Know and Understand

The Lord told the prophet Daniel something very profound when he said:

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

"Know and understand...." Daniel 9:25

The prophet lived a life that was saturated in dreams, visions and spiritual happenings. Many were his own while others where received by those around him. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an enormous statue, Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a tree, the mysterious hand appearing before King Belshazzar and writing on the wall, Daniel's dream of Four Beasts, his vision of a Ram and a Goat, the Seventy Sevens, and finally Daniel's Vision of a Man. All of these things were profound. And all of them required not just knowing but understanding.

Understanding has two applications in scripture. One is the unfolding of plans and strategies as it follows the wisdom that God gives us. I wrote about that in detail HERE.

The second application of understanding is simply this: to interpret that which God has already spoken. King Nebuchadnezzar knew what he had dreamed in Daniel 2. He just didn't know what it meant.

"....Nebuchadnezzar said to his astrologers, 'I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.' Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, 'O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream (knowledge), and we will interpret it (understanding)......The King replied to the astrologers, "This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me." Daniel 2:3-5

Do you see the dynamic? It is one thing to know what the Lord has said. But it is another thing altogether to understand it. Knowing and Understanding are two different things. Even the wicked know what God says at times. The difference often between faith and unbelief is understanding that which already has been said. That is where the real reward is...in understanding.

"Jesus replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's hearts have become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." Matthew 13:11-15

Jesus himself drew the distinction between knowing and understanding. The wicked at times know what God has said. But they never understand it. Understanding is a sign of growth in God. It is a sign that God's work is progressing in our lives. Proverbs speaks often of the man of understanding.

"...though is cost all you have get understanding." Proverbs 4:7

Pharaoh knew what he had dreamed. He just didn't understand it. Only Joseph could interpret it. Only Joseph could understand it. Interpretation = Understanding. Because Joseph understood, because he could interpret, he was rewarded. Nebuchadnezzar promised death to his astrologers if they failed to interpret/understand and at the same time he guaranteed wealth, honor and riches to those that did.

I am not advocating materialism. I'm preaching provision. God's provision rests in the laps of those that both hear and understand. Remember, God showers his people with riddles as he speaks to them. He always has.

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles." Numbers 12:6-8

Yes, the Lord often speaks to us plainly. But he also often speaks to us in riddle form that requires interpretation and understanding. Daniel had to interpret the writing on the wall even though everyone "knew" what the words were. We need to both know and understand when the Lord speaks through symbols, riddles, types and shadows. We need to Know and Understand.

Be Blessed,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Inward Knots

Roughly 5 years ago I found myself at home on a weekend afternoon laying on the couch trying to take a nap. Like most people I don't sleep well in a room full of light and I noticed that the sunlight was coming in through a window, reflecting off of the T.V. and shining right in my face. I got up and walked over to the window and while attempting to lower the blinds I found myself unable to do so seeing as the 4 strings that made up the cord had wound themselves into a knot. You know the ones I am talking about. They looked similar to the ones pictured right, although the ones on our blinds had 4 of them.

They were all so bound up with one another that I was unable to completely lower the blinds and so there I was spending a few minutes trying to untie this huge knot. After a bit of wrestling I got frustrated, walked over to my wife's sowing table and picked up a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut the knot off. I cut so much string off of that I came close to completely ruining the blinds.

Now let's do the spiritual application here. This happened at a time in my life when the Lord had me deeply entrenched in a season of what we will call prophetic riddles. Look at the following scripture.

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord." Numbers 12:6-8

The word used for "riddle" in this passage is Chiydah. It means a puzzle, a hard question, a proverb or riddles. Chiydah is derived from the Hebrew word Chuwd. Chuwd means to put forth a riddle or to tie into a knot.

Over the years I have heard the Lord speak to me in a multitude of ways as I am sure you have as well. Dreams, visions, clear spoken words into the ear, wisdom and understanding within the heart, .....But I have to tell you the most demanding way I believe God speaks to his people is within the realm of riddles.

 I say riddles because the Lord will often set his words in front of us in the form of some type of riddle and then force us to wrestle with it for extended periods of time until we get peaceful understanding on what He is really telling us. He will pull us out of our comfort zone (taking a nap) and set something before us (a knot) that requires our focus, steadfastness, repentance and spiritual determination in order that we might understand it. He gives us knots to untie. He speaks to us in riddles and then tells us to look to him for understanding to solve them. Some knots are untied quickly. Some take years to get unraveled.

I did not plan on saying this but this comes to me as I write. I think we, as people, are like knots and riddles to the Lord except that he completely understands how to untie us. He knows how we got in this mess in the first place and therefore he has complete understanding on how to help us get untied inwardly and see us through to complete repentance. That is why the scripture says:

"If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

The Lord has every intention of unraveling the complexity of our souls if only we will give ourselves over to him and let him lead us in continual levels of repentance and grace. Humans can be complicated, sensitive, impatient and unforgiving. Jesus offers us simple truth, a tender touch and patient forgiveness. We need to accept these opportunities for grace and power before the door closes on us and the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled (See Romans 11:25). We should be wise virgins and fill our lamps with the oil of repentance while there is yet time.

"As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.'....I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:1,2

We are confined to the realm of time and within that time we need to take advantage of our opportunity for repentance and get unraveled inside ourselves. We need to get untied. We need to be solved and repent while there is still time. We need to humble ourselves now so God doesn't have to retroactively force humility on us. Let's take advantage of the time we do have and ask the Lord to search us inwardly.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23,24

I will leave you with this. In the late winter of 1997 the Lord took me to Midland, TX for six months to begin untying some of my internal knots. While out in the desert I began to see the complexity of my soul and how the enemy had complicated my life over the years. It began with a spirit of rejection in my childhood, led to ambition in my late teens and resulted in a consistent spirit of anger when I didn't get my way. Through the years the unfulfilled gaps of my soul were filled in with alcohol and bad relationships. The Lord began to untie me and continue the multi-year process of solving the riddle of my soul. What I couldn't see before I could now see.

"I was blind, but now I see." John 9:25

This internal unraveling, this process of inward revelation is an ongoing thing. It's a multi-year process that spans decades with many of us.

I guess what I am saying is that the Lord wants to shower us with prophetic riddles to solve (Dreams, Riddles, Prophetic Symbols and Similitudes). But he only does this in accordance with the level to which we allow him to solve the complexity of our own selves internally. Before he can trust us with riddles that relate to other people he must work on us first. First he solves our inward puzzle and then we shows us the prophetic puzzle of the world around us.

It was in my time in Midland, during that season of internal revelation and cleansing, that the Lord started giving me outward prophetic riddles that pertained to other things, both circumstances and people. So riddle-solving starts inwardly and then God moves outwardly into prophetic ministry. First inward, then outward in various forms of ministry.

In the next post I will talk more of some of the prophetic riddles the Lord has given me to solve over the past decade and how one in particular applies to events in the world today.

Be Blessed,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

"With" to "In"



Why didn't we think of that?

 Growing up as an American kid in the 70's and 80's it seemed like the dividing line between families that had alot of money and families that didn't was having a swimming pool. Back then I hardly knew of anyone that had an in-ground pool. The only people that we knew that did were wealthier people who could pay cash for one. Back then there was no such thing as pool loans. You paid with cash. And in my mind, having a swimming pool was the dividing line between being wealthy and being a middle-class family. If you had one it was a sign of wealth. If you didn't, well, you weren't rich. Simple as that.

In Mexico there are socio-economic divisions that are marked by clear signs that tell which class you are in. It is quite a bit different than the signs one might see in the U.S. Here everyone dresses like a million dollars. Everyone spends money on clothes. Clothing is not one of the signs. But there are two things that families do or don't have here that can tell whether they have crossed over or are crossing over from being poor to becoming a middle class family. One is having a car. Public transportation is a very big deal in Mexico as many people do not have vehicles. I would say at least half of the people in Merida do not have a car.  Many people either walk, ride a bike, ride a motorcyle/moped, take the bus or take a cab. Having a car in Mexico creates a dividing line, a sign that an individual may in fact be progressing or has progressed from one socio-economic level to another.



An individual mini-split A/C unit.   

The second thing that I have noticed here is that people that are progressing from the lower socio-economic class to the middle-class have an ammenity in their homes that many people in the United States see as a basic staple of life: Air Conditioning. Here we have no need for central heat. But I can tell you it is hard to live here year-round without A/C. We were running our air-conditioners every night up until December. However, many people here still do not have air-conditioning. And it can get well over 100 degrees Farenheit here in the month of May. When you combine that with our humidity levels it can feel like 120 degrees outside. Yet, many people here don't buy A/C units simply because they can't afford it. Nor can they afford to pay the increased electric costs that goes with running one.

Over the years I have come to realize that there are things that create spiritual dividing lines within the kingdom of God. These dividing lines are signs or markers that indicate whether or not an individual is progressing from one level to another. Assuming that a person has been born-again in Christ and has crossed over from death to life, an individual must realize that there are signs of progression even within God's Kingdom. Within God's Kingdom there is an initial marker of sorts that indicates that you have progressed to the next spiritual level. We are commanded to move beyond just being born-again. And this dividing line is marked by an event, an experience that affects how we pray, how intimately we hear God, what kinds of giftings we can function in and ultimately how much spiritual jurisdiction the Lord entrusts to us as we progress from season to season. This event, this experience I am referring to is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts chapters 2, 8, 18 and 19 we see a progression in the lives of Christians from one level to another through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that seperated and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Acts 2:1-4

"But when they (Samaritans) beleived Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.....When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus (Water Baptism). Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Acts 8:12,14-17

"Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately." Acts 18: 24-26

"While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all." Acts 19:1-7


In Acts 2 we see over 100 Christians, men and women who have spent 40 days with the resurrected Christ, receiving the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of tongues. In Acts 8 we see men and women who have been led to a saving faith in Christ. They have become born-again. But they were men and women who did not have an infilling of the Spirit. And we see them receiving the Spirit at the laying on of the apostles hands. In Acts 18 we see the apostle Apollos (See 1 Cor 4:6,9) in his early years in Christ. He knew the way of the Lord and taught about Jesus accurately. But he was a Christian who needed to cross over to another level, specifically as it pertained to his experience in the baptisms. Priscilla and Aquilla helped walk him through this. They helped him move through to another spiritual level. In Acts 19 we see 12 men receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues and prophesy. These 12 men were already Christians. Verse one in that chapter refers to them as disciples.

What do the Christians in all four chapters have in common? Simply put, the Spirit of God went form being "with" them to being "in" them.

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither see him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." John 14:16,17

From "with" to "in." Jesus told us that there is a progression from "with" to "in." I went through this progression. I first heard about Jesus when I was 8 years old. I had seed planted in my heart that, from that time laid dormant within me until I was 24. At age 24 I gave my heart completely over to the Lord. I began to hear his voice. I began to have dreams and visions. I began to repent from many things. And I was water baptized as a sign of this repentance and obedience to his voice on April 9, 1995. The Spirit was "with" me. He was speaking to me. He was showing me initial steps of repentance and faith to take. But he was not "in" me. He was speaking to my heart which was in me but he, the Spirit of Truth, was not fully in me.

On March 9, 1996 I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came "into" me. I spoke in the tongues of angels.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels....." 1 Corinthians 13:1

I pray in the tongues of angels every day as I am with the Lord in prayer. We are commanded to do so. We are to speak to God often and utter mysteries with our spirit by his Spirit.

"For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit." 1 Corinthians 14:1,2

We are commanded to pray both with our minds and with our spirits.

"So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind." 1 Corinthians 14:15

We cannot do both apart from the infilling, the baptism of his Spirit. Once a man receives the baptism of the Spirit he operates in measures of God's grace and ultimately measures of spiritual jurisdiction that he can and would not otherwise.

I have written in previous posts about fundamental facets of Spiritual Prayer. I can tell you plainly that a man or woman can never enter into the fullness of spiritual prayer apart from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues. You just can't. Often I do not know what to pray for. So I fill in those gaps of time, those periods of time when I am seeking discerment in prayer, with the spiritual tongues of angels.

"We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:27

The resurrected Jesus is the one that baptizes us with his seven-fold Spirit.

"But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Matthew 3:11

"These are the words of him who holds the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars." Revelation 3:1

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Sprit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:2,3

And as the resurrected Jesus baptizes us with his seven-fold Spirit, the blessed Holy Spirit, we come into measures of power, grace, gifting, calling and holiness that we wouldn't otherwise.

We are commanded to wait on God in our early days.

"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31

"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4,5

We wait on the Lord. In Acts 2,8,18 and 19 we see people that had been waiting on God in some shape or form. They were waiting on the next thing God had form them. The were looking for the next thing in God. As they did, God filled them and they went forward as God allowed them to. But not until they received the infilling. We are commanded to wait for it. The "it" being Him.

We started in the beginning with physical parallels. In every society you can see socio-economic signs that indicate the purchasing power and economic class of each household. In some countries it's a swimming pool, a car or something as simple as air-conditioning. When you see these things they are an indicator of how far someone has progressed financially.

The same applies spiritually. There are indicators in the kingdom of God that show how "enriched" people are spiritually. Certain things show how wealthy people have become spiritually speaking. It's not physical wealth. It's spiritual wealth. Possessing certain things, having certain experiences, can serve as an indication of the progression of spiritual health and wealth in the lives of believers. The Baptism of the Spirit and the power and gifting that flows out of that empowerment is one of the foundational signs of progression and growth, spiritually speaking. It's a sign of progression. It's not the end all. But it will affect what kind of doctrine, counsel, prophesy, gifting and level of empowerment that a believer abides in. And ultimately, whether we want to believe it or not, it is an indicator of how much spiritual maturity a believer will be able to attain.

I have been eager to write about this for some time but have been waiting for the Lord to show me the context in which to do so. This is so fundamental yet so necessary that if not experienced will cause an individual to come to a screeching halt in their relationship with the Lord. It creates stagnancy like you cannot imagine. People can get put on hold for years, decades, even for the rest of their natural lives because of the absence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Don't let this happen to you. God wants to pour out his Spirit in these last days on us and our children. Remember the words of the apostle Peter:

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgivness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38,39 

The promise is for us and our children. Get in the position of receiving. Adopt the doctrine that God has made his Spirit available to us and ask for it. Ask and wait. Ask and wait. If we have it then we need to pray that our children receive it as well. That is where Christine and I are at with our sons.

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Luke 11:13

Ask of him and wait. Be Baptized in the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,

JEB

P.S. One of my very good friends in the Lord has an 11 year old daughter. She just received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He told that she goes into hours of prayer just praying in the Spirit. Isn't that exciting? Praise God for what he has done and will do for us.