August 13, 2011

Revised Chap.70: Prosper through The Seed and Water from Heaven (Fresh revelation – where is the money?)

When the global governments go bankrupt, where is the nations’ wealth? Having spent his entire working life in the strategic management of the economy of the world, the watchman cannot help but ponder on this pertinent issue.

Where is the money?

Here is a clue: Isaiah 33:6, 16-17.

Isaiah 33:6 (NKJV)

6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,

And the strength of salvation;

The fear of the LORD is His treasure.

Isaiah 33:16-17

16 He will dwell on high;

His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;

Bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

The Land of the Majestic King

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;

They will see the land that is very far off.

To find out more, do read the following revised (August 2011) version of the blog…
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"Chapter 70 (revised August 2011): Prosper through The Seed (Word of God) and Water from Heaven (the Holy Spirit)"
Hearing the Holy Spirit is of utmost importance for end times survival and wellness. This blog was originally written in Feb. 2010. At that time the watchman received warning in his spirit that shaking would come to big cities and apparently well developed economy. He had spoken and indeed written to warn some. But not all were able to unentangle themselves from the world economy as easily as he did. So here it is again one and half years later. (August 2011 – in the midst of the economy storm…)

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One day Jack was strongly urged in the spirit to do a search on all the verses about the rich provision of God. What was revealed has transformed his whole perspective about the blessings of God. He discovered that indeed God has supplied seeds and ensure material security and provision growth for all God’s children.

He is overjoyed to see how God provides the seeds for the sowers and food for them as well. The Lord supplies the resources he needs, ensures the right circumstances and environments and produces the abundant end results / fruits and profits of his labor/investment.

However, there is one crucial key: the whole operation process requires

read on http://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/chapter-sixty-eight-prosper-through-the-seed-word-of-god-and-water-from-heaven-the-holy-spirit/

August 12, 2011

Wholly Saved: Blessed Assurance Indeed!

Last morning when the watchman attended a morning prayer, he was led in the spirit to ask that the hymn of “Blessed Assurance” be sung to one sister there. The sister was terminally ill. She initially did not want to come out from her rest room to attend the worship, but changed her mind when another sister went in and encouraged her to at least join in the worship. The hymn was duly sung and the lyrics shown to her. He was also led to select another song which sang what Jesus has proclaimed in Matt11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

(Lyrics: ” All you who labor and are heavy laden, Yeshua says, Come to Me, Do not fear, do not fear, come to Me, and I will give you rest. He is God, wholly loves you, He will never forsake you. He is God, truly loves you, He wants to give you rest.”)

A day later he was told that she had passed away. When he read the following hymn and the above lyrics again, he realized that the Lord had indeed foretold her He would receive her home to Him and rest in Him. He heard later that she had earlier uttered to another sister that she did not want to die in hell. So she had chosen to come to the House of God!

On one previous occasion he saw her he was led in his spirit to ask her to forgive her youngest son (even though he did not know her or her family at all) and she burst into tears and did as told by the Spirit. Then he knew she had a breakthrough in her spiritual (and soul )reconciliation with God and with her loved ones and others. He encouraged her to spend more time to give thanks and praises to God after that.

How merciful and awesome our God is!

(A pastor who has the gift of word of knowledge once prophecy one word “Reconciliation” to the watchman. Both wondered what it meant. It seems clearer now -like he being a spiritual messenger for reconciliation before it is too late.)

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Blessed AssuranceText: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915
Music: Phoebe P. Knapp, 1839-1908
Tune: ASSURANCE, Meter: 9 10.9 9 with Refrain

http://library.timelesstruths.org/library/music/B/Blessed_Assurance/Blessed_Assurance.mid

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
(Refrain)

August 11, 2011

Power in the Blood of Jesus


http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/5f00.0572/5f00.0572.c.htm

The Power of the Blood of Jesus by Andrew Murray

CHAPTER CONTENTS

I. WHAT THE SCRIPTURES TEACH ABOUT THE BLOOD
II. REDEMPTION BY BLOOD
III. RECONCILIATION THROUGH THE BLOOD
IV. CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD
V. SANCTIFICATION THROUGH THE BLOOD
VI. CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD
VII. DWELLING IN “THE HOLIEST” THROUGH THE BLOOD
VIII. LIFE IN THE BLOOD
IX. VICTORY THROUGH THE BLOOD
X. HEAVENLY JOY THROUGH THE BLOOD
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Excerpts:
CHAPTER 1
What the Scriptures Teach About the Blood
“Not Without Blood”-Heb. ix. 7 and 18.
GOD has spoken to us in the Scriptures in divers portions and in divers manners; but the VOICE is ever the same, it is always the WORD of the same GOD.

Hence the importance of treating the Bible as a whole, and receiving the witness it gives in its various portions, concerning certain definite truths. It is thus we learn to recognise the place these truths actually occupy in Revelation, or rather in the HEART OF GOD. Thus, too, we begin to discover what the foundation truths of the Bible are, which above others demand attention. Standing as they do, so prominently, in each new departure in God’s revelation; remaining unchanged when the Dispensation changes, they carry a divine intimation of their importance.

It is my object, in the chapters which follow this introductory one, to show what the Scriptures teach us concerning THE GLORIOUS POWER OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS, and the wonderful blessings procured for us by it; and I cannot lay a better foundation for my exposition, nor give a better proof of the superlative glory of THAT BLOOD AS THE POWER OF REDEMPTION, than by asking my, readers to follow me through the Bible, and thus see the unique place which is given to THE BLOOD from the beginning to the end of God’s revelation of Himself to man, as recorded in the Bible.

It will become clear that there is no single scriptural idea, from Genesis to Revelation, more constantly and more prominently kept in view, than that expressed by the words-”THE BLOOD.”
Our inquiry then is what the Scriptures teach us about THE BLOOD.

FIRST, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT;
SECONDLY, IN THE TEACHING OF OUR LORD JESUS HIMSELF;
THIRDLY, IN WHAT THE APOSTLES TEACH; and
LASTLY, WHAT ST. JOHN TELLS US OF IT IN REVELATION.
CHAPTER 2

Redemption by Blood
“Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things . . . but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”-I Pet. i. 18, 79.

THE shedding of His blood was the culmination of the sufferings of our Lord. The atoning efficacy of those sufferings was in that shed blood. It is therefore of great importance that the believer should not rest satisfied with the mere acceptance of the blessed truth that he is redeemed by that blood, but should press on to a fuller knowledge of what is meant by that statement, and to learn what that blood is intended to do in a surrendered soul.

Its effects are manifold, for we read in Scripture of RECONCILIATION through the blood; CLEANSING through the blood; SANCTIFICATION through the blood; UNION WITH GOD through the blood; VICTORY over Satan through the blood; LIFE through the blood.

These are separate blessings but are all included in one sentence: REDEMPTION BY THE BLOOD.

It is only when the believer understands what these blessings are, and by what means they may become his, that he can experience the full power of REDEMPTION.

Before passing on to consider in detail these several blessings let us first inquire, in a more general way, concerning THE POWER OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS.

1st. WHEREIN DOES THE POWER OF THAT BLOOD LIE?
2nd. WHAT HAS THAT POWER ACCOMPLISHED?
3rd. HOW CAN WE EXPERIENCE ITS EFFECTS?

CHAPTER 3
Reconciliation Through the Blood
” Being justified freely by his grace through the REDEMPTION that is in Christ Jesus, whom God bath set forth as a PROPITIATION through faith in his blood.”— iii. 24,25.

As we have seen, several distinct blessings have been procured for us by the power of the blood of Jesus, which are all included in the one word ” REDEMPTION.” Among these blessings, RECONCILIATION takes the first place. ” God hath set forth Jesus as a RECONCILIATION through faith in his blood.” In our Lord’s work of REDEMPTION, RECONCILIATION naturally comes first. It stands first also among the things the sinner has to do, who desires to have a share in REDEMPTION. Through it, a participation in the other blessings of Redemption is made possible.

It is of great importance also, that the believer, who has already received RECONCILIATION, should obtain a deeper, and more spiritual conception of its meaning, and blessedness. If the power of the blood in REDEMPTION is rooted in RECONCILIATION, then a fuller knowledge of what RECONCILIATION is, is the surest way to obtain a fuller experience of the power of the blood. The heart that is surrendered to the teaching of the Holy Spirit will surely learn what RECONCILIATION means. May our hearts be opened wide to receive it.

To understand what RECONCILIATION BY THE BLOOD means let us consider:
1. SIN, WHICH HAS MADE RECONCILIATION NECESSARY.
2. GOD’S HOLINESS WHICH FORE-ORDAINED IT;
3. THE BLOOD OF JESUS WHICH OBTAINED IT;
4. THE PARDON WHICH RESULTS FROM IT.
5. SIN, WHICH MADE RECONCILIATION NECESSARY.

CHAPTER IV
Cleansing Through the Blood
“If ye walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”-I John i. 7

WE have already seen that the most important effect of the Blood is RECONCILIATION for sin.

The fruit of knowledge about, and faith in RECONCILIATION, is the PARDON of sin. Pardon is just a declaration of what has already taken place in heaven on the sinner’s behalf, and his hearty acceptance of it.

This first effect of the Blood is not the only one. In proportion as the soul, through faith, yields itself to the Spirit of God to understand and enjoy the full power of RECONCILIATION, the Blood exerts a further power, in the imparting of the other blessings which, in Scripture, are attributed to it.

One of the first results of RECONCILIATION is CLEANSING FROM SIN. Let us see what God’s Word has to say about this. CLEANSING is often spoken about, among us, as if it were no more than the pardon of sins, or the cleansing from guilt. This, however, is not so. Scripture does not speak of being CLEANSED FROM GUILT. CLEANSING from sin means deliverance from the pollution, not from the guilt of sin. The guilt of sin concerns our relationship to God, and our responsibility to make good our misdoings,-or to bear the punishment of them. The pollution of sin, on the other hand, is the sense of defilement and impurity, which sin brings to our inner being, and it is with this that CLEANSING has to do.

It is of the greatest importance for every believer who desires to enjoy the full salvation which God has provided for him, to understand aright what the Scriptures teach about this CLEANSING.

Let us consider :
I. WHAT THE WORD CLEANSING MEANS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?
II. WHAT IS THE BLESSING INDICATED BY THAT WORD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
III. HOW MAY WE EXPERIENCE THE FULL ENJOYMENT OF THIS BLESSING?
IV. CLEANSING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

CHAPTER V
Sanctification Through the Blood
“Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with bis own blood, suffered without the gate”-Heb. xiii. 12.
“Cleansing through the blood” was the subject of our last chapter.

SANCTIFICATION THROUGH THE BLOOD must now occupy our attention.
To a superficial observer it might seem that there is little difference between CLEANSING and SANCTIFICATION, that the two words mean about the same thing ; but the difference is great and important.

CLEANSING has to do chiefly with the old life, and the stain of sin which must be removed, and is only preparatory.
SANCTIFICATION concerns the new life and that ,characteristic of it which must be imparted to it by God. SANCTIFICATION, which means union with God, is the peculiar fulness of blessing purchased for us by the blood.
Let us then consider :
I. WHAT SANCTIFICATION IS.
II. THAT IT WAS THE GREAT OBJECT OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
III. THAT IT CAN BE OBTAINED THROUGH THE BLOOD.
IV. WHAT SANCTIFICATION IS.

CHAPTER 8
Life in the Blood
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, 1 say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink bis blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life ; and 1 will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 1-Ie that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him “-John vi. 5 35 6.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?”-i Cor. x. 16.

The drinking of the blood of the Lord Jesus is the subject brought before us in these words. Just as water has a twofold effect, so is it also with this holy blood.

When water is used for washing it cleanses, but if we drink it we are refreshed and revived. He who desires to know the full power of the blood of Jesus must be taught by Him what the blessing of drinking the blood is. Everyone knows the difference there is between washing and drinking. Necessary and h Pleasant as it is to use water for cleansing, it is much more necessary and reviving to drink it. Without its cleansing it is not possible to live as we ought; but without drinking we cannot live at all. It is only by drinking that we enjoy the full benefit of its power to sustain life.

Without drinking the blood of the Son of God– is without the most hearty appropriation of it— life cannot be obtained.

To many there is something unpleasant in the phrase “drinking the blood of the Son of man,” but it was still more disagreeable to the Jews, for the use of blood was forbidden by the law of Moses, under severe penalties. When Jesus spoke of “drinking his blood,” it naturally annoyed them-but it was an unspeakable offence to their religious feelings. Char Lord, we may be sure, would not have used the phrase, had He been able otherwise to make plain to them, and to us, the deepest and most glorious truths concerning salvation by the blood.

In seeking to become partakers of the salvation here spoken of, as “DRINKING THE BLOOD OF OUR LORD”let us endeavour to understand:-

I. WHAT THE BLESSING IS, WHICH IS DESCRIBED AS. “DRINKING THE BLOOD.”
II. HOW THIS BLESSING IS WROUGHT OUT IN US.
III. WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS IT.
IV. WHAT THE BLESSING IS WHICH IS DESCRIBED AS “DRINKING THE BLOOD.”

CHAPTER 9
Victory Through the Blood
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony ; and they loved not their Uves unto death “-Rev. xii. i i .

FOR thousands of years there had been a mighty conflict for the possession of mankind, between the Old Serpent, who led man astray, and ” The seed of the woman.”

Often it seemed as though the kingdom of God had come in power; then at other times the might of evil obtained such supremacy that the strife appeared to be hopeless.

It was thus also in the life of our Lord Jesus. By His coming, His wonderful words and works, the most glorious expectations of a speedy redemption were awakened. How terrible was the disappointment which the death of Jesus brought to all who had believed in Him! It seemed, indeed, as if the powers of darkness had conquered, and had established them kingdom for ever.

Revelation 12:11(KJV) 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

CHAPTER 10

Heavenly Joy Through the Blood

“After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number . . . which stood before the throne, and before the Lamb. . . and they cried with a loud voice saying, g Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb “-Rev. vii. 9-z4.

August 8, 2011

End Times Witnessing: Famine Years – Bad to Worse

One day before the stock market plummeted, while praying a routine prayer for his family, the watchman was led in the spirit to read the following passages: 2 Kings Chapters 6,7, and 8:1-6. It was indeed awesome when he saw the headline the next day!

Summary:

6:1-7 th floating axe head. He has not yet received the meaning of this passage in relation to his family. But he found relevance in the statement from the disciple prophets to Prophet Elisha that “this place where we meet with you is too small. let’s go…there we can build a new place for us to meet.” Indeed lately he has run out of rooms in his house for the sudden arrival of the younger generations.

6:24-7:20 Samaria was besieged but the lepers plundered the enemy’s camp. There was a great famine in the city. But God intervened and caused the enemy to flee for their lives, abandoning all their possessions to Israel. Overnight there was a drastic drop in market prices!

8:1-6 This is about a woman from Shunem whom Elisha advised to leave home with her family during the seven years of famine and after the end of which returned home to re-claim her house and land successfully. She was even compensated for the values of the harvest of her crops during the period of her absence.
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The watchman suggested that readers SEEK GOD NOW for your own situation and direction for the famine years. Decode the above passages yourselves.

August 4, 2011

End Times Witnessing: O the Blood of Jesus!

MIDI music file at http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/blood10.mid

O, THE BLOOD OF JESUS

O, the blood of Jesus; O, the blood of Jesus;
O, the blood of Jesus; It washes white as snow!

” . . . and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7b KJV) ” . . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18b KJV)

Colossians 1:13-15 (NKJV)
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

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"NOTE: This is a very special and very powerful hymn. Demons hate to hear it, and they flee when it is played or sung. If you play or sing this hymn repeatedly, it seems to open up a direct channel to the Holy Spirit. You will know what I mean when this happens to you. I believe that this is perhaps the Lord’s very favorite hymn." (quoted)

"Satan frequently tries to discourage us and make us feel unworthy, by correctly accusing us of our many sins. This is what he did during an encounter with martin Luther, when Luther was trying the reform the church. But Luther quoted scripture to Satan, from 1 John 1:7 — “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.” — and Satan fled from him. This fact means that even if we are guilty of sin, our guilt is removed, through no effort of our own — just by faith in Jesus Christ. This is the reason why Satan and his demons hate the song “O The Blood of Jesus”, and want to run away whenever they hear it." (quoted)
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See the watchman’s blog on

END TIMES WITNESSING: TESTIMONY OF THE BLOOD of JESUS

http://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/end-times-witnessing-testimony-of-the-blood/

August 2, 2011

End Times Prophets: When should one not raise the dead?

Today’s message is for watchman who sees and hears from the Lord and ministers as prophet at times. The watchman had not been easy for sometime over the issue of when to raise a dead. Does every dead need to be raised? Is it automatic?

On the fateful day when the old man died suddenly but peacefully, he was urged to ask the Lord for guidance. He received two set of verses respectively.

The first one answered his question of where the man’s spirit was. The answer was in Song of Solomon 1:4 “The King has brought me into His chamber.” The second one was in answer to his question of what to do next as they had been praying for his resurrection for sometime to no avail. The answer was in Ecclesiastes 8:8 “None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death.”

It was quite clear that the old man’s spirit was already with the Lord Jesus and it was his time to leave this world. However, the prayers for his resurrection went on for quite sometime until his wife said she heard from the Lord that he wanted to take him with Him. The wife agreed to let go finally. The wife also confessed later that she had heard the Lord spoken twice prior to the death of her husband, once on a previous day, during the Sunday worship and once on the morning of Monday (on which evening the man passed away). The Lord told her on both occasions that He wanted to take her husband away soon and urged her to love him(as they had an estranged relationship).

Why was then the watchman woken this morning at 12.30am to pray? Why was he shown the verses below, all about the appointed death of men? Why was he shown particularly the warning: “And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead” ? (Deuteronomy 18:10-13)

The Lord then showed him the requirement of a prophet is to receive the words of God correctly and faithfully pass on to the people. He was led to read Numbers 22-23, all about the prophet Balaam, who proclaimed, “I have no power to say whatever I want. I will speak only the message that God puts in my mouth.” (22:38) “I will speak only the message that the Lord puts in my mouth.” (23:12) “Didn’t I tell you that I can do only what the Lord tells me?” (23:26)

So the watchman repented for all who were involved in praying for the resurrection of that old man that day (who continued and persisted even after the Lord had spoken and given him the two set of verses after he had enquired). He shuddered to think that doing otherwise would be viewed as carrying out all those abominations as warned in Deuteronomy 18:10-13!The story of Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22:21-33) meeting the angel of death was frightening. No wonder he had to gulp down a huge glass of red juice proclaiming the blood of Jesus when he went home on that fateful day.

He has learned another valuable lesson: Listen to the Lord Jesus and obey His words without doubting.

The Lord is indeed merciful in waking him up to tell him the truth and correct him at length this morning (12:30am to 2:45am)!

Bible verses———————————————–
New Living Translation

Genesis 49:33 33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

Judges 2:8 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110.

1 Samuel 28:3 3 Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and allIsrael had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned from theland ofIsrael all mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead.

Deuteronomy 18:10-13
Holy Living
10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 But you must be blameless before the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 18:15-22
True and False Prophets
15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled atMount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’

17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 20 But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’

21 “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.

Footnotes:
1.Deuteronomy 18:16 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.

August 1, 2011

End Times Witnessing: The Holy Spirit conducted today’s Sunday School for the watchman

Early on Sunday morning, around 1:35am the watchman went to pick up someone returning from a Jesus Heal Rally. By the time he got home it was 2:30am and he could not sleep. So he decided to stay up and pray and seek the Lord’s guidance about the day’s class in the afternoon.

He was led to read Joshua 5:2-15 on the Lord’s instructions to Joshua to prepare to lead the Israelites second generation who grew up in the wilderness into the promised land. The preparation was in the following three steps:

1. Joshua was asked to circumcise the entire male population, as a covenant reestablishment ceremony. The watchman was drawn to this verse after they have obeyed, “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” (5:9) In the New Testament, Jesus came and took away the shame and bondages of His believers and led them (us) from the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s kingdom) into the kingdom of light (the kingdom of God). Prior to this privilege, one has to repent. The believers of Jesus have to repent first before they receive the kingdom citizenship. (The requirement and power of repentance has been written in the watchman’s previous blogs)

2. The second step was celebrating Passover. The first Passover (Exodus 12:23) was carried out on their last night in bondage under the Egyptians. When the angel of death saw the blood of the lamb on the top and sides of the doorframe of the Israelite homes, he would pass over their homes. In the New Testament, Jesus had shed His blood on the cross for the remission of the sins of many, and He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. When He instituted the Holy Communion for His disciples, He pronounced this over the wine: “This is my blood for the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.”

3. The third step was Joshua’s encounter with the Lord (Jesus), the Commander of the Lord’s Armies. Joshua immediately fell with his face to the ground in reverence and worshipped Him, waiting for the Lord’s instructions. For Christians this is the worship in truth and in Spirit.

The watchman was then led to read the famous Fall of Jericho in Chapter Six. He was asked by the Lord to read all the details of the Lord’s instructions requiring Joshua to lead his people to march round the fortified city of Jericho, and he noted the number of days and times they marched round, those (priests, armed men, and people) who marched, their order of marching, what they carried and did (e.g. the priests marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the ram horns as they marched, with the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind, some armed men marched in front of the Ark and some behind). the people were required to shout on the seventh day, seventh round when they heard the long blast of horns and when Joshua commanded, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town!” When Joshua and his people obeyed, indeed Jericho walls collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. (6:20) “They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords.” (6:21)

After reading this and praying for sometime he went to bed. When he woke he took Holy Communion and was led to read Peter’s account in Acts 11:9 “Do not call anything unclean if God has made it clean.” 11:17 “And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” 11:18 “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.” The verses prompted him to repent for himself and his family for not being sensitive to the Lord’s heart to save all. Jesus’ blood was shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.

When he reached the church an intercessor leader suddenly requested a sister to lead the congregation to repent. However, when the worship leader came in he did not know this and he went ahead and started the worship. He sang in the Spirit and then led one song. Before the Holy Communion he asked the watchman to pray the opening prayer. the watchman had earlier received in his spirit that the day’s worship is to reveal the Father’s heart. The sister who was supposed to lead the repentance prayer nudged him and whispered, “Repentance!” He obeyed and started with words of repentance and subsequent words just gushed out like never before. He heard amens. He remembered what he read earlier in Acts. He saw the Father’s heart unfolding His love for many, indeed, the lost multitudes out there, outside the walls of the churches, and the living dead in churches. He also prayed from Ephesians 4:3-5, using words like “one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father”.

After the opening prayer, they had Holy Communion. The sister who interpreted the leader’s English words omitted important words like ‘Blood”, “Jesus”, ‘Cross”. The watchman had to interrupt and cried out the correct words which he believed were all crucial for the majority of the congregation who do not understand English to partake the Holy Communion correctly. He did not have time for decorum at that moment. There was an urgency in his spirit and he knew something important was going to happen.

When they resumed worship the leader led them to sing a song of marching. “We are marhcing in the light of God”. A number of the congregation were carrying big flags and most others carried small flags. One sister came and asked him whether they should march round and he said yes. So they started marching with their ram horns and flags, urging the rest of the congregation to join them. As the congregation sang and marched round, ram horns were being blown. Then the song leader led the song “Shout for joy, God’s people…for the Lord has given this land to you”. So the congregation marched, blew ram horns and shouted at the point when the song leader sang “Shout for Joy!”

Later, at the afternoon class, as the watchman shared with the participants how he was led to read Joshua chapters 5-6 early in the morning, he put all the pieces together and realized in amazement that the Lord had actually let him see the whole worship event through Joshua 5-6 about 7-8 hours before it happened. In fact the following worship sequence today was exactly as what was written in the two chapters!

1. Repentance Prayer (the act of circumcision at Gilgal)

2. Holy Communion- the body and blood of Jesus (the taking of the Passover Lamb)

3. Worship in Spirit and in Truth (Joshua’s Encounter with the Lord -the Commander of the Lord’s Armies- and his worshipful prostrating himself before the Lord)

4. Marching songs sung and actual marching procession with ram horns, flags and shouting by the congregation (Jericho march).

It was indeed awesome. In answer to his early morning prayer on how to conduct his class and what to teach today, the Lord has used the worship service to demonstrate to him how a class should be taught. First he was shown the Bible truth. Then he witnessed the practical application. He has to admit later that only the Holy Spirit could mobilize the leaders and the congregation to flow exactly according to the Word of God that morning!

For the first time since many months ago, there was a breakthrough in today’s afternoon class. In the sleepiest hours after lunch, the eyes of the participants were wide open and the participative and interactive learning was led by the Lord’s Spirit. Afterall, the walls in each individual’s heart had already been pulled down that morning during the march!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Grace and more grace: this year ends with a new old song for you

2024年终更感受这深沉意义,带着遗憾和伤感。仍然相信即使天上和人间相隔,您会知道我们没有放弃盼望也会及时跑完全程与您赴约 this year ends with deep regret, grief, yet hope to finish the race & meet...