The word today is 'draw near'!

DRAW NEAR! THE LORD SAYS.

1. Psalm 73:28
   But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.
   Psalm 73:27-28 (in Context) Psalm 73 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Ecclesiastes 5:1
   [ Fear God, Keep Your Vows ] Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
   Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 (in Context) Ecclesiastes 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Isaiah 45:20
   “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.
   Isaiah 45:19-21 (in Context) Isaiah 45 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Zephaniah 3:2
   She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, She has not drawn near to her God.
   Zephaniah 3:1-3 (in Context) Zephaniah 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Luke 19:37
   Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
   Luke 19:36-38 (in Context) Luke 19 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Hebrews 7:19
   for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
   Hebrews 7:18-20 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. James 4:8
   Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
   James 4:7-9 (in Context) James 4 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsDR

Journey to see God: a servant's journey of faith

Not many would notice the record of an unnamed servant who worked for Abraham. However, the record spanned practically the whole chapter 24 ( in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, all 67 verses except for the first and last verse of the chapter, the longest in the book). Why did the Holy Spirit find it important to keep such detailed record of this episode of a humble servant? The watchman asked.
Then he opened the Bible and was led to read the account of Jesus in John 13, in which Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. Jesus was fully aware of Who He was, the Son of God, and yet He chose to obey His Father in heaven to take a most humble position. 

 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” (John 13:3-5)

Jesus knew His superior position as their Teacher and Lord (13:13). He also made sure they knew that they were His servants ( Matt.10:24-25; 18:23; 25:14) and He their Master and that they were not greater than Him (13:16; 15:20). Yet He washed the disciples' feet. He set them an example that they should do as He had done to them (13:15). “If you know theses things blessed are you if you do them” (13:17), He promised. Jesus specifically declared to the twelve disciples that “if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves? Is he not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.” (Luke 22:25-27)
“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;” “and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master...” “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.” (Luke 12:35, 36, 37)
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40)
In summary, Jesus expects His disciples to wait for His return, taking the faithful position of a servant, vigilant, waiting and ready at all hours, serving.
Where in the Bible is an example of a faithful selfless servant? In Abraham's time there was a record of one such person.
______Genesis 24 (the longest chapter in the book of Genesis)
This chapter recorded one main character, the servant whom Abraham entrusted to go to get a wife for Abraham's son, Isaac. The facts are summarized below:

1. This servant is not named here but it is believed that he is the same as mentioned in Gen.15:2, Eliezer of Damascus, whom Abraham thought would be his heir as he was childless then.
   
2. He is described as the oldest servant of Abraham's house, who ruled over all that he had. (v2) “All his master's goods were in his hands.” (v 10)
   
3. Abraham's instruction and mission for this servant was: go to Abraham's former country and his father's family to take a wife for his son. (v4,7)
   

What the Scripture revealed the servant's characteristics:

1. He believed and obeyed every word of his master, Abraham.
   
2. He was totally focused on his mission. He did not waste one minute like taking his dinner before first telling Abraham's cousin his mission (v33), and he did not even want to stay one day longer than necessary despite the long journey of 800km using camels to travel. (v 56)
   
3. He knew his master very well. He repeated his master's instructions accurately. He knew Abraham's words would come to pass. He believed when Abraham told him that God would send His angels to lead him and prosper his way.
   
4. He even knew of the qualities of the daughter-in-law to be for his master. (There was no record of what Abraham had told him on this subject, but his action showed that he knew what the master required.)
   
5. He shared his master's belief in God and his godly values in the kind of wife suitable and just right for his master's son. (Note his prayer that specified the conditions/attributes of the right person to be confirmed)
   
6. He feared, honored, and trusted God. He prayed, worshiped and testified for God at anytime the Spirit led him. He gave glory to God.
   
7. He spoke of himself as a servant of Abraham. His action confirmed his word.
   
8. He spoke only of Abraham's instruction, God's promises to Abraham, and how God had led him, answered his prayers, given success to the whole mission just as God has promised Abraham. (Not the number of times he spoke of the 'Lord God', 'the Lord', 'my master Abraham', 'my master'.)
   
9. He acknowledged and testified openly the success of his mission depended entirely on God, who would show His kindness to Abraham.
   
10. He was not even concerned with his own possible personal needs, feeling, rights or comforts. He did not simply get someone for Isaac. He could have been the heir if not for Isaac. Not only he was not jealous he even made sure Isaac got the best woman as a wife, exactly the one appointed by God for his wife! (Note he spoke twice of the word 'appointed' v14 and v 44).
    
11. He knew God and feared God. Note his prayers. How he prayed. The words he used. Here is a brief summary of the most 'unusual' way to get the right girl for his master's son:
    

• He went and stood by the well of water (instead of going straight to Abraham's brother's house) where the daughters of the men of the city were coming out to draw water. (v 13)
  
• He believed and expected that God would bring the appointed girl to him. (v 14)
  
• He set the conditions of the right girl's character, knowing his master's requirements and values. (v 14)
  
• His faith in God was so steadfast that he did not realize that he was setting very difficult terms to meet all at once: 1. the girl must come out at the right time, as he was waiting there with all his men and precious loads of gifts; 2. the right girl must come out (Abraham's close relative); 3. the right girl must also fit all the other characteristics of his master's requirements, hardworking, hospitable, well-mannered, kindhearted even to animals, obedient, humble, young, a virgin, and very beautiful to behold; 4. the right girl must be willing to go back to his master's house with the servant (who is a total stranger) even though she has never met the bride-groom to be or even been to the place where she will live for the rest of her life!
  In all these what did he gain for himself, this faithful servant?
  

Note the way the servant described what he considered as his fulfillment:

“And he said, 'Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.” (v 27)

“and I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take my master brother's daughter for his son.” (v 48)

“And he said to them, 'Do not hinder me, since the Lord God has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.” (v 56)

 This servant was indeed greatly rewarded. He saw the hand of God in his faith journey!

Journey to see God: See God’s reality in Abraham’s life

Abraham’s journey -one hundred years of faith living!

In this journey to see God through Abraham, the watchman and friends see how the Lord appeared to Abraham whom He called His friend. Note that the Lord actually took the initiative and conversed with Abraham a number of times. Abraham was a watchman and intercessor. He could understand spiritual matters and he believed in God and every words spoken by God. He had no Bible or even the Laws of Moses to guide him at that time. But he listened carefully to what the Lord spoke to him, and he remembered the conversations, acted on them and continued his journey by faith into the unseen future.
What did God do? God honored His own words.
GOD’S CALLING OF ABRAHAM & PROMISES (by faith Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home; he went without knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8. Romans 4:16-22)

1. Genesis 12:1 [ Promises to Abram ] Now the Lord had said to Abram:“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2. Genesis 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
3. Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
4. Genesis 12:8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
5. Genesis 13:4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
6. Genesis 13:14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
7. Genesis 13:18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
8. Genesis 14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
9. Genesis 15:1 [ The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram ] Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
10. Genesis 15:2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
11. Genesis 15:4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.”
12. Genesis 15:5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
13. Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Romans 4:3)
    
14. Genesis 15:7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
15. Genesis 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
16. Genesis 15:18 So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River
17. Genesis 17:1 [ Abram Is Named Abraham ] When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

BIRTH OF ISAAC （child of the promise, born by the power of the Spirit. Galatians 4:28-29; Romans 9:8)

1. Genesis 18:1 [ The Son of Promise ] Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2. Genesis 18:13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
3. Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
4. Genesis 21:1 [ Isaac Is Born ] And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

OFFER ISAAC (compare to God giving His only Son, John 3:16)

22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide;[b] as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
INTERCESSION BY ABRAHAM  (James 2:23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.)

1. Genesis 18:17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 
2. Genesis 18:19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
3. Genesis 18:20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
4. Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
5. Genesis 18:26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
6. Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
7. Genesis 18:30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
8. Genesis 18:31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
9. Genesis 18:32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”
10. Genesis 18:33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

SARAH (ABRAHAM’S WIFE: an incident of walking by flesh and not by faith and the consequence)

1. Genesis 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
2. Genesis 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”

HAGAR (EGYPTIAN MAID received God’s message and the mercy of God)

1. Genesis 16:7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
2. Genesis 16:9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
3. Genesis 16:10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
4. Genesis 16:11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:“Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
5. Genesis 16:13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

SERVANT OF ABRAHAM (completed his mission to TAKE WIFE FOR ISAAC faithfully because he believed in Abraham’s God, Who remained faithful to His promises. The servant encountered and testified God’s reality!

1. Genesis 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
2. Genesis 24:31 And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
3. Genesis 24:40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.
4. Genesis 24:42 “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
5. Genesis 24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
6. Genesis 24:56 And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”__________________________________

Abraham's Journey: using the obedience weapon to victory

Christ’s obedience :  Hebrews 5:8  though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Reading Abraham’s journey by faith is indeed a very meaningful journey in itself. The watchman and class read and go through the same journey daily by faith. Everyday is a new experience. The Lord’s Spirit has opened the spiritual eyes of everyone who takes part in the reading as led by His Spirit.
Abraham was the first man called to form a new tribe, a new nation, a new people of God. God picked just one man in history to carry out this seemingly impossible mission. How did Abraham qualify? He just listened and obeyed.

God’s promises to Abraham if Abraham obeyed Him and His words (voice):
Genesis 22:18  In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Genesis 26:4-5  “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; ⁵ because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Hebrews 11:8 [ Faithful Abraham ] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

God’s promises to all who are called by Him and who obey His voice (words):
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.Exodus 23:21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.Exodus 23:22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

What happened to those who did not obey God (through obeying His words)? They perished instead of entering the Promised Land.
Joshua 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

God prefers obedience to sacrifice
1 Samuel 15:21-23 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” ²² So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”

Exodus 26:14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you:
(Watchman’s notes: Exodus and Leviticus describe the terrible things that will happen to those who disobey include: disease, war, failure in produce, defeats and captive by enemies, cities and land desolated)
Leviticus 26:18  ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. Leviticus 26:21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.
28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

Obedience to God means Love of God
Deuteronomy 11:1 “Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.
Deuteronomy 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
Deuteronomy 28:15 [ Curses on Disobedience ] “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Summary of the Abraham’s blessings and conditions:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ²⁰ that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Obedience – the New Testament Way: we are the elect for obedience too. Faith means ‘obedience’.
1 Peter 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Obedience means: obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; know God and obey God; have the Holy Spirit (only given to those who obey God); continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; working out salvation with fear and trembling; enter God’s rest; obey Jesus, the author of eternal salvation; confess Jesus is Lord; purified their souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit; their faith and hope are in God; arm themselves with the same mind of Christ, living for the will of God; serious and watchful in their prayers; commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Bible verses on Obedience in the New Testament:

Acts 5:29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Romans 2:7-9 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

Philippians 2:11-13 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9  and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

Hebrews 3:17-19Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 5:8-10  though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰ called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

1 Peter 1:21-23 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. ²² Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ² that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
⁷ But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. ¹² Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” ¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Obedience is a weapon
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Watchman’s adventure: uncharted waters 2013

watchman’s uncharted waters 2013 The watchman continued his journey to see God this year. His understanding is that this will take the whole of 2013.
On the new year eve a small group gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to worship, read God’s words and prayed. On the same day a number of Scripture songs in two languages were identified and chosen. Amazingly some could not be recorded in the special edition CD for the occasion. Some others were recorded repeatedly at least three times in the same CD! One crucial song sang the Scripture from Revelation 19:5-7, “ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both^[a] small and great!” ⁶ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the^[b] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
The gathering started at 9pm and ended reluctantly before 2pm. During the worship and prayers in the Spirit, the group sang ‘Alleluia’ many many times. When the alarm clock rang at 11:59 to alert them for the cross over to a new season of time in the Lord, they were all refreshed. Later one of them received a message from his family who were also worshiping and praying in their main church, at that time, that two prayer groups at two different locations were also singing the same ‘Alleluia’ verses at that time even though they had never communicated prior to this event!
That means the three groups (big and small) of believers were all being led by the Holy Spirit at the same time that night! This confirmed the Bible verse,1 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV) “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.“  Romans 8:14 (NKJV) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Revelation received regarding what Bible books to read was: start from the Book of Genesis. See the faith journey of Abraham. The Bible reading was very rewarding. Indeed, the journey to see God is a journey for all believers. Abraham’s life is a type for all Christians who walk by faith and not by sight, led by the Spirit of God and not by flesh.
The Lord God has revealed Himself to one man, Abraham and called Himself the God of Abraham. The same Lord God Almighty had also revealed Himself to Abraham’s son Isaac (through the promise of God, born according to the Spirit of God, Galatians 4:29), and called Himself the God of Isaac. He also revealed Himself to the grandson of Abraham, Jacob (later changed to Israel), and called Himself the God of Jacob.
The same God makes sure each born again Christian knows He expects each to know Him personally as his or her own God. God is Spirit and not bound by time or space or any point of history. When He looks at each man He sees the whole life of the man at a glance. When He looks at a group of men He looks at all at the same glance, regardless of the different time and space in which they are placed at any point of time or space.
It is impossible to describe God using our human mind. We can only know a bit of God when He reveals to each of us by His Spirit. This is an exciting journey indeed for each members of the group as fresh revelations are being received daily by each individual.
This is the journey of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Uncharted waters. Very refreshing and real to each of us. Our God is awesome!

Journey to see God: So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him

The message today at this beginning of another human calendar year (period to mark a season of time and events), is "OBEDIENCE'. 

The case of Abraham, father of faith, is a classic case of human obedience by faith in action. Faith is not mere words. Faith can be seen. God is only pleased with faith. He sees faith in action.

Indeed, every born again Christian is called as Abraham was called: to depart from his familiar and comfort zone, even from himself (self-preservation) to venture into an unknown journey, a journey into the unknown. Why do we do that? Why do we commit ourselves to heed the same call? The watchman believes that this is a pure work of grace and mercy by the Lord. We respond to His call not because we are super-human in terms of spiritual sensitivity or inclination. We respond to the unseen God and believe in His word because the Spirit of the holy God touch us through the holy word in His holy Book (the Bible).

Faith means Obedience. We have no power to obey in our flesh. But the Spirit of the Lord has given us His power to do so. 

Genesis 12:1-9 (NKJV) Promises to Abram

12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh.^[a] And the Canaanites were then in the land.

⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. ⁹ So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.^[b]

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 12:6 Hebrew Alon Moreh
2. Genesis 12:9 Hebrew Negev 

A celebration and song in faith to the covenant keeping God. 
1 Chronicles 16 David’s Song of Thanksgiving

⁷ On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

⁸ Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
⁹ Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
¹⁰ Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
¹¹ Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
¹² Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
¹³ O seed of Israel His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

¹⁴ He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
¹⁵ Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
¹⁶ The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
¹⁷ And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
¹⁸ Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”
¹⁹ When you were few in number,
Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

²⁰ When they went from one nation to another,
And from one kingdom to another people,
²¹ He permitted no man to do them wrong;
Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,
²² Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”^[a]

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
²⁴ Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.

²⁵ For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is also to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and gladness are in His place.

²⁸ Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
³⁰ Tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved.

³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
³² Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.
³³ Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.^[b]

³⁴ Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.^[c]
35 And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;
Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.”

³⁶ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!^[d]

And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

spiritual journey 2012 in review: further sailing on uncharted waters

2012 has turned out to be a year of impossible changes. To men it was impossible. To God nothing is impossible. So the watchman has observed.

The watchman did considerable watching through out the year albeit missing the signs completely at certain crucial moments. He paid for such costly omissions.

The following are some examples of how some signs were ignored or were accurately heeded:

1. When someone wanted to give a large sum of money to help to bail out a church member, believing that the Holy Spirit has told her to do so, the watchman received a warning in the words of God. His Bible turned to 'Judas Iscariot' at least twice at that time. He did not persuade the person not to give the money because he did not want to be accused of presuming that others could not hear the Holy Spirit accurately. So they went ahead. The condition was that the person went for healing and deliverance after her bail-out. It did not happen. In his latest journey to see God, he again interceded for the person when the Lord showed him the word ‘Judas Iscariot’ (Mark 3:19) while praying in the Spirit with another intercessor. At the end of the prayer, the other intercessor told him not to intercede for that person again as the case would be closed on 31-12-2012 if that person does not repent by that date. This requires a miracle as 31st December is only a day away.

2. On the other hand, he did the appropriate intercession when prompted by the Lord while praying in the Spirit on that same occasion. He saw the verse on ‘Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29) and the name of a pastor came to his spirit. So he interceded for that pastor. When he finished praying the intercessor told him the case broke through. He was happy and relieved. He walked by faith and not by sight.

3. In another case the signs were very clear, as they built up in momentum over a short period of months. He received the clear verse to depart from a 'place of worship' on 30th June 2012. He hesitated but events soon took place at an accelerated rate to confirm the signs (which came to him in the Bible words). Others received similar warning words too and conveyed to him. Dreams, visions and words combined through revelation received by a few persons gave him the final leading to ‘run’.

Spiritual discernment is a absolute must for a spiritual watchman intercessor. It requires faith. it also takes time. The watchman is thankful that throughout the journey he had access to other watchmen and intercessors. Their prayers and advice indeed helped him to avoid some pitfalls. He has been humbled and had to make adjustments in his lifestyle.
He has learned that the Lord demands the best. Knowing the Lord is the number one priority for all watchmen. There is no substitution for reading God’s word (the Bible). Living by the Spirit and being led by the Spirit (as required of all sons of God) require obedience and constant practice too.

He was led to read the Bible from the beginning to see God. The Old Testament characters provide rich food for his spiritual journey. His lifestyle changes mainly involved redistribution of time: sleep time, wake time, eat time, fast time, Bible reading and meditating time, praying in the Spirit and singing in the Spirit time, praying in understanding time, discipleship time and teaching time, worship time and time spent before God. The changes involve quality change and quantity change as well. His life has never been so fulfilled before.

Overall he would describe the year 2012 as a year of signs and wonders for his little world. He has been comforted by the Lord in answered prayers (including undeserved favor and mercy) for some of his own family members and also blessings for the few families who worship with him and diligently seek God even at odd hours, determined to know God at all costs!