Sand is often mentioned in scripture, and with a variety of meanings. We read of “sand in the sea” and “sand by the sea” and “sand of the sea”. Each has its own nuance and aspect. Sand was obviously a major thing in the desert lands of the Middle East.

We are looking at “sand by the sea” here. It is plain from the context that the ‘sand by the sea‘ is similar to, if not the same as ‘the stars in the sky’. In other words it refers to a great number, as we see in Genesis:

Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
[Genesis 22:15-17 NKJV]

As noted above there are other types of sand - in the sea and of the sea, but there is also ‘desert sand’, and each has a relevance based on what The Lord is saying to us.

Without going into this in too much detail, while desert sand blinds you to the truth (as in a sandstorm), seashore sand is truth revealed; each grain aspires to be dry land or solid ground. In the words of the song “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Returning to Abraham; his descendants were to be as the sand by the seashore - which is each of us who believe. Found in those descendants of Abraham is ‘the remnant’:

For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; the destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
[Isaiah 10:22 NKJV]

That remnant, which is The Lord’s chosen people, chosen before the beginning of time, are His special treasure ...

They shall call the peoples to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall partake of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hidden in the sand.”
[Deuteronomy 33:19 NKJV]

Here is Jesus showing us that His Word - good for Isaiah, good centuries later for Jesus Himself, and good for us in today - is an eternal word, liberating us from present troubles and releasing us into the eternal now of His Kingdom. Jesus - as a young man, began His ministry by quoting Isaiah in the synagogue, but with an authority that came from His being ‘the anointed one’.

This blend of Isaiah 61 and Matthew reveals that His word does not change. Something to meditate upon.

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the meek;
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And a final word from Matthew 5: ...

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The character of Haman in the Book of Esther is a ‘type’ for what scripture calls ‘the flesh’; the way we are when we are all out for self. In Esther 6 and 7 - with the destruction of Haman - that this nature in us will be put to death by coming before the King and serving Him. In 1 Samuel 2:30 we are told, But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honour Me I will honour,, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

In our reading Mordecai is honoured by the King - a man whom the King delights to honour - because of his servant’s heart. In John’s gospel we read:

But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour.
[John 12:23-26 NKJV]

God will honour those who put themselves aside to serve Him. The King will honour him with the robe of righteousness (God’s covering) and set him on a horse (power of mastery over the flesh nature).

There is a burning away of things that are in us before we are ready to be The Lord’s. Once that burning takes place then the fireworks happen. There is an awakening, an explosion within that is The Lord’s purpose.

Apostles are ‘sent ones’ and that really is what Isaiah was - sent of God. Are you or I sent? Maybe we would like to be, but most of us are not. We need not be concerned; The Lord has us where He wants us - just keep hearing. If we are called to service, He will speak.

Remember the five fold ministry - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. It is five-fold to show the grace of God to us, but pastors and teachers are really one ministry - and the most numerous.

Be content where the Lord has placed you; He will call on you for greater service when or if you are ready. Do not feel passed over if you are not called; for every service, large or small in our estimation, is of inestimable value in the kingdom of our Lord. He loves us all in a way we cannot comprehend. We will, when at the end, we are with Him.

It is enough - our Lord says so - that we say “Here am I! Send me.” But for how long ...

And He said, “Go, and tell this people: “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
“Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”
Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate,
[Isaiah 6: 9-10 NKJV]

These are strange verses, but really we are being encouraged to persevere. It is a wonderful example of The Lord knowing our perverse nature. “ You don’t have to believe it; don’t understand if you don’t want to ... it doesn’t make it not so!”

Hang in there. God has it covered and He knows how it all works out. Whatever He has for you, just believe in it - even it you don’t know what it is yet! He will reveal it - and send you to it.

When I was singing about the Spirit moving all over the world, Gill was recalling “Peace Like A River”. So much of the Lord’s leading for us in the last few days has been on the flowing of water.

It is lovely to behold when the Lord sets a word in motion and it becomes “line upon line, precept upon precept”, and there is a flowing of peace when Jesus is with us.

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
[John 20:19 NKJV]

This is always the case when we seek Him. He answers and His word to us brings peace. He always speaks peace to your heart, and like a river it keeps on flowing - a never-ending supply of living water.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
[Revelation 22:1-2 NKJV]

The promise in these words reveals the continuing flow of His peace.

Yesterday I found myself singing the song “All Over The World The Spirit is Moving” - a song which always puts us in mind of our late inspirational friend John Whitefield - and, not for the first time, thought of the expression “as the waters cover the sea”.

These words are yet another example of The Bible’s curious usage, which often seems to make no sense to the rational mind, but which speaks to the poetic and spirit-filled.

There are only 2 uses of this particular expression and these are quoted above and both say that the idea of knowing God is relevant. We can have knowledge of Him as the waters cover the sea.

The sea is often a metaphor for unredeemed humanity, and ‘to cover‘ means ‘to hide or overwhelm’ here; so what do we understand by ‘waters’? The first mention is at the beginning of the book ...

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
[Genesis 1:2,6 KJV]

What then does Scripture mean by ‘the waters’? It seems to mean ‘life’ as God would see it. His Spirit moved on the face of the waters’ and He divided them above and below The Firmament. Dividing is part of our God’s creative process, and that always produces life. Yesterday we saw that Jesus is ‘the moving of the waters’. We can only believe that ‘the waters’ represent the spirit in us, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Let us therefore rejoice as the life of our God in us - through our knowing Him - overwhelms the unredeemed spirit in us! A thousand hallelujahs are not enough to give thanks to our Lord. Let’s sing ...

Sometimes The Lord shows you an aspect of scripture that you have failed to notice before. The story of Jesus healing the sick man at the Pool of Bethesda is a familiar one, but somehow I have failed to notice - over many readings - that an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water. This was the time to effect healing.

There is a time for everything in the Spirit and the living healing waters have to be stirred up. Without the stirring, without the movement in the water, it would stagnate, algae would grow and the pool would be impure - so it is in the Spirit. If I allow the water of the Spirit to cloud with impurities I cannot be refreshed; there is a barrier between me and God.

Jesus asked the man “Do you want to be made well?”, which might be thought a strange question, and could have received a curt reply; but Jesus knew what was in man, and understood that many of us - after living with a condition for a long time - do not want to be healed.

There is a scene in a comedy film, where a leper complains that, being healed of his leprosy, he has lost his means of income. No one has any sympathy for a beggar who was healthy enough to go out to work.

At the pool of Bethesda ["house of mercy" or "flowing water”] Jesus recognised that the infirmity was spiritual not natural; the man was too lazy to make the effort to enter the healing waters. In the Bible we see a principle, “first the natural, then the spiritual”; but for Jesus the spiritual came first - heal that, and the natural follows.

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. [John 5:8-9 NKJV]

All it took was a word from Jesus to change the situation. The man had been washed by the water of the word and been made complete. Jesus cut through the excuse. Jesus went straight from “Do you want to be made well?” to “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” The only thing in between was the man’s excuse. For “take up your bed” read “do not lie down or submit to this spirit”. The difference is in this one thing - it is not man who speaks, but Jesus. As we have seen when Jesus spoke to the woman of Samaria ...

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
[John 4:13-14 NKJV]

Jesus is the moving of the water.

OSWALD CHAMBERS - RUN TODAY’S RACE
Wednesday 24th June 2020
Are we detached enough from our own spiritual hysterics to wait on God? To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told. These are phases of His ways we rarely recognise.

I love those words - Him declare I unto you. I make no apology for maintaining my preference for the King James Version; it is what I grew up with, and for me, it has a poetry and a majesty that other versions lack, good though they may be.

I always wondered about these verses and have spoken of them before, but never come to a firm understanding - and ‘a firm understanding’ is essentially what we are being urged to find.

When the Athenians are described as being ‘superstitious’, what is meant is that they are too religious; falling into tradition and form, which is more akin to superstition than to faithful worship and an understanding of the nature of God. To the Athenians He is “the Unknown God”; He has no name, and thus no nature that they know.

So Paul speaks to the Athenians the truth of God. He shares his understanding and love of Father God in a way that reveals the intimate relationship our Father has with each of us through Jesus. He brings the good news of the Gospel to them, encouraging them to accept - not just Jesus’ teachings - but Jesus himself into their lives. I feel sure Paul would have shown them how to pray and build on that joining, assuring them that God answers prayer according to His will and purpose, just as He did with the young Solomon:-

Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honour, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.
[1 Kings 3:11-13 NKJV]

Paul’s declaration was not only to the Athenians, but to us today, speaking Solomon’s words from Proverbs, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

... alternatively, you could listen to this slightly more upbeat version?
“Trust In The Lord” - The Rizers

Is your faith saving face or have you found saving faith? Today’s scripture reveals what happens when we have found Saving Faith.

There have been times when my faith has been leaning more towards 'saving face' before the gathering, thinking maybe that if I appear holier than I feel then God will cover my deception before the world and at the same time give me more faith than I have.

As a teenager and beginning to find my feet in the world, my best friend and I would discuss 'religion', 'religions' and whether or not there was a God. Our discussions were often greatly skewed towards Christian religion, as we knew little of any other. I remember that on one occasion we decided that Jesus existed, because He was historically documented; but that the case for God - in good Scots Law fashion - was 'not proven'. We also concluded that to have faith you needed to have faith ... but how to find it, as it was not readily available in the shops. We therefore destroyed all notion of faith through the application of deductive reasoning.

And yet, at the back of the mind, was the constant prodding of the seed of faith that God had planted before the beginning of time. (God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. [1 Timothy 1:9 NKJV])

What then is faith? Hebrews 11:1 above gives us the writer of Hebrews answer, and another definition I heard lately was "Faith is the indefinable certainty of God behind every thing." This is something I now know, but it took many years and many false avenues before I came to the depth of faith I have today. Until recently, I used to regret the many years when I languished in a casual belief in God. That in a sense, is faith that has faith in faith, and is worth little or nothing at all.

The only faith, is faith that is sure of God, and so I prayed about those wasted years. The Lord did not seem troubled. The reassurance was not of the 'that is OK, better late than never' dismissal, but of an amazing, revelatory, passionate embracing reassurance.

He said "Even if you were not always with Me; I am always with you." That is Faith with a capital F.