Well of Oaths

Today, for me, is a day of extravagant thanksgiving, immense gratitude & exquisite celebration! Thank you Lord for regarding the prayers of intercessors who pray privately, quietly, no show, few words, just groaning in the Spirit... in their prayer closets. 

Malachi 3:16,17 

This private closet prayer was the refiners fire 🔥 that began to sink down into the land. 

Little tiny fires I saw all over the United States of America. Malachi 3:3. When I saw these fires the LORD said emphatically,  " I will not disregard the prayers of my saints." 2012.

(Guen's vision & painting)

Today, intercessors are meeting at Cape Henry on the anniversary of Robert Hunt's Covenant with God for America. 1607.

Back in July of 2000...the LORD led me from Sea to Shining Sea to that same shore, same place, to pray for my land, my country. At the time I had no knowledge specifically of what the location meant, I was simply following Holy Spirit cues & clues as a "secret agent". His words not mine. 

This morning on Dutch's "Give Him 15"....he applied Psalm 22: 27,28 and Psalm 33:12 to this effort. The nations will remember who our God is! (please see his podcast for inspiration & instruction from Holy Spirit) 

26 years ago I was standing on that shore and the heavenly realm was bending so near it took my breath away. We (husband & I) had to remove our shoes. We poured out a jar of Pacific water into the Atlantic. (I describe this prayer journey in another blog- My Story, His Glory) 

Dutch mentioned a dream in which we as intercessors are called now to war in prayer as Rees Howells did in WW 2. The Wellspring of Oath is going to burst forth and supply us with armory & strength to turn the battle to the gates. (Cost of war-2 Timothy 1:8) Turning the battle...Isaiah 26:8.

26 in scripture represents The Gospel of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 11: 23-27 Paul lists 26 afflictions which he endured for the Gospel. Basically...war scars that relate to Christ's "sufferings". 

In John 3:16 there are exactly 26 words in Greek. 

Gospel of Christ. Wellspring of Oath.

In Genesis 8:11 Noah is mentioned for the 26th time....

A dove returned to Noah with an olive 🫒 leaf in her mouth...it says...

So Noah knew the waters were abated from the earth. 

Gospel of Christ. Wellsprings of Oath. 

This Well of Oath has released this 📜 wondrous and redemptive 250 rededication & declaration of scripture over our air waves and over our entire land. Hallelujah! 

Our prayers & intercession must be in The Stream that flows from this Well of Oath. We will have all of the divine provision and wisdom from this well if we "wait at the well" for our solemn & divine assignment. ✨️ 

Your rank & assignment must come directly from the Captain of the Host. Please make sure you have His Seal alone upon your marching orders. Let us profoundly focus on His Manifesto alone. There is a polluted river from the dragons mouth but we are extravagantly equipped & fully supplied from THE WELL OF OATHS. 

Shhhhh!

 

Quiet. Listen. Be still. Selah. 

The majority of our prayers should be centered and focused on becoming attentive and hearing the LORD'S majestic voice. 

The desert father's practiced a form of quiet contemplative prayer to move beyond the wordy noise of secular philosophy which was being constantly broadcast in city forums....

and beyond the religious pharisee's liturgical storm of  condemnations....

and even beyond the soulish demands of the pious, wordy, noisy, religious activity....we sometimes call .. "prayer".

Your ears literally need the healing touch of Jesus' healing sound...the "Sound of Many Waters". No one is beyond the need for cleansing of the heart, mind & ears. Has His voice touched your ears?

How much time have you spent quietly listening or waiting in worship for the Holy Spirit's novel healing exchange? Mercies which are new every morning.

You can commit to answer privately within your heart as you read this blog. It's so important to consider and then set aside priority time for this....

Before you go to...or sign onto...yet another prayer session. Have you spent time just listening?

Shhhhh!

It is absolutely imperative. It's  something you need to intentionally pursue with all your heart. 

Scripture says,

Draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to you.

Quiet, calm, silence, noiseless, soundless, hushed, restful, placid, serene, unobtrusive, tranquil, quiet. 

Jacob was called a quiet man in Genesis 25:27.

Joshua lingered in the hush after Moses met with God. He soaked in the afterglow. 

Pursue quiet listening time with Jesus for He is The Word and He is The Song of Songs. Not just reading The Word but fellowshipping with Jesus Himself, from whom every pure and creative Word flows.

Have you heard His sweet and heart melting voice? As Mary heard when sitting at Jesus' feet? Have you heard His thundering ⛈️ powerful declarations of glory as mentioned in Psalm 29? 

Have you heard the Father's voice in the covering cloud...."This is my beloved Son...Hear Him!" 

Your beauty, your radiance, your glow in Him is...

"the unfading beauty of a gentle & quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:4

Scripture also instructs us..."Be quick to listen & slow to speak." James 1:19

Within the cloud of God's presence....all noise is muted...have you spent time there? If you have been overshadowed within the cloud...every spoken word becomes precious, holy....

& lovingly & thoughtfully chosen. 

The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint. Proverbs 17:27

95% listen and maybe 5% speak....shhhhh!

When you pray quietly in tongues (or even in your mind) you are praying along with the sound of Living Waters, you are praying with the Sound of Many Waters, you are Praying with the very substance & quality of His Voice. 

This is why Psalms 23 says....

He leads me beside STILL WATERS....

HE RESTORES MY SOUL. 

We all need respite, we all need to be cleansed & restored because of the constant muddied waters of humanity and the accusing sound of fallen angels. There is so much accusation in the media stream & that is the devil's river that flows from the dragons mouth. Revelation 12:15.

We ALL surely need to be restored and renewed  due to the constant stream of opinions of man & even some "Christian" media as well. If it's not speaking pure life, then...

 it's mixture and impure at its source. James 3:11.

Jesus retreated often into a quiet place...

If our wonderful Saviour and Friend desired this quiet with His Heavenly Father... then truly....

we should seek it and treasure it as much as He did. 

Quiet, Listen, Be Still, Selah.

Shhhhh! 

John The Baptist & Kingdom Force

In Matthew 11 we have Jesus' description of John the Baptist and His role in the kingdom...

As well as Jesus' controversial comment, 

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom has been subjected to violence and the violent take it by force.

(Violence 971, violent 973, force 726 harpazo strongs concordance Greek)

This word force has been taken out of context and interpreted by charismatic teachers to mean:

 forceful preaching,

aggressive confessions of faith,

or making forceful demands upon the kingdom's blessings. 

I say "out of context" because Jesus ends His discussion of John by describing His own way and His own yoke as being "gentle & humble" in heart. 

In Jesus' description of John.... let's ask what represents the Kingdom of heaven? 

It's The River Jordan. Jordan means "descender". Jesus contains and brings  heaven to earth by descending to us...in human form....

And giving ALL of Himself as a River pours out its substance to bring life, life, life. Only life.

The "force" or "harpazo" here is the force of the Living Waters which is washing away our old nature (or sin) by baptism. We enter the water as testimony that we are willing to experience Jesus life thru death burial and resurrection. We are "choosing" by our free will to experience a new birth in Christ. We are submitting our will (or combining our will) to His will in this powerful Kingdom outpouring of a flowing River.

So we have the force of the waters and the force of our free will combining in baptism. 

And we have the force of John's (prophet Elijah"s) guiding hands to hold the individual in submersion or burial under the waters and to bring them back up into new life. Both...Descension & Acension. Ephesians 4:8-12.

This is John's...Elijah role. Simply announcing The Kingdom & The Lamb of God. Simply calling people to The River and to repentance (turning over a new leaf) through baptism.

This is why Jesus identified John as a prophet like Elijah. A prophet who dunks willing sinners under God's flow of Word & Spirit....in The River... in The Kingdom.

The waters represent The River which flows from His Throne & Sanctuary as in Rev. 22 & Ez. 42. This is an expression of God's kingdom. His thoughts, His rule, His character, His intentions, His good will in bringing us to salvation. His good will in pouring out His life for us. His plan to wash & then fill us to overflowing. His plan to give us a new life.

Harpazo (force) is the word they interpret as rapture or catching up. 1 Thessalonians 4:17. 

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be 'caught up' together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And so we will be with Him forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 

If you trace this Greek word back to its root...you begin to understand that "force" is not solely human charisma or will but the "catching up" of His life force. It is a capitulation to His will and His ways... life flowing over us and though us to others in waves and waves of His very essence and glory. 

As it says in Psalms 42....

Deep calls to deep...In the roar of your waterfall....All your waves and billows have swept over me. 

His voice and His love sweeps over us in the water's flow. In the River we are continually renewing and being made new. It is a continual flow...one we must choose to stay engaged in....returning again and again to drink of Him, to wash in Him, to come alive in Him.

The force is in His River. You cannot contain or direct it but Holy Spirit comes alongside us to hold us as our baptizer.

This is why Jesus completes His comments about John the Baptist by saying....

Come to me all you who are weary, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you & learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." 

This negates the idea that you can "take" the kingdom by human aggression or force. Yes you make a "choice of will" to submit to the river (the kingdom) but the force is the flow of His mighty River of goodness, truth and His glorious presence in our lives. Never ending grace and refreshing mercies which are new every morning. 

You make a committment to yield under His River's eternal flow. This is the "force", the "harpazo",  the "rapture"... which carries us through life and on into His eternal realms of glory. 

The force of the Living Waters can absolutely overwhelm you, it can absolutely take you out-  if you are not resting in Jesus yoke. It's our "floating device". He is our "life preserver". He is our "inner tube". He is our rest. 

Your human force of will cannot control His River. It is a river "no man can cross". Harpazo or rapture means "to take up anchor" so take on His yoke of rest and go with His flow. Remember you have been buried and resurrected in Him. 

You can be lifted up upon these life giving waters in absolute rest and pure freedom. Gravity loses its grip on you. 

Think of the cycle of water in cloud, rain, rivers & wellsprings, vapors & mists. The purpose is to give. The purpose is to flow and cause all to grow. Descension & ascension. Ephesians 4:7-12.

Mist & vapors. Praise & prayers.

Cloud & rain. His Glory Presence & blessing.

Rivers & Wellsprings. Kingdom & Ministers.

The River Jordan is part of a governmental waterway. Flow. Grow. Glow.

Give, give, give. Grow, grow, grow.

"Wherever the river goes there is life " ✨️ 

Ez. 47 

Footnote: GO WITH HIS FLOW

I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Matthew 11 and pray and meditate on Jesus' response to John the Baptist who sent a message to Jesus while imprisoned by Herod. 

Don't take the message of "force" for granted. It has been greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Harpazo (enterpreted as rapture) 726 Strongs Greek 

To seize, catch (away), pluck, pull, take 

Derivative of 138 

To take for yourself, to prefer, choose

138 akin to 142 

To lift, to take up or away, to raise (the voice)

To expiate sin, lift up, loose, 

specifically: to sail away, weigh anchor