were bringing their offerings for sin and where those offerings were being sacrificed. He remained in this place day after day, and year after year, absorbing all that went on in the tabernacle. God had given Joshua a privilege and a work which had been denied Moses. He came into a place that Moses never possessed! Moses had led the people out, but God now provided a young man, Joshua, the son of Nun, or the son of perpetuity, to perpetuate and carry forth into new dimensions all that had been started in Moses. This Joshua was to lead the people into the promised land! He was to give to every man his inheritance! For this reason, Joshua COULD NOT LIVE A LIFE LIKE CALEB. He could not be just one of the people, another face in the crowd, another pebble on the beach, living the same way, doing the same things. He must know the mind and the will and the purpose and plan of God! He could not have just a vague knowledge of it, He must acquaint himself with each and every detail of it. He must know the boundaries of each tribe, what they were to get, and what they were to do. It was his place to give out the inheritances to all the people of Israel!

In this we find a true type of those sons of God whom God is preparing today! We have seen this for some time, and we know by personal experience it is true. This class of people is greatly misunderstood, criticized, and condemned, because they are not doing a great number of wonderful things. They are not generally performing great healings and astounding signs, wonders, and miracles. They are not out conducting great crusades, no vast throngs are following them, and the fact of the matter is most of the people stay away from them! Such people are not participators in the activities of the rest of God’s people, even those who will become inhabitants of the land. They are not Calebs, not out in the camp with the tribes. Perhaps not even going out to gather their supply of manna for that day! God has separated this company of people from all those things.

Rather, they are of the class of people who are in the tabernacle, DWELLING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, LEARNING OF THE WORK AND THE POWERS OF THE AGE TO COME! God had a Moses to go out and minister to the multitude in their wilderness walk. Moses and the judges were to minister to the people and all their fleshly needs. But none of this was for Joshua! He never did have any ministry such as this! For forty years Joshua spent all his days in the tabernacle. Moses, who ministered to the people, would often come in to commune with God that he might receive the message and the word of God, so that he might go back out and minister to the people.

But Joshua stayed right there in the presence of God! He was absorbing the very life, power, wisdom, knowledge, and spirit of God, so that when the proper time came, God could say to him, “Moses my servant is dead, now it is time for your ministry.” At that time Joshua would rise up, for all the ministry of preparation would be over. All the work and ministry of the man Moses was now finished, for the people were now at the borders of the promised land, the new age and realm in God. It was time for the children of Israel to enter the promised land! It was time for the people of Israel to receive their inheritance! It was time for the fullness of God to be revealed! Now was the work of Joshua to come to pass! He was to bring them into that land, a land of rain and one that flowed with milk and honey. A land entirely different from the Egypt they had left. Now all the tedious training of Joshua would begin to bear fruit! All the years of loneliness and application to the plan of God would lead that vast multitude into a new land, into a new age, and give them their full portion!

Knowing that human nature in that day was just like human nature of today, we see the possibility of some saying, “How is this? How and why is Joshua being elevated up over all the rest of us? He has done nothing but sit out there in the tabernacle for forty years! He never healed anybody. He never prayed anybody through to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t out holding crusades and saving souls. He wasn’t even part of a recognized ministry! He never preached any marvelous sermons. He just spent his time in the tabernacle.”

All through those forty years, God was getting a man ready to bring the people far beyond what they were receiving from the hands of Moses and the judges — INTO THEIR INHERITANCE! Moses and the judges were merely preserving the people in their wilderness condition. God had Moses and the judges to take care of the natural things for the people in their carnal state of being, to continually bless, encourage, and revive them lest they faint in the wilderness. Some of us are well aware of these facts. Even though we did possess such ministries in the past, yet at this time, many of us are not functioning in the ministry of a Moses, nor in the ministry of any of the gift realms where men minister very much unto the people in their natural, fleshly realm of healings, material needs, blessings, revivings, etc. It seems we are set far apart from the multitude of the people, and from the accepted type of ministry, and most Christians do not want much to do with us! But with this company of people, God is working and preparing them for a future ministry and work.

As we stated, God has people, many of them, who are ministering unto the multitudes the things of the natural realm, the loaves and the fishes. But there is another class of people, and God is dealing in a different way with them. They are being prepared to know the plans and purposes of God, not just for this age, but for the ages to come, that they might lead the people into the full inheritance God has for them. There must be someone who will be capable to lead the people in, and get them established in that greater glory which God has prepared for His people. Caleb put in his days with the rest of the people, Moses and the judges put in their days maintaining the people in their wilderness state, but Joshua remained always in the tabernacle, absorbing the mind and life of God for the inheritance to come!

Joshua was an entirely different man! As we meditated upon these things, we saw clearly these two different classes of people. There are those who are in the multitude of all God’s people, yet God has done something in them to give them a spirit that is different from the rest. They have received a glimpse, a taste of the glories of this higher realm and know that it is something marvelous beyond where they are living. They have tasted of the powers of the world to come, and know they shall enter into it. But they are still like Caleb, willing to stay in the multitude and put up with all the slanderous reports about the land or the age to come, and wade through the unbelief all around them and just wait for the day of entering in.

At the same time, however, God has the Joshuas placed off somewhere in the tabernacle, in the presence of God. It doesn’t have to be in four walls, or certain kinds of meetings, but just in the presence of the living God! Apparently they are doing nothing, but they are absorbing the spirit and the life and the knowledge and the wisdom and the purpose and the plan of God. How important this is! When Moses’ ministry is over and done, when all the natural ministry of the church orders and religious systems is finished, then God will lead out the Joshuas, having completed their training, and they shall lead the people into the next realm in God, into the next age!

We are sure that we are in such a position now. We are in one age, and we are being prepared for something, though we have only caught faint glimpses of the glory and wonder of it. We do not understand all the workings of God, because we do not know exactly what we are going to do in the future, how it shall be done, or even what we are going to be. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be” (I Jn. 3:2). Therefore it is sometimes hard to understand the training we are receiving, for our training depends entirely upon what we are to be in the next age or realm in God. So we cannot question God concerning the “whys and wherefores” of all we are experiencing in our lives in this hour, and in the lives of others.

The new age was not very far from Joshua and Caleb. It was just over the line, just beyond Jordan, and so it is in this day. This new age lies before us, and the glory of it is beginning to be made known unto us by the Spirit. Caleb and Joshua knew the way into the promised land, for they had visited it in a fleeting moment, yet they were forced to await the proper time to enter. Caleb must needs remain with the multitude, and Joshua must be prepared to take the whole multitude into the coming age. We have a wonderful experience ahead of us in the Lord, and we are grateful for it. It is not of our choosing, but of His, and we know He will perfect that which concerns us! — end quote.

That is a powerful word from the pen of Douglas Wilson. He has passed on, but he will stand in his lot in the day of manifestation. As I read this, I was reminded of a story out of history. Several centuries ago, the Emperor of Japan commissioned a Japanese artist to paint a bird to be put on display in the Emperor’s gallery. Months passed, then years. Finally, the Emperor went to the artist’s studio to ask for an explanation. The artist set a blank canvas on the easel and in fifteen minutes completed the painting of a bird that became a masterpiece. The Emperor asked why there had been such a long delay. The artist then went from cabinet to cabinet; he produced armloads of drawings of feathers, tendons, wings, feet, claws, eyes, and beaks of birds; these he placed one by one before the Emperor. The Emperor nodded and left the studio. He understood. The exquisite beauty of the painting completed in fifteen short minutes was merely the result of long years of research, preparation, and work!

Our Father shall have a glorious firstfruits company of sons in His own image which He shall put on display before the entire universe as the revelation of His own bountiful grace and matchless glory! The day of that unveiling shall surely come, and will not tarry. In the meantime, and to that end, the blessed Holy Spirit of God is patiently and unrelentingly operating in the lives of His apprehended ones so that we may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This conformation cannot take place in an instant, nor by a superficial experiencing of God. It does not happen in a single “experience” one night at an altar, nor can it be imparted by prophecy with the laying on of hands. The hour of our quickening unto God and His great plan was no more than the declaration of the divine purpose; it is just the beginning of the long work. The whole process is a detailed and painstaking progress “until Christ be formed in you.” When the work is fully finished, the day shall then arrive when there will come to us a new and living and powerful moving of His omnipotent Spirit and the completed work will flash forth in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; the grand and glorious portrait of God’s Christ, exquisitely wrought upon the canvas of our lives, that He might display in the ages to come the transcendent riches of His grace and goodness…for we are God’s own handiwork, created in Christ Jesus! (Eph. 2:7,10).

The new, with its glory, shall come to the fore,

Proclaiming the Kingdom is nigh at the door.

Yet, strange the confusion as some try to stay

Entwined with the old, though it’s passing away.

While some try to mix the old with the new,

To be torn by the strife, and the rending in two.

For saviours shall come and His fullness declare,

With beauty for ashes, and treasures most rare.

What ages have veiled as the old order reigned,

Shall burst into view at the time He ordained.



— Ray Prinzing

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