Three Small Waves

I once heard Henry Gruver tell a story about the German Christians in Berlin during WWII. Apparently many Christians in that city had been trapped within German borders with no way out. As the war progressed and the momentum swung away from the Axis nations towards the Allies, the Lord, according to the story, began to speak via the prophets to the underground church in Berlin. The following is an intertwining of historical facts about WWII along with the story that was confirmed by two German Christian men who had fled Berlin during the allied firebombings of the city prior to the end of the war.

According to historical records, at the beginning of World War II (1939) the United Kingdom had an official policy of conducting aerial bombings strictly on military targets inside Germany. This policy was quickly abandoned by England on May 14, 1940. That was the day Germany bombed Rotterdam, Holland killing 900 civilians and leaving an estimated 80,000 homeless. England's policy of bombing only targets of direct military significance was gradually abandoned in favour of "area bombing" - large-scale bombing of German cities to destroy housing and civilian infrastructure. Although killing German civilians was never an explicit policy, it was obvious that area bombing would lead to large-scale civilian casualties.

From 1939-1941 British Bombers had a hard time being effective over Berlin because of the cities distance from London (590 miles). During 1942 new British bombers with longer ranges were coming into service. However, during that year the British Bomber Command's priority was attacking German U-boat ports as part of Britain's efforts to win the Battle of the Atlantic. During the whole of 1942 there were only nine air alerts in Berlin, none of them serious. It wasn't until late in 1943 that this changed.


Part of Berlin after Allied Firebombings during WWII.

On November 18, 1943 the infamous Battle of Berlin was launched at the German capital by the newly appointed head of RAF Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris. Over the next 4 weeks the RAF conducted bombing raids in Berlin that rendered at least 25% of Berlin uninhabitable. These raids continued through March of 1944 thereby killing or injuring thousands of German civilians, mostly women and children, and leaving an estimated 450,000 homeless. Yet somewhere interspersed among all of this the Lord was trying to deliver the German church out from the destructive effects of this chaos. 

As I heard Henry tell the story, sometime during all of this the Lord gave German Christians three chances to escape the ill effects of this devastation and loss. At one point the Lord spoke to the church via the prophets and told the Christians to sell everything they had and move out of the city. Apparently some listened to this instruction and some did not. Some time later, and I am not sure as to the exact time frame, the Lord spoke again via the prophets. Only this time, per Henry, the words were different. This time the words were sell everything you can and get out. Again, some headed the words while others did not.

While the British had been conducting their "Battle over Berlin" campaign starting in 1943, the U.S. Army had been preparing for the next phase of the war by cooperating with Berlin architect Erich Mendelsohn. Throughout 1943 Mendelsohn collaborated with the U.S. Army and the Standard Oil company in order to build "German Village", a set of replicas of typical German working class housing estates, which would be of key importance in acquiring the know-how and experience necessary to carry out the joint effort of firebombing Berlin.

Sometime during that final campaign of allied firebombings over Germany from March 1944 to April 1945, the Lord spoke to the church one last time in regards to leaving the city. This time, as Henry told the story, the Lord told all believers to exit the city of Berlin immediately with their hands emptied of all physical possessions. They were to carry nothing in their hands. The story, per Henry, was later confirmed by two Christian men years later. Both of them had heeded the word of the Lord and had exited the city, one from the east and one from the west. Apparently, as people were leaving, the allied firebombings that started immediately in the city areas behind them started generating what we know today as firestorms.


Air movement in a mesocyclone.

A firestorm, simply put, is a an environment where objects like buildings and trees are burning so far out of control that it creates and sustains its own wind system that blows air inward towards the fires. These powerful horizontal columns of air are known as mesocyclones. As mesocyclones develop moving in the direction of the firebombing they literally take with them every object that is not securely fastened down to the ground. This means all unsecured objects move in the direction of the mesocyclone and go right into the firestorm itself.

When considering this and the specific prophetic instructions that the German Christians received during their last warning, it is easy to see why the Lord sent them out empty-handed. Per the two German witnesses that Henry referred to in his testimony, both men had to hold onto secured physical objects on the ground as they were exiting the city to keep from being sucked back into the fires themselves. Had they disobeyed the Lord and sought to carry things in their hands they would have been killed.

In the story I see the Lord give believers three chances to come out, but each time they came out a little less blessed. The first time they came out having had the opportunity to sell all their possessions. The second time those that had not heeded before had another chance to come out with only the provision from what they "could sell." The third wave of people came out empty handed having just escaped death. We see this three-wave principle at work in the last chapter of Jeremiah.

"So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. This is the number of people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; in his twenty-third year, 745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard. There were 4,600 people in all." Jeremiah 52: 28-30

The last recorded census of fighting men in Judah is found in 2 Chronicles 26:13. There were 307,500 fighting men counted in the census, ages 20 to 40. If you count their immediate and extended families, it is safe to assume there were at least 2 million to 3 million Jews dwelling in Judah, Benjamin and Jerusalem in the days of the last 5 kings of Judah. On the low end at 2 million, to have only 4,600 people go into exile means only .23% of your population made it out alive as God began to judge the southern tribes. That is less than one-quarter of one percent of your entire population that's listening to the Lord in the day of judgment.

"But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to eternal life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:14

"...God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the Ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved..." 1 Peter 3:20

It seems that when God is trying to save people from judgment, not alot of people really want to respond for some reason. In Judah you have roughly one-quarter of 1% that was willing to respond to God. Not a very big crowd. And many came out only with the clothes on their backs. And they also came out in three waves, just like the Christians in Berlin.

Last Saturday I was talking with a good friend on the phone telling him that I believed I was supposed to write this post. As we discussed it I realized something for the first time: The first wave has already come out in America today. Let me explain.

Back in the middle 90's some of the prophetic ministries that I referred to in Spoudaza and Qara were very active. The Lord was opening alot of doors for the first three prophets I referred to in that post. From 1995-1997 I had the privilege of being apart of many meetings and local communities of believers within many cities throughout North Texas, West Texas, New Mexico and southern Colorado. As I traveled, fellowshipped and occasionally ministered in that time it was very evident to me and those around me that there was a great stirring among God's people with regards to the cumulative message we have been covering this month. Symbolically speaking, I believe this was when the first wave of people came out of Berlin, out of Judah and Jerusalem.

By "coming out" I mean there was a consistent wave of people that heeded the call of God on a very deep level and started preparing their hearts for what is coming on the earth. Fasting, praying, obeying, physically preparing if shown to....Those people started building an ark years ago. The majority of people that were going to heed the call of God in this hour to prepare spiritually and physically for the judgment that is going to be poured out on America and subsequently the world has already happened.

Four-thousand, six hundred Jews listened to God in the days of of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And of those that did, 3,023 came out in the first wave. That is 65.71% or two-thirds. Today, I see very few people responding to God and his message of judgment. Very few. Most scoff. Most laugh. Most dismiss. A few are still wresting trying to decide if any of this makes sense. And it baffles me as to why. All I need is to read Leviticus 18 and 2 Kings 24, look at the stats on abortion, pornography and STD's, listen to the prophetic confirmation and I have all I need to believe.

So my conclusion is, if Christians are not getting the message then it has to be because of one of two things. Either their hearts are re-hardened because they have turned their backs on God like a dog going back to it's vomit or....they can't seem to get free of the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth and get on with obeying God by going from faith to faith (Romans 1:17). They refuse to go from hearing one thing from God to another and guarding his words as the apple of their eye (Proverbs 7:2).

"The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." Matthew 13:20-22

Either way they can't get unhooked from the false American dream of physical comfort and material prosperity and embrace the cross. They can't because they don't want it. It has to be one or the other. Either way it's a heart condition. It's a heart problem.

"They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." Ephesians 4:18

People, even Christians, can harden their hearts and it leads to darkness in their understanding and they become separated from the life of God. That is another way of saying they are separated from God's will for their lives.

In November, 2006 the Lord gave me a dream that he would bring me and my family into a season of preparation to move to Mexico. A year and a half later the Lord moved us to San Antonio, TX. Then after 2 years there we felt the time had come for us to make the move here. We did not move here to escape from anything. We moved here because we felt this was what we were told to do. As the time drew closer for us to sell off everything in the Spring of 2010 we had to start making decisions on what we were going to keep, what we could take with us, what would be better to sell and repurchase based on cost and what was and was not practical.

During all of this Christine called me on the phone one day while I was at work. We were discussing whether we should make the drive down to Merida with our desktop computer in the truck along with some other possessions. It was May 27th, 2010. As I was standing in the receiving department having this phone conversation with her I found myself looking up at a shipping box in front of me with the word Berlin written on the front. I "noticed" it as we might say. In response I said to her, "I think we need to sell it if we can and get going." Later in the day I was driving through town and I looked up and noticed I was passing "Berlin Street" in south San Antonio. About an hour after that I found myself standing in a convenience store listening to a radio station playing over the loud speakers inside the store. The radio station kept blowing what sounded like "air raid" sirens, like the kind you would hear in the movies when cities were being bombed. "Berlin, Berlin, air raid sirens." That was what I was hearing and seeing that day.

I'm not making any of this up. It actually happened. Take it like you will. I think the Lord was speaking. For some it is time to move on. For us that was the case. I hope this post comes across the right way. I am not saying you have to leave America to be in God's will. We pray about everything. I am just saying we need to be asking the right questions right now. And we need to keep asking until we get a confirmed answer.

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Eph 1:17

Keep asking the Lord for wisdom and revelation in this time so that you may know him better, so that you may know his will for you and your family. This is the hour of judgment for America. Now is the time to know, to know his will.

Be Blessed,

JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com

Spoudazo and Qara

Spoudazo. It's a Greek word that means, "to do something speedily, to make an effort, to be earnest, diligent labouring, to study." In layman's terms it means "to apply yourself to something with all diligence."

"Study (spoudazo) to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Personally, I like to do research. I like to take the time to study out areas of interest and in turn take my findings and present all the facts to others. Others have told me, my wife included, that I should have been an attorney. From what I have heard from past friends that have been to law school I am not sure I would have survived the humiliation of law school alone. But I do like to search things out. As believers we need to be diligent to search out truth, do some basic reading and know the real facts. With that said, there is a passage of scripture that has at times baffled me. It is the following.

"As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, 'Have mercy on us, Son of David!' When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' 'Yes, Lord,' they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, 'According to your faith will it be done to you,' and their sight was restored. Matthew 9:27-30

Do you see what just happened? Two things occurred. One, Jesus healed two blind men. That fact is obvious. He did stuff like that all the time. But more importantly, he made two blind guys pursue him prior to their deliverance. He made them exhibit spoudazo. He made them study to show themselves approved prior to their breakthrough. He made them exhibit diligence, he made them labour, he made them make an effort. He made two blind guys chase him down the street, locate the house where he entered, weave their way through the crowd outside, then inside they had to find their way to him and then make their request. He made them pursue him before he did anything for them. He made them look for him and search for him like gold and silver. This is why the scriptures say the following?

"Without faith it is impossible to please God....he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

"And if you call out (qara) for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:3-5

These scriptures are speaking of seeking truth in earnest. In the passage in Proverbs the writer uses the Hebrew word qara for "call out" (NIV) or "criest" in the KJV. Qara is better defined in a word picture. It means one person being accosted by another or one person begging another for something. Do you remember the story of Jairus, the synagogue ruler who's daughter died and was later raised back to life by Jesus (Matthew 9, Mark 5, Luke 8)? This same Jairus exhibited qara. He accosted the the Lord for deliverance and understanding. This was the same qara exhibited when Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord and the Lord subsequently changed his name to Israel, signifying that he had wrestled with God and with men and had overcome. Jacob was an overcomer. Jairus and Jacob where the same kind of men, albeit at two different stages in their faith. But both were cut from the same spiritual cloth.

This morning when I awoke I felt something impressed on me. It is simply this. I can't pursue understanding for another person. I can't have spoudaza and qara for someone else. I can't want this for you or for anyone else. You have to want this for yourself, for you and your family. I can pray for others. I can serve others in humility and write, pray and speak as directed just like any other member of the Body. But my desire for God's will in your life can't suffice without you having the desire yourself. You have to possess your own measure of spoudaza and qara. The same applies to me. I have to want it for myself.

So in the spirit of Matthew 9:27-30, I am going to point others to the men and the content of their ministries and let others decide how far they want to pursue. To put it in the words of my last General Manager at Sam's Club, "Jay, you can't want this more than your employees. They have to want it for themselves." I am going to do some pointing out and then others are going to have to click on the links that I will provide  and then do their own reading. I can't replicate decades of prophetic ministry in one blog post. It's impossible. You have to be willing to take your own personal time and read up on these men.

As we noted in the last post, you need to read the two previous posts on Full Measure and America's Full Measure. If not you may have a harder time following this post. This post is a prophetic overlay of both the doctrine and the statistical foundations we laid in those two previous posts. If you have not read them you need to back up and do so.

As we discussed in the post on Water, biblical scholars and historians tend to group the Old Testament prophets into either the "Major" or "Minor" category due to the length of their books. The "majors prophets" were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. All the others were considered "minor." I thought maybe that might be a good benchmark to distinguish the following people in what we are about to discuss. The Lord has entrusted some with more than others in certain areas. Sometimes it has more to do with gifting and calling. Sometimes it's more about simple "character development." In the end it always has to do with both.

As it pertains to the prophetic message of God's judgment towards nations, well, he usually entrusts that message to only two or three people at a time. In our generation, as it pertains to the spiritual activity of the U.S. over the past 25 years or so, I think God has picked his three main guys to "deliver the mail." And along with that I think the Lord has picked several "minor" prophets along the way. I believe God has already prophetically confirmed his message of judgment to the United States through three "majors" and, for the sake of this writing, at least two "minor" prophets in our time. I am going to talk of 5 men whom I believe God has raised up to speak according to our doctrinal foundation that we have just discussed in "Full Measure." Here we go.

Dumitru Duduman

A very powerful man of God who went to be with the Lord in May of 1997. I saw him preach sometime in December of 1995 in Dallas, TX. He prayed over me and my best friend to be delivered from nicotine addiction (myself chewing tobacco, my friend cigarettes.) Tortured by Romanian police for 6 months for smuggling bibles in and out of Russia, he ministered prophetically in the United States from 1984 to 1997. You can read about his testimony Here. You can start reading his prophetic writings Here.

Henry Gruver

I love this man. I, along with the same friend mentioned before, both had an opportunity to meet and travel with Henry to Waco, TX a few months after seeing Dumitru speak. This guy walks in holiness and power. Some of the dreams and visions that Henry had perfectly overlap Dumitru's visions. You can see this same type of prophetic overlap occurring between Micah and Isaiah and later with Jeremiah, Uriah and Ezekiel. God has not changed. He still confirms his word through two or three witnesses. His website is Here. Because Henry does not list all of his dreams and visions on his website, I had to do some additional research. Click Here for his first vision. Click Here for all the others.

Michael Boldea

He is Dumitru Duduman's grandson and former translator. The Lord has used him to pick up where his grandad left off. His testimony is Here. His dreams and visions are Here. I have personally seen him speak twice, once in 1995 and once around 2007.  My personal judgment is that he very much knows the Lord and walks closely with him. I do not know him personally but he has a personal testimony that can only stem from a close walk with the Lord. That is my judgment of him. You would do well to read his words of prophecy on the link I provided. In addition to his ministry duties he also continues to help run and direct the orphanage that his grandad started in Botosani, Romania. Hand of Help Ministries also helps to start churches in Romania along with conducting benevolence outreach to those in need.

Efim Gerasemovitch Klubniken

Also referred to as the Boy Prophet. You can read of his story Here.  He was instrumental in helping a remnant of Armenians flee to safety in the United States prior to the Armenian Genocide that was conducted at the hands of the Turkish government in 1914. The Muslim Turks slaughtered over a million Armenian Christians. The nature and contents of his sealed prophecy for the United States can be read about Here.

Benjamin Baruch

I first learned of Benjamin less than 2 years ago. I have listened to him enough now that I believe he walks with the Lord. He shows consistent signs of consecration and holiness. Some years ago the Lord gave him an open-eyed vision of the second phase of judgment on America (the wild beasts of Ezekiel 14). You can listen to that vision Here. He has since written the book The Day of the Lord is at Hand.

This is not a comprehensive list of every prophetic ministry that has spoken along these lines. I am sure there are others. But these are the three majors and two of the minors in my judgment. I pass this all along in hopes that it will help to confirm the doctrine and the statistical analysis of what we have discussed in previous posts. I hope this helps you.

In Christ,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Collision Course

When I was 21 years old I was involved in an accident that almost killed another person.  I was playing in a college soccer game in the district playoffs my junior year at Midwestern State University in 1991. We found ourselves going up against Hardin Simmons University from Abilene, Texas. At one point in the second half I found myself jumping into the air to head the ball back towards our front line about 35 yard away from our opponents goal. When I began my descent back down all of the sudden the lights turned off. The next thing I knew I was trying to pick myself off of the ground, barely conscious. I didn't know what had happened or what hit me. I tried to stand up only to find myself just collapse back down to the ground. Two of my teammates came and helped me to my feet and got me to the sidelines where the trainers and medical staff could take a look at me.

While they were helping me off the field I heard one of my teammates say, "Look at that guy!" I couldn't turn around as I was barely conscious. I found out later, post concussion, that after I had jumped up to head the ball, while coming down, another player from the other team had jumped with me and in the process the left side of my skull made full contact with the back side of his head on the way down. The other player was knocked completely unconscious. He stopped breathing, swallowed his tongue, began going into convulsions and started foaming at the mouth while turning blue in the face. If the paramedics had not been there to revive him it would most likely have killed him.

As we start 2011 we enter into our annual time of looking forward.  I have thought long and hard for a few weeks as to how the Lord would have me start out writing. And in the process I have come to the conclusion that there are some things that need to be said about the United States and the direction it is ultimately heading in. I feel like I have been hiding in a closet and avoiding talking about things that should be obvious to everyone. America, and subsequently the world, is on a collision course with complete and total collapse. The skull of America is about to receive an unforseen blow that is going to cause it to stop breathing, swallow its tongue and go into mouth-foaming convulsions. The only difference between America and the player that I banged heads with is that there will be no paramedics to revive and restore it. The scripture says the following about Samson:

"He awoke from his sleep and thought, 'I'll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him." Judges 16:20

The Lord had left Samson, but he was not aware of it. I believe God has left America, but most within her do not know it. Most do not believe it could ever happen. In the coming weeks I want to share some things with you that I feel the Lord has shown me over the years. We are going to cover doctrine, prophesy, counsel and current events. We are going to talk of the following subjects over the next several blogposts:

• The Shadow World
• Ezekiel 14 and Four-fold judgment.
• Macroeconomics 
• Leviticus 18
• The Broken Hammer
• The Last 5 Kings of Israel and Judah
• Josiah's Reign and the Prophet Jeremiah
• Ezekiel 21:15 and Nahum 3:13
• Jereboam II and the Prophet Amos
• Prophetic Confirmation of Leviticus 18
• The Boy Prophet, Efim Gerasemovitch Klubniken
• The Purpose of 2011
• The Current Spiritual Climate
• The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom...Building an Ark

The list may change. I don't know exactly if things will come out in that order. But I feel that it is important to know, for both you and your loved ones, that life as we know it in both America and subsequently in the world is about to change dramatically. Our lives as Christians always change, hopefully for the better. But the world is changing in a very bad way. Understand, I don't write this with any sense of joyful contentment or feelings of "I told you so!" My wife and I have two young boys that we are trying to raise along with one that is already grown and out on his own. I have 11 neices and nephews. I want to believe that this world we live in will be stable and growing for generations to come. But I don't think that is the case. I believe the Lord has shown me differently over the last 20 years or so.

Things are already changing in America in case you haven't noticed. And it isn't for the better. America and most of the world have been in spiritual free-fall for well over a century now and especially over the last 40 years. You don't believe it? I am going to show you. I am going to show you that the current state of our country is exactly in line with the nation of Judah during Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's ministry. I am going to prove it doctrinally and then I am going to point out how God has already confirmed it through His prophets and various signs in the natural realm.

America is already experiencing the four-fold pattern of judgment as discussed in Ezekiel 14. He is already breaking the staff of bread. He is already cutting off America's food supply and raising up the wild beasts.  It's already started. And right now, as Christians, we need to be cutting lumber, swinging the hammer and coating our Ark with pitch inside and out. Remember the following verse:

"The prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it." Proverbs 22:3 & Proverbs 27:12

The same verse is written in two different places in Proverbs. It must have been important for Solomon to say it twice. This isn't a time for us to put our heads in the sand. This is the time to fear the Lord, hear the Lord, and trust God for his provision and protection for ourselves, our spouses and our children. But it starts with acknowledging what is happening, acknowledging what the Lord has been saying about it, and asking the right questions in prayer and then moving with a sense of urgency to prepare for what is about to happen not only to America but subsequently most nations in the world. Now is the time to hear God and move in obedience without reservation. Now is the time. It's time.

There is more to come. Watch for more posts. It will all make sense when I map it out and connect some dots.

In Christ,
J.E. Blackshear
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Song

This morning I awoke with the following song in my heart. Take a look.

Song is a powerful thing in the Lord isn't it? It almost feels like you are there. I guess that is the purpose isn't it? When the Lord gives us a song in our hearts, He is in effect trying to take us to another place. He is bringing us into His Presence where His Voice can be heard more clearly. When you hear the music, move towards it. Song is a powerful thing in the Lord.

I once heard Henry Gruver with Joyful Sound Ministries tell a story about how God taught him this principle. As a very young man at the age of 18, he began spending one night a week passing out Bible tracts on the Skid Row streets of Phoenix in 1961. He would walk around after dark and pass out his material to whomever would take one. After many weeks of doing this he started noticing most of his tracts were blowing around in the wind on the ground, having been continually discarded by the people he was handing them to.

In frustration he went to the Lord and asked him how to more effectively minister to the people. The Lord's response to him was simple: "When you walk, I will put a song in your heart and I will give you peace. Only walk where you continually have that song and have that peace. If ever at anytime you lose that song and that peace, stop and go back to the last place you had it and either stay there or continue walking in another direction. Wherever you go, maintain that peace and that song. Now start walking!" (I am trying to repeat the words as best as I remember Henry tell them).

So Henry re-engages the streets of Phoenix. He goes back out one night and the Lord gives him a song in his heart and gives him peace. He continues to walk only when and where he has them. If he stepped onto a sidewalk or in a direction where he lost that song and that peace, he would back up, go to the last place that he remembered having it, and go in another direction. On this night, he eventually finds himself standing still outside of the front door of a tavern in one particular area of downtown. That is where the Lord led him. Everytime he would try to move from that spot he would lose his song and his peace. So he finally just committs to standing still on the sidewalk where the Lord placed him.

All of the sudden, out of nowhere, a drunk man comes flying out of the door of the tavern and charges directly at Henry. The man ran right up to him, got right in his face and started screaming at him. The man was demon possessed. Suddely the man rears back and tries to punch Henry in the face. When he did he completely missed Henry who is just standing there with his feet glued to the ground. Henry can't move. He's just standing there and everytime the man tries to punch him he "miraculously" misses. The Lord was causing him to miss and protecting his servant, who was abiding in God's song and God's peace.

At that point Henry began to pray and ask the Lord to make this man go away. While all of this was happening people were just pouring out of the tavern because a fight was breaking out. So here is Henry, just standing there with his pockets bulging with tracts and people standing everywhere around him. Suddenly the demoniac turns around and goes back into the tavern. At that point God focused Henry's attention on a man standing in the crowd watching what was going on. The Lord told him to go tell the man that Jesus loved him. So Henry walks over, tells this guy that Jesus loves him, and the man just breaks down and starts crying and confessing that he knows that what Henry is telling him is true. Then the Lord speaks to Henry to minister to another man in the crowd who is just standing their crying as he is watching all of this unfold. The presence of the Lord just broke forth in the moment and started dealing with the hearts of the people, and all because an 18 year old kid started walking with a song in his heart. Suddenly people in the crowd are asking him for tracts. He completely emptied his pockets of tracts before the police showed up.  

The point I believe we need to make is this. When we get up in the morning and engage life itself, we need to be listening for a song. Jesus will give us a song if we will listen for it. One of the key ways that his voice manifests is in SONG. It is a powerful manifestation of the voice of the Lord. Look at the following verse:

"For God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not perceive it." Job 33:14

The word "perceive" in this verse is the Hebrew word Shoor. Shoor is defined two ways in Hebrew. One, it means to be perceptive or discerning. Secondly, it means to stroll about with a song in your heart. So according to the Hebrew language, a person who is discerning and perceiving what God is saying in his heart is a person that also continually has a song in the heart......Do you remember the prophet Elisha? In 2 Kings 3 we find him ministering prophetically to the kings of Israel, Edom and Judah...but not before the music starts playing.

"But now bring me a harpist. While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said......" 2 Kings 3:15

Elisha prophesied as the harpist was playing. Elisha could perceive and discern the mind of Christ because he could hear the song, the joyful sound.

"Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance." Psalm 89: 15.

Worship helps facilitate a flow of the voice of the Lord. Actually, spiritual worship in the form of a song is  the beginnings of the voice of the Lord. He gives a song to us. He speaks to us in song.

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." Psalm 40:3

It serves two purposes in our walks with the Lord. One, we hear God in song as we are fellowshipping with him in prayer. Two, we hear God in song as we go about God's business on the streets of our cities and communities, our jobs and our homes, among our families and friends and among people we do not yet know. The Lord speaks to us in song continually if we will just listen to our hearts. Song is a manifestation of the voice of the Lord. When you are hearing a psalm, hymn or spiritual song you are, in effect, hearing God's voice. Consider the following two verses.

"...be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ....." Ephesians 5:18,19

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:15,16

Our hearts should be an atmosphere where both peace and the word of God (the voice of God) dwells in us in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Peace and Song go together as we are "in Christ."

"If any man be in Christ he is a new creation."  2 Corinthians 5:17

The voice of the Lord will carry with us throughout the day, from the time we get up in the morning until the time we go to bed, and even throughout the night at times, in Song. When we go before the Lord in prayer we reach for him, exam ourselves, respond to conviction if he brings it, and then we move in Song. As we leave the closet and go forth in His Work we can expect a continaution of the peace of God that accompanies Song. Song is a powerful thing in the Lord because Song is in fact the manifestation of his voice in one of its various forms.

Can you hear the joyful sound? Can you hear the Song the Lord is giving to you today? Ask for a song and go forth in peace. Ask him for it. It's a part of our inheritance in Him. Be Blessed.

JEB

http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/

jayblackshear@yahoo.com