New Series: The SUMites and the Israelites
April 06, 2014
A Revelation.
Ephesians 1:17 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.
This has been my prayer for the past several weeks. I’ve petitioned the heavinlies for an increase of this part of God’s Spirit because I want to know Him better.
Well this past Saturday I believe I experienced a revelation. It’s as if God pushed the enter button and I received a download of understanding (revelation) that continues to unfold in in multifaceted wisdom. Wow… I didn’t even know I could talk that way…. *grin*
I listened to a message by my friend, Tim Manigault on Friday night. It was inspired and on Saturday morning the heavens opened to expand the meaning and the emphasis upon our community of SUM. So, I have so much to share and I pray that with every post you are also anointed with the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that you receive understanding about your glorious position in God’s plan, the reasons and the expectations and hope we have for our mismatched marriages and ultimately we are left with three things at the end of this journey. Hope, peace and love. The love of the Father that overcomes all things. And finally, that you may know Him better.
So let’s get started with the story.
Get out your Bibles and let’s turn to Joshua Chapter One.
Joshua 1 After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea[a] in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
The Israelites have walked through the wilderness for 40 years. And my friends this is where we look into the story and find they are now on the edge of the Promised Land. There are many, many facets of this story that parallel our own. Until today, I didn’t really understand just how powerful and important this story is to those of us who are spiritually mismatched. Let’s get started to walk this journey together and with our ancestors.
In the beginning of the chapter one of the most important things of the entire story occurs. And if you rushed through the verses above, I bet you missed it. You know what is the key to the Jericho wall experience?
God spoke.
Joshua hears the voice of God.
I think so much of our faith journey is learning to hear God. God speaks all the time. ALL THE TIME! It’s often part of our faith training to learn to hear him. I’ve been learning to hear the voice of God over a span of two decades and only feel as though I’m starting to understand and hear how God speaks to me. I hear Him often now. I hear him at times as I read His Word. I can experience His voice as it appears that some of the text will literally jump off the page at me. It looks as though it’s been bolded as well. God speaks His love to me through the delivery of Mylar balloons that arrive on a consistent basis. I hear Him in so many ways and at times, directly as if He is speaking directly to my spirit, such was the revelation of this series and many of the passages in the two books we wrote.
Joshua hears the voice of God.
The crowd of Israelites are bone weary. They have trudged through years of wilderness. I wonder does this sound like all of us. Walking with our unbelieving spouse is lonely. We are fearful about how to proceed, even when we know that God is going before us, just as the Israelites did. We are weary of bearing the burden. We are weary being the only spiritual influence in our homes. We are weary of being the only person to encourage ourselves in our faith. Can I get an amen?
My friends, we are weary. We have experienced the wasteland wondering if we will ever make it to the Promised Land.
BUT, here we are now. On the edge of glory (Yes, rock it Lady Gaga). We are on the edge of glory and our time has arrived. I’m certain of this as God was downloading to me this past Saturday. Many of the dreams we have sacrificed are about to be restored. We will partake in the plunder. We will be the rescuers of many. We will bring hope and freedom to those who are imprisoned by an evil king behind the walls.
So, today, I ask you. Are you ready to take the first step ahead with me on this journey? Are you ready to finally see the Promised Land? Even better, are you willing to hear the voice of God and do exactly what He says to “own” the Promised Land?
We have so much to explore as the Israelites walk. As we walk along with them. And when we conclude this journey together you will see your life, your marriage, your faith journey differently.
You will discover that you are strong and courageous. Right now in 2014. Right now as you live your ordinary life, cooking in the kitchen, working at your job, raising the children. These are the tasks at hand as we march together to victory, to hearing the voice of God, to deliverance of the captives and to receive the riches of God’s glory and favor.
Are you in?
Give a shout and consecrate yourselves. Today, we stand on Holy ground. There is much ahead and it’s going to be hard and it’s going to be a blast. I love you my friends. I love you.
This week read the entire account of Joshua the Israelites and the Walls of Jericho. See you on Friday for what happens next. Hugs, Lynn