"If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God & do what is right in His sight..."
Exodus 16:26
This "IF"...statement goes on to promise the Lord will keep His people safe from the plagues they witnessed in Egypt.
Many present this verse as an opportunity for obedience. They see the word- DO- and perceive an action and a performance of duty.
There is nothing wrong with this. It is good to take hold of your own will & bring it under subjection to God's Word.
However, can I share from my heart & experience...
there is a more excellent way.
A way of resting in Him. A way of delighting in Him. A way of letting His Word abide within you. John 15:7 & Colossians 3:16
There is a more excellent way of responding to His voice... the way a bride responds, in love kind, toward the love of her life.
There's a way to respond to His voice like a sweetheart. In our responsiveness, His words can be like wine upon our lips.
Let's focus more on the phrase (in the above verse) " IN HIS SIGHT".
"If you will do what is right in His sight."
What happens when you are in someone's range of sight? You are in close fellowship, in close proximity, in an intimate space with that someone.
You are close enough to converse in a whisper, close enough to have their attention.
Close enough to gaze into their eyes. Close enough for a gentle kiss (of His Word) upon your lips. Close enough to respond in love, in like kind.
That closeness will cause you to HEAR the intentions of that someone's heart & allow you to cooperate & work together as ONE. A divine partnership.
The sound of the Lord's voice, when we stand close, causes our hearts to become tender toward Him.
In the New Testament there are 7 places recorded where God speaks audibly to those close at hand. In each case they are in close proximity to Jesus.
I was unctioned by Holy Spirit to look up the word VOICE...in the Concordance. I know from experience...the Lord wants to reveal something in His Word.
There is an intimacy in the pattern & sequence of..7 presented within these scriptures. Many miss the exquisite opportunity offered to us.
The offer to help us hear His voice.
It's an offer of partnership. Its an offer of romance. Are you intrigued?
We know 7 represents completion and perfection but did you know it also represents-
THE VOICE OF THE LORD?
And, it represents our partnership with Him! It represents our powerful life giving, loving response!
There are 2 wonderful examples in the New Testament, of this pattern of overlapping 7's. Each pattern ends with Peter's testimony in Acts 2:14.
"But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice & said to them..." Acts 2:14
Peter in Acts 2:14 completes the sequence of Father God's voice. Let me show you the pattern.
PETER IN ACTS 2 is the 7th in the pattern...
but it all begins when the VOICE of the Lord begins to speak to Jesus.
It happens at the Jordan River when Jesus is baptized by John.
First Voice...
"And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17
The second mention of THE VOICE is recorded in Mark 1:11...this recalls the same incident. The third mention of THE VOICE is in Luke 3:22...another mention of the same incident. Father, Son & Holy Spirit...Voice, Voice, Voice!
Now.. in the 4th and 5th mention of the voice of the Lord... we see the voice speaking from the cloud to Jesus, transfigured, in His glory...before the 3 disciples...this is recorded in Mark 9:7 & Luke 9:35.
"And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear Him. "
Mark 9:7
We understand that the sound of the Lord's voice is described as the sound of many waters There is no coincidence that these VOICES manifest at the river and the cloud.
Just keep that in mind. We are headed toward the 7 thunders mentioned in the book of Revelation.
In the first 3 mentions, The VOICE is an intimate one-on-one voice from Father to Jesus, His Son. We don't know if John heard it but we do know John saw the dove descending upon Jesus at that same time.
The 4th & 5th mention is Father God declaring His love for His Son to Jesus' 3 disciples- Peter, James &John.
He requires them to listen to Jesus voice as if it were His own. He is making a transference of God's voice to the Son of Man.
Now the 6th mention of THE VOICE of God is a public, audible voice to the crowd following Jesus. It's the day of His Triumphant Entry upon the donkey colt.
The crowd of adults & children have been singing His praise. The crowd is stirred due to Lazarus' Resurrection. The pharisees, however, were stirred for another reason:
"Look, the world has gone after Him. " John 12:19
And now the visiting Greeks want an audience with Jesus... but Jesus does not go to them, yet. This was left for Acts 2, Peter's witness. It completes the pattern of 7.
6th mention: It was the time of the feast. It was 6 days before Passover and The Father chose to speak audibly, publicly, to His beloved. Jesus had just declared He was troubled but prayed.. "Father, glorify your name."
"Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."
Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, an angel has spoken to Him." John 12: 28, 29
Now notice, the crowd heard thunder just as the children of Israel heard...when Moses brought them to the mountain to hear the voice of God.
Notice also that thunder represents a connection between heaven (cloud) and earth (river). We need to understand that God is making a connection...
so that, the significance of Peter's testimony in Acts 2 can be fully understood as 7 represents completion.
Now, it could be argued that the actual 7th occurrence of God's voice is recorded in Acts 9:4 when God spoke to Paul. This is when Paul falls to the ground and Jesus speaks to him. The difference is, this is Jesus...rather than Father God. We are first following God's voice.
I would like to present the idea, that the voice to Paul, represents the 8th recorded voice of God in the New Testament. 8 for new beginnings, Resurrection, and New Day.
In Acts 2:14 Peter stands up and shouts to the crowd, IN A LOUD VOICE.
He shouts to the crowd, which has been gathered by the sound of a rushing mighty wind;
the wind is the voice of Holy Spirit speaking through the newly filled disciples who receive God's "lightnings" of fire.
A transference from God to man as was done from God to Jesus at the mount of transfiguration.
Thunder connecting cloud to river as it were.
In Song of Solomon there is a similar picture presented. It's important to read this in The Passion Translation as well as other translations, otherwise you can miss the prophetic picture.
In Song of Songs there is a conversation between the Lord (bridegroom), the bride (Shulamite) and the virgins (congregation of believers).
The illustration I am speaking of is the similar conversation to the 7 quotes in the New Testament. The 7 representations of GOD'S VOICE.
"Now I decree, I will ascend and Arise. I will take hold of you by my power, possessing every part of my fruitful bride.
Your love I will drink as wine, and your words will be mine."
Song of Songs 7: 8
YOUR WORDS WILL BE MINE.
Isn't this what Jesus asked of the disciples at the last supper?
IF YOU ABIDE IN ME AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU...
Returning to the New Testament pattern, the reason I believe the 7th quote is Peter's voice- is because of sequence and intent.
I believe Father God's voice continued in Peter's testimony in Acts 2.
Here in Song of Songs we have a prophetic picture of the brides voice becoming that of her bridegroom. This is not obedience or performance but pure love, mature love, passionate fiery love!
"And her voice will be mine."
In following this pattern of Father's voice (mentioned 6X) then manifesting through Peter in the 7th...let's revisit the "sound of many waters."
We had Father's voice at the river then in the cloud. At Pentecost we had the tongues of fire which can be translated as "lightnings."
All the ways that water speaks or makes a sound. All the ways water responds & takes form.
Masaru Emoto (1948- 2014) studied water and its ability to respond to human thoughts & words.
You should look up His book on "The Secret of Water". Many similar studies have continued in this important vein.
He found that natural water encircled by children sending thoughts of gratitude into that water...
caused the water to form beautiful crystals which looked similar to perfect snowflakes ❄️.
Later studies also showed water's response to angry words which caused the water to form ugly dark misshapen structures.
It's so important to understand both natural and Living Water in the way it responds to our voice, our gratitude and our agreement.
These water comparisons are made in the Bible so that we can perceive how Life can be spoken through our decrees.
Our decrees which agree with God's Word, His good thoughts & intentions for mankind & the cosmos.
Our praise & worship can be compared to those children, in unity, expressing gratitude. They literally created life & beauty by speaking into the water.
Our voice in His voice!
Can you imagine how the water in our bodies will respond to healing prayer? Or, how water in our food can respond to a blessing?
We come into alignment with the "sound of mamy waters", the Lord's creative voice, when we sing with Him. When we bless others in His love. When we express our faith in His Word through love.
Stay with me...There is yet, another overlapping pattern of 7 which ends with Peter's voice & Paul's conversion (8).
There are 5 recorded incidents of Jesus crying out with His voice upon the cross. (Mt. 27:46,50, Mark 15:34,37, Luke 23:46)
John 11:43 records the 6th loud cry of Jesus. He shouts to Lazarus as he calls him out of the tomb into Resurrection life.
☆Remember sequence & intent. I am following a sequence, a pattern (rather than time line) through the Gospels and on into Acts.
Peter's voice in Acts 2 becomes, again, the 7th loud VOICE in this sequenced record.
It was God's intention for the children of Israel to hearken to the Lord's voice. Instead, Moses & Joshua, alone, became the voice of the Lord in Israel's place.
Responding to someone's VOICE in love & faith (trust) is relational & intimate. It requires a commitment of fellowship & listening from the heart.
Again, in the New Testament, it is shown, in the transfiguration on the mount; Father God desires for Peter, James & John to hearken to Jesus' voice.
But not just to hearken...
to BECOME the voice of the Lord.
This is the revelation released in "the sound of many waters"...
TO BECOME HIS VOICE, HIS SOUND ON EARTH, HIS FREQUENCY.
Now, this brings us to the 7 thunders ⛈️ in the book of Revelation mentioned in Revelation 10: 3, 4. This is mentioned at the time of the "sounding of the 7th angel."
We will close this- part 4- by quoting some of Revelation 10 & Psalm 135.
Instead of responding as a mere servant, can we respond like a love struck bride. It's about our resonance to The Sound of Many Waters!
Also, my intent is to show the connection between biblical symbols of cloud, river & thunder...
to our voice & His voice.
To reinforce this idea let's back track to something mysterious in the Genesis account.
God declares 7 times, "It is good & very good" within His 7 days of Creation.
However, in Genesis 1:6-8 on the 2nd day of creation, when He divides the waters above from the waters below.
On this one day, day 2, He leaves out...His usual finishing declaration...
"It is good "
Why?
When you remember the New Testament milestones or markers of God's voice...1st The River (earth), 2nd The Cloud (heaven), 3rd directly to Jesus & the crowd, which was heard as thunder...
We see Him reconnecting.
We see it is God's intention to release His voice to and through us.
The necessity to divide the upper & lower waters was a result of Lucifers fall. He became Satan (false witness) the "prince of the power of the air."
In Genesis one we begin with Holy Spirit brooding over the waters in the midst of chaos.
This was not GOOD in the Lord's sight. No one reigns in the cloud...except our LORD & BELOVED.
Thank goodness, Father, Son & Holy Spirit had a plan to reconnect the flow of His Living Waters. The mystery of His plan is in the 7 voices & the 7 thunders. Hallelujah!
"And I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow 🌈 was on His head, His face was like the sun, and His feet were like pillars of fire.
He had a little book in His hand. And He set His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.
When He cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices."
Revelation 10: 1-3
I pray this will bring about a bridal longing to hear His voice, to cherish His Song and to become His voice in the earth.
Jesus declared in John 10...My sheep hear my voice.
Yes, His voice will align with scriptural precepts...
however, hearing...
His NOW Voice &...
His NEW CREATION VOICE is not to be left to others.
Each individual must know Jesus. Each individual must draw near. Our words must become His words. This then becomes corporate by His Spirit.
It is each believers responsibility to press in, to hear & to become His bridal voice.
Just as it takes many tiny droplets of mist to become a cloud full of rain....then comes the thunder!
Then... a joining of voices!
"Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven & in earth, in the seas & in all deep places.
He causes vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries." Psalm 135:6,7
And with our praise, we too, become those vapors which He, by His Spirit, causes to ascend.
Can you hear the sound of many waters? Come up here beloved! Join the prayer storm!
"Yes, the Almighty will be your gold & your precious silver. For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God.
You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and you will pay your vows.
You will also declare (decree) a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways." Job 22:25-28
Postscript:
God Decree/ God Storm-
Ps. 115:3, Jeremiah 10:13, 51:16, Job 38:22, Acts 2:2, Song of Songs 4:16, Zechariah 10:1
Hebrews 12: 22-24 lists this same 7/8 pattern of voices from His Court.
1. The voice of the blood of Jesus
2. Jesus, The Mediator of the New Covenant
3. The Spirit of just men made perfect
4. God, The Judge of All
5. Church of Firstborn, registered in heaven
6. The general Assembly (worshipers)
7. Innumerable Company of Angels
8. Zion, Heavenly Jerusalm, The Bride
Sound of Many Waters 💧
Copyright ©️ February 14-
March 14, 2024
Vicki JoAnn Richards
Star in a Tear Publishing
No comments:
Post a Comment