End Time church witnessing: How to hear God's voice?

The watchman recently went to a house of God where people worship God day and night, read His words and pray. Their lifestyle is God-focused and Holy Spirit directed. He visited this place nearly four years ago and this time he noted the significant transformation. A whole new generation of godly young people has been raised. The current teaching is on “hearing God's voice”.

Increasingly Christians want to know God and hear His voice.
When the end time comes if one cannot hear God's voice (i.e. be led by the Holy Spirit), he would be trapped in the physical worldly system which would require everyone to take the beast's mark as an access key to conduct all transactions: monetary/food supplies/medical/utilities/education/work/ citizenship entitlement etc.
Christians who follow Jesus will have no option but to learn to hear God's voice NOW as this requires CONSISTENT preparation and CONSTANT practice.

Obedience is required for those who want to hear God's voice.

In the Bible there are many examples of those who heard the voice of God and obeyed. Hearing the voice of God transformed lives.
Abraham: He heard God and obeyed. At an advanced age he moved from his secure homeland to a place whereabouts of which he did not even know. He even had to give up his only son Isaac through whom God had promised to make a great nation and descendants as numerous as the stars.
Moses: He heard God and obeyed. At the peak of his personal worldly success as an Egyptian prince, he stood up against the dark power of Egypt, accepting the loss of power, status, wealth, relationship and even his life.
Noah: He heard God and obeyed. He endured being mocked and scoffed at for 100 years by the whole nation of people among whom he dwelt forgoing all credibilities built up over his past 500 years of life.
King David heard the voice of God and obeyed when he was told not to build the temple of God. He was described by the Lord to be the man after His heart and indeed he was.
The prophets heard the voice of God and delivered His messages faithfully, to people who may or may not listen or obey. Many were persecuted and even killed.
The Apostles and disciples heard the voice of God and obeyed faithfully. They spread the Gospel with signs and wonders confirming the word, and they witnessed fearlessly even to death.

How to hear God's voice? The watchman summarized below some of the valuable teachings he received during the three days' stay in God's house.

To hear God's voice you must get rid of the following obstructions:

1. Any personal agenda (no matter how 'right' it may seem to you). Haggai 1:4-5 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses, and this temple lies in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “consider your ways!” 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “consider your ways!” (Note: verse 6 lists out a whole list of their personal problems!) Be concerned with what God wants and not what you want.
   
2. Self (me, mine, my, us, we, ours, I am). Gen.11:4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves,” Gen.3:5 “and you will be like God”; John 8:43-44 “Why are you not able to understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” Let your 'anti-Christ-self' be crucified with Christ. Gal.2:20
   
3. lifestyle that reflects the values of the world and its way (the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life). 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father Is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
   
4. Any plans or ambitions that follow the dictates of your own heart (no matter how grand and beneficial your expected/perceived outcome would do to the 'church' ). Jeremiah 13:10 “this evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.”
   
5. Anything that is not spiritual in origin, process and of no spiritual value in outcome. John 3:5-6; John 4:23-24; 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Hearing God's voice is therefore a life and death matter. Romans 8:1-14. 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die,”
   

The key to hearing God is to walk (live) according to the Spirit. Rom 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die.”

The Lord continues to speak to those as follows:

1. who have a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at His word. Isaiah 66:2
   
2. who listen to His words. Haggai 2:2 “Speak now to...the remnant of the people.” God is specific and knows who will listen.
   
3. who work with God. Haggai 2:4 “Yet now be strong...all you people of the land, and work, for I am with you.”
   
4. whose mind is stayed on God because he trusts in God (God will keep him in perfect peace). Isa.26:3
   
5. who is not rebellious or turn away from God. Isa.50:4-5 God awakens and opens the prophet's ear morning by morning to hear as the learned.
   
6. who know the Lord. 1 Sam.3:7 (When Samuel did not yet know the Lord, the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him)
   
7. who know the word of the Lord. 1 Sam.3:21 (God revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord)
   
8. who persistently stays in the presence of the Lord. 1 Sam.3:19 “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground”. 20 “And all Israel...knew that Samuel has been established as a prophet of the Lord.” 7:2-3 “So the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years...” “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel,”
   
9. who always live in the realm of prayers, staying in the presence of God by prayers and supplications with thanksgiving. Eph.6:18; Col.4:2; 4:12; Phil.1:3,9,11; 1 Thess.1:2-3; 3:10-13; 4:3, 7, 12, 18.
   
10. who live the watchman lifestyle. Matt.26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” Luke 21:36 “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Matt.24:42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Mark 13:33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” 13:37 “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
    

God is Spirit (John 4:24). An effective intercessor enters the spiritual realm. So does one who watches. It takes a life time of practicing living before God. Samuel took 20 long years to prepare himself. Moses took 40 years. Noah took 600 years. Samuel and Moses were described as powerful intercessors (those who called upon the Lord and He answered them Psa.99:6; Jer.15:1). Noah was described as man of righteousness together with Daniel and Job (Ezekiel 14:14) . Daniel entered the lions' den when he was an old man. Job too was old when he was hit by the colossal tragedy of losing all his children and everything with one blow. These were men who lived their life consistently before God. They could hear the voice of God. They lived by the Spirit. They lived their lives obeying God.

A Prophet Represents The Full Mind Of God

Many aspire to be prophets or messengers of God. Ezekiel is one prophet who many would want to emulate. His visions and prophecies were clear and vivid. God described him as a watchman on the walls of the city of Jerusalem. He was trained to be a priest and not a prophet. He lived through the darkest time of his nation in captivity. He even suffered the pain of the death of his wife (and was told by the Lord not to mourn as the death depicted the state of his nation . Ezek24:15-24).

  

Ezekiel 3:10-11 The people may not listen

¹⁰ Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”
Ezekiel 24:15-24 The Prophet’s Wife Dies
¹⁵ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”
¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.
__________________________

 Excerpts from the book "The Persistent Purpose of God" by T. Austin-Sparks

A Prophet Represents The Full Mind Of God

Now let us look at the prophet himself. You know that Ezekiel did not begin by being a prophet. Ezekiel was a trained priest and not a prophet. You notice verse three of chapter one tells us that. And then at the beginning, verse one refers to "the thirtieth year": "Now it came about in the thirtieth year" - the thirtieth year was most probably the thirtieth birthday of Ezekiel. It was at the age of thirty that the priests finished their training and entered upon their ministry. You remember that it was when the Lord Jesus was thirty years of age that He entered upon His ministry. His preparation was finished and His ministry began. So, at the age of thirty, Ezekiel ought to have commenced his priestly ministry; but instead of fulfilling his ministry as a priest, he was called to be a prophet. His whole life and training and vocation were changed.

A prophet is one "who represents the full Mind of God when that Mind has been lost." It is impressive to note that Ezekiel had to take up something altogether different from that for which he was trained. The situation which existed required that. We shall come back on that again later.

Now when God moves in relation to His full Mind - which has been lost amongst His people - there are always things essential in the instrument of His movement. And if this is going to be done, it is only God Who can do it! You know the course of men is quite different from that. The way of men is to take men and train them and make them able to do the work, so that when they come out of the college, or the Bible institute, they feel that they are equipped for the work; and now, of course, they can do it. They have been trained for it. However, Ezekiel was not qualified for his work. He was qualified to be a priest, and he was called to be a prophet. And what we find is that all through his life, he never found it easy. You see how difficult Ezekiel found his work: he realized that it was only by the help of God that he could fulfill his ministry.

We all have to begin there if we are really going to minister in heavenly things. There has to be this tremendous change where we come to realize that we cannot do this work of ourselves. Only the Lord can do it. There was this great sense of disappointment with things as they were, the overpowering sense that things were wrong, and this state of things had to be made the business of Ezekiel's life. You will have to begin there if you are really going to be used of God. You will have to be overwhelmed with the sense that things are all wrong in this world, that things are not as they ought to be, and that you have no ability to put them right. You sense that God has called you to this, and that your ability to do anything must come from God Himself.

That is where we begin with Ezekiel, and, of course, we take the spiritual principles as we go along. I think I need not go back over that ground. There is a breakdown in things, they are not as God intended them to be. God calls men and women in relation to this situation, and the call changes the whole course of their lives. And in the call is the consciousness that they have no ability in themselves to meet the situation. But God, Who has called them, will be their sufficiency. I have read the first three chapters of Ezekiel into what I have just said.

Let us take one little fragment out of these chapters, which is the commission of Ezekiel: "Son of man, I send thee not to a people of a strange language, whose language you do not understand. If I sent you to them, they would listen. But I send you to the house of Israel. They will not hear you." (Ezekiel 3:4-7; paraphrased). That is a difficult commission, and only the Lord could carry a man through that. But then notice what the Lord says as to Divine equipment: "...I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads" (Ezekiel 3:8). In other words, the Lord is going to be the strength of this difficult work.

Ezekiel Saw What The Lord Wanted

Then we notice another thing. With this sense of disappointment, this whole change in the course of life, this having to take a way for which there was not natural equipment, there goes this second great factor: "Ezekiel saw the Lord." He was given a vision of the Lord, a vision of what the Lord wanted. Now it is very important that these two things that I have just mentioned always go together. If we have disappointment and dissatisfaction without vision, that is negative. There are plenty of people who are dissatisfied with things as they are. They are the people who can always see what is wrong. They can point their finger at the weaknesses and the faults; they are experts in criticizing everything. That is negative, that does not get us anywhere. With dissatisfaction, there must go vision. But vision must rest upon travail. Vision without travail and suffering of heart is mere mysticism. These two things, vision with travail and suffering of heart, must go together. If you or I feel dissatisfied, and feel that things are all wrong, we ought to be in possession of the knowledge of what the Lord really does want. We ought to have a positive vision of the purpose of God.

Now I want to stop here and say a word to you. Let us read these first verses in Ezekiel:

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile, the Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans... and the hand of the Lord came upon him (me).

I want to say a word at this point to you about ministry. You notice that what Ezekiel was about to do had a special date for its beginning. It is very impressive how particular Ezekiel is about dates in his prophecies. If you really read through these prophecies, you will see that he is very particular about dates. That gives us our first point for ministry. A minister according to God's Mind must have a message for the time. It will not do for us to be giving out things just in a general way. Our Bible teaching must not be just of a general character. What God needs more than anything are those who have a message for the present hour. When we have finished our life, and our ministry, it ought to be possible for it to be said of us that we had a message for our time, that we were not just one in the general mass of teachers but that we had God's Word for the hour - that our ministry related to a special time in the purpose of God.

Now you servants ask the Lord to make that true of you, that it can be recognized that your ministry relates to the present time - WHAT GOD WANTS TO DO NOW. That is a very important factor in ministry. What does God need at this time? We must pray that we shall be the Lord's instrument for the present time - that there shall be a very clearly defined time factor in our ministry. So the date is a very important thing in ministry. When God really raises up servants, He raises them up for a time. 

 

Ezekiel Was Raised Up In Relation To The Situation

And then the next thing to note: Ezekiel was raised up in relation to the special situation at that time. What we have just read shows that Ezekiel was right there in the situation: "...I was among the captives by the river of Chebar." (ASV). Ezekiel was not preaching to a situation that was distant from himself. He was not preaching to a situation that he had imagined to exist. He was not preaching to a situation that had been reported to him to exist. He was right in that situation. He was in the closest personal touch with the need. The need was his need; he was put right into the heart of the situation, and his ministry came out of that. He said: "I sat where they sat." And that takes ministry out of the realm of the merely theoretical and puts it into the very practical.

You will notice that this was true of all the prophets. They did not speak to the Lord about the Lord's people as THEY - "THEY are in this situation; THEY have done these things; THEY have these needs." The prophets always spoke to God, "WE are in distress." Read the prayer of Nehemiah in chapter one at verse 2-11, and read the prayer of Daniel in chapter nine at verse 3-19. They were a part of the situation. And for you and I to be effective servants, we must be there.

The Word Came Expressly To Ezekiel

And then the third thing: this ministry has to be very personal. You notice what it says in chapter one, verse three: "The Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest." That means TWO things. Firstly, it means that Ezekiel did not get his ministry out of books. He did not fulfill a second-hand ministry. His ministry was not the result of study. This came to him personally. These visions of God were his own. His message was original and not second-hand. It must be like that. Our ministry must be like that: it must be the result of something that God has said to us personally.

Secondly, the meaning of the Word of the Lord which came expressly to Ezekiel is that THERE WAS AN URGENCY ABOUT IT. You know the meaning of that word, "expressly." You speak about an express train. Well, what do you mean by an express train? One that must get there quickly, it is very urgent. You remember the word of the Apostle Paul: "...the Spirit speaketh expressly" (1 Timothy 4:1; KJV) - there is urgency about this! "The Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel." There is something very urgent about this. You have got to get there as soon as you can. There is very serious business on hand. All your energy must be concentrated upon this object. That is how it has got to be with us. There has got to be a tremendous urgency about our message. There are very great issues at stake. I would say to you one thing before you deliver your message. Stop and say to yourselves: "What is God's Mind for His people - because you are going to influence lives, PERHAPS, FOR ALL TIME AND ALL ETERNITY." 

(excerpts from  http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/001234.html Austin Sparks)

End Time Church Witnessing: Back to the Ancient Way -how to hear God’s voice?

“Unless we do understand the principles of the interpretation of the Bible, the Bible is not an open book.” (Austin Sparks)

The watchman has been thus convicted. It is his heart desire that the Bible be open to everyone who seek to hear God’s voice with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

Recall the time when our Lord Jesus walked the Emmaus Road (a road out of the Old Gate) with his two disciples, how He walked the seven miles and expounded the Scripture to them about Himself. (Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”)

Below is the whole passage (from Austin Sparks’ book “the Persistent Purpose of God”) on how to interpret the Bible from the Ancient Way. Readers may download the whole book using the link to the author’s site.

_____ Chapter 1 – God’s Full Intention Governs Everything That He Does

We are going to occupy the first part of this morning with preparation for what we are going to consider later, and I want to speak now about some principles of Biblical interpretation. It is very important for us to be able to know how the Bible is to be interpreted, and this will be especially seen in what we have to consider later on. Unless we do understand the principles of the interpretation of the Bible, the Bible is not an open book; we may know what is in the Book as a book, but we do not understand it until we have the principles of interpretation. So I ask you to try and remember what I am going to say now and bring it over into our later study. We will consider five important principles of interpreting the Bible:

1. The Eternity of God;
2. The Comprehensiveness of Christ;
3. The Interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit;
4. The Final Mention;
5. The Only Real Value is the Spiritual.

(1.) The Eternity Of God

The first principle of the interpretation of the Bible is the eternity of God. We must always remember that all time is present time with God. There is no past and future with God: all that is past and future with us has been present with God always. At any moment in what is time to us, eternity is present with God.

The architect always has the completed plan before him. If he is the designer of a ship, he has a model made of that ship before anything is done. He sees in the model the completed object, that is, exactly how the thing will appear when it is finished. If it is a great building, or even a city, it is the same. The architect draws what we call a scale model, and he sees in that model exactly how the building, or the city, will be when it is finished. The builder works day by day according to that completed plan. Those who only see the parts cannot understand, and must not take the parts as being the whole. Sometimes when you look at the parts of a building, you cannot for the life of you understand what it is going to be. It is only as the completed thing is seen that you can understand the parts.

Now the Bible is just full of parts, but they are all the parts of something that God sees in completion. God is the Great Architect, He has the completed and perfect plan before Him before He begins any work. God’s eternity is in every part. So we must realize that God has His full Mind behind everything that He does! GOD’S FULL INTENTION GOVERNS EVERYTHING THAT HE DOES! You must realize that God’s Mind never grows – God Himself is incapable of development.

The temporary form of anything contains the eternal and full thought of God. You must realize that there are always TWO MEANINGS in anything that is in the Bible. There is the present meaning, that is, how that applies to the present situation; but there is also the future meaning. Everything in the Bible, while it has a present application, has a fuller meaning in the future. That is the first law of interpretation: it is the eternity of God.

(2.) The Comprehensiveness Of Christ

The second law of interpretation is the comprehensiveness of Christ. Christ is the interpretation of all the Bible, to know Christ is to understand the Bible. Men like Peter and Paul knew the Bible, but they did not understand it until they knew the Lord Jesus. We first know the Lord Jesus, and then we take Him back into the Bible, and He is the interpretation of the Bible. Therefore, we cannot really understand the Bible until we know the Lord Jesus. That results in this – that the Bible is really a Person, and not a book. The Bible is a Living Person, and not a dead letter. Because this Person is inexhaustible, He makes the Bible inexhaustible.

Now that is a more important principle than perhaps you realize. It is possible to exhaust the Bible as a book. We have known great Bible teachers who went through the Bible teaching it again and again, but at the end of their lives they were having difficulty in finding something fresh; and they were only repeating again and again things that they had said in past years. The reason for this is that they dealt with the Bible as a book. That will never happen if you know the Lord Jesus and see the Bible in Him, and Him in the Bible. I repeat that the Lord Jesus can never be exhausted. As the Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus to us, the Bible is always more alive. So, we have our first two principles of interpretation: (1) The Eternity of God and (2) The Comprehensiveness of Christ.

(3.) The Interpreter Of The Bible Is The Holy Spirit

Now we come to number three: the interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. I have said that Jesus is the interpretation of the Bible. I am saying now that the Holy Spirit is the INTERPRETER of the Bible. We are familiar with the words in the Letter to the Corinthians, but let us just look at them again now. The First letter to the Corinthians, chapter two and verse thirteen: “Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.“

Now I do not know if you have marginal references in your Bible but the more correct translation of those words is this: “interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.” Let us read the whole passage again in that way:

Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.

That scripture is a very important statement, and it definitely affirms the principle that we are now setting forth – the interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. First of all then, the Bible is the Holy Spirit’s Book. The Bible is not firstly man’s Book, it is not our Book, we have not got the Book. We have got certain writings which are called Scripture, but in truth we do not possess the Book.

You remember the case in Acts of the Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip came near to his chariot, he heard the Ethiopian reading. He was reading the Book at Isaiah 53. Philip said to him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” and he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” Here is a man who had the Book in a certain sense, but in a real and profitable sense he did not possess the Book. We can have the Book as a volume, and yet we may not possess the Book, because the Bible is the Holy Spirit’s Book first. The mind of man and the Mind of the Spirit are two altogether different things!

Do you know that there are many, many Christians who do not recognize that! There are many Bible teachers who do not recognize that! And this is the cause of very much confusion, and the reason for very much spiritual smallness and weakness. I think this may lie at the bottom of most of the controversy. THE BIBLE IS A CLOSED BOOK TO ALL BUT SPIRITUAL MEN. This is the principle that the Lord Jesus set before Nicodemus: You must be born from above before you can see what is above.

Our measure of understanding of the Bible will be just in accordance with the measure of our spiritual life. This is why the Lord takes us through experiences in order to bring us to understanding. The measure of our death to the natural mind will be the measure of our understanding of the things of the Spirit. Please remember that in these days which are before us – something has got to happen IN US before we understand the Scripture. We cannot understand the Word of God by just deciding that we are going to have a training course, that we are going to have some classes for Bible teaching. No, that is not the way in which we come to understanding of the Word of God. We shall only understand according to the measure of our spiritual life. That is the third principle of Biblical interpretation. Now we come to the fourth.

(4.) The Final Mention

The final mention of any particular matter in the Bible is usually a key to all its meaning. That is something that we must think about! We find certain things mentioned again and again in the Bible; but when we come to the final occasion where that thing is mentioned, we usually find the key to all that has been said about that matter before. If you take a particular matter, where it is mentioned for the last time, and then note the setting and the context and the relationship, you will get the full meaning of all that has been said about that before.

Now that is a statement that I have made, and you will need to think and to work on that, but I will help you by taking just one illustration. In the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation twenty-two and verse two, we have the last reference to “the tree of life.” Now when we go right back to the beginning of the Bible, we have “the tree of life” mentioned, but we are told nothing about it – it is just referred to as something that exists. We have no explanation, we are not told what that tree is, or what it means; it is just referred to as “the tree of life.” We have to go to the end of the Bible for the explanation, and when we come to this last chapter of the Bible, by the context and relationship, we have a very large explanation.

Let us look at the passage. Revelation 22: “And He showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,” - note the context, ‘the throne of God and of the Lamb.’ you have got to read the whole book of the Revelation to understand that! There is a tremendous amount in the early chapters of this book about “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” And you need to understand what the throne of God is and what is the significance of the throne of the Lamb – in the midst of the throne is a Lamb!

Now in relation to “the throne of God and of the Lamb,” there is “a river of the water of life… in the midst of the street thereof. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner (kinds) of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and His bond servants shall serve Him.” There is “the tree of life.” It bears immortal fruit. THERE IS NO PLACE FOR DEATH HERE. Its fruit is born every month: this is fruit immortal, or fruit without death. The leaves of this tree are for the HEALTH of the nations. I am sorry that in most versions the word “healing” is wrongly translated. I do not know what the word is in your translation, but the original is not for “the healing of the nations,” but for “the health of the nations.” You may ask, “What is the difference?” Well, one is THE REMOVAL OF DISEASE and the other is THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE.

In Revelation 22, we have come to the time when the spiritual diseases of the nations have been healed, but the health of the nations needs to be preserved. It is a state that is to be maintained. Thus, the leaves are not for healing, they are for preservation. And so it says: “And there shall no longer be any curse.”

You see, you have got the whole history of the Bible in those words. You have got all that came on the nations through Adam’s sin. You have corruption and death – moral disease – the result of a curse. All that is now cleared up, and “the tree of life” represents VICTORY OF LIFE over all that, Life Triumphant, and Life Abundant. Here the full meaning of “the tree of life” is revealed. And it is like that with all other matters. When you come to the last mention, you have the key to the whole subject. That is a principle of the interpretation of the Bible.

(5.) The Only Real Value Is The Spiritual

Now I come to the last principle for the present, number five: the only real value is the spiritual. We must remember this when we are reading and studying the Bible, and we must keep this in mind in these times in which we are together. We must not come here just with a thirst for more information or a craving for more knowledge. There are people who just want to get more and more knowledge and education. Now that constitutes a danger. That is exactly how Adam was caught. You see, Satan said: “If you take of this tree, you will know”; it was “the tree of knowledge.” And there is always a danger in eating of that tree. It might just lead us into death and not into life. So, I repeat this principle of Biblical interpretation: the only real value is the spiritual. And spiritual value is just how something affects our life with God! I do wish that Adam had recognized that! When Satan tempted him to take of “the tree of knowledge,” if only Adam had said, “How will this affect my life with God?” he, and we, should have been saved all the trouble.

So, let me say this again, spiritual value is just how something affects our life with God. Shall I put that in another way – spiritual value is just how much something increases the measure of Christ. If Christ is the interpretation of the Bible, then the spiritual knowledge of the Bible results in an increase of Christ. If our days together do not result in an increase of the measure of Christ, we have missed the Way. If we do not go away more Christ-like men and women, with a larger measure of the Lord Jesus, this training course has failed. So I beg of you to pray all the way through that this time together may mean SPIRITUAL INCREASE and not intellectual enlargement, but SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE.

Everything has got to be judged by how much it contributes to the Ultimate Purpose of God. We have to ask, “Where does this lead us? Is it leading us anywhere? What is it leading us to?” All spiritual knowledge leads to an increase of Christ; it contributes to the ultimate purpose of God.

The question always is “How much of Life is there in it?” It is not a matter of interest; it is not a matter of fascination with Bible truth; it is not a matter of making us more important people, by the enlarging of our natural stature, but it is just a matter of the measure of Christ. That is the real spiritual value.

Now, let us go over our five principles of the interpretation of the Bible. In our second hour together we shall take them over into our special subject for study, just as we will continue to do in the coming days: (1) The Eternity of God; (2) The Comprehensiveness of Christ; (3) The Interpreter is the Holy Spirit; (4) The Final Mention of Everything Containing all its Meaning; and (5) The Real Value is the Spiritual.

Also, brethren, before the next session, I would like for you to read the first three chapters of the Prophet Ezekiel. You will have to read them more than once in these coming days, but it would be a help if you will refresh your minds with what is in those three chapters.

A HEAD STONE FOR MY YOUNGER BROTHER

A HEADSTONE

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ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS

  常在我们心中

my younger brother

我的弟弟

The day he went to be with the Lord: 3rd March 2012

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all my iniquities,
Who heals all my diseases,
Who redeems my life from destruction,
Who crowns me with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies my mouth with good things,
So that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

( Psalm 103:1-5 )

我 的 心 哪 ， 你 要 称 颂 耶 和 华 ！ 凡 在 我 里 面 的 ，

也 要 称 颂 祂 的 圣 名 ！

我 的 心 哪 ， 你 要 称 颂 耶 和 华 ！

不 可 忘 记 祂 的 一 切 恩 惠 ！

祂 赦 免 我 的 一 切 罪 孽 ，

医 治 我 的 一 切 疾 病 。

祂 救 赎 我 的 命 脱 离 死 亡 ，

以 仁 爱 和 慈 悲 为 我 的 冠 冕 。

祂 用 美 物 使 我 所 愿 的 得 以 知 足 ，

以 致 我 如 鹰 返 老 还 童 。

（ 大 卫 的 诗 - 诗篇103:1-5 )

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The watchman’s compilation of Bible verses on “tears”. May all who mourn be deeply comforted.

COMFORTING WORDS FOR THOSE WHO SOW IN TEARS FOR THE LORD JESUS

Psalm 126:5
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Psalm 126:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 126 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 25:8
he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 25:7-9 (in Context) Isaiah 25 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Jeremiah 31:16
This is what the LORD says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD. “They will return from the land of the enemy.
Jeremiah 31:15-17 (in Context) Jeremiah 31 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Psalm 126:5
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Psalm 126:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 126 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

HOW AN INTERCESSOR CRIES FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD

Job 16:20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; Job 16:19-21 (in Context) Job 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Psalm 119:136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. Psalm 119:135-137 (in Context) Psalm 119 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
Jeremiah 9:1-3 (in Context) Jeremiah 9 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsJeremiah 9:18
Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids.
Jeremiah 9:17-19 (in Context) Jeremiah 9 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsJeremiah 13:17
If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the LORD’s flock will be taken captive.
Jeremiah 13:16-18 (in Context) Jeremiah 13 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsJeremiah 14:17
“Speak this word to them: “‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for the Virgin Daughter, my people, has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow.
Jeremiah 14:16-18 (in Context) Jeremiah 14 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsJeremiah 31:16
This is what the LORD says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD. “They will return from the land of the enemy.
Jeremiah 31:15-17 (in Context) Jeremiah 31 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsJeremiah 50:4
“In those days, at that time,” declares the LORD, “the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 50:3-5 (in Context) Jeremiah 50 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Lamentations 2:18
The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. You walls of Daughter Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.
Lamentations 2:17-19 (in Context) Lamentations 2 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsLamentations 3:48
Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.
Lamentations 3:47-49 (in Context) Lamentations 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

THE LORD DETESTS THESE TEARS


Malachi 2:13-14 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Malachi 2:12-14 (in Context) Malachi 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

THE LORD APPRECIATES AND GIVES AWARD TO THESE TEARS


Luke 7:38
As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Luke 7:37-39 (in Context) Luke 7 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsLuke 7:44
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
Luke 7:43-45 (in Context) Luke 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

THE LORD RECORDS TEARS THAT ARE SHED FOR HIM (TEARS SHED BY THOSE AFTER JESUS' HEART)


Psalm 56:8 Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record? Psalm 56:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 56 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Acts 20:19
I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.
Acts 20:18-20 (in Context) Acts 20 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsActs 20:31
So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Acts 20:30-32 (in Context) Acts 20 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations2 Corinthians 2:4
For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
2 Corinthians 2:3-5 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 2 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsPhilippians 3:18
For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Philippians 3:17-19 (in Context) Philippians 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations2 Timothy 1:4
Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.
2 Timothy 1:3-5 (in Context) 2 Timothy 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

NO MORE TEAR AT LAST!

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ” Revelation 7:16-17 (in Context) Revelation 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Revelation 21:4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-5 (in Context) Revelation 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

End Times church witnessing: The Pattern is the Son

The watchman found new treasures in the writings of older archives. Here is an excerpt from the writing of Austin Sparks in "The Kingdom That Cannot be Shake" 
____________ http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/002070.html

The Pattern is the Son

The pattern of the training of sons is the Son. Conformed to the image of His Son! Christ fully formed in you! Foreordained unto adoption as sons! And adoption is at the end not at the beginning; adoption still waits; the day of our adoption has not arrived. You know the New Testament teaching on this matter is altogether different from modern English practice; and so, although Paul does not use that actual word in that connection, he puts the same truth into other words when he says, “Waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God”. The manifestation of the sons is only another way of saying the day of adoption: that is, when the sons are brought forth and presented as sons, no longer children but mature, now to take responsibility.
What is God doing with us? His work with us is to reproduce in us the constituents of sonship as represented by the Lord Jesus. The battle that rages and rises between our thought and the Lord’s thought, between our will and the Lord’s will, between our way and the Lord’s way, between our desiring and the Lord’s desire, has this one issue at stake, whether something more of His Son is to become a part of our very constitution, or whether we are going to put that back and remain just the same old creation. There is a big thing hanging upon that battle. In our last meditation we were speaking about adjustability. What is it that we are to be adjusted to? It is simply putting Christ in the place which we ourselves in some way have occupied, giving place to the Lord. That is Christ being fully formed. He is in us, but He is to be fully formed in us.
I am sorry the translators left out the value of the Greek in that passage. The Greek word is perfectly clear: “Till Christ be fully formed in you”. He is there, but there is formation, and this formation is through conflict, and Paul says that he is undergoing the suffering: “For whom I am in travail till Christ be fully formed in you”. There is something going on that is costly. It is marked by a painful process.

The Sphere is our Spirit

I want to come to the sphere of the training of sons, the spirit; of course, now not the Holy Spirit but our spirit: “the Father of our spirits”. You notice the word “father” in this twelfth chapter is implied, suggested by son; “fathers of our flesh” — “Father of our spirits”. So that it is in the realm of our spirit that all this is going on. God is concentrating upon our spirit, and I want to define that. The teaching of the Word of God about the spirit is not just what we mean when we say, He has a nice spirit! That means that what you meet is something very pleasant, it is a kind of outgoing influence to you. Or we may say, He has a nasty spirit! You mean he is a cantankerous person. That is not the meaning of the Father of our spirits. Our spirits are represented in the Word of God as the essential man: that is, the innermost part of our being, and if you like to sit down with a concordance and go through this matter of spirit you will be surprised.
I am impressed with some of the things that are said about spirit. I will give you two or three references.
Take 1 Corinthians 2:11, “For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God.” That is not just breath, that is an intelligent organ, and that is clearly something deeper than reason. It is not that I meet a certain man, and I look him up and down; I look at the size of his nose, and the shape of his chin, and just how his head is formed, and various other things, and I come to the conclusion that he is a certain type of man; that kind of man will behave in a certain way. I know what I may expect by having taken the measure of that man, and so I know that man. No, it is not that. This passage is deeper than the reasoned thing, the thought-out thing, the sized-up thing, it is intuitive knowledge, and that is spiritual knowledge. Spiritual knowledge is intuitive knowledge, and the spirit is the intuitive organ. That is exactly how angels move; they are spirits. God and angels never have to reason out anything. They never have to calculate. Angels do not move at the behest of the Lord by being told in words and given an explanation. They move intuitively. It is intuitive knowledge of the Lord. If another brother and I are one in spirit we intuitively know what we will do, and what we would like each other to do. We do not have to be told, we do not have to be argued with, we know intuitively and we can anticipate one another’s wishes intuitively. It is an organ of knowledge.
Or take another passage in the same letter, 1 Corinthians 5:3: “For I verily, being absent in Body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him that hath so wrought this thing”; “...absent in Body... present in spirit, have... judged”. In spirit judged. I have weighed this thing up in spirit, my spirit has come to the conclusion that such-and-such is the case; my spirit has decided this thing. It is an intelligent organ.
Or pass to 1 Corinthians 14:14-15: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” There you have spirit and soul. The understanding heart is the intelligent, the rational soul, but that is not the point. The apostle is saying that it is possible for the spirit to pray. It is an organ that can pray and that can sing. You can sing in spirit, and you can pray in spirit. If it comes to the matter of an unknown tongue that is another thing, and it is not our point. We are detaching it from the matter of tongues at the moment. Here is an organ that it is said can pray and sing. I suppose you know something about the singing inside; your understanding is not at work, but it goes on. I know what it means. I remember an experience I had myself, and just recount it to convey to you what I mean by this. When undergoing a somewhat serious operation I experienced that in coming back to consciousness. Not knowing anything or anyone, being altogether dead so far as soul activity was concerned — that is, reason, and feeling, and all the rest — there was going on in me a hymn all the way through. I might have been in another world; it was going on all the time:

End Times watchman’s Bible Study: How two persons got out of depression/panic attack

The watchman observed an increase in depression and even panic attack cases lately. He witnessed the helplessness and suffering of such victims even when under medication. Only after the family of the patient had exhausted all medical and psychiatric means, they came to seek help from the Lord. As led by the Holy Spirit the team of brethren would normally pray and do deliverance. 

He learned that when one listened and obeyed the Holy Spirit, and prayed accordingly, then the calming result would be instant. Indeed in many occasions he noted that like Paul taught the Corinthians church in 1 Cor.12 on the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ consists of many parts and all members must function together as a harmonious team to be effective. However, there are times when resources run out and all hands are required on deck. The Lord will give gift suitable for that occasion to the willing and available.

For example, he is a word and watchman person. He has a spiritual watchtower and has passion for the words of God only. So he normally stays away from healing and deliverance. However, when others are not available or seem to be stuck with a difficult situation, then he (being a spiritual jack of all ‘trades’ for teaching purposes) would have no choice but to ask the Holy Spirit to show him what to do with the person who manifests and urgently needs help. Often he receives the words instantly and when applied, the positive outcome shows he hears correctly.
Thus he often receives words (even when he has not asked) which demonstrate how one can use to counter every situation. The following two psalms are bonuses received today. These are generic ways of dealing with mental situations. The Lord is merciful and full of loving-kindness. This is grace.
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Psalm 63:6-8 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.

Watchman’s Notes on Psalm 63 (The watchman noticed this psalm when he realized that David was a watchman/intercessor too!)

The psalmist was actually flying under the wings of God with his soul following the Lord closely. That means even our souls can follow the Holy Spirit. David was a watchman intercessor. He practiced. He started this prayer by saying how his soul and his flesh thirst and long for God’s presence. He knew that he could find and see God in His power and glory, in the sanctuary, in worship and in praise. Thus his soul could be satisfied. Even at night he continued to meditate on God in the night watches and remember God’s help. Thus he could enjoy the soaring of his soul like an eagle, following God’s wings! That is why David was described as a man after God’s heart!
Psalm 77 (For depression and other form of mental attacks)

2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. 6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. 7 Will the Lord cast off forever? 10 And I said, “This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.

Watchman’s Notes on Psalm 77 The psalmist gave a solution to trouble. When in trouble, he observed and learned from the following:

1. He prayed without ceasing, even at night.
2. His soul refused to be comforted until he received his solution.
3. When he complained, his spirit was affected (overwhelmed).
4. So even at night he worshiped and sang to the Lord and meditated within his heart.
5. His spirit made diligent search of his memory for him.
6. His spirit enables him to ask relevant questions regarding the nature of God: His favor, mercy, promises, grace etc. which never failed.
7. His spirit made him see the reason of his problem, i.e. he had put his focus on the wrong things. When he realized his mistake, he re-focused (remembered, meditated and even talked about) on God’s wonderful works of old.
8. After the psalmist broke through he concluded by giving a testimony on the great works that God had done to His people. (v13-20).)

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Watchman’s overall summary on his observations
1. Live and be led by the Holy Spirit is a must for living an overcomer life. Let your spirit take over. Your spirit connects to the Holy Spirit Who searches all things.
2. Always focus on God’s goodness. Remember all the good deeds and wonders He has done in the past.
3. Meditate on them.
4. Talk to others about the goodness of God. Give testimony.
5. Join other brethren in worship and praise God together.
_________________Bible verses on the God of Peace (Jesus)

1. Romans 1:7
   To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
   Romans 1:6-8 (in Context) Romans 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Romans 5:1
   [ Faith Triumphs in Trouble ] Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
   Romans 5:1-3 (in Context) Romans 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Romans 14:17
   for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
   Romans 14:16-18 (in Context) Romans 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Romans 15:13
   Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
   Romans 15:12-14 (in Context) Romans 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Romans 15:33
   Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
   Romans 15:32-33 (in Context) Romans 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Romans 16:20
   And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
   Romans 16:19-21 (in Context) Romans 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. Philippians 4:7
   and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
   Philippians 4:6-8 (in Context) Philippians 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
8. Philippians 4:9
   The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
   Philippians 4:8-10 (in Context) Philippians 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
9. Colossians 3:15
   And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
   Colossians 3:14-16 (in Context) Colossians 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
10. 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.
    1 Peter 1:1-3 (in Context) 1 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
11. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
    [ Blessing and Admonition ] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations