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Has God Fallen Asleep?

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In the 1999 movie “Instinct,” Anthony Hopkins plays an anthropologist and primatologist, Ethan Powel, who is being held in a maximum security prison for the critically insane. Cuba Gooding’s character is an ambitious psychiatrist, Dr. Theo Caulder, who is asked to evaluate Powel. At one point in the movie, during a private session, Powel overcomes Dr. Caulder and holds him in a neck-breaking choke hold. Powel (Hopkins) demands that the psychiatrist tell him what he’s lost. Dr. Caulder responds by saying, “Freedom, I’ve lost my freedom.” Hopkins character tightens his grip and says, “Wrong, Bougerious! You have one more chance to tell me what you’ve lost. What have you lost user?” Dr. Caulder (Gooding) responds like a man defeated by truth, “My illusion, I’ve lost my illusion.”

WE find another seeming illusion in Mark 4:35-38: On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

These were seasoned fishermen acquainted with the storms of the Sea of Galilee that even recently have had waves reaching to heights of over 70 feet. Why would the Disciples feel the need to wake Jesus? Could it be that they were annoyed that while they were concerned about the worsening conditions of their plight – He was oblivious, or so it seemed. To those 12 Disciples it appeared that God’s Messiah had fallen asleep during their troubles, and peril. The truth of their circumstances was that the ship was going down! Jesus, God’s Messiah, was asleep and we all are about to die. But what were they basing their confidence in: what they could perceive through their senses; their experience as fishermen; their great wisdom; their understanding of Bible promises? While meeting Jesus out in the Wilderness, outside the camp, circumstances, feelings, your physical senses, perspectives, wisdom, experience, and knowledge – may all seem to scream at you that God has passed you by; that you are distant from the Lord; or even worse – God has abandoned or rejected you.

Yet, Truth never sleeps. His body may have nodded off. But the Truth of their circumstances was that Jesus’ Spirit Man was fully awake. They simply needed to hear Truth speak, trust Him, and watch as He changed their perspective regarding their circumstances.

What do you do when you find yourself in a similar circumstance? You ask several questions of the Lord:

  1. Where is Jesus – the Truth, in my circumstances, feelings, and experiences?
  2. What is Truth doing in and through my circumstances?
  3. What does Truth have to say about my circumstances?
  4. What is the Truth of my situation based not on my experiences, or feelings, but on what the Spirit says?
  5. What is God’s revealed Word, and revelation to me about those circumstances?
  6. Pray and ask, How can I cooperate with You Lord through my circumstances? How can I be pro-active and persevere through them?
  7. What would Faith do, and where, and on Whom would, and should it be focused?

In the wilderness the test is always about: Who and what is your center? A self-centered perspective responds through self-centered values, and interests. A Jesus-centered perspective responds in and through faith (fruit of the Spirit), knowing that Jesus is the Same, Yesterday, Today and Forever. He was right next to the 12 Disciples in the boat, and in charge during the storm of their crisis of belief. He is right next to you, and in charge through the wilderness of your crisis of belief situation. He is Yahweh – the Great I AM. Not I was, nor will I be. He is the same – He hasn’t gone anywhere. So who has moved? Who or what were you looking at? What were you looking for? Let Faith arise – by the Spirit. Live in His NOW. Turn, by Faith, to look to Jesus. Move towards Jesus – through the Spirt, and His Faith.

Confession & Declaration 11

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1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord’s Supper] upon which we ask [God’s] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean [that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the body of Christ?

Just so you know – we are on Friday, January 17, confessions and declarations. Fellowship is a word that has devolved over the years especially in the church. As a child I had a peripheral involvement with the local church at best. Yet, whenever a fellowship was announced, it was always understood to mean, food and mostly meaningless conversation. Now don’t get me wrong. I love connecting with people, and lite conversation, but this is not what the New Testament word meant at all. It was, nor has it ever been, the intention of the New Testament writers to minimize the word or its multiple concepts. On the surface, the only similarities that our popular definition has with the original meaning, is that of joy and celebration. What the Bible means by the word fellowship is a co-sharing of Jesus. Now when I was loosely involved in the life of the church, I would have dumbed down this definition with a reinterpretation. My new definition would be that “fellowship” is a sharing of information you had learned, or read about, regarding Jesus, or the Bible. Yet my definition was still information or knowledge based. But that is not what the Greek word for “fellowship” means. Its very similar to the “food and fun” aspect of the word but it’s missing the depth and richness of the meaning. The Greek meaning of the word “fellowship” means that there is a mutual sharing of experiences that you were having or had. Obviously the Bible is the best place to look for understanding and when it comes to the term “fellowship” we needn’t look any further than in 1 John 1:3 for insight and understanding. It states: What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Fellowship as used in this verse, and throughout the New Testament, references experiences that the Apostles had, and might add – were having, with Jesus. What we have seen and [ourselves] heard,… This fellowship was experiential. A casual reading of this passage would lead one to conclude that the fellowship of experience was based on previous memories of Jesus. But pay attention to what John says next: And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians]…It’s an ongoing and active thing. The experiential knowledge is not of something in the past, though that is part of it, but it’s ongoing. One must also conclude from this verse that this experience is not restricted to the Apostles only. It was to be a distinguishing characteristics of all Christians. The average Christian was to have this experience also. Interestingly enough this fellowship is specific and unique. Christian fellowship with the Godhead involved a knowing that there were, and are, times when there was an awareness that the individual was communing with the Father, or at other times, with the Son. Now that is a mind blower. The Godhead is “Three In One” but separate and distinct. And just to put your mind at ease, the fellowship is not everyday, but at particular moments in time. It has been my personal experience, yours may be different, that most of my relations with the Godhead have been with the Holy Spirit. Not to appear as if I am boasting, but that is pretty much an everyday thing. Why? Because of God’s Grace and Mercy, and my desperate need for Him. Next in line, in my relational context, will be Jesus, followed by the Father. That kind of fellowship – co-sharing – is made possible through the Blood of Jesus. Again, my personal opinion and my experience has been, that the encounters I have with the Father or Jesus are typically related to God-sized assignments that He has for me. For example Moses’ burning bush encounter with the Godhead had to be so dramatic and profound in order to match the challenges he was going about to experience. In other words, the experience was so undeniable, that later, when the going got tough, he wouldn’t chalk it up to his imagination – and flee in the opposite direction.

What’s really powerful is that this “rabbit hole” goes deeper. Several days ago, on Day 9, I had you declare what justification has and is doing for you. Embedded in that mediation was something so profound Im just now beginning to glimpse the depths of its meanings. It was a quote from The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. The quote was: “The eternal character of the justifying event of salvation prevents any severing of past and present. The act of salvation is a continuing present.”  Pay attention to that last sentence: The act of salvation is a continuing present.” Our salvation through the Blood of Jesus isn’t a past or future event. It’s always in the preset tense. I believe that the Lord gave me a phrase by which to label this concept. I believe that He called it, The Eternal Now. It only stands to reason that the Godhead is outside of time. His proper Name is Yahweh: “I AM! It’s not I was or I will be – it IS…I AM. Thus, through the Blood of Jesus, I have been brought into the Presence of I AM. This means my salvation is in the present tense. Which means that I have access to fellowship, or experiential relationship, NOW! I have been positioned in the NOW. More specifically, in the Eternal Now. Now that is not only mind blowing, but quite exciting. You see we overcome the accuser of the brothers through abiding in His Blood which transfers us into the Eternal Now. This is only activated through faith, and a constant turning of our consciousness towards the Eternal Now. This is how we live from the Eternal Now: Faith, Obedience, and Setting Our minds. Now remember that our minds are one aspect of our souls. Thus what you are doing is shifting the reign of your spiritual life from a soulish perspective to one that is spiritual. You are bringing all aspects of your person into alignment with the way God intended: Spirit, Soul, Body. Our salvation (Greek word is sozo) involves our entire person: Spirit, Soul, and Body. It’s the Divine Alignment. Our mind, properly related to our spirit, acts as the translator, or the decoder, for all that God’s Spirit is whispering into our spirit. The mind, in submission to the Spirit, is able to act in accordance with the Words of the Spirit. Why? Because we are in the Eternal Now – through the activation of the Blood of Jesus. This activation is only made possible through trust and obedience. As we trust and obey (for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus) – we experience Fellowship with the Godhead, and with the Blood of Jesus. (And science fiction thinks it has something on Christians).

So let’s activate the Blood of Jesus towards communion, and fellowship with the Godhead. Are you ready? Remember do this aloud.

Declaration 11: My Precious Treasure, my Beloved, Your ways astound and amaze me. I bless Your Name for such a marvelous, awe-inspiring, salvation. Thank You Jesus for the invitation to walk with You and Know You. I thank You for such a great, and treasured gift, as my salvation. Thank You Jesus that now I have been invited into the Eternal Now. I turn my heart, mind, soul, and personality to You. I worship You. I am before the Great I AM continually. Continually I am saved. Continually I am forever knowing You. Continually I am forever washed clean, justified, and all my sin is gone. Thank You, thank You Jesus. I love You so much for loving me. I love You so much for inviting me into the Eternal Now. I praise You for Your Blood! Oh Father, I praise You for giving me Your Son. I praise You Jesus for clothing me in Your Holy Spirit. I praise You Holy Spirit for revealing to me Jesus. I praise You Holy Spirit for all the many things You do: leading me into all Truth, giving me revelation from the Word, speaking to me, whispering to me what Heaven’s thoughts are. Thank You, thank You, thank You!! You are my God and I am Your child. I’m blown away and captivated by your Great Love! Simply grant me Your Grace and revelation to continually abide in the Eternal Now.

Don’t forget “Who’s Your One – Day 5″ – Scripture Reading = Rom. 6:16-18