The Tabernacle

For just a few fleeing moments, too few they were, I sat immersed in a dimension of the presence of the Lord my soul longed for, but never tasted of in this way.

Until now.

Amidst 80 or so others, I sat high on a Scottish Loch affectionately known as Loch Insh. I was in the highlands of Scotland. And here since the 6th century, worship to God had been uttered from mouths of a northern gentile people.

What God had revealed of himself in a little Irish town called Bangor in the 5th century, was now washing upon the shores of Scotland & soon Western barbaric Europe.

Infact the presence of God that was so longed for, yearned for & sought for with every part of the mind, soul & body, was rewarded; & for 400years a well was opened where ‘springs of living water flowed’ in unprecedented levels. It was from this ancient well, that I sat, arrested by the presence of God.

The atmosphere was so clear in this set apart place. The space between heaven & earth was wonderfully thin & so easily connected with. It was almost immediate. I did not struggle to breath as I had in other encounters with the presence of God, but instead quite the opposite! With such ease & lightness, I sucked in great ‘chunks’ of his presence…only sensing with my mind in that moment a very small portion of all I was experiencing.

In fact like a slow release time bomb, I have since become increasingly aware of so much more that was part of those fleeting moments that day at Loch Insh. I can only describe that what was imparted to my body, mind & spirit, has over these days since awoken within me emerging with such wonder.

I tasted that day, the gorgeous, life impacting inheritance left by a people who wanted for nothing else but the presence of God, & were rewarded. It was such a concentrated zone, but where concentrated often means intense & strong, this was clear, filling, light & wonderfully sweet.

What an inheritance to leave the generations that would follow after them!

The Bible describes the presence of God in two ways. There is the general, ever present, filling the earth presence of God. Romans 1:20 testifies that God’s presence “has been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”

But God also chose to place his presence in a specific way & location. In the Old Testament it was the Tabernacle & Temple he chose as his dwelling place. In the New Testament he chose the human body of a believer. In both cases, He chose a specific place to dwell.

In Matthew 6:10 Jesus shows his disciples how to pray. He exorts them to pray, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What is in heaven? God, his kingdom, his will; says this verse. What makes up his kingdom? Hebrews 8: 2 declares, “There He (Jesus) ministers in the holy place, the true Tabernacle of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.”

Part of what makes up God’s Kingdom is a “Tabernacle of worship”, a holy place built by the Lord where he dwells in praises of his people.

So when we pray as instructed by Jesus, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, we are praying also for a place on earth where the King of Glory may dwell.

Tabernacles, like his presence, are expressed in two ways, within us & within a geographical location. To reject this idea is perhaps agreeing with Replacement Theology, which suggests we replace everything concerning Israel with ourselves, including rejecting the Old Testament. Jesus did not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. There is a difference between doing away with something & fulfilling it!

As I experienced the beauty of his holiness that day at Loch Insh, I continued my journey in knowing God & learning what it means for me & my body to become such a place where His beauty might rest & dwell.

The principles & lessons learnt in administering geographical spaces for over some 5 years now in many different countries of the world, have helped me appreciate & grow an understanding of what it means for the King of Glory to consider dwelling within me.

I have needed both ways of Tabernacle, so may I suggest is a growing world of seekers & lovers of Jesus! Perhaps then, we shall also, as many saints who have gone before us, leave a beautiful inheritance for our children & children’s children!

In a few weeks, it is Shavout (Feast of Weeks), known in the West as Pentecost. This was the time when in Acts 2, God chose to come & dwell in men.

God did something that day, He had never done before. He moved location.

Instead of chosing a tent (Tabernacle) or solid stone Temple to dwell in, He chose the body of mankind. This was His new Temple (1 Corinthians 6:19).

What a radical thing God did. Unprecedented. God moved in a new way & did a new thing! This was a stunning moment in time. This was a moment in time long prophesised & forecast.

In Biblical & Jewish tradition, the Priests were a chosen group of people who were seperated from the people, for the one purpose to draw near to God, to do the work of the Tabernacle & to then stand before the people to serve them (Numbers 16:9).

The Priests were made up of two groups, Priests & Levites. It was the role of the Levites to do the “service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders” (Numbers 7:9). This stunning moment in time at Shavout (Pentecost) was forecast here in the role of the Levites.

The holy things that were carried on their shoulders was the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the presence of the Lord to the people of Israel. When the people of Israel saw the Ark of the Covenant on the shoulders of the Levites, they were seeing the presence of God carried in man.

God was giving us a prophetic echo of what would come.

It is said of us by the disciple Peter, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him..” (1 Peter 2:9)

The glory of God dwelling in man is a big deal to God.

When God pours himself into man, things happen. But always preceeding this, is a priesthood who will pay the price to seperate themselves from the stuff of men, draw near to God & to minister not only to people but to God.

It was for over 30 years day & night that the Priests offered sacrifices of praise in the Tabernacle of David before Solomon built the Temple.

It was for 7 weeks that the disciples of Jesus, met together day & night to worship God before God’s spirit came & dwelt in the new Temple, the bodies of men.

It was for 400 years that the celtic monks of Bangor Ireland, met together day & night to worship God, sporning a move of God in them, that saw Europe recieve Jesus for the first time.

And it was in 1906 for 15 years, in Azusa St, Los Angeles, people met together day & night to worship God, beginning a revival in the hearts of men that would birth the Pentecostal Missions movement.

Charles Perham and later William Seymour (leaders in this place) prophesied the return of the glory cloud coming in a greater outpouring 100 years after the revivial, 2006-2010. The saints of Azusa Street even declared that 2008 would be the year of preparation and 2009 the beginning of the outpouring.

And so here we are, but weeks away from Shavout. All over the world, God has been stirring his ‘priests’ day & night to worship Him.

Within us is the dwelling place of God. The Tabernacle is the womb of revival. We are that Tabernacle, that womb.

God always leaves His fingerprints, echoes. He is doing a new thing & it has been forecast just as it was in the Scriptures.

The presence of God is coming in a greater way. On whom will He rest & dwell on?

Where He rests & dwells, changes the world. History testifies to this!

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, And to enquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4

The one thing.

In 2004, in the midst of some of the darkest days of my life, I found myself by the hand of God, living for 6 weeks in a Tabernacle in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was during this time, that I received a word that would define my life.

I was introduced for the first time in my life to the idea of ministering to the Lord. I was a missionary kid, so I knew all about ministering FOR the Lord, but to consider that we could minister TO the Lord, was to become a reality that would forever change my life & its course.

This has become the one thing I desire. My pursuit, to find out what it means to minister to the Lord & do it.

Part of ministering to the Lord is to behold His beauty. The word behold here means not only to gaze at, but also to prophesy. What we declare, effects what what we see.

The one thing I have desired is to know the way into His presence, into the inner courts especially without external assistence (ie music). This personal pursuit has determined everything about my life & it is this personal, individual God history that can never be shared or given away.

Others may taste of the fruit of our personal God history, but they can not share in it. This is an intensely personal thing, yet it is out of this that our lives are shaped & defined. To minister to Him, to love Him personally, not only corporately. And it is to this that we are all invited.

Ministering to Him, loving Him was the first & greatest commandment said Jesus. What an incredible, humbling thing to consider that we can minister to Him, the King of Kings!

As we do this, God is redefined & so are we! We become a transformed people from ministering to Him.

This is the one thing. Longing, yearning, wanting somehow to minister to Him.

Greetings from London!

After 3 1/2 weeks in Germany, we’ve just arrived in the UK. Today we shared with the Chinese Church of London. We had a great time. Many made decisions to pursue the adventure of walking with Jesus.

As we were driven home, our host who works as a financial manager here in London was sharing of his experience over these last months since the global economic crisis hit. A very interesting discussion!

But with the conversation in full swing as we drove by Buckingham Palace & the glamour of Kensington, I grew increasingly uncomfortable. My mind, focus & spirit drawn more & more from an awareness of the presence of God to an awareness of the world & systems of men. My spirit began to cry out.

In this time of change, we don’t need any new heroes or new structures! We simply need a bigger revelation of the majesty, power, and compassion of Christ Jesus.

We can magnify the stuff of men. We can magnify ourselves. In fact we can magnify anything we want to. But where will that lead us?

Or we can magnify Jesus! And then we are in the realm of God & this is where the real action, the real adventure, the real life begins!

God is setting the scene for the miraculous in the western world on a scale we have not seen in some time. It is an invitation to a bigger revelation of Jesus Christ!

“For I will give the command and shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.”  Amos 9:9

We live in the era of grace. Thank God we do! In this era, God continues to shake us all. The year started with Israel in war & being shaken, & so too the nations as Amos prophesized. Here downunder, the bushfire threat esculates again this week as hot weather returns. Nationwide the effects of being sifted are being felt. This is what times such as these do.

I was in the shops the other day & the attendant said to me how refreshing it was to see the kindness of people in the midst of this incredible tradgey that now has claimed over 200 lives & over 2000 homes. She looked at Joel-Mark & I, & said how comforting it is to see kindness emerging from people as we raise children in this society.

There is always the good to emerge in the shaking. Perhaps ultimately this is the very heart of God. Good. He is good says the Bible. He is good, and all He does is for good. I see his goodness in this verse, when He says, “Yet not ONE true kernel will be lost.” Not one lost.

Jesus Christ the hope of glory, is emergin in us during these times. Christ in us. We are His tabernacle..His dwelling place and He is wanting to emerge. He is wanting to be for us, what has been lost, eaten by the locusts or shaken from us. He can & will be what He claims to be… everything! This is now an opportunity to discover that!

In these times of shaking, we are invited again to give God space to discover him in this. God said to Joshua, “Since you have never travelled this way before, they (the Levitical Priests) will guide you. Stay about a half mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you & the ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.” (Joshua 3:4)

It struck me how needed it is that we give God space to move. It is easier to see something like an ark when there is a bit of distance. It is a reminder that God asks for space in our lives.

God is moving, worldwide. He is taking us to a place we have not been before on a whole lot of levels. Ultimately, he is taking us to that place of Jesus’ return. He wants us ready… hence part of the purpose of the shaking.

At no other time in the history of the world has their lived so many people on planet earth as now. Of this number, 40% of the world’s population remain to hear of Jesus. Jesus said that when the gospel had been preached to all the world, then He would come (Matt 24:14). We have never been this close to reality. Some mission agencies are talking of finishing as organisations within years.

Jesus is coming. He wants us ready & sifting is one way we can get ready.

He is good. Jesus in us is emerging. Let Him have space to emerge.

As I write these words now, bushfires of the likes of no others in the history of this nation Australia, still remain out of control.

This ‘inferno’ has gotten within 15kms of our home. Nearly 200 people have been burned alive, 5000 people homeless, 1000+ homes destroyed. These are big numbers for a nation’s whose population is but 20 million.

It is as such that our ‘cousins’ (nicknamed because of geography not relation) in New Zealand have flown over some 150 firefighters & the Australian Army has been deployed to help bring the fires under control. Forensic police now sift through ruins seeking for bodies on a level that is unprecendented in Australian history.

As fear & anxiety have risen in the atmosphere that is filled with black smoke & burning embers, I have sought the Lord. As I have waited on him, over & over one thing has echoed in my spirit.
 
Amongst the Australian indiginous Aboriginal peoples, it is common knowledge that before the white man came & settled in this land, they would intentionally set fire to areas of the land & let it burn.

They knew this land & they knew it was not tamed, nor could it be tamed. They had learnt how to live in & with this sunburnt land. They learnt some of its secrets & blessings. They lived with its terror & strength. And from this, grew a respect & love for this great southland.

As a child I had the priviledge of spending a small part of my childhood amongst these precious people. I learnt an astounding thing from them… that when they burnt the land, it birthed life.

Death gives birth to life. In God’s kingdom, it is also true. No more so than in the life of Jesus Christ, whose death brings us life. With God we are always to look for the ressurrection life in what He does. It is not about the death. It is about the power that raised Jesus from the dead, and this power was God who chose over & over again in the Scriptures the image of fire to represent his presence to us.

But the thing that has echoed in my spirit these last days has been the astounding fact, that in Aboriginal land knowledge, only certain seeds are activated by fire. No matter what natural force or climate hits these seeds, it will not be activated. The only thing that activates the seed is fire. Until that time comes, it lays dormant.

God knows what it takes for His seed to be activated. He is the fire.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.” (John 10). He is life. He is coming! Jesus is coming!

Life is coming! Out of ashes, out of drought, out of the shadow of death, life comes. Our land teaches us this. So did the life of Jesus!

“Yet there shall be a space between you & it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:4

This morning I awoke to these words, “There shall be a space between you & it.” These words rang like a gonging bell in my mind & spirit over & over. God had my attention.

Moses, the previous great leader of Israel was dead. Now Joshua had been released to lead them, after 40 years of assisting Moses & being in the Tabernacle. (Ex 33:11) Joshua was about to lead the people of Israel over into the land that God had chosen. What a great moment! But first they had to cross over the River Jordan. Joshua’s instruction to this massive group of people was simple… “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, & the priests, the Levities, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place & go after it.” (Jos 3:3)

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was the place on earth that God first chose to dwell & upon this, his name was proclaimed (1 Chron 13:6). Simply put, the ark was where the Lord was, & this ark was housed in the Tabernacle. So here is Joshua telling the people to look for the presence of the Lord. What is incredible is that God, the King of the Universe, chose to dwell here & have men carry him! These men called Priests & Levites, had been set apart from the people to be near the Lord (check out Numbers 16:9). This was a prophetic picture of what God purposed in his heart when the Holy Spirit of God came in Acts 2 & chose the temporary bodies of men to be the way in which He was carried. (By the way, the word Tabernacle is Hebrew for ‘tent’ – which is a temporary dwelling). Peter, the disciple of Jesus said, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a royal priesthood..” (1 Peter 2:5). We now have the honor & responsibility to carry the presence of the Lord.

The ark was on the move. Joshua wanted the people to know this & see this. But he also wanted them to know how to move with the moving ark. God is on the move, just as He was then, so he is now. And it is His heart for us to know how to move with Him. If we are a people of God, we had better get used to a mindset & lifestyle of being on the move! The Vatican in the 1960’s knew this when they defined the Church as “The people of God on a journey.”

Joshua’s instruction was clear in how the people were to move with a moving God, “There shall be a space between you & it, about two thousand cubits by measure.” In the Hebrew language, numbers also carry meanings. I pondered what was the big deal about two thousand cubits? What was God saying here about moving with Him? I found only two times in the Bible when the round figure of two thousand appeared. One is here; the other is in Numbers 35:5. In both cases, it related to the Levities. I find it interesting that since the year 2000(note the number), the message of God restoring the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16-17) erupted globally & with it the birth of Tabernacles & Houses of Prayer & Praise. For years a generation has assisted Moses type leaders, learning the disciplines of waiting on the Lord & being in his presence. They were being trained in what it meant to carry the presence of a God who is ever on the move! They are a Joshua generation but also a Levitical generation who love to worship God, especially with instruments & cymbals just like in the glorious, heady days of King David & the Tabernacle of David. ( 1 Chron 25:1)

The call of Joshua to the people of Israel was to give God space as he moved. Why? So that “you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” (3:4) God wants us to know the way by which we must go. We must go. We are beckoned to move. Why? Because there is a way to be taken which we have no gone before. God is moving in new ways. He is summoning us to move. We are invited again to give Him space and as we do this will be know how to walk a way we have not gone before. It is an adventure into the unknowns with a supernatural God who is wanting to bring to fulfillment words that He has long prophesized over individuals, nations & moments in history. Are we prepared to give Him space? Are we prepared to be the royal priesthood who will carry the presence of the moving God into a land he has promised for us?

In Germany, a group of people affectionately called the ‘Tossies’ (Church in Tübingen who we walked with when we lived there), would set aside all of the month of January to give God space. They would do this by fasting food & gathering together to pray & wait on the Lord. In February, a community we are walking alongside of here in Australia, Christian City Church (called C3), have set aside the month of February to do the same. Interestingly, this past month of January & now February, the Lord has invited us to give him space through fasting. While we have fasted food & work on certain days in January, we sense now February’s fast may involve ‘screens’ (specifically not watching somethings on TV). The Hebrew word ‘space’ used here in Joshua 3:4 means “space in place & time”. The point is not the fast, but the giving to God the space & place that would otherwise be taken up by these things. The point is to give space to the ark, His presence, & go after it. As we do this we will know the way by which we must go. The Lord has shown his hand, & it is into a way we have not passed before! I invite you to join with us & to even tell us if God is also beckoning you to this in February.

The presence of the Lord is moving. Will we be a people of God who will move with Him, His way, into a place we have not gone before?

Yesterday we were robbed. While we were out doing some shopping, someone broke into our house stealing money & all my gold jewellery, except that which I was wearing. As we cleaned up after the burglary last night, a scritpure (the living presence of the Lord) echoed thru my being.. “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.  This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.  Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” (Heb 12:25-27)

There is an invitation from the Father’s heart to us all in these days of shaking. In a sense it is a challenge also. In the place of need, can we seek Him for Him, not only or for our need? In the six years now since He birthed the idea of Tabernacle within us, in every moment of desperate need & despair, He invited us again & again to minister to Him, to adore Him, to crown Him. Pursuing Him for Him, not for our needs. It is not that our needs are not important to Him, on the contrary what is important to us is important to Him. But the real worship that touches & ministers to His heart, is that which comes from a place of deep need with thankfulness & humility. Our wellbeing is HIS focus. His wellbeing is OURS! This is the invitation in the day of shaking.

But equally challenging is when the need is satisfied. Do we still long for Him, just for Him? To yearn for His face, not just what comes from His hands. God wants to give us glory (John 17:22), but what’s the glory for? To place on the Master. He is Worthy. He is King of Kings. He is Lord of Lords. He should have the crown. Both dissatisfaction and satisfaction can engross & dissuade us from loving Him for Him. I have been witness to both this past week.

Malachi prophesied, “The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple..  For He is like a refiner’s fire and like laundererer’s soap… He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” (3:1-3) We are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5). The sons of Levi made up part of the Priesthood. They were called out to be near the Lord, to do the work of the Tabernacle & to then serve the congregation. (Num 16:9) But they also knew that purity & being purified was intensely part of this. This is our inheritance as believers in Yeshua, Jesus the Jew. I believe that the Lord is truly inviting us to understand what this really means in these days. When Peter said, we are a royal priesthood, as a Jew this is in his mind. It is also in the mind of God, who ordained this. We live for & love Him first. This is the first & greatest command said Jesus. This is what touched Jesus when the woman came & broke the alabaster jar pouring oil over Him. It did a “good thing TO HIM” (Mark 14:6). Loving him in righteousness. This is the terrain of the Kingdom that cannot be destroyed. This is the acceptable worship which remains in the day of shaking.

“Then the churches had rest throughout all Judea & Galilee & Samaria, & were edified; & walking in the fear of the Lord, & in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, multiplied.”
Acts 9:31

These words have been echoing in my spirit for some weeks now… “Walking in the fear of the Lord & in the comfort of the Holy Spirit”.

How differently we walk, when we do so knowing the fear of the Lord! I have observed in my own life & in the lives of others, that there is a very different way of walking after experiencing the terrifying, sobering reality we call the ‘fear of the Lord.’ Those who have encountered this aspect of the presence of the Lord are never the same again. For it is indeed a terrifying thing, the fire of God (Hebrews 12:28-29). From this moment on, there is a very deep knowing that comes when God will not tolerate our flesh anymore for it reeks of the world, & in His great love, shakes us & delivers us. This is the awesome raw power of our God. A terrifying thing. Only dead men, see God’s face. God warned Moses of this. “No one can see My face & live.” (Ex 33:20) People who are prepared to be ‘broken & contrite of heart’ (Psalm 51) when God shakes the heavens & the earth, see Him. It takes death to really see Him. They know & taste of His holiness, His sacredness. He restores our respect & awe of Him. This is a treasured thing. There are never any regrets the other side of experiencing the fear of God.

At some point in the journey, in the pursuit of the presence of God, we will encounter His holiness… & therefore, our unholiness. If we do not, it is not His presence!

Yet it is those who have encountered the fear of God, that also know the incredible undeserved comfort of the Holy Spirit. The sweet, amazingly gentle but honest comfort of the Holy Spirit. With the raw power & uncompromising holiness comes a tenderness, a comfort. Such apparent opposites existing together. When God comes, He messes with our heads & definitions of what is acceptable; what is understandable. Ask Mary! When the Holy Spirit came, she got pregnant. It got messy for Mary. How people talked & what a headache for Joseph! Who would believe that a young girl, engaged to be married was made pregnant by God!!! Yet in the midst of all the mess, was the comfort of the Holy Spirit. To both Mary & Joseph, this came through angels. Keep an eye out for feathers! Since May 2008, we have been experiencing feathers appearing in our house, our clothes, all kinds of places. In Bethel Church USA, feathers have been falling from the steel basketball stadium roof where the Church meets, for over 13 years now! God messes with what’s understandable. Opposites exist together. Fear & comfort.

The followers of Jesus walked in the fear of the Lord & the comfort of the Holy Spirit & they were edified & found rest. There is such amazing rest, walking in the fear of the Lord & the comfort of the Holy Spirit! How will you walk in 2009?

“Some people come to God with only a very small idea of His fullness, & a lot of people are satisfied with just a thimbleful. I will not stoop for small things when I have such a big God!”
Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947)

“We maintain our sharp edge as we recognise our need & passionately pursue Jesus. God is a God of new things. Hungering for Him requires us to embrace the change bought on by His new things. Being in a place of great need enables a person to detect when God is doing something new.” 
Bill Johnson (1951- )

The Lord keeps saying to me, “I will come like the rain.” Two things create hunger:
1. Hearing & seeing what someone else has
2. Not having it yourself 

These two men quoted above were or are currently seeing God’s fullness expand in their lives & their worlds to phenomenal levels. The result of that is quite frankly world changing. Hearing their testimonies makes me crazy hungry.

But I am also challenged by God’s word. Acts says, “And God gave special, unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs & clothes that had touched him were taken to the sick, & their illnesses were cured & evil spirits left them” (19:11) & 1 Kings, “So Elijah DID WHAT THE LORD HAD TOLD HIM. He went to the Kerith brook & stayed there. The ravens brought him bread & meat in the morning & meat in the evening..”(17:5-6). This is a day of increasing creative miracles by God. Cause this is what a good Father does when the ‘normal means’ shakes or disappears!

 I am pursuing this because this is what drought can produce!

Are you ready for this?

Yesterday I popped in on a friend who is due to have her 4th baby anyday now. As we were talking she shared how she has noticed that it seems her body’s way of delivering a baby is thru a long pre-labor. (My friend has been experiencing contractions since 20 weeks – 1/2 way thru pregnancy). Her actual labors previously have been quite quick with her last child being born in 1 1/2hours! Made my supposedly ‘quick’ labor of 6 hours for our son, look long!

This caught the attention of my spirit & I reflected on how birthing in the spirit in my experience had a similiar pattern. I wondered if this was true of how God made things generally work in the spirit  by having long pre-labor? I also pondered how in the last weeks (months too) of pregnancy waking frequently during the night is part of the terriority. Rolling over is not quite so easy! (yep expectant fathers this is all part of it!!!!!) I noted how every time God has bought something new to birth in our journey, night watches (regualry waking at night & prayers tumbling out of our spirit) was a common experience. This is spiritual pre-labor! These are the marks of God bringing to birth what He has concieved by his spirit in us.

Funny how due dates mean so little in child birth.. true in God’s kingdom also! We may have our dates, but He alone knows the day & the hour. And so today as I sat for a brief moment to enjoy a coffee, I declared these words in this time of pre-labor… “Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him to act. Be patient, like a farmer who waits until autumn for his precious harvest to ripen. It is good to both hope & wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lam 3:26, Psa 37:7, James 5:7) The birth is imminent!

A month ago, the Hebrew calendar clicked over from 5768 to the year 5769. Numbers in Hebrew carry meaning.The number 8 is always linked with a “new beginning,” where 9′s communicate a “bringing to birth what has been conceived.”

This is a birthing season & here downunder we are right now in Spring… that exciting time of birth in nature.

On Friday I had a meeting in a cafe. I had walked to the cafe as it was just over the hill from home & on the way pondered over what God is doing in world systems at this time, with the Stock market shaking in a way it never has, rumors of a world recession, a US election just days away, always impending war in the middle east & the current world leader, the USA, tilting in a way it hasnt since the great depression. As I walked in the door of a bustling, noisy, overcrowded cafe where drink & food lay abundant on tables, the words “As in the days of Noah” whistled through my spirit. I found a seat, knowing that I was 10 min early for my appointment & begun reading Matt 24 from where these words had come.

“What will be the sign of your coming & the end of the age?” asked Jesus disciples. Jesus reply is stunning. “Watch… As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating & drinking, marrying & giving in marriage,buying & selling, up to the day Noah entered the ark; & they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came & took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man….All these things are the beginning of birth pangs.” (24:4,8,37-39)

Again I looked around me. Surrounding me were newspapers broadcasting “World on the brink”, tinkering teaspoons in cups & a seemingly ‘oblivous to reality’ chatter of people. “As in the days of Noah”… “All of these are the beginning of birth pangs”…

This is not a time of doom according to the words of Jesus. It is a time of birth & that’s a completely different thing! Expectancy, anticpated joy, watchingfulness & preparation. These are the actions in a birthing period.

What is being birthed? Alot of things. But most importantly the coming of the Son of Man! Noah built & invested all he was & had into the very thing that God asked of him & he was asked to do so by faith. Again, the question is being posed.. what are we building & investing into in these days of Noah? If this is a time of birth upon the face of the earth, then what are we birthing? Is the Son of Man coming up in your thoughts, discussions, preparations & decision making?

The Spirit & the bride say “Come Lord Jesus. Come!”

“Come, my shy and modest dove – leave your seclusion,

come out in the open.

Let me see your face, let me hear your voice.

For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing.”

Song of Songs 2:14

An invitation from the lover of your soul – Jesus.

A response to His wooing:

“Let both grow together until the harvest & in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “Gather together first the tares & bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matt 13:24-30

This is a stunning thought. At the time of harvest, God gathers both the tares (false grain) & wheat! This is what God does at harvest time.

This is the hour we live in.

We are on the advent of a new harvest time, one perhaps never seen like this in the history of the world, & God is indeed gathering first the tares from the harvest fields.

So if the fire of God is at work in your life, purifying & bringing new dimensions of freedom & fear of him, He is gathering in the tares.

He is shaking the heavens & the earth. He is shaking things that will not remain to leave that which does. His shaking & his harvest often come at the same time. History speaks this to us.

Jesus is coming! People get ready.

Just recieved this today from our spiritual parents & mentors in Israel. This articulates everything both Mark & I have been hearing from the Lord for some months now, but especially in these last weeks. Sometimes others say things better than we can! Patrica King is an apostolic missionary in Africa. We will do well if we listen to the apostles! They are intentionally listed first in God’s government as they are concerned with heaven’s blueprint & preparing the way for the presence of God to come. A download is available of the full prophetic word at http://all4him.org/scripture-prophecy/prophecy/

Prophetic Word from Patricia King…

“I have had a recurring prophetic sense for the last number of months of the Body going to significant new levels of Kingdom revelation, operations, and expansion. I see many standing on the threshold of exciting new adventures of faith.

Directional ‘Suddenlies’ will Occur in Many Lives.

I see winds of change blowing and drawing Believers in an upward draft to new levels of encounters in God. I see shifts and changes everywhere. Some will abruptly change their professions and directions in life. Directional ‘suddenlies’ will occur in many lives.

This is a time where many will experience an emptiness of vision and enthusiasm for where they have walked during the past number of years. Many will discover what used to bring fruitful results is now unproductive. What used to bring joy is now dull.

For some, it will look like everything that was secure is collapsing. In some ways, it will seem like the shift is taking place overnight and without previous warning. The reason for this is because the Lord is bringing His people to new levels quickly.

It is important to walk close to God at this time. We cannot lean to our own understanding, but in all our ways we need to acknowledge Him. We need to be willing to make any sacrifice and to follow Him wherever and however He leads. He is raising up a people who do not have the hooks of the world or its treasures in their hearts, but He alone is their treasure.

What I see is a major historical shift for the Church. We are now at the threshold. Some have already crossed over while others are standing and waiting for clear direction. Others will follow later. It is a new day. The winds of change are blowing. The Spirit has truly invited all Believers to the next level.

The next level will include a greater focus on Kingdom perspective and greater death to self. The invisible realm will become more visible. Kingdom ambassadorial authority in the earth through the Church will increase in operation. In addition to accelerated power displays of the works of God, the release of Kingdom authority in and through the Church will also increase.
Angelic encounters and revelatory experiences will increase. Wisdom and counsel will increase. Increase, increase, increase. The Lord says, ‘It is a time of increase, great increase.’ It is time to prepare our hearts for this new level. We must have yielded hearts…very yielded…to HIM!”

Throughout life there seem to come moments of examination. These past weeks have been as such for me.

A few weeks ago, I sat looking at my Father’s coffin. I was in hot, steamy Manila in the middle of honoring the Filipino people that Mum & Dad grew to love & give much to. We were observing a wake Filipino style. It was at this time that I had a profound moment with the Lord. He took me back to a time when as an 11 year old. I sat in the conference room at Wycliffe Bible Translators in Kangaroo Ground Australia, having just heard an invitation to world missions from Joanne Shelter (who interestingly was doing a bible translation in the Philippines). I remember being deeply impacted by this challenge. I responded to God declaring that I wanted to be a part of world missions. Now as I sat there gazing around the Filipino church with Dad’s coffin at the front, 7ft flower arrangements spanning the sides of the room having been sent from many different Wycliffe entities around the world & watching people arrive, I pondered again before the Lord my involvement in world missions.

Barry Borneman (Director of Wycliffe Australia) flew in for the wake. Within moments of meeting my Mum, myself & my two brothers, he shared with us the last email he received from Dad. It was sent hours before his cardiac arrest. Dad had left Barry with one question after his report of what he saw God doing in the Philippines & the needs there. The question was, “What are you going to do about it?” This question was now clearly haunting Barry.

He was not the only one.

During the Australian funeral, my Mum shared some reflections of her life with Dad. She closed with a question. This question I have been repeatedly asking the Lord since. “The question is not why did Geoff die, the question is why am I still alive?”

God gave us something in Europe. He gave us something that has always been the heart of his relationship with man & then man’s relationship to the world. This is the concept that the presence of God would dwell with us & that in this ‘dwelling’ he would transform ordinary men to transform the world. This dwelling is what we have felt to call ‘The Tabernacle.’ Over these last years, God has taken us on a journey in so many ways, but especially historically to understand some of his ways. In taking us to Europe & Israel, we saw what God’s spirit had done when groups of people pray & worship him intentionally & desperately. Bangor Ireland, Herrnhut Germany testify to what God did in Acts 1-2. The world that was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles was witnessed to & God’s spirit was given to the Gentiles, Bangor released a wave of Monks that transformed barbaric Europe to Christ, & the people of Herrnhut sporned the Moravian Missions movement. In all cases, ‘being together in prayer & worship’ preceeded a move of God that transformed the world of the then time. Psalm 77 says, “Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” (77:13) Today God’s spirit is stirring again & ‘dwelling places’ exist in Israel, Germany, England, India, USA, Indonesia…

In all the camps that my Dad ran over the 25 years he was with Wycliffe, I witnessed a vital, non-negotiable ingredient in every single one of them. The ‘quiet time’. This is the heart of Tabernacle. This is the dwelling place, the dwelling moment with God & this would always be in the camp program. Other things were not always part of the program, but this always was. This was a fundamental part of Dad’s heart & Dad’s passion. He knew that it was from this place, this time in the presence of the Lord, that the world would be reached. As I have sat with these questions coming out of this time of Dad’s death, this is what I have felt the spirit of God stir in me & answer.

I want to be part of the ‘final sprint’ in world missions & this is the part God’s called me to play at this time.

This is why I am still alive. How about you?

In 1 hour I leave to go and say goodbye to my Dad for the last time. I did not expect to loose him from my life so soon or so quickly. But my Father in Heaven who is now my only Father here on earth, is good & he prepared me just days before Dad died in Manila Philipines. He took me again as he did 5 years ago to the Book of Haggai in the Old Testament & left me with these words… “Once again I will shake the heavens & the earth, the sea & the dry land; and I will shake the nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord.” (Hag 2:6,7) The Lord left me that day with one question, “Are you ready for this?” Days later, I was in Manila watching the life support machines being turned off. My Dad was dead. He was now in heaven. The shaking had begun again. The point of the shaking is that all the nations would come to the ‘Desire of All Nations”,who is Jesus. He is the Desire. He was my Dad’s Desire. And He is mine.

I want to share with you what I am about to share in an hour’s time at my Dad’s funeral. This is his legacy. I pray it will be mine also. And if you knew my Dad, he would be asking you, “What will yours be?”

“You will hear lots of what Dad did for God but I want to share with you how I saw him love God. Because this is the greatest impact that Dad had on my life. He showed me how to love my Father in heaven. It was not what he did for God that inspired me, invited me & wooed me to know God for myself, it was all those times I saw him sit of a morning in his ‘den’ reading & talking to Jesus, it was all those times he prayed with me, with Mum, with whoever else was there. Dad pursued God & God pursued Dad. It was a mutual love affair that impacted me, the generations & the nations around me.

In one phrase it was impressive, inviting, compelling.

One of the highlights in our home growing up, was that precious moment when Mum would pull out a freshly made, hot loaf of bread. She would carry it over to the bench, where us kids would be lined up with knife in hand, plate in the other & taste buds jumping in delightful expectation of eating it. Not long after we had begun that joyous journey of cutting a slice of hot bread, covering it with butter & vegemite, Dad would inevitably come bursting in the door, eager for some of it himself. It was a common experience in our house, for an entire loaf of bread to be eaten in one sitting. Such was the wonder of Mum’s bread! Infact, Dad would eat bread with everything! He would have it for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Even for an afternoon snack. Dad & good bread were inseparable. Such was his passion for the ‘bread of life’ also. He devoured this book of God with the same enthusiasm & hunger that he would eat the bread made of wheat with. It intrigued me as a child seeing him spend hours over the ‘bread of life’ & ‘wheat’… it called something out in me… hunger.

Bishop J Garlington Sr once said, “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It’s as if they were showing you the way.” Watching Dad love the presence of God awakened in me the desire to do the same. He indeed showed me the way & this is the greatest legacy & inheritance he left me…. left us all. For it is not about what he did, not about the task that he gave his life for right to the end, it was always & firstly, about loving Jesus… about loving the presence of God. It was out of this place he lived… he loved… he gave… he cared…

Watching Dad love the presence of God, this is the greatest thing he left behind. It’s the greatest thing we can leave behind. No one can argue with our testimony. No one can ignore a life lived in the presence of God. No one in their right mind would turn away from the sweet beauty that is left on a person loving Jesus. Dad was romanced by the heart of God & it was from this heart he spoke & lived. Of all the moments, all the memories, all that was part of his life & my life with Dad, this is the one thing. This is the one thing I will take with me till I die & it will be the one thing that I will impart to the children of my flesh & the children of the spirit that I am given.

Thank you Dad for showing me how to love Jesus. Thank you for loving us. We will so miss you.”

We met Boris 4 years ago in Tuebingen, Germany. He is an amazing, funny man. He is a Russian Jew. His words articulate our heart’s cry. Yours?

“Right now, God is not seeking after the people who are intellectually in first place; He is seeking after a people who are sick & tired of life without His presence. He is seeking after those who do not want to put their trust in the world, & who do not want to rely on political, economic, or religious systems. He is seeking the people who are desperate and who are seeking the One, the only One, who can give everything. These are the kind of people God seeks. These are the kind God is ordaining & is going to put into the lead of the revival that is about to spread like fire all over the earth. These are people who will allow Hm to come into their midst, who will walk with Him.

Perhaps they will not have a prophet’s understanding of everything. Perhaps they will not always recognise Him at once. Yet these very people will become new men & women because only the renewed people will become the detonators of the revival. Only those who are not afraid of being exploded will be able to explode the nations!”

(except from the Restoration of the Tabernacle of David – Preparing the way for the King of Glory. Published by Jersusalem House of Prayer for All Nations, 2005)

About 2 years ago, I was cleaning the floor of our apartment in Munich Germany, where we lived at the time. I had been mopping other parts of the floor area when I came to the Tabernacle area. As I began, I stopped. The Lord said to me, “Do not make common what is holy. Go, change the water & use fresh water in this space.”

Over the years we have been asked, “What’s the big deal about setting apart a physical space for the Lord? How can that be different from anywhere else? Anyway, isn’t our body now the ‘temple of God?” This is a question we confronted on our journey of discovering Tabernacle. White Australia does not have a concept nor experience of a sacred space set apart for one particular purpose, other than perhaps the football ground! So part of God taking us to Europe was to deposit this in us & give us an experience of this. Interestingly, first nations (indigenous) peoples all have a concept & experience of sacred spaces.

Ultimately, this is a holiness issue, a holiness question. The very word, holy, means set apart, consecrated. To ‘set apart’ & then consecrate to the Lord a room, chair, time, space of some sort, is to make it holy. Our God is a holy God & when He chooses a space of time or place, & fills it with His presence, He makes it holy.

There were two Tabernacles in the Old Testament before the Temple came. The Tabernacle of Moses teaches us about this very issue of holiness. The second Tabernacle (of David) was about worship & prayer. If we do not understand the holiness of God & know a fear of the Lord, we will worship & pray in a way that will be common, ordinary. Likewise if we do not understand that a holy God has chosen our bodies as His place of dwelling, His temple, & set it apart, consecrating it to Him, we will make it common. We can defile what God sees as holy by treating it as ordinary, normal; like mopping a floor with dirty water. Commonness is the greatest enemy of what is holy, special, sacred.

“Be careful not to treat the holy things as though they were common.” Numbers 18:32