"You drowned my fears in perfect love"
Apple TV is pretty amazing. The slides of each paneramic video portrayed captures the heart of God with such incredible visible display of color. As I was watching the most fasinating displays of vivid imagery of this wonderful world we live in, I was listening to "No Longer Slaves" by Bethel Music: "You split the sea so I can walk right through it." As I heard that chorus line, I clicked the apple button. I noticed that what the video camera was displaying was: "Coral Reefs in the Red Sea near Egypt." The very phrase in the worship song connects with the vivid imagery of the Sea that God supernaturally split for the Israelites to cross and stand in triumphant victory. Coinsidence? Not even close.
I opened up Scripture. My heart jumped onto the pages of the book of Hebrews 3 and 4. This book was written by a Messianic Jew to Messianic Jews. They knew more about the Red Sea than I ever will. However, I caught a glimspe of what captured my heart in hopes of you and I encountering the love of our perfect Father.
In order for me to encourage you authentically, I must go in order of what God revealed to me this morning. I will write in sections, unveiling each revelation and in the end I will inscribe what I believe the Holy Spirit said to me this morning. I will place parenthesis within phrases or words to emphasis something important that caught my attention pertaining to what the Holy Spirit spoke with me this morning.
"For we are mingled with the Messiah, if we will continue unshaken in this confident assurance from the beginning until the end" (Hebrews 3:14, TPT). Another way of translating this verse is: "We are all sewn together with Christ." We are sewen as one in His presence - wrapped in the fabric of His undying love.
"The same people who were delivered from bondage and brought out of Egypt by Moses, were the ones who heared and (still) rebelled" (Hebrews 3:16, TPT). There is a hint of inheritance in this verse. Believers in YHWH heard the message of freedom and STILL rebelled, signifying habitual sin.
"For we have heard the good news of delieverance just as they did, yet they didn't (join their faith with the Word). Instead, what they heard didn't affect them deeply, for they doubted. For those of us who believe, (faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest)..." (Hebrews 4:2-3, TPT). Our faith in the Messiah joins with the Living Word (Jesus) and is activated to the promise of experincing His manifest presence in our lives.
"For God still has ordained a day for us to enter into called "Today" (Hebrews 4:7, TPT). It is today, in this very hour, in this very minute and every breathing second we can experience this promise of rest in the Messiah. His rest sets us free from habitual sin, unbelief, doubts, and fears.
"So we conclude that there is still a full and complete "rest" (waiting for believers to experience). As we enter into God's faith rest-life (we cease) from our own works, (just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them) (Hebrews 4:9-10, TPT). Believers today can experience this full and complete realm of rest by dwelling in the manifest presence of Jesus. Once we anchor ourselves in His promise of rest (body, soul, spirit, mind) we will cease (stop) from experiencing habitual sin, chronic unbelief and fear. Our promise of entering into the presence of God begins when we celebrate His finished work on the cross and rest in the powerful blood of Yeshua.
"(For we have the living Word of God), which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts" (Hebrews 4:12, TPT). The Living Word is both Scripture and the presence of Jesus. The Living Word became flesh and flesh spoke spirit, therefore breathing life into dark places. God speaks His word, then, we in return speak His word and it becomes a two-mouthed sword.
"So now we come freely and boldly to where (love is enthroned), to recieve mercy's kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness" (Hebrews 4:16, TPT). Love is enthroned. Our faith filled rest is experincing the presence of love where we can receieve mery's kiss in every season of life.
All of this leads me to a striking revelation that unpacks every verse I mentioned. According to Brian Simmons, leader and translator of the Passion Translation, authors a quote about the Living Word of God (4:16). There is a hint here of the spinning sword of fire that was held by the angel guarding the way to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24). We know the book of Revelation specifies that Jesus is the Tree of Life (Revelation 22:2). The "spinning sword of fire" is actually the "Shekinah." I mentioned in my previous blog about the Shekinah glory and how that pertains to believers today. There is no Hebrew or Aramaic literal word for Shekinah in our Hebrew Scriptures but it is inferred as biblical, much like the Trinity. The Hebew word is "shakan" and it literally means "dwelling place" or "resting place" inferring that this shekinah glory will make His permanent home in and upon us. "The inference here is that God "tabernacled" at the enterance to the garden in the flames of the cherubim - his mercy seat" (Brian Simmons, The Image Maker, The Cherubim). The tabernacle is a reference to the body of Christ. We carry the Shekinah glory through sitting in our place of authority in the heavenly realm. This is the place of rest the Hebrew writer of Hebrews is referring to when He mentions the "Living Word" and "love enthroned." Every believer and every person who will surrender their lives to Jesus fully has the freedom to experience and activate the Word of God by sitting at the feet where love is enthroned. The presence of Jesus is where love is enthroned. Jesus is our Shekinah glory, leaving us with the experience of being supernaturally infused with the love of a good and perfect Father, ceasing from our habitual sin and constant torment of fear.
"And every curse will be broken and no longer exist, for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there in the city. His loving servants will serve him; they will see constantly his face, and his name will be on their foreheads" (Revelation 22:3-4, TPT). Every curse is broken in the blood of Jesus, drowned in perfect love. Every born again believer constantly looks into the fiery eyes of love and recieves the grace of God empowered for ministry. His name, like flowing oil, will consume every dark move of the enemy and fill every human with mercy's kiss.
Here is what the Holy Spirit said to me:
"I drowned your fears in perfect love. That's right - drowned. Therefore, they cannot be retrieved. Drowning involves suffering death. All of your fears are forced to drown. Whenever you drown, you constantly grasp for air, hoping to breathe again, leaving you weak and helpless to bring yourself up to the surface, ultimately leading to death. I drowned your fears so that they can never take another breath. I drowned your fears so that my love can breathe in you and give you my Spirit. You are free to stand in My love - where my presence is enthroned."
My core is shaken.
My heart is racing.
My God has won.
Fear is drowned.
Love is Enthroned.
תגובות