Immersed In God

Exodus 40
34 Then the cloud [God’s visible presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle!
35 And Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

1 Kings 8
10 When the priests had come out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Lord’s house,
11 So the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.

Acts 2
2 When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.
…
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words].

•⁠ ⁠Three different dwelling places of Almighty God. Each one with its own baptism (immersion) of God! Each one filled with His presence and His Glory! Each one with a clear manifestation of God’s delight to dwell among his people. God’s deepest desire and glory is that He can dwell among His people! Hallelujah, What a Saviour! What a Gospel!
•⁠ ⁠None of these experiences were continuous though. They were symbolic of God’s acceptance and delight to dwell in the place prepared! But life and service continued on after these precious moments.

John 16
13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth. For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].
14 He will honour and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.

•⁠ ⁠The immersion had come and now there was work to be done. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was to be proclaimed and that’s exactly what the apostles did! The experience of Acts 2 is never mentioned again with longing. The disciples never looked back at the physical experience of the upper room wishing they could have that again, but they walked with a forward focus, proclaiming Jesus Christ, and taught us with obedience, joy and boldness to walk in The Holy Spirit, and to be being FILLED with HIM!
•⁠ ⁠But if we find that we feel empty, if we find that we hunger for more of Him, if we find that we feel a thirst and a dryness, we can do so rejoicing in all that He has given us! If we are thirsty, PRAISE THE LORD, we can drink from the Living Waters! If we hunger, PRAISE THE LORD for we shall be filled!! OH HALLELUJAH! There is never a reason strong enough to ever stop praising The Lord!! So let us continue to bring our sacrifices of praise, for The Lord inhabits the praises of His people! And if we bring to The Lord our songs of praise and rejoicing we shall never leave empty but full of HIM!!

No More Sad

1 Samuel 1
15 …I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.
16 Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.
17 Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.
18 Hannah said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So she went her way and ate, her countenance no longer sad.

•⁠ ⁠There was no sudden and miraculous change in Hannah’s circumstance. When she left the temple that day she had to go back to the same bitter enmity and ridicule that she had been dealing with for so many years. In the flesh there was no immediate comfort, support or remedy to her pain. The storm still raged, the enemy did not draw back…
•⁠ ⁠The only change to be seen that day was in her face, meaning her disposition or her attitude. She was no more sad. She was no more in defeat and shame. She was no more hopeless and sorrowful. She was no more overwhelmed, exasperated, frustrated or weary.
•⁠ ⁠So what did change for Hannah? She lifted her gaze. She was no longer looking at her self through eyes of flesh but seeing, by faith, the loving kindnesses and tender mercies of The Lord. She was no longer looking earthward but Godward, to the promises and testimonies of The Lord. She looked beyond her self and saw The Lord. Hanna cast ALL of her care upon The Lord. She lay all of her burdens down at His feet. She cast herself upon His goodness and mercy and she truly trusted in Him. She cried out and vowed that the fruit/blessing of The Lord would be HIS testimony and for HIS glory and honour. She was no longer lusting for the blessing but found comfort, peace and rest in the one who blesses.
•⁠ ⁠We only know Hannah’s name because of the fruit of this faith. There was nothing royal or powerful about her. She was just a woman longing for a child, longing to be fruitful. But as she cried out to The Lord and poured out her complaint to Him, as she yielded to His will and glory, she became a woman of quiet, confident, assured faith. The testimony of The Lord came from that faith. It was not until Hannah rose up no more sad that fruit and testimony came. A Mighty work, far more than Hannah prayed for or could have imagined!
•⁠ ⁠May we learn to have such faith as Hannah. May we be like Moses, “for he had respect unto the rewarder of the reward… for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:26-27

Romans 15
13 May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.

Evidence Of Blessing

Ruth 2
19 …Blessed be the man who noticed you…

There was clear evidence of blessing in Ruth. She came back abundantly blessed. Her shawl full and running over! She had provision of food for Naomi and a wonderful amount of grain. This was so much more than she could have produced on her own.
It is so lovely that Naomi recognised the favour bestowed on Ruth. Shouldn’t it be so clear in our lives? Does the world see our abundance of grain; our hearts full and running over with the joy, peace and satisfaction of The Lord? Do family, friends and close ones see that we’ve been with Jesus? Can they smell the sweet fragrance of The Lord and see a life overflowing with the fruit of The Spirit?
We have been given so much! We have access to all that Jesus Christ is and we can appropriate all that He has gained for us in The Father. By faith may we take full advantage of all that has been won for us in Jesus Christ and may the world see how abundantly blessed we are to be the children of The Loving Heavenly Father, joint heirs with Christ, accepted in The Beloved. Hallelujah!

2 Peter 1
3 For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

What Sets Us Apart?

Exodus 33
15 And Moses said to the Lord, If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here!
16 For by what shall it be known that I and Your people have found favour in Your sight? Is it not in Your going with us so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the other people upon the face of the earth?

Is it The Lord’s presence that distinguishes you from the those around you? Does the world see an individual who lives in the presence of The Creator God, walking in HIS joy, peace, love, power and testimony?
Or are we distinguished merely by moralism or legalism? Are we distinguished by our denomination/church label? Are we distinguished by only our isolation or lifestyle?
What does the world see in God’s people? Do they see a people set apart unto The Lord? Do they see a people who have “I AM” living within them? Do they see a people following after and calling after God? What do my work colleagues, friends and family see in me? Do they see The Lord and HIS testimony? Or do they see mere “Christianity”, religion and pride?

Exodus 34
9 And he said, If now I have found favor and loving-kindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray You, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.

Moses was desperate for The Lord to be in the midst of His people. He longed to see The Lord dwelling amongst them. He doesn’t pray just for personal guidance and fellowship, he beseeches The Lord, “Our Father”, that He would be amongst “us”, His brethren, leading and guiding the congregation, the sheep that He has delivered!
Note “midst of us”, “our iniquity”, “take us”, Moses identifies himself with the people. Moses identifies the same heart within Himself and confesses our iniquity and our sin and our need for The Lord to be among us! He is not better than them or above them or apart from them.
Let us pray together as Moses did to be distinguished in the world by The Lord’s presence! Let us learn to be mindful of Our Father’s constant presence among us. His presence is not experienced by sense but enjoyed by faith!! Let us be careful to pray with the same meekness and humility to be distinguished from the world but not from our brethren.
By faith, may He be in all our momentary thoughts and have all our attention as we walk in His Spirit. By faith may we enjoy Him and all that He is minute by minute…
“O Lord, let the Lord, I pray You, go in the midst of us!”

The Lord Has Made Room For Us

Genesis 26
19 Now Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living [spring] water.
20 And the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. And he named the well Esek [contention] because they quarreled with him.
21 Then [his servants] dug another well, and they quarreled over that also; so he named it Sitnah [enmity].
22 And he moved away from there and dug another well, and for that one they did not quarrel. He named it Rehoboth [room], saying, For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

•⁠ ⁠Room (Rest, peace, provision, space) won by fleshly contention will not last. It will soon be contended against again. There will be no peace or safety. It will be a fleshy existence.
•⁠ ⁠Room provided to us by The Lord is unchallenged. It is a space with time to grow, mature and bear fruit. It is joy and peace, praise and worship and a testimony unto The Lord’s glory!
•⁠ ⁠There was no contention for Rehoboth. There was no strife or frustration. The place had been prepared ahead of time by The Lord and Isaac’s rest and trust in His Lord allowed Him to discover Rehoboth. How many times have we fought when we should have moved on? Are we living in frustration or are we living in joyful rest knowing that The Lord has made room for us? “that where I am you may be also” John 14:3
•⁠ ⁠May our faith be at rest in The Lord and ever trusting/looking for His Rehoboths. May we learn not to fight, strive, contend for our own understanding. He, The God of all the earth, has gone before us. He is the Author of our faith and He has written beautiful and wonderful plans for us which He will lead us into as we trust and rest in Him. He has already won every victory and He has already provided every need. Hallelujah! May we be found abiding in Him.

2 Peter 1
3 …His divine power has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue: