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George H. Warnock: "A Way
through the Wilderness" |
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Chapter 8
THE HEAVENLY CANAAN
Many of God’s people do
not understand why, after spending perhaps many years in comparative ease and
contentment in their little corner of church activity and involvement, suddenly
they are no longer satisfied with the monotonous routine and they are raising
questions of concern. Why, Lord? When? How? What? As we mentioned, these are the
questions that pertain to the Manna; and all we can say is, the Manna is having
its effect in their lives. They have been eating of the wilderness food, and as
a result there is an increasing hunger for a greater reality in their lives.
This is God’s ongoing work in the wilderness people, and we just want to
encourage the people of God who are somewhat discouraged, disillusioned, or
perplexed about the state of things in their own lives or in the Body of Christ,
to lift up their eyes and see the Glory of Beulah Land:
“Thou shalt no more be
termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou
shalt be called Hephzibah [My delight is in her], and thy land Beulah [Married]:
for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married” (Isa. 62:4).
Let us not get excited
about the little excursions that people are trying to make into the land these
days as they try to grab another branch of grapes from the valley of Eschol, or
fill their sacks with a few more pomegranates. The time is here when God would
mobilize a new generation for conquest of the whole land, and we cannot settle
for anything less.
Canaan, A Place Of
Victory
“He... brought thee out
in His sight... to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than
thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance...”
(Deut. 4:37-38).
Canaan is that heavenly
heritage that God wants His people to begin to explore and to appropriate; and
therefore it is a place to be conquered, because it is in this realm that the
forces of evil would seek to maintain their strongholds over the hearts and
minds of people. The “heavenlies” in Christ Jesus are those realms in the Spirit
that belong to God’s people (Eph. 1:3, 20); and that is why our warfare is in
that realm, and not in realms of the earth (Eph. 6:12). Yes, we are in the
earth, and we are concerned about the state of affairs in the earth; but if our
warfare is THERE we will accomplish NOTHING for the inhabitants of the earth. We
must war “in heavenly places” with spiritual armor, and with spiritual weapons,
or we accomplish absolutely nothing. Nor can we mix the carnal with the
spiritual in order to strike a balance. Spiritual warfare in the heavenlies and
carnal, political maneuvering in the earth will not bring a balance, but a
stalemate. God grant unto His people in this hour such a confrontation with
Himself that we will take our shoes from off our feet, like Joshua of old, and
step into the shoes of “the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Only then shall
God’s people know how to go forth against their Jerichos, with the trumpet
blasts of the rams’ horns, and the Ark of His presence, and see the strongholds
of the Enemy crumble before Him.
The Church for many
years now has wanted to be “caught up” to be with the Lord in the air... but
actually it has been a desire to escape from the Battle. We know that Day is
coming; and not only in our spirits, but in glorified and resurrected bodies we
shall be “caught up to be with the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord.” We earnestly anticipate that Day; but we must continue to emphasize
that this is to happen at the “last trump,” and not at the first, or the second
one. First of all there is the Day of Battle; and for that God has provided for
His people NOT WINGS BUT ARMOR!
“The night is far spent,
The day is at hand:
Let us therefore cast
off the works of darkness,
And let us put on THE
ARMOUR OF LIGHT” (Rom. 13:12).
Any doctrine that says
the Lord must delay His coming because certain events have yet to take place, is
not scriptural . for the “Coming” of the Lord certainly involves many aspects of
His appearing that are without warning, without imminent signs, without
universal recognition. We are not talking about “Many Comings,” for the Bible
says He will “appear the SECOND TIME”-- not a second, third, and fourth times.
But we speak of aspects of His Appearing. The same scripture that says He will
appear “the second time” also states that He has already appeared ONCE (Heb.
9:28). But in that ONE appearing, were there not many, many aspects of His
appearing? First to Mary and Joseph; then to the shepherds; then to the faithful
in the temple, Simeon and Anna; then to the wise men from the East; then to John
the Baptist in the Jordan; and then to Peter and to the other apostles as God
granted revelation to “see” Him, and to “know” Him. And finally He was “declared
to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.” But it was
all ONE APPEARING. And so we are confident that in His SECOND appearing there
will be many aspects of it: as He comes suddenly to His Temple to purge the sons
of Levi, as He appears in refining fire, in fullers’ soap; as the wise virgins
enter in behind closed doors, and the foolish stand without knocking; as He
appears to His own, “comes” and takes up His abode in those who love Him, and
have made for Him a habitation; as He “comes” to the unrepentant in Ephesus and
removes their candlestick; as He “comes” to Pergamos to fight against them with
the sword of His mouth; and as He “comes” as a thief to Sardis and finds them
unwatchful and asleep. (See Mal. 3:1-2; Matt. 25:6-11; Jn. 14:21,23; Rev. 2:5,
16; 3:3.)
I know it would be nice
if we could come up with a sound, scriptural schedule for all the events that
are to take place relative to the Second Coming; and there are many who attempt
to do that very thing. I personally would not waste my time trying to do this;
because I know there is only one way we are going to be prepared for the Second
Coming... and it is not by knowing the time-table, but by being “watchful” and
“sober.” To such the Lord does not appear as a “thief in the night.” To all
others He will, regardless of their understanding of end-time events. (See 1
Thess. 5:4; Mark 13:35-37.)
And so while many are
hoping to be translated physically to heavenly places to escape the Battle that
lies before us, there is a holy, conquering remnant who will “see” Him and
“know” Him, and rise to “heavenly places” in the Spirit to war a good warfare in
the Day of the LORD, and emerge from the Battle in total victory. There is
absolutely nothing lacking in the “Armor of Light” that we require for total
conquest over the evil hosts of Satan. Notice that when Paul tells us to put on
the “whole armor” he specifically tells us that it is for “THE EVIL DAY” (Eph.
6:13). Can you conceive of any day that is more “evil” than this Day, this Day
of His Appearing?
Most of our weaponry is
defensive; because the Enemy can defeat us in our own territory if we do not
realize that WE ARE THE INHERITANCE that he wants to keep for himself, and which
God would overcome for Himself. We are that battle-ground which the Enemy will
continue to war; and God has given us the battle-dress that we need to maintain
our position in God’s righteousness, truth, and grace.
But we do have one
“offensive” weapon... and one is all we need. How we wish God’s people could
understand that! “The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God...” And it
is not the Bible, nor our many quotations of Scripture that we toss about to
prove our doctrines... IT IS THAT LIVING WORD THAT PROCEEDETH OUT OF THE MOUTH
OF THE LORD AS A SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD, that will slay and cut asunder, dividing
soul and spirit, and discerning, uncovering the thoughts and the intents of the
heart.
“God, hide us in Your
mighty hand, that when You see fit to draw us forth in the Day of Battle, You
may be able to speak through us a quickened Word that will strike unerringly in
the hearts of Your people, and deal a death-blow to the hosts of wickedness that
are arrayed against Your Church.”
Canaan, A Place Of
Flowing Waters
“A good land, a land of
brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills”
(Deut. 8:7).
God said He would bring
us OUT to bring us IN. Out from the land of Egypt where they had to water their
land with their foot, with the crude irrigation pumps they had in those days...
pumping, pumping, pumping, and wearing themselves out to get a trickle of water.
“But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and
drinketh water of the rain of heaven” (Deut. 11:11).
How we long for those
days when the Spirit of God comes into our midst in abundant fullness, and flows
in our midst. Instead of God’s ministers trying to “pump” up a little water with
the sweat of their brow. Better to have a little trickle of water than none at
all... Yes, that may be true; but Jesus has promised us in the heritage of the
Spirit, “Out of his innermost being shall flow RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.”
“I will even make a way
in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert... to give drink to my people, my
chosen” (Isa. 43:19-20).
“I will open rivers in
high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the
wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (Isa. 41:18).
“And the parched ground
shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water...” (Isa. 35:7).
Canaan, A Place Of
Fruitfulness
“A land of wheat, and
barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and
honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not
lack any thing.” (Deut. 8:8-9).
Isaiah prophesied that
when the Spirit was poured out upon God’s people, that “the wilderness” would be
“a fruitful field, and the fruitful field” would be “counted for a forest” (Isa.
32:15).
In Israel’s feast days,
when all the people were to come together to keep the feasts of the LORD in
their season, God promised: “They shall not appear before the LORD empty” (Deut.
16:16). Every man would have something to bring before the LORD, as God enabled.
Let the ministers of the Lord everywhere begin to so nurture the people of God
that they shall have something to bring to the House of God when they assemble
together. You wonder about the divisions and the schisms that are so prevalent
in the House of God? God says it is because there are members in the Body that
are considered to be “less honorable,” and that as He bestows more abundant
honor upon them, the schism will disappear. (See 1 Cor. 12:23-25.) Keeping the
people under control and in their place will sooner or later lead to a “schism.”
But as God’s people are fed and nourished, and encouraged to function as a vital
contributing member in the Body of Christ, the schisms will disappear; because
all the members will have mutual concern one for the other. The day of Saul’s
over-lordship in the House of God is coming to an end; and God is going to raise
up a David-Shepherd ministry that will feed His people with Truth and Knowledge,
and make them to be mighty in God:
“And he that is feeble
among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as
God, as the angel of the LORD before them” (Zech. 12:8).
True fruitfulness is not
mere church activity and church involvement. It is a life that has come into
union with the Lord, and that delights the heart of the Husbandman. Ephraim was
that tribe in Israel that was to be especially “fruitful.” The word means
“double fruitfulness.” The anointed people, the “double portion” people, are to
be doubly fruitful unto the Lord. Joseph was to have a double portion through
Ephraim. (Manasseh was firstborn, but he must give way to Ephraim, the
second-born. Manasseh means “caused to forget,” and it is only as we are
prepared to “forget those things which are behind,” the life of the desolate
wilderness, that we are going to reach forth unto those things which lie
before.) Of Joseph it was said, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful
bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall” (Gen. 49:22). But God
complained about Ephraim in later centuries, “Israel is an empty vine, he
bringeth forth fruit unto himself...” (Hos. 10:1). How many of God’s people
today, how many of His ministers, are bringing forth fruit unto themselves? Very
active, yes; very busy for God, yes; but like Martha, “careful and troubled
about many things” rather than the ONE THING THAT IS NEEDFUL, to sit at the feet
of Jesus and hear what He has to say.
Then as we sit at His
feet, and learn of Him... as our roots go down to the waters of the well where
we are planted... then will our branches go “over the wall” for OTHERS. God will
take care of that if we but abide faithful, rooted and grounded in Him, who is
the true spring of Life by which we are planted.
“But the fruit of the
Spirit is...” The apostle is about to name many kinds of fruit, but it is all
ONE FRUIT, and so he uses the singular verb ...
“The fruit of the Spirit
IS:
Love, Joy, Peace,
Longsuffering,
Gentleness, Goodness,
Faith[-fulness],
Meekness, Temperance. .(Gal. 5:22-23).
All this is first and
foremost for the delight and joy of the heart of the Husbandman; but as it
delights His heart, so will He long to share the fruit He has found with others.
God has always desired
the “firstfruits” for Himself. God was consistent in this in His relationship
with Israel. The “firstborn” was to be His. The “firstfruits” were to be His.
“My soul desired the firstripe fruit” (Mic. 7:1).
If we truly love God,
then we will show our love to others; but God desires that we give Him the
firstfruits. He must have His portion before all others. Jesus said, “If a man
love me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23). We cannot say, “Lord, I love you
so much... I must go forth in ministry... I love you so much .. I must preach, I
must build churches, I must be a missionary... I will give you my money...”
These and many more acts of service that we may come up with could proceed from
the longing of our own heart for some kind of gratification, some kind of
fulfillment. True love will say, “Lord, I love you so much I give you myself.”
And this could lead to many different areas of outreach. But it could also lead
to a life that is very unobtrusive, insignificant, self-effacing, unrecognized
in the affairs of men or of the Church. You may never become “known” and
“recognized” as having any worth to God or to the world about you, but you will
be known in heavenly places. Your work may be considered of little or no value
in the eyes of men, and oftentimes in your own eyes, but it is something you
must do because of your love-relationship with the Lord, and it is of great
value in His sight. Your love for Him may bring you into areas of reproach and
criticism that may be difficult for you to bear. But if it is because you “love
HIM” and are “keeping His Word,” then that fruit that you are bringing forth
unto Him is not the fruit of an empty vine, but a special kind of “firstfruits”
that brings great delight to His heart. In God’s sight it is far more precious
than the “fruit” you endeavor to produce as you do your own thing, go your own
way, initiate your own plans, and bring forth some kind of a product that is
acceptable and pleasing to men, but disapproved of God.
Only those who
themselves have learned the ways of God will approve of the ways of those who
walk in relationship with Him. We need to be delivered from the inherent desire
that is in all of us to be “approved of men”.
Then as we are planted
“by the Well,” and confined within the Wall of His Will, God in His own time and
way will see to it that our branches “run over the wall.” These are the branches
that bring forth fruit unto others. Others will then eat of the fruit and
rejoice in the strength and the life and the joy that it brings to their hearts.
Perhaps they do not know... perhaps they shall never discover... that it is from
the vine of Joseph they are eating, “whose feet were hurt with fetters... whose
soul was laid in iron.” But God knows that it was He who caused that wall to be
built, and that He did it in order to shut the man Joseph in unto Himself. And
God Himself was the first to partake of the pleasant fruit from the vine of
Joseph. The fruit inside the wall was for God alone. God delighted Himself in
the fruit of Joseph’s love, his patience, his longsuffering, his faithfulness,
his meekness, his gentleness, his goodness, his self-control. And because these
virtues caused His heart to rejoice He said, “I must share this fruit with
others... I must share this fruit with the people of Egypt... I must share this
fruit with the children of Israel.”
But how can mortal man
bring forth fruit to delight the heart of God? Only if that fruit is from the
Seed that came forth out of the heart of God Himself. Only if it is the
reproduction of the nature and likeness of God Himself. For then it is not the
work of Man but the “fruit of the Spirit.” Mortal man is merely the garden plot,
only the dust of the ground, out of which God is able to bring forth “Fruit
after His kind.”
Canaan, A Land Prepared
“Great and goodly
cities, which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things, which thou
filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive
trees, which thou plantedst not...” (Deut. 6:10-11).
Cities we do not build;
storehouses we do not fill; wells we do not dig; and vineyards we do not
plant... because it is a PREPARED PLACE FOR A PREPARED PEOPLE. Canaan is the
realm of the Spirit; and it is here in the wilderness areas of our lives, and in
the lives of men, that God would bring forth and manifest this fruitfulness. God
will give our enemies no credit for having built the cities, filled the
storehouses, dug the wells, or planted the vineyards. And when men say “It is
good that there is evil in the world, and God actually designed it for His
glory,” they are actually heaping condemnation on themselves. Paul did teach
that God was able to bring forth GOOD out of EVIL, and some misconstrued this to
mean, “It is good that we have evil, so that God can be glorified.” But Paul
would not so much as argue the point. He simply replied, “Their condemnation is
just who say such things” (Rom. 3:7-8). It is a perverted concept of God that
says, “God made the evil.... God created the Devil just as he is... because He
needed such a one to fulfill His purposes.” Paul refuses to even argue against
such perversion of Truth.
And so there are vast
areas out there in the wilderness of life that are ready and waiting for the
people of God to subdue. And we are going to discover, if we follow on in the
ways of the Lord, that what the Enemy planned and subdued for his own dominion
and for his own glory, these areas are going to be conquered and subdued for
God. Men and women who hated God with a passion are going to love Him with as
great a passion. The bondage they once knew in servitude to Satan will cease;
and many who were captives and slaves to Satan will become equally captivated
and enslaved to the will of God. Yet in partaking of this new kind of captivity,
captivity unto their Lord who redeemed them, they are going to discover true
freedom, and true rest, and true joy. For he who once enslaved them is master of
lies and deceit and murder and hate; whereas He who liberated them is Master of
Truth, and Faithfulness, and Life, and Love. Can we conceive of any higher form
of liberty and freedom than to be enslaved and made captive unto Him who is
TOTAL LOVE AND TOTAL TRUTH AND TOTAL LIFE? In vain are we going to discover any
kind of real liberation in coming to KNOW ourselves, and exploring the hidden
resources of our own talents, our own natural, soulish natures. This kind of
research and exploration merely increases the bondage. And as we seek to explore
our own hidden resources, our own inward deity, all the while thinking to
discover the key to life and freedom and power, we are becoming more and more
enslaved to the “Prince of Darkness.”
Do you want to find the
true “key” to happiness and freedom? There is only one way. Like the Hebrew
servant of old, having served his time in bondage and having been liberated
according to the law of God, then out of love for his master he came and
submitted his ear to be pierced at the door-post of his master’s house, and
saying through that act of committal to the one he loved: “I love you so much, I
want to be your bondservant forever... My true freedom and joy is in serving
you...”
Canaan, A Life Prepared
We mentioned that Canaan
was a prepared place for a prepared people. This is what the wilderness was all
about: to prepare our hearts through entanglements, through tasting of bitter
waters, through knowing hunger and thirst in a dry and barren place, through the
purging of our desires... until we come forth as the PREPARED PEOPLE for this
PREPARED PLACE.
If Canaan speaks of a
Land in the Spirit that has to be subdued for God, then how can we expect to
partake of it if our own lives are ruled by self and the carnal nature? We must
first allow the Lord to subdue our own wilderness if we are going to subdue the
hearts of men, and overthrow the principalities and powers that dominate them,
and bring them into the liberty and the freedom of Christ. This is why the
weapons of are warfare cannot in any sense be earthly and carnal. This is why
our weapons consist of such virtues as Truth about our loins, Righteousness as a
breastplate, the preparation of the Gospel of Peace for our shoes, Faith as our
shield, Salvation as our helmet, the Word of God as our one and only offensive
weapon, and PRAYER--continuing prayer--that causes all these other weapons to be
effectual and mighty. Seven spiritual weapons to overcome the seven powerful
nations of Canaan! And Paul tells us that these are all we need: he says our
weapons constitute the “whole armor,” a complete battle-dress, with nothing
lacking.
Many ministers will
admit, “Yes, we need Truth and Righteousness and all that”--but their thought
is--”Let’s get on with the Battle.” They completely fail to understand that
there is no getting on with the Battle until these virtues are wrought in the
hearts of God’s people. We hear much of the necessity of “preaching the Gospel”
and scarcely anything about the SHOES OF PREPARATION. Unless our feet are shod
with the shoes of preparation there will be no effective Gospel preached to the
nations. O, the gimmicks that men in the Church have come up with to propagate
the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Drama, and musical entertainment, and dance troupes,
mime and make-believe and clowns... and the blessed Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ has become a sad, polluted mixture. But there is a people in the earth
who are putting on the Shoes of Preparation, and when they are sent forth into
the earth with the everlasting Gospel on their lips, they shall walk in the
prepared ways of the Lord, bringing deliverance to the captives.
The Walk in the Spirit
is a walk in the Prepared Life. And when we know this we are relieved of any
responsibility as to the Way we are to take, or the work that we are to
accomplish. We must recognize this, and not seek in any way to get involved with
our own strategies, our own thoughts. The prophet tells us that these are as far
below God’s thoughts, as the earth is below the heavens. Paul tells us that the
mind of the flesh is “enmity against God” and that it is “not subject to the law
of God.” He tells us that the natural man “receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God,” that they are foolishness unto him.
If we pursue the Life in
the Spirit we are pursuing an unknown pathway. Yes, some have travelled it
before, but it remains an unknown pathway. I mean, though we read about it and
know about it, we must discover it for ourselves. This is what we are to learn
in our wilderness walk. It is a way that God prepares in the entanglements of
life. We cannot mark out for ourselves a smooth and a plain pathway. But as we
learn God’s way in this realm, we are going to find that God is by His Spirit
seeking to lead us out of the old way of life, and into a new prepared way of
the Spirit. It is not in man to know it, or to search it out...
“There is a path which
no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: the lion’s whelps
have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it...
“Man knoweth not the
price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith,
It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for
gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof...
“Whence then cometh
wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes
of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air...
“Then did He see it, and
declare it; HE PREPARED IT, yea, and SEARCHED IT OUT...
“And unto man He said,
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is
understanding.” (See Job 28:7-28.)
It is a Way that God has
PREPARED for them that fear Him ... fear Him enough that they will fear to go
their own Way or do their own thing.
We come to God as
helpless, hopeless sinners and find mercy, and He sovereignly brings us into a
realm of New Creation. And then it seems the people of God are encouraged to go
their way, and do the best they can with God’s help. But Paul exhorts us to walk
by the rule of New Creation life. (See Gal. 6:15-16.) It is the Rule of the
Cloud... the Law of the Spirit... a Law of Life... and therefore it is not in
the heart of man to comprehend or understand it.
This was Nicodemus’
problem. He was a man of great wisdom and understanding as far as this world
goes, and as far as the “Church” of his day was concerned. He was a teacher in
Israel; but Jesus would show him a way into a totally new kind of life:
“The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (Jn.
3:8).
Evangelical Christianity
has no problem with that. We know it means the Spirit has moved upon our hearts
very sovereignly we don’t know how... and brought us to new birth in a manner
far beyond our ability to comprehend. BUT WE MUST WALK BY THE SAME RULE! WE MUST
LIVE BY THE SAME LAW OF THE SPIRIT!
We do not know where the
Spirit comes from and whither He would lead us. O yes, we know He comes from the
heart of God but here in our daily lives, here in the Land that has to be
subdued for God, we fail to recognize this principle. We do not know the course
that the Wind of His Spirit will take. We do not know what He has planned and
devised. We do not know whither He would lead us. And this causes us to feel
very insecure. We want a charted course. But it is a path which no fowl knoweth,
and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen. And so we would yield so readily to
the temptation to chart our own course... or more likely still, to get involved
with some kind of religious structure that will do it for us. They are more
experienced, so we would find safety under their canopy, under their covering,
under their shelter. And so we read their history, how their movement started,
and try and convince ourselves that the goals which they hope to reach are valid
and scriptural. We think in this way we might discover “from whence the Wind
cometh... and whither it goeth.” And this may give us a certain sense of
security and safety.
But the man of the
Spirit Way cannot become fettered with rules and regulations. He must walk in
the Spirit. He must find himself in the Wind of the Spirit... in the flow of the
River of God. At first, like Ezekiel of old, he will walk hesitatingly into the
waters. It is a vast River, and he must tread carefully. A step or two... Then
he finds himself in water up to his ankles. The stream is getting more forceful
as he moves on, and fear grips his heart. Now the water is up to his knees...
now up to his loins. But still he hears the words: “Keep walking... Keep coming
to Me... Do not be afraid...” Suddenly he finds he can no longer touch bottom;
they are waters “to swim in” and he is swept along in the current.
He has lost control! He
is carried along in the current of the River of the Spirit of God! He does not
know whence it cometh, and whither it goeth!
But as he is carried
along in the flow of the Spirit he begins to lose his fear. He discovers that it
is a River of Peace, and that all fears have been swept away. For this River
flows out from the heart of God, and will return to the heart of God... and he
will return with it. He has found all his springs are in Zion. He has not yet
seen the City, except by faith, like Abraham of old, who saw it afar off: a City
which has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. But though he sees it
not, he knows the River is flowing out from the City, and unto the City.
Ezekiel lost his
footings when he found “waters to swim in.” And so it must be with the people
who come into the realm of the Spirit. No longer can we calculate, and plan, and
devise, and arrange, and order, and organize, and control...
It is the Way of the
Spirit! It is the Way of New Birth! It is the Way of the Wind! We hear the
“sound” and that is enough. We know the Voice, and the Voice is assuring. We
have not gone this Way before, but He has... and He wants us to walk in the Way
that He has prepared.
Do I sense a certain
fear in hearts when I say the man of the Spirit has “lost control”? I did not
say he is out of control, or that he is not under control. Rather, the Spirit of
God is now in control. Is that to be considered dangerous? Or would you feel a
little more secure if your carnal mind were to remain in control? Or is some
religious organization was to remain in control? Or if some outstanding apostle
or prophet was to have the control?
There are so many in the
religious world who feel comfortable and secure in the systems of men, and they
fear the unknown Way. But the people who have committed their whole way of life
to Him, and into the care of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus, shall know the joy
and the peace and the rest of the River of God when the heavens and the earth
are shaken, and when the mountains are dissolved in the depths of the sea:
“Therefore will not we
fear,
Though the earth be
removed,
And though the mountains
be carried
Into the midst of the
sea....
There is a River,
The streams whereof
shall make glad
The City of God,
The holy place of the
tabernacles
Of the Most High” (Ps.
46:2, 4).
We do not understand all
the implications of this. But we do know that when the heavens and the earth are
shaken, and the mountains are dissolved in the sea... whether by the devices of
men or by the fire of God... there is going to be a people flowing in the River
of God, making glad His City, “the Holy Place of the Tabernacles of the Most
High.”
There is a spirit that
controls the course of this world. It is the spirit of Satan, “the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in [activates, energizes] the
children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). He has succeeded in totally captivating
the spirits and souls and bodies of men and women, making them to be the
“bondslaves of sin” (Rom. 6:17). They think they are FREE but they are not. They
are prisoners to the spirit of the world and of Satan. They are totally under
his control. Only the Light of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can set them
free.
Let us fear that kind of
control; and having been delivered from it, let us “stand fast in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath set us free.”
But never let us fear to be caught in the flow of His cleansing, purifying,
life-giving River; for it is the River of God, the River of Truth, the River of
Freedom, the River of Joy, the River of Wisdom, the River of Knowledge, the
River of Life, the River of Love that flows ceaselessly from the heart of God
and through the Land of our Inheritance!
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