A Freewill Offering

Exodus 35
4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying:
5 ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;’
…
29 The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

1 Chronicles 29
9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
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17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.

God’s Old Covenant dwelling places were built ONLY with the free will offerings of His people. The command was specifically for a free will offering! Only those whose hearts that were willing and stirred to give brought the building materials or the ability to serve. God’s house would not be built by anything forced or manipulated! This is a mighty, foundational truth! It is a wonderful, liberating truth! It is such precious source of unity, intimacy and fellowship and communal rejoicing.
More important to The Lord than the size of the offering or quality of the materials is the submitted heart of His people. His desire is for free hearts that will willingly and joyfully offer themselves to Him and His service. God does not need our materials, He does not need our efforts, but He longs for a people who willingly choose to believe on Him, love Him and walk with Him. He cannot and will not take our hearts by force or design.

Matthew 22
35 And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him.
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as you do yourself.
40 These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.

John 14
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
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23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Love is a freewill offering, a considered response, just as obedience is a decision and faith is a choice, we love because He first Loved us and that love is the building material for God’s dwelling place. If man does not have the capacity to choose freely then he cannot love and God’s glory is greatly diminished!
It is the depravity, selfishness and rebellion of the free will of man that makes The Gospel so wondrously beautiful! That Almighty God would give Himself so fully and faithfully to redeem, woo and shepherd man’s free will is truly an eternal testament of His Great Grace and Glory! The demonstration of His love is all the greater for He truly can transform sinful man from children of their father, the devil, to joint heirs with Christ! Hallelujah! It is love for The Lord that will produce obedience to His Word and Glorify Him with wonderful fruits of faith and The Spirit!
Today, by the Grace of God, we have the opportunity and privilege to bring The Lord an offering, a freewill offering, whoever is of a willing heart to give may bring it as an offering to The Lord. There is no command to pay, you will not be forced, cajoled, manipulated or begged. God does not need your offering! What The Father longs for is a heart stirred to give, that will freely make the choice to present itself a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto Him. The gift of Salvation is to be freely received, the invitation is freely rejected or accepted, Love is freely returned and faithful service is a chosen response.
What will we offer to The Lord today? A sacrifice of praise? Songs of thanksgiving? A burnt offering of Godly sorrow for sin and penitent repentance? The confession of weakness? A wholly surrendered life available to serve? Two small loaves and five fishes? A giving up of your desires and disappointments in order to magnify Him?
Let us freely bring our gifts to The Lord today as materials for Him to build His church and establish His dwelling place in our hearts. “Freely you have recieved, freely give” Matthew 10:8 Truly there is great joy when we take our eyes off the desires and disappointments of this flesh life and reject them all to gain Jesus. Bring your whole, broken, dissatisfied life as a yielded offering to Jesus and you will find that you are filled with His! Hallelujah!

Proverbs 23
26 My son, give me your heart…

Poured In To Be Poured Out

John 2
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.

WATER: The pots were made for a purpose (water), but they were sitting unfilled and unused. Jesus commanded that the pots be filled. Looking at a spiritual lesson here we can submit that we are the pots and that we are required/commanded to be filled! Filled with the water that Jesus gives, filled with Jesus, filled with The Spirit, filled by faith, but too often, like these pots, we are sitting in the corner unfilled and unused. That is not Jesus’ desire or longing for us. He LONGS to see us filled and He LONGS to use us for His Glory! At Jesus command those pots were filled to the brim with pure, life-sustaining water. Within them was the single most valuable source of sustenance, refreshment and cleansing. This water represents Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit, His eternal and abundant Life!
TWO COMMANDS: But they were not commanded to only be filled, there was a command to be poured out! We are not to hide that source of Life and Light under a cover! Water can stagnate, grow mould and become poisonous if not poured out and replenished. In the same way a selfish heart for academic knowledge and selfish gain will poison that precious water of The Lord in our hearts. If we only focus on being filled we risk missing entirely the purpose of the filling!
⁠WINE: It truly is an incredible and wonderful miracle that as they poured out that water, as they poured out what had been poured in, it became something altogether more than water, it became a sweet, joyful drink of celebration and jubilation; something for ALL to delight in and rejoice about! It was something to celebrate! It is the work of God, it is the purpose of creation, time and Calvary! Oh praise The Lord it is THE GOSPEL! HALLELUJAH!
But most of all, more than any enjoyment of the guests, it became a precious testimony of Honour and Glory to the bridegroom! Oh how wonderful to consider this application! The Glory of God has been set on His people. His greatest work, His greatest testimony is His Salvation and Redemption of fallen man! But only when they pour out what He has poured in! That His life could be poured into and poured out of us is truly His GREATNESS! All of eternity will be spent singing WORTHY, WORTHY, WORTHY is The Lamb that was slain to take away the sin of THE WORLD! HALLELUJAH! So pour out His praises, Bless His name, pour out His living waters, pour out His Glory, honour, power and LIFE!!

John 7
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me as the Scripture has said, from his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.
39 But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honour).

Are we thirsty for more of Him? Do we have faith to believe that He will quench that thirst? It is the thirsty that will go to Him to drink, not the self labelled “christian”. The drinking of Christ’s water is not something we receive by church attendance or religious traditions. Only those who thirst will humble themselves to come, to seek, to ask… to drink!
⁠Out of HIS innermost being! Out of the believer! Within God’s Born Again believers there is the very source of life! The Holy Spirit! A source of life-giving, thirst-quenching spiritual water for pouring out to others! It is HIS life that is poured into them and it is HIS life that will flow out of them! This is only possible for those who are thirsty enough to go to Him and drink!

Isaiah 44
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;
Notice the order set out here. First The Lord will pour water on the individual who is thirsty. The principle is repeated again with the specification of thirst! Not the church goer, not the one who says their prayers, not the good living individual… But upon him who is THIRSTY! Do you have a thirst to be filled with God?! Do you thirst to be filled with His Spirit so that you may pour out His life to those around you?
⁠After the individuals have been poured into THEN, from the rivers and springs of living water poured out of the filled body of Christ, the floods will come to the dry grounds!
⁠May we be those who are thirsty. May hunger and thirst after righteousness. May we ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking! For we SHALL be filled! And oh how great the testimony unto The Lord as we pour out all that He has poured in! May we be channels for our Lord and Saviour!

Channels only, blessed Master,
But with all Thy wondrous power,
Flowing through us, Thou canst use us,
Every day and every hour.

Two Kingdoms, Two Natures, Two Lives

John 3
3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
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5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith is a substance, a tangible reality of something that otherwise cannot be seen or experienced. Faith recognises The New and the old and acknowledges two opposing realities! The Heavenly Kingdom and the earthly kingdom, flesh and faith/Spirit. Paul talks plainly about realising these two natures or laws at war within his body.

Romans 7
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

⁠Understanding these two kingdoms/realities is a vital foundation for the Born Again believer. Faith sees and enters The Kingdom of God, a Kingdom which is eternal, everlasting and unchanging just as God is faithful. The flesh life however is brief, full of uncertainty and fear and constantly striving to find satisfaction and power.
The flesh is unstable, broken, uncertain and bound by fear but faith lives in The Secret Place of The Most High, safe and secure from all alarms with a Spirit of power and of love and a sound mind! Faith STAYS there!! Faith LIVES from there!

James 2
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror]!
20 But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?
…
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. ⁠

James is not trying to enforce church attendance, religious obedience or a bigger offering. He is making it very clear that The Life that is in the believer is God’s Life! And HIS life LIVES!! By faith His Life lives and produces fruit! Fruit that will be tangible evidence of that faith!!
Grace does not act!! Grace does not give a response. Grace alone is a gift unreceived! Grace makes the giving of a gift possible but ONLY BY FAITH can it be received! Only faith will believe The Word of God and lay hold of His promises. Grace can promise you eternal life and the indwelling of The Spirit but only faith will believe, receive and walk in that promise.

Galatians 2
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We see here again that divide between flesh and faith. Paul lives in his fleshly body but he lives that life by faith!
In the flesh we are fleeting, empty lives but by faith we live an eternal, abundant life, more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! By faith Jesus has given me every victory, by faith I enjoy that The Lord has given me ALL things that pertain unto Life and Godliness! ALL THINGS! He has given them!!! But without faith I will never receive or enjoy those things!!
If we truly have faith to believe these things then we should walk different!! We will NOT walk in defeat! Consider the life that truly believes these things and walks in the goodness/fullness of them!

Hebrews 4
2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

Knowledge of His Word is not enough. His word must be mixed with faith. It must be received by faith and practiced by faith! There is so much that is available to us, that has been given and promised to us, if we will only believe! If His word, His promises, His testimonies are mixed with faith in US!
Let us stir up our faith and very simply choose to believe His word! Bring a sacrifice of praise where faith is lacking and let The Lord encourage us to believe on Him step by step, word by word, promise by promise.

Sifted As Wheat

Matthew 3
12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Psalm 1:4
The wicked are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.

Threshing is a separation process. The chaff and the grain are parts of the same plant, they grow alongside each other, but only the grain holds value, only the grain carries within it the life of the plant and the potential to reproduce. The precious grain must be separated from the rest of the plant through a “winnowing” process. This is a turbulent but effective process for sifting out the undesirable waste.
Both the grain and the chaff have to experience the winds of the winnowing fan. The grain, weighty with life, remains but the dry, empty chaff is blown away. Much like the houses of the wise man and the foolish man, both houses are built carefully and they may exist side by side as neighbours for years but it is when the storm comes that the foundations are proved.
The storm MUST come. The storms WILL come. They have been ordained to come! It is a necessary and vital process in the individual and collective lives of believers. It is in the storms and trials that the flesh is shown to be dry, hardened and easily swept away but the life of Christ is revealed as precious hope, grounded and fruitful. We are told plainly to expect the storms and trials, that they WILL come, “When” not ‘if”!

Luke 22
31 “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain;

John 16
33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you will have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

James 1
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

1 Peter 1
6 In this you should greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations,
7 So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is proven and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to result in your praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So then battles, trials, sickness and suffering are precious and welcome opportunity for God’s children! They endure suffering knowing that the life of Christ is being revealed, the flesh is being dealt with and that Jesus’ testimony is being demonstrated and proven in His people. The Born Again believer rejoices in the Sovereignty of God and seeks occasion, in all things, to submit to The Father’s Will and to glorify Him. Having a spiritual perspective they do not place emphasis on their suffering but on the Name and testimony of Jesus Christ! They rejoice in His presence, His provision and His tender mercies and loving comforts in His Word.
The threshing isn’t a pleasant experience. It is turbulence, inconvenience, discomfort, grief. Etc But the life in the grain will fall upon The Lord, the wise man’s house will be seen to stand strong. The grain will rejoice evermore and pray without ceasing, the life of Jesus in a believer will pray with faith, casting (throwing off) all cares onto The Lord. Through the storm HIS LIFE will be revealed in HIS people!
So what will we be today? Grain, full of Jesus life and His word, abiding in Him, unmoved by the winnowing winds? Or chaff, without substance, easily blown about and blown away by the cares of this life? In EVERY circumstance let us be careful to abide in Jesus and resist the temptation to act/walk in the flesh.

Song of Solomon 4
16 “Awake, O north wind, And come, south wind; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, [for the one in whom my soul delights], Let its spices flow forth. Let my beloved come into his garden And eat its choicest fruits.”

A Glad Heart Feasts

Proverbs 15
15 All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

C. Austin Miles
I’m living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,
I’m drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;
Oh, yes! I’m feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

Is my heart glad? Are we sitting at the banqueting table, communing with Our Father in Heaven? Are we feasting on the Spiritual manna from His bountiful supply? Some of these things are easy to sing in church but are we living that reality? Are we daily singing God’s praises and rejoicing in His Salvation regardless of our circumstance?
Truly we battle principalities and powers, but most of all we battle our flesh and its constant desire to leave the secret place of the Most High. These past two weeks my situation at work has become very tense and isolating. I have been sitting, writing this during my breaks at work, in a room with three work colleagues who are conspiring against me, looking to find any way to bring me down. This truth has been a beautiful encouragement but also a sharp conviction. In whatever situation I find myself, as a child of God I have access into His presence where I can call upon Him and acquire all that I need to endure. Jesus Christ has given us His gladness. But will I live in it or will I let my flesh determine my actions?
The gladness comes before the feast! It is faith that trusts in God’s Word that allows us to enter His banqueting house and allows us to feast at His table of communion. It is by singing praises unto Him that we eat! Paul and Silas had that faith. Despite their circumstance, with beaten and bound bodies, before there was any tremor in the prison walls, their glad hearts were feasting on the goodness of God!

Acts 16
25 But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them,

Paul and Silas were freed within a few hours but, of course, God’s people can find themselves bound and beaten down for much longer. Consider Joseph serving as a slave or David constantly running from hiding place to Hiding Place. They, along with others, endured terrible circumstances, but by faith, they feasted on The Lord despite what they were going through!
David often writes from a painful and broken disposition, with his heart breaking and a desperate cry for deliverance. Times of sorrow and grief come to us all, we will all be led into the valley of death, in the world Jesus tells us that we WILL suffer tribulation. There is no teaching against sorrow, grief or weeping in God’s word… Jesus has come to tenderly bind up and heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1) God created us with emotions and we have been designed to feel them. Each of them is designed to lead us to The Lord and, through faith, He has given us the power to discipline, control and overcome them.

2 Corinthians 6
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,
…
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

The key to such gladness of heart is faith! It is a very simple choice to either believe God’s word or not. Regardless of our circumstance will we choose to sing His praises, just because we love Him? Not just in church but will we praise Him through the day when the enemy is coming in like a flood and all seems to be against us? David recognises this battle between flesh and faith. He recognises that his flesh may sorrow but he determines that his heart will praise!
This is the day that The Lord has made! (Psalm 118:24) I choose to believe that! He will never leave me nor forsake me! (Hebrews 13:5) I will believe that! I believe His Word! I believe I am HIS! I believe the battle is HIS! I believe He will protect HIS testimony in Me! I will trust in The Lord and cry out for HIS will to be done and trust that He will fulfil it! Happy are those whose God is The Lord! (Psalm 144:15) I believe that!! Oh Hallelujah! I will believe it!!

Psalm 42
11 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Sometimes we can feel like Lot, with our souls tortured every day, greatly worn out and distressed; Sorrow and grief may overwhelm us, and sweep the ground from our feet; The enemy make come in like a flood, conspiring, and plotting and it may seem that everything is against us! The Word of God tells us to “weep with those who weep” Romans 12:15 And may we, as God’s body and messengers, be quick to comfort and support the members who need it. I can truly testify and thank The Lord for how His body (loving friends and family) have prayed with and for me and I stand today in the power of Jesus prayers through His body! May we give a shoulder to the weak, strengthen the hands of those who are weary, comfort the sorrowing with tenderness and lead each other to the presence of Jesus where He will minister, for He has come to bind up and heal that broken heart. In Him our hearts can be glad! In Him we can rejoice! In Him we can feast on the bread of life and living water! Whatever our outward circumstance our hearts can be glad in Jesus and feasting on His fullness!