 |
|
 |
 | Dreams and visions are valid experiences that provide supernatural insight or awareness through revelation. They serve various purposes, including giving guidance and possibly giving a glimpse into the future, but our relationship with God does not depend on them. It is based on the word of God—the whole counsel of God. |
Dreams occur during sleep whereas a vision happens when awake. There are times when we can experience something physically or tangibly, such as being “taken” somewhere. Like many followers of the Lord, I have experienced these things and shall share partial testimony at the end of this presentation because of requests I have received. This is not meant to boast falsely, but to encourage and teach and instill a hunger for more of God. Please consider that the Bible also warns about false visions, cautioning against those that come from one’s own mind rather than from God. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Yisra’ěl, and that I am Adonai your Elohim and there is no one else. And My people shall never be put to shame. ...But this is what was spoken by the prophet Yo’ěl: |
Illumination and Understanding I have always been intrigued with such matters, but they were a kind of mystery, mostly because I did not know Gods word. The concept of an invisible God was beyond my comprehension and although I had some form of “belief”, I had no relationship to “make Him real”. The characters of the bible were mere historic figures. I thought I understood who or what a prophet was, but I didn’t. Apostles? Disciples? They were the men who were alive when Jesus walked the earth but I never knew that they are still here today. My entire experience depended on how I was raised in the Anglican tradition, on what the priests, many of whom were family friends and honorable men said. Miracles supposedly only happened in “bible days” and apparently ceased, so my “belief structure”, for what it was worth, concentrated on the ordinances and the ceremonies of the church in which I grew up. I think this a very familiar story. Nevertheless, something inside me was reaching out to the Divine. I did not know what it was, but I wanted to see God. People may try to deny it, but that’s how we are made. We may try to push it down, ignore it, try to fill our lives with other things—anything and everything, but what one person described as a “God shaped vacuum” is inside us.
Proverbs 20:27 states: The meaning of the word candle is interesting. In the Hebrew, it is just that, a lamp of some kind. It usually refers to the small bowl-like objects that contained oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) and a wick that had to be lit to provide light There is a spiritual message in that wick, as it has to be regularly trimmed, but there is a profound meaning that includes chosen rulership and to keep or guard something.
There are many other references of course and they are not all negative. God wants to light our path. I like what Psalm 119:105 states about His word: We cannot see a thing in the dark, but God is light and He wants His light to be within us in such a way that it can be seen. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:14 that we are that light. Paul said in Philippians 2 that we can shine in a wicked and perverse world that is going darker. You and I may be the only hope for some people—the only light that they will ever see and this in some way is how others can see God. When the disciples asked Jesus in John 14:8 to reveal the Father, He told them that He had, saying, “Look at me”. In Acts 3, Peter told a lame man who had been sitting in the doorway of the church all of his life, “Look at us” and he was healed. Jesus said that we are the salt that preserves and flavours. An empty salt shaker is of little use, but the Lord wants to fill it and fill it so much it overflows. Salt makes people thirsty and preserves. We are supposed to reveal God. The main part of this message is about seeing God, that is literally seeing God “in the flesh” so to speak with our own eyes. Can we really do that? Men have always had Divine encounters and each one has been so awesome, they fell on their faces as dead men. A common response that they received was “fear not”. The angel told Mary that. He told Joseph that. He told Zacharias that, He told Gideon that. This is real folks and we need not be afraid if and when we have a visitation from God. I say that and share this presentation because many”end time prophecies” tell us this shall happen to many people and it is already happening.
Jesus told us in Matthew 5:8 that is it possible to see God, but with certain qualifications. The Greek word used is optanomai that refers to literal vision. This is where the word optometrist comes from. Adam saw God. What did Adam see? There is much conjecture about this as it is with many topics, but the word of God tells us that when He made man in His own image and likeness, the original language uses words like Demuth and Tselem. They describe something like a concrete model or statue—a distinguished shape or model, a carbon copy and even an idol. It was as if God picked up a handful of clay and squeezed it into an upright shape, just like a statue. The Hebrew word to look at is Yatsar. He then “breathed the breaths of lives” (plural) into this being’s nostrils and it was then that the being became a living soul. This act of breathing is Naphath and it describes how someone can puff or inflate something like blowing up a balloon and that it can be a forceful action. Please stop for a moment and ask yourself what a man created in the very image and likeness of God saw for the very first time. Use your imagination as I did. It had to be “the face of God”. I reinforce that statement by directing your attention to another part of scripture that says we are “the apple of His eye”. The Hebrew paints the picture of what is called, “the little man in the eye”—the pupil of the eye. It speaks about intimacy of relationship, of a very close student/teacher relationship—a disciple. It relates to being so close to someone else that each person can see their own reflection in the other person’s eye. I see no problem in stating that Adam actually did “see God” then and later as they strolled together in the garden in the breezy part of the day. Did He take on physical form? Perhaps. Vayera This is a Hebrew word meaning and He appeared. Genesis 18:1 says: This pivotal moment reveals how extraordinary encounters often arrive in ordinary disguise. Abraham’s story teaches us a profound lesson about living with spiritual awareness in our everyday lives. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day and it would have been uncomfortable, but he was alert and ready—a posture that positioned him for a Divine encounter. In our modern rush, we might miss such moments. Yet, this passage invites us to develop what the sages call “spiritual sight”—the ability to recognize Divine opportunities in daily life. Jewish sages believe that this visit from the Lord occurred while Abraham convalesced after his circumcision at 99 years of age. Abraham delighted in offering hospitality to these strangers. Even though he didn’t know who they were, he gave them his best! The Word of God promises that as we give, so shall it be given unto us in good measure. Do not fall into the money trap however. The blessing is more than that. When we bless others, we plant seeds of blessing that will return into our own lives. Hospitality seems to be a lost art in some cultures, especially in the West where the pace of life doesn’t easily lend itself to making time for all that is involved in caring for people in our homes. The Brit Chadashah (New Testament) encourages us to show hospitality to strangers: Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9 We could entertain angels unawares! Hebrews 13:1–2 exhorts us to:
Three men According to the account Abraham entertained three men, two of whom were angels. In the original Hebrew the word anashim is used and that word means men in the plural, but it is clear from the context that it is the Lord who told him that Sarah would have a son. We should look at this now before continuing, because we tend to function by our calendar, whereas God does not. When He says something such as a promise that we hold onto, in His eyes it is already done. There is a Hebrew word called. Mo’adim. It speaks of God’s Appointed Times and Seasons. He said: After sharing a meal together with Abraham, God stated that next year, at the appointed time (mo’ed), they would have a son. The word mo’ed (or mo’adim in the plural form) is used to describe the appointed festival and remembrance times in Leviticus 23. In English, these times are loosely translated as feasts of the Lord, but this is a poor translation, since one is actually a fast. The mo’adim are special times that God has chosen or appointed for a specific purpose. In this case, that purpose is the fulfillment of God’s promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son. Sarah’s initial reaction to this promise was to laugh to herself because she was well beyond childbearing age hence God’s response. We may receive promises from the Lord that perhaps seem impossible, but we should be encouraged by Jesus’ words: I shared that to illustrate two things. One is that everything is possible to us all if we can only believe in the possibilities of the impossible. According to Genesis 15, the word of the Lord came to him in a vision! That chapter describes what he saw as he was in a deep sleep as the sun started to set. Dreams are usually different to visions. One is whilst we are asleep and the other can happen at any time, regardless of our state of sleep. I’ve had some when driving my car. I have been doing something in the natural during the day or night, when suddenly “see something” or have been “physically taken” somewhere. In chapter 17, God appeared to him. The Hebrew word is ra’ah and it describes something that is tangibly visible. In Genesis 18, the Lord appeared to him and we should look at this as it is very intriguing. Adonai appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don’t leave your servant. Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on.” “Very well,” they replied, “do what you have said.” Genesis 18:1-5 He saw three men and had a conversation with them. Who were they? He washed their feet, a sign of respect and hospitality. They then ate a meal or “broke bread” together, speaking of making a covenant. It took some time to prepare that food—and they waited. God revealed His plan to the man He called His friend. |
Moses We now spend much time with Moses. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked... Exodus 3:1-2 When we see a description like the angel of the LORD it often speaks about a Theophane—a pre-incarnate revelation of Jesus. The Hebrew word used describes how something unseen becomes visible, often very suddenly. He literally saw something or someone. There is a difference between seeing something and envisioning something. Saul of Tarsus was on the road to Damascus when a brilliant light appeared and he fell off his horse as he heard someone asking him why he was persecuting “Me”, not “believers”. That was Jesus of course. According to Matthew 25:40-46, what we do to fellow believers, we do to Him. Saul saw something but those with him did not see a thing. We can be in a crowd and see something but no one else does. That was what happened to me when I met the Lord. When anyone has an encounter with God—they know it and it changes their life forever. There are other accounts the bible when people saw something that took them by surprize. We can be going about our normal everyday lives, when something suddenly happens that cuts right across whatever is happening at the time. In Judges 6, Gideon was threshing wheat and the angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him. Unlike many assumptions that Gideon was “weak’ and making feeble excuses, he had a strength within that God saw. He called Gideon a mighty man of valor. That story is not what many think. |
We can ask God to let us see Him as Moses did. He later built the Tabernacle, following Gods very strict and precise instructions as seen in several chapters commencing in Exodus 25 but whilst he was on the mountain, the people worshiped the cast calf (we call it a golden calf). We may try to deny it, but we are created to worship and do so, even if we do not intimately know God. This is not meant to offend anyone, but many churches of all kinds of denominations and persuasions are worshiping their own versions of that cast calf. There are many people in ministry who just should not be there, self appointed pastors who are fleecing the flock, or holding meetings without accomplishing the things Jesus wants. He views such people seriously as seen in Matthew 7:15-23. Please look at the seven churches as seen in the first few chapters of the book of Revelation and compare them with The Church described in Ephesians and in the Book of Acts. In Exodus 33, the Lord refused to go with the people. They had broken covenant—but God had not. He loves His Church and His purpose and desire does not change. He wants to dwell with His people and it is a 24/7/365 non-stop relationship. This is difficult to understand in the natural. He is a spirit and we are spirit beings who have an outer shell called our body in which we live (temporarily). One Spirit is connected to another spirit in the dimension of the spirit. This is why we can find God anywhere and at any time. Jesus met people wherever they were. It may have been at a wedding or funeral, in a market place, on the beach, in someone’s home or walking down a village street. Sometimes it was in a Synagogue or the Temple. We tend to have meetings in a building once or twice a week, where, according to the denomination or that pastor’s way of doing things, manifestations or revelations of God are often not permitted. That stopover at Sinai, important as it was, was only temporary. They were passing through, just as we are passing through and we are little different to the Israelites really. They were there for approximately ten months, but it is quite likely that they only needed to be there for 40 days. In saying “leave this place,” God affirmed the fact that the Israelites belonged in the land originally promised to Abraham—Canaa, not in the Sinai wilderness. Carefully repeated themes in these verses include the idea that Sinai was a place the Israelites did not belong in permanently but rather must eventually leave. See Exodus 3:12, 17; 12:51; 13:3-16; 14:11; 16:3, 6, 32; 18:1; 19:4; 20:2; 29:46; 32:1, 7, 11, 23; 23:20; 32:34 and many other references especially in Numbers and Deuteronomy. Exodus 33 opens up with a statement in which God did not intend to “go with them” any longer, but He intended to honor His covenant and to do that, said that He would send an angel to them. It is not capitalized in the text, so it may not have been an open manifestation of God. That happened later. However, in Exodus 23:20-21, the mention of angel does appear is capitalized in many versions. I am sending an Angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my Name resides in him. Who was that Angel? It is said that we now live in days of grace, which is true, but God never changes according to Malachi 3:6. God is a covenant making and a covenant keeping God, so His covenants with Israel are still valid. I can boldly state that because He says so. Then You spoke to Your faithful ones in a vision and said, “I have conferred power upon a warrior; We can see reference to David and to Jesus there, but those promises also refer to us. I am not a legalist, but Gods promises are conditional upon our obedience.
The Tabernacle had to yet be completed. When it was, it was positioned right in the middle of the camp in such a way that every person, no matter who they were could see it. Until then, Moses took his own tent and pitched it outside the camp, calling it “the Tabernacle of the Congregation” or “the tent of meeting”. Now Moses would take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp, at some distance from the camp. Everyone stood afar off and watched from a distance, but what is sad is that anyone could have walked to that tent—and joined him. The physical manifestation of God’s presence came down and everyone saw it—but their worship was afar. What is sad is that this still happens today. Only one other person joined him and that was Joshua. He was in that tent when God came down and stayed behind after Moses left. He too saw something. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who entered the Promised Land. Caleb’s name does not appear until Numbers chapter thirteen when God told Moses to send the spies into the land. The Exodus account happened around B.C. 1491 and Numbers 13 around B.C. 1400. What happened in that time? This shows me that God is very patient with us. He called those people stiffnecked in Exodus 32:9 because they did not want the relationship of which I often speak. He said that He would destroy them, but was merciful, so Moses became the “go-between” and that was “second best”—but God does not want “second best”. God chose to be indirectly present with them in the future for their benefit, because His intolerance of sin should require him to “destroy them on the way” before they reached the promised land. He spoke to Moses, who spoke to the people, but He really wants to speak directly to each and every person. There is no person today to stand between us and God—no pastor or priest, because Jesus, our Kohen Gadol or Great High Priest made the way possible for us to gain direct personal access to God because of His shed blood. Like Israel, the church is not meant to camp, but we do. We are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit and carriers of the presence of God. He has given us many exceeding great and precious promises that embrace the past, the present and the future, but the vast majority of the church denies any manifestations of God today and live on yesterday’s manna. We argue and debate doctrinal issues so much without really achieving anything and the world sees that and avoids us. I am not being unkind, but simply stating facts that anyone can verify. For example the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the head of the Church of England resigned because of scandals as did Cardinal Pell who died in Rome, but there are many more like Hillsong, T.D. Jakes and others. People like John MacArthur and Justin Peters who are absolute cessationalists and always criticizing others, or control freaks who demand our “submission” (that is ungodly), overemphasize money and false prosperity. Unbelievers do not understand why we are so weak, different and argumentative. They want no part of it because “the church” as they understand it is no different to them. We should offer hope, provide answers that work and reveal Christ to them. We change, but He does not and when those who are open and receptive to God are meeting Him. He is in the business of “turning up”. I shared this not to be judgmental but to hopefully illustrate that God want to reveal Himself to us—but it is on His terms and I believe that we need to possess certain qualities such as a yearning for more as Moses did. |
There is a Hebrew word to look at. It is māṣāʾ. Moses had seen the burning bush, stood before Pharaoh, witnessed the plagues and the fire of God, seen the Red Sea open up before him, ascended the mountain and entered into the cloud and met with God in the tent when God spoke to him face-to-face. As if that were not enough, he asked God for more. There is always more friends. I shall repeat myself. There is always more, so please remain open to the overtures of God. Moses said to the Lord, “You’ve been telling me to lead these people, but you haven’t let me know whom you’re sending with me. You’ve also said, ‘I know you by name, and I’m pleased with you.’ If you really are pleased with me, show me your ways so that I can know you and so that you will continue to be pleased with me. |
Other translations say that God knew him by name. God knows you by your name. This reveals that there is more to a relationship with God than “just getting saved”. We can feel lost in a crowd as if no one knows we even exist, but God knows you. Many times in the gospels, Jesus singled out one person and it was not because He has favorites. He knew all about the woman at the well (she was not the kind of woman we assume). He wanted to dine at Zaccheus’ house. He singled out Lazarus. He singles us out as individuals. God promised to let His presence go with him—and that He would give him rest. His presence is pā·ně and it describes someone’s face, or the front part of the head, the main organs for perception and speech, eyes, mouth, etcetera. Many people talk about laboring for the Lord and about the burdens and pressures of ministry, which exist of course, but the Lord told us in Matthew 11:28 to let Him carry the load and thus give us rest. It does not mean that we can be lazy or haphazard. We are to be diligent and put in some effort—but avoid trying to do His work in our own strength and ability. When we do that, we have rejected the supernatural provision He provides for us to fulfill that assignment. I believe that this is the real reason for burnout and failure. | Exodus eighteen illustrates this. Moses’ father in law, Jethro, heard of what God had done. People need to know that God is alive and well on planet earth and doing something. People are hurting and want answers that work! I know an evangelist in America who is conducting large tent crusades and thousands of people come, driving past churches to attend. Many pastors boycott his meetings, not realizing that God is doing something that could benefit them! Some of those people could go to their churches later, but his invitation to participate is often rejected. Those meetings are characterized by miracles of healing and salvations. You may not have heard of this, but thousands of new believers were baptized in California—thousands, because they had heard what God was doing and came. People are hungry for truth and reality—not religion. The Lord healed them and people were born again in their hundreds. Moses said that he had been an alien in a strange land. Sometimes I feel like an alien, even in many churches, especially when speaking about manifestations of the presence of God. They look at you as if you are a Martian or a leper. |
One of the main reasons is that of control. Another is fear. Be cautious of pastors who demand that you come under “his authority” and demand that you come “under submission.” Divine order is one thing, but man-made rules and demands are another. A common excuse is the demand to “do things decently and in order” when Paul’s letter in 1 Corinthians 12-14 is totally misunderstood. He was correcting error, in that everyone was talking at the same time, or abusing the valid use of the gifts. In essence, it was advising us that everyone can have a valid revelation or word from God but should take their turn in sharing. They weren’t doing that. The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet, so any such revelation is under his control. He or she can choose to share or remain silent. Often times, the Lord gives me words of knowledge or a prophecy that is often rather daunting because of the precise accuracy We can “sit on it” or allow the Holy Spirit to move. If I am a visitor to a meeting, I ask permission to share. On every occasion, the Holy Spirit knows best and reveals it at the right moment. If permission is granted, I share, but if not, I remain silent and it is as simple as that. Agreeably, there are people who are plain weird, but other than that, we cannot or should not try to shut the Holy Spirit down. Unfortunately many pastors have their own agenda and dislike any interruption to their orders of service and program. That is tantamount to telling The Holy Spirit to wait. It is telling Him that He is not really welcomed and when that happens and keeps happening, He usually leaves. From what I have often witnessed, such churches are nothing but nice social clubs who meet in a church building and hold religious services, spend more time in eating and drinking later, but the people are spiritual babies. Visitors who know, witness that and rarely return. Some people come expecting to be touched by God—to be healed, set free, delivered, receive sound solid bible teaching, find answers and so on—never receive it. They came hungry, but were not fed, thirsty but were left dry and I speak of spiritual sustenance of course. Many such churches look at you suspiciously as if you are an intruder. Put this to test for yourself. Visit them. A demonstration of God is what separates the real from the counterfeit; the serious from the game-player. Elijah demonstrated that in 1 Kings 18, when the fire came. If you are rejected then you are in good company. It happened to the prophets, to Jesus, to Peter, John, Paul, Silas and others, so hang in there. You may be doing something right. Jethro made a profound statement that deserves mention. He told Moses: Now I know that Adonai is greater than all other gods, because he rescued those who were treated so arrogantly. Exodus 18:11 Jethro observed something as Moses was ministering to the people and asked, “What are you doing to the people?” He said that what Moses was doing was not good and that he would wear himself out—and wear the people out. Jethro told him to stop doing it all himself, to train people to be able to judge also and to appoint men who had proved themselves to help out. They did not need his permission to do anything. The equivalents today are the various ministry gifts and spiritual gifts that the Lord has given to The Church. One man cannot do it by himself. He must delegate. This does not mean that anyone and everyone can “take their turn”. Unless the person has been appointed and thus anointed by the Lord, they may say nice things but we must look at the outcome. Are lives being impacted? Amateurs turn the genuine seeker away. People need to be fed and this is the role of Godly appointed shepherds. Hebrews five, especially verses 11-14 reveals that immaturity and lack of sound teaching is a serious matter. The flock of God has to be fed with good food, not baby food and the bottle. ...abandon every form of evil, deceit, hypocrisy, feelings of jealousy and slander. In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this “milk” will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life—especially now that you have had a taste of the goodness of the Lord Jehovah and have experienced his kindness. So keep coming to him who is the Living Stone—though he was rejected and discarded by men but chosen by God and is priceless in God’s sight. Come and be his “living stones” who are continually being assembled into a sanctuary for God. For now you serve as holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices that he readily accepts through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:1-5 It is the sheep who bear the lambs. The shepherds (pastors) cannot do that. They should make disciples and bring the flock of lambs to maturity and allow them to bear their own lambs. One thing to consider is that flocks are different. Sheep graze! Pastors cannot eat for them. They graze in different fields and drink from different streams. Some live in hilly country whilst others are in grassy meadows, so each shepherd/pastor should tend the Lord’s sheep accordingly. He should ascertain from the Lord what He wants for that flock at that time and act accordingly. According to the account, Moses listened to that good advice this is what eventually happened. Those men handled things themselves and Moses was only called upon when they needed his assistance. There is a pattern here that is slowly returning to the original pattern of The Church and where it is permitted, God shows up. Moses had a wise and sound approach by saying: Remember that this nation is your people. Exodus 33:13 Servants of God are to reveal clearly established principles and purposes of God rather than being someone who just wants to be in charge or someone who wants his job for its inherent prestige and/or benefits. |
Just before Moses asked God to show Him His glory, he asked something we should all ask, especially those in any form of ministry. It was:
It is part of the ministry of men like John the Baptist who came to “Prepare the way of the Lord”, to prepare others for a special event. We see this in Isaiah 40:3 and Isaiah 45:2. What Moses was asking is very relevant and necessary today. He was asking God to show him how to follow Him, to lead him, to teach him, reveal what He likes or dislikes and all the things we should put foremost in our hearts and minds today. It is a matter of not knowing about God but intimately knowing Him—something the Lord put in my own heart years ago. God responded by saying that His Presence would go up with him (Exodus 33:14). That presence is what we are talking about. The Hebrew word is pā·ně. It is used to speak about the face, the front part of the head including main organs for perception and speech, the eyes and the mouth. It describes someone’s appearance or characteristics. We could think that this would suffice, but as I have said before, we have not even begun to explore all there can be explored. Never settle for the status quo. We have been given a royal invitation to come up hither, or come up higher, so our response should be to accept that invitation and go up. Have you ever felt as if someone is in the room with you? Have you felt as if someone is watching you? I have. Sometimes it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Sometimes there is a sense of excitement, of breathlessness, an expectancy that you cannot explain. Thats His presence. We can be laying in bed at night and get a certain feeling that someone is “calling you”. That could be God. He desires your company and may want to share things with you. If you are not certain, ask a simple question like, “Is that you Lord?” “What would you like me to do?” See what happens if you do and if you actually get up out of bed. God said that His presence would go up with him and His presence can go up with us also—but that is only the starting point. The next time you experience that, ask the Lord what He wants. Ask Him if He would like to talk and then start to listen. Don’t pray—listen. That is no strange fantasy. Scriptures tell us that anyone who has ears to hear should listen. We can hear in the physical as well as with our spiritual ears and also see in like manner. We may need to train ourselves, but it is real and very possible. Don’t pray. That often becomes introverted and selfish. Stop what you are doing and welcome Him. If you do not do this already, I suggest keeping a dated journal and have your bible handy. |
What we see next is astounding. Moses had already experienced much with God, but I think all it did was whet his appetite. He wanted more. I am not content with my own experience and Like Moses, I wanted more. Way back in my early experience, I was in my bedroom at night and raving on about how God looked, what His voice sounded like and I can honestly say that I have only heard the audible voice of God twice that I know of. Some people try to tell us that they have continual experiences like that, but I doubt that, not to the extent they say. Test the spirits. Anyhow, here I was talking rather immaturely and asking God to let me see him. I kept saying, “I want to see you, I want to see you” and really did not know a thing. Suddenly a “ball of light” appeared in the middle of the room and slowly started to expand. It scared me! My heart started pounding furiously and I became breathless. I fled out of the room and slammed the door shut. A few moments later as I regained my composure, I blurted out something like, “What was that?” I asked the question what would have happened if I had remained in the room and the Lord gently said, “I am glad you did not stay there”. I do not know what that was about and it has never happened again. Please listen carefully. Some people are afraid of the unknown. They are scared that something could happen to them, or of “losing control”. Paul said that the spirit of the prophet is subjected to the prophet so the genuine is always “under our own control”. It is wise to be cautious of course and we are supposed to test things, but do not discard truth. Know what the word of God really says. People who oppose things like the manifestations of the Spirit, speaking in tongues etcetera often say things like, “Well... you don’t know what you will get” or “That’s of the devil”. You’ve heard them. That’s dangerous speech, bordering on blaspheming the Holy Spirit and such an attitude is like telling Jesus He is a liar! He said: Do you know of any parent who would give his hungry child, who asked for food, a plate of rocks instead? Or when asked for a piece of fish, what parent would offer his child a snake instead? If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him?” Learn how to discern and learn how to respond. Samuel is a prime example. He was born when the leader of God’s people lacked discernment and was living far below the standard expected of a man in his position—and the church entire nation suffered. The child Sh’mu’el continued ministering to Adonai under ‘Eli’s direction. Now, in those days Adonai rarely spoke, and visions were few. Once, during that period, ‘Eli had gone to bed—his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that it was hard for him to see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out; and Sh’mu’el had lain down to sleep in the sanctuary of Adonai, where the ark of God was.
The Ark of the covenant was in the most holy place where the shekinah presence of God was manifest and He would commune with His people. It speaks of glory and the word in Hebrew is kabowd. It speaks of glory and honour. It speaks about abundance, riches, splendour, dignity, reputation and reverence. On the other side of the veil stood the table of shewbread, the altar of incense and the golden candlestick that was to never go out. Its oil had to be replenished and its wicks had to be trimmed every day. This is important. It is not a simple religious exercise, because oil speaks of the anointing. It is a type of the Holy Spirit. This speaks of revelation knowledge and illumination by the Spirit and it was the only source of light because no natural light existed inside that part of the tent. Man is designed to worship and such worship is to be in both spirit and truth—not in the natural. When spirit and truth are removed, the natural predominates and that opens us up to an alternative or substitute. Deception then comes in and this is on the increase in our midst. One of the tools the enemy used was misquoting what God had indeed spoken and as a result Eve was deceived. When Jesus was asked in Matthew 24 about end time events, the first sign and warning He gave was not to be deceived. Paul told us that deception would abound in the last days, so I hope by laboring the point, I have revealed how important it is to rightly divide the word of truth. The devil does not mind if anyone reads a bible or quotes bible verses, because he can do that. He does not care if we attend a church or hold religious observances. What does concern him is when people actually believe and put it all to work—when illumination and revelation is present—because of the anointing, but the anointing has to be regularly topped up every day. In the Hebrew, one meaning for Eli’s name (ʿEliy) is ascension. A man in his position should be able to lead God’s people higher, but he failed. He may have been old, but physical age is irrelevant, because the spirit is ageless. His spiritual eyes lost their vision, therefore it was hard for him to see in the spirit—because he never replenished the oil. Jesus spoke in Matthew 25 of the ten virgins, saying that all ten—all ten were asleep when the bridegroom arrived. Five had totally run out of oil. The other five, who I once thought were good examples, did not have enough to share! One evening, The Lord asked me which group I would like to be in and I very quickly blurted out, “One of the 5 wise ones” and He replied, “Wouldn’t you rather be the watchman?” He shared that without “revelation or understanding, via the conduit of the Holy Spirit” we form opinions and doctrines that may not be totally correct. We then fall short of the mark. Eli was a member of the family of Ithamar, the fourth son of Aaron, who acted as both judge and high priest in Israel. He lived at Shiloh in a dwelling adjoining the Tabernacle. The priestly lineage was very important. No man could assume office unless he possessed certain qualifications as detailed by God in Leviticus 21. This included raising sons, to ensure that the priestly line was kept pure. He needed to have:
For a more detailed description please read the page Qualifications for priesthood. Click here. When Moses built the Tabernacle, God appointed two men Bezaleel and Aholiab to oversee the project, because they were filled with the Spirit. And Adonai spoke to Mosheh, saying, God linked that anointing with doing all the work involved. They possessed certain natural talents and abilities, but it was the anointing that “made it work”. To be truly effective in any ministry venture, we must be similarly anointed. Jesus was. He commanded the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, which He did on the Day of Pentecost before they continued His work and we are no different. We need Him too, so please make a comparison between the biblical accounts and what is happening in the church today. Look for such qualities in every church you visit. Regardless of any denomination or ministry, the five ascension gifts listed in Ephesians four and the gifts of the Spirit as listed in 1 Corinthians twelve to fourteen are starting points and should exist today. They do not need to reside in “one church”, but are needed in a certain location. The bible speaks of churches in peoples’ homes, in a city or a particular geographical region and that...is the criteria. Eli did not fully measure up to those requirements. This lamp or light had not yet gone out, but it had started to fade away. Once we start compromising, the lamp may continue to shine temporarily, but eventually fades away. Large mega churches and ministries may have started well, but are now running only on their reputation and past history under the inertia of the organization itself, but they shall eventually grind to a halt. The people wanted to be like the world around them and live like them, so asked for a king and Saul was the answer. Unless change happens, when people start rejecting Gods ways and provisions, a substitute starts to take root. Once people start tearing a page out of the bible, where does it stop and what replaces that? The glory fades away. In 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines captured the Ark and his daughter in law gave birth to a son. She named the child I-Khavod [without glory], saying, “The glory has departed from Isra’el”; because the ark of God had been captured. 1 Samuel 4:21 Samuel ministered to the Lord almost from birth. He was transformed from naʿar (meaning boy) to nābîʾ (meaning prophet) and learned to listen to God’s voice calling him. We can grow, mature and increase. We never stop learning. What we see with him and with Moses is a principle that has not changed. Growth and expansion is one of those principles. God does not want us to remain perpetual babies and commanded, “Be fruitful and multiply”. Here are a few principles:
|
This is the crux of the matter. Moses asked God to reveal His glory. And he said, “Show me, pray, Your glory.” There is much to glean from this. In verse 20, the Hebrew lit’ot et panay when translated to English means You shall not be able to see My face (and live), but in verse 11, we see something different: And YHVH would speak to Moses face-to-face as a man speaks to his fellow. The Hebrew there is panin el panim. In Exodus 24, Moses and the elders saw God! What happened? What made such a change? Was it that cast calf? I think so. God had not long revealed Himself, His nature , His glory and His desire for relationship with His people, when most of them rebelled. God’s heart is still to reveal Himself to us, but it cannot happen immediately, nor as I believe in its full extent until we are able to handle it. There is an order of progression involved. God had revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush—but he did not know His Name. All He told Moses was I Am. To see a comprehensive list of the Names of God, please visit the page I Am. Click here. God has “many names”, each one revealing part of His nature, character and power and Moses had not yet seen them all. Of necessity, we have to sometimes repeat ourselves and this is acceptable, because we can only look at one facet at a time. When we look at a diamond and slowly rotate it in a source of light, different spectrums of that same light are revealed. We can look at some truth that way. It is the same word of God, but we see one part only, then another and gradually get the full picture, one layer at a time, like onion peeling when one layer is opened to reveal another. Then he said, “Please, show me Your esteem.” Are you enjoying this so far? Please let us know Send us an Email
Please look at the word proclaim or qā·rā in the Hebrew. It has several powerful meanings and is something seen in Isaiah 40, that speaks about the ministry of John the baptist. A voice cries out: Such things affect us today. Some of the various meanings include summon, call, read aloud, proclaim, announce, make a public calling out of information or an event, to be appointed, worship, invoke, chosen, select or prefer someone one for a duty or task. John came with a clear and resounding message that in today’s language, could be said as being, “Get ready for Messiah’s return”. God told Moses that He would declare or proclaim His Name. Do we not invoke the Name of Jesus in prayer and ministry? Do we not talk about the goodness of God, or the esteem of God? I hope I am revealing how important it is to understand what happened in those Old Testament accounts, because they do relate to us. God told him that no man could look on the face of God and live, but apparently he had already “seen God” before, so what does this mean? The Hebrew word rā·ʾā that I mentioned before does mean see, show, look at each other, reveal, discover and so on. Other meanings include to find delight, consider, to learn , to test by observation to pay close attention, to be personally involved in something, to experience something—and to look someone in the face, especially when he is revealing his plan or purpose. Christians should adopt the attitude of dying to self, of crucifying the old nature and of “putting on Christ”. These things are not mere religious observances and nice sounding cliches, but a matter of life and death. In essence God was telling us that we cannot see Him and keep living the old life. And יהוה said, “See, there is a place with Me! And you shall stand on the rock. Exodus 33:21 I’ve heard many sermons stating that this rock was Jesus and tend to agree with them, but there is more. That place is mā·qôm. It often refers to a physical place, or site. It speaks of a position in a governmental or military structure or an office, such as that of a prophet or an apostle (see Ephesians 4:8-15). It refers to a point on the compass to give us precise directions. It means seated, or to take a sitting position of rest and authority. Interestingly, there is a similarity between this and the words Jesus used in John 14 when He said that He was going to prepare a place for us. This was said in context when He spoke of sending the Holy Spirit. |
God told Moses to stand on the rock. And Adonai said, “See, there is a place with Me! And you shall stand on the rock. Exodus 33:21 God told him that there is A Place with Him. He offers us relationship, blessing, safety and provision and makes it possible for us to have that, but Moses had to stand. We also need to take a stand. When we speak of that rock, we often think of Jesus as the rock as I said earlier, but there is something else to consider. That rock on which Moses stood waiting for God’s glory to pass by was on top of Mount Sinai. That’s where God have him His word and He said, “There is a place right here where I am”. The lesson for us is to “stand on the word of God”. When he was standing, God moved. And it shall be, while My esteem passes by, that I shall put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand while I pass by. Exodus 33:22 When God’s glory started to pass by, He put Moses inside that crevice in that rock. The Hebrew suggests it was a fissure or cave and this inference is that Moses had to be “inserted” into the rock, or “become as one” with it. This reinforces my belief and earlier comments that everything must line up with the revealed word of God—and what He does. That is implied by mention of His hand. We can have many kinds of “experiences” and “revelations” but the proof is in what God’s word really says and what happens when it is applied. We then have a solid foundation on which we build our lives and belief structures. Many preachers tell us, “Stand on the word”, or, “What does the word say?” Commentaries may be great, but they are commentaries nevertheless. They are often man’s opinions on parts of the bible and it is like analyzing a piece of steak to accurately discuss the kind of cut, such as rump, or sirloin, but never actually eating it. God’s word is likened to manna. It is our spiritual food and spiritual malnutrition is the result of not feeding on it. God then said: “Then I shall take away My hand and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33:23 This is most interesting. I have been laboring on “seeing” God and believe that we can and do “see something” such as parts of the body as I have—but I have never seen a literal face. It certainly was like seeing someone’s head, but I cannot tell you the colour of the eyes or hair. I believe that it is because of the goodness and mercy of God that He does not openly reveal Himself that way to us, because we could not handle what we see. What then did Moses see? He saw a hand and a back, but God told him then that he would not be able to see His face, unlike the time that they all ate and drank when God invited Moses and the elders up the mountain. It may be because there are different kinds of experiences and it may be because we tend to build monuments. Entire denominations are built on an experience. The Asuza Street outpouring of the Holy Spirit led to the formation of Pentecostal churches, but today there are many different kinds of “Pentecostal churches”—and most have abandoned the presence of the Holy Spirit today. When Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses on the mount of transfiguration, Peter wanted to build a monument to the moment, but it was not to happen again. Many of us still try to build monuments. During their journey, the Israelites followed the cloud because they could see it. Watchmen were appointed to look for any movement and sounded the appropriate alarm and they had to then follow that cloud. It once led them to a place where they encountered poisonous snakes. God commanded Moses to make a brass snake and erect it on a pole, instructing the people to stand and gaze upon it if they were bitten so that they would not die. The cloud moved on and they had to move on, leaving the snakes behind, but they took a tool that God used once only with them and 400 years later were worshiping that brass snake. They made an idol out of something God did only once. In 2 Kings 18:4, the man of God ground it to dust and called it a Nehushtan. Many churches had a move of God once and keep trying to “get it back” and keep doing what they did then, but do not consider if God has moved on. They have their own versions of Nehushtan. Without unfolding revelation we all do it. Something interesting happened. In Exodus 34:29, when Moses came down from the mount, his face was shining—but he was unaware of it. The people were afraid when they saw that. The next few verses tell us that when he was talking to the people, he put a veil over his face so that they could not see it, but when he was speaking with God he removed the veil. I have heard sermons saying that this happened because the people could not or would not look and this become part of what God wanted, but it is more likely that he did that so because he did not want them to see the glory fade away! The lesson for us it that we can experience the glory when we are in the presence of God, but it fades away and we need to return. Paul spoke of this in 2 Corinthians 3, saying: Are we beginning to sound like those who speak highly of themselves? Do you really need letters of recommendation to validate our ministry, like others do? Do we really need your letter of endorsement? Of course not! For your very lives are our “letters of recommendation,” permanently engraved on our hearts, recognized and read by everybody. Without Jesus and without the understanding that the Holy Spirit gives, we are no different. But it is not just about us. These things are not so we can have a good time and experience certain things. They are great and wonderful indeed, but we are meant to shine like Moses did so that others can “see God”. That light is inside us. Jesus said that we are the light of the world. We cannot “make it shine” we “let it shine”. Perhaps God was saying that one single encounter is temporary and fades away, likening that to seeing His receding back. We can know a person very well by spending quality time with them and one day see that person from a distance or catch a glimpse of them from behind and instantly recognize them. Perhaps Moses, like us, could not contain or understand everything about God—that there was more yet. God renewed the tablets that Moses broke. His word is paramount—it cannot be changed. It was after then, that God descended in the cloud and “Proclaimed the Name of the Lord”. It is most interesting that Moses went up as high as he could go, but no matter how high he went—God had to come down. Imagine being there and being put into a certain place by God as He came down and passed you by, literally, as a man would do as he walked past you—reached out with His hand and removes it after He has passed by—but would not let you see his face. It is said that Moses saw His afterglow. If we think of a glorious sunset, that is an afterglow. It is temporary, but the sun rises the next day and this is something we must always keep in mind concerning the things of God. I have touched on dreams and visions. A dream comes in the night and there are times when we need to understand what it means if there is one. Interpretation is sometimes possible and there are various ways to do so. Certain things can have meaning. For example a motor car can sometimes speak of a ministry or a church. A restaurant with good healthy food could speak of sound teaching whereas a fast food outlet could speak of poor teaching or immaturity. If you need assistance in this area, you are welcome to share. I might be able to assist you.
It was after then, that God descended in the cloud and “Proclaimed the Name of the Lord”. It is most interesting that Moses went up as high as he could go, but no matter how high he went—God had to come down. Imagine being there and being put into a certain place by God as He came down and passed you by, literally, as a man would do as he walked past you—reached out with His hand and removes it after He has passed by—but would not let you see his face. It is said that Moses saw His afterglow. If we think of a glorious sunset, that is an afterglow. It is temporary, but the sun rises the next day and this is something we must always keep in mind concerning the things of God. I have touched on dreams and visions. A dream comes in the night and there are times when we need to understand what it means if there is one. Interpretation is sometimes possible and there are various ways to do so. Certain things can have meaning. For example a motor car can sometimes speak of a ministry or a church. A restaurant with good healthy food could speak of sound teaching whereas a fast food outlet could speak of poor teaching or immaturity. If you need assistance in this area, you are welcome to share. I might be able to assist you. If you would like to see some personal testimonies, please visit the pages Heaven, The Gates of hell and From the gates of hell to the door of splendour. |
Subscribe to our Email publcations
Our ministry is registered with the Australian Government
Site Map :: Privacy Policy :: Permissions :: Subscribe to email teachings :: bashanministries@mac.com
Bashan Ministries ABN 83 173 400 921
PO Box 109 Stirling South Australia 5152
© 2021/2023 All rights reserved
