Subtitle: Knowledge of Him
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (Eph 1:17)
In the first article we looked at the spirit of wisdom and revelation. They key question is what is the revelation about? In every great mystery there is something to be revealed – a hidden truth, treasure, ect. The spirit of wisdom and revelation unveils the knowledge of Him – God Himself.
Ancient Greek culture greatly valued knowledge. In fact, the world owes much to the Greeks for the advancement of math, science, the arts and other disciplines. The Khan Academy had this to say in that regard.
“The Greeks made major contributions to math and science. We owe our basic ideas about geometry and the concept of mathematical proofs to ancient Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes. Some of the first astronomical models were developed by Ancient Greeks trying to describe planetary movement, the Earth’s axis, and the heliocentric system—a model that places the Sun at the center of the solar system. Hippocrates, another ancient Greek, is the most famous physician in antiquity. He established a medical school, wrote many medical treatises, and is— because of his systematic and empirical investigation of diseases and remedies—credited with being the founder of modern medicine. The Hippocratic oath, a medical standard for doctors, is named after him.”
You get the idea. When the Apostle Paul mentioned knowledge in our Ephesians passage he used the Greek word epígnōsis, which means “precise and correct knowledge.” It can also be translated as “acknowledgment.” It comes from two Greek words – epi – “upon, on, at, by, before” and – gnōsis – “knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding.” Paul viewed it as a supreme knowledge that went way beyond basic human knowledge. We can call it a true knowing.
This word was so significant to Paul that he employed in three of the four Epistle prayers found in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. Here they are:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the KNOWLEDGE of Him. (Eph 1:17)
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in KNOWLEDGE and all discernment. (Philippians 1:9)
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the KNOWLEDGE of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the KNOWLEDGE of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)
We can see Paul placed a heavy emphasis on the people he prayed for having that God kind of knowledge. He believed – and we are learning – to pray along these lines. We believe that this knowledge of God can run into the depths of a person, bringing healing, restoration, affirmation, freedom and more.
In Ephesians 4 Paul layed out what we call the five-fold ministries of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. He said their pupose was “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (v.12) Paul goes on to the climax of his statement:
“till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (v.13)
We need to be praying for those that are in these offices. They allow the body of Christ to come into maturity and most importantly to come to knowledge of the Son of God. It must also be noted that we come to the knowledge of the Son of God as we sit under these ministries. Watching church online will not cut it. We must not forsake assembling together. The enemy, mainly through COVID, is seeking to divide and conquer us. But we must resist, shaking off fear and comfort, and come together. It is only in that place will we come to the knowledge of God.
In 2 Timothy chapter 3 the Apostle Paul goes into great detail about the perilious last days. Some would argue (and its hard to deny) that we are living in that time. Paul describes some of that generation.
“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (vv. 2-5)
The temptation is to peg this on the people of the world. But Paul was talking about people in the church. He said they have a “form of godliness” but deny God’s power. Going down a bit farther Paul makes a profound statement that requires our attention. He said those people are
“always learning and never able to come to the KNOWLEDGE of the truth.” (v.7)
Here Paul made the clear distinction between learning and true knowledge. We must guard ourselves from learning that is void of true knowledge. We must also be on the watch for those who profess Christ but are only puffed up with a lot of learning.
We know from the book of Daniel that in the last days there is a great increase of knowledge. (“Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” – Daniel 12:4) It is truly amazing to think about the rapid advancements humans have made just in the last 200 years. We have gained an incredible amount of knowledge of math, science, technology, medicine and so on. I believe this is all a part of the increase in knowledge.
All of that knowledge is great but the ultimate knowledge is the knowledge of God. It is beautiful as I see the knowledge of God increase in the body. We live in an amazing and blessed time. But, as Paul showed in 2 Timothy, we also live in very difficult times with much sin and learning. By God’s grace we must determine to set our hearts on receiving true knowledge, the kind layed out in Paul’s prayers.
FATHER, we thank you for the increase of knowledge in our time. We count it as a privilege to be a live today. We also know the enemy seeks to flood our minds and hearts with learning that doesn’t lead to You. We ask for the Spirit of Wisdom in the knowledge of You. In Jesus’ name.
Last Updated: May 11, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Draw Me Away! – Pt. 2
Chapter 2 Song of Solomon
Chapter 2 starts off with a confession from the Shulamite that reveals her insecurity.
“I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys.” (v.1)
Lilies were abundant and ordinary. In essence she was saying that she was but one of many and not very special. The Beloved’s response should give us great encouragement:
“Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.” (v.2) You see, the people of the world bring great sadness and pain to God through sin. But like the Shulamite He has plucked us out of the world and we bring Him great pleasure. We must not brush over the beautiful fact that we bring delight to the heart of God through what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Jesus said of us: “You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13a)
Now we begin to see things getting much more serious in their relationship.
“He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love. (v.4)
The “banqueting” house was a house of wine. Among other things in the Bible wine represents being full and influenced by the Holy Spirit. We can call this being brought into the banqueting house as being baptized in the Holy Spirit. In that place the Beloved sets a banner over her to tell the world that she is taken. In Ephesians 1 we learn that the person of the Holy Spirit is a kind of engagement ring.
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…” (Eph 1:13)
Her response still shows self-centeredness.
“Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.” (v.5)
This did not deter the Beloved. He was after one thing and one thing only and that was closeness with the Shulamite. Jesus has not changed. Being close to us is His greatest desire. Listen, the gifts and moves of the Holy Spirit are beautiful and much needed. But our greatest desire must not be the hand of God but the face of God. Now we see the Beloved acting on His greatest desire.
“His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.” (v.6)
He is showing her he in not interested in giving blessing alone. He wants to be very close to her.
At this time in the story (song) we can assume some time has passed and the Beloved has been absent for a time.
“The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.” (vv.8-9)
Sometimes Jesus withdraws from us for a time to increase our hunger for Him. Here we see the Beloved “leaping” and “skipping.” The Shulamite has responded to His calls for intimacy and His spirit is excited.
However, he is still tentative with His love. We see Him “standing behind” and “gazing through the lattice.” Somehow some of us think of Jesus as this robotic God without feelings or reservations even. Remember we have been created in the image of God, sharing the same emotions. So we see a cautious Jesus. He is still this way in 2021. He will often edge closer to us and see how we will respond.
The Beloved steps past the lattice and says to the Shulamite:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!” (vv.10-13)
His call was for her to “rise up and come away.” I hear the same call today. He is calling us out of hiding and into the fields with Him. The “winter” speaks of barrenness and death. It is over. The “flowers” speak of the new life birthed out of the banqueting house with the Holy Spirit. “Singing” is worship that has been born in the heart of the Shulamite. Finally, the “voice of the turtledove” speaks of the operation of the prophetic gift.
The Beloved goes on to solidify His intention toward her.
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.” (v.14)
He not only has drawn her away but he drew her UP. He calls us too – way and up. In the secret place He wants to see our face and hear our voice. Positionally we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
“… and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:7b) He continues to call us away and up.
We have seen the Shulamite grow close to the Beloved. We have even seen the fruit of the Spirit. Just like in the garden of Eden the devil comes along to steal what God has done.
“Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.” (vv.15)
Notice the call was to “catch” the little foxes and not simply scare them away. If you have a fox eating your fruit scaring him will only delay your loss. The enemy must be dealt with swiftly. That is why the scripture says “And the God of peace will swiftly pound Satan to a pulp under your feet!” (Romans 16:20a)
Take note that the foxes are “little.” Sometimes its not the enemy coming as the roaring lion but as the nipping fox. We must be diligent to catch the little foxes in our own lives.
image credit: https://images.app.goo.gl/sf34EX8kgmzJxsa37
Last Updated: May 7, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Draw Me Away! – Part 1
Chapter 1 Song of Solomon
In the beginning of the Song of Solomon the Shulamite (representing the Bride of Christ before marriage) says, even cries out, “Draw me away!” (Song of Solomon 1:4) It was that cry that started in her heart and came out of her mouth that caused the Beloved (representing Jesus the Bridegroom) to draw her into a deep place of intimacy and ultimately spiritual maturity. Aren’t those our two greatest desires – to be near to Jesus and to me spiritually mature?
The Beloved answers and the result: “The king has brought me into his chambers.” (1:4b) Jesus always responds to this type of spiritual hunger. It doesn’t matter if you are saved 1 day or 100 years. He always responds to that kind of hunger. In fact, Jesus said
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The Greek word for poor denotes complete destitution. We are blessed if we hold that position of being poor in spirit because we cannot rely on past blessings, moves of God etc.
The Shulamite was in that place of desperation when she cried out “Draw me away!.” We can see a glimpse into her spiritual state here:
“Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.” (Song of Solomon 1:6)
She was dark from working in the field. The “mother’s sons” represent fellow believers in the body of Christ. There was contention there. Now for the revealing confession: “They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.” She labored for the vineyards of others but neglected her own. This is a gentle reminder for those that serve in the body of Christ but fail to maintain a close relationship with Jesus. A cry must rise up within that says “Draw me away!”
Some of us are unsure where to begin beyond that cry for being drawn away. One thing is to observe closely certain individuals who have that close walk with Jesus. Much can be learned from how they pray, what they say and don’t say and so on.
“Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?” (Song of Solomon 1:7)
Now for the answer:
“If you do not know, O fairest among women,
Follow in the footsteps of the flock.
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.” (Song of Solomon 1:8)
The advice was to “follow in the footsteps.” God put certain people in our lives to teach us how to be close to God. We would be wise to observe their walk with God.
Now we are starting to see some growth in the Shulamite that is drawing the attention of the Beloved.
“While the king is at his table,
My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.” (Song of Solomon 1:12)
The spikenard represented the fragrance of her dying to self. It is a sweet aroma to Jesus. Mary anointed Jesus with spikenard for His burial.
“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” (John 12:3)
As we die to self it sends off a fragrance that fills the atmosphere wherever we may be. But most of all it reached the nose of Jesus.
Now the Beloved can say:
“Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.” (Song of Solomon 1:15)
Dove’s mate for live. The Beloved was saying “I see you now have eyes just for me.” That is where God is bringing us – where we have a single eye for Jesus. With that single eye we can be drawn away! Jesus said in Matthew 6:22
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is [a]good, your whole body will be full of light.” The word “good” means “single” in the Original. That single eye will allow the Light to fill our entire beings.
image credit: https://images.app.goo.gl/sf34EX8kgmzJxsa37
Posted: May 1, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – Pt 2
Subtitle: Knowledge of Him
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (Eph 1:17)
In the first article we looked at the spirit of wisdom and revelation. They key question is what is the revelation about? In every great mystery there is something to be revealed – a hidden truth, treasure, ect. The spirit of wisdom and revelation unveils the knowledge of Him – God Himself.
Ancient Greek culture greatly valued knowledge. In fact, the world owes much to the Greeks for the advancement of math, science, the arts and other disciplines. The Khan Academy had this to say in that regard.
“The Greeks made major contributions to math and science. We owe our basic ideas about geometry and the concept of mathematical proofs to ancient Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes. Some of the first astronomical models were developed by Ancient Greeks trying to describe planetary movement, the Earth’s axis, and the heliocentric system—a model that places the Sun at the center of the solar system. Hippocrates, another ancient Greek, is the most famous physician in antiquity. He established a medical school, wrote many medical treatises, and is— because of his systematic and empirical investigation of diseases and remedies—credited with being the founder of modern medicine. The Hippocratic oath, a medical standard for doctors, is named after him.”
You get the idea. When the Apostle Paul mentioned knowledge in our Ephesians passage he used the Greek word epígnōsis, which means “precise and correct knowledge.” It can also be translated as “acknowledgment.” It comes from two Greek words – epi – “upon, on, at, by, before” and – gnōsis – “knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding.” Paul viewed it as a supreme knowledge that went way beyond basic human knowledge. We can call it a true knowing.
This word was so significant to Paul that he employed in three of the four Epistle prayers found in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. Here they are:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the KNOWLEDGE of Him. (Eph 1:17)
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in KNOWLEDGE and all discernment. (Philippians 1:9)
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the KNOWLEDGE of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the KNOWLEDGE of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)
We can see Paul placed a heavy emphasis on the people he prayed for having that God kind of knowledge. He believed – and we are learning – to pray along these lines. We believe that this knowledge of God can run into the depths of a person, bringing healing, restoration, affirmation, freedom and more.
In Ephesians 4 Paul layed out what we call the five-fold ministries of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. He said their pupose was “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (v.12) Paul goes on to the climax of his statement:
“till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (v.13)
We need to be praying for those that are in these offices. They allow the body of Christ to come into maturity and most importantly to come to knowledge of the Son of God. It must also be noted that we come to the knowledge of the Son of God as we sit under these ministries. Watching church online will not cut it. We must not forsake assembling together. The enemy, mainly through COVID, is seeking to divide and conquer us. But we must resist, shaking off fear and comfort, and come together. It is only in that place will we come to the knowledge of God.
In 2 Timothy chapter 3 the Apostle Paul goes into great detail about the perilious last days. Some would argue (and its hard to deny) that we are living in that time. Paul describes some of that generation.
“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (vv. 2-5)
The temptation is to peg this on the people of the world. But Paul was talking about people in the church. He said they have a “form of godliness” but deny God’s power. Going down a bit farther Paul makes a profound statement that requires our attention. He said those people are
“always learning and never able to come to the KNOWLEDGE of the truth.” (v.7)
Here Paul made the clear distinction between learning and true knowledge. We must guard ourselves from learning that is void of true knowledge. We must also be on the watch for those who profess Christ but are only puffed up with a lot of learning.
We know from the book of Daniel that in the last days there is a great increase of knowledge. (“Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” – Daniel 12:4) It is truly amazing to think about the rapid advancements humans have made just in the last 200 years. We have gained an incredible amount of knowledge of math, science, technology, medicine and so on. I believe this is all a part of the increase in knowledge.
All of that knowledge is great but the ultimate knowledge is the knowledge of God. It is beautiful as I see the knowledge of God increase in the body. We live in an amazing and blessed time. But, as Paul showed in 2 Timothy, we also live in very difficult times with much sin and learning. By God’s grace we must determine to set our hearts on receiving true knowledge, the kind layed out in Paul’s prayers.
FATHER, we thank you for the increase of knowledge in our time. We count it as a privilege to be a live today. We also know the enemy seeks to flood our minds and hearts with learning that doesn’t lead to You. We ask for the Spirit of Wisdom in the knowledge of You. In Jesus’ name.
Last Updated: April 10, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – Part 1
Subtitle: Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
Spirit of Wisdom
The “prayers of Paul” refer to the four epistle prayers of the Apostle Paul. They are found in Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 3:14-19, Philippians 1:9-11 and Colossians 1:9-12. These prayers run very deep, going past the intellect and straight to the heart. I would encourage you to get to know these prayers and make them your own.
It has come to me that praying for Paul was not just something he did but it was who he was. He took is as a burden (light and easy) from the Lord. Praying was a calling, along with preaching the gospel. May we come into praying with that same mind. God is raising up intercessors – those who will stand in the gap between God’s will and the fulfillment of it.
The first prayer of Paul we will look at is from Ephesians 1. This prayers is deep, with many sides and layers. Like an onion and with the aid of the Holy Spirit we will peel back some mysteries. Are you ready? I suggest taking notes.
“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and [i]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Eph 1:15-23, emphasis mine)
The first petition Paul had was that the Father of glory would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. We will look at the spirit of revelation in the next article. But for now wisdom calls for our attention.
The Greek word for wisdom in our text is sophía and means “wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters.” It carries the idea of having knowledge in many areas. This is not mere intellect but a knowledge that comes from above.
Jesus, in Matthew 12:42 made a fascinating statement about wisdom.
“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”
The “queen of the South” refers to the Queen of Sheba. She came from a great distance, with a large company and many goods, to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now we know Solomon got his wisdom because God asked him what he wanted and he chose wisdom. And we can see wisdom opened many other doors for him. But back to Jesus’ point.
Jesus offered up the example to show them that even the queen traveled a great distance to get wisdom from a man and yet they (those of the generation that rejected Jesus) refused the wisdom of the Son of God. May we not be counted among those who reject the wisdom of Jesus for our own human reasoning!
The authors of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record very few details about Jesus as a child and His formative years. But see these two examples:
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Luke 2:40
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52
See the pattern? Jesus was filled with wisdom and increased in wisdom. Some might say “Well of course, He was God. Easy for him.” In response I would point to this verse about Jesus: “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) Jesus also learned to be filled and increase in wisdom. And (lean in to listen) so can we.
Before Jesus left the earth he warned the disciples of the troubling days ahead. He said there would be famines, wars and the like. He also said believers would be imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. Jesus gave this advice:
“Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.” (Luke 21:14-15)
Jesus promised they would be given a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. Lord, help us not to meditate what we will say beforehand. Thank you for the mouth of wisdom!
Speaking of not being able to resist check this out. In Acts 6 we learn that the church was multiplying. There arose a dispute regarding certain widows being neglected. The Apostles put out the word to appoint someone to oversee the ministry.
“Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” (v.3) Stephen was chosen for the position, based on his wisdom and being full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Now see this:
“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. (vv.8-10)
How awesome is that? And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Lord, fill us with faith and wisdom. Use us with signs and wonders. Give us wisdom that the dark forces is people will not be able to resist.
Spirit of Revelation
The Greek word for “revelation” found in our leading scripture (Eph 1:17) is apokálypsis. Throughout scripture is has at least two distinct meanings. The first refers to the second coming of Jesus (example: Rom 2:5 “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”) The second refers to divine revelation given to a believer (example: Gal 1:12 “For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”) We will focus our attention on the latter since in this case the spirit of revelation regards our “knowledge of Him.”
Skipping to the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation. Yes, it is an amazing prophetic book that tells of the final, end time battle. We see the end of the reign of Satan and the rising of the bride of Christ. So there is no mistake God showed us the purpose of the Book in the first verse.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place…” (Rev 1:1a)
It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, first and foremost. Many are intimidated by the book but I would say if you want a greater revelation of the person of Jesus this is a great place to go and spend some time.
The primary way we receive revelation is through the person of the Holy Spirit. Before leaving the earth Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13)
The Holy Spirit is very glad to guide is into all truth and that includes giving us revelation. Let’s look at a familiar account in the Bible but see it with new eyes. Picture it. Jesus approaches the disciples one day and asks “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13) Some of the disciples answered John the Baptist, Elijah or another of the prophets. But Simon Peter said “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (v.16) Jesus responded “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (v.17)
That was the spirit of revelation in operation. In fact, we cannot know anything of that spiritual magnitude without the Holy Spirit revealing it first. So back to the prayer of Paul. He was asking for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to be present. We can – and should – be praying this prayer over our spouses, children, Pastors and the like. That kind of praying, as we continue along with Paul’s prayer, leads to HOPE, VALUE and the release of POWER in the life of the person being prayed for. We will look deeper into that in future articles.
Posted: March 27, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Rescued from the Tyrannical Rule of Darkness
“He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son.” (Col 1:13, TPT)
Don’t you just love how The Passion Translation translates that verse? And friends, this is our reality. We have been rescued from the tyrannical rule of darkness. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin are three examples of the 20th century’s most tyrannical dictators. We can only imagine the incredible joy the people of those counties had upon the deposing of those tyrants.
Let’s define tyranny: “arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.” Satan and his fallen angels are tyrants of the worst degree. So then why would we ever agree or allow darkness in our lives? It is time to renounce all darkness in our lives, knowing we have been rescued from it.
Let’s look at that word “rescued” from our Colossians verse. Many translations translate the word as “delivered.” That is an excellent translation as well. The Greek word is rhyomai and means “to draw to one’s self, to rescue, to deliver.” To God He has delivered us because of His great affection for us. He is not a distant God.
He rescues us, drawing us close to Himself. Take a look at the opening to Psalm 91 – “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” There is safety in closeness with God.
Now, we have been rescued from darkness but look at what happens next. “…and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son.” To be “translated” means to be transferred from one place to another. We have been transferred from dark tyrannical rule to the freedom of the kingdom of God – full of light and liberty. So why, oh why, do we allow the tyrannical rule of Satan in our lives?
Father, we thank you for rescuing us and transferring us in to the kingdom of Your beloved Son. We renounce all darkness in our lives – known and unknown. We surrender to Your kingdom of freedom and light. In Jesus’ mighty name.
Last Updated: March 23, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Becoming Kingdom-Minded
Jesus, when laying out how to pray to his disciples, first talked about praying for the kingdom.
“Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
There are two Greek words that grab my attention in this verse – “come” and “done.” They seem to be ordinary words but they are profound in context of what Jesus was saying. “Come” is the word erchomai and means “to appear, make one’s appearance.” And then there is “done,” which is ginomai, and means “to become, i.e. to come into existence.”
First, God’s kingdom must come – it must appear and become visible to the world. Then His kingdom must be done – it must come into existence, i.e. established. We are learning top pray along these lines. We are learning to pray that His kingdom would appear on the earth and then it would come into existence. Think for a moment about the founding of America. The founding fathers had a vision and wrote it down in the form of the Constitution. That would be the kingdom of America coming. It being done is establishing the very laws and form of government.
From the very beginning Jesus was all about His Father’s business – establishing His kingdom. And so likewise should we. We must move away from being church-minded to be kingdom-minded. Being church-minded is confining and limiting. Being kingdom-minded is endless in possibility, weight, height, depth. Take a look at how Young translated our verse:
“Thy reign come: Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth.”
Yes Lord, may Your reign come and Your will come to pass!
Last Updated: March 5, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Lessons from John the Baptist
Out of all the figures in the Bible I most closely relate to it is John the Baptist. He was a bit of an outcast. He was bold. Let’s take a look at some lessons we can learn from him. This will not be an intellectual pursuit but rather lessons from the heart so to speak.
In the book of John we first find him in chapter 1. John had been baptizing people in the wilderness. This aroused the interest of the Jews, who sent priests and Levites to investigate. They asked John a simple yet profound question: “Who are you?” (John 1:19b) John answered:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.” (v.23)
John was quoting Isaiah 40:3. He had found himself in the scriptures. John had lost all self-identity and declared that he was “a voice.” Right now God is raising a John the Baptist generation that throws off titles and the praise of man and picks up the voice and call of God. The days of superstar ministries is coming to an end. God is not interested in big ministries with massive programs and budgets. If you haven’t noticed they have done little to advance the kingdom of God.
Notice that John the Baptist was a voice “crying in the wilderness.” People going to John had to walk a good distance in the hot sun. I fear we have made things a bit too comfortable and easy for this generation. But notice the people went out to get baptized and to listen to a guy wearing camel hair and eating locusts. It was the power and anointing on his life. So, what we need is not more programs but the anointing of God. If we have a message from God He will bring the people. In fact, the people will not be able to be held back. Take note that Jesus was pressed from every end no matter where He went.
The very next day after John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, and dare I say, cried out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
The Greek word “behold” is a strong word and it means “to see with the eyes, take heed, behold.” It is found in the imperative voice meaning it is a strong word of admonishment. It is not a mere suggestion to look but rather a call to take in completely. In this we see John once again deflection attention away from himself and to the direction of Jesus. That is what God is calling this remnant generation to be.
Skipping over to chapter 3 in the book of John and starting in verse 22 we see John is still baptizing. The Jews, perhaps trying to provoke jealousy, said to John “Rabbi, He (Jesus) who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” (v.23b, comment added)
John replied:
“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (vv.27-30)
John greatly rejoiced to hear the “bridegroom’s voice.” Oh let that be us! Now, take notice of the last statement John made. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” In the Greek the word must is not there and the verse truly reads “He must increase, but I decrease.” John learned that the only real way for him to decrease was first for Jesus to increase. It happens automatically.
“He must increase, but I decrease.”
image credit: https://images.app.goo.gl/4Dpmfp5uZVLzrXJ1A
Posted: March 2, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Spiritual Warfare – Part 5
Subtitle: Unity of the Spirit
The word unity may not come to mind when thinking about the topic of spiritual warfare. But one thing to consider is that Paul said “Finally, my brethren…” in Ephesians 6. If we are to fully understand what comes after “finally” we must first know what came before it – chapters 1-5. I highly encourage you to make the book of Ephesians your close friend. Get to know it from front to back. Remember, the epistles from Paul were meant to be understood as a whole, not just in part.
For the purpose of this article we are only going to look at chapter 4. The chapter starts off with Paul pleading with the church to walk in humility, gentleness and bearing with one another.
“…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (v.3) To endeavor means to work hard at something. It takes deliberate action and attention. The key is that the unity is in the bond of peace. The peace is brought by the Holy Spirit.
Paul goes on to say:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (vv.4-6)
There is such an emphasis today regarding what church each of us attends. The common questions are “What denomination are you?” And “Do you believe in this or that doctrine?” No, there is one Spirit, one faith, one baptism and so on. The enemy seeks to divide us into neat little camps. He knows are effectiveness is greatly diminished when we remain divided. That is why Paul admonished us to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit.
A bit farther along in the chapter Paul continues this thought on unity.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (vv.11-12)
And what is the purpose of those five-fold ministries?
“till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (v.13)
Therefore, when the five-fold ministries operate in the church it brings us to the “unity of the faith.” Let me tell you that there is nothing more on this earth that brings fear to the enemy and delight to God than God’s children in unity.
In verse 14 Paul goes on to show us that without that unity and the operation of those ministries the church will be deceived by wrong doctrines. You see, when we operate in unity and our callings it provides a buffer of truth around us. See it:
“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” (v.14)
Now, in 2021, with COVID, it has become increasingly difficult to be unified with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We hear the messages daily to stay home, stay six feet away, don’t hug and so on. Yes, we must be respectful of those with lesser faith but we also must “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit.” It will take work and maybe even more work than ever. But is it worth it? I will leave you with how unity pleases the heart of God.
Psalm 133 (The Pasion Translation)
A song to bring you higher, by King David
How truly wonderful and delightful
to see brothers and sisters living together in sweet unity!
It’s as precious as the sacred scented oil
flowing from the head of the high priest Aaron,
dripping down upon his beard and running all the way down
to the hem of his priestly robes.[a]
This heavenly harmony can be compared to the dew
dripping down from the skies upon Mount Hermon,
refreshing the mountain slopes of Israel.
For from this realm of sweet harmony
God will release his eternal blessing, the promise of life forever!
Last Updated: March 2, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Spiritual Warfare – Part 6
Subtitle: Stand
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
In the previous article we looked at how unity of Christians is intricately connected to engaging in successful spiritual warfare. We went back through the book of Ephesians and chapter 4 in particular. Today we will be looking at what it means to stand. The Apostle Paul mentioned it over and over in chapter 6. We will see how understanding the book of Ephesians as a whole gives us deep insight into what it means to stand. I will even dare to say without reading the book as a whole the believer will not understand what it means to stand.
The Greek word for stand found in chapter 6 is histēmi and means “to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set.” It carries the idea of being fixed or established. Now, let’s go back to chapter 1 of Ephesians .
In chapter 1 Paul lays out the position of the believer. He has been:
All of that wonderful truth is the foundation on which the believer stands. I encourage you to not only know these truths in your head but know them as true in your heart. Without that intimate knowledge one does not have the basis on which to stand.
Now on to chapter 2. Pay close attention as we go through some truths here. Paul reminds them “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1) I would say being dead in trespasses is the opposite of standing. Now, see this beautiful, wonderful truth in context of standing:
“Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:5-6)
Oh, take that in! We were dead in our sins but God has raised us up together. There is a powerful key to standing: it is done WITH Jesus. We have been raised together and we stand together The Greek word for made us alive together is fascinating and directly connected to our topic. The word is syzōopoieō and comes from two words – syn = “with, beside” and zōopoieō = “to cause to live, make alive, give life.” See it: our standing is a result of Jesus coming along side us and breathing life into us. If this is how He has raised us to our feet will it not be the same method He uses to enable us to continue to stand? Surely yes!
In chapter 3 Paul prays one of the most powerful prayers ever prayed. Now, keep in mind the prayer was connected in part to what he talked about in chapter 2. He asked that the believers would be
“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (vv.16-19)
He was asking that they would be strengthened with might in the inner man. The purpose was Jesus dwelling in their hearts and they would be rooted and grounded in love. Sounds like standing to me. We cannot truly stand unless we are rooted and grounded in love. Also, that they would comprehend how deep and wide and how high is the love of Christ. To comprehend means to know something in your heart of hearts. It supersedes the intellect and goes straight to the spirit man. The end result is being “filled with all the fullness of God.” We cannot stand unless we are first filled. He is the substance that causes us to stand.
On to chapter 4. We can call this the unity chapter. Paul pleads with the believers to walk in humility, longsuffering, gentleness and so on. He describes how God gave the five-fold ministries of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. He said the purpose of these ministries is to:
“for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (vv.12-13)
Take notice of the key words edifying, perfect man and measure of the stature. These words deal with being built up and standing as a Christian. We cannot stand individually unless these offices are operational in the body and we are sitting under them. Paul continues:
“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (vv.15-16)
We cannot stand unless we are knit together and each part does its share. We need each other. I know many have said it but we greatly need each other.
In conclusion, standing can be considered resurrected sitting. We have been raised with Christ and we are seated with Him. The end result is our standing firm.
Posted: February 20, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Spiritual Warfare – Pt. 5
Subtitle: Unity of the Spirit
The word unity may not come to mind when thinking about the topic of spiritual warfare. But one thing to consider is that Paul said “Finally, my brethren…” in Ephesians 6. If we are to fully understand what comes after “finally” we must first know what came before it – chapters 1-5. I highly encourage you to make the book of Ephesians your close friend. Get to know it from front to back. Remember, the epistles from Paul were meant to be understood as a whole, not just in part.
For the purpose of this article we are only going to look at chapter 4. The chapter starts off with Paul pleading with the church to walk in humility, gentleness and bearing with one another.
“…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (v.3) To endeavor means to work hard at something. It takes deliberate action and attention. The key is that the unity is in the bond of peace. The peace is brought by the Holy Spirit.
Paul goes on to say:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (vv.4-6)
There is such an emphasis today regarding what church each of us attends. The common questions are “What denomination are you?” And “Do you believe in this or that doctrine?” No, there is one Spirit, one faith, one baptism and so on. The enemy seeks to divide us into neat little camps. He knows are effectiveness is greatly diminished when we remain divided. That is why Paul admonished us to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit.
A bit farther along in the chapter Paul continues this thought on unity.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (vv.11-12)
And what is the purpose of those five-fold ministries?
“till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (v.13)
Therefore, when the five-fold ministries operate in the church it brings us to the “unity of the faith.” Let me tell you that there is nothing more on this earth that brings fear to the enemy and delight to God than God’s children in unity.
In verse 14 Paul goes on to show us that without that unity and the operation of those ministries the church will be deceived by wrong doctrines. You see, when we operate in unity and our callings it provides a buffer of truth around us. See it:
“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” (v.14)
Now, in 2021, with COVID, it has become increasingly difficult to be unified with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We hear the messages daily to stay home, stay six feet away, don’t hug and so on. Yes, we must be respectful of those with lesser faith but we also must “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit.” It will take work and maybe even more work than ever. But is it worth it? I will leave you with how unity pleases the heart of God.
Psalm 133 (The Pasion Translation)
A song to bring you higher, by King David
How truly wonderful and delightful
to see brothers and sisters living together in sweet unity!
It’s as precious as the sacred scented oil
flowing from the head of the high priest Aaron,
dripping down upon his beard and running all the way down
to the hem of his priestly robes.[a]
This heavenly harmony can be compared to the dew
dripping down from the skies upon Mount Hermon,
refreshing the mountain slopes of Israel.
For from this realm of sweet harmony
God will release his eternal blessing, the promise of life forever!
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