chapter eighty-eight: the Holy Spirit said. “Take up the sword of the Spirit!”

The watchman Jack cannot sleep like a log. He was troubled. His body was under attack and he was fed up. He questioned, “How can the enemy be so seemingly ‘powerful’? Why was he under attack often when he went to one particular geographical location?” He even told God he was fed up. Indeed, when he went to his father-in-law’s house recently he was again attacked with the old back-ache symptoms.

Given a choice he would never want to go there or anywhere near any unbeliever’s living quarters in view of the spiritual defilement and idolatry stronghold. He is a peaceful man who has enjoyed many generations of simple peaceful Christian living. However, there are things in life that are called ‘obligations’. Jack knew he had no option as far as this assignment was concerned.

He suffered the whole day even after the long drive back to his own home. He tried to rest in bed but the aches continued. He claimed divine healing to no apparent result. So he finally got up and told God he was fed up. Then he decided to read God’s words regardless of the physical symptoms. He was drawn to read all the verses about end time and spiritual warfare and victory for no particular reasons. After reading he reminded himself he was giving the enemy too much attention. So he resolved not to make the same mistake. He took a warm shower and a ginger drink which he had never taken, though a favorite of his wife’s. He did not know why he took it except that he heard his spirit ask him to do so. (Without the Holy Spirit, you can take as much such stuff as possible and nothing would happen!)

After that, despite the unchanged physical symptoms, he went to church to worship God. He worshiped and praised God as usual. He knelt down and bent his back as usual. He did not pray for any healing as it was not on his mind at all. He made up his mind to give God the full attention and glory. When the sermon started he was relieved that someone else did the translation instead of him. When the speaker spoke he was not surprised that she spoke about end time and what manners of persons we ought to be in holy conduct and godliness (2 Peter 3:11). The Holy Spirit indeed prompted him to read these verses that same afternoon when he was determined to listen to the Holy Spirit.

During the sermon he had to leave as he was asked to take his relatives (whose three young infants were making too much noise) home. When he got up from his seat, he found that he was healed completely. The symptoms vanished without his notice. He went home a very convicted man. Yes, he learned a lesson of faith living in practice. How was he healed? He knew in theory but lacked patience in practice. But God was merciful and patient.

The lesson Jack learned is summarized as follows:
1. We live by faith and not by sight.
2. We trust God’s word which contains His will.
3. We proclaim God’s words (victory) and not ours.
4. Our role is to put on the whole armor of God and stand still.
5. God will take charge.Be still and know that He is God!!
6. We continue to worship and praise God for His faithfulness, grace and mercy regardless of the symptoms. Always give God the glory!!!
7. Never make the enemy prominent in our lives. He is merely a deceiver. Resist him and he will flee!

Here are some of the verses Jack had read and proclaimed during his struggle: (He prays that you will be blessed too!)

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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,
Ephesians 6:10-18 The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
2 Peter 3:9-14
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
The Day of the Lord
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Be Steadfast
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
Malachi 4:1-3 The Great Day of God
1 “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 58:6-8
6 “ Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens,       To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 32:15-18 Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,       And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
Isaiah 10:27
27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
Psalm 121 A Song of Ascents.
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

chapter eighty-seven: the Holy Spirit reveals more to make sure watchman gets His message

Jack found that the Holy Spirit does not give up in answering his prayers. Many months ago Jack had a dream which he still remembered vividly. In the dream he was a person who pushed a cart and rested on the pathway outside a shop. A younger person came and asked for a space to rest. So Jack gave him a space. Then Jack went into the shop to buy a piece of soap (presumably for that young man). The shopkeeper sold him a bar of light brown soap wrapped in plain re-cycled paper, telling him that this was the best soap, called "precious jar/bottle", at a very cheap price of 60 cents. He said that the soap could clean anything and everything. When Jack went out of the shop he found that his heavily cluttered cart was clean, empty and light. In fact, it looked new! The young man had gone too. He woke and was reminded of a verse from II Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." But he could not really understand what this meant to him. Recently after a class he was led to read II Corinthians 3:5 "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God". At that time he did not realize the connection between the two verses. 
On another subject, he consulted his intercessor mentor about having over months observed that a particular church leader conducted the Holy Communion regularly but never mentioned the Lord Jesus' body and blood, and when alerted, neither the leader himself nor the pastor bothered to take corrective measures. Eventually the pastor too forgot to mention the blood and the body of Christ himself when conducting the Holy Communion, not just once but repeatedly until Jack escaped from that big church! After being advised by his spiritual mentor, Jack read some articles about the subject. The more he read, the more he saw the similarities between the leaders concerned and the descriptions. His earlier vision about the church new multimillion dollar construction too revealed bad news. In fact, a year ago he received a warning for that church when he first started interceding for them. It was a passage from Isaiah 30:1-5. The intercessor mentor told him to intercede for that former church since the Lord has made him see the visions and observe the irregularities. There is urgency since some members already suffered tragic consequences as a result of the leaders' unbelief of the full redemptive benefits of spirit and body, thus denying the power and protection of the cross.

After making a fresh resolution, this morning he woke at 5am and asked the Lord what to pray and how to pray as he had tried many months previously until he ran out of words for them.The Holy Spirit guided him to read II Corinthians 3-4. Jack was elated to discover that God answered his two prayers with the same set of Bible verses. He wanted to know how to pray and intercede for the Jezebels in the former church.

The II Corinthians chapters 3-4 verses reveal that the people are blinded because of unbelief. They cannot not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. The battlefield is in their minds which are blinded. That is why they do not preach Christ Jesus the Lord, but preach men and men teachings. They seek glory from one another instead of God's glory. They do not know the Christ who is their hope of glory!

He thus noted the following prayers points:

1. Pray that the church pastor and leaders be convicted, repent and be filled by the Spirit of the living God. Pray for humility for them. 2 Cor. 3:5 " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God".
2. Pray that God shines His light into their hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 4:6 "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
3. Pray that they turn to the Lord, so that the veil on their hearts can be removed and be set free accordingly from their bondage. 2 Cor. 3:16-17 "Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
4. Pray that they will see Christ and behold His glory and be transformed by the renewing of their minds. 2 Cor.3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
5. Jack found the following summary given by the Apostle Paul indeed appropriate for this problem solving: 2 Cor. 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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".

On his other prayer question about his current Bible teaching ministry, and the Spirit-led reading of the two chapters in II Corinthians, Jack concludes that it is essential to point his students' eyes to see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ for a true overcomer life. He now understands why the Holy Spirit has focused his eyes on these verses earlier on. "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord", "I believe and therefore I speak", "for we walk by faith, not be sight". "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." (this verse confirms the dream he had about the soap called "precious jar/bottle").

The gospel is indeed the gospel of the glory of Christ!
Here are some relevant verses for meditation on "Christ in us, our hope of glory" truth. May our hearts be filled with joy!
Psalm 16:9
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
 Romans 5:2 
through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
Ephesians 1:18
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Colossians 1:27
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX: WATCHMAN NIGHT DISCOURSE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Last night Jack spent the bulk of the night in discourse with the Holy Spirit. It was quite a lengthy and serious dream. He was discussing the Bible with the Holy Spirit (in the form of someone whom he does not know). By the time the dream was almost over, he was repeatedly reminded of one verse, John 14:14. Therefore, he got up and read his Bible.

“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:14) This verse is linked to the following verses:

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14, 15) Then he decided read the whole chapter five. He found further revelation as follows, which clarified what he has been meditating.

Although this is a great promise of God answering prayers, there are conditions: Christians need to go through Jesus’ name. Christians need to know God’s will and ask accordingly.

Your position must be right: verses 1-15

1. born of God

a. Believe that Jesus is the Christ.

b. Love God –keep His commandments

c. Love His children

2. walk by faith

a. overcome the world

3. Know who Jesus is.

a. Three witnesses in heaven: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit –they are one.

b. Three witnesses on earth: the Spirit, the water (word) and the blood -they agreed as one.

4. Believe who Jesus is.

5. Christians have eternal life in the Son of God.

6. Continue to believe in the Son of God.

Christians must live as an overcomer: verses 16-21

1. Pray and intercede for Christians who sin.

2. Know that all unrighteousness is sin.

3. How can one not sin? Born of God, keep himself. The wicked one cannot touch him!

4. Be separate from the world. The whole world is under the devil. Christians are under God’s rule.

5. You have eternal life.

6. Keep away from anything that will take God’s place in your hearts.

IN CHRIST DIAGRAM III: LIVE OVERCOMERS’ LIFE BY THE WILL OF GOD (I believe in the Son of God – eternal life – and overcome the world) Read 1 John chapter 5

There was another part of the dream. Jack will carry out the assignment separately in another exercise.

Chapter Eighty-five: watchman discovered more new wine in living the Holy Spirit way!

It has been an exciting time living in the Spirit. During the last week the watchman was kept busy reading and meditating on God’s word. He was preparing himself to share his revelation and findings in a book about God on healing through Jesus Christ. There was fresh insight as he read and meditated.

However, the best came after he has taught three sessions (two lessons and one-re-run). He discovered one crucial new wine verse, John 15:7 under the new light and drew a mental diagram of a Christian’s position under this verse:


Jesus commanded, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you!” (John 15:7) What a great and wonderful promise!


There are a number of key phrases which need meditation upon. For example, “you abide in Me” is a key phrase. What does it mean by abiding in Jesus? How can one (a physical grown man on earth) go and live in the invisible Jesus who is now sitting on the right hand of God in heaven? Assuming it is the spirit that does the abiding, how can one know one’s spirit is living in Jesus?


Another key phrase is “My words abide in you”. How can one make the words of God live in one? We cannot cut out the Bible and stuff the texts into our hearts! Assuming that we read the Bible fervently how do we know the words really sink into our hearts?


The watchman asked the Holy Spirit to illuminate his spiritual eyes and spiritual mind. He suddenly saw a picture of a Christian.


GOD SEES THIS AND ANSWERS PRAYERS.

“CHRIST OUTSIDE AND INSIDE. THE CHRISTIAN IS HIDDEN IN THE MIDDLE LAYER.”


The watchman felt pleased when he received this revelation. But he still puzzled over the issue of being in Christ. He read all the verses in Ephesians on “in Christ” and still felt unsatisfied in his spirit. Last night before he slept he prayed that the Holy Spirit would continue to intercede for him while he slept. Indeed the whole night he dreamed that someone came to discuss the Scripture with him. By the time he woke in the morning he remembered the chapter and the verse number (2:20) he was to read, but he could not remember which Book in the bible.


So he looked at a number of Paul’s Epistles, although his first prompting was to read the book of Galatians. But he deliberately did not until he could not find anything in the other.


When he gave up and turned to Galatians the answer and exactly what he looked for was there!


“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”


Amazingly he again saw the picture. CHRIST OUTSIDE AND INSIDE AND THE CHRISTIAN IS HIDDEN IN THE MIDDLE LAYER.


There is one new ingredient to fulfilling this position. “BY FAITH”. The Christian hides in Christ Jesus by faith.

A Christian received Christ Jesus by faith into his heart.


A Christian believes in the word of God by faith.

A Christian abides in Christ by faith.


A Christian received the Holy Spirit by faith.


A Christian prays in the name of Jesus Christ by faith.


A Christian exercises the spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit y faith.


A Christian puts on the whole armor of God by faith.


A Christian lives by the Spirit by faith.


A Christian lives the more than conquerors supernatural life by faith.


Praise God! What a wonderful and resourceful teacher the Holy Spirit is!

Chapter Eighty-four: the Holy Spirit said, "Put new wine in new skin, watchman!"

The training by the Holy Spirit has been intensive and increasingly more. Jack was woken this morning with this instruction, "Put new wine in new skin!" He obeyed and got up. As he was preparing himself for the quiet time. a number of thoughts went through his mind (heart rather). It was all about Jesus. Interestingly, it linked what he has been learning from various sources together and gave him the big picture!

He rushed downstairs and opened his Bible and started reading the Gospel according to John Chapter One. There it is, the new wine!
He recalled the most recent lesson on Genesis 1:1-10 which confirmed what he has previously read . The teacher taught that there was an interval between Gen.1:1 and 1:2. The earth described in 1:2 appeared to have gone through destruction. The destruction tied to Revelation 12 which recorded the war in heaven wherein the dragon (the devil) was defeated and cast out together with one-third of the angels who joined in the rebellion against God. They were cast to the earth. The teacher taught that the earth was a prison for the devil and his gang.

However, God restored the earth in Gen.1:3 onward. He also created human beings based on His own image. He breathed into them the breath of life. He gave the human authority and dominion over the earth but the human gave the dominion in turn to the devil (when Adam and Eve decided to obey the lies of the devil and rebel against God). God knew this would happen so He had prepared in the beginning for His own Son, Jesus to come to earth and redeem the human.

John One
In John 1:1-18, this truth was clearly proclaimed. Jesus was in the beginning of creation. He was the Word (God) and all things were made through Him. "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." (Heb.11:3) The world on earth was made through Him. The human were His own as they were created in His image. But they did not know Him or receive Him.

The devil (thief) came to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came to give life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) The followings are very important truths to set human free from the bondages of the devil (evil, darkness, sin, disease and death).

John 1:12, "Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (NIV) John 1:13, The children of God, "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (NKJV) John 1:17-18, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (the only begotten Son), who is at the Father's side, has made Him known." (NIV)

The Name of God
From Jesus, something transformed in all those who received Him (as the Son of God), and believed in His name. What does it mean by believing in His name? Jack pondered. Recently the Holy Spirit reminded him the power and majesty of Jesus' name. At the name of Jesus Christ, all knees shall bow and all tongues shall confess, that Jesus is Lord!

Do not take God's name in vain. Jesus is God. Do not take Jesus' name in vain. In Acts 3:6, Peter demonstrated the mighty power of the name of Jesus Christ, that instantly and completely healed a grown man lame from his mother's womb. Jesus promised the disciples that they could ask anything in His name and it shall be done for them. (John 14:13)

Believing in His name means believing He is God and He is all powerful and all His word are true.

Not born of human seed
Another truth is that the children of God were not born of human blood or human seed. When we received Christ Jesus into our lives and believed in His name, something happened in our lives. We have received His Spirit (the Holy Spirit 1 Cor.2:12). We have received the Spirit of son-ship. The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Romans 8:15-16) We became a new creation (2 Cor.5:17).

God is all powerful and all knowing. He knows how weak humans are (all physical and totally helpless to fight in the spiritual realm). His redemption plan through His Son Jesus has to be perfect. Therefore, the giving of the new life through the Holy Spirit birth must be among the most important requirements for humans to be saved, delivered from the bondages of evil and live a victorious life (kingdom of God life) after that. Indeed, Jesus Himself warned that unless one is born again of the Spirit one cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3, 5) The Holy Spirit also declared through Apostle Paul that only those led by the Spirit are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14).

The Light, The Truth and free Unmerited Favor
Another powerful fact is that Jesus is light. Darkness cannot overcome light. Where the light of Jesus is, darkness flees!When God gave Jesus to us, He gave us light that overcomes darkness. (John 1:5)
Grace (God's free favor for us not based on our merits) and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17) When Jesus described the devil, He called him the father of lies. On the other hand, Jesus is the Truth Himself. When God gave us Jesus, He gave us grace and truth. Both must be powerful weapons to overcome the devil in the enemy's camp.

Looking at the armor of God, we find that indeed Jesus forms the center part of the armor: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of Salvation, the Gospel of peace. The Holy Spirit makes up for the rest: the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) and praying in the Spirit. The only input from the believer is faith (which serves a shield to quench all fiery darts from the devil). Even faith is given by God and the faith race requires us to keep our focus on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith! (Heb.12:2)

How not to live a victorious life? (We really have no excuse) "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him (Jesus) who loved us." (Romans 8:37)

Chapter Eighty-three: the Holy Spirit said, "watchman, rise up and go into the garden!"

A supernatural Christian seeks God constantly. That is his normal way of life. Seeking God means meeting Him, seeing His glory, worshiping Him, being in awe of Him. It also includes seeking to hear God and obey Him (in practice). 

Jack was woken at 5 am for a number of consecutive days the minute he recovered from his mouth situation. He sometimes felt reluctant to get up and went back to sleep. This morning he was woken by the Holy Spirit, "Arise, go into the garden!"

He was surprised. But a vision of Abraham standing under the starry sky meditating and interceding came to his mind instantly. So he changed into his protective track suits and sports shoes and went downstairs. It was his habit to first seek guidance from the Bible. There were about four Bibles in front of him and he happened to pick up a Chinese one. The pages turned to psalms 96-100, mainly exalting God and declaring His might and His reign over the earth (all nations). After reading the Chinese verses, he picked up his usual NKJV thinking to find the same psalms so he could read them in the garden. But the Holy Spirit showed him another verse, at Ezekiel 23:30, "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."

This was the verse that he had heard a number of times recently from various sources. But he never managed to find its Bible location until this morning! He also read Ezekiel 22:26 about the priests who failed to keep their duties. He realized the seriousness of the situation. So he went into the garden, but the Holy Spirit prompted him to take the Chinese Bible instead of the NKJV to proclaim the psalms aloud. He obeyed.

There was no star and it was still dark except for the street lights. He duly read the psalms proclaiming to the land the glory and might of God. Then he prayed in tongues. He was not sure what to pray then. After sometime, he was told to walk round his own garden, on the stone steps that he used to pave the pathway. So he walked and prayed in tongue. It dawned on him that he was being asked to claim the city for God in a prophetic way, using his own garden. So he claimed as he walked and prayed for the city.

But he could not find many words as the city has increased its wickedness and defilement by idolatry (including Christian churches not separating themselves form the worldly way, as priests being warned in Ezekiel 22:26). "O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!" That was all he cried. Then another prayer lines rose from the last verse from Jonah (4:11), "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hands and their left -and much livestock?"

After he walked the stone steps and along the boundary of the whole garden, he paused at the top step and continued praying in tongues and worshiping God. He could sense the oppression in the air. The sky was like bronze and the earth like iron (Deut.28:23). He was a a loss as to how long he should continue (apparently in vain). But the Holy Spirit prompted, "Take up the hose and spray water on your ground, every corner and let the Holy Spirit rain upon this land." Jack obeyed.

As he watered his garden, he sang praises and welcomed the Holy Spirit rain. As he continued to pray in tongues he felt elated. His burden and heavy load were all cast down. The blanket of darkness lifted and the blue sky appeared! The grass glistened with moisture and the trees came alive.

All in all, it has been a wonderful early morning with God in the garden. It reminds him of how God used to visit men in the Garden of Eden. He really feels honored and touched that such a great God wants to meet with and talk with His people, even him. He certainly looks forward eagerly to more of these meetings!

p/s: The supernatural rain has come around 3pm! It was unlike any other previous heavy rain. It came in dense form, intermittently spraying the ground (like God watering His garden) thus making sure every inch of the land was quenched. There was no waste. When Jack drove in the street he saw pools of clear water gathered by the road side nourishing the trees and the roads and trees were all washed clean and looked new and shinny. The rain fell on the whole city just as the Holy Spirit had said so.

(When he read Ezekiel again he discovered that in 22:24  the Lord ordered the Prophet to say to the land, 'You are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath.' So, when Holy Spirit brought forth the rain, it meant that the Lord has heard the prayers for the land from His children!)

Chapter Eighty-two: Jesus thus promised the supernatural Christian, "For they shall be filled"

Living the supernatural Christian life is definitely rewarding but not for the unadventurous, Jack discovered.When he was a young Christian he knew the importance of the Bible and read it consistently and fervently to look for treasures. He was advised by pastors and book sellers to also read the commentaries. He attended Bible/theology classes and sat for examinations too.
However, the hunger and thirst for God was not met. He was taught in traditional evangelical Biblical principles. He hungered and thirsted for the practical. No, it was not physical sensation that he was after. Rather, he was longing for the reality of the presence of God and knowing how to receive supernatural power through God's word in his daily life as promised in the Bible.

Only when he read the Bible afresh lately with the clarity from his spiritual eyes (given by the Holy Spirit), he saw true light!

For example, he ponders on what Jesus had meant by saying that "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled"? (Matt.5:6) What or who is the righteous? Where and how will the hungry be filled?
The Bible says, there is none righteous (Roman 3:10) except the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (1 John 2:1). He is the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2). Righteousness is of God. When a man hungers and thirsts for righteousness, he is seeking God (Jesus Christ). So Jack seeks God fervently.

About being filled/satisfied, he found that God meant meeting his complete needs. "For He satisfies the longing soul and fill the hungry soul with goodness." (Ps. 107:9) God really meant to fill him with "good things", (Luke 1:53)(including food!) God even gave a reason for doing that, "so that your youth will be renewed like the eagle's." (Ps. 103:5) Above all, God will satisfy those who seek His righteousness the resurrected life like Jesus. The psalmist David thus prophesied, "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness." (Ps. 17:15)

When he started to live by the Spirit, that is, to become a supernatural Christian, he started experiencing the practical reality of this!

During the year of training to live supernaturally, starting with fasting and praying, he discovered that truly Jesus meant what He said. When tempted by the devil to change stone into bread to prove that He is the Son Of God, Jesus said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matt.4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3) Indeed, God provided manna from heaven to feed three million Israelites in the wilderness.

Jack used to worry about fasting. He thought he would be weak and lack energy to do anything. He imagined people lying in bed whole day. He wondered how they could be effectively praying. But he witnessed people who had gone through a prolonged period of fasting and continued to live normally doing all the necessary daily activities. Apprently they did not suffer adverse side effects that could hinder them from praying and functioning.

During a recent painful week in which he was forced to fast (due to mouth discomfort for no medical or dental reason) more consistently, strange to say, he did not suffer from the lack of the usual volume of physical food or drink (he subsisted on less than 1000 Cal food with plain water daily).

He continued to seek and worship God daily. He exercised and functioned as usual. Something happened in the divine realm. The food came from God's word. Just as the psalmist had said, God's word satisfied his mouth and his soul with good things. There was no discomfort in his digestive system at all. At the end of the week he emerged feeling and looking more fit as though his youth was renewed like the eagle.
(He received the 'divine slimness' he had been praying for to tuck in his shirt smartly and still can kneel down to worship God comfortably in the house of God!)

Making small steps are important. He knew. The Holy Spirit is a good teacher.